J2S: Culture Change and Misalignment Syndrome: My Concept of Principalities and Powers (Episode 15)
Growing up, the term “principalities and powers” seemed too religious to me. I would cringe at the thought of it. Why? Now I ask myself, not why I cringe, but why I have a completely different understanding of it now. In this article, I will try to explain the why from my understanding and recent learnings on Igbo spirituality.
In a world as malevolent and insidious as it is today, history helps us explain the quick speed of its decay. And as always, my main concern is our African “state.” By state here, I mean consciousness. The world we encounter is a manifestation of our collective consciousness. This means that we create the states in which we find ourselves. To garnish that some more, let’s define the word “state.”
Meaning of the word ‘state’?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, there are 8 definitions for the word ‘state’:
- A mode or condition of being.
- A condition or stage in the physical being of something.
- A social position.
- A body of persons constituting a special class in society.
- A politically organized body of people usually occupies a definite territory. This definition goes on to say that ‘State’ is a government or politically organized society having a “particular character”.
- The operations or concerns of the government of a country
- One of the constituent units of a nation has a federal government
- The territory of a state
As I try to explain the culture change and misalignment syndrome plaguing us in Africa today, I will draw two definitions for the state, as seen above.
State: A Mode or Condition of Being
The state we find ourselves in today is quite complex. Its complexity hovers around positives and negatives, which always provides us the opportunity to choose better for ourselves. Complexity in this regard refers to the effects of the actions taken by various stakeholders at home and abroad to get us to the current state we are in today.
The question is, how have we come to be in the state we are in today? This brings me back to principalities and powers. The phrase “principalities and powers” is one of St. Paul’s contributions to our understanding of the forces of evil. In his opinion, they stand for all the bad forces that threaten men on Earth and in Heaven.
In my opinion, these evil forces are those ill thoughts we may have that turn to action or inaction. We know something is wrong, and we willfully choose to accept a contrary narrative to deal with the guilt. And this pattern occurs in us in different areas and dimensions of our lives.
Now, I may not have painted the picture in its best form; however, these evil forces start with the individual, then take over the family, and then society as they continue to spread like viruses. Maybe read that again, but slowly, and if you don’t agree, drop a comment; I’d respond.
Not Superstition
Maybe I am being too deep, so I’d step it down a notch. As in most of Africa today, our present condition is in complete misalignment with our nature. At the root of this problem lies our solution. It is said that sometimes you must go back to go forward. This means if we can’t choose to consciously appreciate who and what we are, we can’t build a better future. Good things are not stumbled upon; they are earned through wilful action. And that starts on an individual level as it works it’s way up through society and back.
A politically organized body of people usually occupies a definite territory. This definition goes on to state that a state is a government or politically organized society having a “particular character”.
Occupying a Territory
It’s time to break it down a bit. A state could be defined as “people usually occupying a definite territory having a particular character.”
Take a second to imagine all that has been done in history to place us Africans in the mode or condition of being where we find ourselves today. The spiritual, mental, and physical starvation that a larger percentage of our population has and still it is subject to this day. How wouldn’t that lead us to be termed or judged by the character that was deceptively and forcefully embedded in our operating system from day one?
And so, at the core of our hardly reverenced past before the white man is our understanding of time, our calculations of time, and our recordings of the cosmos. I am still learning more about this vast topic, and I can only share what I can verify. Nevertheless, our lack of spiritual alignment is the reason for our stagnation and backwardness.
You might wonder where I am headed with this, as you rightly should. However, this topic can’t be completed within the timeframe most of us have available in this modern capitalist-driven world. To conclude today’s topic on culture change and misalignment syndrome, our principalities and powers are our everyday beliefs. This is as deep as our knowledge of what the day means to us. How can we find progress when we don’t know what day it is?
Misalignment with Our Natural Forces Due to Culture Change – The Igbo Calendar
The world is divided into four houses in Igbo cosmology, which correspond to the four days of the Igbo calendar: Eke, Orie, Afor, and Nkwo. We were born on one of these days. The spiritual house we live in is one of these days. Numerous Agbara (natural spirit forces) reside in these homes. They are many members of your own spiritual house/realm, Ndi Otu, as well as the ancestor who took on the form of you.
Your market day is the day that you were born. Additionally, each Igbo community has a market that goes by one of these names. Each market came together with the other three marketplaces in the area, or the other three villages, bearing the other names of the day. As a result, everyone in the town goes to the Eke market that is held in one village on Eke Day, for example. On Orie Day, however, the Eke market closes and all its vendors move to the Orie market in a neighboring village. This cycle then repeats itself in all the communities. This cycle is significant because it gives each group a day to give and receive. This is equivalent to ancestral work’s manifestation.
Our Celestial Day of Worship
Knowing Agbara’s day is important since it determines which day its market is open for sending and receiving. Because this is the day your celestial market is open, your special day is the best time to send and receive messages into and from the universe. If you are interacting with a natural force, such as Ikenga, through which you are connected, it is crucial to do so on their designated day. It is much more crucial to do it on their day when there needs to be an exchange, whether you’re pleading with the force for action or giving it something in the shape of prayers and offerings of thanks. Just as when you seek solutions from a Dibia, you are told that rituals will have specific day requirements.
Bottom line…
The evolution of our culture, traditions, spirituality, and beliefs might be our solution. This is just my theory, however, if you have similar or contrary beliefs or thoughts, kindly share them in the comment section.
