Tool

Forty Six & 2

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Forty Six & 2 Lyrics

	


My shadow's
Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.
I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in.
I wanna feel the changes coming down.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in
My shadow.
Change is coming through my shadow.
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again.
I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.
I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in.
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within
My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.
I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.
I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.
See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me.
Soften this old armor.
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side.
Step into the shadow.
69 and us are just ahead of me.

	

Submitted by

implode On Apr 01, 2001

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by Oberones

23y ago

This is one of Tool's most amazing songs, and really sums up the entire theme of Aenima. This song is about growing, changing, and moving towards the next level of human evolution and conciousness. It's deeply rooted in Jungian theory.

Basically, it's believed that there are three levels of human evolution and each has it's form of conciousness. There's the 1st level with 44 chromosones. These are primitve people's like the aboriginies in Australia who do not percieve anything outside of themselves. They only see one large conciousness with no distinguishment between organisms. Then there's the second level with 46 chromosones. That is us. We are a chaotic disharmonic conciousness that is basically used as a stepping stone between the first and third levels. The third level is 48 chromosones. (Or 46 & 2, with 2 being the sex chromosones x & y). This is the higher level of conciousness. Our destination.

But this is where the Jungian theory comes in. It is believed that you can not reach this third level of evolution without first delving into yourself and basically cleansing your conciousness for the next jump. That's where the Shadow comes in. The shadow is basically everything about that is unseen that you are uncomfortable with or hate. This is also known as the Anima (hence the name of the CD).

The last part of the song sums all of this up...

"See my shadow changing, Stretching up and over me Soften this old armor Hoping I can clear the way By stepping through my shadow, Coming out the other side Step into the shadow Forty six and two are just ahead of me"

+48

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by luie.pt 16y ago

Apes have 48 chromosomes, as do potatos. Australian aboriginies have 46 like all other humans

the spicie with the most chromosomes is Ophioglossum(a plant) with 1,400 chromosomes.

Love the song...love tool but Mr Carl Jung just had too many acids. lol

Not Valid

by Changeiscomingthru 16y ago

Fantastic analysis of this song, it really makes sense now. Thank you for your input.

Not Valid

by VoxAndPiano 16y ago

Drunvalo Melchizadek's idea that through the years to 2012, there will be a movement to feminine led consciousness which will last through to the end of the next 13,000 year cycle. Currently we are at 44+2 chromosomes. Maynard Keenan expresses that he intends to reach that next level of consciousness which he rightly calls 46+2, relating to the Forty-Six and 2 chromosomes that are foreseen by Drunvalo in his book The Serpent Of Light.

Not Valid

by Folkie84 16y ago

I know this comment was posted 7 years ago, but I read it and was disgusted and needed to reply. To correct Oberones and his statement about "the Aborignies in Australia", they are not, by any stretch of the imagination, "primitive people". They do not have only 44 chromosomes compared to "the second level" which have 46. They are exactly like every other human being on the plant - intellegent, with every cognitive, physical and social ability that Oberones himself has. They DO NOT struggle with the idea of perceiving anything outside of themselves, they CAN distinguish between organisms. I am...

Not Valid

by Skumped 15y ago

Did anyone every stop to think that Maynards twisted mind is so twisted that he would write a simple song so that everyone would misinterpret it? Has anyone ever thought that its about football? Well its not..it would be funny if it were so simple.... But again someone says that this 0berones is correct... In an interview where Danny Carey spoke with a reporter from Slamm magazine it states:

SLAMM: You mentioned the importance of evolution as it relates to the band. "Forty-six & 2" off the new album seems to address this theme, correct? And what does "Forty-six &...

Not Valid

by Wallamanage 15y ago

In response to Folkie I can understand why this theory is offensive and racist. I agree with you on that entirely. But it's grossly unfair to blast Oberones for simply explaining what the theory is. He/she never says that this is their personal belief so there is no need for the personal attack. I found the analysis very interesting by the way, even though I don't agree with Jungian theory.

Not Valid

by tsortore 15y ago

First off. Aboriginals is a modern term. think of it not so much as just Australians, but lesser evolved people of the past (those with 44). Dont get hung up on human made labels. Think outside the label.

And on that note of thinking outside the box. Let me share an observation and question inspired by TaintedDeity's rebuttle.

Jungian theory stresses that people focus too heavily on science and not enough on spirituallity (label it what you may but dont think religiously here).

This is just one out of millions of examples of people relying on scientific theory that is supposedly...

Not Valid

by BCunited 15y ago

i think that this song refers to bill hicks and the way he thought everything should change. like society politics and religion. the album was devoted to him. i think that by "stepping through my shadow" is what he wanted the world to do. he wanted them to feel the change because bill hicks comedy was about this stuff. eulogy another song from aenima was also about bill hicks and what he had to say

Not Valid

by ccshnitz 13y ago

I think everyone in this should listen to "Lateralus" from the same-titles album... You guys are overthinking everything. I definitely agree that there is some back story to the lyrics most likely involving this Jungian Theory stuff, but that does not connect to Maynard at all, and we are not going to connect to it through the Jungian Theory either. As Danny Carey said in the interview, they have their meaning, and then they build the song to allow for our own interpretations. Stop over-thinking and over-analyzing, because it separates the body from the mind. Just make it what you...

Not Valid

by philosophomore 10y ago

I realize this is fourteen years too late, but for the sake of anyone looking into the meaning behind the lyrics to one of TOOL's most arcane masterpieces, please take note:

Carl Jung != Drunvalo Melchizedek

The title of 46&2 and all the explanations you'll come across regarding chromosomal compositions and their supposed relation to the evolution of consciousness are originating from Melchizedek's books and teachings, not "the Jungian theory."

The only EXPLICIT reference to Jungian concepts in this song is where the narrator makes repeated references to his "shadow."

This is not the first time I've...

by opinions4free 10y ago

@Oberones

I think the scientific emphasis is a bit too heavy. Jung dressed Gnosticism in the guise of a science for sake of creating a secular spiritual movement.

The anima and animus, forces defined by their contrary nature, are equivalent to the gnostic concept of syzygy.

@[Oberones:3916]

I think the scientific emphasis is a bit too heavy. Jung dressed Gnosticism in the guise of a science for sake of creating a secular spiritual movement.

The anima and animus, forces defined by their contrary nature, are equivalent to the gnostic concept of syzygy.

The Gnostics believed that wisdom, Sophia, was entrapped within matter by her child, the demiurge. The gnostic worldview is both dualistic and progressive. The dualism exists between the evolving realm of concept, language and matter (Sophia), and the opposing realm of deterministic physical experience (the Demiurge). They envisioned Sophia as seeking to separate herself from matter by the organizing the material world in forms that could support progressively developed concepts. According to the gnostic cosmology, this led to the creation of humanity, as a vessel for complex thought through a series of steps called emanations. These emanations were viewed to have manifested as equal and opposite concepts/forms called syzygies: love and hate, self and other, life and death, man and woman, etc. Keep in mind that these are metaphors for awareness.

The crucifix illustrates the concept. A human form is affixed between the material world (the cross) and the spiritual realm (the sky) in suffering, and suffering is the pathway to bliss by means of the Jungian shadow concept.

Shaman (and the Hellenistic religions were very shamanistic) find god through the suffering of a vision quest. So Moses isolated himself on a mountain; Jesus, in the desert.

Now that I've covered the gnostic concept, what was Jung referring to by the 2 additional chromosomes? I suspect Jung was referencing the emanation that will stem from mankind, sort of like Nietzsche's ubermenche. He was saying that, from mankind, there will come another pure concept to break into opposites, just as good and evil cannot exist without one another, and did not exist before man's achievement of moral concept, man will support another emanation of thought (a release of Sophia) that will progress us beyond our current state.

Jung envisioned this as occurring through the process of imaginative synthesis, what he deemed synchronicity (see the Police song) He wasn't talking apes and men.

Reason:

by opinions4free 10y ago

@Oberones

Looked into it some more. This 48 chromosome nonsense is not z gnostic metaphor, but pseudoscience, promoted by a new religious movement called the Flower of Life Institute. Nothing to do with Jung.

However, the song refers to progressions of conscious awareness, from the perspective of the Jungian shadow. The manifestations of these progressions are like a shedding snake skin, while the confrontation and consumption of the shadow forms an Ouroboros.

It's a mystical message: one must confront their fears to supersede their cognitive limitations, because fear—the unaddressed shadow of the mind—separates humanity from spiritual transcendence. Creation, of both art...

by MarxistChavizta 10y ago

@Oberones I also believe that this song is about the theory of the superman of the philosopher Nietzsche. Nietzsche wrote about in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, The Will to Power and other of his writings about that humans are a bridge, a rope between the ape and the superman. And it is our responsability to evolve into a higher stage of human development. According to Nietzsche, the superman is a human being who is 100% free, a destroyer of old values, to be replaced with new values. This song is also related to the theory of the new man by Che Guevara

by Diglarrydig 9y ago

@Oberones Wow. Pretty rough judgement of the aboriginals! Actually, the song is referring to an evolution 'backwards,' if you will, a man shedding his skin (hence the scab picking and snake crawling imagery.) The character in the song is coming to terms with what he really wants, and accepting who he really is: an animal, with all of its primal, raw and (innocent?) natural qualities. The message is plain: humankind would be better off living 'in' nature than 'above' it, as we are all animals at heart. Animals that have evolved the unique ability to completely and irrevocably destroy the...

by Brandon435

12y ago

"Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. It may be (in part) one's link to more primitive animal instincts, which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind." - Jung

The song is about Jung's Psychological theory of the "Shadow."

And yes, it does have something to do with Chromosomes- Jung said that it is "One's link to more primitive animal instincts.." Humans have 46 chromosomes. Apes have 48. 46 + 2 = 48

My Interpretation

+13

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by tetsuoswrath 12y ago

I like that interpretation of the song. I also see a third reference of the Bible verse Psalm 46:2. The Album's CD case has the image off California being destroyed by earthquakes and flooding. Psalm 46:2 reads:

2 Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.

by Goblin Queen 7y ago

@Brandon435 Thank you, was scrolling comments for this one. Carl Jung' s shadow theory changed my life. Why do we do the things we do and have we convinced ourselves we did it for a different reason simply because we don't want to face who we really are? Facing that darkness, facing the person you really are and not the person you have lied to and told yourself you are to justify the choices you make. What kind of person would I be without Tool and Jung? Not as humble, not as careful, not as honest.

by Savag3Dragon

13y ago

This song is so awesome and powerful I don't even have words to describe it.

I was just thinking one thing; could the whole shadow story be, among the other stuff, even a reference to the first verse of Sober? I like to think that when in Sober the protagonist of the song was chased by this negative (his own?) shadow, in Forty Six and Two he finally evolves, he get over his misery and he's free of his old shadow.

Just guessing of course...

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by lharvey

12y ago

[This song is about self improvement]

My shadow's Shedding skin and [he sees himself as frayed and in a state of loss] I've been picking Scabs again. [He knows he has been the cause of it- doing it to himself]

I'm down [he is deeply..] Digging through [searching his inner self] My old muscles [of his fundamental makeup (habits/interest/hates)] Looking for a clue. [of what is causing this]

I've been crawling on my belly [he has left nothing unexamined] Clearing out what could've been. [busily discarding haunting what-ifs] I've been wallowing in my own confused [everywhere he digs he finds ] And insecure delusions [the what-ifs and lies to self that are -------------------------------------------------------------[truly not needed]

For a piece to cross me over [he hopes for an easy fix] Or a word to guide me in. [or the guidance to fix himself] I wanna feel the changes coming down. [he truly wants to get better] I wanna know what I've been hiding in [and identify the hidden source of his -------------------------------------------------------------[problems]

My shadow. [he identifies his Shadow as the inner self- his ------------------------------------------------[core being, or Soul] Change is coming through my shadow. [he knows that to fix himself he must mend his Soul. My shadow's shedding skin [he sees that his soul is suffering] I've been picking My scabs again. [and that he was the cause of it all]

I've been crawling on my belly [he continues to examine himself, knowing Clearing out what could've been. [now what he has learned] I've been wallowing in my own chaotic And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me, [he knows to truly change will devour all ----------------------------------------------------------[that he was- and get rid of it] Feel the outside turning in. [he wants his outer self to change along with ---------------------------------------------------[his inner self] I wanna feel the metamorphosis and [he wants the change all through him] Cleansing I've endured within [that he has started to repair in His -----------------------------------------------------------------Shadow]

My shadow Change is coming. [its working!] Now is my time.

Listen to my muscle memory. [in his new self construction, he looks -------------------------------------------------------------back with hindsight] Contemplate what I've been clinging to. [on his foolish beliefs/delusions] Forty-six and two ahead of me. [there were 46 cycles of refining the list ------------------------------------------------------------of what to keep, and 2 left to do]

I choose to live and to Grow, take and give and to Move, learn and love and to Cry, kill and die and to [This is self correction #45- the aspects he has chosen to hold onto] Be paranoid and to [There are 14 at this point] Lie, hate and fear and to Do what it takes to move through. [do it again (divide the list in half)]

I choose to live and to Lie, kill and give and to [This is correction #46- the refined list of what Die, learn and love and to [he chooses to retain in his core being. 7 left] Do what it takes to step through. [do it again (divide the list in half)]

See my shadow changing, [see how it works?] Stretching up and over me. [the Shadow is more whole than it has been] Soften this old armor. [his old defenses really arent needed anymore] Hoping I can clear the way [to finish he must FINISH]
By stepping through my shadow,[each pass through his shadow is another turn] Coming out the other side. [what emerges is the new self/list] Step into the shadow. [do it again-] Forty six and two are just ahead of me. [he has done it 46 times, and 2 more remain]

So, he has learned how to improve himself, and we are hearing if his process between the 46th and 47th repeat

He lists his previous "insecure delusions" of 14, and whittles it down to 7, keeping only those he wishes to. He must do it 2 more times, leaving him with 1.7 aspects (1 fully, another just mostly) he wishes to hold onto at the end- that which he holds MOST important in his being.

So its not anything bad, nor violent. Its just ruthless self examination and improvement, performed whenever he notices his shadow looking a little rough.

My Interpretation

[This song is about self improvement]

My shadow's
Shedding skin and    [he sees himself as frayed and in a state of loss]
I've been picking
Scabs again.            [He knows he has been the cause of it- doing it to himself]

I'm down		        [he is deeply..]
Digging through		[searching his inner self]
My old muscles		[of his fundamental makeup (habits/interest/hates)]
Looking for a clue. 	[of what is causing this]

I've been crawling on my belly		     [he has left nothing unexamined]
Clearing out what could've been.	             [busily discarding haunting what-ifs]
I've been wallowing in my own confused    [everywhere he digs he finds ]
And insecure delusions			     [the what-ifs and lies to self that are     -------------------------------------------------------------[truly not needed]

For a piece to cross me over		   [he hopes for an easy fix]
Or a word to guide me in.		           [or the guidance to fix himself]
I wanna feel the changes coming down.  [he truly wants to get better]
I wanna know what I've been hiding in	   [and identify the hidden source of his -------------------------------------------------------------[problems]

My shadow.				[he identifies his Shadow as the inner self- his ------------------------------------------------[core being, or Soul]
Change is coming through my shadow.	[he knows that to fix himself he must mend his Soul.
My shadow's shedding skin		[he sees that his soul is suffering]
I've been picking
My scabs again.				[and that he was the cause of it all]

I've been crawling on my belly	[he continues to examine himself, knowing 
Clearing out what could've been.       [now what he has learned]
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me, 	[he knows to truly change will devour all ----------------------------------------------------------[that he was- and get rid of it]
Feel the outside turning in.		[he wants his outer self to change along with ---------------------------------------------------[his inner self]
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and	[he wants the change all through him]
Cleansing I've endured within		[that he has started to repair in His -----------------------------------------------------------------Shadow]

My shadow
Change is coming.			[its working!]
Now is my time.

Listen to my muscle memory.		[in his new self construction, he looks -------------------------------------------------------------back with hindsight]
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.	[on his foolish beliefs/delusions]
Forty-six and two ahead of me.		[there were 46 cycles of refining the list ------------------------------------------------------------of what to keep, and 2 left to do]

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to		[This is self correction #45- the aspects he has chosen to hold onto]
Be paranoid and to			[There are 14 at this point]
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.	[do it again (divide the list in half)]

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to		[This is correction #46- the refined list of what
Die, learn and love and to		[he chooses to retain in his core being. 7 left]
Do what it takes to step through.	[do it again (divide the list in half)]

See my shadow changing,			[see how it works?]
Stretching up and over me.		[the Shadow is more whole than it has been]
Soften this old armor.			[his old defenses really arent needed anymore]
Hoping I can clear the way		[to finish he must FINISH]	
By stepping through my shadow,[each pass through his shadow is another turn]
Coming out the other side.		[what emerges is the new self/list]
Step into the shadow.			[do it again-]
Forty six and two are just ahead of me. 
[he has done it 46 times, and 2 more remain]

So, he has learned how to improve himself, and we are hearing if his process between the 46th and 47th repeat

So its not anything bad, nor violent. Its just ruthless self examination and improvement, performed whenever he notices his shadow looking a little rough.

Reason:

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by HavenVice 12y ago

46 and 2 is a theory of evolution and the premise is that humans would deviate from the current state of human DNA which contains 44 autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes to 46. It's part of their "spirituality". Lateralus, Third Eye, (if you've heard pusifer) Indigo Children.

by MicahZ 7y ago

@lharvey so wrong haha

by SomeDude66

12y ago

Okay, we have 44 and 2 chromosomes currently and 46 and 2 is said to be our next step in our "evolution". I'm not religious, but Jesus Christ was thought to have 46 and 2 chromosomes, which made him what an amazing person in which he was claimed to be lol. It's kind of a more spiritual thing dealing with mind, body and soul. Even involving different dimensions like a 4th dimensional being,but w/e idk. This song talks about all of our problems as who we are currently and that we must live through them in order to get to our next step (46 and 2)....if we make it. Something interesting could be in our near-future.

My Interpretation

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by GiselleFreude17 11y ago

Doesn't anyone realize that down syndrome is caused by having an extra set of chromosomes?

by jimmy0dr 10y ago

@SomeDude66 WRONG you must learn biology before making stupid statements your song goes "i am just a worthless liar i am just an imbecile"

by Tool_girl

22y ago

I really don’t like this idea of it being about selling records or TooL being tedious for Maynard. One of the reasons APC was formed was because TooL were in a battle with lawyers due to recording writes when they’re producers or something changed. TooL thought they were in titled to record another album but the they’re new record company didn’t agree and when tool decided to take they’re stuff somewhere else they’re company tried to sue them for breaking a contract, this went on for years so during the time tool just toured on Opiate and Maynard started APC. He also stated that he feels more at home with tool than APC, which I think, is audible as it sounds so much.... Uh, you just can’t explain it. Like people have said before tool try to make they’re songs meanings apply to everyone, to me its about suffering from depression, this song helped me through some hard as shit times. I’m NOT talking about fucking ‘my parents hate me, I have no friend’ depression it was the real shit. Its about, yeah, just waiting out, this vampire- the cloud of people and ideas is trying to drain you and its getting so tiring you do just want to walk away- suicide. But you just gotta keep thinking of what you can have at the end of it, seriously anyone’s who has a rough time it helped me so fucking much, I swear and I’m so grateful no one will ever know how much. And all this shit about Maynard being god- please stop. If I was Maynard I would take offence as in many songs he makes fools of people who believe in gods and the idea of ‘god’ itself, I would feel seriously misunderstood and that my fans were complete dumbasses. Hey I dunno maybe he’s just a good old Christian full of sarcasm or whatever, but just please stop its irritating at religion itself.

I really don’t like this idea of it being about selling records or TooL being tedious for Maynard. One of the reasons APC was formed was because TooL were in a battle with lawyers due to recording writes when they’re producers or something changed.  TooL thought they were in titled to record another album but the they’re new record company didn’t agree and when tool decided to take they’re stuff somewhere else they’re company tried to sue them for breaking a contract, this went on for years so during the time tool just toured on Opiate and Maynard started APC. He also stated that he feels more at home with tool than APC, which I think, is audible as it sounds so much.... Uh, you just can’t explain it. Like people have said before tool try to make they’re songs meanings apply to everyone, to me its about suffering from depression, this song helped me through some hard as shit times. I’m NOT talking about fucking ‘my parents hate me, I have no friend’ depression it was the real shit. Its about, yeah, just waiting out, this vampire- the cloud of people and ideas is trying to drain you and its getting so tiring you do just want to walk away- suicide. But you just gotta keep thinking of what you can have at the end of it, seriously anyone’s who has a rough time it helped me so fucking much, I swear and I’m so grateful no one will ever know how much. And all this shit about Maynard being god- please stop. If I was Maynard I would take offence as in many songs he makes fools of people who believe in gods and the idea of ‘god’ itself, I would feel seriously misunderstood and that my fans were complete dumbasses. Hey I dunno maybe he’s just a good old Christian full of sarcasm or whatever, but just please stop its irritating at religion itself.

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by Daemian

15y ago

This song is about Maynard delving into the painful memories of his past which he has repressed "I've been picking scabs agian", this is represented in Jungian Psychology as his "Shadow", in order to grow and overcome there effects on him. The shadow in this song is the same as the Snake in H "my shadow's shedding skin", which represents urges to treat Devo how his father treated him, abusively. In order to eliminate his shadow he must first elucidate it's comments by looking into what he has repressed in his shadow. The song shows this metaphorically through getting in touch with past uses of his body.

I'm down Digging through My old muscles Looking for a clue

I've been crawling on my belly clearing out what could have been

 The lyrics may also imply that he's been analyzing his dreams to further elucidate these repressed thoughts and feelings "wallowing in my own confused and insecure delusions" also "chaotic and insecure delusions" all to find and bring out these unconscious fears, and urges.

for a piece to cross me over or a word to guide me in I wanna feel the changes coming down I want to know what I've been hiding

In my shadow

 The last 2 verses of this song are merely a declaration that he will do whatever is necessary, lie, cheat, steal, love, kill, die, etc. to express his shadow and by doing so understand it, and bring it into consciousness.
 He is throughout this song attempting to bring his "shadow" into light, merging it with his consciousness.  When he has merged his unconscious fears and urges with his conscious psyche "stepping through (his) shadow" he will have gained understanding of why he feels the way he does towards Devo, and these feelings will no longer be unconscious urges, effectively evolving (but in a psychological way) which is what the line and title "Forty Six and 2" represents metaphorically. Or at least that's what I got out of it.

On a related note: THIS SONG IS AWESOME

This song is about Maynard delving into the painful memories of his past which he has repressed "I've been picking scabs agian", this is represented in Jungian Psychology as his "Shadow", in order to grow and overcome there effects on him.  The shadow in this song is the same as the Snake in H "my shadow's shedding skin", which represents urges to treat Devo how his father treated him, abusively.  In order to eliminate his shadow he must first elucidate it's comments by looking into what he has repressed in his shadow.  The song shows this metaphorically through getting in touch with past uses of his body.

I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue

I've been crawling on my belly
clearing out what could have been

The lyrics may also imply that he's been analyzing his dreams to further elucidate these repressed thoughts and feelings "wallowing in my own confused and insecure delusions" also "chaotic and insecure delusions" all to find and bring out these unconscious fears, and urges.

for a piece to cross me over 
or a word to guide me in
I wanna feel the changes coming down 
I want to know what I've been hiding

In my shadow

The last 2 verses of this song are merely a declaration that he will do whatever is necessary, lie, cheat, steal, love, kill, die, etc. to express his shadow and by doing so understand it, and bring it into consciousness.
     He is throughout this song attempting to bring his "shadow" into light, merging it with his consciousness.  When he has merged his unconscious fears and urges with his conscious psyche "stepping through (his) shadow" he will have gained understanding of why he feels the way he does towards Devo, and these feelings will no longer be unconscious urges, effectively evolving (but in a psychological way) which is what the line and title "Forty Six and 2" represents metaphorically. Or at least that's what I got out of it.

On a related note: THIS SONG IS AWESOME

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by bizarre

23y ago

The title of the name does not only have to do with the Anima, it is called Ænima. It is like saying an "Anima enema," or flushing out your old self. That would relate more closely to the theme of the album, which is change.

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by Warholkolic

11y ago

This song isn't about drugs at all... As people have already said, there are 46 chromosomes in human DNA - the song is about evolving to having an extra two chromosomes, explaining the 'shedding skin'. When he says "I", he is talking about us as an entire, and unified, race. He's talking about people clinging to being the same old repetitions of classic human behaviours, and not allowing ourselves to properly better ourselves as a race (picking scabs - stopping the 'healing' process). My interpretation of the shadow symbolism is that we have to embrace the darker parts of ourselves in order to see the light; to be conscious of our destructive paths so we can aim for a better day. It could also mean a temporary sacrificial act to secure a long term improvement (stepping through my shadow, coming out the other side...)

My Interpretation

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by gaeaplaysguitar

23y ago

this is beautiful. the song the spiritual meaning behind it. it makes for such a beautiful entity. tool is definately the best band in the world. it makes me feel beautiful to listen to them. thank you maynard, adam, justin, and danny from the bottom of my heart.

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