As a numerology teacher, I notice how some numbers seem to be more popular than others in the eyes of people. Number 5 is definitely one of the popular ones! Everyone wants to be sexy, spontaneous, free and adventurous. It’s an image that our society appreciates. But everything comes at a price. Since my role is to illuminate and teach Dharmic Wisdom, I see it as my responsibility to communicate a fuller picture about every numerological aspect. A picture that reveals both the shadow and the light of every number. So in this article, I’ll show you how the free and sexy number 5 can turn into quite a mess. Don’t worry, this is no judgment! Every number has its shadow sides. It’s only that with some, it’s easier to overlook it.
What Everyone Loves about Number 5
In a society that praises image over authenticity it’s very easy to love number 5. It sort of answers many of the images people would love to fit themselves into. It is friendly, outgoing, a free-spirit, someone who is always willing to try out something new. The 5 is flexible, adaptable, experimental and easy-going. How can you not like this number? I’ve met many people who when embodying both a 4 and a 5, hated their 4 and did all they could in their power to get rid of that annoying 4 and be only the 5! Funny isn’t it? Wanting to abandon your authenticity in order to be a “better image”. Luckily for us it doesn’t ultimately work. Because if it did, it would mean an abandonment of our inner being, our soul and our truth.
And yet, it is quite understandable why number 5 earns itself such a favorable name among the people. It truly is charming, fun to be with, always ready to venture into something exciting and doesn’t make a big deal of anything really. That’s truly amazing and frankly speaking undeniably lovable. And with such a charming presence it is sometimes hard to find the faults and flaws. Or perhaps we’d even prefer to avoid doing that altogether, because it would, after all, ruin all the fun. And yet, from the perspective of Spiritual Wisdom and Dharma, we must learn to see ourselves in our totality. That’s the only way to gain complete wisdom and inner growth. We must come to see the shadow and the light.
Is That Real Freedom?
What is freedom? I mean, the word sounds really sexy and desirable. But did we actually contemplate deeply what freedom means? Number 5 is clearly the symbol of freedom in the world of numerology. But what kind of freedom? Very often the 5 will want to do what they want, whenever they want, with whomever they want, for as long as they want. No strings attached. You won’t hear clear yes or no from a 5, because they want to always leave the door open. What if I say no but then I suddenly feel yes? I don’t want to commit to anything all the way. Not to a schedule, not to a relationship, not to a plan and not to a framework. Again, this sounds sexy. But I would argue that it is only sexy when we’re teenagers. As we grow up, if this is our understanding of freedom, something about us hasn’t truly matured.
And that’s an important point about number 5. They often don’t like to grow up and remain immature teenagers forever. This hampers their ability to commit to serious things in life and can often leave them on the fence forever. Instead of asking, how does freedom (which indeed is a central quality of theirs) express itself in increasingly more mature forms, they may rebel and stick to their teenage expression. Because it is, well, considered sexy by an immature society. An image-loving society. And so they don’t grow up. Their growth can stall somewhere around age 16.
How Number 5 Deals with Difficulty
Have you ever watched a rebellious teenager and how they deal with their own problems? Most of us have been there. We hate being told what to do, we deny being wrong, we do destructive things on purpose. We also prefer to procrastinate, neglect and avoid dealing with hardships. Now, when you’re 16, it’s natural and even healthy. But with number 5, this can continue well into your late adulthood. And this my friends, is not healthy anymore. This is called: escapism. You see, number 5 doesn’t want their fun and childish freedom to be interrupted, and so they escape whatever isn’t comfortable. They escape whatever is challenging, whatever requires hard work on their end.
And that’s when things get problematic. Because you can only push away a challenge so much. You can only procrastinate so much. At some point all the muck and gunk you didn’t want to address, will catch up with you. Only then, it’ll be harder, sometimes much harder to deal with. And that’s the most difficult side of number 5: their tendency to escape the shadow and the challenging. There’s a heavy price for rebelling against growing up. Sometimes, the price is doing stupid stuff, destructive stuff, ruining good relationships, blowing up a job opportunity, numbing oneself with drugs and alcohol. Only to keep avoiding and rebelling. All the while, calling it “freedom”. But it’s not. It’s throwing your life to waste. It is remaining a child.
What is Real Freedom
Freedom is not a static phenomenon. It is boundless and is also context dependent. Freedom for a 5 year old, is not the same as freedom for a 35 year old. When you’re having fun in nature, freedom has a different fragrance than when you’re trying to find a suitable job. A mature number 5 should always keep asking themselves “What is Real Freedom?”. This question is an evolutionary one. Is real freedom avoiding my shadows and pain? Does it really make me freer when I avoid them? Or perhaps, by facing them, I become even freer? If I always avoid intimacy because I’m conditioned to believe that it robs away my freedom, but I can never truly love, is that real freedom? What if real freedom is the ability to love without fear?
I don’t want to give final answers here. But rather show you what a mature and evolving number 5 should be doing. No number is exempt from the Soul Journey of inner growth. But some numbers (5 included) have an embedded shadow side of rebelling against growth. So on that level they should be more watchful. Otherwise it can compromise their life big time. Hopefully by now you can see how adhering to a social image of sexiness is not always as great as it seems. We’ve come to this life for a far greater purpose. We’ve come here to grow spiritually. All of us. Regardless of numbers. And as a number 5, you must embrace your growth as well and never escape it. Remember: sometimes growth is found in going against your nature!
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Comments 1
“Sometimes growth is found in going against your nature!” ooh, this is hard to read. But it’s where I am at right now, as a Life Path 5 who used to be a stereotypical escapist 5. Then I chose family life, got married and had kids. All was going great until 2020 when the world changed and our freedom to move about the world was greatly limited, by forces beyond my control. I wanted to run away – finding marriage and family life suffocating.
Logically I knew I didn’t actually want to abandon my husband or my children, because I am mature enough to know that escapism doesn’t actually work. But, woah! If I just listened to what felt like my heart speaking to me, I would probably have just packed a backpack and been gone!
So as a 40 – something mother I logically understand that freedom can mean more than running freely through the world with no real ties to anywhere or anyone (which I definitely did through my teens and 20s). But reconciling that fact with my heart and my inner desire to run free is something I haven’t figured out yet. It does at times feel like I’m going against my true nature.
I guess that why it’s called a “Life Path” number. It is the path I’m on, but I’ve not yet reached the destination! 😂