I’m writing this on 8-8-25, the apex of this year’s Lion’s Gate portal, the powerful celestial and spiritual alignment of Earth, the Sun and Sirius.

I’m writing about an invitation that is not mine to offer to anyone else—because your perfect invitation is already being offered to you directly—but I want to talk about how my invitation suddenly became clear to me.

A few months ago, I was working with hedgehogs in my meditations. Yes, those cute little spiny hedgehogs. In one meditation, they gathered on the ground, circling around where I stood. Then I felt their energy shoot up and expand until the hedgehogs looked and felt like a tightly packed circle of standing grizzly bears.

Inside this column of incredibly protective energy, I could relax into the moment with great humility and in awe of the hedgehogs. Then relaxation turned into a profound feeling of surrender, going deeper and deeper. I eagerly shed layers of what was on my mind, of who I’ve been, of my identity, and other layers I can’t even name.

Though this felt completely natural and safe, I realized that part of me felt naked and vulnerable. Immediately, I understood it was time to reframe those words. Naked became the sense of being pure, fully of my essence. Vulnerable transformed to the sense of being fully open—open to be, open to receive. Those reframes shifted everything for me.

Purely essence, fully open.

Sit with these ideas for a moment. Can you imagine feeling so pure, so fully yourself, and feeling completely open to receive? If this is familiar to you, can you lean into it more, allow yourself to feel even more of your essence, even more open?

At the time I experienced all this with the hedgehogs, I didn’t realize it was the start of my invitation.

Today, on the 8-8 of the Lion’s Gate, I understand the hedgehogs were preparing me for this time, for this opportunity to surrender more of what is not of my essence and to be fully open to what is arriving. Surrendering, not in the sense of giving up or not wanting to ‘fight’ anymore, or surrendering to an idea or another person.

This surrender involves opening even more to my larger sense of self. It means letting go in a way that facilitates a reunion, the welcoming of the more expansive parts of myself to be here now. Opening to embody a greater blending, a greater cohesion, harmony, and presence.

To embody a greater sense of I-as-We in daily life.

If this speaks to you, maybe it’s time to consider the invitation the Lion’s Gate has brought before you. What have you surrendered or cleared in the past few months? How open can you be, how ready are you to receive more of the wonder you already are? Embrace it!

We all progress in our own way, in our own perfect time. I hope all of you enjoy these potent days, and that you open and answer your Lion’s Gate invitation. It’s already waiting for you.

 

Radiantly, Authentically yours,

Barbara