This time in the Magick Kitchen. We are talking about the Lions Gate and if it's really worth celebrating. I'm Leandra Witchwood and I'm Elyse Wells. And welcome to the Magick Kitchen Podcast where we talk about Magick Kitchen, witchcraft, herbs and everything in between. The Magick Kitchen podcast is funded and supported by the Witchwood Teahouse, offering a variety of hand-blended loose leaf teas as well as loose herbs for all of your ritual spellwork, wellness and everyday enjoyment needs. If you would like to support this podcast while sipping a cup of tea, head over to the Witchwood Teahouse Comm and find the magic that's in store for you. Okay. Spoiler alert it is worth celebrating. Anyone who is is has been on my Patreon before. Knows that Lionsgate is a huge deal for me. Um, and I share rituals every year there that are really, really helpful to make Lionsgate what it needs to be. Um, because it's an opportunity not to be missed. So we're releasing this episode as close to the event as possible, but also giving you a good week before it happens so that you can make it happen. Because I really don't want anybody to miss this huge portal and opportunity. So I'm excited about this one because I don't freaking understand the Lionsgate portal. It actually this time of year, from about mid-July to mid-August like this is when I find myself with, I don't know if it's it's related to my birth chart or what it is. This is when I hit a funk. This is when my energy like, goes dips. So like, this lion gate thing is like everybody's like, oh yay, so much energy is Leo. It's sun and blah blah blah. I'm like I'm. Like, please just bury me in the ground right now because I need I need the earth, I need the water, I need like. And I don't know if that's why. Because I'm such a water earth person that too much solar energy just. It throws me off. It really does. So I'm curious, like, I want to explore this a little bit more because I, I yeah I can't yeah, I just can't. Well and for a lot of people that is how they feel in the summer. Summers hot. You know, if you're in the Northern hemisphere, it's an uncomfortable time to be out in the world, but also a time that we're meant to be out in the world. There's a lot of socializing that happens in the summer. Parents know that it's the time you have to go on vacation, even though it's God awful hot and crowded everywhere, because everyone else always has to go on vacation at that time. So yeah, there's a lot of social reasons that I can see why Lionsgate would be difficult. I think there can also be chart differentials in there, but the biggest reason I think that this time of year might feel unaligned for people is if you are not in alignment with what the Lionsgate is asking you to do, because think of it this way have you ever been in a situation, if you've been a parent, or if you've been a teacher where somebody is really, really, really trying to get your attention because they need you and you just are like, like, not right now. Hold on. Not right now. Hold on. Actually, I'm thinking my cat now. That's how she is too. She's like looking at me like, I want my choo choo. And I'm like, not now, you know. And that is what the Lionsgate is doing. And think of how annoying that builds up eventually where you're like, okay, fine, I'll give you attention if we don't even know what's poking at us for that attention. We're just in that being annoyed and feeling like, oh my God, I'm so overwhelmed and I just need time on my own. So when we're aware of what the Lionsgate is asking of us and putting out into the universe energetically, it's like, oh, suddenly we're aware that that kid is pulling at our skirt and we can turn to it and say, oh, what's going on? And then it relieves all that pressure. So that's what I want this episode to be for. Everybody is like, if you are in that squirrely, overwhelm phase of like, I don't know, I don't know where to go with this. Um, it's probably a symptom of, of I don't want to call it like disalignment. You know, that sounds very serious, but of just not knowing where your attention is truly being called at the moment. So what is the Lions Gate? It is a portal that is the New Age way of saying it. But really what it means is it's it's a certain energy that we can enter because it exists only at this time. So we can call that a portal because we can enter it. But really it's it's happening, you know, it's more of like a, a, a light. It's more light based than anything else. So what's going on is we have the sun in Leo. We have the constellation Orion, and we have the star Sirius all coming in alignment, literally forming a ray that is shining at the Earth right now, cooking us up. And sometimes it's called the blue ray. Huh? It's cooking us. It's cooking us. Yeah. And it's literally. It's like. That is the question. It's the it's the gen alpha slang question are we going to be cooked or are we going to be cooking? You know, like that's what Lionsgate adds I feel cooked, man. Hopefully, hopefully after this episode you'll feel like you're cooking. Oh, man. Well, and I've always been curious about this because with the Gregorian calendar, like how did it end up on eight eighths? Because it's so interesting to me. Because we the Egyptians. This is Egyptian, right? Yeah. It they didn't use the Gregorian calendar. So how did it end up on eight. Eight. That's I'm curious about that. Like how that aligns and how it became that. It's interesting to me. Well, and eight eight is definitely it's like how we say Lamas is the first of August versus some people say it's the second somewhere around there. Yeah. Yeah. It's in that zone. I always am on my soapbox about this, but never feel like you missed a Sabbath. If you missed the day because it's a six week season. The Lions gate's the same way. So we've got multiple moving parts. We've got all the stars in Orion's Belt, all three stars. We've got the sun itself. And of course, Sirius itself. So all these moving things have to come into alignment. And as they move closer to alignment, honestly, it's like a spell or it's like preparing to go over to your friend's house. Sometimes the most enjoyable part is the anticipation. So this rising time, it kind of starts in mid-July. Um, of Sirius coming into focus was what the ancient Egyptians would look for, to know that we call it the dog days of summer. Sirius is the dog star. That that's what they were looking for is like, is this star overhead in alignment? And that was a signal for them for the first harvest, for doing different irrigations with the Nile and of course, rituals surrounding that. So it's a visible star. Um, and of course, now with like light pollution is the question mark. But yeah, it's visible otherwise. And as it shines on us, it Transmits a Blu ray, which you and I were in a ritual for the Blu ray with Hyaluron. Yes. And sacred space. Oh, my God, that was so cool. Yeah. I love him to death. He is such an angel. Um, just such a gifted, gifted practitioner. He has absolutely no digital presence, people. So I can't link you to anything. But if you come to Sacred Space Conference, I think he'll be presenting again. Um, this is side note, but this is why you got to go to in-person stuff. Because you. Really. Yeah, a lot of the best. These really cool people. Yeah. They're out there doing such real work that they are not on Instagram, you know? No. And I war with that all the time because I'm like really sometimes tired of the internet. But. And before the Blu ray ceremony that I went to, we went to together, I went to another ceremony that he held, which was a Sekhmet ceremony. That was awesome. So yeah, I'll talk. I can talk about that later, like in another episode, because that was really cool. Yeah. Lion energy. Yeah. Lioness. Um, yeah. So that, uh, that Blu ray begins shining on us. What the Blu ray does is honestly what fire does in its purest form. Think of the actually think of it that way at the bottom of flame. Is that hot Blu? Yeah, that's the Blu ray. It both destroys and creates because creation does not exist without destruction. Beginnings do not exist without endings. And the Blu ray very much is that. Think of it like UV light as well. Those germs are screaming in agony like Nazis in Raiders of the Lost Ark. So. But that thing is doing its thing. It's cleansing. It's purifying. So when you work with with Lionsgate energy, you're going to be you're going to be losing sometimes, uh, certain crutches or comforts that you've maybe come to rely on. But they it's for the best. What did Hyaluron say to us when we did that? He he because you can call on the Blu ray anytime of year. So he did it for us anytime. Um, yeah. But yeah, he said, like, you might not you're not gonna feel any different today, but you're gonna start. You just wait the breakdown and. Yeah. Oh. Tis true. Yeah. I pulled up an email chain. Just a simple email chain with someone, and I could see the lack of, like, the difference in my. Yeah, showing up from before that ritual. And now, like, it's completely like when I say this Blu ray people is real. It is so real. So serious is really in alignment right now to basically be the best amplification of its Blu ray, of its cleansing light. And it is tied to Sekhmet. It is tied to Hathor. Hathor sometimes is how she said as well. Um, and ISIS as well. So Blu ray also is mostly associated with communication and truth seeking, which actually I just got goosebumps because as of recording this, we're recording this July thirtieth, and I do live readings in my Facebook group, seekers of the Sacred Wild every week. And the card I drew for today was truth. Um, so that's kind of cool. But yeah, it's also as communication. It kind of is connected to the throat chakra and the third eye. So serious. Is Blu ray hella important? And now imagine it's amplified. It's talking about communication. It's talking about self-expression. Now you add in Leo the sun moving into the constellation of Leo, which is ruling that self-expression. It's the solar plexus on steroids. Adding that power to the serious Blu ray. Unreal. Then you align it with Orion's belt, and you have to know the myth of Orion to really know the power there. Orion was Artemis's bestie platonic male bestie, and the story goes that for one reason or another, she has to turn him into a constellation. Some say it was because she was bathing or otherwise indecent, and he came upon her in the forest and she was so upset at him, like she maybe thought he was being voyeuristic, that she turns and kills him, and then she feels bad, so she turns him into a constellation. Other times, she doesn't feel bad at all. He crosses the boundary of the friendship, and she sends him up as a constellation, as a warning to others. Other times, Apollo tricks her into thinking he's a bad person that she like, puts a glamour on Orion so that Artemis can't recognize him and tricks her into sending Orion up because Apollo is jealous that she has another friend. Um, so lots of different ways to read it, but damn it, Apollo. Yeah, and also Apollo has an epithet Hecate. Apollo. Hecate which, yes, it got the meant in, uh, proto-greek. It meant far shooting. So it meant like being very good at archery or also the metaphorical, like shooting for the stars. Um, so there's also the with that story of Apollo tricking Artemis into sending Orion up as a constellation. There's kind of like a bit of, like, boy competitiveness in that, in my mind of like, hey, he's not even that good of a hunter. Like, I'll go out with you. Um, so, so anyway, but that was Orion's thing. He was a very good hunter. He was very good at getting what he wanted. And he was a human who was in with the gods. So he's somebody that we can call on. He's a hero. You know, the Greeks worshipped their heroes. We. Maybe we should do an episode on that. But there's there's a lot of hero worship that we don't really outwardly do anymore. We kind of do. I mean, I ask myself almost every day, what would Frodo do? What would Gandalf say about this? But I wouldn't call it worship. Um, but the ancient Greeks did. They worshipped their heroes. Hercules was deified as a hero, but he also was considered the human descendant of Alexander the Great. So heroes and and gods have always been one and the same for the ancients. Um. And Orion is no exception. So. So he's got this, like, uh, best of the best energy, like he's the best at what he does. So that can come into what you do as well through the Lions gate. So how do you use it? What do you do with it? Great. Elyse, this sounds fun, but I don't know what you want me to do. Great. But what do you want me to do with all this? Yeah. I highly recommend sitting with your altar before the Lion's Gate portal, and we'll get into the eight eight business, too. And think about just sit with your altar. If you're a frame drummer like I am, bring your drum. If you are an ecstatic dancer, put on your favorite dance music. Um, if you are a scryer, you know if that's how you connect, best get some water or get some flame. I would recommend flame since this is such a fiery energy and scry on it. Bring your journal, write things down. but really, really sit with two questions. What do I want to be ignited by? What lights me up? What ignites my passions? And then what do I need to burn away that is keeping me from doing that? Those are the two questions. Meditate on it. Scry on it. Do dream. Work on it, but really sit with it. And then as eight eight comes up, eight eight is when usually sometimes it's eight six, sometimes it's eight nine. But usually it's around that time that Sirius lines up in literal perfect alignment with Orion's belt, with the sun. So in Leo. So all of those alignments happen around that time every year. So that's why it's the most powerful time to do it. But like, hey, if you have to do this on the twelfth, it's still going to be great. Um, but I would say this year in particular. Eight nine eight eight eight eleven eight, ten would be the best because the eleventh of August is the full moon. So we have the opportunity there to bring sun and moon together. Talk about looking for balance in your life, looking for alignment like that's going to enable that deeply to have both. And I think a really good reflection to add to that would be where in my life am I leading from a place of fear instead of a place of love, to recognize where we're fear driven rather than stepping into our authentic self? Because I think for me, because being a person who this, this time and like you said, it starts mid July. And that's right. When I start feeling it, it disrupts me like it makes me look at what I am running away from instead of addressing in my life. And I think that's why it's so hard. Hard? Like it's such a difficult time because I'm being forced to address things that otherwise I could just ignore and go on my merry way. So, you know, so I have to look at my integrity. I have to look at what I'm doing and make sure and and this is one conversation I had, um, while I was in the Adirondacks a couple of weeks ago, is we were talking about integrity and different, um, styles of integrity and the the friend that I was visiting, she's like, she's like, when you work, she's like, she's. I see why you don't grow fast like other influencers or like why you're not one of those influencers. She's all because everything you do is from such a seeded place of integrity. You are very careful about what you do and how you do it. And this time of year, it's really my reflection because I notice once it passes, once I start hitting into September, all of a sudden like things like flow again, and I know my direction, I know where I'm going. I'm already planning my next year, that type of thing. So it's for those out there who struggle like I do during this time. That's what we're being called to do. We're being called to look at what's not working, what no longer serves our purpose, and how can we step into our next phase with more integrity? It's that shadow work. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Fully. Fully. Mhm. Yeah. And that's you know, a lot of people think of shadow work as something we can do seasonally or we can do seasonally in our lives. Like maybe just like oh I'll start my witchcraft journey through shadow work and then I'll be good again. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's a spiral. It's gonna have to come back and it's going to look different. It might move faster, but it will happen again and again. And so being aware of that spiral. Yeah I think that definitely. And cancer season really stirs a lot of that up. So coming out of cancer and heading into Leo, there's a lot of like introspection and like emotion in cancer. Cancer is like the you know, a lot of people caricature it as like, um, the friend who cries all the time, the wet rag. It's kind of true. Yeah. And then Leo is the friend who's like, hey, come on, it's gonna be great. Let's go out for a drink. Hey. Let's go. Oh, hey. How's it going over there? You want to come with us for a drink? Like so it pulls us out all the time. Yeah. It wants to pull us up out of our funk, you know? Yeah, but it can take the length of Leo season, so never feel the pressure to, like. Okay, great. Elyse said I'll feel better after the full moon and now I don't. I guess I did everything wrong. I'm probably a horrible witch. No, no, no, no, I think that's a lot like people feel that way. Like I'm doing something wrong. I'm flawed somehow. And it's not that you're flawed. It's just everybody has a different cycle that we move through. And some people who can really that already are, are easily adapted to the Leo energy. They probably feel really great during this time where those of us who are not well adapted to not, I wouldn't say well adapted, because that's still insinuates that there's something wrong. But we don't we don't adapt well to that energy because it's, there's there needs to be more of a groundedness with how we work. Does that make sense? And I'm probably not explaining it well, but in my experience I feel like to for that change. Like I can't be badgered and Leo energy feels like it's badgering me. Does that make sense? Like you said, like the little kid tugging on the skirt or hey, hey, hey, I need your attention. Like when. And maybe that's my rebellious side of me. Like, fuck you. I won't do what you tell me type thing, you know? But but I think a lot of people don't like that, for one. Yeah. It's hot. Like, I don't want to be outside. It's hot. Like, if I go outside, I'm early in the morning when it's still dark. When? before the sun has risen type thing. So I think yeah, like I love I love taking a look at this because I really feel like it gives us a chance to look at how we move through things. And like you said, shadow work. It's not necessarily a seasonal thing. It's not necessarily a one and done thing. It's something we move through in a spiral. And I think this time of year, especially for me, coming from my own experience this time of year, really has me tapping into, okay, where do I need to shift, where can I move forward with integrity so that I am doing the best work I can for those who I help on this path without, because I'm not a Leo person, like I'm not an out there flamboyant, hey, let's everybody go have a drink. I'm like, oh, let's go have a drink. You know what? I'm gonna go over here and I'm gonna chill and I'm I'm done. Like the weekends that we talk about going away to to these events. Like, I literally have to take like a week and decompress from it because it's too much socializing. It's too much peopling. Yeah, I used to feel that way until I found these kinds of events. Like, now I feel like everywhere I go, it fills my cup and then the places I go that I have to be around mainstream people. And everyone's talking about like, golf, you know, that's when I'm like, oh my God, I'm so tired. I need to drink. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It is really interesting because I'm a Leo Rising, but I'm a Pisces moon, so I'm so sensitive and but I'm also rising. So I am super social and I love meeting people. But when I was a teacher and when I was in undergrad at a very right wing school, um, it was a state school and I got a full ride. So it was either one hundred and sixty thousand dollars in debt or none, like, come on. Right. You know, so, you know, I just protested the other side of things, all the best I could. And it was fine, but, um, but but yeah, that was so draining. And I thought I was an introvert until I started seeking noumena. And then I was like, oh no, I'm a socially conditioned introvert. I'm actually an extrovert. When I am in my own, when I'm in my pleasure, when I'm in my zone. So that's interesting. Also, I wanted to make a correction. I thought the full moon was on the eleventh. I just checked and it's actually it's on the tenth if you're on the East Coast, but it's it's it's basically it's at midnight on the ninth at midnight. So that weekend it's a Saturday. So that's kind of nice if you have a normal weekend schedule. Um, yeah. That would be the best day is the ninth to do a Lion's Gate ritual, in my opinion, because you would be able to get both energies and it's the full moon in Aquarius. So Aquarius is is very much about. It's funny, we were talking about that before we started recording. Yeah we did, we were talking about Aquarian energy. Yeah, it's very flowy. It's very like, hey, don't be so hard on yourself, you know? So this is also a good time in that journey of shadow work to forgive yourself and that can be part of what we burn away is the guilt and the regrets that we think yes, need that they're helping us somehow. They're not. That is totally the ego saying, this is familiar. Keep it around. It's not helpful. Guilt and regret burn away those things that block you from abundance and joy. And yeah, I like that. It's a really good use of this energy. The Lion's Gate portal is a moment of powerful personal transformation magnified by the strength of community. That's why I am opening a special forty eight hour flash sale from midnight August eighth through August tenth. Beneath the potent energy of the full moon. Enroll in my eight week, which codes course at more than twenty five percent off. Have you felt uncertain or disconnected on your witchcraft journey? Wondering if the signs you're receiving are real? Are you longing for deeper wisdom? For meaningful connections? You are not alone. Witchcraft was never meant to be practiced in a vacuum. We were always meant to be held by our covens, by our sisters, by our community. This sacred container warmly welcomes practitioners of all genders, offering you a nurturing space for deep learning, authentic connection with one another, and magical integration into daily life. We begin our journey together November fourth, but use the power of the Lions Gate now to embark upon the change you know you are ready for. This link will be sent out exclusively on my socials channels as well as my newsletter list. You can join my newsletter at seeking Numina dot com, or follow me on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or threads at seeking Numina. To get this special deal. So Lionsgate is also even though it can vary when it actually is going to happen because of, you know, it's planets aligning and our calendar is what it is. Um, it might not be the exact eighth of August, but it is usually around those four days, give or take. And the number eight is a deeply symbolic number as well. Um, it's the infinity sign. So it symbolizes eternal, the eternal nature of ourselves and our souls, which I think is another way to. Sorry. What? Well, yeah. So infinity in balance. Just the eternal balance of cycles. Yeah, that's that's the way I take it. Yeah. It is. It's that it brings in balance. It asks us again, like what needs to be burned away for this flame to actually ignite. Um, and it also it speaks to the goes along with the spiral idea that we were talking about, that, you know, everything that we work with is in a spiral. Yes, exactly. And our souls are eternal. Like we're going to just keep coming here. So the regrets and guilt we have for a past in this life, we can really extrapolate back from that and say, it's actually kind of silly that I'm still living my life in my fifties based on a quote unquote mistake I made when I was twenty, because really, that mistake is quote unquote is what led me here. And I like this part of my life, and I like that that person's in my life. And so really, like, regret and guilt can be broken down and released like that's what happens to shadows. They either become integrated. We learn to love those parts of ourselves and or they are alchemised and transmuted out of our field, and a lot of times with regret and guilt. That's the best course of action. It just really release it. We don't need it. Um, so that that number eight reminds us of that. Like, your soul will come again. It has come before this life. And little by little, it all becomes little and, uh, manageable when we remember that. And then eight also symbolizes abundance. So it's a number that invites prosperity. You'll see a lot of sometimes gimmicky rituals about the Lionsgate. Really just focus on that. They're like, it's abundance, it's money. Bring the money, make a money bowl. Yes, you can do all those things. It will do that. Money jars. But it's like the why behind it is all the rest of it that we went into in this episode. So but yes, it's a great time to do any abundance workings. I'm seeing, as I said, that I saw this, um, in my head, I saw this vision of a ritual where you would have a green candle and a yellow candle and a money bowl in the middle of it, and you would kind of do a cord cutting away from what is not working for you. So you would tie a cord between those two candles and you would let, let them burn down to release the, the blocks between those two. That's like the in a fig. Yeah. Time and a figure eight. Yes. That's beautiful. Yes. And yeah, the cord that I'm seeing in that is just a natural cord. No color to the cord. Same. Yeah. I'm seeing like, two little chime candles. Like a yellow and a green. Yep. And the figure eight in the middle. Yeah. For sure. That'd be a good ritual. Yeah. And you can ground them in salt if you want. That way it really is going to cleanse that energy as it comes down. Well, and ironically like people don't talk about this enough, But salt is used to be used as currency. So salt is actually representative of abundance and wealth and prosperity. So that would absolutely work. That's true. Yeah. The Romans were paid in salt. Yes, they were there. Yeah. That's why we say you're not worth your weight in salt or being worth your weight in salt. Yeah, that man ain't worth his salt. Right. I don't know why that had to be in an accent, but I don't know. It did. But no. And it worked. It worked. It was totally cool. So let's let's just end this episode with on a positive note, even though, like me right now, I'm going, uh. So I'm, I, I'm doing this to remind myself and to remind you out there like, this is the cosmic reset button. This is where we can tap into our infinite power, the figure eight. This is where we can tap into that Leo energy of community and coming together in, in integrity. I think that's the karmic alignment that we need to focus on. Is that integrity with our community, with our family, with our friends, with our actions. Are we moving from a place of authenticity? And if we're not, it's time to hit that reset button. So get your ritual supplies together, hunker down on the full moon, and let's do this. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again. Thank you for joining us on the Magick Kitchen Podcast. Please visit my website for news, information and more episodes. I'm Elyse Wells and I can be found at Seeking Numina on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook and Seeking Numina comm that's seeking N, U, M, I, N, A.