Rethinking the “Lion’s Gate”
By Thea Wirsching
For roughly the last five years, the idea that a “Lion’s Gate Portal” opens annually on the numerologically significant day of August 8th (8/8) has mushroomed on social media. Pop astrologers, New Age healers, and their legions of optimistic followers have perpetuated the idea that this bastard mix of numerology, Sun-sign astrology, and ancient lore portends an effortless spiritual attunement. An August 7, 2020 article featured in Bustle, titled “August 8 is one of the Luckiest Days of the Year,” is typical. The article wrongly proclaims that “the Leo Sun and the bright star Sirius will create a cosmic alignment,” and that this will be a golden opportunity to “manifest abundance and dream big.”
I will disclose here that I believe religion is an alive and fluid thing, and that if the New Age culture would like to create a lucky day out of August 8th, then that worldwide, synchronized expectation of abundance might in itself create some magical resonance, much like what the ancient Egyptians called heka. I’m not a strict traditionalist, nor out to ruin anyone’s fun. However, the reason the Lion’s Gate trend has gotten under my skin is that its themes are so counter to the ancient holiday on which it purports to be based. Wep Ronpet, which translates to “the opening of the year,” was indeed a major festival in ancient Egypt, and it was timed to the heliacal rising of the important star Sirius.
I will disclose here that I believe religion is an alive and fluid thing, and that if the New Age culture would like to create a lucky day out of August 8th, then that worldwide, synchronized expectation of abundance might in itself create some magical resonance, much like what the ancient Egyptians called heka. I’m not a strict traditionalist, nor out to ruin anyone’s fun. However, the reason the Lion’s Gate trend has gotten under my skin is that its themes are so counter to the ancient holiday on which it purports to be based. Wep Ronpet, which translates to “the opening of the year,” was indeed a major festival in ancient Egypt, and it was timed to the heliacal rising of the important star Sirius.
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