Breathing Fire: 8 Emboldening Lion’s Gate Portal Rituals to Enjoy With Perfume, Plants, and Pot.
The Lion’s Gate Portal is here …
Extract your inner jungle royalty and let each breath lead you on a wild adventure to sensory consciousness. Rrwwarrr.
We’re nearing the height of the annual cosmic power parade that is the Lion’s Gate Portal.
— August 8th — draws its name from a day each year when the Sun is in Leo and the star Sirius rises in the sky. It marks the peak of a very auspicious two-week window, from July 26th to August 12th, thought to be prime for spiritual upleveling. This day and time of the year has long been revered groups throughout history, most notably the ancient Egyptians. In ancient Egypt, the rising of Sirius signaled the annual flooding of the Nile, a period of renewal and abundance closely tied to the goddess Isis. Today, this alignment continues to be celebrated in esoteric circles, particularly during the Leo season, which symbolizes strength, courage, and personal power.
So what better way to connect to the past, embody the present, and plant seeds for the future than to engage in a little ceremony to cultivate some Sun-Siris appreciation to harness this power field of Leo energy. Get Bold.
Oh yes sir, don’t mind if we do. We’re going to bold this shit up and further turbo charge our LGP ritual stack by adding in an altered state with an extra sensory smell-o-vision boost.
The Lion’s Gate Portal is a time when the veil between the physical and spiritual realms becomes thinner, allowing for greater access to higher consciousness and spiritual insights. You can tap into this powerful spiritual energy to breathe new life into and light a fire under any goal, spiritual or otherwise. Cuz it’s all spiritual right? As Wayne Dyer said, “There’s a spiritual solution of every problem.” So pick a practice or two and elevate the expansion —spend an extra minute tending to a plant friend, hit the dispensary with intention, and aromatherapize with some of our favorite fragrances on the best time of year to power exchange with both our generous star and its lazuline sibling, Sirius.
1. Sirius-Sun Salutations
Is your chronotype the “early riser”? Begin your day by greeting the sun with a maryjane-fueled sunrise yoga session or —NO judgement —a low-key sit-and-toke whilst you peep the sun doing its own stretching up and over the horizon. Stretch (or just watch the sun do it), breathe in the greatness, and let that cosmic energy flow through you.
Depending on your earthly latitude, somewhere in the spacetime continuum that seems to reoccur in this realm of late summer, Sirius will start it heliacal rising, that is, it will start showing up on the horizon and making its journey along the sky. Like most of the wonders in the sky, viewing can only be done against a clear dark sky. As the months move on through the end of the year and into the next, Sirius will become visible in the night sky. For now, Sirius can only be caught just before dawn, when it is still dark enough to spot before the sun starts its own daily sky-crawl. Woah the power of a morning yoga sesh. And if you can manage rolling out of bed early enough to do it with the sunrise be sure to make it to the mat before the sun officially rises and maybe you’ll catch a short peep of Sirius. Even if you can’t see Sirius rise just yet, and no matter if you can’t manage the pre-dawn thing. Sirius is there, whether we see them or not.
The Surya Namaskar is a sequence consisting of 108 yogic salutations intended to honor our sun and the life that it enables on earth. According to Vedic cosmology, the number 108 is the basis of creation. Whether you make daily ritual during the portal or save it for a grand start to your day on 8/8, taking time to honor the sun is always a good idea, and along with the summer solstice, the Lion’s Gate is especially prime to give our sun a Hit of gratitude.
Fragrance Recommendation: Byredo Sundazed
Houseplant: Aloe Vera
Cannabis Strain: Jack Herer
With its sun-loving nature and healing properties, aloe vera complements the refreshing floral-citrus spirit of Byredo Sundazed. Sundazed is light and stays tight to the skin like yoga pants. An easy-going yoga sesh in the morning sun will warm your skin up just enough to send the fragrance just beyond your nose’s event horizon. Pair it with Jack Herer, a strain known for its uplifting and energizing effects, perfect for starting your day with a burst of citrusy optimism and a clear mind for a yoga session. Nuuuuthing feels as revitalizing as a body buzz and deep stretch through the psoas. BONUS: Snip a leaf, extract the gel from this super healer of a plant-being if your solstice sun session leaves your skin a little burnt.
2. Kali Empowerment Ceremony
The Lion’s Gate Portal is not something associated with the Hindu faith or culture; however, the badass goddess Kali runs a game that perfectly parallels with the Lion’s Gate. Kali is wild about you rising up as your more powerful self. She runs on her ruthless love for humanity. Tough love. If you surrender to her love, she’ll chew you up and spit you out better than before. For the bold and the brave – and especially for those who could use an extra boost in that area – the LGP is a fine time to invoke the fierce and transformative energy of Goddess Kali to empower your spirit to release old patterns and welcome new beginnings.
Create an altar dedicated to Kali with her image, red and black candles, and sacred objects. Perform a powerful invocation and dance to awaken her energy within you.
Fragrance Recommendation: Mondale Red Aoud
Houseplant: Red Aglaonema
Cannabis Strain: Kali Mist
With its complex and mystical blend of notes including, aoud, red pepper, saffron, cumin, orris, Haitian vetiver, and mysore sandalwood, Montale's Red Aoud captures the essence of transformation and destiny. The vibrant Red Aglaonema - she’s a sizzling sea of striking red, magenta, and green foliage, symbolizing vitality, strength, and renewal. Her looks are fierce, and her resolve is strong, yet she thrives in a variety of conditions, resistant to diva like needs. Set up your alter with one of the many Red Aglaonema varieties (Red Emerald is our favorite) and light up a baseball bat sized blunt stuffed with the "queen of sativas" – Kali Mist. Uplifting? Check. Energizing? Check? Borderline psychedelic? Some say yes. Fortune favors the bold. Unzip your heart and mind and let Kali in.
3. Lion’s Gate Spa Day
Somewhere in the aftermath of going full-blown adult my bathroom became a sanctuary like never before. I find myself lingering in the space and adding steps and mini rituals to my routine simply because sometimes the bathroom is the only place I can be fully alone AND at ease. I've perfected the art of the stoned shower. Highdeas + shower thoughts = pure mind gold. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity for a day at a fancy-as-fuck spa, complete with a claustrophobic seaweed wrap, water torture Vichy shower, and awkward steam room moments with strangers (like a 69-story elevator ride, except you're naked, sweaty, and there's a good change you won't have your mobile in hand to bury your sweaty face in). Still, in the right circumstances, there is a different brand of relaxation you can get in the comfort of your own home.
If you can manage some uninterrupted bathroom time, then the LGP is the perfect time to implement self-care practices that focus on cleansing and rejuvenation. So get your hands on a chill playlist, draw a bath, apply a face mask, and pamper yourself with all the finest treatments. Focus on how it feels to attend to the physical manifestation that is YOU.
Our fave way to do this is with a gua sha. Get your hands on the appropriate oil of your choice (For face and/or body, depending) and a quality gua sha stone. Bonus if you can curate your oil and gua sha to enhance the day. I’m loving my tiger eye gua sha and this body oil for Leo season, natch. Focusing on the feeling of the gua sha as it glides along your skin, muscles, and bones. If you're lucky enough to have access to a pool, hot tub, steam shower, and/or sauna, then fack yess you're solid. BONUS: have a partner willing to swap massages? Spa Day just got sexy.
Fragrance Recommendation: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis
Houseplant: Eucalyptus
Cannabis Strain: Lavender
Aqua Universalis is the calming, clean, minimalist spascape you picture in your dreams. White robes and water. A eucalyptus plant, with its refreshing scent and soothing properties, complements the light and fresh notes of Aqua Universalis. If you’re lucky enough to have a bathroom that is blessed with a lot of natural light and ample ventilation, a small eucalyptus plant makes for quintessential bathroom greenery. Otherwise, get your hands on some dried stems to linger in your spa steam to release its aromatics. Add more herbal enhancement to your spa day with Lavender, an indica-dominant strain praised for its calming and relaxing effects. This strain isn’t one to make you feel too drowsy. Instead, it will quiet your brain banter and promote melting of the muscles so that you can zero in on achieving all encompassing bliss by giving your earthy soul vessel some TLC.
4. Meteor Showers
Every year, coinciding with the Lion’s Gate Portal is the Perseid meteor shower. From late July to about mid-August (peaking btw 8/10 to 8/12) the Perseid meteor shower is visible in the night sky. While the cosmic event doesn’t otherwise hold a bar in specific relation to the LGP, star and meteor gazing always make stellar roughage for a number of ritual types. The Lion’s Gate Portal and Perseids meteor shower as a team create a unique opportunity for deep cosmic connection and spiritual insight. Stargazing during this time will allow you to receive energy and insights directly from the universal collective of knowledge.
Fragrance Recommendation: Gritti Super Nova
Houseplant: Flower of Prayer Cactus
Cannabis Strain: Star Dawg
There’s lowkey contradiction in action happening when you’re stargazing. Light/dark … the ostensibly infinite/the superficially empty … .and I high key love contradiction. Especially when it comes to fragrance. Super Nova pops and sparkles and sizzles ice cold … like an otherworldly stone … like you’d imagine space and its unending wonders would smell like. It’s ethereal blend of “cold and spicy” notes evoke the magic, mystery, and the operation – yes, the operation – the very turning and reaching of all the visible and invisible intergalactic mass churning out there. Imagine enhancing your stargazing experience, elevating yourself beyond your earthly home, by bringing an other-worldly scent to the party.
And our botanical contradictions in action? Anything night-blooming. Double for a cactus in bloom – those needles! Those blooms! The perfect companion is the Flower of Prayer cactus – this fantastic pint-sized cactus is easily transportable, has a glorious black skin and abundantly produces gorgeous, “long-stemmed,” camphorous-smelling blooms that only last for a few hours. The flowers open at dusk and wither before dawn. The bloom quickly forms over a period of a few days – very clearly stretching itself as directly to the light as it can manage. Even if it’s not blooming on the night you choose to view the shower, I like to think the cactus has no less of a dependent relationship to the moon than it has to the sun. In other words, direct moon beams count for something.
Like it was bred to be enjoyed while sitting in a lawn chair under the stars … Star Dawg is purported to bring about a very cerebral, yet slow and floaty experience. Perfect for kicking back in a lawn chair while you wait for one of those magical streaks to reveal itself in the night sky. You can’t help but marvel at just how vast, yet mysteriously linked your consciousness is to your body, the earth, and the ethers all at the same time.
5. Lion’s Gate Oracle Reading Ritual
Utilize the wisdom that resides in the fabric of your existence to gain insight into your life's path and align yourself with the cosmic energies of the LGP. The Lion’s Gate Portal amplifies your spiritual connection and intuitive abilities, making it a powerful time for divination and receiving messages from the universe. Do you want to hone your divination chops, sharpen your intuition, inject some extra clarity in your usual reading and finally nail that life level you’ve been stuck on (damn you Super Mario World Forest of Illusion Level 3!)? Performing an oracle or tarot reading during this time can provide clearer guidance from the universe, helping you closer align with your higher purpose.
There are endless ways to pull an oracle reading – pick a deck that resonates with you and pull one card for general guidance … use one of the deck’s suggested readings … or put in all the bells and whistles to make it your own – multiple decks, six+ cards, a story telling spread, throw in a tarot card or two …
My personal fave is a 9 card Celtic-cross inspired spread that I like to use to shed new insight on any goal or situation. I’m brain/soul-storming my way to clarity in no time. Get on our newsletter list now to get free access to this card reading template!
Fragrance Recommendation: Les Nez Let Me Play the Lion
Houseplant: Snake Plant (Sansevieria)
Cannabis Strain: Blue Haze
Its meditative, woody spices, incense, and cedar enhances intuition and spiritual clarity. Suggestive of “church” incense, its cleansing and cocooning – bringing you to a place of reverence, so that you can connect your upper chakras with the wisdom all around. Known for its protective and purifying qualities, the snake plant enhances the clarity and protection of your oracle reading space. These resilient plants are stalwart sentinels, breaking up that mucky juju that collects in our aura like pet hair on a carpet. Pair this all with Blue Haze, a hybrid of classics Blueberry and Haze, this is light-hitting sativa leaning strain known for its uplifting and reflective effects. It’s a gentle cerebral high that will enhance your intuitive abilities and deepen your connection to higher guidance.
6. Lucid Dreaming Project for New Beginnings
With all the amplified energies of manifestation, transformation, and higher consciousness buzzing about during the Lion’s Gate Portal, it’s an ideal time to establish a lucid dream practice. Lucid dreaming allows you to explore your subconscious, gain spiritual insights, and manifest your desires through your dreams. Combining nightly routines with spiritual elements helps you establish a consistent and effective lucid dream practice, allowing you to harness the portal’s energies for deeper subconscious exploration and manifestation. So go ahead and put some intention into your slumber time.
Power over our dreams is like defeating the Emerald Weapon of Final Fantasy fame: It might seem like a difficult and totally unnecessary side quest, but there are benefits of both practical and esoteric quality and some bragging rights as well. If we Eisenhower Matrix this, it goes straight to the Not Important, Not Urgent box. Delete. But dream work is so deliciously satisfying when you start experiencing it as the all-night channel of intuitive downloads that it is. With a concentrated effort into a lucid dream project, you only stand to gain. Good resources will get you off to the best start. My favorite place on the web for info on establishing a Lucid Dream Practice.
Fragrance Recommendation: Hermès Hiris
Houseplant: Lavender
Cannabis Strain: Lucid Dream**
Hermes Hiris is my personal go-to sleep scent. It is a dreamy interpretation of the soft and powdery yet vegetal iris root. I find it creates a calming and ethereal atmosphere, perfect for pre-bed wind-down time to prepare for lucid dreaming. I apply it to all the usual pulse points, but also spray my pillow/blanket. Fragrance is also a deft tool for enhancing dream vividness and recall. I love how Hiris seems to float about me, breezing through the air every time I change sleep positions. Its scent reliably makes its way into my dreams. That touchstone to the waking world is great for helping you discern yourself as in a simulation – “Is that Hiris I smell? I sprayed that before bed, so I must be dreaming.” Even on nights when the dream’s story and characters seem to be lost, I always am left with the feeling that I’ve been active on an “unconscious” plane, my sense of smell being my only way to perceive.
It’s on the nose, but it’s obvious because it works. The calming scent of a happy little lavender plant, in it’s made-for-nighttime-cozy-soft violescent hue, is what you need on your bedside table
And another on-the-nose choice … A helpful weed-friend would be none other than Lucid Dream – a sativa dominant hybrid that will keep you energized and sharp throughout the day, melting into a buzzy muscle relaxation that is just as cozy as couchlock, but not as demotivating.
**A note on cannabis and dreams. Cannabis can have a suppressive effect on dream recall. If you’re looking to enhance dreamwork with cannabis, it is important to use it correctly. Correctly is relative of course. The following is general info - find what works for you. Because use of cannabis can hinder dream recall – it’s not likely going to be helpful to enjoy at bedtime. It is recommended to either: 1) enjoy earlier in the day so that recall inhibiting effects have time to fade or, 2) induce a rebound effect. That it, enjoy generously for a few days and then abstain for at least the entire day of the night you wish to give lucid dreaming a shot. The rebound effect should make dream recall much easier. Translation – your dreams will seem more vivid which means they will be easier to recall and perhaps easier to decipher as simulation when you’re in the midst.
7. Solar and Throat Chakra Alignment
We often neglect the most direct line we have to our higher selves – our bodies. It’s easy to get caught up in our heads because intuition, consciousness, feelings, and beliefs all seem to sit in our heads.
We forget that our bodies are the forks in the cosmic spaghetti. Our minds are merely the hand guiding the fork.
In other words, yes, some intentional focus on the physical body really can spur forward motion in our mental and emotional centers. While a lot seems to be going on in your melon, where in your body do you FEEL it?? Boldness in your gut, sadness in your chest, fear in your throat? Amped up anxiety in your … everywhere???
Intentionally focusing on specific areas of our bodies, even in simple ways, can facilitate the unlocking and healing our stuck points, tired stories, limiting beliefs, and other psychological yard trash we don’t go out of our way to clean up. The Lion’s Gate Portal is a perfect time to focus on these two chakras in relation to each other. After all, confidence is seated at the solar plexus, but our ability to communicate and “reach out” into the world with our voice is seated at our throat chakra.
While the sun has a clear relationship to the solar plexus chakra (personal power and confidence), you can think of Sirius, the blue star, representing the throat chakra (communication and expression). Consider The LGP a time not just of cosmic alignment of the Sun and Sirius but also the solar plexus and throat chakras.
There are endless resources with endless options for chakra work online. As well as a ton a great books.
Fragrance Recommendation: Xerjoff Luxor and Akro Haze
Houseplant: Pothos
Cannabis Strain: Lemon Diesel and Blueberry Diesel
Since we’re hyper focusing on our bodies, making this a balls-out sensory experience is a must.
The perfume, the plants, the pot … these are sensory tools that will amplify the energies that will turn to ritual into art in motion. There’s elegant synergy at play here, people.
And another opportunity to lose ourselves in a harmonious dichotomy of contradiction? The warm notes of cardamom and cinnamon in Xerjoff Luxor simultaneously comfort yet liven up the solar plexus – exactly what you need before that nerve wracking presentation – something to calm the nerves and amp up the “I can’t wait to get up there and show them I kill it” vibe. The striking cold airy sizzle of Haze with its eucalyptus, mint, and clary sage simultaneously sooths and stimulates the throat. Now if you’re thinking, “does she expect me to wear these at the same time”? I don’t expect it but, trust me, you should. Get our layering technique here!
Our plantpanion? The humble yet maximalist Pothos: This charming vining plant is sometimes seen as basic bitch greenery. Everyone has one, they’re common, easy, perhaps a dime a dozen. Not exactly commanding of any particular greatness. But wait a minute. How lowkey larger than life and silently strong these guys are. This “charming” vine prospers with little effort or input. It weaves a life of its own and it really doesn’t need you to make it feel at home in order for it to turn your bookshelf into its own personal plant stand. It calmly stretches and settles how it pleases. Comfortable and surefooted, it’s a living tribute to all that yummy fertile/abundance/prosperity vibe we’re all trying to cultivate.
If all that wasn’t enough, two more sensory delights Lemon Diesel and Blueberry Diesel. I’ll let you discern which strain is aiming where. If it isn’t obvious, it doesn’t matter. Both are uplifting daytime smokes that stimulate creativity and euphoria while fueling your inner social butterfly. Light up and spread your word, Love.
8. Gardening for Abundance and Gratitude
The Lion’s Gate Portal historically aligns with the inundation of the Nile River – a period that was celebrated as a time of fertility, abundance, and renewal. To honor this tradition and the energies of the LGP, we love a ritual centered around working in and tending to your garden or outdoor space to harness these energies that promote growth, renewal, and prosperity.
Getting zen in the garden is about transforming commonplace chores into self-care rituals that forge a connection to the earth and cosmos all while nurturing feelings of abundance. Your garden or outdoor space is the perfect place to merge mindfulness and “work.” Weeding, harvesting, watering, digging, planting, etc., are all simple tasks and movements that can easily be infused with intention and joy.
The powerful connection to history and gratitude plants seeds of abundance that thrive in both soil and soul.
This ritual not only aligns me with the rhythms of nature but also creates a fertile ground for thoughts that flourish.
Fragrance Recommendation: Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Nil
Houseplant: ***
Cannabis Strain: Sirius Black
I love a fragrance with a real story and inspiration behind it. If and when the scent itself doesn’t exactly fit the vibe you’re trying to evoke, rolling the accompanying narrative and image around your mind can help you snowball one thing into something totally different. This isn’t the case here. Inspired by the lush gardens along the Nile, this perfume is a fleshy, juicy, citrus vegetal stamp that will enhance your connection to the themes of fertility and abundance. Since we’re out in the fresh air, directing our attention to our outdoor plant friends, I thought we’d leave out the houseplant part – take this time to interact exclusively with the life in your outdoor space and channel some Nile-style abundance as you dig into your garden with the spirit of an ancient Egyptian farmer. I can almost hear the Nile rippling nearby.
There are a number of ways you can incorporate a well-intentioned smoke sesh into your ritual, but I like the idea of bringing it all home during an evening reflection. Sirius Black is a rare Indica dominant hybrid strain that is very calming and relaxing in nature, with full-body effects that can be slightly sedative at times. Eponymously named after the Harry Potter character, but I’ve never been a Harry Pothead … I like to think of it as star Sirius B – a faint spot in the night sky, the Dog Star’s little companion. Spend a few minutes in the evening reflecting on the day’s work in your garden. Offer a prayer of gratitude to the earth and the universe for the abundance and growth in your life and garden. Light up bowl as a symbol of this gratitude and lay back as you contemplate. Journal any insights, feelings, or observations about your plants and their growth before you drift off into the stars.
