Welcome to Radiant Lioness

Goodbye to Sandra Dee and Welcome to Radiant Lioness

on this Auspicious Day, the Lion's Gate (8/8)

"Look at me, there has to be
Something more than what they see
Wholesome and pure
Oh so scared and unsure
A poor man's Sandra Dee

Sandy, you must start anew
Don't you know what you must do?
Hold your head high
Take a deep breath and sigh
"Goodbye to Sandra Dee..."

My mom just texted me the news that Olivia Newton John just died, our beloved Sandra Dee from Grease.

In 8th grade, I played Sandy in our middle school musical. I auditioned for Rizzo. I so badly wanted to be the badass but the director, Mr. Bonivia saw me differently. I was so grateful Mr. B was in my life at that time. He was our gym teacher who "randomly" decided to direct a musical at our school and took me under his wing after I auditioned. I have a feeling when he saw me sing "There are worst things I could do" he felt my pain. He was a father figure for me since, at that time, my own dad was not emotionally present because of his drug use (he didn't even make it to any of my shows). There were many times I wanted to crash and burn but each day I got up with a purpose, to be the best Sandy I could be.

Mr. B gave me the opportunity to claim a new story for myself at a very pivotal moment in my life.

I always loved the transformation of Sandy at the end of Grease. Yes, the story leads you to believe she got a makeover to win over the boy and have more friends, but I always felt the change was internally for her. She was finally able to step into her own fierceness and except those parts of her that scared her a little bit.

The moment she did it, the external world met her there with open arms and in awe of her transformation.

My Sandra Dee moment.

Two years ago, I changed my last name to Leona, which is Spanish for lioness.

I wanted to claim a new name for myself that I could embody by learning from and growing into. I held a small ceremony with friends and family on zoom at the start of the pandemic on May 8, 2020. We all walked around figure 8's as Olivia Newton John belted out "Say Goodbye to Sandra Dee!" and we all collectively released the old versions of ourselves to make space for the newer parts of ourselves that wanted to be explored. We followed it up in celebration with "You're the One that I want" after my new name, Leona was revealed.

Now, two years later, I have stepped into Phoebe Leona and have quite enjoyed her BUT I am just now understanding the power of this name, particularly after a number of recent events during this Lion's Gate portal that I will share at another time.

Today, I am fully ready to claim her. Let me explain.

I love the power of words.

I have been reclaiming words recently that I will share in future posts but for now, I will share the power of my name so you can see where we are all going in this blog together.

Phoebe, Goddess of the moon, which also means bright, pure, radiant one. It was given to me by my mother because she liked the name of her cat, Phoebe. I would also like to think my soul whispered to her because I have always been one to bring the light into the darkness. When my dad was depressed after my parent's divorce, I would want to make him happy by dancing for him after dinner every night. It still usually ended with him crying into my lap but I was determined to still shine for him and for myself!

Leona, aka lioness, has many ways of been seen and celebrated through her symbolism:

She epitomizes the goddess and divine feminine lunar energy.

She embodies creativity, imagination, originality, vision, inspiration and resourcefulness.

Lionesses are known for their strategy and creating opportunities where they might not appear to be any.

The lionesses within a pride are pivotal to the prosperity, growth and survival of the tribe.

Women with this totem will have mastery over their emotional body and the ability to manifest all aspects of love.

They are creative, passionate, and bond easily.

Also, a lioness symbolizes hope, victory, tenacity, and stamina.

Historians tell us that the playful goddess of dance and protection, Sekmet appeared in early illustrations as having a Lioness’ head.

Lioness is a symbol of power and transformation. Chaotic transition. Emergence.

So with all that said, I invite you to go on journey with me...

In this monthly offering (and whenever else I receive inspiration) I will share reflections to inspire you to claim your own Radiant Lioness energy,

so that you may,

bring the light into any dark times you may endure,

tap into your own divine fierce feminine energies (whether you identify as a woman or not)

master your emotional body,

and become infused with your passions to creative a prosperous new world for yourself and your pride.

So why now?

The past two years has been quite transformational, for all of us.

As I stepped into this name our world has been swirling in chaos, which never seems to be stopping.

There were many times, I didn't know what to do with myself let alone guide others. I essentially took a year off to write my book and unpack a lot of childhood trauma, got thrown around in the arena as an entrepreneur, and was invited into co-creative experiences with other artists that reminded me of my desire too dance with the divine again.

Through all of that, my name anchored me in who I am.

I remembered the joy to guiding people to a deeper version of themselves, to dance in the shadows and still find their radiant light waiting to be discovered there.

And so now, I am ready to claim it to be the fullest expression of myself to inspire and guide you to be the most radiant expression of yourself!

What's this going to look like?

Here is a glimpse at our roadmap for this adventure...

Each post is an invitation for a moment to pause together. I will share our four Radiant Lioness pillars so you can take a closer look at what is possible of yourself:

• Transformation. Hear stories to connect your own dots so you can evolve into having more conscious relationships with yourself and others.
  
• Embodiment. Receive tips and tangible practices for the embodiment of your emotional body.
• Creativity.  Explore ways to tap into your own creative energy and witness other people's creativity to inspire you.
• Joy and Humor. Share moments and experiences that bring joy and laughter that is always available to us.

We will have a lot of fun here at Radiant Lioness.

Are you with me?

Let's start by sharing a comment below of what you want to bring to light for yourself.

What parts of you do you want to tap into again or discover for the first time?

Let's begin to manifest for YOU in this Lion's Gate portal!

Thanks for being here, Radiant One. ;)