The Lion's Gate Portal: Tracing the Origins of a New Age Myth

If you exist on the internet and engage even casually with the more spiritual side of the digital world, chances are good you've heard of the Lion's Gate Portal. Occurring tomorrow, 8/8, this celestial event has been splashed across the front pages of pop-astrology blogs, women's magazines, and apps like CosmicRx for weeks. But what actually is it, where did it come from, and (most importantly) what does it mean? 

It behooves us to be cautious when taking what we learn from Google at face value. Whenever I start hearing a catchy phrase a lot ("blood moon eclipse," "master manifestor," "shadow work is self care!") I like to approach the subject with a healthy amount of skepticism. While these buzzwords and hot topics in magical and spiritual social media often do have a grain of truth to them, like chain letters they tend to get passed around and diluted to the point of meaninglessness. Ever noticed how, according to the internet, every full moon is 'perfect for manifesting your goals!'? Rarely is there a deeper analysis or an attempt to tease out the complex concepts that underpin such sweeping statements. For the serious scholars and intellectually curious amongst us, this is very frustrating--and it also contributes to misinformation and reductive, milquetoast spiritual practice that is best expressed as bumper stickers than through serious sorcery. 

And so it is with the Lion's Gate Portal, a "major astrological event," that is said to "open a rare window between the spiritual and physical worlds," "birth...a new and undeniably heightened level of dedication to our ascension process," and help you "manifest your dreams [and attain] you innermost visions." 

All of that sounds awesome, but prior to the late 90's, nobody appears to have heard of the Lion's Gate (besides as one of the seven gates into Old Jerusalem). A search of peer-reviewed articles returns no results with that search term, indicating a lack of academic or folkloric interest in the subject. Searching by date, there are only three results for "lion's gate portal" between 1980 and 1999. Between 1999 and 2010, we have four pages of Google results. Today, Google returns over 87,000 results for the term. 

The first hit is from the website of a woman name Patricia Cori, who claims to be in contact with an interdimensional race of "light beings" known as the Sirian High Council. Which is cool, I guess.

While practices and observances don't need to have historical basis to be valid, I do think it's important to understand the origins and evolution of our spirituality. That way, we can choose to engage with the events and currents that have meaning and resonance for us, rather than getting swept up in mass hysteria and watered-down hype. Now more than ever, I truly believe it's important to interrogate the things we believe and the ideas we incorporate into our practice. If you believe magic is real, that these currents have objective power and can produce measurable outcomes, then you should care about the history of the ideas being parroted on apps like TikTok and Instagram. Otherwise, magic, astrology, and spirituality of all kinds becomes nothing but an echo-chamber of pithy one-liners that promise gnosis and abundance but yield nothing but memetic repetition of the same empty nourishment. 

So, what's the history of the Lion's Gate Portal? Early websites like this smashing Geocities offering seem to lean heavily on the numerological significance of the number 8, as well as vague allusions to 'the sacred texts' (which ones? Who knows!) and the 'Royal Sirian Lions of Yesterday and Tomorrow.' With respect to numerology, there is no consensus regarding the meaning of particular numbers. The term 'numerology' was not even in use until 1907, and while innumerable cultures have ascribed meaning to various integers and numerical patterns, these meanings vary according to the symbolic systems and belief structures they work within. If you're curious, here's an incomplete list of the number 8 in folklore, mythology, and culture. Is it lucky? Sure, kind of? It's a lot of things. It's certainly a number that appears frequently in spiritual texts, but so does the number three, and the number seven. 

Regarding the "Royal Sirian Lions," this particular term is only mentioned in new-agey websites about the Lion's Gate Portal. It is vaguely implied that these guardian lions (who are also ascended masters, according to some reports) emerge from Mayan or Egyptian spiritual traditions. I can find no such reference to twin lions in Mayan mythology. There are records of an Egyptian God, Aker, who was depicted in the Middle Kingdom period as two lions facing away from one another: Duaj / Tuau (yesterday) and Sefer / Sef (tomorrow). He does appear to have been a threshold deity, guarding the gates of the underworld and protecting royalty from demonic attack. His connection to Sirius (implied by the moniker 'Royal Sirian Lions') is unclear if not absent entirely, as is any connection to August the 8th. 

Aker, as depicted in the Egyptian funerary text The Amduat. Via AncientEgyptOnline.

To understand the synthesis of this minor underworld deity and 8/8, we must lean into that word, Sirian, and the astrological significance of the heliacal rising of the Dog Star. This is where things get technical, astrologically speaking, and as I have said many times I am not an astrologer. Though I'll endeavor to trace the history as it pertains to the Lion's Gate Portal, I cannot offer any deep insights from an expert perspective. Actual astrologer Amaya Rourke has a great post on the astro significance of the heliacal rising of Sirius here, if you're interested (it's a thorough but quick read!)

The Ancient Egyptians personified the Dog Star as the Goddess Sopdet (Sothis), who was tasked with holding up part of the sky along with Hathor (according to records from the Middle Kingdom). In the Old Kingdom, Sopdet was represented as an underworld figure, acting as psychopompic guide to deceased Pharaohs. She was also responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile, which typically took place toward the end of July, corresponding with Sirius' return to the night sky. This heliacal rising of Sirius and subsequent flooding of the Nile was so significant to the Ancient Egyptians that they timed their New Year accordingly, though the "Sothic Rising" only coincided with the solar year once every 1460 years. 

Sopdet, via WikiWand.

So, yes, there's an association between Sirius, the gates of the underworld, and the concept of rebirth and renewal. How Aker came to be involved is unclear, though I suspect it's a case of 90's New Age pundits looking for associative links between Sirius, 'Leo Season,' and lion Gods. Both Sopdet and Aker have ties to the underworld, and Aker is indeed a gate guardian--but there's no historical link to tie him to the heliacal rising of Sirius. 

Furthermore, consider the impact of the flooding of the Nile--the reason Egyptians marked their calendars by this annual weather event. Much of the social stratification, spirituality, and economy of Ancient Egypt was dictated by the Nile and its movements, and the annual flood heralded a period of future abundance, as waters drenched the fallow fields, priming them for a fertile sowing season. This certainly makes for a good metaphor for rebirth and prosperity, but nowhere in the Lion's Gate discourse do we hear discussion about the destructive nature of the flood--that to come through unscathed and ready for growth we must carefully plan, strategize, cultivate. The Ancient Egyptians executed advanced irrigation systems (amongst other methods) as a means of flood control, and it's thanks to this industriousness that Sirius' return to the sky was a welcome event rather than a terrible, devastating burden. Like so much fast food spirituality, however, it's easier to bypass our responsibilities in favor of relentless affirmations of ascension, power, and high-vibrational energy. 

Flooded Temple of Isis circa 1905. Source: Wikimedia. 

According to astronomer Jeffrey Hunt, Sirius will not even be visible to the naked eye this year until August 11th. Mathematical visibility is it's own thing, and may occur several days sooner, but varies by your location according to latitude and longitude. Therefore, the blanket statement that 8/8 is somehow "the peak" of the heliacal rising of Sirius, aka "the Lion's Gate Portal" is...simply incorrect. 

Sirius has been considered enormously important to astrologers of all stripes and cultures for millennia, and while it can grant many blessings, it's also historically considered to carry a malefic influence. Lord Derby's translation of Homer describes Sirius as "The brightest he, but sign to mortal man/Of evil augury./Pope’s very liberal version of the same lines, —/Terrific glory ! for his burning breath/Taints the red air with fevers, plagues and death, —" while in the Aeneid we see "The dogstar, that burning constellation, when he brings drought and diseases on sickly mortals, rises and saddens the sky with inauspicious light;" (quotes via Constellations of Words). Meanwhile, in her essay comparing and contrasting the treatment of Sirius in various texts, Mai Lootah notes that those with a prominent Sirius in their natal chart were often marked for success but at a great cost. She cites early 20th century astrologer Vivian Robson, who equates Sirius with "great profit" but also "death by fiery cutting weapons or from beasts." To return to the association with Sirius and Sopdet (who later became subsumed by Isis), Lootah cites Bernadette Brady's research on the archetypal Isis/Sirius journey, noting that "Sirius can bring immortality to its bearer, but the price may be the burning away of the mortal flesh." Astrologer Alice Kat has some interesting thoughts on Fixed Star Sirius as it pertains to their work with clients, connecting it to alienation, isolationism, and false memory. A review of the literature and folklore, both old and new, do not suggest an unqualified benevolent influence. Sirius, like so many other things, is complicated. 

Canis Major, Via Under The Night Sky. 

I promise I did not set out to ruin the Lion's Gate Portal for you, or to strip you of excitement, joy, and the promise of hope. Hope, I think, is something we all deserve to hold onto. But it's also important to understand that few things in life are handed to us without condition, investment, or labor--even in magic, there is often a cost or exchange. Put another way, the flip-side of reward is responsibility. The Nile Floods to ensure a bountiful harvest in due course, but only if its waters are properly managed. The Dog Star offers its children great boons, but there is often a price. While independent thinkers often prosper, work must be done to ensure that exceptionalism and radicalization do not take root. Balance and benevolence are not guaranteed: we must work to cultivate these forces in our lives, and in the lives of those around us.

I wish it was as easy as walking through a metaphorical portal. But Aker guards the gates to the underworld, not a portal to 5D ascension. No cherry-picking and mish-mashing of 'ancient sacred texts,' no string of trending hashtags can assure us growth and prosperity. We must walk onward, under our own steam. The only way out, alas, is through. 

Good luck out there.