August 8 is a time in the Zodiac called Lion’s Gate. When I wrote my novel, the main reference was the Lion Gate entrance to the Tower of London where lions, gifted to the King by foreign dignitaries, were kept. It is also a trident, a three-pronged metaphor, if you will: the dangerous path alchemy could be in those times; how, once entering, there was no way out; and it symbolizes the infinite possibilities of fortune.
According to Iranian Sufi dance artist and transformational teacher, Banafsheh Sayyad, the Lion’s Gate Portal is a “cosmic alignment of the sun in Leo, the star Sirius, the constellation Orion’s Belt, and the Earth, [inviting] us to harness the lion’s qualities of courage, creativity, and boldness.” The fixed Star Sirius, also known as the Dog Star, is visible after a period of being invisible, due to the sun’s yearly passing by this star. In ancient Egypt, this coincided with the flooding of the Nile. Egyptians studied the cosmos, and they channeled the energy of the planets and stars by noticing when they became visible in the sky. They based many of their ceremonies and lifestyles around the time Sirius became visible, which happens in the late summer—around August 8.
As August is the eighth month of the year, the Lion’s Gate Portal is symbolic in numerology, signifying infinity (8 on its side), great possibilities, prosperity, and magic.