As my birthday approaches, I felt called to reflect on what this date — 8.8 — has meant to me, and the turning points that shaped who I am today...
Every year, August 8th arrives like a quiet yet powerful reminder: I came into this world on the day the Lion’s Gate portal peaks — 8.8 — a date steeped in symbolism, strength, and transformation.
Growing up, I didn’t know anything about portals or numerology. It was just my birthday — a summer day that happened to feel bold and bright. But over the years, as I stepped deeper into self-inquiry, practice, and presence, I started to understand what this date holds — not just cosmically, but within me.
The Lion’s Gate is said to be a time when the star Sirius aligns with the Earth and the Sun is in Leo, amplifying themes of courage, expansion, and awakening. Whether you see that through a mystical lens or just feel it in your bones — it’s hard to ignore that this date carries intensity and clarity.
I’ve often felt this intensity — a fire that moves me. Sometimes it burned too bright. Other times it gave me the strength to step away from the expected path.
I was once set on becoming a professional footballer. The discipline, the adrenaline, the will to push beyond limits — it all made sense to me. But at a certain point, I chose a different direction. One that felt quieter but no less powerful.
And while Roger Federer — who shares this exact birthdate, 8.8.81 — went on to become the embodiment of grace through tennis, I found my own expression of elegance and presence in a very different space: massage, movement, and mindful touch.
Today, I interpret this “lion energy” not through goals or trophies, but through intuitive connection, deep listening, and the ability to bring people back into their bodies. Through Qi Gong, through breath, through touch — I offer what the lion symbolizes to me: grounded power, quiet confidence, and a heart that leads without forcing.
For me, this date is a reminder of who I am when I’m not trying — when I’m simply allowing. It’s a checkpoint each year to ask:
Where am I still trying to roar to be heard?
And where am I willing to just stand tall, in presence?
To anyone else who feels this fire — whether born on 8.8 or simply moving through it — my wish is that you give yourself permission to be both graceful and wild, structured and free, soft and deeply strong.
That’s the kind of lion I want to be.
“May this portal remind you of the strength that's already within you.”
– Marco Bartolomeo