Roar

In the Western zodiac the fifth sign is Leo - ruled by the sun and symbolised by the lion. Leo embodies self expression and vitality - which is not surprising considering that the Sun is considered to represent 'the self'. Leo's are bold, beautiful (you'll pick them from their immaculate, and perfectly coiffured mane of hair!) and said to be born to rule. They are generous of heart, affectionate, magnanimous, creative and full of simple joy. And I probably should point out here - that my soul sister is one of these adorable creatures (she's just like a lioness too - gorgeous, radiate and cuddly, but do not under any circumstances get on the wrong side of this lioness - all she has to do is LOOK and you quake!)

Representing the self , the sun can also be called our 'ego' or our solar self (as opposed to our lunar self - denoted by the sign the moon was in when we were born). Over the past year I've been making an effort to shrug off the shroud that came over me when I became a mother. I am still a mother and I do still operate from my moon sign, but I feel much more connected with what I would call 'the real me' (my solar self).

In the early years of mothering I felt alone and strange within my own skin ... walking the shoes of my lunar self was tough. I longed for my solar self, wondering 'who the hell I had become'. My moon sign is Virgo and I fought desperately against it - to me it represented everything that I did not want to be, become or even have a vague signature of. Over time, and especially since attending my friends 'Circle of the Sun' workshops once a month, I've begun to reconnect with my solar self (the Circle of the Sun was begun last year while the sun was in Leo to signify the beginning to rediscovering the self through creativity!) And in doing so I feel as though finally the two of them are integrating into a workable unit - I feel a little less like I have a split personality in which I more often than not teeter near the void in between.

Using different modes of creativity has been one of my ways of getting in touch with 'the old me' - and it hasn't just been writing (though that has been the main one). I've painted, and sketched, I've made a mask, sculpted with clay, drawn a mandala, and I long to collage (hopefully this year). I've also been trying hard to get out walking. If I can do it for once a day for at least half an hour I regain that sense of freedom I had before I was a Mum - before I had to put everyone else's needs before my own.

So for me the Lion is inextricably tied up to self expression and vitality, and is why getting a

means so very much to me ... it tells me that my attempts at self expression are vital and are touching (perhaps even influencing) the lives of others. Thank you so much Smiler.

The instructions that come with this award are: Each recipient is instructed to “distribute [the award] to those people who have blogs we love, can’t live without, where we think the writing is good and powerful. [...] and accompany the image with three things they believe are necessary to make writing good and powerful.”

Considering that my blogroll is modest at very best ... I dont think that I can reciprocate to five people (especially since Smiler tagged Square1) but I will try.

To make writing good and powerful I believe it must have

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PASSION ... which is the difference not just between writing that is entertaining and writing that is deathly dull, its what can change the world - or leave it wallowing in ambivalence. Passion is the fire that makes writing speak, not just to your head, but to your heart and your soul.


CONNECTIVITY ... that is the ability for the reader to connect with their writer, as well as the writers ability to connect their own thoughts and beliefs with others in such as way that it crosses all barriers of culture, religion, geography, age and any other barriers you can think of, to find a common ground. Writing can be a force for uniting if the right hook is offered.


AUTHENTICITY ... and we're not talking plagerism here! Writing that comes not just from the heart, but come from the space of truth, with humility and without pretentiousness has the ability to transform the reader. And as Square1 commented the other day - you always know where you stand with someone who is authentic - and that is what you should expect as a reader.

And now - five people to bestow this wonderful award on ...

Dan at Danae Sinclair
Paul Anderson at Clamouring to become visible
Carmi Levy over at Written Inc(who I quite honestly do not visit often enough - note to self to change!)
Annie at Annie's Musings (you can bop me on Wednesday for dobbing you in for this)

and honourary awards to Square1 at Fanciful Muse (who's already been nominated), Smiler who first sent this award over and to all my fellow Artist Way journeywomen over at Cluster of Artists (our private blog!)