An oasis in the desert

Hello Reader!

There is a message in this card I hadn't thought about before digging into the myth and meaning of Leo these past few weeks: even in the harshest of environments, nature finds a way. Out of nowhere, a source of water deep below the ground one day surfaces, palms grow and voila, there is shade. Since times immemorial, the oasis in the desert has been a symbol of hope, refuge, and survival in difficult times. These conditions almost go together. We appreciate the little joys that much more when times are tough.

But in front of that paradise there is a fierce guardian. You understand the meaning of the lion that much more when you live with a cat, and why Leo represents things like the will, the emotions, self-esteem and creativity. My cat Felix can get quite creative and vocal when he wants treats: he throws papers on the ground, tilts pictures on my walls, etc. And if that doesn't work he'll lightly bite my legs.

That's fine for a cat, but as humans we have to grow up and learn that we can't act like entitled toddlers all the time. So we hide our deepest desires and fears in the shadows of our mind and adapt to society. But these frustrated desires don't go away, they remain stuck at a childhood level, or worse, start to direct our lives.

The Greeks imagined this problem as the ferocious Nemean lion, which lived in a cave and terrorized the people of Nemea. Helpless against this lion, they call in Heracles, the solar hero, who's the only one strong enough to wrestle with this lion and restore peace.

What that looks like in modern life can be seen in Good Will Hunting. If you really dig into this movie, and lots of people do on Youtube, you can see how the lion of his troubled childhood directs Will's life and and how Sean, in the movie's iconic therapy scenes, helps Will wrestle with and overcome this lion.

Here are some shortcuts to jump into:

• the essential meaning of Leo
• what inspired the illustration
• how Leo teaches us to wrestle with our deepest hopes and fears
• Good Will Hunting and how to get over the fear of making choices

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My oasis in the ongoing turmoil of this year has been (other than the antics of my cat) getting together with friends and taking a few hours to paint.

Maybe you’ll find peace in this latest piece like I do. It’s based on a photo I took on a walk in my neighborhood last summer. A phone picture can’t do justice to how beautiful the sky and the moon actually were that night, but I tried to bring back a bit of the awe I felt into in the painting with the colors and composition.