The Lion Who Wouldn’t Bite Me: A Sacred Awakening
- Cassandra George Sturges
- Jul 22
- 2 min read
There has always been a lion in my life.
As far back as I can remember, I’ve kept a stuffed lion close to me—silent protectors with fur instead of fangs. But one lion I’ll never forget was a majestic white lion with piercing blue eyes. He was so large and lifelike that my family chained him from the ceiling above my bed, like a celestial guardian suspended in midair. To this day, I don’t know why we used chains, but he hovered there, regal and watchful, as I slept beneath him.
That lion watched over a little girl who would grow up to need him more than she knew.
Years later, I was going through one of the most challenging periods of my professional life. I wanted to be on a hiring committee, but my supervisor told me I wasn’t capable of being honest—she thought I’d be too much of a people pleaser to speak my truth. Her words embarrassed me, especially since another colleague had confided in me and made me promise to be authentic, not performative. I gave her my word, but doubt and hurt swirled inside me.
Then I broke my right hand.
And that’s when the lion came again.
In a dream so vivid I could smell his breath, I found myself face-to-face with a lion—alive, warm, and breathing against my neck. I could feel the soft power of his mane brushing my skin. I believed he was about to bite me. I tilted my head and offered him my neck willingly. I was exhausted, defeated. “Here,” I thought, “just take me.”
But the lion refused.
Instead, he spoke:“Wake up. This is not who you are.”
That moment—those words—pierced deeper than teeth ever could.
I woke up changed.
The lion didn’t come to destroy me. He came to remind me. To call me back to myself. To roar through the silence I had settled into. He reminded me that being kind does not mean being small. That being loving does not mean erasing your voice. That courage isn’t about the loudest roar—it’s about the truest one.
Since then, I’ve come to understand that the lion is not just a symbol in my life—he is a guardian spirit, an ancient ally, a reflection of the parts of myself I used to abandon in the name of peace.
I created the Lion Archetype Quiz to help others meet their own lion:The one who watches.The one who warns.The one who wakes.
Whether you are a Wild King, a Rebellious King, a Caged King, or a Glass Caged King—your lion isn’t here to devour you.Your lion is here to remind you who you are.
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