The Jewel in the Lotus: Why I Protected It as a Portal
There's a layer to the Jewel in the Lotus story that I didn't write about in the first blog. It isn't about the build, the unveiling, or what happened when people stepped inside. It's about what I knew needed to happen before any of that, and why.
If you missed the first piece, here's the short version: this past spring, my partner, Luis, and I co-built a 12-foot mirrored geometric installation called the Jewel in the Lotus and brought it to Sideburn, a regional Burn in Ontario. It was my first realized art piece, and the process of building it asked more of me emotionally than I anticipated. What I'm writing about here is the layer of work that happened beneath that, the work that most people who attended the event never knew had taken place.
What Mirrors Actually Are
First, a little background about mirrors: when you fill a structure with mirrors, you're not simply creating a reflective surface. Mirrors have long been understood as passages to the spirit realm. Many practices across spiritual traditions, from covering mirrors after a death to avoiding placing them to face a bed, stem from the belief that they can attract or trap otherworldly entities. They are thresholds, surfaces that not only show what is in front of them but can open onto what lies behind them.
Reflective surfaces, including calm bodies of water and obsidian mirrors, were used by ancient cultures such as the Maya as active gateways to communicate with the gods and bridge earthly and spiritual worlds. In Feng Shui, mirrors act as energetic portals that can redirect the flow of chi (life force energy).
As a Professional Master Clearer™, these aren’t metaphors for me; it’s operational reality: the more mirrored surfaces a space contains, the more intentional you need to be about what that space is open to.
What the Build Was Telling Me
There was something else that told me protection wasn't optional. As I wrote about in the previous blog, the build asked me to release a significant amount of old stories. That kind of demand doesn't arise in a neutral space. When a creative project is pulling that much from you emotionally, it's often because the space itself has weight. Something in its creation is asking to be held with care. The Jewel wasn't just a structure; it was a vision given during a ceremony, and because of the reverence with which I hold what comes through in that space, I knew there was something sacred here that needed protecting. I knew that the Jewel was a portal, a threshold space that would ask the same of everyone who entered it, and that meant I was responsible for what it was open to.
The Reality of Collective Energy
Sideburn is a gathering of a thousand-plus people over several days. I love these events. I also understand them energetically. Any large gathering carries a wide spectrum of energy, because that's the nature of collective space, especially in gatherings that operate at the edges of convention. Dark entities are drawn to density, to places where energy moves fast, rest isn’t prioritized, and boundaries become porous. A festival is precisely that kind of environment. As a Professional Master Clearer™, this is something I'm always in consideration of. Clean energy isn't something you establish once and walk away from. It requires intention, maintenance, and sometimes active protection work, especially in spaces where darkness has a natural opening.
Before Anyone Stepped Inside
Before the Jewel was opened to the public, I placed protection sigils throughout the structure and said incantations specifically designed to seal the space against dark entities while holding the highest possible light inside. This wasn't theatrically ceremonial; it was precise, intentional work rooted in years of practice. My intention was specific: that every person who entered would be held in a clean energetic field, that whatever they encountered inside would come from light, and that nothing dark would have access to the vulnerability that genuine self-reflection requires. Setting a clear intention with clear protection is not the same as hoping for the best. In my work, intention is specific, spoken, placed, and anchored; it’s accompanied by action. The difference between a space that has been held and one that hasn't isn't always visible, but it is almost always felt.
What the Space Held
I believe this is part of why people's responses to the Jewel were what they were. The fortunes landed, people stayed longer than they anticipated, and something moved in them. I can't account for everything that contributed to that, but I know that the energetic conditions inside the space were clean, clear, and protected. That isn't incidental to the experience, and it's also why some people couldn't bring themselves to step inside.
My work as a Professional Master Clearer™ doesn't begin and end with a session. It informs how I move through the world, how I build things, how I prepare spaces, and how I think about what energy I'm responsible for holding and bringing. If you've been curious about what a Professional Master Clearing™ could mean for your own space, your practice, or your life, I'd love to have that conversation. You're welcome to reach out and book a discovery call.
