It’s not about fitting in or following a linear path — true transformation begins when you embrace who you are, shadows and all. Here’s how I learned to unearth my creativity and step into my power.
This is an in-between email about becoming a Founding Member of Dragon Letters with a bonus year of Time Weavers. A new Dragon 🐉 Letter is coming tomorrow. Enjoy!
You can’t hide your edges, fit the mold, or stick to the straight and narrow to be a revolutionary leader.
Doing these things might feel safe, but they’re the reason you’re:
❌ Struggling to unearth your full creative potential because you’re hiding your unapologetic self.
❌ Pouring energy into fitting into boxes that don’t serve your unique brilliance.
❌ Feeling stuck in repetitive cycles instead of experiencing the transformative power of your authentic, non-linear journey.
For so much of my life, I tried to fit into boxes that were never meant for me. Being mixed-Indigenous and multicultural, I spent years struggling to conform, to pass as something “normal,” especially when it came to my identity as neuroqueer.
I thought that if I could fit in, I would be accepted and finally find a place where I belonged.
But the more I tried to conform, the more I felt like I was failing — not just failing to pass as “normal,” but failing myself. I was hiding behind a mask, trying to be something I wasn’t, and it was suffocating my creativity, my joy, and my sense of self.
And the price was repeated burnout.
“Everything that has been used against you can be a source of power.”
— Kelly Diels
Then came the moment when I decided to drop the mask. I came out of the closet, not just in terms of my identity, but in every way that I had been hiding.
I owned my struggles, my uniqueness, and my way of experiencing the world.
It was terrifying to step away from the safety of those societal boxes, but it was also the most liberating thing I’ve ever done.
When I stopped apologizing for who I was, something incredible happened: my creativity burst forth in ways I never imagined. I finally began sharing how I experienced the world — how I saw it as deeply interconnected and Flowy, full of nuance and subtle connections that didn’t fit into any tidy categories.
And for the first time, I felt truly seen and understood, not because I had finally fit in, but because I had finally embraced who I was.
Here’s how you change this, fast:
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Embrace Your Shadows: Transformation begins in the depths. By acknowledging and integrating your duality, you unearth hidden strengths and profound creativity. This is what Pluto’s energy teaches us — real power comes from embracing the full spectrum of who you are.
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Dismantle Norms, Reclaim Power: Stop conforming to societal expectations that limit you. The real breakthrough happens when you break free from these constraints and step into your unapologetic, authentic self. This is where true liberation and creativity flourish.
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Honor Your Non-Linear Path: Creativity isn’t a straight line. It’s cyclical, it’s liminal, and it’s where the magic happens. When you honor your revolutionary process, you click with your deepest potential and allow transformative breakthroughs to occur.
Here’s why I know this works:
In my work with clients navigating liminal spaces, I’ve seen firsthand the profound shifts that occur when they stop hiding behind societal norms and instead step fully into their true power. These are not just concepts—they are practices I’ve lived and guided others through. By embracing the depth and breadth of who you are, you can transform your life and creativity in ways that click with your soul.
This is the work we do together in the September Guidebook, “Liminal Spaces: Dancing Between Worlds.” It’s about stepping into the unknown, dismantling what no longer serves you, and emerging with a renewed sense of power and creativity.
Drawing from the Hero Twins of the Mayan underworld, the Cracks of Báyò Akómoláfé, and the liminal edges of Nepantla from Gloria Anzuldúa, we will explore the archetype of Pluto and how creativity is what the world needs now.
Join me as a founding member of Dragon Letters on Substack by tonight, and you’ll receive a full year of Time Weavers, plus access to the archives of past guidebooks. This is your chance to dive deep into the practices that will empower your journey and transform your creative life.
Click below to join as a Founding Member tonight and I’ll get you access to a year of Time Weavers PLUS the archives ($241 value for $111).
You can also join Time Weavers separately here for as little as $11/month.
Stay wild, love fiercely. Your presence is golden.
With wild and rebellious love,
Ciao! xo Ixchel
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I was raised and bore children on the traditional, unceded, and stolen lands of the Coast and Central Valley Miwok (colonized as Petaluma, CA) and Nisenan (colonized as Sacramento and Fair Oaks, CA), past, present, and future. I also write, work, and live in the highland forest of the traditional, unceded and stolen lands of the Totonac, Nahua, and Mexicah, past, present, and future, in what is known as Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico.
P.P.S. I do not live or consent to the colonial impositions regarding the construct of Time. I also practice honoring rhythms of work, play, and rest so that I can serve you with embodied presence and with loving care. This means I may take several days to respond to your requests and questions. (h/t Eva Glamaris)
P.P.S. A mention is not necessarily an endorsement of someone. It’s an acknowledgment, a citation, of the origin of information in my process of understanding. (h/t Kelly Diels)
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Copyright © 2026, Cheyenne, WY, and Veracruz, Mexico, All rights reserved. Sharing your lineage of knowledge is decolonial. When iterating, please cite me. Not citing is epistemicide.
