Phoenix Rainbow Butterfly: Thriving in Joy, Pain, and the Liberation of Spirit, Soul, and Identity
Phoenix Rainbow Butterfly is a dynamic and multifaceted visionary who has transformed profound challenges into a radiant path of healing, empowerment, and transformation. As a therapist, spiritual life coach, oracle card reader, writer, educator, entrepreneur, creatrix, priestess, performer who stopped performing for far too long but ready to perform again, budding photographer and guitarist (helping my hands and fingers feel again), mother, and family life partner currently working through the complexity of a marriage that almost ended for good in February 2024, Phoenix exemplifies the beauty of living authentically and embracing life’s complexities.
Despite the reality that most days her brain and body cooperate for only about four hours total, Phoenix continues to persevere with grace and determination. Whether her brain is “braining” or her body is “bodying,” her Spirit and Soul remain fully liberated by the joy she has cultivated within. Learning to love herself as deeply as she has loved others and the Divine, Phoenix now embraces her wholeness—including her shadows, her hurt inner child, and the aspects of herself that societal systems have long rejected.
In the midst of the life-altering changes brought on by the worsening of chronic diseases since August 2022, Phoenix found a spiritual home at Liberation United Church of Christ (UCC) after not having a Holy Ghost filled and Divine Love believing spiritual home since leaving the United House of Prayer for All People in 2006, which had been her first chosen spiritual home since the age of 17 right after high school and place Phoenix left behind spiritual agnosticism they had been since 9 years old. Becoming a proud member of Liberation UCC has been a transformative part of her journey. The community’s radical love, inclusivity, and commitment to justice have been a source of strength and affirmation as she navigates the challenges of disability and reinvention. It is also through Liberation that Phoenix has finally answered a decades-old calling to ministry and is in process of applying to become ordained in the United Church of Christ to be able to be a pastor in Liberation UCC. .
While the path to ordination is still unfolding—both financially and health-wise—Phoenix is actively exploring how to fulfill this call to ministry. Her vision is deeply rooted in the principles of Divine Love, Sacred Rage, Joy, and Harmony, and she is committed to building a ministry that reflects these values.
Phoenix’s work champions the urgent need to reconnect with the **Divine Feminine and Divine Non-Binary**, which she believes are essential for collective healing and liberation. In a world that often suppresses these sacred aspects of creation, Phoenix uplifts their wisdom as central to humanity’s transformation.
At 16, and at the time had been an agnostic from around 9 (child of a 2nd generation Episcopal priest at that), Phoenix was profoundly impacted by Zora Neale Hurston’s words:
*"Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves."*
These words have guided her journey ever since. Phoenix knows that no one can force the Divine upon us or dictate what it must mean, just as no one can live for us. Her life experience has shown her the cost of betraying oneself for others’ approval and the power of reclaiming authenticity. As she often reflects:
*"We can't people-please and live for others if we are to be all we are as Divine Spiritual Beings having the Earthly experience in these fleshly bodies."*
Phoenix draws inspiration from the teachings of Abiola Abrams, whose work has guided her to use spiritual gifts for good and embrace the sacred feminine. Asha Frost’s Indigenous wisdom has deepened her connection to healing and the interconnectedness of all life that they have felt since her earliest memories. The profound insights of bell hooks, James Baldwin, Nikki Giovanni, and Audre Lorde, which oma was also connected to at 16 after the inspired teachings of Phoenix's amazing main English and Creative Writing teacher from 10th to 12th grade, Ms. Jones, a white woman in the South who was ahead of her time, along with many of her colleagues because she was doing DEIJ curriculum changes long before it was a thing. And she not only saw Phoenix and lifted her up as a Black Southern teen trying to find her way, she lifted many and exposed many to the Black creatives and intellectuals that helped not just Black kids, but all her students see the brilliance of Black Americans. These insights of the greats and their own life experiences, past and present, fuel Phoenix Rainbow's dedication to liberation and the radical power of love. She echoes Lorde’s call to use anger as a transformative tool, balancing Sacred Rage with Divine Love to dismantle oppression and build communities of care.
Phoenix has also embraced the freedom of finally acknowledging and exploring her identity as a queer, non-binary femme who is pansexual—though she identifies more as sapiosexual and spiritsexual—and cannot be boxed in. As a late-diagnosed NeuroSparky™ person, living with ADHD and autism, Phoenix celebrates the brilliance and diversity of neurodivergent minds, a shared journey she experiences alongside her children, life partner, and many family and friends.
Phoenix also carries forward the legacy of Isho (often called Jesus), whose followers, The Way—not Christianity—practiced ancestral spiritual and natural laws while rejecting oppressive manmade laws. She reminds us that Isho said we are as he is and will do all he did and more. His message of divine wholeness—uniting the human and the sacred—resonates deeply with her vision of collective liberation through Divine Love, Joy, and Harmony.
Phoenix’s work spans multiple realms. She is the founder of Liberating Joy Therapy and Consulting, PLLC, and is expanding their vision through the DBA Liberating Joy Collective in collaboration with her dear Sista-Friends. In addition, is planning to transform with others the MEND Institute into the New Alkebulan Collective and launching Sanandawa Collective, LLC, that will include the DBA Jump at Da Sun Productions. Through the planned Kwahene Sacred Circle Fellowship, oma wants to create sacred spaces for spiritual and communal growth, honoring diverse identities and sacred wisdom.
Currently writing again, after giving up on their dreams of being a writer, as her body and mind allows, Phoenix is researching and writing several books, including Embark on the Odyssey Within, Liberation of the NeurosSpark (TM), Decolonizing the Mind, and a musical/opera/gospel/more to reflect her commitment to sharing transformative narratives and championing the voices of those often silenced by dominant systems. Phoenix invites readers to reconnect with the sacred truths within themselves and their communities, reminding them:
"We are multidimensional beings—much more than human and much more than simply spirit. To embrace this truth is to awaken to the full spectrum of who we are and the Divine that moves through us all." Phoenix Rainbow Sparrow-Harris Butterfly
Guided by the principles of Divine Love, Sacred Rage, Joy, Harmony, and Community, Phoenix’s story is a testament to resilience, self-love, and liberation. Oma invites all who are ready to reconnect with the Divine Feminine, the Divine Non-Binary, and their own inner truth to join her in building a world that celebrates authenticity, diversity, and the boundless potential of the human spirit.
Note: The pronoun **Oma** is a gender-expansive pronoun rooted in the principles of inclusivity and fluidity. It reflects the divine balance of all gender expressions—masculine, feminine, non-binary, and beyond—and honors the multidimensional nature of being. **Oma** represents an individual’s wholeness without confining them to societal norms, emphasizing the unity of spirit, soul, and identity. See section below on the Sanandawa Language.