Interviewing Yzzy Maindonald: Ego Hardware & Spirituality ★★

So Yzzy, you have gone through some pretty epic spiritual changes over the past few years. Talk to me about where you are spiritually. 

So far from where I started, with so far to go. I came to a place in my life when I realised that I was an amalgamation of external reference points. I had shrunk myself so much that I didn’t know who I truely was a person. What is forced into the shadows will always breach the surface, whether it is heralded into conscious or it forces itself. Essentially, I got to a point where I had wound myself so tightly into a cocoon with no sight into the world, yet with oceans of yearning for more. It was more or less an eternal cycle of internalised pain. This confrontation of what my life truely was, catalysed a painful period of shadow work. One that I’ve only recently started to come out of. Consciously viewing the parts of myself that had been relegated beneath, because I, or others, had deemed it undesirable nor needed. Cycles and patterns had kept me safe up until the moment that they became barriers. I met so many parts of myself, all as beautiful as the last, and gained a deeper understanding of all that led me to my position now and how they can help me manifest my visions into the physical world. The largest difference between now and then, is the peacefulness I've experienced through the organic blooming of my spirituality, rather than getting overwhelmed with the expanse of experience and knowledge that there is within spiritual development. Sitting in what is instead of what it should be. I still experience this tension where I’m unsure if I’m spiritual or not. Unsure of what being ‘spiritual’ should look like and whether I am embodying that perception or not. It’s just easier to allow what is to be now. The pain and the beauty that I have been able to experience, the opening of doors into the unknown, the wells of knowledge that I have not yet tapped into, the unlimited faith in what I can be in this world, the grandiosity of everything that is not human (WOW!!!) - they make my heart feel warm and expansive, they are what keep me pursuing my ‘spiritual path’, they give me purpose.  

For someone starting out with astrology, what advice would you give (resources etc)? What is your spiritual chart and how do you express it? 

The app Time Passages. Books from second hand shops and witch stores in small towns. A close friend who can read your chart and remind you of your transits. 

Aries Sun, Libra Moon, Taurus Ascendent, Pisces Mercury & Venus, Aries Mars.  I’m not sure where I start and another person ends. Polarity. Beauty. Watery Fire. Sometimes I feel like I belong somewhere in the universe that is not Earth. 

Why did you decide to start your jewellery business ‘Ego Hardware’ and where did the name come from?

I initially tossed the idea about creating jewellery in Gisbourne during the summer between 2nd and 3rd years at university. 12 months ago I engaged with the fact that I needed a form of creation. Playing around in different mediums I circled back to jewellery. From there the floodgates opened: the obsession of adorning the flesh in an organic and brutalist nature attached itself; ancient uses of metals absorbed my echo chamber; and the concept of EGO was born. The name came from staring into space during a period of unemployment, it’s the only name that has stuck.  

You remind me of Lucinda from MAFS. Can you share some values that you live by and any tips for self discovery?

Equanimity - Being able to exist in all states, including neutral, will bring in peace and excitement into a life that is to be a grand Drama. Be open - The most interesting breakthroughs happen at the weirdest of times. The most interesting people you will meet will pop up when least expected. Be inquisitive -  be a beginner. Be surprised by whatever happens next. Ask why. Talk to animate and inanimate beings. Read random shit that you may think are ridiculous but are surprisingly insightful. Care about others but don’t allow them to dictate your reality - healthy boundaries are the one thing that will enable you to retain empathy and compassion without taking on another entirely. Discover you - there is so much evolution in your life, so many forms will be taken. Be feminine. Be Maori. Be anything you want to be. Listen to new music. Read books. Sit in silence in nature. 

What are your plans for moving to Byron Bay?

SO! Contrary to popular belief, the move is not forever, it is actually the first stop on my overseas  mission. My brother and his partner moved to Byron Bay late last year and created their own tattoo studio, and I’m going over to reap the rewards of their hard work. A soft-landing for a long period of being supremely untethered. After Byron, I'll be heading up into Indonesia, then a couple more months spent around South-East Asia. Then Europe, where I'll be trying to evade the crowds and integrate into new communities. Here I can learn everything I need to learn (at this time) about my passions. 

For more on Yzzy and EGO Hardware: @egohardware