Mairo Ahmadu
Nigerian-born Creative and Mental Health Advocate/Researcher
Mairo Ahmadu is a Nigerian-born creative, mental health advocate and researcher based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mairo is passionate about work that involves connecting and bringing people together as she believes both acts are a catalyst to the continuous creation of inclusive and healthier communities toward progressive change. She is also the founder of Spillage, a brand that features her creative writing blog, website design business, and soon a mental health private practice upon the completion of her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. The Spillage brand is reflection of her love of art, creating and connecting with new folks genuinely and authentically.
Connect with Mairo...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spillage_by_mairo/
Website: www.spillage.ca
Full Transcript - Episode 20
Chantelle:
When you've been reading your HD chart and when you've been reading about being a 6/2, has that been on point or how do you feel about it?
Mairo: You know what? Shockingly, it has been on point. I'm very familiar with astrology and being an Aquarius.
And so when I stumbled on human design, I was like, Oh, I'm not sure how, accurate this would be, but when I sat and I reflected upon my design chart, and I was like, Oh my God, this explains a whole lot of things. Quite on point.
Chantelle: That's interesting because I came to human design not knowing a lot about astrology.
Actually, I'd say the people that I meet half knew astrology first, and feel more [00:02:00] confident and comfortable in that system, and then half are like me where like, you know a tiny bit about your sun sign, but that's about it.
Chantelle: Has knowing more about astrology changed how you dive into your chart?
Have you looked at your gates and then what planets and all of that?
Mairo: Yeah, a little bit. I would say when I introduce myself, I usually say I'm an Aquarius to a T but I think, like, now knowing, I'm a Generator to a T to some extent and knowing how both overlap.
I think I saw a lot of overlapping qualities or just a lot of ways in which I show up for myself and I show up for others. Especially with energy. That was a big one that stood out to me because in 2023 I have gone on this whole journey of how to effectively disperse my energy as a person.
And so, seeing that similarity, like, bang on, in both Star Sign and Human Design, has been I would [00:03:00] say, very enlightening.
Chantelle: Yeah, it almost feels like it's extra affirming, because it, already slots in with what you already know about yourself, which is always nice. Lots of people do feel like Human Design is just this big permission slip and all of that.
And if you already had some of those knowings from astrology, I can see how that would feel even better. What about upon finding out that you were a 6/2 specifically?
Mairo: I think for me I'm in this I would say, I don't know if era is the right word, but just like a period of knowing How I think of my human design.
It was like a piece about how the first 30 years are about trial and error and experimenting and all of that. And looking back at that, when I finished my undergrad. I think like I've been on this trajectory of that, but just having that on paper being represented was such a big thing for me.
And I was like, Oh my God, that actually accurately describes [00:04:00] this era that I've been in for the past, I would say maybe four or five years of just trying out different things. Even Spillage was something very trial and error, very waiting for it to happen with specifically my line two of being in that space of I wouldn't say manifesting, but patience.
And not giving up and treading along very slowly and patiently and gently. As I try all the different things that I'm very excited to try out. And so I really resonated with that piece and I am not really, I'm not 30. I'm two years away from 30, but having that affirming of just like, hey, it's okay.
Like, there is an end goal. There is a reason why you're experiencing all these things. There's a reason why you're trying all these things. You're having all these ideas. , you know, it's okay to experiment, trial and error, to figure it out. [00:05:00] And then after 30, you can put some things more in motion and actually just maybe smell the roses along the way.
Right? So I really resonated with that piece of my human design, particularly with six and two.
Chantelle: Mm hmm. That's a beautiful way of putting it, especially knowing about it before you've encountered your Saturn return. Knowing that you're in that experimentation era while you're in it is super helpful because I feel a lot of people discover human design after.
I've talked to many six lines now that found it after they did turn 30 when they're in their second phase already. And I think that it would have been reassuring to know that on the other side of this was a little bit more wisdom and feeling settled and feeling sure of your path compared to that experimentation phase.
As a three line myself I live in that experimentation phase and I know that there's no end in sight But at least with six lines you know that [00:06:00] on the other side of that Saturn return
it's like a tiny bit more stability, which must be nice for you. I Yeah. So with that six line usually comes a bird's eye view. Is that something that rings true for you?
Mairo: I would say yes in so many ways. I've always been a big picture thinker. Or like the person who sees,
It's actually funny, it reminded me of a blog I wrote. It was my first ever creative piece putting it out there in the world. And I started it with doing this I Am poem. The first thing that came to mind with that was, I am someone who sees things you don't.
And I think that plays into just that bird's eye view when, you know, people are in it and they just like you're not able to recognize beyond you being in something.
It's like, you're sitting in a mud, you can't get up and here I am. And I'm just like, Oh my gosh, I see you getting up from the mud, taking a shower and cleansing yourself. I see you walking. I see you thriving. I see it [00:07:00] very far distant what you can't see. And I think sometimes I take this role of just supporting in the mud, but also like supporting people as they get to where they're supposed to get more of a supporter role.
And so approaching, having that perspective and sort of going into a business when I opened my website design business. Sometimes clients come to me and they're like, this is the idea. And they're so stuck in the unimportant things that I'm like, what is the bigger picture? You know, they want the now, you want the sales.
Do you want something sustainable? Is this the last time you're doing this? You're making this investment of having a website. Is this for a forever business?
I ask all the hard questions and sometimes you're like, oh my God, Mairo, you're like 100 and we're at 10, but really [00:08:00] seeing that bigger picture helps me as a person come back then to take actionable steps to get there, right?
It's not overwhelming for me to see the bigger picture because you kind of know where you're going, and you align every aspect of your life to where you're going. Because I think sometimes when you see not the birds eye view picture, you kind of get super zoned in on doing a specific task that whatever comes and you just feel like it's not right, but it could be aligned to the bigger picture.
Mairo: You don't really give it much attention. So yeah, I always try to see things from the bigger picture and then walk my way back to the little bits that make up that bigger picture.
Chantelle: That's fascinating to hear you talk about your process that way. It's going to serve you very well, I think, in your mental health private practice, as well. Even that, , it was so affirming to hear you even just give that fictional example. I see you in the mud, I see you getting up, taking a shower, going for a walk, like, I [00:09:00] can see how that perspective will be really valuable to your clients to have someone in their corner who can see that for them when they can't see that for themselves.
Mairo: Yeah. How about you? I shared a little bit about my process. What about you, your process?
Chantelle: I was actually reflecting on that while you were talking because I used to do web design as well and ask the deeper questions and I felt like that was my line one coming out of needing a strong foundation.
So I think I approach, which makes sense because line one and line six are on opposite ends of the trigram. I approach from , let's build from the ground up, rather than , let's look at the whole picture, top down, which is kind of cool. And yet it leads to similar results because. Me too, I would ask really deep questions and actually even in recording this show half the time The person, depending on their profile lines, the person will respond to my very first question that I asked them with like, Oh, we're going like right into it like [00:10:00] this. I skip over the surface level stuff right from the beginning.
So it's kind of interesting. We both have experience in that web design process, but we're approaching it from opposite ends of the trigram and yet leading to similar values because it sounds like alignment is really important to you and alignment it's really important to me and I cared a whole lot about making sure that my clients websites felt aligned to them, right?
Often that would come up in things like a visual mismatch to what their actual values were. Like a client would come in with certain things important to them, but then they would say, well, I want a logo that looks like this and I'm like, well, that doesn't match.
So that's the problem. We're going to have to talk through that. Just because you like the look of watercolor with script, which is always the stock answer I use, so it's not to identify any one particular client. You might like that, but , what does that mean in the context of your brand?
And if it [00:11:00] means nothing and it's just a preference, that might feel aligned right this second because right now you like it, but it's not going to work long term. It's not going to connect with the people that you want it to connect to. As soon as the next customer comes around, you're not going to like it anymore.
It's just going to feel off. And so I resonated a lot with the aligning piece that you were talking about of how important it is for our choices to line up with where we're going.
And then from my one line perspective, how important our choices line up with where we're coming from, what we're building.
Mairo: Yeah, yeah, I definitely resonate with what you said about where that dissonance sort of or misalignment comes with clients where you know, they think they want one thing, but then upon maybe a series of questions, I call them expansive questions that make them really, think beyond what they initially thought of to get [00:12:00] to what they actually do need and want, that also reflects them. I think so many times our own worst critic, right? And so we look at others and we see how others are doing things and we're still tempted to conform in so many ways. And I think this is where maybe my star sign Aquarius is like, No, I don't want to conform.
I'm like my own thing. So there's that daring to be different. It's been, it's definitely been an interesting thing communicating that to clients or just trying to bring out that, you know, dare to be different, don't conform too much, your voice just gets lost, silenced and all of that. Yeah.
Chantelle: It's interesting that, that you call your questions expansive questions because my entire web and brand design package was called expanded. Oh, funny.
Mairo: Oh my gosh.
Chantelle: That's some [00:13:00] alignment. So let's move on to the line two. Line twos tend to have these talents that they maybe are unaware of, but that everyone else is aware of, and as I read in your bio, you have a lot of various talents, a lot of various interests.
What does that two line feel like for you?
Mairo: I think right off the bat, I'd say it's quite accurate in the way it reads . One of the ways I introduce myself is being a multifaceted human. I don't know where all the multifacetedness comes from, but I find myself just being good at so many things, but at the same time, you know, I experienced this, Am I legit enough? With all the various talents or various skills that I have.
And one story I would share was even starting Spillage. I still don't really call myself a creative. So that's why I say I creatively write. I think [00:14:00] there's a sort of pressure for me that is associated with that as a creative. You have to really be in a certain space or you have to really do as much as. Creativity is very flexible. I think we humans are very good at putting ourselves in a box and, making rules around that box, sort of like gatekeeping too, in some capacity. So yeah, I have refused to call myself a creative. I'm just like, I creatively write! So I don't have any pressure to write a certain way or produce my work in a certain way.
I just want to flow with it. That's where the idea of Spillage, came from. It was just this flowing without stop. Not intentionally, but also flexibly. You know giving myself grace with that. But yeah, when I was thinking about Spillage like, Hey, I'm going to write creatively.
And I think for years one of my friend childhood friends in particular, and she's like, when is that gonna happen? When is that gonna happen? And again, my excuse was you [00:15:00] know I don't think I'm a creative. And so she's like, why don't you just start somewhere? And even starting somewhere felt like such a big chore.
I told myself, okay, I have to write a certain number of blog entries that I want to share before, like,
I actually, like, be out there. And when I actually hit that number, I was like, oh darn, I have to actually put myself out there now. And it was so, it was very scary. But I think, really pushing myself with that skill of just writing and writing creatively.
And I feel like my website design, I started as a, like, this is a fun thing to, just be inspired and, support small business owners and or professionals looking to have a website, instead of doing it themselves because you're not knowledgeable about it. I can support, I can come in and we can do it intentionally and purposefully.
[00:16:00] And I, I really do struggle with that: am I a legit business owner, even though my business is registered. Oh my god. But you know, you to surround yourself with people who do say. Hey, you're legit business owner. Hey, you know what you're doing. And so honestly, I'd say I've really been blessed to have people that surround me that really do recognize those things and really are there to affirm what I'm doing or how I'm doing what I'm doing, because sometimes, I am my worst critic.
The greatest thing I used to fear was failure, which is very accurate with line two of my design profile too. Of just like, I just give up on something or like I'm not good enough and so I like go to the side, but I think being surrounded with people who just encourage you and be there for you and really recognize those things that you just want to dim about yourself has been just such a [00:17:00] blessing.
Chantelle: That makes a lot of sense, especially what you said about how the mistrust almost comes naturally. We have an interesting relationship with talent and creativity and things that are easy versus things that take work. As humans, we have a lot of thoughts on that.
We see someone who's very talented and we either attribute that to innate talent or to luck or to hard work or some combination thereof. But when you do have a talent that is maybe coming more naturally, I think we're socialized to distrust it, in a sense.
And what you described about that is just an interesting piece of how we respond to the word creative, how we respond to the word talent.
Mairo: Yeah. Do you resonate with like, the putting in the boxes piece of, you're in a certain space, you have to follow certain rules and do you feel the pressure of that?
Chantelle: I, I [00:18:00] personally don't, but I have a lot of definition in my chart, so I have eight centers defined, only one center undefined which means I don't waffle or question too much, because, having all those centers defined means that for example, Head Center defined, like, I know that my ideas are my own.
I don't question that they come from elsewhere. I know my identity really strongly, and I don't, I don't waffle on that. So, personally, just based on the gifts in my chart, I don't feel like I do that, but I do encounter other people who have more, balanced charts, who have the usual combination of, like, four undefined and five defined, or whatever, that is an experience that more people have, so
I can definitely relate to that, and I can, maybe relate's not the right word, I can work with that and accommodate that, especially in client situations, because I know that that is the more dominant experience.
Whereas for me, [00:19:00] that I've never really felt that desire to conform. it's not a part of my makeup. I'm rebellious with my choices and my actions. And I tend to not question that too much. But again, I'm very aware that that's not the typical path. And so I have a, I have a respect and awareness for the other way of responding to that and the other way of processing that.
And I understand the desire to conform, it feels safe, in a sense, because you've witnessed other people taking that path, so it feels more familiar, right? Like that, that checks out, I can see that. I think maybe as a three line, I just know that regardless of how it looks for someone else to have taken this path, that doesn't matter at all until I try it out.
And see how it works for me. I have maybe an innate skepticism. Oh, that works for [00:20:00] everyone. Interesting. Probably won't work for me then.
Mairo: I'm just going to go dig my own path here.
Chantelle: That's right. Yeah. So I don't think I asked at the beginning. When you found human design, is this something that you've known about for a while or is this a newer learning for you?
Mairo: I think it's very, it's much more newer. I'd say maybe sometime in August. I was just really in this period of self reflection and really leaning into more of what feels aligned for me in terms of what I was going to do next.
I just came out of a relationship and I was like, okay there are just some parts where for many parts, like the pandemic really I would say took me on a path of comfort.
And I'm not somebody who does well with comfort. I, I crave being uncomfortable. It's how I thrive. [00:21:00] And so being in comfort for such a long time, well, it's just three years, but it's kind of sounded like such a long time.
I think I was ready to come out of that. And so really set me into the zone of just reflecting, of assessing, of questioning.
And I started to really reflect on why I am the way I am. And so dabbling into human design was one of them and the clarity that did come with that was just mind blowing. And so I was like, okay, this is why, this is why. But yeah, before then I didn't even know what it was.
Chantelle: In a short time you've come a long way into understanding it and it's interesting.
I think I've recorded with I wanna say three or four people now who said they found it in August of this year, which tells me there must have been something astrologically happening around that time. That's a big coincidence. That's almost [00:22:00] 15% of the people I've interviewed for season one who've said that.
Which is interesting. I wonder what was happening at that time. I'm not great with astrology. I can't remember if there were eclipses or, or what going on, or some kind of retrograde, I'm not sure.
Mairo: But maybe it's like the start of a new season. I feel like with every season change, you get to be in that reflective zone.
For me, not knowing about too much about astrology and different suns and how they show up. I would just be like, it was the start of a new season. You're like, okay, time to sit and like reflect on this.
Chantelle: Speaking of reflection, we are going to shift into the closing ritual for these episodes, which is pulling a card for you from this custom human design affirmations deck created by Christina from Glow Glow Juice HD. I'm holding the 6/2 cards in my hand here and when you're ready, you and I will take a deep breath in together, [00:23:00] and then we'll let that go.
The card reads: I am on my own unique path to becoming deeply wise. Can I welcome in more compassion towards how I move through the world?
Mairo: Can I give a long winded answer to that? Yeah. So a funny story. In December, I usually have an annual call with a friend where we talk about how our year has been and where, you know, how we want to show up for each other in the new year, or just like what our word is for the new year, and something that kept really coming was smelling the roses for me.
In 2024, I want to take that moment to smell the roses, and that looked like, for me, giving more grace to myself, being more compassionate to myself, you know?
In, all the great ideas, all the great plans, you know, and really just honing down on that. So I thought that card was very interesting [00:24:00] and, speaks volumes to that. But in terms of compassion, I think the more, I give grace to myself, the more it is easier to give that to others as well.
And so I can honor where I'm at, and I can honor where they're at, and it can be great. You know, there is no expectation or too much expectation and that for me really connects to communicating as well.
Communicating with myself particularly with my sacral center was one of the things that I've always avoided for some reason, or like I just minimize a lot of feeling there.
And so now knowing and leaning into more being attuned with that, with the feelings that come with that, with the checking in that comes with that.
The other day I was doing something and I was like, Mairo, you're not giving grace to yourself. And
I was just like, yay, I can actually [00:25:00] call myself out on that and I can actually
communicate that to someone else if, you know, I'm just like, I don't think I'm giving grace to you or, you know welcoming that communication as well. Long winded answer, but that really resonates and like how I'm choosing to approach. This new year. Yeah.
Chantelle: We love longwinded answers on here, that's absolutely allowed.
And you had beautiful reflections in there that I'm so glad that we were able to witness.
If anyone wants to get in touch, where can they do that?
Mairo: You can find me on Instagram @spillagebymairo or at www. spillage. ca.
