Shadow Work for the Magickal Psyche

Art by J. Jeffrey Minzey minzeyart.com

(This is from my workshop of the same name)

What an intense eclipse season this has been! A bout of shadow work between eclipses can help us smooth out that inevitable encounter with aspects of our psyches that we have not yet faced. Eclipses have a way of mercilessly bringing it all to the fore. They enable us to see what must be “eclipsed out” of our lives and what needs to be “eclipsed in.” The Shadow is something that will have to be attended to periodically whether it’s eclipse season or not.

The “Shadow” is the Jungian archetype that denotes all of the undesirable content of the psyche. Archetypes are patterns of energy and can be thought of here as inner forces that affect our behavior. The shadow contains the neglected, forgotten, or buried aspects of the personality. The unconscious parts of the personality that the ego doesn’t identify with and doesn’t want to see are stowed away here. The shadow usually acts out when ignored or misunderstood. If unacknowledged, these unconscious aspects will build up pressure, until they finally burst forth in a chaotic rage and an uncomfortable confrontation with the conscious ego.

The shadow works in subtle ways. We need to ask not if we are under the influence of our shadow, but rather, how are we under its influence? We can be sure that we are under its influence whether we know it or not. By engaging in conscious shadow work, we build a relationship with these unconscious forces.

The goal is to make friends with the inner voice that, if unattended, causes problems in life. It’s necessary to learn to embrace the shadow, see it honestly without denying or dismissing it, and without becoming overwhelmed by it. Some call this having tea with your demons, others call it “Romancing the Shadow.” You’ll want to make sure that you treat the shadow, also known as “The Other,” as a guest. It may come bearing your hidden gifts.

The Shadow has a golden gift to give, and is infuriated when that gift is rejected. Unlike the shadow we cast by the sun, this inner shadow is a hidden source of our own radiance, referred to as the Golden Shadow. The qualities that we admire or envy in others often show where our own shadow gold gift has been left unclaimed.

By relating to the shadow as a mystery, rather than a problem to be solved or an illness to be cured, we can unlock our undeveloped and unexpressed potentials. Shadow work isn’t a cure, but rather a deep acceptance and a reorientation toward life that includes both light and dark. We reorient ourselves toward what the ancients celebrated as the gods within, or, in Jungian terms, the archetypes. For deep shadow work transformation, we must acknowledge and honor the dark gods within our own psyches; our dark archetypes.

In our culture, we are taught subtly–and not so subtly–to repress negative thoughts and emotions. Repressing the shadow reinforces our false and maladaptive behavior patterns. Perhaps these patterns were somehow appropriate in the past, but no longer. Yesterday’s adaptations become today’s enemies. These can become energetic blockages that inhibit manifesting. We must find a healthy outlet for their expression and integration. This intention alone will put us more in touch with our creativity.

Unintegrated shadow-material can block our ability to work spells and do energy work, or even inhibit magick in general. These energy blocks can foster illnesses in the body. They can become false perspectives in the mind. Often this is seen in the projections we place on others, either negating them, or negating ourselves by comparison to an ideal that we feel we do not live up to.

Surprisingly, the shadow can also contain positive aspects, things that, while deemed socially unacceptable, are not necessarily bad. Consciously or not, we fear people will react disdainfully if we were to tap into them. An example being, if, as a child, you had a joy and talent for dancing, yet your uptight, religious family frowned upon such exuberance, well, that repressed positive energy went into the shadow, adding to the gold that is already in there.

Anything repressed because of others disapproval, especially in your formative years, that you would now call good qualities, is shadow gold. Exact memories are not required to reclaim that gold. Reclaiming your golden shadow can be truly informative, a virtual directory to knowing one’s self. This knowledge can change your perspective and point the way towards self-betterment. The two main objectives of shadow work are: averting self-sabotage and reclaiming lost potential.

The ego guards the shadow and sometimes gets a bad rap. The ego wants to accomplish things while feeling in control and looking good. Intending for the ego to be in service of the soul gives it a more empowering job description. I think the same can be said for all aspects of the shadow. Giving all those aspects new roles within our internal landscape will allow us to better express our divine selves and embody our truth.

The Shadow challenges our desire for simple answers. When we attempt to traverse hidden realms, we must step aside from ourselves in order to go deep within. This is not a simple or formulaic process. This process is not easy to delineate. It requires a willingness and a curiosity. It has been likened to a dance or a wooing of the shadow. You will be required to forgive yourself, while holding yourself accountable. Once we heed the voice of the Self, which includes the Shadow, we live and act more authentically.

Jung stated that once made conscious, any inferiority can be corrected. This is not as easy as it sounds. We must keep in mind that shadow work is a long, difficult process, most of the time. We will feel an unconscious resistance when attempting to access these dimensions. This is normal, and it indicates that we are getting somewhere. Shadow work is a door to expressing our authentic soul, but it’s rarely discussed in self help books. We tend to avoid talking about the shadow because it doesn't make us feel good. Most of our self-help efforts are an attempt to elevate us. Shadow integration, in contrast, grounds us. The shadow can act as a bridge that connects us to the lost depths of our soul.

Once reconnected to the place where life, vitality and creativity flows, we can better manifest magick in our daily lives. When shadow qualities are not acknowledged, or even worse, if they are ignored, they will leak out in toxic ways.

Shadow work can reveal the golden message hidden within every shadow characteristic. The golden message here is that YOU can directly accomplish what the shadow is trying to indirectly accomplish. This is the positive intent of the shadow.

Opening more dimensions of ourselves is required for a fuller and more meaningful life. Not living up to our potential can signal that repressed shadow gifts are waiting to be reclaimed. We find other clues about our shadow through: Our exaggerated feelings about others, self sabotage, and repeating negative interactions with different people. We see our shadow through our impulsive and unintentional acts, self-humiliation, and overreactions to other people’s faults, weaknesses, or habits. These are often our own shadow projections.

Doing shadow work brings more awareness of how we project, and of the projections others place on us. One may unconsciously act out the subtle shadow projections of someone else. This can happen when we are too attached to another person’s energy field, or if we are empathic and have not yet created good boundaries for ourselves. This is a common situation for magickal folk and other very sensitive people.

It is important to have an intentionally permeable membrane of energy surrounding the aura. This allows only “that which serves” into the energy field. This is better than simply shielding all the time, which can be exhausting. One can then observe without absorbing. This can be achieved by, first grounding yourself and releasing your own negative, or unfocused energy. Then imagine a rush of white light permeating your being in all worlds and on all planes. Really feel this and keep your intention and focus strong. Tune in to your third chakra and feel your soul truth and your will to keep your boundaries secure, yet still letting in the good things. Spend a moment feeling this deeply and then flood your being with white light again. If this has been an intense problem, cast a full circle and enlist the aid of your chosen deities, guides or higher energies. You may need to repeat it a few times.

This practice will help you prevent energy vampires or bad situations from sucking you in and draining your energy. As a whole, people are mostly unconscious of the ways they drain others.

Through shadow integration, we begin to see the true motivations of what drives our actions, emotions, behavior, and decisions; the emotions playing out behind the social masks we present. Strange then how our attempts to feel better often drive our neurotic and anxious behavior; we overwork, over-think, and over-consume, whether it be food, alcohol, media, or anything else. The ultimate result is that we feel worse inside, so we continue to run on autopilot. We compare ourselves to others, judge ourselves and others, and so on. Shadow integration is perhaps the best way to stop playing the games we play that don’t serve us, and that we never win anyway.

“Something we were withholding made us weak, until we found it was ourselves”-Robert Frost.

Shadow work opens a door to authentic aliveness. When we meet our shadow it is a call for us to slow down, listen to the cues of the body and allow ourselves the required alone time to digest the cryptic messages from the hidden world. The intent here is to step out of victim mode and into creator mode. This requires a willingness to move through your difficulties without resisting the information.

In order to know thyself, you must simultaneously take the “self” out and look at the situation objectively. By reading the messages encoded in the daily events of our lives and our recurring hardships, we can start to integrate the shadow, and see it truthfully, without letting it have too much power. In this way, we can gain consciousness, substance, and soul from the depths.

When you can experience a very dark and difficult encounter without needing to look on the bright side, then you know you have made progress on your healing journey, said Jung. Basically, you’ve reached a stage where you can contain the full truth of your life experiences. Emotional health can be measured by our ability to tolerate all of our emotions without reactively attempting to reframe them. You have enough light inside to own the shadow, and enough shadow to own the light.

Being all love and light can make you avoid the shadow. Too much light can create an airy ungroundedness, and can be draining. Yet, the more you seek the light the more shadow you’ll have. The more you seek the good, the more evil you will see in the world. But we can’t let the pain of consciousness dissuade us.

Our society is driven to do and think, at the expense of being and feeling. Remember to tune into this feeling dimension, as it is another aspect of the dark, or you risk creating chaos within. Doing and being must coexist peacefully for true emotional balance. Heights and depths must both be fully experienced.

The Transcendent Function: A psychic function that arises from the tension between consciousness and the unconscious and supports their union -coined by Jung

Part of the goal of this workshop is to prevent the shadow from interfering with your magical or energy work practices. But how do you actually do shadow work? And how does it relate to a magickal practice? One could write a whole book on our society’s repression of occult traditions and magic. These social attitudes have forced us to repress our magical qualities, our oneness with nature, and esoterica in general, I could go on and on, but the take away here is that non-mainstream spiritual sensibilities have been relegated to the Shadow due to societal repression.

Which brings us to the social shadow of the witch archetype. We all know how witches have been maligned, punished, and, at the very least, misunderstood. The gold contained in this social shadow is power, first of all. To fully reclaim this authentic personal power requires working through the Witch Wound, or the fear, as it is. This personal shadow may contain elements from past lives, religious restrictions from our family or other karmic entanglements that can manifest as fear of power, or success in general. “They might kill me if I come out of the broom closet” “I might lose everything if they find out who I really am” These voices of fear are the witch wound speaking from under the surface, from the unconscious. Even for public pagans, this uneasiness might still be subtly present. By retrieving the gold from the witch shadow, you are more able to clear the way for successful spellwork, keep your manifestations manifesting, and maintain clear energy pathways.

So the question now is, how can the witch wound be used as your magic wand? How can you transmute the energy in these hidden feelings back into your own natural power? “How is it done?” Begin by setting an intention to do shadow work, and the determination to follow through with it, whatever it might entail, and that you have your own back through what will be a painful process. You must have a strong intention and desire for growth, as well as soul esteem; you are worthy and valuable no matter what.

Call forth your guides to help you and any protection that you can. Now, ask yourself provoking questions,“What’s my frequency, my vibe?” “Am I being triggered a lot?” Regarding triggers, negative emotions and behaviors, keep asking why, “Why do I keep feeling these things?” Be merciless and deeply honest with yourself. Go deeper and really feel your more abstract fears or reminders of past trauma. You don’t actually have to remember any details, only the feelings. To a certain degree, details may get us caught up in the stories, which we do not want to do. We want to visit the raw energetics of it. Just being in the raw energetics will alone start to get these blocked emotional energies moving.

Next, vent these newly freed emotions into a journal or recording until all your emotion is out. Then, after the emotional intensity has dissipated, write out your objective observations-what caused it? How did it come about? When in my life did it start? All emotions are valid. Then meditate on these same questions while honoring ALL feelings. I will say it again. HONOR ALL FEELINGS. Be patient and compassionate with yourself, as from the point of view of your higher self. Do this more than once and continue to journal and meditate. If you can, talk to somebody supportive. That is a great start. Remember, this all takes time.

Give yourself time to develop a good meditation muscle before moving on to the next technique: active imagination. If you are already great at focusing, you can get there quicker.

Through active imagination you can enter into a conscious dialog with your shadow. Here’s where you will once again put mediation to good use. You will need your journal as well, in order to write down your dialog. Begin by entering into a calm, meditative state. When you feel ready, invite your shadow to the table. You do not need to speak out loud, but you can if you wish: ask your shadow something like: “are you here?” or “would you like to talk with me?” Wait for a reply. You may need to ask and wait several times, but if you persist in your efforts, you will make contact with your shadow.

Don’t expect this to be a pleasant conversation, your shadow will likely be quite upset with you. It may respond at first with a resounding “NO!” or even “I hate you!” Be patient and compassionate with the shadow, as you were with yourself earlier. Here I need to give a word of caution: you may not necessarily be getting in touch with your wounded witch-shadow. If you encounter a really hostile presence, this could be your inner inquisitor speaking. You will know if it is, because it will want to burn you down. Stop the exercise immediately and contact a good therapist to continue. You do not want to face this archetype alone, it can cause serious psychic harm.

Otherwise, once contact is made, begin recording the dialog. Continue by asking the shadow something like “what would you like to be called?” Or “what is your name?” Or you may feel the need to ask your shadow something a little tougher, like “what do you want with me?” or “why are you blocking my attempts to grow and develop?” Be experimental. Be curious. Whatever you ask, do not expect a kind response. The shadow is more like a wounded child than a rational adult. The process of contacting and befriending your shadow will be a long and arduous journey, do not expect instant results. You have spent a lifetime developing this shadow, it will take some time to coax it from the darkness where it has lived all these years.

If you already keep a dream journal, great. If not, you may wish to start one, or you can use the journal you’ve already started for this workshop. Either by recalling an important recurring dream, or once you have had a dream that seems symbolic or just has a lot of “juice” –trust your intuition here– write it down and, when ready, calm the mind. Witness your thoughts from a higher, non-attached standpoint as you become more focused. Move all of your attention onto an image from the dream that you have chosen. One that really calls to you. The trick here is to keep your attention focused on the dream image for a long time. If your attention wanders, calmly bring it back. The intent here is to get the unconscious to “speak”. This will allow you to get the message the unconscious is sending you through the dream.

To do this you will need to loosen your focus just enough so that the unconscious can start to animate the dream image, but be careful not to let your mind wander. Again, be patient with yourself, this may take several tries. As you allow your unconscious mind to speak, you may return to the narrative of the dream. You may even end up speaking to one of the dream characters. Sometimes this may get dark or weird, especially if you’re using this to understand nightmares, but it’s ok, it’s just something you might have avoided facing in the past.

This is a good place to face your fears and discover your aspirations. Now, whatever form this “manifestion” takes, engage with it and try to remember it as vividly as possible, because the next step will be bringing it to life, to ground that experience into being. You can do this by either writing in a free-flow manner without censoring yourself about your experience, or if you prefer, you can draw or paint in the same uncensored way. Do not get caught up in trying to create a masterpiece; the goal is to make that unconscious image into something you can try to decipher or interpret. If it’s terrible, so be it! Now take a break and take your mind out of the imagination and back into normal consciousness. Ground and center yourself. Can you find the message contained within the writing or piece of artwork? Try this a few times. It takes practice.

You can also try focusing on a dream feeling instead of a dream image. Then, once you have made a few attempts, try interacting verbally with the characters, letting them speak, and feeling into their personalities. Sometimes the dream character’s message is a valuable expression of a repressed archetype within the psyche. The word archetype means “original pattern” in Greek. They are ancient patterns of energy, in a way. We all express these archetypes in our daily lives.

Talking with the dream characters becomes an exercise in talking with the archetypes that are currently at the fore in your life.

There are three phases of an archetype: dampened (or dormant), distorted, and divinely expressed. By working with archetypal energies we can steer their expression within us toward the divinely-aligned version more and more. What matters is that we recognize the power of these archetypes in the unconscious.

Another term coined by Jung is Enantiodromia– The tendency of an archetype to flip to its opposite, often automatically emerging in the psyche forcefully and demonically. This is another example of how shadows can be created by too narrow a focus on one facet of an archetype. Always keep this principal in mind: we are allowing the unconscious to manifest into consciousness and then integrating its lessons.

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.”- Jung

In this section, we will focus on spellwork. The rituals we perform are aligned with your shadow work goals. Our first endeavor will be a charm bag to remember dreams. This charm bag will also facilitate visiting our unconscious realms, in general. Start with either a pre-made sachet, or some cloth and ribbon of the appropriate colors to tie up the ingredients. I personally will use black or deep blue or purple. You should always go with what feels right to you. Remember, its not what you use that matters, because how we charge it is what counts.

Pick out a few stones that call to you, that make you think of the dreamy realm, or psychism, or the mysterious. Examples would be quartz crystal, amethyst, lapis lazuli or even onyx. Tap into your own creativity. Do the same with some herbs. Perhaps mugwort, chamomile, lavender, nutmeg, rose, or wormwood. You can also add other trinkets that feel right. Have a small slip of paper and a pencil at the ready.

Do your usual sacred space ritual and once you are in your magick zone, write out your intention for the charm bag, using all of your good focusing techniques. Then, charge your crystals and herbs toward your magickal intent. Tie up your bag. Dab it with essential oils, if desired. Take your finished creation and give it one last good charge. Close and ground your energy. You can now wear the charm during your active imagination exercises, keep it under your pillow, or both.

“Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody”-Mark Twain

How does healing come? By going into the places that hurt. Our next ritual we will perform at the dark moon, a good time for a ritual honoring change. The Dark Moon is a gatekeeper between the waking world and the rich, fertile world of inner transformation. So lay down your hurts at the altar of the Dark Moon. Spin your woes into strands of gold.

A Dark Moon Ritual for Purging Pain and Restoring Vitality

You Will Need:

Your Statement of Release. This can be a written statement, or an intention you carry in your head.

A black candle.

A black scarf.

Some Dragon’s Blood or Patchouli or any other rich, earthy incense.

Walnut flower essence. (Black walnut is a powerful tree for severing ties with the past, as well as with things that hurt you, especially unhealthy relationships—Walnut Flower Essence has a similar releasing power) Rosemary tea will substitute nicely.

Set aside the night of the Dark Moon (the night before the New Moon) to enact your ritual. This ritual will culminate in a magickal bath, and if you can perform the entire ceremony in your bathroom that’s perfect. Or, find a space where you will be uninterrupted and then carry on into the bathroom. Darken your ritual space (or simply turn off all lights). Lighting the black candle, make a declaration of intent such as: “I enter the Dark Moon Kingdom with reverence and respect. With perfect love and trust. With bravery and complete surrender. I visit the garden of lost soul fragments, seeking bones discarded by choice or by force throughout my life. I honor these parts, I quicken them back into life. Enfold me in the arms of rebirth and regeneration. So Shall it be.”

Holding the candle, walk in a widdershins (counterclockwise) circle to stir magic for banishing and releasing. Begin in the West, the power spot for soul work and metamorphosis. Walking the circle, summon your protective energies. Let the Dark Moon energy settle around you, creating a zone for inner work. Include your bathtub in the circle if you can. Seat yourself in the circle’s center. Begin breathing deeply, in and out until you slip into a light, relaxing trance. Now light the incense, letting the smoke waft through the circle filling the atmosphere with sacred protective energies.

As you continue deep breathing, go deeper into your center. Repeat the invocation.“I enter the Dark Moon Kingdom with reverence and respect. With perfect love and trust. With bravery and complete surrender. I visit the garden of lost soul fragments, seeking bones discarded by choice or by force throughout my life. I honor these parts, I quicken them back into life. Enfold me in the arms of rebirth and regeneration. So Shall it be.” Allow your emotions to open your deepest self, travel down the path to your pain and heartache. Feel how dense your body has become with the garbage you have accumulated, while staying mindful of the emotions that you intend to release. When you feel those heavy feelings rising to the top, imagine releasing them into the dark void.

Repeat your Statement of Release as you let go: something you’ve written, or simply speaking from your heart. Become receptive to the energy of the Dark Moon. Give her your pain and trauma. You are ready to purge, move forward and heal. Stay here as long as you like. Let your body respond as it needs. Shake, cry, curl into a ball, be silent. Whatever spirit moves you to do is perfect. The Dark Moon will move you through this release.

Fill your bath tub with warm water. If your bath is in another room, gather your accouterments, and move your circle with you into the bathroom. Or, recast it if you need to. Pour a few drops of Walnut Flower Essence into the water. Or pour in your rosemary tea. Visualize or feel the water being infused with the dark, generative powers of the Moon. See it become an inky black sky. The great void of transformation, where there is nothing to fear.

Now blindfold yourself with the black scarf and sink into the bath. Relax into the embrace of the dark. You are in the alchemical waters of healing. The vessel of rebirth, the womb of the Dark Moon. Do you feel resistance? Does pain still linger in your body and spirit? Is your heart heavy? Do your wounds still bleed? Allow the feelings that remain to fill you until there is a surrender.

Now release them into water. Speak your Statement of Release again to the Goddess, asking the Dark Moon to take it all away… to return it to the void. Speak out loud, and speak from your heart. Fully release and float in these healing waters as long as you need. When you are ready, let the water drain. Unveil your eyes. Thank the Goddess for her counsel. Release the circle clockwise. Then blow out the candle, or allow it to burn down.

You have now purged major blocks of energy and pain. You have asked for the guidance and protection of the Dark Moon. You have her energy and influence moving through your spirit and through your life in synchronistic ways. Honor her and yourself by being compassionate. Rest, eat something nourishing. Sleep as long as you like. You may feel spacey for a few days. You have undergone a type of psychic surgery. Go as deep into this process as you like. You have only scratched the surface.

You can meet the Dark Moon each month with a new pain to lay to rest. Healing is always an expansive, ongoing process. Seek spiritual guidance from those you trust, or through divination, if you feel it would benefit your journey. This may help you see how the pieces are coming together. How life is heading in a new direction. And never forget to ask for the guidance and protection of your Guides and Ancestors.

“By allowing yourself to be with the Unknown, you remain open to the magic and beauty that comes from the unknowable.”

Our next ritual is the Golden goddess meditation. Perhaps channeling may be a better word. Make sure you have a place to be alone. Space to make sounds, move around or be as weird as necessary. I invite you to stand up, feet shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and pelvis slightly tucked under. Spine should be straight but comfortable.

Take a few big breaths, all the way down into the belly. Big cleansing breaths ...imagine you are really releasing on that last exhale. Now, take a big deep breath and go all the way to the base of your spine. Just breathe right into that area. Bring every last bit of your awareness there, as if this were the most important thing you could be doing in this moment. Really bring life and energy to the tail bone. Take three more big breaths, and on the last exhale really open that area, the first chakra, if you will. Opening releasing, opening, releasing. Now one more really big deep breath and let the breath go wherever it wants to, just trusting. Let the chest expand this time, really letting that rib cage open, expanding. Next, breath into the upper belly, see if you can bring some relaxation there. Bring some life and energy there. Allowing a sound to issue forth from your own depths helps to get the energy moving. Move your body around in any way that feels good.

Now, imagine energy from the center of the earth entering your body. Visualize it as light from the molten core of mother Earth. See it and feel it travel through your whole being, in all worlds and on all planes. Spend some time here visualizing and feeling this golden light. Now visualize this glorious light shooting from the top of your head. It comes down in front of you and starts to form a being right in front of you. Now, get out of your mind and let her form. She takes the form of a Golden Goddess. She is composed of a golden light that has the properties of a magnet, so to speak. She wants to magnetize and draw out of you any old energies, thought forms, etc. that are not of your highest good. Let her draw it out of you. Use your imagination and really trust the movement of energy. She wants to transmute your shadow material into gold for you. Exhale out of the top of your head, all those old energies. She draws them into herself. She exhales and you breathe in her golden light. Repeat at least three times. Spend as much time with her as you feel to in this way.

Now get your mind out of the way and allow her to step right into you and become you. You are now a being of pure light. Trust and allow what comes. If tears flow, let them. If you feel great joy, allow it. If you do not feel much of anything, that’s how it is sometimes. Just trust that an alchemization is taking place. Your energetic body is being rewired each time you do this. When you are ready, thank the Golden Goddess with deep reverence. Ground and center after this one for sure. Then eat good food and do something lighthearted and enjoyable.

“You never know what's around the corner. It could be everything. Or it could be nothing. You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain.”

― Tom Hiddleston

Breathing into the lower chakras regularly is a wonderful energy work practice when you are doing shadow work. That’s where a lot of energies are stored in the body. In the above exercise, we aim to stir up that old stored energetic gunk. Such movement allows for change. Adding our awareness and magical intent allows for deep transformation, especially over time. What does such energy work tap into? It’s a mystery. Allow the mystery. Let it be a mystery. This soul work takes place in the Unseen realm.

By embodying self fully we access “beyond thoughts, words and concepts.” Going into the body more deeply, really bringing in our awareness, is the other important side of spiritual growth. Embodying the forces of the gods, archetypes, energies...doesn’t matter what we call them, helps us change the nature of our own energetic realm. Some times I tune in to the Dark Goddess. Or a Dark deity aligned with love. That’s the key. The highest expression thereof. Hecate will often appear. I tune into her guidance when I’m so in the shadow that I can’t see. She guides me out of the underworld, but not until it is time! Feeling stuck in the underworld can happen more often to magickal folk. Especially channeling so much light! Love and light is good! I love love and light–don’t let anyone tell you differently. But, more light, more shadow. It’s just science. The other half of the picture is about what is hidden, what must be seen, acknowledged, reclaimed in a transmuted fashion, giving voice to these repressed qualities in a way more suited to daily life. This allows us to avoid spiritual bypassing. Paradoxically, you will be able to bring more light to life.

Importantly, be sure to exercise more during shadow work. This will help move the energy that is uncovered and “set free.” Even just a little more movement than usual can help so much. If you can run the woods whenever you want, I envy you! Any time that you can mindfully spend in nature will ground you. Do it with intention at an auspicious time. I personally like sunrise or sunset. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just GO OUTSIDE! This is imperative.

Shadow work is something done slowly; 2 steps forward, 1 back. 3 steps forward, 2 back. To make progress and then experience a setback is the nature of the spiritual path. Healing is a spiral path. You have to watch for what the next “breadcrumb on the trail” is regarding your path. You only get one breadcrumb at a time. The rest remains unknown. After so much shadow work, you will be automatically attuned to the divine inspiration for why you are doing something, rather than a reactive reason for not doing something else.

So what about long term shadow work? Remember it has taken your shadow years to develop. How does one keep it at bay long term? One way is to voluntarily go into the Underworld, or else you’ll go there against your will. The dark moon ritual above is a good one to repeat when needed. You can expect a slightly better shadow after each repetition. Repeated practice will facilitate karmic disentanglement. That being said, too much intense focus on the shadow can potentially harm the psyche. After all, we are still aiming for love and light!

Altering ingrained beliefs and habits will take a lot of work. Be very patient and do not overdo it. Suspend judgement on yourself. This deep work requires surrender and acceptance. Never waver in your compassion for yourself or your experiences. And you are not alone.