Shadow Work.

Shadow work is the proccess of transmuting ones suppressed aspects of ones self. Unconscious habits or some buried thought patterns inside it. 

When someone is not getting their shadow integrated they tend to be naive and is not their whole self anymore, thus, not being the best version of themselves.

Integration of the shadow could be a dangerous process. What’s even more dangerous is having an unintegrated shadow. This is a lifetime process and should be studied carefully. There’s no going back after you’ve started it.

Fundamentals of Integrating the Shadow Self

The first and most important step is admitting that you have a shadow self: stop being unreal and all fluffy living inside a rainbow and admit that there’s a dark part of yourself that needs to be balanced with your light self (lets assume).

To proceed, the next step is to look for triggers: anything that triggers negative emotions or makes you feel uncomfortable. This could be anything and it could be  thoughts and actions of your own, or someone elses. Look for similarities and start connecting the dots.

Then, you need to ask yourself questions: why am I responding this way? and where has this way came from? this is to know the root cause of that thought pattern, and it is very powerful and necessary in order to move into the next step.

Last but not least, Be the destroyer and the healer: Take the limiting beliefs and start asking: what is this belief causing me? is it serving me or not? then destroy it. Destroying a belief has multiple ways, but for me the most powerful way is to say: I reject that thought. you could say it out loud (and it’s more powerful) or you could say it in your head. Be attentive and creative about it.

This is such a wonderful explanation. Absolutely wonderful.

Behold! The accompanying tarot spread for the January Shadow Work Challenge. So if you don’t want to commit to the whole challenge, feel free to give this stand alone spread a go. Best wishes and happy new year!

Let me tell you guys about this amazing shadow work spread by @unmaskingthedivine !!

I did it this month (October) since this time of year (and even the recent astrological energy of 2018) had a lot of focus on embracing who you are and letting go of what no longer works for you. I’ve officially decided to make this a fall tradition to prepare for Halloween/Samhain because the spirits who came to me as I worked through this spread had such an incredible insight and helped me untangle a lot of subconscious pain. I did the spread before October, then wrote down all the cards and their placements. For example, Day 1 was the King of Pentacles and Four of Earth (from the Dreams of Gaia tarot). I thought about what they symbolized, then answered the question in a journal while keeping the tarot cards in mind. It was basically stream of consciousness writing and it was extremely liberating! I did this for 24 days straight!

I truly enjoyed reflecting on my past, present, and future with this spread, which wasn’t always pleasant, mind you. Some days made me extremely depressed, sobbing all day, being angry all day, even going numb sometimes, but it was good because it released so much subconscious agony. I viewed past and present hurts in a different way. I spoke with my shadow self and had decent conversations rather than abusive arguments. Doing this boosted my self-esteem and enhanced my willpower. I’ve become more mindful, creative, and focused. That is why I’m making this an annual tradition for October and I’m so very, very grateful this spread was made! So I highly recommend giving it a shot and want to thank @unmaskingthedivine again!! 🖤