There are thousands of instructional materials out there regarding how to perform, experience, and personalize shadow work. Most resources don’t describe what happens afterwards. This is based upon my personal experience and what works for me. It might not happen for you this way, or it might. I’m putting this out there as something for you to consider. As always, please keep what works and move past tools that aren’t useful to you.
In my experience, shadow work occurs as part of a cycle: uprooting, upheaval, and updating. The shadow work most people discuss is typically the uprooting part, though it can also help in dealing with the other aspects of its cycle. I find that this cycle works on its own schedule according to the largeness of the issues I’m looking at, but it may be helpful to attach your Shadow Work Cycle to moons or seasons.
It’s important to express that you do not need to be in the Shadow Work Cycle at all times, nor do you have to press forward at any point in the cycle if you need to take a break or handle another problem that crops up. You can’t rush internal or external change, and you can’t control what happens when external forces are involved. You can only control your reaction and your preparation to events. These could be small changes in interpersonal relationships, or political unrest in your country.
About Shadow Work
Shadow work is a term used to describe work we do on ourselves, usually by ourselves. Shadow work encourages us to look at the shadow (or hidden) sides of ourselves to know ourselves better and to seek what we desire in the shadow. For me, that also means empowerment, as societal forces had suppressed some of my leadership qualities and traits due to the roles it imposes on gender. Your shadow work journey can use many tools and take many forms, but it should be right for you. And it should include a preparation for the next step in the cycle.
While useful in spirituality, it was initially a psychological concept. (Psychology and spirituality don’t feel or function entirely separate to me and apparently not to Jung, but people get very uncomfortable with the overlap, even though both are often concerned with self-knowledge.) While it appears as a component of spirituality for witches like me, it’s generally not part of most specific pagan traditions in this particular format. However, knowing yourself is generally empowering, and can clear your mind and bring you closer to working magic for your goals, broadening spiritual relationships, and more.
The Uprooting of Shadow Work
I call the main shadow work phase uprooting. Even if you’re not physically getting up and going anywhere, you have to dig at your inner core – your roots – to figure out what’s going on within. I find that uprooting can feel a lot like moving out of a home you like. You might feel unmoored, and you might have to feel that way as part of the journey. During the uprooting phase, remain aware that you are vulnerable because you could feel so lost.
Shadow work often reveals parts of ourselves we wish we’d lock away, or that we have consciously or subconsciously shut out. However, you can take what you find and want to keep and twist it into an attribute you may embody and improve upon. Think about words like transformation, embodiment, truth, beauty, and empowerment.
All this takes energy and persistence, which can be quite draining for a practitioner. You could also drag up some pretty dark stuff, in which case, I recommend you have a therapist established and willing to listen. (I understand this is not always an affordable option for everyone, and that like me, some people have medical traumas!)
As you uproot, you’ll have control over what you’re comfortable with. Uproot with caution. Some things may need to lay where they are for now, buried. You can always come back to this later when the time is right. You also don’t want to pull out all of your roots at the same time; it’s okay to poke around here and there.
During the uprooting phase, it’s time to think about rituals or activities you can do each day to remind yourself about the changes you wish to bring. For me right now, this looks like statues of Athena and her owls to remind me about persistence and long-term, strategic goals.
The Upheaval Phase of Shadow Work
The upheaval in your life may change you in radical ways. Everything you’ve sought, discovered, and wrestled with in the uprooting phase creates results in the upheaval phase. Personally, I frame this in the context of The Morrigan, a goddess who embodies and seeks to empower people (especially women) to embrace the concept of personal sovereignty. In the upheaval phase, I’ve done the work and cried my tears: I am my whole self, my full self, my true self, and my true name. That unlocks the upheaval phase.
Big changes happen here. While you can think of it magically, it’s also based upon the daily reflections and activities you’ve undergone during your days. This is the result. Even if and when you get exactly what you want, it isn’t always pretty and it doesn’t always happen in the way you want it, but life tends to change after you’ve made big internal and external changes. For me, this once looked like a breakup that I didn’t want to happen – the other person ended it – and staying in a location alone while friends moved across the country. Another time it was about being ready to receive the right person and place to feel a sense of wellness.
How to Heal in the Update Phase of Shadow Work
The first two phases of shadow work are important for self-growth, but they aren’t necessarily fun. They certainly aren’t easy. As you uproot and upheave (which sounds just as nasty as it can be – expelling some junk), you’ll find all sorts of stuff coming up that might hurt you. Personally, I recommend supporting shadow work with therapy if you can access it; I speak to my therapist about my shadow work, the results of my tarot readings, etc. She is part of my healing journey after the upheaval has occurred.
The updating phase is all about context: how does this updated life look? What next steps do you need to take to get there? While much of this can be done alone, others will no doubt notice the changes in your life once upheaval starts – and how you deal with those changes. So you may have new or renewed support, and be better at spotting who you might not want to lean on as you heal.
Much of the update phase is about doing what you can with what the upheaval has given you. Things will look different. There will be opportunities, but also you can expect to eat shit for a while in some situations. My most recent updating phrase left me open to healthy feelings, love, physical affection, and more coming from the right sources. I got the right doctors, kept the friends who would give and receive support, and found people and places abroad to offer more positive and healthy connections than I’m able to get at home. I have been supporting this with practical changes like ensuring I get the right healthcare, working on my dental health and diet, and making sure I get enough sleep.
However, the update phase is a lot of work and requires action after periods of realization and expelling. That said, this is the easiest phase to find support with, because generally when you say you want to take a new class or eat a new food, people are supportive. If you frame it that way, you’ll find a broader range of support from non-magical people should you prefer.
A Note About Reflection
The update phase can also be a time of reflection. On speaking with my therapist recently, I described my upheaval phase, and she went back through her notes about the related topic: something I had manifested in January, down to a completely accurate physical description of the components of the manifestation. I’ve been journaling about this and talking to others about it as a means of processing the changes and the newness, plotting a course of action, even though it is scary and contains some big unknowns.
Journal Prompts for Each Phase of The Shadow Work Cycle
Here are some prompts to consider as you move through the Shadow Work Cycle:
Uprooting
- What do you most dislike about who you are and why? Do you want to change it?
- What does your society or culture dislike the most about who you are and why? Do you want to change it?
- What parts of yourself are you ashamed of?
- What parts of yourself do you keep hidden? Why do you do so? Is this a conscious choice or not?
- If you could characterize your attributes as a societally acceptable person with one tarot card, what would it be? What is the reverse or shadow reading of that card?
- What parts of you do you hide that empower you? Why do you hide them, or why do you have to?
- What people, places, or roles in my life bring out qualities I’d prefer not to explore or display? What should I do with my relationships with those people, places, and roles?
- What does my ideal self look like, and how can I help myself become more like them?
- What can I do each day to integrate the neglected parts of myself? How can I honor them?
Upheaval
- What changes are coming to bear as the result of your uprooting? How do you feel about those changes?
- Do you have control over the upheaval in your life? If so, what parts of it are within your control and what parts are not?
- What can you do to make changes easier on yourself (save money, self-care, etc.)?
- What routines do you have to cope with the upheaval in your life?
- What people, places, and roles are sticking with you despite your life changing? What people, places, and roles seem to support you as you change?
- What is your biggest worry? What does your inner self need to cope with that worry?
- How can you nourish yourself during times of change? (Consider spiritual and physical means like comforting foods, tea ceremonies, baths.)
Updating
- How can you cope with the big changes that have occurred in your life? Who can you speak to about it? (This can include people in your life, your journal, your therapist, gods, etc.)
- Do you feel ready to accept the blessings and goodness that come along with the changes, even if the changes were hard? If not, what would you like to do to become more ready, or to slow the pace of change?
- What are/were the most difficult changes to cope with?
- What was most unexpected or hurtful about how things changed?
- Moving forward, list three things you can do to help you realign your life to the way things are now.
- What did you learn? What is most useful?
- How has your update helped you show up for yourself and others, including not only other people, but spiritual concepts, gods, pets, lands, etc.?
Tarot Spreads for Each Phase of The Shadow Work Cycle
Divination is a useful tool for supporting yourself throughout the different phases. I recommend doing what is most comfortable for you, but if you don’t know what that is, try different decks/divination tools, new spreads, and more in your times of discovery. These are simple three card spreads meant to be done (or changed!) as often as you need.
Uprooting Spreads:
- What needs to change, where do I get my strength?, what will my power look like?
- What aspects of me are hidden, what do I need to know about them, how will I recognize them in my self?
- How will this change feel? What do I need to see? What is my next step?
Upheaval Spreads:
- What is my current major change? How do I deal with it? What am I not seeing?
- What aspect should I embody at this time? What are my issues/hangups? Directions for moving forward.
- What person, place, or role should I hold onto during this change? What person, place, or role should I let go of during this change? How do these holding ons and letting gos affect me? [Note, you may wish to pull multiple cards for the first two questions.]
Updating Spreads:
- What changes do I need to make to catch up with the way my life has changed? How should I implement those changes? What am I not aware of?
- What does my true self need at this time? What part of me needs healing? How will my healed self look to the world?
- What will look different about me? What will feel different about me? What is the truth I am now living?
