Shadow Work

Transitioning from June to July

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This is a spread that I do at the end of each month to close out the month.

Brady Tarot and Nature's Wisdom Oracle

Individuality – High Priestess and Dragonfly – You are currently in a place of spiritual growth and transformation.  As you explore your emotions, you are transforming more than that small aspect of your life.  Like ripples in a pond, these changes spread outward into other areas.  Those ripples hold within them threads that tug and transform what lies beneath the surface of the water as well, allowing for permanent growth through a shifting within the subconscious and spiritual realms.

Dependence – Hermit, Hanged Man Rx, Orchid – You are currently in the process of finding healthier ways of using your alone time. Let go of the tendency to retreat into the self and close yourself off. Stop using your obsessions to self-soothe as it is not healthy.

Creativity – Nine of Horns, Justice, Lotus – You are currently seeking a balance of emotional fulfillment and awakening.  You’re struggling a bit with finding that balance because of impatience, and you need to make sure that you are keeping in mind that this is a process that takes time and will not be forced but rather progress naturally, much like the process of reindeer shedding antlers.

Limitation – Father of Roots and Jack in the Pulpit – Don’t get so wrapped up in what you have done that you forget to assess where you are and what’s coming.  In this time of change it’s important to stay open to possibilities instead of staid and stagnant in your assessments and focus.

Change – Magician and Luna Moth – Keep in mind that you already possess all of the tools and skills needed to continue along this path of growth you’re currently on.  Don’t allow darkness to creep in and create doubts or  unnecessary strife. Focus on the light and stay positive.

Sympathy – Ace of Feathers, Two of Roots, Hummingbird – These times in which you have allowed yourself to forsake your inspiration and creative spark, taking it for granted and leaving it behind to pour your energy into the drive of your responsibilities and obligations, have hurt you even if you haven’t taken the time to acknowledge it. These wounds linger and are a negative influence on your current growth and goals.

Luck – The World and Nautilus – You’ve gone through transitions in development before and know that these times of growth and change are a process that takes time. Organization and structure always makes you feel a bit more in control, and it would help in this instance as well if you let it.

Power – Eight of Feathers, Chariot, Pumpkin – Pay attention that you don’t get too comfortable and confidence in the pause of stability you currently find yourself in. Things can change in a heartbeat, and you need make sure you are prepared so that you can control the situation when it strikes.

Responsibility – The Tower and Iguana – Keep yourself open to communicating with those around you, even when things feel like a struggle.  Don’t close up, as the opportunity these events provides to you is about increasing your bond with others through communicating with them about what is going on when things feel chaotic, and allowing them in to help.

Message from Spirit World – Hurdles require a sense of optimism and confidence in your abilities.  Make sure your connection with others is strong.  Sometimes shit hits the fan fast, and it’s important to foster these connections and qualities in yourself so that you are prepared.

Message from Mind’s World –  You are slowly learning that closing yourself off blinds you to what’s going on around you and within you as well.  Staying open and aware, and grateful for what you have will better allow you to move through these transitions with grace and further your growth along the way.

Message from Known World – Stop limiting yourself by training all of your focus and attention on the physical world and the responsibilities that lie within it.  There’s more going on than what lies on the surface and in order to move through the growth and transitions in your life right now, you need to open yourself up more and give yourself a foundation of order and organization that will allow you to open up more fully while still feeling secure.

DECKS USED: THE BRADY TAROT, NATURE’S WISDOM ORACLE

Shadow Work (The Less-Than Whisper)

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I hit a bit of a wall on research concerning the shadow work and steps for moving forward.

After some thought I decided to reach out to someone with a bit more experience, who suggested that the reason I’m having trouble assimilating this shadow is that it is not entirely seated In the shadow self at all.

They suggested that perhaps It may be tied to something that is a part of my core and needs further development. Meaning that the whisper has a source that isn’t wholly external to my ‘light side’, and there is something where it is rooted that needs growth or development within me. And once the ‘soul’ has grown, developed, and transformed, then the shadow/whisper can be reassessed if needed.

This has a ring of truth to it. There are parts of myself that, because of the way I walled myself off emotionally and grew up so fast, never developed properly or fully.

They suggested doing a chakra reading to look for blocks, which I have, and I will post next week when I am at a computer and have had a bit of time to analyze the results and dig deeper into it.

Shadow Work (The Less-Than Whisper)

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So I have not done all that much this week in the shadow work prep department.   The holiday rush has officially started and the “boom” of the beginning this year kind of took me by surprise.

stress

I do have my books out, and at the end of December I will pull a couple of my shadow work decks in preparation for revisiting things in January.

That “Less Than” whisper is still there, the “pissant” word still lingering on and causing me some issues, but I’ve managed to set it aside for the most part and will continue to do so until I can commit some time and effort to confronting it properly in the new year.

Shadow Work (The Less-Than Whisper)

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leaves

I have not done much in the realm of reading for shadow work this week, but I have been researching from writing prompts and tarot spreads that I will be able to use along that path once the holidays are over.

I have also decided to continue with the Tarot for Growth for another month, as although I sometimes find the prompts a little deep and skimming a little close to sensitive subjects, I am also enjoying it and I haven’t had anything from it actually trigger me, so I think it’ll be okay.

I may switch things up in December, though, and do a monthly challenge that’s a little more lighthearted.  We’ll see.

I am grateful, though, that the rawness that had caused that whisper to rise has eased off for the time being.  It was more than just the vulnerability of the drop, but incorporated the whispers of my father coming through when the veil was thin, as well as what has been going on with my mother over the past few weeks.

Now that her opportunity to “pimp me out” to her foundation buddy’s son for the Halloween fundraiser, all I have to deal with is her badgering about being disappointed in me, which is much easier to deal with somehow than the fact that she views my sexuality (and me at all) as a bargaining chip for social prestige.

Shadow Work (The Less-Than Whisper)

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Tarot Shadow Work by Christine Jette, (the first 1/3 of) Tarot for Troubled Times by Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed, and Tarot For Your Self by Mary K Greer

I went to the storage unit over the last week and dug out the shadow working books and resources I have that I will be using in this journey.   I’ve begun re-reading one of those books, and am in the process of making a plan on how I want to go about the shadow work involved in this issue.

The picture of the books to the left are the three books that I dug out.  I will also be working with a variety of sources from online, and some notes I have taken over the years from previous shadow work and methods I’ve come across and/or done. One (very brief but informative) site that I discovered recently and you may also want to check out to better understand some of what shadow work entails can be found here.

On Thursday, the question for the TarotforGrowthOctober was how to better connect with the shadow self.   What I got from that reading was a warning that now is not the best time to do my shadow work, and I had to sit back and think about this for a while.

Trick or TarotIn all honesty, I think that the reading is right, and so I’m going to adjust my plan a little bit.  The holiday rush is looming large in the very near future, and in order to do shadow work safely, I feel it needs to be done at a time when I’m less at risk for overwhelm than that time of year provides.   I put a lot of strain on myself during those six (or so) weeks.  Not just mentally, but physically as well.

So between now and the end of the holidays, I am going to spend this time not in shadow work, but in brushing up on techniques and creating a more thoroughly thought out plan of action.   This will keep the task fresh in my mind without putting the extra strain on myself that very probably could exacerbate the stress that the holiday rush puts me under in the first place.

I AM still going to use a Wednesday post to keep me on track, though.  I want to make sure I don’t just shove the planning and preparation task off into a corner and forget about it.

 

Shadow Work (The Less-Than Whisper)

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forest

Once upon a time there was a young man deeply in love.  He and his love enjoyed each other’s company and spent hours on hours together creating fictional worlds and beautiful stories together with their friends.

The young man, naive and trusting, had a great faith in humanity and the goodness of people.  He believed those around he and his love when they spoke of friendship and trusted them wholeheartedly, allowing them close and opening his heart to them on many occasions.

Then one day, out of the blue, a shadow figure appeared.  Witness to things the boy and his love could not see, this figure shared what had been seen.  Harsh words and plots hidden behind closed doors were revealed, and the true nature of those around him were put on display. The wicked witch and her crones exposed.

These others were not his friends at all, but instead aimed to split him from his love and steal his love away, expressing a desire to toss him aside as insignificant and as inconsequential as a wilted leaf in the dead of winter.  His trust crushed, the young man felt a tear rip through his insides, and a wound was created deep within his soul.

He and his love moved on from these people, yet the wound remained.  The young man buried it deeper and deeper, trying to find a way to make it smaller, make it less, and yet it remained… and remains.

That young man is me.  Was me…. somewhere around eight or nine years ago.

And still the wound remains.

dark

I tell myself all the time that that witch was a jealous cunt, and that her and her friends just wanted to try and separate us because they were jealous of what we had… and STILL have. And yet, it’s like in the back of my mind there’s this -knowledge- that I’m irritating and insignificant to others. Like a gnat.   Knowledge that isn’t true… but knowledge that my mind and heart refuses to allow logic to refute.

That whisper within my head uses words like piss-ant and insignificant and annoying and know-it-all and “special snowflake” (sarcasm).

I have tried for years to bury this whisper and smother it out, I’ve tried to pretend it doesn’t exist and ignore it… and yet it is there still. Insistent and persistent, it works its way back into my ear from the hole I bury it in. An insidious whisper, always there like the slow drip-drip of acid, keeping the wound just fresh enough to remain an open wound.

In our discussion on Monday night, you asked me to begin working on this shadow.

So I’m going to begin a weekly practice, and with it a weekly update post. Some weeks, I might have not much to say. Other weeks… maybe I’ll have a lot. But, each week I’ll go through the details of what I’m doing, and I’ll use this blog to keep myself accountable and on track as I work on this for a bit and see if maybe I can start the healing process.

I do not believe that this will be an easy process, or a quick one. I also don’t believe that the wound will be banished entirely, although perhaps it will begin to heal a bit… and maybe, possibly, start to scab over. The scar is sure to remain, but a scar is an empty echo… whereas the open wound that’s there now is much louder.

My first post, written here today, is an expression of my intentions.  It is a cementing of my will to move forward with the process, the first step upon the path, and an acknowledgement of the whispering less-than aspect of the shadow within, an aspect that I have tried so hard to ignore for so long.

Let the work begin.