The Shadow Work Witchcraft Field Guide
This is the shadow work witchcraft field guide for witchcraft psychology with Plants By Laurali! Shadowwork is a psychological term for the parts of the psyche we keep hidden from ourselves. In witchcraft, we learn to embrace our shadow selves!
Doing shadow work is essential to witchcraft because it helps you better understand yourself! There’s no better exploration of yourself than venturing into botanical studies. Each herb, crystal, mushroom, moon phase, and seasonal shift brings us that much closer to the truth.
What is shadow work? Shadow work means digging into the confines of the mind and finding the parts that are kept secret and hidden. This can be painful, ugly, and sometimes uncomfortable. Once you accept your shadow self, you’ll integrate it into your psyche and it becomes part of you.
Here’s the thing: Your dark self has always been part of you. It’s just that you were never able to accept it before or see it for what it is.
To explore your shadow self, start thinking of the secrets or hidden things you would never want anyone to know. These are the things that bring shame, guilt, and regret. Bring your dark self into the light!
The Shadow Work Witchcraft Field Guide
How does one go about doing shadow work? I find that it’s important to work on your shadow self by the phases of the moon, the seasons, and during a planetary retrograde. You can do shadow work anytime you want, but these are the times when you’ll be called to your shadow!
During Imbolc Holiday, for example, I always do shadow work. This is a quiet time of darkness, reflection, and journaling. It’s a holiday for learning new things about yourself and going within.
You can use witchy holidays, solstices, and equinoxes to work on your dark self. These are moments when the wheel turns again, bringing new information to light, which is what shadow work is all about.
During the moon phases, there is ample opportunity for learning, growing, and developing your witchy intuition. Many witches use the moon phases to guide them to the truth within.
During planetary retrogrades, you might find your shadow self called into being! When planets go retrograde, they appear to be moving backward in the sky. Retrogrades slow things down and create time for healing, contemplation, and spiritual awakenings.
Another period for shadow work would be during eclipse season. Eclipse Season is all about waking up the conscious collective, transformation, change, and turning points. You can learn a lot about yourself and your relationships during an eclipse!
To go about doing shadow work, you are going to spend time with yourself! You’d be surprised how many people don’t enjoy their own company. As a solitary green witch, I love spending time by myself, especially in Mother Nature, where I know I’m not completely alone!
Shadow Work and Moon Phases
New Moon Phase - The new moon phase is a period of darkness when many witchcraft practitioners practice shadow work in their craft! During this period, you can plant the seeds of fresh starts, and new beginnings, and bring new blessings into your life. This is the optimal time to begin again and step out of the shadows and into the light!
Full Moon Phase - The full moon phase is all about letting go, cleansing, releasing, and detoxification! During this period, you are going to let go of all that no longer serves you. This is a great time to release the hurts of the past and to move forward with your life.
Waxing Moon Phase - The waxing moon phase is for growing your intentions and adding new things to your life. This is the optimal time to integrate the shadow self and accept it as your own. This phase is all about the energy gaining momentum!
Waning Moon Phase - The waning moon phase is for decreasing and eliminating things from your life. During this period, you can banish bad habits and break patterns that cause more harm than good. This phase is all about the shadow self!
Planetary Retrogrades and Shadow Work
Venus Retrograde - This is a tough period of self-introspection! Venus rules love, relationships, beauty, and money. When Venus goes retrograde, you might find it difficult to love yourself. During Venus Retrograde, relationships might be called into question and there may be financial difficulties that come to light.
Mercury Retrograde - Nothing says shadow work like Mercury Retrograde! Mercury Retrograde affects travel, technology, and communication. During Mercury Retrograde, you might find yourself exploring your shadow self in a myriad of ways. Journaling and writing poetry can help unlock undiscovered truths about yourself. You can also work with the Sun God Hermes During Mercury in Retrograde to explore your higher self!
Pluto Retrograde - Pluto is the planet of destruction! Therefore, this could be a period of burning down the house, so to speak. There may be mini-tower moments that make you evaluate your life and your existence. These moments propel you toward change and transformation, which is what a Pluto retrograde is all about!
Neptune Retrograde - When Neptune goes retrograde, you might find the fog lifted! Truths that were once obscured become clear and any illusions you may be having will be popped like a bubble. This makes it the optimal time to work on your dark self and speak your truth.
Uranus Retrograde - When the planet of surprises and awakenings goes retrograde, get ready to shake things up! It might give you a chance to pause and reflect on the changes you need to make. Evaluate the areas that need a shake and the ones that need to remain fixed so you can create structure in your life. When Uranus goes retrograde, be prepared to change, which the shadow self will undoubtedly resist.
Mars Retrograde - When Mars goes retrograde, it makes it difficult to find motivation and inspiration. You might be less active during this time. Feelings of irritability could be stirred up during Mars Retrograde. During Mars Retrograde, be prepared to work on issues with creativity constipation, and procrastination.
Saturn Retrograde - When Saturn goes Retrograde, you might find some of your restrictions lifted! You might find yourself having issues with authority and being responsible for your own life. Saturn Retrograde can bring up problems with your teenage self!
Chiron Retrograde - Chiron is the wounded warrior asteroid. Technically it is not a planet, but it can bring up childhood wounds and trauma for healing. Healing magic can be fostered during this period. Chiron can make you feel the way you did when you were a child. This could be bad or good depending on context.
Eclipse Season and Shadow Work
The spiritual meaning of eclipse season is soul growth and transformation. Many people have awakenings during this period. This is the ideal time to do some shadow work!
During eclipse season, you are going to undergo growth, transformation, and awakening! You might find you experience tower moments and mini-tower moments at this time. These are painful pivotal moments that you are meant to transcend.
It’s important to let go of things during this dark period! An eclipse is like a full moon on steroids. Therefore, it can be a pretty intense period of healing, contemplation, and emotional release.
You might burn, bury, or drown the things you no longer wish to put up with. Writing things down helps and exploring your psyche through prophetic dreams and dream meaning is highly active during this time.
Use this period to let things burn to the ground! Spend time with the tower tarot card and get comfortable with wake-up moments, as they can become the catalyst for great change.
Using Witchy Holidays and Seasonal Shifts for Shadow Work
Imbolc Holiday - February 1st is the witchy holiday Imbolc! Imbolc is the midway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It falls in line with new moon energy, as it covers fresh starts and new beginnings. This holiday is laced with solitude and self-reflection. It’s a great time to turn inward and do shadow work!
Spring Equinox (Ostara) - Between March 19th - March 23rd, Ostara will be taking place! The spring equinox is a time when you are more likely to have a fairy sighting and it represents springtime, new beginnings, and possibilities. During this time, you can do shadow work that plants the seeds of the future. What doesn’t seem to be manifesting and why? What is holding you back? It may be a good time to do a road-opening spell, as well.
Beltane - On May 1st, we have the Beltane holiday! Beltane Holiday is the midway point between the spring equinox and the Summer Solstice. Shadow work during this holiday might involve flower workings and fire magic. This is the optimal time to work protection magic, as well. This holiday is about honoring your inner fire and going within.
Summer Solstice (Litha) - On June 20th, we celebrate the witchy holiday Litha, also known as the summer solstice! During the summer solstice, you’ll bring things to light. The sun burns things off and clarifies things. You’ll learn how to be your true, authentic self with Litha holiday, and what can be more shadow work than that?
Lughnasadh - On August 1st, Lughnasadh holiday celebrates the harvest! You reap the rewards of all of your hard work. Lughnasadh falls during the dog days of summer. The kind of shadow work you can do during this time involves evaluation and taking stock of what you have to be grateful for. It might be time for a fresh perspective!
Autumn Equinox (Mabon) - On September 21st-22nd, we celebrate the autumnal equinox! Mabon is all about finding balance in the darkness and the light. This is a great time to tune into your light side and your shadow self and marry the two of them together. Shadow work becomes prominent as the veil becomes thinner and thinner, leading up to the Samhain holiday.
Samhain - On October 31st, the veil becomes completely thin with the Samhain holiday! This holiday is all about the shadow self and the darker aspects of witchcraft. It’s an ideal time to work with the magic of ancestor veneration. Additionally, it’s the optimal time to work with dark deities, do spirit work, and practice graveyard magic. Getting in touch with your darker half is made easy during Samhain!
Winter Solstice (Yule) - On December 21st, Winter Solstice and Yule holiday make an appearance! It is a warm and cozy holiday that evokes feelings of nostalgia and family gatherings. You might find yourself questioning your familial relationships and bringing them into the light for healing. Childhood wounds and traumas might be at the forefront of your mind. This is a wonderful time for healing your inner child!
How to Do Shadow Work
There are many different ways to do shadow work! Today, I’m going to share what works for me. Think of shadow work as a creative outlet for your innermost thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
I find that working with the shadow self can be as simple as drinking a warm cup of tea in the magic of nature! It can be as creative or as complicated as you’d like it to be. The most important aspect of the shadow self is spending time with yourself!
It’s important to get to know yourself and the only way to do that is by spending time alone with your own company! We can also do shadow work in relationships. This especially proves true during Venus Retrograde, as it highlights our friendships, familial, and romantic relationships. We can learn a lot about ourselves through each other!
Performing shadow work is a form of self-care! It fosters growth, creativity, and self-expression. It teaches us to be patient, kind, and understanding of ourselves and each other.
Shadow Work Journaling
Journaling is one of the greatest ways you can utilize your shadow self! What do you journal about? You can journal about your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and experiences. You can even use shadow work journaling prompts to guide you!
I like to write letters to the universe and burn them afterward! I also keep a folder in my inbox where I’m allowed to vent and write what’s bothering me.
Writing is a wonderful way to get to know yourself, as well as work with a deity who can guide you! For shadow work, I recommend working with a dark deity of the Chthonic variety. I work with many dark deities of the underworld such as Hekate, Hades, Persephone, Madea, Circe, and Nemesis.
I pour my heart out in my writings and address all of the things that are bothering me. I did this a lot during the last Venus Retrograde, as it opened up some wounds in my relationships and not feeling good enough.
If deity work isn’t your thing, you might enjoy working with angels, spirit guides, or your ancestors. They can bring forth comfort and divine assistance!
Keeping a journal as a way to get to know your dark side is extremely helpful, as it highlights the things you need to work on! As a witch, you’ll reach a place where you’ll know when it’s time to do shadow work, and you’ll get better at doing it through the moon phases, witchy holidays, and seasonal shifts.
Listening to Music and Shadow Work Playlists
Listening to music is a wonderful way to do shadow work! Music evokes feelings, emotions, and nostalgia. Certain songs have shaped our childhood and teenage years. Therefore, bringing them up can help you work through some of the baggage you have carried since then.
Creating a shadow work playlist is a great idea! It cues your mind to know when to do shadow work. It prepares you mentally for working on your dark, shadow self. Choose songs that make you feel a certain way!
I often put on music whenever I do spellcasting and shadow work! I often find songs that connect me with what I’m feeling at the moment.
If you’re doing shadow work to find out why you haven’t met a romantic partner, love songs or songs of missing someone might create a powerful change in your psyche. It might help you identify what’s missing and how to feel whole again.
If you are doing inner child work, listening to the music of your childhood may prove to be beneficial! Sure, it opens up wounds, but it also soothes and heals them.
Arts and Crafts Shadow Work
You can do arts and crafts to get in touch with your inner child or your shadow self! I’ve created a shadow work folder in my inbox. I stuff it with images, articles, and anything I come across that reminds me of my shadow self.
Additionally, you can keep a shadow work box filled with magazine clippings, graveyard dirt, dark herbs, and anything else that reminds you of your darker half. You can add photographs and inspirational sayings that motivate you to explore your dark half.
If you sew, knit, make collages, paint, or write, this can be incorporated into your shadow work. Use it to internalize and get to know yourself better! You might find you have a hidden talent.
Poetry and the Shadow Self
Nothing says shadow work like poetry! Try writing poetry about what you’re feeling, thinking, and experiencing. What is your shadow self trying to tell you?
If your shadow self were a flower, what kind of flower would it be? Describe it and write it down in prose. Match it with trees, a dark forest, and an abysmal pond under moonlight. Let your mind wander and explore!
If your dark self were a graveyard, what would it be like? Describe it in detail and prose. Make it sound pretty and dark at the same time, expressing symbolism for both the darkness and the light.
Poetry can be transformed into a shadow self spell that awakens something within you! Write it, bring it to light, transform it, and destroy it if it feels necessary to your spell. You can burn, bury, or drown your poem to release it on a full moon.
How to Integrate the Shadow Work
To integrate your light self and your dark self, think back to some situations where you were your own worst enemy. Think of your darkest moments. Think of behaviors that you are ashamed of.
The first step is to bring them out in the open and into the light! Once they are exposed, you can walk through each memory, one by one, and forgive yourself, knowing you would do things differently if you could, but accepting that you can’t.
This can be extremely painful and in some cases, you might like to seek the help of a therapist to guide you through the process! Here, you will find patterns and behaviors that you might be unhappy with or memories filled with regret.
It’s important to note that this was you, but that you were a different person at the time. This proves especially true for the things in our pasts. Since then, you have grown, evolved, and changed for the better!
It’s also important not to think of yourself as a bad person, even if you are still doing things that make you feel unworthy now. Acknowledging your pain, as well as the pain you’ve caused others, is the first step to healing!
Shadow work never stops! It keeps going. The more you dig, the more layers you uncover, and that’s perfectly okay. A big part of shadow work is accepting yourself as you are currently, with wabi-sabi style, flaws, and all!
This can be a painful and grueling process, but it’s worth it! The things you’ll learn about yourself will give you insight and understanding into who you are as a person. You’ll know your worth and place on this earth, which gives life a new meaning!
Thanks for reading and keep doing the shadow work, knowing you are safe and loved! xoxo ~Laurali
