Intro to Shadow Work

This is a talking head video, so feel free to play as audio only! This is my personal way of basic shadow work, of course there is so much more to the shadow and ways to work on it, but this is my basic way I personally do things. If you liked this video, I’m sure Jaxon would have a hay-day on this topic, so let me know if that’s something you’re interested in!

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[PyroGhost]

I always called this "having tea with my demons".

[willowraevynwood]

Brilliant video! I tell people that if you stuff that "Monster" into a box, eventually that "Monster" will escape and cause problems. Instead, why not take the "Monster" for a walk and start to understand each other.

[Alijjose]

Me when I start my Shadow Work:


Hey demons its me, ya boi!

[naomiwainwright]

I was raised a through and through Christian and this video helped me accept the fact that I’m bisexual and I can’t ignore that.

[saturniansun]

I like my shadow, and it knows it's place, only I hold the key to release it when it is only absolutely necessary. It is my protector, and in turn, I protect it, to insure it doesn't become my ego. My blessings are with all who seek growth, self knowledge and wisdom. Much love.

[TheKitteth]

Ive been doing Shadow Work since I was 16 (15yrs... jeez I feel old 😂) and Shadow Work helped me with my PTSD years ago. I no longer have PTSD, depression or anxiety (or any of the symptoms that go along with these illnesses) because of it, and I still do it just so I can keep on top of my own mind, keep in touch with my self.
Method: back then I would vent my emotions into a journal til the emotion was all out, then come back when Ive calmed down and write out my objective observations on what caused the emotion and how it came about and where it started in my life.
Now its a LOT less emotionally charged, but I still find writing from that emotional stand point, and then moving on to objectively picking apart the root of the issue in the one sitting is possible... but tbh I think thats only because of years of practice.
Meditation is great, perhaps after the emotional vent, because IMHO its important to honour the feelings you have because no matter how bad they feel or if you're ashamed of them, they are valid and its healthier to express the emotion than to repress - and what healthier way to express emotions you might be embarrassed or ashamed of than quietly into your book where you can eventually come back to years from now and see how far you've come.
Some things I found to be important observations while doing Shadow Work over the years that Id like to impart is:
(as above) your emotions are valid, dont repress them, honour them. They may have come about from faulty mental programming, but they are yours and are just as important as your happinesses and joys.
Make sure to remember that the objective isnt to fight and conquer your demons, but to sit them down for a cup of tea, get to know them and make friends with them.
Be patient with yourself - we are always hardest on ourselves, so remember that altering deeply ingrained beliefs and habits will take a lot of work and you ARE going to make mistakes along the way.
Be gentle with yourself, forgive yourself for being imperfectly perfectly human and be proud of yourself for being willing and ready to grow - a lot of people refuse to continue growing and stagnate... but not you - you brave self mastering magickal being!
You change your mind and you change your world.
And finally, remember that you arent alone in having a Shadow Self. We all have them, we all hide something of ourselves, and so while you may walk alone, dont get caught up in the belief that you're alone.
May your journey be as fulfilling as mine has been. Xx

[ryce]

i’m having a rly rough time rn and this intro is soothing the hell out of me

[cameronf]

From what I've learned about witchcraft so far is that it's a lot like therapy. I've also learned that I've been practicing many of these same things for a while now, especially shadow work. Witchcraft seems like the next step for me in my therapy. Thank you for your explanation :)

[amandarichard]

Moondancer has a whole series on this called '30days of shadow work' she goes through each day and gives you one thing to work on. Check it out!

[Nova-jwju]

me: ooo this should be a nice video!
me, throughout the whole video: dang that one pretty human

[sagekay]

When you realize you’ve been doing shadow work for years

[Daniellextina]

“Shadow aspects are the Egos unwanted children”
—Kelly-Ann Maddox

She’s a great person to watch in regards to shadow work. Thank you for your video Olivia! I’ve recently started my shadow work journey and it’s been very interesting. I started because it was suggested from a different YouTuber upon starting a witchy journey to go thru shadow work in order to clear the mind and let go of the baggage that can weight you down and affect spells and manifestations. Not sure I explained that well lol but you get the point! ☺️ Blessed Be, love. 🖤

[thetruemystic_]

While watching this, was feeling really emotional. The idea of accepting something so you can move past it and grow has been such a foreign concept to me.
Seriously thank you for this. From the bottom of my soul.

[mercedesedwards]

When I was younger and in therapy one of the things I learned was to write letters to people when I was angry or sad or discontent or whatever and then burn them, as I've gotten older I still use this trick but I re-read my letters and try to evaluate why I needed to write it in the first place before burning and sending it all away, it has helped tremendously with my shadow work to see the things that trigger you in anger and understand the reasoning behind it. I write the letter and stash it in my desk and come back to it in a day or two when I've calmed down and when I read it again I'm often embarrassed with how I reacted but it puts things in perspective and helps me to let go of that feeling. I hope maybe that will help somebody out there trying to face themselves. Thank you again for the video Olivia, you are great! Keep giving us all your insight, you are an excellent teacher and talker! I know you will help many people coming to terms with themselves and finding themselves through this outlet. 🖤

[TheEndofsilence]

I"m taking both a psychology of good and evil and personality theory. I talked about Jung for my class presentation. He's so awesome and he gets so much criticism for combining psychology and mysticism, but I think it's beautiful and fascinating. I recently had to write a paper about my shadow self, and It was a really hard paper to write.

[ccrgrl]

Shadow work has been way easier in my "crone" stage. I was so hard on myself in my youth, where as now I believe everything I went through and experienced has brought me to a place where wisdom has allowed acceptance and forgiveness that in the long run equals strenth.

[inthenebula]

Just wanted to put this out there: I had alexithymia (inner blindness) and so even the first step of seeing we have a reaction to something can, for some people, be nearly impossible if you don't know what you're feeling or thinking. Then, my next hurdle was dealing with the really strong traumatic feelings that would come up if I so much looked at my feelings or behaviour, and understanding those feelings weren't here right now, they were memories.


Another important part is learning to see that thoughts and feelings aren't necessarily literal. To me, anything I thought or felt seemed like fact, like how reality was, rather than happening as a consequence to lifestyle factors (not sleeping well, drinking too much coffee, etc.), from having a narrow window of tolerance (being more easily stressed than others and taking longer to calm down), from my expectations or beliefs, or from straight-up re-experiencing.


I thought I would bring this up because some people have work to do before they can even begin the shadow work process. And that's okay. Everyone is different cognitively but you CAN get better. I had no hope of ever being a normal person after my prolonged trauma and I was treated as such by professionals. I'm happy to say I've made a miraculous recovery, but it came from focussing elsewhere first--on the basics I never learned in my childhood.

[incomprehensiblevoid]

I recently discovered one of my root shadows, I guess. I got upset because of some stereotype that was associated with my zodiac sign (virgo). I started out ranting about it, and it slowly transitioned into my personal insecurity and not knowing who I am. It then turned into me talking about feeling like I could never satisfy anyone due to bullying I got and feeling like I was never enough. It then turned into abandonment issues started by my biological mom threatening to leave me and never being there for me as a child. That's what caused me to try and please everyone around me, so they wouldn't leave. Now, I'm trying to make myself happy, and realise that I dont need others to have self worth. Shadow work is very helpful.

[shannonburton]

This reminds me of cognitive behavioural therapy which I’ve been doing for years. Pausing, identifying trigger, identifying belief (why it triggered you), reasons for and against the belief, and then disputing the belief. I guess the difference is that you don’t try to accept the belief or the behaviour, you try to change to it. Well, you need to recognise and accept that you are a certain way (in my case a catastrophic thinker), and once you’ve accepted that that’s how your brain functions, then you can begin changing the patterns. It’s something I practice everyday and it has helped me become a better and more stable person, but it’s something that’s always there and I need to constantly be aware of it so that I don’t fall back into past patterns. Anywho, I really enjoyed this video and your explanation of everything.⭐️

[tam]

Literally started jumping with excitement when I saw the notification 😂