The Basics of Shadow Work: What is it, Prompts I Enjoy, Resources

Take a sip of tea every time Chaotic Witch Aunt mispronounces "Jung".

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[Elethia]

Acceptance of your shadow doesn't happen over night either. Sometimes it takes months or years to accept that icky feeling and shadow self.
Also 5 questions I seem to always go back to
1: Why do you not allow yourself to make simple mistakes, or any mistakes?
2. Why do you not allow yourself to feel X emotion? (excitement, anger)
3.Why do you not allow yourself to be human?
4. Why do you keep moving the goal post instead of celebrating an achievement?
5. Why do you feel directly responsible for negative things that happen? (Example: Friend drops plate at pot luck and breaks it, first instinct sorry I should have gotten paper plates.)

[ivabrlas]

My favorite one so far was 'write yourself a letter as someone who hurt you' when i tell u i sobbed the whole night-

[hellbender]

IF YOU HAVE PTSD OR C-PTSD DO **NOT** DO SHADOW WORK ALONE. i have c-ptsd but i'm also a shadow witch. most of my shadow work has had to involve a therapist that can support me through SEVERE trauma shenanigans. if you try to just do shadow work with these disorders you will have a Bad Time and yes i do know this from experience lmao just trust me

[YourWitchyCousinTikTokComps]

Me, thinking: “Universe, send me a sign if I need to do my shadow work.”

The Universe: *notification for this video*

Me: “...FINE.”

[thepagesofsamantha]

I really liked that you included the fact that therapy isn't always available or an option for some people. I feel like we tend to forget that and we definitely need to recognize it. those questions made me feel icky which I suppose means I have more shadow work to do myself lol

when I do shadow work, I like to work through my triggers and why those specific things are triggers for me and how I can work through them in a positive way. I also think it's important to validate yourself while doing shadow work. writing down the words "it's okay that you're feeling like this" or "my feelings are valid and are not wrong" helps me A LOT

[ravendelacour]

This may sound like an odd technique, but if you instinctively seek out music when having an emotional reaction it's a good step to take a look at the vibe that music gives you. Often we'll instinctively seek out music that embodies either the buried cause of the trauma or the vibe we need to embrace to overcome it.

[honeyedcyndaquils]

I just realized I've been accidentally doing shadow work activities thanks to a very good councilor I had who taught me how to breakdown my reactions and emotions. Big thanks to that guy, I don't know how far I would've gotten without him.

[layneholiday]

One prompt I really like is, list 20 things you like about yourself then write an apology letter to yourself for tearing yourself down. It's great for days when I feel like there's nothing to like about me and makes me acknowledge why I feel negatively about myself

[ekultneb]

I was literally just about to research how to do shadow work when this came up on my phone.😯🙃

[TheVerdantSorcerer]

These are particular ones for me-
1.Why do you have the same negative physical reaction to excitement as you do to fear?
2.Why does finding out that you are wrong about something inconsequential make you feel humiliated and stupid?
3. Why do you get angry, spiteful, and aggressive when someone points out a personal flaw that you know is true?
4. Why won't you allow yourself to be bad at something until you've put in the necessary time to be good at it.

[risingphoenix]

As a licensed therapist, I think you did great job explaining this concept. I appreciate you also letting people know that there are going to be times when therapy will be needed, especially when there is some pretty complex trauma. :)

[oneirodynia]

Not me avoiding Shadow work and my bestie reminding me only for me to see this video thanks Frankie🧍‍♀️

[LNRLN]

I'm working on a prompt where you break down the qualities of a character you obsess over and a character you despise, see why you have that strong emotional response to that character, and identify the traits that you share with those characters. It's been a really interesting and enjoyable one!

But, then again, I really like shadow work. It's like a huge weight coming off my shoulders every session! I like to think shadow work is like you're disassembling yourself, cleaning and polishing the parts, then putting everything back together again!

[halosandhorns]

So im actively telling people that they need therapy. WE ALL COULD USE SOME THERAPY.

My shadow work prompt:
Your shadow self manifested into a physical form (a person) and you have a conversation. Write it out. You can write in tandem or shadow then yourself.

[JacquelineParker]

Shadow work is so difficult for me. My brain has so many blocks and walls up that prompts literally trigger nothing, zilch

[the_air_is_thick_with_magi]

My 3 prompts i got from this are:
When you think of the word failure, what springs to mind?
What does your inner, truly real and authentic you look like? In what ways do the inner and outer selves not match up?
How many times per week do you feel strong negative emotions? How often out of those times do you dismiss and/or feel guilty about those emotions?

[esoclectic]

Some of my favourite prompts to cry over & ones I have to revisit regularly:

What is it that makes others genuine but not you? What would make you good enough/real enough to what you project? Why do you consider yourself false where you trust others?

Why do you make allowances for others you would not give yourself?

What are your problems with authority and why do you always fold in the face of authority despite wishing not to?

[EricaSantos-mpbz]

We were just learning about the shadow and shadow work in my Theories of Personality class. My professor said to watch out for shadow work workbooks sold online bc lots of them are just looking for profit and guarantee gaining things in your life bc of doing/buying their shadow workbook that's not ever guaranteed! So just a tip to be careful of for anyone in the comments. I think it's important to keep in mind that Jung was a racist, pro-colonization, nazi-sympathizer, sexist, religious forcing, and stole some of his work from other cultures as his own ideas.

[lavenderlillith]

I started my shadow work by writing down who I am. The cut and dry facts like my height, colour of my eyes and such. Then the next thing I did was writing how I see myself, allowing my insecurities to do the talking.... Gave me alot of insight what I need to work on ^^'

[maskedpanda]

Also, one thing that can be helpful is to remember that shadow work doesn't always have to use prompts. if they don't work, you can just sort of feel around and try to see what you can address at that point. That's how mine goes because a lot of the time what I have to address is directly tied to a trauma, and it can be extremely dangerous to try and process something you aren't ready for. Though, this doesn't mean just avoid it, rather I guess just sort of wait and listen to your mind for what it is ready to address.