There is a lot of information about Shadow Work in the forum. I will be starting the work with this full moon.
I have one question that I would like your input on.
When is the best time for Shadow Work?
I have more time in the morning, but I worry about it affecting my mood the rest of the day. I could do it at night, but I worry about it affecting my dreams. I have a journal with daily prompts, but I don’t know if I want to work on it daily.
What are your thoughts and opinions for the best time of day for Shadow work?
In my opinion, the best time for shadow work is any time you have available to do it. As long as you’re taking time afterward to reflect on what you’ve experienced and decompress, it shouldn’t have too big of an effect on you. Yes, there will be difficult moments and hard realizations, but the purpose of working with your shadow is to recognize them and either integrate them, work with them, or overcome them.
Shadow work is also not something that is done in one sitting. Yes, you can sit down and actively work through some shadows through meditation, journal prompts, and self-reflection. However, shadow work is also done constantly as you move through life. When something happens that triggers a certain emotion or response during your daily life, shadow work means recognizing it, taking note of what happened, figuring out the cause, and reflecting on how this shadow shows up for you. You can also take that further during a shadow work routine to journal about it or think your way through it.
Here’s an example from my own life: I made a TikTok video that may ruffle some feathers (has nothing to do with witchcraft or paganism). Now, I am fighting the urge to constantly check my notifications for replies, messages, etc. I recognize this as two shadows: one is the need for validation and two is the fear of rejection. By recognizing these shadows as I sit here, I can work through those emotions and remind myself and my shadows that I deserve to exist, I deserve to have an opinion, and I can’t make everyone happy.
To sum it all up (because I tend to just ramble on lol) I say do it whenever you feel the need or desire. If you want to make a routine, such as exploring a journal prompt every full moon, that’s awesome! If you only want to do it once a week, that’s cool, too. There aren’t any rules about doing shadow work, and shadow work is something that will happen for the rest of your life since our subconscious is constantly changing and adapting to our environment.
This is a great tip, shadow work on the go rather than just in a shadow session, I can work with this better as it’s live so to speak. Thanks for the tip
I’m not sure I can add anything more than Mean already has but I agree with this. The best time to do it, IMO, is when you have time to do it. If that’s morning, then take some time afterward to meditate and process before going about your day. The same applies at night, ground and center with meditation to settle yourself before sleep.
I am going to try to add a regular shadow work session in addition to the ad hoc manner in which I currently do it. I am going to do it in and around the new moon.
I don’t really do any type of “formal” shadow work. I’m not really one for writing and journaling. I do “on the go” shadow work like Megan said. I try to take some time to reflect and process those uncomfortable emotions. Look for the lesson and do some positive self-talk and positive affirmations. Shadow work is different for everyone and it may take some trial and error! Good luck!
I’ve found that dreaming after shadow work helps me process the work I did. A dream may say I did the work more intensely than I expected, here is a result of my work, I’m on the right track, or here’s an idea I may have missed.
Every October, I do shadow work by watching Halloween themed movies and TV shows to see what comes up. Since I don’t watch gore movies, there is usually a bit more depth than jump scares. On other times of the year, if I feel called, I will do more journal work, philosophy, whatever comes to mind at the time.
After a while, the mind/Soul will let me know it wants to move onto another subject. That doesn’t mean I’m done- shadows are created and worked on at all times, whether I’m focusing on them or not. Sometimes I just need a rest to incorporate and see how things work in real life for a while.
Sometimes your brain can work through things we are reluctant to when we are awake. Things that I’m grappling with while awake tend to pop in dreams where I have another chance at them
Make sure to remember if u have some really difficult things to process. It can make u sad for a week. But if u are quick to jump into self care, self love and self love spells u will recover easier and quicker. Shadowwork can bring up a lot of emotions but it’s crucial
This is a really great point that I hadn’t considered! Dreams are the subconscious mind’s way of working through what we experience during the day in a micro and macro context (so like what happened daily versus what happened in childhood, for example). Dreaming after shadow work might help more than you think, @crystal5
What a wonderful synchronicity! It sounds like even the Universe wants you to explore the shadows.
The way my dreams work when I’m stressed is I will have symbols of things in the past show up. For example, if I dream of math problems, it is reminding me of a pair of men who wanted me to teach them Geometry about 5 years ago. I wil have some issue at about that time period to focus on.
As I do my shadow work, the images represented become more recent- a fun campfire could represent a teenager I met 3 years ago. Playing card games began two weeks ago. The closer I get to the present, the more I have cleansed from my shadow, and the closer to a rest I am getting.
Of course, timing is only one part of the dream image’s meaning. Destructive fire in my dreams usually means I’m overheated, and being burned at the stake used to mean that time of the month is coming soon. The people in the fire dream could represent specific memories, how much I care about the living individuals, acts that bothered me, something I did that I don’t like about myself, or the cleansing process in general. There are many layers to each dream, all of which can be interpreted individually and in collusion.
Oh wow, it sounds like your dreams are extremely symbolic! One day, I hope to recognize any symbols that show up in my dreams like you do That’s amazing!
