First name / Friend,

 

The nights are getting longer. Tendrils of biting cold reach through the crack beside the door. Looking out my window, where I normally see light filtering through greenery, are the veiny and translucent orange remnants of leaves that once were. Now they drift, dead, to the ground.

Winter approaches, and with it, darkness.

But this doesn't have to be a scary or solemn time, even in comparison to the bright excitement of summer or spring. Like any natural cycle, darkness is needed to beget light. Hibernation and rest beget renewal. The death of the leaves is the food for the soil. Stillness begets incubation. Burial begets sprouting.

 

 

Our shadow sides, or the aspects of us that no longer serve us or that are hard to look at, are not inherently wrong or bad. In fact, these conscious and unconscious habits and parts of us were likely a very smart formation we made in order to deal with ✨life✨. The thing is, we outgrow the need for them without knowing how to actively let them go (or even recognize them). And without that knowledge, that presence, that action… they subconsciously rule our lives, injecting things like fear, doubt, and shame where it's not needed.

One of the strongest practices for engaging with our shadow sides (doing ‘shadow work’) is to journal. To ask ourselves tough questions and be honest in our answers, as messy and stream-of-consciousness as it might be.

 

There is no right or perfect ‘goal’ for this practice – the point is simply to be present with whatever comes up for you. To hold it. To gaze at it, without judgment, the best you can.

Over time, awareness leads to recognition when these shadows rear their head in everyday scenarios. Recognition leads to presence, presence leads to healing, and healing leads to liberation.

 

You can do shadow work anytime, but it's especially potent during this season when natural energies of descending into the dark in order to be reborn in the spring are aligned. It's also a cosmic time not only of literal hibernation, but also of turning inward energetically. The way our ancestors came inside during this time for warmth and to rest until spring and summer work rolled back around, we can engage in that same energy by turning towards ourselves and our home as opposed to outside endeavors. Lastly, it's a time of connecting to whatever you name divinity in your life (Goddess, Godesses, God, Gods, Deities, Universe, Fate, Faith, Guides, Higher Self, etc.). For more on the energies and origins of Samhain, you can find that here.

 

 

Let the words flow. The whole point of these prompts is that they're simply starting points. Let the brain train go where it pleases.

 

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For an even more intense experience, you can combine this exercise with inner child work by writing the question in your journal with your dominant hand, and answering the question with your non-dominant hand. This activates a childlike energy to our answers, even looks childish on-page, and encourages us to write in short & simple answers (because writing with your non-dominant hand is hard!).

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If needed, I've found the following resources to be helpful after shadow work: this free calming meditation, this free grounding meditation, a walk outside (or just stand outside… barefoot if you can… notice something small in nature, stretch a bit), or doing something you love with no expectation of product or productivity (draw badly, watch your favorite comfort show, etc).

 

You're enough. Actually, you're more than enough. May this season of shorter days and longer nights provide you with the perfect conditions to heal in the ways you need most.

May you gain greater ease in accessing light in darkness, healing in unexpected places, and divine connection.

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