“There is no light without shadows, just as there is no happiness without pain.”
-Isabelle Allende
My shadow is my protector. My savior. My powerful tool that was used to confine me, hold me, and shelter me when no one else could. When all else failed, my shadow was there, building up walls, creating protective barriers, developing coping mechanisms, creating thought processes, all to help me throughout my life. My shadow aspects have built me into the being I am today and I love every single part of them, as they are, because as they are, is who I was destined to be.
“I learnt to understand my shadow enough for it to hand its power over to me, allowing us to begin the rest of our lives together, in pure unconditional love.” -Lovie
If you're someone who is just beginning your deep self awareness journey, or you are someone who would like to continue along your journey with new tools and tactics, then please allow yourself some time to read along, as I share my learnings, teachings, experiences, and my own personally curated shadow work tarot spreads.
I am excited to share with you my shadow work spreads, but I also would love to teach you about the things you should know surrounding the shadow as a whole, such as what it actually is, some healthy coping mechanisms and balancing techniques for this kind of deep work, plus other things i believe you need to know when diving into this kind of practice, for your own safety and for the best outcomes.
Shadow work spreads are incredibly eye opening and powerful to incorporate into your practices when wanting to develop a deeper understanding of yourself and your past, your future and overall your purpose, as they help to identify fears, patterns, unresolved pain, insecurities, and so much more…
When talking about the shadow, I must first and foremost state that although seemingly dark and mysteriously hidden, the shadow means no harm…. As long as we are utilizing it, knowing it deeply and understanding how to navigate it in its entirety in a healthy, loving, supportive and honest way. The shadow itself will only cause problems or become especially potent if we are not allowing our conscious state to recognize these aspects of ourselves truthfully and wholeheartedly.
The shadow is not to be deterred. The shadow is a part of us. It’s natural. It has been curated and intertwined into our beings since the days of our adolescence, where our innocence is challenged and barriers are broken by the unkindness the world may throw at us.
Our shadow plays a part in defining us- through our decision making, our pattern creating, our emotion handling, and our perspective views. Our shadow is shaped by our unconscious mind repressing what we cannot face on the conscious level.
Understanding the shadow is vital to our overall well being. We walk through life with such unawareness of so many factors that make up who we are as beings. From our perception of ourselves, to the views and beliefs we have of the world, all the way to our internal thought processes and external actions we take because of these thought processes.
With shadow work, you can learn to manage imbalanced emotions, physical or mental exhaustion, memory loss, or even toxic relationships or patterns being repeated.
I must warn, it may seem that the shadow does not always want to be discovered, and this work is not always easy. It can be the opposite of instant reward. Shadow work takes time, patience, balance and means you must drop away from your ego.
The ego is one's sense of self. It is a part of the psyche, along with the shadow, that plays a vital role in defining who we are and how we present ourselves as beings to ourselves and others. Again derived from childhood through the experiences and self awareness we have, or even from the love we have/have not received.
When you begin working with your shadow, you choose the intensity to which you would like to go. You should not dive straight in to discovering your deepest darkest traumas, because it can cause your body distress and your unconscious mind will most likely shut down, which will cause the conscious mind to put its barriers up higher. (Patience is your best friend).
You must remember, the conscious mind is protecting us by hiding these events, emotions, triggers and traumas in our unconscious mind. Almost saying “Its okay, I'm going to hide this stuff from you so you don't have to feel it and know the truth because your nervous system cannot handle this right now”.
Which brings me to my next point, How to regulate your nervous system in order to allow the conscious mind to rest?
Rather than tell you what you most likely already know about wellness practices that can help, I am going to give you specific exercises that have helped me and that I practice regularly.
1- Bhramari Breath (the humming bee breath) - Humming sends vibrations through the body, which helps to reset the nervous system
2- Ecstatic dancing (allowing your body to move freely, dropping away from the mind) - Dancing with no care of how it looks, frees the mind of judgement and allows blocked energy or emotions to escape the body in a more free flowing way.
3- Speaking your thoughts out loud (talk out loud to yourself and act out scenarios, expressing how you truly feel and imagining it's really happening) - Because we are so conditioned to hold in our emotions and truth, we store it internally, if expressing to someone else isn't an option, express to yourself to give your body more of a release.
Now, when I say regulating the nervous system, I mean returning your thought process and response mode back to a healthy normal state. It saddens me to see how many people are just living their lives completely unaware of how traumatized they are. We each embody one, or multiple of these 4 trauma defense mechanisms.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn,
These responses begin when we are children. They were how we protected ourselves and how our body saved us from whatever was going on in our lives. Whether it be a sly comment of a stranger about our haircut, to the more traumatic events some are confronted with.
We find our defense mechanism that keeps us safe, and our body says “hey this kept us from dying, let's stick with this” - and from there, you embody this pattern of response in almost every situation you come across where you feel that you need to protect yourself.
I could not have begun my shadow work journey if I didn't practice these above exercises regularly, along with my yoga and meditations. Without at least one of these practices daily, I was on edge, anxious and in freeze of flight mode - my trauma responses (coping mechanisms to triggers).
And in all honesty, the darkest of my shadow did not start to show until I moved away from everything and everyone I knew, and moved to an Ashram. With that I was able to feel safe enough to really dig deep.
Now, that I've covered what i believe should be known when working with the shadow,
Here are 3 spreads I have carefully curated for you.
Whether one stands out, or you want to try them all.
Just remember to be gentle with yourself.
Three in depth Tarot Spreads for understanding your shadow:
Please before beginning, ensure you are in a comfortable safe space, free to express any emotions. Begin with a prayer..
My highest power, please allow my body to feel safe, my mind at ease, so my shadow can come forth and reveal to me what I need to know at this point in my journey.
As you begin. Bring your beloved deck into your hands.
Start shuffling, close down your eyes (if comfortable) and allow some deep breaths to flow in to your body. Perhaps inhaling for 5, holding for 5, and exhaling for 5, then holding for 5. Continue with this breath until you feel you are completely at ease.
Continue to shuffle, with your breath and mind steady, then when you feel ready,
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SHADOW TAROT SPREAD
Card 1: In what ways am I holding back because of my shadow?
Card 2: Why have I been avoiding my shadow?
Card 3: How can I best integrate my shadow?
Card 4: In what ways is this shadow aspect causing me to repeat patterns in my life?
I WANT TO SEE MY SHADOW TAROT SPREAD
Card 1: What triggers my shadow aspects?
Card 2: What can i do to better understand these aspect and how they came about?
Card 3: What gifts are hidden within this shadow aspect?
Card 4: What is a healthier way for me to express my shadow?
A MESSAGE FROM MY SHADOW SELF TAROT SPREAD
Card 1: What am I not seeing clearly?
Card 2: How can I best access my subconscious?
Card 3: What am I holding onto that is hurting me?
Card 4: What is a healthy way for me to express my shadow?
Card 5: A message from my shadow
I also want to share some light work you can do to balance out the shadow work.
Things like positive journaling and going for walks in nature are simple, but so enjoyable. When doing this kind of work, you must remember to balance it with doing practices that make you feel light and free. Self care is so important in general, but especially if digging into the unconscious mind.
Tarot has its powers of channeling through you from the universe's higher meaning, and shadow work has its powers of channeling through your inner wounds to discover deeper meaning. Put deeper meanings and higher meanings together, and you my friend, have got a concoction for an ultimate powerful magic breakthrough.
Tarot serves as a potent tool for introspection, tapping into the collective unconscious and offering guidance from the higher realms of existence. Through the symbolic language of the cards, tarot allows individuals to access insights beyond the realm of everyday consciousness, connecting with universal energies and archetypes, such as the the Queen of Wands, an archetype that embodies a powerful archetype representing charisma, confidence, and creativity. She is often depicted as a regal figure seated upon a throne adorned with sunflowers and lions, symbols of vitality and strength that resonate with the deepest aspects of the human experience.
The tarot index, a comprehensive catalog of card meanings and interpretations, serves as a map for navigating the intricate landscapes of the psyche. Each card in the tarot deck embodies layers of symbolism and significance, reflecting a spectrum of human emotions, experiences, and potentialities.
In this fusion of tarot and shadow work, individuals embark on a journey of self-discovery and transformation, transcending limitations and accessing the untapped reservoirs of their inner wisdom. The ultimate magic breakthrough emerges as they integrate the higher meanings of the universe with the deeper revelations of their own psyche, unlocking the keys to their authentic self-expression and spiritual fulfillment.
Shadow work, a profound process of self-exploration and healing, involves confronting and integrating the aspects of ourselves that we have repressed or denied—the shadow.
This shadow self encompasses our unresolved traumas, fears, desires, and unconscious patterns, exerting influence over our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
By engaging in tarot-assisted shadow work, individuals can harness the transformative power of the cards to shine a light into the depths of their subconscious mind. Through tarot readings focused on shadow work themes, such as confronting fears, embracing inner darkness, and acknowledging hidden motivations, one can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities of their psyche. You can also use Tarot to analyze your dreams. For more learning on this please take a look at our Dream Interpretation ultimate spread.
Combining the insights gleaned from tarot with the introspective process of shadow work creates a synergistic effect, facilitating profound personal growth and spiritual evolution. As individuals delve into the symbolic imagery of the tarot cards and confront the shadow aspects of themselves, they unlock new levels of self-awareness, acceptance, and empowerment.
Thank you for reading and opening your mind and heart to me, and overall, to yourself.
I can only hope that my words and teachings invite you to dig a little deeper and understand a little more. Your shadow is waiting to be discovered.
Read my other blog posts here to Decipher Your Dreams - The Ultimate Dream Interpretation Tarot Spread
If you're feeling stuck please see my Feeling Stuck Ultimate Tarot Spread here
Want to receive a free tarot reading well we got you covered. The Tarot Universe if full of pages and in-depth explanations to explore!
From my heart, to yours, lots of love
Love Lovie x
(Teacher, Healer, Writer, Student)
