Understanding Shadow Work: Pt. III

How Does One Prepare for Shadow Work?

Before we get into the different methods in which we can practice shadow work, it is essential to determine how we can (or should, rather) prepare to do so. Be aware that shadow work is not an easy or comfortable process. On the contrary, it tends to be discouragingly difficult and extremely uncomfortable at best and downright horrifying and sometimes even further damaging at worst.

The Importance of Perspective

With that being said, it is of utmost importance to first evaluate and transform how you perceive the negative aspects of existence– primarily in regards to your own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states of being. If you believe the negative aspects of existence (and the Self) are only meant to cause harm, to hinder and debilitate you, or are “evil” in any sense, you are going to run into some serious resistance issues– possibly even strengthening and perpetuating your Shadow. Simultaneously, the holding of this view is a tell-tale sign that you are most definitely in need of shadow work. Do not feel compelled to rush into it, however.

If you do find that you seem to maintain an unhealthy perspective of the negative, start by contemplating duality. Try meditating on the concept of day and night. The sun (our physical source of light) is always ‘there’– burning, casting light in all directions; it is our world, our point of perspective, that rotates and creates a mirage which suggests that it is not. It is always something that stands in the way of the light which casts a shadow and creates the illusion of darkness. Essentially, darkness is an aspect of light.

Also keep in mind that without darkness, light would not possess the same quality. Without death, [physical] life would have no real meaning. The negative, in part, serves to allow for the positive to be perceived.

This shifting of perception may take some time and may prove exceedingly difficult for some. But if you cannot understand, accept and embrace the truth and purpose of duality, you will find it even more difficult to face your Shadow. This is when shadow work can be seen as counterproductive and even dangerous.

The Importance of Knowing Your Limits

Additionally, it is important to know your boundaries, to be in tune with yourself. I feel you should be fairly familiar with grounding exercises, meditation and energy work in general before pursuing shadow work. You should be able to discern when you need to rest or when your state of being is too weak to handle any additional stress. If you are suffering from severe depression, PTSD or other adverse mental conditions, you should proceed with extreme care and discretion. Though, again, if you are experiencing such conditions it is a tell-tale sign that you would certainly benefit from shadow work. Such conditions are very much created and perpetuated by those experiences we have trouble facing– whether it simply be uncontrollable, undesirable emotions or severely traumatic events. By virtue, shadow work is practiced because we are sick and broken; so it is silly to assume we need to be in some sort of perfectly stable, elevated state before pursuing such an endeavor.

That does not mean, however, that you should rush into it in effort to ‘fix’ yourself. You should be able to become fairly acquainted with and accepting of whatever condition you may find yourself in– again, this has a lot to do with perspective. Also, don’t feel it necessary to do all on your own. Though a large part of shadow work must be done alone, always feel free to reach out for support from others, especially those who have already consciously engaged in shadow work. Don’t feel hesitant or ashamed to share your experiences with others either. Sharing is an integral part of the healing process for most people; not only can it help you, it can help others as well.

The Importance of Patience

As I previously emphasized, don’t rush. Try not to have any expectations or set forth with the desire to 'conquer’ this entity, the Shadow; this will not serve you. The purpose of shadow work is to befriend and reintegrate the Shadow, not to challenge it– doing so will only strengthen its influences. This requires a great degree of patience. Understand the importance of working slowly and earnestly, heeding to your limitations as necessary. This also means not jumping into shadow work before preparing yourself. It can be tempting to rush into it headstrong and determined to mend your wounds so that other aspects of your life might improve. Again, you are defeating the purpose by having this attitude; in essence, you are still resisting your Shadow because your aim is to use it to incite positive effects rather than to simply understand and accept the negative. Also be aware that shadow work is an ongoing practice; once you begin, you will realize there is no real end to true shadow work.

For Understanding Shadow Work: Part II, visit: http://unmaskingthedivine.tumblr.com/post/112889344340/understanding-shadow-work-pt-ii

Ghibli Music for Studying

(All link to YouTube)

24 minutes - harp music

30 minutes - cello music

36 minutes - slow compilation

1 hour 32 minutes - slow piano, some ghibli themes.

1 hour 33 minutes - pace varies, good for cleaning the house too.

1 hour 36 minutes - slow piano, sometimes a bit more upbeat.

1 hour 49 minutes - Ghibli music with fire crackling in the background

1 hour 52 minutes - slow piano.

2 hours 22 minutes - slow piano.

3 hours 32 minutes - Ghibli Jazz (cover)

+A different post on Ghibli playlists <3

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moss-pond

1 year ago

hi ^__^ the san-x website has a lot of cute wallpapers i thought you guys might appreciate them

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moss-pond

8 years ago

Ten Mistakes New Herb Gardeners Make (and How to Avoid Them!)

Mistake 1: Growing from seed. When you first start out trying to grow fresh herbs, I recommend you begin by trying to grow from seedlings rather than planting your own seeds. These great little starter plants are widely available in grocery stores in the late spring. For the same price as a packet of fresh herbs from the produce section, you can buy your own little starter plant. Lots can go wrong in the seed to seedling transition (including not thinning out plants properly), so its probably best to begin by skipping that complicated task or you are in danger of washing out before you really begin.

Mistake 2: Starting with the wrong varieties. I recommend you start by trying to grow fresh basil. It is the perfect trainer herb. First, basil grows quickly, allowing you to observe the effects of your care more easily. Second, basil leaves wilt visibly when not watered enough, but recovers well if you water the wilted plant. This makes basil a great ‘canary in the mineshaft’ to help you figure out how much water is enough.

Mistake 3: Watering herbs like houseplants. Instead, water herbs a moderate amount every day. While some houseplants flourish with one solid watering per week, most delicate herbs require moderate and regular watering. This is particularly true during hot summer months. If you have good drainage at the bottom of your pot (at least a drainage hole, possibly rocks beneath the soil), it will be difficult to water herbs too much.

Mistake 4: Not cutting early and often. As a novice gardener, it may seem like your puny little plant just isn’t ready for a trip to the barber, but then you will find yourself sitting there wishing for leaves without much success. Again, basil is a great herb to practice pruning. As with all herbs, you want to cut the herb just above a set of growing leaves. With basil, when you cut the plant that way, the originally trimmed stem will no longer grow. However, two new stems will grow around the original cutting, creating a “V” shape (see the photo above, can you spot the Vs?). If you don’t trim basil aggressively, it will continue to grow straight up, and become too tall and top-heavy. Making your first trim approximately 3-4” above the soil produces a nice sturdy plant. Of course you want to be sure you are always leaving a few good sturdy leaves on the plant (see below). As it continues to grow, continue to prune it approximately every 3-4" for a nice solid plant. I like to let it grow for some time and then cut back to within 2-3 inches of the original cut. After only a few early trial cuts, this usually makes for a nice clipping with plenty of basil to use for a pizza.

Mistake 5: Taking the leaves from the wrong place. When you are just starting out it seems to make so much sense to pick off a few big leaves around the bottom of the plant, and let those tender little guys at the top keep growing. Wrong. Leave those large tough old guys at the bottom alone. They are the solar panels that power your herb’s growth. Once your plant is big enough to sustain a decent harvest, keep on taking from the top, as you have been when you were pruning. That way you get all those tender new herbs that are so tasty, and your plant gets to keep its well developed solar power system in place. Plus, if you pluck from the base and leave the top intact, you get a tall skinny plant that will flop over from its own weight (and yes, I know this from experience). When you pluck from the top, instead of clipping off just below a pair of leaves, you want to clip off just above a pair of leaves. It is a bit counter-intuitive as a novice, but trust me it works. The place where the leaf joins the stem is where new growth will occur when your plant sends off new stems in a V.

Mistake 6: Letting your plants get too randy. If you are pruning regularly, this may never become an issue, but unless you are growing something for its edible flowers, be sure to cut back herbs before they start growing flowers. My friend once brought me to her backyard garden and pointed, frustrated, at her wimpy, small basil plants. “I just keep tending them, but they don’t even produce enough leaves to put on a salad!” she lamented. I pointed to the glorious stalk of flowers at the top of each plant, “That’s your problem” I explained. Because herbs are kind of like college boys: if you give them half a chance, they will focus all their energy on procreation and neglect growth. If you want leaves, keep cutting off the little flower buds whenever you find them (see photo above), and it will encourage your plant to focus on growing more leaves.

Mistake 7: Using tired soil with no nutrients. Tired soil that has been sitting in your garden or lawn for ages often looks grey and a little depressing. Would you want to grow in that stuff? Give your plants a dose of the good stuff and they’ll thank you for it. I grow my herbs in a combination of potting soil, used coffee grounds (with a near-neutral PH, available for free at Starbucks), and organic compost. If I have some on hand, I also throw in crushed egg shells. Those without access to compost (and no deep commitment to organic growing) may find Miracle grow useful. My momma swears by it for tomatoes. A diluted solution of Miracle grow occasionally can help many herbs flourish.

Mistake 8: Getting in a rut. There is an element to passion about herb gardening. In order to be good at it, you need to feel rewarded. So don’t stick too long with one or two herbs just because they work. Branch out to a few other basic herbs that you will use regularly in your kitchen. There are few things more rewarding as an urban foodie than being able to pop out to the fire escape to clip fresh herbs to use in my cooking. Once you have become comfortable with basil, I recommend moving on to try growing oregano, mint, rosemary and thyme. All are regularly useful herbs in the kitchen, and all are relatively easy to grow. You will notice that rosemary cleaves after cutting in a somewhat similar way to basil, but grows much more slowly, so the effect is difficult to notice. Some plants also respond to clipping by throwing out more full leaves at their base. I have long wanted to grow cilantro but have not had much luck with it.

Mistake 9: You mean there’s more than one kind of mint?When choosing herbs, read the label carefully. For example, there are two main varieties of oregano: Mediterranean and Mexican. Mediterranean oregano is the more common variety, and what you likely own if you have conventional dried oregano in your cupboard. I have Mexican oregano growing on my back fire escape. I love Mexican oregano in spicy dishes, for making beans from scratch, and often use it in tomato dishes where I don’t want the flavor to seem too much like marinara. Similarly, there are many different kinds of mint. You don’t want to be thinking of the pungent spearmint plant and accidentally take home the much more subtle (and not mojito savvy) applemint by mistake.

Mistake 10: Feed me Seymour! If you are planting in soil instead of pots, take care that your cute little herb seedling doesn’t become a giant plant that takes over your garden. A word of warning for oregano and mint: both can be voracious growers. If you are planting outside in a garden, rather than in pots, you may want to consider potting these herbs and then burying the pots in the ground. This will add a measure of control to the root systems of these herbs, which can otherwise take over a garden and strangle nearby neighbors. When in doubt, check out wikipedia, they usually are careful to point out which herbs are in danger of overwhelming your garden.

Some really useful info here if you’re new to herb gardening.

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moss-pond

8 years ago

Yule Masterpost (Kinda)

Really awfully organised masterpost made for a few pals

Crafts:

DIY Yule Goat

DIY Yule Ornaments

Yule Altar

Candied Oranges

Yule Altar Ideas

Herbal Sachet Gift

DIY Witchy Gifts

Dried Oranges

Pine Cone Gnome Ornament

Toadstool Ornament

Birdseed Ornament

Succulent Wreath

Winter Spice Bath Bomb

Witch Ball Ornaments

Pomander Magic

Recipes:

Faery Cakes

Vanilla Hot Chocolate

Winter Ingredients & Associations

Snow Pudding

Yule Log (Recipe)

Buttered Rum

Faery Tarts

Gingerbread Poppet

Celtic Yule Recipes

Mini Yule Log

Wassail

Spiced Winter Tea

Candied Citrus Peels

Yule Wine

Tradition and History:

Yule Info

Yule Celebrations

Ways to Celebrate Yule

Wassailing

Krampus

Yule Goat

Yule Goat #2

The Wild Hunt

Some Mythology

Yule Tree

Yule

Spells and Rituals:

Prayer to the Earth

Stove Top Potpourri for Yule

Mistletoe Spell

Winter Wish Jar

Winter Magic

Yule Charm

Yule Wish Bottle

Bless your Yule Tree

Yule Ritual

Misc:

Winter Solstice Tarot Spread

Properties of Holly

Yule Potpourri

Winter Solstice Oil

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moss-pond

8 years ago

Magical correspondences of food

abundance and fertility: apples, bananas, barbecued foods, basil, beef, berries, cabbage, carrots, coconut, corn, figs, fish, grapes, honey, kiwis, lettuce, milk, mustard, oats, olives, oranges, peaches, pork, rice, tropical fruit, walnuts

cleansing: barbecued foods, bay leaves, beer, chicken, cinnamon, coconut, fennel, garlic, grapefruit, honey, horseradish, hot peppers, hot sauce, lemons, limes, mint, mustard, onions, oranges, peppers (all kinds), red foods, rosemary, sage, thyme, vinegar, water, whiskey (or any distilled beverage), white foods

comeliness: apricots, avocados, basil, beets, cucumbers, eggs, ham, honey, oats, olive oil, peanut oil, pears, rose water, rosemary, tea, water

creativity: anything made in pot or served in a bowl or cup, allspice, carrots, celery, grapes, ham, honey, mead, milk products, mushrooms, mustard, pomegranates, pork, water, wine

decisions: brazil nuts, caraway seed, celery, coffee, dill, grapes, hazelnuts, honey, mustard, raisins, rosemary, tea, turkey, watercress

knowledge and education: apples, beans and seeds, caraway seed, celery, citrus fruits, coffee, dill, figs, grapes, greens, hot foods and spices, meat, mint, nutmeg, root vegetables, rosemary, savory, tea, walnuts, watercress

employment: alfalfa, almonds, basil, bay leaves, cashews, chamomile, cinnamon, cloves, dill, ginger, grapes, maple syrup, meat, mint, nutmeg, oats, oranges, pecans, pineapple, pomegranates, radishes, salt, wheat

luck: allspice, bamboo shoots, bananas, beer, black-eyed peas, cabbage, champagne, coconut, coleslaw, fish, hazelnuts, kumquats, mincemeat, noodles, nutmeg, oranges, pears, pineapple, pomegranates, red beans, rice, sugar, tea, wine

happiness: apples, apricots, barley, beer, bubbly beverages, celery, cherries, chocolate, cucumbers, cumin, honey, lemons, lettuce, marjoram, milk, mint, olives, oregano, peaches, quince, raspberries, saffron, wine

money: alfalfa, allspice, almonds, bananas, barley, basil, beans, berries, cabbage, cashews, chamomile, chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, dill, eggs, figs, ginger, grapes, lettuce, maple syrup, marjoram, milk, mint, oats, onions, oranges, parsley, peanuts, pears, peas, pecans, pine nuts, pineapple, pomegranates, rice, sesame seeds, spinach, tea, tomatoes, wheat

promises: bay leaves, cumin, figs, garlic, honey, lemons, licorice, mulberries, nutmeg, onions, oranges, peanut butter, plantains, rose water, rye, salt, sunflower seeds, tea, wine

psychic awareness: bamboo shoots, bay leaves, bean sprouts (all), carrots, cauliflower, celery, celery seed, cinnamon, citron, coconut, cucumbers, dill, fish, flowers (garnish), grapes, lemons, lettuce, mace, mint, mushrooms, nutmeg, onions, potatoes, rose water, thyme, tofu, vegetarian fare

relationships: apples, barley, basil, bay leaves, cabbage, catnip, cheese, cherries, chestnuts, chocolate, cinnamon, dill, ginger, honey, kiwis, lemons, marjoram, nutmeg, oranges, parsley, raspberries, strawberries, sugar, tomatoes, vanilla, wine

protection: almonds, artichokes, bananas, basil, bay leaves, birch beer, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cayenne, chives, cloves, corn, cranberries, dill, eggs, garlic, horseradish, jalapeno peppers, leeks, marjoram, mustard, nettle, olive oil, onions, parsley, peppers, pineapple, prickly pear, radishes, raspberries, red rice, rhubarb, rosemary, rum, salsa, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, vinegar

sex: beans (men), blackberries, brandy, caraway seed, cardamom, carrots, celery, cherries, chocolate, cinnamon, figs, fish, ginger, honey, mangoes, mint, mustard, nutmeg, olives, oysters (women), parsley, peaches, plum wine, raspberries, rice, rose water, sesame seeds, shellfish, strawberries, truffles, vanilla yams

changes: asparagus, beans, beets, beverages, celery, cheese, citrus fruits, fennel, fermented items, frappés, ginger, grapes, lavender, microwave foods, mint, mulberry, oregano, rosemary, saffron, tea, vanilla, vinegar

health: alfalfa, allspice, almonds, apples, bananas, barley, basil, beans, berries, bran, brandy, cabbage, chicken, cinnamon, cloves, cornmeal, cucumbers, dill, eggplant, eggs, figs, garlic, ginger, honey, kumquats, lemons, marjoram, milk, oats, onions, parsley, peanuts, pears, peas, pine nuts, pineapple, rice, sesame seeds, spinach, thyme, tomatoes, walnuts

Source: Bubble, Bubble, Toil &Trouble – Mystical Munchies, Prophetic Potions, Sexy Servings, and Other Witchy Dishes by Patricia Telesco

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moss-pond

8 years ago

Tarot in Magic Use

I have a tarot deck that was gifted to me made entirely of leather and just the major arcana. It has an extremely powerful energy to it, and I knew right away this was a tarot deck to be used in spell work, not divination. So I started meditating and looking into the cards and really thinking about what they could be used for/associations. So here’s what I came up with!

(Note: I mention curses in here because some of the cards do lend themselves really well to that. If you don’t curse personally, feel free to disregard those parts. This is based on my personal relationship with the cards, so your personal associations and meanings for your deck may be very different. Be sure to understand the nuances of your cards before using them in a spell.)

🗝0 The Fool: Wiping the slate clean, a fresh start. Opening oneself to new experiences and knowledge.

🗝I The Magician: Manifestation and invocation. Energy work. Personal capability. Utilizing the power already within you and bringing it to the surface.

🗝II The High Priestess: Secrets. Hide and obscure knowledge to others. Increased intuition. Knowledge of the occult. Learn other people’s hidden knowledge while keeping yours under wraps.

🗝III The Empress: Fertility and abundance. Vibrancy, nurturing. Also to some degree, sensuality and sexiness.

🗝IV The Emperor: Strength and stability. Generic masculine power. Traditionalism.

🗝V The Hierophant: Jobs, mentorship and other positions that require some level of conformity. Traditional knowledge, coming more from a dogma or set path rather than a personal experience.

🗝VI The Lovers: Love (obviously,) union, harmony between two people. But mostly love.

🗝VII The Chariot: Success, motivation, overcoming any nasty obstacle. Personal power working with outside powers for your benefit.

🗝VIII Justice: Pretty self explanatory. Justice, getting what one deserves for better or worse. Could also be used as an aid to help guide you to the best decision when stuck at a crossroads.

🗝IX The Hermit: Knowledge latent within oneself that you want to bring to the surface. Cutting ties between yourself and people/groups that no longer benefit you. Any spell designed to get people to stay away from you (but warning here, the Hermit doesn’t discriminate between the people you still want to see and those you don’t!)

🗝X Wheel of Fortune: Luck, a change of fate. Finding one’s true calling/destiny. A request of a long-term type of success.

🗝XI Strength: Emotional strength, mastery of emotions, self-control. Resilience and courage.

🗝XII The Hanged Man: Release of unwanted emotions, new perspectives. In a curse or hex setting, it can also be used to represent someone who has been traitorous, especially in decks with a more traditional art style.

🗝XIII Death: Can be used to represent death during rituals such as a dumb supper. Important endings, rebirth, shedding the skin of the past. Hard cutoffs.

🗝XIV Temperance: Balance, cleansing, a restoration of energies as they should be. Healing.

🗝XV The Devil: Addictive negativity. All things bad in life that can be avoided, but are easy to slip into. Can be used to sic this on someone else in a powerful hex, or can be used as a representation of your own demons as you break free from them.

🗝XVI The Tower: Another card that’s particularly good for offense magic. Sudden, unexpected crisis. A destruction of what one has been working for. Upheaval. Could also be used to try and protect oneself as much as possible from this before it happens, if you sense trouble ahead.

🗝XVII The Star: Hope, guidance, generosity. Can be used when searching for a sign for something or for a pathway to be illuminated.

🗝XVIII The Moon: Mystery, emotional/spiritual fog, being stuck in a grey area. Illusion, hiding/obscuring yourself or something else. Could be used as a more gentle hex to weaken somebody without wrecking them like some of the other cards. Alternatively, it could be used to represent the literal moon, as either a replacement (if you can’t access the moon) or as a way to draw down the moon’s power.

🗝XIX The Sun: Recharging, success, vitality and enlightenment. Celebration. A powerful source of positive and productive energies, but without a lot of direction on its own. Similarly to The Moon, it could also be used as a representation of the literal Sun.

🗝XX Judgement: Guidance in making tough decisions. Luck or good fortune in the final stages of something important. Reaping the benefits (or punishments, so be careful) of our work up to this point.

🗝XXI The World: Harmony, tying up loose ends. Completeness and wholeness. Resolution of all conflict.

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moss-pond

8 years ago

Ostara and The Spring Equinox

March 10th 2016

Ostara is coming up! It is on March 20th 2016 this year. Spring is a time of rebirth, regrowth, and renewal. Ostara was essentially named after the German spring Goddess, Eostre. Ostara is a time of fertility and and sowing seeds.

Ways to celebrate:

Take a walk through a local park.

Lay in the grass.

Press some flowers. (Note: Be mindful, take only what you need.)

Take some pictures of spring. Make a collage with them or place some pictures on your Altar.

Plant a tree, Give back to nature.

Go for a walk and bask in nature.

Collect stones, feathers, leaves.

Celebrate in you coven. (If you have one.)

Decorate your altar according to Ostara.

If you are a solitary witch do your own ritual.

Send a prayer to thank nature.