New Moon in Scorpio: embrace your shadows

Passion, Lust, Shame, Fear, Power
 
Typically, New Moons are a time of quiet contemplation and intention settings. As the first sliver of light after a dark moon, they mark the time of new beginnings and cycles.  However, today’s New Moon in Scorpio has a spicier flavor. We are being deeply invited into our shadows, our dark side, the parts of ourselves that we tend to stuff away from the light.  Rather than wallow in the depths of these shadows, we are being invited to shake up our feeling about them, moving from resisting to embracing.

Have you ever shared something you’re embarrassed about with a friend only to find that they have done/thought the same thing? Think, eating cake out of the garbage, watching porn, fantasizing about running away from your “perfect life”, on and on and on. Once you get it out in the open, suddenly any feelings of shame you had, dissolve, maybe you can even laugh about it.  The darkness is what gives a shadow it’s power. The coat rack in the corner of the room can look like a monster to a child in the dark, but once the light is on, the fear is removed. This is the power of shadow work.

It has been through the acknowledgement of my darkest shadows that I have found the most light in my life. I’m not saying that shadow work is always as easy as flipping a light on. Sometimes it’s deep and gut wrenching and shakes us to our very core, but it is always worth it in the end. Our brain wants us to stay small and play it safe. It resists the work of the shadows hard. Our soul though, wants us to grow and flourish, to fight our demons and come out victorious.

Today you have a choice, to keep resisting that which scares you or to face it head on. I used to suffer from anxiety pretty regularly, especially after my divorce. I remember calling my Clairvoyance teacher and friend (shout out Elizabeth Guilbeault) during one of these bouts of anxiety. I was resisting it hard and feeling so much judgment about my anxiety. She said to me “What if you let yourself really feel it this time? Sink all the way down into those feelings? What if this is the last time to have to feel like this?” It felt so scary, and bottomless.  But I did it, I leaned in and really fell apart and found there was a bottom and it wasn’t nearly as far down as my fear led me believe it was.

I share this example because I remember thinking I might die if I really felt it. My fear was so huge at the time. At the bottom of that anxiety was the fear that I wasn’t worthy of being loved in a way that felt safe to me. This was my shadow. Saying it now, it’s hard to imagine how this belief had such a hold on me, but it did. Mainly because I didn’t even know what it was at the time. I couldn’t see the cause, I could only feel the symptom.
That’s what happens with shadows, we feel the symptoms if we aren’t willing to look for the cause. We feel exhausted all the time, anxious, easily triggered, have explosive anger, or feel like crying, but we don’t know why. The shadow is the path to healing. It’s being willing to take the dark trail through the woods knowing it’s going to take you where you need to go.

So how can you embrace your shadow work today, for this New Moon in Scorpio?
You can write about it. Shadow work is usually pretty messy, so you might want to write on loose paper rather than a journal you keep and look back on. Some people even like to burn their shadow journaling after, as a cathartic release. Use the following questions and prompts to get you started and be willing to let anything and everything come through:

1. What am I resisting?
2. If I am totally honest I……
3. I really hate……
4. I have never told anyone this but….
5. What am I afraid of?

Journaling for as long as you need to get to the juicy, real, raw stuff. Notice how you feel, try not to resist the anger, sadness, and shame that arises, trust that they are the gateway to the truth. Once you are done journaling. See if you can find 3-5 intentions to write down that revolve around changes you can make to more deeply embrace or release your shadows. Think, releasing the shame I have around my emotional eating, embracing my desires and speaking to my spouse about how to potentially incorporate them into our sex life, making time for me and not feeling guilty about prioritizing self-care. Then do something kind and gentle with yourself, like a salt bath or early bedtime. 

If you want a guide for exploring your shadows, it would be my absolute pleasure to be of service. Through coaching and tarot reading, it is my passion to help individuals work through the blocks that are keeping them from their authentic existence. This coming Sunday, November 3rd I will be hosting the Monthly Moon Circle at Shilo Farm. We will honor the changing cycles of the moon and the cycles within ourselves. During our time together we will deepen our inner wisdom through connection, discussion, journaling, movement, meditation, and sprinkling of magic. Click here for more details or to register.