I have had a difference of opinion when it comes to shadow work as I often see it presented in the mainstream. The focus is usually on wounds being carried, opening them up, and then healing them. Yes, this is part of the process but from my perspective it is a much smaller portion of the whole process and reason to do it in the first place.

Then there is the issue of how to do shadow work. Much of what I have seen focuses on identifying the wound, opening it up to take a hard look at it, but not a clear path of healing it. I have worked with a lot of people over the years who have followed techniques such as shadow journaling, and they get stuck with an open wound and not sure what to do from there. I have seen techniques taking them through process of feeling and reliving the situations but no clear guidance on what to do with it. Like if they just identify it and keep feeling it, eventually they will rise above it, all will be healed.

I am not saying this is all shadow work techniques by any means, just some I have commonly seen in our communities and what the people who come to me have told me. My journey was much different.

When I started my own journey into shadow work I wasn't seeking it. I had wounds like everyone else does, but shadow work was not my objective. My journey started with a conversation, it started with my connection to The Morrigan.

For me, The Morrigan was my Guide through building my own foundations, skill building, developing my psychic clairs, honing my own abilities, and discovering the power within me. In order to do that work, I had to walk the path through shadow work, the time of Tower for the self.

We talk about Tower time, the process of burning something to ash, tearing it all down, for the purpose of something new to grow in its place. Shadow work with The Morrigan works the same way. We are tearing ourselves down to bone, deconstructing all the conditioning of others, of society, to build our own true foundations of the self. When we get to a wound, we are digging it out, getting to the core, understanding the mechanisms/ walls we put into place in order to survive it, dismantling them, and rebuilding from new understandings, perspectives, and where we want to go from here.

It is never just one wound because the mechanisms we have built to survive and protect ourselves tie wounds together, in some instances creating new ones later on from that. It is not easy work - The Tower never is - but it is wondrous work. It doesn't feel that way at times, but when we come out the other side of it, we see it.

As I said, I did not seek out shadow work, but I obviously had to do it before I could really move forward. In the beginning I did not even realize that what I was doing was shadow work. It wasn't a carefully laid out plan with instructions, it was a road full of stumbles, WTF moments, and wondrous "awe" moments.

My constant companion and Guide though this was The Morrigan. I just listened and followed where She guided me. Every step forward would also be another discovery of something I had to question. Something I had to dive deeper into myself, deconstructing it to find the whys behind it, where it came from, did it hold up to my own experiences as truth, did it still serve a purpose now or was it something holding me back.

The depth of it happened over the course of about a year. Small transformations, step by step, a journey of tearing to bone and rebuilding myself. Each step not just being a moment of Tower and healing but also discovery of my own power and abilities. The more damage I cleared, the more I transformed into my authentic self, the more I discovered my own potential and power. The things all this damage and conditioning had been pushing down deep into the forgotten parts of myself.

Shadow work has healing in it, but for me the real goal, the true reward, was finding myself.

It wasn't one thing, one healing, one discovery, one transformation. It was many small steps that lead to a whole Rebirth of myself.

This idea that "shadow work never ends" is true. The more we live, the more we walk into the unknown, the more we find past perceptions challenged and wounds that may not have seemed like wounds before. In my experience though, it is so much easier and quicker now than in that first year. That is because the first major one, going deep and deconstructing the whole self, not only creates strong personal foundations to work from but the knowledge/ skills of how to do the work. I stumbled and circled the drain more than once that first year because I was learning all of that. The two years after that was learning how to hone and use my own power and abilities I developed through the process to move through all of it more effectively, more fluidly, not just in shadow work but in living. Then I spent the last decade working with others this way.

I still find myself confronted with inner shadows, but the way I see them and move through them is completely different now. They do not have control, they are just something to transform so that they serve me and my path I am forging forward, or something to deconstruct and move past. We do not live in a self bubble, we live in a world full of different souls, cycles, and rhythms. Things will always come up and challenge, but because I did this work I am prepared when they do come. This is one of the gifts of actually doing the deep shadow work.

If anyone asks me the best Guide for this work I am always going to say The Morrigan. I am a Death Emissary and She is my Reaper. This is the work of Reapers. This is what They do for souls on the road to the dead, they teach them how to do this. They teach the skills needed. They shine a light on our own abilities and power so we can see them and harness them for ourselves.

My biggest advice to working with any Deity - Let Them guide you and teach you. Build your own personal bond with Them. Let Them tell you Their own stories and teach you the lessons you need for you. It is not as hard as it appears or as complicated as others can make it out to be. Call to Them, talk to Them, find some tools that will help facilitate the conversation (I am going to recommend tarot, and specifically the Dreams of Gaia Tarot because it is designed for this kind of work - self work). I will list more resources below to help you get a feel for this or get started, but if you have been reading my column here for the past year or so you will already have some good ideas. Other people can give you ideas and inspirations, but what you need, what lessons you need, what needs to be transformed within you, your own skills and power are unique to you, thus so is your bond with Them. Build it that way and work with it from that way.

This really applies to The Morrigan, but also most foundation/ dark Deities: They are not mean, but They are blunt. They do care about you, but They also know you have to get up and keep moving forward. They know the work is hard, but They are walking the journey with you, supporting you. All of these things may seem harsh to some at the time, especially in your broken spaces, but that is also the times we need to be reminded to get up and move, not lay down and wallow.

I didn't seek shadow work, but it was the key I needed to become who I am, to be, live, and walk in this life as my whole self. It was what I needed to reach the power and abilities deep within me that serve me well in my living life and in these times we face now. It is not all about healing, healing is a part of it, but the real reward to the work is who we become through it.

Don't just do shadow work because you need to heal something broken in you - go into with the mindset that it is the key to unlock your truest self and fullest power, because in the end that is what it gives you.

If you want a weekend workshop that teaches you the skills, frameworks, and additional resources to do this kind of shadow work, I invite you take part in the Inner Alchemy Workshop. It is online and runs from Dec 6-8. There are 12 classes with post discussions, 2 rituals, several take home resources, along with opportunities to go further and deeper beyond the weekend. All of it is recorded and participants will receive them at the end to reference back to. It is a blended approach by Hallie Walker and myself. Hallie also has other resources from her perspective and practices. For more information you can go HERE

Hallie Walker is a distinguished spiritual trauma healer, priestess, and accomplished author, with a wealth of experience in guiding individuals through transformative healing. With over five years of teaching experience and three years of leadership within the Grove, Hallie specializes in stability-focused, trauma-informed healing, with a deep expertise in shadow work. She has published insightful articles with Pagan Pages and authored a book that further showcases her knowledge and dedication. Certified as a Reiki Master and in meditation, Hallie seamlessly integrates these modalities into her practice. As an aspiring therapist, she is committed to empowering clients to reclaim their personal power, resolve internal conflicts, remove relationship barriers, and live in alignment with their higher self and intuitive center.

The Crane Practitioners group is shifting focuses on our workshops and discussions to meet the needs of where people are right now and what they need right now. We are going to be working on different kinds of magic, spell crafting development, developing and bonding with spirit allies, and so forth. For more information you can go Here

If you want to take a more personal journey, connecting and bonding with The Morrigan - the workbook, Walking with The Morrigan Journal has been very useful tool for many.