Shadow Self Spread - Happy Samhain/Halloween!
Greetings! Happy Halloween and/or Samhain if you celebrate either or both! Last night I did a live stream on instagram that unfortunately got cut short before I could finish my general reading, so I wanted to post it here!
SHADOW SELF SPREAD
The idea behind this spread was that as we enter Winter, we are preparing to metaphorically experience death and change like nature will physically. As we are preparing for a Hermit like hibernation, we are confronted with ourselves, both the parts we project, and the parts we hide. How do we sit with this "shadow self"? How do we experience the parts of ourselves we have been taught to fear, hate, and ignore? How can we move through the veil of this learned shame and see the truth hidden in ourselves? How can we use this to foster change?
Think the metaphor of those dark boxes with bowls filled with peeled grapes for eyes or cold spaghetti for worms. We know there is a truth to whatever is in the box, that it is going to be okay. But we have a hard time trusting what we can't bring into the light. But darkness itself is nothing to fear, and what is the likelihood that those things are eyeballs or worms? Not very likely, but if it is so, what can give us the courage to investigate? And what could exploring and understanding the nature of what is hidden offer us in our plans for growth? If it is grapes and spaghetti, awesome! If it is eyeballs and worms, we have to do some work. But wouldn't we rather do work than live with eyeballs and worms in our soul? This analogy got way out of hand... But you get the picture.
CARD LAYOUT:
1
2 4 3
5 6 7
1. THE BODY - our conscious self, where we are on our journey to growth, pertaining also to our readiness to engage with our shadow selves.
2 + 3. THE VEIL - What lies between us and our shadow? What blockages and distractions do we deal with in this quest? What shame or fear have we inherited from others about our desires and identities?
4. THE REACH - How can we push through the veil and access the hidden truths? How can we interact with the self that is made up of all the things we are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with? How can we meet this self in the darkness, instead of trying to always bring things into the light?
5 + 6 + 7. THE SHADOW - What are our hidden truths? Our uncomfortable realities? What parts of ourselves contradict social norms, expectations, and the mask we wear? What desires do we have that would require us to step out of our comfort zones or stand up to oppressive forces?
If you use this spread, I would love to see! Please tag me if you post it publicly, and if you would rather let me know in private, feel free to message me on instagram! Thank you, and blessed Samhain to all!