Tarot Shadow Work- Hidden Treasures

This week I'm going to give one example of Shadow Play that will help in unlocking those long forgotten shadows. In the previous Shadow Exercises, I identified my Shadows and how I might recover them in the Star of Discovery and Star of Recovery spread.  Now, let's try some make believe...

Imagine a large treasure chest, big enough to hold all your  special treasures. Visualize what this treasure chest might look like...describe it as detailed as you can. This chest will represent you as your present self, how you present yourself to the world...the perfect you. Locate a box big enough to hold the eleven cards that were used in the two Discovery spreads. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be grandiose...a simple shoebox or something approximately the same size will do.

Now, decorate the outside however you wish to symbolize the "you" that you show the world. Try to include all your hobbies or talents as you decorate, try to make it as personal as you can. Place the eleven tarot cards inside the box and picture them as the toys (Shadows) that you hide from the world. These cards now symbolize the shadow treasures that can be found hiding in the dark. Mix all the cards up like you are stirring a pot, and repeat the words "I want my Shadow back" as you do so, in a manner that resembles a stubborn child deminding his toys back.

Draw one card from your treasure chest and look at it...this is the hidden treasure you want back...the lost part of you that wants to come home. What card have you drawn...? What part of your lost self do you want back now? Looking at this card, how does it differ from the decorated treasure chest outside? When looking at this card, realize that this is the disowned part of you, if you want your power back, then you must lay claim to the Shadow that blocks it. What is the gift that lays in the dark?

This week I am going to do this exercise and see what card  I pull that I will be reclaiming. What gift do I have that has been hiding in the dark...? Tune in next week!

For My Best Friend....

Just like in the non pagan community, sometimes pagans and wiccans find themselves battling addiction, like a very close friend of mine right now. Her addiction, however, is not drugs or alcohol but the father of her youngest daughter. He has been serving time for a methamphetamine addiction and other unmentionable offenses and is due to be released here very soon. It's so very difficult to watch her as she deals with the anger, pain and lack of hope that she's experienced in the past several years. She has been working a program that supports friends and family members of those with addictions and has made so much positive progress in learning who she is, her place in this world and how she fits into it now as a healthier outlook on life has taken roots.


Because most pagan spiritual paths encourage balance, harmony and personal responsibility.... for some pagans, recovery is more than just "getting better... it becomes a part of the spiritual practice itself." For a lot of pagans fighting addiction (whether it be their own or that of someone close,) the problem lies not in the twelve-step program itself, but in the interpretation of how those twelve steps should be followed. She has chosen to use the term "higher power" and it has worked out very well. She didn't get hung up on the terminology but forged ahead in making a better life for her children and herself.

Addictions are dark and terrible places to become trapped in but for the families and friends, it becomes a cycle that is not so easily broken. It takes inner strength, courage and a deep desire to rise above the pain and anger to a place where it is decided that things are going to change. I deeply admire my friend for choosing to stand up and say "No more" and draw boundaries for herself and her children. I feel so helpless sometimes because it is a journey that only she can take, I can only stand by to cheer her victories and give hugs when days are grey and stormy.

I by no means condone those with addictions and their lack of taking responsibility for their choices or actions, in fact it makes me ill. I witnessed the terrible devastation that is left in the wake of these addictions first hand as a child of nine and I see it now in the eyes of my friend and her girls. The thirst for justice screams in my head daily but I also remember that it is not my justice to take which makes it much more frustrating. So to my buddy..."Take heart, I will be there when you need my shoulder to cry on... I will be there in the sunshine and the rain...I will be there when you doubt your strength...I will be there!