Parts One & Two: Shadow Work & Tarot Strategies for It

Part One: What is the Shadow in Shadow Work?

If you follow my TikTok—or many of the other spiritual teachers sharing their wisdom—you may be immersed in the idea of shadow work, or “clearing the shadow.” But you might not yet have a clear sense of what that means… or how to actually do it.

I like to think of shadow simply as that which has not yet been brought fully into the light.

It can take the form of shame, self-limiting beliefs, trauma, or unhealed wounds—things that subtly shape how we move through the world and how we interact with those around us. Because it lives in “shadow,” it can be difficult to see, feel, or understand. Some of us even have incredibly strong protective mechanisms that keep us from seeing our shadow at all, leading us to think we might not have one.

But we all do.

It is not a failure to carry shadow. In fact, it is essential to the human experience that we do.

Think of shadow as our pathway home to love.

It may seem paradoxical, but it’s deeply true. Shadow allows us to pause and say, “Something about this doesn’t feel right.” Or:

“Why doesn’t anyone listen to me? I must not have anything to contribute.”

Without our shadow, our orientation to our true self wouldn't be fully illuminated. Our path to love and connection would remain only partially stepped into. This is the law of the cosmos:

We cannot see our light in a field of light.

So shadow arrives as contrast—an invitation to return to our wholeness.

And as difficult as that can be to accept, we truly did come to this plane to do this exact work.

Not to conquer shadow. Not to banish it.

But to move with it in a divine spiral of healing and growth.

So take a breath. Relax into the knowing that all is as it should be.

That you carry shame is not a flaw—it is proof that you exist.

And when you begin to see your shame as a tool for expansion—instead of something that is hurting or holding you back—

you’ve entered the sacred dance with it.

In Part Two, we’ll dive into my favorite method for beginning this work: a gentle, reflective tarot practice that can help you illuminate the parts of yourself ready to be seen.

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Part Two: A Tarot Strategy for Discovering Your Shadow

There are many ways to begin exploring your shadow, but one that I personally love is simply sitting down with a tarot deck and asking directly. You might try questions like:

• What is my shadow?

• What feeling keeps bubbling up lately that I keep brushing aside?

• What emotion am I trying hardest not to feel right now?

• Is there something that others keep reflecting to me that I’m resisting?

• What part of me feels left out, silenced, or unseen?

  
  

Let’s say, in response, you drew the Ten of Wands.

In the beautiful Way Home Tarot deck, this card speaks clearly to burnout. You might recognize the ways you overextend, people please, or lack boundaries that protect your energy. From here, you might ask a follow-up question, like:

“What is the nature of this relationship with burnout and depletion?”

You pull Justice.

As a major arcana card, this signals a deep, possibly lifelong pattern—one tied to your core values. Perhaps your burnout stems from causes you feel morally obligated to fight for—whether socio-political, familial, or professional.

Let’s say you then draw two cards:

“How is this energy serving me, and how is it depleting me?”

You receive the Seven of Pentacles and The Tower.

The Seven of Pentacles nurtures your values—it reflects that this energy supports a meaningful, aligned part of you. You can rest in that resonance. This is Justice in the light.

But The Tower reveals where the energy is in shadow.

“The Tower shows where you’ve built your identity on unstable ground—when burnout becomes the only way to hold up what was never meant to last.”

Let’s say you’re engaged in a justice-oriented struggle at work, as I once was during my time as a hospital social worker. I often found myself advocating for my patients in ways that clashed with hospital administration. It was a fight I believed in—deeply aligned with my values—but it also severely depleted me on every level.

Your next question may invite you to expand your awareness:

“What is it about how I’m engaged in this relationship with Justice that depletes me?”

You draw the King of Pentacles reversed.

This card may reflect a part of you that has become overly responsible, overly invested, or even identified with being the one who holds it all together.

In shadow, the reversed King of Pentacles can point to a distorted relationship with control—when care becomes control. You might begin to see that you’re not just advocating for justice—you’re anchoring your worth to it.

So the depletion doesn’t just come from the fight itself—

It comes from believing your value depends on winning it.

Finally, you may pull a last card for clarification:

“Where does this attachment come from?”

You receive the Ten of Swords.

This is the card of old wounds—the deep, unspoken belief that at some point, you were betrayed, abandoned, or left to carry everything alone. 

It says: “I learned that if I didn’t fight for it, no one would.”

So here we find the root of the shadow:

A wound of betrayal. A sense that you had to be the one to protect others, because no one protected you.

This is how we project our shadow—seeing the world through this old lens, unconsciously acting from it. That’s why the struggle for Justice doesn’t feel like just a value—it feels personal. And that’s why it can deplete you, even when the cause is righteous.

Continue to Part Three: Saturating the Field