Shadow Work journal prompts are one of the easiest ways for a beginner to build a relationship with their shadow.
What is the Shadow? The shadow is the part of your personality that’s hidden outside of your awareness.
It’s another side of you that has its own desires and wants. In fact, it’s the unseen reason why you’re life is how it is right now.
What do I mean by that?
Well, while you have your own desires and dreams, your unconscious shadow might not agree with what you want.
Whether you like it or not, your shadow has more control over your life than you do.
And until you get yourselves both on the same page, you’ll continue living the cycles you’ve been repeating your entire life.
This is where Shadow Work comes in—
Shadow Work is connecting the unconscious side of yourself to your conscious awareness.
There are many techniques for shadow work and they all serve the same goal:
To get the unconscious and conscious in touch with each other.
All it takes to get in touch with the shadow is to come into agreement with it.
In a sense, shadow work serves as a confessional that’s sometimes cathartic.
If you want to further study the shadow, check out the booklist.
Shadow Work Journal Prompts
The purpose of these journal prompts is to stir your unconscious mind until you feel sensations in your body.
For example, when I do shadow work I get a nice feeling in my arms and legs. Sometimes I’ll even get a feeling of ‘centeredness’ in the pit of my stomach.
These bodily sensations typically mean that you’ve appeased the unconscious.
However, it’s not all smiles and good feelings.
People who are new to shadow work can get emotional since they haven’t come to terms with their other half.
If you get emotional or have any sensations, be sure to feel them through.
Go deeper by speaking aloud for your unconscious mind to hear, then pay attention for a ‘response’.
Or start writing to your shadow. Then after a moment, write a response you think your shadow would give.
Keep in mind that your unconscious shadow can only reach you indirectly, so you have to trust yourself that you can tap into it.
For an overview of shadow work and integration, you can read our guide here.
That being said—
Try to reach the deepest truths about yourself, even if it goes against what you’d normally expect.
Here are prompts specifically designed to get you in touch with your shadow:
Shadow Work Prompts for Healing the Inner Child
1 – Imagine today you were dying. While you’re laying on your deathbed, one parent enters the room and holds your hand as you tell them some last words in private. Write down what you would tell both your mother or your father one-on-one.
2 – Write a letter to your child self apologizing for how you weren’t there when they needed you. Give your inner child the loving reassurance and understanding you feel you really needed back then.
3 – Write out all the ways you are able to take care of, and stand up for yourself. Then write out all the ways you don’t need your parents to take care of you. Do this until you come into terms with not having the parents you wanted and needed, and now that you are an adult, never will.
Shadow Work Prompts for Self-Love
1 – List out 10 things you currently don’t like about your life. Now write “I love” in front of each thing you’ve listed. Read it aloud and pretend that you mean it when you say “I love [something you don’t like about your life]”.
2 – Write down something that people do that really bothers you. In one word, describe what that something is. In big letters, write “Deep down, I am [quality you don’t like]!”. Keep rewriting this until you feel a sensation in your body.
3 – Write down how you believe other people see you, whether positive or negative. Next write why you believe people see you this way. Finally write whether you believe this is how others see you or if this is how you see yourself.
Shadow Work Prompts for Relationships
1 – Pick a person who you spend a lot of time with. Write down every judgment you’ve made about this person, good and bad. Next write an honest rating of how that person makes you feel on a scale of 1 to 5. Should you allow this person to stay in your life – yes or no?
2 – Write about a time where you felt betrayed by someone you knew. Next write about why you expected them to not betray you. Finally write how you believe you were entitled to these expectations.
3 – Write out a quality that you dislike about your current partner. List out all the times you’ve seen this quality in your current partner and past partners. Finally, look back at your childhood and write out why you suspect that you attract this quality.
Shadow Work Journal Prompts Benefits
You will know you’ve benefitted from your shadow work when you feel:
- More Self-Knowledgeable
- More Emotionally Mature
- Increased Life Satisfaction
However, don’t expect to feel a shift the first, or even the second time around. It can take a while for the mind to be willing to see more of itself.
Did you enjoy these Shadow Work Prompts? Check out 240 shadow work prompts in our Shadow Work Journal!
The Shadow Work Journal: 240 Daily Shadow Work Prompts contains the following:
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Relationships
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Anger
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Anxiety
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Self Love
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Healing Trauma
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Abandonment Issues (Codependency)
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Depression
- 30 Shadow Work Prompts for Forgiveness (Letting Go)
Click here to get your Shadow Work Journal Today!
Here are some resources I recommend:
A Light Among Shadows is a guide to self-love and being that helps you overcome negative self-talk, instill genuine self-acceptance, and overcome self-hate and resentment by making sense of people’s level of consciousness and your spirituality.
Shadow Work for Beginners Series helps you beat negative patterns and beliefs, integrate your shadow, heal your inner child, reclaim your projections, build emotional maturity, and take back your life by becoming whole.
Shadow Work for Relationship Series helps you heal your attachment style, navigate relationship issues, and build a healthy, mature relationship.
Advanced Shadow Work is an ongoing publication with continued in-depth insight and practical advice you won’t find anywhere else on the internet for practicing shadow work, self-awareness, inner healing, spiritual development, and more!
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Approved Tools
Tarot Cards (incl. Manifestation Manual ebook) provide insight and intuitive guidance for personal growth and decision-making.
Chakra Crystals (incl. Ancestral Healing ebook) can bring balance and harmony to your mind, body, and spirit.
Book of Shadows (incl. Shadow Work Journal) is your own special journal that you fill up with your energetic intentions as you scribe your own inner practices to be passed down to others.
Subliminal Bundle uses different hypnosis tracks to subconsciously improve your health, love life, motivation, self-love and much more.
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Sensual Shadow Play is practiced through BDSM experiences. If you are 18+ and are interested, go here.
