Shadow season is here! Where I live, in Southern California, the weather may not yet be an indication, the energy has begun to shift. Mabon, the autumn equinox arrived on September 22nd.. just a few short days ago. The word equinox is translated from Latin to mean “equal night”.  I know I mourn the decrease in sunlight and warmth of summer! It is always comforting to me when I hear others do as well! Often times I see now others view the darkness and approach of shadows with hesitation and are fearful of it. Though much of the spiritual community focuses on light work and the light in general, I believe the shadow to be just as important. Many famous psychologists have a therory that the “shadow” are those aspects of the personality that we choose to reject and repress, shame and fear. There are those of us who are willing to do the work, and through that work lies some of our greatest gifts! Realizations that contribute to growth. Believe me when I say that this is not easy work, but so very worth it!

So how do these “psychological theories” relate to this time of the year? The Autumn Equinox marks the time of the year where liminal space and the balance between light and dark are both present. This external shift in the balance of the light and dark effects the animals and plants, the crops, and ourselves as well. We are able to see the real world harvest of the energetic seeds we planted during Spring and Summer. How did that show up for you this year? We may find ourselves drawing more inwards, into our own emotional world, spending more time at home with close family and friends and emotionally “hibernating” so to speak. When it gets darker earlier many tend to settle in earlier.

Shadow season is a time of preparation and reflection. We are able to assess both the choices made over the past year and the emotional wellbeing we have helped tend to. This is the perfect time of year to contemplate our own duality in lightness and darkness, those internal elements of light and darkness. What aspects of yourself do you feel you are struggling with? What parts do you ignore for fear of judgement? If you are just beginning shadow work journaling is a fantastic idea! Journaling aspects of yourself that fall into these opposing categories can be eye opening and helpful. While doing so, note any feelings of judgement, sadness, frustration or anger that may come to the forefront when thinking about these elements of your personality. As you are realizing this, you are beginning the healing process. Much of the emotional illness and toxicity of the human personality lies not specifically in darkness, but in unknown. When we deny seeing these aspects of ourselves due to fear, we are then allowing those feelings to fester, which never ends well.

For those with more experience in this work, I encourage you to contemplate an aspect of yourself you may have hidden away for fear of judgement. What would happen if you were to reintroduce this aspect of yourself to others? Before the shadow season is over, if you were to show the world this side of yourself, what would that look like in your life? Finally, in assessing the harvest of your manifestation this year, are you satisfied with what has been produced? What worked this year and what did not? If you would like to change your harvest, what steps are needed to make this happen? This has been a strange year and 1/2, so do not be too hard on yourself!

I believe in you…..and so should you!

Traci