Faces of the Shadow

Mystics, sages, and witches have danced with the Moon for millennia—tracking her every swell and shadow. She's more than just a cosmic nightlight; she's a living symbol of fullness, loss, fertility, and decay.

New Moon in Leo

This Thursday, July 24th, the New Moon rises in Leo, reminding us to be mindful of drama, theatrics, and the craving for validation.

A Leo Moon pulls us into the spotlight, but when she’s dark? That spotlight turns inward—illuminating ego wounds, attention-seeking shadows, and old patterns of performance. Fears, hidden aspects, antisocial behaviors, and repressed memories all live in the darkness of our minds, or the subconscious.

Shadow Work is a powerful tool for examining and exploring these caves of the subconscious and gives us an opportunity to shine light in the darkness.

The Subconscious & Shadow Work

The subconscious holds a myriad of ideas and feelings that we’re not consciously aware of, but still motivate and drive our behavior. While you may not be consciously aware of the fact that you still resent your ex, the “blech” feeling may still creep up everytime their name is mentioned or you have to interact with them.

You may not sit around thinking about how much you fear being abandoned, but as soon as your partner takes too long to respond to a message or doesn’t answer a call we can feel the pull of that subconscious wound.

There are some basic “parts” that make up everyone’s subconscious in varying degrees, and you can find a more full and whole healing when you explore and accept them. Rather than play the “good girl” and insist we’d never have a psychopathic thought, it’s more helpful to assume you do have those antisocial thoughts sometimes, on some level, and get curious about them instead.

Four Faces of the Shadow: The Ones We Pretend Aren’t There

The Tyrant

We all love to be in control of as much of our lives as we can. You might not think of yourself as controlling, but catch how often you mutter, “They should’ve known better.” That’s the Tyrant talking. You feel like your perceptions and opinions are more “right” than others and subconsciously try to impress them on others.

One of the sneakiest ways this shows up is in our need to control the narrative. Our brain is constantly spinning stories about the world around us to help it make more sense. But how often are you aware of the story you’re spinning and challenge it? Unless you’re actively working through the Shadow, you probably just believe what your brain is telling you about the way the world works.

Try to notice how often you tell yourself a story about the past, and how accurate it may actually be! Is it possible you’re only perceiving one side of the that narrative, and may not have all the same information that everyone involved has?

Put yourself in your toxic parent/ex/friend/co-worker’s shoes and try to experience the story from their perspective. How would the story sound different? What information might they have that you don’t? What experiences of theirs would impact their understanding of what happened? What story are they telling themselves about how things went?

Challenge: Notice the stories you spin. Who’s the villain? Who’s the victim? Are you sure that’s the whole truth—or just your favorite version of it?

The Whore

Don’t bristle too hard at the idea of being a whore! The Whore is a valuable and seductive part of our Subconscious. It’s helped us survive and get our needs met for a long time. Everytime we sacrifice a part of ourselves for what we want, we play the Whore. Everytime we sell out, abandon ourselves, or push down the need to feel safe we see the Whore arise.

Let’s be clear: The Whore archetype isn’t about sex. She’s about the transaction—sacrificing soul for survival. Whether it’s for money, praise, safety, or love, she’ll contort herself to fit what others want.

At its essence, this is the part of our Shadow that denies her own safety and security for money, attention, or power. Think of the sex worker who has abandoned the beauty and sacredness of sex for money. Think of the CEO who has abandoned compassion for power. Think of everytime you’ve told yourself that you’d never speak to that guy again, but still answer his texts and calls.

You’re abandoning yourself - safety, authenticity, humanity, respect, love, compassion - everytime you indulge in those moments of pleasure. The Whore only knows how to sacrifice her body to get what she wants in the moment.

Challenge this part of your Shadow by asking yourself where you sell out. Where do you play small so you don’t have to be uncomfortable? Where do you give up your humanity so you can find a moment of pleasure? Where do you sacrifice your self respect so you can get attention?

The Fool

Ah, the Fool! Who hasn’t played stupid or used weaponized incompetence?

We all do it, whether we’re consciously aware of it or not. It’s so easy to say “I didn’t know that was going to happen” and pretend this conflict was completely unanticipated. But was it? Didn’t you know that if you didn’t speak up sooner it would end like this? Didn’t you know better than to let the red flags keep flagging? Didn’t you know that friend was acting without your best interests in mind?

But it was easier to pretend and keep your head in the sand. You’re not the only one! We’ve all done it! But when you work with this part of you Shadow, it’s easier to catch yourself playing this game. Instead of pretending you had no idea this relationship was going to end in devastation and heartbreak, admit you kept your head in the sand. You didn’t want to see it end. You didn’t want to deal with the crying and devastation. Somewhere deep inside - the Fool in your Shadow - you thought you could play stupid and it would all glide along peacefully.

Let’s not pretend you didn’t see the red flags. The Fool whispers, “Maybe it’ll be fine,” while your gut’s screaming. She wears denial like armor. But once you see her, you can stop handing her the wheel.

To work with the Fool, ask yourself where you play stupid? Where do you play blind to arising unrest? Where do you ignore red flags and hope they’ll disappear?

The Victim

The Victim may be one of the easiest parts of your Shadow to identify. Who hasn’t played “poor, pitiful me” at some point in their life? Closely related to the Fool, the Victim like to lean in to it’s vulnerability and weakness. How could I have possibly done anything differently? How could they treat me like that? How could the world be so cruel? Wah wah waaaaaah.

While there is some merit and healing work in acknowledging you were victimized, we can’t live there. You absolutely need to accept that you were the victim of abuse or mistreatment, if that’s true.

But you also need to be mindful of the ways your perpetuated or enabled it. Can you compassionately explore what kept you there? What parts of you thought you didn’t deserve better—or didn’t recognize it was even an option? No, it’s not your fault your parents were emotionally unavailable or immature. But can you own the ways you’ve used that as your excuse for your own emotional unavailability and immaturity?

Sucks, don’t it?

Shadow work isn’t about shaming yourself; it’s about finding a more whole version of yourself. Shining a flashlight in those undiscovered corridors or your subconscious and finding the buried treasure of the core wounds. It’s about bringing awareness to the unfavorable or painful ways your interact with the world around you, and getting curious about how to close those wounds.

The Shadow isn’t evil—it’s exiled. And it’s waiting for you to come home to it.

If this stirred something deep inside you and you're craving more — join me in Sacred Circle Coven. It’s a free online community of wild women, barefoot mystics, and truth-seekers. We’re doing the messy, beautiful work together.

Or, you can work with me individually in coaching and counseling sessions by scheduling a free consultation with me here: