The Shadow

Happy Fall Y’all!

Welcome to my first ever blog post!

I'm Kate, lover of magic and mystical wonders, my floofy feline companions, caffeinated beverages, and of course, DISCO BABY!

I hope you are finding joy in the magic of this season.

Today I am excited to share and explore aspects of consciousness with you via the Tarot.

One reason I am so passionate about The Tarot (and oracle cards) is because it helps me to identify areas within myself that I struggle to accept or let go. The 78 cards can be used as a mirror to reflect every mental, physical, emotional, or spiritual experience we can have as human beings.

The October 2022  channeled guidance from Spirit (you can listen here)  was to focus on opening our hearts to love. However, within (most) of us, there is a mental block which may prevent us from doing this heart opening 'work'. Our ego mind wants us to remain 'safe' in our current behavior patterns and belief system. It’s the ego's job is to act as a protector and in doing so, it keeps us small, stuck, or replaying old thoughts that prevent us from achieving our dreams, goals, or taking necessary steps forward in life for our highest good and personal growth. Knowing that there was a block for myself, I wanted to create a Tarot (or oracle) spread for self-reflection that would assist you in overcoming your mental blocks and would provide the opportunity to release old pain, promote self-love, and more deeply open your heart center. 

Every single human on this planet is a divine being of light perfectly created by Source/God/The Universe/Spirit/The I AM. However, if you are like me (and many other humans), fragments of my mind are stuck in the past due to old mental programming, trauma, and pain. As a result, I feel ‘stuck’ and unable to move forward in certain areas of my life which I feel are holding me back from being my best self. 

"We are each our own devil and we make this world our hell." ― Oscar Wilde

In the traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot deck, The Devil card (shown above) shows a man and woman with horns and tails symbolizing their enslavement to the animalistic parts of their nature. The animal is only concerned with survival and self protection. It is not enlightened and will manifest in our lives as fear, excess, jealousy, anger, hatred, unforgiveness, and the pursuit of personal pleasures above all else. 

You may also know the Devil as addiction, greed, envy, materialism, obsession, and sexual lust. 

My personal FAVORITE is the belief one is better than another because of their religious views, job status, or anything else that makes one feel ‘superior’ to another human being.

For those who need this reiterated from a different perspective let’s crack open the handy dandy book of the LORT himself.

Please direct your attention to 1 John 2:9-11 or for your convenience, please see below!

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

Your soul knows we are all divinely connected, but it’s your ego that perceives separation and says “I’m right and you’re wrong”

Anywhoosers, let’s circle back.

We all have this ‘Devil’ inside of us.

The “goal” is to learn how to tame the metaphorical beast within yourself and find inner peace without the need for external validation, distractions, or temporary pleasures such as: over eating/binge eating food, porn/sex addictions, drugs, alcohol abuse, excessive spending/shopping, escapism through work, binge watching tv/social media, or always having noise from music/podcasts to drown out your inner voice. 

Identifying the root cause of your limited thoughts and beliefs (ego) can be a challenge, however we can usually admit to knowing our vices.

If you are perfect and don’t have any vices, congratulations. You’re in denial.

Think about that thing you’d like to pretend never happened in your life. Maybe it’s too scary to face (fear), or they ruined your life because of it (anger), and you will never forgive them for what they did to you (unforgiveness), and as a result something bad should happen to them (hate), and they don’t deserve nice things (jealous). Perhaps it’s easier to ignore the entire situation… but at who’s expense?

YOUR OWN!

When we suppress or deny the hurt, pain, and sadness inside of us (which we all have as human beings) we find alternative ways to feel good. We make a deal with the Devil. We indulge in temporary pleasures or distractions that will cost us in other areas of our lives.

This is where tarot and self reflection work can be used as powerful tools for transmutation.

The key with self reflection work is to be TOTALLY HONEST and vulnerable with yourself without judgment.

The first step to creating change is to acknowledge what is in the dark and bring it to light.

I hope this tarot workbook can help you identify and overcome your shadows and perceived limited beliefs so you may (re)open and expand your heart center in love.

No matter how powerful something may seem, there is nothing that has power over you. You have the power to change anything in your life. 
Don’t let the Devil in your mind tell you otherwise.

Many blessings to you!

I do want to note that I am not a licensed therapist or mental health expert and I am not encouraging you to use this worksheet or blog post as a substitute for professional mental health support. I am here to share my journey, tools, passions, and resources that I’ve created from my personal experience. If you are struggling with your mental health, please seek professional help.