Have you ever felt a flicker of anger for no reason, or been inexplicably jealous of someone else’s success? Imagine these experiences as whispers from a hidden chamber within your psyche, a wealth of emotions, desires, and impulses you’ve tucked away for years. This realm, known as the shadow self, is a potent force that shapes our behavior and relationships in profound ways. What if there was a way to explore this unseen territory?
Enter shadow work, a powerful practice rooted in Jungian psychology that invites us to bring hidden aspects of ourselves into the light, leading to profound personal transformation. Let’s dive into the world of shadow work and discover how it can help us unlock a more complete and authentic version of ourselves.
What is Shadow Work?
Shadow work is a form of introspective practice aimed at acknowledging and accepting the hidden aspects of our psyche that we tend to suppress or deny. It involves delving into our subconscious to uncover buried emotions, fears, and traumas. Through techniques like meditation, journaling, and therapy, shadow work allows individuals to bring these unconscious elements into the light, leading to greater self-awareness and personal growth.
Psychoanalyst Carl Jung, first introduced the concept of the “shadow self.” Jung used this term to describe things people repress or don’t like to acknowledge. He theorized that it is a counterweight to the persona, which is the self that people present to others. (Safai, 2023)
Jung also believed that facing these “shadow aspects” was crucial for achieving wholeness. When we deny these parts, they fester and manifest in negative ways, like projecting our insecurities onto others or self-sabotaging behaviors.
In addition to being an introspective practice, shadow work is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on the parts of the psyche that people often keep hidden, such as trauma and resentment. Some people refer to these aspects of themselves as the “shadow self”. (Safai, 2023)
In shadow work, we embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and healing by confronting hidden aspects of ourselves, often obscured by darkness but ripe with potential for growth. It’s a courageous exploration of our inner landscape, where we acknowledge and integrate long-dwelling shadows, not just fears or traumas.
Through practical techniques and the stories we tell ourselves, we navigate the path towards self-awareness and empowerment, where once-feared shadows become keys to unlocking true potential.
Shadow work empowers us to acknowledge these repressed emotions, desires, and negative tendencies, understand their origins, and ultimately integrate them into our conscious selves.
Remember: the shadow isn’t evil. It encompasses a spectrum of repressed emotions and disowned parts of ourselves. We tend to push down anger, jealousy, sadness, along with talents and desires we deem unacceptable, fearing judgment or shame. Yet, the shadow remains, often exerting a subtle but persistent influence on our lives.
Is shadow work the same as inner child work?
No. Shadow work and inner child work are similar but not exactly the same. Imagine the shadow self as an attic filled with boxes (much like your brain or personality). Some boxes hold repressed emotions and negative tendencies, while others hold talents and desires we pushed down. Inner child work focuses on only the specific set of boxes from your childhood containing unhealed wounds and limiting beliefs. Shadow work is about exploring the entire attic, cobwebs, spiders, bats, and all, to help you understand what’s in each box, and integrate the contents into a more organized and functional space.
Shadow Work:
Focuses on unconscious aspects of ourselves, including repressed emotions, desires, and negative tendencies.
Deals with a wider range of hidden aspects, not just childhood experiences.
Aims to integrate these hidden parts into our whole personality for a more complete sense of self.
Inner Child Work:
Focuses on healing past emotional wounds from childhood experiences.
Deals specifically with unmet needs, limiting beliefs, and emotional pain from our younger years.
Aims to heal these wounds and develop healthier emotional patterns in the present.
How Shadow Work & Inner Child Work Are The Same:
Both practices dive into deeper aspects of ourselves.
Both can involve exploring repressed emotions.
Inner child work can be a part of shadow work, as the shadow self often contains unhealed aspects from childhood.
By healing the inner child, we can integrate these parts of the shadow and move forward.
The benefits of shadow work are immense! By acknowledging and integrating our shadow, we cultivate greater self-acceptance and emotional resilience. We become less reactive and take ownership of our projections and anxieties. There are many stories of individuals who, through shadow work, broke free from limiting beliefs, healed from past traumas, and tapped into hidden strengths.
Self-Acceptance: By acknowledging and integrating your shadow, you will cultivate greater self-acceptance and compassion. You become less judgmental of yourself and others.
Emotional Resilience: Shadow work helps you understand the root of your emotional triggers, allowing you to respond in a more balanced and healthy way.
Healing: Shadow work can help heal from past traumas by bringing repressed emotions to light and processing them in a safe space.
Why Shadow Work is Hard:
Shadow work isn’t always a comfortable experience. You may confront deeply ingrained patterns or suppressed emotions that bring discomfort. It’s important to manage your expectations. Shadow work is a journey, not a destination. It requires commitment and a willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. Remember, there’s no shame in seeking professional guidance to navigate your shadow work journey.
Reasons to Use Shadow Work
Shadow work can address a wide range of issues:
Inner Child Healing: By confronting your shadow self as your “shadow child” self, you can start to heal from unmet needs and limiting beliefs formed in your early years.
Anger Management: Unearthing the root cause of your anger in the shadow can help you express anger healthily instead of letting it control you.
Childhood Trauma: Shadow work can help you process and heal from past traumas that may be impacting your current life.
Relationship Healing: By understanding your shadow projections, you can improve communication and intimacy in your relationships.
Overall Healing: Shadow work promotes emotional and psychological healing by bringing hidden aspects of yourself into the light.
Jealousy: Exploring jealousy through shadow work can help you understand its underlying insecurities and develop healthier coping mechanisms.
Love: By integrating your shadow, you become a more complete and authentic person, capable of giving and receiving love more fully.
Insecurity: Examining the roots of insecurity can help you build self-confidence and develop a more positive self-image.
Anxious Attachment: Shadow work can help you identify patterns of anxious attachment and develop secure attachment styles.
What are the challenges & obstacles in shadow work?
Shadow work is most certainly rewarding, but it isn’t always easy. The very nature of the process, confronting hidden aspects of ourselves, can trigger resistance. This resistance can manifest in various ways:
Procrastination: You might find yourself putting off shadow work exercises, or conveniently “forgetting” to journal or analyze your dreams.
Rationalization: The voice in your head might whisper, “Why bother? I’m fine the way I am,” or downplay the impact of your shadow self on your life.
Self-Criticism: The process of uncovering negative traits or past wounds can trigger a harsh inner critic, leading to feelings of shame or inadequacy.
How to confront shadow work obstacles
Unearthing the shadow inevitably stirs up uncomfortable emotions. Anger, sadness, shame, and jealousy may bubble to the surface when you confront repressed feelings and past wounds. These emotions are a natural part of the process. However, they can also be a major hurdle, tempting us to abandon the process altogether.
Remember, these challenges are normal. They signal that your shadow work is actually working! Here are some tips for navigating these obstacles:
Acknowledge your resistance: Don’t beat yourself up for procrastinating or feeling hesitant. Instead, acknowledge these feelings and gently nudge yourself back towards the work.
Practice Self-Compassion: Be gentle with yourself. Shadow work is a challenging journey, and it’s okay to feel overwhelmed at times.
Focus on Progress, Not Perfection: Shadow work is a marathon, not a sprint. Celebrate small victories and remember that even taking a step towards facing your shadow is progress.
Allow Yourself to Feel: Don’t suppress the emotions that arise during shadow work. Acknowledge them, explore their roots, and allow them to move through you in a healthy way.
Seek support: Shadow work doesn’t have to be a solo journey. Consider working with a therapist or joining a shadow work group for guidance and support.
Develop coping mechanisms: Learn healthy ways to manage uncomfortable emotions that arise during shadow work. Techniques like journaling, meditation, or spending time in nature can be helpful.
Don’t forget, the discomfort you experience is temporary. Embrace the challenges as an integral part of the growth process. By facing the darkness from inside, you pave the way for greater self-awareness, emotional resilience, and ultimately, a more authentic and whole version of yourself.
How to Find Your Shadow Self
When we dive deeper into the concept of shadow work, we discover a profound journey of self-discovery and transformation. Imagine peeling back the layers of your psyche to reveal the hidden aspects of yourself—those parts often shrouded in darkness yet holding immense potential for growth and healing.
Shadow work is not merely about confronting our fears or past traumas; it’s a courageous exploration of our inner landscape, where we confront the shadows that have long dwelled within us, waiting to be acknowledged and integrated. In the posts to come, we’ll explore practical techniques and expert insights to guide you on this transformative path towards self-awareness and empowerment, subscribe here. Get ready to embark on a journey of self-exploration like no other, where the shadows you once feared become the keys to unlocking your true potential
The first step to shadow work is self-awareness. Pay attention to your triggers – situations or people that consistently evoke strong negative emotions. These reactions often point to shadow material. Journaling is a powerful tool here. See below for examples.
Archetypes in Shadow Work
A quick note on Archetypes in Shadow work. Archetypes are universal symbols and patterns found across cultures, mythologies, stories, movies, books, and even tarot! In Shadow work specifically we explore how these archetypes manifest from within your shadow self. For example, the “shadow warrior” archetype might represent repressed anger, while the “shadow child” could symbolize unmet needs from your past (similar to the inner child). Identifying these archetypes can offer valuable clues about your shadow’s motivations. Subscribe for more insights into archetypes.
Easy Shadow Work Exercises for Beginners
Shadow work can feel daunting, but the good news is you can begin with simple exercises. And it’s surprisingly easy to get started! Here are some beginner-friendly exercises to help you explore the hidden aspects of yourself:
Pay Attention to Your Triggers: Notice situations or people that consistently trigger strong negative emotions. These reactions might be clues to your shadow self. Ask yourself: “What am I afraid of in this situation?” or “What qualities do I dislike in this person that I might also have?”
Catch Yourself Projecting: We all project sometimes! When you find yourself judging someone harshly, consider if you might be disowning a similar trait in yourself.
Explore Your Dreams: Dreams can be seen as a window into your subconscious mind. It might be helpful to start writing down what you frequently dream about and how those dreams make you feel. Exploring common dream symbols can also provide insights into how they connect to your daily experiences.
Dream symbols often have significant meaning to specific cultures, families, or individuals, ex: teeth falling out in your dream isn’t always a bad sign, it can signify growth for some people. Keep in mind that dreams often reflect our innermost thoughts, feelings, and shadow self. Consider keeping a dream journal to track patterns, emotions, and recurring dreams for further reflection, here’s how.
Journal Your Way to Insights: Journaling is a powerful tool for shadow work. Here are some prompts to spark your exploration:
“What qualities do I dislike in others but might possess myself?”
“What situations make me feel insecure?”
“What recurring dreams or nightmares do I have? What emotions do they evoke?”
“Imagine meeting a younger version of myself. What would I tell them or how would I reassure them or reparent them?”
Active Imagination: This Jungian technique involves creating dialogues or scenarios with your shadow self or unconscious (Jeffrey 2024). Imagine your anger or jealousy as a person and have a conversation with them. This can help you understand their motives and desires.
Therapy & Support: Shadow work can be done independently, however a therapist trained in Jungian psychology or inner child work can be a great resource in your journey. Support groups and online communities focused on shadow work can also provide a safe space to share your experiences.
Remember, there’s no right or wrong way to approach shadow work. Choose exercises that resonate with you and be patient with yourself. The journey of self-discovery through shadow work is a gradual process, with every step forward bringing you closer to a more integrated and authentic version of yourself.
Shadow Work Resources For Beginners
Numerous resources can support your shadow work endeavors. Books like “Inner Work” by Robert A. Johnson and “The Shadow Work Journal 2nd Edition: a Guide to Integrate and Transcend Your Shadows: The Essential Guidebook for Shadow Work” by Keila Shaheen offer insightful explorations of the shadow.
Articles and online workshops can also provide valuable guidance (see more below). Journaling prompts specifically designed for shadow work are readily available here and here, and meditation practices focusing on self-compassion can create a safe space for introspection.
Integrating Shadow Work into Your Daily Life
Shadow work doesn’t need to be a separate activity. It can be woven into your daily routine. Pay attention to your emotional triggers throughout the day. Pause and ask yourself: “What shadow aspect might be at play here?” Practice self-compassion when you stumble. The shadow work journey is an ongoing exploration, not a one-time fix.
By embarking on shadow work, you open a door to a deeper understanding of yourself. You will be able to cultivate self-acceptance, emotional resilience, and a newfound sense of wholeness. It’s a courageous act of self-discovery, and the rewards are immense. Approach your shadow work journey with openness and compassion, and remember, the greatest transformation often lies on the other side of your hidden truths.
Have you explored shadow work?
For those interested in learning more, here are some resources to get you started:
You’re looking for a moon themed planner, but you’d prefer not to spend an arm and a leg for a blank notebook. You’d also prefer a creative inspiring moon themed journal or planner to keep you engaged and connected to the moon. So what is a journaler to do, what options do you really have?
Moon Themed Day Planners, and Moon Themed Bullet Journal Ideas & Spreads, are easy to create. Each moon themed design should be inspiring and keep you looking to the stars & the wider unknown universe. Moon Themed Day Planners also track the moon phases each month, keeping you in tune with nature and help you tune to the moon. Keep reading for inspiration, bullet journal moon and stars theme ideas, and moon inspired journal prompts to keep you connected to the stars!
Don’t worry if you can’t draw a straight line or perfect circle. Your Moon Themed Bullet Journal is meant to be flowing with creativity, made by the hand of the most inspiring artist in your life, you.
The moon carries with it themes of inspiration, awe, mysticism, even darkness! Keep these moon inspired illustration ideas and concepts in your mind when you create your monthly bullet journal themes, habit trackers, and designs. Did you know that you can even track your yearly and monthly goals in your bullet journal?! It’s true!
The moon has always been an inspiration for me. Growing up on a midwestern farm, every night I fell asleep looking at the moon outside my window, and spent many nights outside under a blanket of stars and deep black vast sky, free from city lights.
What Are You Doing To Stay Connected To The Moon And Nature?
Now that I live in a city, I miss the clear, dark, vastness of the country night sky. Since this is something I only get to experience when I’m visiting my childhood farmhouse or while I’m camping, I don’t really have the opportunity to reconnect to the moon and nature like I did growing up.
The way I stay connected to la Luna and nature is to bring the moon into my bullet journal or daily planner with moon themed spreads and moon illustrations and doodles.
How To Stay Connected To The Moon & Nature Through Journaling
Any time of year or season that we look up at the moon is a time of deep reflection and contemplation. Sometimes these thoughts are deep and sometimes they are small and fleeting. Any time that you are reflecting on anything, it’s important to turn inward to get a better understanding of our own actions, the actions of others, or what is happening around us in nature.
Every night of the year, the moon inspires us to descend further into ourselves for reflection and deep Shadow Work in our journals.
Now is the time to focus on understanding our motivations and actions regarding the progress we have or haven’t made on our dreams, goals, and intentions that we set back in January.
Moon Inspired Journaling Prompts for Your Bullet Journal
Remember to focus on understanding your motivations and actions regarding the progress you have or haven’t made on your goals, and continue to dig deep into why you do what you do.
1. Describe & Reflect on your goal’s progress so far this year and what you have yet to accomplish.
2. Write down in your journal 3 little (achievable) ways that you can take your goal to the next level.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite layout ideas for the bullet journal: moon & stars, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own stellar moon phase journal spreads. Using a moon themed bullet journal is also a really great way to create a Witchy Aesthetic Bullet Journal with a lunar theme.
Grab a latte (I’ve been making my own vegan oatmilk dirty chai lately!) and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, watercolors, and get ready to make some beautiful Moon Inspired Bullet Journal Spreads that are sure to feed your creativity, artist’s soul, and moon child that you are.
Moon Bullet Journal Design Themes & Ideas:
Moon Themed Animal Bullet Journal Themes:
Rabbit / Hare
Owl
Wolf / Dog
Worm
Buck / Deer
Sturgeon / Fish
Raccoon
Worm
Magpies
Dragon
Panther
Elk
Horses
Beaver
Horns / Antlers
Moon Themed Color Bullet Journal Themes:
Pink Moon
Blue Moon
Blood Moon
Iridescent Color Schemes
Soft Gray & Silver
Muted Blues
Soft Blues
Light Oranges & Creamy White Shades.
Gray Themes
Black & White Themes
Moon Themed Nature, Botanical, & Tree Bullet Journal Themes:
Wild Flowers
Spring Flowers
Crocus Bulbs
Cold Moon
Ice / Frost / Snow
Budding Trees
Budding Flowers
Tree Sap
Grass
Rose Flower
Lotus Flower
Lightning
Sassafras Trees
Oak Trees
Moon Themed Food Bullet Journal Themes:
Strawberry Moon
Harvest Moon
Corn & Green Corn
Wine
Barley & Wheat
Milk
Blackberry
Peach
Cooking
Moon Phase Bullet Journal Themes:
Dark Moon
Young Moon
New Moon
Crescent Moon
First Quarter Moon
Second Quarter Moon
Gibbous Moon
Waxing Moon
Waxing Gibbous Moon
Full Moon
Waning Moon
Waning Gibbous Moon
Disseminating Moon
Third Quarter Moon
Fourth Quarter Moon
Last Quarter Moon
Balsamic Moon
Last Crescent Moon
Old Moon
Moon Names Bullet Journal Themes by Month
January Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Old Moon
Moon After Yule
Ice Moon
Wolf Moon
Quiet Moon
Cooking Moon
Cold Moon
Holiday Moon
Winter Moon
Moon Of The Terrible
February Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Hunger Moon
Trapper’s Moon
Budding Moon
Bony Moon
Little Famine Moon Choctaw
Moon Of Ice
Storm Moon
Snow Moon
Moon Of The Raccoon
Moon When Trees Pop
March Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Worm Moon
Crow Moon
Magpie Moon
Crust Moon
Sap Moon
Lenten Moon
April Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Pink Moon
Sprouting Grass Moon
Fish Moon
Hare Moon
Egg Moon
Paschal Moon
May Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Flower Moon
Corn Planting Moon
Milk Moon
Dragon Moon
Panther Moon
Grass Moon
Moon When Leaves Are Green
June Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Strawberry Moon
Hot Moon
Rose Moon
Flower Moon
Lotus Moon
Green Corn Moon
Windy Moon
Moon Of Horses
July Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Harvest Moon
Wine Moon
Singing Moon
Corn Moon
Fruit Moon
Barley Moon
Elk Call Moon
August Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Sturgeon Moon
Corn Moon
Fish Moon
Grain Moon
Green Corn Moon
Lightening Moon
Dog’s Day Moon
Harvest Moon
Fruit Moon
Woman’s Moon
Dispute Moon
Moon When All Things Ripen
September Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Harvest Moon
Wine Moon
Singing Moon
Corn Moon
Fruit Moon
Barley Moon
Elk Call Moon
October Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Harvest Moon
Travel Moon
Dying Moon
Hunter’s Moon
Kindly Moon
Blackberry Moon
Blood Moon
Moon When Quilling And Beading Is Done
November Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Frost Moon
Hunter’s Moon
Tree Moon
Snow Moon
Dark Moon
Sassafras Moon
Trading Moon
White Moon
Beaver Moon
Moon When Horns Are Broken Off
Mourning Moon
December Full Moon Names Theme Ideas:
Bitter Moon
Snow Moon
Peach Moon
Twelfth Moon
Oak Moon
Long Night Moon
Moon Themed Bullet Journal Page Plan With Me & Walkthroughs To Inspire You:
Right now, I’m teetering on the edge of entering the “almost 40” stage of my 30’s. I’m about to turn 35. Apparently 35 is the year that is the start of middle age, according to some the best year of your life. But I’m still happily childless and feeling like I’m 25… until I hangout with 25 year olds. Then I’m like nope nevermind I’m 35.
When you stop trying to fit in, the glorious world opens up to you even more than you could have ever imagined. This is the secret that I have discovered to living my best life up to now and centers around a major change that we all go through in the shared human experience.
So let’s get to the secrets of what happens when you unlock the door to truly not giving a damn.
35 Life Lessons I Learned When I Stopped Trying To Fit In…
Now that one of the worst years in collective memory has ended and the world has begun to open up, I think we’ve all organically learned a thing or two about not needing to impress our friends, families, and co-workers to fit in.
With COVID-19 lockdowns lifted, I’ve already ripped off the band-aid to go back out into public, and I’m ready to celebrate my birthday… by heading back into the woods to find solitude once more. And I’m more than fine with that decision to be alone, away from the crowds.
As the world, work, and our families are begging us to come back together, let’s all remember what we learned in quarantine when we stopped trying to fit in and lived our best yoga pants life.
But first I want you to know that:
You should never apologize for who you are.
When I was a teen I was mercilessly teased for my big hair that apparently no one could see around in the classroom. My nose was too huge and I laughed too loud and had an ugly smile (according to the kids who all had to get braces, and I never did). I wasn’t what was considered “normal” in our little school in the middle of farmland.
I was never good enough and never felt like I had a place in the world. I began apologizing for my hair, smile, and artsy weirdness. I felt so lost and alone until my last year in high school, when I realized that fitting in didn’t matter, and that I liked different people and different things, sometimes even from different eras.
I was about to leave our tiny little town and these 22 kids that I had grown up with and were about to graduate highschool with. I started my senior year in highschool by being unapologetically myself, and I felt “normal.” Not “popular normal,” but “felt normal in my own skin, normal.”
I felt like I could breathe and that I wasn’t living a lie anymore. I wasn’t ashamed of my big curly hair, big smile, loud voice, and cute family nose. I dressed like the hippie I was and didn’t muzzle my inner weirdo anymore.
Once I embraced my inner self that year, the world opened up to me. I was no longer trying to impress anyone and I could look further into what interested me. I learned so much about myself and the world at this time of my life because I had the time to! My time wasn’t being eaten up trying to impress others or keep up with them anymore.
The freeing feeling that I experienced at the end of high school by stopping trying to fit in carried me through college where I truly, and I mean truly, came into my own. I would say that I reached peak “me” at that time, but looking back I’ve gone even further in life. My life so far has been messy and extremely hard at times. But it’s been a happy one because I’ve been myself, not something else, someone else wanted me to be.
Sure there have been times since then, when I needed to adjust myself to “fit into a situation” or “societal norms,” but I was still unapologetically myself in personality. And In my clothes there was always a flair of something that was “uniquely Jenny.”
What happens when you stop trying to fit in?
My life has gotten better since I learned how to stop trying to fit in. People like me more, I like me more, and I even hear from people that used to tease me that they secretly always wished they could be more like me, an artist, a singer, a writer, and confident in my style.
All along while they were teasing me and trying to knock me down, they too secretly wished to be more like me. They also wished that they could stop trying to fit in.
So, if you’re a weirdo like me, stop trying to fit in and be yourself. You’ll find that by walking your own path, that you’ll be secretly leading thousands.
When you discover that you truly have zero fucks to give, something miraculous happens. These 35 changes in your mind, body, soul, career, and how you view the world that you will go through are just the beginning.
Mind
Self Esteem Skyrockets And Your Mental & Physical Health Gets A Boost.
You Learn How To Put Yourself First.
Creativity Explodes.
Your Maximum Potential Is Within Reach!
Alongside Finding True Happiness, Peace Is Found, & Stress Lessens.
Body
You Find Your Unique Style Of Talking, Walking, & Presenting Yourself To The World.
Getting Dressed In The Morning Becomes Extremely Easy Since You Don’t Have To Keep Up With Anyone.
Your Skin Clears Up Because You Are Less Stressed.
You Wear Makeup On Your Own Terms And Only What You Like.
Your Skin Clears Up Because You Stopped Wearing Makeup That You Didn’t Want To Wear In The First Place.
You Fall In Love With Your Hair, All Of Your Hair.
You Smile Wider & Laugh Bigger.
You Stop Obsessing & Stressing A Little Bit More Each Day.
You Find True Belonging In Your Own Skin No Matter Your Size.
Soul
You Fall In Love With Your Inner Self.
You Constantly Reach For Understanding What Makes You Who You Are Through Deep Reflective Shadow Work Journaling.
You Embrace Your True Self No Matter How Scary It Is To Try.
Then You Find True Happiness Through Knowing Your Inner Child & What They Need.
You Learn How To Reparent Yourself & What Works Best For You.
You Finally Live Your Truth.
Career
You Take Ownership And Full Control Of Your Life.
You Turn Your Passion Into A Career & Build Your Own Dreams.
Work-life Balance Becomes A Cycle That Ebbs & Flows, Not An Achievement.
You Answer To No One, Only Yourself.
You Have No One To Impress Except Your True Self.
You Get What You Really Want.
How You View The Outside World
No More Keeping Up With The Joneses.
The World Becomes An Easier Place To Live In.
You Find Your Tribe And Ditch The “Cool People” Who You Didn’t Care For Anyway.
Your Bank Account Breathes A Sigh Of Relief Because You Aren’t Spending On Things You Don’t Want, Just Because You Wanted To Fit In Or Impress Someone.
Your Life Experiences Go Up Because You Aren’t Afraid To Do More.
In The End…
The Only Person That Matters Is You.
You Find That You Truly Belong Right Where You Are In Your Skin, In This Moment, & In This Place.
You Lose The Need To Find “Home” Because You Realize Home Was With You All Along, You Are Your Own Home.
You Learn That You Should Never Apologize For Who You Are.
What are some life lessons you learned after you stopped trying to fit in?
When we stop trying to fit in with everyone else we discover that we are alone in our personal brand of uniqueness. And that is a good thing! Standing alone on our own two feet is amazing and something that we can only achieve by letting go of the need to fit in.
We come into this world alone, and leave it alone, but that shouldn’t be seen as sad or depressing. Being alone and fully being ourselves gives us the chance to find who we truly are in the messy middle of life while we’re living life itself to the fullest. Once we truly stop trying to fit in, we find ourselves. Our beautiful, messy, unfiltered, wild, and sometimes quiet and contemplative selves.
Let go of who you think others want you to be and embrace your inner most true self with authenticity and compassion. By connecting inward to yourself, you are not only fostering the most important connection in the world to yourself, but you are also opening yourself up to connecting back outward to others from a truly authentic place, with a heart and mind that is unabashedly your own.
How would stopping trying to fit in impact your life?
Dream analysis and understanding was one of the first things I learned about as a teen searching for answers to understanding my place in the world, today it plays a major part in maintaining and managing my mental health. Dreams introduce us to the weird wild world of our subconscious, leaving us attempting to understand what it’s trying to tell us. Not only is the subconscious an odd place to be, this part of the brain talks in code and what seem like secret symbols. You have undoubtedly seen a million books on dream interpretation in each book store you walk into. While helpful, they often fail to reach the root of understanding our dreams, leaving out a crucial part of dream journaling: post dream analytical analysis.
What is the process of dream journaling? Dream journaling is the process of recording and analyzing your dreams to uncover truths to your subconscious mind. Most commonly this type of journaling requires a book where you record your dreams as best you can remember upon waking up. Then analyze the imagery of your dreams including locations, people, feelings, symbols, to learn more about yourself.
Knowing what your sleeping mind is trying to say is confusing at best. But I have found the best way to uncover the secrets your subconscious is trying to tell you in your dreams. So, break out your journal and come along with me into the night time world of your dreams.
Keeping a dream journal is a priceless gift to your future self. A dream journal or dream diary is a type of reflective journal, where you record your experiences you dream about while you are asleep; And then meditate on what they mean through dream analysis and dream interpretation. Dream Journals help you understand what your dreams mean, including recurring dreams, nightmares, night terrors, sleep paralysis episodes, and other types of dreams
The Goal Of A Dream Journal
Along with setting the intention to remember your dreams (which we’ll get into in a minute), you can also set a goal for your dream journal. Depending on the goal you choose, it will dictate the type of information you include in your dream journal or how detailed your entries will become. Some types of dream journal goals include:
Understanding your thoughts and emotions
Putting your sleep cycles back into balance
Problem Solving
Controlling Lucid Dreams
Benefits Of Recording Your Dreams
Dream journaling helps build cognitive bridges between your awake self and your sleeping dream self. In essence, a dream journal helps you discover and get to know your inner self.
1. Discover & Understand Your Inner Self
2. Build Mental Stamina
3. Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligence
4. Control Your Dreams
Think about it, you have certainly “seen” yourself in your dreams, and you always look different from what you see in the mirror when you’re awake. A really cool idea that I came across while learning about dream journaling and lucid dreaming is to make it a practice in lucid dreams to look in the mirror to see who I am and what I look like. It’s never the same!
Keeping a dream journal can also help build your mental stamina for memory and strengthen your emotional intelligence by helping you regulate your thoughts and emotions in times of stress.
Building and honing these skills will help you confront any waking issues you are having, and uncover underlying ones that you might not have known about. This always leads to delicious enlightening “ah ha” moments.
Keeping a dream journal can also help you learn how to control your dreams with lucid dreaming, leading to more good dreams and fewer bad dreams. Dream journals also bring out our creative sides, helping us foster our inner artist and employ creative problem solving.
How Keeping a Dream Journal Benefits Your Waking Life
Helps Improve Memory
Better Understand Your Emotions, Thoughts, &
How They Affect You
Learn To Control Your Dreams With Lucid Dreaming
Creative Problem Solving
Correct Your Sleep Cycles
Reveal Dream Patterns
Break Creative Blocks
Insight Into Your Interior Life
Fuel Your Creativity
Process Your Emotions
Rehearse Your Response To Stressful Situations
How To Choose A Dream Journal
Choose a journal or notebook that you love and a pen that you enjoy writing with. This can be a spiral notebook from the dollar store or a sturdy leather bound journal from your favorite book store. This journal needs to be exclusively for recording your dreams, that means, no daily planner, no daily task lists, no gratitude journal, no bullet journaling, only record your dreams in this journal.
Additional items that you might not even realize you need are a book light and something to rest on like a lap desk. It will happen that you wake up in the middle of the night and want to record a dream. Use a booklight to keep from waking up your partner. Don’t wait to record your dream until morning, trust me. Too many amazing dreams and brilliant ideas have slipped through the cracks of night never to be seen or remembered again. Here is my favorite leather journal, celestial journal, pen, book light, and lap desk.
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Setting Up A Dream Journal
Before you can even dive into dream analysis, there is prep work that needs to be done. Open your journal to a fresh two page spread. The goal when setting up your dream journal is to make it easy to analyze your dream journal contents at-a-glance. On the right page, split your page into two columns, and in the rightmost outside column, write the following 6 sections:
Location
People
Feelings & emotions
Symbols
Theme
Dream Type
The left column on this right hand page will be extra space for writing, analysis, or sketching.
At the very bottom of the right hand page ask yourself “was your subconscious: entertaining you? Or working through something? I like to make these two questions check boxes when I’m setting up my journal pages for the next morning.
On the left hand page include these sections:
Date
Title
Dream
Analysis
Write the date, then leave space for titling your dream which you will do later, and then space for analysis at the very bottom of the page. Sometimes my analysis section is on a later page depending on how much of the dream I remembered while journaling.
Leslie Ellis, Ph.D. therapist and dream expert says, “It can also help to make little sketches of your dream as they are often highly visual,” she adds, “and pictures can convey spatial relationships often depicted in dreams.” Try including space for sketching a scene from your dream on these pages. Don’t discount the power of images in your Dream Journal.
How To Remember Your Dreams
Having total recall of your dreams is not something that is easy at first, recording dreams starts with patience. With practice and consistency you’ll be able to remember all of your dreams and understand what they mean. It all boils down to two things:
Each night as you get into bed, set an intention to remember your dreams, by committing to building a habit of recording your dreams as soon as you wake up.
Record your dreams every day that you have them.
“Our brains are highly susceptible: if you decide that you want to remember your dreams and interiorize this intention every night before falling asleep, you will see your memory improving and soon you will have much better dream recall.”
Sílvia Bastos
But before you obtain total recall and after you’ve set up your journal the night before, you’ll need to establish some mini habits to help you remember every juicy detail.
5 Habits To Help You Remember Your Dreams
Prep your journal ahead of time or at least the night before
Set your journal and pen beside your bed so it’s the first thing you see when you wake up.
Set a consistent wake up alarm for the same time everyday.
Don’t hit snooze or you’ll lose the dream.
Record your dream in list format in the first 5 minutes of waking up before you get out of bed. Don’t worry about writing your dream out in detail, just do a list braindump or mental inventory of your dream.
If you still have trouble remembering and recording your dreams, take this into consideration: The simple act of resetting your daily life habits can realign your intentions and boost your ability to remember your dreams. So try resetting your daily habits for a fresh start.
An avid dream journaler noticed that their dream recall came in waves. They would record six dreams in a row, and then their journal sat blank and dormant for a while. So what happened? Most often than not, the dream recordings occurred at the beginning of the week after they had reset their general daily life habits.
How To Analyze Your Dreams: The Process
It’s the morning after you prepped your journal and you have just experienced a doozy of a dream. You’re probably feeling like you got hit by a ton of bricks, your body is sore, or you’re at least waking up confused by what your subconscious has just shown you.
“Suspended in the liminal state between wakefulness and sleep, the sliver of time after waking seems to be the only part of the day when we’ve been soaked in our interior lives for hours on end without external influences. Dream journaling is one way to capture the unfettered thoughts, emotions and images arising from this state of mind for a moment longer.”
Charmaine Li
1. Utilize Bullet Point Lists To Remember Your Dreams
Shake off the stunned look on your face and reach for your journal, it’s time to write as quickly as you can so you don’t lose any information from your dream. To boost your dream recall, quickly write a list of details in each of the sections in your journal: Location, People, Feelings & Emotions, Symbols, Theme.
For example when trying to recall the dream’s location, just write a list of places you remember:
School
Classroom
Bedroom
Home
Work
Childhood Home
Ex’s Apartment
The Woods
Under Water
In A Fast Moving Car
No need to go into detail just yet. The fact you can write all this down will help make the dream a more concrete memory.
Do this for each section in your dream journal spread.
2. Describe Your Cast Of Characters
Next, write a list of the people you were with, even if you don’t know who they are. Sometimes in our dreams there are characters that have names, but aren’t a part of our waking life or reality. Often these people don’t have faces, or are part animal, or even talking animals! Whoever it was in your dream, write down their names, or quick descriptions like faceless man, or talking cat, the dream version of your partner etc.
No matter how vivid your dreams are, as you wake up, if you don’t make an effort to record them, they will often disappear into the ether as you wipe the sleep from your eyes and go about your day.
Therefore, it is extremely important and crucial that you make a daily effort to ask yourself to remember what you dreamed about last night and then record them. This simple act executed on a regular basis can help exponentially with improving total dream recall.
When you are writing and recording your dream, suspend your judgement and any notions of correcting your grammar including first, second, and third person perspective. Feel free to switch from past tense to present tense and back again, the main goal is to get it all out.
Just write in as much detail as you can and as fast as you can to get it all out, no detail is too trivial. This dream journal method is very similar to a bullet journal brain dump or mental inventory. Make sure to include your internal experience too, this is what you were thinking or feeling during the dream. Sometimes what seems like worthless details now, turn out to be highly significant later when you’re reviewing your dream journal.
If your hands are cramping, pen ink is running dry, and you can’t write fast enough then you should try recording your dreams via audio or typing. I have found that typing my dreams can be helpful in getting out my thoughts as fast as possible. My fingers are always flying extremely fast across the keys as I record the previous night’s dreams. There are days when typing is the only way that I can keep up with the thoughts and memories of the dreams running through my head as I attempt to record them.
“Dreams are not prophecies. They are mirrors to our subconscious mind and they’re highly individual.”
Eric Sangerma
A Note On Your Dream Partner or Spouse:This can go one of two ways. Commonly when we refer to our “dream guy” or “dream partner” we’re talking about an abstract idealized version of what we want in a partner. This is something that we consciously think about. However, when people talk about their “dream partner” in reference to their dreams, they are talking about an alternate reality version of their actual partner. Commonly in dreams, our partners are on extreme ends of the spectrum of good and evil.
There have been many mornings where I have woken up pissed off at my husband because “Dream Dan” was a total dickhead to me in my dream. I’ve even jokingly told my partner Dan that he needs to have a talk with “Dream Dan” and straighten him out. This “evil” version of my spouse usually surfaces in my dreams when we’ve had a fight or if I’ve been feeling stressed out for a while. For me, when this version of my evil partner comes up in my dreams, it’s a signal that I need to take some time for myself and destress.
3. Let All Your Feelings Come To The Surface
Now that you have a list of the scene and cast of characters of your dreams, quickly write a list of your immediate feelings and emotions while in the dream and when you woke up. It’s okay to feel self conscious or embarrassed about recording the feelings and emotions in your dream. No matter what they are, write down your true feelings even if they are judgmental, accusatory or embarrassing. These dreams are not real life. By recording our feelings and emotions in their true form, we are laying the groundwork to confront them, own them, and re-write the story for why they exist. This gives us better understanding and insight into what makes us think and feel.
4. Describe The Symbols In Your Dream
Next, quickly write a list of symbols that occurred in your dream. These can be literal symbols like glyphs, runes, road signs, etc. Also write down any common dream symbols like, animals, babies, losing teeth, crosses, exams, etc. Or more abstract ideas and symbols like, being chased, death, falling, jumping, faulty machinery, sex, nudity, being trapped, etc.
5. Determine Your Dream Themes
Now write down a list of themes that you think your dream might fit under. You may or may not know what your dream’s theme is at this point in time. If you don’t know, then leave it blank.
These lists should have taken no more than five minutes after waking up.
6. Weird & Juicy Dream Details
Next write out a quick outline of what happened in your dream. Short hand will be your friend here, remember you want to get out as much information from your dream as possible before it fades into the ether. This outline should take no more than 3-5 minutes.
Make sure to include enough detail in your outline so that when you revisit this entry at a later date you will be able to recall the dream in question.
7. Entertaining Dreams vs Working Through Some Heavy Shit
Lastly, decide what your subconscious mind was trying to do with that dream: was it trying to entertain you? Or work through something to help you find better understanding?
This entire process so far should take you less than 10 minutes to complete.
Total Recall & Post Dream Analysis
Now, if you have the time, write out your dream in as much detail as you can remember. Include rich detail, dialogue, colors, feelings, emotions, write down everything.
Once you have completed your post dream analysis remember to title your dream at the top of the page. This is super important! When you title your dream, it reduces the dream down to a quick descriptive summary making it easier to recall it later as you flip through your journal.
Forcing yourself to sum up your dream into a theme of a few words or phrases will help you get a better grasp on the practice of dream journaling. When giving your dream a title, try capturing the main feeling, emotion, or theme behind it. Later on you might even discover unintentional puns or admissions that crack your understanding of the dream wide open.
Helpful Dream Analysis Hacks
1. Personalize your dream journal with different symbols and colors that have specific personal meaning to you. This is a kind of shorthand that is easy to glance at and understand, much like a bullet journal key.
2. Color code your dream journal by using highlighters to “tag” your journal with categories or type of dreams like “lucid dreams” and “non-lucid dreams.” These are some of my favorite erasable highlighters and markers that I use for highlighting and underlining while color coding in my journals.
3. Compare your dreams to your IRL experiences. When you look for patterns in your dreams that align with your waking moments, they can begin to reveal what your subconscious is thinking about.
When I was first introduced to dream journaling and dream analysis, I stayed in bed and wrote down everything before my feet touched the ground for the first time in the morning. I did this to build the habit and flex the muscle of dream recall and memory.
Now that I have gotten used to recalling my dreams in outline format, I can do a quick mental inventory brain dump of the dream’s Location, People, Feelings & Emotions, Symbols, and Theme, and jump out of bed. Then I’ll get ready for the day, get myself a cuppa, and sit back down with my dream journal to begin phase 2 and write down my dream in detail before I get into dream analysis.
How to Analyze Your Dreams
Next it’s time for Dream Analysis! This can be daunting if you have a weird list of symbols and places. However, I find that this is the most important and most fun aspect of dream interpretation. There are countless manuals, guides, and ‘dream dictionaries’ out there, but it’s only you who can make sense of your dreams. There is no uniform interpretation that applies to everyone.
“I believe it to be true that dreams are the true interpreters of our inclinations; but there is art required to sort and understand them.”
Montaigne (Essays III)
Dream Dictionaries can only go so far, and don’t include cultural meanings to the vast array of symbols in the human experience. Most dream dictionaries are from the Western World perspective, which is why it’s important to define what certain symbols mean to your culture and more specifically and most importantly, what the symbols mean to you.
For example: A Black Cat Dream Meaning
Everyone dreams and everyone thinks, but understanding those thoughts and dreams vary from person to person. For one person the black cat is an evil omen that brings feelings of death and destruction. This is why dreaming is an inherently subjective and deeply personal singular experience. No two dreamers are alike, everyone’s dreams and ways of thinking are intrinsically different.
What Dreaming About A Black Cat Means
Take a look in any dream dictionary and it will tell you that to see a black cat in your dream indicates that you are experiencing fear, bad luck, destruction and Evil. Sounds pretty scary doesn’t it? That one dream meaning alone might send you in a tailspin trying to uncover what your subconscious was trying to tell you, while you spend the rest of your day fearing what evil is headed your way.
That is the common cultural definition of a black cat, steeped full of superstition and dark brooding energy. But that is not what a black cat means to me.
You need to apply your particular life experience to the dream symbols you see. You can’t rely on what the masses say about one thing or another. You need to dig deep and think for yourself. What does this symbol mean to you? Or to your family? Or to your way of life?
For me a black cat represents love, beauty, a friend, a familiar, and a partner at various points in my life. Black cats are often misunderstood and thought to be evil omens, but that is not what a black cat means to me. Black cats in my life represent positivity.
As you can see, it is extremely important to take what you read in a dream dictionary with a grain of salt, and be sure to apply your own life experience to the symbols you see in your dreams. Afterall, the symbols are coming from your subconscious, not a collective consciousness that is following a particular dream dictionary.
When analyzing your dreams after you have written them down in detail, you need to take into account your life experience. If you really are stumped, use a dream dictionary for inspiration. But remember you don’t really need a dream dictionary, you just need a deeper understanding of yourself and what makes you tick. Which is what dream analysis and interpretation is all about.
Dream Journal Shadow Work Journal Prompts
If you have consulted a dream dictionary and you’re still feeling stuck, dig a little deeper with these shadow work journaling prompts that you can apply to your post dream analysis in your dream journal.
What do these elements mean to you personally?
What kind of associations do you have with them?
How did you feel when you woke up?
Remember, only you know what a dream might mean to you. This kind of self-inquiry coupled with deep reflective Shadow Work can help peel back the layers of a dream and reveal the dream’s meaning over time. Sometimes even instantly.
What Do Dreams Reveal About Your Subconscious?
Dreams are a way your subconscious mind communicates with your waking conscious mind. Often when our waking life gets stressful or doesn’t go the way we want, our subconscious is there for us and tries to give us what we crave by allowing them to play out in our dreams in the form of symbols, mysterious meanings, and associations.
In the past I have had extremely magical dreams with so much depth, vivid landscapes and people, that were steeped in artistic beauty, sounds and touch. When my dreams are this vivid, I know that my subconscious is trying to communicate with me, leaving valuable messages in the form of breadcrumbs, from my innermost true self, my shadow self, waiting to be deciphered.
“A dream journal is an invaluable source of psychological insight.”
Kelly Bulkeley Ph.D
Not only do these dreams serve as a signal that I need to do some self reflecting, they are also sources of endless inspiration and ideas for creative projects that I’m working on. Keeping a dream journal has given me the keys to a castle and the ability to access a well of pure creativity deep within my subconscious mind.
This access to my true self and creative identity is something that feeds my soul and helps me feel connected to myself, others around me, and nature. Oftentimes my dreams teach me empathy and creativity, giving me a safe place to explore, fail, create, and improve, which lead to various degrees of feeling connected.
Other Forms Of Dream Analysis & Interpretation:
Journaling is not the only form of dream analysis. There are so many different options available to you! The most similar technique to journaling and writing, is to record your dreams with audio. It’s as simple as opening a voice note on your phone the moment you wake up, and hit record as you recount your dream. There are also audio recording apps for android and all other operating systems, if your phone doesn’t automatically have the capability to record voice notes.
Other Creative exercises to record your dreams for interpretation and analysis are :
Automatic Writing
Drawing Or Painting Your Dreams
Staging A Photoshoot To Enhance Your Dreams
Using Movement And The Body With Interpretive Dance And Choreography To Bring Your Dreams To Life
Recreating Meals Or Food From Your Dreams In Your Kitchen
These additional practices provide a better understanding of your dreams and make use of your five basic senses. By using hearing, sight, touch, smell and taste you are solidifying and committing your dreams to your memory in a more tangible way. I often pair drawing with my dream journal because sketching out my dreams is not only a creative outlet, it also helps me to visualize my dreams when I come back to them years later.
What Role Do Dreams Play In Your Life?
As seekers, mankind has the tendency to need to know the truth. But with dreams, we can’t be truth seekers, there is no definitive way to interpret our dreams with exact certainty… yet. Who knows what secret inner workings of the subconscious and the mind that science will unlock in the future. For now, all we can do is speculate what dreams mean based on shared cultural symbols, and what they mean, specifically to us.
I have now gotten to the point where I am able to easily tell what my subconscious is trying to tell me. “Entertainment Dreams” are easy to spot and just be amused by. Which means that more important dreams are easy to spot too, leaving me space to reflect and dig deeper to understand what my subconscious was trying to tell my waking mind.
Dream Analysis and Interpretation is a fascinating way to get a keep behind the curtain and really understand what makes you tick.
Remember When Dream Journaling:List, Outline, Detail, Analyze.
How Would Understanding Your Dreams Impact Your Life?
November carries with it themes of sharing bounty, giving thanks, giving back in small ways, and understanding the why behind any action you take. Keep these ideas and concepts in your mind when you create your monthly bullet journal themes, habit trackers, designs, and track your yearly and monthly goals in your Bullet Journal this month.
Sometimes November can be a bit weird being far away from our families. Normally the holidays are filled with laughter, love, and lots of food and good conversation. The years when this happens are quiet, quaint and cozy, just us with our pets. To connect with your family and friends during this time, try “baking together, apart” over video chats and calls. Cook together on video calls in your respective kitchens and share a meal together from the other side of the screen.
What To Journal About In November
As we welcome in the brisk cold air and falling leaves we like to turn inward and give thanks for what we have harvested this year.
Now is a time of deep reflection with the goal being better understanding of our actions. We also reflect on our motivations as we descent further into the dark half of the year as we approach Thanksgiving, Firendsgiving and the holiday season. Like October, November is also a time of year when we remember those who have gone before us and how we spend our time here on Earth as the living. We also continue the descent further into ourselves for reflection and deep Shadow Work in our journals.
What are you doing to stay connected to your loved ones this holiday season?
November is a time of year when we focus on understanding our motivations and actions regarding the progress we have or haven’t made on our dreams goals and intentions that we set back in January. November is also time to give back in small ways as we share what we have learned.
Continue to dig deep into why you do what you do.
✦
Reflect on your goal’s progress so far this year and share what you have learned with others.
✦
Write down in your journal 3 little ways that you can give back to those you love, your community, or the world with the knowledge you have gained so far this year.
Remember to focus on understanding your motivations and actions regarding the progress you have or haven’t made on your goals as we head into the most colorful month of the year, November.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite bullet journal layouts, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own bullet journal pages.
Grab a latte (I’ve been making my own vegan macadamia milk P.S.L. Pumpkin Spice Latte lately!) and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, and watercolors and get ready to make some beautiful November Inspired Bullet Journal Spreads that are sure to feed your creativity and artist’s soul.
November Bullet Journal Design Themes & Ideas:
NovemberFood Bullet Journal Themes:
cozy cups of tea
baking pumpkin pie
apple cobbler
Gourds
Squash
Pumpkins
Turnips
Corn
Maize
Mushrooms
pumpkin spice latte
coffee
espresso
P.S.L.
acorns
candy corn
crystals
warm cider
NovemberClothing Bullet Journal Themes:
Winter Clothes
Knitting
Socks
Warm Knit Hats
Cable Knit Sweaters
mittens
November Animal Bullet Journal Themes:
Fox
Turkey
Stag Deer
Racoon
Squirrel
Cats
Manatee & Mermaids
Jellyfish
Bison
Bear
November Bullet Journal Themes
Friendsgiving
Lord Of The Rings
Wreaths
Pumpkins
Feathers
Dream Catchers
Falling Leaves
Scarecrow
Harvest Time
Fields
Corn Maze
Rakes & leaves
hiking
leafing
wine tasting
cider tasting
craft beer tasting
Woodland Themes
Forest Themes
bonfire
smores
NovemberColor Bullet Journal Themes:
Soft Purples
Greens
Red Themes
Iridescent Color Schemes
Soft Gray & Silver
Teal, Blue Champagne, Fuchsia, & Grape
muted blues
soft blues
rustic muted colors
light oranges and creamy white shades.
Grey Themes
Black and White Themes
NovemberNature & Botanical Bullet Journal Themes:
Birch Trees
The Moon
Mountain ranges
Storms
Midnight
Chrysanthemum Mums
Delphinium
Alstroemeria
Asiatic Lily
Aster
Calla Lily
Chrysanthemum
Dahlia
Gerbera Daisy
Gladiola
Marigold
Rose
Sunflower
Zinnia
Stock
Peonies
Carnation
Hydrangea
Snap Dragon
Thistle
Veronica
Wax flower
Yarrow
Scabiosa
Smoke bush cotinus
Snowberry
Star of Bethlehem
Herbs
Leucadendron
Neapolitan lace
Olive branches
Ornamental pepper
Pampas grass
November Floral Combinations for Your Bullet Journal:
yellow protea, pink hypericum berries, orange ranunculus and calla lilies.
Red Roses and dark plum seasonal foliage to contrast the warmer colors.
Featuring an original watercolor painting for the November Frost Moon, a moon wheel with the moon phase dates of the month, minimalist bullet journal set up weekly spreads, + What is the Frost Full Moon?
Secrecy and Self Interest never helped anyone. Are you unknowingly hiding something from yourself? Or are you hiding it on purpose? By reflecting on these concepts we can better understand the inner workings of our minds and delve into Shadow Work Writing Prompts where we can finally confront our Shadow Selves and get to the bottom of what we’re hiding.
These reflecting prompts also help my mental health. You can find all of my journal and writing prompts right here!
This journaling practice definitely gives me pause for reflection, which I feel like I don’t have enough time for in my life. Taking pause is something that I have a hard time making and taking the time for. But with this practice its built into my routine at the beginning and end of the month with my journal and into my mornings as a part of my journaling morning routine.
This month comes with two additional resources that will help you dive deeper and support your journaling practice this October: a unique mantra affirmation that I talk about in the video on how I learn to accept my body and love it as it is. (We’ll get into that in a second)
The link below contains a collection of 51 of the best mantras and daily positive affirmations that you can start using today to improve your mental health in beautiful typography ready for you to use immediately.
Cut out and post these little reminders all over your home, mirrors, car, work station, desk, coffee bar, refrigerator and by your door.
Find Self Acceptance & Confidence
These little printable signs of positive affirmations and mantras come in a beautiful, easy to read, free printable, that you can cut out and post all over your home, mirrors, car, work station, desk, coffee bar, refrigerator and by your door. Download this FREE printable below!
Here is the one thing that dissolved the embarrassment I carried for my body: My Daily Practice in Learn To Love Your Body Mantra & Affirmation.
If you’re struggling with body issues too make sure you check out my love your body mantra article. It has a mantra that really helped me accept my body image and the weight I’m carrying. This practice has helped me learn to love myself and love my body as it is today instead of wishing for it to be something different or something that it was in the past. There are also actionable steps that help support the mantra in the article too!
We all have flaws that we wish would go away and parts of our body that we don’t want anyone to see let alone touch. It’s not good for our health or spirituality to hate our bodies. The body must be a temple and we must do everything we can to care for it, and keep it healthy and happy.
Negative thoughts surrounding our body can keep it from its truest potential and keep it from serving us as best it can. You can change your thoughts surrounding your body and learn to love it just the way it is.
Journal Prompt:
As the seasons turn, avoidance lingers in the air. It’s time to face your demons, dark side, and shadow self that you normally keep hidden from yourself.
What are you choosing to look away from?
What are you hiding from yourself?
Why are you hiding it?
What actionable steps can you take today to face your secrets and grow?
My Answer to This Spirituality Journaling Prompt…
What are you choosing to look away from? What are you hiding from yourself? Why are you hiding it? What actionable steps can you take today to face your secrets and grow?
“I have been choosing to look away from my fear and panic around the state of the world, in this pandemic. I’m hiding it from myself because I don’t want to allow my mental health and stability to fail. The actionable steps I can take to face my fear and panic of losing my resolve is to talk openly to someone I trust about these fears and talk to my therapist.
I have also been choosing to ignore my body weight. I’m hiding my shame from myself because it makes me feel terrible about myself when I face it. The actionable steps I’m currently taking are eating vegetarian and drinking 64 oz of water a day, and accepting & loving my body as it is today.”
Watch my video below to see how I’m facing my demons.
Right now I’m in the process of taking my daily journaling to the next level with tarot cards. This article is a journaling guide to share the things I’m learning in the process to take a deep dive into Shadow Work Journaling and Inner Child Healing Journaling through tarot cards as a daily journaling tool. This article is also one of two tarot deck buyer’s guide articles I’ve written.
How To Use Tarot As A Daily Journaling Tool: Use tarot cards as a daily journaling tool to connect deeper with your subconscious and shadow self to understand why you think and make the decisions you do. Begin using the tarot as a daily journaling tool by drawing one tarot card. Look at the card’s imagery, colors, and symbols to ascertain what the card mean to you, your family or group, culture, or where you live and how you were raised. Reflect in your journal on it’s meaning, how it applies to your life, and what the card means to you. With this process, you don’t have to know the traditional meaning of the card or even use a guidebook, all you need is your eyes and life experiences to guide you.
What Is A Daily Tarot Journal?
Tarot Journals are an organized place to learn tarot, record, and journal your journey as you develop a relationship with your tarot deck. Keeping a tarot journal is a wonderfully rewarding and reflective tool to have in your life when times are tough mentally and emotionally. The tarot cards also teach us lessons on how to get through these hard moments in our lives.
A Tarot Journal is a special journal custom designed for you, by you! The best part about journaling is how customizable the practice is. If something isn’t working, no worries! There is an endless amount of blank pages just a page turn away for you to start again.
Tarot Journals are also a really great way to celebrate our lives and the milestones that we have achieved. Tarot cards tend to jog our minds and remind us to think back on those happy moments and to not forget about them. This is our chance to recall those memories and celebrate them if we didn’t get a chance to when they originally happened.
We all have something that nags at us that we want answers to. A tarot journal will help you tap into your subconscious and get some much needed answers. They can give us a new perspective on how we might approach the situation in our life.
Like close friends, tarot cards at times can be a disruptive and frustrating force in our lives that challenge us to think about things that we just don’t want to. Tarot cards can also be just like a close friend that encourages us to challenge our views to find peace and perspective.
Sometimes we don’t like to think about the struggles that we’re going through and the things that are making us angry, and frustrated. We just try to ignore them and completely step away from it.
Daily Tarot journaling is a really great tool to reveal feelings, emotions, and memories that we pushed to the backburner to bring more light to them.
Tarot & Psychology
Practicing Tarot all boils down to supporting you as you build new neural pathways that help get you out of your usual thought patterns and look at your life through a different lens. You will learn to discover different areas of your life that might not be top of mind or at the forefront of your conscious thoughts. Practicing Tarot Card Reading forces us to do some deep intention shadow work as we journal by sparking the internal dialogue with our inner most true self, spirit, inner child, and soul.
One of the things that I love about buying a tarot deck is the idea of a new card pulled during a daily draw that I haven’t seen before. Honestly, I have to keep myself from buying a new deck every quarter. The daily tarot draw is the simplest tarot practice and tarot card reading that you can perform. Drawing a single card each day is a beloved practice by many many tarot card readers.
You can do this one of two ways: A Morning Tarot Spread or An End Of Day Tarot Spread.
Every morning draw a tarot card to help guide your intention for the day. Or every evening draw a tarot card to help you reflect on the day.
Both are really great learning practices. However, the daily evening tarot draw is a bit more mysteriously & deliciously indulgent because the themes we reflect on can influence our dreams and help our subconscious process the day, similar to a bedtime tarot practice and a tarot spreads for sleep.
1. Choose A Morning Tarot Spread & End Of Day Tarot Spread.
2. Shuffle The Deck 3 Times, Or Whatever Feels Good.
3. Cut The Deck & Draw A Card.
4. Look At The Card Itself & Ponder Its Meaning.
Before you look at the card’s meaning in the guidebook or in the little pamphlet that comes with your deck, take time to look at the card itself. Now it’s time to get into the card reading and ask ourselves some questions. Look at the card imagery.
Are there any images, colors, or symbols within the artwork of the cards that jumps out at you?
What initial feelings, reactions, and emotions come up when you look at this card?
What do you think is the symbolic meaning behind this card?
What does this card mean to you?
5. Open Your Journal To A Fresh Page
Sketch out a rough box the size of your tarot card and write down any of your initial feelings, thoughts, reactions, and symbolic meaning to the card. You can reference the four questions above while journaling.
6. Consult The Tarot Guide Book & Journal About It
Now it’s time to grab the guide book that comes with the tarot deck. You can use a bigger guidebook with in depth explanations of the tarot card meanings that you can purchase at any book store. You can also find tarot guide books for beginners, free tarot guide books online, tarot reader apps, and tarot guide book apps. A lot of tarot decks now have official guide books that go along with them. There may also be a mini guide book in with your tarot deck box.
How To Wrangle An Elusive Tarot Card Reading
If you don’t have any answers, that’s ok. Take a little bit more time to look at the card and really get deep into the imagery and just enjoy the beauty of the card itself. Note any symbols or meanings that pop up at you while you’re looking into this card a little deeper. You can also try writing in your tarot journal:
Detailed description of the landscape, characters, symbols
What you think the characters in the card might be saying to each other
Major or Minor Arcana
Tarot suit
Related element (earth, water, fire, air, spirit)
A keyword cloud
The person this card reminds you of
A memory that this card reminds you of
Tarot Deck Guide Books
Your tarot deck may be tinnie tiny like the guide book that comes with the classic Rider Waite Tarot Deck, that is the same size as the deck. This guidebook fits right into the tarot deck box. There are also decks that are not only tarot decks, but playing cards as well. The Gypsy Witch Playing Card Deck comes with the meanings of the cards printed right on the card itself.
I think that The Gypsy Witch Playing Card Deck is a really cool way to get to know the tarot and the different meanings of the tarot cards. It’s really fun to play a card game with them and learn the meanings as the cards come up. It’s also fun to do a daily tarot draw with this deck as well because the imagery is a little bit more familiar because of the playing card nature. Your guidebook may be a physical book “book.” The Wild Unknown Tarot Guidebook has more in depth descriptions of the cards that go with this tarot deck. These cards harken back to the traditional meanings of tarot cards, major and minor arcana, and suits. They also go a little bit more in depth for the type of imagery that is used in this modern tarot deck.
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
Tarot & Self-Reflection
Check out the meaning of the card you drew. Write down any initial thoughts, reactions, feelings, and what the card means to you and how it applies to your life right now. If there are any questions that pop up while you are reading this description, write those down too.
Now take some time to reflect on your initial impression of the card combined with what is going on with your life right now, and the meaning of the card according to the guide book.
7. Recreate The Tarot Card In Your Journal
While you recreate the tarot card in your journal with pens, pencils, paint, watercolor, sketch out the card, and enjoy the process of getting a little bit closer to the card you drew today.
After you have recreated the tarot card in your journal you can stop there.
or…
Choose to go further and answer any questions that came up in the guidebook or while you were reflecting. This is a good time to write down any specific things in your life that you are going through that are similar to the themes you are seeing in this tarot card.
It’s understandable if you feel overwhelmed when starting a daily tarot journal. There are countless examples out there of tarot journal templates, tarot journal ideas, prompts, layouts, tarot journal symbols, and even digital tarot journals. But there is a way forward.
This is one of my favorite daily practices in my bullet journal. Ever the artist and seeker, I like to take this practice further and indulge my creative side by recreating the tarot card in my journal. You can see what my bullet journal looks like here at the end of the month once I’ve filled in the cards for the day and wrote down any meanings.
As a medicinal plant herbalist and forager (I must have been a botanist in another life) I love sketching, drawing, and painting botanical flowers in my bullet journal which you can see above.
An art based tarot journal is a wonderful way to get a deeper more intimate view of your tarot cards because you are physically recreating the tarot card in your journal. Don’t worry if your lines are wobbly, or if your characters look wonky. This practice is just for you, no one else.
As you continue with your daily tarot journal practice your artistry and skills will strengthen as you learn the archetypes and symbolism each card embodies.
Recreating tarot cards in your daily tarot journal is a gateway that leads you far beyond conscious thought that goes deep into your psyche where your Shadow Self resides.
Remember, it doesn’t matter what your journal looks like. This daily tarot journal practice is just for you, no one else. You should be excited to draw a card every day, not intimidated by the vast options out there, or someone else’s tarot journal.
Jenny Proczko, Owls&indigo How To Use Tarot As A Daily Journaling Tool
Starting a tarot journal is extremely easy. All you need is a pen or pencil, any kind of notebook, and a tarot deck. That’s it. I encourage you to go further and make daily tarot journal entries a mindful practice by intentionally selecting your supplies. You’ll need:
A notebook or journal that you love looking at and that you love holding in your hands, AND more importantly is aesthetically pleasing to you (not someone else). You can even use an old notebook that you have lying around waiting for some love.
Guidebooks are also extremely important for beginner tarot practitioners. I also have The Wild Unknown Guidebook that goes with the tarot deck I just mentioned. See more on guide books below.
You might have heard that you’re not supposed to buy your own deck, well let me dispel that rumor here and now. I promise you won’t be cursed if you buy your own tarot deck. I go into detail on buying a tarot deck on purpose with intention, what you need to think about when choosing a tarot deck, and How To Find a Tarot Deck That Speaks to You.
I find starting each day with a bit of creativity and reflection improves my mindfulness and builds my resilience in the face of the day’s stress. Building the habit of daily tarot draws can be a bit hard at first, but is extremely rewarding. I’m sure that you will find with the first shuffle that you can’t wait to draw the next day’s card to reveal the messages that it carries for you.
Like any new habit, especially a daily one, you’ll probably miss a day. Let me tell you right now, it’s ok. Don’t give up. Commit to journaling tomorrow. But there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of picking up the new habit:
1. Do it first thing in the morning.
If you do it first thing, nothing can get in the way, making it more likely you’ll get it done.
2. Prepare your journaling area the night before.
There’s nothing worse than getting ready to start a task and finding everything is in the way. This seems to happen to me when I want to cook, the entire kitchen is a mess and I end up ordering out. You can short-circuit this by preparing your journaling area and tool the night before. I like to keep my supplies in a little basket next to my chair or right on the table so I see it first thing in the morning.
3. Keep your journaling short…at first.
A new habit takes time and it’s easier to get started when we feel the task is easy to get done. A quick 5-10min sketch of your tarot draw is easy. Start there and add the journaling reflection in week 2 or 3 as you get more comfortable with the habit.
How To Get Back On Track When You Miss A Day In Your Journal
You might be wondering “What should I do if I missed a day in my tarot journal?” There are months that I have missed multiple days in my tarot journal. In the past I used to feel really guilty about missing a daily draw. So much so that I felt like I should just give up. But you can’t.
You can’t give up.
Remember you started this tarot practice for you and no one else. We all need to practice showing up for ourselves and the dreams, goals and intentions we’ve set for ourselves, even if it’s as simple as drawing one tarot card every day.
When I miss a day in my tarot journal, I used to leave the box blank where the card would have been recreated in my journal. But seeing all of those empty boxes made me feel sad, and like a failure on the really hard mental health days.
Now if I miss a day in my tarot journal, I recreate the back of the tarot card the next time I’m in my journal. This has transformed my relationship with my tarot journal. These missed days now look like unknown messages that await me in the future. It’s so much more uplifting to look at a missed day in my tarot journal and see a tarot card back and wonder what messages it holds for me, instead of feeling guilt for missing a day and not having a “perfect bullet journal.”
You might be wondering “bullet journal?” My tarot journal is part of my monthly bullet journal set up! If you want tarot bullet journal spread ideas check out my instagram @owlsandindigo here.
You can keep your tarot journal private or pass it down in your family. These records are a beautiful family heirloom that give younger generations a peek into their family’s past. Writing down your tarot readings in a tarot journal in this way creates a tangible source of reference material for your life, the lessons you have learned, should learn, and can still learn.
Each tarot card is filled with nuance that you will come to understand as your daily tarot journal practice develops. This record also shows you how the archetypes of the cards manifest themselves in the real world. Each tarot deck carries with it the story of the shared human experience, universal truths, and archetypes that we can all relate to no matter what season we are in or where we are in life.
Tarot cards are a very interesting way to reveal the subconscious feelings that we are having that we didn’t know we had. Tarot cards can also help us relate to everyday situations, discover unexpected meanings, develop a keen eye for recurring patterns in our lives, and reflect on what is happening in our lives and how we should move forward.
The Tarot is a meditative tool that helps us to stop stumbling through life, and guides us through introspection to reflect on our current station in life, navigate the jumble of our minds, see where we are today in the present, and steer us back to what feeds our soul.
Remember, tarot card’s can’t tell you your future. All they can do is act as a mirror to reflect back to you what you already know, that you can’t quite put into words.
JENNY PROCZKO, OWLS&INDIGO HOW TO USE TAROT AS A DAILY JOURNALING TOOL
I also read recently that the tarot is a barometer to show you where you’re at in life and the potential you possess. The tarot is a simple beautiful tool to put our conscious minds in touch with our subconscious, to uncover answers we’re seeking, that are already buried deep within our hearts and minds. Tarot cards act as a best friend who gently nudges you to say “hey you might want to think about this. Stop ignoring it, and give it some thought because you’re important too.”
Tarot Journal Resources & Related Topics
Below are some of my favorite Tarot Journaling Resources & Related Topics!
This bullet journal theme is straight out of the woods and forests of Northern Michigan, featuring an easy beginner Goldenrod botanical paint with me. October always makes me feel incredibly alive with its winds of change and brisk days.
This October monthly bullet journal cover page is inspired by the beautiful Goldenrod “weed” found everywhere in the Midwest. Goldenrod also grows in Europe, Asia, and North and South America. It flourishes in roadside ditches and fields and is often considered a weed. The plant’s yellow flowers bloom in late summer and early fall. It cross-pollinates easily with other plants, so there are more than 100 different species of goldenrod. The watercolor paint with me tutorial is also inspired by a pin that I found on Pinterest combined with my own flare.
Along with my monthly cover page I’m also doing a cover page for my tarot card that I pulled for this month. I did a year ahead spread that you can see here!
The Seven of Swords represents: Secrecy & Self Interest.
Six of the Seven swords hang in plain view, while the 7th is tucked under the fox’s tail. This is a secret being kept. You’re either the keeper of a secret or the kept-from, and it’s time to identify which. Deceit and avoidance linger in the air. Face the cause of secrecy or risk ostracizing yourself.
This month’s spirituality journaling prompt: Get it HERE!
Some links in this article are affiliate links, this means I earn a small commission if you use them! Affiliate Links are one way I am able to provide videos, articles, and resources for free. Other links go straight to the Owls & Indigo Shop where you can support me directly.
October carries with it a lot of themes: transformation, surrender, reflecting, learning, changing, remembrance, intuition, composting, resting & restoring, regeneration, honoring the dead, preparing for winter, and honoring the third and Final Harvest. Keep these ideas and concepts in your mind when you create your monthly bullet journal themes, habit trackers, designs, and track your yearly and monthly goals in your Bullet Journal this month.
October always makes my dark, brooding, moody heart soar. I feel like I come alive in the fall and autumn months, especially October. The cold mornings that stay cold all through the day and into the night are my favorite. Our windows and doors are always open to welcome in the winds of transformation and change in October. I even love the cold rainy days of October too. On these days you can find me curled up under a blanket, in my favorite retro mid century modern arm chair with a book and coffee or hot tea, usually with a black cat near by waiting to jump up with me. In our house we’ve even been known to walk out onto a briskly cold and raining morning and tout, “Oh what a beautiful day!” (neither of us like the Summer heat and prefer the cold). God I love October.
Now is a time of transition and descent further into the dark half of the year as we approach Halloween, Samhain, All Souls Day, and Day of the Dead, on October 31 and November 1st. October is also a time of year when we remember those who have gone before us and how we spend our time here on Earth as the living. We also continue the descent further into ourselves for reflection and deep Shadow Work in our journals.
This is a time of year when we focus on changing the way we think about the progress we have or haven’t made on our dreams goals and intentions that we set back in January. October is also time to learn and reflect on what we could have done better.
Transform the way you think about your goals. Surrender & Reflect on the road to your goals so far this year. Write down what you could have done better.
Remember to transform your way of thinking about the progress you have or haven’t made on your goals as we head into the best month of the year, October.
If you are new to bullet journaling, I’m so excited to help you get started! Below are some of my favorite bullet journal layouts, cover pages, and calendars to inspire your own bujo pages.
Grab a latte (I’ve been dying for PSL Pumpkin Spice Latte lately!) and settle in with your bullet journal, markers, washi tape, colored pencils, and watercolors and get ready to make some beautiful Fall Inspired Bullet Journal Spreads that are sure to feed your creativity and artist’s soul.
October Bullet Journal Design Themes & Ideas:
October Food Bullet Journal Themes:
Garlic Lovers Day October 6
National Frappe Day October 7
National Gumbo Day October 12
pumpkins
PSL (pumpkin spice latte)
coffee
hot apple cider
apples
gourds
corn
maze
mushrooms
candy corn
tea
shepherds pie
pumpkin pie
apple pie
pomegranate
warm stews
candy apples
October Animal Bullet Journal Themes:
Bat Appreciation Month
Squirrel Awareness Month
National Wolf Awareness Week (Third Week of October)
International Raccoon Appreciation Day – October 1
Dark Moody & Brooding Bullet Journal Theme: moon phases, locust, gray & black watercolor, spooky tree with roots, plus gold and metallic pink dusty rose accents.
Featuring pet sugar skulls, cat sugar skull, dog sugar skull, and rabbit sugar skull, to memorialize your furry family members that have gone before you.
