How to Use Astrology in Shadow Work
In general, astrology is a powerful tool for self-awareness. It gives us insight, which can facilitate positive personal transformation — that’s already an excellent reason to take a look at your natal chart. But astrology can be even more than that.
In a previous article, I alluded to the role of astrology in shadow work. Here, we’ll dive deeper. Let’s discuss how each of your placements can inform your shadow work and help you navigate your healing journey.
Your Sun, Moon, and Rising signs provide a wealth of information.
These are, collectively, your “big three” — they’re essentially the pillars of your personality. These placements can tell help you understand your public image, your inner world, your ego, and more.
The Sun is the ego, life force, and public image. In some ways, it’s our “core” self or more public personality. Consider the Sun your identity. It is the essence of ‘you-ness’ that shines out into the world. If you think about it, the Sun is our vital life force — it’s what keeps the planet alive, after all. With that in mind, you can understand that your Sun sign represents the life force within you, too. It often depicts the way we experience life, find our personal drive, and express our uniqueness.
The Ascendant (or rising sign) is our physical body and the mask we wear. It is similar to the Sun sign in that it can also depict your social personality. Understanding your Ascendant can provide insight into what your default mask is, what impressions you tend to make, and even the nature of your relationship with your body.
The Moon is your most private self. It’s who you are when you’re alone. It can even depict your emotional body. Arguably one of the most important lessons of the Moon sign is that it explores how we express and relate with our feelings. The depths of your inner world are complex and nuanced and often vary from your outer world. The Moon sign reveals those variances, as well as the other aspects of your personality that may be less obvious than the aspects of your sun sign.
Big Three Shadow Journal Prompts:
What is my relationship with authenticity? What parts of me am I most inclined to hide?
What do I love most about my body? What am I most ashamed of? Why?
How do I present myself in different social situations?
What do I want to be known for?
What are my values? What do I want to value more?
What drives me? What am I most motivated to accomplish?
Who am I when no one is watching?
Do I view emotion as a strength or weakness? Why?
How do I respond to other people’s emotions?
What emotions am I most comfortable with? What emotions am I least comfortable with? Explore this.
Mercury, Venus, and Mars are considered ‘personal planets’. They are closer to the Sun (and our ‘core self’) than, say, Neptune or Jupiter. The realms that the personal planets rule over are, in fact, more personal than those of the outer planets, which we will discuss in the next section.
Understanding the message of each personal planet can help you to better understand how to use it in shadow work. Here’s a quick guide:
Mercury: the planet of communication, thought, and learning
Venus: the planet of love, abundance, femininity, and sensuality
Mars: the planet of aggression, action, masculinity, and sexuality
So, you would look to your Mercury sign and house placement to understand your communication style and thought process, while you would look to Mars to understand your relationship with aggression. If you feel you need to do shadow work relating to femininity, however, the best place to start would likely be Venus.
Personal Planet Shadow Journal Prompts:
How do I communicate my true feelings?
What is my relationship with masculinity? What is my relationship with femininity?
Do I have an excess of masculine or feminine energy? If so, how can I find balance?
What communication styles/patterns trigger me? Are there certain words, phrases, or tones of voice that get on my nerves? Why is that?
When did I not feel safe to be my true self in a relationship? What were the warning signs?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto, and Neptune are considered ‘outer planets’. They have broader and more expansive themes than the personal planets and are a little more distant from day-to-day operations.
In shadow work, we can turn to the outer planets to get a clearer picture of the larger transformation we are meant to undergo in this lifetime. As all the outer planets rule over a different piece of the puzzle, here’s a quick guide to each one:
Jupiter: the planet of expansion, growth, and philosophy
Saturn: the planet of boundaries, restrictions, and hard-won wisdom
Uranus: the planet of rebellion, change, and individuality
Pluto: the planet of transformation and destruction
Neptune: the planet of the subconscious, dreams, and spirituality
From here, you can identify which planet you feel the most drawn towards, and use its role in your natal chart as a jumping-off point for the next stage of your shadow work.
Outer Planet Shadow Journal Prompts:
Which of my personal traits or ideas do I want to expand?
How do I feel about boundaries? Am I good at upholding my own boundaries? Do I respect other people’s?
What life lesson did I learn the hard way? How do I feel about this now?
What aspects of my personality or experience set me apart from other people? Is this something I embrace or try to hide?
When was a time my beliefs were shaken? What change did this lead to?
Are there memories or behaviors trapped in my subconscious? What within me needs to be brought to light?
At the end of the day, shadow work is a deeply personal experience that requires intense self-reflection, forgiveness, and humility. Astrology is just one tool that can support you in the process.
Be patient with yourself throughout this journey. Our shadows are far from rational and take time to unpack. Learning to recognize when your shadow is acting up is challenging, and addressing it is even more so. But ultimately, being ruled by your shadow can harm both you and your relationships. The shadow thickens the veil of illusion between our egos and our higher potential.
This is about living your best life. It’s so important to establish an arsenal of skills to cope with the numerous stressors life throws our way. And in the process of working through your shadow and balancing it out with light, it’s quite possible that astrology can help.
Thank you so much for reading! If you’re interested in seeing more of my work and staying up to date on all the astrological happenings, you can join my Medium community here :)
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