Ceressia

My name is Ceressia, but feel free to call me Ceres. I’m 21 years old, and have been an active practitioner of witchcraft for 7 years.

I began my journey as a solitary Wiccan. I’ve had a life long interest in paganism and the occult, beginning at a very tender age. I practiced the Wiccan faith for 2 years, but later left to pursue my own path. Though I’ve been a bit distant from my craft and witchcraft in general for a while due to external circumstances.

I dabble in a number of different branches of magic, with a particular penchant for Divination. In addition, I’ve been looking into the apothecary aspect of witchcraft as well, though I’ve refrained from spell work necessitating physical mediums due to my living arrangements.

I practice different forms of spirit worship and spirit work, and have worked with land spirits, deities, my ancestors, as well as angels and demons. Of them, I most actively work with Apollo, but I also venerate a number of other gods from the Hellenic pantheon, as well as divinities from various pantheons.

On this blog, I will mainly be creating content surrounding my practice, experiences, as well as recording some things for my personal grimoire. If you like this form of content, please feel free to stick around.

Ooh thank you very much for your kind words anon! I hope this helps out!

Shadow Work; What is it and how can I get started?

To understand what Shadow Work is, a little bit of background is needed. So before I explain what Shadow Work is, I will be giving a somewhat brief background into what concepts brought it about.

I. The Shadow | The internal manifestation of one’s suppressed character

The concept of a person’s “Shadow” stems from Carl Jung’s map of the psyche, which explores the complexities and aspects that make up the human mind. These complexities and aspects are what creates a person’s character, and or personality in a sense that is present in one’s being. There are four aspects in total, and are referred to as the four Jungian archetypes.

The Shadow is one of these archetypes, and the shadow, like the others, has its specialty or specific presence in the human psyche. The Shadow is what represents and contains things that the individual wants to suppress or hide, compsing of hidden ideas, desires, the person’s weakness, and others along that line. It is formed through one’s attempts at merging with societal and even personal standards, hence why things such as weaknesses are hidden; weaknesses, desires, ideas, and other similar things are hidden because they are deemed “unnaceptable” by societal standards, and to an extent, are seen as unnaceptable by us, who have grown to view emotions like envy, greed, pride, prejudice, and the like as unnaceptable because that was how we were raised to think.

Hence why the Shadow is present; it is the culmination of our hidden agendas and parts of ourselves we ourselves wish to hide, whether we are aware we are hiding them or not. The Shadow is also referred to as the darker side of the psyche due to its sensitive nature, representing the formation of chaotic and uncontrollable, wild and even unknown pieces of ourselves. In many cases, the Shadow is denied and rejected as truth by the individual, and is instead projected onto others as a form of denial as to not have to face an aspect of yourself that is so sensitive to touch upon or witness.

II. What is Shadow Work? | Facing Yourself

Shadow Work is taken from Carl Jung’s study of the psyche, and aims to address this darker aspect of one’s own person. Shadow Work is often viewed as something necessary that one has to do, since working on a suppressed aspect of your individual character, as well as working to better understand the reasons behind why your shadow manifested the way it did, creates an opportunity for personal growth and acceptance of one’s state of mind and being.

The Shadow is present in everyone, often denied and rejected, and continuous rejection of it builds unstable footing. Its bottling up and rejecting the most vulnerable part of one’s self, making it harder to truly see what it is you need to heal. Why do you react this way? What have you been holding onto that it is time to let go of? Realizing what you need over what you want is important, especially in the case of seeing what you need to see rather than seeing only what you want to see. Hence why Shadow Work came to be; it is the opportunity for self-growth, self-betterment, as well as recognizing the aspects of yourself you otherwise have swept under the rug because you were led to believe it made you “weak”, “inferior,” or “evil.”

III. How can I start doing Shadow Work? | My experience, methods, and important things to keep in mind

There is no strict way to do Shadow Work, as it is something personal one has to do. But there are guidelines that need to be upheld, if only for the individual’s safety. I’ll be listing my own experience with Shadow Work first, before I list other ways to do it as well as what you should keep in mind when you start.

First off, one’s experiences with Shadow Work can differ from another. My experiences might not be the same you or others will be or have been facing. We all have our traumas, backstories, and beliefs that have shaped us to become the people we are today, and sure, things may seem similar, but dealing with something so sensitive and personal through someone else’s lense or looking at it how another person would look at it isn’t really the way to go. It’s one’s innermost vulnerable side that was hidden away, and everyone has their own way in dealing with things that arise with it. These can range from internal trauma, suppressed memories, and emotions too. Do with it as you will, work with what you know your limitations are, and allow yourself to be vulnerable with yourself(*)

My experience with Shadow Work

Personally, Shadow Work isn’t difficult for me to do. It can be exhausting, yes, as is everything that comes with facing a part of yourself you’d very much rather hide, but coming to terms with who I am (or this part of me I’ve locked away) hasn’t been as difficult as I initially expected. I’m often brutally honest, with myself and others, and I have pretty thick skin when it comes to things like this. I usually sit down in a quiet room, light up Apollo’s candle, and I talk. I talk about things that have hurt me in the past, and things that hurt me in the present, and more. I try to be as honest as possible, I ramble, I elaborate on how I feel, how I felt, and what I fear it could make me feel in the future. I sometimes cry, I sometimes get mad, and at times I end seething with rage or drowning in sorrow, but at the same time, I feel enlightened. It’s like the weight I’ve been shouldering for so long has finally fallen, leaving me with the knowledge of who I was at the time, as well as who I am currently. It’s part of the method that works best with me, but this probably won’t work best with everyone.

On that note, I’ll be moving on to methods.

Methods

Remember how I said that there is no strict way to do Shadow Work? Though this is true, there are some similarities between how people do it. There are resources, media, and a lot more that can help make Shadow Work less confusing as well as become a normality. I’ll be listing down some methods I know in order to help give you an idea of what you can do.

Shadow Work Prompts

Now this relates to my personal method. There are a large assortment of Shadow Work-based prompts available, many I’ve seen are on Pinterest, and there are also some on self-help websites. The one’s on Pinterest are my go-to since it’s easier to access as well as easy to manage. I usually find a prompr list, sit down (it can be by yourself or if you have, you can sit with your deities, or anyone you trust like your therapist or a close friend) and you work with the prompt or prompts you have. I personally sit with my deities and I read them aloud, but this can only bridge to the next method.

Shadow Work Journaling

Shadow Work Journaling is as it states, and can be done in multitudes of ways. It can be a daily routine, a weekly routine, where you take a prompt and write what you can based on that prompt (see: Shadow Work Prompts.) Apparently people find it easier to write it down, but I feel voicing it out (in my experience anyway) allows me to hear myself without double checking for grammar and all that jazz. It can be like a diary even. It doesn’t have to be fancy or done in an expensive notebook or anything. Feel free to just jot down how you’re feeling, what you felt, and things that align with your prompt. You don’t necessarily need a prompt for this, just jot down anything you personally want to focus on, like a past trauma, etc. But prompts are often used in SW Journaling because it gives an idea as to what you need to focus on, since it can be a bit overwhlelming if you want to tackle a lot of things at once or in an opposite case, if you don’t know what to focus on first.

Shadow Work Meditation

A bit simpler, but also takes a lot of visualization and focus. It’s a method that requires a lot of self-reflection and recollection of memories, and focusing on it can get a bit hard when meditating. However, it does help one visualize and thoroughly feel the effects or the emotions drawn out by the memory or that part of you. Acknowledge it, feel it wholly, and take it into your own hands. Ask yourself, why do I feel this way? What can I do? See it and feel it, make it known to you through looking into yourself, one-on-one.

Shadow Work in Art

A bit more fun. If you’re on the creative side, you can do Shadow Work through art. Paint, sketch, doodle even. It’s all about expression of ideas and emotions. It doesn’t have to be pretty (emotions like these often aren’t) and because it’s most likely going to be you who views or and no one else, feel free to be as vulnerable and thorough as you can be. Draw what you usually don’t draw, use colors you feel work best, no matter how dull or vibrant they may be. Let your soul take the brush and give the feelings an image. If you can’t describe it in words, show it in another way. Go all-out, no need to impress anyone here. Only pure, hard emotion.

Important things to keep in mind

You don’t need to be a witch to do Shadow Work! Shadow work doesn’t require one to be a witch. No matter what your religion is, there is no harm in recognizing parts of yourself you’ve hidden away, and there is no harm in helping yourself heal and grow from what’s hurt you in the past. Look at yourself, your inner self, and address everything that needs to be addressed. Whether it be childhood trauma, repressed emotions, and desires or ideals you wish to deny, take the initiative to get to know yourself better. You don’t need a deity, you don’t need to be a witch. In the end, no matter what you believe in, you’re a person. You’re living and breathing and you have so many things to give to and so many things to explore and understand from the world around you, so give yourself some time to understand yourself. You’re human, just like me.

*You don’t need to do shadow work alone! Feel free to invite people you trust, like your therapist or even a close friend. Especially in the case when topics such as this may trigger you. Overcoming trauma and recognizing such a sensitive part of yourself is tiring, overwhelming, and honestly can do more harm than good if you aren’t careful. If you feel like you aren’t ready to do it alone but you still want to understand yourself, feel free to take any precautions necessary. Have someone you trust on call, in the same room, next to you, etc. Always remember to stay safe.

Remember you can be vulnerable! It comes with it, really. It’s a sensitive part of you that you need to address. Let your emotions come, feel them, especially if you have the habit of bottling them up. This is personal to you and only you, no one is allowed or valid enough (I say this loosely) to judge you for this, especially when they aren’t you or haven’t gone through the same thing you have.

You don’t need to do Shadow Work everyday! It’s honestly pretty exhausting. I do it every week or so rather than every day since my emotions and mind need a break after it. Do it at your own pace or what is comfortable for you. Shadow Work is about you and nobody else, so make sure you’re in the right headspace to do it safely and comfortably. If you aren’t feeling up to it, push it away and reschedule, It can wait. Focus on yourself, you deserve to rest. No one is forcing you to do it everyday.

Splitting this into two sections!

I. My experience forging bonds with my deities | Deitywork

Usually I end up thinking about that deity more often than I usually do. I started/initiated a large number of my deity relationships/bonds and only a few initiated ones with me at the start. By initiated, they tend to throw subtle signs and hints my way until I get the message.

And really, it can go from that to the direct way. It all comes down to your intuition and how you feel about the symbols and hints being thrown your way.

When I first had the feeling to work with say, Lady Freyja, I was on a road trip with my family. I saw three dragonflies that day, one at each different location with a super long distance in between. I did my research and found out it's connection to Lady Freyja and things went on from there. Since I was already worshipping/working with a large number of deities then, I asked their permission first before starting anything.

Another instance was when Lady Aphrodite wanted to start working with me, and like with Lady Freyja, I experienced getting a lot of signs and hints. This time, in the form of three bees buzzing around my room. Me, who was deathly afraid of getting stung by a bee, had promptly called my dad and uncle to deal with it because I'm a coward, but after looking deeper, I realized that m'lady was trying to contact me. Thankfully, she didn't seem all too bothered by the fact my dad and uncle killed the bees, I did deeply apologize after.

Something to note: If you truly believe a deity is trying to contact you, test it out despite your doubts. In fact, it may be them trying to contact you through your intuition.

Most recently, I started worshipping/working with Zeus. I found out about him wanting to contact me through Apollo, who, when I asked if the reason why the wind suddenly got so strong was because Zeus was listening in (was doing Shadow work at the time, talking about a lot of shit that happened), replied with "yes, he is." I took matters into my own hands the day after (notably, on April 2nd.)

I say notably because on the eve of April Fool's, Zeus was also present in my room alongside my other deities (I talked about this in a previous post) and realizing the small hints at him being around (such as whenever I'd jokingly greet him and the wind would pick up, or when lightning struck outside my window during a storm when I was thinking about deities I wanted to work with.) I accepted his presence happily.

To sum it all up:

Shows themselves in signs, such as appearances or scenarios relating to them or their symbols.

Can contact you through intuition; If you have an urge to work with them, or if something is telling you that it is them, test it out despite any doubts you may have. Asking them doesn't hurt at all, and who knows? They could've been trying to contact you the entire time.

Look at your past and look for signs. Now this bit requires some reflection, and if you happen to see symbols relating to a deity you intend or have the urge to work with, it may be them. We don't usually understand the presence of gods or otherworldly beings to this extent at a young age, so it is possible that a deity may have been present with you since your younger years. Try looking back and checking to see if you felt a divine presence during your youth.

II. Offerings for Lord Hypnos | God of Sleep

Now this so happens to be something I struggled with initially when I wanted to work with Lord Hypnos. There is a pretty great lack thereof of easily attainable sources for correspondences and devotional material when it comes to him, at least at the time when I was searching for material, but after some deep diving through the internet, I was able to get my hands on one article I've been using since the start of our divine relationship.

This article from Vocal.Media is part of a series of articles detailing a good introduction into working with specific hellenic deities; in my experience, I've gathered information for the deities I work with from the series and it's worked so far.

You can offer a lot of things to Lord Hypnos, such as anything relating to sleep (well, for obvious reasons.) It can be general, like lavender or chamomile as herbs or just scents, as well as anything that helps you sleep. There was a part in the article that said he liked chocolate, and I can vouch for that from experience.

Other things you can offer him are general offerings for the hellenic gods, such as olive oil, milk, and honey. Some crystals you can give him are Amethyst and Hematite. Get a soothing-sceneted candle you think he'd like, or something you personally find to help you sleep.

I personally prefer to offer him prayers every night. It's a routine wherein I pray for a restful sleep and good dreams. Offering him thoughts as well is also good. Acknowledge him, greet him in the mornings and at night before bed. If you feel warmth as you begin to get drowsy, that's most likely him. He's always around to keep an eye on you so you don't have to deal with nightmares.

If you want more sources, I suggest visiting the Pagan or Hellenic Polytheist reddit or Pagan Amino communities! I used to be part of the latter myself until I just stopped using the app for a while, but it does have a good number of collected resources for different gods such as Hypnos!