30 Shadow Work Prompts for Beginners (and How to Do It Gently)

Shadow work has a reputation for being dark, dramatic and something you do by candlelight while weeping into a journal. Sometimes it is. Mostly it’s just getting curious about the parts of yourself you’d rather not look at.

The idea comes from psychologist Carl Jung, who called the “shadow” the parts of us we hide, deny or never learned to accept. Looking at them gently tends to make them a lot less powerful. Here are 30 shadow work prompts for beginners, plus how to do it without falling down a hole.

How to start shadow work gently

• Go slow. One prompt is plenty for a session.
• Set a time limit. Fifteen or twenty minutes, then close the journal.
• Have a soft landing. Plan something comforting for afterward, like tea, a walk or a silly show.
• Be kind to yourself. You’re noticing, not putting yourself on trial.

Shadow work can bring up big feelings. If it starts to feel overwhelming, stop, ground yourself, and consider working through it with a therapist or someone you trust.

Shadow work prompts for beginners

1. What’s a trait in other people that really gets under my skin?
2. When have I acted like that myself?
3. What compliment do I find hard to accept, and why?
4. What did I learn as a child about anger?
5. What emotion do I try hardest to avoid feeling?
6. What am I most afraid people will find out about me?
7. Where do I hold myself to a standard I’d never hold a friend to?
8. What do I envy in someone else, and what does it tell me I want?

Prompts for patterns and relationships

1. What pattern keeps showing up in my relationships?
2. What role do I usually play in a group?
3. Who do I keep trying to please, and what do I hope will happen if I do?
4. Which relationship still has a hook in me, even though it’s over?
5. What do I need to forgive myself for?
6. What did I want from someone that they couldn’t give?
7. Where do I give more than I receive, and why?

Prompts for your inner child

1. What did I love doing before I worried about being good at it?
2. What did little me need to hear more often?
3. When did I first feel like I had to be “the good one”?
4. What would my younger self think of my life now?
5. How can I give myself one thing I missed as a kid?

Prompts for moving forward

1. What belief about myself am I ready to question?
2. What’s one strength hiding inside a “flaw”?
3. What would change if I stopped apologizing for this part of me?
4. What am I still holding onto that I could set down?
5. What boundary would protect the version of me I’m becoming?
6. What does a kinder inner voice sound like?
7. What did today’s prompt teach me about myself?
8. What’s one small way I can honor this part of me this week?
9. How have I already grown this year?
10. What do I want to remember the next time this feeling comes up?

Pair it with a little magic

Shadow work fits beautifully with witchcraft. Try it at the dark moon, light a black candle for release and a white one for what you’re welcoming, or close each session with a quick cleansing, like washing your hands with salt water.

Want a deeper process?

If one relationship keeps coming up in your journal, The Part of Me I Left With You is a 40-page cord cutting workbook. It walks you through naming the attachment, choosing how to release it and getting through the days after.

More journals for your inner work:

• Cycle Sorcery: 81 pages of reflection, simple rituals and tracking across four inner seasons
• Weekly Spellwork Journal: track your spells, materials and reflections
• Herbal Magic Journal: record your herbal work and what you learn

Running a witchy business? These come with PLR rights so you can rebrand and sell them, and the 52 Week Shadow Work Content Vault gives you a full year of shadow work blog posts to publish as your own.

One prompt at a time

You don’t need to excavate your whole past this weekend. One prompt and twenty honest minutes is real shadow work, and it’s yours.

Run a witchy business? Grab the free I Bought It, Now What? guide. It walks you through turning PLR like these workbooks into products, posts and emails you can actually sell.

Save this for later: pin it to your witchy board so it’s there when you need it.