The shadow is a tricky thing. It lives in a language-less land and so it can’t just come out and say, with words, what’s on its mind (generally speaking). Instead, it feeds us in symbols, feelings, sensations, intuitions and other such urgings that can seem vague and elusive.

I can’t say for sure, but I wonder if part of the reason it works in this way is that it simultaneously wants to be discovered while wanting to evade detection. The part of it that desires discovery, is probably the part of it that is seeking expression and ultimately acceptance. But on the other hand, it doesn’t want us to be totally aware of its schemes because then it runs the risk of eradication or further suppression. Let’s face it, we haven’t been exactly welcoming of our shadow parts - I can totally understand why it would be as afraid of us as we are of it!

We don't talk a lot about shadow work in this space, though it is an important part of our practice, both personally and professionally. It can be a difficult thing to try to convey, teach on, or talk about though as it’s a very personal and inward affair. Despite that, we’ve wanted to broach it for sometime, we just hadn’t quite figured out how to do that. But, we also think it’s due time we explore it deeper, especially as we head into October; colder nights and darker days.

In light of all this, we have put something together that we hope will serve those looking to immerse themselves in a shadow work journey, with the aid of tarot. It’s formatted a bit like a tarot challenge, but we aren't actually challenging anyone to do this work in a month, or share it for that matter. We’ve structured it in this way because it allows us to offer complex topics in bite-sized packages, mixed with our own musings and brought to life with the aid of prompts for further integration.

This comprehensive overview of the concept of the shadow and shadow work, is meant to serve as a complement to the 30-day immersive we have also developed. You can keep reading this primer, if you haven’t already, and when you’re ready, you may begin your own journey into the deep.

Elphias Levi once stated, regarding tarot - “As an erudite Kabalistic book, all combinations of which reveal the harmonies preexisting between signs, letters and numbers, the practical value of the tarot is truly and above all marvelous. A prisoner devoid of books, had he only a tarot of which he knew how to make use, could in a few years acquire a universal science, and converse with an unequalled doctrine and inexhaustible eloquence.”

We have come to regard tarot as one gateway to the beyond - not unlike other methods such as meditation, trance, ouija, runes, dreams, hallucinogenic drugs or even contemplation. Could it be though that tarot holds not just the means, but the map itself? Somewhere along our discovery in the months leading up to second contact, we began to explore something we refer to as “the gates”. It would be difficult to reverse engineer this process because a lot of it was stray thought or unexplained guidance, so I’ll just provide some of what we came to and omit the ramble.

The last time we talked to Frank in an organized fashion was last Saturday, November 7th. Our first formal introduction to Frank was on May 24th, 2020.

The two entries that precede this one cover the timeline of January 1, 2020 - sometime in March.

Because stories rarely unfold in a perfect line, we will aptly allow this one to function more like a spiral. With that being said, I’d like to start this post with a piece of music titled O Radiant Dawn by James MacMillan and Apollo5. It was given to us last week via our communication channel with the still undisclosed Frank. It will serve as an appropriate introduction to access the vibration of this update and also remind us, no matter where this goes, music remains an important theme.