🌑 5 Deep Shadow Work Prompts to Meet Yourself with Compassion
If you’re new to shadow work, start here to gently explore what it means and how to begin: https://hexandheal.co.uk/what-is-shadow-work-a-beginners-guide-to-inner-healing-self-discovery/ 🌑✨
Because healing doesn’t mean fixing — it means holding.
Shadow work isn’t about fighting your darkness. It’s about sitting beside it, hand in hand, and listening. These are the parts of you that were silenced, shamed, or hidden — not because they were wrong, but because they were too tender to be seen.
These prompts are invitations. You don’t need to “get it right.” You don’t need to heal all at once. All you need is honesty, a pen, and the courage to show up for yourself — gently.
Light a candle. Breathe deep. Let’s go in together.
1. ✍️ “What part of me do I keep trying to ‘fix’ — and why?”
This prompt is an entryway into your inner perfectionist, your inner critic, or the parts of you that never feel “enough.” Maybe it’s your sensitivity, your procrastination, your body, or your emotions. Instead of asking, “How do I change this?” — ask, “Why am I ashamed of it?”
👉 This question helps you see what parts of yourself you view as problems… and where those beliefs really came from.
2. ✍️ “When did I first learn that love had conditions?”
At some point, we all absorbed a message: be quieter, be better, be useful, be less. Love became a transaction, not a home. This prompt asks you to trace that thread — was it a parent? A teacher? A partner? The media?
👉 Let yourself write from the memory, not your logic. The aim isn’t to blame, but to understand the blueprint you were given… and decide if you want to rewrite it.
3. ✍️ “Where do I still betray myself to feel safe?”
This one can sting — but it’s powerful. Think about the tiny moments you say yes when you mean no. When you stay silent to avoid tension. When you hide your needs. This is the inner child keeping you ‘safe’ the only way they know how.
👉 The goal here isn’t to judge yourself — it’s to notice. Where are you shrinking to stay secure? And what might happen if you trusted yourself to expand?
4. ✍️ “What version of me did I have to abandon to survive?”
We all carry a version of ourselves that had to go quiet so we could fit in, be loved, or avoid conflict. Maybe it was your silliness. Your boldness. Your anger. Your creativity. This prompt is a bridge to that forgotten version of you — the one who’s still waiting to be invited back.
👉 As you write, ask: What did they love? What did they believe? What would it mean to welcome them home?
5. ✍️ “What am I most afraid someone might see in me?”
This is the heart of shadow work. That raw, tender truth you’re convinced will make you unlovable if revealed. Whether it’s your neediness, your jealousy, your softness, or your rage — it holds power only in secrecy.
👉 You don’t have to share it with anyone else. But you deserve to see yourself — fully, gently, without flinching.
🖤 Ready to go deeper? Pair these prompts with the Shadow Work Journal Printable — a foldable A5 PDF designed for gentle self-discovery, healing, and magical reflection.
👉 hexandheal.co.uk/shadowjournal
🌿 A Note Before You Close Your Journal
Shadow work isn’t about becoming perfect. It’s about becoming whole. Every time you turn toward your pain with softness, you reclaim a part of yourself. That’s magic. That’s healing. That’s the work.
You are not broken. You’re becoming.
Light a candle. Take a deep breath. And thank yourself — for being brave enough to see what’s behind the curtain. 🌑✨
