Shadow Work by Season : Autumn

 

This short series is about approaching Shadow Work seasonally.  This work is not just for the darker months. Facing, healing and integrating our Shadow is ongoing work and can show itself anytime durng the year, so I decided to use the symbolism and strengths of all four seasons to assist with insights, journalling prompts and small rituals. I hope you enjoy. 

And I will begin with my favorite season: Autumn

Autumn – What You’re Still Clinging To Is Costing You

Autumn is not subtle.

It rips the green from trees. It drops what’s no longer useful. It strips things bare so you can finally see what’s real.

Spiritually, this season invites a hard question: What are you still clinging to that is already dead?
And deeper still: What is that cost doing to you?

This Is the Season of the Slow Burn

Autumn doesn’t ask nicely. It’s the invitation to compost. To shed. To let the old rot so something new has room.

But most people don’t like decay. We’re conditioned to avoid anything that looks like death. So we hold on. To roles. To relationships. To stories that stopped being true years ago. And we wonder why we’re exhausted.

Here’s the truth:
Letting go isn’t loss. It’s survival.

You are not meant to carry what no longer feeds you. And if you keep pretending something still works—just because it used to—you’ll end up hollow, burned out, and stuck in a story you don’t believe in anymore.

Shadow Work for Autumn: Identity Death

This is the season to stop protecting the masks. Let the persona die.

Ask yourself:

• What version of me am I performing that I’ve outgrown?
• What relationship or role am I still holding onto just to avoid guilt or conflict?
• What do I keep fixing that isn’t mine to heal?

This is identity death. Not because you’re broken, but because you’re growing.

Let it happen.

You Don’t Have to “Finish” It to Release It

A huge lie spiritual seekers absorb is that everything must be healed, resolved, or “understood” before you can move on. That’s control talking.

You can let go without making it neat. You can release even if it’s messy. You can decide, today, that you’re done with a pattern—even if you don’t have closure or approval.

Release is a choice.
It is not something you earn.

Ritual for Autumn: Let It Rot

This season, try this:

• Write down everything you’re holding onto out of fear: the roles, labels, fears, or expectations.
• Burn it. Bury the ashes. Compost it if you want to go full witch.
• Say, out loud: “I don’t need to keep what no longer feeds me.”

Repeat as needed. Your ancestors did this every year. So can you.

The Harvest Isn’t Always What You Thought

One last thing. Autumn is also the harvest. Sometimes what you gather isn’t what you planted. Sometimes the fruit of the season is wisdom, not reward.

You may not get the job, the partner, the recognition. But maybe you finally see who you are when no one’s watching. Maybe that’s the real gold.

Let it fall.
Let it rot.
Let what’s real remain.