Bright work: the opposite of shadow work
Your time to shine 🌟
If you’ve been practising witchcraft for any length of time, you will have come across the concept of “shadow work.”
Maybe you already have whole notebooks dedicated to deciphering your shadow on the darkest nights of the year. But what is shadow work? And why does it not belong in the sunshine realm of the upcoming summer solstice?
Get out of here, shadow:
This is a time of celebration.
First off, what is shadow work?
Essentially, shadow work is an exploration of the darkest parts of your psyche.
During the colder, longer nighted months of the year, we witches are encouraged to curl up with our diary, some black candles and a copy of The Body Keeps the Score. As we all know, our subconscious mind often holds onto the traumas we have experienced in our lives, transmuting them into negative, repeated thought patterns that make us act in certain ways.
Shadow work is about noticing these patterns, then finding ways to change them and release them into the ether. This leaves space for something more positive to replace them.
This hard, daunting and, oftentimes, scary self-work is best done on the waning moon, when the light is receding and we are naturally pulled inward, or on the dark moon (when our only light comes from within). It is a vital part of witchcraft because it helps us transmute pain into wisdom and stops us from unconsciously projecting old wounds onto others through our magickal practice. Shadow work can be done through mindful journaling, ritual practices and ancestral healing work. By dealing with our shadow, we integrate all parts of the self into the whole and prevent ourselves from pouring our darkest waters onto the soil around us.
But as we are about to enter true summer here in the Northern Hemisphere, it is time to put our shadow work into the cosiest, patchwork-quilted bed we can find. As the sun’s power reaches its peak, how can we engage in shadow work’s opposite?
Now is the time for something I call: bright work.
Wait, is that the same as “light work”?
Sort of! But not quite.
In New Age circles, ‘light work’ is seen as the spiritual practice of serving others to heal the collective. Those who do this kind of work are termed Lightworkers, and others may see them as people who have come to Earth with the purpose of uplifting others from the quagmire of late-stage capitalism and spreading the energy of love.
Bright work, by contrast, is the practice of celebrating joy and recognising your achievements on a personal level. It’s not about some grand mission: it’s about being deeply present with the brightness in your life and actively working with that light. It’s less about service to others and more about a full-bodied celebration, a gratitude and an expression of who you have become through all your hard shadow work.
In my eyes, bright work is a celebration of everything that is beautiful in our lives. In our society (especially in Britain, the land of the stiff upper lip), we are taught to downplay our successes, to complain about our minor inconveniences and to work long hours so that we often don’t have the time for a creative outlet. I believe this gives us an overall negative view of the lives we have carved out for ourselves.
Bright work, much like a strong gratitude practice, allows us to take stock of what is magickal and shining in our lives, and praise its wonder.
If I were to create a definition, I’d say:
Bright work is the intentional practice of embodying your joy, light, strengths, intuition and higher self. It is the process of cultivating your most radiant, true and soul-aligned self, and letting it shine.
You can’t help smiling when you give brightness the space it deserves.
Why am I writing about “bright work”?
I want to make a personal confession here: for a long time, I revelled in the darkness. It was not a fun time.
I spent (too) many years of my life in a soul-deep depression. This began when I was 12 years old and just… never really went away. Through a combination of therapy, shamanic work, exposure to nature and the rituals and practices I detail in The Witch’s Survival Guide, I was able to pull myself out of this state and really begin to see the sustained beauty of my life and the world around me again. Ultimately, it took me living through the biggest loss of my life (trigger warning) to really put my all into healing my shadow, and come out the other side feeling like a new person. Despite everything, there is rarely a day when I wake up sad any more. If I’m honest, I sometimes used to feel that if I pulled myself out of my depression, I would be losing a key and well-thumbed part of myself.
This was not the case.
I am at a stage in my life where I want to celebrate the goodness and joy that has come from all the hard work I put in. I want to get out of bed, open the curtains and stretch my arms out wide to the sky.
I want to embody the “bright.”
No, I don’t dismiss the darkness and how far I’ve come. If I were to dismiss it all, then I would be bypassing the amount of tears and collective hours of pain it has taken to get here. I want to honour it.
I think it’s important to note that our “shadow and bright” are not just opposites - they are two halves of the whole and sacred person that is “you.” All life is a balancing act, just as the year is half dark and half light. Our witchcraft practice is so tied to these seasonal fluctuations, and so is our inner work - so we must strive for balance if we are going to weave together a magickal life.
And right now, heading into summer, I want to celebrate that magick.
How can I practice bright work?
Modern spiritual authors often focus on three things:
shadow work
spell work
manifestation
But I think that joy is its own form of magickal work and it deserves its own kind of attention and celebration. With this in mind, here are the forms of “bright work” I like to practice to revel in the joy of healing. I hope they are helpful to you and your own personal happiness this summer:
Sun rituals
Create a sacred space in a sunny room, and send blessings to the solar deities for lighting your path and keeping your world colourful. Last week, I shared the Litha Solar Celebration ritual I’ll be performing on the summer solstice, which I think is a perfect example of bright work!
Journaling for positivity
Send yourself a love letter or free-write about how far you’ve come (even from last winter). You could make lists of your best traits or the top five things you’ve healed - move your desk to a sunny window and get scribbling.
Dress like a rainbow
In the age of the beige trench coat, choose COLOUR. Think about how your most healed self would show themselves to the world - this doesn’t have to be in public, but think about what your higher self would wear to just hang out and have fun. Pad about your house in reds, greens, yellows and purples (there’s nothing wrong with some out-there fashion choices!).
Speak your gratitudes to the water
I was reading this fun post last week - 56 Unhinged Rituals: Witchcraft, But Make It Crowdsourced by
- and the idea of whispering to the water really stuck out to me. Water has been proven to hold memory and consciousness, so tell it everything that is going great in your world and see it amplify your joy.Do some mirror magick
Set yourself up in front of a mirror. This is not a practice for finding flaws - it is there to help you witness your own light play across your face. Light a candle, then meet your own eyes and say, “I am here. I am filled with light and love. I am proud of who I am.”
Create a shrine to joy
This isn’t your typical Pagan altar: this one is covered with the momentos that make you smile. Postcards of your favourite paintings, pressed wildflowers, quotes that have seen you through bad times, and little bowls of Maltesers - all things that remind you of the best moments in your life. Include a photo of yourself at your most joyful, as well as some of the altar items from last week’s ritual. Stand before it for a few minutes every morning and say: “I embody joy.”
Dance it out
You heard me. Dance like there’s nobody watching! Pop on your bounciest playlist, take off your shoes and move your body in wild, unruly, silly and sacred ways. This isn’t a performance - it’s pure, pure joy.
Chat with the goddess
If only we could IM the sky. To do this practice, you don’t need any ritual tools, just an open heart (and a chatty disposition). I like to sit in front of my altar (you could use the one above) and speak to the goddess of my choosing about how proud I am of who I’ve become, and the path that I’m on. I thank her for standing by me and sometimes leave her an offering of a lovely stone from my garden, a poem or a glass of milk, depending on how I’m feeling!
How can I work with the upcoming summer solstice?
Oh, the solstice is the BEST time to be practising this kind of work! Let your joy out on Saturday 21st June by:
practising a solar ritual - (like the one I mentioned above!) welcome in the light of the sun on its favourite day of the year. Thank it for all the joy and life it brings you.
dance to the dawn - depending on where you are, dawn will be from 3:42 am, so be prepared for an early one!
gather with friends - out of all the Pagan festivals (aside from Yule and Beltane, in my eyes), Litha is the most social event on the Wheel of the Year. Dress up and be merry, then open up a conversation where you can each share how far you’ve come.
I’ve just finished the “Summer” chapter of
’s Ebb and Flow: A Guide to Seasonal Living, so I’m ready to embrace the rays of the solstice light. How about you?I’ll be sharing my Litha newsletter on Saturday 14th June, so don’t forget to subscribe to get this straight to your inbox ✨
Bright (work) blessings, magickal people. I’ll see you next Saturday.
Jennifer x