On the Secret Witch Show today our guest is Nikki Van De Car. Nikki is the author of over a dozen books on magic and crafting, including the bestselling ‘Practical Magic’. She is an indigenous creator, focusing on exploring the ways in which stories inform how we understand the world and ourselves. She is a woman in search of magic, in the crunch of leaves and the scratch of a pencil, the brush of lips on a temple, and the sound of voices raised in song. In this episode Nicole and Nikki delve into the shadow work and how our shadow can have us hiding ourselves (and our inner witch) - with Nikki sharing her story of how she embraced her identity as a witch by befriending her shadow. We discussed the importance and therapeutic value in feeling our emotions, welcoming and accepting ‘all’, integrating our darkness, and dispelling the stigmas around our fear, guilt and shame - especially for ‘Secret Witches’ who want to become healers. We explored the integration of our shadow through self-illumination - and how it can help us reclaim our wholeness and creativity. Nikki shared some ‘practical’ methods including a beautiful meditation, ritual, working with symbols and nature magic. What You’ll Learn from this Episode: Shadow work involves acknowledging and befriending the darker aspects of ourselves, rather than trying to eradicate them - this process helps us achieve self-illumination, self-healing and a return to wholeness We tend to suppress our inner witch as adults, though our inner child remembers a time when we were free to express that magic - and we can reclaim this with deconditioning Emotions such as anger, sadness and envy are best to be expressed, not suppressed - acknowledging and welcoming these emotions is essential for freedom and creativity Shadow magic doesn’t have to be something we carve huge chunks of time out to ‘do’ - we can integrate it into our every day, making shadow work and magic a part of our lives - by being in ongoing self loving illumination. That said, there are also lots of fun practical rituals we explored if you want to journey that way! Recognising and loving the inner child is crucial in shadow work - it’s helpful to remember that our shadow is really just the scared, childlike part of us, who wants love. We can provide that love by imagining we are speaking to this part of ourselves as if it were a best friend or a small child   Resources and things that we spoke about: Social: Tiktok - @archetypalapothecary Instagram - @iamnicolebarton Instagram - @archetypalapothecary You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/@secretwitchsociety Join our Secret Witch Society: www.facebook.com/groups/secretwitch  Our Next Group Journey: https://www.nicolebarton.co.uk/luna Website: www.nicolebarton.co.uk  Nikki’s Website: nikkivandecar.com Nikki’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkivandecar Nikki’s New Books:  The Wheel of the Year: A Guide to Sabbats, Lunar Cycles, and the Stars Above My Wheel of the Year: A Celebration of Nature's Magic Thank you for listening, we’d love to know what comes alive for you in this week’s episode, so please let us know. If you loved it, there’s a fresh episode every other week - subscribe so you don’t miss it! Thank you, Nicole and Team Secret Witch xox