Releasing Meditation for New Year

Welcome to the New Year.  If you have been following this blog, you have been through an in-depth time of Shadow Work.  Now that you have done that important work, it is time for a Transformation. 

This begins with letting go of what you will not be taking with you into the New Year.  Read through the following meditation.  Then close your eyes and remember what you can.  Let your meditation unfold in your own personal way.

Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes.  Find yourself in a dense forest.  The trees and vines make it hard to walk.  You have to climb your way through the thick foliage.  You see some light shining ahead.  You head towards the light and find a small clearing.

In the clearing is an old woman.  She beckons you forward and you cautiously move towards her.  Something about this woman is unnerving.  She looks at you in a way that shows she can see deeply into your thoughts and feelings. 

She holds out her hands and as if you have no choice you place your hands in hers.  You feel a jolt of electricity when you touch her.  She says that she can see into your heart and knows the things you keep secret from others. 

She says that she can take one of those burdens away from you.  She asks what you would like to release to her.  Think of something that you would like to let go of and tell the old woman. 

She asks what you will give her in return.  Ask her what she wants.  She tells you that in return you must get enough sleep each night.  She says that for any night you do not sleep enough to feel rested this feeling you have released will start to seep back into your heart.  She says that it will take five days of good sleep before you are back to your released state. 

Tell her if you agree to this bargain.  If you agree, she tells you to open your mouth.  As you breathe out, she breaths in.  You feel the burden flowing from you to her through your breath.  She releases your hands and places them to her heart. 

Bow to her slightly and back away.  She never takes her eyes off of you as you back into the forest. 

When you feel ready you can hear the sounds around your physical body.  Wiggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes.

Take some time to journal about the following questions or pull oracle cards for more insight.

What vision do you have for this year?

What will hold you back from that goal?

What expectation of yourself is unreasonable?

Get the Shadow Work Meditation book on Amazon.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross
Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE

Journals on Amazon: Click Here

January Energies

We have moved into the New Year. Many people are making resolutions and plans for the coming year.  For me, during this time when it is cold, I just feel like hibernating. 

I take this time to reflect on the year past.  The holiday season seems too crazy for deep reflection.  I think of what worked for me and what I want to change. I like to try and give up something that I have been doing and see if it improves my life (TV, Facebook, News, Tarot, etc.)  Some I have returned to after a short break, but some I have cut down on or given up entirely.

I then start to think about what I would like to work on over this year.  I don't start making major changes yet but really start preparing for a push in the spring. 


This month's readings may reinforce something you already know or help you look at an issue in a different way.  Take time to think about each statement and if and how it applies to you.

	January
1	Take responsibility.
2	Take the easy path.
3	Don’t Hesitate.
4	Look for the humor in this.
5	Follow your vision.
6	Shape your destiny.
7	Don’t compare yourself.
8	Open a new door.
9	Follow your passion.
10	Be in the moment.
11	Ask for help.
12	Feel your connection with others.
13	Look at everything like it was for the first time.
14	Give compassion to others.
15	Speak your truth.
16	Truly understand your situation.
17	Center yourself for what is to come.
18	Follow your inner guidance.
19	Learn from past experience.
20	Make an informed choice.
21	Keep your mind open.
22	Follow your heart.
23	What happens next is up to you.
24	Look at the Big Picture.
25	Keep moving forward.
26	Let you true colors shine.
27	Let go of what you’ve finished.
28	Make this moment count.
29	Overcome your fear.
30	Don’t mourn what is over.
31	Your intuition is correct.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross

Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE

Journals on Amazon: Click Here

Sagittarius New Moon - Shadow Work Meditation #7

We are at the end of this Shadow Work Journey.  This is something I do each autumn and I am always glad I did.  I always examine something new I did not know was causing me problems.

I hope you have also taken this time to investigate yourself through meditation.  I find it one of the best ways of reaching into my unconscious. 

Take some time after this meditation to relax and enjoy your new found wisdom.  Eat well, get enough sleep, and treat yourself kindly. 

Read through this final meditation and then close your eyes and remember what you can.  Enjoy your journey and let yourself go wherever you are led.

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.  Find yourself standing in front of a thick hedge.  There is a tunnel into the hedge and it looks dark inside.  It is time for you to plunge into the final transformation in your shadow work.

Think of one final worry, behavior or thought that you would like to leave on this side of the tunnel.  Pick up a nearby rock and think of your worry entering this rock.  Allow yourself to detach from the rock.  It no longer has any meaning for you.  The problem can be handled without worry.  The behavior or thought belongs to your past and no longer is helpful.  

You may want to kiss the rock before letting it go to acknowledge that thought, behavior or worry was created for protection.  When you feel ready, throw this rock as far away from you into the forest as you can.

Now it is time to face your final trial.  Take another deep breath and enter the tunnel in the hedge.  It is dark and you move forward by feel. 

The hedge pulls a bit at your clothing and occasionally scratches your skin. It feels a bit uncomfortable until you realize that with each pull or scratch you feel lighter.  The next time it happens you pause and realize that the hedge is pulling away from you a connection you no longer need or loosening a connection that is too strong.  It pulls away from your need to fix everything and preemptively worry about every possibility. 

The hedge loosens ties with people that may drain your energy.  This does not mean that you have to end contact with them, but it allows you to leave their issues behind when you leave them.  It may cause you to end some relationships that cause too much pain.

The hedge pulls away connections to goals you no longer feel are important.  It removes cravings for items and experiences that you do not have.  It allows you to release your constant focus on the past or the future.

Although the climb through the hedge is uncomfortable.  You begin to feel much calmer and are a bit sad when you see light ahead.  Continue to push forward and let the hedge open to the light. 

You are still within the hedge but you can see the sky above.  You are in a courtyard surrounded by the hedge.  The tunnel you just left is behind you and across the courtyard is another tunnel.  In the middle of the courtyard is a pedestal.  What is on the pedestal?  Move closer and see. 

What blessings have been left for you on the pedestal based on the shadow work you have done over the past few months?  Look closely at the item and see if it contains a skill, feeling or thought.  Is there a lesson within that you have learned on your journey? Take the item and you may place it in your pocket or it may join your body at your heart. 

When you feel ready to complete your journey, enter the tunnel on the other side of the courtyard.  The hedge continues to pull away what you are ready to let go of.  This tunnel seems much shorter, or maybe the fact that you carry fewer burdens makes it easier.  Soon you see light again. 

When you climb out of the tunnel the sun shines right down on your face as you stand.  You hear music and maybe horns as if your journey is being celebrated.  Let yourself feel the joy of accomplishment and appreciate what you have gained.  Bask in this feeling.

When you are ready you can return to your physical body.  Hear the sounds around you. Wiggle your fingers and toes.  Open your eyes.

Take a few minutes to write down notes about your meditation.  Journal about the following questions or pull tarot or oracle cards to gain more insight.

What are you so attached to that it causes you pain?

Are there past goals you need to let go of?

Can you be happy with what you have right now?

Get the Shadow Work Meditation book on Amazon.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross
Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE

Journals on Amazon: Click Here

Gemini Full Moon - Shadow Work Meditation #6

The days are short and cold where I am. The long night make it seem a natural time for introspection. It is a time for me to really investigate the emotions and thoughts that cause me distress.

I do not mean agonizing and beating myself up. I mean, wondering why I let these issues bother me and what beliefs they trigger in me. Also, why these beliefs may have arisen in my past.

I try to look at my own issues with compassion as I would for a client sitting in my counseling office. None of us is perfect and many of us have good reasons to be messed up. This is not a time for judgment but it is a time for putting these issues to the test. Do they hold up under scrutiny?

Use this meditation to uncover some issues you may not know are plaguing you. Sometimes the true issue is hidden and we only see and address the symptoms.

Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes. Find yourself standing in front of a table and comfy chair. Walk closer to the table and you see a book. Take the book off of the table.

Sit down on the nearby chair. Look at the cover of the book. Is there a symbol on the cover? Does it look familiar or have any meaning for you? Flip to the back of the book and you see on the back cover a picture of the author. This person looks very much like you but with some slight differences. Their hair is different, they may have glasses or facial hair where you don’t. They may even be another gender. The resemblance is striking though.

Now flip to the inside cover. The Title page says “A Memoir.” Flip through the book. You may read the words or you may receive thoughts or pictures of the story it contains. You may have strong emotions come up while flipping through the book as if you are experiencing the story.

When you are done I want you to flip to the back of the book again. Look at the picture and think about what you know about the author from flipping through the book. What kind of person are they? What are their skills and talents? Where do they struggle? How are they different than you?

Think about the ways you are the same as the author. Is this something you are proud of or something you would like to change or have changed? What benefit does this aspect give you? In what ways does it hinder you? Investigate this aspect of yourself and where it may have come from or been reinforced.

Look at the picture on the back of the book again. Try to send compassion to the author. Having read their story, can you understand why they may have may some of their decisions, even if you would not have done the same? Now can you turn that compassion onto yourself? Recognize that you will also make decisions based on the circumstances of the moment that you may regret. Give yourself the same compassion that you would another fallible human.

Let yourself bask in that compassion for a few moments. When you are ready, take a final look at the author. Send a feeling of gratitude to them. Get up and place the book back on the table.

Begin to hear the sounds around your physical body. Wiggle your fingers and toes, and when you feel ready, open your eyes.

Take some time to write down notes, journal or pull tarot/oracle cards about the following questions.

What do you expect from yourself that you do not expect from others?

What do you expect from others that you don’t usually receive?

What is one change you would make in your life right now?

Get the Shadow Work Meditation book on Amazon.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross
Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE
Journals on Amazon: Click Here

December Energies

December already!  The Holiday Season can be tough for a lot of people.  Make some new traditions of your own that add in relaxation time.  Sleep more, spend some time in silence, get a massage, find a great book, whatever really helps you relax and take time for yourself.  One of my friends has found an Advent Calendar with a different beer for each day!

If you schedule these in before what may be a stressful time, it will help you cope.  Acknowledge that you may not be able to do it all this month.  You may not always make everyone happy all the time, but you deserve to set limits on how much you will take on. Take good care of yourself this month.


Use the calendar below to help set the dates you will take some time to store up your energy.  There are some dates where the energy is telling you to slow down, Listen!

	December
1	Commit to others.
2	Open up to a relationship.
3	It’s not too good to be true.
4	What can be learned from this?
5	Appreciate how far you have come.
6	What have you created?
7	Let go of a past event.
8	What good has come your way?
9	Find an ally
10	Move with caution.
11	Lighten your burden
12	Be generous and kind.
13	Give your mind a needed rest.
14	Use your talents wisely.
15	Accept an offered gift.
16	Resolve a dispute.
17	Seize an opportunity
18	Wait for this to pass.
19	Be patient and relax.
20	An important decision brings renewal
21	Guard against pettiness.
22	Wrongs will be righted.
23	Don’t be hasty.
24	Approach with moderation.
25	Be kind but firm.
26	There is still hope.
27	Find harmony.
28	Don’t overlook a possibility.
29	This reward is well deserved.
30	Be open to new ideas.
31	Make a clean break.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross

Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE

Journals on Amazon: Click Here

Scorpio New Moon - Shadow Work #5

This is the time to use your energy wisely.  Do what needs to be done and then take time to de-stress.  You can’t fix everything at once when you do Shadow Work.  It is important that you take one or two aspects that are causing you discomfort and look at those closely.

Depending on what issues you are working through in your Shadow Work, this meditation may be comforting or very difficult.  It should end with some relaxation to help you calm down if it was challenging. 

Read through the following meditation and then close your eyes.  Remember what you can of the meditation but there is no need to follow it exactly.  Let yourself use the meditation in any way you need to.

Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes.  Find yourself in a large, mostly empty room.  There are a few chairs against the wall, and a few doors leading out.  There is nothing on the wall or the floor and the room is quiet. 

Go and sit on one of the chairs.  After a few moments alone, someone enters the room and sits down next to you.  Who is it who joins you?  Do you have something you need to say to them?  Do they have something they need to say to you?

How do you feel with this person?  Try not to pass judgment on this feeling.  Just acknowledge it and examine why you feel this way.

If this person is new to you, think of what it is about the way they look, carry themselves and talk that gives you a certain feeling.  Can you think of others in your life who make you feel this way?

You may ask this person any questions you have for them.  After you have discussed all you need to say goodbye.  They rise and leave the room. 

I want you to focus on the feeling you had with this person one last time.  Now I want you to blow out that feeling on your breath.  It looks like your breath on a freezing cold day leaving your body.  It may also have a color or turn into a figure.  Even if it is a good feeling, breathe it out into this bare room.

On each inhale feel yourself fill up with peace and calm.  There is no feeling left just stillness.  There is no need to do or think about anything.  Just feel the stillness in your body.  Breathe deeply and sink into this calm feeling.  Sit for as long as you need to in this relaxed state.

When you are ready begin to hear the sounds around your physical body.  Wiggle your fingers and toes, and open your eyes.

Take some time to think about, journal or pull tarot or oracle cards about the following questions.

How do certain people affect your emotions?

Are there some people who seem to drain all your energy?

How difficult was it to let the feeling go with your breath?

Get the Shadow Work Meditation book on Amazon.

Take Care,

Jessica Cross

Free meditation recordings on Spotify: CLICK HERE

Journals on Amazon: Click Here