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Writer's pictureMegan Shoop-Volz

Using Time Travel in Shadow Work

Did you know that we’re all capable of time travel?


What’s more, did you know that we can use it to heal?

Time is a spiral. The walls of the spiral are permeable, like a seashell, and we can reach through them to touch the past and future.

 

All of us have past and future versions of ourselves. When we use time travel to support shadow work, it’s possible to interact with these selves.


To play with the child we once were.


To rock or nerd out our teen selves as they discover who they are.


We can even reach into the future and have a cuppa with our elder selves.


By interacting with different versions of ourselves, we can give the child inside of us the support and guidance they need to help us be more complete in the present, and ask our elder selves for advice and guidance as we navigate the present.


Time travel is also an extremely powerful tool for manifestation. We can’t change the past, but we can change the way we react to it. We can’t concretely plan the future, but we can construct an ideal version of ourselves to help us create the future they inhabit.


Re-Parenting Your Inner Child


Re-parenting your inner child is a very common and very effective way to heal from past trauma and to reintegrate shadowy parts of yourself that those in your childhood environment taught you to hide.


Re-parenting allows us to comfort our inner child when triggers make us anxious, angry, or afraid. We have the chance to shower them with unconditional love, show them they’re understood and accepted, and hold space for them while they cope with big feelings.


There are a few ways to contact the inner child on the astral or through meditation, but we can also interact with them in the present, physical world by taking care of ourselves the way we’d care for a beloved child.


For instance, we can:

  • Take care of them! Fix them healthy meals, make sure they’re getting enough sleep, and take them to the doctor when they need it. This, of course, means doing these things for yourself in the present, as much as you can. If you have trouble with self-compassion, ask yourself if you’d treat a child the way you’re treating you now.


  • Let them play with things like finger paints, blocks, clay, coloring, art, sports, etc. Adults need to play just as much as children do, perhaps more! Playing alleviates stress, helps us learn new skills, and allows us to reconnect with our inner joy.


  • Support their dreams and goals. Remember, these were/are your dreams and goals, as well. Don’t worry too much about being “realistic.” Instead, break down the goals into achievable steps OR ascertain why they want to achieve that goal. If your inner teen wanted to be a rockstar for the musical experience or the aesthetic, you can try learning to read music or changing up your look. Let yourself act out (healthy!) phases you couldn’t indulge as a teen.


Reaching Back into the Past


Before we get into the nitty-gritty, a word of caution: If you’ve never communicated with your inner child before, please have a trusted friend or loved one nearby when time traveling. This kind of shadow work is rife with strong emotions and the possibility of unearthing repressed feelings and memories. Please make sure you have trustworthy support nearby to help you through any crises you encounter.


When reaching out to your inner child, having an avatar can help you connect to them. An avatar is an object that represents your inner child on this plane. Poppets and photos are both good choices. If you choose to use a poppet, you can make one or choose a doll or stuffed animal to represent your younger self. If you use a photo, it’s good to have a few on hand to represent different ages/stages of your life.


Bond with your time-traveling avatar by adding personal charms or symbols to it. You can paint, draw, or stitch these to the avatar. You can also simply infuse it with your energy by hugging or cradling it.


Once your avatar is ready, it’s time to get into the astral!


  • Sit comfortably with your avatar nearby.

  • Focus on it, and use chanting or breathwork to get into a meditative state.

  • Close your eyes, keep breathing, and begin to construct a safe, happy space around you, such as a castle, garden, cottage, or any other space where you feel safe and content.

  • Call your inner child into the space. Use a nickname you loved, sing a song they liked, or invite them to play with you.

  • If your inner child is in distress when they appear, comfort them. Tell them they’re safe here with you, that you’ll take care of them and love them.

  • Spend time with them. Ask them questions about their life and themselves.

  • Play games with your inner child on the astral. Give them a tour of the happy space you built for them.

  • Cuddle and hold your inner child.

  • When it’s time to go, put them in a cozy space, such as a comfy bed or magickal treehouse. Reassure them they’ll be safe there.


Allow yourself to resurface from these sessions slowly, especially the first few times. Touch or cuddle your inner child’s avatar, breathing rhythmically until you feel grounded in the present again.


Put the avatar in a safe space (just like you did for your child self) and take care of your present self. Have a shower, eat a nourishing snack, or have a cup of tea. Journal about your experience on the astral to help track your inner child’s progress. This is also a good way to help ground you back in the present.


Reaching into the Future


Connecting with your elder-self can be a bit trickier than traveling to the past. Since you have experienced the future, yet, it’s difficult to know whether or not your elder-self will be capable or willing to support you. However, because we’re witches, we can fix that with one of our community’s favorite activities.


Manifestation.


Reaching into the future is not only an opportunity to help yourself in the present, it’s also a way to manifest the future you want to experience. By creating an ideal image of your future self and then interacting with that avatar, you experience that future—which is one of the keys to making it happen.


When constructing the avatar for your future self, choose an age (say 10 to 15 years older than you are now) and imagine yourself as that age. Give yourself fine lines, reading glasses, a new haircut, silver hairs amongst your natural color. Situate them in the life you’re striving for, picturing them as happy, healthy, and satisfied.


A word on specifics. Personally, I found it more helpful to focus on how I want my elder-self to feel and the lifestyle I want her to live, rather than placing her in a specific job or location. For instance, she’s financially independent with a fun job that stimulates her creativity, uses her skillset, and helps make her corner of the world a little bit better. She’s free of some of the health problems I’m currently healing within myself, and owns a home in a quaint, rural area.


By applying a loose template to my elder avatar, I feel more confident in my ability to manifest the things I want to feel and experience.


However, if you have a very specific career path or location in mind for your future, add it to your avatar! The only rules in magick are those that keep us all safe.


Similar to your inner child, you can create a physical avatar for your elder-self. Draw or paint a picture of them, write a very detailed description, use a spirit doll or poppet, or even consecrate a candle with oils and symbols to represent your future self.


Next, there are a few ways to communicate with your elder-self:

  • Sit down with the avatar and share a cuppa with them.

  • Talk to them about your problems and needs.

  • Listen for the answers, or shuffle tarot while you talk, and use a simple 3-card reading to represent their advice.

  • Journal the results, remembering that this avatar is you and that if they had the answers, you did, too.

  • Meet with them on the astral, as you did your inner child, to ask for a hug or other comfort.

  • Ask your inner child and your elder-self to join you on the astral at the same time. Have a supernatural picnic with them, watching how your inner child and elder-self interact.

  • Dedicate a sweater, sweatshirt, jacket, or piece of jewelry to your elder-self. Wear it whenever you need their support.


No matter how you decide to represent or interact with your elder-self, always approach every version of yourself with kindness, empathy, and compassion. If you find yourself experiencing anger against any version of yourself, or abusing them in any way (including allowing your elder-self to abuse you), step away from this exercise!


Shadow work is about self-love and compassion. If you’re approaching it from a place of self-loathing or punishment, you may not be ready for shadow work. Learning practical and radical self-care and self-love may be a better place to start.


Learn more about radical, magickal self-care here and here.


Time Travel for Healing

Time travel can help heal a lot of emotional and mental wounds. Trauma in the past. Fear about the future. Anxiety in the present.


Interacting with different versions of ourselves helps alleviate these things by allowing us to realize each and every version of ourselves was doing their very best. That “best” wasn’t always pretty. It wasn’t always kind or brave.


But it was the best we could do in that moment. And, having learned from that moment, we can look to our future selves to see how applying those lessons have and will continue to benefit us.


Blessed be, my lovelies.


Join us on the Metaphysical Apothecary Podcast for even more magickal insight.




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