It’s one thing to know you have shadow work to do and what your shadow self looks like, but another to productively work towards freeing yourself. This release journal prompt is made to acknowledge how you are stuck, and how to move forwards.
*This post may include affiliate links. When you purchase items from these links, we will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, to help support this website. Thank you for your support! Read more ->
This release journal prompt is part of the major arcana journal prompt series, and is related to the Wheel of Fortune. If you aren’t a tarot person, you can still do this journal prompt! It just goes with the ideas of cycles that is present with the tarot card.
Find an ad-free version on Etsy for $3!
Scroll all the way to the bottom for an example of the journal prompt too!
Before you Begin
*Please remember this post is meant to act as a guide, not as the only tool you can use. It is not a substitute for professional help. Don’t hesitate to seek further assistance from a professional to work through trauma.
Ensure you are in the right mindset and physical space for this. Try to find a place that where you won’t be interrupted. As this release journal prompt is part of the major arcana series, maybe find the card in your deck for inspiration.
If you’d like, set soft music or light a candle. Get out your journal. Make sure you take some time after this journal prompt and don’t rush in to the next plans for the day.
(Looking for music to play relating to this tarot card? Check out this playlist!)
Connecting the Wheel of Fortune to Shadow Work
The wheel of fortune tarot card is all about cycles. About wheels turning. And something that I really connect it to is a feeling of being stuck in a cycle that you don’t think you can get out of, or don’t want to. Sometimes you have to just go with this circular movement, but other times you can get out on top of it.
The idea with this journal prompt is to think about how you feel stuck in life. What is causing you to be repeating the same things over and over. Is this feeling serving a purpose in your life?
Get yourself from being inside the wheel where you’re being dragged and flipped upside down constantly, to where you’re riding the edge of it. You are actively walking on top of the wheel, staying one step ahead, rather than caught in the seemingly endless cycle.
The Release Journal Prompt
So that’s what I want you to do. With this cycle writing prompt, think about how you are stuck. What is keeping you inside this cycle lifestyle, and how it benefits you to stay in it. Then write about why you continue this pattern, and finally, how to actively work to getting yourself out.
Something that used to be quoted to me all the time (because I didn’t like change) is “change is inevitable, growth is optional” – by John C. Maxwell. And that’s how I feel this cycle is. Change is always happening. We can either refuse to accept and go with it and stay stuck in the wheel, or grow with it and survive on the outside of the wheel, growing as a person with the changes that continually happen.
Instructions: Inside the Circle
You can use the image above as a starter idea of how to draw this prompt. Make a circle separated into segments inside (like a wheel). Have anywhere from 4 to 10 wedges inside. Draw the circle fairly large on the page, but to where you can write on the outside of it as well as the inside.
In each wedge, write one way you feel stuck. One idea that you think is making you feel stuck. You can think about the purpose of it too – how is this feeling of being in an endless cycle helpful for you? What purpose does being in this serve you? Be specific or vague.
Ideas to write about could be: work, relationships, friends, weather, housing, anxiety over something, the past, school, money, health…
If you’re feeling uncertain on what all to write in there, think about your dreams. Often dreams tell us things we’ve been avoiding thinking about. Or skip to the next step as this doesn’t have to be completely filled in at first (this can also be the second step)! You can also look to the bottom of this page for my example journal prompt.
Instructions: Writing
Now go lower onto the page of your journal, below the circle. You will write on the outside of each circle as the third step! Write about why you feel stuck in these ways. What purpose does it serve you to stay in this cycle instead of making your way out of it?
There’s usually a purpose, and it can stem from feelings of pain and sadness, or not wanting to lose a grip on one thing you feel you can control. But sometimes you can’t control them either, and that’s fine.
Instructions: Outside of the Circle
Once you’ve written how you feel stuck, and why or what purpose it serves you, now you can go on to how to combat that feeling. Even just baby steps of a way to release yourself and stay on top of it instead of feeling dragged around. Write just a few words for each. These might not come easy to you, and they may seem scary to even write down.
Some of these can be easy ideas, like writing down an affirmation that you keep somewhere to look at often. Or it can be beginning steps towards releasing yourself.
And just because you wrote them down now, doesn’t mean you have to work on them all right away. Try to choose the easiest to start adding effort in to work on in your life. These are ideas on how to move forward so you can look back at it and see. Occasionally see how you’ve progressed too and if you’re released from the cycle!
You still have to do some more work with this journal prompt by following the ideas you gave yourself, but this is the first step to releasing yourself from some of the cycles you’ve been stuck in.
My Example
This is a personal example of the journal prompt, in case you are stuck. I’ve only added the writing about some of them below, rather than writing out everything.
How I feel stuck (one example)
Digestion problems – not trying to fix them – This is a big section I feel stuck in constantly, because I’ve spent a lot of time trying to heal my stomach and rid myself of digestive problems. But they still aren’t gone. So I’m stuck at in impasse where I don’t know if trying more will help, and I’ll lose even more foods I can eat, or I lose more foods to eat, and still don’t feel better. The solution is that if I don’t try, nothing will get better, but nothing can get worse. But do I want to live in this state forever?
I hope this was a helpful journal prompt for you on your journey to accepting your shadow self!
Are you looking for more journal prompts? This is one of a series of major arcana tarot card prompts that you can find here! If you’re just starting out and want an idea of how to create a spiritual journal, I have an entire article dedicated to it that you can read about!
Let me know what you thought of this by sharing with me on Instagram @moonofgemini or #moonofgemini!
Pin It!
Save this journal prompt to Pinterest to come back to it later!
