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Sacred Snark Sunday · Vol. X

There’s shadow work, and then there’s the unpaid internship of the soul — the one you never applied for but somehow got stuck in anyway. Congratulations, you’ve been “hired” as your own intern. The benefits? None. The pay? Tears, awkward dreams, and the occasional breakthrough that feels like it should’ve come with at least a gift card.

Welcome to Your Shadow Internship ☕

Shadow work rarely arrives with a neat syllabus or HR orientation. Instead, it usually shows up like this:

• A trigger that feels wildly disproportionate but somehow cuts straight to your childhood wound.
• A dream where you’re chasing your ex through a mall food court while holding a crying raccoon.
• A conversation where someone says, “You’re just like your mother,” and you suddenly remember every therapy session you’ve ever skipped.

And just like that, boom — you’ve been assigned your first “project.” No warning, no overtime pay, and definitely no snacks in the break room.

The Boss is a Trickster 👹

The worst part? The boss of this internship is your unconscious, and it doesn’t care about your deadlines, your comfort, or your preference for gentle life lessons. Nope. It wants growth. It wants honesty. And it usually delivers it through chaos: missed opportunities, awkward confrontations, and cosmic slapstick comedy.

And when you ask for clarity? The boss gives you a cryptic tarot spread and a crow feather on your porch. Translation: figure it out yourself, kid.

The Unpaid Labor of Healing 💸

Here’s the thing about shadow work: it always asks for more than you think you have to give. More honesty. More humility. More patience. And just when you think you’ve “graduated”? Surprise! You’re sent back to the filing room to re-label old wounds with new wisdom.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not Insta-worthy. It’s the unpaid, under-acknowledged grind of showing up to yourself again and again — while everyone else seems to be living their best sage-scented, perfectly-lit spiritual lives online.

🕯️ Ritual Nudge

When shadow work drags you into the intern office yet again:

1. Write yourself a snarky “job description.” Example: Emotional janitor, skilled in mop-wielding through ancestral sludge.
2. Light a candle and declare, “Fine. I’ll do the shift.”
3. Ask your shadow one ridiculous question: What’s the meme version of this lesson? (Yes, the answer counts, even if it’s SpongeBob crying in a corner.)
4. End the ritual with a snack. Interns deserve snacks.

Closing Snark

Shadow work will never give you a paycheck — but it will give you a different kind of currency: depth, resilience, and the sacred ability to laugh at yourself while wading through the muck. And honestly? That’s worth more than the cosmic coffee they keep forgetting to refill.

With devotion, laughter, and a little sass,
The Inspired Imaginative | The Devoted Mystic

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