Let Death Be Death. Stop Dragging It Forward.

The Shadow Seekers’ Dispatch, Ed. 11

In This Edition

Let Death Be Death

Fall is here. Things are dying. That’s not poetic—it’s biology. And letting it die is our task too. If you want confidence, if you want your voice strong, you can’t drag every old piece of you forward. Some things need to rot so the rest of you can grow.

That’s what this season—and this work—is about sometimes. Dying in part. Not stuffing your fears and bad memories into the Shadow’s arms, but genuinely allowing a part of yourself its death.

If you want your work, your voice, your life to breathe again—something has to die first. The good news? Archetypes don’t just fiddle with the wreckage. They hand you tools to rebuild.

That’s what they do in The Art of Confidence—they become the tools that help you rebuild. Not by giving you “inspiration,” but by putting prompts, pages, and practices in your hands. It’s a workbook, not a pep talk. You’ll be drawing, writing, tearing into the page until what’s hidden stops running the show.

The workbook is about claiming who you are right now—scars, Shadow, all of it—and building confidence with every mark to a page. It’s all right to let parts die. Fill up on self-confidence and move on.

📖 $18.99 Paperback: https://amzn.to/3JpIG74
💻 $15.99 PDF: https://kelliejoart.com/art-of-confidence-trust-yourself/

Fall strips everything bare and leaves rot lying on the ground. Maybe it’s time to bury some things in it.

From the Shop

A Workbook That Grows Confidence

It’s for artists, Seekers, and survivors who are done shrinking.

You’ve Never Finished a Death

I came across a video recently that hit hard. The speaker said: we’re drained and tired not because of what we’re doing now, but because we’ve never finished a death.

When you leave home for college, that’s a death—home will never be the same. End a relationship, move cities, shift careers—every one of those is a death. And when we don’t acknowledge them, we end up dragging those old versions of ourselves behind us. Corpses that should’ve been buried. Rot that eats our energy.

That’s why the work of fall—and of The Art of Confidence—is about letting the false versions go so you can breathe and grow again.

Rituals for Letting It Die

Sometimes release needs ceremony. Not a ceremony where you shove something into your Shadow’s arms to deal with later. No, this is ceremony to say goodbye. Amazonite, amethyst, and black cohosh can help you do that.

Set the stones on your altar. Burn the herb to ash. Feel grateful for having known what you’re leaving behind. Draw a picture of goodbye. Then bury all of it in a special place. Give the death its due—and then let it go.

Strengthen Your Resolve

1. Letting go of old versions of yourself can feel unsettling — but Amazonite steadies you through the discomfort of release, reminding you that you’re ready for what comes next.

2. Pair it with Amethyst and the duo promotes tranquility and spiritual growth, aiding in stress relief and enhancing intuition.

3. Black Cohosh and Amazonite complement each other. Black Cohosh is potent for banishing negative energy, clearing space for Amazonite to help release stored trauma and harmful memories.

Warning: Black Cohosh should not be ingested. For spiritual work, limit it to external, non-ingestive uses only.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Shadow Seekers’ Dispatch. Remember to follow @kelliejoart on social media for updates throughout the month. I’ll see you next time.

Warmly,