This week I sat down with my beautiful friend and absolute force of nature, Marina Girgis, Expansion Round 5 queen and the visionary behind Vivacious Retreats. After Marina's 10 day Advanced Shadow Work retreat in The Netherlands, we went down the rabbit hole of shadow work as a path to liberation, and how bringing your shadows into the light is often all that’s needed to alchemize them.

If you’ve been in Marina’s orbit, you already know: she has a gift for making life feel juicier, fuller, more alive. Being in her presence makes you want more: more depth, more beauty, more LIFE!

In true stellium Scorpio fashion, we went beyond the veil in this conversation. 

We talked about:

🐅 The relationship between creativity and shadow (spoiler: the bigger your gifts, the bigger your shadows).

🐅 Integration, safety, and how to actually do shadow work in a way that’s embodied, somatic, and transformative — not just intellectualized.

🐅 Marina’s recent 10-day advanced shadow work retreat in the Netherlands and what she uncovered about shame, belonging, and the power of being truly witnessed.

🐅 Why true leadership means being willing to have your own shadows called forward — and how that creates cultures, not cults.

🐅 The gold hidden inside the parts of ourselves we’ve most disowned.

This is one of those episodes that’s both raw and deeply practical, where you’ll feel seen in the stories, but also walk away with frameworks and tools you can bring into your own life. YAY.

If you’ve ever struggled with feeling “too much,” “not enough,” or like you’re carrying shadows that hold you back from your full voice and expression: this one is for you!

As Rumi says, “where there is ruin, suspect treasure.”

Dive in loves the gold is waitinggggggg

Connect with Marina:

🐅 Marina's Instagram