What Lurks Within Your Shadow?

What is the part of you that you are afraid to let speak?

If you have ever done any work with demons or Black Magick, odds are you have come across the concept of the Shadow Self. The Shadow Self is a relatively new concept within most Magick circles, at least the name is, anyway. The truth is, the Shadow, as an archetype, dates back centuries upon centuries.

If there is one thing you should know, you are a collection of archetypes. And, I would bet that you ignore that fact most of the time. Eventually, I want to do a post about ALL the archetypes, but I want to start with (possibly) the most important one.

What is the Shadow Self?

While a few interpretations exist for the Shadow Self, I have my own. Although, to give context, I want to supply you with the more “mainstream occultist” interpretations of the concept.

The name “Shadow Self” comes from 20th century psychoanalyst Carl Jung. That name may be familiar to you if you have read some of my other posts. I am very much a student of his work. Jung posited that the Shadow was the unknown part of a person’s self. According to him, this part of you is irrational and instinctive, which can cause problems with underlying subconscious processes.

Jung, now widely criticized like his teacher Freud, has had his concept twisted a bit by the more modern psychological community. The widely accepted term of the Shadow is now accepted as a part of you that you want to keep hidden. Jung’s term has been sterilized a bit, as you can see.

Now it’s time for my interpretation of the Shadow Self. And, with this interpretation, I am not claiming to know more or less about the concept than anyone else. This is just my interpretation brought on by years of helping people work with Black Magick and D(a)emonology.

To me, the Shadow Self is the dark part of you that you have shunned. Because you have ignored this part of you, your spirit/subconscious will react to events in your life in an adverse manner. And further, the Shadow Self will work to make itself known if you ignore it.

An Example of the Shadow Self That is Unrecognized

I have not always been so in touch with my spirituality, and even less so my Shadow Self. This is an example of something that happened to me that I now recognize was my Shadow Self at work.

When I was still living in the corporate world, I was very keen on improving my station. I would often ask for raises and promotions, much to the chagrin of my superiors. The tactic did get me far, though. And, in many cases, I would come to outrank the people that previously refuted my efforts to surpass my previous position.

As you can imagine, the people that once thought they knew better than me were not happy with my promotions. So, they would sabotage my work at times. This lead to resentment from me. Then, I would urge my underlings to scan over their careers with fine tooth combs so that I could have an excuse to fire them. And, as ashamed as I am, I did fire them. Multiple times.

The reason I bring this up as part of my unrealized Shadow Self is because I was unaware of my inner “darkness.” And my inner darkness was insecurity and blinding ambition. Yours may be different, but it will come out.

Everyone has darkness in them. The darkness itself is nothing to be ashamed of, but what is worthy of shame is the unexamined darkness.

Nowadays, when I feel this bubbling up, I recognize it as what it is: darkness. A part of my Shadow Self is making itself known.

Recognizing Your Shadow

Once you get to a certain age, around 25, you should be aware of your inherent proclivities toward certain actions. For example, if you are someone who lets people walk all over them, you should recognize that. Contrary to that, if you are someone who tries to dominate everyone, you should see that, too.

But, recognizing those behaviors is akin to seeing that a brown horse has brown hair. Sure, you see it, but you do not understand why the hair is brown in the first place.

You should understand the reason that your Shadow is coming out in certain situations. If you are a pushover, your Shadow will come out because you want to be a people pleaser. If you are a self-righteous dominator, your Shadow will present itself as your insecurity about your place in the world.

So, when you see yourself acting in impulsive ways, take a step back and try to see what is making your Shadow come out. These moments will be the defining points of your personal character going forward.

Integrating the Shadow

Now we’re to the fun part!

Integrating your Shadow into your full personality is vital to living a balanced (see: Karmic) life. If you fail to integrate the impulsive parts of your Shadow, your Karma will inevitably become unbalanced. To be clear: this is no game. Making sure your spirit has a balanced energy is critical for any Witch or Magick practitioner.

When balanced, your work will be more open; thus, you will be more successful in all of your ritual and spellwork. Luckily, if you call yourself a Witch, you are likely on the “more open” spectrum of personalities. But, there is still work to be done.

Working with demonic entities has a habit of highlighting your Shadow Self. This is because Demons represent the darkest parts of our natures. And these darkest parts do not necessarily mean evil. What I mean by “dark” is the parts of you that you are afraid to show the world.

When you work with Demons, you call upon your darkness. Since you are using Demons for said darkness, you have a chance to see that energy manifest in the real world. I have said this many times, but my definition of Magick is making the subconscious real. And when you make your Shadow real, you are staring the dark parts of you directly in the face.

Bring Your Shadow into the Light

Just like the heading says: Bring Your Shadow into the Light. See what it is. And, more importantly, see how you can satisfy it.

The part of you that makes up your darkness needs to be fed just like you feed your belly. Do not make the mistake of thinking otherwise. Everyone has urges. Whether those urges are dark or light, you must feed them. How you go about that is up to you. And, if you need help, do not be afraid to ask for it.

If you keep your Shadow hidden, if it is strong enough, it will eventually come out in things like murder, torture, and all the other wildly inappropriate things that I will not mention. I believe this is why we are seeing so much social turmoil in the world around us at the moment. The people involved are not recognizing the darkness in their hearts and are lashing out at other because of it.

Do not be one of those people. Find a way to satisfy that dark hunger with other things. And when you do that, you will be one step closer to discovering your true spirit.

Love + Blessings

Laci

If you would like to try working with a spirit companion to help you on the path of revealing your Shadow Self, you should look at my stores. I have everything you need to begin.

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