In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind consisting of repressed weaknesses, shortcomings, and instincts. It is one of the three most recognizable archetypes, the others being the anima and animus and the persona. "Everyone carries a shadow," Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." It may be (in part) one's link to more primitive animal instincts,which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind.
According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to project: turning a personal inferiority into a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. Jung writes that if these projections are unrecognized "The projection-making factor (the Shadow archetype) then has a free hand and can realize its object--if it has one--or bring about some other situation characteristic of its power." These projections insulate and cripple individuals by forming an ever thicker fog of illusion between the ego and the real world.
Jung also believed that "in spite of its function as a reservoir for human darkness—or perhaps because of this—the shadow is the seat of creativity."
I am dancing with my shadow. I project my agression and violence onto it, triggered by its projection of intrinsic evil, sexual deviation and extreme confusion regarding the opposing impulses of sex and religion upon me. I adhere to a fairly moderate, liberal moral code: "do no harm, move with authenticity, love above all, allow none to move between oneself and the source of knowledge". Straight up. He moves within strict confinement, where minutia is tortuously defined and interpretation is restricted to authority figures and ancient codifications of cultural meme. He states his righteousness while torturing those around him. I state my devotion to the darkness while allowing chaos and freedom to reign even in personal relationships. It is relative. I dance with the shadow and it triggers movement within me. Change. Transformation. Mutation.
According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to project: turning a personal inferiority into a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. Jung writes that if these projections are unrecognized "The projection-making factor (the Shadow archetype) then has a free hand and can realize its object--if it has one--or bring about some other situation characteristic of its power." These projections insulate and cripple individuals by forming an ever thicker fog of illusion between the ego and the real world.
Jung also believed that "in spite of its function as a reservoir for human darkness—or perhaps because of this—the shadow is the seat of creativity."
I am dancing with my shadow. I project my agression and violence onto it, triggered by its projection of intrinsic evil, sexual deviation and extreme confusion regarding the opposing impulses of sex and religion upon me. I adhere to a fairly moderate, liberal moral code: "do no harm, move with authenticity, love above all, allow none to move between oneself and the source of knowledge". Straight up. He moves within strict confinement, where minutia is tortuously defined and interpretation is restricted to authority figures and ancient codifications of cultural meme. He states his righteousness while torturing those around him. I state my devotion to the darkness while allowing chaos and freedom to reign even in personal relationships. It is relative. I dance with the shadow and it triggers movement within me. Change. Transformation. Mutation.
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