https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/animal-spirit-guides/spirit-animals-shadow-self/The Shadow Self & Carl Jung
“The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” ~ C.G. Jung
The term ‘Shadow Self’ was coined by Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung. In a nutshell, the Shadow Self definition is;
Simply put, our ‘shadow self’ is the personality’s dark side. Often referred to as our more base, animal instincts (which irks me because animals are so much more refined than humans) our Shadow Self is the storage locker for greed, lust, fear, envy, ego, hate, rage, shame, jealousy, judgment, deceit, and more – pretty much any perceived “negative”, “unacceptable”, “sinful”, or “evil” characteristic we want to hide from others as well as ourselves.
That’s just one way of describing The Shadow Self. Cultures the world over have for decades (and some centuries) had their own variation on the theme. Other names can be ‘a dark side’, ‘fragmented soul’, ‘a demon inside’ and ‘attachment to ego’. Hinduism and Western Esoteric Occult systems speak of “Right and Left handed paths” when working toward becoming more integrated with the Higher Self. Left is associated with the shadows or dark. Muslim, Chinese, Judeo-Christian and Hindu religions believe the left hand is the unclean one.
At the end of the day, most spiritually related teachings speak to a Shadow Self and agree it should be faced, recognized, and healed. But the Shadow Self isn’t all ‘bad’.
The Golden Shadow
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Carl Jung said, “The Shadow is ninety percent pure gold.” He believed the “Golden Shadow” is where our hidden or submerged creative potential resides. Just as we ‘disown’ our negative shadow traits so, too, can we disown our greatness. It could be argued that shunning our light, our potential, is equally as dark as whatever is being held prisoner in our Shadow Self.
That concept could be confusing. How is hiding our light equal to ignoring our darkness? Because a light can only be hidden when trapped in total darkness.
When we allow our Golden Shadow to push through the blackness incredible works of art, cures to illnesses, tremendous humanitarian efforts, and amazing animal rescue/rehab achievements are made.
Out of immense pain can often arise extraordinary beauty.