Shadow (psychology)
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- This article is about the psychological concept. For other meanings, see shadow (disambiguation).
In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" is a part of the unconscious mind which is mysterious and often disagreeable to the conscious mind, but which is also relatively close to the conscious mind. It may be (in part) one's link to animal life, which is superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind; afterwards it comes to contain thoughts that are repressed by the conscious mind. According to Jung, the shadow is instinctive and irrational, but is not necessarily evil even when it might appear to be so. It can be both ruthless in conflict and empathetic in friendship. It is important as a source of hunches, for understanding of one's own more inexplicable actions and attitudes (and of others' reactions), and for learning how to accept and integrate the more problematic or troubling aspects of one's personality. (For example, see The Emperor's New Clothes.)
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[edit] Appearance
The shadow may appear in dreams and visions in various forms, often as a feared or despised person or being, and may act either as an adversary or as a servant. It typically has the same apparent gender as one's persona. It is possible that it might appear with dark features to a person of any race, since it represents an old ancestral aspect of the mind. The shadow's appearance and role depend greatly on the living experience of the individual, because the shadow develops in the individual's mind rather than simply being inherited in the collective unconscious.
Interactions with the shadow in dreams may shed light on one's state of mind. A conversation with the shadow may indicate that one is concerned with conflicting desires or intentions. Identification with a despised figure may mean that one has an unacknowledged difference from the character; a difference which could point to a rejection of the illuminating qualities of ego-consciousness. These examples refer to just two of many possible roles that the shadow may adopt, and are not general guides to interpretation. Also, it can be difficult to identify characters in dreams, so that a character who seems at first to be a shadow might represent some other complex instead.
Jung also made the suggestion of there being more than one layer making up the shadow. The top layer is the rationally explicable unconscious. It contains material which has been made unconscious artificially; that is, it is made up of elements of one's personal experiences. Underneath this layer, however, are the archetypes which form the psychic contents of personal experiences. Jung described this bottom layer as "a psychic activity which goes on independently of the conscious mind and is not dependent even on the upper layers of the unconscious - untouched, and perhaps untouchable - by personal experience" (Campbell, 1971). This bottom layer of the shadow is also what Jung referred to as the collective unconscious.
According to Jung, the shadow sometimes overwhelms a person's actions, for example, when the conscious mind is shocked, confused, or paralyzed by indecision.
[edit] Shadow work
Working with the Jungian shadow to engender individuation has come to be known as shadow-work.
[edit] Popular references
- The shadow is referenced in the Tool song Forty Six & 2 and in Kevin Gilbert's song "Shadow Self".
- In Charles de Lint's popular Newford fantasy series, one of the characters interacts with his shadow frequently.
- In the roleplaying game Wraith: The Oblivion interacting with the characters dark side, called the shadow, is an essential part of the game.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Abrams, Jeremiah, and Connie Zweig. Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature. Tarcher?Penguin, 1990.
- Abrams, Jeremiah. The Shadow in America. Nataraj. 1995
- Campbell, Joseph, ed. The Portable Jung, Translated by R.F.C. Hull, New York: Penguin Books, 1971.
- Johnson, Robert A., Owning Your Own Shadow : Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche, 128 pages, Harper San Francisco, 1993, ISBN 0-06-250754-0
- Johnson, Robert A., Inner Work : Using Dreams and Creative Imagination for Personal Growth and Integration, 241 pages, Harper San Francisco, 1989, ISBN 0-06-250431-2
- Neumann, Erich. Depth Psychology and a New Ethic Shambhala; Reprint edition (1990). ISBN 0-87773-571-9.
- Vandebrake, Mark. "Children of the Mist: Dwarfs in German Mythology, Fairy Tales, and Folk Legends" 135 pages. A work that interprets dwarf depictions throughout German history as shadow symbols.
