Demystifying Shadow Work

A new and exciting phenomenon is gaining ground in popular culture; people are beginning to talk seriously about doing their shadow work. The idea of shadow work is now being readily promoted by therapists and coaches alike on social media and podcasts. Some writers even seem to know what they’re talking about, whilst others are less convincing. The very word shadow implies something that is both dark and mysterious­–something that has no real substance of its own yet is reflective of both the darkness and the light, both light and dark are needed to create shadow. Consciousness and unconsciousness.

Whilst the concept of the unconscious shadow in humanity has appeared in art throughout history, it was only first described by Carl Jung in 1945, the last year of World War II. In the seventy or so years since then, we’ve seen only a handful of books written about shadow work. This is astounding and may explain why shadow work has not yet caught on as the positively transformational practise that it is.

One explanation for this is the difficulty encountered when one attempts to describe what the shadow is, and how shadow work is to be done. Jung himself left very few clues about how to integrate the shadow into a healthy personality. But now, I see there are a growing number of people tackling the complex problem of facing and integrating their personal shadow, for the purpose of passing this valuable knowledge onto others.

In the last few years, coinciding with COVID, there’s been a resurgence of interest in all things shadowy. Humanity is, in my estimation, waking up to the notion put forward by Jung that man really is the greatest danger to man. Unless individuals learn to integrate their shadow side, collectively we may be blindly walking over a cliff like lemmings.

And so begins the task of demystifying the shadow and what shadow work really is. But who can claim to lead the way? To be qualified to lead, one must have undertaken a thorough self-examination of their own shadow side as well as subjected themselves to having their blind spots pointed out to them by others. Furthermore, this individual would have to have faced and accepted the darkest parts of their hidden self and integrated these into a wholesome personality.

This person would have to have invested decades of self-inquiry to accomplish their shadow integration and be able to speak to others of the shadow in a way that they understand it. This person would have to be able to demonstrate that the concept of shadow work can be explained to others well enough that they too can integrate their shadow parts, and that this is a desirable thing and leaves one more empowered.

Who can claim this? In the absence of anyone else putting their hand up, I’m happy and willing to throw my hat into the ring, as I’ve comprehensively completed the above tasks. This in no way implies that I have completed the task of shadow integration, or that such a thing is achievable or measurable, only that I have done as much work as anyone in this regard.

What Is The Shadow?

The first step in demystifying shadow work requires a working definition for the shadow self. The obvious mistake here is to associate the shadow with only what is dark and undesirable. The shadow does not refer to what is dark, but rather to what is hidden. Some of what is hidden is dark, but much of what is hidden is also gold. So, the working definition of the shadow, is the part of the personality which is hidden from consciousness. The shadow consists of our unconscious parts, which mainly include qualities, traits, impulses, emotions, beliefs, traumas and fears. Once we’ve become aware of these parts, they are no longer shadow.

How Does One Work With Their Shadow Personality?

Once we’ve accepted the existence of our unconscious shadow the work has already begun, as this is the first step. Next comes the more challenging step of committing to a thorough and sometimes uncomfortable self-examination. What we’re looking for are all the things that we hide from others, and even from ourselves, due to shame, guilt, fear, or ignorance. Here, a guide or coach is essential, as the shadow is inherently unconscious to us. We will only be able to go so far on our own. The nature of a blind spot is that we are blind to it. Shadow work is the hero’s journey of facing the dragons in the cave of our unconscious mind.

Where To Find The Shadow

Knowing where exactly to look for these hidden parts of self is an artform that each of us must be willing to explore and develop. It’s a skill we must learn, and practise. To access the contents of our unconscious mind we need the permission of our conscious mind. The search begins with a set of targeted enquiries into hidden aspects of our personality. We must do a life review and examine significant events in our lives and the ongoing consequences of these events. We must explore our hidden emotions, impulses, memories, fantasies, resentments, judgements, projections, mistakes, shortcomings and more.

All that we have deemed unworthy, all that we have denied, all that we have repressed, all that we fear and so have exiled into the shadow must be faced and integrated. Shadow work requires us to accept those things about us that we find unacceptable. Shadow work requires us to own all our mistakes, sins and wrongdoings. It requires us to accept that in addition to the perfect and angelic version of ourselves, we also contain a flawed and monstrous version.

Shadow work requires you to own and accept all those positive and remarkable traits and qualities that you deny about yourself yet see so readily in others. It will require you to stop shrinking away from your greatness and call you into account for being the truly powerful being you can be.

Shadow work is not that mysterious. It’s really just a rigorous and honest self-appraisal of all aspects of your personality. It’s coming out of the closet and revealing your true self, to yourself. It’s the birth of a new sense of power and freedom. It’s an enlightening experience of expanded consciousness. But as with anything worth having, it will demand that you earn it.

"Until you make the unconscious, conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

- Carl Jung