Serendipity in the Shadows
Serendipity found me between my last post and this one, when a mutual of mine made their own post on the very topic that I have been writing about - shadow work; In specific, they brought up how the term 'shadow work' didn't necessarily resonate with them in their own practice, and many others had agreed in the comments…
I understand why —
The term ‘shadow work’ had been co-opted by spiritualist, following its conceptualization by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung — this was mentioned in my last post: Jung had been influenced by the occult within his own work, so it was rather natural that his psychoanalytic theory on the shadow-self, and then act of shadow work, would be adopted by spiritual movements. (After all, a lot of the basis in spiritualism is in seeking a better understanding of the world.)
The reason so many modern-day spiritual practitioners don’t resonate with the term is because of how it had been co-opted. The term ‘shadow work’ has been metabolized by so many spiritual schools of thought, borrowed and then borrowed again, that it eventually lost the original philosophy and definition it was tied to. Most of the "spiritual leaders" of today that prop-up shadow work have, ironically, never studied or, at least, unearthed the origins of the philosophy in Jung’s shadow-self. (This is something that can be argued about most things that today’s spiritual leaders “teach”.) It is more likely they heard someone else say, "do your shadow work", and then absorbed it into their own public marketing strategies because it sounded mythical and can capture an audience with the promise of exceptionalism, should they buy their courses of course -- let us be honest, most of these same spiritualist are snake oil salesmen looking for a hook. So the term became diluted and eventually vague and was never truly explained. Which is exactly what had prompted me to write my own explanation on the origin of the term within my last post. (And I encourage you to read it before continuing with this one.)
So I am thankful for the timely alignment of my mutual sharing their opinion, where everyone expressed their own misgivings of shadow work, because I realize this also allows the chance of re-establishing what 'shadow work' really is:
What Shadow Work is…
1. It is a psychoanalytical theory - not new age spiritualism as it is understood today.
His associations to new age spiritualism is a result of his work being co-opted by the movement, and then disseminated inappropriately to fit a narrative of ego. Jung would have been critical of what we call “New Age” today.
(Jung and the New Age: A Study in Contrasts by David Tacey summarizes this best, in my opinion. I highly recommend reading this essay, along with the links I provided for further study at the bottom of this stack.)
2. It does not have any hyper-specific requirements to approach, and there are varying methods of shadow work that can be practiced; "Shadow work" is more of a catch-all term within psychoanalytic theory that describes the process of internalizing and integrating hidden aspects, wounds, and subconscious matters into a 'wholeness' of 'self'. Honestly, it can be reduced to being described as targeted cognitive therapy for the subconscious and individuation of 'self'. What is specific to 'shadow work' (or the 'shadow self') is the origins of the theory and Carl Jung's archetypes and terminology used (animus, anima, persona, the inter-play of id, ego, and super-ego, etc). Not even all Jungians believe everything he did, as it is a philosophy just as much as it is a psychoanalytic theory.
I would also like to add that this process of self-actualization does not need to be called "shadow work" - this is just a term to express a defined process of self-actualization;
You can engage in this process without using the term if it does not suit you, for whichever reason it does not.
(I saw a few people express the sentiment that it sounded too mythical, with them disliking the associations it currently has with new-agers, which is valid.)
And in my last post I did say that shadow work was necessary, but I would like to reframe that to be sensitive to the sentiments that I had come across:
1. Grounding and 'self' processing is necessary. Intentional periods of metabolizing the aspects of 'self' is necessary.
2. "Shadow work" is optional, and a personal choice of terminology that I like to use because it is more widely understood by the community.
But the results should still be the same.
With all of this hopefully clarified, I would like to share a few of my personal methods of "shadow work", as I had promised in my last post:
1. Oracle cards...
A single card in the morning to determine a theme to reflect on for the day - I do this part of my own morning ritual.
It is the easiest thing to do, and doesn't demand an existential crisis or melodramatic self-confrontation; Just passive thoughts and observations.
This method is like a dose of medicine.
2. Through your dreams...
I might possibly write an article that dives deeper into dream states and how to weave it into magic, but for now I will say it is one of the best methods of shadow work you can engage in.
There are multiple ways, too: lucid dreaming, meditation, mind-wandering daydreams, and dream journals...which to the next method —
3. Automatic journaling...
I actually wrote about this in my personal grimoire entry that you can read here.
You'd be surprised in reading what you wrote while in a tranced state;
You'd discover things about yourself between the lines.
