Shadow work seems to be the thing all the kids are talking about these days. I assumed that people were talking about the integration of the shadow as is talked about in Jungian psychology. But do you know about the concept of the Golden Shadow? Check out my YouTube video, “Archetypes and shadow work” for more about Jungian shadow concepts, including the Golden Shadow.

‘In Jungian psychology, the “shadow” refers to an unconscious aspect of the personality, everything of which a person is not fully conscious i.e. the shadow is the “dark side” (Wiki). To some, the shadow represents the suppressed areas in our life and that can include the positive as well as the negative i.e. there is gold to be mined in our shadow side. Yet it is possible that we “resist the more noble aspects of our shadow more strenuously than the dark sides”: “The gold is related to our higher calling and this can be hard to accept at certain stages of life.” – Robert Johnson’

— Nathan Collier

Most of us are familiar with the archetype of the Dark Shadow: the repressed dark side hidden within us. But we’re probably not familiar with the archetype of the Golden Shadow: the repressed gold hidden within our darkness. The golden shadow symbolizes withheld courage, hidden talents, repressed passion and stifled creativity. It’s the unfulfilled potential that people fail to see or develop because of fear and a lack of risk-taking.

— Gary Z McGee

The article by Gary Z McGee is entitled “The Golden Shadow: Stepping into the Power of Who You Really Are” — so this is clearly linked with one of the goals of Paganism, the discovery of the authentic self.

Also check out Crow’s recent posts at @marget.inglis_witchcraft on Instagram which are about the shadow and embodiment, the shadow and reacting to others, and the shadow as a defence mechanism.

---

If you enjoyed this post, you might like my books.