In Carl Jung’s concept of Individuation, one must fully confront and accept their shadow self. Jung compares this journey to the fable of a hero who must confront a dragon to get to the “treasure that is hardest to obtain.” The one who is able to recognize and explore all aspects of their shadow self, while still remaining civilized, is the one who... See more

According to Carl Jung, The shadow self (or the dark side of the Self) is your animal nature that lives behind your social persona. This includes the usual suspects like our fear, anxieties, envy, lust but also positives like instinct, intuition, compassion, and spirituality. The less you know it and own it, the denser, deeper, and more... See more

Being so much a part of who we are, we are yet terrified of the shadow. We feel that it will pull us down back into our savage past, and our hard-won battle for the light of consciousness will have been for nothing. We make desperate attempts to deny the shadow, employing a whole range of ego-defenses for this purpose. Projection, splitting,... See more