Shadow work

Working with what you would rather not see; dreams are a key entrance.

Shadow work is consciously engaging with the sides of yourself you would rather not see: fears, anger, jealousy, shame, but also talents you have tucked away. The concept of the shadow comes from the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, who meant by it the part of the personality we do not recognise as our own and therefore often project onto others.

In modern wicca and related spiritual practices shadow work has become an important element. The idea is that you should embrace not only the light but also the dark. What you push away does not disappear, but keeps working unnoticed. By getting to know it, it can lose its power or even become a source of strength. Many practitioners link shadow work to the dark moon and to the dark half of the year, around Samhain.

Dreams are one of the most important ways into shadow work. In dreams the shadow often shows itself in figures that frighten you: a pursuer, a stranger in the house, a person you dislike, or an animal that scares you. Jung did not see such figures as enemies, but as parts of yourself asking for attention. A nightmare is read in this light as an offer, not a punishment.

The practice is simple but calls for patience. Many people write such dreams down without judgement, and ask themselves questions like: what bothers me about this figure, where do I recognise that in myself, and what would happen if I did not run away? After weeks or months patterns become visible.

Shadow work can touch painful memories. Whoever is troubled by that does best to seek guidance from a therapist. On Dreamkin shadow work is mentioned in wicca readings as a way of looking, not as a treatment.