PREVIOUS : Archetype – #2

 

 

SHADOWS WITHIN
“The brightest flames cast the darkest shadows …. Like an eclipse of the sun, the Shadow eclipses the true nature of a person. ”

⛔️ Carl Jung identified “shadow” as the hidden side of our personality. The first of his 3 archetypes of human development, he saw it as an integral part of the unconscious mind.
⚠️ Concept : In our early development, many infantile impulses, “negative” emotions, positive attributes & power drives – tend to get repressed.
Gradually anything opposed to our conscious Self-identity, added to the original disowned self – is denied – at least to oneself.

❎ Sadly, some people (ACoAs, addicts, depressed, differently wired….) also suppress or deny their talents, natural cleverness, intuition, dreams….. relegating them to the Shadow side as if they were something to be ashamed of ! – because those wonderful parts were originally denied or punished in childhood.

Jung noted that “Whatever is rejected from the Self appears in the world as an event”- an indirect expression, most often in a self-defeating way. “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life , but you will call it fate.” ( IMAGE  & More….)

Deep within, the Sage’s Shadow involves T.E.A . =
(T) Logical Effectiveness
(A) Concrete Experience, but
(E) Disconnected from Emotional Awareness
Everyone carries a shadow side. The more it’s hidden from our awareness, the darker & denser it becomes – an unconscious anchor scuttling our best intentions & goals. The longer it’s neglected – the greater the inevitable downfall.

At the other extreme —  danger comes when we identify with the image. EXP : Believing one is a Sage leads to grandiosity (ego inflation). And some Sages who think too highly of themself are only mediocre.  (4 variations in Part 2).

♣️ The “Intellectual” defense
 At its best the SAGE is identified by the wisdom it accumulates over time. Therefore the Shadow – already hidden – covers its self-appointed, shameful character flaws by developing the “Intellectual”.
This “Computer” toxic role is not about intelligence but rather an imbalance & misuse of the Sage’s inherent qualities of insight & self-discovery.  It thinks too much, tries to make everything have ‘meaning’ , & becomes disconnected from the physical body.
The Intellectualizing person tries to control their world through lots of information, but misses basic messages from their body & inner voice/ intuition which urges them to relax, to take time to process emotions & experiences.  Always striving to achieve more, while catastrophizing about potential disasters, they’re left feeling anxious & exhausted.

Along with suppressing most emotion (“I don’t know how I feel”), a major characteristic of this defense is to constantly be critical of self & others. It’s a distortion of insights derived from looking inward, causing oneself unfounded guilt & painful obsessions.

Intellectualism is stressed as a virtue in the modern world, an expression of Magician archetype energy.  The drive to chase FACTS for their own sake (“Cerebral Narc“), or used to manipulate everything around us – has serious limitations & complications.
Jung believed that the Western dominance of & over-emphasis on rationalism is a form of neurosis – the result of a wounded ‘feeling function’ (Enneagram)

♥️ Individuation
“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” ∼∼ C. Jung

As a part of the collective journey of human psychological development, the Sage has to undergo its own process of individuation. This requires combining all the divergent parts of each of us – the lifelong steps & stages needed to distinguish the Self from our conscious & unconscious elements.

To become whole, the first part of this process is to identify & integrate one’s Shadow. In the absence of psychological unity, there’s a constant feeling of an internal void.
Many people are attracted to cult leaders & other groups because of this “missing something” feeling.  Sadly, internal tension can not be resolved externally – only by going inside. (see “Individuation” posts)

EXP : In The Lord of the Rings, the wizard Gandalf goes thru a transformation when he confronts his shadow in the form of the demon Balrog.  Gandalf ‘the Grey’ sacrifices himself to protect others & falls into a dark abyss with the demon. Later, he emerges as Gandalf, the White. (⏩️ ART by Dakota Randall)

NEXT : Sage – Dark Side, #2