Digesting Jung: Food for the Journey - Inner City Books

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Shadow Boxing
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole egopersonality
. . . . To become conscious of it involves recognizing the
dark aspects of the personality as present and real. 16
To the degree that we identify with a bright and blameless persona,
our shadow is correspondingly dark. The persona aims at perfection.
The shadow reminds us we are human.
Everything about ourselves that we are not conscious of is
shadow. Psychologically, the shadow opposes and compensates the
persona, the “I” we show to the outside world. Where we are concerned
to put on a good front, to do what is considered by others to
be proper, our shadow is not. The realization of how and when our
shadow enters our life, and at times takes over, is a precondition for
self-knowledge. The more we become conscious of our shadow’s
intentions and behavior, the less of a threat it is and the more psychologically
substantial we become.
In Jung’s description, the shadow, or at least its dark side, is
composed of morally inferior wishes and motives, childish fantasies
and resentments, etc.—all those things about ourselves we are not
proud of and regularly seek to hide from others. For instance, in
civilized societies aggression is a prominent aspect of the shadow,
simply because it is not socially acceptable; it is nipped in the bud
in childhood and its expression in adult life is met with heavy sanctions.
The same is true of sexual behavior that deviates from the
collective norm.
By and large, then, the shadow is a hodge-podge of repressed
desires and “uncivilized” impulses. It is possible to become con-
16 “The Shadow,” Aion, CW 9ii, par. 14.
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