"The whiskey you bought me, I was afraid to unscrew it, the Gypsy woman told me it was embalming fluid. You got a Black Cat Bone and a Buzzard Feather, a John the Conquer Root and they're all tied together" --CONJURED by Wynnonie Harris.

Friday, March 25, 2011

The Shadow Self: To Know Thyself Is To Be Complete

The Shadow Self is something often discussed in ‘Contemporary Witchcraft’, and regarded as a taboo. It can be depicted as a 'prison' formed within our unconscious mind where we exile parts of ourselves that we subdue, deny, or neglect to develop.  These are frequently feelings of anxiety, fear, lust, insecurity, hate, envy, jealousy, desire, and greed... anything that we pretend not to possess; relegated to this deep pit (abyss) inside our minds. While these are usually determined as... negative attributes we feel should not have, they can also be positive things as well. Such as our power to be strong, sexual, sensual, independent, and assertive, qualities society teaches are sinful or immortal to possess. Everyone has a Shadow, and since we are all individuals each is uniquely our own. It is a part of ourselves we should not neglect or ignore: one cannot know themself truthfully if they do not accept all sides to their innate natures, and one cannot state they know themself if a part of themself is feared, neglected or imprisoned. Know thyself, doesnt mean acknowledge only half of ourself and shun the rest- to know thyself, is to know thyself as complete, light, shadow & darkness within.