Shadow Animals: terms defined: Darkness, Shadow Archetype

My latest blog at Witches and Pagans is up.
Some of what I wrote:

The term “shadow” has many connotations, depending on its use. When working with your “Shadow Animal,” you will probably want to explore what type of shadow the animal is. That will determine how you work with Them. I will define the terms: “darkness and light,” “the shadow archetype,” “nahualli,” “heyoka,” “trickster,” and “shaman’s death” in several blog postings. Finally, I will conclude with how to work your “Shadow Animals.”

Darkness and Light
In Christian thought, which permeates much of Western philosophy, is the concept of the duality of “light and dark.” Life is divided into two separate and distinct parts of light (good) and dark (evil). These two parts war with each other over the control of the universe. However neither will overcome the other, but instead remain in a dynamic balance, that shifts back and forth.

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Shadow Archetype:
First defined by Carl Jung, the term “Shadow” describes the repressed or denied part of ourselves. Our shadows are those parts that we have split off, repressed or denied, usually the parts that we are afraid to publically show.

Read the rest at Witches and Pagans: Animal Wisdom