The Gift of Samhain – Integrating Our Shadow Side (Part 1)

Samhain (All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween) is fast coming upon us, with its thinning of the veil between the worlds -the one night each year that allows us to easily access messages and wisdom from the other side. This year, in connection with personal work that I am doing, I want to focus on something different – instead of connecting with ancestors, or asking for messages from beyond, I wish to address my Shadow side. The messages that I am looking for, and the work that I will be doing, have to do with recognizing my Shadows, accepting them, and integrating them. My Shadows will always be with me – they are part of who I am. It is better, IMHO, that I embrace them and integrate them … in the current vernacular, “Show them some love.”

Shadows Defined

Carl Jung defined our shadow self as those parts of ourselves that we fear, that we have for whatever reason repressed. It is what may be termed our dark side, filled with emotions and feelings that we do not wish to access because they are so strong. Our Shadow self is one of the most easily recognized archetypes in Jungian psychology. It is based within our subconscious, and is linked to our instinctive self.

How To Recognize Our Shadows

Shadows are issues that we fear, that we do not want to address. They may appear in our dreams, they may suddenly pop up in an issue that we are dealing with, or even in the middle of a conversation. Something has triggered our “early warning system“, something that resembles one of our shadows, and we need to pay attention to this message, or warning.

This is one reason that I feel that we should all make the effort to remain grounded and centered in the present, aware of what is going on around us, and aware of our reaction to what is going on around us. It is important to note what we are reacting to – was it a word, an image, a scent, or perhaps even a gesture? We want to be very careful not to go into instant defense mode, and start projecting our shadows onto the issues that we are dealing with, or the people that are in our lives. If we do not recognize that we are projecting our shadows, or if we refuse to admit that we are projecting them, then we lose control to the very shadow archetype that is active in our life.

How our shadows develop, and how they present themselves, are more of an individual than a universal nature. They develop from our own experiences, and can be complex, layered entities, depending on our acceptance or rejection of them. The top layers may be our direct experiences with a given shadow, and how it operates in our life. This can change as we can understanding of ourselves, and the accompanying sense of self-confidence. Deeper layers fo our shadow selves reflect universal experiences – experiences that are common to all of mankind. The deeper layers are what Jung terms the collective unconscious.

The Shadow Archetype and Individuation

The purpose of integrating our shadows is so that we may become whole. It is very much a part of the process of individuation, of integrating our conscious and unconscious selves. One of the tools that Jung used to analyze this process was through dreamwork – exploring our dreams, and actively engaging with our dream world (which he termed active imagination). The psychic, or unconscious life of an individual is then brought up to the conscious, knowing level.

Another way of working with the shadow is to do the pathwork on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. Rose Gwain, in Discovering Your Self Through the Tarot: A Jungian Guide to Archetypes and Personality, indicates that the last path walked, that of Strength, is the path that she identifies with Shadow. It is this path that an individual following Jungian thought would take to access the deepest levels of shadows held in their unconsicous.

Shadows Within The Suits

Rose Gwain addresses functions (thinking, feeling, intuition, sensation) that operate within us in a weak manner as part of shadow energy. Specifically, she defines the following as shadow functions of each other:

• Swords (Thinking) is the Shadow to Wands (Feeling)
• Wands (Feeling) is the Shadow to Swords (Thinking)
• Cups (Intuition) is the Shadow to Pentacles (Sensation)
• Pentacles (Sensation) is the Shadow to Cups (Intuition)

The Thinning of the Veil

Samhain (All Hallow’s Eve, Halloween) is the one night of the year when the veil between the physical and spiritual worlds is at its thinnest. This is when we connect with ancestors, and when we can most easily connect with Spirit, with whatever the source of Divine is in our life. It is at this time that we can actively identify and work with our shadow selves, integrating them into our conscious being sothat we move into becoming an integrated, whole individual.

In Part 2 of “The Gift of Samhain – Integrating Our Shadow Side” we will be working with Tarot spreads that will help us focus on bringing our shadow selves into consciousness, understanding them, accepting them, and integrating them with our consicous self. One thing to remember here is that the very definition of a shadow is that is contains light and dark – there is no shadow without a source of light somewhere.

The following questions help us to define our shadows, decide which ones are most active in our lives currently, and format ways in which we can work with them. Should we choose not to acknowledge, work with and integrate our shadows, they will become stronger and develop a very insidious hold over our lives, taking on a life of their own and showing up at unexpected, inopportune times.

Hint: Working with these quesitons will give you a head start in working with the spreads presented in Part 2!

1. What patterns are repeating in my life?
2. How am I reacting to these repetitive patterns?
3. Where am I feeling held back?
4. What am I afraid of?
5. How am I projecting my shadows/fears onto the people and situations around me?
6. Which of my personal behaviors are sabotaging my progress?
7. What am I resistant to in my life?
8. What is showing up in dreamtime?
9. What am I aware that I am blocking in my life?
10. What needs to be balanced in my persona?

Work with these questions – write down all of the responses that come to you. Just write – don’t try and edit – allow your subconscious thoughts to come through in any manner that they wish. Then choose one or more decks to work with using the spreads to be presented in Part 2. You may wish to use your working deck, a comfort deck, or a deck that will deliberately take you out of your comfort zone.

Remember – these tarot spreads will be worked with on Samhain, when the veil is at its thinnest. The answers that you receive, the messages that come through for you, will be the strongest responses from Spirit that you have ever worked with. Do the preparation ahead of time that will allow you to make the most of this night.

Bonnie Cehovet

Bonnie Cehovet – has written 21 posts on Tarot Elements.

Bonnie Cehovet is a Certified Tarot Grand Master, a professional Tarot reader with over twelve years experience, a Reiki Master/Teacher and a writer.