Youre a gorgeous mystery with a wild heart and a lofty purpose. But like all of us, you also have a dark side -- a part of your psyche that snarls and bites, thats unconscious and irrational, that is motivated by ill will or twisted passions or instinctual fears. Its your own personal portion of the worlds sickness: a mess of repressed longings, enervating wounds, ignorant delusions, and unripe powers. Youd prefer to ignore it because its unflattering or uncomfortable or very different from what you imagine yourself to be. If you acknowledge its existence at all (many of us dont), you might call it the devil, your evil twin, your inner monster, or your personal demon. Psychologist Carl Jung referred to it as the shadow. He regarded it as the lead that the authentic alchemists of the Middle Ages sought to transmute into gold. + Astrologer Steven Forrest has a different name for the shadow: stuff. Work on your stuff, he says, or your stuff will work on you. He means that it will sabotage you if youre not aggressive about identifying, negotiating with, and transforming it. + The shadow is not inherently evil. If it is ignored or denied, it may become monstrous to compensate. Only then is it likely to demonically possess its owner, leading to compulsive, exaggerated, evil behavior. ~ Rob Brezsnys Free Will Astrology
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 14:32:44 +0000