A while ago, I bought the book "Tarot Shadow Work, using the dark symbols to heal" by Christine Jette but I hadn't had much time to delve into it with all the activities of school and work vying for my attention. School is winding down now so hopefully I can settle in and start working through the book. The following is an excerpt from this book to give you an idea of what it's all about....
The Shadow Knows
There is a shadow lurking in every person's inner life, a psychic darkness sheltering our inner conflicts and unexpressed emotions. It takes its shape from a menagerie of archetypes, each recognizable throughout time and around the world troubling characters who thrive within our persona. The shadow is the saboteur, martyr, victim, addict, sadist, masochist, or tyrant, all the dark figures that prey on the lighter qualities of the human personality.
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There is a shadow lurking in every person's inner life, a psychic darkness sheltering our inner conflicts and unexpressed emotions. It takes its shape from a menagerie of archetypes, each recognizable throughout time and around the world troubling characters who thrive within our persona. The shadow is the saboteur, martyr, victim, addict, sadist, masochist, or tyrant, all the dark figures that prey on the lighter qualities of the human personality.
The shadow also represents those latent talents and positive traits that were banished from us at some time along our life path: artistic, musical, athletic, or creative talents. An undeveloped ability, a dream that has gone unexpressed, a fantasy of what might have been these, too, make up the personal shadow, the lost parts of ourselves.
As I briefly mentioned in other blog posts, I came from a dysfunctional family, (Wow! that's an understatement!) Anyhow, growing up was a rocky road indeed and then at the age of nine, my father decided to take his own life and my childhood almost disappeared over night as I was rudely ushered into a very adult world... up until then I had been a carefree, somewhat sheltered, child.
I consider myself a survivor but I realize all too keenly the baggage that I have carried for decades. It hasn't always been easy recognizing these issues in order to resolve them, but the Irish determination I inherited from my father is serving me well after all these years and with a little luck, as I work through this book, I will be able to lay to rest the demons that have long shadowed me on my journey in this world.
1 comment:
Let us know how that book is.
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