Shadow
From Astrowiki-en
The term "shadow", which originates from Jungian psychology, refers to those aspects of the personality that a person does not want to acknowledge belong to him/herself because they don't fit in with his/her own personal image. Instead, he/she is constantly confronted with those aspects in interactions with others. Nevertheless, they are closely related to the conscious aspects of the personality. The shadow can sometimes include things that society disapproves of or things that don't fit in with an individual's personal system of beliefs. But the shadow can also have positive aspects. Because individuals do not experience the shadow as belonging to them, they project its contents onto others, which means that they are strongly aware of these qualities in others. The intensity of the reaction is usually the giveaway as to whether the theme originates from the individual's own shadow. For example, glowing adoration for another person can indicate that an individual is unaware of their own greatness. The same is also true of the other extreme, for example intense dislike of something a neighbour does: In this case, the person concerned refuses to believe that he/she would be capable of acting in such a manner.
Shadow aspects are dormant parts of the personality. They never had the chance to develop.
The natal chart is a very good instrument for helping to name shadow aspects and showing possible ways of accepting, integrating and further developing them to become more whole as a person. The aim is not - as some might think - to get rid of these aspects but to recognise and tap into the positive potential inherent in them.
The following are some aspects which point to shadow aspects in the horoscope, although it is not possible to say with certainty that this will be the case. Each horoscope factor contains a wide spectrum of possibilities, ranging from the negative to the positive. Each individual is free to choose the level of maturity. But the following factors are likely, at least for a certain length of time, to be part of the shadow.
- Retrograde personal planets, i.e. Mercury, Venus and Mars,
- Planets conjunct the descending moon's node together with the sign of the descending node,
- Aspects from Saturn and Pluto to personal planets or axes together with their house and sign positions,
Other horoscope factors that can be counted as belonging to the shadow themes are:
- Planets in the fourth, eighth and twelfth houses - the three water houses,
- The Descendent and planets in the seventh house, the house of relationships,
- An element in which there are hardly any (or no) horoscope factors,
- Aspects from Uranus and Neptune to the personal planets together with their house and sign positions.
Shadow themes are difficult to deal with and can be problematic as they remain unconscious. But they can be a source of great potential if an individual is able to understand that the problems are in reality also challenges which, if overcome, can release an enormous amount of energy. Each constellation, no matter how difficult, is also an opportunity. The greater the challenge, the greater the inherent potential.
