Shadow Integration

Everyone has a hidden side that they do not always want people to see, like being a little bit grumpy or silly. The trickster brings these hidden parts out into the light using jokes and play. When we stop hiding our shadows, we feel more whole and less tired from pretending to be perfect. It is like turning on a light in a dark room and realizing the monster was just a pile of clothes. Accepting all of yourself — the messy parts and the neat parts — is the way to be truly happy.

The monster under the bed is just you in a costume. Turn on the light. Look. It was always you. And you were never as scary as you thought.

Shadow Integration is a core tenet of Analytical Psychology. Individuation requires the ego to acknowledge repressed aspects of the psyche. The trickster mirrors the collective and individual shadow to prevent psychic inflation or hypocrisy. In Sociology, Deviance defines and redefines moral boundaries. The trickster allows society to process repressed desires in a ritualized, safe manner.

SOUND: A deep, low bass note that vibrates in your chest.

SMELL: Earthy, musky scent of a deep forest: the smell of what is hidden.

TASTE: Dark chocolate: both bitter and sweet in one bite.

TOUCH: Feeling the texture of your own skin in total darkness.

SIGHT: Your reflection in a moving, rippling pond: you but distorted.

BODY: Stretching muscles until they feel full and heavy: releasing what was held tight.

Music: Down the Highway by Bob Dylan

Music: The Impossible Dream by Frank Sinatra

Part of Tricksters & Chaos — MYTHOLOGY — Education Revelation