Can you see your shadow self in dreams?
Yes, you can see your shadow self in dreams. The personal shadow appears as the same sex as you in your dreams. Shadow can seem threatening or antagonistic in your dreams and carries contrary qualities to you.
Before we get more into it, I want to make sure you understand a few things.
What is shadow and what is shadow work?
The shadow is the side of yourself that's disconnected and unfelt. It's the part of yourself that's been rejected since childhood and you have no awareness of.
Shadow Work is integrating the entire spectrum of your being. It's the intentional process of admitting the parts of yourself you've ignored and repressed.
The shadow is the embodiment of potential that you’ve cast away and now need to integrate.
Admitting you have an unconscious shadow is the first step to be able to “see” it voluntarily.
Integrating the shadow, without biting off too much, is the real challenge. You want to start cultivating these shadow qualities in a safe and ritualized way in your waking life.
I recommend you check out shadow work prompts and beginner techniques.
Can you see your shadow self in dreams?
Have you ever been chased in a dream? The person/thing chasing us in our dreams can represent a part of ourselves that we have rejected. It is part of ourselves that chases us and wants to be accepted.
Shadow likes to show up in our dreams as someone we do not like; they will have qualities that you have blocked off and denied in your own personality.
Do not judge these qualities as “good” or “bad” – they simply are.
The shadow is normal and essential that can challenge your morality to make you more whole and authentic.
Shadow self in dreams can come in many ways. It can be a symbol that is there to guide you to seek out a message about your present conditions.
Shadow elements can appear in dreams as defecation, urination, feces, devil, an animal.
Dreams about your shadow self can also be very scary. You may awaken feeling depressed or confused.
When you ignore the shadow and it builds up too much, it can possess you and force its energy to be expressed.
Repression and resistance will eventually lead up to these shadow energies being expressed when you don’t deliberately acknowledge and express these qualities of who you truly are. You must find healthy, safe ways of expressing your shadow qualities.
‘Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.’ Carl Jung.
Carl Jung
Jung describes the shadow self as ‘aspects of the personality that are not consciously recognized. The shadow self normally displays characteristics that we dislike in other people, but don’t take ownership of within ourselves.
However, the shadow is not always negative; it can also display positive characteristics and uncovered potential within ourselves that we haven’t yet developed.
Check out my post Can your shadow self be positive?
What happens if you don't integrate your shadow?
Do not judge the shadow as “good” or “evil” – it is simply a manifestation of what you have disallowed within yourself. If you can’t accept that it’s a part of you, then you’re very rigid and you don’t know it – you definitely shouldn’t try talking to it.
When you isolate yourself and let your life get small, the world starts to become a source of anxiety. So, it’s just important that you try to live your life if you find yourself in a phase where this is happening.
Not expressing your creative potentials will fuck with your psyche.
Shadow consists of knowledge and experiences that never came our way, what you’ve forgotten, and negative impulses and unconscious beliefs.
Prejudice, fantasy, infantile wishes, and material desire further removes you from your natural instincts and truth.
Learning dream interpretation is getting a deeper understanding of your instincts.
Dreams are deeply healing because they can restore the connection with the unconscious.
In summary, dreams about the shadow self can be extremely positive if you know how to interpret them. You can find out the dream’s meaning by seeing how it relates to your present situation.
They can help us to recognize parts of ourselves that we have been suppressing and give us direction in our lives when we need it the most.
Recommended Resources
A Light Among Shadows is a guide to self-love and being that helps you overcome negative self-talk, instill genuine self-acceptance, and overcome self-hate and resentment by making sense of people’s level of consciousness and your spirituality.
Shadow Work for Beginners Series helps you beat negative patterns and beliefs, integrate your shadow, heal your inner child, reclaim your projections, build emotional maturity, and take back your life by becoming whole.
Shadow Work for Relationship Series helps you heal your attachment style, navigate relationship issues, and build a healthy, mature relationship.
Advanced Shadow Work is an ongoing publication with continued in-depth insight and practical advice you won't find anywhere else on the internet for practicing shadow work, self-awareness, inner healing, spiritual development, and more!
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Approved Tools
Tarot Cards (incl. Manifestation Manual ebook) provide insight and intuitive guidance for personal growth and decision-making.
Chakra Crystals (incl. Ancestral Healing ebook) can bring balance and harmony to your mind, body, and spirit.
Book of Shadows (incl. Shadow Work Journal) is your own special journal that you fill up with your energetic intentions as you scribe your own inner practices to be passed down to others.
Subliminal Bundle uses different hypnosis tracks to subconsciously improve your health, love life, motivation, self-love and much more.
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