Shadow: definition

The shadow is, in the psychology of Carl Jung, the repressed or denied part of the self. In tarot it is often revealed through the difficult or feared cards.

The shadow is not evil: it is what we refuse to see of ourselves, the rejected, ignored or judged-unacceptable aspects that nonetheless form part of the person.

Cards like the Devil, the Tower or Death often reflect shadow material: what discomforts, what frightens or what one would rather not look at directly.

Working with these cards in tarot favours integration: recognising the hidden reduces its unconscious power. What is seen and accepted stops acting in secret.

The shadow should not be fought, but integrated: it also contains denied energy and resources, strength, desire or vitality that, once recognised, can be put at the service of the person.

That is why the feared cards are not necessarily harmful: read well, they point precisely to the place where a work of consciousness can free and transform the person.

That is why, in a reading, the shadow cards deserve special and careful attention: well accompanied, they are often the ones that most help the person, because they point to the exact place where a work of consciousness can free retained energy.

Far from being cards to dread, the shadow cards often carry the reading's most healing potential, pointing to exactly what is ready to be seen and freed.