Tek-Gnostics Archives

Enter the Dark-Side at your own Peril...

 

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

- Yoda

 

Although the prime pursuit of the Tek-Gnostics Network is the dissemination of light, we appreciate the symbiotic, archetypical relationship that light has to darkness. Consider the following quote from the Tek-Gnostic Archives…

To occupy a sentient body in 3-dimentional space-time necessitates that universe be dual in nature: Light/Dark, Yin/Yang, Observer/Observed, etc. It would not be possible to bask in the warmth of light without the contrast of the shadow of darkness

The dark side has a place within the dynamic, dualistic universe that we occupy. That being said, we choose to neither repress nor dwell on the dark-side, but rather seek to understand and integrate the shadow, in pursuit of what Dr C.G. Jung called Individuation. Additionally, we would offer a few suggestions for the further inquiry of the intrepid traveler. Please be advised that one approaches Chapel Perilous at his or her own risk...


 


 


Item: A Friend of the Devil is a Friend of Mine - Dealing with the Shadow

“The shadow is that hidden, repressed, for the most part inferior & guilt-laden personality whose ultimate ramifications reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors and so comprise
the whole historical aspect of the unconscious”

- Carl G Jung


Jung’s conception of “the shadow” embodies the unknown “dark side” of our personality. Dark, because its nature is driven by the primitive, superstitious, socially and/or religiously outcast human emotions such as: lust, greed, envy, fear… and the resulting striving for power. Due to its primitive, unenlightened nature, the dark side is... by and large... obscured from our emerging consciousness. That which we deem evil, inferior or unacceptable and so deny in ourselves... becomes part of the shadow. According to Jungian analyst Aniela Jaffe, the shadow is the “sum of all personal and collective psychic elements which, because of their incompatibility with the chosen conscious attitude, are denied expression in life.”

Jung differentiated between the personal shadow and the impersonal or archetypal shadow, which acknowledges transpersonal, culturally perceived evil, as symbolized by the Devil and Demons… and the periodic outbreak of collective evil, as demonstrated by the atrocities inflicted upon the innocent, during that collective and apparently contagious insanity we call war.

For Jung, the theory of the shadow was a metaphorical means of conveying the prominent role played by the unconscious in both psychopathology and within the perennial problem of evil. In developing his paradoxical conception of the shadow, Jung sought to provide a more nuanced understanding of the unconscious... both individual and collective. The shadow was originally Jung’s poetic term for the totality of the unconscious, a notion he borrowed from philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

The shadow is most destructive, insidious and dangerous when habitually repressed and projected, manifesting in myriad psychological disturbances ranging from neurosis to psychosis to irrational interpersonal hostility. Such toxic symptoms, attitudes and behavior stem from being possessed or driven by the dissociated yet undaunted shadow. Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be taken as a cautionary tale par excellence... ie: the dissociation of the shadow, resulting in a perilously lopsided development of the conscious personality and consequently rendering one susceptible to destructive possession by the disowned shadow.

 

In that tale, the excessively good character, Dr. Henry Jekyll, is at times taken over, body and soul by his equally evil shadow: the depraved, nefarious, psychopathic, wicked Edward Hyde… his complete opposite. Indeed, the shadow contains all those qualities we hide from ourselves and others, but which remain active within the unconscious, forming a sort of ‘‘splinter personality’’ or complex, not unlike the relatively autonomous sub-personalities found in multiple personality or dissociative identity disorder… or, to use a more archaic example, in the so-called demonic possession or demonism.

Under extreme stress... or in states of fatigue or intoxication, this compensatory alter ego or shadow complex can be triggered into temporarily taking total command of the conscious will. The abject negativity and destructiveness of the shadow is largely a function of the degree to which the individual neglects and refuses to take responsibility for it… only inflaming its ferocity and pernicious power. The shadow’s sometimes overwhelming strength and disturbing ability to intrude into one’s cognitions, affects and behavior... has historically been experienced and misinterpreted as demonic possession, for which exorcism is believed to be the only treatment.

Foremost for Jung was the task of further illuminating the shadowy problem of human evil and the prodigious dangers of excessive unconsciousness. Jung’s psychological construct of the shadow corresponds to, and yet differs fundamentally from the idea of the Devil or Satan in theology. He intentionally employed the more mundane, banal, less esoteric or metaphysical terminology: the shadow and: the unconscious ...instead of the traditional religious language of god, devil, daimon or mana. For Jung, depth psychological designations such as the shadow or the unconscious, were far better articulations than were religious concepts… “which are controversial and therefore tend to breed fanaticism.”

The shadow is a primordial part of our human inheritance, which is deeply embedded within each of us, and can never be eluded. The pervasive Freudian defense mechanism known as projection is how most people deny their shadow, unconsciously casting it onto others so as to avoid confronting it in oneself. Such projection of the shadow is engaged in not only by individuals but groups, cults, religions, and entire countries, and commonly occurs during wars and other contentious conflicts in which the outsider, enemy or adversary is made a scapegoat, dehumanized, and demonized. Two World Wars and the current escalation of violence testify to the terrible truth of this collective phenomenon.

Since the turn of the twenty-first century we have witnessed a menacing resurgence of epidemic demonization or collective psychosis in such manifestations as... the seemingly inevitable violent global collision between radical Islam and fundamentalist Christian culture... as well as the rise of nationalist and fascist fervor. Each faction of these cultural abnormalities, project their collective shadow and perceive the other as evil incarnate.

Jung well understood the daimonic nature of the unconscious, and that the compensatory effects of the shadow upon individuals, couples, groups and nations could be beneficial as well: “If it has been believed hitherto that the human shadow was the source of all evil, it can now be ascertained on closer investigation that the unconscious man, that is, his shadow, does not consist only of morally reprehensible tendencies, but also displays a number of good qualities, such as normal instincts, appropriate reactions, realistic insights, creative impulses, etc.”

Working with dream material is crucial to comprehending and dealing creatively with the shadow. The shadow tends to appear in dreams as a figure of the same sex as the dreamer, but Jung draws a distinction between the personal shadow and the anima or animus, symbolized in dreams as the opposite sex. Typically, it is the subjective experience of the shadow or evil… and its disquieting and de-habilitating effects which motivates the person to seek what Jung called individuation, which spurs one toward new growth, maturation, balance, wholeness and integration.

Creativity can spring from the constructive expression or integration of the shadow, as can true spirituality. Authentic spirituality requires consciously accepting and relating properly to the shadow as opposed to repressing, projecting, acting out and remaining naively unconscious of its repudiated, denied, disavowed contents, a sort of precarious pseudo-spirituality. Bringing the shadow to consciousness is a psychological problem of the highest moral significance. It demands that the individual hold him or herself accountable not only for what happens to her/him, but also for what he/she projects. . .

Indeed, in many ways we need the shadow, and must therefore learn to develop a more conscious and constructive relationship to it. Without the conscious inclusion of the shadow in daily life there cannot be a positive relationship to other people, or to the creative sources in the soul. Ultimately, the integration of the shadow is what allows each of us to develop and nurture an intimate, individual relationship to the Divine.


- adapted from the writings of Stephen D Diamond, PhD

 

Occluded Resources

Aleister Crowley
Tantra & Sex Magick in  late Victorian England...
 

Disinformation
Hidden information news source...
 

Hermetic Library
Austin O Spare, Hakim Bey, et. al...


Rune Soup
Chaos Magic, Phenomenology, Stringent Opinions (pick two)...

The Dark Star
There is Nothing To Do .... No Thinking .... No Prayers ..... Just Watch, Wait, Don't React!

The Illuminati
One ring to rule the all, and in the darkness bind them...

Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo
New Orleans Voodoo, Spiritual Readings, Voodoo Souvenirs...

Sub-Genius
Church of the Sub-Genius Beware of Bob...

Conjure Gnosis
Folk magic, spiritism, cartomancy and Hoodoo...
 

Hakim Bey
Black magick as revolutionary action...
 

OTO
Grand Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientis...

Witchcraft
A guide to the misunderstood and the maligned...

Special PDF Bonus...

The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic

 

 

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