Hel and the Shadow Self

There are some spiritual and mental qualities or processes that I believe transcend residence in one particular religious system. These archetypes can be seen throughout a variety of pagan cultures and belief systems. One of these is the presence within us of what can be best described as the Shadow self.

At some time or another, I believe we all struggle with our shadow selves. Perhaps those of us turning away from Christianity in modern times can understand this better than others, being drawn to belief systems that are not widely accepted and in some sense still looked down upon. But really I want to discuss the Shadow self on a personal level, and explain the concept for anyone who is wondering what the Hel Im talking about. lol

The Shadow self is the part of us we wish we could suppress, any impulse or thought process which we feel ashamed of or causes guilt within us. Jungian psychology would describe this as the more primitive, animalistic side of our self that we suppress as a child in favor or more socially acceptable logic and morality. It is instinct at its darkest.

As human we are often troubled as we go through life by these darker impulses as they pop up, and we do our best to deny their existence or become ashamed and hide them from others. Feelings of hatred, bloodlust, jealousy, anger, despair, and desire for things which are taboo, or in some way make us feel ashamed of our own desires. All these are part of our shadow selves. And as much as we wish to deny these parts of ourselves and convince each other that we are rational and logical moral beings, the truth is we cripple ourselves in denying them.

I believe the shadow self is an archetype found across many pagan cultures. The Crone aspect of Celtic derived faiths, the witches of Macbeth, the demon Lilith, Kali of the Indic faiths, and even the fallen angel Satan, of the Christian faith. And most importantly to us Heathens, Hel herself, who I find to be a powerful reflection of the integration of the moral logical human and the shadow self.

Worth noting is that though these figures are often viewed negatively, all of them are powerfully connected to creation. Jung describes the conflict of the consciousness and the shadow self as a block to creativity. Without the passionate and primitive aspects of the shadow selves with us, we are left devoid of inspiration, and full of emptiness. Creativity becomes impossible, and we are literally bored to death, or left in terror of our own self.

Denying the shadow self, as fate would have it, simply gives it more power. If we suppress this part of our self, it simply grows darker within us, eating away at our unconscious until it spills over into our lives, creating irrational and often times perplexing thoughts and  actions from us. This can at times cause havok and  destruction, and in the worst case scenario becomes a psychosis.

I believe it is this suppression of part of ourself which has caused the epidemic of mental illness in our modern age. To be civilized has become synonymous with passivity, and the denial of our most primitive impulses has caused a rift in our consciousness, both individual and collective.

To be clear, I am not advocating any sort of violent action or negativity as a pastime, or using the shadow self as a pass for harmful actions. That would simply be another way of feeding the shadow self, and would feed it just as much as suppressing it does. The tendency to view our world and ourselves in terms of good and evil disregards the possibility of balance.

As heathens we must see the wisdom in Hel, instead of constantly blacklisting the Goddess as another "evil giant." It is my firm opinion that in Hel we see the symbolic representation of wholeness, and the foundation of creativity and life. Her place beneath the roots of Yggdrasil, in the roots of the deep earth, speaks to this need for combination of force. Life is not possible without an integration of masculine and feminine energy forces. Life is not possible without death, it is a circular process. Denying the "bad" parts of ourselves is only labeling them with a morality that they do not possess. Denying them is in essence denying our self the ability to create.

The key to wholeness is using our logical, conscious mind to recognize the aspects of our shadow self, and accept them, rather than attempting to delude ourselves by denying their existence. We must realize that by labeling them as negative, we are placing moral judgment upon a force of energy which is necessary to life, and supporting the fallacy of dualistic morality.

The next post will be some practical exercises for exploring and accepting one's shadow self.

In Frith,
Cena