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 Posted: Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:35 pm
Picture a Yin-Yang symbol, and I know you can because everyones seen it at LEAST once. A circle with two opposing forces, white and black, "good" and "evil" to some, "male" and "female" to others. They swirl around eternally, and yet within each piece of the pie, there are two more smaller circles of the same colors, contrasting with their surroundings.
The Yin-Yang teaches us that there is an opposite to everything, be it positive or negative. Both sides need to be in balance, as there cannot be one without the other. The circle would not be if the yang or the yin were missing. Likewise, there are parts of us that would not be if their equal opposites weren't within us as well. Those parts of us are called our "Shadow", and they represent the opposite of everything we are.
Now, Shadow seems to be a somewhat misleading word, and possibly the best term for it at the same time (my only other suggestion being "Mirror Self"). These aspects of us are not necessarily evil, just opposite. Would people know sadness if we were always happy? Would we be able to distinguish hate from anger if we didn't know their opposites (love and possibly calm or pleasure, though for the last I would have also accepted joy or peace. Angers hard to decipher sometimes). Point being, we need to recognize these pieces/part of ourselves to better understand who we are and what we want/need to do with our lives. So I drew up a little lesson for those of us who haven't gone exploring for our Shadow Selves just yet.
All you will need is a sheet of paper, a black pen or marker, and yourself.
Firstly, draw a yin-yang symbol on the paper, as large as you can get it. Goddess forbid you dont know what it looks like, look it up online but the gist of it is a circle with a S in the middle (diving it into two pieces) and two smaller circles in each half. Anyway, draw those two smaller circles slightly larger becuase you'll be writing in them later. LIGHTLY Shade in one of the pieces, and the circle thats on the opposite side (Ok, anyone else massively confused by my explanation? I made it harder than it really needed to be...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang and yes I used wiki, shut up).
Right, so pick a circle, either circle depending on which one you're more drawn to. Personally, I'd pick the darker piece with the white circle just because I like my things to be a bit on the darker side...You might pick white if you're a guy, or if you think yourself to be a light person...Whatever, pick a side and write out characteristics about yourself. For example, you might write creative, patient, clean, attractive, fair, happy, stubborn, argumentative, open-minded, mean, ect...anything you pride yourself on being (though really you shouldn't be proud about being a mean person...).
Then, I want you to think of the opposites of each one of those traits. Try to think of times when maybe you're boring, or dirty, or intolerant, or agreeable, or angry and so on. These traits aren't essentially bad...in some cases they're actually commendable. Many things have opposites that are actually better in some cases, but I digress. Finish up your lists and then go someplace where you wont be disturbed.
Think of the duality between the things you are happy about being, and the things you aren't so happy about. Either way, they make you who you are. Meditate on the qualities of yourself that you might be suppressing or ignoring. Open yourself to those qualities. Release anything you think you could be rid of at the moment, keep what you think you need. As many of the traits you probably wrote down are semi concrete, some won't disappear on the spot. If you consider yourself pretty on the inside, that wont go away. Recognize that there are times when you aren't so pretty on the inside, but that ultimately the choice is up to you.
When you think you've finished, congrats, you've figured out your shadow self. They're that boy/girl that's your "evil twin", who loves to get into trouble, or is sickeningly sweet and nice. Accept that your shadow both exists, and completes you, makes you whole. While you may feel completely separate from your shadow self, remember that those qualities that make you who you are now would be null and void without it.
Keep the picture of the yin-yang if you wish, as a reminder. Or you could toss it away. I personally like the idea of tacking it near a mirror that you look into everyday. Not to dwell on my opposites, but to accept that they are part of being human.
~Namaste~
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 9:21 am
I consider myself to be almost as one with my Shadow. I know him, seeing as I am physically a female, almost as well as he knows me.
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witchunterobin Vice Captain
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