THE JUNGIAN SHADOW:

The realization of one's shadow self means being acquainted with aspects of one's personality which for various reasons one has preferred to ignore or repress.   To ignore our shadow is often to pretend to be better than we really are.  The shadow becomes our friend or our enemy, depending on whether we heed its message.   During waking consciousness, our shadow can be detected when (1) we feel an overwhelming rage at being reproached by a friend for a fault [The friend has "outed" our shadow.], (2) we impulsively or inadvertently utter the evil remark, hatch the plot, or make the wrong decision, and must now confront results that we never consciously wanted or intended, and (3) we yield to peer pressure and therefore to impulses that really don't seem to belong to us at all.  In dreams the shadow appears as a person of the same sex and seems undesirable and threatening to the dreamer (e.g. an assassin, a madman, a con man, or a beggar).

AN INTROVERT'S DREAM:

Consider the dream of an introverted middle-aged workaholic who repressed pleasure and spontaneity to a greater degree than suited his nature: "I owned a big house in town and did not yet know all its parts.  In the basement I discovered several rooms about which I knew nothing and even exits leading to other cellars and underground streets.   When I investigated them more closely, a wild man approached me laughing loudly and claiming that we were old pals from elementary school.  I remembered him too.  As we walked through a large circular street, 3 galloping horses suddenly passed us.   They had no riders!  Had they run away from the nearby military academy?"  

INTPRETATION:

The maze of strange passages and unlocked exits recalls the ancient Egyptian portrayal of the Underworld, a well known symbol of the unconscious.  The unknown exits show that the dreamer is open to unknown influences from his unconscious shadow side.   The old school friend (his shadow) stands for his repressed extraverted tendencies and his neglected capacity to enjoy life.  The shadow appears as a long lost elementary school friend because it was during that time that the dreamer lost this capacity.  The dreamer thinks that the riderless horses (= his impulses run wild) have escaped from miltary school (= his overly self-disciplined life).  The dreamer secretly longs to "let his hair down," but fears the lack of self-control that this might entail.  His shadow calls him back in the direction of a life of more carefree, reckless abandon.

AN EXTRAVERT'S DREAM:

An extravert's dreams repeatedly insisted that he should finish an artistic project that he had started.  But he ignored this and embarked on one successful business venture after another.  Then he had this dreem: "A man is lying on a couch and has pulled the cover over his face.  He is a Frenchman, a desperado who would take on any criminal job.  A fat, rich, and influential official is accompanying me downstairs and I know that a plot is being hatched against me--the Frenchman will kill me if he gets the chance.  He sneaks up behind me, but I am on my guard.  The official suddenly feels sick and leans against the wall beside me.  I seize the opportunity (the distraction) to stab the official.  I hear the comment: `There is only a bit of moisture.'  Now I'm safe.   The Frenchman won't attack me now that the official who gave him his orders is dead."

INTERPRETATION:

The Frenchman stands for the dreamer's introverted shadow self.  Note his passivity (lying on the couch) and his facial cover (He wants to be left alone.)   The official stands for the dreamer's successful business activities.   The sudden illness symbolizes the dreamer's several workaholic-induced illnesses.  The absence of blood in his veins signifies the lack of passion and vitality in his work.   His death is no loss.  The Frenchman is satisfied with his murder.  [The dreamer thinks that the French handle love affair very well.]  The fat man and the Frenchman also stand for the dreamer's power and sex drives respectively.  When the power drive is mastered, the sex drive no longer proves a problem for the dreamer.   The shadow self is telling him that he needs to complete his artistic project to rekindle his sex drive and regain his vitality.   This promise finds fulfilment and amounts to verification of the dream's message.  

A COLLEGE STUDENT SHARES HIS DREAM WITH ME:

These two dreams are reported by Jungian psychoanalysts.   I now want to share my own Jungian dream interpretation.   Jim was a first-rate college tennis player.   He took my course in the Psychology of Religion.   After class one day, he sheepishly approached me and shared this dream:
"I was talking to some attractive girls near my dorm.  Suddenly a wild man raced by us with a violin in his hand.  He was being chased by a tiger!  He made a fool of himself and I was embarrassed for him."

MY INTERPRETATION:

The wild man represents your shadow self.  Your self worth is largely anchored to your macho appeal to girls and your athletic achievements.   But your shadow self is calling you to seek balance by developing the musical dimension of your psyche.   You can't listen to this voice right now because your aesthetic side is being chased away by your macho side (the pursuing tiger).   You would be embarrassed if girls discovered your unconscious longing to develop musical talents.  

Jim scoffed at my interpretation and I feared it had been off-base.  Two years later, Jim returned on alumni weekend and sought me out.   I asked him about his new life and he mentioned in passing that he was enjoying his new singing lessons.   I smiled, pointed my finger, and said, "You see, my dream interpretation was correct after all!"   Jim blushed.  He had forgotten all about that dream.   But he finally acknowledged that I was right.   More importantly, his singing lessons demonstrate how an ignored shadow self can relentlessly haunt you until you listen to what it is trying to tell you.

Don

This is interesting Don.  I haven’t ever gotten into dream psychology much.  Here’s one that I had several years ago, if you’d like to give your interpretation.  Usually in dreams I’m an observer rather than a participant.  This is one of the rare ones that felt very real.

I hear thunder and see lightning in the distance as I walk down a gravel country road.  A storm is moving in and I love storms.  I feel chills and thrills of excitement run through me and I start running down the gravel road.  All of a sudden I come to a bridge that has washed out.  I stop wondering how I’m going to get across.  Two… maybe three thieves are hiding behind bushes and jump out and attack me.  They grab my purse, which I didn’t know I had with me until then. I struggle, but finally I’m able to get away and run down into the ravine and up the other side.  I think they did get my purse though.  

Kathy

Kathy,

I don't know you very well.  But I imagine it would be more fun for you if I adopt a presumptuous, high-risk interpretation of your interesting dream.  So here goes. I'll comment on the elements that seem to be basic to the dream's meaning.

[Kathy:] "I love storms.  I feel chills and thrills of excitement run through me and I start running down the gravel road."

You have little tolerance for a boring lifestyle.   You love to respond courageously to the problems {storms) life throws your way during your spiritual pilgrimage (the gravel road).   Or at least that is your conscious self-image.

"[Kathy:] I stop wondering how I'm going to get across [the washed out bridge]."  

It is always sad when one temporarily loses one's sense of wonder.   Your courageous enthusiasm and sense of adventure are (were) vulnerable to occasional emotional disillusionment triggered by irrevocable experiences of failure or rejection.   Years ago, your dream was preparing you for a period of feeling emotionally "washed out" like the bridge you couldn't cross.    

[Kathy:] "They grab my purse which I didn't know I had with me until then."

You didn't know you were so vulnerable.  You were temporarily disappointed at this temporary loss of self-mastery.    

"I'm able to run down into the ravine and up the other side.  I think they did get my purse though."

But you are soon able to regroup with a hard-learned lesson that life is indeed an emotional roller coaster (= down and up the ravine).  In a literal sense the top of the ravine is not across the water.   But symbolically the implication is that you rebounded and arrived at a desirable destination anyway.  

If  this line of interpretation is correct, I see it as a sign of a very healthy attitude towards life and its essential risks and disappointments.   You might recall whether you were confronted by a significant life crisis shortly after the dream.  If so, your dream might have been somewhat precognitive as well.

Don

Oh my... I'm impressed here!  

Your interpretation sure makes a lot of sense... right up to and including a significant life event and rebounding from it.

Ahhh... life is an adventure... and what a ride it is!

Thanks Don!

Kathy