Shadow work: What it is and its influence on hit film "The Substance"
There’s a scene in The Substance, the much-lauded film starring Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, in which the story’s protagonist, 50-year-old faded star Elisabeth, is about to go on a date. She’s made up, wearing lipstick the red of spilled blood. Triggered by catching sight of herself in a shiny doorknob – comparing her ageing appearance with her younger self who, with the magic of a black-market drug, she is living as half the time – she turns back, examining herself in a mirror.
Repulsed, she starts dragging a cotton pad over her mouth, smearing crimson pigment into a Joker-style smile, before taking both hands and twisting, rubbing, clawing at her skin – as if she’s desperately trying to escape it. It’s wretched, sickly, viscerally disturbing. Not because it’s the film’s most gory or violent scene, but because of how relatable it is – the on-acid version of a routine which millions of people play out day after day, staring at themselves, wishing they saw something different.
It's a deeply layered scene. But besides acting as a sharp comment on the beauty standards we gorge on from the moment we begin to size one another up as kids, it taps into another element of the human psyche that lurks below the surface.
And while the "shadow" and "shadow work" aren’t new concepts, they’re back in the spotlight. In late 2023, US-based Keila Shaheen shared some techniques from her book The Shadow Work Journal on TikTok; the concept caught fire – shifting more than a million copies of Shaheen’s book and catalysing a resurgence in the idea.
What is the golden shadow?
British lucid dreaming teacher Charlie Morley’s book Do the Shadow Work: And Find Lasting Self-Love and Acceptance will land in April and social media hashtags for the term are populated with proponents recording how the practice has helped them. But entwined with this trend is another one; one that wants you not just to shine a light on your shadows, but to step into that light. Known as the golden shadow, it’s the idea that as well as having unclaimed shame, you have unclaimed power.
‘The idea of the shadow was popularised in the West by [Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist] Carl Jung, but he didn't invent it,’ explains Morley, on the concept’s revival. ‘People have had a shadow since they've had a consciousness, and it’s an idea that’s present in many spiritual traditions.’
Jung pioneered this term to describe anything within the unconscious mind that you’ve repressed, denied or disowned; the pieces of yourself you don’t know about – nor do you want to know about. ‘There are your aspects which are valued and encouraged and then the parts that are punished,’ adds Lisa Marchiano, a Jungian analyst and co-host of popular podcast This Jungian Life. ‘It’s the latter parts that go into shadow.’
As for the contents of your own shadow, it’s likely to contain the pieces of your character you were told were unacceptable by your guardians or authority figures as a child – be that parents, teachers or society at large; expressing anger, being gregarious, or having sexual desires are all things many of us were led to believe were wrong.
Some of this process is necessary, when it comes to cultivating children who can function in society. ‘If you’re a kid and you’re hitting your sister, you’re going to be told that’s not allowed. But it can manifest in more subtle ways, too,’ adds Marchiano.
In most nuclear families, she explains, there’s a value system; one in which it’s known implicitly which behaviours are praised and derided. ‘Most of the time, our family of origin has something it really values – that might be achievement or looking a certain way. Inversely, families usually have one thing you're really not supposed to be, which could be lazy or impractical.’
She gives the example of her own family, in which it was frowned upon to be boastful. By adulthood, she found it hard to share her achievements – even in a measured way, even when doing so would benefit her career. What’s more, seeing others do it irritated her – an emotion experts point to as a key indicator of what’s in your shadow.
What is the difference between dark shadow and golden shadow?
But if shadow work is often examined through the lens of the ‘dark’ shadow – the things we feel shame about; the taboo; what we perceive to be ugly – the concept has another colour. Known as the ‘golden shadow’, it represents our shiny potential that’s currently obscured – and it’s this that makes up the lion’s share of Jung’s concept.
‘Jung once said that 90% of the shadow is pure gold,’ Marchiano says. For her, self-promotion – taking steps like starting her own podcast – was her foray into embracing her golden shadow; for Morley, it was stepping into his spiritual side – putting down the fear of being perceived as ‘woo’ and speaking openly about practices like meditation and lucid dreaming.
‘The golden shadow is hidden for the same reason as the dark shadow,’ he shares. ‘Fear of rejection, fear that if I show myself fully, people won’t love me.'
Learning to embrace the golden shadow
For Isabella Panousis, a 30-year-old living in south London, discovering – and embracing – her golden shadow has led to radical life improvements: ‘Growing up, I wanted to be an actress, but was told that was unlikely and ended up working as a location manager in the film industry – so sort of close to that light [of acting] but not in it. Over the course of my twenties, doing that sapped my creativity and burnt me out.’
She left, diving into the world of ‘therapy and tarot – fusing together Western and Eastern practices’ to help her feel better and work out what was next. ‘That’s how I got into Jungian psychology and found out about the shadow. It was easy for me to own the darker parts – but not my light.’ With the help of visualisations and meditation, she discovered her golden shadow – and with it, her desire to express herself more fully. Today, she works as a women’s transformation coach (@isabellapanousis) facilitating retreats and taking on a visible leadership role.
Curiously, Isabella found exploring the darker parts of her shadow an easier task than discovering her untapped potential; something she attributes to having her childhood aspirations met with variations on "who do you think you are?" as opposed to "have a go". Morley sees this show up a lot: ‘For a lot of people, bringing their skeletons out of the closet is easier than owning their gold – and I think that’s because we see something kind of heroic about people who are able to admit to their downfalls and transform their shame.’
He suspects this is mediated by our culture; when he teaches shadow work in the US – especially on the West Coast – people are more open to expressing their golden shadow than they are admitting to their secret shame. ‘But saying that we have this talent or potential… especially for British people, it’s just not the done thing. I think it’s almost embarrassing for us than admitting to our dark shadow.’
The TikTok-ification of shadow work
If courses like the one Morley teaches are driving more interest in shadow work, it was on social media that the trend first exploded. That the subject is thriving on the very platforms that have been accused of fuelling shame is an irony that hasn’t been lost on those studying it. ‘Our shadow gets stronger the more invested we are in our image,’ says Roger Bretherton, clinical psychologist of The Centre for Positive Sciences at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin.
‘The Jungian view is that we create what he would call a persona – the mask we present to the world. And when we present ourselves online in a very curated way, we're always aware of a part of us that is left out.’ It doesn’t surprise him that many who are active on social media are finding the idea of shadow work compelling.
‘If people are presenting their persona all the time, the shadow starts to feel quite strong. So you might start to think, “I need to pay attention to the part of me that is depressed the 23 hours of the day when I'm not putting together my post.”’
Are online shadow work methods true shadow work?
Still, he urges caution when it comes to the trend. Not because he doesn’t think shadow work can be a powerful tool – successful integration of the shadow, he believes, can help people to feel more alive and whole – but he’s wary of advocating for a DIY approach to something with the intensity and depth that shadow work can require. He gives Jung’s experience as an example.
‘Jung has what some people view as a psychotic breakdown, but which he formulates as a spiritual journey. This leads to a deep process and he comes out deeply transformed in a positive way: more courageous, whole and integrated – he’s managed to take those parts he dislikes or has held at bay, accept them and bring them into himself.’
This sort of work, Dr Bretherton believes, is not to be embarked upon lightly. Due to the heavy material that can surface, including past traumas, it also requires help from other people, like a Jungian or transpersonal [a branch of psychology which brings in spiritual elements] psychologist; without such support, this process could be destabilising. He suggests going to the British Psychological Society to find an accredited professional. As for some of the ‘shadow work techniques’ being shared online?
He questions if they’re true shadow work, as opposed to broader existential questions. That serious allegations have been levelled at Jung have led some mental health professionals to speak out against him; in 2019, a group of Jungian analysts wrote an open letter to the British Journal of Psychotherapy apologising for their silence on addressing how some of Jung’s ‘colonial and racist ideas’ have caused harm to people from African, South Asian and Indigenous communities, as well as to other communities of colour. He’s also been accused of being an antisemite.
How do I find my golden shadow?
If you do want to begin to feel your way into your golden shadow, in a way you can safely try out at home? Morley has this advice. ‘A psychology professor told me that research shows that people who are overly stimulated by positive aspects in another person tend to have those positive aspects within themselves, even if they can't see it, which comes out in personality testing.’
Does a certain public figure, friend or relative bring out adulation in you? Write down their key qualities and see if they map onto something you see in yourself. (If you’re impressed by the bravery of activists who risk arrest, perhaps organising around a social issue is something you could explore.) It’s advice that Isabella echoes. ‘Think about five people you're inspired by right now,' she says. 'What is it that they're doing and why is that inspiring to you? Ask if there's anything there that you feel really drawn to or that you would like for yourself, but you're holding back.’
Big feelings are key. ‘Some people are just genuinely irritating, but if your reaction is bigger than everyone else's, ask yourself, “what really bothers me about that person?" asks Marchiano. If you think they’re entitled, do you walk around feeling unworthy? If you do, could you feel comfortable claiming your sense of worthiness? Look out for jealousy, too.
‘Say you have a friend who has more money than you,' she adds. 'Normally, you’re not bothered, but then you find out they’re taking a trip to Nepal – and, suddenly, you’re jealous. That shows there’s something there you want, maybe to feel more adventurous.’ Acting on this by arranging a weekend camping trip or taking a solo trip would be a way of claiming your golden shadow.
Back to The Substance. While Demi Moore demonstrated it in a visceral way, deep down, none of us needed a film to know that there are pieces of ourselves that we hate and hide from.
But in a world that’s ever more image-conscious, leading to sad levels of self-flagellation, seeking out what makes you luminous, playing with your potential and embracing who you really are can feel radical: not just stepping out of the shadows, but into the spotlight.
How to meet your golden shadow
1/ Be inspired
Think about who you feel high levels of admiration for. Perhaps that’s a documentary film maker; a family member who devotes their time to helping people who are homeless or an Olympic gymnast. Now, reflect on if you possess the qualities those people have, to some extent – whether that’s creativity and vision; generosity and kindness or a gift for moving your body and a commitment to excellence. These gifts may well be in your golden shadow, waiting for you to illuminate and act on.
2/ Feel into it
All the experts WH consulted for this piece agree that people who trigger big feelings – feelings that are outsize, compared to those seen in other people around you – are key, when it comes to understanding both your dark and golden shadow. If someone winds you up horribly, thanks to their chilled-out nature, ask yourself if there’s something in that – are you overly hard on yourself, and could stand to live in a more relaxed way?
3/ Accept your green-eyed monster
A hot slash of envy never feels nice. It can, though, be instructive, the experts say. If a mate always looks on point with their style, perhaps there’s a love of expressing yourself, through clothes, that you’re not tapping into, right now. Wish you had a colleague’s iron-rod discipline, and had their commitment for a hardcore gym routine? Emulate them by diarising one extra workout a week.
Read next:
Why practicing radical optimism can improve both your mental and physical health
Golden Child Syndrome impacts you from childhood through adulthood, say psychologists
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