When the expression is used in neutral way it signifies that which is fundamentally different, as in the notion of nature as the sacred ‘other’ or the unconscious as the alien inner ‘other’, or simply the difference between people’s personalities.
 
Jung’s experience of a dialogical inner other is at the core of The Red Book which illuminates many encounters with a host of imaginary figures. Throughout his life Jung held a tension between Personality No. 1, which represented his ordinary sense of self, and No. 2, which was a mysterious ‘other’ with an archaic character remote from the everyday world.
 
Most people think of the ‘other’ in terms of in-group/out-group dynamics based on physical, psychological, demographic and cultural variability. The ‘other’ is anyone perceived by the group as not belonging to their circle, not meeting their group norms and different in some way.
 
On the negative side, the ‘other’ may be viewed as lacking valued characteristics inherent to the group, therefore perceived as lesser or inferior, justifying discrimination and being treated as a mere object. When the ‘other’ is regarded as lacking agency, passive and without a voice it manifests in a lack of political vote, restricted freedom and limited career opportunities.
 
 ‘Othering’ implies a complex systematic process of separation, devaluation, objectification and subjugation. It refers to the ways people dehumanize those different from them making it easier to justify treating the other in an appalling manner. ‘Othering’ is used to perpetuate unequal systems of power, privilege and access to resources.
 
Humans are not born with prejudice. ‘Othering’ is socially and culturally constructed and perpetuates a racialized and politicized society, where difference is stigmatized and leads to discrimination. ‘Othering’ may be based on race, gender, social class, ethnicity, political ideology, religion and sexual orientation. ‘Othering’ involves the projection of shadow aspects, assigning inferiority and other undesirable aspects to the ‘other’. Jung urged us to consciously withdraw our projections which obstruct authentic human connection.
 
Encountering the ‘other’ is difficult. The ‘other’ challenges our word views, our understanding of the way the world works and our way of doing things. A person might consciously or unconsciously engage in ‘othering’ when they don't know how to respond to somebody very different to them. It’s much more difficult to genuinely engage with the ‘other’, spending time and effort understanding why they do what they do and who they really are. Yet when we take the time and put in the effort, we come to recognize and value diversity, becoming a society that is truly inclusive rather than exclusive.
 
Image credit: Death and the Masks'  James Ensor (1897) 
 
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Jung said that children inherit the ‘unlived lives’ of their parents. This includes the shadow aspects, both positive and negative, suppressed by the mother and/or father.  But what of often polarized sibling relationships  - the frustrating or alienating attitude of a same-sex sibling who has such an opposite way of being in the world that that it makes an authentic relationship almost impossible?  One partner in this shadow dance frequently recoils from the inevitable conflict, resulting in an estranged relationship.    
 
​Mythology is filled with examples of sister or brother pairs, one dark, the other light, who take diametrically opposed positions in society, representing the ego and shadow aspects needing reconciliation within an individual. Eve and Lilith, Psyche and Orual, Inanna and Ereshkigal are examples of sisters who hold different counterpoints to each other’s gifts - one living the upper world, the other in the underworld: one resonating with the world of matter, the other preoccupied with spirit and mind. “Forever separate, forever bound, in life these pairs are often torn apart by intense envy, jealousy, competition, and misunderstanding” (1).
 
Romulus and Remus, Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, Parzival and Feirefiz, represent the motif of the two ‘hostile brothers’ (2), where one may  ultimately murder the other.  However, if we are willing to value and integrate a trait from our hidden and denied (internal) shadow sister/brother – the thing we do not want to be - rather than trying to kill it off, we expand our sense of self and develop previously neglected skills – whether  boldness or quietness, gentleness or aggression, passivity or leadership.
 
In fairytales the stepsister represents the opposite and shadow aspects of the heroine , such as the hardworking Cinderella (who marries the Prince) and her lazy stepsisters.  In the fairytale ‘Mother Holle’ the diligent sister is rewarded with gold, while the lazy sister is covered in black pitch. People may long for illumination, but who dares to admit their own laziness when it comes to doing the hard work of exploring the Unconscious?
 
Sources:
1. Abrams, J., & In Zweig, C. (1991). Meeting the shadow: The hidden power of the dark side of human nature. Los Angeles: J.P. Tarcher, p. 63 -72
2. CW 11, paras. 132-3
3. https://www.wisecronecottage.com/2016/08/the-story-of-frau-holle-further-analysis
 
Image credit:
Cain slaying Abel by Unknown c. 1900
 
A post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica
 
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“Man has to realize that he possesses a Shadow which is the dark side of his own personality… if only for the reason that he is so often overwhelmed by it.” (1) Shadow refers to aspects of our personality relegated to the darkness of the unconscious and which Jung saw as a doorway to the Self. The journey of individuation involves integrating the Shadow - where some of our gold is buried - in order to attain wholeness (not perfection).
 
All human nature includes, in potential form, the ‘virtuous’ qualities of love, empathy, kindness, generosity, compassion, altruism, courage, patience and creativity. It also contains a capacity for ‘negative’ tendencies such as selfishness, pettiness, greed, envy, cowardice, cruelty, violence, destructiveness, and ‘immoral’ impulses (1).

The socialization process teaches us to aspire to goodness - rejecting and disowning unacceptable feelings and behaviors – which, when expressed have brought shame, rejection or punishment. These psychic elements don’t disappear, but become unconscious.  They, together with undeveloped primitive potentials that have never been conscious, form the Shadow.  An extreme example of our split nature is portrayed in the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, where the persona (conscious personality) and Shadow battle for supremacy within the mind.
 
The Shadow contains not only destructive aspects, but also life promoting characteristics and powerful capabilities which can unlock our unique potential.  In adapting to our surrounding world, our healthy assertiveness, ambition, exuberance, sexuality or creativity may have been condemned by those around us due to their own Shadow aspects of envy, fear, or ignorance. Our need for belonging may have caused us to repress talents, innate abilities, and impulses which if cultivated would have established a more grounded resilience and a sense of comfort in our own skins, leading to healthier functioning and a more effective approach to life. “The Shadow, when it is realized, is the source of renewal…” (2) “The acceptance of the Shadow involves a growth in depth into the ground of one’s own being… a new depth and rootedness and stability is born.” (1)
 
When you harbor the illusion that the less desirable aspects of human nature do not exist within you, you limit your consciousness and access to your inner depths. We hide our negative qualities, not only from others but from ourselves. Denial and repression of Shadow aspects doesn’t rid you of unwanted qualities. They fester until they erupt unexpectedly and you ‘behave badly’.  Alternatively, you project these ‘inferior’ or ‘immoral’ qualities– seeing them in others – and scapegoat them for the dark side that is a potential in us all.
 
Sources:
(1)  Erich Neumann (1949) Depth Psychology and a New Ethic
(2) Connie Zweig & Jeremiah Abrams (1991) Meeting the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature
(3) https://academyofideas.com/2015/12/carl-jung-and-the-shadow-the-hidden-power-of-our-dark-side/
Image credit: Tony Klemm – Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
​
A social media post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica
  
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The “Descent of Inanna” is one of the oldest myths of journeying to the underworld where, through death, an initiation takes place and, ultimately a rebirth.
 
Inanna was an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, beauty, sex, war, justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sumer and later in Babylon as Ishtar. Inanna/Isthar was the ‘Queen of Heaven and Earth’. Inanna’s possession of the divine powers of ‘me,’ which encompass all aspects of human civilization, made her very powerful. Through shrewd trickery she was given these by Enki, keeper of the ‘me’ and god of creation, water, wisdom, magic and mischief. Enki helped her to return from the underworld, bringing her back to life.
 
This myth of Inanna’s decent concerns the meeting of the Queen of Heaven with the Queen of the Underworld -   Inanna’s sister, the Dark Goddess Ereshkigal.  Individually the sisters symbolize the goddess’s dual aspects and jointly they represent the primordial polarity and full spectrum of the feminine. The underworld is symbolic of the unconscious. This can be seen as a story about an encounter with one’s shadow, necessary in the growth towards wholeness and consciousness.  Jung’s journey of individuation involves an integration of the conscious, upper world aspects with the unconscious, shadowy underworld aspects.  Being from the ‘Great Above’, Inanna’s has only partial awareness and “Until her ear opens to the Great Below, her understanding is necessarily limited.” Wolkstein (1983) wrote that those who return from the Great Below “carry within them the knowledge of rebirth and often return bringing to their culture a new world view.”  
​
However this is a perilous journey. Inanna was a queen in the Upper World.  Instead of being treated as such she was stripped of her royal garments and jewels, her outward symbols of power, beauty, and success. Suffering, humiliation and loss are the only powers able to affect the ego’s belief in its invincibility. Stripped of her persona and naked, Inanna is confronted by her shadow, the dark goddesses, and is turned into a corpse, ‘a piece of rotting meat’, hanging on a hook. Sounds like a familiar feeling?
 
Image credit: "Queen of the Night" Relief (left) and color reconstruction (right), 
1800-1750 B.C.E., Old Babylonian, baked straw-tempered clay, 
49 x 37 x 4.8 cm, Southern Iraq and reconstruction
© Trustees of the British Museum

A social media post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica 
 
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The horrific image of a father cutting off the hands of his daughter belongs only in fairytales, or does it? Hands symbolize our ability to grasp and to hold, to take care of ourselves (and others). To be without hands is to be disempowered, helpless and dependent on others.  How many fathers inhibit their daughters’ development, keeping them as little girls, preventing them from growing into strong, powerful woman?
 
There are an abundance of tales depicting this brutal image such as the “Handless Maiden” fairytale; gruesome stories of mutilation, of fathers (or brothers) hacking off the limbs of young girls, either in rage or in selfish bargains with the Devil (Shadow). Traditional narratives about these stories see it as an initiation rite of the wounded feminine soul. But the troubling abuse in the story echoes the constant underlying fear and threat of physical or emotional violence that saturates the lives of girls and women.
 
The Story goes like this: A struggling miller unknowingly sells his daughter to the devil in exchange for wealth, having promised the devil whatever is behind his mill, not realizing that it may be his daughter (who was there sweeping). During the transaction the father chops off his daughter’s hands, but due to her ‘healing’ tears the devil can’t claim her. The first part of the fairytale could represent a father’s unconsciousness – his ignorance of his own impact on his daughter and how his behaviour might disempower or even brutalized her.
 
The tale carries on when the daughter leaves, meets and marries a King who gives her silver hands and she gives birth to a son. However, due to the devil’s meddling, she was forced to retreat deep into the proverbial forest. Here an angel restores her hands as she encounters her emergent self without the old identity and crippling habits. She is eventually reunited with her husband.  

The fairytale becomes a blueprint for the journey of individuation – a transformation from wounded child to wholeness.  The story represents an initiation into the power of our own deep instincts aligned with the creative power of Nature, which we access if we take the journey inwards, into our deepest wilderness.
 
Other versions of the “Handless Maiden” include "The Girl Without Hands" (Germany), "The Girl With Her Hands Cut Off" (France), "Olive" (Italy), "Doña Bernarda" (Spain), "The Armless Maiden" (Russia), “The Armless Bride” (South Africa), "The Girl Without Arms" (Japan), "Rising Water, Talking Bird, and Weeping Tree" (French Louisiana) and many others. 
 
Read an in-depth exploration about this fairytale at: https://jessicadavidson.co.uk/tag/handless-maiden
Image credit: Jel Ena

A post I wrote for @jungsouthernafrica 
 
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