Our shadow selves are those dark and mysterious places within us that we have refused to shine the “light” on, for one reason or another.
The human shadow contains every thought, feeling, desire, and personality trait that we have rejected or suppressed.
Consider this test an initiation into the shadow work path if you haven’t entered it already. No matter what result you get, it’s always crucial to incorporate some level of shadow work into your life and spiritual awakening journey.
What is Shadow Work?
Shadow work is the practice of finding, befriending, and transmuting the wounded, suppressed, and buried parts of yourself (i.e., your shadows) so that you can regain access to your inner Light.
Our Dark Side & Carl Jung Shadow Self Quotes
Where does this idea of having a dark side come from in modern times? The concept of the shadow originated in the work of Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Here are a few of the most famous Carl Jung shadow self quotes to contemplate:
Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.
(Psychology and Religion)
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognising the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
(Aion)
People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls. One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.
(Psychology and Alchemy)
The shadow is a tight passage, a narrow door, whose painful constriction no one is spared who goes down to the deep well. But one must learn to know oneself in order to know who one is.
(The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious)
Shadow Self Test
So, how dominant is your shadow self and what effect does it have on your life?
Find out by taking our free Shadow Self Test.
What result did you get in this shadow self test?
Share your results!
Want to take another test? Try our Shadow Archetype Test.
Need more shadow work guidance? See our Shadow Work Journal, Mindful Shadow Work book, or Shadow & Light Membership for more ongoing support with working to embrace and transmute your Shadow Self.
Well… The first sentence of my result clearly stated that (“According to your answers in this test, you most likely have a MEDIUM level shadow self buried within your unconscious mind.”) I “most likely” was medium level. However tallying my results must have taken me reading the next four sentences because then it was so (“As you have a medium shadow self, it likely isn’t consuming your life yet, but you may find it creeping up on you when you least expect it.”) Here is how I see it, my writing.
The inner mirror.
Many people are told to “do the inner work” or “face their shadows,” yet are rarely shown where to look or what they are actually seeing when they do.
This exists to offer orientation.
Not to diagnose. Not to correct. Not to assign blame.
But to help you recognize the forces that quietly shape how you think, react, love, protect, withdraw, and show up in the world.
We are not made from a single cause. We are shaped by layers—some chosen, some inherited, some experienced, some endured.
The Inner Mirror explores four of those foundational layers:
Zodiac — your natural temperament and energetic wiring
DNA — inherited patterns passed down through lineage
Environment — the conditions you were shaped within
Trauma — moments that taught your body how to survive
Together, they form a mirror—not to judge you, but to help you see yourself clearly.
Clarity is not the end of healing.
It is the beginning of compassion.
Before we explore these layers, it helps to understand what people often mean when they speak of ‘shadow.’
The Space Between Light and Shadow
This is not the light. It is a step toward the switch.
Many people encounter ideas like shadow, inner work, or healing and feel an immediate sense of recognition.
That makes sense, they think.
But recognition alone doesn’t show you where to look.
Without orientation, people are often left in the dark—not in total darkness, but in partial obscurity—where something is felt, but not yet clearly seen. Where only traces appear. Where shapes exist at the edge of awareness.
This is not to say there is one way.
Only that sometimes, a little light in the room helps.
Not illumination—but a step toward the switch.
A way to begin noticing what has been shadowing you:
Not as an enemy, but as what forms when something real stands between you and the light.
A companion that followed quietly. A faint outline cast by experience. A reflection, an influence nearby. A remnant of what once helped you survive.
Shadows are not who you are.
They are what appear when understanding has not yet reached a place it could.
Zodiac — Nature & Temperament
How you are wired to respond before you think.
Zodiac is not destiny. It is disposition.
It describes the natural tendencies you carry—how you instinctively process emotion, conflict, connection, and change. These traits are not learned; they are present early, often before language.
Some people are wired toward intensity. Others toward analysis. Some toward harmony, others toward independence. None of these are flaws.
But when temperament goes unrecognized, it often becomes mislabeled:
Sensitivity becomes “too much”
Guardedness becomes “cold”
Intensity becomes “dramatic”
Detachment becomes “uncaring”
Understanding your zodiac makeup does not excuse behavior—but it explains why certain reactions feel automatic.
When people ask, “Why do I always respond this way?”
Very often, part of the answer lives here.
DNA — Inherited Patterns
What was passed down without words.
DNA carries more than eye color and bone structure.
It carries patterns—emotional, behavioral, physiological—that existed long before you were born. Responses to stress. Tendencies toward anxiety or avoidance. Ways of attaching, protecting, enduring.
Some of what you struggle with did not start with you.
This does not remove responsibility—but it removes shame.
Recognizing inherited patterns allows you to separate:
What is yours to work with
From what was never consciously chosen
You are not here to erase your lineage.
You are here to become aware of it.
Environment — Conditioning & Upbringing
What felt normal because it was familiar.
Environment shapes us through repetition.
What was modeled. What was rewarded. What was punished. What was ignored.
Even loving environments leave imprints.
Children adapt in order to belong. Over time, those adaptations can harden into identity.
Silence becomes safety
Achievement becomes worth
Humor becomes armor
Independence becomes isolation
Awareness of environment is not about blame.
It is about recognizing why certain behaviors once worked—and whether they still do.
Trauma — A Broad, Human Definition
What taught your body to stay alert.
Trauma is not limited to abuse.
It includes any experience that overwhelmed your ability to process what was happening in the moment.
Accidents. Illness. Sudden loss. Fear. Injury. Being lost. Being alone when you needed safety.
The body remembers what the mind may minimize.
Trauma shapes response, not character.
Awareness here is not about reliving pain—it is about understanding why your nervous system reacts before you choose.
How They Interact — Awareness, Not Fixing
You are not broken. You are layered.
These forces do not act alone.
Temperament influences how trauma is stored.
Environment teaches how inherited patterns are expressed.
DNA affects what feels familiar.
The goal is not to eliminate these influences.
The goal is to see them clearly—so you are no longer unconsciously driven by them.
Awareness creates choice.
Choice creates agency.
And agency creates the possibility of change—without self-rejection.
Nothing is easy, but it takes presence, clarity and want. Do you want to remain a prisoner of your mind or do you want to become the warden with the key?
I’ve done the Shadow work test but I don’t know how to get the results!!!
It will ask you if you want to subscribe to the newsletter. After you agree or decline the result will come up.
Large shadow self, I guess sometimes I do let it take control of me and make me someone I’m not typically but darkness is kinda comforting to me
Thanks for your vulnerability 💜