There is an old and wise parable that you may have heard. It goes like this:
One day an old Cherokee man sits down with his grandson to teach him about life.
“A fight is going on inside of me,” he says to the boy. “It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil – he is full of rage, jealousy, arrogance, greed, sorrow, regret, lies, laziness, and self-pity.”
He continues, “The other is good – he is filled with love, joy, peace, generosity, truth, empathy, courage, humility, and faith. This same fight is going on inside the hearts of everyone, including you.”
The grandson thinks about this for a few minutes, and then asks his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replies, “The one you feed.”
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There is Another Version to This Story …
There’s another intriguing ending to this two wolves Cherokee story. Here’s how it goes:
The grandson thinks about this for a few minutes, and then asks his grandfather, “Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replies, “They both win if you feed them right.”
“You see, if I starve one wolf, the other will become imbalanced with power. If I choose to feed only the light wolf, for example, the shadow one will become ravenous and resentful. He will hide around every corner and wait for my defenses to lower, then attack. He will be filled with hatred and jealousy and will fight the light wolf endlessly.“
“But if I feed both, in the right way, at the right time, they will live side-by-side in harmony. There will be no more inner battle. Instead, there will be inner peace. And when there’s peace, there is wisdom. The goal of life, my son, is to respect this balance of life, for when you live in balance, you can serve the Great Spirit within. When you put an end to the battle inside, you are free.“
The Meaning of the Two Wolves Story
There’s a reason why I like the second version of the two wolves story better: it makes sense. It honors what the Taoists refer to as the yin yang – or the sacred balance of life. The Buddhists also refer to this as the Middle Way (a path that embraces being both human and divine).
That brings us to the essential meaning of the two wolves story: it is a parable that is a teaching, path, and prescription in one. Not only does it teach us about the basic nature of humanity and that peace is within our grasp, but it also prescribes the wisest action and thereby gives us a path to follow.
What do we do with these two seemingly opposing forces within us? How do we handle the paradox of being both sacred and wild? What do we do with our ‘higher’ and ‘lower’ traits?
The answer is to embrace both and seek balance – to feed both wolves within us “in the right way, at the right time.”
Unlike the first version of the story, we are not going to extremes. Instead, we are walking the Middle Way – the path of harmony and therefore peace.
If you really think about it, if the ‘good’ part within us was truly loving, why would it tolerate us ignoring, rejecting, and condemning the ‘bad’ part within us? Wouldn’t it feel compassion for that part and want to help it somehow?
How to Feed Both Wolves Within You
“When you put an end to the battle inside, you are free” we read in the two wolves story.
What benefit is it to be pulled apart internally and constantly at war with oneself? How can we listen to our higher calling when we are stewing in inner turmoil? Why show favoritism to only one side of us, when the other will eventually catch up with us?
To stop this internal war, we need to honor both sides of our nature.
This philosophy is echoed in the profoundly important psychological discovery made by famous Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. He proposed that we have numerous sides of our nature and we all possess a dark side known as the Shadow Self.
The Shadow Wolf = the Shadow Self
Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.
– Carl Jung
What happens when we repress (or push out of consciousness) something that pisses us off? Eventually, it’s going to come back and bite us on the ass. We all instinctively know this. Think of it like a volcano. The more magma is withheld within the volcano, the more it rises to the surface due to the pressure. Sooner or later it’s going to explode.
The same applies to us humans: we all think, feel, and do things that are either shamed by our parents, rejected by our peers, or condemned by society. These traits get buried away within us to form what we call the Shadow Self. But just because they’re buried away and become unconscious doesn’t mean they totally disappear. In fact, they’re always there looming in the background, waiting to be acknowledged – just like the shadow wolf.
The thing is, we either forget about these buried parts or we actively suppress, reject, deny, and disown them. After all, if these parts of us got us in trouble, made us feel upset, or caused our parents to withdraw their love, why the hell would we want to face them? Isn’t the best thing to continue banishing and even hate them for the pain they create?
The Perils of Avoiding the Shadow Wolf
That’s where the two wolves story comes into the picture to teach us that avoiding our Shadows is not a smart idea. After all: “If I choose to feed only the light wolf … the shadow one will become ravenous and resentful. He will hide around every corner and wait for my defenses to lower, then attack.”
Carl Jung phrases this in another eloquent way:
The brighter the light, the darker the shadow.
In other words, the more attention you lavish on your ‘good’ side, the more your ‘bad’ side is neglected. Your Shadow Self will grow in direct proportion to your lighter brighter side. This is basic physics.
Just look at Newton’s third law that states:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
You want to only feed your light wolf? Sure, fine. But just be aware that your shadow wolf is also going to grow. There’s no way of avoiding it.
There are plenty of tragic examples of people in this world who only feed the light wolf within them and ignore their shadow wolf. Think of all the seemingly holy priests who molest children, gurus who get into sex scandals, spiritual teachers who abuse their followers, religious public figures who get caught in big lies, and those who appear to be full of light but actually have a very sadistic dark side.
This is a sad, but honest reality.
Light Work and Shadow Work
So how do we feed both the light and shadow wolf within us?
We need to pay attention to what the two wolves story advises:
to feed both in the right way, at the right time.
Does this mean we should go out and become ax-murderers because our family has angered us to feed the shadow wolf? No, of course not!
Indulging your shadow wolf is not feeding it in the right way, at the right time. Instead, it is depriving power from your light wolf, turning your shadow wolf into a glutton.
Jumping to extremes is not the answer.
Instead, we need to find a way to give equal attention (or ‘food’) to each.
Thankfully, there is a path that helps us to create this balance. It is the path of involution, of inner transformation and inner work. And we can roughly divide this path into two parts: light work and shadow work (although both often overlap).
Light Work
Light work is learning how to feed our inner light wolf, the part of us that is naturally joyful, hopeful, empathetic, kind, honest, and loving. Light work involves learning how to love yourself and connect with your True Nature (Soul). Practices may include developing intuition, learning self-care, practicing gratitude, using positive affirmations, learning the art of letting go, connecting with spirit guides, healing the body, meditating, and so on.
Shadow Work
Shadow work, on the other hand, is learning how to feed our shadow wolf. When we practice shadow work we open ourselves to face, befriend, and integrate the pain (shadows) we find within us. Practices may include exploring negative core beliefs, doing inner child work, doing shamanic soul retrieval, connecting with our inner archetypes/parts, journaling, working through personal and ancestral trauma, processing grief, doing emotional catharsis, and so on.
Practicing both light and shadow work equally will allow you to feed both wolves, thereby creating balance, harmony, peace, joy, and spiritual expansion within your life.
You can click on any one of the links in the previous few paragraphs to get started.
What Are the Origins of This Story?
So, who wrote the two wolves story anyway?
It is difficult to trace back the origins of this story, yet it is often attributed to the Cherokee (Tsalagi) people. This story is sometimes referred to as ‘Which One Do You Feed?’ (1) The Wolves Within, and Grandfather Tells (2).
Shadow Work Journal:
Go on a journey through the deepest and darkest corners of your psyche. Embrace your inner demons, uncover your hidden gifts, and reach the next level of your spiritual growth. This is deep and powerful work!
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this story truly originated amongst the Native American peoples, but instead was created as a Christian-parable-disguised-as-native-wisdom. Take the Christian evangelists Billy Graham and John R. Bisagno for example. One of them (Bisagno) included this story in his 1965 book The Power of Positive Praying. The other (Graham), narrated it in his 1978 book The Holy Spirit: Activating God’s Power in Your Life.
Some sources, such as writer Linda Caroll, claim that Graham admitted that he fabricated the whole story for a sermon. Originally the story was about the Inuit people, but because he got an outpour of negative backlash from them, he changed the story to include a Cherokee grandfather (knowing they wouldn’t be able to challenge him).
Native Wisdom or Urban Legend?
While it’s hard to definitively say what happened, the original emphasis on “good” and “evil” (which is a Christian concept) gives us a very non-Native American vibe. Also, the whole emphasis on white = good and black = evil (which I have removed from the story in this article and replaced with ‘light’ wolf and ‘shadow’ wolf instead) has been thought by some to possess an undercurrent of racism and also Christian dogma. Whether this story is the product of a sermon or a catchy urban legend is hard to say ultimately.
Nevertheless, despite the murky origins of this story, it has clearly evolved with us. In fact, these days, it’s most commonly shared as a meme on social media. Most likely, the second version of this two wolves story is a modern adaptation. But who knows? Perhaps the first version is the newest. Ultimately, however, there’s a reason why it has stuck around for so long: there’s something of deep value within it.
Tell me, what are your thoughts about the two wolves story? What does it mean to you? I’d love to hear below.
Great article! Yes I have always believed the middle path is the way. The two wolves,good way of putting it! We should give equal attention to the dark and light within us.
I like the second version. All parts of us need to be acknowledged and lovingly integrated. Thank you for the timely reminder. God bless…
Thank you Thehseen :)
It is a bit of a synchronicity that this story was the email today. I was just thinking about this story over the last 2 or 3 days. I like the second version much better. Thank you for sharing.
I love when synchronicities like that happen, thank you Jenn :)
The evolved story of the two wolves cleared up a dilemma i’ve had with the original story. I didn’t like it because it promoted separation. Separation from our wounded and hurting dark wolf sides. Consequence was i detached from my source. I know i’ve spent most of my life hiding this side of myself that guilt trip culture exorcised out of my naive self. Rising consciousness has forced me to confront it and yes, love my furry little wolfie……..a metaphor for that wild inner child that knew no limits yet didn’t have the tools to deal with the craziness of current culture norms that i was being programmed to follow. Now that i’m older and wiser due to a recent cancer diagnosis, i realize i can’t hide any longer. I no longer have time to ignore the gift of sharing my awareness out of fear of not being liked, aka, being shunned by my tribe. I am not a christian while agreeing with most attributed to JC. The golden rule always resonated with me and when i practice it i am rewarded. Do onto others as you would have them do unto you. Jews, muslims, atheists, animals, the rivers and mountains, they’re all a reflection of the beauty and sacredness in everyone. It seems so simple and so basic yet so hard to live when in fear. I am an awakening male who is learning to co-exist with an inner wild and crazy, non competitive, empathetic feminine side. She scares me and i feel grateful. And if you would direct me to the donate button, i’d like to support u.
Thank you Rand for sharing your discoveries in the importance of acknowledging and integration, as you call it, your “furry little wolfie” (haha). Sometimes it takes a crisis to really shake us up to pay attention and see what matters, I love seeing the ‘perennial wisdom’ (as Huxley put it) being rediscovered over and over again through the golden rule and much more. If you’d like to support the website, we have a donation form here. I appreciate all you wild wolves and the many lessons we can learn from each other :)
This is very beautiful and very informative. And good meat to digest. Thank you.
My grandmother was full blooded Cherokee and I found your post of the varied ending and interpretation to be quite disrespectful to the wisdom of my ancestors and to other Native American tribes who share in this wisdom.
Thank you Doni for your feedback. I’m not sure how it can be disrespectful if it may be the case that the story was never really Native American at all, at least there’s no strong sources to verify this to be the case. Even if it is genuinely Native American, I’m not sure how providing an alternative ending that seems to carry deeper wisdom is disrespectful. We’re all pursuing deeper wisdom, aren’t we?
I’ve used the story of the two wolves…and repressed the thought of the shadow side and how both the kind and the shadow need to be manifested and balanced. ‘Love your take on it. Thank you, Mateo.
Diane
Thank you Diane, I’m grateful to hear you enjoyed it :)
It is like duality, everything in the world seems bi-polar… good-bad, black-white, dark-light… but truly, maybe, there is no write or wrong, maybe everything just IS … ?
That’s exactly it Marita, the whole non-dual path in spirituality focuses on this. The understanding that all extremes really exist under the same spectrum, are degrees of the very same quality. “Good” in reality just means “less bad” and “Bad” in reality means “less good”, it’s the same thing at different ends of itself that our minds see as completely separately partly due to our use of language to ‘brake down’ the world.
This version is so much better…I used to be the type of person who only fed the white wolf, because anger, resentment, jealousy…these are all “bad” and shameful things to feel. But my life was terribly out of balance and I allowed others to treat me in ways that I didn’t like because I was so “compassionate” and allowed myself to live a life I didn’t want because I was so accepting. Now I realize the black wolf is a protector and a messenger, every “negative” emotion has a positive aspect. You get angry at unfairness and injustice, you get jealous when you are not claiming the things for yourself that you really want in life, resentment arises when you don’t speak your boundaries or express your needs. We need both sides of ourselves to be in balance and at peace. Great article as always ♥️
Thank you Carmela, I loved reading the new understanding you’ve had of the relationship between our inner two wolves, and when we allow imbalances to happen they start manifesting themselves as jealousy, anger, resentment and all other kinds of shadow qualities that disrupt our lives even more. Beautiful put, thank you for sharing.
Yes!!! Last year I dreamt of a dog with two heads, one on either end of the body (and wolf like in shape). One was angry and miserable and the other was light and joyful and kissed the angry one on the nose. I love hearing about the wolf story and seeing how it relates to my dream and the wisdom we each have inside of us. ❤️
That sounds like a synchronous dream Catherine, it’s a lovely expression of the same wisdom within this story. Thank you for sharing!
This simple story has so much magic and wisdom, I absolutely love it!!! The classical version is nice and educative, but this one just feels RIGHT.
My spirit guardians are a black panther and a white wolf, but I never realized the similitude with this story. Each of them is amazing in its own way and even if I never saw them as light and shadow, still they never showed up in the same time. The panther taught me to face and defeat my fears, and the wolf is there when I need love. I want to meet them both tonight in a dream. I don’t care why, but this prospect brought me to tears. Thank you from all my heart.
It brings me immense joy Rotar to know this story has unlocked a new meaning for you and your relationship with your guides. I’m honored to be a part of your journey :)
Great Article Again Guys
I have always loved this story and only Lately has it come back around on my Radar the newest version makes better sense as you really can’t have one without the other life is all about Balance but as I read the story I can visualise this conversation between them both sitting around the Fire
It means a lot more to me now as my Spiritual Animal is the Wolf and these Animals are absolutely Beautiful and we as a people have awful lot to learn from them good & bad
Thanks Again Guys
It’s my joy to share Martin, I’m grateful that you found this ending more balanced. :)
Wen you ask for truth and you expérience lightworkers and love and fuse within none of this exist anymore
This is so helpful. I’ve never liked the two wolves story but didn’t know how to challenge it, as I thought it made sense. But this version makes much more sense and is evolved – it’s a win-win approach and embraces inclusivity. This version gives me so much peace – thank you!
Thank you Carmen, I’m happy to hear you found deeper wisdom in the alternative ending :)
It seems to me, that in our human, dualistic personalities, we have both light and darkness as you refer to in your article which are two sides of the same unity conscious coin. In my own story, for example, I have found myself being a goody-two-shoes for many years to some close relatives who I actually did not like. I have agreed that at this point, it’s OK to admit to myself that they are irrelevant while not making them feel bad. I simply don’t have to feel obligated to invite them to my Thanksgiving dinners anymore since they never invite me to any holidays at all. I am now feeding the side of me that I neglected. I feel free now with no resentment, no expectations.
That’s indeed the deeper truth of this story, the undivided nature appears in the shape of two wolves who we perceive as ‘individuals’ without taking into account they’re part of the same eco-system, they’re really just one, and creating an imbalance will affect everything.
I’m happy for you and your newly found freedom, we do so much that doesn’t benefit us or others simply because of this ‘social dutifulness’ that both sides listen to, these mental constructs that cause so much of our suffering. It’s great to see it all comedown :)
Excellent and interesting article as usual. Thanks so much
You’re most welcome Christine!
Yes, of course I have ever heard of this story! And I do love it. Though I never bothered to look into its origin. It’s interesting to know that they might actually been made up for Christian sermon, but I also agree that it has value lots of people could hold onto. Whenever I heard of this story, I have always remembered the moment I first read the story as a more “awake” individual. By that time, I knew that I have ever heard the story of two wolves, and I must have taken the conclusion of the story at face value without more thought to it. But when I encountered the story again (I forgot where) I half-surprised myself to the question, which wolf I would feed. Most likely because I know it was my inner child answering it; to the notion that the wolf you feed would be the one that wins, I said, “But I would like to feed them both!” Afterall, no matter black or white, light or shadow, wolves are just majestic. I like them both. Now I know why I answered such back then–and still am going to answer the same :D
As always, thank you for the beautifully written article! <3
Thank you Hunter, I love how you’ve brought it back to the Inner Child and illustrated how our inner child would innocently feed both wolves, it’s almost like that innocence has a deeper access to wisdom than how complicated adult brains that create worlds of rules and problems when wisdom comes so naturally to us when we tune into it like a child. :)
I continually fall from my aspirations to become enlightened. Being highly abused as a child it always comes back and haunts me. The balance you speak of in this writing is a good realization for me. The demon is never going away and must live either as the dominate force or controlled…in balance. Thanks for the help.
Thank you Mark. I think “enlightenment” is often used as an escape for our shadows, it’s a way of imagining ourselves out of the darkness (this is how spiritual bypassing happens. It’s not possible to ‘become enlightened’ because enlightenment is the death of the “I”, the feeling of being an individual. So who is there to be enlightened?
Hi Mateo!
I have been told the first version of this story, and I must admit that I used to like it at the time. It seemed to catch my attention due to its riddlish quality and my resentment towards my “darkness”. After reading a lot about “good”, “evil”, and psychology, I must say that stories like the first version of the two wolves are, to me, disappointingly common and misleading, so thank you for sharing the other one. It saddens me how so many of them seek to divide “good” and “evil”, and then kick in some gray just so. After all that (self) study, the second version arises naturally. I suppose one could say I’m a big fan of Shadow Work, so I really must thank you for all the effort that you put into this website. This story is, to me, a reminder of profound transformation.
Howl to you, cheers!
Dear Corvus,
I think we’ve all fallen for the trap of the simplistic story, there’s an innate appeal in seeing the world broken down in an easy and understandable way where we feed good or evil and that’s the end of that. I’m happy to hear you’re a fan of shadow work, I can see an interest in it rising collectively perhaps from the ‘darker’ times we find ourselves in (I was commenting to Luna the other day what a different feeling tv shows from the 90s have compared to now.)
I’m grateful we get to share this journey with you :)
Howl!
Hello Mateo! This is really interesting upside-down twist for this pseudo-native christian-like story which has actually become boring over its constant repetition. Did you here it somewhere, or made it up? It seems to fit perfectly what you and Luna teach here.
I admit, there is something strong in the story of two wolves, but I didn’t really like it either, for the way how it simplifies the notion of morality, labeling a fixed set of traits as evil, and another one as good, then telling us we need to ‘strive for good’. This really isn’t the way how native American people (and other hunter-gatherer cultures for that matter) used to think. Around North America, there are cultures that differ in many details, but some features are almost ubiquitous. One of them is a mythical role of cultural hero, blended with another mythical role of Trickster. Be it Coyote, Raven, or Rabbit, the trickster is a benefactor of mankind, and at the same time, he often behaves mischievously or ridiculously. Still, the myths about him have something non-trivial to teach us… This is something very different from, say, Jesus. If we are to find a parallel in the European heritage, we have to go much farther, and perhaps look for the Fox in the old fables. I am convinced that these myths show a lot about how the corresponding culture perceives morality, and vice versa.
Anyway, you now showed a great example about what’s wrong with our western heritage. Hypocrisy woven deep into our roots, and even a distorted image of a ‘natural’ and ‘pristine’ morale, which we are usually not aware of.
Hey Coatl, I’m glad you enjoyed it. When I first read the story the ending felt a bit off, shortsighted in that it tried to appear wise but didn’t really see the ‘big picture’ of a second order of consequences after the initial outcome. I thought offering the alternative ending would perfectly express what we teach here on LonerWolf, and how can you go wrong with a story about two wolves for a website run by two wolves :).
I really enjoyed your elaboration on the different cultures and myths, I agree that the roles these mythological characters played seems much more complex and layered in the wisdom they offer. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the book “Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art” but I’m quite enjoying it at the moment.
I think that’s what made the story so appealing for me, not only the simplified ending of it which I felt was incomplete but the possible unusual history behind the origin of the story; created by a Caucasians culture to illustrate through the Native American culture that even other “primitive” cultures shared the same dualistic morality as they did.
Thank you for your insights :).