Shadow and Fairy Tale
presented by
Valerie McIlroy, L.C.S.W.
January 29, 1999
Valerie McIlroy uses the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” to explore the shadow in our daily lives. In this tale the little mermaid sacrifices her mermaid nature, her family, her natural habitat and her fishtail for legs and the unrequited romantic love of a prince.
Jung said that the shadow is “The thing a person has no wish to be.” In this opening lecture there will be an opportunity to discover and explore the role of the shadow in one’s own life and the ways we hide it from ourselves through denial and projection onto others. We find the shadow in our dreams, and it is not always negative. It has positive sides and considerable benefits are to be gained from acknowledging its presence and integrating it in our psyche.
The shadow is an integral part of the work of Jungian analysis and this is illustrated with clinical vignettes.
Valerie McIlroy, L.C.S.W.is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in NewportBeach, member of the Board of the OrangeCounty C.G.Jung Club and Program Co-Chair. She is a member of the faculty of the C.G.Jung Institute of LosAngeles.