Fate derives its authority through our familiarity with the iron-clad necessities within the natural forces that operate around us. Destiny, however, allows us to extricate ourselves somewhat from such stern compulsions. As such, not everything is utterly predetermined and inevitable, especially in the inner realms of the psyche.  

Because the human psyche is a bearer of both inexorable forces of nature and the human capacity for freedom and creativity, “any disaster you can survive is an improvement.” Contingent, of course, upon our interior response to the disaster. The how of the response can be a matter of choice. We have some agency here, even though sometimes the disaster indwells us so deeply that we undergo what has often been called “a dark night of the soul.” With this, the soul often finds itself inhabiting a gloomy soul space. This dark night may take the form of a harsh depression, which hangs heavily for weeks, months, or even years before it disperses.

 When we haunt this dolor we can find ourselves living a double life—a coping life—where we perform and present for external eyes while our interior life seems to live in a zone of quiet despair, as if we’re enfolded within those shadow people who dwell in the mythical Cimmerian world. They live in perpetual mist and darkness and just a thin distance from the realm of the dead. In this land there is little or no light: no light from the sun, no light from the moon. Even the otherwise faithful stars are clouded. 

We might blame ourselves for our entrapment. Perhaps our eyes are not trying hard enough to see beyond the mists? Self-doubt, self-criticism, and self-hatred may also ensue. But how to escape? Possibly we’re being held prisoner in this gloomy place by our own out-worn beliefs, entrenched patterns of behavior, and conditioned reflexes—all of which require shedding. But such shedding will be painful because we’re so tethered to these “old” scaffoldings. They give us security and refuge from the untested and beckoning “new.” Indeed, they have become part of our custodian identity, yet we’re invited to accept this soul darkness, even merge with it, and then be open to its guidance.

It’s sometimes said that the night’s darkness is densest just before dawn. However, given enough patience and courage, a light emerges, although faintly at first. And with this light there is the dawning of insight—perhaps even of soul-disclosing flashes of revelation. There is an awakening and a renewed engagement with a more authentic self and with the wider world. 

Using another metaphor for this process, we could say that a seed has awakened and arisen out of the endarkening, yet nurturing, earth. The awakening of every seed, then its stem, leaf, and eventual flower, takes its own form and duration. Its process can be fostered, but never hurried.

When we’re overwhelmed by the emergence of old, unwieldy, and unresolved forces in our psyche, our truest nature and purest light has been eclipsed. Yet despite the trauma, the experience also presents an opportunity and a gift. We have to see into our self-created shadow realms and learn from the luminous dark, which shines penetratingly into our psyche’s deep interior. In a sense, Individuation (or Initiation) is about learning to see in—and into—the dark and to recognize our shadow self more clearly. Then we may follow a resolve for the shadow’s gradual transformation. 

We can’t cast the shadow self out. We’re married to it. There’ll be no divorce. It’s an integral part of us. But we can shed light on it. Love it, even. The shadow can greatly assist us along our journey of self-discovery (though admittedly it can be a rough journey!). But the travel is empowered because light and shadow dwell together, and as such, give perspective along the way.

One final thought: While our own individual effort is fundamentally required for the journey, we’re to remind ourselves that we’re not distinct, unrelated persons. We live in social, and sometimes also inter-subjective, networks with other people. And we can reach out for support from fellow travelers, which is why these MythBlasts are so helpful for the Joseph Campbell Foundation community.

Kristina Dryža is recognized as one of the world’s top female futurists and is also an archetypal consultant and author. She has always been fascinated by patterns for feels we are patterned beings in a patterned universe. Her work focuses on archetypal and mythic patterns and the patterning of nature's rhythms and their influence on creativity, innovation and leadership. Find out more at her website or watch her TEDx talk on "Archetypes and Mythology. Why They Matter Even More So Today."