I have always felt that all animals have a negative or challenge side to their energies and recently learned that others have also felt this and labeled it our Shadow Animals. The concept of our Shadows comes from Jungian Philosophy of our shadow selves; usually the parts of ourselves, both negative and positive, that we try to hide from others, and often, from ourselves. 

A lot of the time these are facets of who we are that are deemed bad or of no value by society or our culture. Because of the diversity of cultures the things we try to hide can differ widely around the world. Common examples in the western world are anger (justified as well as “out of control”), public displays of emotions (especially crying), or even things like a love of singing, raucous  laughter or showing empathy to others. Basically things that make others feel uncomfortable. Making us feel obligated to make ourselves smaller to accommodate their discomfort.

As a practice for myself to delve deeper into this I asked a friend what animal evoked the strongest sense of fear. After a bit of thought they admitted that Sharks were their number one fear inducing animal. They tried to explain it away because they believed it was just because of the movie Jaws that was popular in our younger years. While the grossly misrepresented nature of the Great White Shark in the movie may play a part in the fear; I, and a good many others in the midwest far removed from any ocean beach, also watched that movie and haven’t carried a chronic fear of sharks for over 30 years!

Now as I study the energies of shark, I also have a bit of knowledge of my friends’ history that helps me uncover some deeper meanings for them.

The energies associated with Sharks include, to name but a few:

• Authority
• Incredible sense of smell
• Aggressive
• Predatory
• Ruthless
• Quickly seizes opportunities 
• Sees stagnation as a weakness
  • They have no Swim Bladder to keep them afloat so they have be in constant motion or they sink
• They have no bones, their “skeletal” structure is all flexible cartilage

So how does any of this relate to my friend? 

For starters they are always on the move “working.” Always looking for, but not finding, opportunities. They often give up their authority, or not stand up for themself (can come across as “spineless”) to others because they don’t want to be seen as “the bad guy.” And then sees the other as ruthless, aggressive and/or predatory.

I love ya kid, but I would like to see you stand your ground and own your authority more often. Setting and enforcing boundaries is healthy and necessary for our mental, as well as our physical, health. You keep telling me there is enough for everybody, but when are you going to include yourself in the category of EVERYBODY??? Just because you can smell blood, doesn’t mean it’s YOUR blood!