C.G. Jung, on The Shadow as a Moral Problem

From Aion

Whereas the contents of the personal unconscious are acquired during the individual’s lifetime, the contents of the collective unconscious are invariably archetypes that were present from the beginning.

Their relation to the instincts has been discussed elsewhere.

The archetypes most clearly characterized from the empirical point of view are those which have the most frequent and the most disturbing influence on the ego.

The most accessible of these, and the easiest to experience, is the shadow. for its nature can in large measure be inferred from the contents of the personal unconscious…

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 recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real.

Aion

Paragraph 14 – 16