Shadow: a part of ourselves that we avoid and try to hide.
The work is Jungian in root and practical in use: name what you keep in shadow, and you recover the gift buried inside it.
Nobody chooses their shadow. It was the smartest move available at the time.
Shadow Types arise from an ordinary childhood bargain: hide the part that causes trouble, lead with the part that gets rewarded. The bargain works — that's why it lasts — until, decades later, it starts running the show.
Something wasn't okay
At some point, usually young, we figured out that expressing a certain part of ourselves was not acceptable. Maybe boldness read as demanding. Maybe tears were too much. Maybe exuberance was 'showing off'.
We made it mean something
We had no way of knowing the problem belonged to the adults around us. Instead we assumed the fault was ours, and formed a negative conclusion about ourselves — a false belief that settled in underneath everything.
We hid the part — and became its opposite
To stay safe and loved, we put the offending part of ourselves in shadow. And to make sure it never snuck out, we built our personality around a different, more acceptable quality. The loud one became quiet; the bold one became careful.
The pattern became a type
These personalities — each one organised around a rejected part of ourselves — are the Shadow Types. Naming yours is the first step; recovering the gift inside the hidden part is the work.
A mirror, not a horoscope.
On the surface, the twelve Shadow Types can be enjoyed simply as twelve personality types. But the system goes further than sorting people into categories. For each type there is a profound account of the person's psychological dynamics: the core wounding, the main coping strategies, the tendencies toward imbalance, and the self-concept holding it all in place.
Most significantly, the system is practical. For every type there are tested methods for bringing the hidden material into the light — to integrate it, and to reach greater wholeness and balance. The aim is never to fix the type or shame the shadow. The type is not the problem; the hiding is.
For working directly with the hidden parts of ourselves there is a well-established process called Shadow Work® — developed over more than three decades and practised worldwide. Our practitioner trainings grow from that lineage.
Twelve types around four energies.
Each Shadow Type belongs to one of four archetypal energies. Which energy your type sits in tells you what was hidden — and what wants to come back.
Our capacity to step back, gain perspective and, from a distance, see the bigger picture. It lets us see the risks and challenges that may lie ahead, and develop strategies for meeting them. Rooted in the archetypal energy of the Magician.
Our capacity to look for and believe in a new, inspiring future — with the willingness to lead towards it, or to get behind the leadership of another in pursuit of that vision. Rooted in the archetypal energy of the Sovereign.
Our capacity to take action, set boundaries and assert our power in the world. The drive to be persistently in action, delivering on goals and accountabilities, and earning the respect of our peers. Rooted in the archetypal energy of the Warrior.
Our capacity to share our vulnerability, to feel and express our emotions, to be playful, creative and spontaneous — fully in the flow of life. The desire to make connections and receive the reward of deeper relatedness. Rooted in the archetypal energy of the Lover.
Survey, then conversation, then practice.
Most people start with a survey — the free archetype survey, or the full Shadow Types Survey. The result names the patterns; a debrief with a certified practitioner turns the naming into insight. From there the work continues in one-to-one sessions or small-group workshops, where the hidden part is met directly, with care and clear boundaries.
Teams and organisations follow the same arc with the APRO Dynamics survey and a certified consultant — because groups keep shadows too.