According to Carl Gustav Jung, a person is much larger than the part of themselves that they consciously know. Beneath everyday consciousness, according to him, lies the unconscious: a deeper layer in which feelings, memories, desires, and repressed parts of the personality are hidden.

An important concept in his work is the shadow. The shadow consists of traits or emotions that a person would rather not see in themselves. These can be anger, fear, or jealousy, but also strength, spontaneity, or vulnerability. People often suppress these parts because they do not fit with how they want to see themselves or how they think others want to see them.

Jung believed that the shadow often reveals itself through dreams, symbols, and projections onto other people. For example, someone may be strongly annoyed by the behavior of another, while that behavior actually reflects something of a hidden part of themselves.

In addition, Jung worked extensively with symbolism. He viewed symbols as bridges between the conscious and the unconscious. According to him, images such as water, mountains, fire, shadows, or ancient sages do not appear by chance. They refer to deeper psychological processes that recur worldwide in stories, religions, and myths.

According to Jung, inner growth does not arise from perfect control, but from awareness. Whoever learns to recognize and tolerate their shadow becomes more fully human and lives less from automatic patterns.