Ep294: Shadow Work for the Soul - Mary Shutan
Mary Shutan is an author, occultist, and spiritual teacher.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Mary discusses her new book “Shadow Work for the Soul”, shares her lifelong fascination with the psychological power of dark fairytales, and explains the function of social masks and personae.
Mary remarks on a notable increase in spiritual emergencies, a rise in nihilism and the “dark feminine”, and offers advice for those facing spiritual crisis.
Mary then takes a deep dive into shadow work, challenges common misconceptions, and offers surprising reflections on both new age masculine-feminine trends and “The Work” of Byron Katie.
Mary also reveals how to perceive the shadow in popular culture, warns about the danger of spiritual bypass, and explains how to identify and disarm the ego defences to go beyond one’s limitations.
00:00 - Intro
01:03 - An notable increase in spiritual emergencies
03:51 - Nihilism and other trends on the increase
05:30 - Collective shadows and the dark feminine
07:25 - How to work with nihilism
08:27 - Mary’s advice for those in spiritual crisis
09:39 - The psychological power of myths and fairy tales
11:26 - What can myths and fairy tales teach us?
12:19 - Archetypes and mythic figures
13:18 - Princess and the Pea and Sisyphus
15:21 - Seeing oneself reflected in myths and fairy tales
16:50 - Trauma isolates
18:00 - What is the shadow?
19:43 - What is shadow work?
20:08 - How concepts change when they become mainstream
21:36 - The evolution of acupuncture
23:51 - Limitations of the pop-culture version of shadow work
26:58 - Comments on Byron Katie and “The Work”
31:27 - The healthy ego and ego defences
33:33 - How to identify the ego’s defence mechanisms
34:33 - Intellectualisation vs embodiment
35:32 - Superiority/inferiority loop
37:09 - The world as a mirror
40:02 - Pop culture and politics
41:29 - Dangers of spiritual bypass
45:50 - Masks, personae, and perfectionism
47:36 - The importance of mentors
48:47 - Self enquiry traps and the dangers of labels
50:47 - Identifying with spiritual attainments
53:30 - When did Mary call off the search?
55:35 - Letting go of the high-achiever identity
58:03 - Anima, animus, and the masculine-feminine continuum
59:34 - Masculine and feminine dynamics in the occult
01:02:13 - Identifying collective shadows through pop culture figures
01:04:12- Today’s cultural focus on narcissism
01:05:41 - Noting your personal reactions to celebrity
01:06:02 - The cultural phenomenon of Taylor Swift
01:08:36 - Shadows of light
01:10:02 - Dark feminine rising
01:10:56 - Why “dark feminine?”
01:12:48 - How do we emerge from times of change?
01:14:48 - Mary’s view of the future
Previous episode with Mary Shutan:
To find out more about Mary Shutan, visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James