I have just recently been on a Dark Tantra practitioners course. From a personal perspective it was a deep and transformative week that took me a lot further down a road I had been exploring for a few years. It also put me face to face with hidden traumas and taboos that had been hidden within my psyche, forcing me to deal with them and bring them into the light.
This is shadow work, diving into your subconscious and bringing the dark into the light.

Jung termed the phrase and used it a lot in his work, if we don’t face our shadow sides which are the parts of us that we don’t like then we can never truly express ourselves. Shadows are not always the ‘worst’ parts of us, they can actually be some of the best bits of us but have been buried, if you have been constantly told that something is wrong since you were a child, and/or an adult, then its no surprise that you will put that part of you in the shadows.

Never is this more applicable to the repression of sexuality, sensuality and eroticism in todays western societies. The massive underground success of the porn and sex industries in todays internet age is no surprise, and although there has never had so much access to all types of porn, erotica, sexual gurus etc you’d think this would be liberating; I would argue it has been the very opposite. If you don’t understand your dark side, and welcome it for what it is a part of you, repressed thoughts, sexual fantasies and drives will come out in a negative and maybe dangerous way.

For example lots of women have abduction fantasies, as do a lot of men and generally for opposing reasons. In the real world these types of acts are obviously not socially acceptable for many good reasons, but this doesn’t mean that people don’t fantasise about them in a sexual context. Suppress these thoughts and feelings without facing them and they can cause feelings of guilt and shame in your personal life and not even be recognised. Sit down and take a quiet few minutes to think about some of the fantasies you have, or have had. How do you react to them and deal with them? Do they infringe on your life without you being aware of it, do they stop you asking for things with your partner/s?

Dark Tantra can bring you into contact with these shadows and help you bring them into the light, freeing you from the guilt and shame that may hinder you in your everyday life. Facing shadows in a safe and controlled space can be very liberating and empowering as I know from personal experience.