the man was not recognized as a member of the family. It
emphasizes the notion  that a complex,  even the Shadow,
is not inherently good  or  evil, but can  be  possessed by
evil readily if not recognized as belonging to the person.
     Suddenly  this apparent weakling  is  the possessor of,
because  possessed  by, power well  beyond  his ordinary
physical   means.  And   this   suggests   immediately  the
presence of  archetypal forces, forces which imbue their
possessor with  undreamed-of power. This Shadow  is no
longer just the benign  repository of Ego-waste, but  now
becomes an active threat to the life of the Ego.
     In an uncanny  way  this situation is  very  much like  a
nuclear   reactor.  As  long   as  the  bulk   of   radioactive
material     is    below     some    mass,    the    radioactive
disintegration   proceeds  at   a   pace  which  allows   the
energy to be  used or dissipated  by its environment  in  a
controlled way. This  is because  there is  space  between
the  nuclei, and  not  every particle shot  off,  or  radiated,
hits  another  nucleus, causing  it  to disintegrate  in  turn.
Above    that   critical    mass,    however,   each    nuclear
disintegration     causes     enough    subsequent    nuclear
reactions  that  the  entire chain reaction gets out of hand
and an atomic explosion results.
     Every   piece  of  material  thrust  into  the  Shadow  is
"radioactive"  in   the  sense  that  any  part of  the Shadow
can trigger another  part. Being conscious of the  Shadow
aspects of one's  personality seems to dissipate  the mass
of energy of the Shadow in some controlled way. But the
build-up of Shadow material begins when a  person  feels
compelled   to   hide,   from   himself   or   others,   some
feelings which are pressing to be expressed.  Some small
thing may thus  be  put out  of the conscious mind and the
Shadow is fed.  Once  this  is  done  the  person  is forced
through  other  shady  behavior  to  construct  a  more and
more  complex  Shadow area to conceal the original item.
This  Shadow  activity   is  triggered   by  any  small,  even
unintentional,     attempt     to    uncover    the    originally
suppressed item.
    In such a situation there is always the element of lying,
although it  may  not  involve  making intentionally  false
statements  to  others.  The very act  of  not accepting  as

193