by guest author Eileen Grimes
This is Part IV in a series that begins with Part I.
Each of the astrological archetypes has its darker, more pathological side, or “shadow.” If the shadow can be acknowledged and accepted, the individual will live with immense self-awareness in a positive way. Steven Forrest, the astrologer, has said that the shadow has to do with “repressed emotional material.” Absolutely true: when something is in our shadow, it's always emotionally repressed taboo stuff, because it's resisted and kept away from the rest of the persona.
There is usually accompanying pain with integrating shadow material; but usually its the fear of exposure that drives the material underground. The shadow can be our weakest points, but in the end, can be the most powerful departure point into a new, more powerful existence. Integrating the shadow can really help lead us to full emotional maturity.
If, and/or, when the shadow is dealt with, and the individual is freed from emotional issues that were keeping them stuck - drawn into the light - then there is no longer the black hole sucking in everything around it. The term “enlightened” certainly applies here; we bring the dark into the light, and we can complete those issues, once and for all.
All of us have our shadow side to deal with. No matter how well adjusted or well-brought up we’ve been, we still have areas of fear and trepidation about life. The stronger the pathology, the more wounded the person is. The issues of “woundology” have been explored by many other authors. A “psychic wound” can completely take over the persona. Personality disorders could certainly be a result of some psychic chasm in the soul.
We addressed earlier in this series, one of the fundamental life scripts that has wreaked havoc throughout his life -- the core belief of non-existence, and the resulting behavior that supports that script. Adding the clinical aspect to this, it is commonly believed that O.J. Simpson suffers from NPD, or narcissistic personality disorder. Noted astrologer and psychologist Dr.Glenn Perry, claims, in his work, that NPD (narcisstic personality disorder) is Leo’s domain. O.J.’s prominent Leo energy, and the other factors mentioned certainly could add up to this personality disorder. The shadow created by the life script becomes the pathological disorder.
Lets look at this further. This “life script” of non-existence will drive the persona to over-compensate for the “lack of,” until the entire drive of the persona is about being acknowledged. Just about anything could be superimposed over non-existence; anything in order to survive and to get the acknowledgement that one does, indeed, exist -- at all costs.
We saw an O.J. Simpson strive to be superior in sports, and also he loved the trappings that went along with that way of life. He was pushed front and center into the limelight, and once there, O.J. never wanted to leave. It would be natural that he would want to be noticed as much as possible; and since it seems almost certain that was an overwhelming, driving need, narcissism would be just around the corner. Think of it this way -- when the world beats a path to your door claiming you’re the best in the world at what you do, and underneath you don’t even feel you exist, might it be possible that you’d end up believing your own legend? The sense of entitlement that comes with that...no matter what is done to you, you're perfectly within your rights to take any action you want, regardless of the consequences.
O.J. Simpson took this ends-justifies-the-means road most of his life, especially when the murders occurred. In fact, because of the ways he’s chosen to live his life, and the troubles hes gotten himself into in these most recent past years, he graduated to NPD’s bigger brother: malignant narcissism, which is far more virulent and potentially more dangerous.
Quoting here from an article on Wikipedia.com on malignant narcissism, here is information that further coroborates O.J. Simpson’s behavior and actions:
The malignant narcissist is inherently weak because he/she derives their ego functioning ability by constantly feeding off the emotions of other people (to build up their sense of self-worth to higher levels). This is why malignant narcissism is likened to a drug addiction. The drug addict (like the malignant narcissist) needs higher dosages of a drug to get the same after-effect. The narcissist (on the other-hand) needs to build up their sense of self-worth at increasingly higher levels to maintain the same level of ego-functioning. The malignant narcissist will go to extreme levels to build up their esteem. The malignant narcissist is an emotional vampire.
