Ancients Lore Concerning Shadow People

 

Egyptians called the shadow khaibut. The Egyptians believed that the khaibut was one of seven souls that each person had.

The Roman word for shadow was umbra, also meaning ‘the shade’ or the ghost of an individual who went to a place called the Land of Shades. The land of Shades was believed to be underground or part of an Underworld and after the person died, their shadow went there. In Greece, people were known to dedicate their shadows or give them over to a God such as Zeus. This was considered to be a marvelous sacrifice but at the same time or later on, fearsome. For instance, it was believed  that if a person went to the temple or sanctuary of Zeus Lycaeus, they would lose their shadows. For those who do not know, Lycaeus was believed to be the origin of Werewolves and from this particular story, maybe some of the lore concerning werewolves became born. In medieval times, werewolves and vampires were a phenomena that said that anyone cursed this way, lacked a shadow or reflection. They lacked soul.

Also in medieval times, cornering a witch and proving her to be one, the shadow played a big part. If someone sold their soul to the devil then they had no shadow—hence shadow being linked with the soul again. In Europe, people believed that the shadow beings desired blood and without it, couldn’t be reborn. Superstitions and fear spread like the black plague concerning a person’s shadow. People refused to let their shadows fall on graves, a rumbling river or near a cliff.

In biblical times, curses were spoken on a person’s shadow. For example in Numbers 14:9 –“Their shadow is departed from them.” Saying something like that meant undeniable doom and was the lowest of low. I gather that in today’s times, it would be worse than throwing shoes.

Now kicking aside the superstitious fear concerning the shadow, according to Pagans and those before them, in ancient times…a person who did not have a shadow was NOT a demon, a vampire, a werewolf or someone who had given their soul over to any devil.

They were believed to have went into some sort of eternal bliss.

Plutarch said, “At the end of the world, the blessed ones would be happy forever. In a state neither needing food nor casting a shadow.”

So if we take into consideration what the Ancients believed concerning ‘Shadows, Shadow sightings and people’, is it safe to say that the Shadow experience you have had, is indeed a spirit or ghost or someone who has passed on to the other side? Maybe, but then again I have to personally wonder…why are so many sightings the same? Why is the image that we see of the Shadow person always a common one? Is it that all dead people wear hats, or cloaks or are seen staring at the floor? Why are the shadows able to take full form or any form—animal, creature, man, while other dead people can only become orbs or when they take actual form, look like an actual person?

Where are the Shadow women?  Not one person I have interviewed, have I heard or read any reports concerning a Shadow person looking like a woman. I have read and heard of small shadow figures being no bigger than a child but people do not connect them with actual children. it is only the size that they are compared to verses the others who can be up to seven feet or more in height. No women…unless you listen to the incredible but draining stories of sex that some seem to link with the succubus and incubus theories. With respect, those aren’t enough to me. There aren’t enough of them being told on or off the internet. So there doesn’t seem to be any pattern there for me except maybe someone is having some awesome dreams and the rest of us should be simply jealous lol.

If the Shadow beings are ‘Watchers’ then does this make them some sort of guardian? And why do some attack or is it like Carry said, it was her own fear doing this to her. If they are Watchers, then what are they watching? Surely they know more than we do. Is there a reason some see them and others do not? The ones who see them, do they have a link or connection to these beings while others may have a connection to some other paranormal type thing? I know it has nothing to do with open mindedness. I have interviewed to many people that had no knowledge and or belief in them. It just started to happen and that’s when they started looking for answers. Some incidents start happening when people are children while others happened as adults.

I think we will need to look more into the Underworld or Land of Shades, which again means there will be more parts to this subject. We also have to look into the lore of the Spider and try to help people figure out what that is that they are seeing. Like the shadow people, there are very few stories out there but even less concerning the spiders. The only answers that these people are finding is that either they are crazy, dreaming or it is being confused with some spiritual symbolism or dream analysis. These people like my friend Carry know that this is not a dream. So pretty soon we will explore that one and I am sure we will touch base with some of our previous subjects as well.