This line that singer and lyricist Bruce Dickinson humbly hid at the end of Iron Maiden's song "Out Of The Shadows" has been haunting me ever since.

It reminds me that we probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of our shadows. What gives me shivers is also the reverse: When our shadows dissipate, do we do so too?

Is the soul the vessel for the shadow after all?

What do you think? (This is surely not a thing for the rational brain half to discuss. ;-))

asked 01 Jun '10, 21:12

herzmeister's gravatar image

herzmeister
1.9k3719


I believe quite the opposite would be true if looked at from a logical perspective. What is it that cast no shadows but light? A light bulb cast no shadows because it is a source of what is needed to create shadows, it is the objects in the light that cast shadows.

So I'll use Moses as an example: when the sun shone on him he most likely did not cast a shadow since it is written he himself shined with light from the glory of God. Now if he was as bright or brighter than the light shining on him from the sun light; he would indeed cast no shadow.

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answered 02 Jun '10, 05:09

Wade%20Casaldi's gravatar image

Wade Casaldi
36.9k429107

Interesting answer. However, wouldn't that mean that Moses had no soul?? :D

(02 Jun '10, 10:15) Pat W

No that is why I said quite the opposite. When your whole being including your soul merge so much with the Holy spirit you more than only have a soul. You are the divine son or daughter and express that it is so.

(02 Jun '10, 18:59) Wade Casaldi

I like the question. Its been believed in ancient antiquity that when we cast no shadow is when we as mortal beings are the strongest to defeat the forces of evil. The only time that this is actually true is when its noon. I like Iron Maidon too but I personally believe its just a matter of making the lyrics sound good. The shadow is believed to possess the dark part of ourselves which represents jealously , ignorance , anger, hate etc. It also means we should accept this shadow as part of ourselves in order for we to understand our place and grow. May the force be with you.

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answered 01 Jun '10, 21:36

Hank%201's gravatar image

Hank 1
25938

I think we do need the shadows for growth and expansion and it is only when we try to repress or deny the existence of these shadows that they become a problem and so act out in a dysfunctional manner and create the illusion of separateness.I think this is what he meant in the lyrics when we cast no or deny the shadow - we are living in illusion separate from the soul.

"When our shadows dissipate, do we do so too?" - our true self doesn't dissipate because it can't, it is eternal. However, I think our self conceptualized image or attachment to our ego dissipates.

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answered 02 Jun '10, 12:22

Michaela's gravatar image

Michaela
35.0k22477

Just as a clock which has stopped ticking is dead on in accuracy twice a day, we cast no shadow at both noon and midnight.

~the twice-blessed man

“There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son.” –AL III, 74

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answered 04 Sep '11, 15:46

achadasar's gravatar image

achadasar
212

edited 04 Sep '11, 15:55

there is no shadow in a being of light! when the light pass through a glass or reflect in a mirroir do you see a shadow? many people see there evil when they judge other people the evil they see is in them self! that is why jesus said do not judge or you will be judge! it is said also you will be judged with the mesure you judged other! so keep your though speaking and action pure!

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answered 22 Apr '11, 06:26

white%20tiger's gravatar image

white tiger
21.9k115117

To begin, we must understand that the shadow is proof that there is light. No shadow, no light. You may say that this is not so because a being of light has no shadow, or something similar, but you would be wrong--here in this present age. We are creatures of flesh and blood. We give off thermal forms of light that we cannot see with the human eye, but the eye wasn't designed to perceive such things. It was said that the only time we have no shadow is at noon, but this is not true either--since we have no shadow only in the complete absence of light. The shadow is at its most compact and condensed form at noon, but it is still present.

Next, we must understand that light is light is light. Its quality and characteristics differ or change for five reasons only. First, the source that generates the light may be of greater or lesser purity, strength, heat, etc. Second, the media through which the light filters may alter its hue, warmth, intensity, etc. Third, the surface from which it is reflected also impacts the light we perceive. Fourth, the vessel which perceives the light may be limited by nature, defect, and so on. Fifth, the source of light's proximity or distance from that which is perceiving or reflecting it. The sun is the virtual source of all light, life, and energy on earth. The moon reflects this same light at night into the world. If we look, we may also see Venus glowing bright and silvery because of its proximity to the sun and the characteristics of its surface. We may also see mars glowing dimmer and reddish because of its distance and, again, surface characteristics. But what is my point?

God is the source of all light. He called the children of Abraham to the source of the light because He intended to preserve the light for the children of God, whether they are born a Jew or a Gentile. The light has passed through this world, and the Son of God and Man is that light. We are flesh and cast shadows, but when our faces are turned toward the source of the light they reflect into this world His love just as surely as the heavenly bodies reflect the light of the sun. The closer we are to that light, the more like Him we appear and the more intense our love shines. When we turn away, our faces darken, we look more like ourselves, and the world thinks us hypocrites.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. When He returns we will put off these fleshy bodies and put on the imperishable. Then, in that age, we too will be beings of light even as He is. So then again it is truly better to give than to receive, and the Sons and Daughters of God will cast shadows. It is for this reason that the Jews held to a lunar calendar and the Christians hold to a solar calendar. It is also for this reason that the Chinese figures for "friend" are composed of an icon of the moon and his companion and a right and left hand each pointing to the other.

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answered 28 Apr '11, 01:49

Infinite%20Seed's gravatar image

Infinite Seed
8112

edited 28 Apr '11, 03:38

To me this question becomes clearer when i turn and see it from a different angle...the question then becomes "do souls cast shadows in the energy world?" Now things become a lot easier to compare...we cast shadows because there is a light source...transposing to the energy world we now must ask "are there well defined energy sources?" reply-only when energy is moving, that is, whenever humans think and project energy...my conclusion then must be yes, souls cast shadows. lol

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answered 04 Sep '11, 17:33

blubird%20two's gravatar image

blubird two
(suspended)

every living being has a soul,
should it be so ethereal that the human eye sees no shadow in daylight
has little to do with the being's soul,
just the reality of the limited sensual perceptions of humankind today

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answered 04 Sep '11, 23:49

fred's gravatar image

fred
19.7k176

What an interesting philosophical question! The answers already posted here have all been good, and have touched on everything I would also want to say. But if you look deeply into the question, what is it really asking? Ah, there is the point! Are there people who are soulless- who, when in the light, would cast no shadow because they actually have little existence? I would have to say that maybe there are such people, on a philosophical level. Do we acknowledge that there are such "marginal" people in our world? Yes, there are! The homeless; the severely mentally ill; the 600 pound man who depends on others because he cannot leave his bed; the physically handicapped people who never leave their beds; the elderly, caged in nursing homes- warehouses for the dying; and so on. They have no shadows because we never "see" these people...they live in a world without normal light, without normal people; they are unseen by society. So we never "see their shadows"- and thus, can deny that they exist. I would also mention drug addicts here- their lives are so wrapped up in "getting off" and staying that way, that they actually cease to be real humans at all. A particularly horrible hell that takes place totally away from regular society, totally a dark existence- and perhaps to whom the song really is referring... perhaps.

Just some thoughts from Jaianniah...

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answered 05 Sep '11, 00:26

Jaianniah's gravatar image

Jaianniah
37.8k13124610

Thanks, interesting how everybody understands the phrase differently.

(10 Sep '11, 20:39) herzmeister
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