Where the Shadows Lie

<p><em>Where the Shadows Lie</em> takes the reader on a journey through Tolkien’s Middle-earth following the hobbits their companions and the characters they encounter on their quest. Along the way Skogemann reveals the deep symbolic layers that are the source of joy and enchantment that many find in reading <em>The Lord of the Rings</em>. Aragorn with the aid of Gandalf Legoli and Gimli ascends to the throne and becomes the center of a great unified kingdom—a symbol of the collective Self. The four hobbits representing individual ego-consciousness are transformed by the quest and acquire the psychological tools they need to renew the Shire—the small domain enfolded in the great.</p><p>Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious and the archetypes provide a key to understanding the forces of fantasy that are so powerful in Tolkien’s masterpiece—and thereby a key to understanding ourselves and the events of the outside world in our modern times.</p>