The shadow self is the side of us the ego subconsciously chooses to ignore in order to survive. This usually looks like ignoring working through trauma.
We confuse the Dark Feminine or the Dark Mother with the shadow side of the Mother archetype because culturally we deny that there is a shadow side to it.
I must face my shadow side if I am to evolve into what the Bodhisattva poet-warrior of loving kindness 7th-century Buddhist monk Shantideva describes below.
Our shadow is our friend. It offers us a doorway into ourselves. It can walk with us on a journey that fosters courage, wisdom, depth... and self-love.