The Hero And The Shadow

How Power Begins When You Face the Dark

We don’t attract villains because we deserve them. We attract them because our light stirs the dark, and the soul craves transformation more than comfort.

The Quiet Magnetism of Light

Heroes don’t summon villains by choice. They summon them by simply existing.

In the classic Disney films we grew up with, good and evil often arrive already divided. Snow White is pure; the Queen is envious. Simba is innocent; Scar is cruel. Aurora dreams; Maleficent curses. On the surface, the roles are obvious.

But something deeper is happening beneath the fairy dust.

The heroine’s light doesn’t just threaten the villain; it exposes them. Where there is radiance, there is contrast. And that contrast creates tension, sometimes rage, and almost always a test.

The hero does not ask for the challenge, but their energy, longing, or awakening draws it to them. In the language of storytelling and soulwork, every bright thing casts a shadow. It’s not personal. It’s universal.

Does the Law of Attraction Explain This?

The Law of Attraction teaches that we attract what we emit. In that context, it’s tempting to say a hero “manifested” their villain by giving off some unhealed energy. But this idea, when taken literally, can quickly spiral into self-blame.

The truth is more layered. The hero doesn’t attract the villain as punishment—they attract the lesson. Their light stirs unresolved forces—within themselves and others. The villain appears not because the hero is wrong, but because the hero is ready.

So rather than thinking, “What did I do to deserve this?”

The question becomes: “What part of me is being invited to rise?”

Law of Attraction may shape the setting, but transformation comes from choice. And real power begins the moment the hero stops reacting and starts responding with awareness.

Why Villains Come for the Shining Ones

Villains are often caricatures of fear: obsessed with control, beauty, youth, or power. But if you peel back the layers, many of them are what the hero could have become under different conditions.

Scar could’ve been Mufasa if he had chosen honor over envy.

The Evil Queen could’ve been wise if she’d released her grip on youth.

Ursula might’ve been a teacher if not consumed by bitterness.

They are not random. They are mirrors—the darker path the hero must choose not to take.

This is why heroes seem to “attract” villains. Not because they’re cursed. Because they are at a point in their journey where they must define themselves. The villain becomes the test. Not to defeat evil, but to claim the light within themselves more fiercely and clearly than before.

The Shadow Is Not Always Outside

In real life, our villains are rarely wearing capes. Sometimes they arrive as relationships, inherited beliefs, or even our own self-sabotage.

The most difficult people in your story may not be enemies—they may be initiators. They push you to either collapse or rise. The question is never “Why did this happen to me?” It’s “What part of me needed to meet this moment?”

This is not about blame. It’s about reclamation.

You did not cause every wound, but you are the one who gets to decide what it turns you into. And the truth is: no one becomes a true heroine until she meets her shadow and chooses something different.

The Choice That Changes Everything

In Descendants, Mal—born of Maleficent—stands at this very crossroads. She was trained to manipulate, to dominate, to lead through fear. Her bloodline is legendary in its cruelty.

And yet, her story isn’t one of vengeance. It’s one of awareness.

When love enters her life, she begins to unravel everything she thought made her powerful. What’s left is real magic: the kind born of choice, not control. The kind that doesn’t need to win to be strong.

Mal is not redeemed by denying her past. She becomes whole by integrating it. She carries the shadow but no longer lives in it.

You Are Both, And You Are More

The hero and the shadow exist in all of us. One reacts from fear. The other responds from truth.

To live as the hero is not to pretend you’ve never known the dark. It’s to own it, honor it, and still choose the light.

So if you’re facing a moment that feels heavy, if you’re tired of reliving the same patterns or confronting people who try to shrink your glow, look again. This may not be a punishment. It may be your moment of becoming.

The villain showed up.

Now it’s your move.