Swedenborg says the sun’s light represents “divine truth” — the exquisite ideas that express and give form to the love that is the Lord‘s essence. “Shade,” then, represents a spiritual state in which that light is blocked (or partially blocked). Swedenborg often uses the word “obscurity” for this – a state in which ideas about the Lord and life can only be understood in a vague and general way, with little in the way of color or detail.
It’s also interesting to note that if you’re in the sunlight, a shaded area appears very dark, and it may be impossible to see objects in that shade. Swedenborg says that’s what the light of hell is like – a dim light to those who live there, but complete darkness when viewed by those in the light of heaven.
In the opposite sense, shade can also represent protection from the glare of falsity, a mental screen of sorts that keeps a flood of hateful ideas from overwhelming us.
Passages from Swedenborg
AC 2367 (Elliott), AC 3384 (Elliott), AC 4531 (Elliott), AC 6015 (Elliott), AC 8764 (Elliott),; AR 110 (Rogers); AE 298[5] (Tansley, AE 481[3] (Tansley); AE 684[32] (Tansley), AE 1100[5] (Tansley)