The Shadow Temple is rather difficult in the sense that you have to be very economical with your magic power. It would be wise to bring a bottle or two of the green potion into this level. You will be using your magic power up mainly in the use of the Lens of Truth. You have to use this item constantly. I suggest that you use it and quickly turn around 360 degrees to get a sense of everything that is around you - then turn it off and move on until you pass your original line of sight, in which case you will have to use the Lens of Truth again. Your first goal in this level is to find the Hover Boots, for you cannot advance very far without them.
Explore the parts of the level that you can, always with the Lens of Truth in use (watch your magic meter). You will soon face an enemy very much like the one in the Bottom of the Well. You will again be in a courtyard with many arms growing out of the ground. Defeat this enemy in the same fashion that you defeated the first one (consult the Bottom of the Well summary for more information on this). I believe that you will receive the Hover Boots when you defeat it. Now go into the room with the huge black pit that is blocking your way. First open up the door on the other side of the pit by pushing the large statute. You will have to use the Lens of Truth to find out which skull is actually there and then push the statue so that it faces the true skull. Then put on the Hover Boots and run across the pit. If you perform this action correctly, you will begin to fall into the pit but you should be close enough to the doorway to grab it and pull yourself up. There are many "booby traps" in this level. It is filled with dropping guillotines and moving platforms (some of which you will need the Lens of Truth to actually see. There is one rather problematic area in this level. You will enter a room where a huge kind of chandelier with massive spikes on the bottom raises itself and descends. There is no way that you can run underneath it, for there is another one just behind it. To solve this mystery, don the Lens of Truth. You will see a large block off to your right. You can pull out this block and push it down the path with the falling chandeliers. As you push it, the first chandelier will be halted by the block, but the second will not be. Position the block so that half of it impedes the first chandelier and that half of it impedes the second chandelier. Then collect all of the items in this room. There is also the matter of the giant spinning skulls. To destroy these, you must throw a bomb from above into the hole in the top of the skull. If the bomb is well placed, it will destroy the skull. There are also some rooms where it seems that you are being injured (and you lose a lot of hearts) but you cannot see what is causing this injury. Put on the Lens of Truth and you may see a huge spinning blade, or a bunch of large hands. ALWAYS put on the Lens of Truth when exploring new areas - you never know if the floor that appears solid in front of you is actually there. Another area that causemuch difficulty is a room where two wooden-spiked walls close in on you. When the walls are rather close, use the magic of Din's Fire. The fire should ignite the wooden walls and burn away all of the danger. This is the room that houses the Boss' Key. There is also the matter of the floating ship.
To get it to move, play Zelda's Lullaby on the Triforce Crest on the deck of the ship. It will start to move, and you will have to fight Stalfos Warriors as it "floats." By now you should be a pro at defeating these enemies swiftly and with extreme prejudice. When the ship reaches its destination, Navi will warn you to abandon ship - do so and jump onto the land. This is where one of the final difficulties is. It seems that you cannot cross the huge chasm - the Hover Boots will not get you to the other side before they run out of "hover." To get across, try playing the Scarecrow Song. Pierre will appear and you will be able to use it as a post for your longshot. Shoot across and enter the doorway.
The last challenge before the boss is to cross this room. You will have to wear the Lens of Truth and very carefully make your way across. When you do, you had better have some magic left, because you will need it to take on the boss. The boss is an invisible monster with two giant hands which it uses to attack you. Equip your bow and arrows and fire an arrow into each of the hands quickly (before they can attack you). When the hands are temporarily downed, Z-target the "head" and fire an arrow at it (you must be wearing the Lens of Truth to see it). If the head falls to the ground, attack it with your sword. Then repeat this procedure until the enemy is defeated. Collect the heart container and exit via the glowing light. It will be revealed that Impa was the sage of the Shadow Temple. She will entrust you with the Shadow Medallion. Your next stop should be the Temple of Time and then to Ganondorf's Castle. These are covered in the next section...
Proceed to Gannondorf's Castle