According to Jung's theory, all processes in a living environment are controlled by archetypes or primary forms. All archetypes grow from the realm of the unconscious - the world of instincts. Anima and Animus are two central archetypal figures in the psyche of every person, symbolizing the opposite principle.
According to Jung, archetypes lie in the sphere of the collective unconscious and represent a kind of library of images that is inherited. These images or patterns of behavior incline to a stereotyped reaction to the situation developed by generations.
Archetypes of the Great Father and the Great Mother.
Archetypes come from instincts, therefore in their action - the desire for survival. For example, the archetype of the enemy in the wild helps the young to recognize danger in the form of an approaching predator and to adopt the appropriate form of behavior - to hide and hide.
It happens that we meet on the way people who, for inexplicable reasons, do not like us. We feel an inner discomfort around them and a desire to stay away from them. It is likely that the person we meet fits into our image of the enemy, and our feelings are the action of the archetype.
Embracing the archetype
Excessive identification of consciousness with the archetypal image speaks of "being embraced by the archetype." Sometimes, it looks like an obsession, when it seems that some foreign essence has taken over the human psyche. In fact, it seems to be true. During the embrace of the archetype, a person loses conscious control over himself, and power passes into the sphere of the unconscious, instinctive.
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At the same time, the archetypes themselves are objective, and the true causes of phenomena are hidden in archetypal forms. This mechanism explains why some dreams can be cautionary or prophetic. For example, a beloved mother in the form of a witch or a father with the head and hooves of a goat may well be interpreted as a warning about the illusory perception. In this case, the subconscious, which has more complete information about reality, sends signs to the consciousness that protect it from the formation of false beliefs.
Power over archetypes
Understanding the essence of archetypes gives power over them. In the ability to recognize and decipher archetypal images, there is a connection between two previously separated spheres of the human soul: consciousness and subconsciousness. This connection in Jung's theory is reflected in the archetype of wholeness or "Self".
Understanding the language of the subconscious gives access to the true causes of phenomena and life situations, encoded in archetypes. This is an opportunity for a conscious choice, which is a manifestation of individuality. From Jung's perspective, individuality is the antipode of archetypalism. By showing our individuality in a conscious choice, we move away from patterns of behavior, showing our creative essence. Individuation is the path of soul evolution. The path from being embraced by archetypes to achieving integrity, when consciousness and unconsciousness merge into a single core of personality.
Mandala - the symbol of the archetype of the Self.
Jung's main archetypes
In the structure of personality Jung identified 3 spheres: consciousness, personal unconscious, collective unconscious.
The personal unconscious is what was previously realized, but moved to the level of the unconscious. The collective unconscious is not acquired in the course of life, but is inherited, like an informational package of images and forms. At the same time, personality development is based on the interaction of 5 basic archetypal figures, with the help of which the connection between consciousness and the unconscious is carried out.
Jung's main archetypes:
- Ego;
- Anima and Animus;
- Shadow;
- A person;
- Self.
The dark aspect of the Anima or the Shadow archetype as Maleficent.
Ego or "I"
The ego is the center of the sphere of consciousness in the human psyche. Here is the point of observation of the conscious "I" for the inner and outer world. From here begins the path of personality development, which Jung saw in the so-called "individualization".
Individualization is the fusion of consciousness and unconsciousness in one single structure - the archetypal image of the Self.
Eurydice in the symbolic image of the Anima - the soul of Orpheus, for which he goes to the earthly kingdom of Hades.
Anima and Animus
Anima and Animus in analytical psychology denote the image of the opposite sex in human genetic memory. Anima is the feminine in the man. The animus is masculine in feminine. Jung calls this the image of the soul. The image of the soul carries the experience of all mankind, the experience of the race and the personal experience of a person in the sphere of relationships.
Anima and Animus can take on a variety of archetypal forms in the human psyche, highlighting the positive or negative aspects of the personality. For example, the feminine principle can be manifested in the form of a gentle maiden or an evil sorceress. Male - may appear before consciousness in the form of a noble prince or a jealous tyrant.
The soul image influences the choice of a partner and the relationship with the other sex in general. Also, the manifestation of gender qualities in the behavior of a person mostly depends on this image.
The Archetype of Anima in the Image of Venus - goddess of beauty.
At the same time, although archetypes are dual, their dualism is in an equilibrium balance. The power of manifestation of one aspect gives power for the manifestation of the opposite. External, indicative manifestations of strength indicate internal weakness. For example, a strong woman who performs male tasks in life carries in her consciousness the image of a weak Animus, according to which she subconsciously searches for a life partner for herself. Therefore, women who are too strong choose men who are too weak. In general, we always choose those whose qualities reflect our inner being.
Shadow
The shadow is formed from attitudes and inclinations that have been inherited by us, but which we ourselves do not accept. Anything that seems to us impartial and unaesthetic; everything that we used to hide from society behind masks of decency forms our Shadow.
What has been rejected at the level of consciousness goes into the sphere of the unconscious. And from there, through the archetype of the Shadow, it continues its impact on the psyche. The more personal qualities are supplanted by consciousness, the larger the Shadow becomes, and the more often and more strongly it interferes in conscious life.
The Shadow archetype as Mephistopheles (left) from Goethe's novel Faust
However, although the Shadow represents the dark aspect of the personality, its goals are quite constructive. By its intervention in conscious life, it directs towards the satisfaction of suppressed desires and the release of restrained emotions. Ultimately, the intervention of the shadow should lead a person to realize and accept his shadow side. Otherwise, what Jung called "the inundation of consciousness with archetypal unconscious content" occurs. Or, more simply, psychosis.
The shadow reminds of itself both through the symbolism of the internal world and in the real figures of the external world. She can haunt in dreams and visions, in the personification of a demon or a monster. Also, the Shadow can be projected onto the people around us. Sometimes, we meet in the surrounding images that provoke our Shadow to action. And then, driven by anger and resentment, we succumb to the unconscious influence of the Shadow and begin to behave unseemly. At the same time, the negative emotions that we experience in relation to other people are the result of the meeting of “I” with our own suppressed shadow side.
Symbolically, a meeting with the Shadow is indicated by looking at one's own reflection in a mirror or in a pond.
A person
A persona is a mediator between “I” and the outside world, a set of masks behind which the Shadow is hidden. In fact, this archetype is the luminous aspect of personality. On the other hand, this is just an image that a person chooses to please, hiding his dark side.
Social models of behavior are dictated to a person by Persona - face of personality.
Self
The path to the attainment of the Self lies through the realization and acceptance of the unconscious shadow side, which was previously repressed by consciousness, and was hidden behind the mask of the Person. Acceptance of some aspect of one's Shadow makes the Persona mask unnecessary, and the mask collapses. Such destruction can be painful, but in a positive outcome they entail positive changes in the structure of the core of the personality.
Self-formation is the result of a process of "individualization" that Jung contrasted with archetypalism. Thus, reconciling the unconscious with consciousness, a person can move away from archetypalism, showing individuality in a conscious choice.
A symbolic representation of the dual nature of everything manifested.
Selfhood is also an awareness of one's essence and one's place in the world. Symbolically, the achievement of the self is reflected in myths as the reunification of the hero with his soul in the image of the opposite sex. Orpheus and Eurydice is a myth about the way of reuniting a man with his feminine principle - Anima. The Egyptian myth of Osiris and Isis is a story about the salvation and resurrection by a woman of her inner man, the Animus, cut into pieces.
In the process of cognition, not once will we discover that sometime in the past we “lost” our soul. And then, tearing off the next mask and accepting the next aspect of the Shadow, we will regain our soul.
The symbolic image of the act of salvation of the soul - Animas.
The moment of complete and final reunification with the soul is the moment of awareness of the entire experience of the lifestream. Perfection has no boundaries and the final moment is probably unattainable. However, this should not stop aspirations. Everyone naturally strives for harmony of external and internal. This is manifested in the desire to be happy. But happiness is acquired only by those who understand that it is not for specific material purposes, but in relation to one's own “I” to oneself and the world.
Elena Zakharchenko