Anima and Animus
Hannah Green
Happy New Moon
The concept of the anima and the animus is one of Jung‘s most fascinating and controversial topics. As Jung was creating his map of the psyche/soul he had many profound personal experiences. Jung's theories are grounded in his personal experience and in active imagination. Active imagination which is the process of self reflection through art making, guided meditation, journaling, personal reflection etc.
Through active imagination Jung connected with a part of his psych he identified as the eternal feminine. This eternal feminine actually initially "showed up" as one of his female clients in his mind eye.
Jung struggled his whole life feeling he had to be taken seriously by the scientists of the time and trying to survive in a world of materialism and sexism. In contacting this inner other he was able to delve deeply into the question of whether his model of psychology was science or art. The masculine part of himself answered science and his feminine inner counterpart answered decidedly art. Through dialogue with these parts of himself he was able to reconcile these opposites and come to a deep understanding that of course his psychology and in my opinion all good psychology is both.
Through a rich process of dialoguing with this inner feminine essence Jung was able to include more of himself in his psychological model and in his work with clients.
From his personal experience he posited that we each have an inner other. The concept of anima and animus was seen as highly gendered due to the cultural lens of the time. If we release our own limited gendered beliefs we can see the essence of his teaching as potent and applicable today.
If we we are to experience our self as whole beings we must acknowledge the polarities that exist within us. We have within us both masculine and feminine, scientist and artist, conscious and unconscious. Jung suggested that this inner other actually serves as our guide to an experience of the Self/Wholeness.
2 of Cups Morgan Greer Deck
Murray Stein in his wonderful book Jung’s Map Of The Soul defines the two terms:
ANIMA - the archetypal images eternal feminine in a man’s unconscious that forms a link between ego consciousness and the collective unconsciousness and potentially open the way to the Self.
ANIMUS - the archetypal images of the eternal masculine in a woman’s unconscious the forms a link between ego consciousness and the collective unconscious and potentially open the way to the Self.
Jung described the inner anima and animus as quite distinct beings. These distinct entities within the psyche he called archetypes.
Murray Stein defines archetype as an innate potential pattern of imagination thoughts or behaviors that can be found among human beings in all times and places.
It’s a controversial idea but basically Jung suggested that through the archetypes, culture reflects psyche and not the other way around. I like this as a psychotherapist because it means that if we want things to change we have to do the inner work. It suggests that inner work is also revolutionary. If we do the work within our own psyche to reconcile the opposites and accept and experience our Self as whole beings perhaps we then create a culture that invites others to do this and is more holistic and less fragmented; therefor more inclusive and life affirming to more people.
The anima and animus shed light on the concept of the soulmate which is popular in our culture. Especially during the half first half of life we often long for love and search for a complementary mate to complete us. This reflects our deep inner need to know our own Self fully and engage with our own inner anima or animus.
The Lovers Card Rider Waite:
We are so often attracted to partners that are well developed where we are less developed. This process of projecting our deep an intuitive longing to know ourselves out onto another is ancient. I think life is a rich and messy process of projecting aspects of our self out and then taking those projections back and metabolizing this process over and over again. I think that romantic love facilitates great inner awakening and wholeness when it can go beyond the infatuation stage. Mature love can be the springboard to experiencing what many Jungians call “alchemical marriage.” Alchemical marriage has to do with the marriage within: the union of opposites and the reconciliation of paradox within us that creates an experience of wholeness and of the Self. This is what Jung called individuation and is generally accepted as the “goal” of psychotherapy.
If we continually project this need to know ourselves and experience our own wholeness out we will continually look for a partner to complete us. At the far end of the spectrum this looks like sex or love addiction. Just like the alcoholic seeks to quench his spiritual thirst with spirits, the love addict seeks to experience wholeness by connecting with the beloved ~ becomes intensely focused on the other and misses the opportunity to connect with the self.
Active imagination, art making, poetry, the tarot and psychotherapy ~ these are ways we can enter into a dialogue with our inner anima or animus. For anyone interested in Jung’s personal experiences and how they informed his work you can read his autobiography Memories Dreams and Reflections or most wonderfully you can look at his Red Book which is a beautiful journey in image through Jung’s inner world.
From the Red Book
Better yet begin to connect with your own inner anima or animus through active imagination. Robert Johnson’s book Inner Work is a wonderful guide for safely and effectively exploring active imagination.
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"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious." Carl Jung