Animus and anima

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Animus and Anima are terms from the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung . These are two of the most important archetypes , i.e. non-illustrative structures of the possibilities of human imagination and emotionality that are created in the collective unconscious and independent of individual experience. Anima and animus show themselves in moods and whims, enthusiasm and infatuation, in dreams and myths. The (inner or outer) images of anima and animus in the individual human can be boldly described as "personifications of a feminine nature in the unconscious of the man and of a masculine nature in the unconscious of the woman". Jung emphasized that the animus and anima, like all archetypes, “naturally develop favorable and unfavorable, light and dark, good and bad effects”.

Origin of the word: The terms are derived from Latin , essentially both mean 'soul / spirit', grammatically masculine (animus) or feminine (anima). In Latin, animus has many different meanings, depending on the context: for example soul or spirit (as opposed to the body), memory; various emotional states such as determination, courage and arrogance, self-confidence and defiance, emotional desire, desire, lust, passion and anger; Mood and attitude. Anima, on the other hand, is translated as air as an element or breath of air, wind, breath; Soul (also in the sense of a 'spirit'), spirit; ensouled being, life. The connection between 'air' and 'spirit' recognizable in the word field of anima is the same as in the Hebrew Ruach (air, breath, spirit) and in the Greek Pneuma (air, breath, spirit), or the Indian Prana or the Indian Akasha , see. also breathing soul ; in German this corresponds roughly to the word 'breath of life'.

Soul: Jung understood the areas of anima and animus as parts of the soul . Soul in Jung's sense means the inner, unconscious personality, a “delimited functional complex”, while under psyche he understood the “totality of all psychological processes, the conscious as well as the unconscious”.

Sexuality: The unconscious is usually complementary to consciousness and this “complementarity character of the soul also affects the gender character”, from which the opposite sex of anima and animus in the individual comes from. This certain equalization of the masculine by the feminine and (the other way around) in the soul also meant that "since time immemorial, man has always expressed in his myths the idea of ​​the coexistence of a masculine and a feminine in the same body", so that, as in the picture of hermaphroditic God, the opposite sex is always present in people.

Anima

General Features

According to Jung, the anima is the feminine appearance and the feminine functional area in the man's soul, at the same time his bridge to the unconscious as a whole. In his early work, Jung once equated “soul” and “anima”, namely as an antithesis to the persona (external personality). He later described the anima "as a bridge to the unconscious, as the function of the relationship to the unconscious ", with the anima and animus "conveying the content of the collective unconscious to the conscious mind". So if a man loses contact with his anima, he loses "the connection with the compensating unconscious in general ... In such a case the unconscious tends to produce emotions of a disproportionate nature, such as irritability, lack of control, arrogance, feelings of inferiority, moods, depression, outbursts of anger and like that ”.

Female archetype

“Every man has always carried the image of the woman within him, not the image of this particular woman, but of a particular woman. This image is basically an unconscious genetic material that comes from primeval times and is embedded in the living system ”. The anima is also based in the “mother old and young, Demeter and Persephoneia, and the son is husband and sleeping infant in one.” Not only as an image of the mother and the “mother-lover”, “but also of the daughter, the sister and the beloved, the heavenly goddess and the chthonic Baubo , omnipresent everywhere as an ageless image, ”Jung described the anima as the archetype of the feminine. "It appears where it appears, in dreams, visions and fantasies, personified ". The projection of the anima onto a real woman often becomes a disruptive factor in relationships because the man then expects a woman to be the embodiment of an inner image of the feminine (which is why men sometimes think of a woman as "my goddess"). The wonderfully pretty " nymphs and dryads " are also "anime projections, when it comes to male statements."

Ambivalence and stages of development

“The anima is a bipolar figure… and can therefore appear now positive, now negative; now old, now young; now a mother, now a girl; now a kind fairy, now a witch; sometimes saint, sometimes whore. ” Marie-Louise von Franz described the typical“ developmental stages ”of the anima in men : (1) The“ primitive ”, sensually attractive woman (e.g. the distant southern women in Paul Gauguin's pictures or Gretchen in Goethe's Faust. A Tragedy. ); (2) the “romanticized beauty” (e.g. the “beautiful Helena ” also in Faust); (3) the "spiritualized" feminine eros (e.g. in the Virgin and Mother of God Mary ); (4) female spirit and wisdom (e.g. shown as Mona Lisa , Pallas Athene , Sapientia or Sophia . The role of the anima as a guide inwards , step by step through the unconscious spaces, becomes particularly clear through Beatrice in the divine Comedy shown by Dante , but also appears, for example, Rider Haggard's 'She . ' In boys, the anima initially appears in the form of the mother archetype ( see above ). The separation of the anima from the mother image then enables the man to have relationships outside of the son-mother model and represents a central development step.

Anima is translated by the Church from an older tradition with soul and life . In his basic work, however, Jung means that he means something different. Prefix Ani = before, ma = mother, thus virgin. Animus = in front of the spirit, i.e. the not yet developed spirit (the review and possibly the source is missing here). In the mystical experience the anima is the virgin who frees the spirit, in the fairy tale the princess or the Cinderella who is wedded to the king or prince (union of opposites - chemical wedding ).

Other meanings in Jung

In addition to his psychological use of the term 'anima', Jung repeatedly cited the classic texts of (mostly Catholic) theology and philosophy on 'anima' as the 'soul' of man in the Christian sense. The “ anima mundi ” (world soul) is also often mentioned , with philosophical concepts of the early modern era also being combined with psychological discussions about the archetype of the anima.

animus

General Features

According to Jung, the animus is the male appearance and the male functional area in the woman's soul. "The animus is a kind of precipitate of all experiences of the female ancestors with the man - and not only that: he is also a generating, creative being, ... a generating word". Like the anima, the animus is a bridge to the unconscious. B. "personify" in dreams. Just as the anima can be a "Beatrice" (soul guide) to the man (see above), so "the animus is also a psychopompos (soul guide), a mediator between the conscious and the unconscious and a personification of the unconscious."

In the interpersonal relationship, on the other hand, these archetypes often lead to entanglements at first: "When the animus and anima meet, the animus draws the sword of its power, and the anima injects the poison of its deception and seduction", whereby even this unfavorable beginning becomes one Infatuation could result. In the extraverted projection, the animus is mostly problematic, because it “does not belong in the conscious relational function, but rather it should enable the relationship to the unconscious”, turning inward. But since animus and anima are also involved in every love relationship, it is particularly important not to identify with the mutual projections; only then will a conscious examination of these inner forces be possible.

Male archetype

Just as the anima is based on the mother's experience, so the animus is based on the father's experience: “As the anima corresponds to the maternal eros, so the animus corresponds to the fatherly logos.” “The animus is something like a collection of fathers and other authorities, the ex cathedra Make incontestable, 'reasonable' judgments. ”The animus shows an affinity for the archetype of the hero (“ heroic figure ”,“ heroic youth ”), who can offer strength and orientation for great achievements. In the clearly negative aspect he is like a “magician, a negative father figure” or a “male demon”. As a negative effect, the animus can even act like a "death demon", which keeps women away from all real relationships and pulls them away from the world of this world. Just like any archetype (psychology) , the animus can be both positive and negative. In the positive, it can be a motivating and mediating factor for intellectual activities and spiritual development paths in relation to the unconscious.

The animus appears as a male figure in the dreams of women, for example as a mysterious and fascinating lover, as a father figure, pastor, professor, prince, magician, etc. In fairy tales, the animus manifests itself, for example, as a prince, king thrushbeard or bluebeard .

Ambivalence and stages of development

Like "the anima whims , so the animus produces opinions " ... The animus opinions very often have the character of solid convictions that are not easily shaken, or of principles that are apparently inviolable "; or an" opinion devil in all possible shapes ”. In such cases it is important to analyze the“ unconscious prerequisites ”, i.e. the animus behind them. Common places that are taken over unquestioningly by father figures (e.g.“ There is nothing you can do about that ”) are Evidence of an unreflective animus.

“Of course, the animus is projected as often as the anima. Men suitable for projection are either living afterimages of God ... or misunderstood innovators ”. Different ideals of masculinity of their own are projected from women onto men. An obsession with animus can also lead women to sacrifice their lives for the most insane ideas (just as men destroy families or start wars for some emotions).

“By far not all of the contents of the anima and animus are projected. Many of them appear spontaneously in dreams, etc., and even more can be made conscious through the so-called active imagination. ”But although many contents of the same could be made conscious, the archetypes themselves could never be made aware.

Marie-Louise von Franz described the following typical “developmental stages” of the animus in women : (1) The “very physical man” (e.g. Tarzan or a sports hero); (2) the "romantic man" (e.g. a musician or poet) or the "man of action" (e.g. a war hero); (3) the "bearer of the word" (e.g. a great political speaker), (4) the "wise guide to spiritual truth" (e.g. Gandhi or various religious leaders).

Conceptual boundaries

persona

Jung described that a strong identification with the persona , the ability to adapt to the expectations of the social / societal environment, provokes a strong compensation of this one-sidedness through anima and animus: "Of course, who builds up a persona that is too good, reaps irritable moods for it" up to towards a "severe neurosis". In the sense of compensating for a one-sidedness, a “glamorous persona” is often opposed to a “badly contrasting private life” with the “most embarrassing difficulties”, which can lead to “scandals” in particularly “ideal” people if their “private life” is not good hide enough.

With the soul as the common generic term for animus and anima, both together represent an attitude that is turned towards the unconscious (“functional system that mediates between the ego and the unconscious”) and as such forms the “counterpart of the persona ”, which “between the self and the environment ”. In this respect, the animus and anima take on the role of the shadow ; with it one experiences “one's origin of the opposite sex”. The character of the soul (animus / anima) can be deduced from the character of the persona, in that everything that is lacking in the former belongs to the latter. “If the persona is intellectual, then the soul is definitely sentimental.” In addition, the animus and anima are also to be viewed as opposites. The above under chap. The definition contained in Anima refers to the “inner feminine attitude in men”, which is described in Chap. The definition contained in the animus refers to the “inner male attitude in women”.

individuality

“The individual stands, so to speak, in the middle between the conscious and the unconscious part of the collective psyche”, arises from the demarcation from the externally or internally collective and connects both.

Habitual attitudes become character traits. Jung differentiates between:

The individuality of a person cannot be inferred from the character of the persona. Individual properties are rooted in the unconscious (“a priori”). A conscious process of differentiation is required for the development of individuality. In the case of identity or complete identification with the persona, the unconscious individual characteristics are associated with the “soul”. This makes it more dependent on the unconscious. An assertion of the individual line of character development is excluded. Life runs in inescapable contrasts. The soul is then mostly projected into a real object in order to ward off internal contradictions. This makes communication between the partners difficult because of the unconscious mechanism of the process. There is a dependency on the object and thus a mostly increasing lack of freedom of the interpersonal relationship, if there is not an instinct-guided interaction with the partner. If there is no projection, the opposites of the unconscious are related to one's own person or, if necessary, to a same-sex person. This can favor homosexuality .

Soul image

Soul and image of the soul are also to be distinguished from one another. While the animus and anima assume the role of a mediator between the self and the inner world - and thus the unconscious as its deepest core, the origin of the soul image is clearly the unconscious itself. Soul images have a mediating function between the unconscious and the soul and represent, so to speak, the transmitted message can be represented in animus or anima. Archaic or archetypal contents or what Jung called the archetypes in 1912 also have their origin in the unconscious. If archetypal images are represented in the soul image , these are z. Archetypes, some of which are laid out in the collective unconscious and independent of individual experience, are reflected in religious traditions , myths or dreams , among other things . The persona takes on the role of mediating between the self and the outside world .

criticism

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Critics of analytical psychology and also within this school pointed out that Jung, with his statements about anima and animus, conveyed the role ascriptions customary in his time , for example by designating the anima as the unconscious emotional side of the man and the animus as the unconscious spirituality of the woman has been. Nowadays it is often assumed that these are biologisms .

"Male character" and "female character" are only to be understood as idealization, as is the gender of the signs of the zodiac in astrology . In real life, a man in particular can have a feminine outward attitude or a feminine outward character and, conversely, a man's woman. In this respect, the following criticism must of course also be put into perspective. A real role ascription is not necessarily associated with this idealization. On the other hand, a psychological difference between the sexes cannot be negated “out of sociological consideration”.

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Anima  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: 13: “Among the archetypes, those are empirically most clearly characterized which most frequently and intensely influence or disturb the ego. These are the shadows, anima and animus. "
  2. ↑ Aniela Jaffé: Glossary on: Memories, Dreams, Thoughts by CG Jung . Recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffé . Rascher, Zurich / Stuttgart 1962. Special edition from 1982: p. 408 f.
  3. ^ CG Jung, GW 9/2: 423.
  4. ^ CG Jung: Definitions . In: Collected Works. Walter-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1995, paperback, special edition, GW 6: cit. § 799, others 799-813.
  5. ↑ CG Jung, GW 6: §807.
  6. ↑ CG Jung, GW 11: § 47.
  7. ↑ CG Jung, GW 6: § 805.
  8. ↑ CG Jung GW 13: §62.
  9. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: §40.
  10. ↑ CG Jung GW 13: §452.
  11. ↑ CG Jung (1925): Marriage as a psychological relationship. Quoted in GW 17: § 338.
  12. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: 23.
  13. ↑ CG Jung, GW 11: 240.
  14. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: 24.
  15. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: 26.
  16. ↑ CG Jung, GW 14/1: § 68.
  17. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/1: § 356.
  18. ↑ Marie-Louise von Franz (1968, 16th ed. 2003): The individuation process. In: CG Jung, ML- von Franz, JL Henderson, J. Jacobi, A. Jaffé: Man and his symbols , ISBN 3-530-56501-6 . Pp. 158-229; here cited pp. 184-188.
  19. ↑ For example as a Christian soul in GW 11: § 771: “anima naturaliter christiana” (Tertullian); or the human souls as divine sparks in creation in medieval natural philosophers (GW 11: § 151).
  20. ↑ ZB Jung GW 9/1: §707 chthonic form as "dragon to walk"; or GW 5 (§550): “The mother is like air, which is also everywhere. But air is spirit: the mother of the world is a spirit, an anima mundi. "
  21. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 336.
  22. ↑ CG Jung, GW 8: § 935.
  23. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: § 33.
  24. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: § 30.
  25. ↑ CG Jung, GW 7: 335.
  26. ↑ CG Jung, GW 16: § 469f.
  27. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: § 29.
  28. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 232.
  29. ↑ CG Jung, GW 5: 615.
  30. ^ CG Jung, GW 5: 465.
  31. ^ CG Jung, GW 5: 543.
  32. ↑ CG Jung, GW 13: §339
  33. ↑ Marie-Louise von Franz (1968, 16th ed. 2003): The individuation process. In: CG Jung, ML- von Franz, JL Henderson, J. Jacobi, A. Jaffé: Man and his symbols , ISBN 3-530-56501-6 . Pp. 158-229; Quotation p. 189.
  34. ^ A b c Jacobi, Jolande : The psychology of CG Jung . An introduction to the complete works. With a foreword by CG Jung. Fischer Taschenbuch, Frankfurt March 1987, ISBN 3-596-26365-4 ; (a) Re. “Animus” page 117; (b) Re. “Shadows”: page 116; (c) Re. “Archetype and archetype”: page 48.
  35. ^ CG Jung, GW 5: 462.
  36. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 331.
  37. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 333.
  38. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/2: § 39.
  39. ↑ CG Jung, GW 9/1: § 40.
  40. ↑ Marie-Louise von Franz (1968, 16th ed. 2003): The individuation process. In CG Jung, ML- von Franz, JL Henderson, J. Jacobi, A. Jaffé: The man and his symbols , ISBN 3-530-56501-6 . Pp. 158-229; here cited p. 194.
  41. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 306.
  42. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 318.
  43. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 309.
  44. ↑ CG Jung GW 13: §223.
  45. ↑ Jung, GW 6 (imprecise information)
  46. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 507.
  47. ^ CG Jung, GW 7: 519.
  48. ↑ Jung, GW 6 (inaccurate source citation).
  49. ↑ Jung, Emma : A Contribution to the Problem of the Animus. Page 332