Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was interested in philosophy, sociology and even astrology. He was the first to propose the concepts of extroverted and introverted personalities. He also developed the theory of the collective unconscious, introducing archetypes and symbols as universal keys for unlocking the mysteries of human personality. The most important archetypes Jung introduced are explained here.
Four major ones are The Shadow, The Self, The Anima or Animus and The Persona. Jung says that there are numerous other archetypes, and many of them overlap and can be easily linked to the main ones. There are, for example, animal archetypes such as the faithful dog, and this one represents unquestionable loyalty.
The Self unifies human and divine, consciousness and unconsciousness. It exists in your moment of birth, and it is the real, unspoiled harmony. After that, people start to split. They are the whole in this perfect moment, and then they begin to split into parts.
The Shadow is the part of every person as well. Everyone has this dark side, even if it is perfectly hidden. It represents everything mysterious and dark, chaotic, the wildness in someone's character. These dark elements are mostly denied, and can take over if this person is in particularly dangerous situation, for example. Otherwise, some of these elements mostly appear in dreams or hallucinations only.
The Animus and The Anima represent masculine and feminine or the soul, the true self. It is the way to be in contact with collective unconscious. All people have both feminine and masculine sides. They also have feminine and masculine figures in their lives, that determine them as persons. Jung says women are more complex when it comes to that.
The perfect unity between The Anima and The Animus is called Syzygy. This term is used to denote the planets alignment as well. Everyone wants to be whole again. That's why people are trying to find their perfect soul-mate, just because they want to achieve the perfect wholeness. Only very few people are lucky enough to actually succeed in this quest.
The Persona represents the way people want to be seen by other people. Derived from a Latin word that means mask, this archetype acts as a shield from negative influences. Your mask is usually there to protect you. This is actually the way you want other people to see you in different situations, and that's why people wear different masks in different situations.
Family archetypes are well known today and easy to recognize. Father, for example, represents control, authority, security and power, while Mother stands for soothing, nurturing and comforting, even protecting elements. Child is related to birth, innocence, in short, beginnings and all other things that can be related to this term.
You will find numerous story archetypes used in literature, for example. The Wise Old Man is there to offer his wisdom. Life experience and knowledge. The Maiden is in trouble, fragile, innocent and pure, while The Hero comes to rescue, brave and strong. The Earth Mother is really the nature, and this particular archetype is also recognizable.
Four major ones are The Shadow, The Self, The Anima or Animus and The Persona. Jung says that there are numerous other archetypes, and many of them overlap and can be easily linked to the main ones. There are, for example, animal archetypes such as the faithful dog, and this one represents unquestionable loyalty.
The Self unifies human and divine, consciousness and unconsciousness. It exists in your moment of birth, and it is the real, unspoiled harmony. After that, people start to split. They are the whole in this perfect moment, and then they begin to split into parts.
The Shadow is the part of every person as well. Everyone has this dark side, even if it is perfectly hidden. It represents everything mysterious and dark, chaotic, the wildness in someone's character. These dark elements are mostly denied, and can take over if this person is in particularly dangerous situation, for example. Otherwise, some of these elements mostly appear in dreams or hallucinations only.
The Animus and The Anima represent masculine and feminine or the soul, the true self. It is the way to be in contact with collective unconscious. All people have both feminine and masculine sides. They also have feminine and masculine figures in their lives, that determine them as persons. Jung says women are more complex when it comes to that.
The perfect unity between The Anima and The Animus is called Syzygy. This term is used to denote the planets alignment as well. Everyone wants to be whole again. That's why people are trying to find their perfect soul-mate, just because they want to achieve the perfect wholeness. Only very few people are lucky enough to actually succeed in this quest.
The Persona represents the way people want to be seen by other people. Derived from a Latin word that means mask, this archetype acts as a shield from negative influences. Your mask is usually there to protect you. This is actually the way you want other people to see you in different situations, and that's why people wear different masks in different situations.
Family archetypes are well known today and easy to recognize. Father, for example, represents control, authority, security and power, while Mother stands for soothing, nurturing and comforting, even protecting elements. Child is related to birth, innocence, in short, beginnings and all other things that can be related to this term.
You will find numerous story archetypes used in literature, for example. The Wise Old Man is there to offer his wisdom. Life experience and knowledge. The Maiden is in trouble, fragile, innocent and pure, while The Hero comes to rescue, brave and strong. The Earth Mother is really the nature, and this particular archetype is also recognizable.
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