It's no secret that one of the great psychoanalysts of the 20th century was Carl Jung. Archetypes derived from astrological and religious symbols, ancient myths and tales, as well as finding the relationship between these images and the psyche, had a significant impact on the development of psychoanalysis and revealed a new aspect of understanding the personality.
The archetype is translated from Greek as a prototype. From the point of view of psychoanalysis, this concept means the initial mental structure, which is part of the collective unconscious. This structure defines human experience and usually manifests itself in dreams. The types of these structures can be found in the symbolism of myths and fairy tales.
In this article we will consider Jung archetypes: there are 7 of them in total, however, theoretically, there can be many more. Before starting the description, it is worth noting that C. Jung considered the collective unconscious as the “habitat” of archetypes, which is understood as the deepest layer in the structure of personality, which stores memories and feelings that are common to all people.
Jung's Archetypes: Anima, Animus, and Persona
- Anima and Animus. Here, as suggested by C. Jung, the androgynous nature of people is expressed. Anima is part of the female in the man. Of course, this is an unconscious part of his personality. Animus - on the contrary, is the male part in the unconscious woman. Carl Jung explained this by the fact that hormones of both sexes are present in a woman and a man, albeit in different quantities. It is interesting that the psychoanalyst considered the harmonious development of both sides of the personality to be correct: a woman should show both feminine and masculine qualities, like a man, if they do not want to have one-sided growth.
- A person. From Latin, this word is translated as “mask”, which sheds a lot of light on the peculiarity of this archetype. A person is our roles, manifestations of ourselves in relationships with other people. People with this pronounced archetype tend to conceal their true nature from others, trying on various roles when they are in society, which as a result leads to superficiality and inability to experience real and strong emotions. In moderation, the use of a “mask” helps people interact.
Jung's Archetypes: Shadow
This archetype is associated with suppressed desires and intentions, as well as with animal instincts, sexual and aggressive impulses. Carl Jung believed that if you can transform this energy into the right direction, then a person will have the opportunity to freely express his creative potential.
Jung's Archetypes: The Self and the Sage
- The self. Carl Jung attributed this archetype to the most important of all identified by him. This is the central figure in the personality of a person, with the help of which all other archetypes are organized. In Jung's theory, the development of integrity, and before that, finding the self is the main goal of human life.
- Sage. Here, Carl Jung singled out the part of the personality that seeks to know. This archetype is represented in the image of a sage, an old man, a prophet, who can shed light on truth on exciting issues. Usually, this archetype is “turned on” in the unconscious when a person is faced with a choice, and the more such moments of life are given to him to experience, the more developed this part of the unconscious is, and the easier it is for the consciousness to communicate with it through sleep or other borderline states.
Jung's Archetypes: God
Here, the psychoanalyst meant the highest stage of mental activity, when a person is able to see and understand the regular processes of his inner world and the outer that surrounds him. That is why the archetype is preceded by the “Sage”, which pushes a person to understand the key moments of life, but when you turn on the archetype “God”, a holistic relationship is realized, based on certain laws between its internal content and the external environment.