Anima and Animus

It's an interesting question I'd like to explore further.

To be honest, through much of my life, I truly felt that my soul was deeply masculine, especially with regard to my sexuality (which at that time was of a dominant rather than submissive nature). Not that I wasn't firmly heterosexual, I always have been, but there was a sense of drives and traits at work inside, at the core (individualism/self-reliance, survival, control/conquer, procreation) that felt more masculine to me than feminine.

Interestingly, over the past 10 years (starting when I became a stay-at-home wife and mother), I no longer feel or have any real awareness of that masculine core, and wonder if it has become dormant or gone away, and what that might mean.

 

Well, in a way, the anima/animus is kind of our shadow...I've done quite a bit of research and discussion on this, and the anima/animus is that subconscious part of ourselves that is like the yin to our yang or something...In other words, if you are female, you have a male animus with opposite traits to yourself...

Which might be why relationships with shadow types (ESTP) might work out better than if they were same-sex friendships with those types.


But yeah; I don't know if I'm as intune with my animus as I should be...I've never really thought about it. I don't really see my soul as being predominantly male or female...it's just kind of an asexual guidance...

 

This is very good. Now I'm going to go lead myself back to work and independently make some more decisions ! ! !

 

I'm not going to lie, I do think this stuff is rather interesting. I'm kind of wondering if there was a way I could apply this to my understanding of masculinity vs. femininity....whether or not males and females are inherently supposed to be a "certain way" or whether it isn't more what society teaches them their roles are...

 

My soul is inherently gender neutral. My dreams will place me in whatever gender best fits the story. Sometimes I'm a guy in my dreams, sometimes I'm a woman. I used to think I was androgynous because of my gender neutrality (in terms of thought and soul). But now I know it's more a function of my INT.

 

gloomy-optimist: When you say that "the anima/animus is kind of our shadow", what do you mean? Are you talking about type theory?

 

http://www.iloveulove.com/psychology/jung/jungarchetypes.htm

 

I'm not sure what to make of the anima/animus theory, I think only because it seems so unconscious and I'm not sure what it actually means in the context of my life. I can be very practical in that sense. I'm amazed by how inventive, intuitive, insightful, and creative theorists are to actually come up with this stuff, derive theories, arrive at possibilities, etc.

On the whole, I can relate to what Zen wrote, more or less.

I feel more masculine than feminine - especially in our cultural definition of femininity. I am not dainty, nor am I a girly girl by any means. I can feel my emotions very deeply, but at the same time I just never got caught up in the emotional cycles/things that our society suggests women go through. Like feeling guilt, etc. I'm passive in situations where I lack self-confidence. But internally, I'm actually quite aggressive, extremely indepedent, I can be very critical, and sometimes I really don't care what people around me think. I used to hold back this part of myself when I was younger only because I felt it wasn't appropriate. I felt I couldn't unleash the whole of who I was because instead, I was supposed to be soft, emotional, and sensitive.

Maybe I feel more male than female though. But I'm fine with having a female body.

 

Satya's link is decent explanation of Jung's archtypes, in short. I'm not quite as versed in Jung's theories as I would like to be at the moment, but I'm hoping to take some classes therein eventually...

However, in MBTI terms and theory of types, the shadow and the animus/anima are similar in certain ways...for many people, their shadow type can also be their animus/anima.
Your shadow type is the type that has the same functions, but in opposite order; so, for an INFJ with functions Ni>Fe>Ti>Se, the shadow type is ESTP with Se>Ti>Fe>Ni. When a type gets very stressed or ill, they act more like a negative form of their shadow type.
However, a shadow type could also be an animus/anima, since they are essentially "opposite." One could become much more balanced in their functions through interacting with their shadow type, and one could see and project the qualities they do not have in themselves, but perhaps wish to have, in the shadow type.

Though this isn't always what happens; it depends a lot on the individual, naturally.

 

gloomy-optimist: I see, so, do you often experience your shadow type as your animus?

 

My best friend is ESTP, my shadow type, and a bit of my animus, I'd say We get along very well, and I think we've really grown more balanced because of our relationship. That's my personal experience.

 

Anima roughly correlates to the yang animus roughs correlates to the yin,

that is all I know about the subject.

and I have more yang then yin despite being a tomboy.