Anima and Animus | INFJ Forum

Anima and Animus

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mayflow

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May 26, 2008
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Inspired by a question from Soulful on Satya's topic about "Would you be attracted to yourself?" I wanted to make a topic about the Anima ... from www.dictionary.com ...

an⋅i⋅ma 

—noun 1. soul; life.
2. (in the psychology of C. G. Jung) a. the inner personality that is turned toward the unconscious of the individual (contrasted with persona ).
b. the feminine principle, esp. as present in men (contrasted with animus ).



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Origin:
1920—25; < L: breath, vital force, soul, spirit
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006
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Now a question I have is - do you consider your soul or innerself as opposite gender of your persona? It's easy and natural for me to, but I've often wondered if I were a female, would I not still see my soul as female?

I sometimes see this innerself or soul as being reflected to to me in females I like and feel attracted towards, and also in myths and stories about Goddesses and Devas and Dakinis and Sleeping Beauties and such. If any of you have read any of my Reality Girl series, she is also a representation of this.
 
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...
 
I'll add to this article more later, but I find this pretty interesting...It combines Jung's theory of Anima/ANimus with his Individuation theory.

ANIMA/ANIMUS: the archetype of contrasexuality
Erich Neumann, The Origins and History of Consciousness (Princeton University Press, 1954) xxii n. 7:

It is in this sense that we use the terms "masculine" and "feminine" throughout the book, not as personal sex-linked characteristics, but as symbolic expressions. . . . The symbolism of "masculine" and "feminine" is archetypal and therefore transpersonal; in the various cultures concerned, it is erroneously projected upon persons as though they carried its qualities. In reality every individual is a psychological hybrid. . . . . t is one of the complications of individual psychology that in all cultures the integrity of the personality is violated when it is identified with either the masculine or the feminine side of the symbolic principle of opposites.

The Anima is the personification of all feminine psychological tendencies within a man, the archetypal feminine symbolism within a man's unconscious. The Animus is the personification of all masculine psychological tendencies within a woman, the archetypal masculine symbolism within a woman's unconscious.

The anima and animus draw their power especially from the collective unconscious, but they are also conditioned by a person's individual experiences. They therefore have three components:

an innate, unconscious "predisposition for imaging contrasexually" (Wehr 64)–the feminine/masculine archetypes
images and symbols of femininity/masculinity culturally transmitted through mythology, art, fairy tales, religions, etc. (themselves heavily influenced by the archetypes)
personal experiences of the opposite sex
Symbolism in Dreams and Narratives: a peer figure of the opposite sex to the ego-bearer to whom he/she has a strong and compelling tie or bond (often a lover, brother/sister, soul-mate). Jung said that the animus is more likely to be personified by multiple male figures, while the anima is frequently a single female.

Anima Projection: The unindividuated man identifies with those personal qualities that are symbolically masculine; he develops these potentialities and to some extent integrates their unconcious influences into his conscious personality. However, he does not recognize qualities that are symbolically feminine as part of his own personality but rather projects them onto women. He will project his anima–those particular characteristics and potentialities that are significant components of his personal unconscious and therefore carry a special emotional charge–onto a few women for whom he will then feel a strong and compelling emotion (usually positive but occasionally negative). Infatuation (an instant, powerful attraction for a woman about whom he knows little) is one of the signs of anima projection, as is a compulsive possessiveness.
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Animus Projection: The unindividuated woman identifies with those personal qualities that are symbolically feminine; she develops these potentialities and to some extent integrates their unconcious influences into her conscious personality. However, she does not recognize qualities that are symbolically masculine as part of her own personality but rather projects them onto men. She will project her animus–those particular characteristics and potentialities that are significant components of her personal unconscious and therefore carry a special emotional charge–onto a few men for whom she will then feel a strong and compelling emotion (usually positive but occasionally negative). Infatuation (an instant, powerful attraction for a man about whom she knows little) is one of the signs of animus projection, as is a compulsive possessiveness.

animusproj.gif
 
Anima Possession: Since the unindividuated man has not consciously developed any of his symbolically feminine qualities (e.g. emotion, need for relatedness), his personality is apt to be taken over or "possessed" by these qualities at times, so that his emotional behavior and relationships may be acted out in childish and immature ways that are apparent to others but not to him.

animaposs.gif


Animus Possession: Since the unindividuated woman has not consciously developed any of her symbolically masculine qualities (e.g. logic, leadership, need for independence), her personality is apt to be taken over or "possessed" by these qualities at times, so that she appears opinionated, argumentative, or domineering to others, though she will not think of herself that way. In the words of Jung, "[J]ust as the anima of a man consists of inferior relatedness, full of affect, so the animus of woman consists of inferior judgments, or better, opinions." Alchemical Studies: The Secret of the Golden Flower (CW 13, par.60).

animusposs.gif
 
This is very good. Now I'm going to go lead myself back to work and independently make some more decisions ! ! ! :m131:
 
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...
 
Now a question I have is - do you consider your soul or innerself as opposite gender of your persona?
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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?
 
ZenCat said:
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.
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mayflow said:
Animus Possession: Since the unindividuated woman has not consciously developed any of her symbolically masculine qualities (e.g. logic, leadership, need for independence), her personality is apt to be taken over or "possessed" by these qualities at times, so that she appears opinionated, argumentative, or domineering to others, though she will not think of herself that way.
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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.
 
Individuation said:
gloomy-optimist: When you say that "the anima/animus is kind of our shadow", what do you mean? Are you talking about type theory?
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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.
 
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.
 
I think we each individually seek wholeness and that includes integrating the anima/animus and our personal and tanspersonal subconscious minds. It's a journey towards wholeness in my view. I really think there is just so much more to us than we usually fully experience or realize... Here is the last of the article .. after this we can explore the SELF < the whole self, not just the conscious and ego self. In some Buddhism this is known as BIF SELF - small self. Some seem to think we are meant to transcend our egos, but I think it is more important to integrate it into the whole. To give it spaciousness and Freedom, but not let us bind us into smallness.

Anima/Animus Integration: We can avoid anima/animus possession and withdraw projections by integrating the contrasexual archetype into consciousness, realizing we are cutting off our human potential by recognizing and developing only those symbolic qualities that match the sex of our bodies. In the words of Demaris Wehr, the anima leads a man "into unexplored depths of feeling, relationship, and sensitivity. . . . the integrated animus leads a woman into the world of the spirit, erudition, and the power of the word" (66-67). Integration of the Anima/Animus is often termed Androgyny. It is symbolized in narratives through achievement of a special bond (frequently sexual union/marriage) between the ego-bearer and the anima/animus figure.
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assimilation.gif
 
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.
 
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