Sunday, August 24, 2014

Four Major Archetypes Jung Introduced

By Rhea Frazier


Well-known Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung was Freud's student, but he developed his own theories. This versatile scientist was interested in some other areas as well, including sociology, astrology and philosophy. He introduced the concepts of extroverted and introverted personalities, among other things. He was mainly interested in unlocking human personalities, and here are four major archetypes Jung introduced.

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 represents the coherent whole that unifies consciousness and unconsciousness. It stands for self and god at the same time. This stage exists in the moment of birth, for example, when people still didn't start to change and split into different parts. This really is the real harmony. Similar elements can be found in Nirvana principles.

The Shadow is all about human hidden nature, dark and chaotic. Every person have this dark side, there are no exceptions. People usually try to hide their dark side, and sometimes they aren't aware of all aspect of this nature. This side of personality may appear in hallucinations, in dreams or in some special situations. Sometimes this dark side can prevail.

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 Syzygy represents the divine couple, or the perfect combination and unity between the Anima and The Animus. These elements should be perfectly balanced. The perfect combination stands for complete wholeness. This can be related to a search for a soul-mate. The word is also used to denote the alignment of planets.

The Persona represents not who you really are, but how you are presenting yourself to other people. This term actually means the mask. People are not really wearing masks, but they do need to protect themselves from negative influences. It is quite similar to acting, and these roles have their purpose. They choose their masks depending on particular 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.

Widely recognizable story archetypes can be found in ancient history as well. For example, the Wise Old Man stands for knowledge, wisdom and life experience. The Hero stands for strength, unselfishness, bravery, he is a rescuer, while The Maiden pictures innocence, youth, beauty and purity, but also weakness. Mother Earth is really the Nature, of course




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