Join us for a panel discussion of Jungian experts on Jung’s concepts of anima and animus.
1) What are Anima and Animus?
2) What can integration of anima/animus do for you?
3) How do you do it?
Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche. Jung’s theory states that the anima and animus are the two primary anthropomorphic archetypes of the unconscious mind. In Jung’s theory, the anima makes up the totality of the unconscious feminine psychological qualities that a man possesses and the animus the masculine ones possessed by a woman.
Jung believed a male’s sensitivity is often lesser or repressed, and therefore considered the anima one of the most significant autonomous complexes. Jung believed the anima and animus manifest themselves by appearing in dreams and influence a person’s attitudes and interactions with the opposite sex. Jung said that “the encounter with the shadow is the ‘apprentice-piece’ in the individual’s development … that with the anima is the ‘masterpiece'”. Jung viewed the anima process as being one of the sources of creative ability.