Question

Discuss the following archetypes: persona, shadow, anima and animus, self. Explain the use of active imagination, Cite examples in your own life, (750 - 1000 words)

Answer 1

What is an archetype? They are a kind of motif with respect to people and characteristics or certain things. And, in psychology, it is extrapolated and expanded in term of its definitions by Carl G. Jung when he said that these are some innate primitive characteristics, which have been passed along from the ancestors, and are inadvertently a part of the collective conscious, as a result.

Jung gave a few certain examples of archetypes that provide us and intimate to the reader their nature and what they stand for; as each one of them represents a certain feature and play out, as a consequence, in a similar fashion with ever so slight a variation.

These archetypes have been integral in studying the human behavior and the human consciousness from a perspective that had been absent. Our lores and stories depict these archetypes quite profusely and clearly, hence, marking their place in our minds.

Below would be a brief elaboration on a few of the archetypes that Jung mentioned and capitalized on:

We shall begin with the most primal and rudimentary aspect of our human makeup, which is the shadow. The nature of shadow is analogous with the way each one of our personal conscious functions: we have certain things we keep in the dark or refrain from identifying with the known pain and misery we might invite if we do acknowledge. This shadow part can be a metaphorical representation of things we know exist, but paradoxically aren't conscious of.

Then comes the persona. Persona as we all know is something we fashion and something we drape and adorn to show to the real world, the external world. Just like an actor, we have a world that is our stage, as Shakespeare so rightly proclaimed, and we need our masks handy in order to play our societal roles in order to fit in and live. This persona is to portray something in order to conceal something. According to Jung, persona is a mere semblance, the act of keeping it together, a simple facade.

Next, we proceed onto the anima and animus. The reason why they are so often clubbed together is owing to their apparent dialecticism, but their inadvertent dependency. The anima is th representation of the feminine in the masculine and the latter of masculines in the feminine. Both these are integral components of the theory of the collective conscious.

The self, in simple psychological terms, would be the self concept, the true being of an individual. It is the unification of the consciousness with unconsciousness. Jung was if the belief that it is necessary for an individual to integrate these two components of their psyche in order to reach the level of actualization. The circle is considered as the representation of the psyche.

Active imagination can be considered as the conduit to the aforementioned construct. Jung believed that the components of the unconscious mind cannot be ignore, and need to be probed further by the aid of dreams and their motifs so that a person can better integrate the two component and alleviate the disparity between te conscious and unconscious.

Child, if I am to cite examples from my life, you'd have starkly old experiences that would defy all purpose.

I hope this answer brings you closer to your answer.