Carl Jung Anima

The term Anima was developed by Carl Jung to illustrate the opposite-sex. This can sometimes mean the inner female of a man or the inner male of a female.

These are terms that Jung developed to illustrate different personality traits. Jung believed that everyone holds both masculine and feminine personality characters. If you are male, the anima may be the womanly element dwelling in the depths of your mind. Jung's interpreters felt that the anima/animus persona could only be understood by people who have known true love.

Nevertheless, each of our opposite-gender selves may provide male or female feelings. Whenever you desire somebody of the opposite sex, they may represent your own personal internal anima tendencies. Carefully consider individuals in your dreams against your own anima.

If you found tendencies of the opposite sex during your dream, such as cross-dressing, or simply displaying a personality trait of the opposite sex then this dream meaning will apply. A female will be predominantly female, but she still holds some male hormones. Emotionally, we might simply express our feelings dependent upon our sex. In women, the powerful, intellectual, as well as socially challenging personality, is often associated with male traits, for example, assertiveness and also career progression. Evidently, this just isn't correct for the contemporary women.

Detailed dream meaning

Generally speaking we can say the male in a woman’s desires symbolizes the actual woman’s psychological and also sociable power, her capability to work creatively in ‘the world’ is due to the male hormones she holds. The actual animus is a functionality of all the men that this woman has known. So the whole realm of her experience with males can be displayed through the man that she desires the most, her lover or father. Femaleness or perhaps maleness should not be mistaken for individuality. Jung tried to describe this as someone having a dream as a person; they may show traits of being male or female, regardless of what the body says.

The actual animus can be portrayed in a desire by a heroic or perhaps non-secular male figure, through her sibling or father, or a male animal such as the lion or bull. The particular animus can be wonderfully creative or even incredibly harmful, based on one's relationship with it.

Ethnic symbols can also be interpreted during the dream state; any male dwarf; a medicine man such as a shaman, a rapist, or even the gentleman the woman is getting married to, can appear in the dream. The actual negative part of the animus might be present if this hurts the woman in her dream. In waking life, the women may show male traits such as being hard-nosed, stubborn, and also inaccessible. An example of a woman by using these traits is Joan Arc. The particular unfavorable animus might also direct a woman into destructive behavior in relation to her husband or children.

Jung referred to four elements that make up the definition of the animus that appears in a female. He first appears in the female's dreams and fantasy because of the embodiment of physical energy, a sports athlete, footballer or policeman. Within the second stage, the animus gives the female an idea for action. This provides the convenience of getting the women to want masculine things.

Jung believed a women's desire to have independence in regards to a career of her own, is due to the masculine personality traits. The third stage of the animus is the "words," which is frequently be used in dreams, these words could be associated with males such as a policeman or clergyman. Within the final stage of the animus this is the highest level of spiritual meaning.

Some males will notice females within their dreams. In terms of the male's body, it will be mostly male, but every man generates several feminine hormones. Inside a male, the nurturing side in connection with children will be there. Aside from this, traits such as intuition and also conscious creativeness can also be located. These secondary or perhaps hidden features tend to be portrayed by the woman within dreams of the male. The actual femaleness or perhaps manliness should not be confused with individuality.

Generally, we could say the female signifies the particular man’s inner thoughts, such as the actual strength to protect and nurture children, and also the natural side of themselves. The actual anima is acquired because of the female influences on the male in the dream. These can include the dreamer's mother.

The actual aspects of the animal may be wonderfully innovative and beautiful, strongly featured, or even magnificently dangerous. So this female influence may appear in a dream as a witch, a granny, a good enigmatic woman number, for instance, a woman with the forest, or a sacred lady. Sometimes it is represented simply by a graphic like a tigress, lioness, a female inside a cavern, a ship or the ocean.

An element from the anima that is often overlooked is if the male encounters a virgin during his dreams. It represents a certain and unexplainable part of the human brain. The actual virgin symbolizes the opportunity to release preconceptions, and thus open the doors to pure intuition. This particular pure intuition can lead not just in becoming mindful of the particular facet of awareness but a deeper, higher self.

Detailed Carl Jung theory of the anima

A man’s anima may appear as a female aspect in a dream such as seeing his mother, sister, female boss. The dream is really what is known as a soul image of various symbols that represent the mother figure in a male or female life. The anima can also appear as a cat, cow, tiger, butterfly or boat.

The animus may include a phallic figure such as a train, penis, toy or bull. The earth is known in dream psychology as a predominately female and can be considered an anima. To make this easy to understand the anima is considered female dream symbols. Carl Jung believed each dream symbol is what is called an archetype – either male or female in origin. Which in essence is a representation of the psyche of the dreamer.

I am going to try to help you understand the anima in the theory of Carl Jung. The Anima actually represents the woman side of men. Apparently, there are specific secondary feminine sexual characteristics in men. From a psychological aspect, we refer to the soul or the sensuality as the opposite of rationality, and this is the reason Carl Jung uses the anima in his dream interpretation. However, the anima represents a lot more than just the sexual and psychological aspects. It connects men and women.

Therefore, it’s relational and denotes that men have a relationship with women. We often think about how men and women unite, and most of the time it is this “anima” instinct that leads the male to meet the woman and establish a connection with her.

The mother archetype is the most famous anima image. It represents the mother-son relationship. Thus, it’s established over the mother image. There are many females figures we all know. Like Virgin Mary or the Mother Earth. Such figures represent the mother archetype.

And just like other archetypes, this one has both a positive and negative side. The positive side is that if you see a symbol in a dream that is female in nature this represents giving birth, nurturing and taking care of others and the comfort of the soul. For example, dreaming of giving birth can indicate a sacrifice or the need to keep our own child safe. The negative side of this dream could represent the hungry mother, portrayed in images showing animals of feminine nature. I will now try to explain using Greek mythology applying the anima in the terms of Gorgon.

According to Greek mythology, Gorgon represents a female creature. The name “Gorgon” comes from the ancient Greek word – gordA3S, meaning “dreadful”. However, there are many descriptions of Gorgon in Greek narratives. The term gorgon usually refers to the three sisters with hair made out of living, poisonous snakes. Apparently, everyone who disobeyed this woman turned to stone, I can remember this was also made into a film. It’s a terrifying story. And the assumption that two of the sisters were immortal makes it even more terrifying. Stheno and Euryale, those were the names of the immortal Gorgons. However, the third one, Medusa wasn’t granted with immortality and she died at the hand of hero and demigod names Perseus.

Let’s get back to our explanation on Gorgon. As I have previously mentioned, it represents the seductive view of the mother-son connection. This is an extremely dangerous situation because the son won’t be able to break free from his mother. He’s being doomed to psychological death and inability to evolve and develop from a child into a mature person. The famous Carl Jung illustrated the destructive mother as “she – the one who must be obeyed”. She was the heroine of a well-known novel written by Rider Haggard. Carl Jung said that the anima was the feminine side of a male’s personality. According to Jung, no matter what the man’s level or stage of psychological development, he is always aware of his soul, his anima, in an actual female. The same goes for the animus. Even if their personal views might be integrated, and their meaning understood, their primary nature can’t be exhausted.

Carl Jung said that it’s a man’s psychological priority to break free from his anima in the first half of life. Or in simpler words, his intention is to eliminate the fascination of the mother. However, later in life, the lack of awareness in his relationship with his anima results in loss of the soul. And the one way for a man to bring back his soul and to become familiar with his anima again, is to practice active imagination. In other words, the man must personify her as independent personality and ask her questions, as well as attending to the answer. Carl Jung believed that if the man comes out of the shadows and becomes aware of his anima, he will create a masterpiece of himself. The goal of active imagination is to turn the troublesome adversary into a functional relationship between the unconscious and the consciousness. In Jung’s words, this is “the defeat of the anima as an independent complex”. Jung presented four stages of Anima development as follows:

In the first stage, there’s Eva, the male’s anima that’s completely associated with the mother figure – not necessarily his real mother but the portray of a female as someone who will take care after him, make him feel secure, and love him. The first stage represents everything that’s instinctual, natural and biological. The man with this type of anima can’t function without a vital relation to a woman. This type of man is easily controlled by women. They usually suffer from impotence or show no sign of sexual desire. They fear accidents, diseases and have a dull personality.

In the second stage, there’s Helen of Troy, the historical figure. The anima here is the collective sexual resemblance. She is Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and Angelina Jolie. The man seduced by her is usually the Don Juan who’s drawn by the sexual adventures. These men are short-lived because of two reasons: first, they may be unfaithful, and second, no woman can fulfil their expectations that go with the unconscious, perfect illustration.

In the third stage, there’s Mary. Her love is more of a spiritual devotion. It reflects in religious emotions and the ability to have an honest relationship with women. Men with this kind of anima see women as they are, independent of their own needs. Their sexuality is integrated into their life, and it is not an independent activity that drives them. Men like this can recognize the difference between love and lust. They are in a long-term relationship because they can resist temptation and tell the difference between an object of their desire and their inner image of some female.

The fourth stage has Sophia or also known as Wisdom in the Holy Bible. She represents the man’s inner guide, connecting the consciousness with the unconscious. Sophia is over the need to find the real purpose of living. She’s the Beatrice in Dante’s Inferno. She’s the muse of artists and also represents the natural mate for the classic clever old man in the man psyche. According to Jung, the fourth stage is rarely reached in the psychic growth of modern man.

As you presume, a male’s anima grows as the man grows older. When one stage is passed, the psyche naturally stimulates the man to move to the next level. There’s no struggle or crisis in the process that allows a man to move forward with his anima development from one stage to another. And the final result is finding true inner peace and home. Therefore, the anima becomes one with the man’s psyche.

From all this, I know it all might seem confusing but I must come to my conclusion that the anima exists in every man. And the faster they accept the feminine aspects of themselves, the better the connection with their anima will be. However, not all men are the same, that’s a fact. And according to us, not everyone can understand the real meaning of an anima. Some will think of it as a nonsense, but those are the men who have a big ego may struggle in life. And once they start accepting themselves as they are and listen to their intuition, they will see the beauty of acceptance and bond with their anima. Acceptance is the first step to creating the masterpiece out of yourself that Jung was talking about. Everything that comes next will happen naturally, on its own.

The four stages are also presented as Thinking, Intuition, Feeling, and Sensation. And if these don’t align with the person’s true emotions on time, man will make a mess out of his life, eventually. That’s why it’s so important to develop your anima. If you don’t develop your anima and become one with your feminine side, you will be stuck in a destiny that’s constantly leading you on the wrong path. You will date the wrong women, and you will repeat the same mistakes and dynamics. You will wonder why you feel incomplete, not knowing that the only person who can truly complete you is yourself. You will often doubt yourself and your choices. You will get lost in your own world that’s going to make you feel like you’re never enough.

In connection to our dreams – we will meet the anima as symbols that appear, but it will come as a male figure. This figure will portray the person you want to become in the future. Or the person you imagine you already are or have the potential to be. However, the only way to achieve this is by recognizing the signs your anima sends you and to accept the invitation to know yourself better.

In your dream, you may have

• Seen a person of the opposite sex appear in your dream e.g. (rapist, witch, wizard, policeman, father, mother, vicar etc).
• Merged with a figure (male or female in your dream).
• Met a lover in your dream.
• Expressed female / male tendencies.
• Wearing accouterment commonly associated with the opposite sex - cross-dressing.

Positive changes are afoot if

• You were aware of the male or female influence but the overall dream was positive.
• Good lessons were learned in the dream.

New beginnings in your life are needed if in your dream

• You expressed negativity to the situation within your dream.
• The situation was not making you feel comfortable.
• The dream involved fear or not being things beyond the obvious.

Feelings that you may have encountered during a dream of delivering of seeing an anima

Fear, anxiety, doubt, unpreparedness, happiness, confidence, reborn and trust are the feelings you might feel during the dream and these are also the same feelings that you may realize in a real life situation.