Anima – The Archetype of Life

16.12.24

Let’s quickly recap that men have the tendency to be consciously identified with Logos and as compensation, this will generate an unconscious Eros. Also, the nature of the unconscious is to be personified, so the image we find in the unconscious of men is denominated anima.

Jung says the anima is the archetype of life that’s why the biggest mistake when attempting to understand it is treating it solely as an intellectual concept. In reality, this is simply a term that refers to the emotional life of a man, his relationships, and the authentic expression of his soul. The concept doesn’t matter, what’s real is his genuine experience with Eros.

That said, since men tend to be consciously identified with Logos, most of them are clueless about their emotional life, and the ones that do have this connection, tend to be possessed by it, rather than having a conscious experience of their feelings. The emotional realm usually threatens men and when they run away from it, the anima always has her revenge, mercilessly entangling him in the exact situations he tries to avoid.

We usually see the works of the anima whenever there are overreactions, a sense of urgency, and overwhelming emotions. Here is a good place to remember the difference between the feeling function and affects. The first one is the conscious experience of an emotion and having a clear scale of values, whereas the second is about compulsive emotions and feeling out of control. Consequently, the anima isn’t about a feeling but about moods.

In this light, Jung says “The anima is a factor of the utmost importance in the psychology of a man wherever emotions and affects are at work. She intensifies, exaggerates, falsifies, and mythologizes all emotional relations with his work and with other people of both sexes. The resultant fantasies and entanglements are all her doing. When the anima is strongly constellated, she softens the man’s character and makes him touchy, irritable, moody, jealous, vain, and unadjusted. He is then in a state of “discontent” and spreads discontent all around him. Sometimes the man’s relationship to the woman who has caught his anima accounts for the existence of this syndrome” (C. G. Jung – V9.1 – §144).

In Aion, Jung equates the anima with Maya, the goddess of illusion, as she’s constantly interjecting in a man’s interpretation of reality. Moreover, Maya’s intentions of enveloping, embracing, and devouring unmistakably point to the mother complex. In a man, the father complex serves as a basis for the persona while the mother complex as a basis for the anima. Consequently, the relationship with the mother (or lack of) has a great impact on the anima, as well as how the father deals with the feminine.

In that sense, when a man is caught in his mother complex, there’s a tendency to live regressively, always looking back and wanting to remain a child. He resists carving his own path and becomes indecisive, insecure, and weak. He attempts to escape and live his own life only to find himself giving up and coming back the next moment.

The effects of the devouring mother make a man averse to touch reality, he lives in a fantastical world where he expects everything to be given to him without any effort. This also greatly conditions his expectations about women, as he seeks a magical being that will provide him with a sense of eternal childhood, and will take care of him like a dedicated mother. He expects his partner to allow him to remain childish and not place any demands that he become a grown man. Of course, I’m talking about the Puer Aeternus, popularly known as the man-child.

• I won’t go into detail her bc I already have a video on the Puer and Puella Aeternus.

However, as the archetype of life, the anima is what presents a man with his call to adventure, challenges him to find what’s truly valuable, and demands that he take a stance in life. That’s why the anima is also associated with flings of courage and bravery, to follow and defend the values of the soul.

But if a man resists this task the anima will entangle him into the exact situations he tries to avoid. This confrontation happens especially with women because when you don’t follow your authentic path and create your unique sense of meaning, this expectation will be projected upon them.

In other words, women become the whole life of a man who narcissistically expects them to fulfill his every need. This violates the masculine spirit and makes men weak and codependent since they live to win their approval and validation.

In that sense, the anima demands that you get your hands dirty and have the audacity to carve your own path, as she only reveals herself to those who prove to be worthy. When you rise up to this challenge and follow your pistis, the anima becomes your most faithful helper, she unravels her secrets, gives you reassurance, and gifts you with meaning and aliveness.

Anima Integration

When a man accepts the challenge of integrating the anima, Emma Jung explains that “It is not a question of either surrendering his masculinity completely to the service of the Lady Anima or losing her entirely, but only of granting a certain space to the feminine, which is also a part of his being. This he does by recognizing and realizing the eros, the principle of relationship, which means that he not only becomes aware of his feeling, but also makes use of it, because to create, and especially to preserve, a relationship, a value judgment (which is what feeling is) cannot be dispensed with. A man by nature tends to relate to objects, to his work, or to some other field of interest; but what matters to a woman is the personal relation, and this is true also of the anima. Her tendency is to entangle a man in such relationships, but she can also serve him well in giving them shape — that is, she can do so after the feminine element has been incorporated into consciousness. As long as this element works autonomously, it disturbs relations or makes them impossible” (Emma Jung – The Animus and Anima, p. 77).

Most men mistakenly assume that if they give voice to their feminine side they’ll become emasculated but it’s the other way around. When there isn’t a conscious dedication to integrating the anima, it functions like an autonomous complex making men touchy, jealous, overly-sentimental, and even causing impotence. There needs to be a balance between Eros and Logos because if a man doesn’t cultivate a sense of direction, drive, discipline, and decisiveness, he’ll be a mere puppet in the hands of the Lady Anima.

Eros has to be incorporated into the masculine spirit, which Jung summarizes as knowing what you want and going after it. When men have a conscious experience of the anima they know what’s truly valuable to them, they know what’s meaningful, and they are resolute.

Now, the anima functions as a compensation for the persona, that’s why one of the biggest challenges to its integration is a strong persona identification, which is usually tinged by toxic masculinity. Moreover, this identification makes men devalue feminine qualities and they become vain, shallow, and only live for the appearances, and this gives free rein to a negative anima.

He’ll seek superficial relationships and usually for the stereotypical trophy wife, which is the perfect match for an animus possessed woman who’s identified with her body and is only interested in having power and status through her relationships. Moreover, sex and emotional connection are usually dissociated from one another, that’s why the main reason men get addicted to sex is because it gives them validation which substitutes intimacy and the connection with their own souls.

That’s why it’s of the utmost importance that men seek to consciously develop their anima and cultivate receptivity to the Eros principle. Since it obeys the laws of nature, we can’t apprehend it intellectually, we must live and embody it, for Eros is the realm of arts, creativity, romance, beauty, music, poetry, and authentic connections.

The anima demands a genuine expression of the soul, that’s why overly focusing on aesthetics annihilates its creative force, and the only way the anima encounters an outlet is through anxiety, depression, and all forms of addiction.

Practically speaking, when dealing with the inferior function, it’s important to cultivate a sacred space for it in your life free from judgments and expectations. Here I can give you a personal example, whenever I’m composing music I have to accommodate these two sides, one is the creative trying to be expressed and the other is trying to order and give it form.

When I’m too focused on aesthetics I get lost in trying to find the perfect chord, the right sequence, and I wonder how people are going to judge my lyrics. This crushes creativity as the anima isn’t interested in perfection or how useful it can be, the anima wants you to shape your truth.

This requires diligence as laziness or timidity won’t be tolerated. Many men are absorbed by their work and intellectual pursuits and all their free time is spent watching TV or doom scrolling. After all, men are always tired and they just want to relax. I can relate to that but the problem is that this is used to avoid understanding their feelings and attending to their creative potential.

To make things worse, they project this duty on their partners expecting them to mother them and be the perfect housewife without them lifting a finger. Then, they wonder why their relationships aren’t fulfilling and their wife isn’t in the mood to have sex.

This relationship pattern doesn’t allow women to develop their animus either, which is the perfect formula for toxic relationships. But as a man, you have to be present for your family, lead your relationship, and take the responsibility to develop your emotional capacity.

When the anima is constellated there’s always a sense of urgency and it wants everything NOW. That’s why it’s important to cultivate the ability to analyze your moods and separate them from objective situations.

In contrast, with passive men, the anima might be trying to compensate for this lack of action. Instead of being trapped by paralysis by analysis, this impulse is demanding that you make a decision. The more you make your own values conscious, the less you’ll feel this overwhelming pull. Carl Jung strongly recommends dream analysis and active imagination as means to integrate the anima, and everything I teach about how to deal with complexes and the inferior function also applies.

Finally, the anima gives a man the courage to follow his own heart and overcome any obstacle. It gifts him with the creative treasures of the collective unconscious and inspiration to accomplish meaningful work. Eros gives men the possibility of creating true friendships and romantic relationships that transcend the physical.

Rafael Krüger – Live an Audacious Life

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

• Katabasis – The Shadow Integration Manual – My best-selling and accessible course will introduce you to all you need to know to disrupt the unconscious patterns keeping you stuck.
• Audacity University – Master Jungian Psychology in 1 year. Become your own analyst or integrate these tools into your professional practice.
• Mentorship – Catalyze your personal transformation with 1 on 1 sessions. Master your psychology, relationships, and business.