The Conscious Mind
Ego
The center of consciousness, the main perceiving entity of our psyche derived from our personal experience.
The center of consciousness, the main perceiving entity of our psyche derived from our personal experience.
"The individual ego could be conceived as the commander of a small army in the struggle with his environments war not infrequently on two fronts, before him the struggle for existence, in the rear the struggle against his own rebellious instinctual nature." -"Analytical Psychology and Weltanschauung" ―(1928) In CW 8: The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. P.693 "The psyche is transformed or developed by the relationship of the ego to the unconscious" |
Persona
The mask we wear in public, a representation of what society expects us to be. "So the persona is a certain complicated system of behavior which is partially dictated by society and partially dictated by the expectations or the wishes one NURSES oneself. Now this is not the real personality. In spite of the fact that people will assure you that this is all quite real and quite honest... people can't help noticing that at home you are quite different from what you appear to be in public... Then you don't know—now which is the real man? Is he the man as he is at home or in intimate relations, or is he the man that appears in public?" ―Carl Jung, EXCERPT FROM RICHARD EVANS INTERVIEWS:TRANSCRIPT OF THE 1957 FILMS |
"The persona is a complicated system of relations between individual consciousness and society, fittingly enough a kind of mask, designed on the one hand to make a definite impression upon others, and, on the other, to conceal the true nature of the individual." ―"The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious" (1928). In CW 7: Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. P.305
The Self
A combination of our conscious and unconscious minds, the central and most complete expression of our individuality.
A combination of our conscious and unconscious minds, the central and most complete expression of our individuality.
"The self is a quantity that is superordinate to the conscious ego. It embraces not only the conscious but also the unconscious psyche, and is therefore, so to speak, a personality which we also are. There is little hope of our ever being able to reach even approximate consciousness of the self, since however much we make conscious there will always exist an indeterminate and indeterminable amount of unconscious material which belongs to the totality of the self.”
―Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, Collected Works, Vol. 7, p.175
―Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, Collected Works, Vol. 7, p.175
Mandalas
"Mandala is a graphical representation of the center (the Self for Jung). It can appear in dreams and visions or it can be spontaneously created as a work of art. It is present in the cultural and religious representations." "I sketched every morning in a notebook a small circular drawing,...which seemed to correspond to my inner situation at the time....Only gradually did I discover what the mandala really is:...the Self, the wholeness of the personality, which if all goes well is harmonious." ―Carl JUng |
Shadow
The side of our personality which we generally do not display in public. If it remains unconscious, the shadow is often cast onto other people.
The side of our personality which we generally do not display in public. If it remains unconscious, the shadow is often cast onto other people.
“The shadow is that hidden, repressed, for the most part inferior and guilt-laden personality whose ultimate ramifications reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors and so comprise the whole historical aspect of the unconscious… If it has been believed hitherto that the human shadow was the source of all evil, it can now be ascertained on closer investigation that the unconscious man, that is, his shadow, does not consist only of morally reprehensible tendencies, but also displays a number of good qualities, such as normal instincts, appropriate reaction, realistic insights, creative impulses, etc.”
―Aion, Collected Works, Vol. 9, part 2 p. 266
"It is a frightening thought that man also has a shadow side to him, consisting not just of little weaknesses- and foibles, but of a positively demonic dynamism. The individual seldom knows anything of this; to him, as an individual, it is incredible that he should ever in any circumstances go beyond himself. But let these harmless creatures form a mass, and there emerges a raging monster; and each individual is only one tiny cell in the monster’s body, so that for better or worse he must accompany it on its bloody rampages and even assist it to the utmost. Having a dark suspicion of these grim possibilities, man turns a blind eye to the shadow-side of human nature. Blindly he strives against the salutary dogma of original sin, which is yet so prodigiously true. Yes, he even hesitates to admit the conflict of which he is so painfully aware."
―“On the Psychology of the Unconscious” (1912). In CW 7: Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. P.35
Anima/Animus
Archetype symbolizing the unconscious female/male component of the other gender's psyche. Tendencies or qualities often thought of as feminine or masculine.
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Carl Jung on Love and the Anima/Animus
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"The animus is the deposit, as it were, of all woman's ancestral experiences of man - and not only that, he is also a creative and procreative being, not in the sense of masculine creativity, but in the sense that he brings forth something we might call... the spermatic word."
―Anima and Animus , Collected Works 7, par. 336
―Anima and Animus , Collected Works 7, par. 336
*Signature of Carl Jung, no date applicable