Anima and Animus
Balancing the Masculine and Feminine Forces of Personality

In depth and archetypal psychology, human personality is understood as a structure composed of different parts.
At the outermost level of this structure is the persona or mask; the ego, the “I,” occupies the centre of consciousness; and at a deeper level lies the personal unconscious, which contains our complexes and shadows.
At the deepest level is the collective unconscious, composed of archetypes. Archetypes are forces that shape the structure of human experience, and among them the anima and animus archetypes are images of our experiences of femininity and masculinity.

The anima is the embodiment of feminine energies and the animus the embodiment of masculine energies.
Because masculine energy is also present in the female psyche and feminine energy in the male psyche, the anima is regarded as the feminine dimension of the male psyche and the animus as the masculine dimension of the female psyche.

We know that the structure of the human mind is influenced by the functions of the brain’s left and right hemispheres, which orient our understanding of the world and our experiences. The functions of the left and right sides of the brain are related here to anima and animus: the force of the animus can be associated with the functioning of the brain’s left hemisphere, and the anima with the functioning of the right hemisphere.
Given the role of the left and right hemispheres in the formation of human consciousness, consciousness can be understood as arising from the union of masculine and feminine forces within the human being.

In this video, Dr Areta explains the differences between the anima and animus archetypes, their role in human consciousness, and the positive and negative sides of these forces in the human psyche.

YouTube video link:
https://youtu.be/VwDw01RNH4E

Post submitted by: Samira Ghobadi