This essay is an exposition of archetypes of the collective unconscious which are constituents of the human psyche and innate ideas which facilitate our adaptation with the world and our inner world. These archetypes appear as symbols in dreams, mythology, art, literature, film and other forms of creative expression. The archetypes illustrated in this essay are the id, ego, superego, ego-consciousness, persona, shadow, anima, animus, Great Man and Great Woman, child, Self and psyche. The essay begins with an explanation of archetypes and the unconscious and finishes with a section on complexes.
Archetypes
Archetypes of the collective consciousness are elements of the psyche and are represented by archetypal images or symbols in dreams, myths, religion, literature, drama, poetry, film and television etc. in all cultures throughout the world. They may appear slightly differently, clothed in personal and cultural associations, but their forms originate from the collective unconscious.
In Plato’s Theory of Forms, a form is the essence of thing in the material world which is an imperfect representation of a perfect form. Plato held that forms or universals were more real than imperfect objects or representations in the material world. Plato’s forms are abstract. They are ideas that are inherited from evolutional experience. These ideas or concepts comprise our conceptual framework or frame of reference. Our frame of reference is a network of interrelated ideas which models our environment and enables us to perceive, comprehend and adapt to our environment.
Archetypes of the collective unconscious are universals in the human psyche which influence our psychic life as prototype ideas upon which our ideas are developed. Every animal is born with instincts providing them with an innate pattern of behaviour in response to external stimuli. Archetypes of the collective unconscious are psychic instincts or innate ideas which provide us with an instinctive pattern of feeling toned ideas which shape how we perceive objects in our environment through the process of projection. And conversely, objects which are the bearers of our projected ideas become symbols or archetypal images representing constituent parts of the psyche in our dreams. The id, ego, superego, ego-consciousness, persona, shadow, anima, animus, Great Man, Great Woman, child, and the Self are archetypes of the collective unconscious.
Archetypes are systems of readiness for action, and at the same time images and emotions. They are inherited with the brain structure – indeed, they are its psychic aspect. They represent, on the one hand, a very strong instinctive conservatism, while on the other hand they are the most effective means conceivable of instinctive adaptation. They are thus, essentially, the chthonic portion of the psyche…that portion through which the psyche is attached to nature. (Jung, 1931, para. 53)
The primordial images are the most ancient and the most universal “thought-forms” of humanity. They are as much feelings as thoughts. (Jung, 1943, para. 104)
Our innate ideas or instinctive ideas facilitate our adaptation with our environment and our psyche. For example, we are each born with the ideas of mother and father. As children we idealize our parents and think of them as gods, all-good, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, all-nurturing etc. because they invoke our mother and father instincts and our innate ideas about parents are projected onto them. Thus we place our trust in them for our survival and we absorb their attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. And parental objects which have been the bearers of our projected maternal and paternal ideas appear in our dreams as mother and father images representing elements of our psyche which are superordinate to ego-consciousness.
The Unconscious
The unconscious has two definitions that aren’t mutually exclusive. The term can be used to describe the unconscious autonomous aspect of the human mind and it can be used to refer to material and processes that we aren’t consciously aware of in the psyche.
The human mind has a dual nature. It has a conscious mind and an unconscious mind which are both autonomous and complement each other. Ego-consciousness is the conscious and subjective aspect of mind and the unconscious is the objective and transpersonal aspect of mind. The unconscious uses archetypal images (symbols) in dreams and mythology to represent elements of the psyche and provide a means by which we can relate to our psyche and drive us to achieve adaptation with our inner world by invoking our instincts. Archetypal dreams appear more often and more intensely at crucial stages in our psychological development. The psyche is brought into consciousness through the process of individuation with the goal of becoming an integrated and unique human personality.
The unconscious, as in everything in the psyche we aren’t consciously aware of, has three layers: the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious and the universal unconscious. The personal unconscious is the area of the unconscious that is specific to the individual and contains unconscious aspects of ego-consciousness and individual characteristics; personal experiences and associations; subliminal perceptions; traumatic experiences; repressed desires; personal shortcomings; inferior, incompatible and immoral characteristics; unknown characteristics, positive qualities, traits and abilities.
The collective unconscious is the deeper collective layer of the unconscious which is common to all people and can appear as the ocean or a museum in dreams. It contains the collective experience and evolution of mankind inherited in our human brain structure through our DNA and it also has a transcendental element. The collective unconscious is comprised of the elements of the human psyche.
The universal unconscious is the deepest transcendental layer of the unconscious and is universal. The universal unconscious is the transcendental element of the collective unconscious.
Archetypes are, by definition, factors and motifs that arrange the psychic elements into certain images, characterized as archetypal. (Jung, 1948, para. 222)
Id
The id is the instinctual part of the mind which operates from the pleasure-pain principle, seeking gratification of needs and avoidance of pain. The id is driven by impulses to eat, procreate, fight or flee. It is our animal instinct and will appear in animal form in our dreams.
Ego
The ego is a conscious subject and the centre of consciousness. It plans and directs our conscious activities and is governed primarily by the reality principle. The ego regulates impulses, delays or approves gratification of desires, from the id according to the conditions of the external world. It is responsible for executive functioning, planning, decision making, regulating emotions, controlling behaviour. The ego is also governed by the superego. We appear as our ego in dreams.
Superego
The superego is the part of the mind which provides moral standards, mostly learned from our parents, and keeps our ego operating within acceptable social limits. The process of socialization works to keep id impulses of people in check for the orderly functioning of society. We internalize the criticisms and approval we receive from our parents and guardians in childhood, thus programming our superego which acts as our own internal self-critic, moralizer and behaviour regulator. The superego is our conscience and will appear in dreams as an authority figure which commands our obedience. A policeman and commanding officer are superego symbols. A police station and courthouse are also symbols that represent our conscience.
Ego-consciousness
Ego-consciousness (self-awareness) is our conscious mind with the ego as its centre. It encompasses all that is conscious and compatible in our personality and is characterised by our dominant functions of consciousness (thinking, feeling, sensing or intuition) and attitude of introversion or extraversion. For example we may observe that someone is a thinking or feeling type, an outgoing or quiet type etc. The ego-consciousness archetype can appear in dreams as a ship, vehicle, car, satellite or a quaternity.
A quaternity represents the four functions of consciousness and can take the form of a square or rectangular object like a sink or wall for example. An integrated ego-consciousness can appear as a hieros gamos – a sacred union of masculine and feminine elements.
Moreover, each function of consciousness has an attitude of introversion or extraversion giving us eight function-attitudes of consciousness which are introverted feeling, extraverted feeling, introverted intuition, extraverted intuition, introverted thinking, extraverted thinking, introverted sensation and extraverted sensation.
Persona
A persona is a character we develop and use to function in the world. The persona function enables us to develop and use various characters to perform various roles in the external world as part of the collective. For example, policemen have to adopt a policeman persona to perform their role effectively and keep order in society. The persona can appear in dreams as an item of clothing like a jacket. My persona has appeared in my dreams as martial arts body armour. We can use a persona like armour to protect ourselves in situations where people would take advantage of us if we were to appear vulnerable. We wear the persona like a mask over our true personality. My persona has also appeared as a shirt I was wearing in a dream. The shirt was casual and fun which meant that I was now able to adopt a casual and fun persona. We use the persona in conjunction with our ego-consciousness. Many people, however, become attached to the persona they have developed and used to function in their job etc. and lose their personal identity by identifying with a collective one. For example, an off-duty policeman may still behave like a policeman. A person with a healthy personality can use different personas for various functions and still retain their individuality.
Shadow
The shadow usually appears as a man in men’s dreams and a woman in women’s dreams. The personal shadow corresponds with the personal unconscious and represents unconscious personal qualities of the individual. For example, someone who hordes money and is selfish may dream about a miser. The miser is their personal shadow representing this quality in themself which they are unaware of.
The collective shadow represents our collective darkside, and more specifically, the darkside of the unconscious: the beast: the animal within: the id. Evil is an innate idea that conflicts with our persona (ideal image). No one wants to admit they are selfish, lustful, power-seeking and aggressive so instead we repress our lower nature and unconsciously project our darkside onto other people, different tribes and races, or people and characters in our culture who have become symbols of tyranny and evil. Darth Vader, a character in the movie Star Wars, has become a collective shadow symbol in Western culture. The evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is another collective shadow symbol.
The archetypal shadow represents absolute evil and is known as the devil and is a personification of dissociated instinct. Technically the term shadow can be used to describe anything we are not conscious of in our personality and psyche but the term is more strongly associated with the unconscious inferior and undesirable aspects of the personality we have repressed and has become synonymous with evil and the darkside of human nature contrasted with the more spiritual and loving qualities of human beings which tend to be associated with light. The shadow is employed by our unconscious in dreams to compensate our conscious mind and conscious attitudes, and bring unconscious aspects of our personality into consciousness. The shadow is more strongly associated with negative traits but can also bring positive aspects of ourselves into our awareness, more so in people who suffer from low self-esteem and have a negative ego complex.
Anima
The anima (Eros) is the feminine principle in the psyche. The anima tends to be more dominant in women and unconscious in men. She is the ideal woman and appears as an attractive woman in a man’s dreams and invokes his sex instinct which drives him to integrate feminine elements of his psyche with ego-consciousness. The anima gives relationship and relatedness to a man’s personality. The anima archetype will appear to someone as their specific love interest or cultural icon such as Aphrodite, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna or Katy Perry for example. The anima is associated with feeling, intuition and the right hemisphere of the brain. The function-attitudes associated with the anima are introverted feeling, extraverted feeling, introverted intuition and extraverted intuition.
There are four stages in [the anima’s] development. The first stage is best symbolized by the figure of Eve, which represents purely instinctual and biological relations. The second can be seen as Faust’s Helen: She personifies a romantic and aesthetic level that is, however, still characterized by sexual elements. The third is represented, for instance, by the Virgin Mary – a figure who raises love (eros) to the heights of spiritual devotion. The fourth type is symbolized by Sapientia [Sophia], wisdom transcending even the most holy and the most pure. (von Franz, 1964, p. 195)
Animus
The animus (Logos) is the masculine principle in the psyche. The animus tends to be more dominant in men and unconscious in women. The perfect man will appear as an attractive man in a woman’s dreams and invokes her sex instinct which drives her to integrate masculine elements of her psyche with ego-consciousness. The animus gives reflection and self-knowledge to a woman’s personality. The qualities of the animus include rationality, objectivity, detachment and discernment. The animus is associated with thinking, sensation and the left hemisphere of the brain. The function-attitudes associated with the animus are introverted thinking, extraverted thinking, introverted sensation and extraverted sensation.
The four stages of the animus: First, the wholly physical man – the fictional jungle hero Tarzan. Second, the “romantic” man – the 19th-century British poet Shelley or the “man of action” – America’s Ernest Hemingway, war hero, hunter, etc. Third, the bearer of the “word” – Lloyd George, the great political orator. Fourth, the wise guide to spiritual truth – often projected on to Gandhi. (von Franz, 1964, p. 205)
Anima and Animus
The anima and animus are also messengers between the ego and the unconscious, conveying feelings and thoughts from our inner wisdom. The anima tends to be more dominant in women and the animus tends to be more dominant in men but it is the personality type of the person that will determine their cognitive preferences. Diversity must be taken into account and each person should be treated as an individual. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) has listed 16 different personality types. However as a person progresses in the individuation process their cognition will become more balanced.
Great Man and Great Woman
The Great Man and Great Woman represent our autonomous unconscious mind: our intuition: our inner wisdom, and invoke our father and mother instincts which compels us to integrate our unconscious mind with our ego-consciousness. The Great Man archetype is a sublime patriarchal figure who is benevolent, wise, held in high esteem and represents our inner guru (God the Father). The Great Woman archetype is a sublime matriarchal figure who represents unconditional love and feminine wisdom (God the Mother). The numinous quality of the Great Man and Great Woman archetypes represents the Self (energy) which is the regulating centre of the unconscious.
Dreams and intuitive thoughts are an evolved form of instinct that emanate from our unconscious. The unconscious can also take the form of a mana-personality like the magician as it can produce phenomena that seem magical to the rational conscious mind conditioned by the ordinary senses. Merlin, Gandalf, Obi-Wan and May Poppins (a magical caregiver) are cultural symbols representing the unconscious. The unconscious can also appear in dreams as our parents, wise old men, wise old women and people we hold in high esteem.
Child
The child archetype represents our essential nature. We are each a pure and innocent child of the universe. Our actions reflect our conditioning and experiences but our essential nature never changes. The androgynous child is a symbol of wholeness representing the integrated human personality and represents the union of ego-consciousness (conscious reasoning) and the unconscious (intuition). The numinous quality of the child represents the Self.
Self
The Self is the transcendental core of the psyche connecting us with Nature and the Cosmos and is our transpersonal identity. The Self is a universal energy field that pervades the cosmos connecting all things. Our essence is an energy field that is part of a universal energy field. Our individual consciousness is an aspect of universal consciousness. We are all One. The Self can appear as a circle, sphere, the sun, energy, fire, light, the sky, water, a sacred object, a holy figure or something with a numinous quality etc.
Psyche
The psyche (mind) is the totality of all the psychological processes in a human being, both conscious and unconscious, personal and transpersonal, physiological and transcendent. The human mind has a dual nature. It has a conscious mind and an unconscious mind which are both autonomous and complement each other. Ego-consciousness is the conscious and subjective aspect of mind and the unconscious is the objective and transpersonal aspect of mind. The psyche has two centres. The ego is the centre of consciousness and the Self is the centre of the unconscious and is the true centre of the psyche. The squared circle mandala is a symbol of the psyche which is part Eternal and part temporal. The circle is the Self which is the transcendental nucleus and the square is ego-consciousness. The four sides of the square represent four differentiated functions of consciousness: sensation, feeling, thinking and intuition. The mandala is a symbol of psychic wholeness.
Complexes
Archetypes of the collective unconscious are coloured by our personal experiences and form complexes. Complexes are feeling toned ideas formed around the archetypes. Our personal experiences and introjected family and cultural attitudes add associations to the archetypes which become our complexes. For example, our personal experiences with women will influence our ideas about women. Our personal experiences with men will influence our ideas about men. And introjected parental and cultural attitudes about men and women will also influence our ideas about men and women. Our earliest experiences in childhood will have the greatest influence on the moulding of our complexes. The primary complexes are the mother, father and ego complexes. How we experienced our parents and primary caregivers will mostly determine how we view people and ourselves. If we were treated well and were valued we will have a positive ego complex and trust people. If we experienced abuse or neglect we will have a negative ego complex, suffer from low self-esteem and have trust issues.
If our experiences with our parents and caregivers were positive our relationship with the anima, animus, Great Man and Great Woman will be positive and our instincts will guide us well. If our experiences with our parents and caregivers were negative we will experience conflict with our instincts and we will struggle to achieve adaptation in life. We overcome this difficulty by bringing the offending complex into consciousness, usually with the assistance of someone who can help us to gain insight into our past relationships, and the complex may also reveal a perceived inferior aspect of our personality which was partly responsible for our trauma as our experiences are also dependent on our disposition.
We all have a shadow where we have repressed our perceived immoral and inferior characteristics. We inherit the characteristics of our parents and absorb their behaviours, attitudes and beliefs in childhood, good and bad. Therefore our shadow will be similar to our parents. Everyone has a shadow. So if we look hard enough within ourselves we will all find immoral and inferior traits. We may have suffered abuse but we may also be the perpetrators of abuse without realising it as we have internalized our childhood experiences. Family and cultural dysfunction, trauma and abuse pass unconsciously from one generation to the next. Conversely, if our parents were unusually benevolent we may also experience difficulties as we will see people in too good a light and leave ourselves vulnerable to predators.
References
Jung, C. (1931). Mind and earth. In C. Jung, Civilization in Transition (2nd ed., Vol. 10).
Jung, C. (1943). On the psychology of the unconscious. In C. Jung, Two Essays on Analytical Psychology (2nd ed., Vol. 7). London: Routledge (1966).
Jung, C. (1948). A psychological approach to the trinity. In C. Jung, Psychology and Religion: West and East (2nd ed., Vol. 11).
von Franz, M.-L. (1964). The process of individuation. In C. G. Jung (Ed.), Man and His Symbols (pp. 157-254). Dell Publishing.
John Gallagher © 2021
First published in 2017
John Gallagher 