Anima / Animus

[Burned up]

As I dreamed of my anima for the first time in a while last night I wondered if anyone else looks at dreams in this Jungian kind of way? Loosely speaking the anima is a man's female side and roughly translates as "soul". Similarly the animus is a woman's male side and roughly translates as "spirit". The state of the anima/animus in the dream gives us an indication of how well we're taking care of our "other side". As we accept and integrate her/him into our real selves so she/he becomes more healthy in our dreams. An old hag would mean years of neglect, for example. Anyways, my anima always appears as a young, reasonably attractive woman. She is wise to the world and has seen a lot and done a lot for her apparent age. She lives a basic existence (on a mattress on the floor of a shack last time) and is always a stranger - i.e. never the same appearance twice and never a familiar appearance to me. She is very accepting of me but knows her own mind - i.e. I can't force her to do something she doesn't want to do. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what this manifestation might imply? Also does anyone else have any anima/animus stories to offer? Bu

[Moonbeam]

How do you recognize this as not being just another DC?

[Tornado Joe]

Hey that's pretty interesting, Burnedup - I did some basic reading on Jung a while back and remember something about that, but never really applied it to my dreams. I too ask the same as Moonbeam. I've noticed this little girl appeared in a couple 'deep' dreams (you know, the kind that stick with you for some reason) of mine. I still don't konw what that could possibly mean. Normally I just dismiss it as just another DC, but I remember specifically making an attempt to find out who she was in the last dream. She ran away though.

[Burned up]

How do you recognize this as not being just another DC? Fair question. Well, I don't tend to dream of strangers (much) and when I do they seem to be very emotionally distant characters where I have little or no social interaction. On the other hand I have a strong attraction to this character and she always appears in the same form - a young stranger living rough with whom I have some kind of intimate connection involving touch but more mutual acceptance than sexual. I'm also left with a comforting feeling afterwards knowing that one day we'll meet again. Jung tells us that a repeated manifestation of an opposite-sex character is likely to be your anima/animus. It's "just" a theory, but it works for me. Bu

[Burned up]

Hey that's pretty interesting, Burnedup - I did some basic reading on Jung a while back and remember something about that, but never really applied it to my dreams. I too ask the same as Moonbeam. I've noticed this little girl appeared in a couple 'deep' dreams (you know, the kind that stick with you for some reason) of mine. I still don't konw what that could possibly mean. Normally I just dismiss it as just another DC, but I remember specifically making an attempt to find out who she was in the last dream. She ran away though. She could be someone archetypal in the Jungian sense. But whatever, she is part of you. A scared child by the sounds of it. You may need to be very gentle with her next time you see her and when she feels ready she'll tell you more about who she is for you. I assume you're male from your name, so all sorts of emotions arise when a part of your unconscious manifests as a little girl. But that's something to be treasured rather than feared, I believe. It's easy to get carried away with the archetypes (there are quite a few) and miss other important dream stuff, I think. I have a little girl too - a child aged about 7 - who has appeared a few times. She's not frightened like yours though. More like playful and stubborn. She even has a name. I can't quite squeeze her into Jung's archetypes although his "divine child" is the closest. I think that the repeated appearance of ANY dc is our unconscious revealing something important to us which we are failing to grasp in real life. It's like we have our own personal archetypes (if that isn't a contradiction) and Jung's work should be considered more of a case study than a fixed rule. I haven't identified many other archetypes yet although the "shadow" appears occasionally. Bu

[Kyhaar]

All the males in my dreams that re-appear in my dreams are people I know from real-life, so I don't think they count too much.

[Moonbeam]

All the males in my dreams that re-appear in my dreams are people I know from real-life, so I don't think they count too much. Maybe some quality that they have symbolizes something that would relate to yourself.

[Kyhaar]

Perhaps, except they all play very very minor roles... Severus Snape was in my dream last night, though....

[Burned up]

Severus Snape would certainly make for an interesting animus!!! I would add to Moonbeam's suggestion by wondering what it is about you that means male DCs are people you know that have minor roles? Does this perhaps give you a clue to how you connect with your internal male-ness? Just a thought. Bu

[Kyhaar]

That just confused me right there Some males I don't recognise appear in my dreams, but only people I know show up in other dreams. Normally, I'm by myself in my dreams with no other people. Occasionally, another person will be with me (usually a girl, since my friends are mostly female), who is a person from RL. They have a bigger role than male DC's, but are still pretty minor in my dreams. I hope.... I.... provided sufficient information.

[Burned up]

That just confused me right there Some males I don't recognise appear in my dreams, but only people I know show up in other dreams. Normally, I'm by myself in my dreams with no other people. Occasionally, another person will be with me (usually a girl, since my friends are mostly female), who is a person from RL. They have a bigger role than male DC's, but are still pretty minor in my dreams. I hope.... I.... provided sufficient information. I suppose I'm guilty of comparing your dreams to mine. I have a fairly even balance of male and female characters but that doesn't mean that I am "normal". But I suppose it means that I'm accessing more feminine stuff than you are male stuff. If you see what I mean. If you're saying that all characters are minor in your dreams then it could mean that you're not aware of other parts of you self or it could mean that you're actually well integrated and there is little in the way of repressed stuff in you. Or it could mean something else. Or it could mean nothing at all. Best ignore me, I'm rambling .... Bu

[Lucidbulbs]

Wow, this Animus analysis stuff is way more complex than I first assumed [based off Burned Up's last post]. As for my animus, they always seem normal to me, around my age or anywhere between 5 years younger or older. I do notice that about 10% of my dreams no memorable male appears, though I doubt that's of any relevancy. Their personalities tend to vary, though most are quite reliable and tend to treated me well. Comparing the amount of males I know from RL and just DCs, there are way more DCs than RL guys. Most seem to either know me or soon will know me well enough.... Though from that all I can piece together is that I'm taking care of my animus well enough... nothing more really. [Not even sure if I fully understand the animus concept still though, they're the male DCs in your dreams right?]

[Burned up]

Wow, this Animus analysis stuff is way more complex than I first assumed [based off Burned Up's last post]. As for my animus, they always seem normal to me, around my age or anywhere between 5 years younger or older. I do notice that about 10% of my dreams no memorable male appears, though I doubt that's of any relevancy. Their personalities tend to vary, though most are quite reliable and tend to treated me well. Comparing the amount of males I know from RL and just DCs, there are way more DCs than RL guys. Most seem to either know me or soon will know me well enough.... Though from that all I can piece together is that I'm taking care of my animus well enough... nothing more really. [Not even sure if I fully understand the animus concept still though, they're the male DCs in your dreams right?] Well, it's hard to say for sure. Yes, male DCs but unlikely to be all of them. Just one that re-appears either as a repeated DC or as having similarities with previous DCs. From http://www.jungcircle.com/muse/lexicon.html Jung described four stages of animus development in a woman. He first appears in dreams and fantasy as the embodiment of physical power, an athlete, muscle man or thug. In the second stage, the animus provides her with initiative and the capacity for planned action. He is behind a woman's desire for independence and a career of her own. In the next stage, the animus is the "word," often personified in dreams as a professor or clergyman. In the fourth stage, the animus is the incarnation of spiritual meaning. On this highest level, like the anima as Sophia, the animus mediates between a woman's conscious mind and the unconscious. In mythology this aspect of the animus appears as Hermes, messenger of the gods; in dreams he is a helpful guide. More generally, we tend to "fall in love" with our anima/animus archetypes. Literally the woman/man of our dreams. But the key is to find the animus/anima inside of us rather than expecting others to conform to our archetypes. Dreams give us manifestations of what we can access in our unconscious. In your case, your animus which you have identified is reliable and treats you well. I suspect you miss him when the dream finishes. Are these the "ideal man" qualities for you? Now for the hard bit. Can you bring these qualities into awareness and integrate them into RL? Jung suggests that we develop more effectively if we can. Bu

[Lucidbulbs]

I guess he'd be my ideal, though a few of my DCs with these traits tend to end up avoiding some things I ask them... or tell me some ridiculous story I scold them over, mainly because it's true and entirely their fault [haha, quirks just prove humanity right? But anyways, those issues come up seldomly... I think]. I think I could, with time and effort to integrate those parts of my animus. Once of course I make myself aware enough to realize almost 24/7 that there are traits that I could work on [which may take some time]. Thanks for the advice, I'll have to put it into action ^.^

[Burned up]

I guess he'd be my ideal, though a few of my DCs with these traits tend to end up avoiding some things I ask them... or tell me some ridiculous story I scold them over, mainly because it's true and entirely their fault [haha, quirks just prove humanity right? But anyways, those issues come up seldomly... I think]. I think I could, with time and effort to integrate those parts of my animus. Once of course I make myself aware enough to realize almost 24/7 that there are traits that I could work on [which may take some time]. Thanks for the advice, I'll have to put it into action ^.^ Yeah, like you say it will take time and will feel unusual. But if you can dream it you know you can be it. In an emotional kind of way, anyway. Bu