The anima and animus are described in Carl Jung’s school of analytical psychology as part of his theory of the collective unconscious. Jung described the animus as the unconscious masculine side of a woman, and the anima as the unconscious feminine side of a man, each transcending the personal psyche. A person with an integrated anima/animus can easily relate to others as a whole human being, with equal measures of the heart and the mind.
Animation of spirit is another way to describe the role of our anima/animus in making determinations regarding our innermost thoughts and our feelings held within our hearts. It’s not what we say or feel, but how we express the spirit of life. The anima/animus is formed by the archetypes that influence how we draw inspiration through creativity and intuition. Through our personal lens influenced by archetypes, we color our lives with a transpersonal psychic structure.
Under normal circumstances, the mother and father model the first imprint on the masculine/feminine psyche. When one parent is absent, a surrogate becomes the archetype. The parental relationship provides the primary image of the anima/animas. An archetype exists in the Universal mind as an idea common to all, giving a newborn latent capacity to the psyche prior to birth. In more basic terms, a person’s anima/animus can describe the balance between masculine and feminine (tee hee). In the name of finding that balance, let’s get a whisper on the subject:
The animation of spirit is defined by the human journey and a soul embellished by incarnating in a world with limitations. An imagination that begins with spatial requirements must expand beyond average perception to know the feeling dimensions. Humans often get stuck in patterns of behavior influenced by the subconscious mind. To find balanced integration regarding anima/animus, the heart must open to both the transient emotion of love and the energy of love. The willingness to revive both is what animates the spirit and illuminates the soul.
A person’s inner life or soul life can be out of balance due to unhealthy attachments. An attachment to a person, place, event, a way of being, pattern, and behavior is normally established at a very early stage of life. The parents model the ideal image to the developing child in a display of masculine and feminine energies. The perception of the parental relationships determines the full expression of life, especially as it relates to love without conditions and full acceptance of the child.
The prominent female relationship that is present today can influence primarily masculine energies. Feminine energies dominate in a more complex manner, with influences from childhood that remain active. The animus is modeled by both parents in early childhood development to create a potential bias in adulthood. Integration of the anima and the animus depends on the conditions under which a person evolves to align with their core vibrations.
Imbalances influenced by unhealthy soul life are expressed in the individual’s behavior. In order to activate the human spirit’s higher levels of healthy animation, the architecture of spirit must be filled with equal measures of the ideal male and female. Awakening to love is a decision to be happy today, to be your best self by letting go of the past, and to finding the beauty in life.
Bring joy, ease suffering and create beauty, then dance like you mean it!
Blessings, Russell
“The projection-forming factor is the anima. Wherever she appears in dreams, phantasies or visions, she appears personified, thereby demonstrating that basically she possesses all the outstanding characteristics of a female person.”
Carl Yung
