Jungian Archetypes

There are different Jungian archetypes that people have. These are behaviors that people are born with and are part of their personality. This is something that is often passed down from ancestors.

In Jungian psychology, these are things that are universal, and they represent the conscious state that people have. Carl Jung believed that people inherited these archetypes and behaviors.

Personal and Collective Unconsciousness

Freud believed in the same types of things that Jung did. Jung believed that Freud was right when he talked about how the unconsciousness plays a role in how a person acts.

Jung believed that the psyche was made up of the ego, personal unconsciousness, and collective unconsciousness. He believed that the ego was the conscious mind and the memories that people have that they have hidden.

Where Did Archetypes Come from?

Jung believed that the unconscious was where these things played a role and that they were things that were not learned but that were universal or that were hereditary. This can be things that are based on science, ethics, philosophy, and other ideas of reality.

Jung didn’t believe that the human mind began as nothing, but that people picked things up by the people that they were around, and this was what made them know how to be a human. He also believed that the archetype was part of the personality and that some people have different archetypes that they are controlled by.

Four Main Archetypes

Jung believed that there are four main archetypes but that there are many others that can be out there:

Persona

The persona is how you mask things form the world. There are different social masks that people have depending on the group that they are in or what situation they are facing.

This is something that develops from childhood and people learn to hide things such as their emotions, impulses, and other things so that they can be accepted. This allows them to fit into society.

Shadow

The shadow is the archetype that is instincts and sex. This is part of the unconscious mind, and it is ideas, weaknesses and things that people want to hide form others. This is different than people should act in cultural norms and so they keep this hidden from others.

This includes things like greed, aggression and more. They hide this so that they don’t come across as a monster to others.

Anima or Animus

This is the true self that you show to others. This is how you communicate and how you look at social influences. This has to do with gender roles and identities and represents how men and women are supposed to act.

In different cultures, this might be different, and some are required to change gender roles.

Self

The self is the part of you that is both the consciousness and the unconsciousness. This is the image that you feel of who you are. This is what makes you an individual. This can cause conflict inside of you thought because:

  • The ego is the center of your consciousness.
  • The self lies in the personality.
  • The personality works with the ego and the conscious and unconscious mind.

The goal is for people to have their own self concept and to learn to accept themselves.

Other Archetypes

Here are some other archetypes according to Jung:

• Ruler.
• Creator.
• Artist.
• Innocent.
• Explorer.
• Sage.
• Wizard.
• Hero.
• Rebel.
• Lover.
• Everyman.
• Caregiver.

Final Thoughts

Jung’s ideas are very popular, and he followed some of his ideas after Freud. He uses these ideas as part of psychology, and it can be studied online or in school.