Wednesday 17 December 2008

Anima Animus

I have found a person, proven (pretty much) to be my total opposite..In almost all aspect..My animus incarnate!

How?

A friend of a friend. Asked him to add me on facebook. Gave him my number. Met him up in KL. Simple.

If there is one thing we both agree on, it would be our opinions on people. We both happen to be observers of human behaviour, mine innate and his acquired (according to him....my personality doesn't allow that much break down of things..:P)

For once, it was good, to have another person understand the way you think, maybe even more than you yourself would have guessed. In this situation, well, I'm just not discipline in actually trying to phrase it. What I feel about a person, he articulates.

So, as we were discussing, behaviours (ours, not to worry..:P), and I casually told him that the incomplete MBTI showed that I was an ENFP - Extroversion iNtuitive Feeling Perceiving. He laughed and said that he was my complete opposite; ISTJ - Introversion Sensing Thinking Judging! At first, it didn't really register much in my head (was busy thinking about other stuff). So I started reading about these profiles..

They were eerily accurate actually;

Me: The inspirer, the visionary, the advocate
Him: The duty-fulfiller, the reliant, the examiner

  • If I seem warm, he seems cold. (He is really approachable..:))
  • If I'm friendly, he is reserved.
  • If I'm always looking for something new, he is loyal to the end.
  • If I prefer the start-up phase of projects or relationships, he honour deadlines and thoroughness.
  • If I only put emphasis on subjects that interest me, he learns best subjects that are practical and useful.
  • If my workplace is arranged haphazardly (there you go..an oxymoron!!), his needs things organized (I quote, "I am so disorganized. I can't find a particular paper. I need to organize myself"...put me in that scenario..."oh well..I'll just print a new one..:P")
  • I will have difficulty separating work time from leisure, his leisure time is hard earned!
  • I like to travel, read, invite friends to plays, movies, etc...basically I have difficulty being alone, he really enjoys his alone time, and he has a schedule for leisure.
  • I don't remember details to save my life, for him details is everything.
  • If I'm a believer, he is the skeptic.

Ani-what??

One of the many profile description gave the relationship shared between types. It puzzled me to see the relationship described as Anima. ?? Nope. Never heard of. So I go read more. It was used in Carl Jung's school of psychology. One described Anima as the the personification of all feminine psychological tendencies within a man, and the archetypal feminine symbolism within a man's unconscious. Animus is the personification of all masculine psychological tendencies within a woman, and the archetypal masculine symbolism within a woman's unconscious. Jung however says it's not totally unconsious..but let's not delve too deep in it..I am an ameteur..:P

Quite a mouthful eh?

It goes on to explain the anima/animus projection and possession..simply put, in the projection of anima/animus, a person unaware of the opposing gender qualities in one's self, would project it in the opposite gender..usually carrying an attraction charge. And the possession of anima/animus would lead to the man acting out in a childish manner or a woman being domineering...(translate into man giving in to emotions stereotypical female qualities, and woman taking on more leading roles, stereotypical masculine attributes..)



It also says that the typical archetypal figures of anima and animus are depicted in the characters of Juliet Binoche and Johnny Depp in Chocolat! (even though this might not interest you, encouraged to watch this! :) no need dl...go youtube! :)).


Hence to be complete, it is said that a person needs to assimilate the anima/animus with one's self...

For Him:
Discover his true feelings

For Her:
Constantly question her opinions and ideas


It would apply to both him and I... He would probably need to tone down on thinking, while I need to start thinking!

Anyways, my "animus" is a good friend, and a constant source or entertainment/study.

Me signing out! Sleepy..

2 comments:

Zyklon22 said...

I lost you somewhere along the lines of anima and animus. I'm more familiar with animisme. LOL.

But anyway, that's one of my fav books :)

Pebbles said...

LOL.. Hello zyklon22! :)

Yea..it's difficult to explain in a few words...was thinking if I explained any more...I'd probably get lost myself! :S

Yes, noted! Shall find book!! Novels are always better than the movie..:S