In Jungian psychology, everyone supposedly has an anima or animus, the aspect of the self that is the opposite of the self. Men tend to have a female anima who holds the more feminine characteristics of their personality while women tend to have a male animus who holds the masculine part of their personality.
The anima or animus serves as a way of alienating and othering the parts of ourselves with which we feel less in tune, making the anima or animus a shadow part of the self initially. As a shadow, it holds the possibility of wreaking havoc in one’s life if left suppressed and unintegrated. However, the anima/animus is also an incredibly important part of the self, thus each of us feels an attraction to it and to the things we encounter in the world that represent or symbolize it.
So long as the anima/animus is unknown, we run the risk of seeking integration with it in its destructive form; however, when brought out of the shadow and into consciousness, it can become an aid to the self rather than a destroyer/controller of the self.
I’ve been exploring my animus over the last year and have developed some fun exercises that I wanted to share with anyone who may be interested in getting to know their “other half” as well.
Getting to Know your Anima/Animus
Start by identifying the broad type of personality of your anima/animus. This is most easily done by taking note of the characters in books and movies to whom you feel magnetized. You’ll probably notice a trend emerge if you start to list them.
This isn’t your basic “I like this character” feeling. It’s stronger and deeper than that. It’s the characters that you fantasize about—the ones that you don’t entirely understand why you’re so drawn to them, but the ones that are irresistible nonetheless.
I suspect that part of the fascination that Twilight has held despite how bad it is (both in writing and in content) relates to it tapping into the unconscious animus of many women. (Picture of Edward and Bella from Breaking Dawn p. 2, 2012)
In making the list, avoid judging whether these are good characters or bad. You probably will have a mix, but getting into analyzing whether it’s a healthy attraction to a good character or not will merely interfere with tapping the unconscious. For the time being, suspend your judgment and treat them as if they were all neutral.
Once you have a list, step back and take a global assessment. You might have a ridiculous range of characters, some heroes in their stories, some villains. Some people you might want to know in real life; others you might never want to meet in actuality.
What do they share in common though? There will be something, perhaps many things. Are they all inventive? Perhaps they all tend to be very loyal. It’s those similarities that are key and that create the core of the anima/animus personality.
If you prefer a less analytical way of discovering core characteristics, you could also do a form of “divination” using story cards, tarot cards, or story cube. Roll (with the cubes) or draw (with cards) 6 to 10. Identify the characteristics they bring to mind in relation to your list.
Once you get the core shared personality characteristics, then you bring the analysis in. Given what all of your characters share in common, what makes them different? What makes one a good character and another a bad one?
The “bad” character, or the one you feel sort of uncomfortable with having on your list, holds valuable information about how your anima/animus could potentially be unhealthy. It may be what you fear you will become if you merge with the anima/animus or it may be the way that the anima/animus tends to reveal itself when you are not integrated.
However, even the negative anima/animus symbols hold the possibility for being healthy and good. They can guide you in where you might need some character development. They can inform you in where to take care as you get to know yourself, perhaps where you need to put in boundaries for yourself or evaluate your motives.
For example, quite a few of the characters on the list I made were either people who used power to protect the less fortunate or power to revenge the privileged. Thus, I know that my animus can help me in my activism and fight for social justice…or he could use oppression as an excuse to become an abuser himself. I have that choice, and knowing my animus allows me to consciously and actively do something about that choice.
Identifying the personality as well as the potential expressions of the personality for your anima/animus is the most important step, but you don’t have to stop there. If you wish to go further and get to know your anima/animus individually rather than just as a group of symbols, you can do some active imagination with your anima/animus.
It’s a little like meditation, but instead of sitting there without much purpose other than breathing and noticing, you invite your anima/animus to visit with you. Balancing between allowing your mind to go where it wants and directing it towards your purpose, you can interact with your anima/animus in a sort of lucid-dream-like meditative journey.
Don’t feel too distressed if your anima/animus doesn’t show up right away. It takes time to be active in your journey without your conscious mind interfering too much. If you haven’t done much work with intuition before, it might be easier to start by exercising your intuition with a less specific goal may be helpful.
This has been one of my favorite and most rewarding journeys. I hope that if you take this journey in bringing your anima/animus to consciousness that you will find it as rewarding as I have.
Quick note regarding queer individuals. Much of the language for the anima/animus theory is pretty hetero/cisnormative. I have tried to avoid language that “boxes in”and leave it more open. I have a fairly strong dominant feminine side, and my animus presents as masculine even though I’m not solely attracted to men. However, I wouldn’t presume to be versed enough in the theory or in queer experience of the theory to propose how other LGBT+ individuals may find this expressed for themselves. I am open to feedback and welcome hearing the stories of queer individuals who may have done work with their shadow side/non-dominant side.
sometimesmagical 
I’ve tried this exercise, but I don’t think it worked. At first, I couldn’t find any consistency with the characteristics of the characters I was drawn too. Then, I had to make another list of all the traits I listed and count their frequency. Only about seven out of approximately thirty traits reoccurred between characters, and this did not include all of them.
What makes this worse is the fact that the traits that they did share I already express on a daily/semi-daily basis. Did I make a mistake during the exercise or is this going to take more time to do properly?
I’m not sure I’m able to troubleshoot much of anything. I don’t think there’s a “wrong” way to do this exercise. It’s really just about helping you get in touch with your unconscious. Probably the only obstacle is overthinking. 🙂 If you already express those characteristics, maybe that means you’re pretty in touch with your anima/animus. Now you’re just trying to bring it to conscious awareness. I don’t know if any of this helps clarify, but my best advice is that you are your own best guide into what’s true for you. Do with that what you will.
Thanks. I will try the exercises you recommended especially the analysis one.
I know this is an older post, but I came across it while looking for ways to integrate my animus. Thank you for sharing this exercise! It helped me identify the traits that I tend to repress in myself, and seek out in others when I project my animus onto them. And it gave me a framework to figure out how to transmute those traits into something more positive. Much appreciated. ❤
Thanks for reading! I’ve loved getting to know my animus more in the time since I wrote this post, and I hope you do too!
What with this “cis”, “lgbt” etc. with regard to anima/animus – you should bear in mind that these are energies expressing themselves in certain ways, labeled masculine/feminine since ancient times, but not people as such, so they have no sex, gender etc. as such.
They are not people but they are related to by people so I want people to feel free to let these energies express themselves in whatever way is relatable and not get fixated on someone saying how it should be.
I’m a woman, however, I’ve realised over years I’m extremity of the characters described as aspects of Yin/Anima. This has led to extreme imbalance in my character development. Is there a way I could tap into my animus and let it grow properly so that I can balance my life?
These exercises were mostly for fun and personal development. I’m not an expert on how you personally can achieve balance in yourself, but a good therapist is probably the best place to start, particularly someone familiar with and trained in Jungian work.
I’m a heterosexual boy trying to seek out my own anima. When you suggest I should list characters I’m magnetized to, do you mean I should list female characters I would imagine I’d find attractive if I met them in real life, or should I list every character that simply captures my imagination?
I become highly engaged reading about a lot of male characters and often catch myself trying to emulate them simply because I see them being better at what I try to do for myself, or they have something I perceive myself as lacking. Not sure if this is a shadow thing rather than an anima/animus thing.
I wouldn’t pretend to be an expert on the anima but my understanding of Jung’s theory is that the anima of a man would be an alluring woman. Being magnetized by masculine figures is probably something else. But I encourage you to either read jungian theorists yourself or even work with a jungian analyst if you want a more in depth approach.