Face Animus
by KATIA SOVA | 2025, October 14
The concept of Animus was developed by Carl Jung to determine the unconscious masculine side of a woman’s psyche. M. Esther Heading his collaborator, formalized four stages of the Animus development (in the book The Way of All Women). Each level represents deeper and more complex layers of a woman’s inner masculine aspect.
1st Stage: Physical /Adam, Tarzan / Power-Will
The Animus appears as a muscle man, a warrior, or an athlete. During the stage Animus appears in dreams and fantasy to manifest masculine energy, courage, and physical assertiveness considered as admiration for strength or a protector figure.
2nd Stage: Emotional / Deed
The Animus takes on the form of a romantic or adventurous figure: a lover, seducer, or hero. This stage brings emotional involvement. Thus, a woman may project her Animus onto men who embody Collective image of handy-man. For more exacting women, the animus figure is a man who accomplishes deeds, in the sense that he directs his power toward something of great significance.
3rd Stage: Intellectual / Word
The Animus becomes associated with words, ideas, and intellectual authority referring to role of a teacher, professor, or orator. It symbolizes the ability to reason, to argue, to express ideas clearly. The Animus helps develop the woman’s capacity for critical thinking and communication.
4th Stage: Spiritual / Hermes
On this highest level, the Animus is perceived as a guide, a philosopher. It underlines inner wisdom, spiritual insight, and the connection to deeper truths. The spiritual and wise form is integrated as an inner guide that helps balance the personality.
The Animus evolves from raw physical energy to emotional involvement, then to intellectual expression, and finally to spiritual wisdom.
Understanding Animus helps a woman develop her masculine qualities in a balanced way, while unintegrated Animus cause projections onto men and inner conflicts.