Unmasking to show the real self
FRIENDSHIP IS JUST A TRAP FOR THE NAÏVE |CARL JUNG
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lyQAMnpxcg
“There is always some element of pretence about the persona, for it is a kind of shop window in which we like to display our best wares.” Anthony Stevens, Jung: A Very Short Introduction
Jung's discussions on the persona and its implications are found across multiple works, but a significant focus appears in "Two Essays on Analytical Psychology," part of his Collected Works, volume 7. This volume includes two key essays:"On the Psychology of the Unconscious," first published in 1916.
The persona begins to form early in childhood out of a need to conform to the wishes and expectations of parents, peers and teachers. Children quickly learn that certain attitudes and behaviours are acceptable and may be rewarded with approval while others are unacceptable and may result in punishment. The tendency is to build acceptable traits into the persona and to keep unacceptable traits hidden or repressed. Perhaps being assertive is seen as rude and socially unacceptable and one becomes passive, affecting one’s relationships and career, or one can be too agreeable because one doesn’t like conflicts, but is taken advantage of. These undesirable aspects eventually take their toll on us as we mature, forming our shadow, the dark side of our personality, whom we may be possessed by at any moment, in sudden emotional outbursts.
For Jung, the negotiation with one’s shadow is a lifelong process as part of our self-education, which allows us to rescue the good qualities that lie dormant in our psyche and be honest about who we are, as well as knowing how much good we can do, and what crimes we are capable of. The shadow, which is usually perceived as negative, also has its positive side. It becomes hostile only when it is ignored or misunderstood.
Jung's writings suggest that over-identification with the persona can lead to a lack of authenticity, where individuals become overly concerned with societal expectations, potentially at the expense of their true selves. This can have significant consequences for relationships, as it may result in superficial interactions and a failure to form deep, genuine connections.
So what was happening in Jung’s horoscope when he wrote about the persona. In his horoscope, Carl Jung has a radix square aspect between Neptune [3ta] and Sun [3le].
In 1916 when he wrote about the Persona his major directions were:
(a) Primary Mundane: “Saturn square Neptune”
(b) Transit Neptune was conjunct his Sun
Below is an extract from a previous post on Neptune [1]:
Many of us live in a world of delusions (Neptune). A delusion is defined as a state of irrational belief that holds even when there is strong evidence to the contrary. With its connection to delusions, Neptune is linked to “mirages” or appearances that belie reality.
But the actual purpose of Neptune is to undermine things from within. In the material world he causes things to decay. And on the mental level he will eat away at everything we believe in by discrediting all that we hold to be true. But Neptune cannot undermine if he did not at the same time hold before us some ideal to be contrasted with its faulty reality. If a true reality is to be appreciated and outwardly realized then a false reality must be shown up for what it is. When we truly come to understand Neptune, we may find that he is actually the revealer of reality.
Hopefully readers can see that the timing of Jung’s discovery of the persona and how it differs from the authentic self was an achievement clearly shown by the directions in his horoscope
[1] https://javed22.blogspot.com/2022/12/neptune-stations-direct-undermining.html
Comments
Post a Comment