The Self (Jungian Archetype)
Archetype · The totality and organizing center of the psyche
- First attested
- 1928C.G. Jung, The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious (1928).
True maturity occurs when the ego surrenders pride and serves the deeper wholeness of the Self.
C.G. Jung, Aion: Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self (CW 9ii, 1951).
The supreme archetype of psychological wholeness and the central organizing matrix of the psyche.
In Carl Jung’s analytical psychology, the Self is the central archetype of order and the totality of the entire psyche, encompassing both the conscious ego and the vast unconscious. While the ego is the center of conscious awareness, the Self is the circumference and superordinate organizing principle that drives the lifelong journey of individuation. The Self expresses itself across cultures through symbols of geometric symmetry, mandalas, squaring the circle, the philosopher’s stone, and divine cosmic figures (Christ, Buddha, Atman).
Light
Transcendent meaning, centered calm, profound resilience, and alignment with cosmic order.
Shadow
Ego-Self inflation, messianic delusions, and identifying conscious ego with divine omnipotence.