SLOOP - “IN THE NAME OF HELL/ WHO ARE YOU /WHO ARE YOU?”

Avatars and Archetypes.

Part II

The first part of this column was posted a few days ago and I took the liberty of speculating with the idea of being able to cast an objective look on our avatar –and /or our alts- from a Jungian point of view. The fact that Second Life is so obviously projective made me think we could easily “make” archetypal versions of our personality.

And the first archetype I mentioned was the Shadow. And please, if you think this is worth reading, check the column I just mentioned. Lets just remember the Shadow is the personification of that part of human, psychic possibility, that we deny in ourselves and project onto others. The goal of personality integration is to integrate the rejected, the darker side of our life into our total experience. That side is not “bad” by default, it can also be our most creative and free side of our potential.

The second most prevalent archetype is that of the SOUL. “Anima” is the male name of the soul, “Animus” is the female name. This is our inner opposite. Guys meet their Anima, gals meet their Animus. The Anima may appear in so many different ways, as an exotic dancing girl or as an old hag. The Animus may appear as an exotic and sensual young man or as an old grouch. A good example taken from the modern myth department is Lois Lane. Clark Kent is the inferior shadow side of Superman, but Lois Lane is not interested in Clark. She is infatuated with Superman, her Animus, the masculine completion of her personality. (We are not talking about gender issues here: if you are a gay man you will be looking for your Animus and if you are a gay woman, you will be looking for your Anima).

Just asking: anyone has made an alt of the opposite sex just for the fun of it? Well, you are welcome to watch it closely. It’s such a big chunk of yourself.

Jung’s main archetypes are not “types” in the way each person may be classified as one or the other. We each have all basic archetypes within us. And we have seen three of the four main forms or archetypes.

The fourth one is the SELF.

For Jung, the Self is the spirit that connects everything and is part of the Universe. It is the coherent whole that unifies both consciousness and unconsciousness. It may be found elsewhere in concepts as Nirvana, or other philosophical or religious theories that speak of harmony. Jung described the creation of the Self as a process of individuation, the work of a lifetime, the “becoming the person you were meant to be”, where after being able to identify all the archetypes you can, then be able to become you own original self, bringing together all the aspects of your personality as one, and being in charge of them, making you whole again, yet a lot more genuine and free.

So, bottom line: I found the idea of our avatar and alts being parts of our split selves, very interesting –to say the least-. And as those avatars have probably been “constructed” in a very unconscious and playful way… seems like a good idea to take a good look at them and see what we can learn from the virtual version of “who the hell we are”. Second Life may help us to –literally- pull ourselves together.

Covadonga Writer.