For your most intimate and significant relationship with the opposite sex, look within yourself—to anima and animus, the archetypal symbols that define and celebrate the presence
of the Feminine in men and the Masculine in women. These compelling figures express inner realities of psyche and spirit with which we all must grapple in putting together the pieces of our
individual identities—whether we are married or single, sexually active or celibate, heterosexual or homosexual. They ultimately provide a bridge between the ego and the deepest Self, opening
the way to profound self-knowledge and spiritual transformation. The authors use their broad backgrounds in psychology, theology, philosophy, and the arts to follow the archetypes from clinical
practice into a fascinating range of cultural manifestations, particularly in the world's great literature—from Dante to Pasternak—making this book the most wide-ranging study to date of these
central concepts in Jungian psychology.
