The Psychology of Animals

Animals have been an integral part of human existence since our earliest origins. They are deeply ingrained within us and play a crucial role in the unconscious. In various religions, animals are revered as gods. Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist Carl Jung frequently remarked that animals embodied the divine aspect of the human psyche. He wrote a bold statement for a thinker of his era, “Even domestic animals, to whom we erroneously deny a conscience, have complexes and moral reactions.” We belong to the animal kingdom, and knowing this is part of the individuation process, the journey towards wholeness. Yet, we seem to have forgotten our roots. The animal is a symbol of the Self. It embodies the complete wisdom of nature yet does not possess the light of human consciousness. Animals are deeply connected to a “secret” order within nature itself and the absolute knowledge of the unconscious, living according to their own inner laws beyond human notions of good and evil. Animals live exactl