The Father
Senex, the old king
Law, order, and spirit, and their hardening.
The Father: what does it mean in analytical psychology?
The father archetype carries authority, law, and order: the voice that commands and forbids, the tradition handed down. Where Jung associated the mother with nature and matter, he associated the father with spirit and logos, and with wind, sky, and sword.
His dark side is the tyrant and the old king who has hardened into law for its own sake and must be renewed. James Hillman later wrote of the tension between the senex, the old man, and the puer, the eternal youth.
The Father: where does it appear in myth and tradition?
Zeus and Jupiter, Kronos devouring his children, the sky gods, God the Father, the patriarchs of Genesis, and the king of the fairy tale who is old or ailing and whose kingdom lies waste.
From the Sources
Jung writes that the father, in the psychological sense, personifies the incest prohibition, the resistance that defends the mother, and that in his place there may be a fearful animal that must be fought and overcome.
“The father, in the psychologic sense, merely represents the personification of the incest prohibition; that is to say, resistance, which defends the mother. Instead of the father, it may be a fearful animal (the great bear, the snake, the dragon, etc.) which must be fought and overcome.”
Dr. C. G. Jung, Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido, Part II, Chapter VII, 'The Dual Mother Rôle' (on Hiawatha). Authorized translation, with introduction, by Beatrice M. Hinkle, M.D.; New York: Moffat, Yard and Company, 1916. The text, read in part
Jung concludes that the ego which believes it has conquered the anima has not done so, but has fused anew with a figure of the same sex corresponding to the father-imago, a still more powerful figure.
“We must conclude then that the ego has never conquered the anima at all, and hence has not acquired the mana. Only a new fusion has happened, this time with a figure of the same sex corresponding to the father-imago, a still more powerful figure.”
C. G. Jung, M.D., LL.D., Two Essays on Analytical Psychology, 'The Relation of the Ego to the Unconscious', Part II, Chapter IV, 'The Mana Personality', p. 254. Authorized translation by H. G. and C. F. Baynes; London: Bailliere, Tindall and Cox, 1928 (Internet Archive OCR text). The text, read in part
Each passage is quoted from the text named, which the press fetched and read, and was checked word for word against a fresh copy of it; the link opens that copy. Passages are given as printed, without the editors’ footnote numbers, and with words broken across lines joined.
Where to Read
- “The Significance of the Father in the Destiny of the Individual” (1909/1949), CW 4
- “Rex and Regina,” in Mysterium Coniunctionis (1955–56), CW 14
- James Hillman, “Senex and Puer” (1967)
Jung’s writings are cited by the volume of the Collected Works (CW), Bollingen Series / Princeton, 1953–79.
Related Symbols
In the Glossary: Spirit.
Also among Parents and Elders
“Learn as much as you can about symbolism; then forget it all when you are analysing a dream.”
Cite This Entry
“The Father.” In Symbols of the Psyche, the Symbolarium. The Thinking Press, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/symbolarium/psyche/father.
Symbols That Share Its Terms
The Animus (Latin: spirit, mind) · Violet (The ultraviolet) · The Wind · Breath (Pneuma, spiritus, ruach) · The Prison (The captive spirit)
Nearby in the alphabet: The Eye: Sight, awareness, and the eye that watches. The Fall: The loss of paradise, and the birth of consciousness. Fermentatio: The leaven that brings the dead matter to life. Fire: Energy that warms, purifies, and consumes.