The Myths of the Functions

What does that mean, the bold, about fantasy, if you don't mind my asking? 

I have found that different types of fantasy have deeply resonated at different times in life. When I was a child, I was obsessed with the classic European fairy tales. As a teen, I was drawn to Indian comic books depicting various Hindu stories and mythology, and to mythology and religion in general, especially ancient and exotic ones. Then I started reading the lives of saints which have a lot of "magical" elements.

The first Ti depiction above...space. Now that has always been an obsession of mine. The universe is beautiful. And it evokes for me a sense of silence, eternity, vastness/infinity, and indescribable beauty....something approaching transcendence. But the other pictures of Ti, not so much...though weirdly, they remind me of the Matrix. I remember loving to sit outside in the evenings and watching the stars since childhood, plus I love astronomy, so maybe that's why no. 1 resonates and not for any archetypal reasons.

I also remember having a small, mini-"awakening" experience in my early twenties after a thoroughly painful period. I only realized after, muuuch later, that it corresponded to what people describe as "awakening" except mine was on a much smaller scale, so not easily recognizable. Anyway, after that, the world looked literally different for a few months. It seemed a little alive. Especially trees and mountains and green leaves. At that time, I would have definitely resonated with the Fi depiction above, sensing that God was in a leaf, or that a mountain was 'deeply asleep' that large trees were ancient (almost eternal), wise, ever-watching, guardian-like. Looking out into the horizon and feeling that something behind it all was deep, ancient and alive. Alas, remembering it makes me miss it but whatever mind-state that is, it is not easy to switch it on at will. Anyway, since I'm not Fi I'm thinking maybe that experience was Si related?

I also remember watching religious depictions on walls at church as a very young child and being drawn 'into' them like moth to flame. I was always wanting to disappear into that realm/place, and I think I can now say that "ancient" was fantasy or fantastical to me, and so why I wonder if Si may be involved here.

Ahhhh, I want to move into that study and library, the shire too!  I forget which post but I remember once posting about my weird love affair with libraries. Not just for the books but the feeling of a vast, well-stocked library has always done something for me. I have even dreamt about them quite a bit, always positively. I used to think it was because I had loved to read fairy tales in libraries as a child, but maybe there's somethino archetypal there as well.

In any case, all those depictions of Si you've put there are sweet to me! I don't even see it as art, just sweet. I just look at them and like the idea in them. Always thought the Shire was the most cozy place ever. Being a guy maybe you are not well acquainted with the TV show called Gilmore Girls, but there was this fictional little town there called Stars Hollow that always evoked for me the same perfect blend of quirkiness and homeyness/coziness that I see in the Shire,  except the context is vastly different. Stars Hollow is supposed to be in Connecticut not middle-earth! But it has the same feeling of kinship among the town's residents, along with strange almost sweet little quarrels, has quirky little institutions and traditions that are kept very lovingly and taken seriously by its people, though outsiders don't really appreciate it.

Aqua - Aha, precisely! When Fi is also pursued in that bliss, that's when they start to embody that form. I know of a few deltas that are the same way - and have a little garden they merrily tend to.

It is perhaps a bit early for me to identify something which should ultimately lie outside of my realm of experience, but I was recently caught up in another popular fantasy series, and believe its content may point toward interesting avenues to uncover and discuss the Si myth. I am of course referring to, what else, but Game of Thrones.

First of all, I would like to say that my analytical endeavor is mostly dedicated to the book release, which is emerging from the vision of SiTe author G.R.R. Martin. As noted by fellow readers, the show has taken some tonal divergence with the original material, which may turn as less representative of the aforementioned myth, and, to be honest, got me tired at the end of season four. 

If the criteria of a functional myth is defined as an encompassing, if not properly metaphysical perspective, which suggests at least numinous undertones, then I believe some of it could be inferred by the leading threads of the fiction, especially when they are likely to represent the human condition. Nevertheless, individuals and their works are complex, particular, and so one should not be quick to draft the conclusions. My own reading is quite incomplete, and mostly reliant on second-hand interpretation. Beside, even though I will not delve into too much details, you can still beware of spoilers.

From the initial title of the saga, A Song of Ice and Fire, one can already acknowledge a strong significance of opposites and balance. When asked to elaborate on how fantasy needed to reflect reality, G.R.R. Martin answered by quoting Faulkner on the only thing worth writing about : "the human heart in conflict with itself". Since the orientation of Introverted Perception seems to be to unify experience, it is not unexpected that it would be concerned by versatile, and thus contradicting influences and their resolution, on a personal and collective level. This is a theme one can find at the core of Ni users, like Jung or Nietzsche, but also every people preoccupied by this facet of their psyche. The usual arc of a linear narrative structure is well suited to channel this urge toward a settlement.


This outcome correlates with another potential aspect of the myth, which was to be overlooked by the show's fascination with brutality, and resides in pacification. Like Tolkien, Martin seems to be ultimately an advocate against violence and its medium. Compared to Ni, I would say again that the static and immediate nature of anchoring incites further toward tranquility and the mundane. The Gravedigger theory is very interesting from this point of view, and it will be fascinating to finally discover how the Song itself ends.


Nevertheless, the pattern on which I would really draw the attention, and which I feel is imperceptibly parting from Ni, is the sanctity of the past, and more so its repetition through cycles. As most epics, A Song of Ice and Fire often refers to an ancient and revered era, for example through the trope of the "Age of Heroes". Although there is practical distancing and dramatic twists, in some regard, prophecies are coming true, and manifest through the reenactments of old legends and legacies. At least, the far past has a clear mythical aura, which is home to magical creatures, closer to archetypes and symbolism than the current setting (for which Martin is more permissive than Tolkien). Some of this cycling mechanism is even present in the time frame of the narrative itself, with very specific instances, like recently in the character arc of Jaime. I find that this quite fittingly echoes the accumulation of concrete experience of Si, which along its propensity toward anticipation through repetition, is valuing the deepest and more reinforced layers of memory. One could said that the cycle of History is integrated in the writing process and the author themselves, as the work setting and continuity is strongly reminiscent of the War of the Rose (some explanations here and there).



Another widespread fantasy series which relies greatly on themes of cycle, opposite and ancientness may be found in video game Dark Souls. As a matter of fact, the last entry has been criticized for its predictability, perhaps a bit unjustly, and its reliance on the player's own nostalgia. Unfortunately, filmed interviews, or even basic reports on decisive lead author and all around very discreet man Hidetaka Miyazaki are unreachable, and thus I cannot fully confirm my guess that he is also SiTe. 

From there, it becomes more understandable that some defining tropes of the genre, at least for the neophyte, may be concomitant with these functional myths. Maybe it would be conductive to contrast these works with the ones of authors with different functions, for example with the "Polish Tolkien", NiTe Andrzej Sapkowski, which produced the Witcher Saga. The thematic is, by some aspect, close, and also includes a concern for the pragmatism of war, but is nevertheless characterized by its definitely modern take on storytelling, which often rearranges History in light of the present, whether inside or outside of the narrative, with a bitter irony, if not irreverence. It eventually culminates in a display of ancient power, although it leads the deuteragonist, Ciri, on the path of the multiverse, toward the distant past and science-fiction future, strange worlds as well as our own, negating the spatial and time frame. Ultimately, the main threat is not linked to a recurrent event, like the seasons in A Song of Ice and Fire, but to an overarching fatality, the White Frost, something akin to entropy.

Anyhow, I would be curious to know your thoughts on the relevance of the cycle, and its relation to the present. Again, as in the cognitive dichotomy, I believe the difference with Ni resides in its concrete, almost literal execution, which inescapably give to the past and its symbols some form of prevalence toward knowledge and even the fondation of reality. 

I like the word motif; i think Jung used that to describe thematic psychic causalities too. I wish I could make a further comment on the analysis, but haven't really watched Game of Thrones past the first 4 episodes. I plan to when I have spare time!




Yes to the principle of enantiodromia. On a bit of a tangential note, I've been realizing as of late that what I've been attempting to explain lately in the way of "ego-associated" vs "unconscious" is explained by Jung via enantiodromia. This article puts it well:

I think these two polarizations are different from the conscious/subconscious descriptions that we've outlined, since they happen not through physical structure of the brain or one's energy levels, but also from a compounded psychological attitude. The attitude is to suppress and exalt.

Granted, I have seen people whose ego is in a function, "let loose" and allow the unconscious function to take reign when on the right drugs. So chemistry can play a role in altering a person's attitude of suppression/exaltation.

On that note, stress can cause a temporary suppression of something into the unconscious. Like, a Ti lead who shuts everyone out due to a spell of social overwhelm. I'm thinking this sort of thing may be worth noting ...and I'm trying to explore it further.

Frozen part II: Elsa, Olaf, Kristoff and Marshmallow-the dynamics between Fe and suppressed Fi and Ti

I decided to post with this account as my other one doesn't allow me to post images and videos.

So, continuing with the above Frozen commentary (I should make clear that I am an Fe-Ti user, so please read my views with the awareness that they may be biased in that regard ):

In the movie, there is this scene where Elsa (FE) is having an argument with Ana (FI). Ana has just met a man she thinks she's in love with and is about to go ahead and Marry him. The scene is interesting to me because, as an Fe-biased person, it reflects how I see Fi (in myself) and sheds some light on Elsa's choices. In essence Elsa accuses Ana of being foolish and irresponsible (She doesn't put it like that obviously).




As an Fe-biased person, I tend to see Fi tendencies as selfish and careless. Yet I think this is how it is perceived in my own self with my psyche having opted for Fe over Fi: that is, preferred Fe and "rejected" Fi right from the get-go. This can be projected onto others without my realizing it, essentially reading the same 'selfish and careless/irresponsible' tone in others' Fi motivations that I by default have attached to my own suppressed Fi.

Olaf & Kristoff: Healthy Fe balanced by healthy Ti

Later, in the movie, Elsa's own values are expressed in words by Olaf, the snow-man she creates. Reading around, I have gotten that Disney explained Olaf as part of Elsa herself (she literally creates him from scratch, entirely. Thus, all his thoughts, actions and feelings ultimately come from her).

In my view, we can say that Olaf represents a healthier or more balanced Fe, or if not, then the externalization of the hidden Fe motives that remain unexplained by Elsa (as Disney explains)...the purer parts of Fe, in other words. Elsa is the actualization/external behavior that others can see. This is important because Olaf goes with Ana when her sister chases her away from her ice castle. So, in a way, though her actions might seem cold and rejecting, her 'heart' stays with the sister she loves.

Olaf is also important because, as has been noted by other commentators, when he explains his understanding of 'true love' to Ana later, he is explaining Elsa's ethic to Ana. This understanding is Fe and is what has characterized Elsa's life throughout, it is what explains her otherwise enigmatic choices to her sister. Here it is:




Olaf says that love is: putting someone else's needs above your own. And goes ahead to risk melting away in order to keep Ana warm near the fire. This is why Fe-biased individuals like Elsa disregard or mistreat their own suppressed Fi. They consider its motivations to be anti-love.

He gives her as an example of this 'true love' the fact that Kristof--who loves Ana--has chosen to leave her because he believes Hans' love will save her. So he has suppressed his own desires for the good of Ana.

Interestingly, we see that that is precisely what Elsa has been doing her whole life: suppressing and hiding her magical nature and her desires that spring from this nature so that she would never hurt Ana ever again; so that the kingdom would never have to deal with the fact that their heiress has magical powers; so that she might meet her parent's expectations. In order for everyone else to be happy, content and continue as normal, Elsa must suffer. This is how she sees it. But this represents an overblown or unhealthy Fe rather than the balanced or healthy Fe of Olaf and Kristof.

I've seen/heard it said over at personalityhacker.com that healthy Fe caters to people's actual needs, their actual good, and factors the Fe-user into the whole equation of "the common good" but unhealthy Fe can't separate actual needs/good from the unreasonable desires/wants of others. Unhealthy Fe then ends up stretching itself to the point where it can't take care of others at all, hence is self-defeating or defeating to the Fe agenda.

Healthy Fe on the other hand is still motivated by the good of others but also realizes that the person's resources are not unlimited (detached Ti wisdom?). Thus, for the sake of "the common good", the person himself/herself, as the ultimate resource of all these efforts for "the common good" must be factored into the equation at all times. This means healthy boundaries must be drawn, choices must be made between what is worthwhile in the demands/desires of others and some desires or even needs must be ignored. I agree with this understanding. Healthy Fe is in balance with a sound detached Ti analysis of the situation in the long term or in a much broader sense than the immediate situation demands.

Elsa's unlimited self-sacrifice ultimately pushes her to the point where she gives up the whole "putting others needs before my own" ethic. This is exemplified in the "Let it go" song (See the lyrics):




At that point, she has given up on the Fe project entirely or almost entirely (as said earlier, the running away to the mountain is in a way, still done for others too). This despair or giving up is not out of a clean choice, but because she is defeated. She has run out of Fe fuel. She gave it her best and now has failed. So she erects her (unhealthy) Ti ice-castle and creates Marshmallow (also her Ti expressed unhealthily): this is the monster who keeps out of the castle all those whom Esther does not want to let in.

Marshmallow:




So, in my view, Frozen is a commentary on the perils of an Fe drive that is unbalanced by Ti (a more universal, objective, detached analysis) and even Fi (the needs of the Fe-user or "what is true" about the Fe-user and their nature and thus relevant ultimately to the success/failure of any Fe-project, whether acknowledged or not).