PART 2
DIALECTIC ARCHETYPE
The universal dialectic archetype consists of two archetypes: the archetype of Yang, or the masculine principle, and the archetype of Yin, or the feminine principle. In Western philosophical tradition, they approximately correspond to spirit and matter. Tradition ascribes the following qualities to the Yang archetype: subtle, active, stimulating, creative, and incarnating. Conversely, the Yin archetype is characterized by density, inertia, reactivity—i.e., receptivity, fluidity, the ability to respond to influence, and the capacity for transformation under external impact. In plain language, Yang exerts influence, while Yin is subject to influence. Everything related to the methods and characteristics of influence—force, energy, plans, instruments, techniques—falls under Yang attributes. Everything describing the response to influence, the object of influence itself, its qualities, and ways of reacting—these are all Yin attributes.
Spirit holds an idea and wishes to express it; matter is where this idea becomes embodied. It may seem simple and clear, and the above description appears exhaustive. However, the simplest ideas and images residing deep in the subconscious, as they emerge into awareness, become no more than nuances or accents—detectable only through special attention and knowledge of the original cause that generated them. Similarly, any situation possesses not only its direct meaning but also various subtleties. Attention to these nuances helps a person orient themselves far more precisely and behave significantly more effectively. These nuances are nothing other than the influence of higher archetypes—something one can feel subconsciously or consciously recognize. Such conscious recognition holds great value for the individual.
What, for instance, does mastery of the holistic archetype—already familiar to the reader—offer? The subtle sense of balance between local and global principles enables a person to distribute their attention precisely among the elements of a large object. For example, they can effectively manage a company, knowing when to focus on its existence as a whole and when to address a specific aspect of its operations or the activities of a particular department—and which one exactly.
Mastery of the balance between Yin and Yang archetypes gives a person subtle knowledge about when they should be attentive and receptive to what is happening, without interfering, and when, conversely, they should demonstrate activity—what kind and in what style. This kind of intuition is characteristic of many people who function effectively in social space. Yet few can articulate what they are orienting themselves toward or why they behave in one way rather than another. Conscious assimilation of the dialectic archetype can clarify much for an attentive person who strives to act only in prepared situations and who is themselves adequately prepared for action.
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**WORKING THROUGH THE YANG ARCHETYPE**
Lower, or barbaric, manifestations of the Yang archetype are characterized by the inadequacy of spirit’s influence upon matter—often evident in poor alignment between this influence and the nature or needs of matter. Spirit, possessing a certain potential, seeks to realize it upon a particular material. However, not every material is suitable. Like Lermontov’s Demon, it searches for its own Queen Tamara, but does not find her immediately. Instances where it makes serious errors in selection belong precisely to the lower manifestations of Yang.
Often, the influence itself is either underdeveloped or overripe in its potential form—making adequate embodiment a priori impossible. For example, it is inappropriate for a wealthy tourist to travel to a poor, albeit exotic, country for entertainment, just as it is unwise for a poor person with an empty wallet to enter a luxurious department store. Yet both scenarios sometimes occur. Upon analyzing the preconditions of such events, one always discovers the inadequacy of the initial Yang impulse—in this case, the person’s intention to rest or to shop.
Perhaps the impulse to rest arose earlier but was not realized in time. Or perhaps, in the subconscious, there was an entirely different intention—one that never reached consciousness in its original form and was significantly distorted during the subconscious censorship process. In any case, a lower Yang potential cannot be adequately realized by definition. Thus, it may be attracted by matter that does not correspond to it, resulting in a reaction far removed from what was expected.
It is important to understand that, in nature, all types of influence are in demand—including both subtle and coarse—and under appropriate circumstances, all can be entirely adequate. A wolf, for instance, is inherently coarse by nature; it is a predator that feeds on animals. Yet its role as the “forest’s sanitary inspector” morally justifies its behavior—unlike a human who feeds on the finest, or perhaps the worst, representatives of fauna.
Thus, the defectiveness of the lower octave of the Yang archetype does not lie in the principle that the potential for influence is inherently unsuitable for embodiment. Rather, it lies in the fact that it is embodied in the wrong place, in the wrong way, and at the wrong time—primarily due to its unpreparedness for adequate embodiment, which would support the evolution of matter.
Middle, or amateur, manifestations of the Yang archetype are characterized by lower entropy—i.e., less chaos introduced into matter. Here, one can speak of a general alignment between the activity of spirit and the nature of matter. At the lower level, emphasis is placed more on energy itself—energy that, when introduced into matter, does something to it—most often pointlessly irritating or overtly destroying. At the intermediate level, the Yang potential already contains a certain idea regarding influence on matter (for example, a goal or plan of action) and some understanding of the necessary qualities the object of influence should possess.
Accordingly, the action proceeds satisfactorily, and matter proves largely prepared for it—i.e., it generally aligns with its own nature and responds to its current demands. The potential for influence is felt at this level as fundamentally mature—ready for embodiment—but somewhat underdeveloped, and thus finds its corresponding matter imprecisely and manifests in a weakly predictable form. At the lower level of the Yang archetype, the outcome of embodiment is entirely unpredictable.
As an example, consider work with an axe. At the barbaric level of Yang archetype manifestation, we find a madman seized by rage, wielding an axe and smashing everything around him indiscriminately. At the amateur level, we find the hobbyist gardener Ivan Pafnutyevich, who may somewhat clumsily cut down a dry tree, split it into firewood, whittle stakes for a fence, fix a wobbly gate, or, in extreme cases, assemble a table on posts driven into the ground. However, building a log cabin, let alone constructing rafters and a roof for even the simplest wooden house—this far exceeds his capabilities and belongs to the professional level of Yang archetype manifestation.
From matter’s perspective, intermediate (amateur) levels of Yang influence are generally satisfactory, meet its demands, and mostly align with its nature—i.e., do not grossly violate it. In response, matter shows agreement and attempts at cooperation—but not enthusiasm or fully adequate response. Matter does not yet know whether the spirit’s influence will ultimately benefit it; this will only become clear in the future. It is like a bride-to-be looking at a groom sent by an experienced matchmaker: he appears interesting, well-built, blue-eyed, and from a decent family—but what will happen next? Only God knows.
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**THE HIGH, OR PROFESSIONAL, LEVEL OF YANG ARCHETYPE MANIFESTATION**
The high, or professional, level of Yang archetype manifestation is characterized by the full ripening of the potential for influence and the adequacy of spirit’s impact on matter: it occurs at the right time, in a suitable form, using well-chosen tools, and precisely corresponds to matter’s needs and limitations. The professional level is marked by great attention to selecting the object upon which effort is to be applied—i.e., the object of influence.
The Yang potential must not only fully mature—it must precisely locate the object that requires its influence and confirm that this object desires and is ready to assimilate it. Thus, an experienced dog breeder carefully selects future owners for their purebred puppies—owners who, beyond general enthusiasm and passionate desire for a particular breed, must meet various additional requirements, both material and moral: ownership of a car and a country house, a spacious city apartment, and a higher willingness, if necessary, to sacrifice themselves for the ideals of dog breeding.
For the professional level, the tools of influence are also critically important: they must be convenient for the spirit, possess sufficient “conductivity” for influence, and be adequately received by matter—not only without damaging its forms and structures (except in clearly defined cases where karma has already reached its end)—but as if extending and supporting them.
Thus, the hands of a high-level masseur are felt by the client’s body as something entirely familiar, intimate—and the body willingly allows them to penetrate deeply within—deeper than even the client’s own hands could.
Thus, at the high level, Yang already clearly contains within itself an element of Yin—attention to the future object of its effort. In turn, this object, possessing clearly developed Yin qualities (see below), must also possess a certain Yang nuance—namely, the ability to emit subtle scents, a specific aroma that attracts a particular kind of Yang principle. In other words, this aroma must clearly inform the spirit of the object’s current needs and readiness to receive corresponding action.
When all described conditions are met, the spirit’s influence occurs very precisely, and its consequences are largely predictable: barley seeds grow into barley ears, and institute students become qualified specialists in their respective fields. Unexpected side effects may still occur, but they are usually minor and not fundamentally significant.
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**WORKING THROUGH THE YIN ARCHETYPE**
The lower, or barbaric, manifestation of the Yin archetype is a state of matter characterized by complete chaos and uncertainty in its expectations from spirit: it merely feels bad, but cannot identify the cause or formulate a specific request. Sometimes its behavior is marked by random, undefined complaints, evident suffering, and highly inconsistent attitudes toward its own expectations: having just received what it demanded, it may reject it for any reason (“not that, not needed, doesn’t fit, nothing is needed at all,” etc.).
In other cases of barbaric Yin-state, matter is, conversely, completely omnivorous—i.e., it seemingly invites and attempts to assimilate any influence from spirit that it can obtain. Yet no significantly positive results emerge, because for various reasons, all these influences turn out to be inadequate and destructive.
A third variant of the barbaric state of matter is the complete absence of an actual request to spirit and the blocking of any attempts at its implementation for the sake of help—despite the fact that such support is catastrophically needed. The problem here lies in the fact that preparing matter for spirit’s action requires special additional effort; without it, nothing constructive results.
Thus, the lower, barbaric manifestation of the Yin archetype is a state of matter that is deeply dysfunctional within itself and unable to resolve its problems through its own resources, yet simultaneously unprepared for the intrusion of spirit. When such intrusion occurs, matter perceives it as entirely foreign and either seeks to ignore it or fights against it, thereby destroying its own essential forms and aspects.
A typical, unfortunately widespread, example is a country whose people are engaged in a bloody civil war, refusing to accept external assistance—whether humanitarian or military—for their own benefit.
Any matter emits certain subtle (relative to its inherent energy) emanations that inform spirit of its state and needs. Specifically, at the barbaric level, matter emits emanations of intense suffering or profound dysfunction, combined with a rather overt threat directed at anyone attempting to approach it.
If one were to express this call-warning in words, it might sound like:
*”I feel very bad, and I suffer deeply… but whoever tries to help me will fare even worse, because I already hate and despise them in advance!”*
And this is by no means an empty threat!
The reader understands that helping someone with such an attitude is difficult. Typically, only a barbaric-level Yang archetype responds to such a call—though this is not inevitable.
The middle, or amateur, manifestation of the Yin archetype consists of a state of matter that is no longer catastrophically chaotic, but instead clearly formulates its needs, preparing the soil for seed that can genuinely sprout and thereby solve its urgent problems.
Unlike the antagonistic rejection characteristic of barbaric Yin manifestation, the amateur level is distinguished by a certain deliberate selectivity toward spirit and, generally speaking, a positive attitude toward its influence—though this occurs not always cautiously and may have unpleasant side effects. Nevertheless, the main result (symbolically, the arrival of a man in the house) fully satisfies matter, elevating it to a qualitatively new level and resolving its primary stated problems.
The amateur level of Yin manifestation is characterized by a clearly defined state of matter: it no longer wishes to continue its former existence but is in a critical, near-disintegration state. Its problems and discomforts are clearly localized and identified. It is generally understood what kind of influence is needed to resolve these issues, and matter can take on the majority of the work itself—yet it still cannot do without a certain external push.
It cannot precisely state what changes will occur in itself as a result of the necessary influence, but it clearly envisions the general direction of its development. This is approximately the image created by an entrepreneur approaching a banker to obtain a loan for a specific program and presenting a business plan for its implementation.
One could say that here, matter offers spirit a contract under approximate but defined basic conditions.
The level of Yin archetype manifestation is closely linked to the peculiarities of the “aroma” that matter emits with the sole purpose of attracting spirit. Spirit perceives this aroma as a kind of call that captures its attention.
The scent of matter in the barbaric Yin-state is dense and heavy; the corresponding call is perceived by spirit as low, domineering, indiscriminate, and threatening (and may the blessed reader, upon reading these last four adjectives, shrug their shoulders and object: “But such a thing cannot exist!”).
The scent of matter in the amateur Yin-state is less dense—lighter, more specific, and more friendly. Its attractiveness to spirit is selective and harbors a unique kind of fulfillment, distinct from embodiments into other types of matter, at other times, and under other conditions.
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**THE HIGH, PROFESSIONAL LEVEL OF YIN ARCHETYPE MANIFESTATION**
The high, professional level of Yin archetype manifestation is characteristic of matter that has undergone a rather long evolutionary path. Now its problems and needs are not obvious to an outside observer; they are distinctly unique, requiring correspondingly unique methods of spirit’s influence.
A vivid example is the necessity of cutting a large diamond and crafting from it a jewelry piece best suited to a specific influential gentleman—a marquis or even a duke. From the standpoint of market price, the difference between an uncut diamond and a finished ring may not be so great. But for a jeweler, these are two qualitatively different objects, separated by decades of professional training.
Matter at the high Yin-level not only requires a precisely defined influence from spirit—it can also quite accurately predict the consequences of this influence. Typically, it prepares itself for these influences over a long period, particularly creating for spirit an exceptionally well-calibrated landing platform and independently ensuring meticulous care for the seed sown by spirit.
Thus, the female womb awaits male seed and, upon receiving it, nurtures and protects the precious fruit for nine months.
At this level, the problem of time is not so acute for matter. When it is fully ready for the necessary influence of spirit, that influence arrives. Until then, it can calmly live by its own resources, continuing its inner evolution, refining and clarifying its spiritual needs, and preparing the soil for the future spirit.
This is the position of any high-level teacher, a true master, whose teaching requires significantly more Yang from students and correspondingly more Yin from the teacher himself. He prepares himself for meetings with students for a long time, and teaching is primarily his response to their requests—but, of course, not to just any requests, only those aligned with his inner capabilities and desires.
In other words, the student must precisely guess what the master wishes to teach and express their request in a very specific form—only then can knowledge transfer become possible. Yet this is exceedingly rare, and the very appearance of such a student is a manifestation of spirit that the master clearly senses.
Rephrasing a well-known Gospel saying, he might say: “When my students come to me, I recognize them.”
The aroma emitted into space by matter at the high Yin-level is subtle and highly specific. For most spirit potentials, it is barely perceptible or entirely unnoticed. Yet for bearers of the desired influences, it is perceived as heavenly fragrance—calling gently yet strictly, and pre-tuning them to a precise tone.
Thus feels the wandering monk approaching sacred places: all that is accidental and superficial seems to fall away from him, leaving room for the deep and essential, which, conversely, manifests in his consciousness with remarkable clarity and vividness.
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**WORKING THROUGH THE DIALECTIC ARCHETYPE**
**Stage 1. Primary Chaos.**
At this stage, a person does not take into account the existence of active and receptive behaviors in the world. They do not reflect on the fact that each situation expects from them a certain type of attention or active influence, and live as if none of this existed in nature.
They easily interrupt their interlocutor. In situations where something is clearly expected from them, they may pretend not to notice and do not consider it a fault. In their behavior, they recklessly confuse requests, demands, instructions, orders, and complaints—making it unclear what they actually want or require.
Similarly, they do not pay attention to modalities directed at them or to the modalities of external situations in which they find themselves. They may interpret a demand as a humble plea and react accordingly, or perceive a calm narrative—imposing nothing— as brazen aggression, and cannot be explained otherwise.
They consider their understanding of themselves and the situation as the only correct one and are absolutely convinced of this.
Such a person typically has no sense of time. They always speak out of turn, intrude uninvited, break general silence when it is absolutely inappropriate, remain silent when they do not know what to say—placing themselves in an extremely difficult position—look instead of speaking, and speak in situations where they are not being listened to.
Poor, or rather, nonexistent, alignment between Yin and Yang modalities leads to the person choosing influence tools entirely inadequately. For instance, in a situation where a light hammer would suffice, they wield a sledgehammer; to saw through a thick log, they use a fretsaw.
When content needs to be listened to, they focus on form; when focused on form, they completely forget the content—or replace it with their own content, having nothing to do with the actual one.
Dealing with such a person is extremely difficult, primarily because they cannot sustain one and the same modality—neither Yin nor Yang—for any extended period. Maintaining attention on an object or, conversely, on their own action, requires effort beyond their capabilities.
One can attract their attention only for a very brief moment, after which they interrupt you with their self-expression—most often irrelevant—which, however, soon gives way to attention toward an object entirely unrelated to your conversation.
It is typical for them to interrupt you with completely inappropriate and unnecessary questions and insert their own impressions and thoughts into your speech—unrelated in essence to your thoughts, the subject of your presentation, or the conversation you are trying to organize.
Transition to the stage of primary chaos can be used as an effective technique to confuse or dislodge a person who has been tediously explaining a topic that no longer interests you but seems indispensable.
By interrupting them with remarks in which Yin and Yang principles chaotically alternate, you can quickly make them understand that you are neither listening nor comprehending them—and that there is no hope for understanding from your side. Then, perhaps, they will stop.
This is, of course, a crude but quite effective way of dealing with people who seem hopelessly stuck in a favorite topic—such as “Me and my sufferings” or “Me and my unbearable life.”
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**Stage 2. Identification.**
At this stage, the person learns to distinguish between Yin and Yang modalities and can sustain one or the other for some time. For example, they can listen to an interlocutor without interrupting, or, when necessary, demonstrate activity without breaking it at a critical point—on which the fate of an important action may depend.
For instance, taking a child by the hand, they will firmly guide them across a wide street, not stopping or paying attention to the child’s provocative cries: “Mom, look, a bird is flying! Let’s go see where it went!”
Thus, at this stage, a certain inertia appears—i.e., the archetype stands above the person and holds them under its sway for some time (sometimes long). The person is generally unable to resist this influence or switch to the opposite archetype (Yin to Yang or vice versa).
For example, a person upon whom the Yin archetype has descended may be literally paralyzed by this state and helplessly listen to their interlocutor—even when they are already unbearably bored—yet unable to make an active move: for instance, taking the initiative with a Yang modality and saying, “Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom”—which has long ceased to be merely an excuse and has become an actual necessity.
At this stage, the concept of complementarity appears in the person’s consciousness—i.e., the alignment of modalities through which communication and interaction proceed smoothly—and non-complementarity, i.e., misalignment, leading to tension, disharmony, and even conflict.
The question of what constitutes complementary behavior is never simple. Generally speaking, archetypically, Yin modality is complemented by Yang, and vice versa. Yet in many practical situations, a person using Yin modality may seem to invite their partner to share it with them—i.e., to look in the same direction—making Yin complementary to Yin.
Similarly, using Yang modality, a person may sometimes invite their partner to also use Yang—e.g., shooting at the same target—or issue a challenge: “Yang against Yang, let’s fight.” In such cases, the same modality becomes complementary—i.e., complementary behavior appears as syntonic behavior, using the same modality.
Interestingly, psychological modalities often do not coincide with social ones. Two people, speaking softly and seemingly in Yin modality, sharing impressions of their experience, may psychologically be waging an overt Yang war. Conversely, people who, from an external-social perspective, are competing in Yang modality may psychologically be very peacefully, comfortably, and relaxedly—i.e., in Yin—perceiving the conversation between them.
An example of the first type of dialogue is two ladies discussing an interesting man who has appeared in their society and is courting one of them:
— I really liked his voice!
— And I liked his manner of bearing himself. He has such charming manners! Such charming eyes and mustache!
— And I especially liked his smile when he looked at me!
Conversely, at a purely Yang social level, there might be an exchange of insults between two boys:
— I’ll punch you right now—in the eye!
— And I’ll punch you—in the ear!
— And I’ll call my older brother, who’s a head taller than you!
— And my older brother is even taller than yours and served in the army—he has a pistol!
In fact, both boys are in a perfectly good mood and have no intention of calling their older brothers—who may not even exist. They are peacefully and quite kindly spending time, exchanging absolutely complementary Yang-level social “blows” that greatly amuse them.
Thus, at the stage of identification, the person becomes aware of the modalities they use and those present in the external situation—e.g., used by their partner—but they are generally unable to change either.
They become aware of complementarity or non-complementarity between themselves and others, but practically have no control over it. Occasionally, a remark slips out about their partner’s particularly non-complementary behavior: “Well, one simply can’t behave like that!” But they cannot clearly explain why exactly it is unacceptable.
Having become aware of complementarity and non-complementarity, the person at the identification stage sometimes becomes a slave to this state—i.e., it is difficult for them to engage in non-complementary behavior, even when the partner clearly invites it.
For example, a dialogue in which one partner speaks while the other listens may continue indefinitely, formally complementary, until both are utterly exhausted. Yet to interrupt it, one of the partners—either the active one or the receptive one—must step beyond their modality, behaving non-complementarily toward themselves or their partner.
For instance, a person speaking before an audience might interrupt themselves, asking the audience: “Am I boring you yet?”—and turning to listening, thereby shifting modality from Yang to Yin. But not every speaker is capable of this, especially if the topic personally captivates them and, as they say, carries them away.
Yet somewhere at the edge of consciousness, they sense they have already exhausted the audience’s attention—but lack the effort to change. The oppressed audience may, nevertheless, remain silent, listening worse and worse, yet formally not allowing themselves non-complementary behavior.
Such effects are typical for the stage of identification.
A person fixed in Yang categorically denies switching to the opposite. No matter how others try, if they stand in a Yang position, they will continue standing there; if in a Yin position, they will remain faithful to it—even when this leads to obvious absurdities and complete behavioral dysfunction.
It is as if they say: “After a fight, one doesn’t wave fists anymore!”—yet this person does exactly that. The fight ended long ago; it is time to sit down, assess the outcome, examine bruises, bandage wounds. Yet they still cannot stop their aggression and continue crushing an opponent who has long been destroyed or is no longer nearby.
Fixation in Yin is, for example, stubborn resistance: a person presents their problem to others, who offer various solutions, but they, formally accepting them, do not react and remain in complete passivity, waiting for something—though it has long been clear that there is nothing to wait for and they must act themselves.
Here, Yin modality is typically realized at the barbaric stage of archetype processing. Dealing with such a person is very difficult and unpleasant—yet this is a widespread behavioral type, especially among dependent individuals.
Symbolically, this position sounds like: “Show me the girl without whom I cannot live.” It applies to a child who, fussing, rejects one new food after another offered by their mother, accompanying each refusal with the unchanging remark: “I want something else!” What exactly? They do not specify and have no intention of specifying—it is their mother’s job.
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**Stage 3. Competition.**
At this stage, the person can already skillfully identify Yin and Yang modalities, even in relatively subtle situations. Their connection with the Yin and Yang archetypes is well-established—i.e., to some extent, they can initiate, activate, and, if necessary, break this connection, switching to the other archetype.
Here, they consciously use modalities and make the archetypes work for them. On the other hand, such firm volitional use of archetypes leads to them gaining certain power over the person’s subconscious—effects that, at this third stage, the person still poorly controls.
This results in clear subconscious priorities arising in each situation—i.e., Yin or Yang preference—which the person does not consciously recognize but which clearly interfere with their behavior, sometimes contradicting conscious behavior and attitudes.
One can confidently say that at this stage, two sub-personalities form within the person: one Yin, feminine; the other Yang, masculine. Though largely residing in the subconscious, they break into consciousness as stable inclinations, manifesting differently in various situations. Sometimes it seems as if the entire subconscious world is divided by this person into three spheres.
In one sphere, the Yin sub-personality—i.e., the inner woman—reigns supreme; in another, the Yang sub-personality—the inner man—holds absolute sway; and over the third, a relentless war is waged, with each sub-personality striving to conquer and annex it to their territory.
In other words, for this person, in many situations—both external and internal—the question of whether to take an active, influencing position or a passive, receptive one becomes acutely pressing. And these positions are mutually exclusive for them.
At this stage, the person develops as if two different worldviews, two different life philosophies, two different value systems—sometimes radically different—corresponding to their Yin and Yang orientations.
This leads to colossal energy expenditure and numerous erroneous situations in which the person finds themselves due to their inability to harmonize values within their inner space. Yet this is impossible as long as the Yin and Yang archetypes compete rather than cooperate within them.
For example, in a Yin state, a person may be hardworking, tolerant, trusting, and kind. Conversely, shifting to Yang, they may become harsh, coarse, energetic, focused, goal-oriented, and very limited.
Their Yang position in any given situation will be: “I know exactly what I want, and nothing else exists for me.”
Meanwhile, in a Yin position, they might fully adhere to much broader views—e.g., that the world is vast and has room for every creature, every temperament, character, and fate.
Typically, the limitation and rigidity of the person’s Yin aspect lead to their inability to accept the world and relax within it—causing most psychological complications, neuroses, etc.
Yet the serious processing of the Yin principle is never addressed in our civilization, which is purely masculine in spirit and mentality. Far more important is considered the processing of the active, energetic, organizing, responsible Yang principle.
In doing so, the fact is ignored that a balance always exists between Yin and Yang in a person. The stronger the Yang principle and the more conscious value a person gives it, the more it injures and suppresses the Yin principle—causing it to degenerate and turn from a faithful helper into a heavy burden.
When competitive struggle occurs between Yin and Yang modalities in a person, victory of one on the external, social level is typically accompanied by victory of the other on the psychological level—usually unrecognized by the person.
For example, a person in whom Yin modality wins at the social level in dialogues—i.e., one who tends to remain silent, listen, agree with the interlocutor, and affirm their Yin nature through all social behavior—most often makes a harsh psychological evaluation of what they hear and is highly active internally. Though they show no sign, their interlocutor can clearly sense it.
Thus, while Yin is accentuated socially, Yang is clearly felt psychologically.
Conversely, a person extremely active in social situations—constantly overpowering everything around with their behavior, whose main social behavior type is active self-expression—is psychologically usually extremely vulnerable and subconsciously or semi-consciously constantly tuned to any signs—direct or indirect—that confirm them. In other words, psychologically, they are in a pure Yin position, greedily absorbing social reaction and dependent on it.
At this stage, the archetypes seem to compete, yet the person uses them alternately and can, in principle, control transitions between modalities—but does so poorly. Sometimes, through willpower, they succeed in switching—but it is rarely appropriate, i.e., complementary.
The person poorly understands how intensely an archetype is engaged and whether it can be replaced by another. The moments of modality change within the fabric of communication are quite clearly defined. There are moments when the current modality must be maintained—its opposite replacement meaning the collapse of the situation. And there are moments when the intensity of a modality declines, and a real possibility—or even necessity—arises to switch to the opposite.
At this stage, the person does not yet master these subtleties and changes modalities rather crudely—often interrupting communication and other interactions—yet their consciousness does not notice this, though subconsciously they certainly feel they are doing something wrong, without yet understanding what exactly. They lack tact or subtlety of attention.
For example, while listening to an interlocutor telling a story, the person believes it is bad to interrupt—but upon a pause, one can insert a word or change the topic. Yet they do not distinguish between pauses made to yield initiative to their partner—when modality change is truly appropriate—and pauses made by someone in a Yang position to gather more Yang energy and continue the story with heightened pathos—i.e., “recharging.”
If interrupted at such a moment and deprived of Yang modality, the partner will be, so to speak, deeply saddened and psychologically knocked off their feet.
Equally unpleasant is behavior when a person using Yin modality seemingly invites their partner into Yang, but the partner, not understanding what is expected, uses syntonic behavior—i.e., responds in Yin modality. This behavior is non-complementary and creates something like a “Yin-on-Yin war”—as psychologically burdensome as an overt “Yang-on-Yang” conflict.
For example, a woman telling her husband about life’s troubles and clearly hinting that he could take some constructive part in them risks receiving a purely Yin reaction—e.g., in response to her detailed complaints, he replies: “Yes, that’s terrible. I remember!”—followed by a story about his childhood, whose hidden moral is the necessity to pity him too, since his childhood situation was no better than hers now.
Such male behavior appears especially offensive when his current situation is entirely favorable and he could provide the woman with the help she expects and clearly hints at. Yet he may not notice his own non-complementarity.
It is extremely important to track the accentuation of Yin and Yang in situations that are acute for the person. At the third stage, the person typically does not master these modalities in stressful, phobic situations—where they feel deeply insecure—and here their subconscious problems related to imbalance and competition of higher archetypes become especially evident.
There are people who, in acute situations, when insecure, behave extremely actively, energetically, aggressively, inadequately, make serious mistakes—subconsciously believing that the Yin position—the position of reception—is equivalent to weakness and a sign of uncertainty and inability to act, and thus must be categorically rejected.
Conversely, there are people who, when insecure, fall into complete passivity, do not react, do nothing, demonstrate to the world sleep, dullness, unconsciousness, and total absence of any external reaction. This is the lower octave of Yin—but the person cannot offer anything better to their surroundings. Their subconscious evidently believes that demonstrating activity and doing something in a situation of self-doubt is categorically inappropriate.
Such attitudes are usually formed in childhood or even earlier, and overcoming them can be very difficult. Yet if achieved, the effect may surpass all expectations—both of the person and their surroundings.
For example, a known piece of advice for people afraid of darkness and solitude is to sing loudly—songs not lyrical, but heroic or march-like in content. Sometimes this helps greatly.
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**Stage 4. Cooperation.**
At the cooperation stage, the person no longer opposes archetypes to each other, believing that only one is appropriate in each situation. Instead, they learn to dynamically coordinate them—i.e., alternate according to situational needs.
Here, the person learns to attentively track the modalities of their own and others’ behavior and the overall modality of the situation—and feels when the Yin archetype shifts to Yang and which modality those around them expect from them.
If they behave non-complementarily, they do so not because they cannot behave complementarily, but because they do not consider it necessary.
In principle, non-complementary behavior is one way of showing one’s interlocutor or the situation as a whole that you disagree—without stating it directly, yet making it sufficiently clear.
The person may use subtle or coarse non-complementarity depending on their goals. Subtle non-complementarity usually goes unnoticed by consciousness but is registered by the subconscious of participants and affects their mood and behavior—making them more attentive, perhaps irritating them, but showing that not everything is as smooth as they might wish.
Here, the person can be sufficiently attentive to their behavior to sense when the action of the Yin archetype ends—and timely replace it with Yang, and vice versa.
Thus, they do not tire their surroundings and maintain a rather high level of feedback with the environment. This quality is sometimes called alertness or vigilance—but it is not synonymous with tension. Simply, this person knows when they can immerse themselves inward and when they must be sufficiently attentive to the environment—because something directly concerning them is happening within it—and can timely perceive and assimilate what concerns them.
This enables intuitive yet fairly accurate understanding of what the environment expects from them and when they should step into the Yang role and what exactly to do.
This does not mean the person always follows the environment’s lead—but its needs and reactions to their behavior become largely predictable for them.
One can confidently say that at the cooperation stage, the Yin and Yang archetypes begin to “befriend” within the person’s subconscious. The person understands how necessary they are to each other and what the rhythm of their mutual replacement should be—sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow.
Here, a matryoshka-like integration of archetypes occurs, resulting in qualitatively new phenomena. The person sees the multidimensionality of their own behavior, inner world, and external situations—and understands that different planes may correspond to different modalities, learning not only to perceive this but to consciously use it.
Indeed, this is where true psychology begins. An experienced psychological writer often draws a line between what the character says, how they say it, and what they are thinking—thus considering three planes of self-expression, and similarly, three planes of reality perception.
The psychologist tends to consider two levels of behavior and perception: conscious and subconscious—and these often have opposite modalities.
At the fourth phase, the person learns to perceive these modalities (largely intuitively) and use the possibilities of depth and subtlety in perception that open up—along with subtle influence on the surrounding world and society.
The author calls such human behavior—multidimensional, with different modalities active on different planes—a “matryoshka integration.”
Let us consider some examples of matryoshka integration of Yin and Yang in duality related to the division of a person into two planes—
