04a: Interpreting the Matrix

The matrix form is analogous to making your own personal Tarot deck. Each symbol is representative of a "complex", which is a projection of an archetype into the psyche. The relationship between the symbols tells the story--the motifs and processes of the psyche. Here, the cards represent the "objects" whereas the spaces between the cards, the "functions".

In your mind, draw a horizontal and vertical line through the "ME" card, so you matrix is divided into 4 quadrants.

The two upper quadrants are the "conscious" aspect--these symbols exist within the active field of consciousness and can usually communicate with the ego consciousness without much difficulty. The two quadrants below are the "unconscious" aspect--those things you have repressed or held prisoner in the psyche. They seldom have any direct communication with the ego consciousness, but talk quite heavily with the shadow (anima and animus).

The two right-side quadrants are the "thinking" complexes. They perceive through sensation, reason through logic, and value based on spatial relationships. The two left-side quadrants are the "feeling" complexes. They perceive through intuition, reason through insight, and value based on temporal relationships.

So you end up with a quadrated system--conscious thinking, conscious feeling, unconscious thinking, unconscious feeling. And what you have diagrammed are communication pathways. In order to communicate with an unconscious, feeling function far in the lower left corner, you can see the path leading from "ME" to it, and learn how to relay messages through the intervening symbols.