Methodology
The architecture of introspection
Symbolic Analysis
Instead of rating yourself on statements, you choose between symbols — archetypes, elements, shapes. Symbolic choices can feel less like a test and invite more spontaneous answers. The result is a reflection to explore, not a verdict.
Layered Dimensions
The journey explores multiple dimensions simultaneously: primal drives, social conditioning, relational density, and transformative capacity. This multi-dimensional approach prevents the flattening of your identity into a single label.
Dynamic Scoring
Our algorithmic engine does not simply tally points. It analyzes the relationships and contradictions between your choices, creating a contextual profile that suggests patterns worth exploring. It is not a clinical assessment or diagnosis.
Why symbols?
Sometimes an image gives you a starting point that words do not
You may find yourself drawn to an image before you can explain why. That response can become a useful question: what feels familiar here, and where does it show up in your life?
A connection to Jung
Carl Jung explored images and symbols as ways of engaging with inner experience. His idea of archetypes concerned recurring patterns in human experience—not simply a fixed list of personality types. This offers a way to think about symbolic reflection, including different or conflicting aspects of ourselves.
EquiSelf’s own approach
EquiSelf uses its own combination of horses, elements and other visual choices, with its own interpretation and scoring framework. Your choices suggest patterns to explore through your report, coaching and practice. No single symbol defines who you are, and you can question any interpretation that does not fit your experience.
Density
Shape
Light source
Animal guide
This is a conceptual connection, not a claim that EquiSelf is a Jungian clinical assessment or a Pearson-Marr Archetype Indicator (PMAI). These references do not establish the accuracy or scientific validation of EquiSelf’s assessment, and do not imply endorsement.
Further reading
The International Association of Analytical Psychology publishes these introductions to the ideas discussed above:
By the numbers
A portrait built from your choices
You don't rate yourself on a scale. You make a series of intuitive, symbolic choices — and every one is weighted, cross-referenced and calibrated into a measured profile.
Possible distinct profiles
Each combination resolves into a blend of 48 trait scores, internal tensions and a chosen life lens, so two reports rarely read alike. Your profile is a starting point for coaching and practice, not a fixed label.
One journey, every area of your life
One playful journey, then an ongoing practice: the profile suggests patterns; coaching and personal meditations help you work with the ones you choose — in love, in work, in health and in vitality.
From profile to practice
Coaching and guided meditations use three frameworks developed by Johan Cools from his coaching work: 6E to understand how a reaction unfolds, 6R to practise a different response and 4S to sustain progress. A supporting principle, Frequent, Intense, Focused Intention (FIFI), describes how to practise.
These are practical coaching tools, not clinical assessments or guarantees of a particular result. EQUISELF does not replace professional care.