Ontolokey

When Carl Gustav Jung first proposed his theory of psychological types, he was—as Aušra Augustinavičiūtė (whom I will refer to simply as Augusta) rightly observed—very close to uncovering a deep truth about the human psyche. But Augusta, by building on Jung’s framework through her creation of Socionics, took the theory even further. Her work is a testament to the analytical power of introverted thinking (Ti): rigorous, logical, and comprehensive.

And yet, despite the brilliance of both Jung and Augusta, something was missing.

They both lacked a key cognitive capacity: the ability to visualize their theories in a spatial, image-based form. This ability, I believe, is found more often in intuitive personality types—those with either dominant introverted or extraverted intuition (Ni or Ne). These types often “see” insights in the form of internal images, patterns, or metaphors, especially when enough information has been gathered through reading, observation, and reflection.

That kind of visual insight happened to me in 2015, long before I knew about Socionics or Augusta. At the time, I was working exclusively with Jungian typology and had been certified as an MBTI practitioner in Florida, USA, back in 2012. My focus was purely on MBTI, and Socionics was unknown to me.

But then, in a lucid dream, I saw it: a cube—a perfect 3D model that represented the dynamics of the psyche. I later called it the Ontolokey Cube. This cube became my internal blueprint for understanding not only Jung’s eight psychological functions but their interplay across levels of consciousness.

Fast forward to 2025, when I finally encountered Socionics and Augusta’s work. I was blown away. Her descriptions of the psychological functions, her so-called Model A, aligned almost perfectly with the model I had visualized—down to the structure of an unfolded cube. The only thing Augusta lacked, it seemed, was the visual image itself.

And that image, the cube, makes all the difference.

The Ontolokey Cube: A Visual Architecture of the Psyche

Imagine a cube where each corner represents one of the eight Jungian functions: Thinking, Feeling, Intuition, and Sensing, each in introverted or extraverted form. But it’s not just a symbolic representation—it’s structural.

In my visualization, I saw two tripods, or three-legged stands, positioned diagonally across from each other in the cube:

• The conscious tripod is built around the dominant function, supported by the auxiliary function and the other two, which I’ve termed the Sibling, and the Toddler functions.
• The unconscious tripod, directly opposite in the cube, is built around the inferior function, supported by the tertiary, the Anima/Animus, and what I call the Golden Shadow.

This configuration allows the dominant function to “stand” with stability, as if it were a camera on a tripod—focused, directed, and consciously used. The unconscious tripod mirrors this structure in the shadow realm of the psyche. The “head” of the conscious tripod is the most developed one, and the “head” of the unconscious tripod is the least developed one.

This model aligns closely with what Freud described as the Ego, Super-Ego, and Id (or “Ich” in German). Augusta arrived at this insight through pure logic. I arrived at it through image. But the outcome is the same.

Beyond Humans: The Functions in Nature

If this cube model describes how the human mind processes information, could it also apply to other animals? I believe so. Elephants, octopuses, dolphins—creatures that show signs of feeling, reasoning, empathy, and memory—likely also operate through a similar structure of perception and cognition.

The key difference? Humans differentiate only one or two of the eight functions at a time. Animals, lacking this differentiation, may use all eight functions more uniformly—without ego attachment or prioritization. Their cognition may be more holistic, even if less specialized.

Unfolding the Cube: Mapping the Psyche

To truly understand how Augusta’s Socionics model describes the human mind, I had to take the cube I visualized and unfold it—just like unfolding a paper box. What I saw matched her descriptions almost perfectly. She had essentially described the logic of an unfolded cube—without ever seeing the cube itself.

This confirmed that the model wasn’t just a dream or an abstract metaphor. It was an accurate symbolic system for how our psyche organizes information—consciously and unconsciously.

Where Jung and Augusta Pointed—And Where We Might Go Next

Carl Jung gave us the blueprint. Augusta extended it into a functioning typology through Socionics. But perhaps the next step lies in visual cognition—the ability to “see” the system as a whole, like an architect seeing the entire house before a single brick is laid.

By uniting logic with vision, abstraction with structure, we may come closer to understanding the full architecture of the psyche.

Not just as thinkers. But as builders of the invisible.

Ontolokey vs. Socionics: Mapping Inner Archetypes

One of the key differences between Ontolokey and Socionics lies in the ability to visualize and track the process of individuation — Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of psychological integration.

Socionics, as developed by Augusta, brilliantly describes interpersonal information metabolism (IM). It shows how people interact, process, and communicate. But it lacks a visual-symbolic framework to explain how the individual psyche becomes whole — how we integrate our unconscious shadow, confront the Anima or Animus, and transcend the mask of the Persona.

Ontolokey, by contrast, doesn’t just treat the Jungian functions as isolated processes. It visualizes them as inner personality subtypes, each with structure and dynamic roles within the psyche. In this model, the process of integration involves not just understanding functions, but locating and differentiating them as fully-formed characters within the self.

Let’s break this down:

• The Persona, for example, is not just a mask—it’s a personality construct formed from the auxiliary function (as its dominant driver) and the Anima/Animus function (as its support).
• The Anima or Animus, too, becomes more than an abstract archetype. It forms an internal personality type made of the Anima/Animus function (as dominant) and the Toddler function (as auxiliary). Successful integration of this type leads to the birth of the Toddler as a fully functional, conscious process.
• Opposite the Persona stands the Golden Shadow, which also manifests as a personality subtype—this one composed of the Golden Shadow function in the dominant position and the inferior function as its support.

In this model, each archetypal concept has a place, a function, and a supporting structure. This goes beyond the eight functions. It creates a living typological system where the elements of our psyche are structured as internal teams — interacting, evolving, sometimes conflicting.

This idea wasn’t present in Socionics. Augusta, working without the cube, could not visualize these inner personality configurations. Therefore, Socionics is highly effective for understanding external interaction, but limited when it comes to explaining the inner path of individuation as Jung envisioned it.

That’s where Ontolokey steps in — not as a replacement for Socionics, but as a complementary tool:

• Socionics helps decode interpersonal dynamics, communication styles, and group interaction.
• Ontolokey helps individuals understand their inner cast of characters, navigate their shadow, and support authentic personality development.

Whether for personal growth or team design in organizations, the visualized structure of the Ontolokey Cube offers a powerful blueprint for both inner transformation and external collaboration.