Robert Augustus Masters Q&A Part Twenty-Eight
October 15, 2006
A. Arthur/adastra asks:
Robert, recently I've become interested in Jung's concept of an "anima woman" who, as I understand it, in some way takes on or reflects a man's projection of the feminine aspect of his own soul (or who perhaps is unwittingly a good hook for such projections). One person said if you are in a relationship with this type of woman then you feel like you are falling into her soul, but you are really falling into a reflection of your own (in its feminine manifestation). (As an aside, I've been told that the woman in the movie LEGENDS OF THE FALL is an excellent example of such a woman, but I haven't seen that movie yet.)
1. Do you think this concept has validity, and if so, could you elaborate on this? What do you think is going on here? Would she be evoking this consciously or unconsciously? How does a woman get this way? How does this process operate? What kinds of projections are involved?
2. Would other (heterosexual) women project on her as well, and if so how would that work?
3. How can this personality/soul characteristic be lived in a positive way? What talents or gifts are inherent in this mode of being? How could such a woman best approach her existential situation?
4. What difficulties would the anima woman face in relationships (with family, friends, lovers, partner) or in following her life path? What kind of shadow elements would tend to be present? How can she overcome these problems? Is there anything others can do to help?
5. What is the best way for others - as family, friend, lover, or partner - to relate to her? Especially, how do you ensure that you are relating to the real woman underneath whatever you may be projecting? (This question could also apply to less extreme cases of projection, obviously.)
6. How does such an existential mode relate to one's spirituality?
Robert answers:
1. Does the concept of the “anima woman” have validity? Yes, but no more so than any other psychological construct with receptor sites for incoming projections. We could have an anima woman who is unaware of her anima magnetism, which might make her even more of a draw to men whose own anima energy is charged with undiscerning innocence. And we could also have an anima woman who is relatively conscious of her anima magnetism, and who lets men project their anima (and its attending dramatics, wet-dreamish and otherwise) onto her for her own advantage. In such cases, their infatuation with her empowers her. She has them by the balls and the imagination, operating all toll booths along the highway connecting male genitalia and brain.
Such a woman may not be very willing to give up whatever advantage she might get from taking on a man’s anima projection. She does this for much the same reasons as anyone who is benefitting from being at the receiving end of others’ projections. Consider a teacher upon whom students are projecting their need to be associated with someone who really “knows” -- their uncritical attitude toward him and his work and writings keeps him “safely” removed from any truly telling examination of his less healthy traits (which, if they are actually examined at all by the aforementioned students, are then reframed in an unrelentingly positive light, so as to, for example, demonstrate his humanity).
How does a woman come to be an anima woman? In all kinds of ways. Maybe she got extra attention as a girl for being seductively superfeminine. Or maybe she resorted to such a mode to survive an abusive father. And so on.
2. Could other women project on to her? Sure. I don’t think that sexual orientation matters much here. Projection is not some occasional occurrence (consider, among other things, our dreams, as convincingly populated as they are by our costumed projections). If we’ve got something within that we’re disowning or are unaware of, and that particular something has considerable importance (positive or negative) for us, then we’re going to project it onto a fitting someone (or something). A woman in doubt of her own femininity may project what she wishes she was onto an apparently more feminine woman, even if that woman is simply an airbrushed face on a magazine cover.
3. By making it conscious. Talents or gifts? Exceptional receptivity and flow, animated in order to generate a rapport that serves the well-being of all involved.
4. Her difficulties would parallel her misuse of her situation; her suffering would be a measure of the degree to which she used her anima energy to manipulate or otherwise abuse others. Her shadow elements -- lust to be in control, denial of her real motives, etcetera -- would diminish as she outgrew her me-centered leanings. What could others do? Love her enough to cease tolerating her misuse of her abilities.
5. Get intimate with your own projections and projection-reception tendencies. Don’t make projection wrong; instead, simply do what you have to do to see through it. Begin with yourself. You won’t be much help to her in dealing with her anima forces if you can’t do the same for yourself.
Projection is to separation as identification is to connection.
As we stop separating from our projections, neither disowning nor identifying with them, we cease disconnecting from ourselves, entering what we never truly left but only dreamt we did.
6. It, like any other mode of being, is part of the face of spirituality, however homely, dense, or unrepentantly stuck.
A. Arthur/adastra asks:
Robert, recently I've become interested in Jung's concept of an "anima woman" who, as I understand it, in some way takes on or reflects a man's projection of the feminine aspect of his own soul (or who perhaps is unwittingly a good hook for such projections). One person said if you are in a relationship with this type of woman then you feel like you are falling into her soul, but you are really falling into a reflection of your own (in its feminine manifestation). (As an aside, I've been told that the woman in the movie LEGENDS OF THE FALL is an excellent example of such a woman, but I haven't seen that movie yet.)
1. Do you think this concept has validity, and if so, could you elaborate on this? What do you think is going on here? Would she be evoking this consciously or unconsciously? How does a woman get this way? How does this process operate? What kinds of projections are involved?
2. Would other (heterosexual) women project on her as well, and if so how would that work?
3. How can this personality/soul characteristic be lived in a positive way? What talents or gifts are inherent in this mode of being? How could such a woman best approach her existential situation?
4. What difficulties would the anima woman face in relationships (with family, friends, lovers, partner) or in following her life path? What kind of shadow elements would tend to be present? How can she overcome these problems? Is there anything others can do to help?
5. What is the best way for others - as family, friend, lover, or partner - to relate to her? Especially, how do you ensure that you are relating to the real woman underneath whatever you may be projecting? (This question could also apply to less extreme cases of projection, obviously.)
6. How does such an existential mode relate to one's spirituality?
Robert answers:
1. Does the concept of the “anima woman” have validity? Yes, but no more so than any other psychological construct with receptor sites for incoming projections. We could have an anima woman who is unaware of her anima magnetism, which might make her even more of a draw to men whose own anima energy is charged with undiscerning innocence. And we could also have an anima woman who is relatively conscious of her anima magnetism, and who lets men project their anima (and its attending dramatics, wet-dreamish and otherwise) onto her for her own advantage. In such cases, their infatuation with her empowers her. She has them by the balls and the imagination, operating all toll booths along the highway connecting male genitalia and brain.
Such a woman may not be very willing to give up whatever advantage she might get from taking on a man’s anima projection. She does this for much the same reasons as anyone who is benefitting from being at the receiving end of others’ projections. Consider a teacher upon whom students are projecting their need to be associated with someone who really “knows” -- their uncritical attitude toward him and his work and writings keeps him “safely” removed from any truly telling examination of his less healthy traits (which, if they are actually examined at all by the aforementioned students, are then reframed in an unrelentingly positive light, so as to, for example, demonstrate his humanity).
How does a woman come to be an anima woman? In all kinds of ways. Maybe she got extra attention as a girl for being seductively superfeminine. Or maybe she resorted to such a mode to survive an abusive father. And so on.
2. Could other women project on to her? Sure. I don’t think that sexual orientation matters much here. Projection is not some occasional occurrence (consider, among other things, our dreams, as convincingly populated as they are by our costumed projections). If we’ve got something within that we’re disowning or are unaware of, and that particular something has considerable importance (positive or negative) for us, then we’re going to project it onto a fitting someone (or something). A woman in doubt of her own femininity may project what she wishes she was onto an apparently more feminine woman, even if that woman is simply an airbrushed face on a magazine cover.
3. By making it conscious. Talents or gifts? Exceptional receptivity and flow, animated in order to generate a rapport that serves the well-being of all involved.
4. Her difficulties would parallel her misuse of her situation; her suffering would be a measure of the degree to which she used her anima energy to manipulate or otherwise abuse others. Her shadow elements -- lust to be in control, denial of her real motives, etcetera -- would diminish as she outgrew her me-centered leanings. What could others do? Love her enough to cease tolerating her misuse of her abilities.
5. Get intimate with your own projections and projection-reception tendencies. Don’t make projection wrong; instead, simply do what you have to do to see through it. Begin with yourself. You won’t be much help to her in dealing with her anima forces if you can’t do the same for yourself.
Projection is to separation as identification is to connection.
As we stop separating from our projections, neither disowning nor identifying with them, we cease disconnecting from ourselves, entering what we never truly left but only dreamt we did.
6. It, like any other mode of being, is part of the face of spirituality, however homely, dense, or unrepentantly stuck.
posted by adastra at 1:17 PM
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