Sunday Workshop: The Masculine + Feminine
On the anima and animus, the inner marriage, and why it's both a headache and an antidote
My workshop tomorrow, Sunday, August 4th at 10am PT on the inner masculine and feminine is for paid subscribers. Scroll down for the link!
The topic of gender is everywhere (whether we like it or not). It’s all over the Olympics this week, for instance, where there is a simultaneous celebration of the advances in women’s sports and a paradoxical false accusation that a particularly successful female athlete is a man. Sigh. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last. Against the inherently lopsided backdrop of white supremacist heteronormative patriarchy, almost everything will make gender an issue. Indeed, whether we’re seeking to shatter the confines of rigid, heteronormative gender roles and sexuality on the left, or fighting to uphold a “traditional” understanding of marriage, sex, and gender roles on the right, gender is in the conversation and everyone is participating.
Meanwhile, there is the related-unrelated-related topic of the inner masculine and feminine that runs through global traditions. The tension of the opposites has been imaged as a dance between the masculine and feminine in nearly every spiritual and philosophical tradition throughout history, be it the Jewish Kabbala, Christian Gnosticism, Kundalini Yoga, or the Taoist tradition, to name a few.
Within Jungian psychology, these themes are everywhere as well, particularly through the lens of alchemy, an archetypal imaging of inner transformation and the inner marriage, as well as within Jung’s notions of the anima and the animus, the contra-sexual soul. Yet, just as in the culture at large, every discussion of the anima and the animus or the masculine and feminine includes at least one confusing and divisive tangent. I’ve heard stories of Jungian analysts refusing even to discuss the topic in whole seminars because of the debates that can break out. Meanwhile, any lecture in which the concepts are mentioned is guaranteed to have one frustrated audience member in the Q&A. It can feel impossible sometimes to explore these ideas within Analytical Psychology without running up against tired old stereotypes of gender and heteronormativity and those protesting the stereotypes.
And yet, we persist. Or, at least, I do.
Why? Because within the muck, there is also gold.
We do not live in a balanced world. We never have. In fact, it is so shockingly imbalanced that we can mistake a few advances here and there for the ultimate goal of equality and freedom. Jung’s work is one of the few philosophies or psychologies that explores what we’re to do about it on an inner, psychological level. The goal is never normalcy and conformity, but a pursuit to balance the opposites; individuation and wholeness. While at times contradictory and opaque, Jung’s work is also frequently very feminist, anti-patriarchal, and queer, always seeking a non-binary, non-dualistic solution to a lopsided world and the cultural training we’ve received in lopsided gender roles.
Here’s one example from his Red Book, written over 100 years ago.
You, man, should not seek the feminine in women, but seek and recognize it in yourself, as you possess it from the beginning. It pleases you, however, to play at manliness, because it travels on a well-worn track. You, woman, should not seek the masculine in men, but assume the masculine in yourself, since you possess it from the beginning.
…You can hardly say of your soul what sex it is. But if you pay close attention, you will see that the most masculine man has a feminine soul, and the most feminine woman as a masculine soul. The more manly you are, the more remote from you is what woman really is, since the feminine in yourself is alien and contemptuous. (Red Book Reader, p. 227)
And this:
As a man you have no soul, since it is in the woman; as a woman you have no soul, since it is in the man. But if you become a human being, then your soul comes to you. (Red Book Reader, p. 228)
These are themes that arise organically in therapy, in particular when people are embarking on radical changes and challenging standard norms. They show up, unprompted, in dreams, in projection, in the effort to separate from one’s parents, and in romantic relationships. They are themes that arise in dream groups time after time, whether we’re explicitly looking for them or not.
Just as working the shadow can help us to understand our “other side,” a more fluent understanding of these aspects of ourselves will support our journeys towards wholeness—individually and collectively. They’re worth a deep dive.
Join me tomorrow for our workshop and bring your questions!
Join me tomorrow, Sunday at 10am PDT | 1pm EDT | 6pm UK to explore the masculine and feminine, and the inner marriage of the opposites.
On one Sunday of each month, I gather with paid subscribers for a mini workshop to explore a specific theme. This month, we’ll explore the masculine and feminine, anima and animus, and the inner marriage. I’ve never concluded one of our workshops without feeling impressed and inspired by this community. It’s a beautiful place to spend an hour.
If you’d like to join us, the link to register for this week is below. Once you register, you’ll receive an email automatically and I’ll send another one out on Sunday morning.
If you are not yet a paid subscriber and would like to join us, you can upgrade anytime and the registration link will become visible below. You can also always find the dates + links here. To anyone who can’t make it or misses it, I’ll add the recording below after we meet.
*If finances would prohibit you from joining, please reply to this email or send me a note at satyadoylebyock@ substack.com ASAP. I’m happy to comp you a subscription. (I don’t need an explanation, but please only write if it’s a genuine need.)