Jeanne Marie Ketchel
Channeled by Jan Ketchel
Dear Jeanne,
Tomorrow, Chuck will be writing about the animus, taking a politically incorrect perspective in order to bring understanding to the truths buried behind women’s decision making habits. For instance, in the case of an abusive relationship, he will be presenting the underlying inner dynamics that result in a woman deciding to return to such a relationship. We are wondering if you would be interested in discussing the animus from your point of view? Chuck will be approaching it from a Jungian context. Any comments?
Such a complicated question in such complicated times! If we return to an earlier manifestation of woman, as eternal maternal, mother nature, mother goddess, when the power and position of woman was neither disputed nor questioned so will we be afforded a glimpse at woman unfettered and undeniably whole. But in order to do so, first must I acknowledge the role of woman today, which has become watered down by the “advancement of society” and the progress of the “human race.” I do not jest when I speak in such terms, but am very seriously posing the possibility that women have suffered greatly in the past centuries of modern times, as male domination has increasingly controlled every aspect of life upon that planet earth. A simpler time once existed, but I will stay focused now on the question of the current state of the animus, which I perceive as having been contaminated, just as the anima has been slowly demeaned in the male counterpart.
First of all, looking at what the animus means, the projective desires of the inner female, whether known and recognized or dismissed and unknown, so is such quality present in life. Each of you has such projective aspects, and this must be fully accepted in order to proceed in accepting full responsibility for the choices one makes in life. Whether the animus, the male aspects of a woman’s psyche, is active or dormant does not really matter. What does matter is the acceptance of the truths of such aspects; this is what Chuck is going to be asking you, My Dear Readers, to consider in your own being.
There are so many means of interacting with this aspect of self, but I will stick to your example of a woman in an abusive relationship. What is that relationship based on, now, in the present? In order to understand that must a woman’s past be taken into consideration. What kind of social background did she encounter growing up? Was she a member of a male dominated home group, a maternally dominated home group? Or did she have neither or both as a strong character reference? Within this structure, did she have purpose, position, respect, and the ability to express herself? Was she, perhaps early on, placed in a position of being undernurtured and underfed creatively, innerly, and denied access to her feminine truths?
Are women allowed to be truly feminine? I do not mean the female aspects as displayed on magazine pages or the ideas perpetrated by the male dominated desires, but I mean the true female qualities of nurture, earth, creativity, and recreative growth, as well as the heart dominated psychic powers that all women hold within. I do not mean to inflate or over present the innate powers of women, but they must be stated.
In ancient times, times no longer recalled except in the visceral sense, women’s roles were more clearly defined, women’s powers more actively present and acceptable, as well as noted and respected. Woman as mother, as god-partner, as nurturing aspect of godhead, in balance with the warrior qualities of masculinity, as represented in equal partnerships, ruled a more balanced, nature-driven and universally encompassing world. Does that make sense?
Male and female, both innerly and outerly, had achieved a better balance. However, there have always been examples of over-dominance of either one or the other, and that is what we speak of today. I like to speak of ancient times because, in truth, do those early ancient aspect of male and female remain resident in each of you, even today, watered down, yet still available to nurture, if you so choose. This is what I have been teaching you, you know, to access your innate and ancient selves, who are aware, balanced, and mature, holding the many keys to true success as a journeyer who wishes to evolve.
In the case of now, where a woman’s role has not only diffused in one sense, having now little connection to ancient truths, and yet clearly defined in another sense, because of the need for new truths, so must we speak in different terms. A woman now has been trained, through many generations, to look to her male counterparts in life to lead, direct, suggest, and provide a concept of life that is acceptable to only some aspects of the true female presence. In order to understand what has evolved must one accept the truth that yes, women have been dominated and continue to be dominated by their male counterparts, in relationships, in family dynamics, in society, religions, and just about any aspect of life upon that earth. This is the underlying truth that Chuck wishes to point out. You can be angry about it, both women and men, but let’s get it straight, it is the truth.
So, if we can accept that bare bones truth, then are we in a position to discuss the dynamics of abuse and reuse, or return to abuse. A woman, in her role as partner, makes a choice, whether consciously or not, to be in a relationship with a certain person. (The sex does not matter, for many male dominant women abuse female dominant men, male dominant men also abuse female dominant men, and male dominant women abuse female dominant women, etc.) In so choosing a partner is some inner aspect of self asking for recognition.
The second truth to acknowledge is that everyone makes choices. I don’t care how much you wish to dispute me on this; I still contend that you always have a choice. In the case of repeated abuse, and I speak of adult-to-adult behavior here and not child abuse, the choice is always: do I stay or do I go? When the choice to remain, to return, to retreat back into the safety zone of the relationship, that for all intents and purposes appears to be abusive, is made, so are you challenging your self to the greater task of waking up to your own inner guide who is showing you something important about your self that you are not quite getting yet.
You are not quite awakened to the fact that you have great forces inside you that wish to be recognized, accepted, loved, and nurtured into healthy aspects of life now, by you. Although we are using the female partner as an example, I must contend that the same dynamic is present in the male counterpart. Who is really the abuser here? Yes, My Dears, you may wish to say that the dominant male is the brute in this picture, but I contend that the woman is allowing her own inner dominant brute to control her decision making, rather than accessing her own powers that lie deeply waiting for her to recognize, respect, retrieve, and rekindle in balance with her feminine self.
It is not so simple to stand back and judge others for the decisions they make. Although many of you, My Dear Women, may consider your selves quite stable and advanced, I contend that you have, within you, your own abuser, who continues to dominate, for that has been the trend and the habit, not only in your own lives, but for many generations. A healthy woman, a healthy man, and a healthy relationship revolve around everyone accepting the possibility of every aspect of humanity being present within the self. It is the process of inner discovery that will lead you to discover why you remain stuck in your present self-abusive relationship with your animus or anima.
It is your inner acceptance of the deeper truths of self and society that will allow you access to healing within and, eventually, in your interactions without. Your ability to heal is dependent on your ability to access some pretty nasty basic truths that your ego would prefer to deny. In order to understand the deeper truths of the self, and use them to your advantage, it is a good idea to ask the old ego to move over and make room for a new ego based on old truths, ancient truths of female and male character, combined with new truths of the modern self, the Id, the self of now.
Who are you? I pose this question to you quite often, My Dears. This question today, and Chuck’s work on presenting you with acknowledging your basest truths, may aid you in truly recapitulating how you live your life now. Who is in charge in your decision making process, in your actions, in your determination, in your resentments, your regrets, your inabilities to go beyond a certain place in your growth? That is the deeper question. Who makes your decisions for you?
Perhaps when you discover this aspect of self you may realize that it is not your true self as you had imagined, after all, but some other who has possessed you, without your even knowing it. Repossession of self requires acquiescence to possession, to the truths of it. In order to understand how it has happened, how you have been habitually tricked and trained your whole life, by the possessor, may be your true awakening.
Do not retreat in anger, but proceed with energy and desire to know the truer self, the ancient self, the balanced self, so that you may sit beside your partner, inner and outer, with truths revealed, accepted, and respected. May you, eventually, sit in inner balance and outer balance, knowing that you are whole within the self, at the crux of your being.
In such a place of inner balance will you become more aware of who or what is possessing you and making your choices for you, for these challenges of attempted possession will never cease. In such a place of inner balance will your ability to more swiftly move to repossess once again become a most natural ability. Whether you are male or female you have, within, the ability to become wholly balanced and in superb compassionate, non-judgmental command of the self as a creative, evolving, eager spirit.
In conclusion, I would like to comment that although I give you advice quite often, I do so in order to instruct you to discover that, within each of you, you are fully capable of teaching your self in an aware and enlightened manner. If you are ready to tackle the egos you have been operating from, not by destroying them, but by balancing them and taking their finer aspects and merging them with the most basic truths (easily acceptable or not), so will you gain a new alignment of inner and outer egos, achieving access to your own greatest teacher who resides in you, the Self.
