Taoist Anima-Shakti - is there such a thing?

[yabyum24]

As a student of tantra and someone who has always found a deep truth in teachings that somehow encompass the anima / animus, I wondered whether there was anything in Taoism which points to this?

 

There's the ying/yang polarity I guess but this appears more a universal truth than a teaching on this specific theme, although the overarching principles are doubtlessly still present.

 

I just wondered if any Taoists here would know this.

[Stosh]

animus

: an inner masculine part of the female personality in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung

anima

: an individual's true inner self that in the analytic psychology of C. G. Jung reflects archetypal ideals of conduct; also : an inner feminine part of the male personality—compare animus, persona

animus

antipathy

Perhaps your question isnt really clear what is meant?

theres this thread

Kundalini in Taoism?

Started by Tibetan_Ice, Feb 09 2008 03:23 PM

Or ,,

What is Te?

The word "te" is without any doubt one of the most mysterious in the Taoist vocabulary. It appears in the title of Lao-tzu's book: Tao-te ching . Legge translates this title as: The Classic about Tao and its Characteristics so "te" should be rendered as "characteristics" or "features". These characteristics are seen in relation with the Tao.

Julian Pass wrote that Te "is the inner and outer power bestowed on each being by Tao, or all the qualities for action inherent in the nature of each being, which gives each being a way to maintain itself, to grow and flourish." (Historical Dictionary of Taoism, Scarecrow Press).

Te also means "virtue", that is, the moral virtue of beings. This virtue is not the inner one but something that was given from outside.

In Shambhala dictionary of Taoism Te represents Tao's energy or the qualities or nature received by every living being or thing from Tao.

Many other explanations, more or less confused, were given to this term

Edited November 26, 2013 by Stosh

[yabyum24]

Thanks Stosh, I guess this may be the case. I'll think about it and see if I can clarify the question.

Perhaps your question isnt really clear what is meant?

[Stosh]

Have no fear, between ChiDragon , CT , Baguakicks ass, Apech and a few others , I cant imagine someone wouldnt be able to address... whatever your question is

[Harmonious Emptiness]

Maybe you mean

 

an·i·ma (n-m)

n.

1. The inner self of an individual; the soul.

2. In Jungian psychology:

a. The unconscious or true inner self of an individual, as opposed to the persona, or outer aspect of the personality.

b. The feminine inner personality, as present in the unconscious of the male. It is in contrast to the animus, which represents masculine characteristics.

In that case, yes, without a doubt. Jung and Freud were both privileged to have read translations of the I Ching, and Jung even wrote commentary on Secret of the Golden Flower. When you read the latter, it will not be easy to deny it's influence on his writing.

[Harmonious Emptiness]

btw, for Secret of the Golden Flower, pick up Thomas Cleary's translation if you're going to buy one. I compared a few chapters of Cleary's and Wilhelm&Jung's translations to the original text and found that they were actually very similar. But Cleary's notes on the terms and so forth are much more useful, since they are based in the origins of these terms, rather than Jungian philosophy.

[yabyum24]

Thanks Harmonious Emptiness. I'll have to look into that.

 

@stosh - on reflection, I'm not sure that I can be more specific, as it's a general question. I guess if there's nothing similar in Taoism, then there's not much to say and I'm fine with that.

Edited November 27, 2013 by yabyum24

[Aetherous]

Maybe the "valley spirit" AKA "the mysterious female" mentioned in the Tao Te Ching. Which I assume is just another name for the Tao or the wuji, or the "quintessence" in other words.

I'm unaware of any Taoist groups discussing this idea these days.

[Zhongyongdaoist]

As a student of tantra and someone who has always found a deep truth in teachings that somehow encompass the anima / animus, I wondered whether there was anything in Taoism which points to this?

 

There's the ying/yang polarity I guess but this appears more a universal truth than a teaching on this specific theme, although the overarching principles are doubtlessly still present.

 

I just wondered if any Taoists here would know this.

 

Are you talking about Deity pairing like Amoghasiddhi and the Green Tara, paired personifications of divine powers? There are such pairings as the Azure Lad of the East and Queen Mother of the West and as a further point the Queen Mother of the West has a court of Jade Maidens who serve a dakini like function.

[yabyum24]

Maybe you mean

 

The feminine inner personality, as present in the unconscious of the male. It is in contrast to the animus, which represents masculine characteristics.... Well.... almost but not quite... this won't explain it either but...

 

 

I remember her lips, the feeling of her soft skin and that fire in her eyes. Making love. But that was not me, it was another man.

 

He left a long time ago, in stages. I think. I didn't notice.

 

I keep looking for her but the world is empty now. She is not amongst those of full years - the marks of others are upon them. Nor amongst the distant young with the pain of being what they must be.

 

He took her with him and left me only his memories in exchange. Fading like mist in the rising sun.

Edited November 28, 2013 by yabyum24

[Stosh]

Nice,

Not me either , I say good riddance to the cheat'n ho undeserving of sweet reminisce.

[yabyum24]

I'll approach this from another angle. The Anima Shakti, for me is more than a Jungian construct. One legend begins to shed some light onto the matter. Okay, on one level it's a Hindu deity tale but on another it is quite something else:

 

Briefly, The legend is that, the great king Daksha Prajapati, an ancient creator god, was angry because his daughter Sati had married Shiva.

 

Daksha performed a ceremony with an intension of taking revenge on Lord Shiva. Daksha invited all the Gods to the yagna ceremony and did not invite Lord Shiva and Sati. However, Shiva allowed Sati to attend, along with his escorts. Since Sati was an univited guest, she was not paid any attention and was totally neglected by all.

 

Further, Daksha uttered insults against Shiva. Sati unable to tolerate the shame of this, jumped in to the pyre and committed suicide. On hearing this tragic news, Lord Shiva became furious. Soon, he reached the place of Daksha's yagna and destroyed the whole area.

In a disturbed state of mind, Lord Shiva carried Sati's body and started the tandav dance of destruction, all over the world. All the terrorised and worried gods, requested Lord Vishu to take necessary action. Immediately, Lord Vishnu, with his Sudarshan Chakra, severed Sati's body into 24 parts, so that Lord Shiva could return to his sanity and once again take up his duties.

 

Various parts of Sati's body fell at different places, across the Indian sub-continent, forming holy shrines of cosmic power which became well known as Shakti Peethas.

 

Nowadays there are said to be 51 holy sites but the tantras originally list 24.

 

This story is about the division of Shakti onto the duality of time/space - 24 hours of the day etc. There are also said to be 24 holy sites within the human body, as revealed in the tantras. Thus, Shakti becomes more than a 'feminine aspect' of a male personality.

Edited November 29, 2013 by yabyum24

[Harmonious Emptiness]

If I understand what you're asking, there are tons of secret and not so secret Taoist energy spots in the body. There are also multiple body gods, not to mention many heavenly and earthly spirits in the body.

[yabyum24]

Thanks Harmonious Emptiness, I never knew that was the case in Taoism.

 

In terms of exactly what I'm asking, it's hard for me to say, as I 'don't know what I don't know' and I don't know much about Taoism... if you know what I mean?

 

So, I'm just putting some ideas in this thread to see if there is any resonance with Taoism and what you write is very interesting, as it seems there is.

 

Is there any further information on this point which is not closed or secret?

[Zhongyongdaoist]

Given this response

If I understand what you're asking, there are tons of secret and not so secret Taoist energy spots in the body. There are also multiple body gods, not to mention many heavenly and earthly spirits in the body.

And your response

Thanks Harmonious Emptiness, I never knew that was the case in Taoism.

 

In terms of exactly what I'm asking, it's hard for me to say, as I 'don't know what I don't know' and I don't know much about Taoism... if you know what I mean?

 

So, I'm just putting some ideas in this thread to see if there is any resonance with Taoism and what you write is very interesting, as it seems there is.

 

Is there any further information on this point which is not closed or secret?

Then it would seem your concern is with the correspondences of the Microcosm to Macrocosm, such as Qing Emperor of the east, to Jupiter, to Wood, and to Liver, a great deal of which has become available in sinological literature in the past 50 years or so, and their use in Taoist and meditation and ritual. Is that correct? If so, then you are in luck because a great deal of this is now in print and one can get a good idea of what is going on by doing some research. However practice without a teacher is not recommended.