We Can Endlessly Create Again and Again; A Journey to an Integrated Animus

There are some people who beautify everything they touch—sometimes a house, sometimes a person. We all wonder what it is that these people have

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If I call it creativity… it is the limitless potential to create that flows from within them.

When we think about creativity only from the perspective of art, we assume that some people are creative while we are not. Last week, our reading group started analyzing one of the stories from Women Who Run with the Wolves. In the book’s tenth tale, there’s a short story about how creativity stagnates, dies, and how it can be brought back to life. I won’t recount the story here because it resembles a pattern we all encounter in our daily lives—the fate of those who have not become the heroes of their own lives.

The book states, “Creativity is loving something deeply; it is an act done with exuberance.” Whether it is a person, a word, an image, an idea, or even a country, it is love directed toward something.

It speaks of this wild creative force that exists within all of us, flowing naturally into every vessel we have—both the ones we are born with and the ones we build with our own hands. The book emphasizes that we don’t need to fill these vessels; we just need to construct them.

We have all, at times, found ourselves in a state of heightened creativity, in those moments when things flow effortlessly from us. During those times:

• Our eyes sparkle as we create,

• Our words taste like sugar,

• Our faces flush red with the energy of life,

• We become excited by ideas,

• We are stimulated by possibilities,

• We are ignited by genuine thought,

• We move as if we are in constant flow.

  
  

And in that state, we feel full and deeply satisfied. I think I experience this feeling most when I am writing or generating ideas.

A woman's creativity never dies—it only needs to be sought out again, and the waters need to be cleansed. Since the book focuses on women’s stories, it addresses creativity specifically in the context of women. It states that a woman’s creative ability is her most valuable asset because it is both an outwardly giving force and an inward nourishment at every level. Creativity is never truly lost—it emerges from something that rises, rolls, swells, and spills over. The only way to deprive ourselves of its energy is by building barriers against it or allowing it to be poisoned by destructive negativity and neglect. In other words, it’s like deliberately trying to destroy it—like shooting yourself in the foot.

The book explains that we can recognize when something is going wrong between our source of creativity and its expression. For example:

• If you find yourself gasping for breath when it comes to creative energy,

• If you struggle to bring forth the productive, imaginative, or intellectual,

• If you have difficulty focusing on your personal perspective, acting on it, or maintaining it—then creative energy might not be flowing in a healthy way.

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It also warns that creativity can die prematurely if it is not honored or if it is stifled in a toxic environment. Another danger is over-focusing on someone you idolize, to the point of mimicking them, which can stifle your own creativity.

So how do we recognize when creativity has stagnated?

• Our hunger for relief increases,

• Fertility diminishes,

• Ideas stop nourishing one another,

• New lives do not emerge.

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When these things happen, the book says, we feel bad and want to flee. This is because life can only return when we cleanse the river that has stagnated or begun to be polluted.

Sometimes, we feel as if we are trapped—limited to a single option, deprived, suppressed in our emotions and thoughts, unable to move, speak, act, or simply be.

I would call this feeling the butterflies in my stomach have stopped moving 😊 or I feel imprisoned 😊

The story in the book uses the metaphor of a river to describe wild creativity. It states that one reason this river becomes polluted or even dries up is the presence of the destructive animus.

This word resonates deeply with me. Knowing that my experiences have a name and definition brings me a sense of relief.

What Is the Animus?

The animus is the spiritual force within a woman and is considered masculine in nature. It is a power that enables women to act in ways that serve their interests in the external world. The animus helps women bring their dreams into reality in tangible ways. Essentially, it is the bridge-builder. If the animus does not build and protect this bridge, a woman’s inner life cannot manifest meaningfully in the external world.

However, no woman’s animus is fully integrated. If we don’t carefully examine our desires and motivations, an underdeveloped animus emerges. A fully integrated animus only develops through conscious awareness and deep self-examination.

Maybe you were unaware of this until now. Or maybe, like me, you’ve been working on something but couldn’t quite name it.

If that’s the case, recognizing the unhealthy animus and its effects on our lives will make things easier.

An unhealthy animus:

• Pushes a woman to struggle unnecessarily,

• Convinces her that she needs permission to create,

• Becomes one-sided, takes control, and suppresses new life filled with creative energy,

• Insists on dominating the psyche,

• Makes a woman belittle her own work or imitate others instead of creating authentically.

The more this happens, the stronger the animus becomes. It starts dictating orders and eventually robs a woman of her authenticity. Toxic lovers, exploitative bosses, oppressive situations, and all kinds of harmful complexes lure women away from their creative lives. Sometimes, a woman's creative energy is taken hostage by people who wish to produce things solely for their ego rather than for true spiritual value.

On the other hand, a well-developed animus has excellent boundaries. A healthy animus:

• Helps a woman understand possibilities and goals,

• Encourages her to express meaningful ideas and ideals,

• Weighs justice and fairness in situations,

• Keeps an eye on her resources,

• Develops strategies when she is threatened,

• Holds all aspects of her psyche together.

  
  

When faced with a destructive animus, we must re-enter the river and cleanse it. Losing focus leads to an energy drain; when that happens, trying to hurriedly gather everything back together is the wrong approach. Instead, we must sit, sway gently, and patiently allow new ideas to surface.

I realize now that my two-month journey in Bali was exactly this—sitting, swaying, and peacefully reconnecting with nature.

At this stage:

• A woman must replenish herself by receiving compliments,

• She must react when necessary—like wolves, who make countless choices each day, deciding which path to follow, focusing on their prey, calculating possibilities, and responding with precision,

• She must be wild,

• She must not wait for permission to begin, even if she risks making mistakes,

• She must protect her own time,

• She must work on integrating her healthy and incomplete animus,

• She must protect her creative life and refuse to let a starved soul trap her in scarcity.

Creativity needs nourishment—time, passion, and sovereignty.

Being with people who warm us, who affirm and celebrate our creativity, is essential for the flow of creative life. It’s not worth wasting time on those who do not support our lives. We must bring our ideas to places where they will find support.

To set boundaries with an unhealthy animus, we must treat it coldly. Coldness signals an ending. They say, If you want to kill something, simply turn cold toward it.

So, I suppose it’s time to freeze out the unhealthy animus 😊