Meeting your Anima/Animus Meditation

Lie down, close your eyes, ground and center, then do the Crystal Countdown or
whatever your preferred method of entering a meditative state is.

In the darkness behind your eyes see a natural opening into the earth; such as a cave, an animal hole, a hollow tree trunk, a well, or a spring. You should feel comfortable in this place, if you don't look around until you find an opening that is safe and comfortable feeling.

Spend some time inspecting the opening, bring as many of your senses as you can
into play: see objects and colors, notice smells, feel the air, notice the temperature, can you hear any noises or sounds?

Next enter the opening which leads to a tunnel. Once inside take note of the interior:
is the tunnel dark or light, what is the texture of the walls, is it dry or damp in there?

Shortly after you begin you will notice a light ahead of you, head toward it. When you pass through the light you will exit the tunnel and be in a room.

Find a chair and sit down.

Look around the room, notice it's furnishings and objects, look at the floor, walls and ceiling, how well is it lit?

On one wall there will be a door that leads out onto a balcony. Go to that door and
step through it onto the balcony. It will be as if you have stepped onto the platform of a starship, the Universe unfolds before you. Peer as far as you can into space and become aware of the tremendous power, energy, and light that throbs through the cosmos. Take a few deep breaths and let this energy enter your body.

Then return inside and close the door. Reseat yourself and ask that your anima/animus come to you.

Be patient, in a few moments the balcony door will open and your anima/animus will
enter. Offer her/him a chair and get to know each other. Study you anima/animus’s body, look at his/her face, hands, and body. Be aware that s/he will be studying you as well. Talk to him/her, ask his/her name, explain that you wish to use his/her energy in your magicks. Ask your anima/animus what s/he needs from you. Talk over what ever you like, begin to forge a friendship with him/her.

When you are finished your anima/animus will get up and leave through the balcony
door. As soon as you are ready look around and find the light that brought you here.

Pass through it back into the tunnel, quickly pass back up to the surface and the
opening where you began at. Take several deep breaths before counting back up to beta.

Phaedra's Notes:

Your anima (female spirit/soul) or animus (male spirit/soul) is the opposite gender of what you are biologically. It is normally relatively hidden and unconscious but as Witches we need to incorporate both male and female energies into our Craft. This is why we must contact our anima/animus and develop a viable working relationship with him/her. It's best if you undertake this journey once a week for several weeks, just until you have built a solid relationship with your anima/animus. Then do this meditation whenever you are in need of his/her council. One thing to remember - your anima/animus can be human, mythical, animal, or angelic; it's only constant is it's gender. It is the representation of your inner opposite self, it appears as you envision your true self to be.

This is another gem from Laurie Cabot and I found it very easy to approach and use. Unlike other partially guided meditations I found that memorizing it worked better than having another person read it to me or the use of a pre-recorded tape. I think it might be partially because you never know how long the visit is going to take and also because of strange time in meditation. There are times when it feels like I've been in meditation for a few minutes and it's two hours and the reverse also holds true. Thus it's just easier to memorize what to do than try to have a machine or another person figure out my inner meditation sense. =P

Several people that I've worked with have used this meditation and they have all said the same thing: their anima or animus is never what they expect. I agree with that assessment! It is also the only meditation that I, as well as others, have had immediate success with. There wasn't any hesitation or 'false starts' with it; just a very vivid experience.