archetypes

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung advanced the concept of psychological archetypes significantly during his career. Jung held the idea that archetypes are unchanging, universal templates or prototypes for ideas and could be used to diagnose complexes through observation. Jung saw the archetypes much like a medical doctor views organs. The four (5) primary archetypes that Jung described for us are:

The Self basically provides us with our individualism. It takes on the job of regulator.

The Shadow is essentially a repository for everything about ourselves that we fear or reject.

The Anima is the image of woman a man carries inside of him and the Animus is the image of man a woman carries around inside of her. The Persona is the mask we wear when out in public that allows us to be socially acceptable.

There are many other archetypes and two or more archetypes can blend or interact to create combinations. Many of the archetypes come from legend or folklore and become ingrained in the collective unconscious by being passed down from generation to generation. The archetypes are interesting in that they can exert subtle influences over our behavior and decision making. If any archetype dominates a person’s behavior or is perverted in some way as a result of psychological trauma, it can create a complex. Archetypes can cause people to project on to those around them. This is most obvious when someone defines you as something you know you are not. It is not you they are defining but rather the image they have projected on you.

Carol S. Pearson created an extension of Jung’s original approach to archetypes in which she devised a system of 12 primary archetypes that relate to our lives and success in this modern era.

Archetypes are like primordial patterns of behavior that reflect in our mythology, our art and our literature. These templates lead us to make decisions and follow predictable paths as we deal with life’s various challenges and issues. At one time, the archetypes were considered the Gods and Goddesses of myth. Plato took the first steps to separate them from religion. Jung defined them as archetypes, and Pearson as well as contemporaries like Joseph Campbell, brought more understanding to their nature.

Pearson’s take on her system of 12 archetypes was that by using them we could have a better understanding of our personal journey through life as well as increase the communication taking place between our conscious and unconscious minds.

She laid the archetypes out into three groups, representing the journey of the hero or heroine. These three groups were the preparation, the journey and the return.

Today I’ll touch briefly on the archetypes involved with the preparation. These archetypes deal with integrating our sense of security. They are most active in adolescents and help to foster integration. They govern the familial roles in our subconscious awareness, establishing links between our inner child and our inner parents. Once we successfully integrate the lessons they teach us, we will be prepared to move on to the journey stage.

We begin with the Innocent who is much like we were as infants. The Innocent expects the world to serve it. It believes that life is no more hard than crying out your demands, trusting that all needs will be fulfilled.

Next we have the Orphan, who helps us to realize that we aren’t the center of the Universe. The Orphan teaches us to become more independent, while perhaps still nursing the wounds of disillusionment that come from realizing we have lost paradise. (The safe world where our parents took care of our every need.)
Next, The Hero teaches us bravery and how to set out to achieve goals, master challenges and endure insurmountable odds.

And then finally, we have the Caregiver who teaches us compassion and selflessness. The Caregiver brings the humanity to our character.

When we work with archetypes, it is good to start out by looking at what they represent and see if we can relate to them. If we can’t relate to an archetype it is likely we haven’t experienced it. Those we relate to the most, may be dominating our consciousness and we should then determine if that is the best choice for the current circumstances we are facing.

To continue our discussion of archetypes and Pearson’s take on them, we focus now on the archetypes of the journey. Remember that in Pearson’s model we group the archetypes into the 3 stages of the hero’s/heroine’s journey and this stage is where the hero/heroine leaves for the quest. In mythology or literature, this is the part of the story where the hero/heroine is called to face a challenge or go on a quest. This is the stage for slaying dragons or monsters, or braving perils to find the grail.

In real world terms, this is the stage of life where we are seeking out new options to overcome the difficulties of our experience. This is where we destroy that which no longer serves us to make way for a new and better way. These archetypes manifest themselves in our lives when we are in periods of major transition, such as job change, divorce, or when we are striving to change things on a significant scale.

First we encounter the Wanderer. The Wanderer is the archetype who inspires us to make a solitary journey into the unknown. This archetype is very common when we go through our young adulthood. It inspires us to rebel against the conventions we accepted as young children in our attempt to be pleasing to our parents, beckoning us to seek out our own independent identities. The wanderer is a lone wolf, preferring isolation to gather his/her own thoughts.

Next we have the Destroyer, whose primary function is to tear down any constructs or conventions that no longer serve us. The Destroyer is often cynical and full or rage. The fiery nature consumes its target but makes way for the new.

Following the Destroyer we find the Lover which is the archetype governing all forms of love, be it friendship, agape or eros (romantic love). With this archetype we ride an emotional rollercoaster at times because it is very dramatic, but is deepens our capacity to love and be loved, experience pleasure and intimacy and find our own happiness.

Next we find the Creator, who strengthens our right brain thinking. The Creator requires balance as it will create an instant flood of ideas, but doesn’t address the details of execution. This archetype could be thought of much like the Muses in Greek mythology, inspiring us to innovate in all areas of our lives.

Once we have internalized and mastered these archetypes, we will be ready for the final stage of the Hero’s/Heroine’s journey which is the return. We’ll cover that in the next post.

The final segment on Pearson’s model of the archetypes focuses on the return of the Hero’s/Heroine’s journey. This is where we internalize and integrate the actual results of our quest. This is where the hero/heroine returns to their people with a gift or treasure that helps restore the kingdom to a greater state. Once we have experienced the totality of the return stage, we are independent and self-nurturing, we hold ourselves accountable and assume our responsibilities and we contribute to our society and world in a constructive and responsible way.

The first archetype we encounter on the return is the Ruler. The Ruler is just that and governs effectively, first governing self, then governing externally in the world. The Ruler teaches us to wear the mantle of leadership responsibly without tyranny or domination and encourages us to lead by service and by listening.

Next we find the Magician, which urges us to explore the practical and metaphysical techniques to create tangible change from visionary thought, how to expand influence without confrontation and how to transform situations effectively. In working with the Magician, we must learn to use power without manipulation.

Our third archetype in the return is the sage who leads us deeper into the search for truth and pushes us to view the world and ourselves objectively, to move from knowledge to understanding and to apply this wisdom.

Finally, we come to the Fool whose primary purpose is to teach us how to have fun. All of this internal/external work can make us the bore if we don’t learn how to enjoy the fruits of our work. The Fool beckons us to celebrate life and teaches us how to enjoy ourselves even as we work. We must learn to utilize the Fool in moderation lest we find ourselves procrastinating.

So there you have all the archetypal components for a complete personal transformation. I encourage you to explore the subject of archetypes more deeply and apply them to your life. Using them can increase your feeling of meaning and connection to the life you live and the world around you.