Archetypes – How to Make Them Work for You and Your Path

As you progress through life, you’ll find yourself (and others) falling into specific patterns.

Some of these patterns can be relatively harmless such as “doh! I’m such an idiot! I forgot my wallet at home – again!”‘

Some of them can be harmful such as “I can’t stop taking drugs, no matter how hard I try.”

There’s a lot of things going on beneath the surface but let’s look at one of them in particular: archetypes.

[toc]

What Are Archetypes? Why Do They Matter?

Here is the official definition of an archetype:

A statement, behavior, or prototype from which something else is created or made.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why we go to work in the morning? Or why we think about money in a certain way? Or even why we don’t curse in public?

While a good amount of society is created from misalignment from underlying truth, there is also a good amount of society that follows archetypal truth.

Likewise, there are molds and patterns that individual personality is created from.

We all know these. The “femme fatale”. The “stern father”. The “caring mother”. Conversely, we all know people who fall into these molds.

Where did these molds come from?

Carl Jung and Archetypes

According to Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, these molds are “archetypes”, deep universal patterns embedded into the unconscious psyche of every single human being on earth.

Archetypes consciously or unconsciously direct and funnel human behavior into predictable channels that resonate with that archetype.

For example, the “femme fatale” archetype.

You can picture this woman as someone who’s physically attractive, seductive, and has a way with men. Conversely with the “nice guy” archetype, you can picture this man as someone who is a doormat, someone who lets people run all over him. These are things that don’t need to be told, you just know.

Where did archetypes come from? Well, if you believe in divine providence, you can say they were intentionally put there by God. If you believe in evolution, you can say these are things that evolved in us as we began to separate into tribes within civilization.

Whatever you believe in, the end result is the same: archetypes are necessary to understand.

If you do not know how archetypes dictate your behavior on a day-to-day basis, you risk living a “Groundhog Day“ type of existence where your life doesn’t really change that much and you can’t stop doing a counterproductive activities or falling for the ”same old tricks“ again.

This is why a woman keeps falling for a certain type of man, why a person can’t stop spending money or using drugs, and why many people will remain slaves to their instincts and lower natures.

All of these people are playing a character on a stage and the show must go on.

Knowing about archetypes and the collective unconscious is how you become a conscious character in this stage show we call “life”.

Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

The significance of archetypes, especially Jungian archetypes and Jungian psychology is that it enables us to create massive changes in our lives. The potential to become any one person or the ideal self is quite possible when looking at the world through the lens of Jungian archetypes.

Since archetypes are patterns that have been “set” in any particular area of life, we can “pull” characteristics from that archetype consciously to set our behavior in any one area.

For example, someone who is stepping into the role of the director at a company would embody the “Leader archetype” and everything that comes with it. They would draw upon the power, the authority, the inherent benevolence of the ideal leader to create prosperity and profitability for the company.

Another archetype (usually for men) is that of “the Hero”. The Hero is the one who saves everyone from some looming threat at the end of the story, usually by doing deep introspection on himself, his flaws, and facing + integrating his shadow. This is “the Hero’s Journey“.

The Leader and the Hero weren’t born with these traits. They made them.

This is part of the meaning behind the statement “act before you are ready” and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s admonition:

Do the thing and you will have the power. But they that do not the thing, have not the power.

Using Jungian archetypal psychology effectively is largely predicated on the level of self-awareness you have. If you are unaware or unconscious of archetypes, then you’ll find yourself slipping into unwanted behavioral patterns.

Part of this self-awareness requires realizing some of the archetypes you may fall into at any given time. That way you can make a conscious choice whether to engage in their associated behaviors or not.

The Enneagram and Personality Archetypes

The Enneagram is a 9-pointed representation of the human ego. It combines ancient wisdom and modern psychology to create an incisive examination of human personality.

It’s becoming more popular in recent years as a raw personality test, however, it represents a tremendous opportunity to consciously integrate unconscious tendencies of the ego.

As a 9 figured archetypal depiction of the human ego, we have all potentialities of all 9 character traits within us at any given time. However, there are a set or a particular one that we lean into during times of stress, strain, or struggle. This is our “number” and it comes with its own upsides and downsides.

The Enneagram is a good tool for something like “shadow work”, which is the process of delving into your unconsciousness and making it conscious.

A good resource for beginning this is looking at how the Enneagram works, then taking a deeper dive with a book such as the Road Back to You.

Masculine Archetypes

This is another subset of archetypes this time relating to masculine and male psychology.

As a man, you cannot discount the fact that you have different biological wants, needs, and desires than the average woman, so your perspective and the way you approach life should be different.

A man at his core realizes that he will be “successful” in the world and have access to the nooks and crannies of it by establishing a good level of status. This is why we participate in dominance hierarchies, why we want to “master” things, and why in general – adolescent men are boneheads most of the time.

A man inherently wants to express himself and leave his mark on the world in some fashion. This is in no part due to the heady influence of testosterone, the hormone that makes a man, well – a man.

While there are many aspects of masculinity that are culturally derived, the overall archetype of masculinity is primal and predates language. Every man has deeper access to the ideal forms of masculinity deep within his psyche that will allow him to navigate the world as a three-dimensional being rather than a papier-mâché version of himself.

There are a number of books that examines this idea in in-depth from an archetypal perspective. One of them is King, Warrior, Magician, Lover which discusses masculinity in terms of Jungian archetypes.

If a man does not get in touch with true patterns of masculinity, he risks not having the zeal and zest to compete in this fierce game of life and risks falling into “nice guy” behaviors.

Making the Unconscious, Conscious

Carl Jung said if you do not make the unconscious conscious – then it will direct your life and you will call it “fate”. This is largely true.

Archetypes are just one arrow in the quiver of bringing more presence and self-awareness to your overall activities. It is a long process to become more self-aware and realize the patterns that run your life, but it’s a worthy one.

Progressing through pain and coming out the other side with a jewel of truth and insight is what the growth process of life is all about. Just as the bud sprouts through the dirt to become a plant, that’s the same way it is with your mind and psychology.

Have you used archetypes to assist in your personal development? Let me know in the comments.