Archetypes - What Story are you Living?

Michelle Niethe

Mea Hui – Who Am I?

I am granddaughter of Rocky River Mountain

Hearth fire woman

Gentle eagle warrior woman

I carry the heart of two bears

I am healer, herbal woman

A light-bringer, I also walk in shadows

My ancestors are drovers, shearers and stone masons

Walking between many worlds, I walk to the beat of my own drum

This is just a glimpse of my Archetypes, my story. What is your story? How do you present and introduce yourself to the world? Where have you come from? Where are you heading?

Modern society has lost its soul connection with the natural and spiritual world, creating a dehumanising wound and encouraging collective trauma.

The root of this trauma and crisis isn’t just human behaviour, but also the tilted Cartesian[2] conception that matter and the natural world are dead and without spiritual importance and belief that soul is only found within humans and not out in the world.

Reality is a series of metaphors set into motion by the synchronicity of Archetypes we experience. We live entirely in a world of deep Archetypes and universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses in each person. Archetypes are visual symbols or energetic imprints that exist in our psyches. Some are readily understood, while others bring subconscious messages that help trigger memory of why you are here and the truth behind the illusion of reality.

Everything that is manifest, yourself, everything in your world, your thoughts, the universe, the past and the future - all these things are understood as expressions of consciousness. Through this and by using shamanic practice, we have a means to explore the entirety of life and experience - by understanding the Archetype manifesting in you, guiding, inspiring and initiating you on the path of healing and spiritual evolution. When we deny our Archetypes (positive or negative) we are rejecting connection to our soul.

Life is made up of endless symbols and Archetypes that aid us in shaping and forming our individual world. We are the ones who give meaning to symbols, as they are the truth that each person’s consciousness perceives them, acting to trigger responses within our subconscious, and influence personal development and inner healing. Archetypes can be described as blueprints of our souls.

We are all the Archetypes because we embody the essence of all the Archetypes within us[3].

Archetypes influence our communication and can be used as catalysts towards our own power of awakening. Like written language, Archetypes carry with them a deep meaning that lies in the base of our subconscious that allows us to communicate with each other and within ourselves.

Archetypes are symbolic universal roles or masks that contain energy vibrations and patterns that either expend or enhance energy.

Heather Price describes it perfectly,

When you know yourself well, without the blinkers and masks that shield you from having to step up and be seen, shadow parts of self – warts – and all, you can truly walk consciously and confidently in the world.[1]

Individual and universal archetypes are found everywhere, as symbols are a language of the mind, taken to different frequencies of thought and connected to each other by the collective unconsciousness. We become aware of them in meditation, dreamtime, remote viewing or other out-of-body experiences. They also become evident during daily life, by reading a book, watching a movie or interacting with others. Archetypes are archaic images or universal thought-forms that influence the feelings and action of an individual.

Carl Jung proposed that these images, patterns or prototypes for ideas are primordial images or patterns of behaviour that we are born with and are derived from the universal or collective unconscious. According to Jung, the collective unconscious (also known as the Grids, Akashic Records, Sea of Consciousness) that which creates our reality[4]), is an inherited psyche or reservoir of experience and is common to all members of a specific species.

Jung identified four major Archetypes, but also believed that there was no limit to the number that may exist. According to Jung, there is no fixed number of Archetypes and may even overlap, appearing in the same person. The following outlines some primary Archetypes:

The Self

This Archetype represents the wholeness of an individual that is brought about by the unification of the consciousness and the unconsciousness. The self is created by the integration of all aspects of the personality. The self and other Archetypes cannot exist without each other.

The self is an Archetype that represents the unified unconsciousness and consciousness of an individual.

Creating the self occurs through a process known as individuation, in which the various aspects of personality are integrated. Jung often represented the self as a circle, square, or mandala.

The Shadow

This is the dark, wild and unknown side of the psyche. It represents the traits that lie deep within, hidden from routine daily life and is comprised of repressed desires and ideas and weaknesses/ shortcomings.

The shadow can appear in dreams or visions and may take a variety of forms. It might appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild or exotic figure.

The Syzygy (the Divine Couple)

The Anima and Animus

The Anima represents femininity, the feminine aspect within the male psyche, while the Animus represents the male aspect within the female psyche. The anima and animus help improve the relationship between men and women by allowing them to understand & communicate with members of the opposite sex. The combination of the two is called The Syzygy (the divine couple).

The Wise Old Man

This Archetype represents knowledge, wisdom and spiritual insight. It seeks to offer protection, guidance and mentoring.

The Rebel

Also known as The Outlaw, this is the revolutionary, the iconoclast or the misfit who is strongly inclined to break rules and overturn, destroy or disrupt whatever is not going their way. The radical views and outrageous behaviour bring along a weakness that may lead one to the dark side and push into crime.

The Rebel’s greatest fear is of becoming ineffectual and powerless and they are driven by the core desires of revolting and taking revenge.

The Outcast

The outcast is just that. He or she has been cast out of a society or has left it on a voluntary basis.

The outcast figure can oftentimes be considered as a Christ figure.

The Star-Crossed Lovers

This is the young couple joined by love but unexpectedly parted by fate, such as Romeo and Juliet.

Any attempt to give an exhaustive list of the Archetypes, however, would be a largely futile exercise, since the Archetypes tend to combine with each other and interchange qualities making it difficult to decide where one Archetype stops, and another begins.

When you realise which Archetype dominates your personality and that of others (friends, co-workers and loved ones), you get a deeper insight into motivations and behaviours and can connect with them or yourself better.

Archetypes help you interpret the larger meaning of life and the changes that shape it. The totality of human experiences that your deeper mind carries enables you to face life’s challenges.

Where do Archetypes come from then? The collective unconscious, as Jung believed? From our ancestors? From books or movies? He suggested that these models are innate, universal, and hereditary. Archetypes are unlearned and function to organise how we experience certain things. There is a belief that we inherit these Archetypes much the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behaviour.

All the most powerful ideas in history go back to Archetypes

Jung explained in his book The Structure of the Psyche[5].

For it is the function of consciousness, not only to recognise and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us.

Archetypes symbolise basic human motivations, values, and personalities and play a role in our personality. The actual way in which an Archetype is expressed or realised depends upon several factors, including an individual's cultural influences and unique personal experiences[6].

So, once you get an answer is it in the form of a story or a metaphor or even a sensation or a smell? It is meant to convey something, usually not literally.

When you ask a question in an inner journey, the purpose of the answer is not only to give you a deeper understanding, but it is also meant to shift you into a new direction. Sometimes, you get an answer that makes no sense to you and one day what it means becomes clear. Sometimes, the answer may never be clear to you. By identifying the Archetype that best represents you, the answer can be clearer. It speaks to this deeper part of yourself. This part of you knows what the archetype means in a quiet way. Once that part of you receives the information, shifts can occur at this deeper level.

When you practice Mea Hui, it is important to realise you can do this in two ways, with from the perspective of the Wounded Heart, or from a wiser place – that of the True-Heart Self. While looking through the Wounded Heart eyes, we may identify Archetypes that have drained us energetically (and may be still doing this).

Examples of True and Wounded Archetypes:

True Heart

Nature’s Child, Blessed Child, Beloved Child, Golden Child, The Innocent Chid, Loved Child, Spirited Child

The Peaceful Warrior, The Spiritual Warrior, The Quester or Visionary, The Obedient Soldier, The Hero

Emperor, Queen, King, Knight of the Round Table, Leader

Soul Mate, Compassionate Lover, Tender Lover, Faithful Partner

Advocate, Attorney, Defender, Legislator, Lobbyist, Environmentalist, Role Model

Wounded Heart

The Abandoned Child, The Rejected Child, The Betrayed Child, The Shamed Child, The Controlled Child

The Tyrant, The Rebel Fighter, Wounded Warrior, The Coward, The Destroyer, Damsel in Distress

Servant Leader, Conqueror, Dictator, Slaver, The Ruler

Jilted Lover, Scorned Woman, Divorcee, Rejected Suitor

Prosecutor, Judge, Persecuted Soul, Vigilante

As you read, these, notice which one(s) evoke a deep emotion. Are they from the side of the true heart or wounded heart?

Archetypes are the secret forces behind our behaviour, as they reside in the unconscious—the part of our minds we aren’t aware of—they influence us without us knowing it. When you can observe an archetype operating within you - you have differentiated yourself from the Archetype. Once you have identified the Archetype, you can separate yourself from it and it is less likely to influence your behaviour in harmful ways.

When we choose to search out the light archetypal energies through the True-Heart, and journey into soul consciousness, we can establish and reclaim Archetypes that raise our vibration constantly.

By focussing on certain Archetypes that serve you, you may find that starts to impact you in a very powerful way. Archetypal energy is all everywhere, operating at different frequencies.

Look at the energy of the True Heart Archetype and allow some of that to come through you if it's something positive, increasing the positive vibration of the archetypal energy. Once this is switched on the vibrations will have a profound effect on the DNA, manifesting change.

Conversely, be aware of what Archetypes might be running your life, their frequency. Choose to let those go. Choose to see that they served you for a period and then simply choose to bring through an energy that is more authentic to you. Once identified, start to see what attributes you may want and then think of Archetypes that could bring through those energies.

The use of Shamanic tools, such as mandalas, inner journey, art therapy and ancestral journeys can all be used to tune in to and alter your Archetypes’ energy.

Remember - The True Heart turns to the Ancestors (the ones who walked the way we aspire to walk) to activate cellular memories within us to guide us and allows to drop the veils and to tell transitional stories that uplift and illuminate1.

References

[1]Shamanic Path and Practice - Healing Archetypal and Ancestral Imprints, Heather Price

[2] Cartesian Conception of the Mind, René Descartes

[3]The Awakened State, https://theawakenedstate.net/symbolism-and-archetypes/

[4]Ancient-Symbols, https://www.ancient-symbols.com/

[5] The Structure and Dynamics of they Psyche, C. G Jung

[6] The Four Major Jungian Archetypes, Kendra Cherry