Archetypes

Who shall I be today?

“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.”

"As You Like It" (2.7.143-7)

An archetype is a universal pattern encoded in what Carl Jung referred to as our collective unconscious. Jung believed that we all share ancient behavioural patterns that are held in the subconscious and become apparent because they are repetitive. Similar to beliefs, you can recognise these archetypal patterns by the language that you use on a regular basis, such as, “I am always”.. “I never”.. I could never”.. etc For example, “I am always ignored”, “Nobody ever listens to me”, “This always happens to me”, “I can never do it myself”, are the examples of victim archetypal dialogue.

As described in Caroline Myss’s best selling book Sacred Contracts, certain archetypes play a more prominent role in
each of our lives, but everyone shares four of these, which she calls survival archetypes: Child, Prostitute, Saboteur and Victim.

There are many ways to describe archetypes, but we think the best way is by viewing oneself as a tapestry of emotional circuits and transitional moods, actions, reactions, and general patterns of behaviour.

Understanding archetypes can be a magnificent journey of self exploration and it can play an important part in how we interact with people. We learn to be more compassionate, understanding and tolerant of ourselves and others. We come face to face with the blocks that prevent us from being our true selves. We learn to stop judging and to become more accepting of people.

While exploring archetypes, it is important to see each one in terms of three specific aspects: one is neutral, one is shadow, and one is light. All three parts are of equal importance. If you focus too much on one aspect there is a possibility that you will miss the learning and become engrossed in a superficial feeling of your own self importance. Although that may sound harsh, it is possible because it happened to our client Claire. As soon as she discovered she had a Victim archetype, she thought that she had found the Holy Grail. She could now label her unhappiness!
This is not the smartest thing to do, as the more you focus on one thing, the more you will experience it.

Neutral

All the archetypes are essentially neutral, but each has a light and a shadow aspect.. ‘Neutral’ implies neither good nor bad. It is non-consequential. Basically, a victim is just doing the best that he or she can with their level of understanding at the time. Victims never intend harm to themselves or anyone else and they just bob along in life. Often they are oblivious to their patterns of behaviour and never see the need to change. For example, when there is conflict or discord, the victim will always assume the problem is with the other person, never him or herself.

Shadow

‘Shadow’ implies that there are subconscious motivations for acting as the victim. For example, victims usually get more attention, sympathy, and understanding. They rarely feel the need to initiate behavioural changes for themselves. People generally accept victim-type behaviour, because the victim’s life history can be so profound. Victims can evoke sympathy, such that others are sometimes convinced of their plight, feel immense sympathy for them, and would find it heartless to demand personal changes from them.

Light

‘Light’ implies the illumination of behavioural patterns that keep people stuck in their own unhappiness. Once recognised, that pattern can be changed, preferably in a ‘non-judgemental’ way. Patience and understanding of self are important here. When the behavioural pattern has changed, the need for constant sympathy, understanding and attention is no longer there. The shadow behaviour can be recognised in falsehoods; telling untruths about yourself or others, malicious gossiping and/ or pretending to be someone you are not. It is also found in dysfunctional relationships and friendships; manipulating others to do and to be what you want. Threatening or aggressive behaviour is a recognisable trait, as it tries to dominate and bully others into a particular way of thinking or behaving. The shadow is an aspect of the subconscious that may reveal deeper thoughts and fears as experienced in dreams and fantasies. It
can also take on direct physical form when one is confused, drunk, drugged or feeling betrayed.

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