Archetypes are powerful images that embody various aspects of human life. Knowing your archetypes can help you understand both your positive and negative sides.

What are archetypes?

Archetypes are recurring symbols and themes that can be seen not only in various cultural expressions, but also in people's lives. These universal motifs depict fundamental human experiences, emotions and life situations. Some of the common archetypes are the Hero, the Sage, the Trickster, the Lover, and others.

Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung paid special attention to archetypes. He believed that archetypes resided in the collective unconscious of humanity. Jungian archetypes are universal symbols that appear in myths, dreams, and art, representing the deepest aspects of the human psyche. Some of Jung's most important archetypes are the Self, which includes all aspects of the individual, and the Persona, which is the social mask or role that the individual plays in the outside world.

Jung's range of archetypes also includes the Shadow, or the darker, unconscious side of the personality, which contains suppressed desires and fears. Encountering your Shadow is essential to psychological growth. Essential Jungian archetypes are the Anima and the Animus. The Anima is the feminine aspect of the male psyche, while the Animus is the masculine aspect of the female psyche.

It is important to add that archetypes are not fixed stereotypes, rather they are dynamic mechanisms that develop and change. They are rooted in the human psyche and are the basis of assumptions, drives, motives and actions, therefore, in order to understand yourself and your characteristics, it is worth discovering the archetypes that guide you. Archetypes speak to us through intuition, they can be seen in behavior patterns, talents and fears, they manifest in the life stories we create.

By knowing yourself better, you will be able to take advantage of your archetypes and understand what are the pitfalls inherent in them. A person can have several archetypes, and they can change at different stages of life, but there will be a few primary archetypes. It should be noted that in archetypes the universal characteristics are intertwined with the personal characteristics of each person. Knowing yourself, observing your reactions and feelings in different life situations, you can come to your archetypal core and live according to it accordingly.

Archetypes transform as the society in which we live changes. Mystic and consciousness researcher Caroline Mays has defined and described the most powerful female archetypes observed in today's society. Maybe you will see similarities with yourself in one of them.

Fighter

A fighter rarely doubts her life's mission, because she has the need to change the world and accomplish something worthwhile. She fights for positive changes in society, politics or the environment.

This archetype can manifest itself in different intensities, so there are fighters who do it as a hobby in their free time, and those who dedicate themselves to the goal. For fighters, the process is often as important as the goal, as they value the camaraderie with others that often occurs when fighting for a goal together. If you have this desire to improve something and you feel that something is wrong, the main thing is to understand how big a task you can take on, so that it does not exhaust your personal resources. It is also important to set realistic goals and not fight because of personal anger or resentment.

A fighter's best quality is hope. But like all archetypes, she has a dark side. It is judgmental of others and arrogance - a fighter may think that her occupation is more meaningful than others. The task of a fighter is undoubtedly welcome, but she must understand that not everyone is tasked with fighting in life. Therefore, her best course of action is to believe in her goals, as well as, fighting for others, not to forget about herself, and to get rid of the need for attention from others.

Creative artist

Female artists are gifted with the ability to see everything beautiful. They have an unusual vision and a strong imagination, which accordingly stimulates the desire to express themselves creatively.

Representatives of the creative archetype do not necessarily have to become professional artists, because a woman can be original in every aspect of her life. The main advice is not to treat your original vision carelessly, because not everyone has one. Moreover, if you have this skill to create something new, it is possible to develop any talent. The main thing is not to convince yourself that you have no talent, because creativity has all kinds of expressions and artists can make anything special.

The main dark side of the archetypes of the artist is the fear of not being recognized. This fear keeps many from developing their talent. Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate both a positive perception of life in oneself and a favorable environment around oneself, because these two aspects significantly affect creativity.

Athlete

As you can guess, the athlete is interested in adventures and sports, she has a competitive spirit. She is passionate about body development, various physical activities, active lifestyle, proper eating and taking care of her health. Her life is subordinated to keeping herself in good shape. However, the athlete's stumbling block should be mentioned right away - the cult of youth. Nowadays, it is easy to confuse taking care of your body with the pursuit of eternal youth and obsession with various cosmetics, nutritional supplements and procedures.

The dark side of the athlete is that she often focuses only on her body. It is important to remember that a beautiful body is not the only thing that belongs to you, so it is worth finding other ways of self-expression besides physical activities. Athletes are endowed with strong qualities - discipline and perseverance. Not everyone has them, so it is a great advantage that athletes must learn to apply in other areas of life as well.

Caring

The image of a caring woman is associated with one of the oldest archetypes - the mother. As you can imagine, these women are gifted with strong compassion and the ability to read what others need, they devote themselves to caring for others.

Of course, caring for others is commendable, but the dark side of caring women is often that they forget their own needs and think it is selfish and selfish to take care of themselves. The biggest challenge for caring women is knowing when to help, when to refuse, so as not to hurt yourself while caring for others, and when to accept help yourself. Furthermore, care should not be motivated by guilt or a sense of duty.

If you are driven by concern for others, remember that you are not responsible for other people's lives. However, you are responsible for your life and it should be determined by yourself, not by the needs of others. Sometimes others can help themselves and it will be more valuable if you don't forget yourself while taking care of others.

The stylish model

Today, when style and fashion have gained an important status as a form of self-expression, the archetype of the stylish model has also become established. These are women who pay a lot of attention to how they visually present themselves in society.

Already historically, the choice of clothing has always reflected power and influence, place in society. Today, visual appearance and style have also become a part of identity and a form of self-expression, in which a language of symbols works. The stylish model lets her imagination run wild through her clothes and assumes different roles.

Appropriate clothing raises her self-confidence, because through her appearance she tends to create an image that reflects her essence. Because she puts so much emphasis on the visual, the stylish also has to face moments where she is judged on her looks rather than her personality. Although style is undeniably a creative means of self-expression through which to express one's individuality, it must also be balanced with other areas in life.

Intellectual

An intellectual is a woman who strives for knowledge and truth, is guided by reason and logic. She is determined to get to the bottom of things and develop a rational life. She will look for a logical explanation for everything.

Knowledge is the most essential part of an intellectual personality, so it is sometimes difficult for her to admit that she does not know something, and she tends to trap herself in a way of thinking, accepting her opinion as the right one. Likewise, her tendency towards rationality can also present challenges, as life is not always rational. Although it is undeniably important to be based on facts, the intellectual must learn to listen to her intuition as well.

Queen

The queen has both femininity and business acumen. The Queen represents the social archetype and needs her own kingdom because she is ready to take charge and change the lives of others.

The queen demands respect for herself, but at the same time she also feels a duty to others and cares for the welfare of others. She is aware of her privileges, but knows that she cannot use them for her own purposes, because her decisions can have a great impact on the lives of others. The dark side of the queen lies in the fact that she may have to compromise in order to stay in power. Her biggest test is personal relationships.

Rebel

The rebel is gifted with a strong sense of justice. Like a fighter, she is a change-maker in society. However, if the fighter has a specific goal, the rebel is rebellious in different ways, she breaks conventional assumptions, experiments with fashion and lifestyle. A rebel gains energy by taking risks in various areas of life.

The challenge of the rebel is to find a creative, dynamic and productive way to exercise her rebellious nature without becoming destructive. A rebel can be unruly and exaggerate, so she needs to learn to make thoughtful decisions. A spontaneous and persistent reaction must be distinguished from consciously made decisions that are rebellious in the sense that they break with the generally accepted in a good way.

Spiritual Seeker

The spiritual seeker is guided by a commitment to living a conscious life in accordance with his values, beliefs and truths. She values ​​her inner life and it is more important to her than material considerations. Therefore, one of her challenges is to live in this world, not only in the spiritual one.

A spiritual seeker wants more from life, her goal is to free her spirit and grow to the fulfillment of her spiritual and creative potential. Like an intellectual, a spiritual seeker's life is often based on rationality, but representatives of both of these archetypes must learn to awaken intuition, because often the path to the truth leads directly through it.

Visionary

The visionary is endowed with a strong imagination, she is able to feel the impulses of change in every area of life, both on an individual and a collective level. The visionary changes herself and the environment around her, because she cannot leave anything as it is. She also inspires those around her, leads to change and gives others the necessary motivation.  A visionary sees many opportunities for change around her and has countless ideas, so her stumbling block is often the inability to realize her visions and bring them to the end. Therefore, she must learn to set priorities and set goals realistically. The calling of the visionary is the future, but she must remember that life also happens here and now and she must remember to live in the present.

Information source: Mays, Caroline. Archetypes. Translate K. Peterson. Publishing house Zvaigzne ABC, 2015

Author of the article: Renate Berga