FINDING YOUR ARCHETYPES
Archetypes are universal psychic images that underlie and structure all human mental functioning. They are
energies, patterns of thought that the mind uses to frame perceptions, experiences and meanings.
Archetypes can be defined as blueprints that we use to project certain behavioral patterns. According to Carl G.
Jung archetypes are outside of space and time and form part of the so-called collective unconscious. As such,
they manifest in us individually as organizers of the psyche and give meaning to our life's experiences.
Most archetypes are lived and experienced at a subconscious level. We usually don't even know that the roles we
play in life and that the persona we assume in our daily interchanges with others are just our own individual
reflections and interpretations of universal archetypes that we adapt and adopt as patterns of behavior.
Archetypes play an essential role in Transformational Tarot. How to identify our patterns of thought or behaviour,
how to find the myths that shape our life are questions easier to tackle once we approach Tarot with the intention
of finding these answers. The cards will display images, situations, landscapes, stories that we can tell each other
and that we can use to clarify or answer any given quandary.
The cards serve to display for us states of mind, states of being, mythic stories that we weave and live and
breathe. We need to start by identifying our personal archetypes and understanding why they have been or are still
in our life and how they are reflected in our actions at any given moment. This is not an easy task. We might need
to spend several weeks or months unraveling the myths and archetypes we have lived by in order to either
welcome and accept their constructive role or start changing their hold on our psychic structure. In fact,
throughout a lifetime we will be usually discarding one archetype and embracing another, depending on our age,
our changing priorities, our spiritual maturation, and many other factors.
At any given moment, we might have a retinue of at least six or ten basic roles that we play almost unconsciously,
such as being a daughter or son, father, mother, spouse, teacher, student, judge, sage, hermit, martyr, victim, king
of household (or worse, king of the road). So many roles we multitask ourselves with that often hide who we
really are. Often the roles we play are those expected of us from society and we seem to accept willingly this cast
of characters. However, when we analyze each energy or modality in full light we realize how one role can serve
as an excuse for behavior we would otherwise reject, another as a pattern of conduct that helps us get through the
day at work or at home, or that helps us hide our own sense of fear or lack of worth..
energies, patterns of thought that the mind uses to frame perceptions, experiences and meanings.
Archetypes can be defined as blueprints that we use to project certain behavioral patterns. According to Carl G.
Jung archetypes are outside of space and time and form part of the so-called collective unconscious. As such,
they manifest in us individually as organizers of the psyche and give meaning to our life's experiences.
Most archetypes are lived and experienced at a subconscious level. We usually don't even know that the roles we
play in life and that the persona we assume in our daily interchanges with others are just our own individual
reflections and interpretations of universal archetypes that we adapt and adopt as patterns of behavior.
Archetypes play an essential role in Transformational Tarot. How to identify our patterns of thought or behaviour,
how to find the myths that shape our life are questions easier to tackle once we approach Tarot with the intention
of finding these answers. The cards will display images, situations, landscapes, stories that we can tell each other
and that we can use to clarify or answer any given quandary.
The cards serve to display for us states of mind, states of being, mythic stories that we weave and live and
breathe. We need to start by identifying our personal archetypes and understanding why they have been or are still
in our life and how they are reflected in our actions at any given moment. This is not an easy task. We might need
to spend several weeks or months unraveling the myths and archetypes we have lived by in order to either
welcome and accept their constructive role or start changing their hold on our psychic structure. In fact,
throughout a lifetime we will be usually discarding one archetype and embracing another, depending on our age,
our changing priorities, our spiritual maturation, and many other factors.
At any given moment, we might have a retinue of at least six or ten basic roles that we play almost unconsciously,
such as being a daughter or son, father, mother, spouse, teacher, student, judge, sage, hermit, martyr, victim, king
of household (or worse, king of the road). So many roles we multitask ourselves with that often hide who we
really are. Often the roles we play are those expected of us from society and we seem to accept willingly this cast
of characters. However, when we analyze each energy or modality in full light we realize how one role can serve
as an excuse for behavior we would otherwise reject, another as a pattern of conduct that helps us get through the
day at work or at home, or that helps us hide our own sense of fear or lack of worth..
Exercise:
Sit quietly and breathe deeply. As you exhale, be aware of the energies flowing
through your body and try to harmonize the breathing with the tingling and
various sensations that will be pouring around your energy field.
Start surrounding yourself with white light as you call and invoke your Guides
and Teachers to help build a Sacred Space all around you.
As you continue inhaling and exhaling, a rhythm will develop. Now it's time to
either pick a period in your past life that needs further clarification or a present
situation that is asking for resolution. You could also ask for clarity as you
examine closer a specific pattern of behavior recurring in your present life.
Take as long as you need breathing slowly and placing your intention inside the
question or situation. Keep a perspective, a distance that allows emotions to
stay at bay and not overwhelm the visualization. Imagine yourself floating on
top of the question or issue. Be as detached as you can be while still in control
of the images and reactions.
Pick your deck, shuffle slowly as your question comes up clearly and
purposely. Place the deck in front of you and fan it. As you fan the deck ask
Spirit the question. Some examples:
What archetype(s) serve(s) me now to tackle the present situation?
What archetypes served me during that past situation?
What archetype helps me understand my behavior concerning ........?
Pick a card with your less dominant hand and meditate on the answer. You
might want to pick three or more cards, depending on the complexity of the
question, but if you are using more than one deck, pick three with one and two
or three cards with the other deck and you will likely get a couple of repeats or
at least very similar cards from two different decks.
Keep a journal through these weeks or months and compare how often the
same archetypes come up with your (hopefully different) questions. After
about six months, you should be able to map the list of archetypes that most
often assist you in your life's decisions as well as understand the personas that
have manifested to help you play various roles during critical or pivotal
moments.
Get to know your archetypes, feel comfortable in their presence as you
acknowledge them and greet them. They are your friends. They reflect states
of mind as well as energies that have been integrated or constellated to help
you with specific situations or challenges. Meet them half way and understand
their usefulness. Then, you can start sifting and prioritizing and even
discarding, replacing or improving their usefulness to you.
Sit quietly and breathe deeply. As you exhale, be aware of the energies flowing
through your body and try to harmonize the breathing with the tingling and
various sensations that will be pouring around your energy field.
Start surrounding yourself with white light as you call and invoke your Guides
and Teachers to help build a Sacred Space all around you.
As you continue inhaling and exhaling, a rhythm will develop. Now it's time to
either pick a period in your past life that needs further clarification or a present
situation that is asking for resolution. You could also ask for clarity as you
examine closer a specific pattern of behavior recurring in your present life.
Take as long as you need breathing slowly and placing your intention inside the
question or situation. Keep a perspective, a distance that allows emotions to
stay at bay and not overwhelm the visualization. Imagine yourself floating on
top of the question or issue. Be as detached as you can be while still in control
of the images and reactions.
Pick your deck, shuffle slowly as your question comes up clearly and
purposely. Place the deck in front of you and fan it. As you fan the deck ask
Spirit the question. Some examples:
What archetype(s) serve(s) me now to tackle the present situation?
What archetypes served me during that past situation?
What archetype helps me understand my behavior concerning ........?
Pick a card with your less dominant hand and meditate on the answer. You
might want to pick three or more cards, depending on the complexity of the
question, but if you are using more than one deck, pick three with one and two
or three cards with the other deck and you will likely get a couple of repeats or
at least very similar cards from two different decks.
Keep a journal through these weeks or months and compare how often the
same archetypes come up with your (hopefully different) questions. After
about six months, you should be able to map the list of archetypes that most
often assist you in your life's decisions as well as understand the personas that
have manifested to help you play various roles during critical or pivotal
moments.
Get to know your archetypes, feel comfortable in their presence as you
acknowledge them and greet them. They are your friends. They reflect states
of mind as well as energies that have been integrated or constellated to help
you with specific situations or challenges. Meet them half way and understand
their usefulness. Then, you can start sifting and prioritizing and even
discarding, replacing or improving their usefulness to you.
"Meet and Greet" Exercise
Meet your archetypes one by one; greet them and ask them when or why they came to play
such a role in your life, and get to know them. We can use Tarot very effectively for this
purpose because it is not a threatening process. Use more than one deck at a time with the
same question to add layers of meaning and to develop a deeper sense of the complexities
involved with every single archetypal energy that has embraced us for whatever the reason.
Meet your archetypes one by one; greet them and ask them when or why they came to play
such a role in your life, and get to know them. We can use Tarot very effectively for this
purpose because it is not a threatening process. Use more than one deck at a time with the
same question to add layers of meaning and to develop a deeper sense of the complexities
involved with every single archetypal energy that has embraced us for whatever the reason.
Images from the beautiful Fey Tarot by
artist Mara Aghem
artist Mara Aghem
