Have you ever heard of the term Archetype?

 

Carl Jung describes them as forces of our collective unconscious that are a "universal image" of great emotional power.  They provide the foundation of our personality, our drives, beliefs, feelings, motivations, and actions.  Archetypes have been woven into our psyche and expressed in various forms throughout our history, such as in myths and legends, comic books and Disney characters, and even historical and religious figures.

 

I like to look at these Archetypes as Masks that we wear.  We pull them out and utilize their characteristics as needed.  We take them off and on throughout the day depending on what we need at the moment.  There are healthy and unhealthy sides to each Archetype.

Carolyn Myss, Ph.D. way my first teacher on this subject.  She has this great gift of absorbing all aspects of Arcetypes then sharing the knowledge in clear, easy, and relatable wyas.  I fam forever grateful for Spirit leading me to this teacher.  

She believes we each have our own personal core of twelve Archetypes.  These Archetypes remain with us throughout our life as a means of gaining insights into our personal relationships and life's events.  Carolyn also identified four of the Archetypes that all of us share.  I loved learning about these and understanding both sides of these masks.

 

Here is a synopsis if what I learned from Carolyn Myss about these four Archetypes.

Archetype

Healthy "Light" Aspect

 Unhealthy "Shadow" Aspect

The  Victim

Standing up for yourself. Facing and handling the challenges in our life. Recognizing when you are being victimized.

Believing you are always taken advantage of and it's never your fault. Not standing up for yourself.
The Prostitute Making decisions based on higher values. Never compromising your mind, body, morals, or your spirit Selling out, compromising yourself for security or financial reasons. Remembering in a situation, marriage, or job knowing it endangers your well-being. Buying someone's loyalty, support, or silence in other to have your own way
The Saboteur Recognizing when you are sabotaging yourself and changing your pattern of self-destructiveness Standing in your own way because of fears. Destroying a relationship because you imagine a painful outcome. Engaging in a power struggle when it could be settled peacefully.

The   Child

 Being a delight to be around. Having an infectious positive energy. Light-hearted, innocent, expectant of the wonders of tomorrow regardless of our age.

Wounded - unable to get out of the pains of childhood, seeks out parental figures, tendency to fantasize about what could have been or should have been.

Orphaned - plagued with fear of abandonment, always needing reinforcement from others.

Brat - expressing obnoxious behavior, temper tantrums, with a chronic need to always be the center of attention, having fits of jealousy.

Needy - feeling that nothing is ever enough, bouts of depression, being self-focused and unable to see the needs of others

For more on this subject, check out Carolyn Myss' information on Archetypes.