A different take on possibilities. What if we think of it not in terms of simply brainstorming the possibilities but in terms of tying it to those archetypes that we have seen manifesting in our lives and to which we seem to be drawn. I ran across an uncommonly rich description of archetypes here A Gallery of Archetypes
A few resonated with me:
Healer (Intuitive, Caregiver, Therapist, Analyst, Counselor)
The Healer archetype manifests as a passion to serve others in the form of repairing the body, mind, and spirit. It expresses itself through channels other than those classically associated with the healing of illnesses, and so you need to look beyond the obvious definition of what you “do.” You can be strongly guided by this archetype in any occupation or role in life. Some people, by their very nature and personality, are able to inspire others to release their painful histories or make changes in their lives that redirect the course of their future. Essential characteristics include an inherent strength and the ability to assist people in transforming their pain into a healing process, as well as having the “wiring” required to channel the energy needed to generate physical or emotional changes
Seeker (Wanderer, Vagabond)
This archetype refers to one who searches on a path that may begin with earthly curiosity but has at its core the search for God and/or enlightenment. Unlike the Mystic, which has the Divine as its sole focus, the Seeker is in search of wisdom and truth wherever it is to be found. The shadow side of the archetype is the “lost soul,” someone on an aimless journey without direction, ungrounded, disconnected from goals and others.
Student (Apprentice)
The student archetype suggests a pattern of constant learning, an openness to absorbing new information as an essential part of one’s well-being. The Student archetype suggests an absence of mastery of any one subject but rather a continual pursuit of intellectual development.
Teacher
Teaching is the art of communicating knowledge, experience, skill, and wisdom to another. Teaching, or offering instruction of any kind, can manifest through parental guidance, business apprenticeship, or by inspired instruction in ethics or kindness. To determine whether this archetype is part of your support team, ask yourself if others look to you as a teacher in any situation. Are you the one that others seek out for the richness of your experience, or to teach them the ropes?
Visionary (Dreamer)
The Visionary archetype lets you imagine possibilities that are beyond the scope of your individual life and that benefit all of society. The Visionary brings into view what could be if certain choices are made, or what is inevitable given choices that have already been made.
JW: Great find ... very rich: I resonate greatly with Seeker and more hopefully with Visionary, also adding to the list, which I suddenly realized was very long. I feel like something more needs to be done with this but not sure what.
She mentions circle of twelve several times ... I'd like to know more about that.
"Remember that we each have the Child, Victim, Saboteur, and Prostitute, so you will need to select only eight more to fill out your circle." Should we have a circle?
I don't know how much time you want to spend on this, but I'm adding her Self Examination section to the end of this.
The Orphan Child is the major character in most well known children’s stories, including Little Orphan Annie, the Matchstick Girl, Bambi, the Little Mermaid, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Cinderella, and many more. The pattern in these stories is reflected in the lives of people who feel from birth as if they are not a part of their family, including the family psyche or tribal spirit. Yet precisely because orphans are not allowed into the family circle, they have to develop independence early in life. The absence of family influences, attitudes, and traditions inspires or compels the Orphan Child to construct an inner reality based on personal judgment and experience. Orphans who succeed at finding a path of survival on their own are celebrated in fairy tales and folk stories as having won a battle with a dark force, which symbolically represents the fear of surviving alone in this world.
The shadow aspect manifests when orphans never recover from growing up outside the family circle. Feelings of abandonment and the scar tissue from family rejection stifle their maturation, often causing them to seek surrogate family structures in order to experience tribal union. Therapeutic support groups become shadow tribes or families for an Orphan Child who knows deep down that healing these wounds requires moving on to adulthood. Identifying with the Orphan begins by evaluating your childhood memories, paying particular attention to whether your painful history arises from the feeling that you were never accepted as a family member.
JW: Yes, so now what?
Every one of us is touched by the Addict archetype. The only question is how much of our lives is consumed by it. Besides the usual suspects–drugs, alcohol, food, and sex–one can be addicted to work, sports, television, exercise, computer games, spiritual practice, negative attitudes, and the kinds of thrills that bring on adrenaline rushes. In its positive aspect, this archetype helps you recognize when an outside substance, habit, relationship, or any expression of life has more authority over your will power than does your inner spirit. Confronting addiction and breaking the hold that a pattern or substance has on you can impart great strength to your psyche. Discovering the empowerment that comes with perseverance has a life-long impact, becoming a reference point for what you are able to accomplish. In the words of one former alcoholic, “I know now that if I can quit drinking, I can do anything.”
JW: I am recognizing that "something" has more authority over my will power than does my inner spirit. I feel a need to adopt a real practice and let go of my resistance to meditation and yoga specifically.
From a symbolic perspective, the shadow aspect of the Addict represents a struggle with will power and the absence of self-control. People who are extremely intellectual or emotional frequently have a close link to this archetype, because they struggle to balance these powers.
Without this internal balance, the will may give up its power to an external substance that exerts authority, providing shadow order to your life. The shadow Addict compromises your integrity and honesty. Many addicts, for example, steal as a means of supporting their habit.
In evaluating your connection to the Addict, review how many of your life’s challenges concern an external substance or a consistent, domineering pattern of trying to maintain order in your life.
JW: It feels like it is time to let my emotional/physical/spiritual self join the game. My external subject has been food and the domineering pattern of trying to maintain order, and a sense of worth has been work ... projects with an end product that can be seen or admired.
Although that challenge is a part of all of our lives, the degree to which an addiction controls you and your lifestyle determines whether the Addict is part of your intimate family of twelve. For instance, you can be inconsistent in your exercise program yet quite disciplined in your spiritual practice. Needing a substance or practice or person so intensely or regularly that you compromise relationships, finances, integrity, character, or emotional and psychological well-being, however, indicates that you should look very seriously at this archetype as a possible choice.
Alchemist (Wizard, Magician, Scientist, Inventor–see also Visionary)
These archetypes share the common trait of converting some form of matter into an altered expression of itself. The Wizard and Magician produce results outside the ordinary rules of life, whether causing people to fall in love or objects to disappear. Whereas a Wizard is associated with supernatural powers, the Magician tends to be seen more as an entertainer. The Alchemist is associated with vain attempts to turn base metals into gold, but in its highest manifestation it seeks complete spiritual transformation. You may identify with this archetype if you are interested in a path of spiritual development that is aligned to the mystery schools or study of the laws of the universe. From this perspective, Nostradamus and Isaac Newton could both be classified as Alchemists.
The shadow sides of these archetypes are found in the misuse of the power and knowledge that comes through them. Seduction and trickery brought about through magic and wizardry play on the desires of many people to transform their lives.
For the Alchemist or Wizard to be one of your circle of twelve, it needs to be associated with your physical life in some significant way. Perhaps your work or living situation demands that you be especially inventive or interventionist on a regular basis. The shadow Wizard manifests either as the use of ingenuity for criminal or unethical purposes or as feelings of superiority based on high intellect.
The Artist archetype embodies the passion to express a dimension of life that is just beyond the five senses. The Artist psyche is animated with the energy to express it into physical forms. The nature or relative grandeur of any form of expression is irrelevant; a chef can be as much of an artist as a painter or landscaper. The signature of artists is not in what they do but in how intense their motivation is to manifest the extraordinary. Doing what you do in such a way that you create an emotional field that inspires others also indicates the Artist energy at work, as does the emotional and psychological need to express yourself so much that your well-being is wrapped up in this energy.
The shadow Artist comprises many cliches, including an eccentric nature and the madness that often accompanies genius. The Starving Artist represents the fear of financial ruin or the belief that fame and fortune come only after death, which often cause artists to suppress their talents. In evaluating your relationship to this archetype, recognize that the need to bring art to others, such as dedicating part of the energy of your life to supporting artists, is as much an expression of the Artist archetype as actually holding a brush in your hand.
Self-Examination
Some of the archetypes in the list will jump out at you as if to say, “You know me! I’ve been part of your life ever since you can remember.” It could be an archetype that is aligned with your occupation — for example, the Politician, Craftsperson, Athlete, Teacher, Scholar, or Judge. It might also be an important characteristic that defines your nature apart from your work, as the Monk or Nun (assuming you’re not actually under holy orders), the Poet, Lover, Rebel, and so forth. But then you will have to dig a little deeper. Some archetypes that you may feel drawn to, like the Mystic, Visionary, or Healer, may be largely a matter of wishful thinking. Many of my students like to see themselves as Mystics, for instance. But I ask them to take a serious look within and determine whether the hard work and sacrifice that go with that identity have been a part of their life for many years. Some people like to be mystics during their summer retreat, or on the weekend, or for half an hour every morning, and that’s great. But to include an archetype in your intimate family of 12, you need to be able to trace its life-long influence on you.
Inevitably, you will need to include some archetypes that, like the Prostitute and Saboteur that we all share, may at first seem unpleasant or negative. Perhaps the Fool, Robot, Martyr, Servant, Sadist, or Puppet is part of your make-up. Remember that these are not necessarily negative archetypes; only your interpretation is negative. They ultimately help you avoid the shadow aspect implicit in their name. To some people, the Judge may seem like a negative archetype, implying a judgmental nature and maybe a cruel or imperious streak. But this archetype can be essential in making a wide range of informed decisions in areas as different as business and art. One day it might even save your life.
So, after you’ve assembled a group of at least eight archetypes that you feel drawn to, begin by asking a few simple questions. If you like, you can imagine each archetype sitting in a chair across from you, and ask the questions directly to the archetype. You can even write a letter to the archetype if you find that more agreeable, asking the same questions in writing. Allow the archetype to respond, the answers coming from the deepest levels of your own intuition. Or simply ask yourself, and wait for the answer to come to you. Here are some sample questions:
- What events or personal characteristics led me to choose this archetype?
- How long has this archetypal pattern been a part of my life?
- What role has this archetype played for me?
- Which prominent people have interacted with the aspect of my nature supported by this archetype? (For instance, if it’s the Teacher archetype, think of the people who have played important roles in your own education or inspired you to be a teacher to others.)
- What relationship might it have to my personal unfinished business – to those people I haven’t forgiven, or to events in the past that I can’t let go of? And might this archetype now help me in healing those situations?
- What myths, fairy tales, or spiritual stories that have meaning for me do I associate with this archetype?
- Has this archetype appeared in my dreams?
- Does thinking of this archetype make me feel empowered or disempowered?
You should also look for spiritual resonance in your archetypes. Ask yourself:
- What impact has this archetype had on my spirituality?
- What have I learned about my own shadow aspect through this archetype?
- Has it caused me to block or forgo change that needs to happen?
- What immediate guidance might this archetype have to offer me in the present moment?
After questioning each prospective archetype, weed out those that are not genuinely part of your intimate support team, and then return to the list to select replacements. Continue this process until you have eight archetypes that you feel confident play a major role in your life. Combined with the four survival archetypes, you now have your 12.
You are now ready to begin working with your Archetypal Wheel.
A Partial Listing of Archetypes
Actor
Anarchist
Bureaucrat
Caregiver
Companion
Crone
Detective
Diplomat
Dreamer
Fool
God
Healer
Historian
Knight
Magician
Matriarch
Muse
Networker
Patriarch
Poet
Priest
Prophet
Puck
Rebel
Revolutionary
Sadist
Scholar
Seductress
Servant
Sidekick
Storyteller
Thief
Tyrant
Visionary
Wizard
Addict
Artist
Beggar
Child
Coward
Crook
Dictator
Disciple
Eternal
Gala
Goddess
Herald
Innovator
Liberator
Martyr
Midas
Mystic
Nun
Pilgrim
Politician
Prince
Prostitute
Puppet
Redeemer
Robot
Sage
Scout
Seeker
Settler
Slave
Student
Tramp
Vampire
Warrior
Zombie
Alchemist
Avenger
Bully
Clown
Craftsperson
Damsel
Dilettante
Diva
Boy/Girl Evangelist
Gambler
Gossip
Hermit
Judge
Lover
Masochist
Monk
Nature Boy/Girl
Olympian
Pioneer
Predator
Princess
Provocateur
Puritan
Rescuer
Saboteur
Samaritan
Scribe
Seer
Shaman
Spoiler
Teacher
Trickster
Victim
Witch
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