A beginner's guide to Jungian archetypes

About the development of Jungian archetypes: Carl Jung and the collective unconscious

Psychiatrist Carl Jung was the first to develop the idea of archetypal psychology, a field which has been built upon and expanded by later generations of Jungian analysts, psychologists, and therapists such as James Hillman and Jean Shinoda Bolen. Jung rejected the idea of the tabula rasa (the idea that all human beings are born with a fresh psychological "blank slate"). Instead, Jung proposed that human beings shared a collective cultural imagination. He proposed that people experienced the unconscious on multiple levels, both personal and communal. Jung coined the term collective unconscious to represent the idea that shared archetypes and myths were found that seemed to transcend culture and time.

These "primordial images" or "archetypes," as I have called them, belong to the basic stock of the unconscious psyche and cannot be explained as personal acquisitions. Together they make up that psychic stratum which has been called the collective unconscious.

-C. G. Jung, The Significance of Constitution and Heredity in Psychology (1929)

What is an archetype?

Archetypes are patterns of behaviour, thought, and character that we can see occurring again and again across cultures and across time periods. Psychologically, when we talk about someone having a strong XYZ archetype, we mean that their patterns of thought, expressions, goals, priorities, and values appear to line up with an existing archetype.

Within the psychological framework of archetypal psychology, the way we behave, respond, and relate to each other can be mapped onto existing archetypes. These archetypes are not fixed identities, but rather tendencies woven into our personalities and how we show up in the world. Our dominant archetypes generally shift and change over time. Our archetypes may change depending on our environment: one archetype may be more dominant at work than at home, for example.

What are some examples of archetypes?

There is not one single authoritative list of archetypes: there is plenty of overlap in the roles, and different psychologists and analysts conceive of the archetypes in a range of different ways.

A few of the classic archetypes described by Jung and his followers include:

• The Sage or Senex (the wise old man or wise old woman)
• The Puer Aeternus or Puella Aeterna (the eternal child)
• The maiden
• The mother
• The father
• The shadow
• The anima and animus

What are some examples of feminine archetypes?

Jungian analyst and psychiatrist Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen conceived of the following feminine archetypes, building on the work of Jung. Bolen used the characteristics and mythological stories of the classical goddesses of ancient Greek to develop this framework of feminine archetypes.

• Artemis: The Hunter
• Athena: The Wise Warrior
• Hestia: The Contemplative
• Persephone: The Maiden
• Hera: The Queen
• Demeter: The Mother
• Aphrodite: The Lover

Archetypes as mirrors and guides: the shadow side of archetypes

There are no "good" and "bad" archetypes. Each archetype has its own positive qualities, as well as its shadow side of challenges. The strength of each archetype can also be its downside: for example, the wise intellect of the Athena archetype can devolve into cold rationalism if it's not tempered with some compassion or care from more relational archetypes, such as Demeter or Persephone.

Why spend time learning about archetypes? What does archetypal psychology have to offer?

When we become more reflective and aware of how these different archetypes are showing up in our day-to-day lives, we can begin to finally understand those mysterious behaviours or emotional reactions that just seemed to keep showing up without any clear reason. When we start to understand how we may be experiencing metaphorically "warring factions" between the values and priorities of different archetypes within us, we can start to give voice and clarity to those desires. As we strengthen our skills in recognizing our inner archetypes, we can learn to listen more closely to our inner selves, to come to terms with those inner seeming-contradictions, and make decisions from a wiser, more attuned place.

Ready to begin to learn how archetypes are showing up in your day-to-day life?

If you’ve read this far, it means part of you is curious, intrigued, ready to learn more about how archetypes may be showing up in your life. You're working with a trusted therapist already, but you're craving more depth and exploration beyond a single hour per week.

But you're not exactly sure where to start. You've browsed a few books on archetypes at your local bookstore, but some feel too mystical, and others feel too dry and academic. Neither type feels particularly useful or applicable to your day-to-day life.

Don't worry– you don’t have to embark on learning about archetypal psychology without a map.

On a deep level, you already know if this is for you. Consider this less of a sales pitch and more of a gentle nudge: a doorway, cracked open. If you’re drawn in, maybe that’s your sign. (And if not? Trust that, too.)