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What Are Archetypes?

Have you ever heard of archetypes? According to Archetypist, ‘archetype’ comes from the Greek word ‘arkhetypos,’ which means ‘the first imprint.’ Archetypes trace back to Plato, where he referred to them as “forms.” Carl Jung developed the idea further in his work. According to his theory, archetypes comprised psychological patterns derived from historical roles in life, such as the Mother, Child, Trickster, and Servant, and universal events or situations, including Initiation or Death and Rebirth. 

In this discussion, we will talk about the 4 out of 12 archetypes that Carolyn Myss has identified for survival. We all have them: Child, Victim, Prostitute, and Saboteur.

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The Four Archetypes of Survival

Carolyn Myss writes that “archetypes are our energy companions and guides to our highest potential.” She isn’t wrong. The four archetypes we are discussing relate to every single person. They describe and symbolize significant life challenges, strengths, and how we choose to survive.

Now let’s dive in. 

The Child

There are several child variations: Orphan, Wounded, Magical/Innocent, Nature, Divine, and Eternal Boy/Girl. Today, we will focus on the overall meaning of the child. Its primary purpose is responsibility, innocence, and authority. We all do have aspects of each child within us which can affect those primary focuses. The child brings us back to where we learned our beliefs and foundations. 

The Victim

The victim is about personal power and self-esteem. Victims believe that they have no power or control, things happen to them, and someone else has authority over them. This archetype often shows up when we feel threatened, or we have lost control. The victim brings out manipulative characteristics. When we finally acknowledge this behavior, we can build our self-esteem. When being challenged in our life, it is important to remember we are not victims. We can overcome challenges and move forward.

The Prostitute

The Prostitute relates to how we view our faith, how we negotiate, and our integrity. When in survival mode, we often feel desperate. We will often sell ourselves to feel comfortable. We sell our ideas, our talents, and our self-worth. It taps into our self-worth and how we show ourselves respect. 

The Saboteur

The Saboteur archetype makes up the fears and issues related to low self-esteem that cause you to make choices in life that block your empowerment and success. It can affect our choices, our truth, and our self-esteem. When starting something new, we often see our saboteur show us why we can’t succeed. Mindset is so important here!

Archetypes and Wellness

Holistic wellness is about the whole being. Archetypes fit into this because it is within our psyche. Things that have caused us harm in the past will create these archetypes and will show up in our lives to try and protect us. They don’t always have our best intentions at heart. Once we learn how they affect us, we can learn to push through and make better decisions. 

Do you struggle with any of these?

Let’s chat!

Namaste.