Archetype Integration

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Generally speaking, archetypes relate to universal symbols, characters, or motifs that evoke deep meaning. Examples of well-known archetypes include the Wise Old Man (think Yoda from Star Wars or Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid), the Outlaw (such as the eponymous duo from Thelma and Louise), and the Caregiver (picture Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins).

 

While archetypes are everywhere, it is not as well known that we can actively work with them to achieve greater self-awareness and to activate psychological growth.

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My work uses the concept of four fundamental archetypes, each with a male and a female aspect  - the lover, the warrior, the magician and the sovereign, placed in the context of a castle and a kingdom, and is based on the work of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette but adds the all important female dimension and the importance of balancing the energies of the masculine and feminine, work that was pioneered by Edwin & Cheryl Coppard who I was luck enough to study with in Vancouver Island, Canada in 2013 - yin and yang - active and reflective, and adds, in it's later stages the principles of shamanic journeywork and shapeshifting found in all indigenous religions, but the versions of which resonate with me being drawn from the work of the likes of Sandra Ingerman and Hank Wesselman.