Article for APT Canada by Jack Falt, INFJ
The concept of archetypes was formulated by Carl Jung. Archetypes are the contents of the collective unconscious. To use a modern metaphor, the human brain is like computer hardware, while archetypes are like computer software that comes loaded on the computer. You may use only one or two favourite programs until the need arises and then you find the other programs you need are already installed on your computer. A key difference, however, between humans and computers is that for humans, archetypes seem to spontaneously appear when needed. They are not consciously activated.
Archetypes act as an organizing principle on the things we see, do or experience. They envelop factors such as heredity, life experiences, and the individual interpretation of life events. They are similar to Freud’s instincts and work in a similar way. For example, a new born has indefinite wants, later with experience the baby begins to have more specific wants. These wants are the triggers for specific archetypes to appear and modify the child’s behaviour.
Jung in his study of the collective unconscious developed a personality
typology. Introversion and extroversion were two of the preferences he
discovered. Extroverts prefer the external world of things, people and
activities; introverted people prefer the internal world of thoughts, feelings
and dreams. He intended these concepts to refer more to whether you (ego)
faced the outer reality or the inner collective unconscious and its archetypes.
However, these archetypal energy forms are active in both extraverted and
introverted people. Since the extraverts are usually somewhat less conscious
of their inner world, they may be less aware of these unconscious or archetypal
forces.
While there are many kinds of archetypes that Jung and other
authors have identified, Carol Pearson, in her book Awakening the Heros
Within, looked at twelve key archetypes that most people experience in
their lives. The twelve are grouped into three sets of four each. They
relate to our psyche as well as our life-journey in search of wholeness
or “individuation.” The Ego (the conscious) archetypes relate to
the preparation for the journey and include: Innocent, Orphan, Warrior
and Caregiver. The Soul (the unconscious) archetypes relate to the journey
itself and include: Seeker, Lover, Destroyer, and Creator. The Self (individuation)
archetypes relate to the return from the journey and include: Ruler, Magician,
Sage and Fool.
An archetype can be a lifelong pattern, or we can go through a series of archetypes that define our lives. Paradoxically, we can also go through the twelve archetypes in the space of a few short minutes. To help see the relative strengths of the twelve archetypes in your life at the moment there is a Heroic Myth Index quiz in Pearson’s book which you can do.
There would seem to be an overall pattern of people being more in the Ego archetypes in their youth, moving on to the Soul archetypes in adulthood, and finally rounding out their senior years with an emphasis on the Self archetypes.
In her talk Carol, an INFP, described several other INFPs and how they were different from her. Of course there are many reasons for personality differences, but being aware of which archetype is active can help you to understand someone’s behaviour. Even if we just consider Carol’s twelve archetypes and multiply that by the sixteen psychological types, that gives us 192 possibilities. Carol has had a forthcoming book on Type and Archetypes in the works for several years, but it has yet to be published. I hope this will explore how each type expresses the various archetypes.
Having an understanding of archetypes is useful for personality type practitioners, both when working with individuals and organizations. Another of Carol’s books Magic at Work: Camelot, Creative Leadership and Everyday Miracles which she wrote with Sharon Seivert shows how an understanding of archetypes can be useful to individuals and organizations.