Card Set Review by Jack Falt
Archetypes are psychological patterns that are available to us from the collective unconscious. Although the concept of archetypes has been around for millennia, it was Jung that developed the concept and used it in his work with patients and in his writings. According to Myss we have four basic ones we need for survival: the Child, the Victim, the Saboteur, and the Prostitute. The Child is our lighthearted innocent self. The Victim allows us to see when we are in danger of being victimized or when we are victimizing others. The Saboteur shows us how we undermine ourselves and others. The Prostitute makes us aware of how we sell our integrity.
Beyond these basic four, we have an additional eight archetypes. Unlike personality types, these can change over time. There are 74 cards in the deck with an additional six blank cards. The cards themselves have a light attitude (positive) phrase and a shadow attitude (negative) phrase. The idea is to go through the cards and see which ones resonate with you now. These twelve archetypes relate to the twelve signs of the zodiac. The accompanying booklet describes each archetype in point form.
The cards are just a visual aid. The real information is in the book Sacred Contracts. The cards are not like tarot cards that you shuffle and see what turns up, informative as that might be. You need to examine each card and notice the ones you resonate with. Then you can continue to work on your life tasks with a clearer vision of where you are supposed to go. The book gives about a half a page description for each archetype.
After receiving the cards for review, I bought the book and am finding it fascinating reading. The sacred contract is the task we set up to do here in the physical realm. The catch is that as part of the process of entering the physical plane, we forget what we were supposed to do. Understanding what archetypes are and finding the ones that resonate with us, helps us to have a clearer idea what we are here for.
Besides working with these cards on your own, they would be useful for a group that was studying Sacred Contracts, or for an archetype therapist working with a client. Having the cards would make the concept more tangible.