Why Archetypes?
What are archetypes!
Archetypes are universal principles, deep knowing, and core ideas that permeate the human experience. Archetypes are also eternal and beyond time and space.
Everyone experiences archetypes. They are within and around us constantly. For instance, everyone experiences the archetype of Mother. She is present in everyone's inner life. Even if you were given up for adoption, she is still in your psyche. We never see the physical "archetypal Mother" but we see a myriad of her manifestations: the perfect mother, the cruel mother, the stepmother, the fairy-godmother, the absent mother, the alcoholic mother and so on. Variations of the Mother archetype are found in every culture around the world.
Can you recognize the Mother archetype in these pictures?
How can archetypes help me?
There are three main benefits to understanding the archetypes in your life: enrichment, perspective, and tolerance.
Your life is enriched because when you know the main archetypes that make up your story you can begin to connect that story to mythology, the arts, history and many other fields. This helps you make meaning of your story and making meaning of our lives is enriching.
You gain perspective because archetypal thinking is non-judgmental, a way to look at a situation or problem from a new angles. A fresh look helps solve problems.
And finally, in a time of increasing "otherness," archetypal insights can heighten your level of tolerance as you recognize that all people express the same archetypes just in a huge variety of styles and flavors.
If you want to get trained in archetypal thinking so that you may apply this breakthrough method to your professional toolkit, please look into the open programs of Archetypes at Work™ offerings. You can study with the Archetypes at Work™ Guild of Practitioners and become part of a growing community of practice focusing on developmental work with Archetypes.
The three-layered chocolate cake
Behavior is what we can observe that people do. It is often measurable.
Motivation seeks to explain that behavior. There are psychological, cultural, historical sociological and other reasons people are motivated to behave a certain way.
Archetypes are foundational patterns that underlie both. When we can make sense of these patterns in a person, a group working together or in an organization as a whole, we gain meaningful insights into the deepest questions about "why."
Archetypes in organizations?
Organizations and brands also have underlying archetypes, we call them Archetypes at Work™. For instance, there are mother-type organizations who's mission it is to nurture and care for others. The Red Cross is such an organization, as are Starbucks and Nivea. In stark contrast there are warrior-type organizations, such as Nike, Corvette, Smith & Weston, and Red Bull. In organizations they deeply infuse the products and services we offer. In organizations archetypes profoundly infuse the products and services offered.
In leaders, archetypes deeply inform the character they present to their people and networks, their clients and providers. The more that leaders understand these patterns and the more consciously they use them, the more effective they will be in their chosen work.
Once again: If you want to get trained in archetypal thinking so that you may apply this breakthrough method to your professional toolkit, please look into the open programs of Archetypes at Work™ offerings. You can study with the Archetypes at Work™ Guild of Practitioners and become part of a growing community of practice focusing on developmental work with Archetypes.
ar-che-type [ahr-ke-tipe] Greek, noun
1. a collectively inherited idea, universally present in individuals and groups; 2. the original template on which all subsequent forms are based.
"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."
– Carl Jung
The Sovereign says I AM and is a heroic archetype
What is archetypal consulting?
Archetypal consulting accomplishes two things:
First it helps individuals with personal development helping to find meaning, purpose and direction in an often confusing world. Individuals who seek archetypal consulting include those who seek personal and/or professional growth and those in leadership positions seeking to evolve.
Second, archetypal consulting helps leaders, teams and whole organizations understand what archetypes are "at work" in their workplace. This allows for very targeted and extraordinarily effective interventions and course corrections, especially in times of crisis or when new opportunities present themselves.
How can we map archetypes?
In order to have a direction for archetypal consulting, we first need a map.
The first way to map the archetypes is with an archetypal assessment. Here a person answers a series of questions and based upon the answers a map can be established. There are different levels of complexity for such assessments, from very simple to deeply psychological with growth potential mapped out in either case.
For those who want to go even deeper, Dr. Hillman has over 40 years of experience with archetypal astrology, a tool specifically designed to map archetypes. Dr. Hillman is a world-renowned expert in this field. He will draw up a relevant map and gain insights about an individual (or an organization) that is invaluable for deep work.
One of the many advantages of using archetypal astrology is that it can be used to answer timing questions such as, "is this the right time to grow?" or, "is this a good time to change direction?"
Archetypal astrology to see archetypal patterns
Archetypal astrology is not for everyone but those who have taken the plunge are often astounded by its usefulness and ability to map what otherwise remains obtuse.
"Astrology is a science in itself and contains an illuminating body of knowledge. It taught me many things and I am greatly indebted to it."
– Albert Einstein