Reflections: Conversations with Our Archetypes

What exactly is an archetype? And why do I need to know about my archetypal patterns?

The simple answer is that an archetype is a pattern of recognized behaviors that everyone inherently understands. Your archetypal patterns are the first thing people notice about you, whether you know it or not. And likewise, you identify archetypal patterns in others all the time. Most people enjoy “people watching” these days, often sipping a cappuccino while identifying many of the individuals walking by with one-word labels, such as; Geek, Fashionista, Addict, Entrepreneur and so on. It takes but a second to get a psychic impression that the observer then matches to a familiar mental label, such as, Artist or Mother. Perhaps more impressive than the lightening speed of a psychic reading, however, is the accuracy.

When I direct people in workshops to do spontaneous archetypal readings on fellow participants they had not yet met, most people are astonished that their “psychic readings” are remarkably accurate. Aside from being a fun introductory exercise, having a stranger look at you and in one minute identify three or four of your archetypal patterns illustrates two important “psychic truths”. The first is that we are now multi-sensory, having evolved beyond the limitations of our five-senses that should only be considered our “ground-level” sensory system. And secondly, because we are multi-sensory and actively intuitive, we are increasingly psychically transparent to each other. You are doing intuitive readings all the time these days.

Though such an exercise is a lot of fun, it is also a very effective way for people to experience the truth that we are becoming increasingly psychically transparent to each other. It’s time that we recognize being intuitive and multi-sensory is our “new normal”. Our psychic, emotional, psychological and intellectual health requires knowledge that was not essential to previous generations, but it is to us. We need to know about our personal archetypal patterns, and we need to understand how our patterns influence our thinking, our choices, our dreams, our ambitions, our compulsions, our fears, and our shadow side. We are incomplete without this profound inner knowledge. And in this age of transparency when each of us can “perceive” the other with growing intuitive clarity, we need to know our own patterns not only because they are so obvious to others, but because our archetypal patterns influence every thought we have and every choice we make.

These cosmic, psychic patterns of power are the means through which you create your reality. Archetypal patterns continually communicate subtle currents of influence into our unconscious and conscious mind. We are attracted to certain types of people and particular types of stories, like adventure stories or romantic stories, because of our archetypal patterns. Our archetypes have a direct influence upon how we imagine our place in the world, great or small, humble or on the stage for all to see. Our archetypal patterns animate – or activate – the creative laws of the universe in our lives. They give our choices energy, magnetism, and life force.

I believe that knowing your personal archetypal patterns is essential to becoming a whole and healthy person. Numerous mystical teachings direct us to “know thyself”, a profound instruction meant to lead us to what Buddhists call “Self-realization”. That goal may seem a bit old world today, so let’s describe it in more contemporary language. Self—realization is a more accurately described as self-empowerment/authentic self-esteem. All of us today realize that developing our self-esteem – our sense of personal agency – is core to knowing who we are, what we want, what drives us. How could any of us gain a clear understanding of those rich, core inner truths unless we strive to know our cosmic patterns?

So, let’s explore how archetypal patterns influence us. And through that influence, how we can better know we are, why we have the fears and fantasies that we do, why we are drawn to certain types of people and avoid others, and why we have the ambitions and dreams that we do. Our archetypal patterns are the keepers of our highest potential and our darkest fears.

I hope you will join me for this workshop that will be as enlightening as it will be fun.

Love,
Caroline