OUR ARCHETYPES ARE CHANGING
We are all taught from an early age to play certain roles in life. Some are unique to our family, culture or religion and some are more collective such as mother, father, leader or rescuer.
As our stories evolve, so do the characters (and roles) that form them. Throughout recorded history certain core human archetypes have danced through our collective imaginations. All we must do is look to a myth-making system like Hollywood or indeed the Tarot to see how our understanding of the archetypal nature of life has changed and continues to do so. Archetypes like the Hero, Guru and Fool are still present and yet have evolved into new forms. The core archetypes we are seeing in the world right now are trans-gender, trans-culture, and trans-dogma. They are archetypes that appeal to our transforming human mythology and unite rather than separate us.
THEY ARE THE ADVENTURERS, REBELS, WARRIORS AND LOVERS OF OUR AGE.
THE HUMAN ADVENTURE
We begin our archetypal evolution in the realm of the Adventurer. Similar to the Fool card in the Tarot, by saying ‘yes’ to living the adventure of our unique story of ‘Me’, we embark on a journey of discovery into the nature of the world and our place in it.
Adventurers know that life is a quest: one that can be both tough and exhilarating.
An adolescent and innocent archetype, they are seekers of a ‘truth’ beyond their current reality. Similar to Joseph Campbell’s ‘Call To Adventure’, this stage of our collective human journey is exciting and yet lacking in true responsibility simply because we don’t yet know who we really are.
Adventures can be found around every corner and in the most ‘normal’ of places. We quest among the jungles and deserts of our daily lives, in order to discover hidden talents; passions and gifts that we didn’t know were there. We catalyze new opportunities and good fortune by breaking down our barriers, assumptions and stories with innovative and courageous action. Our adventure is both out in the world and inside our own stories. Sometimes the most challenging quests come when we are brave enough to tackle our inner demons and look our shadows squarely in the eyes.
Adventurers learn who they are by consistently jumping outside of their comfort zones. When we begin to live our story from a place of inspiration, passion and purpose, those around us can’t fail but take notice. We become a role model and a leader, showing others how to live life well. This is the evolution of the mythological hero; we gain strength from self-knowledge and courage from new experiences. However, if we are to evolve then we must find a way of transcending the hero leader and taking others with us on our journey to empowerment. To do this, we need to shift our archetypal identity.
THE REAL REBELLION
The adventurer leads us to a deeper knowledge of self. We are able to see how our unique story of ‘Me’ is a vital puzzle piece in the wider tapestry of our evolving human narrative of ‘We’. But to know and not to do, is not really to know at all. Making new stories in the world calls for action and this is where the Rebel comes to our aid.
Living authentically is the ultimate rebellion. Rebels are by their nature disruptive. They want to harness chaos and revolution to create lives of truth and integrity. They are brave souls who are not dismayed by standing alone or apart from the crowd and are ready for transformation no matter what this takes.
Rebellion can occur in many forms and does not have to be violent or loud to be disruptive. Rebels disrupt their own destructive behaviours first. To have credibility we have to walk our talk and embody our evolution on a cellular level. True Rebels own their integrity and work on their own gritty habits of separation before challenging those of others. They are able to grow from their past experiences (instead of falling victim to them) and alchemize these raw gifts into strengths. The most powerful rebellions begin within our own psyche and soul.
Here we stand on the precipice of a wholly new way of experiencing the world and our place in it. The power and potential of the story of We draws us forwards into a narrative metamorphosis. Whether through personal crisis (the classic ‘dark night of the soul’) or collective revolution, we come to a place where we are invited to live for a story greater than ourselves. We are re-initiated back into an experience of the living, breathing web of life on earth.
PROTECTING LIFE
Our metamorphosis in identity creates an embodied experience of unity in various forms. When we know we are interconnected to everything in the universe, we feel drawn to protect life in all its forms. Thus enters the evolved archetype of the Warrior.
Contemporary Warriors are different from those of the past. Instead of fighting for a tribe or a culture, the fight is on behalf of life itself. Warriors know deep in their bones what their unique purpose and legacy is. They gift these to the world through collective vision and courageous action.
Warriors ensure they are strong internally so they can protect others. They challenge the old stories that are creating separation and stress and fight these narratives within themselves so they can fight them in the world. Warriors take time to understand themselves and where they need balance, healing and rest. This ensures they can continually ‘fight the good fight’ in the outer world. Similar to Aikido, they are able to shape shift and transmute energies in a variety of ways. They embody the alchemical axiom ‘as within, so without’.
Warriors eventually transcend the ‘fight’ completely and become protectors of peace. They remind us all to seek and create life affirming stories and conditions in our inner and outer worlds. They are the first archetype to embody the paradox of duality within unity and their fights are for the sole purpose of bringing balance to living systems. In this archetype humanity begins to mature and step into the role of guardians of life. We finally understand that we are a vital part of the Univer-soul story and that life in all its forms is perfect.
REAL LOVE
So where do we go from here? When we know that the universe is a great mind / heart, constantly expressing itself in new and expanded ways, then what is left but to dance in the exquisite story of evolution? We are asked to surrender all of our stories and step beyond them into the vast void of universal potential. We become Lovers in the deepest sense of that union.
Love is the essence and force of life. It merges polarities and creates paradox, inviting us into relationship with all living things. Lovers consciously surrender to a bigger story than their own and redefine ‘love’ beyond the confines of our human social story. Through communion and commitment, they restory what it means to be human.
Lovers become the ripple effect of joy. They are full of appreciation for everyday magic and synchronicity and express their child-like gratitude exuberantly. They have come full circle around the archetypal journey and are contagious with their affection for the journey of life. They no longer seek anything outside of themselves because they know that there is no-thing outside of themselves. They are the living-breathing story of unity in action.
Lovers know that we are all related; that humans are but one of many species on our beautiful earth. They revel in connecting with our more than human family and live within an ecosystem of interconnection. They know that their thoughts, feelings and actions dance with the molecules around them to create their experiences. Their lives are full of ease and joy, even when they are passing through seeming distress or discomfort. They are the masters of this material realm and hold life lightly in their hearts. They hack evolution through their deep embodied knowledge of universal law as love.
FROM ME TO WE AND BACK AGAIN
So we must step fully into the irony and beauty of our dance between individuation and unity: ‘me’ leads to ‘we’. We are each unique and we are each here to live our lives in service to something greater than the small personalities that our current social systems try so hard to maintain. It is time to move into an era of storytelling and storymaking where our archetypes are both individual and collective. Where we are inspired to live our human journeys and consciously create stories that unite!
Through personal and collective awareness, empowerment and responsibility we can make new stories that serve life on earth.
We can remember, reconnect and redefine what it means to be human.
It’s time to make and tell the stories that unite.
Are you ready to jump into your archetypal adventure?
