Up: [[Jungian Glossary]] Related: [[Complex]], [[Every Archetype is Both Light and Shadow]] Created: 2022-02-08 Updated: 2026-11-15 Just as we have biological instincts such as a need to eat when we are hungry, we also have instinctual psychological patterns. Plato called these patterns Forms or Ideas, [[C. G. Jung]] gave them the name archetype meaning *original pattern from which copies are made*. Jungian analyst Lisa Marchiano has an appealing image for the archetypal layer of the psyche. She says to think of this layer as *an underground river that runs beneath each of us, connecting us to the inexhaustible storehouse of eternal patterns.* (p. 7 of *The Vital Spark) There’s a lot that can be unpacked from this simple metaphor: **archetypal layer of the psyche** Jung used [[Psyche]] instead of mind because psyche includes not only all that we are conscious of, but also all that is unconscious in us, meaning all that we don’t know. Jung further divides the [[unconscious]] into the personal unconscious — repressed or forgotten personal material, and the [[Collective Unconscious]] which contains both instincts and archetypes. **runs beneath each of us** The collective unconscious is shared by all humans and transcends race, culture, and time. You see evidence of it in the mythologies and religions of all of the countries of the world. **inexhaustible storehouse of eternal patterns** It helps to remember that archetypes are part of the unconscious, which means they are unknown to us. Archetypes are patterns, the core instinctual ways we understand the world. They have no definition and they cannot be visualized. So when we talk about archetypes, we are actually referring to archetypal images, meaning our particular culture’s conscious understanding of that archetype, recognizable through recurring themes, symbols, and patterns of behaviour. There are actually two parts to the “inexhaustible storehouse.” One is that there are so many different images for any archetype depending on where and when you’re living, and the other is that archetypes go far beyond - Figures — i.e., hero, trickster, fool to also include: - Qualities — i.e., in Ancient Greece, wisdom was personified as the goddess [[Sophia]]. - Motifs — i.e., creation, the apocalypse, flood - Places — i.e., home, ocean, thresholds - Processes — i.e., the hero’s journey, cycle of death and rebirth - Objects — i.e., crown, wand, sword ### An Archetypal Example The archetypal figure of a wise and feisty older woman, which we might call the Crone, is found in some of the world’s mythologies as Baba Yaga in Slavic stories, Grandmother Spider in some North American indigenous traditions, and the Cailleach in Scotland and Ireland. It’s the same irreducible pattern, but different images based on our culture and the time we live in. Of course, we don’t tend to talk about Baba Yaga or the Cailleach very often today, and this is as it should be. If an archetypal image doesn’t change with the times, that archetype dies out. We find our archetypal images in the mythologies of our time, meaning art, literature, and film. So today in the western world, images of wise and feisty older women might be *Olive Kitteridge* in Elizabeth Stout’s novel by that name, or Abigail Thomas in her memoir, *Still Life at Eighty* or Mary Walsh in the movie *Dancing on the Elephant*. ### Cautions We shortcut “archetypal image” to archetype, and that’s fine. While it’s good to know that there’s a difference between the two terms, we’re not Jungian scholars and don’t need to worry about nuance. But there are three commonly held beliefs about archetypes that do merit correction. Specifically - that there’s a master list of archetypes you can refer to. There’s no such list. There’s an archetypal core to everything; archetypes are limitless. To get a sense of this see the definitely not inclusive list of [[Motifs and Themes Commonly Found in Myths]] - that you can definitively classify yourself as fitting a specific archetype. It is absolutely true that we each have our own constellation of key inner archetypes which impact our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. However, we need to be in a constructive, conscious relationship to those archetypes, not identify with and be dominated by them. - that an archetype can be all-good (i.e., the hero) or all-bad ( i.e., the scoundrel). [[Every Archetype is Both Light and Shadow]]. ### Why You Should Care Archetypes are at work in your life, determining how you see a situation and therefore influencing how you act. This is true whether you are conscious of the archetype or not. It is therefore always best to be conscious of the most influential ones because otherwise those archetypes are operating independently of your conscious intentions and their characteristics can intensify or become more difficult in your life. Psychotherapist Kikan Massara makes the interesting observation that > [!Orbit] [[Kikan Massara]] in *The 12 Steps* > Archetypes can also be associated with the collective mindsets of an era. A few challenging archetypes that are common today are the Narcissist, the Victim, the Perfectionist, the Dictator, the Saboteur, the Liar, the Enemy, and the Bully. So is the Addict archetype. (p. 311) But if you notice, name, accept and work with important archetypal patterns in your life, even the challenging ones will transform and integrate into your personality. And if that isn’t reason enough, Lisa Marchiano in the same paragraph where she talks about the underground river, introduces the fairy tales she is going to be referencing in her book with these beautiful words: *Archetypal stories move us and have the potential to heal because they remind us that we are a child of the universe, embedded in and held by the cosmos.* (p.7 of *The Vital Spark) Next see [[Where to Look for 'Your' Archetypes]]