An archetype is a complex idea and has been defined and written about by Jung and others. A way that I like to explain archetypes is that they are the human-specific patterns and processes of being in the world – of our approaches, attitudes, behaviours, feelings, thoughts, problem-solving capacities, strategies and so on. They are motifs. One way of understand what they are, is by using the idea “chair.” It is an idea that embodies every kind of physical chair that could be made – from using a log to making a throne; it contains the functions and symbolic understandings of “chair” such as support, hierarchy, position, and role and so on. And if for some reason, every chair and every picture of a chair and every reference to chairs was destroyed, people would start making chairs again because the idea and all it represents is archetypal.
I have included some of Jung’s thoughts about archetypes at the end of this article, to facilitate further reflection and reading for those who are interested.
Because an archetype is a motif, even the mythological gods and goddess’ from the past – whether they be Greek, Roman, Indian, African, or Aztec – that are often used to illustrate aspects of archetypes, are each but an expression of how the archetypal can manifest. Notably, when we say “human-specific” it means “human” and not only for men or only for women. Thus, the patterns and processes illustrated by either the gods or the goddesses apply to BOTH men and women.
Take for example the Greek goddess Demeter. We note that she symbolizes the earth mother, the embodiment of the nourishing mother. We also note that she is a double image. On the one hand, she is a mother who nourishes & feeds her infant. On the other, she is a devouring mother feeding & caretaking even when it’s not needed. Demeter is then fed by her child’s dependence on her. In the process, she injures her child’s potential for growth & keeps it infantile, thus, devouring it.
Caretaking and nourishment have broad applications and are not only female behaviours. For example, nourishing is also the capacity to encourage and promote someone. This is a good illustration of how these archetypal qualities belong to both men and women.
When we read the story of Demeter as it is told in mythology, we are offered a sense of how her dual mothering manifests, what roles the various protagonists play, what the outcomes are and what the patterns and processes are. This human-specific pattern and process can be very helpful in the therapeutic situation when it is applied in a specific sense to a specific person.
Learning to work with archetypal patterns and processes
But we can also learn to work with these archetypal patterns and processes ourselves. For example, if you think that the patterns and processes of Demeter might be affecting your life, you could ask yourself a few questions.
Some of these questions below refer to perfectly appropriate caretaking and nourishing, which promote growth, development and realization of potential. But others refer to a tendency to cross boundaries, to intrude on and invade the lives of other adults and adult children and to devour or control their capacities for growth and development. Note which of these questions might apply to you:
- Do I enjoy building up and encouraging people?
- Do I enjoy offering solutions to people’s problems?
- Do I sometimes offer unasked for solutions?
- Do I give unsolicited advice?
- Do I have a tendency to always rush in to help other people? Do I find that I can’t help doing this?
- Do I often feel I know better and am more competent/capable/insightful than others?
- Do I see myself as a warm, caring person?
- Do I find it painful to see someone else suffer when I could supply the solution?
- Do I symbolise homecoming and shelter for others?
- Am I known as an untiring giver
- Do I foster the development of others and enjoy promoting them?
- Do I nourish hopes?
- Do I enjoy helping people and observing them grow?
- Am I clinging to my children, wanting to continue looking after them when they should be moving on with their lives?
- Do I feel concerned about my adult children, spouse and friends – do I feel they can’t look after their needs without my help and input?
- Do I have regard for the needs of others?
- Do I work with discretion, care and caution when I interact with others?
- Do I find myself managing (or attempting to manage) the lives of my adult children?
- 19. Am I a caring, nourishing person towards my young children/towards my elderly parents who need caretaking?
Your spouse, partner or friend might have an infantile approach to life demanding that you caretake them, so that they don’t have to grow up and be responsible adults. For example:
- Have I noted that I am expected to be at home and to have everything in order at home for my husband/wife/partner when he/she comes home?
- Does my husband/wife/partner tend to take it easy and find it difficult to make an effort?
- Do I continue to wait for my husband/wife/partner to realise his/her potential one day?
- Do I do most of the work in repairing disagreements, maintaining the relationship, putting in the effort in my relationship with my husband/wife/partner/friend?
You might have learned at a young age that life is safer and more secure for you if you are totally self-sufficient than being dependent on the irregular caring and nourishing from your caretaking adults? In that case, you probably gave up, or didn’t learn to caretake & nourish yourself? Perhaps it’s time to start caring & nourishing yourself now? Also, encouraging and promoting what you enjoy and do well? Learning to nourish hope?
Perhaps you may long to be able to be more caring and nourishing towards others? Towards your children?
In this case, you might have been raised in a family of intellectuals who were cool and withdrawn in the way they interacted with you whereas, you may be a relational people-person by nature. If you start believing in your gut feel about how you would like to interact with others (instead of doubting these instinctual feelings), you could re-connect with your inner caring, nourishing self.
This is an example of how you could work with the archetypal human-specific patterns illustrated by the Greek goddess Demeter. Some more examples of female goddesses are provided below. As you read these summaries, ask yourself some questions in order to establish how you might be manifesting these qualities in your life. If you would like to develop some of these attributes, read the stories of these women and note how they work with their attitudes, approaches and behaviours. Imagine how you could develop these capacities in your own personal life. For example, Athena’s approach to being a warrior in terms of strategy as opposed to violence!
Some of the Greek Female Goddesses carrying archetypal patterns and processes
Hera – First among female deities on Olympus. Queen of heaven. Wife and equal of Zeus. Embodiment of wifehood, motherhood, & the rights and power of women. The Hera principle embodies the idea of power & the authority of the feminine requiring one’s respect and, in some circumstances, worship. Edinger
Hestia – Goddess of the sacred hearth-both home & nation. Personifies the glowing fire on the family hearth, t he natural centre of the family & clan. Signifies the sacredness of being centred, rooted & contained in a group, a region, a local soil. To worship at the hearth of the cosmopolitan family, one must first worship at the hearth of one’s particular locality. Edinger
Demeter – The earth mother, embodiment of the nourishing mother. She’s a double image: On the one hand, a mother who nourishes & feeds her infant. On the other, a devouring mother feeding & caretaking even when it’s not needed-fed by her child’s dependence on her, she injures its potential for growth & keeps it infantile, devouring it. Edinger
Artemis – Goddess of the forest & the hunt; silver-bowed archeress. Virginal, cold, chaste-values wild nature more than human relationships-aloof & indifferent as is nature – opposite to Demeter. Is cruel to weakness & helpful to strength thus, growth-promoting where potential for growth is possible. Edinger
Aphrodite – Goddess of love & beauty. Associated with grace, charm, and sensuality. Internally:
She’s the ability to relate to beauty. Externally: She’s the life-enhancing willingness to connect & relate to others. She’s life-producing: When pouring energy into the imagery of your inner life, it can come to life with Aphrodite’s help. Edinger
Athena – Born out of Zeus’ head. Bringer of civilization by introducing the plough & olive tree. Warrior goddess in terms of strategy, not violence. Bringer of practical knowledge & wisdom. Emphasises spirit & intelligence, a companion to men – often without erotic involvement. Edinger.
These are summaries of Edward Edinger’s descriptions of Greek goddesses found in his book “The Eternal Drama: The Inner Meaning of Greek Mythology.” There are many books on mythology that tell the primordial stories of peoples and carry the archetypal ideas of human-specific patterns and processes. Another great book is “Ariadne’s Clue” by Anthony Stevens.
Some of Jung’s thoughts on Archetypes
The term archetype is often misunderstood as meaning a certain definite mythological image or motif…[it is] on the contrary, an inherited tendency of the human mind to form representations of mythological motifs – representations that vary a great deal without losing their basic pattern…This inherited tendency is instinctive, like the specific impulse of nest-building, migration, etc. in birds. One finds the representations collectives practically everywhere, characterized by the same or similar motifs. They cannot be assigned to any particular time or region or race. They are without known origin, and they can reproduce themselves even where transmission through migration must be ruled out (CW18:523).
All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes. This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form they are variants of archetypal ideas created by consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses, but to translate into visible reality the world within us (CW8:342).
…we are dealing with archaic or … primordial types, that is, with universal images that have existed since the remotest times (CW9i:5).
…archetypes probably represent typical situations in life (CW8:255).
…qualities not individually acquired but inherited…inborn forms of perception and apprehension, which are the a priori determinants of all psychic processes (CW8:270)
Another well-known expression of the archetypes is myth and fairytale (CW9i:5.6).
The archetype is essentially an unconscious content that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived, and it takes its colour from the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear (CW9i:6)
An archetype is like an old watercourse along which the water of life has flowed for centuries, digging a deep channel for itself (CW10:395).
…for the contents of the collective unconscious are not only residues of archaic, specifically human modes of functioning, but also the residues of functions from animal ancestry, whose duration in time was infinitely greater than the relatively brief epoch of specifically human existence (CW7:159).
An excellent resource for more information on archetypes is the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism http://www.aras.org/
‘Archetype’ defies simple definition. The word derives from a Greek compound of arche and tupos. Arche or ‘first principle’ points to the creative source, which cannot be represented or seen directly. Tupos, or ‘impression’, refers to any one of the numerous manifestations of the ‘first principle’ (Joseph Henderson, from ARAS Vol.1: Archetypal Symbolism p.viii).
Leslie Zimmermann, a Jungian Analyst based in Johannesburg, offers a range of services, which she integrates, to meet the needs and aspirations of people. In a word, her work is in the service of wholeness. Wholeness includes both our vulnerabilities and our strengths, becoming conscious of our own unique mix of these, honouring our own unique way of functioning and with this knowledge and confidence, contributing as only we each can in our own way, to this evolving world we find ourselves to be a part of.
Leslie specializes in Analytical Psychology, Voice Dialogue, Coaching solutions for business executives. Consulting and coaching for family owned and home-based business
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