the primary Archetypes

Your Primary Team leads you to key life moments that take the most courage. It’s in these key moments that you unknowingly make a choice that keeps you in a loop of struggle — even to the stories that occupy your mind.  These are choices that block, sell out, doubt, and deny you truths and keep you in survival mode and away from spiritual flow.

In between survival mode and spiritual flow is a bridge of courage. 

The greatest gift of the Primary Team is allowing you to choose with courage and develop self-esteem.  It’s in these moments of confidence that you increase your “inner bank account” with more of your Soul Gifts, stop selling yourself short, merit your spiritual values more, and anchor into your resilience and compassion.

When in survival mode, you can find yourself thinking:  “I’m broken.  How can I fix myself?” 

I invite you to hold the truth that you are not broken.  The first step toward wholeness is self-acceptance.  As you explore and embrace your 4 Primary Archetypes, you honor your journey as being beautifully human. 

THE SABOTEUR ARCHETYPE

The Saboteur archetype keeps us playing small because we fear our greatest potential.

You know you’re magnificent. AND at the same time of knowing, feeling, sensing you have an incredible version of your life to live you ignore the nudges to make the changes needed to let in more of your light.  You find yourself in a loop of sabotaging your own brilliance.  You wake up glowing less and feeling frustrated, resentful, powerless. 

We all have the Saboteur Archetype in our mix pointing us to our light. 

Empowerment comes from allowing those changes you fear most to happen.

We gravitate toward wholeness because we often want to feel better.  We know there is something off and there is more to heal.  Some changes, though, are scarier than others and it is asking us to give up more than what we thought would be asked of us.  It can feel quite cozy to stay put and that in itself is partly why we resist the change that keeps coming for us.

The choice to give your Soul agency. 

Think of a change in your life, especially one that keeps coming around and resonates throughout your entire being in a way you KNOW it’s part of your Soul DNA.  See if you can stay with the thought for a breath without chasing it away when the fear that your life, as you know it, will change.  Breathe.  What if you were to authorize your Soul to make the choice?

We can call upon small changes to bring smaller, bite-sized truth nuggets into our life so we can process the change we want to see at smaller levels.  This is how we begin to engage with our Saboteur Archetype in the light - through conscious choice. 

Change can bring chaos to our lives and it’s scary.  In the moments of chaos, remember your inner resources - your breath, your awareness, your courage, your Soul gifts.  Something in your life will be released so the light can enter.

Marianne Williamson articulates The Saboteur Archetype beautifully in her poem “Our Deepest Fear”:

THE VICTIM ARCHETYPE

The Victim is about forgiveness, but you often aren’t ready to forgive until you give yourself permission to feel.

The Victim Archetype emerges when boundaries have been crossed and something has happened to us. This is tender territory. Met with compassion, we can begin to heal. 

 We have been conditioned to ignore negative emotions such as sadness and anger. We label them bad and when they begin to show up, we tend to do what we can to shove them away. We judge ourselves for being human. 

Learning to recognize emotions, and experience our feelings can lead us to deep healing.

Understanding when you have “been a victim” and when you “play the victim” is a beautiful gift of growth through the Victim Archetype in each of us.

This is an important distinction to make when hurting, and it’s in the shadow of the Victim Archetype. It is a gift I hold deep in my heart when I witness suffering in myself and others.

Honoring hurt without using it to alienate yourself from others is tender + tricky territory. When you can’t see yourselves clearly, you unintentionally create more suffering. Big feelings may swing, swirl and grip you. You tend to hold onto your feelings because you haven’t figured them out yet. Meanness emerges toward yourselves and others, and you know something is up.

Acknowledging that boundaries have been crossed, in and of itself, is a way to honor that you have been victimized + you have victimized others. Take a deep breath. This is big work. 

Cultivating compassion for yourself + others is sometimes what you can hold onto when feeling lost in the darkness. It’s like lighting a candle so you will find your way back to the precious parts of yourself.  

One way to help bring your Victim Archetype into the Light is turning toward an ancient, sacred practice called “The Infinite Four” from Tibetan Buddhism.  Other sacred traditions have beautiful practices to cultivate these incredible states of being as well. I encourage you to work with one that resonates with you.  The Infinite Four fit well here.

 “The Infinite Four”: 

• Upeksha (Equanimity): Equanimity is a practice of holding emotions as equals.

• Maitri (Loving-kindness): Turning tenderness and kindness toward yourself and others.

• Karuna (Compassion): Having compassion means that you encounter yourself with non-judgement and kindness where you are right now.

• Mudita (Joy): The pleasure of seeing other people happy.

In shadow the Victim Archetype criticizes, blames, judges, and hides because she doesn’t feel safe.  The Victim in the light knows that everyone has been a victim and has victimized others.  In the light, she turns towards Equanimity, Compassion, Loving-kindness and Joy for herself and for others as a practice and way of life. 

Forgiveness enables you to be in the world with “The Infinite Four.”

Free Gift to support you in developing a personal practice, here is a loving-kindness meditation to strengthen feelings of kindness & connection. 

THE PROSTITUTE ARCHETYPE

You have value simply because you exist.  The Prostitute Archetype in shadow negotiates away your Soul Gifts when you don’t feel worthy.

The "Shady Secret Deal"

Imagine there is a back-door, secret deal happening unbeknownst to you.  "Unbeknownst," meaning it occurs in the shadow part of your interior.  In this secret deal, a part of you has negotiated away a precious Soul gift in exchange for security.  

What does this security look like?  What have you just paid for?  What are you getting in return?

You're getting something in exchange for that very expensive transaction.  It could be a myriad of things like recognition, money, approval, relationships, or leadership roles.  We all have this in us and what we are holding is The Sacred Prostitute Archetype. 

All archetypes are sacred and including the word "sacred" here with the Prostitute Archetype reminds you of what this is costing you - your worthiness.  You are selling out a piece of our Soul because you fear you are not enough; you are not worthy.

There is no way around this truth.  You must be with your sacred interior to see how you are selling out so you can access the core of who you are and what you authentically value.

Following intuitive guidance

Have you ever told yourself "If I follow intuitive guidance, it will cheat me in some way?"  This is the Prostitute archetype in the shadow - looking for perks to saying, "yes" to intuitive guidance instead of having faith in and fully trusting your Divine gift of intuition. Instead, you look for telltale advantages or benefits from this exchange of energy. Also guarantees are often on the table when you are insecure in what you have to innately offer.  Whatever the deal may be, even if it speaks to the depth of your Soul, when you’re in the grip of the shadow Prostitute, you likely find yourself saying “It’s too risky.”  

This is the space where you learn to ask for grace, and then begin a trust-walk toward the natural, beautiful, innate gifts of your Soul that have immeasurable value.  Value beyond what your mind tells you, and beyond measurement.  This trust-walk may mean something different to you at different phases of your life because as you grow, your values tend to shift.

Honesty + integrity help to bring your authentic values front + center.

Saying you value one thing, and then doing something in violation of that value is a moment that exposes the "shady secret deal" in your interior.  

When you are fixated on being free from worry and uncertainty, you are in the grip of The Prostitute Archetype in the shadow.  In a world that doesn’t always offer up a sense of security, you make survival plans and eclipse out your self-integrity.  That works for you until it doesn’t.  Until you begin to notice the inner whispers, nudges, and Soul-truths that point you into deepening your integrity + faith in yourself.

Working with The Sacred Prostitute in the Light, you stop comparing your home to someone else’s home, your relationship to someone else’s relationship, your career to someone else’s career, your talent to someone else’s talent, your happiness to someone else’s happiness, your pain to someone else’s pain, and so on.

You allow your life to be guided by your Soul.  You release the need to know, you get honest with yourself about how you have been selling out, and you begin making forward movement with integrity that aligns with your True Nature and your Sacred Contract.

You make room for grace to enter in the moments of saying to yourself “I’m not worthy”, and you step into faith.  You stop pretending and accept the Sacred Contract of your precious life with confidence.  You move from a place of inner corruption to honoring what matters most, your intrinsic value system.  Rooting into the place inside of you where you can’t be bribed or bought by an external offer that is out of alignment with your values.

You are worthy.  It is the Prostitute in the light that deepens your faith and holds the line for you to move with honesty + integrity.

THE CHILD ARCHETYPE

The Inner Child + The Child Archetype

The term “Inner Child” is different from “The Child Archetype”.  The Inner Child idea has roots from the 1960s as part of the mental psyche.   The Child Archetype expands as an element of your Soul.  Healing and working with the Inner Child may have similarities with The Child Archetype.  It is important to distinguish between them when healing from childhood traumas. You may at times need to hold the perspective of the Inner Child as a way to be with memories that have been concealed within you.

The Child Archetype holds more than your wounds from childhood.  What may inspire your actions and how you embrace life as seen through your Child Archetype helps you come back to Presence.  Presence means being dropped into your True Nature.  When you are in Presence, you have greater access to compassion, curiosity and accepting all that is unfolding. 

Curiosity and Play can invite you into Presence.  When you are in Presence, it can feel like Play:

• a quiet, clear mind

• a bigger, open, compassionate heart

• being INSIDE of the Present Moment

You were born with gifts that feel like play

At a deep level, you know your innate gifts. What feels like play to you?  What has always been sort of effortless for you? Where you can get lost doing something that may have no purpose, no financial gain?  The Child Archetype brings you the kind of joy that lights you up beyond the worries and stresses of adulting.  It helps you step into Presence through engaging in an activity for the fun of it and without a practical purpose.    

How do you embrace your gifts? Sometimes we find ourselves pretending we don’t know, and they don’t exist because it wasn’t who your parents or society needed you to be. It can be kind of hard to pinpoint sometimes because it’s always been a part of you.

What do you know about your inner joy that no one else knows?  The child archetype knows Joy, Tenderness, Innocence + Play. 

Your perspective on responsibility highlights your Child Archetype patterns 

Some of us have forgotten how to play and some of us could embrace more responsibility.  Responsibility + innocence are two qualities that need each other and are present in your Soul.  The Child Archetype unveils the tension that arises when responsibility, play, dependence, and independence are out of balance:

• we need to be responsible AND playful.

• we need Independence AND Dependence.

Do you dream of someone else making sure the bills are paid so you can play?  Do you hold more than your fair share of responsibility while someone else plays?  What would more balance look like for you?  Who is responsible for bringing playfulness into your life?

Determining your Child Archetype

When determining which Child Archetype, you have had with you over your entire life, consider how you are with family or people you consider like family.  There are distinct differences with the 7 options of The Child Archetype.  While you may notice patterns from multiple Child Archetypes within you, there has been one Child Archetype with you on your life journey. 

Here are brief descriptions of each Child Archetype along with their aspects in Light + Shadow:

DEPENDENT/ADULT CHILD

In Light:  Grounded within and not derailed by external circumstances.  Ability to give to others.

In Shadow:  Needy and dependent on others for the necessities of life.  Not aware of other’s needs.  Seeks to replace an unknown, lost feeling from childhood.

DIVINE CHILD

In Light:  Special union with Divine and embodies redemptive mission.

In Shadow:  Incapable to protect themselves and responds in fear of being attacked.

ETERNAL CHILD

In Light:  Fearless, joyful, and sought-after.  Doesn’t let age stop from enjoying life.

In Shadow:  Fights against aging body in a world that demands eternal youth.  Problems with functioning adulthood.

MAGICAL/INNOCENT CHILD

In Light:  Magic-like imagination and sees potential with ease.

In Shadow:  Loses faith in miracles and is not able to move beyond negative circumstances

NATURE CHILD

In Light:  Emotional tenderness & tough interior for survival.  Strong bond with nature & animals. 

In Shadow:  Although unintentional, bringing harm to animals and planets for selfish needs.

ORPHAN CHILD

In Light:  Develops independence early on and has capacity to embrace adulthood.

In Shadow:  Abandonment scars prevent the ability to form mature relationships.

WOUNDED CHILD

In Light:  Painful childhood wounds evoke compassion and desire to help other wounded children.

In Shadow:  Blaming parents for any current weakness or feeling deficient.  Seeking out others to take responsibility when difficult situations arise.

Selecting your Child Archetype can sometimes be one of the most difficult decisions when determining your 12 archetypes for your Wheel of Origin.  Reach out for more guidance at hello@soulpath-guidance.com