OVERVIEW: The hero archetype is arguably the most recognized archetypal image in modern culture. Yet, it’s also the most misunderstood. This guide seeks to change that.
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What is this hero archetype?
Why is it so popular in storytelling?
What are the different types of heroes?
What is the archetypal hero’s true purpose and significance?
How can we apply this understanding to improve our lives?
Let’s take a deeper look …
What is the Hero Archetype?
The hero is one of a pantheon of archetypal characters.
In storytelling, the hero represents the protagonist or the main character. The archetypal hero plays a central role in virtually all forms of storytelling.
In psychology, the hero archetype is a universal symbol of a specific stage of human development.
Among other things, the archetypal hero represents overcoming obstacles to achieve specific goals.
Archetypes Definition
Simply put, an archetype is a set pattern of behavior.
Almost all human behavior is guided by archetypal images. Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung wrote, “Archetypes are the living system of reactions and aptitudes that determine the individual’s life in invisible ways.”1C.G. Jung, The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche (Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 8), 1970.
Every character you see on television and in films—every character within all literature—represents an archetype.
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Mythologist Joseph Campbell popularized the hero archetype through his extraordinary body of work.
In Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he takes the reader on an epic journey through the mythological landscape that defines the hero’s journey.2Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, 1949.
Campbell highlights the role of the hero in stories and mythology throughout recorded history.
Also, he illuminates the stages of psychological development of the hero—called the monomyth—through the myths and legends of cultures from around the world.
The Main Objective of the Hero’s Role
In myths, the hero’s objective is often to find a treasure like a golden egg, save a princess, and return with the elixir of life.
All of these are metaphors for a psychological journey to return to one’s true feelings and unique potential—what Carl Jung called individuation.
Jung wrote in Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious:3Jung, The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious (Collected Works of C.G. Jung Vol.9 Part 1), 1981.
“The hero’s main feat is to overcome the monster of darkness: it is the long-hoped-for and expected triumph of consciousness over the unconscious.”
That is, the hero archetype is relevant to us because it plays on a critical aspect of psychological development.
A Quick Note About Gender: Masculine vs Feminine
This archetypal decoding is based on a “Jungian” understanding of the psyche.
The hero is ultimately a masculine archetype. The female counterpart would be the heroine. While the hero and the heroine certainly share many attributes, they are not the same.
The hero archetype is associated with autonomy, building structure, and learning about limitations, which are qualities associated with masculine energy.
However, note that “masculine” and “feminine” are not the same as “man” and “woman.” The psyche of a man has a feminine counterpart—what Jung called the anima. The psyche of a woman has a masculine archetype called the animus.
While Western culture seems riddled with gender confusion, there are distinct differences between the masculine and the feminine psyche.
For more on this topic, see Carl Jung’s Theory of Anima and Animus.
Joseph Campbell’s 3 Types of Heroes
In his groundbreaking interview series with Bill Moyers titled The Power of Myth, Campbell highlights three different types of heroes found throughout all storytelling.4“Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers,” 1988.
- The Intentional Hero
- The Reluctant Hero
- The Accidental Hero
Now, let’s take a look at each hero type with examples we’re all familiar with.
The Intentional Hero
The intentional hero, as the name suggests, actively sets off on a quest to achieve a specific aim.
That is, with the intentional hero, the protagonist consciously sets out on an adventure.
As in any classic hero’s journey motif, whatever the initial goal might have been (treasure, for example), the hero ends up attaining something more meaningful—often of a psychological or spiritual nature.
In Homer’s Odyssey, Athena tells Ulysses’ son Telemachus, “Go find your father.”
Campbell explains that the “father quest” is a major hero adventure for young people.
This “father quest” might be to determine one’s career, discover your true personality, or get to know your true nature.
The Reluctant Hero
The reluctant hero is a popular archetypal motif in storytelling. Here, the hero is forced into the journey against his will.
The reluctant hero is common since “refusing the call to adventure” is one of the stages of the hero’s journey.
Examples from Campbell include a soldier being drafted into war or a child being forced to travel cross-country with his parents.
Jack Burton in John Carpenter’s Big Trouble in Little China is a class reluctant hero character.
The Accidental Hero
The accidental hero is a blending of the intentional and reluctant hero. Here, the hero falls into an unexpected journey, but by their own free will.
Many ancient myths and fairy tales begin with a young hero following a magical animal into the woods.
In Star Wars, Han Solo agreed to take Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan, and the droids as hidden cargo in exchange for money. But he didn’t realize the adventure he was getting himself into.
In Willow, a baby in a basket washes up on the shore of a dwarf-like race and is found by a farmer named Willow Ufgood. Initially reluctant to accept the baby, he eventually takes her in. After a large hound attacks their village, Willow is chosen by the town’s council to return the baby to the Daikini (human) world.
6 More Hero Archetype Examples in Storytelling and Literature
While Campbell highlighted the three primary hero archetype examples, in storytelling, there are always numerous variations on a theme.
Because the archetypal hero is the primary focus of most films, television, and novels, it expresses itself in a variety of ways.
The archetypal hero manifests as the:
- Epic Hero
- Everyman Hero
- Classic Hero
- Tragic Hero
- Anti-Hero
- Superhero
Each of these types of heroes has a different emphasis. Writers determine which type of hero to use based on the genre and circumstances they’re writing for.
The Epic Hero
The epic hero archetype always goes on an extraordinary quest. It is this epic hero that Campbell chronicles in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
These mythological adventures are deeply rooted within our psyche. Through these epic adventures, we see the hero departing from the “ordinary world” and entering the “special world.”
The special world is usually supernatural in origin.
Classic epic heroes include Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and Odysseus.
Modern examples of an epic hero are Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Luke Skywalker of the original Star Wars trilogy.
The epic hero can be intentional, reluctant, or accidental. Aragorn was a reluctant hero. Luke initially refused the call (reluctant) but quickly became an intentional hero.
The Everyman Hero
The Everyman hero is a relatable protagonist because there doesn’t appear to be anything remarkable about him or her.
That is, the everyman hero is rather ordinary, but has entered a special world and is having extraordinary experiences nonetheless.
A classic example of the everyman hero archetype is Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit.
The Classic Hero
The classic hero character often comes from a humble beginning (frequently combined with the orphan archetype).
But it quickly becomes clear that this inexperienced character is far from “ordinary.”
Luke Skywalker is a peasant farm boy, raised by his aunt and uncle, who ultimately becomes a Jedi.
Harry Potter is mistreated by his aunt and her husband, living in their cupboard under the stairs, yet he becomes a powerful wizard at Hogwarts.
The Tragic Hero
The tragic hero archetype is used in many dramas.
It was a common archetypal character used in ancient Greece (Oedipus Rex) as well as Shakespeare’s plays (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth).
Right from the beginning, we get the sense that these protagonists are destined for tragedy.
From a psychological perspective, the ego that seeks drama can be possessed by this archetype.
The Anti-Hero
The anti-hero is a variation of the reluctant hero.
This version of the hero archetype is often a rebel (another archetype) that goes against authority and culture.
The anti-hero often makes selfish decisions without concern about the consequences.
While the classic hero has a clear moral code, in the case of the anti-hero, their code is more “gray.”
(In this way, the anti-hero often comes off as a more human character and less archetypal.)
The quintessential anti-hero example is the protagonist in V for Vendetta (a graphic novel adapted to film).
The Superhero
Finally, the superhero is an especially popular hero archetype in modern storytelling.
In the character’s origin story, we see a classic hero transformed by attaining some form of extraordinary power.
The primary difference between the superhero and the villain is that the former has a strict moral code.
For hero archetype examples of this genre, look to the Marvel and DC cinematic universe.
Captain America, Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Spiderman, Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, Black Widow, Daredevil—the list goes on.
The original superhero archetypes were arguably the Greek gods of Olympus. DC Comic superhero characters, in particular, are modeled after these Greek gods of ancient mythology.
The Hero Archetype in Psychology
While it’s interesting to see how these archetypal patterns play out in storytelling, the true value of archetypes comes in understanding their psychological significance in our lives.
As Jung and Campbell both highlighted in their work, the hero plays an important role in the psyche.
The hero’s journey is, on a psychological level, the process of development—from being young and immature to becoming a mature, integrated adult.
This is why I said at the beginning of this guide that the hero, while popular in culture and storytelling, is still largely misunderstood.
The Real Psychological Meaning of the Hero
Being a “Hero” is considered noble—a sign of masculinity (“being a real man”). Becoming a heroine, too, is considered the goal.
“A heroic life is a life well-lived.”
Yet, the Hero archetype represents an advanced expression of child psychology.
That is, while this archetype does represent the peak of the adolescent stage of development, the Hero archetype is still immature.
In neo-Jungian Robert Moore’s work, in healthy development, the hero matures into the Warrior, which represents only one dimension of mature masculinity.
When the hero returns from the journey with the elixir, having transformed himself, he now returns to everyday life (as a mature adult). He is a “hero” no more.5Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, 1991.
But somehow, this final stage of the hero’s journey is often left out.
So what happens when a culture praises the Hero archetype?
On the level of the collective psyche, it ensures that men cannot reach full maturity.
The Downfall of the Hero Archetype
Our heroic consciousness is designed to hit a barrier—to learn its limits.
What is the Hero’s great limit?
From Moore and Gillette:6Ibid.
“The Hero’s downfall is that he doesn’t know and is unable to acknowledge his own limitations. A boy or a man under the power of the Shadow Hero cannot really realize that he is a mortal being. Denial of death—the ultimate limitation on human life—is his specialty … When we do not face our true limitations, we are inflated, and sooner or later our inflation will be called to account.”
The Hero suffers from ego inflation and so prohibits the man from consolidating the quiet, internal power of his true masculinity.
The Purpose of the Hero Archetype
The Hero archetype, however, is in our psyche for a reason.
It plays an important role: mobilizing the boy’s energy, will, and power to break from the Mother at the end of boyhood so he can face the tasks of life.
In many hero myths, the knight enters a cave to fight a dragon. This dragon is a symbol of the Mother archetype that the Hero must overcome to return to his village as a man.
The purpose of the Hero archetype is to push the boy to his limits, challenge him to dream, and call upon the courage to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.
With the Hero, the boy (or man) can fight large foes, and potentially defeat them.
If there’s something you want to do, but avoid embracing the adventure, the courage of the Hero archetype can serve you. Then, Warrior energy can help you see it through to the end.
The Shadow Archetypes of the Hero
While we tend to glorify the Hero, examining the Hero’s shadow is revealing.
The shadow represents the hidden motives and behavioral patterns that tend to lie outside of our awareness.
Neo-Jungian Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette explain that each archetype has a bipolar shadow—an active and a passive side.
In King Warrior Magician Lover, Moore and Gillette highlight the shadow aspects of the Hero archetype:7Ibid.
- The Grandstander Bully (active shadow side)
- The Coward (passive shadow side)
Let’s take a quick look at these two common shadow archetypes:
The Grandstander Bully
The Grandstander Bully’s drive is to impress those around him, proclaiming his superiority and right to dominate others.
This bully believes that “center stage” is his birthright.
Beneath the bully’s inflation, however, lies cowardice and deeper insecurity.
The Coward
The Coward can’t stand up for himself in physical, emotional, and intellectual confrontations.
Under pressure, the boy (or man) possessed by the coward caves in, allowing others to walk all over him.
The Grandstander Bully and the Coward go hand-in-hand.
The drives of these shadow Hero archetypes influence a lot of human behavior.
The Hero Archetype in Business
The unhealthy Hero is often glorified in the egocentric, celebrity CEO.
I won’t name names here. But they are the high-flyers, building fast companies, driving fast cars, and living the fast life.
The media hails them. And many of us envy them.
But then consider Jim Collin’s research. In Good to Great, Collins introduced the concept of Level 5 Leaders.8Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t, 2001. Collins explains that outperforming leaders are the antithesis of the celebrity CEO.9Jim Collins, “The Misguided Mix-Up of Celebrity and Leadership,” 2001. Instead, Level 5 Leaders possess a powerful mix of two qualities: indomitable will and personal humility.
Celebrating Heroes is Still Important
Although we like to watch heroes in films and TV shows, in real life, we don’t celebrate heroes.
Instead, we tend to envy them. Like crabs in a bucket, when someone starts to shine, we attempt to pull them back down.
We often envy in secrecy—acting celebratory for others but feeling quite the opposite.
Again from Moore and Gillette:10Ibid.
“We need a great rebirth of the heroic in our world. Every sector of human society, wherever that may be on the planet, seems to be slipping into an unconscious chaos. Only the heroic consciousness, exerting all its might, will be able to stop this slide toward oblivion. Only a massive rebirth of courage in both men and women will rescue the world. Against enormous odds, the Hero picks up his sword and charges into the heart of the abyss, into the mouth of the dragon, into the castle under the power of an evil spell.”
The authors wrote this in 1990. Sadly, this “unconscious chaos” and “slide toward oblivion” has gained more momentum over the last thirty-plus years.
So the Hero archetype has an important role for us individually and collectively.
The Death of the Hero Archetype
But afterward, once we capitalize on this archetypal hero consciousness, we must let the Hero archetype die within us.
For those of you who read Carl Jung, in The Red Book, he killed his Hero in his active imagination.11C.G. Jung, The Red Book, 2009.
Why?
One last time from Moore and Gillette:12Moore and Gillette, King Warrior Magician Lover.
“The ‘death’ of the Hero in the life of a boy (or a man) really means that he has finally encountered his limitations. He has met the enemy, and the enemy is himself. He has met his own dark side, his very unheroic side.”
With the death of the Hero archetype comes the emergence of true humility.
This humility only comes when we learn our limitations.
Books Related to the Hero Archetype
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
King Warrior Magician Lover by Moore and Gillette
Read Next
How the Magician Archetype Creates and Destroys Worlds
A Practical Guide to Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey
A Beginner’s Guide to Classic Jungian Archetypes
What Do You Think?
What are your thoughts on the Hero archetype?
Share your comments and questions below …
In my opinion archetypes are images given to personality expressions according to ones cultural inheritance.
Bran Collingwood
Hi Bran. Thanks for your comment. What’s so interesting about archetypes is that transcend cultural differences. The same archetypal “personality expressions” and behavior can be observed cross-culturally, as both Jung and Campbell illustrate in their work.
Dear Scott
In line with the heroes from Portugal who gave their lives, sailed to far continent unknow, where they served the world by bringing their knowledge like navigating, drawning maps of the coasts of South Australia or become a knight templar which was an ultimate hero to strife for, work for to achive. Many families have been proud giving the child to the Templars for raised and educated him to become an Knight Templar too.
We have seen this as our ultimate goal to trigger nefaw heroic behaviour in people facing the many problems we have in saving the earth.d
People visiting the New life Style Resort will be triggered by the program we are offering in which the Hero’s Journey can play a role. We also want to make use of some more picturing our hero by making use of regression, imagination. Picturing our images in the different cultures would make it excellent. I talk to simple perhaps but try to talk more. Kind regards Jared
Hi Jared,
Sounds like you have a grand vision for evoking the heroic in others.
Best wishes,
Scott
Very heavy things to consider. For me, will take several readings and much contemplation. Psychology is software. Body is hardware. The bullfighter invites the bull forward, but lets him pass, does not become impaled. Going deeper into what we really are uncovers functional wisdom. Most people spend their lives impaled by the horns of the bull.
Hi Ishan,
Yes, it’s very easy to get impaled by the bull’s horns. We all do, from time to time.
The big question is what you do when you realize you’re impaled…
Thanks for your comments.
great piece
Thank you!
Hello Scott,
Thank you for an interesting article. I don’t know much about this whole field of archetypes, but here’s my question. You wrote in a previous article, and this one also implies that “what one can be, one must be” (you quoted Measlow).
In other terms, one should strive to achieve their “full” potential.
My question is simple: Why?
I believe people saying that mainly talk about well-being. In other terms, being your best self is what will make you happier, more than anything else.
But then, why strive to be happier?
Nature compels us to do so, but should we listen?
Should we obey?
If so, why would we even have the ability to question this natural compulsion, and to choose to go against it?
Was this ability good for survival, but you deem that it is now useless, so we should go back to pursuing happiness?
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
Hi Guillaume,
Thank you for your comments and questions.
One way to answer your questions is to look at the results in individuals who “answer their call to adventure” and those who don’t.
One of the key findings from Maslow’s research is that if you don’t “become what you can be” you’re destined to be neurotic: anxious and depressed. And you won’t even know why you’re neurotic or what’s going on.
But I would be very cautious in bringing happiness into the equation. Although Martin Seligman’s research does suggest that growth/development is the best way to ensure happiness in the future (https://scottjeffrey.com/authentic-happiness/), I don’t suggest making this the purpose or reason for pursuing growth.
Why? From my experience, striving for happiness is a sure way to be miserable. Our culture’s bias toward happiness is the cause of much depression.
Perhaps the best question is: What’s most natural? Is it natural to stop the instinct to grow? Or is it natural for us to follow our individual path?
This is a question each person must answer for themselves.
Hello Scott,
Thank you for your thorough answer.
“Happiness” was a poor choice of word on my end, indeed. I simply meant “constantly improving one’s well-being” (without judging your current well-being).
From what you wrote, I understand you see self-actualization as a mere way to be healthy.
Do you think the current goal of mankind is to be healthier?
The problem with thinking about “what’s natural” is that it only leads us to keep doing what we have always done. At least, if the theory of evolution is correct.
What is natural today is generally simply what we have been doing for thousands (millions?) of years, however, our current situation is very different from what it was before.
Hi Guillaume,
Self-actualization was the term Maslow used to characterize individuals with positive mental health. So you can place self-actualization on a spectrum with neurosis/mental illness.
I’m not certain if mankind as a whole has any “goals.”
When I say “natural,” I mean instinctive as it relates to the animal body. I don’t mean the collective programming and indoctrination that keeps mankind in a state of neurosis.
I don’t think it’s accurate to say that what we do today is what we’ve done for thousands of years. Each new epoch or era brings new archetypes and patterns of behaviors. The patterns, thought systems, and value structures of post-modernity are completely different from pre-modernity.
Self-actualization in any period is defined by naturalness and spontaneity. You can’t be spontaneous when you’re following a particular program (that is, when you’re possessed by an archetype).
Around here (south-west Romania) we got the trickster which is probably the most present hero in mythology.
After 2000 years of rough history we got this deep belief that always there is a way to win if you think creative… This mentality is not accepted by global capitalism so some of us deny our own superpower now.
Hi GgVerb,
Indeed the Tricker is everywhere. (I’m actually covering this archetype in my next guide.)
What’s most challenging about the Trickster is its multi-layers of its deception and manipulation. Even the belief that we have to or are supposed to be win can be a belief divined by the Trickster.
Thanks for your comments.
HI,
I love your articles about this. I do not understand why the Hero is so masculine. There is some dark conciousness about it. I feel I am a warrior hero mage type and I am more couragious than most men I met. I am attracted to power and strenght like a fly and this manifests in both genders. The differency is this person is more like this and this one more like this with different types of mastery.
Hi Kathryn, the Hero is an archetype associated with masculinity because it has to do with autonomy and learning about limitations, structure, and boundaries.
Remember that “masculine” and “feminine” isn’t the same as “man” and “woman.” The psyche of both genders has masculine and feminine components. It’s a matter of emphasis: in the masculine is driven by autonomy; the feminine is driven by communion. Our culture, however, is riddled with gender confusion, which distorts the proper emphasis for each gender type.
Love this. When the hero meets himself he becomes vulnerable, an aspect that is not traditionally what we consider “masculine“. We would call that “feminine“ … Could that be why so many on the planet struggle with the humility and vulnerability aspect of the hero?
Inspiring!
Could be, Alecia. I don’t know …
Thank you Scott for hosting this forum and for all of your writings on these subjects of myths and shadow self. I have stumbled across your website as a result of feeling yet again deeply dis-satisfied in my work-life. I know it will be important to really hash out my Core-Values and do agree it is time well spent doing so. I really get a lot out of these discussions. I wonder if how much we associate certain traits with being male and female is in itself limiting our collective Selves and Shadows? Women who have leadership abilities are in many ways scorned – by men as well as women. I have male friends who are very nurturing and tell me they have had to fight very hard to protect that part of themselves.
Hi QuEster. While collectively we identify and associate certain qualities with being masculine and feminine — for example, autonomous with masculinity and communal with femininity — we are still largely missing the bigger picture. And that is that we each have masculine and feminine aspects within our psyche. And we can access both or either/or.
But I believe the bigger issue here is gender confusion. Men have been conditioned to behave like women and vice versa. This, of course, is a charged issue because the Green wave (value structure from Spiral Dynamics) seeks egalitarianism at all costs. The reality, however, is that there are still fundamental differences between men and women.
“Very nurturing men,” for example, are likely possessed by their anima (feminine aspect of their psyche) but don’t know it. Otherwise, they would have no need to “protect that part” — they would just express it when necessary.
Note: “men and women” is different than “masculine and feminine.”
What a stunning article Scott. So relevant for us right now as we refresh our brand especially the internal/external message. Our client is the hero.
Sure thing, Rob. Yes, in the context of marketing, the customer/client is almost always the hero.
I was having trouble drawing a comparison between the hero archetype and the competence hierarchy. I’ve heard of Jim Collins before, but I just never put the two together!
Glad you were able to make the connection now. Thanks for the comment!
Hi Scott!
Thanks for this amazing content!
Many times in my life I’ve been looking to myself in a “hero process” and many times I’ve been falling in mistakes that seemed to be “failures” in my journey.
But now, reading your text, I could realise how these “mistake points” where exactly the more precious knowledge I was in search for – the shadow in myself, the part I was trying to deny, without noticing that it’s precisely what makes me unique.
I’ve been reading many articles in your website and they’re helping me a lot in my individuation process.
Your work is inspiring!
Thanks again!
(sorry for any English error, it’s not my native language)
Thanks for sharing your experience and feedback, Bruno. Glad to hear the articles are helping you.
You mention Maslow. Isn’t Maslow the marketing guy that taught businesses how to sell more stuff?
I am asking though as I really am not looking to piss you off. Actually I assume you will not get pissed off that easily.
I noticed Kingston NY as your address. I love Upstate NY and I had my happiest absolutely ecstatically happy years up there. Lake Minnewaska and the nearby mountains in the 70s was a magnificent place to be. New Paltz actually. Kingston has become a wonderful place today.
I should get off my ass and go back. Cuomo makes me stay away I guess but that’s an excuse as it’s in my insanity I worry.l
Maslow was the leading psychologist of his time and he’s considered the founding father of humanistic psychology. And many (including myself) would argue that he set up his field for probably a century of new areas of research.
Maslow wasn’t really marketing guy (even though marketers did use some of his insights later on).
He did, however, help businesses on the management side. Maslow felt that helping businesses evolve into a more actualizing form of management will ultimately benefit mankind.
And yes, Minnewaska and the Shawangunk Ridge are stunning — especially in autumn. I used to hike up there multiple times a week.
Damn. Thank You. I must say I do not remember ever replying to someone that replied to any question about psychology where it was new info or I agreed with it.
You have opened my eyes to something I literally never heard of. Have I been hiding under a rock. Well I guess in some ways I have. I found several links and articles and have no knowledge to give an opinion. That said I see I was 100% wrong about who I thought Maslow was. That is for sure.
Its nice to see something positive related to the word Psychology. I see I have really missed so much of it. In 1988 I had some confusion lets call it and was looking for some help. I had started my own business with my wife and we were not starving and our relationship was great. Lived in the NYC at the time and went to see a guy on Central Park West. It was a doctor I found in the yellow pages I believe to help with addictive tendencies. I went to him for over a year and he used Biofeedback. He was likely one of the earliest using it though I cannot know that obviously. The doc looked like Freud to me though I am sure just a white male with a beard was enough. Unluckily I moved away from him to a shrink as it was what I guess I wanted since the first guy required too much work and used no drugs.
Thank you is the best thing I can say as clearly there is much more going on right in front of my nose and I would have walked right by. Jeez. If I missed it I guess I am far from alone.
Lets hope some of the scared people following others without really understanding why get the idea to look some shit up and find a positive answer as well.
Sure thing, Douglas.
Before Maslow, psychology was fixed on mental illness. It was Maslow that turned the tables and started to examine what positive “mental health” actually looked like.
If you’d like to learn more about Maslow’s work, here are two guides to get you started:
https://scottjeffrey.com/abraham-maslow-hierarchy-of-needs/
https://scottjeffrey.com/self-actualization/
I have read many articles on archetypes and still do not understand their purpose.
Is it in the hero themselves? Is it an outsider who challenges the Hero? What is it? who is it?
It’s less about the “purpose” of archetypes. It’s more about the powerful role they play in influencing our attitudes, thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
Your questions don’t really make sense to me so it would be difficult for me to offer a response.
Here’s a primer on archetypes that might help clarify what they are and the role they play:
https://scottjeffrey.com/archetypes-psychology/
After reading both this article and the Magician archetype article, I realized that in many relationships I’ve observed, the two shadow sides of the archetypes are expressed in each one of the individuals. While my mother seems to play the Coward, my father seems to play the Grandstander Bully, as an example. I’ve noticed this in my own life as well. As I have also played these roles numerous times. When Jung killed the Hero archetype in his active imagination, did he have to portray an archetype to “kill” the Hero. And by “killing” the Hero archetype, how does this not repeat the cycle of the Hero archetype? I have yet to read the Red Book, and have only recently started learning about Jung. I’m sure I’m missing major points here. Do you have to play an archetype to engage with other archetypes? If you take a completely objective view of the archetypes they seem to lose their power, so how do you get to a place of interacting with archetypes without becoming one yourself?
This is a thoughtful question, Mandy.
And the answer isn’t sufficiently addressed in Jungian literature. But it is found in various Eastern traditions. The key is learning to hold to your Center. Only from your Center can you observe the archetypes without being possessed by them.
Jung called this Center the Self or the Transcendent Function.
“Mind training” is involved in stabilizing the mind/consciousness to a sufficient level where you can notice when you’re being overtaken by an archetype or a series of archetypes, and then bringing your awareness back to the Center — what the Taoists call the Observing Mind.
For an introductory guide on this subject, see:
https://scottjeffrey.com/center-yourself/
I’m curious, when was this article published? Sitting on a paper I’m currently writing and in order to quote this article, I need a publishing date to use the source in my cited work.
Looks like it was originally published June 2018
Thank you so much! This helped me a lot with my understanding of The Odyssey and its characters.
You’re welcome, Sage. And yes, when you understand the various archetypes, all literature, myths, and fairy tales can be perceived in a new way.
not very female-oriented
Throughout time, and cross-culturally, the Hero archetype is predominantly masculine in orientation.
While some individuals in the “gender equality” movement may take offense to this, that’s only due to ignorance of the nature and structure of our psyche.
Industrial society and its future
I found it interesting.
The archetypes are the modes of perception for human consciousness. They are habitual pattern of meaning that we have all experienced and lived many times….in many lifetimes. The “chakras” are also modes of conscious perception and being. I wonder if the images and symbols that represent the archetypes are merely the way the auto symbolic function of our psyche presents to our consciousness, whats going on in the chakras at an energetic/spiritual level. I have this intuition that this is a self regulating feedback mechanism for the growth and evolution of the Soul. Just a few thoughts and nothing more.
Only men—or those wanting male-defined success have access to the hero’s journey? This sure sounds as if that is true.
When you’re dealing with the psyche, it’s never about “men” or “women” because the psyche contains both. Men have a feminine component of their psyche (anima) and women have a masculine side (animus).
But yes, the hero’s journey was traditionally a predominantly masculine journey — especially when put in the context of the “adventure” and pushing up against one’s limits.
In modern times, for better or worse, the heroine has her own journey. The challenge is that it’s a different kind of journey than the masculine one and most modern writers don’t seem to understand that. (It’s mainly about discovering qualities like nurturance, softness, and healing, not physical battles and trying to dominate men.)