Disclaimer: I am not a Jungian psychologist. I am a trainee wilderness rites of passage guide that takes a keen interest in, and has read widely about, archetypes and self-transformation. Take from it what you will! Many books have been written on this topic (some referenced at the end)- the point of this short blog post is to introduce the topic to anyone who hasn’t delved in before.
So, firstly, what do I mean by archetypes?
Archetypes are universal aspects of human nature, patterns we are all familiar with - usually captured in a character.
Stories offer homes for these archetypes, and are ‘are embedded with instructions which guide us about the complexities of life’, and as Clarissa Pinkola Estes so nicely puts it.
In this article, I focus on four archetypes that are of interest to me in my training as a rites of passage guide, seeking to help people to develop and become truer and more fulfilled versions of themselves. I see that each of these four archetypes offers clues about the processes we can go through in our lifetimes
The Virgin
The Virgin represents the transformation from being constrained by expectation of others, to becoming truly ourselves.
She (can also be a he!) strives for joy, and is willing to overcome the constraints and conditions of the society she finds herself in. She is willing to go against the will of others, to show who she really is. It takes great courage to assert herself against the powers that be, but she has to do this to flourish as psychologically independent. She must believe in herself and her own power in order to take off the mask she is wearing, and become truly herself. If she doesn’t, then she succumbs to the will of others and lives a deeply unfulfilled and powerless life.
The Virgin encourages us to ask ourselves: who do I know myself to be and what do I want to do in the world, separate from what everyone else wants from me?
The Virgin Archetype can be found in many traditional and less traditional stories. Recently, I have read several of the stories in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, as I am running a programme for young women in August in the Scottish Highlands. I have found the stories of Grainne, Deidre and The Daughter of the Skies to follow this archetypal structure - in all three stories the female protagonist must go against the will of her husband or father in order to live a fulfilled life.
I can relate to this archetype probably the most - during my own wilderness rites of passage experience, I imagined layers of myself, the one who cared far too deeply about what others thought of me, fall to the ground. This is still a big journey for me, but it was an important start.
The Wild Wo(man)
The Wild Woman archetype is somewhat similar to the virgin archetype, although she is more overtly instinctual and primal in her truest form. In many stories, instead of shedding a skin, she steps into one, embodying her wild self - I’m thinking here of the Selkie story and the The Woman Who Became a Fox (as seen in Wolf Milk by Martin Shaw) - both women become their liberated selves when they inhabit the skin of an animal, which severs them from the expectations of their husbands/community.
These wild ones live outside of community, and remind us of our natural essence, outside of societal conditioning. As Martin Shaw writes, in Medieval times the Wild ones were known to ‘live just out of earshot of the crowing cockerel, make love in the sun-heavy meadows, crawl belly down through the grass to wrestle a musty stag. They are not blessed by the dainty water of the priest; their manners are not pruned for the neighbours. There is no insurance, no afterlife, no restraint - at least no restraint that the villagers can detect.’
The Wild Woman encourages us to ask ourselves: Who am I when I am in my primal, instinctual form? What supports this?
Indeed, during wilderness rites of passage, we can really get in touch with our animal being. Prolonged time spent in nature, as shown by Miriam Lancewood and Gregory Smith in Wilder Journeys, also allows people to drop into that way of being.
Instinctual, primal, no shackles of conditioning…wild and free.
The Listener
In Wolf Milk, Martin Shaw writes the story of The Listener - a man who spends prolonged time in nature and learns to listen to the divine feminine. This leads him on many a wild and wonderful adventure, in which his ability to listen allows him to overcome great obstacles. This story reminded me of another I heard, during a First Nation Potlatch in Alert Bay, BC, Canada in which a young man runs away into the woods and there meets many spirits - the spirits of laughter, the cleaner, the trapper - through meeting these spirits he learns the ways to become a chief. The most important spirit, the one that visits him right at the end, is the Mother giving birth. Again, there is something important in these stories about learning respect for the feminine and for mother nature.
Inside of all us is a listener. In my view, we need to nurture this part of ourselves so we can live more harmoniously on the earth. Again, wilderness rites of passage experiences, including the Wild Well Beings workshops I run in Stroud, encourage us to see nature as a mirror and guide. To really listen.
The story I heard in Canada captivated me so much, and it was years later that I realised what it was really about.
The listener encourages us to ask ourselves: what do I hear when I take time, alone, in nature? What does this show me? How can I listen better?
The Hero/Heroine
Ah yes, the traditional archetype - the one that steps out of their comfort zone and meets with danger - and has to show great courage and strength in order to survive. In some ways, the quest of the hero is always unavoidable in some way - they are a normal person who hears the call and must obey.
Often the protagonist has to leave the world as they know it, and enters into a liminal place, where the main part of their adventure unfolds.
The dangers may be external dangers, but they always mirror the internal ones, showing the importance of overcoming our daemons. We all have them! The challenge the protagonist must face is often spiritual, emotional and physical, all at once. Naturally, they don’t start out a hero but become one on their return at the end of the story.
I am sure this archetype is very familiar to you - it is in so many of our stories! I can’t even choose one to mention. Ok, maybe I choose Shrek because it’s the first one that popped into my head…
The hero/heroine archetype encourages us to step out of our comfort zone in order to grow emotionally and spiritually.
Again, this is facilitated in wilderness rites of passage experiences, as the participants follow the call of the wild and step out of their comfort zone to meet their daemons and potentially a few spirits!
If you are interested in these topics I’d recommend the following books:
Wolf Milk by Martin Shaw
Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Virgins Promise by Kim Hudson
If Women Rose Rooted by Sharon Blackie
The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell
Happy reading!
Best wild wishes,
Laurie x