What is an Archetype?
In this series through the signs of the Zodiac, I want to discuss the idea of archetypes.
Archetypes are deeply ingrained in the human experience, but what exactly is an archetype?
The word was coined by 19th century pioneering psychologist, Carl Jung and comes to us through Greek as a combination of arkhe - meaning “primitive” - and tupos - meaning “model”. The combination of these roots produced arkhetupon which found its way into English as “archetype”. And, as you can surmise, it signifies the first mold of something. Jung spoke of an archetype as a “pervasive idea or image from the collective unconscious". Deep rooted patterns and prototypes. An archetype sets the tone for everything that follows. It is a resonate framework we build on and adapt to our different contexts and cultures, but the core model that defines the traits and characteristics of each have been with us for thousand and thousands and thousands of years - maybe all along.
Watch any TV show or movie and you will identify all kinds of archetypes we have created - all based off of ancient ideas and prototypes. We readily identify and recognize them. We have expectations of them, and when they do something outside of the archetypal model, it confuses or even disturbs us. Hell, fire up your dating app and you likely start swiping through as you identify “this kind of guy” and “that kind of woman”, relating them to a general set of qualities that identify a particular set of characteristics - what we call an archetype.
In Astrology, the signs represent ancient, long-standing archetypal energy, each one representing a particular part of the human personality. We are all very different, and yet, very much the same concurrently. We are built from the same psychological raw materials, differentiated by levels and intensities of the various energies at work, resulting in a mix that makes us individuals within the collective.
The twelve signs are twelve archetypes. Twelve characters formed by fragmenting the human experience into pieces, separating them into these archetypal models.
These archetypes are the base models from which we have invented all manner of gods, legends, heroes, myths, and religion. Have you ever noticed how humanlike the deities we have created are? And while myth tells us that we are like them because they created us, it is clear the exact opposite was actually at work. We created them as a projected reflection of us. The twelve Olympians of Ancient Greece are a well-known pantheon of archetypical characters and ideas. To those who knew and worshiped them, a statue, emblem or other depiction of one of these gods would evoke a particular set of qualities, motivations, foibles, domains, and other factors that make up the archetype they represent.
The Twelve Olympian God of Ancient Greece with their Greek/Roman Names - Note: The list changed depending on the time period, however these twelve made up a prominent version of the pantheon
Our ancient ancestors observed life and sought to categorize and analyze it, just like us. But dwelling within the chaos of our human consciousness in this world with all of these energies swirling and activating within us makes it nearly impossible to take any particular portion and engage with it. It can be difficult to take a look at your self-initialization, desires, and drive while trying to dig it out of all the other energy focusing on others and life’s responsibilities. This is the usefulness of Astrology, the ability to evaluate and consider the various “characters” making up the human psyche and experience.
In order to quantify and segment these various archetypes within us, our ancient ancestors created, at least in part, the Zodiac. As you move around the signs and get to know them, you will recognize the tendencies and personality components represented. The reason we are so familiar with these qualities and tendencies is simple. They are us. All of us. We may all hold a certain amount of uniqueness, but that uniqueness is forged by the conflation of the various archetypes, expressing themselves in different intensities and attaching themselves to particular psychological functions (the Planets). But the fact remains, the Zodiac (Planets, Signs, and Houses) comprises a holistic view of humanity broken up into twelve distinct archetypes.
As we journey through the twelve archetypes of the Zodiac (the Signs), we will examine each one as a facet of the human personality. Understanding the signs from this perspective is very valuable in developing your chart reading skills and abilities.
Heretically Yours 😈
