When all or part of an archetype has been repressed, diminished, or hidden, for whatever reason, a man or woman may be low in energy in that area. Equally, they may over-compensate and show high levels of energy which come across as forced, false or unnatural.
If I list some of the main qualities of each archetype, youll soon see how things can go wrong.
1 Sovereign The King or Queen (The Leader In Your Life)
The balanced qualities of this archetype are: leadership, vision, a sense of purpose, a sense of mission.The Sovereign is also associated with joy, generosity, wisdom, blessing, happiness, and understanding.
The Sovereign should also have control over the Warrior archetype, which goes out into the world and carries out the King or Queens orders.
And the Sovereign needs to have clear and straightforward communication with the Magician archetype. This is the part of you which provides solutions to problem and advises your Sovereign on the options in any set of circumstances.
The Sovereign is charged with holding the problems, the issues, the weaknesses and wounds of the kingdom. He or she needs to be strong enough to protect the people in the kingdom including himself or herself.
The King or Queen in his or her fullness and maturity safeguards the realm and ensures that it runs smoothly.When the Sovereign is weak or abdicates his or her responsibility, things can quickly fall apart.
If there is a lack of leadership, purpose, mission or vision in your life, its highly likely that your Sovereign energies your King or Queen energies were inhibited, repressed, disallowed or not respected when you were a child.
Low Sovereign energy also shows up in a lack a sense of purpose and direction in your life. And in a lack of self-belief, self-confidence or low self-worth.
Also, if youre playing a game of grandiosity, trying to save the world, or prove youre better than everyone else, you may be trying to make up for the Sovereign qualities you naturally lack, such as leadership, balance and self-confidence.
2 The Warrior (Action Taker, Guardian Of The Boundaries)
The qualities needed here are a clear and strong identity, clear boundaries, and the willingness to go out into the world to get things done, maybe to take on a competitor or an enemy.
Your Warrior also defends the boundaries of your kingdom. That may be your business, your family, or your emotional, physical and psychological being.
Warrior work includes the ability to say No! when required in a clean and clear way as well as the ability to say Yes!
Your Warrior is able to formulate strategy and use clever tactics to get what you want in the world. And when necessary, he or she knows how to defend against, or defeat, anyone who doesnt have your best interests, or the kingdoms best interests, atheart.
The Warrior archetype is also associated with action in the world, and embodies an appropriate kind of energy for the situation youre in. Sometimes this is anger. Sometimes it is an energy derived from anger, such as assertiveness or the energy of action in the world.
Your Warrior can take an assertive, outward-looking position (which is often the case for men) or an inward looking, more defensive, position (which is often the case for women).
In the Warrior quarter, a poor sense of identity, low assertiveness, weak personal boundaries, and an inability to take action, are all associated with an emotional wound of some kind.
Equally, inappropriate, uncontrolled anger or rage, truculence, argumentativeness, and bullying can all come from the enforced repression or suppression of your Warrior as a child. That might have been in response to parental pressure, or some need to suppress this archetype in order to stay safe, as a child.
3 The Magician (The Thinker, Problem Solver, The Creative Part Of You)
This archetype is all about clear thinking. Its about coming up with solutions and taking them to the King or Queen for consideration. Its about finding options, wise counsel and problem solving. Its a highly creative part of you.
In many ways the Magician is the powerhouse behind the throne. Its the part of your personality, the archetype, which is essential for clarity of thought and wisdom.
Your Magician is responsible for knowing (or finding out) what could be done in any situation and presenting these options to the King or Queen so they can decide what should be done.
This is also the archetype responsible for coming up with strategies to keep you safe as a child. Few of us grow up in families which are ideal, and sometimes strategies for safety and survival are essential.
The Magician knows fear well, since fear is often the trigger for change, a sign that something needs to change.
Wounds in the Magician archetype can lead to a lot of childhood defensive strategies. Children who learn that it isnt safe to be in the world in some way will put their Magicians to work. They may consciously or unconsciously work out exactly what needs to happen, how they need to be, for them to stay safe.
In fact, the desire for safety is the force which moves all children away from the natural path of expressing their true magnificence and power.Children learn whats acceptable to their parents and begin to behave in a suitable way under the direction of their Magician.
One reaction is to be manipulative; another is to become confused and numb, unable to think. The most common response is to adapt, to stuff part of the personality into shadow.
W hatever a child learns will keep him or her safe will most likely become a default way of being for the rest of his or her life, long after its ceased to be helpful. That, of course, is why we need counselling, therapy and coaching.
4 The Lover (The Sensitive, Sensual Part Of You Which Desires Connection)
The Lover is associated with companionship, affection, love, sensuality, intimacy and appreciation.
Every child would ideally be born into a world in which it is loved and wanted. But sadly, that is often not so, and a child may be deeply wounded by caregivers who do not recognise its needs for love, affection, connection and respect. At some level, the child concludes that its not lovable or theres something wrong with the way he or she expresses love.
With archetypal counselling, we can explore this wound and see what can be done to heal it. When such a profound wound is healed, many things change in the world of today.
The Art of Archetypal Counselling
Archetypal counselling is designed around the concept of exploring each archetype to find your emotional wounds and heal them. We also work on restoring your natural level of energy and expression to each archetype. Doing this removes emotional blocks, heals your emotional issues, and restores balance to your thoughts, feelings and behaviours in each area.
So if your leadership is weak, for example, we can build up your Sovereign energy so that you embody this energy more fully.
If you have poor boundaries and cant assert yourself, we can work in the Warrior quarter to build those qualities up.
If you have relationship problems, we can work in the Lover quarter to find out what will enable you to connect with others in a healthy way.
The wonderful flexibility of working with an archetypal counsellor means almost any issue can be examined, understood, and healed. This is indeed Counselling For Success, Happiness and Love.
As an archetypal counsellor*, I work both in person and by telephone. This means I can see clients from Bradford on Avon, Westbury, Trowbridge, Frome, Bath and Bristol in person because residents of all these towns can access my offices in Frome, Somerset by train. Counsellor clients who live further away are always welcome as we can conduct session by telephone.
* Archetypal counselling refers to my work as a counsellor in which I use the archetypal model of the personality as a starting point for much or our work.