Archetypes, Archetypal Power. Analysis of the Basic Archetypes

WHAT IS AN ARCHETYPE?

Archetypes are inborn tendencies which shape the human behavior. An empty, purely formal, nothing else but a pre-shaping possibility or an innate tendency of shaping things

The term “archetype” occurs as early as Philo Judaeus, with reference to the Imago Dei (God-image) in man. It can also be found in Irenaeus, who says: “The creator of the world did not fashion these things directly from himself but copied them from archetypes outside himself.” In the Corpus Hermeticum, God is called ¥ (archetypal light). The term occurs several times in Dionysius the Areopagite, as for instance in De caelesti  hierarchia, II, 4: “immaterial Archetypes,” and in De divinis nominibus, I, 6:  “Archetypal stone.” The term “archetype” is not found in St. Augustine, but the idea of it is. Thus in De diversis quaestionibus LXXXIII he speaks of “ideae principales, ‘which are themselves not formed¥contained in the divine understanding.'”

“Archetype” is an explanatory paraphrase of the Platonic eidos. For our purposes this term is apposite and helpful, because it tells us that so far as the collective unconscious contents are concerned we are dealing with archaic or- I would say- primordial types, that is, with universal images that have existed since the remotest times. The term “representations collectives,” used by Levy-Bruhl to denote the symbolic figures in the primitive view of the world, could easily be applied to unconscious contents as well, since it means practically the same thing.

Another well-known expression of the archetypes is myth and fairytale. But here too we are dealing with forms that have received a specific stamp and have been handed down through long periods of time. The term “archetype” thus applies only indirectly to the “representations collectives,” since it designates only those psychic contents which have not yet been submitted to conscious elaboration and are therefore an immediate datum of psychic experience. (From Karl Jung_Archetypes of Collective Unconscious.)

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An example in Jungian psychology:

• The Senex (old man, wise elder) and Crone (wise old woman) are indeed archetypal figures that embody wisdom, experience, and authority.

• However, like all archetypes in Jung’s framework, they have both light (positive) and shadow (negative) aspects.

• The Senex/Crone doesn’t only represent pure virtue without flaws. Their shadow sides can include rigidity, dogmatism, coldness, repression, cynicism, and detachment from life’s vitality.

For example:

• The positive Senex offers guidance, patience, discernment.

• The shadow Senex can become authoritarian, judgmental, emotionally distant, or stuck in outdated traditions.

• Similarly, the positive Crone offers nurturing wisdom, deep intuition, and acceptance of life’s cycles.

• The shadow Crone might become embittered, manipulative, or withdrawn.

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On Archetypes by Karl Jung_Book Extract