Category Archives: Archetype-Overview

The Eight Core Power Archetypes

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Mapping the Eight Core Power Archetypes to the Jungian System

The “eight core power archetypes” – our personal “V8 power-car engine.”

One of the key points in Unveiling: The Inner Journey has been that we need all eight; we can’t be rigidly stereotyped into just one. This is a significant departure from the line of thinking first popularized by the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, which suggested that not only were we predominantly in just one of these archetypal modes, but that we stayed there all our lives.

In contrast, a primary teaching of the Kabbalah (as depicted in the Major Arcana) is that we need to access each of our “power archetypes” – and integrate them, or develop the ability to call upon them at will.

In Unveiling, I defined six of these eight in some detail. I showed how these archetypes related to the Jungian-based Psychological Types, and the more recently-espoused (and simpler) Personality Types. I also showed how the types correlated with the the first six “cards” of the Major Arcana, which provides the connection to the Kabbalistic system. And I further showed how they referenced back to the four core archetypes first intuited and defined by Antonia Wolff, in her breakthrough work Structural Forms of the Feminine Psyche.

More recently, in these blogposts, I’ve been showing how the archetypal systems used by various current thinkers – e.g. Moore and Gillette – have components of the full system. (I also identify where they miss a crucial archetype or two.)

In short, I propose that the archetypal system that is described here is essentially a “periodic table for the human soul.” We need each of the ones described, and in the order given. Each is essential.

The following figure shows, for the first time, the full set of eight core archetypes, and their correlation with the Jungian system.

Core archetypes octant chart - each archetype (each octant) corresponds to one of Jung's Psychological Types (discounting the introversion/extroversion distinction).

Core archetypes octant chart – each archetype (each octant) corresponds to one of Jung’s Psychological Types (discounting the introversion/extroversion distinction).

In future posts, I’ll walk through this figure in some detail, describing not only each archetype, but its relation to others and also its role in our personal growth and integration-journey.

To your health, well-being, and life-integration in this year ahead!

Alay'nya - author of "Unveiling: The Inner Journey"

Alay’nya – author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey

Very best wishes as discover and empower each of your core archetypes during your own inner journey!

Alay’nya
(Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.)

Author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey
You are the Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus. Become the Jewel!

The Unveiling Journey blog details the theory – archetypes, life journeys, integration.

To experience your own Journey in a structured, safe, and gentle (yet effective) setting, visit Alay’nya’s website, and consider either a workshop with Alay’nya or one-on-one coaching.

Resources

Connect with Alay’nya and the Unveiling Community

Unveiling, by Alay'nya, currently has an overall five-star Amazon rating.

Unveiling, by Alay’nya, currently has twenty five-star Amazon reviews.

This blog series develops themes originally published in Unveiling: The Inner Journey, published by Mourning Dove Press.

Unveiling currently has twenty 5-star Amazon reviews, and has been recommended by luminaries:

  • Dr. Christiane Northrup – “This book is delightful”
  • Midwest Book Review, in Bethany’s Books – reviews by Susan Bethany – “highly recommended”
  • Nizana al Rassan, writing for (the now out of circulation) iShimmy.com – “a fascinating read with so much wisdom and solid advice.”

 

 

Julie Marie Rahm, aka America’s Mindset Mechanic on Unveiling: The Inner Journey

What does Julie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper have to say about Unveiling: The Inner Journey?

Julie writes:

Unveiling is the definitive guidebook for women who want to experience lives of joy and fulfillment, and who just want to exhale into each day. Alay’nya reveals powerful, personal stories of her own life journey to fascinating womanhood, sensuality, and self-acceptance in ways that struck me like a velvet hammer. Her fresh approach to living illuminated my own bind spots. It is impossible to read Unveiling without awakening to new and possibly shocking self-awareness. For women ready to make real and lasting changes toward enlightenment and bliss, Unveiling is a must-read..”

Read this and more reviews of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

 

Paper

Kindle

 

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

Check out Julie Marie Rahm!

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper and also Military Kids Speak (great for parents, teachers, and coaches of military kids) uses a great technique that can help you clear energy blockages, ranging from those from this life through the influence of your ancestral karma. Connect with Julie at info (at) americasmindsetmechanic (dot) com to learn more about how she can help you.

Books by Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

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Copyright (c) 2013, Alay’nya (Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.). All rights reserved.
Blog originally posted December 28, 2011. Revised and updated, October 22, 2013.

Related Posts: Archetypal Roles and Everyday Life

Moore and Gillette, "King, Warrior, Magician, Lover" – 2 1/3 Out of Four Ain’t Bad!

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Moore and Gillette’s “Archetypes of the Mature Masculine” – Most (Although Not All) of the “Mature Man”

I’m enormously grateful to authors Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette for their in-depth and fascinating work, King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Archetypes of the Mature Masculine. They do a great service to all of us – women and men alike. And as this book is a prequel to a further set of four books (addressing each of these specific archetypes in the masculine context), I suggest each of them for further reading.

I particularly like and appreciate that in their introduction, authors Moore and Gillette identify that the reason that we have a hard time cultivating mature masculinity in our culture is a combination of three factors:

  1. The breakdown of family, in which we all too often have a weak or absent father,
  2. Current lack of an effective “initiation ritual” so that boys can become men, and
  3. A “patriarchal system” that really is based on an immature, rather than mature, masculinity – and is thus wounding both men and women in our culture.

Their insights and exemplars are excellent; well-thought-out, well-worked, and well-explained. Their work can help men of all ages – and women as well as men – understand masculine psychology in depth.

What is missing? Only one of the core masculine power archetypes – and a somewhat “bundled together” set of the three core feminine power archetypes.

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As often happens in our culture, for all their insights and true wisdom – and even their reference to this role – Moore and Gillette do not make a point of the Hierophant archetype.

Let’s look a bit more closely, because they do implicitly identify the role of the Hierophant, throughout their book. From Chapter 1:

“Ritual process is contained by two things. The first is a sacred space and the second is a ritual elder, a “wise old man” or a “wise old woman” who is completely trustworthy for the initiate and can lead the initiate through the process and deliver him (or her) intact and enhanced on the other side.” [King, Warrior, Magician, Lover, p. 6]

Throughout their book, Moore and Gillette clearly acknowledge both the need for and the significant role of the Hierophant. The Hierophant is precisely this “wise old man” or “wise old woman.”

But it is entirely in keeping with our society’s loss of “initiation rites” that we don’t have much of a clue about what a Hierophant really is! That is, we can’t look at someone and say, “Yes, this person really has a realy strong Hierophant essence!”

It’s a blind spot.

But it’s also a solvable blind spot.

Because as soon as we “get a clue” that we should be looking for Hierophant-instances, they pop up all around us. For examples, see Are Hierophants Really Important” (MacDonald’s Thinks So!) and also Who and What is a Hierophant?.

The fact that we don’t have as strong a concept of the Hierophant as we do of the King and the Magician is yet one more instance of how in our society, we greatly need to identify and honor this role.

Now, I’ve said (in this blog’s title) that Moore and Gillette have “2 1/3 out of 4.” Yet they identify four core archetypes. What’s missing?

First, they’ve introduced the Warrior as a core masculine power archetype. What I’ve been showing in my last several blogposts is that our Warrior mode – the “who we are” when we are on a Heroic Quest – is a means of “getting there.” It’s a transition mode. Really, in our society right now, our Warrior-path is our initiation process.

Further, we need to call upon our Warrior-selves time and again. We do this every time we step out of safety and comfort and venture into something dangerous and new. (For relevant posts, see Hero or Hierophant? Warrior or Wise Man? and also The Hero’s Quest and the Hierophant: Part I.)

Ideally, we use our inner Warrior to break through some limitations in our self and take on a new level of power or leadership. But we don’t need to stay in our Warrior mode.

So now, what do we have?

Replace Warrior (a transition mode, a means of activating one of our core masculine archetypes) with Hierophant. Warrior is a transition. Hierophant is an end-state; one of the culminating “archetypes of the mature masculine.” This gives us 3 1/3 out of 4.

To complete that remaining 1/3? We need to acknowledge that the Lover is a bundling up of the three core feminine power archetypes; High Priestess, Empress (Isis), and Love-Goddess (Hathor).

This is not a bad bundling. For simplicity, the bundling of three core feminine archetypes into one (the Lover) works for men, just as bundling three core masculine archetypes (Magician, Emperor, and Hierophant) into one (the Amazon) works for women.

But as men move further into their own integration journey, they would do well to identify, cultivate, and own each of their specific feminine strengths – the wisdom and intuition of their inner High Priestess, their love for wife, children, and community (as Empress/Isis), and their ability to revel in physical love and sensuality (Love-Goddess/Hathor).

The balancing of all these for men is different than that for women. But for all of us, all six core archetypes are necessary – as well as the two “reserve archetypes,” which I’ve not yet discussed in detail. (These two aspects will be subjects of later posts.)

Very best wishes as discover and empower each of your core archetypes during your own inner journey!

Alay'nya - author of "Unveiling: The Inner Journey"

Alay’nya – author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey

Alay’nya
(Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.)

Author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey
You are the Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus. Become the Jewel!

The Unveiling Journey blog details the theory – archetypes, life journeys, integration.

To experience your own Journey in a structured, safe, and gentle (yet effective) setting, visit Alay’nya’s website, and consider either a workshop with Alay’nya or one-on-one coaching.

Resources

Connect with Alay’nya and the Unveiling Community

Unveiling, by Alay'nya, currently has an overall five-star Amazon rating.

Unveiling, by Alay’nya, currently has twenty five-star Amazon reviews.

This blog series develops themes originally published in Unveiling: The Inner Journey, published by Mourning Dove Press.

Unveiling currently has twenty 5-star Amazon reviews, and has been recommended by luminaries:

  • Dr. Christiane Northrup – “This book is delightful”
  • Midwest Book Review, in Bethany’s Books – reviews by Susan Bethany – “highly recommended”
  • Nizana al Rassan, writing for (the now out of circulation) iShimmy.com – “a fascinating read with so much wisdom and solid advice.”

 

 

Julie Marie Rahm, aka America’s Mindset Mechanic on Unveiling: The Inner Journey

What does Julie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper have to say about Unveiling: The Inner Journey?

Julie writes:

Unveiling is the definitive guidebook for women who want to experience lives of joy and fulfillment, and who just want to exhale into each day. Alay’nya reveals powerful, personal stories of her own life journey to fascinating womanhood, sensuality, and self-acceptance in ways that struck me like a velvet hammer. Her fresh approach to living illuminated my own bind spots. It is impossible to read Unveiling without awakening to new and possibly shocking self-awareness. For women ready to make real and lasting changes toward enlightenment and bliss, Unveiling is a must-read..”

Read this and more reviews of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

 

Paper

Kindle

 

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

Check out Julie Marie Rahm!

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper and also Military Kids Speak (great for parents, teachers, and coaches of military kids) uses a great technique that can help you clear energy blockages, ranging from those from this life through the influence of your ancestral karma. Connect with Julie at info (at) americasmindsetmechanic (dot) com to learn more about how she can help you.

Books by Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

Kindle

Kindle

Copyright (c) 2013, Alay’nya (Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.). All rights reserved.
Blog originally posted December 13, 2011. Revised and updated, October 22, 2013.

Related Posts: The Hierophant – the Missing Archetype in King, Warrior, Magician, Lover

Who – and What – Is a "Hierophant"?

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Hierophant – Leader of Leaders, and Teacher of Teachers

Those of us who’ve been following Unveiling: The Inner Journey – both reading the book and this blogpost – have probably wondered about this notion of a Hierophant. We never hear the term in any of our “leadership books.” The subject of “hierophants” is not covered in the Harvard Business School, or in the military’s leadership academies. So how can this notion possibly be important? And – perhaps most essential – how can it be one of our “core six power archetypes”?

For the longest time, the idea of a Hierophant puzzled me also. In fact, it was still something of a puzzle as Unveiling was going to press. I still hadn’t figured it out! But here, in a sort of “post-Unveiling epilogue,” a lot of the concepts I’d worked on earlier are becoming much more clear. And surprisingly enough, it was the work on the Hero’s Quest (and the Heroine’s, as well – see Chapter 6 in Unveiling, on that theme), that made the notion of a Hierophant much more clear.

Let’s start with one of the classic Hero’s Quest examples from Chapter 6; Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute. The young hero, Tamino, seeks initiation into a “higher order.” He undergoes trials of initiation, overseen by the High Priest, Sarastro. At first, we might not have a good “felt sense” of Sarastro’s role, other than that he seems to be a necessary figurehead. But let’s move on!

Our next example (also from Chapter 6) is Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. Young Luke also goes through trials, much as does Tamino. He trains first with Obi-wan Kenobi, and later with Yoda. In Star Wars, this stage of training – of both learning and proving himself – is essential before the young hero takes on his true, defining challenge. But in the early stage, a teacher is essential. As a similar example, Mr. Miyagi is the necessary teacher in the Karate Kid movie series.

The same is true of young women, facing their Heroine’s Quests. Young Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, has Gilda, the Good Witch of the East, to guide her.

But is this consistent? Is this something necessary?

Let’s look at a few more Hero’s Quest stories. The Lord of the Rings is a great one. We have young Bilbo Baggins first in The Hobbit, and later Frodo and his hobbit-companions, together with warriors from men, elves, and dwarves. But throughout, we also have a certain special character – not Aragorn (who really is a Hero, joined in Quest with Frodo and the others). No, the character who deserves our attention is Gandalf. That’s right; Gandalf the Grey, later Gandalf the White.

One essential component of the Hero’s Quest – since it is really the Hero’s story – is that the Hero needs to be guided by his teacher, the Hierophant, in the early stages. Yet later, he needs to confront challenges on his own. Usually, the Hierophant is killed in this process – in order to make the Hero’s isolation during his final challenge most real and concrete.

During crucial portions of The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf is unavailable to Frodo and his companions; he sacrifices himself while fighting the ancient and fearful Balrog. Similarly, Obi-wan Kenobi sacrifices himself in a duel with Darth Vader, allowing Luke and other to escape. We’re seeing a pattern here; can we find another instance?

One of the greatest “mythological sagas” of our time is the Harry Potter series. We meet young Harry when he is only twelve years old, and is whisked away to Hogwarts to study magic. He meets the Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore. In a manner similar to that of Obi-wan Kenobi and Gandalf the Grey, Professor Dumbledore dies in the last book – forcing Harry to have his final confrontation with Lord Voldemort on his own.

We see that the Hierophant is a powerful figure. He is essential to the growth and training of a young Hierophant. Often (but not always), the Hierophant sacrifices himself, although this is usually a plot device – and not a necessary Hierophant characteristic!

Our culture focuses on the drama of the young Hero/Heroine, in their respective Quests. We see, now, that the Hero or Heroine does not gain skill, insight, or understanding on their own. Before they go on to their “great challenge,” they must undergo training. The Hierophant is their teacher; their guide.

So in your own life, are you being a Hero/Heroine, or a Hierophant? Learning to see this distinction in yourself, and in those around you, will be the subject of the next blogpost!

Your Six "Power Archetypes" – What Happens When One Doesn’t Function?

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Six Core “Power Archetypes” – The Key to Personal Power

Imagine that you’re John Wayne, with the thundering power of six galloping horses under your control, as he had in the movie Stagecoach.

Your six core power archetypes take you through life, just as six horses pull the stagecoach.

Your six core power archetypes take you through life, just as six horses pull the stagecoach.

Such stirring, viscerally exciting stagecoach “powerhouses” still exist; and are still drawn by six powerful horses. There are still people who are excited by real stagecoaches and the power of their six-horse “engines.”

Now, imagine that you’re in the driver’s seat, thundering along at full speed. Your “six horses” are in fine form, as you cover dusty plains, heat-seared deserts, and mountainous terrain. You know each member of your team; each is integral.

And suddenly – one of your horses takes a stumble; he breaks a leg, and you no longer have that essential horse on your team. That crucial “balance of power” that enables you to move at top speed, easily covering the most difficult terrain, is broken. Now, lacking just one of your integral “powerhouses,” you are much more vulnerable – to attacks by Indian war parties, to raiders and bandits, and even to rivals who will beat you to the next town with important news.

The value of archetypes?

You are the stagecoach. Everything that you are, that you value, that carries you through life, is your “stagecoach.” It’s your job, and the skills and abilities that enable you to perform on your job. It’s your special interests, and the skills that you’ve built up over a lifetime that lets you cultivate your interests. It’s your role in your community, your church, your family, and society at large.

The six horses that get you through life? These are your core power archetypes. You need each one. Doing without a single core power archetype is like driving a six-horse stagecoach with only five horses. It can be done, certainly, but not nearly as effectively as when all six are in harness.

From the last blogpost, we remember advice from author Michael F. Andrew, in How to Think Like a CEO and Act Like a Leader, which talked about “treating issues coldly and people warmly.”

Your Emperor archetype is the one that “treats issues coldly.” However, without your Isis/Empress archetype, you wouldn’t be able to to “treat people warmly.” Many of our most masculine heroes – from Ronald Reagen to yes, John Wayne, had the ability to “treat people warmly.” They had a fully-developed feminine Isis/Empress archetype. In fact, they each had a complete set of all six power archetypes. Having and using all their “core power archetypes” was what let them be so effective.

How about you? Do you have, know, and use at will each of your “core power archetypes”? Check through your core masculine archetypes. How strong, potent, and effective are your inner masculine roles? These are your: Magician (visionary and strategic thinker), Emperor (organize, lead, and get-things-done), and Hierophant (teacher, mentor, guide).

How vital and well-formed are your three core feminine archetypes? These are your: High Priestess (wise, contemplative, intuitive; your deepest sense of internal-steering), Isis/Empress (nurturing and caring), and Hathor (fun-loving, sensual, and playful).

Are each of these functioning in good order?

For more, read Chapters 7 and 11 of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

Alay'nya - author of "Unveiling: The Inner Journey"

Alay’nya – author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey

Very best wishes as discover and empower each of your core archetypes during your own inner journey!

Alay’nya
(Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.)

Author of Unveiling: The Inner Journey
You are the Jewel in the Heart of the Lotus. Become the Jewel!

The Unveiling Journey blog details the theory – archetypes, life journeys, integration.

To experience your own Journey in a structured, safe, and gentle (yet effective) setting, visit Alay’nya’s website, and consider either a workshop with Alay’nya or one-on-one coaching.

Resources

Connect with Alay’nya and the Unveiling Community

Unveiling, by Alay'nya, currently has an overall five-star Amazon rating.

Unveiling, by Alay’nya, currently has twenty five-star Amazon reviews.

This blog series develops themes originally published in Unveiling: The Inner Journey, published by Mourning Dove Press.

Unveiling currently has twenty 5-star Amazon reviews, and has been recommended by luminaries:

  • Dr. Christiane Northrup – “This book is delightful”
  • Midwest Book Review, in Bethany’s Books – reviews by Susan Bethany – “highly recommended”
  • Nizana al Rassan, writing for (the now out of circulation) iShimmy.com – “a fascinating read with so much wisdom and solid advice.”

 

 

Julie Marie Rahm, aka America’s Mindset Mechanic on Unveiling: The Inner Journey

What does Julie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper have to say about Unveiling: The Inner Journey?

Julie writes:

Unveiling is the definitive guidebook for women who want to experience lives of joy and fulfillment, and who just want to exhale into each day. Alay’nya reveals powerful, personal stories of her own life journey to fascinating womanhood, sensuality, and self-acceptance in ways that struck me like a velvet hammer. Her fresh approach to living illuminated my own bind spots. It is impossible to read Unveiling without awakening to new and possibly shocking self-awareness. For women ready to make real and lasting changes toward enlightenment and bliss, Unveiling is a must-read..”

Read this and more reviews of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

 

Paper

Kindle

 

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

Check out Julie Marie Rahm!

Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic and author of Handle Everything: Eight Tools You Need to Live Well and Prosper and also Military Kids Speak (great for parents, teachers, and coaches of military kids) uses a great technique that can help you clear energy blockages, ranging from those from this life through the influence of your ancestral karma. Connect with Julie at info (at) americasmindsetmechanic (dot) com to learn more about how she can help you.

Books by Julie Marie Rahm, America’s Mindset Mechanic

Kindle

Kindle

Copyright (c) 2013, Alay’nya (Alianna J. Maren, Ph.D.). All rights reserved.
Blog originally posted September 15, 2011. Revised and updated, October 22, 2013.

Related Posts: Archetypal Roles and Everyday Life

Mastering the "Power Archetypes" – Essential for CEOs and Strategic Leaders

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Using the Six Core Power Archetypes – A Leadership Essential

Why are successful CEOs paid so much more than other key members of a leadership team? It’s not just the responsibility; the “buck stops here” factor. It’s not just business experience and ability to “perform.” Rather, there is a skill required in leadership situations – a very special skill – that very few have. So few people have this skill, really, that those that do command the most prestigious jobs. They have the most influence and leverage. While each of us creates a “ripple effect” in the world around us, those few people who have this unique skill have a “ripple effect” that can travel around the world (multiple times), and persist long after the person is still in place, carrying out his or her role. In some cases, the impact of these people lasts for centuries. They create true legacy.

This skill, I’m convinced, is not just the ability to deal with complexity, but something more complex in itself.

Imagine that you – or anyone whom you know – works within an “imaginary room.” There are different “walls” in this room. Each “wall” represents a kind of interaction that is required for the job.

Suppose that someone has a relatively simple job, in terms of “interaction complexity.” They might be doing a very highly skilled task – such as programming a complex system. But their “interaction complexity” is limited to just a few “walls.” This person has their boss or team leader, their co-workers or those who are providing inputs to the system design, and – of course – the “system” itself. This person may be paid a great deal, depending on the complexity of the system that they’re programming, and the level of insight and skill that they bring to the task. But there is a “cap” on their salary – and on their growth within the organization. This “cap” relates to the complexity of the “room” in which the person lives. In this case, their “room” has just three “walls”; team leader, co-workers, and computer system.

Now, think of yourself in a CEO (or similar leadership) role. Your job requires you to live in a “room” with very many “walls.” There is your Board and the Board Chair, your direct reports, your clients, and – of course – the product or services that your company offers. Within the realm of “direct reports,” there is further complexity. Marketing, for example, is a very different “wall” than is finance, which is different from operations, etc.

What makes your job both interesting and demanding is the need for you to “switch gears” as needed. Your job environment is the Swiss Alps race track; as described in a previous blogpost on Your V8 Power Car Engine.

The most effective, and successful, CEOs manage by calling on their different power modes as appropriate, and as needed.

One good example of this kind of power mode integration is described by author Michael F. Andrew, in his book, How to Think Like a CEO and Act Like a Leader. One of his first points is to “treat issues coldly and treat people warmly.” This is direct advice to combine two power modes; your Emperor (your logical, facts-and-figures, results-oriented mode), and your Empress/Isis (your caring, feeling-oriented, relationship-building mode). These are entirely different modes of being. Successful leaders use both – and four others as well! (They also, for “filling their well,” draw on their two reserve modes also.)

I know of several people who do this kind of “gear shifting” very well. Two well-known luminaries are current Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. (They are both profiled in Chapter 11: “Switching State” of Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

Closer to home, Maestro Dingwall Fleary, Musical Director for both Reston Community Orchestra and the The McLean Symphony, is an excellent example of a leader who can “shift roles” as need be. He finds this ability essential to his success in leading people and in bringing out their “best possible performance.” And just as as business offers quarterly profits as immediate and direct feedback on the CEO’s skill, a symphony’s performance is a direct feedback on the conductor’s skill. It’s partly the quality of the musicians, and it’s mostly what the conductor can get out of them.

For more, read Chapter 11: “Shifting State,” in Unveiling: The Inner Journey.

Your "V8 Power Car Engine" – Accessing Each Core Archetype

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Using Your “Power Archetypes” for Career Direction and Life Focus

Recently, I visited with a friend who is (as many of us are) in the midst of a life-change/career-change. (How often these two are combined!) She consulted with a “career counselor” (good step), who advised her to take a questionnaire that would help her figure out her “personal archetypes.” (Again, a good step.)

The problem was – the selection of the available archetypes was skewed. They contained some that were “spot on” for being “power archetypes.” They contained some “disempowered archetypes.” And they contained some “transitional” ones as well. And – what makes questionnaires such as this difficult to use as a life-course-charting tool – there was no real “underlying model” that generated the archetypal set. (Although they were drawn, somewhat hit-or-miss, from the archetypes presented in Carolyn Myss’s Sacred Contracts and related works.)

This mix-up of “which archetypes are what” is understandable. That doesn’t mean that it’s good. And it certainly does not mean that all archetypes are created equal!

I found a similar problem in historical works. When the Tarot became popular (starting around the late 1400’s), several different Tarot decks were produced. Now the Major Arcana in the Tarot system are – if anything – the most central archetypes of our culture. All of our “big ideas” about the meaning of life – important events, life-stages, huge transition points in an adult’s search for meaning and wisdom – these are all contained within the Major Arcana.

And, as I found during research for Unveiling: The Inner Journey, the first six Major Arcana are all “personal role archetypes.”

The “six power archetypes” that I describe in Unveiling (see Chapter 7: “A Real Woman’s Path (Really Does Exist!)”) are six of the eight “core archetypes” that define or describe our human psyche. Unveiling, following the logical model of the Major Arcana, focuses on six of the eight. (The remaining two are like “archetypal battery packs” – they help us recharge and regenerate our “inner juice.” They help us get grounded when we have become too disconnected, or too stressed. But they are not our power archetypes. And Unveiling, as with the Major Arcana, focuses on the “power modes.”)

There’s a reason why there are eight total “core archetypes”; not ten, not twelve, not twenty. There’s a reason that they are exactly the ones that they are, and not some hob-scobbling together from a grab-bag of god and goddess personas, or modes that emerge from our damaged or weaker or “transitional” states.

And there’s a reason that six of these eight are “power modes.” These are the means by which we attain higher consciousness.

Sound strange?

Maybe, at first.

But I didn’t invent these “power archetypes.” The earlier Renaissance developers of the Tarot decks didn’t invent them, either. (That is, the ones who produced the “accurate” decks. There were a lot of different, individualistic interpretations and made-up decks, just as there are today. But those were one-time offshoots, not the “real thing.”)

The “inventors” – if we want to call them that – were the persons who “invented” the Jewish Kabbalah, and understood the “Tree of Life.” That meant that they were scholars and mystics, seers and sages. They had rigorous minds, and subjected themselves to challenging “inner journeys” that led them to standing in the presence of God, and knowing their oneness with the Divine.

They understood how to get to this state. They expressed it as the “pathways” in going from one center (Sephiroth) to another within this cosmic “Tree of Life.” And they taught their students how to do the same. This is what resulted in the Kabbalah (later the Qabalah).

They expressed this “journey” as a series of 22 steps. One step was the starting point – a person identified himself or herself as an “aspirant.” It was like asking for initiation into a Masonic guild. (This tradition, of course, is where the various esoteric schools and “orders” have supposedly received their knowledge.)

Once a person identifies that he or she is starting on an “inner journey,” there are three major stages of growth, and seven steps to each stage. (That gives us 21 steps, which combined with the first one, gives a total of 22. Twenty-two cards in the Major Arcana, twenty-two Sephiroth, and twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. And yes, of course they’re all related.) These 21 steps (after identifying that we’re on a journey) comprise our adult life stages.

Most of us know about “growth stages” in children, such as the “terrible twos.” If we’re more familiar with childhood growth stages, we understand that each one is a distinct stage of cognitive and personal development. Much of this was elicited by Piaget, and has helped us with current childhood development theory.

We also understand that there are “adult life stages.” The “mid-life crisis” that men and women alike experience is a good example. (Although it’s fairly simplistic, and when we start working with the “real” life stages shown to us by our archetypes, we get a much better handle on things.)

As taught by the ancient Kabbalistic masters, each “life stage” had a distinct purpose in an adult’s growth as a human being. The first of these three “life stages” was that a person had to come to know – and gain mastery of – each of their six “power archetypes.” (They figured that they didn’t have to teach the remaining two; they assumed that people innately understood and could use their own “battery pack” archetypes as needed.)

Six power archetypes. That’s what we’re after now. that’s what the “aspirants” were after then. After gaining understanding of each of their six power archetypes, they moved on to the seventh step; integration.

The goal then was the same as it is today. Master each of six different “power modes.” Use them at will. Use them all, together, as needed.

So – what are these “power archetypes”? I’ll write about them soon – and also the “disempowered” ones, and the “transitional” ones as well. And I’ll explain how each has an important role in our life; they’re like magnetic “points of attraction.” Part of our inner journey is to release the less powerful (and less fulfilling) ones, and access the ones that help us be more powerful, functional, happy, and fulfilled.

And then, of course, a big part of our inner journey is that we learn to use each archetypal mode as appropriate and necessary, and to combine them at will.

Knowing, and accessing, each of the six power modes, and having your two “reserve modes” to back you up – that gives you a total of eight modes.

It’s like being your very own V8 engine.

The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo. Missing a core archetype is like driving a powerful V8 car when one of its cylinders is misfiring.

The Saleen S7 Twin Turbo. Missing a core archetype is like driving a powerful V8 car when one of its cylinders is misfiring.

Suppose that you were a V8-engine racing car, and you were going to take on a tough Swiss Alps road course race, involving dangerous turns through mountain passes.

You wouldn’t set off on your journey if one of the cylinders in your engine didnt’ work, would you?

Our life is our road course race. We need each of our “power modes.”

Want to learn how?
Read Unveiling.

Unveiling "Archetypes" and Franklin-Covey "Roles" – A Practical Step

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Personal Integration: The First Adult Life-Journey

I’ve just posted to the Unveiling blog about how I’m using the Unveiling archetypes to help myself clarify and prioritize tasks for my different roles, using the Weekly Compass in the Franklin Covey Day Planner system.

The more complex our life gets, the more it helps us to organize ourselves in terms of roles.

Just in these past two weeks, I’ve been teaching myself to connect my different roles with the various archetypes from Unveiling.

We each have six core archetypes; three male, and three female. Our masculine ones are Magician (visionary, creating “something” from “nothing”), Emperor (building structures, systems, and social order), and Hierophant (teaching and mentoring, within a well-defined and structured system). Our three female roles are Isis (also known as Empress; nurturing and caring), Hathor (perfumes, pleasure, and play – the “sweet things” of life), and High Priestess (contemplative, intuitive, insightful). We also each have two “reserve” modes; our Hestia (our hearth-and-home goddess; very comforting) and our “Green Man of the Woods” (our inner wild-man or wild-woman, who connects with nature and instinct). (For women, we may think of our “Green Man” as our “Green Woman,” or Artemis – the original goddess who “ran with the wolves.”)

These eight modes, taken together, are the eight “cylinders” of our “power car engine.” We need all eight. If we lose touch with any single one, it’s like trying to run a Corvette when not all the cylinders are firing. Dysfuction.

But operating in society, we tend to over-emphasize our Amazon (which for women is a combination of all of our masculine modes), and our Isis – leaving little or no time for Hathor or High Priestess. (No wonder we not only feel stressed, but – from time-to-time – disassociated. We’re missing at least two of our “power modes.”)

So as we use time-management and life-organization systems such as the Franklin Covey Day Planner, we can consciously factor in and identify roles that incorporate each of our core archetypal modes. Sometimes, we’ll blend two or more archetypes into a single role, but we can do this consciously and purposefully, so it will work.

Then, as we start allocating time, we can make sure that we identify Hathor-time, and factor pleasure and play into our daily lives. We can identify High Priestess time, and be certain that we step away from society, and from “digital distractions,” and commune with our inner being. We can associate simple housekeeping chores with our Hestia, and know that we’re nourishing an important part of our inner reserve by caring for our physical surround. (“Wax on, wax off.” This can be very refreshing.) And we can group our various nurturing and caring activities into our Isis mode, where we consciously choose and know how much time we spend on caring for others – and the trade-off in terms of caring for ourselves.

This gives us the basis for wisdom and discernment, two superior life-skills.