Archetypes - pushing the boundaries of existence
An archetype is a story that has proliferated throughout history and developed into an impenetrable narrative. There are a myriad of archetypes out there but in this blog I will be specifically discussing the three most salient ones of our existence.
Firstly, there is the dichotomy of The Hero and The Adversary, which we all know about and see played out in virtually every piece of fiction. There is the feminine archetype, Mother Nature, and the masculine archetype, this is not as well recognised, Father Culture.
All three have a positive and negative pole, that manifest themselves in our lives. As humans we are capable of deriving narrative out of nearly anything, this can be seen in the way we personify aspects of society. There are aspects of these which are accurate and truthful, however they are often biased and one-sided.
The supposedly oppressive patriarchy is the manifestation of the negative polarity of 'Father Culture' in society. There is some truth in this as society does place pressure on us to be moulded into a necessary cog that allows the society to survive and propagate over time. From a historical perspective this can of course clearly swing towards being intolerable and tyrannical and in need of significant addressing.
Nevertheless the counter side of the archetype remedies this and yet is unjustly unnoticed. Society protects us in ways that we take for granted nowadays, it provides heat when it is cold, it provides a judicial system that keeps the majority of the other primates you share a country with in check and it allows you to pursue a career or family with at least some support and guidance. None of this existed 150 years ago, a comparative blink of an eye in our existence. Unfortunately some people will always fall by the way side, it's a natural law to some degree, and we have a duty to correct that as best we can. Nothing is perfect in its nascent phase but in recent years things have improved a lot more than is commonly known.
The two polarities of the feminine archetype are The Great Mother (Gaia), the rejuvenating and magnificent elements of nature that enrich and produce the natural beauty that is all around us. This is juxtaposed by the Terrible Mother, the destructive force that continuously unleashes incessant disease and natural disasters on us.
Mother Nature doesn't need much explanation, it's qualities and vices are apparent and perennial. It is obviously important for us to protect and preserve nature, only recently have we put out of balance the degree to which we are destroying it over it destroying us.
Both of these pre-eminent archetypes are engaged in a constant dance with one another and we constitute the metaphorical dance floor in which they maneuvere. Without one there would be no other, they gave birth to us and will outlive our short yet significant life. A life that will undpubtly feature pain and injustice, possibly encouraging us to inhabit our partially resentful and bitter nature and make a 'villain' out of us. Conversely it could allow us to rise up above our inadequacies, injustices and suffering, in to something that can face the negative polarities of all three of these archetypes and withstand the incoming onslaught. Once the negative polarities of these archetypes have been accepted and incorporated into our preconceptions of the world we can then chose to act in a manner that allows being to flourish and emphasises the notion that being is good, or at least a life where this concept is held as the highest truth and will therefore yield fruit of the finest quality.
Thank you for reading,
OxJ