The Archetypal
Patterns
Dreams
and myths are constellations of archetypal images. They are not free
compositions by an artist who plans them for artistic or informational effects.
Dreams and myths happen to human beings. The archetype speaks through us. It is
a presence and a possibility of "significance." The ancients called
them "gods" and "goddesses."
What
then is an archetype? Jung discovered that humans have a "preconscious
psychic disposition that enables a (man) to react in a human manner."
These potentials for creation are actualized when they enter consciousness as
images. There is a very important distinction between the "unconscious,
pre- existent disposition" and the "archetypal image." The
archetype may emerge into consciousness in myriads of variations. To put it
another way, there are a very few basic archetypes or patterns which exist at
the unconscious level, but there are an infinite variety of specific images
which point back to these few patterns. Since these potentials for significance are not under conscious control,
we may tend to fear them and deny their existence through repression. This has
been a marked tendency in Modern Man, the man created by the French Revolution,
the man who seeks to lead a life that is totally rational and under conscious
control.
Where
do the archetypes come from? In his earlier work, Jung tried to link the
archetypes to heredity and regarded them as instinctual. We are born with these
patterns which structure our imagination and make it distinctly human.
Archetypes are thus very closely linked to our bodies. In his later work, Jung
was convinced that the archetypes are psychoid, that is, "they
shape matter (nature) as well as mind (psyche)" (Houston Smith, Forgotten Truth, 40). In other words,
archetypes are elemental forces which play a vital role in the creation of the
world and of the human mind itself. The ancients called them elemental spirits How
do archetypes operate? Jung found the archetypal patterns and images in every
culture and in every time period of human history. They behaved according to
the same laws in all cases. He postulated the
Universal Unconscious to account for this fact. We humans do not
have separate, personal unconscious minds. We share a single Universal
Unconscious. Mind is rooted in the Unconscious just as a tree is rooted in the
ground. Imagine the Universal Unconscious as a cosmic computer. Our minds are
subdirectories of the root directory. If we look in our personal "work
areas," we find much material that is unique to our historical
experience--could only have happened to us--but it is shaped according to
universal patterns. If we humans have the courage to seek the source to which
our "account" belongs, we begin to discover ever more impersonal and
universal patterns. The directories of the cosmic computer to which we can gain
access are filled with the myths of the human species.
Modern
man fancies that he has escaped the myths through his conscious repudiation of revealed religion in favor
of a purely rational natural religion
(read: Natural Science). But consider his theories of human origin. In the
beginning, there was a Big Bang, a cosmic explosion. This is an image from
which reason may begin to work, but it is not itself a rational statement. It
is a mythical construct. Consider the theory of biological evolution. Man's
ancestors emerge from the seas, and they in turn emerged from a cosmic soup of
DNA. The majority of creation myths also begin with the same image of man
emerging from primordial oceans. See Genesis 1 or the Babylonian creation epic.
Consider the Modern tendency to call ourselves persons from the Latin persona. The term derives from the
"mask" of Dionysus. Moderns are the wearers of masks! The reality is
concealed in the darkness of mystery. This too is a mythical construct.
The
most basic potential for patterning is the Shadow Archetype. This is the
potential of experiencing the unconscious side of our unique personalities. As
we move deeper into the dark side of our personality personal, identity begins
to dissolve into "latent dispositions" common to all men. We
experience the chaos which indicates that we are drawing close to the material
structure of psychic life. This "Other Side" may be manifested in a
wealth of images. The image of "wilderness" is fundamental. Remember
that Hanzel and Gretel were led "into the
woods" and were trapped. Knights discover dragons, ogres, and thieves in
the woods. Robin Hood is at home in the wild. The image may be that of the mob
and its underworld, an urban equivalent in which "Pretty Boy" Floyd
is a hero. There is always "the concrete jungle." Dragons sail the
sea, "the watery wilderness." Jesus and John the Baptist met God
"in the wilderness," as did
The
Shadow is the easiest of the archetypes for most persons to experience. We tend
to see it in "others." That is to say, we project our dark side onto
others and thus interpret them as "enemies" or as "exotic"
presences that fascinate. We see the Shadow everywhere in popular culture. He
is Batman. She is Spider Woman. It is the Ninja Turtles. We see it in popular
prejudice as well. We "imagine" that the Black Man is our enemy; that
Communists are devils. We incline towards
The
Shadow is the personification of that part of human, psychic possibility that
we deny in ourselves and project onto others. The goal of personality
integration is to integrate the rejected, inferior side of our life into our
total experience and to take responsibility for it.
The
second most prevalent potential patterning is that of the Soul (Anima is the
male name for soul; Animus is the female name for soul). Here we meet our inner
opposite. Males meet their Anima; females their Animus. The Anima may appear as
an exotic dancing girl or a weathered old hag--the form generally reflects
either the condition or the needs of our soul presently. Remember the wicked
witch encountered by Hanzel and Gretel. The Animus
may appear as an exotic, sensual, young man or as an old grouch. Remember the
Great Oz who ran the
If
one comes to terms with the Shadow and the Soul, one will encounter the
enchanted castle with its King and Queen. This is a pattern of wholeness and
integration. The opposites of the outer and the inner life are now joined in
marriage. Great power arises from this integration. Christ and the Church, God
and
The
Child Archetype is a pattern related to the hope and promise for new
beginnings. It promises that
The
ultimate pattern is the Self.
For Jung this is the God image. Human self and divine self are incapable of
distinction. All is Spirit. Images of Spirit abound. Wind and breath being two very common ones. The Spirit descends as a
Dove upon Jesus in the wilderness. The voice declares to him his true nature:
"Your are my Son, my Beloved." This is an
archetypal drama of the Self. Galahad achieving the Grail and ascending with it
to Heaven is likewise an archetypal drama of Self.
Lancelot's failure to achieve the Grail speaks of his failure to achieve the
final discovery of Self. Chariots and cars point in
this direction. Remember the death car which comes in Darby O'Gill
and the Little People? Enoch is taken up in a chariot of fire. Ezekiel Chapter
One describes the chariot conveying God into the world.