What Women Should Know about Man's Archetypical Self

Oct 27, 2011
Lance Morton

The Archetypical King - David Madore

Myths, dreams, and religious stories have amazing commonalities stretching across time, country and culture giving birth to Jung's boys to men archetypes.

Psychologist Carl Gustav Jung observed and described several archetypes based upon reoccurring pattern of thought and action that re-appear time and again across people, countries and cultures. Many other noted mythologist, dream analyzers and psychoanalyst have used and expanded Jung’s work.

Crisis in mature masculinity

There exists today a crisis in the masculine ritual process. In centuries past, there were rituals to initiate a boy from an immature psychology to a man’s psychology. These rites of passage always included a sacred space and a “wise old man” who was totally trustworthy. They were supercharged with emotion and symbolic of the death of the boy and the birth of the man. Today there is a profound shortage of sacred places, wise old men, and rituals. Without ceremony modern man is often trapped in a boy’s psychology.

The confusing of the modern male has been intensified by the feminist movement. The feminists correctly observed that there was much abuse by men in the traditional patriarch society. However, they incorrectly believed that all nurturing, love, kindness and compassion come from the feminine. In reality, true man psychology is neither violent nor abusive. It is in fact nurturing and generative. Men do not need to get in touch with their feminine self, but rather to get in touch with their authentic mature masculine archetypes. Psychoanalyst Robert L. Moore and mythologist Douglas Gillette have used and expanded Jung’s work to provide a workable system of moving males from a boy’s to a man’s psychology.

Boy Archetypes

The Divine Child when in balance is bright, quick to learn and full of wonder. He is the center of attention and people gather around to adore him. He is full of promise and hope and yet completely vulnerable. If he matures in masculine energy, he will one day become king.
The High Chair Tyrant is the dark version of the Divine Child. He also sees himself as the all powerful center of the universe. Others exist to meet his needs. No matter how hard others try, they can never seem to please him. His arrogance and outrageous demands often alienate those who would serve him.
The Weakling Prince is still another shadow side of the Divine Child. He is a helpless complainer, unable to do anything for himself. He shows little personality or enthusiasm for life. He impresses people into his service by his weakness and inability to accomplish things independently.
The Precocious Child is curious, eager to learn and to share knowledge. He has a sense of wonder and a love of ideas. He is the quintessential question asker. He may be talented in art or music, or good at sports. If he matures in masculine energy he will become the magician.
The Know-It-All Trickster is the shadow form of the preconscious child. He is very good at getting people to trust him and then he betrays them. He is a manipulator that frequently shoots off his mouth. He has about him an air of superiority and is good at deflating people’s egos.
The Dummy is lacking in personality and vigor. He is a slow learner and is often the butt of jokes. He may, however, know more than he shows. He may secretly feel that he is too good to allow people to see how he truly is.
The Oedipal Child’s energies are overly tied to the mother and he is, therefore, lacking in the nurturing masculine. He is passionate with a sense of awe and marvel and an inclination toward the spiritual.
The Momma’s Boy is a shadow side of the Oedipal Child. He identifies too strongly with his mother, thus, he can never leave boyhood and develop mature masculinity.
The Dreamer is another shadow self of the Oedipal Child and he uses spiritual impulses to develop relationships with intangible things. He chooses not to live in the world of the real man.
The Hero is the highest form of boy psychology. He is possessed with a sense of purpose, adventure and noble intentions. If he matures, he will enter the man archetype of the warrior.
The Bully is a shadow self of the hero. He seeks to intimidate and dominate those around him; hence, he is frequently violent and abusive.
The Coward is another shadow self of the hero. He usually runs from trouble and allows himself to be bullied. His lack of courage prevents him from reaching the mature masculine warrior archetype.

Mature Masculine Archetypes

The King is the highest of masculine archetypes. The true king is always a good warrior, a positive magician, and a great lover. While the Divine Child is self involved, the king is selfless. The king has two functions: to organize and to bless others. It is his masculine blessing that allows him to foster growth. He encourages in a way that is completely different from a mother’s nurturing. Men do not need to learn to nurture like a woman, but rather to nurture like a king.
The Warrior is most often rejected by women because they have been victimized by the more common shadowy, boyish bully. They confuse bully energy with warrior energy, but a true warrior is a protector and not an abuser of women.
The Magician is the ritual elder that historically guided males from boyhood to manhood. He is wise and selfless, using his mystic knowledge for the good of others.
The Lover is compassionate, empathetic, ardent and deeply sensual. His actions are geared towards the objective of mutually blissful and energizing synchronized union.

With the lack of sacred spaces, wise elders, societal rituals, and due to the pressure on modern men to get in touch with their feminine side it is difficult for a boy of any age to make the journey to manhood. However, with self awareness and active imagination it is possible. For readers interested in making this journey I recommend reading the sources listed below.

Note to the reader: perhaps, you are curious why I wrote an article about men to women. Being a man, it is my fervent belief that the enlightenment of man most frequently occurs through the kind, compassionate understanding and guidance of a woman. The first step for a man is self awareness. Ladies, I urge you to share the article with someone you love.