Thursday

The Collective Mind, Pt. 7b

We left off with Carl Jung's syzygy archetype in the last post, so today we will continue with the rest.

The Child is next on the list of Jungian archetypes, and is every naive notion, every innocent unproven thought. It is also representative of our desire to be sheltered and taken care of. In symbolism, it could appear as a seedling, child, or newborn animal.

The Superman is the part of our subconscious that is all-knowing. Creativity, facts, all thoughts come from this part of us. Remember I spoke of bicamereal man 'speaking' with someone in their mind - The Superman was the other person. Often represented by 'God' type figures, or computers, file systems, anything that could conceivably contain a large database of information.

The Hero is our ideal of what our savior would be - what would be required to make our life 'perfect'. Jesus, Esfandiar (a great Persian hero spoken of in Shahnama), Mother Theresa, and Spartacus, among many others, have been named heros, but personal heros can include that house on a hill with the white picket fence, or that successful job. The Hero is especially personal to every individual, but always represents that single seemingly unreachable desire that would make their life perfect.

The Great Mother is our desire to reproduce - both physically and psychically - as well as forgiving, protective, and the alchemist of growth. Anything natural, fertile, and mature usually portrays the Great Mother - such as a large tree, or an impregnated woman.

The Wise Old Man is that little voice in your head that says something might not be such a good idea - the word of caution. Symbolically, the Wise Old Man could be something natural nearing death, a stop sign, sharp objects, or anything frightening for that matter.

The Trickster is the part of us that wants to seperate from the normal, and usually desires seclusion or extreme fame. Tricksters can cause both revolutions or trouble. Often represented by a criminal, jester, or hermit-type person.

...it's a good thing I read up on Jung a couple years ago, otherwise all the 'stubs' of information on the internet about Jungian thought would have really bound me up! Tomorrow I'll tackle Plato =)

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