Discussion Post I submitted for my Atlantic University TP6000 Course – January 31, 2020.
Since Carl Jung is the one most responsible for bringing the concepts of Archetypes to our attention, it’s appropriate to begin this post with his definition. As quoted by Robert Van de Castle, Jung says “The archetype is…an inherited tendency of the human mind to form representations of mythological motifs – representations that vary a great deal without losing their basic patterns” (1994, p. 147).
Van de Castle notes that archetypes in their “presence can be detected not only in dreams, but in the content of myths, fairy tales, psychotic delusions, and religious rituals” (1994, p. 147). And the Myths-Dreams-Symbols website adds, “Carl Jung developed an understanding of archetypes as universal, archaic patterns, and images that derive from the collective unconscious and are the psychic counterpart of instincts” (http://mythsdreamssymbols.com/archetypes.html).
Archetypes are timeless, and the more common ones, like the Willing Sacrifice which Taylor discusses (2009, pp. 214-230) can be seen across cultures and time. As noted above, they are played out in the literature, dramas, myths, religions, and in our times, epic movies, television series, and yes, even novels.
I have always had a sense that my archetype is what I call the Reluctant Hero. These are people who mostly out of a sense of nothing else but honor and responsibility are willing to go to great lengths and personal sacrifice simply because it’s the right thing to do. They are certainly not in it for fame and riches. In fact, they typically deplore such trappings and often find themselves at odds with the ruling and political class as a result. As I may have mentioned previously, the only past life regression I ever did put me as one of Robin Hood’s Merry Men, so I suppose it’s truly in my bloodline!
Notable examples of reluctant heroes are great characters like Odysseus, a war hero who after leading his troops in battle, can’t seem to find his way back home to his wife and children. When I formally became Catholic in 2000, I chose another such reluctant hero as my Patron Saint, and that was the English Martyr Saint Thomas More. He was willing to have his head cut off instead of signing a decree that made one of the worse tyrants in history, King Henry VIII, supreme leader of the Church in England.
Four other similar characters depicted in epic novels and movies that I’ve always felt a kinship are Katniss from The Hunger Games, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings, Jon Snow from The Game of Thrones, and of course, Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Brave Heart. In fact, I have a clip of the scene on my desktop where his face is painted Blue and White as he’s riding his horse up and down the line of the Scots who are about to take on the overwhelming forces of the English Crown yelling, “Freedom”! If that doesn’t get you going, nothing will!
Last summer as part of TP5010, we spent a quarter of the class developing our Personal Mythology, which confirmed an initial sense that my archetype is in part is that of a reluctant hero. This has played itself out in my life is far less dramatic ways than St. Thomas or Katniss, for example, but it’s still a driving force in my life.
For example, I took on the thankless of a job of commissioner of a youth football program here in a suburb of Washington, D.C. The job required a tremendous amount of work, non-stop bitching from parents who thought their son should be the starting quarterback and endless politics that now dominates youth sports. And best of all, I received zero compensation for this task. But I stuck it out for five years because I believed football was an important life-lesson for the kids, including my two sons. There are more personal examples of this that have played out in my life as well.
An element of this archetype is a sense of journey, and of being in a foreign land away from home and unable to return until some type of major task is completed. This is seen in all of the characters I mentioned above. One of the elements that came forth in my Personal Mythology work is that I’ve always felt that I’m on some type of mission or journey to discover the truth. It’s the restlessness in my soul that’s brought me to Edgar Cayce and continues to drive me. What I truly learned is that it’s in the journey itself where life exists for me, and not really in attaining the elusive prize at the end.
In looking at my dream journal, there are elements of the reluctant hero’s archetype. I’ve been using an electronic journal for a few years now, where I can “tag” dreams with certain keywords that appear. Three of the top 4 tags for my dreams are adventure, conflict, and dilemma. Many of my dreams are like the one I had on Monday, where I was stuck on a college campus at one end trying to get to the other end where we were going to do important lab work. Much of the dream was spent with me trying to make my way up there but I was continually sidetracked.
In looking back over the dreams of the past several weeks, I also notice a curious aspect to nearly all of them. I am essentially a detached player in my own drama. I can feel certain emotions, like fear or frustration, but for the most part, I allow events and actions to take place around me. I am helpful, and since I’m nearly on some type of journey, I’m working on the side of good to try to make a difference, but there is this sense that I’m waiting for a higher purpose.
So, I’ll have to see where I end up at the end of the semester. Maybe I’ll finally find my way back home, but I doubt it. That’s not the point of this archetype. William Wallace was executed; Frodo had to continue his journey because he had outgrown the Shire; Jon Snow, after being killed and brought back to life, was banished to the Knight’s Watch before heading over the wall with his Wilding friends; and home was never the same for Katness since her whole purpose in life was to save her sister, which she couldn’t do in the end. Reluctant heroes aren’t supposed to “win” in the traditional sense, their reward is found when the journey finally ends, which will likely be in the next lifetime.
References
Myths-Dreams-Symbols (n.d.). “Jungian archetypes.” Retrieved Jan. 29, 2019 from http://mythsdreamssymbols.com/archetypes.html
Taylor, J. (2009). The wisdom of your dreams. New York, NY: Penguin Group (USA) Inc
Van de Castle, R. (1994). Our dreaming mind. New York NY: Ballantine Books.
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