Shadow Archetypes: Giving the Known a Name
As we try to make the unknown known, we have more power and agency over it. But our internal worlds are subjective – meaning they are “based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.”
Because of this, and a whole host of other factors, it is difficult for me to prescribe any one-size-fits-all way of grappling with it. So instead of handing you the magic bullet, I’ll hand you a template to create your own.
Creating the Cast of your Inner Narrative
We are infovores – we consume information, and weave narratives from them, the words of which are influenced by the pages we’ve written before. A slightly poetic way of saying that we tell ourselves a lot of stories.
One thing stories all have in common is they all have characters – named agents within them who drive the story to its conclusion. If you picked up a story without any characters, the narrative couldn’t continue, and you’d have a hard time enjoying it or getting anything out of it, right?
So today, we’ll create another character to feature in our inner stories. We’ve already created a heroic entity when looking at our dominant archetypes (and this character can always be built on – why not check back on your notes, to see if you have anything to add), and now we will create an Antagonist.
I’m careful not to say ‘villain’ here – our shadow is not evil, it’s just forgotten – which makes it scary and gives it power. So let’s name it, and make it a little less scary. The guidebook below takes you through the concept of Shadow Archetypes – the alter-ego of the Archetypes you’ve already come across.
To begin naming and shaping the things we are trying to understand allows us to reclaim power and agency over them.
Task: Take a look at the guidebook, choose a shadow archetype to explore (or create your own), and share them ‘Take Notes’ and The Group.
Extra Task: Whenever you feel it necessary, return to the guided visualisation once more with this Shadow Archetype in mind – report any insights within your notes on the group.
See you in the next one.