archetypes & art therapy
From the time I discovered the concept of ‘archetypes’ some years ago, I was fascinated. I immediately identified with so many of the archetypal folklore and mythology characters. In some way throughout my life, I had been The Trickster, The Prostitute, The Child, The Rebel, The Victim, The Saboteur, The Mother, The Artist, The Addict and The Explorer to name only a few.
I soon learned that these archetypes had the ability to either enhance our lives or essentially wreak havoc in them - depending on our relationship with them. Over time, I began to see how these archetypes played out within my relationships, career, spiritual path, sexuality, creativity and health.
What are Archetypes?
According to Jung, archetypes are patterns & images of our collective unconscious. They are templates of people, behaviour and personalities: an original blueprint from which these aspects came into being.
Universal in nature, archetypes are considered the same amongst all psyches - regardless of culture, geography, demographic, environment or any other factors.
Archetypes reflect both a light and shadow side. Awareness of how they play out in your life is essential, as the unconscious mind is inherently the driving force of our life. Which means when it is not focused - it works to fulfil its own agenda….which can prove contradictory to our actual desires.
Archetypes and Art Therapy
Art Therapy is a dynamic way that we can gather awareness of our individual archetypes, enabling us to further explore them. Embodiment of the archetypes through creative mediums is powerful – and can also be really fun too ;-)
Through storytelling, free association art and many other expressive creative modalities, we can explore how our personal archetypes function (or don’t) within our worlds.
Establishing a healthy relationship with our archetypes enables us to lean into their gifts, whilst remaining conscious of their shadow aspect.
So I'm embarking on some further exploration of the archetypes within my Wordcraft blog... subscribe to the mailing list if you so desire!
Shall we begin with the most complex archetype of them all?
THE MOTHER.
( eek! )
See next post....
#archetypes #arttherapy #thetrickster #theprostitute #theartist #thechild #thesaboteur #theaddict #theexplorer #folklore #carljung #unconsciouspatterns #templates #light #shadow