Archetypes And Complexes: Insights Into Your Inner Soap Opera

Archetypes might be pitched as characters from a fantasy movie, but they’re fundamental to how we experience life. They influence our thoughts, emotions and behaviours.?

The concept of archetypes can be traced back to ancient mythologies — the pantheons of gods that illustrate the attributes of human nature.?

The eminent psychologist Carl Jung noted archetypes are universal patterns of human nature. They are innate, the templates that shape — or misshape — our personalities.?

As individuals, we all have access to the qualities these archetypes offer, like the courage of the Hero, the compassion of the Caretaker, the wisdom of the Sage and the humour of the Trickster.

Archetypes take centre stage in the soap opera of your life — whether you are aware they are writing your story or not!

Jung noted that archetypes “takes possession of the whole man and impels him to play a corresponding role”.?[CW12 para 558 p.477]

When Archetypes Go Rogue

Not all archetypal qualities are accessible to everyone. Traits, skills, attitudes and emotions have to be developed. The repressed parts of your personality need to be given expression.?

This is what it takes to grow, heal and thrive. Self-development involves integrating the disowned parts of your personality into conscious awareness and developing the qualities they give you.?

Sounds epic, right?

But there’s a plot twist!

Complexes.?

The villain of the story enters. The demons who create fear and havoc in your mind. The inner devil that leads you into temptation. The monster that creeps out of the darkness and projects anger and frustration onto the world.?

Complexes are the split-off parts of your personality that, at some point, were deemed unacceptable. You may know them as “emotional wounds” or “soul fragments.”?

Life experiences wound archetypes. Parts of the personality become split off when the mind dissociates from a situation in the environment.?

When this happens, the innate qualities available to us — in what Jung called the collective unconscious — are refused by the central nervous system.

Consequently, the innate “wholeness” becomes fragmented and appears as a constellation of thoughts, behaviours and emotions that gravitate around a central theme.?

Whole and healthy (and holy) have the same root word. To be whole is to be healthy — mentally and physically. When the whole personality becomes fragmented, the more likely you are to develop poor mental health and physical health outcomes.

Do you have a complex?

An archetype in its wholeness becomes a complex — and fragmented archetype — when you experience an “emotional trauma”.?

Although this common term is, in my opinion, dramatic, and emotional wound was caused when you were made to feel bad for expressing yourself in a particular way.

Maybe you were scolded for being “too boisterous,” so your Hero got benched and you retreated back into the quiet serenity of the Divine Child. Or perhaps you were told to “stop daydreaming,” so your visionary Trickster got pushed into the darkness.

The repressed parts of your personality don’t disappear; they hide in the shadow, waiting for their moment to resurface—often in dramatic fashion.

Complexes are infantile and irrational. They often act like children, divas or braggarts. They cloud your thoughts, fuel overreactions, and leave you wondering why you’re so upset about something so small and inconsequential.?

Why does innocent feedback feel like a personal affront? Why do you flip out when the internet connection drops off? Why does your head spin when you feel you are being challenged??

Any feelings and behaviours you experience that are out of the ordinary are signs that an underdeveloped archetype is present. Those times when you were “out of your mind” and “don’t know what came over you”. You might say, “It's so unlike me.”?

The good news is that complexes aren’t permanent. Once you identify the archetype at its core, you can start to reintegrate its qualities into your life. Instead of letting the Hero archetype cause procrastination, you can channel its energy into positive action.

Archetypes are essentially your inner cast of characters. The world is your stage. You don’t need a script to play your part seamlessly. Allow the archetypes to flow through you. Once they are whole, you will know what to do.?

Archetypes are innate. Integrate them into conscious awareness and take control of your life rather than allowing your unconscious to control it for you!

This content was originally published on Medium. You can read the full version here: https://medium.com/@richard_mastermindcontent/archetypes-the-path-to-healing-growth-and-happiness-f6e317bbc566