Archetypes of the Human Spirit (Story Analysis)

Part 11

Archetype #7 – The Forest

“As the forest matures with nature’s care so, too, does the soul.”

The Forest represents fertility, life, renewal and the spiritual aspects of your Self. Your thoughts and emotions take root in the fertile soil and give life to your soul’s essence. Only you can attest to the care that is taken with your soul. Your secrets define your emerging authenticity. Forgiving yourself as well as forgiving others who do not know you as you know yourself are measures of maturation. Notice that this archetype aligns with the Female Principle (refer to post, “The Shrew View”, November 3, 2017).

• Do you take time to honestly know yourself?
• Could a walk along a familiar wooded path bring you the contemplation your soul deserves? Why does your soul deserve this activity?

Archetype #8 – The Dragons

“Dragons reveal an intensity of character that cannot be denied”

Dragons are intense aberrations. These are deviations from maturity. I name one dragon Ignorance to reference all that you probably still have yet to know and learn about yourself and about other human beings. I name the second dragon Insecurity to reference all the human beings and material things that you believe you need in your physical life, however this “need” is in actuality a deep want for self recognition but only in the physical realm. Know these dragons well because if you ignore them, their intensity lashes out in behaviors you may not expect of yourself.

• Can you identify your dragons when they appear? What behaviors do they bring out of you?
• Why do you think your dragons have a relationship with the people and things in your physical life? Can you identify these relationships? Are the behaviors relating to these relationships worth the energy that is given to them?

Archetype #9 – Tongues

“Criticism must be heard intelligently”

Tongues represent criticism, either told to you about you or directed at you from yourself. If you haven’t taken the time to nurture your soul then you will not be able to identify weather criticism is valid. If the criticism is valid, how do you then apply that that criticism toward self improvement?  Notice that these tongues are of the dragons and are intertwined.

• Is all criticism bad? If it is, then how can you turn the information into constructive criticism?
• Because these tongues come from dragons, does the criticism also apply to the relationships in your life? How?

**Next up…The conclusion of “Archetypes of the Human Spirit”