Archetypes

For the LP, an archetype is any conscious or unconsciously accepted idea or concept that provides answers to Big Questions.

Jung's Terms

Symbol

Syncretic Terms

Archetypes >

Related LP Terms

Archetypes > Archetype Cards, Archetype Constellation, Archetype Deck, Archetype System, Collective Consciousness, Creation Template, LP Archetype Framework, Masonic Tarot Deck, New Energy Archetype, Old Energy Archetype, Old Energy Creation Template, Positioning Statements, Secondary Elaboration, Symbol, The Flow, Triumph of Spirit Archetype Deck, Triumph of Spirit Archetype System

Non-LP Related Terms

Archetypes > Big Questions, Elaboration, Interpellation, Narrative, Sacrilization, Story

LP Archetype Theory

• Archetypes are ideas that provide answers to Big Questions
• Archetypes are powerful. Archetypes
  • influence how we see and think about the world,
  • influence how we see and think about ourselves, and
  • influence our actions and reactions in the world.
• Archetypes do not operate in isolation and often "work together" in constellations.
• Archetypes emerge in human imagination and are elaborated by individuals, usually members of the Accumulating Class. See Primary Elaboration and Secondary Elaboration.
• Archetypes are amplified in a process known as Sacrilization, elaborated in Symbol Factories, and distributed by Ideological Institutions
• Archetypes may be broken down into two categories: Old Energy Archetypes and New Energy Archetypes
• Archetypes can be presented visually, linguistically, and musically.

Notes

Many people have a “God” archetype that provides them with an answer to the question “What is God?” (e.g., God is a bearded patriarch, God is pure Consciousness, God is a tool of the ruling class, God doesn’t exist). As another example, Jung identified a Christian-like “shadow” archetype. The shadow archetype provides answers to questions of human nature. According to the Jung’s shadow archetype (and the many Christian-like derivatives, like for example Star Wars), we are beings of “shadow” and “light,” locked in a cosmic war of domination

Carl Jung suggested that archetypes are "inter-generationally persistent," meaning each new physical unit is born with a certain set of meta-level archetypes passed on from the previous generation. This may be partly true. But is it important to be aware that a lot of work goes into inserting archetypes into each new generation by Agents of Consciousness (Walt Disney, for example). Agents of consciousness are responsible for sowing the archetypal seeds of gender, cosmic struggle, judgment, etc. Archetypes are inserted typically when the individual is young, psychologically defenceless against the imposition, and unable to decide whether they want certain archetypes inserted or not.

It should be noted that more than one archetype is required to condition a planet. We may refer to the collection of archetypes used to control the manifestation of reality as a Creation Template. We may refer to the sum total of all planetary archetypes as they exist in the consciousness of the planet as the Archetypal Fabric.

See "A Sociology of Tarot" for an example of the construction of a creation template in the form of a collection of archetypal images (i.e., Tarot).

Ongoing attempts to mystify archetypes and their creation make a critical inquiry difficult. The general tendency has been to view archetypes as "divine", "cosmically", or naturally emergent and to subsequently attempt to plumb archetypal depths for "secret" "wisdom" and enlightenment. Even Carl Jung, perhaps especially Carl Jung, fell victim to this tendency to mystify.

Changing the world//saving the planet requires that the Old Energy creation template of this planet be unpacked, interrogated, exposed, and modified to more accurately reflect collective (rather than private, as is currently the case) values and goals.

Carl Jung

According to Jung, archetypes are symbolic representation of instincts and "urges"

Here I must clarify the relation between instincts and archetypes: What we properly call instincts are physiological urges, and are perceived by the senses. But at the same time, they also manifest themselves in fantasies and often reveal their presence only by symbolic images. These manifestations are what I call the archetypes. They are without known origin and they reproduce themselves in any time or in any part of the world -- even where transmission by direct descent or cross-fertilization through migration must be ruled out.

Falling into line beyond Jung, evolutionary psychologists and neurologists have recently suggested that archetypes are “core representations of social instincts” (Vaughn and Neuberg 2019) that arise as a consequence of the challenges our ancient ancestors faced. As Becker and Neuberg note (2019:61), “Archetypes arise from complex adaptive systems that have been selected to solve social and biological problems.”

According to Jung, not all the things that occur in your brain, not all ideas that come from human imagination, not all ideas expressed with human hands, qualify as archetypes. Most ideas, even if those ideas are ideas that answer big questions, are merely ideas; few ever rise to the status of archetype. For example, the So, what qualifies an idea as an archetype? Jung, in an explanation suitable for the new age aisle of your local virtual or IRL book store, says that archetypes have a “specific energy” (Jung 1964). They feel special and contain a “peculiar fascination.” We might say archetypes have an intellectual and emotional valence that normal ideas do not.

This is most certainly true. Anybody who has ever experienced an archetypal vision or dream knows these imaginings feel different than normal thought. However, it is also true that just regular ideas, like "what a beautiful flower that is," can also have a "specific" energy. Understanding this "energy" is important, but its relation to archetypes is tangential. If you are going to talk about archetypes, don't talk about their specific energy because that's a confusing distraction,

Footnotes

References

Interpellation