Lover Archetype

Notes from Bethan

Purpose:  Connection through feeling.

Connects with oneness, Being.  Looks ‘up’ to Spirit and ‘down’ into Soul.  Sensitive to the needs of others.  Nurtures self and others.  Breaks through into deep emotions.  Welcomes sexuality and sensuality.  Playful and spontaneous. Believes in the power of loving.  Trusts in closeness and touch. 

Accessed through sadness.

Shaming message / wound:  I don’t love right.

Deflated:  Stoical, difficult to feel or be open.

Inflated:  Overflowing with emotion.

Associated instinct: the bonding instinct

Element of water

You waited

By Caspar Walsh

You waited
for the longest time
didn’t you

as you were broken apart, piece by piece
way before you’d even got a foothold
before you even knew what it meant to have a choice.

so you headed up into the hills - alone
no map
through bramble thorns and thick black earth
death and winter everywhere you looked.

Through the seasons
with a cautious, unfolding love
you weaved a new world for yourself

and the decades and days slowly lifted into life.

Finally,
you made it back
to the fireside
hands raised to the heat

and you grieved for what was lost
what you never received

loving at last, what is in front of you now -
a new family
deeper roots.

You did this
this difficult, beautiful thing
for the love of you
for the love of us

yes

you did this…

We waited

By Caspar Walsh

We waited
for the longest time
didn’t we

as we were broken apart, piece by piece
way before we’d even got a foothold
before we even knew what it meant to have a choice.

so we headed up into the hills - alone
no map
through bramble thorns and thick black earth
death and winter everywhere we looked.

Through the seasons
with a cautious, unfolding love
we weaved a new world for ourselves

and the decades and days slowly lifted into life.

finally,
we made it back
to the fireside
hands raised to the heat

and we grieved for what was lost
what we never received

loving at last, what is in front of us now -
a new family
deeper roots.

We did this
this difficult, beautiful thing
for the love of you
for the love of us

yes

we did this…

Warrior Archetype

Notes from Bethan

Purpose:  Power and service through boundaries.

Defends and expands the personal realm.  Sets the boundaries, protects territory.  Destroys what must die.  Sacrifice for the good of all.  Self-discipline.  Applies theory into practice.  Technical skills.  Decides in the moment, trusts in the now, believes in the power of action.

Accessed through anger.

Wound / shaming message:  I don’t exist.

Deflated:  Victim, flakey, no boundaries, ungrounded.

Inflated:  Defensive, aggressive, antagonistic.

Associated instinct: the territorial instinct

Element of earth

Old Ghosts

By Caspar Walsh

When to say, yes
when to say, no

to the old echoes
of an old soldier
guarding a tiny, sun burnt island
day and night
decades after the end of a great war
guarding old ghosts.

When to say, yes
when to say, no.

We draw invisible and visible lines of protection
why wouldn’t we? After all the cards we’ve been dealt.

And when the time comes
when death no longer follows us as it did
we step back
and begin to learn - from scratch
to protect now, what is vulnerable
sacred, vital.

We hold our crooked old sword up
glinting in the amber light
in service to what we believe
to choose well, that’s it
the choice

when to say, no
when to say, yes

what’s it to be?

Magician Archetype

Notes from Bethan

Purpose:  Sees options, guidance through detachment.

Knows and follows the formula, feels and follows intuition.  Initiated into other realities, initiates others.  Intuits unknown answers.  Detaches to see more options, explores mystery.  Uses symbols and ritual.  Creates sacred space.  Holds and contains projections.   Welcomes the abstract.  Believes in the power of learning, trusts the process of wisdom.

Accessed through fear.

Wound / shaming message:  I am bad.

Deflated:  Dense, rigid, can’t see, don’t know.

Inflated:  Fragmented, confused, brain whizzing.

Associated instinct: the predatory instinct

Element of air

Sleep Easy

By Caspar Walsh

We knew trouble before it knew us
And shaped ourselves to it.

We waited at night, holding our breath
Listening for the light outside the bedroom door
To be switched off.

Lying still
In the thickening dark
We watched our shadows
Come alive.

__________

In time, we figured out how to survive
These night visiting terrors.

In time - we figured out the world outside
Our bedroom walls
Was far more dangerous.

So we struck a trembling deal
And took our monsters with us
Into the streets and up into the hills
Tucked inside our jacket pocket.

We knew trouble before it knew us
And shaped ourselves to it.

These magical monsters
Our magical monsters
Who changed everything -
Sleep easy now
Under our beds.

Sovereign Archetype

Notes from Bethan

Purpose:  Motivation through esteem

Holds the vision, chooses the direction, blesses and supports the follow-through.  Dares to dream and do.  Creates order from chaos.  Wants to help others, will parent others.  Believes in self and others, provides support for leadership.  Articulates the boundaries, teaches beliefs ideals and vision.  Believes in the goodness of all, trusts in the goodness of the future.  Connects the material with the spiritual.

Accessed through joy.

Shaming message / wound:  I am not good enough.

Deflated:  shy, tired, it’s all too hard.

Inflated:  Shining, performing, ‘acing it’.

Associated instinct: the alpha / ranking instinct

Element of fire

One Day

By Caspar Walsh

One day
You’ll be sitting opposite someone
A friend, maybe a stranger
Maybe someone you just met
And they will look at you
And they will see you
See something beautiful in you
And they’ll name what they see
Easy and clear as a summer river.

What they say, you will have been hurting and waiting
To hear all your life
Something whole and full of love.

And when these words of love arrive
When they finally land
Anchoring sharp in your heart
They will only confirm what you always knew
To be true.

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