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Archetype Me

I've been fascinated with Archetypes for well over a decade. It's one reason I blog on the topic (along with Symbols) here at PaganSquare.

Turns out that Caroline Myss, a modern pioneer on Archetypes is out with a new book on the topic (that's coming under fire on Amazon from seasoned fans of her work) called Archetypes: Who Are You?. I guess it's a watered down version of Sacred Contracts that reads like a commercial tie-in.

Myss has partnered with the founder of Philosophy body products (I think it is). So I came across a potentially cool site based on her newest book: ArchetypeMe.com

ArchetypemeI took the test and, not surprisingly, came up INTELLECTUAL - CREATIVE - SPIRITUAL for my top three archetypes. (Like I said, it appears to be VERY watered down compared to Sacred Contracts). 

If you'd like to find out your Archetypes in this new system, click here for the quiz. (Make sure you come back here to tell me what you get!)

Did you find the Archetype Me quiz to be accurate? Comprehensive? Shallow?

And what do you think of ArchetypeMe.com? Personally, I think it has a lot of potential, but, as of now, it appears too much like a veiled attempt at targeted marketing based on profiles rather than a genuine attempt at fostering an understanding of Archetypes or bringing like-minded folks together.

Below is a video about the site:

-- Janet

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Janet Boyer is the author of Back in Time Tarot (Hampton Roads), Tarot in Reverse (Schiffer Publishing) and Naked Tarot: Sassy, Stripped-Down Advice (Dodona Books). She's the co-creator (with her husband, artist Ron Boyer) of the Snowland Deck and Coffee Tarot, and authored both companion books to those decks. A Renaissance Soul, she is also an award-winning cook, mixed media artist, jewelry artisan and journal maker. Next to creating, her favorite thing to do is spend time with her beloved husband, son and 5 cats at her rural home in Pennsylvania. Visit her at JanetBoyer.Substack.com

Comments

  • Cea Noyes
    Cea Noyes Wednesday, 20 March 2013

    I'm not entirely certain that these are "archetypes" in the same way that Jung defined archetypes but, be that as it may be. This was fun but the test itself is pretty predictable and quite shallow. You can easily sway the results by picking and choosing your answers. I came up with intellectual, advocate and spiritual, although 20% of whatever it is we are measuring involves 7 other archetypes we "can explore." Still, I enjoyed myself and like many of these self-tests it was a prompt for some self reflection.

  • Janet Boyer
    Janet Boyer Thursday, 21 March 2013

    Hi Cea!

    Glad you enjoyed the test. :D I happened to come across a quote from Jung today in Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces. It said (about the definition of archetypes):

    Forms or images of a collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents of myths and at the same time as autochthonous, individual products of unconscious origin.


    Because this particular quiz is so watered down, some of the "archetypes" don't really qualify under this definition as you noted, BUT if they were more specific, could be. For example, instead of Intellectual (or as a derivative), Engineer, Scholar, Professor, etc. Instead of Spiritual, Sage, Crone, Shaman, Mystic, etc.

    What do you think?

  • Cea Noyes
    Cea Noyes Saturday, 23 March 2013

    Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I think you have it. The quiz deals not with symbols, but with specific concepts. If you think about it Jungian analysis focuses on understanding dream images and what they tell us about ourselves. We have the archetype of "The Mother" and "The Father". The fluidity of his theory allows us to recognize the archetypes that arise from our own experiences as they become real to us, hence "The Hero". I do agree that there is an archetype for The Crone, The Sage, etc. and that we see them all the time in what we read, see and dream. After thinking about your comments I realized that what bothered me about this quiz was that it assigns attributes, all of which combine in some way as an archetype. The Crone is intelligent, wise, practical, mature, etc., but so might be The Sage. They have different effects because they embody those attributes in different levels. Just like baking bread. Flour, yeast and water will give me bread but how I combine them and in what amounts, gives me the difference between a country loaf and a baguette.
    Thanks for a great posting. It has been a marvelous topic to reflect on. I'm teaching a class on myth, symbol and meaning beginning in April and you've given me some food for thought. I may change up my usual...having my students look at the traditionally described archetypes and mix in a little "define the archetypes you see in or around yourself." Could be fun!

  • Janet Boyer
    Janet Boyer Tuesday, 26 March 2013

    Ohhhh, I'd love to hear more about your experiences with teaching archetypes that way, Cea!

    By the way, I caved in to curiosity and ended up buying Myss's book over the weekend. I'm still trying to wrap my head around a "Fashionista" archetype (I kid you not). A part of me really wants to snicker at this...but Myss DOES make the point that modern living/evolution spawns new archetypes (example, The Geek or Hacker). I'm still thinking about this...

    Myss acknowledges that the 10 archetypes mentioned in her new book are stand-ins that are a part of a LARGER group...but I'm still not sure she's gotten it right (I'm still reading). For example, she groups the Teacher under the Caregiver, but this archetype strikes me as Intellectual.

    Her book Sacred Contracts goes into greater depth delineating archetypes as does her website. But I just can't help feel that this current book is more of a marketing ploy to help her friend's new website than anything...

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