Archetypes

Many readers will be familiar with the work of Caroline Myss from her earlier books, including Sacred Contracts and Anatomy of the Spirit. In this new book she builds on her earlier work by offering a new classification of archetypes: advocate, artist, athlete, caregiver, fashionista, intellectual, Queen/executive, rebel, spiritual seeker, visionary. The importance of understanding one's own archetypes lies in the knowledge of the psychic lenses through which we view ourselves and the world around us. She was struck by the audience's response to her first talk about archetypes, as everyone wanted to know about themselves. You too can do this by going to www.archetypes.com - which I did myself. Following the quiz I came out 42% intellectual, 33% spiritual and 25% visionary, a result that readers may well recognise!

The deeper aim is to help society make a quantum leap in awareness and acknowledge the central role of intuition. An initial chapter answers frequently asked questions about what she calls the new 'Inner-net'. Each chapter contains a summary of the archetype followed by discussions of life journey, unique challenge, universal lesson, defining grace, inner shadow, male counterpart (the book is written initially from a feminine point of view), myths, recognising your archetype, lifestyle challenge and stepping into your archetype. It is easy to recognise aspects of one's own archetypes and those of others. Perhaps the most surprising category is the fashionista - most others could be mapped onto existing systems like the Enneagram all the major Arcana of the tarot. The book is a useful way of checking one's alignment with one's essence and could be particularly useful for people undergoing a significant transition.