On "Archetype"by Antero Alli
It seems to me their origin [i.e. archetypes] can only be
explained by assuming them to be deposits of the constantly
repeated experiences of humanity. - Carl Jung
On "Archetype"
by Antero Alli
It seems to me their origin [i.e. archetypes] can only be
explained by assuming them to be deposits of the constantly
repeated experiences of humanity. - Carl Jung
numen (s), numina (pl)
1. A presiding divinity or spirit of a place.
2. A spirit believed by animists to inhabit certain natural phenomena or objects.
3. A spirit believed to inhabit an object or preside over a place
4. Creative energy; genius.
numinosity
The condition or state of being numinous.
numinosum
1. Revealing or indicating the presence of a divinity; spiritual:
"Many religious practices and performances are carried out for
the sole purpose of calling forth the power of the numinosum
at will by invocation, incantation, sacrifice, etc."
2. Relating to the experience of the divine as awesome and/or
terrifying; designating that which governs the subject outside
of his or her own will.
I view the physical body as the personifcation of the subconscious mind and as a door to the realm of the archetypes. In context to paratheatre process, I use the word "archetype" to address the autonomous presence of Otherness that sometimes appears while engaging sources of energy embedded in, and emanating from, the body itself. At its originating point, archetypes emanate a numinous presence and power that can also appear in our night dreams as images, behaviors, and characters, depending on the specific psychological complexes that have fixated in the individual psyche. An archetype does not directly refer to any image or character or mythos but the numinous presence and power animating these icons.
According to Jung, transpersonal archetypes interface and link with our unconscious psychological complexes, or fixations. This fusion between the Personal and the Transpersonal gives rise and form to specific yet universally recognizably human images -- the Trickster, Anima/Animus, Hero, Senex, Puer, Crone, The Shadow, The Self, etc.. The nature of these images are often determined by psychological complexes resulting from unmet childhood needs and traumas that eventually crystallize into fetishes, fixations, and obsessions that shape the individual psyche.
The Anima, the Animus, and the Trickster
The mother complex (a.k.a. the Oedipus complex) stems from an active component of anyone raised by a genetic or surrogate mother that, over time, informs our attitudes and assumptions about women in general. For men, this mother complex links with the archetypal presence of the Anima, the erotic feminine ideal, the cherished female image, within the man’s psyche - an image enflamed whenever the man encounter a flesh and blood woman who matches the internal Anima image.
For women, the same applies to early relations with the genetic or surrogate father and its internal development of the father complex and the archetypal presence of the Animus, the masculine ideal as the Hero, the ideal lover and parent of future offspring. When the woman encounters a flesh and blood man who matches the internal Animus image, this powerful unconscious presence can be triggered into an external projection onto that man.
If and when the "Anima-possessed man" awakens to his own wretched state of humilation and power loss, his emotional and sexual healing begins by withdrawing the Anima projections from the flesh and blood women in his life while he tends to the inner life of his own soul. When the "Animus-possessed woman" is ready to accept her overly-judgmental, controlling behavior she is ready to take reign over her own mind by using the sword of reason to discern between self-control and the compulsion to control others.
The archetypally-charged image of The Trickster expresses a fusion with any inferiority complex that drives us to overcompensate our feelings of inadequacy with spectacular achievements and/or a super-hero self-image. The trickster here is the ego itself - we trick and con ourselves into believing whatever we want to believe about ourselves to avoid facing our own weaknesses, flaws, and shortcomings. This trickster complex often dramatizes itself outwardly by our pointing out the weaknesses, flaws, and shortcomings of others. The more we get away with this trickster act, the more subtle the ego becomes and the more difficult it can be to detect it in ourselves.
Whenever these archetypally-charged images of Anima, Animus, or Trickster are triggered by their corresponding external events, a process of psychic projection occurs that usually involves some form of mythologizing, or worship, of the Man (Animus), the Woman (Anima), and/or the Ego (Trickster). Unless the person has earned significant self-awareness, these projections remain unconscious. There are always exceptions. Sometimes, artists and poets learn to turn these complexes into sources of inspiration, i.e., Arthur Rimbaud's method of achieving exalted states through a "deliberate disorientation of the senses".
Archetypal forces are not subject to any propriety; they do not and cannot belong to anyone. Much like the way our night dreams present themselves, these autonomous archetypes come and go according to their own agendas. They also tend to operate at a higher level of intelligence than conscious ego or intellect. Attempts to define any archetype in terms of a pure character or image, without including its marriage with specific psychological complexes, can be misleading. Self-imposed labels and definitions can also trivialize the genuine mysteries and depth of authentic archetypal presence while encouraging self-delusion. Though archetypes may not be subject to human understanding, their power and presence can be experienced firsthand through gnosis, the direct perception not linked to language and the machine of thinking, but that second attention linked to Presence of the phenomena itself.
Postscript: I am neither Psychologist or Psychotherapist. The ideas presented here emerged through my ongoing paratheatre work and then, distilled and interpreted in whatever ways I can most honestly tell the truth of my experience. - A.A.
WHAT ARE ARCHETYPES?
Brief descriptions from a Jungian perspective
Other Writings on Paratheatre by Antero Alli
On Paratheatre and self-delusion
On "Group Ritual Facilitation"
State of Emergence: A Paratheatre Manifesto
