The Divine Child, Shadow, Trickster, Coyote, Wise Old Man, Wise Old Woman
The Divine Child
The Divine Child symbolizes the purest, innermost essence of ourselves.
However, its innocence and playfulness make it vulnerable to some of the harsh realities of the outside world.
Often represented by an infant or a very young child, the child in our dreams can be interpreted as the true self we are aspiring to become, having fallen from grace and entered into adulthood.
One of the most recognizable symbols of this archetype is perhaps the baby Christ.
The Divine Child archetype can be seen to represent the power to change and evolve as we make our way along the path of personal growth and spiritual development.
Jung called this the individuation process.
It is also seen to symbolize our whole self, in contrast to the limited sense of self that Jung termed the ego or the limited personality from our childhood.
There are also variations of this childlike archetype that appear in our dreams, like the wounded child or the abandoned child, for example.
It may also take the form of an animal.
If any of these archetypes are appearing in your dreams, knowing what they symbolize, it is important to then pay attention to other details.
Below I have listed a few questions you may want to ask yourself when analyzing a dream featuring this archetype.
Is the child healthy or unwell?
Are you the child or is it another character in the dream?
Are you nurturing it or harming it in some way?
Is the dream set in a desirable location or is it not somewhere you would want a child to be?
Are others trying to harm it?
Knowing what the appearance of a child in your dream means, and then asking questions like the ones above allows you to gain a good understanding of how you are treating your inner self, your purest being.
If, for example, there is an abandoned child in the corner of the room in your dream and you want nothing to do with it, you may want to look at how you are treating the inner child that lives inside of you.
Remember, your unconscious mind will often communicate your truths in metaphor, and you may have to analyze the story a little more and dig deeper to get anything out of it.
The Shadow
The Shadow, fully dealt with above, represents the side of ourselves that we choose to ignore or wish wasn’t there.
Most of us do our best to repress this aspect of ourselves in waking life, but in our dreams The Shadow may play the role of a terrifying antagonist, sabotaging our best efforts.
Just as the Shadows we meet in dreams leave us feeling drained and frightened, so too do the shadows we meet in waking life.
Jung pointed out that any anger or hostility we feel towards others in waking life is because they represent the shadow of a part of ourselves.
The Trickster
The Trickster is an archetype that is common throughout many cultures.
From the Ancient Greeks to the American Indians, he can be found in mythology creating all sorts of havoc.
He often appears in our dreams in order to play pranks on us (especially on our egos) to keep us from taking ourselves too seriously.
He is capable of taking on many forms and loves to appear when we have misjudged a situation.
Some actually consider this archetype to be part of the Shadow due to its ability to take on any form and for its troublemaking behavior.
The thing that distinguishes him from the Shadow is that the Shadow is always there with us whether we know it or not, but the Trickster only appears when our ego has backed itself into a corner.
This archetype always represents a chance for personal growth and transformation.
But where the Shadow would threaten us in our dreams, this guy mocks us.
Emotions that accompany the appearance of this archetype are those of discomfort, shame, and embarrassment.
This archetypal character loves to appear in our dreams when we are uncertain about a new direction in our lives and tends to make jest of the situation, which can be rather infuriating as our ego loves to take its decision-making so seriously.
The Trickster himself seems to sum up the contradictory nature of our reality.
He dwells inside and outside of Time.
He is of our world, yet not of our world.
Mythological images and symbols associated with him include keys, clocks, masks, and infinity.
Although he is ultimately for the good, sometimes his motives are questionable.
Because he is so dedicated to laughing at the status quo and mocking everything around him, his true motives can remain in doubt.
Coyote
Coyote is probably the most notorious Trickster from Native American mythology.
Coyote represents both foolishness and wisdom and the balance between the two.
Oftentimes his wisdom is hidden in the foolery of his games.
Even having lost a battle, Coyote remains unbeaten.
He is the guardian of magic, a teacher, and the creator.
Coyote allows people to see their weaknesses through foolish acts, allowing them to become aware of their mistakes and learn from them.
Coyote teaches by folly, helping us to see our own actions of self-sabotage, laugh at ourselves, and move on with a new level of wisdom.
So if you find this troublesome archetype appearing in your dreams, you may want to consider the following ideas as his possible teachings.
Is a part of your psyche creating havoc in your life?
Are you self-sabotaging?
Are you too rigid in your life?
He may be appearing to counterbalance this rigidity.
Are you following your heart?
Your Spirit?
He may be here to steer you towards your true calling.
Wise Old Man
Often, having met with the Wise Old Man archetype in our dreams, we have a sense that we have acquired some kind of special knowledge.
Sometimes he may appear to us as a guide with “keys” to unlock our own subconscious.
Or he may be somewhat disguised as a strong male figure, possibly even your own father.
Just as our dream lives are filled with archetypal characters, so too are our waking lives.
Be on the lookout for this archetype appearing in your waking life too.
He can often come across as in some way “foreign,” that is, from a different culture, nation, or time from those he advises.
Forms he may take.
Your Father or Grandfather.
A Professor.
A Doctor.
A Priest.
Any other male in a position of authority.
He is said to represent wisdom, cleverness, insight, willingness to help, and moral qualities.
His appearance is also said to warn of dangers, provide protective gifts, and so forth.
And of course, as with any of the other archetypes, the Wise Old Man also possesses both good and bad qualities.
You may actually be fortunate enough to meet one of our more culturally recognizable forms of this archetype such as.
Gandalf (Lord of the Rings).
Obi-Wan (Star Wars).
Merlin.
Santa Claus.
Whatever form he takes in your dreams, be sure to pay as much attention as possible.
Like his female counterpart the Crone, he is also here to guide us to a higher consciousness and will be pointing the way.
Even if it is something we don’t want to move through or face.
If we approach his teachings with respect and a willingness to learn, we will surely be guided to a new level in our lives.
Wise Old Woman
Mother Nature is probably the most familiar character to represent the Wise Old Woman archetype.
She is found in all cultures and is always seen as the source of fertility and abundance.
She is the one that gives birth to all life, but also the one who takes it away—the bringer of death.
Keep an eye out for when the Wise Old Woman or “Crone” appears.
Because when she does, she is usually there to help train the hero.
The hero being YOU.
She comes to protect you and train you, and may even bring gifts to aid you on your journey.
Pay close attention to what she has to tell you, even if you don’t like what you are seeing or hearing.
She knows what is best for you, and sometimes her medicine is hard to swallow.
But her lessons are not always so harsh.
Sometimes she may appear to you in your dreams to comfort and heal you.
She may take the form of your Mother, or perhaps your Grandmother.
Appearing to nurture you like our great Mother Nature does—with unconditional love and acceptance.
She will often appear as a figure of great authority or respect, representing superior insight and a higher state of consciousness.
She may manifest as a.
Doctor.
A Grandmother.
A Professor.
A Sorceress.
A Shaman.
Any other female figure of respect or authority.
She will almost always appear to help lead you on a dream quest of self-knowledge.
She can in fact symbolize the feminine aspect of your Higher Self.
So pay attention to what your Higher Self is telling you.
It will more than likely be a gem of information that will lead you to new higher states of consciousness.
The Crone is a woman that has gained wisdom from having been through all of life’s experiences.
She has had much time to reflect and evaluate the decisions she made during her life, compared to the younger women around her.
She can help pass on her insight from right or wrong decisions to these younger women.
She is looked up to by all in the community, men and women alike, as a source of great wisdom regarding relationships, community, family, and of course the personal issues of women.
Be honoured to have the Wise Old Woman appear in your dreams.
Take special heed of any details surrounding this dream.
It will no doubt be indispensable advice that will help you with your personal evolution.
Epilogue
When you discover your personal archetypal pattern, you can learn to transform your weaknesses into strengths and become your best self for any given circumstance.
Then, you will begin to discern the archetypes that other people function through, so you can relate to them in a more effective and compassionate way.
This is very powerful, and actually life-changing.
When Jungians refer to the “collective unconscious,” this is what they refer to.
The aspects of the psyche that are common to everyone, and are understood by the unconscious when expressed symbolically, are called archetypes.
Gods, goddesses, demons, and spirits are all attempts to describe these aspects.
There are also other symbols that are immediately understood on an unconscious level.
And the whole package of symbolism forms the collective unconscious.
There are as many different schemata for describing archetypes as there are Jungian devotees.
The one that I present here is from Pearson’s book Awakening the Heroes Within and has twelve different archetypes.
They are used as symbols of different stages of personal growth and development.
Although each of us has some elements of all twelve archetypes, certain ones will be more dominant at different times in our lives.
Denial of any of these, usually through social conditioning that such attributes are “bad,” does not lead to their disappearance.
Rather, the energies that would otherwise be expressed positively from that archetype express themselves negatively in the person’s life.
A person in this state is sometimes said to be “shadow possessed.”
The idea is to progress through development of each one of them, not linearly, but in a spiralling fashion from Innocent through to Fool and then back to Innocent again.
Each time rising to a new level.
The journey never ends. ~Philippe L. De Coster, D.D., The Collective Unconscious and Its Archetypes, Page 26-32
Carl Jung Depth Psychology Blog
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