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Author:
September 19, 2024
mbg Contributor
Tanya Carroll Richardson is an author and professional intuitive, giving readings to clients all over the world.
Image by Sergey Filimonov / Stocksy
September 19, 2024
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The dictionary defines archetype as “a very typical example of a certain person or thing.”
Do you know someone who’s an archetypal parent, for example? It’s not about “perfect” parenting, parenting a specific way, or parenting under set circumstances but rather someone who’s an ideal example of embracing and fulfilling that role and whose spirit seems to possess a knack for it.
But “parent” isn’t the only spirit archetype—here’s how to find yours.
What are spirit archetypes?
Your individual spirit contains specific archetypes that are general in nature, yet manifest uniquely in your life. Spirit archetypes might be obvious from early childhood, like quickly displaying an inclination to help, draw, or cook.
Or, spirit archetypes might lie dormant in your spiritual DNA, becoming activated at certain ages or through certain experiences, like discovering a talent for acting in college or discovering a calling in the healing arts after experiencing a long healing journey.
Spirit archetypes can also be forgotten or abandoned, like a busy high school principal forgetting they also have a passion for fashion or a college student abandoning their interest in geology because it won’t help them take over the family business after graduation.
21 spirit archetypes
You can mindfully work with and reestablish your relationship with your spirit’s archetypes. Common spirit archetypes that show up often in my intuitive readings with clients include:
- Scholar: loves to learn and be intellectually stimulated
- Free Spirit: thrives with less constraint and convention in jobs and relationships
- Sensitive: intuitively feels the energy and emotions of others
- Artist: possess artistic inclinations and needs creative expression
- Caregiver: feels on purpose when supporting and nurturing others
- Builder: motivated, hardworking, and capable of holding great responsibility
- Healer: brings healing to any relationship, situation, or institution
- Warrior: relishes a challenge, strong and active, champions others
- Counselor: gently guides others with deep wisdom
- Teacher: patiently instructs, directs, and encourages others
- Earth Angel: experiences great joy and contentment when helping others
- Mastership: loves to master skills and fine-tune details of complex systems
- Monk: seeks a life of quiet, serious, mystical contemplation
- Leader: draws others to them to rally behind a cause
- Animal Ally: feels more comfortable and at home around animals
- Activist: advocates for justice, fairness, and equality
- Rebel: shows others the value of doing things differently
- Entrepreneur: works best when executing their own agenda
- Scientist: drawn to scientific inquiry, debate, and processes
- Protector: compelled to guard and keep others safe
- Environmentalist: suited to stewardship of nature
How to find yours
Step 1
Identify 3 spirit archetypes from the list above that resonate with you.
Step 2
Pick 3 spirit archetypes that do not resonate with you.
Step 3
Use your intuition to discern a spirit archetype by choosing a number between 1 and 21. You might hear or see a number in your mind. I heard the number 7 for myself, for instance, and the seventh archetype listed is “healer.”
If you’d like to expand and improve your intuition, try my oracle deck, Awakening Intuition.
Step 4
Brainstorm your spirit’s archetypes that aren’t on this list. When I asked my intuition, I heard “ballerina.” While I only attended the odd ballet class as a child, I admire the dedication dancers have to their craft—the precision, discipline, and mastery ballet demands. I approach my own work similarly.
Step 5
Consider how you already do—or might begin to—express and honor your spirit’s archetypes to feel whole.
The takeaway
When you understand the archetypes that guide your spirit, you can live your life in stronger alignment with your soul’s purpose and feel more whole. And while archetypes can be dormant, forgotten, or abandoned, they can always be reawakened.
As Swiss psychologist and archetype pioneer Carl Jung reminds us, “Archetypes are like riverbeds which dry up when the water deserts them, but which it can find again at any time.”