Hi there! Have you ever heard about the twelve Jungian archetypes? Do you know which one suits your personality the best? If you’re completely lost on the topic, don’t worry – we will catch you up in no time. Read on!
The term “archetype” comes from ancient Greek. It’s a combination of “archein” – meaning “original, old” – and “typos” – meaning “pattern, model, type”. That means that an archetype is an “original pattern” from which persons, objects, or ideas are derived, copied, or modeled.
Carl Jung, the Swiss psychologist, used the concept of archetype in his theory of the human psyche. He defined twelve primary types that represent the basic human motivations, as well as our desires and goals. According to theory, every person tends to have one main type dominating their personality.
The Innocent is the type that has the main goal of being happy. People identifying with this archetype are often perceived as childlike, carefree, and even naïve. Their main fear is being punished for something they did wrong. Their talents include faith and optimism.
The Orphan has a desire to belong and find a place they fit in. They don’t want to stick out in the crowd, and their greatest fear is to be left behind. People under this archetype are known as realistic, empathetic, and without pretense. They can lose their identity to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships.
The Hero wants to prove their worth by being courageous and brave. The people identifying with this archetype want to change the world. They fear being weak and vulnerable. Sometimes they can be arrogant and lose themselves in their pursuit of yet another battle. Competence and courage are their strong suits.
The Caregiver has the motto of loving their neighbor as they love themselves. The people who have the Caregiver archetype dominating want to care for and help other people. Their fear is other people not appreciating their efforts and being ungrateful. The Caregivers can fall into a trap of martyrdom and being exploited by others. Their talents are compassion and generosity.
The Explorer wants to explore their identity through discovering the world. They never stay in one place too long. They wish to seek out and experience new things, to escape from boredom and stagnation. The Explorers’ biggest fear is to get trapped in a life of conformity. Autonomy and ambition are their biggest talents.
The Rebel has a desire for revolution or revenge. The rules are made to be broken, at least according to this archetype. The people identifying with it want to shock, disrupt things and cause outrage. When they see that something isn’t working, they want to change it. Rebels can be charismatic and easily encourage others to follow them in their pursuit of rebellion. They fear being powerless.
The Lover is the archetype with a desire for love and experience. The people under the Lover archetype want to be in a relationship with people, whether platonic or romantic. They value passion and devotion. They fear being unloved, unwanted, and lonely. They risk losing the sense of who they are because of their strong desire to please others. Passion, gratitude, and appreciation are their strongest suits.
The Creator wants to create things that have value and leave a legacy. The people identifying with the archetype are original, innovative, and creative. They sometimes get trapped in a spiral of procrastination and perfectionism. Their biggest fear is creating worthless things. Their imagination is their strongest suit.
The Jester archetype is the one that reflects the “you only live once” motto the best. People with dominating Jester archetype want to live in the moment and enjoy all that life has to offer. They can be regarded as silly pranksters, but all they wish is to bring happiness and joy to other people. They fear being bored or boring others. Sometimes other people can perceive the Jesters as frivolous and irresponsible.
The Sage values wisdom, knowledge, and ideas. People with that archetype dominating their personality use intelligence and analysis to understand the world and find the truth. They like to self-reflect. Being ignorant – or being perceived as ignorant – is their worst fear. It happens they get too cautious and hesitant and study the details forever, but never act.
The Magician wants to make the dreams come true. People of this type are charming, pleasant, influential, and sometimes even manipulative. They know what they want and what they need to do to get it. They fear negative consequences that they didn’t themselves predict. Their talent is finding solutions that can please everyone.
The final archetype, the Ruler, is all about control. The Rulers are powerful, domineering personalities with leadership qualities. They hate chaos, disorder, and anarchy, and they fear being overthrown. They don’t like to share their power and can get quite authoritarian. At their best, they’re great leaders. Their talents include responsibility and leadership.
Do you know now what the twelve archetypes are? Do you want to find out which one suits you the best? Take our quiz and discover your dominant archetype.