The Warrior

The warrior archetype is misunderstood by many. It helps us to establish and protect our boundaries, right injustice and defend the less able. The warrior helps us to have courage in the face of opposition and to have integrity.

As a warrior if we rely too heavily on the hero/victim plot we can become engaged in battle after battle. Sometimes we do need to stand up to tyranny, but there are other ways to have the warrior expressed in your life.

A low level expression of the warrior is to gain power and control over others. “My needs and desires matter the most and I will do whatever to make them happen.” A few examples of this are the tyrannical boss, abusive spouse, or bully. From our culture some examples of low level warrior expression are: Darth Vader, Al Pacino in the Godfather,
In order to repress our orphaning, some people become ‘pseudo-warriors” because they have their own sense of powerlessness and they try and control others in order to feel they have power.

Our inner warrior develops because our orphan is looking for someone or something to defend it. Historically as women, we have looked outside ourselves for the warrior energy, as men have typically looked outside themselves for the caregiver archetype. Many women have not been shown or given the OK to express their warrior and to have firm boundaries- to say yes to this, and no to that. Helping our daughters to establish their boundaries is a great first step in helping them to access their warrior energy.

A high level of warrior energy allows win win situations to develop. They have a deep understanding of their own and others desires, and they command respect from others due to their leadership skills. They have high integrity, and eventually ask “what is right for all concerned?”.

Establish boundaries, understand your preferences, help those who don’t have a voice, assert yourself, ask for what you need, defend your values; these are all ways to access your inner warrior.

The Orphan

"The orphan calls us to wake up, let go of our illusions and face our painful reality." Carol Pearson

We all start the journey as innocents, but then the "fall" happens. We get let down, and this usually happens the first time with our parents, for few of us can be perfect all the time. The orphan is activated when we get wounded- abandoned, hurt, neglected, needs not met, and life is no longer perfect.

If we encounter wounding over and over or the wounds are great, we tend to strongly identify with the orphan archetype and it is a dominant force in our lives.

All of us get wounded- there is no avoiding it. But the wounding is on a continuum: some of us are wounded repeatedly with very egregious offenses, and some may be wounded just from our parent's humanness.

So what are the gifts of the orphan? The innocent believes that good always wins out, but the orphan knows that the bad guys can and do win. The orphan helps us to see life with realism, to acknowledge ours and others wounds and to band together against oppression. We feel more connected to others when we acknowlege our and other's wounds. Everyone is wounded- it is a universal human condition.

The orphan archetype can be painful, but is an important one that we usually revisit during different times of our lives.

There are ways to recognize your inner orphan. Ask yourself, what are my first wounds? How have I been hurt? When have I been abandoned? What are some deep wounds that I have a hard time acknowledging?

Take care of your inner orphan, she needs you to recognize her and she brings depth to your life!