Relating back to my discovery about woman archetype in my previous post, I thought, “Wow, this is something new!”. Out of curiosity, naturally, I did one of the quizzes and the report showed that my archetype is mostly the Wild Woman, followed by Lover and Mother (both because same score). I did several other quizzes, the archetypes kept changing, but still revolve around Wild Woman, Mother, Lover and another one – Mystic Woman.
Woman or feminine archetype originates from Jungian archetypes theory, and further expanded by a psychiatrist, Jean Shinoda Bolen. Screenwriters and writers alike used these archetypes to develop their fictional female characters in their stories. It is likely that, at a certain point, women radiate an archetype depending on their situations and what they are facing in their lives at the moment. A woman might have all the archetypes, but there would be a few dominant ones that would reflect on how she responds to the environment, and she lives her life. More about it is greatly summarised here in this post on Mindvalley, and an extensive list of archetypes also defined here. Some writers, or feminine coaches might term the archetypes differently, but essentially, they are consistent. There are typically 7 main archetypes and its essence (some expands to 12), which are:
- The Lover – sensual
- The Mother – nurturing
- The Huntress – courageous
- The Maiden – innocence
- The Queen – charismatic leader
- The Mystic – peacefulness
- The Sage – wise
You could try quizzes online. The one that I recently tried is this one. And this is what it says about me as the Wild Woman. It appalls me that my Queen archetype percentage is one of the lowest! The Queen energy is so much applauded and women everywhere are inspired to be one. What does it say about me as a woman? Maybe there is no right or wrong about it. Each and every archetype has its own strengths and weaknesses. The benefit of having the awareness I think is that I tend to be more understanding and have less judgement of why other women rarely think or behave like me. Each woman is unique which is why we need to be more curious of what drives a person or a woman to behave the way she does. It also could be useful to observe my dynamics in relationship with people, platonic or romantic. What my feminine energy says about a situation? How do I deal with it?
Because of living and fighting in surviving mode, added up with demands from people around me, I might have repressed and lost touch with my feminine energy. I never thought myself as a feminine one. The more I untangle the emotional messiness and the effects of childhood trauma, the more I realised that most of my actions and judgements were reactions and responses caused by trauma. I know how to survive, but I did not know how to be myself, as a feminine woman. I also got to know that I am and have always been so feminine, only I did not know and did not acknowledge the softness and creative side of me (lack of validation). It is sad to think of it, but I am also grateful to discover it now at this age of 40. Now I understand, why I need to have my specific rest routines after work – I am exhausted being masculine, and need the space and time to tune back towards my feminine energy. I know now how to be in my power and be my most authentic and feminine self that I have neglected many years ago. Nevermind the Queen, I am fine being the Huntress for now.