I am currently immersed in re-reading Carol S. Pearson’s The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By.

The archetypes she references are:

The Innocent
The Orphan
The Wanderer
The Warrior
The Altruist
The Magician

Each represents a facet of us that is needed in our personal development from childhood through adolescence to maturity, and each has its light and shadow side when out of balance.

Here are my key learnings as an introvert, highly sensitive person and empath:

When the Innocent archetype is dominant in an unhealthy or unresourceful way, it makes one naive and overly trusting. One becomes easy prey for scammers and predators.

To counteract this, develop your Warrior energy: learn to set and maintain boundaries, say no, and distance yourself from other people’s negativity and dramas so you can protect your own energy.

When the Altruist archetype is dominant in an unhealthy or unresourceful way, it shows up as wanting to give and give (love, help, money etc) to the extent that one becomes a martyr. One feels virtuous being the giver, but this is done at the expense of one’s personal wellbeing and capacity.

To remedy over-giving, call on your Warrior energy to help you strengthen self-respect, set and maintain boundaries, and keep a watchful eye on your internal reserves.

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