Archetypes: A Beginner's Guide to Your Inner-net Paperback – December 3, 2013

I just read this amazing book by Caroline Myss, called Archetypes. These are collective symbols that everyone in the culture understands; patterns, habits, and behaviors that people can all describe. When we speak in archetypes, we speak in common terms.For example, if I were to say my uncle's sister's daughter's son's mom is such a martyr, you would immediately get an accurate picture of what I mean by her personality. If I told you my brother's grandma's daughter's son-in-law's wife is an amazing mother, you would also understand what it is I am trying to say.Did you catch that both of these people link back to me? No family members were harmed in the making of these examples. Hmmm...is that a Caretaker tendency...?!?Identifying archetypes is helpful for understanding yourself and others. When I can step back and look at a situation, myself, or another person through the lens of archetypes, I am able to see the impersonal patterns of consciousness that connect us all. When I encounter a person who is a Drama Queen, for example, I can keep my own energy and not lose myself in theirs. And I no longer resent either the person or myself for the situation! Yaay!Archetypes help clarify our human interconnectedness as "the universal language of the human soul," as Caroline puts it. This book is like a workbook, helping the reader to identify some of their primary archetypes.It is organized into ten parent categories that reflect today's common expressions. These archetype families group similar expressions, making it easier to start identifying. As an example, the Creative family includes the Artist, Creative, Performer, Storyteller, etc. At this point I don't necessarily need to define my nuances of a specific archetype (Author? Artist? Storyteller? Scribe?), it is enough to begin with the parent category (Creative!).I found this book to be highly inspiring! If you would like to know more about archetypes in depth, take a look at the same author's book Sacred Contracts, or visit her website salon for more information. Spiritual Seekers who have already read and experienced her previous work will still greatly enjoy Archetypes, it has great nuances.One more important and fun aspect of this book: there is a companion website that is an archetypal community for everyone! Go to [...], read The Concept and How Our Site Works for better descriptions than I do justice here. Take the identifying quiz, then enjoy content created for and tailored to archetypes. Have fun, see you there!Hay House, Pioneer Spriritual Visionary, gave me this book in exchange for my honest Detective, Intellectual, Seeker, Spiritual, Nurturer, Teacher, Mother opinion of it. My Goddess, Warrior, Creative, and Writer truly Advocate(s) this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be referring to it frequently as I continue my journey of growth. Understanding human nature has been a lifelong quest and Caroline Myss was there at the very beginning with Sacred Contracts. I highly recommend any of her works.

Archetypes have always interested me, but not from an academic perspective. Although it tends to be academics who write about them.Caroline Myss is an incredibly switched-on woman, and her slant on the topic is well worth a read.For anyone wanting to find out what energetic currents they swim in and why they love what it is that they love (and why the bottom can fall out of their world if that energetic part of them isn't being fed) then this is a really good book to get you back on track without squashing your own unique take on that particular energy. It offers practical guidelines for helping you recognise when you're going off track - exhibiting the shadow aspect of the archetype - but is equally as accepting of whichever face that archetype presents in your life. You don't feel wrong, just better understood.Because I'd read a bit about archetypes, I only gave the book 4 stars. It is well written and comprehensive in terms of how far she wants to take the topic - which is to help people reconnect with those core (but shifting) energetic undercurrents that inhabit our modern world - but may prove a bit lightweight for a small percentage of readers. That said, I found it extremely helpful to remind me, and help me better understand some core energies that are at play in my world (and why my wheels can fall off if I am not honouring them). Helpful, well written, and the social website that Ms Myss has aligned herself with as part of the story telling is also worth checking out. (I bought the Kindle version because I was keen to get my hands on it, but will also by a hardcopy to enable me to share it with others.)

Like many people I am a voracious reader with interests in a wide variety of topics from Abacus to Zymurgy. I purchase the vast majority of my books on Amazon because they have not only an enormous selection but the most reasonable prices as well. I recently purchased this fantastic 247 page hardcover book (Archetypes: Who are you? By Caroline Myss) for a bargain price on Amazon).I found this book so interesting that I could not put it down and finished it in one sitting. Even though I always knew that I loved numerous sports and martial arts all my life, this book also made me realize that I also can identify clearly with other Archetypes such as the intellectual, artist/creative, the spiritual seeker and definitively the warrior.This easy to read volume covers the following material: Archetypes: the new inner-net, your personal journey, the advocate, the artist/creative, the athlete, the caregiver, the fashionista, the intellectual, the Queen/Executive, the rebel, the spiritual seeker, the visionary, and the archetype gallery.If you are seeking to find out who you are this book points the way by exploring numerous archetypes. You may find your true calling or you may discover like I have, that you are a combination of many archetypes.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Chair/Seated Tai Chi, Qigong and Yoga for seniors and the physically challenged).

Saw the author on TV and thought this would be a good read. It's ok, but frankly, all you need to do is go on her website and take the online test then you know which category you're in. The rest of the book then just becomes reference. Would be good for the professional counselor to have on the bookshelf.