# data[].attributes.headline
Understanding Divine "Blueness" in South Asia

# data[].attributes.subject
Understanding Divine "Blueness" in South Asia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Smarthistory – Understanding divine “blueness” in South Asia

# data[].attributes.headline
Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious Theory: What It Suggests About the Mind

# data[].attributes.subject
Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious Theory: What It Suggests About the Mind

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What Is Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious?

Sometimes referred to as the "objective psyche," the collective unconscious refers to the idea that a segment of the deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and not shaped by personal experience. This notion was originally defined by psychoanalyst Carl Jung.

According to Jung's teachings, the collective unconscious is common to all human beings. Jung also believed that the collective unconscious is responsible for a number of deep-seated beliefs and instincts, such as spirituality, sexual behavior, and life and death instincts.

Born in Switzerland in 1875, Carl Jung founded the school of analytical psychology. He is responsible for proposing and developing the psychological concepts of the collective unconscious, along with introverted and extroverted personalities.

Jung worked with Sigmund Freud, another prominent psychologist during that time. In his early studies, Jung's work affirmed many of Freud's ideas. But as time went on, the two eventually split in their principles of psychology-including their thoughts about the development of the unconscious mind.

The biggest difference between their explanations of the unconscious mind is that Freud believed that it was the product of personal experiences, while Jung believed that the unconscious was inherited from the past collective experience of humanity.

What Is the Purpose of the Collective Unconscious?

According to Jung, the collective unconscious is made up of a collection of knowledge and imagery that every person is born with and is shared by all human beings due to ancestral experience. Though humans may not know what thoughts and images are in their collective unconscious, it is thought that in moments of crisis, the psyche can tap into it.

Key Concepts of Cark Jung's Collective Unconscious

Understanding Jung's beliefs of the collective unconscious also require understanding the concepts surrounding these beliefs.

Archetypes

Jung believed that the collective unconscious is expressed through universal archetypes. Archetypes are signs, symbols, or patterns of thinking and/or behaving that are inherited from our ancestors.

According to Jung, these mythological images or cultural symbols are not static or fixed. Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or combine at any given time. Some common archetypes that Jung proposed for explaining the unconscious mind include:

Anima: Symbolized by an idealized woman who compels man to engage in feminine behaviors

Animus: Woman's source of meaning and power that both creates animosity toward man but also increases self-knowledge

Hero: Starting with a humble birth, then overcoming evil and death

Persona: The mask we use to conceal our inner selves to the outside world

Self: The whole personality; the core of the total psyche

Shadow: The psyche's immoral and dark aspects

Trickster: The child seeking self-gratification, sometimes being cruel and unfeeling in the process

Wise old man: The self as a figure of wisdom or knowledge. For example, wizards and revered teachers frequently appear in the media and marketing messages to reflect this archetype.

What Are Jung's Four Major Archetypes?

In his book "Four Archetypes," Jung shared the archetypes he considered to be fundamental to a person's psychological makeup: mother, rebirth, spirit, and trickster.

Complex Beliefs

Jung was convinced that the similarity and universality of world religions pointed to religion as a manifestation of the collective unconscious. Thus, deep-seated beliefs regarding spirituality are explained as partially due to the genetically-inherited unconscious.

Similarly, morals, ethics, and concepts of fairness or right and wrong could be explained in the same way, with the collective unconscious as partially responsible.

Jung used his theory of the collective unconscious to explain how fears and social phobias can manifest in children and adults for no apparent reason. Fear of the dark, loud sounds, bridges, or blood may all be rooted in this collective unconscious due to an inherited genetic trait.

In support of this, research indicates that some children are afraid of the dark not because of a negative experience they've had during the nighttime, but because darkness activates an exaggerated response by the amygdala -the part of the brain associated with the processing of emotions-resulting in the development of an innate or unprovoked fear.

Dreams were thought to provide key insight into the collective unconscious. Jung believed that due to the archetypes represented, specific symbols in dreams are universal. In other words, the same symbols mean similar things to different people.

At the same time, Jung believed that dreams are highly personal and that dream interpretation requires knowing a great deal about the individual dreamer. Freud, on the other hand, often suggested that specific symbols represent specific unconscious thoughts.

More than just being repressed wishes, Jung felt that dreams compensate for parts of the psyche that are underdeveloped in our waking lives. This has allowed for the study of dreams as an instrument for research, diagnosis, and treatment for psychological conditions and phobias.

Interpretation of Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious

Historically, there has been some debate around whether the collective unconscious requires a literal or symbolic interpretation.

In scientific circles, a literal interpretation of the collective unconscious is thought to be a pseudoscientific theory. This is because it is difficult to scientifically prove that images of mythology and other cultural symbols are inherited and present at birth.

Conversely, a symbolic interpretation of the collective unconscious is thought to have some scientific grounding because of the belief that all humans share certain behavioral dispositions.

Ongoing Research

Researchers are continuously trying to increase their understanding of the collective unconscious. For instance, a 2015 study suggests that the gut microbiome may play a role in how the unconscious regulates behavior. If so, studies of gut microbes could be a part of the future of psychiatric research.

Another example is a 2022 study published in Digital Geography and Society that investigates the role that the collective unconscious may play in our thoughts and behaviors while interacting on social media platforms. Thus, Jung's ideas continue to be assessed to better understand the collective unconscious and how it works.

Additional Reading

By Lisa Fritscher
Lisa Fritscher is a freelance writer and editor with a deep interest in phobias and other mental health topics.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious Is Tied to Dreams, Beliefs, and Phobias

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Carl Jung's collective unconscious theory refers to the concept that our deepest unconscious mind is genetically inherited and not shaped by experience.

# data[].attributes.headline
Carl Jung and the Concept of Collective Consciousness

# data[].attributes.subject
Carl Jung and the Concept of Collective Consciousness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
FROM THE LECTURE SERIES: Redefining Reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

The 20th century witnessed the destruction of the notion we had about ourselves as human beings. Rather than the dividing line on the Great Chain of Being, we were nothing more than the products of our childhood traumas suggested by Sigmund Freud's tripartite theory of mind.

According to Freud, a person's subconscious is shaped through their relations with certain people in their life. He also thought that organized religion, like the state and the culture, works as a collective superego that controls and represses the human urge to be a self. This notion of collective superego was extended by Carl Gustav Jung.

The notion of collective consciousness was put forward by Carl Gustav Jung (Image: Lightspring/Shutterstock)

Jung's Theories about Collective Unconscious

Carl Jung was Freud's best student and closest disciple, who continued Freud's psychoanalytic movement. Jung did not see eye to eye with Freud about the notion of organized religion. He considered the religious impulse to be naturally and universally a part of human consciousness. His belief in the universal consciousness was the central difference between him and Freud, which permanently separated the two.

Sigmund Freud did not accept the concept of the collective unconscious. (Image: Max Halberstadt/Public domain)

While Freud did not tolerate any ideas that were against his, Jung had different views. He agreed with Freud about the subconscious as a repository of primal desires. He also believed in the Freudian concept that many forms of neurosis were the result of the conflicts between the conscious and the unconscious. But he held that Freud had failed to take into account what he called the 'collective consciousness' as an expansion of the id. The human subconscious is not only the repository of personal experiences and memories but also those of the whole of humanity. All human beings share a subconscious mind that stores the memories of all human beings, alive and dead.

According to Jung, we carry the memories of our ancestors in our subconscious. We use this collective unconscious to assign structure and meaning to the world.

This is a transcript from the video series Redefining Reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science. Watch it now, on Wondrium.

What are Jungian Archetypes?

Jung had observed similar patterns in images, characters, and events recurring in myths, religions, and cultural beliefs. These communities and societies were unlikely to have been in contact with each other, but their central stories featured the same elements with the same roles.

Jung refers to these central elements as archetypes. Also, he called the repeated occurrences of these archetypes in cultures isolated from each other synchronicities.

Carl Jung discovered patterns among cultures and societies and called them archetypes (Image: Prints & Photographs Division Library of Congress/Public domain)

We can't get specific detail of human history form the collective unconscious. What we get is a set of vague patterns, or archetypes. Our mind interprets the world and events using these archetypes and gives meaning to the world.

The differences we see in the specific features of each culture stems from the fact that each culture applies these shared archetypes based on their own geographical and historical peculiarities. But the central values are peculiarly common, so much so that, we cannot believe these cultures are independent of each other.

According to Jung, these patterns are both seen in the human mind and the whole world. He calls them collective unconscious noumena.

Learn more about the wisdom of crowds.

The Noumena and the Phenomena

The noumena had been distinguished from the phenomena by Immanuel Kant in the 18 th century. According to this German philosopher, the phenomena are the experience of a thing by the human, and the noumena are the actual thing.

For example, when we look at a pen, we get an image of it and think we know something about the pen. But the image does not have a physical manifestation; it is just in our mind. There is no way of knowing that what is in the mind is similar to the real thing creating that image. Does it really have the same features, or do we just think that the features are the same? According to Kant, metaphysics is of no use since we only have access to phenomena. We can never get outside of our minds. Therefore, we can't be sure about the reality.

But Jung had a different idea. For him, the collective unconscious connects the mind to the world. We can get to reality through the collective unconscious, to which all the human species are all connected. Jung stated that there were curious coincidences that could not be explained while they were not completely random. They cannot be happening randomly and must have some explanation. We take them as signals sent by the universe to us. Jung believed that these synchronicities show that this collective unconscious connects us.

Another similarity between Freud and Jung's ideas is that both of them study humans not in a vacuum but in relation to other entities. For Freud, the relation between father and child determines the nature of the human mind and behaviors.

Jung's final step is that he dismisses the object as an individual and considers a unified whole. The object does not matter in its own right; it is just a mode of the larger collective reality.

Learn more about where do people's personalities come from?

Common Questions about Carl Jung and the Concept of Collective Consciousness
Q: What are synchronicities?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Carl Jung and the Concept of Collective Consciousness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The tripartite theory of mind put forth by Freud was advanced by his best student Carl Jung, who introduced yet new concepts. What were these new concepts that led to a conflict between Freud and Jung?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"God made man, because he liked to hear a story." So say the Africans, and the rich variety of worldwide mythology proves that God chose wisely!

Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional. But myths are more than mere stories and they serve a more profound purpose in ancient and modern cultures. Myths are sacred tales that explain the world and man's experience. Myths are as relevant to us today as they were to the ancients. Myths answer timeless questions and serve as a compass to each generation. The myths of lost paradise, for example, give people hope that by living a virtuous life, they can earn a better life in the hereafter. The myths of a golden age give people hope that there are great leaders who will improve their lives. The hero's quest is a model for young men and women to follow, as they accept adult responsibilities. Some myths simply reassure, such as myths that explain natural phenomena as the actions of gods, rather than arbitrary events of nature.

The subjects of myths reflect the universal concerns of mankind throughout history: birth, death, the afterlife, the origin of man and the world, good and evil and the nature of man himself. A myth taps into a universal cultural narrative, the collective wisdom of man. An excellent illustration of the universality of these themes is that so many peoples who have had no contact with each other create myths that are remarkably similar. So, for example, cultures worldwide, from the Middle East to the distant mountains of South America have myths about great floods, virgin births, and the afterlife (more examples of these archetypal themes are in the Myths & Archetypes section of the website).

Unlike fairy tales, myths are not always optimistic. True to the nature of life, the essence of myths is such that they are as often warnings as promises; as often laments as celebrations. Many myths are instructive and act as a guide to social norms, taking on cultural taboos such as incest, fratricide, and greed.

Myths are also pervasive in the arts and advertising, for a very simple reason. From film to cars to perfume, advertising uses visual metaphors to speak to us. While artists of every generation reinterpret myths, the same basic patterns have shown up in mythology for thousands of years. A name, phrase, or image based on a familiar myth can speak volumes to those who have been absorbing these mythic tales since birth. When we hear the expression, "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" or when we see a television commercial featuring a wooden horse full of soldiers, we recognize the reference to Odysseus, who tricked the Trojans into admitting an army into their city this way.

When Jacqueline Kennedy referred to her husband's tenure as a new Camelot, we understand that she meant it was a golden age, like that of King Arthur. When the Greek government dubbed a campaign to rescue ethnic Greeks from behind the walls of the Iron Curtain "Operation Golden Fleece," we understood that they were invoking an ancient name to communicate that these people belonged to them. Each generation of storytellers adds another layer of fact and fiction to the myths, such that the themes and characters of myths are timeless, and endlessly relevant, as they are reinvented and reapplied to the lives of each new generation.

Bibliography

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
In Search of Myths &amp Heroes . What is a Myth? | PBS

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"God made man, because he liked to hear a story." So say the Africans, and the rich variety of worldwide mythology proves that God chose wisely! Myths are stories that are based on tradition. Some may have factual origins, while others are completely fictional.

# data[].attributes.headline
16Personalities Quiz: Which archetypal character are you? 

# data[].attributes.subject
16Personalities Quiz: Which archetypal character are you? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Personality types

Understand others

In our free type descriptions you'll learn what really drives, inspires, and worries different personality types, helping you build more meaningful relationships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Free personality test, type descriptions, relationship and career advice | 16Personalities

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Personality types In our free type descriptions you'll learn what really drives, inspires, and worries different personality types, helping you build more meaningful relationships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Origin of the Greek World - Greek Mythology in Comics -See U in History

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Old Testament Summary: A Complete Animated Overview

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Sumerian King List and the History of Ancient Mesopotamia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The 10 Main Deities of Chinese Mythology

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Hindu Mythology | Anand Neelankantan | TEDxSIBMBengaluru

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Chinese myth of the immortal white snake - Shunan Teng

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Stephen is a passionate Brand Creator and Founder of Iconic Fox Brand Agency. With a background in both financial markets and design, he is well positioned on brand strategy and creative and is passionate about both. Stephen has been featured on Marketo, Hubspot, Inside Small Business, Creative Bloq and more for his expertise on brand strategy and creative. He's also a friendly chap so if there's something you want to know about brand, he'd be happy to get into it with you

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brand Archetypes: The Definitive Guide [36 Examples]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There's just something about the brands we connect with. We have an affinity with them that's hard to put your finger on. It's as if we know them. In some cases, it's as if we love them. What is it that attracts us to these brands?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
All stories somehow tie into the seven common character archetypes. Sure, you know about your heroes, your villains, and your allies but, there are several more. There are many character archetypes but, in this paper with a limit of 7,000 words, we will focus on the main seven of archetypes the hero, the shadow, the mentor, the trickster, threshold guardians, shape-shifters, and heralds. I will even talk about allies. What characters will this paper talk about? The main characters from the classic story of Percy Jackson and the Olympians are going to be the stars in this story. After all, the book series Percy Jackson and the Olympians closely follows the seven main character archetypes.

What are the seven character archetypes that I keep talking about? Simple: they are the types of characters in a story. Usually stories have similar types of characters. The hero of the story, most of the time, is the main character or a side character. An example of a hero is Superman. They can be brave, tall, short, strong, muscular, or anything you want them to be as long as they are not evil. Speaking of evil, shadows are the bad guys of stories. An example of a shadow would be Darth Vader. They can have magical powers, a cat, a unicorn, or anything. When it comes to writing the story of the shadow you can have as much fun as you want. People can be tricky though because not all shadows start evil. Enter the shape-shifter (like Loki)! These characters start out as good guys, but as the story progresses they make a choice that would count them as bad guys. This choice tends to happen at a critical moment. Critical moments are also good for the trickster. This beloved character plays pranks on the other characters. Peeves from Harry Potter would be a good example of this character archetype. They tend to stop messing around at the critical moments. Heros can't go on an adventure without having a reason, which is why heralds are important to the story. They give a cause to go on the quest. In The Avengers Director Fury is the herald. Threshold guardians are important to the story, too. They are obstacles that gives the hero has difficulties while completing the quest. With all of these characters, who is in charge of training the hero? Who gives them advice? Mentors are truly amazing because they deal with all of the hero's attitude, problems, and training. They give advice that can be really helpful or down right confusing. (The Hero's Journey; Winkle).

Who Are the Characters?

Now that the seven character archetypes have been defined, it is time to play a game of Guess Who?! Sadly, we technically can not play the actual game so I am going to simply tell you which character in Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief fits into each character type. According to Chris Winkle, author of The Eight Character Archetypes of the Hero's Journey,

"The hero is the audience's personal tour guide on the adventure that is the story".

This would mean that Percy Jackson is the hero in this thrilling series. With all of this talk about Percy's quest, you probably want to know what the quest was. Zeus lost his "Master Bolt" and Poseidon sent Percy to get it.

That was after he arrived at Camp Half-Blood. Who made him go to the camp? Mrs. Dodds is the crazy math teacher who made him go on the quest and to the camp in the first place. This would make her the herald. In a way Poseidon is also the herald. According to the youtube video The Hero's Journey

"The herald changes the course of the story often startin' the hero on their adventure,"

which is exactly what Mrs. Dodds and Poseidon do. As Percy goes on his quest, he is accompanied by Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood. Grover is a loveable goof of a satyr who makes you laugh one way or another. This information would make him known as the trickster of the story. Annabeth, on the other hand, is much more serious. She uses her knowledge to get them out of tight spots and makes sure they don't die. This would make her the ally. "The loyalty and admiration allies have for the hero tells the audience that they are worthy of the trials ahead,"according to Chris Winkle. In a way both Annabeth and Grover fit into this archetype. While talking about the good guys, lets name the mentor of this series. Who is in each book and guides Percy and the gang with advice to defeat the monsters? Chiron the centaur! He helps them when needed and is able to deal with these teenagers as they deal with their parent problems. If that's not what a mentor, is there is no point in camping.

Characters who switch sides are called shape-shifters. In this series it is Luke Castellan. As it turns out Luke had a bit of a mishap during his last quest making it so that he saw the greek gods as the evil in the world. He started as a good guy who was helping Percy, but when Percy got to go on his quest he shifted from the side of good to the side of evil. Now each adventure is bound to have some misdirection or complication. These are caused by threshold guardians. These characters in the Percy Jackson series are all of the monsters he faces. Bad guys, also known as shadows, are in each story. In this story Kronos is in charge of summoning the monsters, and causing all of these problems that the half- bloods of camp Half- Blood have to deal with (Riordan, "Characters"; The Hero's Journey; Winkle).

There you have it. I, in under 7,000 words, have managed to explain to you the seven main character archetypes, and how they tie into the great series of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I realize that you may think differently about how these characters tie into the archetypes, but this is how they are best fitted in my point of view. You could say that Luke was the hero because in the last book he sacrificed himself for the world. You could say that the Stoll brothers were main characters. You can say what you want in your own paper. This I my essay so it could make you think differently on your point of view. As Percy Jackson said " I promise I didn't make any of this up." Be sure to read these books someday. They are very good. (Riordan, Rocco; The Hero's Journey)

Works Cited

Boots, Glove and. "The Hero's Journey." YouTube, YouTube, 18 June 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZxs_jGN7Pg

"Characters." Rick Riordan, rickriordan.com/characters/

Riordan, Rick. The Lightning Thief / #1 Percy Jackson & the Olympians. Hyperion Books, 2005.

Riordan, Rick, and John Rocco. Percy Jackson's Greek Gods. Scholastic, 2016.

Winkle, Chris. "The Eight Character Archetypes of the Hero's Journey." Mythcreants, mythcreants.com/blog/the-eight-character-archetypes-of-the-heros-journey/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
All stories somehow tie into the seven common character archetypes. Sure, you know about your heroes, your villains, and your allies but, there are several more. There are many character archetypes...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The epic of Gilgamesh, the king who tried to conquer death - Soraya Field Fiorio

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The myth of Prometheus - Iseult Gillespie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This introspective short animation takes place In the village of Carcross, in the Tagish First Nation. Neighbourhood pillar Grandma Kay tell the local children the tale of how ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Between 1998 and 2000, ORIAS held a series of teacher institutes at UC Berkeley on the theme of teaching pre-modern history through literature. Using a comparative model based on Joseph Campbell's monomyth (Hero With A Thousand Faces, 1949), middle school teachers, university scholars and performers explored ways to bring pre-modern history to life through the introduction of national heroic traditions.

# data[].attributes.headline
Star Wars: 10 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.subject
Star Wars: 10 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From the epics of ancient Greece to our most beloved franchise films today, storytellers rely on archetypes to create compelling characters that we want to watch. In the early 20th century, psychologist Carl Jung explored archetypes as part of his notion of the collective unconscious, claiming that humanity has a basic, shared set of character types it relies on in the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Joseph Campbell would later shore up those claims, as he found the same archetypes over and over in traditional and creation stories throughout the world and laid them out in his 1949 book The Hero With A Thousand Faces.

RELATED: Star Wars: Why Luke Skywalker Never Turned To The Dark Side

George Lucas modeled Star Wars IV: A New Hope on Campbell's notion of the Hero's Journey. Jung had twelve basic archetypes; Campbell had eight. But there are many useful variants out there to help us understand how writers think of and utilize these archetypes to create the characters that we know and love. Here's one way to look at the characters from through the lens of archetypes.

The Warrior/Hero: Luke Skywalker

Joseph Campbell defined a hero as "someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." At first, Luke Skywalker's ambitions were no more significant than getting into the Academy (the Imperial Academy, by the way!) so that he could be a pilot and have adventures (maybe he wanted to be like Han Solo). He reluctantly answers Princess Leia's call, follows his destiny, joins the Rebellion, and leads his team to victory by blowing up the dreaded Death Star.

Visually, he wears white, and his light-saber is a calming blue. The hero has two journeys: an inner one and an outer one. Luke's inner journey is to understand his relationship with the Force. His outer journey is to destroy the Death Star.

The Shadow/Villain: Darth Vader

The clichéd phrase, "We're not so different, you and I..." is relevant to understanding the dynamic between Shadow characters and Hero characters. The best villains are just as - if not more - motivated than their heroic counterparts. And typically, the Shadow is better equipped than the hero. Darth Vader's goal is to crush the Rebellion by any means. He's got the resources and the ability.

RELATED: Star Wars: Darth Vader Always Knew The Death Star's Biggest Weakness

Just as every hero has a flaw (Luke is supremely impatient and naive enough to be borderline arrogant), Vader is not pure evil. It takes him a couple of films, but he does eventually stand up to his boss, Emperor Palpatine. Vader's arrogance allows him to misjudge the Rebellion's capacity to, well, rebel very effectively. Note the visual contrast with Luke: he's always in black (so slimming), and his red light-saber represents his rage and inner turmoil.

Threshold Guardians: Stormtroopers

Wherever the hero and his/her allies go, there are the Threshold Guardians, to thwart their progress. In this case, because the Stormtroopers have famously bad aim, Luke and company get slowed down by them or redirected by them, but never stopped by them.

Their function in any story is as a force to overcome. They are like the early-level videogame bosses of any story.

The Herald: R2-D2

Herald characters typically appear at the beginning of the hero's journey as part of what Campbell calls the "Call to Adventure." When R2-D2 plays Princess Leia's message containing a plea for help, it changes Luke's path irrevocably.

Note that a single character can play more than one role in relation to the hero and thus conform to multiple archetypes. R2-D2 goes on to be a trusted ally to Luke. He and C3PO together are both similar to The Child archetype (see below).

The Mentor/Sage: Obi-Wan Kenobi

The mentor is unique because their experience and wisdom come from being on a similar journey in the past to the one the hero is currently on. There is more than one type of mentor and sometimes more than one in a story.

When there are two mentors, it may be that one is mentoring the hero on the inner journey while the other mentor helps with the outer mission. Obi-Wan Kenobi guides Luke primarily on his inner journey. It is not uncommon for the mentor archetype to involve a serious sacrifice.

False Mentors: Owen and Beru Lars

A false mentor does not have to be an evil character - they just have to be wrong about their counsel. Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru both care about Luke deeply. But their advice would keep Luke in what Campbell calls "The Ordinary World."

Not to be too cutthroat about it, but they are blocking Luke's correct path. They are in the way. And they pay for that with their lives in a scene of ruthless slaughter that serves as a crisp reminder to Luke (and us) what he's up against.

The Companion: Princess Leia

We don't know yet in Episode IV that Princess Leia is Luke's sister. And it doesn't matter. The love interest, for the sake of an archetype, need not be romantic. The hero can be just as committed to a family member or a deeply bonded friend.

In any case, Leia, on the surface, is the "damsel in distress." However, as we come to know her better, she becomes a strong, courageous, heroic figure in her own right.

The Outlaw/Shapeshifter: Han Solo

Han Solo is a critical character to Luke's journey because, while he's entertaining in his self-interested roguishness, he serves to highlight the elevated principles to which Luke has dedicated himself. His willingness to break the rules is enormously helpful to Luke, but when the going gets too tough, too dangerous, he abandons Luke's cause. At first.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Han Solo

We love Han even more because rather than him sullying our hero's efforts with his self-interests, Luke's heroic influence shines all the brighter for its effect on Han. Han's role in the final confrontation makes all the difference in helping the hero complete his outer mission.

The Child: C-3PO

No character in Episode IV: A New Hope is more child-like or naive than C-3PO. He's like the Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz if the Scarecrow speaks more than six million languages. For all his fluency, he never really gets it.

Together with R2-D2, precisely because they are droids, they represent the Jungian archetype of puer aeternus, Latin for the eternal child. They are forever fixed in their adolescent innocence.

The Friendly Beast: Chewbacca

This archetype is based on animal guides that help the hero find their way, with a secondary benefit of showing us that nature itself is symbolically on the hero's side.

What better representation of this idea than Chewbacca, the literal co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon?

NEXT: Star Wars Confirms The First Jedi DIDN'T Serve The Light Side

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Star Wars: 10 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The original Star Wars is a classic hero's tale, but what character archetype do the rest of the cast members fit into?

# data[].attributes.headline
Harry Potter: 15 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.subject
Harry Potter: 15 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Psychologist Carl Jung explored archetypes as part of his notion of a collective unconscious, claiming that humanity has a basic, shared set of character types. Joseph Campbell found the use of archetypes over and over in traditional and creation stories throughout the world. His ideas became the basis of his 1949 book The Hero With A Thousand Faces.

RELATED: Star Wars: 10 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

Jung had twelve basic archetypes and Campbell had eight, but many additional useful variants have since been claimed. Character archetypes perform a function within a story to argue either for or against the central premise, which with Harry Potter is the assertion that love in all its varied forms (compassion, empathy, mercy, and fraternal, filial, and romantic love) is stronger than the most oppressive and darkest forces allayed against it. The premise is not to be confused with the journey: Harry Potter's central mission is to gather enough strength, skill, experience, and allies to defeat Voldemort. Here's one way to look at J.K. Rowling's characters through the lens of archetypes.
Updated on January 3rd, 2021 by Amanda Bruce: Harry Potter remains a huge part of pop culture today thanks to spin-off movies, Broadway shows, and the collective obsession with classifying both fictional and real people into their Hogwarts houses. The interest in the franchise only means that there's always room for a more in-depth look at it and the characters. Accordingly, we've expanded this list with a further 5 archetypes embodied by the main characters of the series, from the villains and heroes to everyone else in-between.
The Warrior/Hero (Also The Orphan): Harry Potter

In a typical Hero/Shadow pairing, the Hero faces seemingly insurmountable odds because the Shadow is better equipped and just as motivated. This is certainly true of Harry Potter, who starts his Hero's Journey an orphan child living in a closet with a scar and no training.

Harry has no knowledge of his past and is already targeted for assassination by one of the most powerful evil wizards in history. Talk about a disadvantage! Thankfully, Harry has the grit, courage, intellect, empathy, and kindness of heart necessary to gain both the skills and supportive allies needed to confront Voldemort, the Dark Lord.

The Jester/Trickster: Fred And George Weasley

The entirety of the Weasely family becomes embroiled in the fight against Voldemort early in the series. In reality, all of them could be considered Allies - those who help the Hero in their quest - but Ron's older twin brothers play another role during the stories set at Hogwarts as well.

The Jester or Trickster is often the comic relief. They make the audience laugh and relieve the tension otherwise felt in the Hero's Journey. In the case of Fred and George, that means playing pranks, cracking jokes, and developing Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, all while encouraging their peers to rebel against an oppressive authority.

The Friendly Beast: Hedwig

Fans could probably argue that there are numerous species outside of wizards that Harry meets on his journey who could fill this role. The Friendly Beast is often a non-human creature who helps lead the Hero in their quest.

While Hedwig doesn't speak, she does provide Harry with some of his first steps into the world of wizards. She's Hagrid's gift to Harry early on, and remains a companion for him throughout his days at Hogwarts, allowing him to communicate with his allies all over the wizarding world.

The Ruler: Cornelius Fudge

The role of The Ruler is exactly what the name implies: an authority figure that holds sway over other characters. The Ruler can be either a help or a hindrance to the Hero on their journey, but they often find themselves out of touch with the reality of their situation.

Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic for much of Harry's formative years is just that. His influence on the community forces denial of Voldemort's existence and sees those who believe in Harry act in secret.

The Caregiver: Molly Weasley

Those familiar with classic archetypes in literature might also reference The Caregiver as The Good Mother, but a Caregiver doesn't have to be a mother, or even a woman, to fill this specific role. It's someone who helps to provide structure in the Hero's life, someone who helps care for them but doesn't necessarily go on their journey with them.

RELATED: Harry Potter: 10 Storylines A Maurauder's Spin-Off Could Cover

Molly is not an active participant in the Hero's journey until about halfway into the series, but she is there to provide Harry with a comforting environment, and a family in which everyone gets fairly disciplined instead of targeted. She helps give Harry hope and purpose, giving him a window into what he's fighting for.

The Shadow/Villain: Voldemort

A common thread among well-defined villains is that they are often meaningfully connected to the hero, and it's very much the case with Harry and Voldemort. Their wand-cores each come from tail feathers of Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes (and they both in their own ways die and resurrect like phoenixes themselves).

They share a magical connection through Harry's scar, where they each can see into the mind or experience of the other. Voldemort is set on killing Harry and finishing his takeover of the wizarding world that had been preempted by Harry and his parents when Harry was an infant.

Threshold Guardians: The Dursley Family/The Death Eaters

The function of Threshold Guardians is to thwart the progress of the hero, though they aren't always serious obstacles. The Dursleys are quite abusive toward Harry, especially early on in the series. But as Harry gains confidence, the Dursleys get their comic comeuppance (more than once) and we get the satisfaction of feeling karmic balance in the process. The Dursleys only block Harry's initial path to Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

RELATED: Harry Potter: 10 Mistakes Made By The Death Eaters

However, Harry must first battle the very deadly and very destructive Death Eaters in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire before he battles Voldemort in the flesh for the first time.

The Herald/Child/Mentor: Hagrid

Herald characters typically appear at the beginning of the hero's journey as part of what Campbell calls the "Call to Adventure." Hagrid liberates Harry from the Durselys at the beginning of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, informs Harry of his true wizard nature and origins, and acts as a mentor for the first few chapters (at least until Harry's true mentor, Dumbledore, can take over the role).

Hagrid goes on to be a steadfast ally to Harry for the entire series. He also fits the archetypal function of The Child. With this archetype, we have a character trapped in a perpetual naiveté. Several major plot points turn on Hagrid's innocence and inability to read bad intentions.

The Mentor/Sage: Albus Dumbledore

One of the richest mentor characters in the history of middle-grade fiction must be Albus Dumbledore, whose steady guiding hand is a powerful argument for the premise mentioned above. When all the wizards around him refuse to speak Voldemort's name in favor of the much darker " He who must not be named," Dumbledore counsels Harry to do differently, recognizing both the power of fear and the need for Harry to not give in to it.

RELATED: Why Harry Potter Movies Changed Dumbledore's Death (& Made It Worse)

The mentor archetype draws its power from the notion that their experience and wisdom come from walking a similar path in the past to the one the hero is currently on. It is not uncommon for the mentor to undergo a serious sacrifice.

The Mentor/Outlaw: Sirius Black

Harry's Godfather, Sirius, is the main Mentor for Harry's inner journey because he emotionally connects Harry to his dead parents. Dumbledore helps Harry navigate his actions, while Sirius helps Harry navigate his feelings.

Sirius also represents the outlaw archetype in a very literal sense, having broken out from Azkaban prison and spending much of his time in hiding. As is common with many Mentor characters, Sirius winds up a sacrifice for the cause, and Harry experiences great loss when Sirius is killed in battle.

The False Mentor: Mad-Eye Moody/Barty Crouch Jr.

In addition to the Mentors who actually help the Hero prepare for their quest, there can also be False Mentors. These characters aren't always going to be villains, but they will be someone who the audience mistakenly believes to be filling the Mentor role.

In this case, the person the audience thinks is Mad-Eye Moody as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but is really Barty Crouch Jr. in disguise, makes for a great False Mentor. This is a character who does build Harry, and even some of his classmates, up, teaching them useful magical skills, but it's also someone whose main goal is to get Harry to Voldemort.

The Companion: Cho Chang And Ginny Weasley

Since this story does take place in a school, it's inevitable that romance comes up as something Harry must deal with.

As he grows from a boy into a young man, the way he handles romance is a reflection of his growth as a hero. That is to say, he starts out awkwardly but gets better. He marries Ginny in the end.

The Ally: Ron Weasley

Because the mission/adventure is too difficult for Harry to tackle alone, he needs allies. Ron's friendship and his family's deep experience in the wizarding world help keep Harry grounded.

And Ron is at Harry's side for just about every adventure, misguided or not. Ron is like a brother to Harry and over time the Weasley family becomes Harry's surrogate family.

The Ally: Hermione Granger

Harry would not have survived his journey were it not for Hermione's patience, studiousness, and steadfast friendship. Hermione is light years ahead of Ron and Harry in her maturity and often has to spell things out for them.

While Harry's bond with Ron is centered around loyalty and trust, his bond with Hermione has abiding respect at its heart. She is like a sister to Harry. J.K. Rowling herself, however, expressed regret that she romantically paired Hermione with Ron instead of Harry, claiming, the two were "a better fit."

The Shapeshifter: Severus Snape

The allegiances and missions of the Hero and the Shadow are crystal clear, but changeability, uncertainty, and unclear loyalties are the defining traits of the Shapeshifter, and Severus Snape embodies that grey zone beautifully.

His past as a Death Eater in service of Voldemort, his dripping dislike of Harry, and his antipathy toward Harry's dead father James and his godfather Sirius on the one hand, and Albus Dumbledore's unflinching trust in him on the other, Snape keeps us guessing at who he really serves.

NEXT: Ranked: Every Major Death In Harry Potter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harry Potter: 15 Archetypes Of The Main Characters

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most of the Harry Potter characters fit into classic character archetypes, but which archetype applies to which character?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Archetypes are universal, inborn models of people, behaviors, and personalities that play a role in influencing human behavior. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung's theory suggested that these archetypes were archaic forms of innate human knowledge passed down from our ancestors.

In Jungian psychology, these archetypes represent universal patterns and images that are part of the collective unconscious. Jung believed that we inherit these archetypes much in the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behavior.

Personal vs. Collective Unconscious

Jung was originally a follower of Sigmund Freud. The relationship eventually fractured over Jung's criticism of Freud's emphasis on sexuality during development, which led Jung to develop his own psychoanalytic approach known as analytical psychology.

While Jung agreed with Freud that the unconscious played an important role in personality and behavior, he expanded on Freud's idea of the personal unconscious to include what Jung called the collective unconscious.

Jung believed that the human psyche was composed of three components:

According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind, and the personal unconscious contains memories-including those that have been suppressed.

The Origins of Jungian Archetypes

Jung believed that archetypes come from the collective unconscious. He suggested that these models are innate, universal, unlearned, and hereditary. Archetypes organize how we experience certain things.

"All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes," Jung explained in his book, "The Structure of the Psyche."

"This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form, they are variants of archetypal ideas created by consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness, not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us," he suggested.

Jung rejected the concept of tabula rasa, or the notion that the human mind is a blank slate at birth to be written solely by experience. He believed that the human mind retains fundamental, unconscious, biological aspects of our ancestors. These "primordial images," as he initially dubbed them, serve as a basic foundation of how to be human.

Jung believed that each archetype played a role in personality, but felt that most people were dominated by one specific archetype. According to Jung, the actual way in which an archetype is expressed or realized depends upon a number of factors, including an individual's cultural influences and uniquely personal experiences.

The Main Archetypes

Jung identified four major archetypes but also believed that there was no limit to the number that may exist. The existence of these archetypes cannot be observed directly but can be inferred by looking at religion, dreams, art, and literature. Jung's four major archetypes are: the persona, the shadow, the anima/animus, and the self.

Archetypical Figures

Jung acknowledged that the four main archetypes can intermingle and give rise to 12 archetypical figures (also known as archetypical images). These include:

A Word From Verywell

Jung's ideas have not been as popular as Freud's and his archetypes have not been viewed favorably in modern psychology. This might be because his work tended to veer into the mystical and pseudoscientific, and is therefore often studied more as a historical artifact and in realms of literary criticism and popular culture applications of mythology than as a major contribution to the science of the mind and behavior.

Other criticisms of Jung's archetypes suggest that they are overly stereotyped, reductionistic, and culturally biased.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Jung's 8 personality types?

In addition to his theory of archetypes, Jung also introduced a theory of personality that became the basis for the MBTI personality typology. Jung's eight personality types are:

1. Extraverted thinking

2. Introverted thinking

3. Extraverted feeling

4. Introverted feeling

5. Extraverted sensing

6. Introverted sensing

7. Extraverted intuitive

8. Introverted intuitive

What is my Jungian persona?

According to Jung, your persona is the social mask that you wear and present to the world. It is designed to make an impression on others, but it also serves to conceal your true self.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Carl Jung described archetypes as models of people, behaviors, and personalities. Learn about the major archetypes that Jung identified and their characteristics.

# data[].attributes.headline
Massive Similarities Between Different World Mythologies

# data[].attributes.subject
Massive Similarities Between Different World Mythologies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Many eighteenth and nineteenth century scholars believed that all world mythologies showed signs of having evolved from a single mythical theme.

There are over a hundred different world mythologies that we know of today. Among these are the Greek, Roman, Norse, Etruscan, Celtic, Slavic, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Babylonian, Arabian, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Chinese, and many more myths.

Anyone with the knowledge of more than one of these world mythologies would realize that there are some glaring similarities between them.

I don't mean to minimize the significance of individual cultures by glossing over their differences - each culture deserves its unique glory for its contribution to humanity. However, at a time when we are ripping ourselves apart in racial, religious, and political sectarianism, perhaps we should take a moment to study the roots that we all share.

Have a look at the five major themes forming the common ground for world mythologies.

Creation: from Chaos or Nothingness

It is natural that the most common question early humans tried to answer was of how we came into being. How was the world created? According to Hindu mythology, in the beginning, only Vishnu was there. When Vishnu thought about creation, Brahma was created from a lotus that came from his navel. It was Brahma who finally created the world.

Similar creation myths involving the world being created out of chaos or a vast, empty, nothingness can be found in the myths of ancient Babylon (the myth), ancient Greece (the golden egg laid by Nyx or Night), the Book of Genesis (Elohim creating the heavens and earth in six days), and in Norse mythology (the yawning void named Ginnungagap), among numerous others.

Many cultures have stories about divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality. In Indian Vedic mythology, the Purusha Sukta narrates that all things were made out of the mangled limbs of Purusha, a magnified non-natural man, who was sacrificed by the gods.

Similarly, the Chinese myth of and the of both tell of a cosmic giant who was killed to create the world. A myth from the Wemale people of Seram Island, Indonesia, tells of a miraculously-conceived girl named Hainuwele, whose murdered corpse sprouts into the people's staple food crops.

A flood myth is a narrative in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. In the Genesis mythology of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh (God) decides to flood the earth because of the depth of the sinful state of mankind. That's where we get

The of (found in the Satapatha Brahmana and the Puranas) is similar to that of Noah 's story, albeit less popularly known today.

Read More: This Novel By Neil Gaiman Is THE Book You Should Be Reading If You Are Into Mythology

Many world mythologies mention a place that sits at the center of the world and acts as a point of contact between different levels of the universe. Vedic India, ancient China, and the ancient Germans all had myths featuring a "Cosmic Tree" whose branches reach heaven and whose roots reach hell.

is a sacred mountain with five peaks in and Buddhist cosmology and is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical and spiritual universes. is the tree connecting the nine worlds in Norse cosmology. In Greek mythology, stones are considered to be the "navel" of the world.

Many cultures have a creation myth in which a group of younger, more civilized gods conquers and/or struggles against a group of older gods who represent the forces of chaos. I suppose it shows that even all those years ago people believed that the young always replace the old, no matter how strong or wise the old are.

In Hindu mythology, the younger devas (gods) battle the older asuras (demons). In the of the Titanomachy, the Olympian gods defeat the Titans, an older and more primitive divine race, and establish cosmic order. Similarly, the Celtic gods of life and light struggle against the Fomorians, ancient gods of death and darkness.

These are but a few of the various similarities that exist in the myths of different cultures.

In an era of identity politics - and identity mythology - we are too busy trying to grab a unique glory for our own individual cultures. Maybe it's time to look for common ground and understand what it might convey to us about our commonality as human beings.
Image Source: Google Would you like to share your opinion and discuss more on the matter? Then add us on Snapchat and we could hit up an interesting conversation. Click the link below to add Economy Decoded on Snapchat. ED - The Youth Blog on Snapchat
If you liked this, you might also be interested in:

http://edtimes.in/2016/02/books-on-indian-mythology/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Massive Similarities Between Different World Mythologies

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are over a hundred different world mythologies that we know of today. Did you know most of them follow the similar patterns of storytelling?