FEATURES
The Six Archetypes of Love
By Dr. Allan G. Hunter
WHICH ONE ARE YOU? Most of us have at some point
and mobilize the positive power in each to help propel
been confused by love, or by the search for love,
us forward. In this way we can take what is good from
and fi nding our way forwards has sometimes proved
each stage and prepare to move successfully to the
to be demanding and even exhausting. Some of us
next level, leaving what we no longer need behind.
give up, others struggle on, and a few of us seem to
manage to get it right. So, how do we get the love we
So, letʼs take a closer look at these archetypes.
want into our lives? And how do we know whether we
Taking them in order, whenever we fi rst fall in love,
can trust that itʼs the sort of love that will grow and
whether weʼre fi fteen of seventy-fi ve, weʼre likely to
fl ourish? In answer to these tricky questions The Six
feel that delicious feeling of excitement and joy that
Archetypes of Love, Dr. Allan Hunterʼs new book, off ers
is the hallmark of the Innocent. The trouble is that, as
a series of revealing insights that will help to clarify
the name suggests, the Innocent is a little too eager,
the way forward and will awaken you to new ways of
a little too unsuspecting and idealistic – and can be
understanding love.
heading for a major disappointment. Some people
remain as Innocents all their lives, and they may be
Drawing on the wisdom of his earlier book, Stories We
the ones who love too much and forgive too easily.
Need to Know, Dr. Hunter shows us that we all have the
Sometimes this means they will be the ones who set
chance to live our lives at six diff erent levels. Part of the
themselves up for hurt and abuse.
diffi culty for most of us is that we understand love from
our own specifi c context and personal history, and we
tend to assume that ours is the only valid perspective.
Unfortunately not everyone we meet will share that
same view. So we must ask ourselves some tough
questions: who am I when Iʼm in love? And who is my
lover? We know that being in love changes who we are,
so these are important considerations. Furthermore,
we will always tend to see love and romance in terms of
which archetype is presently operating in our life. And
this is the key.
So, what are the six archetypes? Hunter shows us that
these archetypes function like mileposts, showing us
where we are in our personal development. They have
When disillusion sets in for the Innocent it may not
existed in our culture for thousands of years, and Hunter
lead to greater wisdom right away. It can lead to
traces them elegantly through literature, myth, fairy
neediness, and the clinging lover is living the Orphan
tales, movies, the lives of contemporary fi gures such
archetype. Any relationship is better than being alone
as Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and in popular
for this fi gure, who wants to be ʻadoptedʼ by the one
cultureʼs TV off erings such as Desperate Housewives.
she loves. Itʼs a step up from being an Innocent,
Interestingly, one of the strongest representations of
but itʼs a desperate love, built on the fear of being
these six stages is to be found in the ancient wisdom
alone, and it doesnʼt allow much space for growth.
of the Tarot, which precisely mirrors in visual form the
Sometimes women and young girls will act helpless
stages of personal growth, and it seems certain that at
least one use of the Tarot was as a spiritual guide for
individual growth.
What this all means is that if we donʼt know what these
six archetypes look like weʼre likely to fi nd ourselves
making the same mistakes over and over, and weʼll
remain stuck in unsuccessful behaviors simply because
we donʼt know any better. Everyone has met someone
who always seems to date the same sort of loser, time
after time. Perhaps you too have a tendency to fall
for people who share similar traits – some of them
not always very easy to deal with. If so thereʼs a good
chance youʼre living a specifi c archetypal pattern that
needs to be changed. Change is not so diffi cult if so that they can be ʻrescuedʼ, and when they do that
you know what it involves and what youʼll be moving theyʼre playing the Orphan card. It may secure a lover
towards, and thatʼs the great gift of this book. Hunter for now, but theyʼll forever be disempowered by the
gives us specifi c ways we can explore each archetype role of being helpless.
continued fon page 22
Oracle 20/20 February 2009 21
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