Bury the Hatchet

As a final post about the Warrior archetype in relation to the life metaphor Life is an Ensemble Cast of Archetype Characters, it seems fitting to recall the story of Deganawida, the Peacemaker who along with Hiawatha established the great League of the Iroquois that served as a model of peaceful governance for the Articles of Confederation that presaged the US constitution.

The phrase “bury the hatchet” derives from an Iroquois ceremony whereby the Six Nations peoples literally buried their hatchets of warfare under the soil while planting a Great White Pine tree so as the tree grew they would be covered by its expansive branches spreading across the four directions.  Thus a warring, feuding peoples were united for peace and prosperity that lasted many generations. Warriors became peacemakers amongst their own peoples.

The Iroquois League came about after many years of intertribal blood feuding amongst Iroquois speaking Native Americans at a time that predated the settling of White peoples in northeastern North America. As one version of this legendary story describes, Hiawatha was an Onandaga warrior whose wife and two daughters were murdered by a chief of his own village. Hiawatha wandered bereft in the woods in a state of desolation and grief; some say he feared he would become a cannibal, so great was his despair.

In the woods, some say while in a canoe on a lake, Hiawatha looked into the water and saw a godlike figure, Deganawida, looking back at him. (Another version says Deganawida was a man with a speech impediment that Hiawatha encountered while in the woods.) In any event, Deganawida shared the Condolence Ritual with Hiawatha to help him deal with his grief and to bring back to the Peoples to help them to allay their own grief. He also described how the tribes could unite to form a great League, with lifelong, wise delegates or sachems to be installed or deposed by the women of these matrilineal tribes. Deganawida also inspired the ritual for burying the hatchet, a symbolic putting aside of warfare for the sake of coming together as one Peoples, uniting in strength against their common enemies and fostering internal peace.

This great League forged peace among the Six Nations of Iroquois that joined it; this peace lasted for many generations and still embues these Nations with deep principles of peace and democracy.

It has been said that the ceremonial act of burying the hatchet by the Iroquois peoples is one of the greatest examples of peacemaking in all of human history.

It took a Warrior who allied with and became himself a peacemaker to put aside warlike habits and attitudes in order to embrace unity, peace and the greater Good. If only West and East could BURY THE HATCHET today. At very least, you and I can do so. We can bury the hatchets brandished by any of our own feuding sub-selves, or within our outer community of fellowship. It takes only a CHOICE for the Warrior within you and me to stand up for Life and Peace, not Death or War.

One for All, All for One

We are in each others’ lives for very good reasons; there are no accidents for Spirit interweaves the Whole with a natural delicacy that is exacting, being formed by laws of physics as Laws of Life.

Today I read in Facebook a story about callous humor toward Native Americans in an upcoming Westerner spoof movie with Adam Sandler. Several Native American actors walked off the set in response to raw stereotypes and immature, ugly humor.

Let us stand up for one another. The code word is RESPECT. What goes around comes around, and it must come FULL CIRCLE in order for respect to be genuine, reciprocal and True.

At 60 I have reached a point in this lifetime where I am less interested in dramatics and attachments of any form. Petty squabbles between persons fall like pebbles on the shore, as Yeats once wrote, “under the receding wave.” Who needs them, really?

I begin to see so much of what goes on in this life as being like billiard balls aimed to knock against one another.  I would myself rather be a Watcher, and stay apart from the Arena.

So how does this relate to the topic, One for All, All for One? By expressing an article of wisdom: Let Go and Let God.  My puny thought or opinion, or that of any other, hardly matters in the bigger scheme of Life Itself unfolding from day to day, Moment by Moment. All that really matters is Love: genuine, unattached, unopinionated. Love rolls on, or as a saying goes (by Paul Twitchell in Stranger by the River):

LOVE IS ALL,

AND DO AS THOU WILT.

Who Has Your Back?

I live with a wonderful family consisting of Sophie (a Shorkie), Loki (pure white, gold eyes), Emily (petite, orange-white, sensitive) and myself. We, like any family, comprise an archetypal grouping.

Loki sleeps by my head in case I roll onto my back and sleep apnea kicks in; I once woke at 3 AM to Loki snatching lightly at the tip of my nose, waking me from what felt like a near death experience inwardly.  Suddenly my dream had shifted to an empty, chaotic void; I was still conscious and moving in a positive direction but all sense of timespace had vanished and I dimly yet dispassionately knew this might be death; until, Loki brought me back!

Emily comforts me when I am feeling Down. Like my former harlequin calico cat of 20 years, named Ariel, Emily nudges at my blanket for me to form a cave and then she snuggles in beside me. This first happened the night I had returned from a two week trip to Ireland. Ever since, it has been our bonding time, and she always seems to know just when we both need to cuddle.

And then there’s Sophia. Sophie literally has my back. Late at night when all are settled in for the night and then again in the morning before I can crawl out of bed for another round at life, Sophie jumps up onto the mattress and curls up intently to press her own back lightly against mine. During the night, my little Shorkie girl is also a competent watch dog; she lets me know of any odd noises outside the house. To honor her loving service I will sometimes get up to patrol the house thoroughly, defensive tool and phone in hand, prepared to defend the family too if ever needed.

So these are my home family ‘outer’ cast of archetypal allies.  We have each other’s backs, looking out for one another and relying upon one another harmoniously.

Who has your back? We have been exploring this month how a Warrior archetype Ally serves to rally the troops of character types in an ensemble archetype cast, like Dorothy with her archetype Ally cast in the Wizard of Oz. What happens in our unconscious ‘land of Us’ (as used in a recent Jean Houston book) is often mirrored in our outer lives as well. Is there a time or a kind of situation in your life that calls your Inner Warrior forth to stand up for your interests and protect you from harm?

Tell yourself (and us, as you please!) a story of a time in your life when you–as your archetypal Warrior Ally part of Self–stood up for yourself or blazed a pathway to achieve something magnificent in your life or for someone else. Or perhaps there was a time when someone in your outercast of Allies stood up for and protected you?

I welcome your insights and stories!

Warrior Ally Protectors

Archetypal Warrior Allies often serve in epic narratives to protect the heroes as they fulfill their Epic Quest that benefits humanity or the Good. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring of course is all about this. Strider and the elves and dwarves form a Warrior cadre to accompany the diminutive hero Frodo and his companions as Frodo pursues his noble quest to destroy the One Ring that could cause massive destruction in the wrong hands.

The various Warriors protecting Frodo on his journey fight Orks and the Dark Forces that threaten to destroy all humanity. They are pledged to the worthy cause of maintaining the forces of Light and Balance.  Gandalf, the Wizard (a MYSTIC archetype Ally himself), leads the expedition with his wisdom as long as he is able, but it is Strider (a rightful heir to his father’s royal throne as well as a Warrior archetype) who  maintans the balance and fights valiantly to uphold Frodo’s selfless cause.

So, the story of The Fellowship of the Ring is of itself an Archetypal story. It is the story of Warrior protectors who uphold the Good and preserve a noble Way. Why do you believe these stories exist?

I would say these stories reveal something about our own inner potentials. There are times when our own Inner Warrior must stand up to uphold and protect a noble Cause we aim deeply to fulfill.

Can you relate? On Friday I will ask you to Tell YOUR Story of a time when your own archetypal Warrior Allies (outwardly or inwardly) have stepped forth to protect and enhance your capacity to thrive or to accomplish a noble objective.

I welcome and invite your story.

Archetypal Synergy

For this last week of April’s focus combining the WARRIOR archetype with the metaphor Life Is an Ensemble Cast of Mythic Archetype Allies I’d like to share about how aligning archetypal energies into synergistic combinations can function like alchemy to create effective, productive approaches to any situation or challenge. Already this past week we have looked at the Mystic-Warrior and at the Peaceful-Warrior: two archetypal Ally pairings that can foster strong, distinctive character modes.

Allow me to suggest below then some possible ‘alchemical’ sorts of archetype combinations utilizing the 12 Universal Archetypes I am putting forward here and in my forthcoming book, Life Paths, based on ideas originated by Dr. Charles and Nin Bebeau and Debra Breazzano, M.A., LPC.

This notion of combining archetypal strengths/ traits, can be useful not only for the individual seeking to marshal their internal archetypal ally ‘assembly’ or synergy, but the concept can also be fruitfully applied to composing organizational teams or to designing fictional character types.

Some Archetype Ally conjunctions:

Binary archetype pairings  — polarized archetype energies combining to bring balance or deeper understanding to a conflictual situation. Example: DESCENDER and MYSTIC. Mystic traits can help alleviate depressive tendencies by illuminating meaningful lessons.

Archetype clusters – one identity mode or kind of situation constructively drawing upon two or more archetype forms. Example: ELDER LEADER, NOURISHER, and IDEALIST traits being associated with a Parent or Mentor figure.

Archetype constellations – three or more archetype energies brought together to forge a creative approach to manifesting a goal or to performing artistically or intellectually. Example: ARTIST/TEACHER/COMMUNICATOR/MYSTIC combining to present an interactive workshop or a motivational seminar (e.g. Deepak Chopra  or Wayne Dyer’s approaches).

Archetypal clouds – This one came through for me in a dream the other night; it involves archetypal traits permeating a situation or affecting a decision or life experience in a non-distinct, blended manner. Example: Thoughts from several of one’s archetype-cast energies encouraging a certain decision or action. “Spreading a net widely” in terms of the conception of a new approach or idea can lead to an innovative solution.

 I welcome your insights and stories!

[I trust you will honor, dear readers, that publishing these ideas in this blog legally establishes copyright. With that said, the idea of Archetype Allies is not new; I believe Jean Houston may have first coined the term; she uses the idea frequently in her writings.]

Writer Warriors

 Preface: I would like to add some explanation about my motivation for this post. Over a month ago a site that I was following, a beautifully designed, highly artistic and expressive site written mainly in Arabic (so, untranslatable to me; I have not been able to find a Translate button for that site), posted a photograph that absolutely appalled me. It showed (again, without my being able to translate, so these are only my visual perceptions) a line of prisoners standing in a row with their backs to the camera, wearing prisoner coverings and with hoods over their heads. Enough said. I cancelled my following of that site. LKW

On being asked for a War Poem

BY WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS (1919)

I think it better that in times like these

A poet’s mouth be silent, for in truth

We have no gift to set a statesman right;

He has had enough of meddling who can please

A young girl in the indolence of her youth,

Or an old man upon a winter’s night.

The more I think about it, the more I favor supporting peaceful warriors in these times of too much violence. Committing violence in itself, let’s be clear, does not make of anyone a true Warrior; violence manifests but its own Shadows, low consciousness, dark energy. A true Warrior stands up for or defends that which is positive and LIFE AFFIRMING. How can anyone believe that murder, in any form, can ever be either godly or good?

I would urge anyone prone to expressing or who is attracted to violent, Shadow-warrior tendencies to expand instead their own greater, more positive, light-bearing traits. Life does matter; all lives tend toward transcendence, growth and awareness, or can. Integrating your Self-identity by developing your connections, both outwardly—with people of varied backgrounds—and inwardly, blending your your own multiple perspectives from the various roles in your life, can help to soften and expand your point of view regarding the meaning and value of life.

 

What is your purpose here? Then, what is the next person’s purpose? Everyone deserves to pursue their purposes without interference from anyone else.

Live and let live. Love and let Be.

I apologize if this sounds like I am on a “jag” here.  The world is just so full of senseless violence these days. A Warrior stands up for the value of life; a TRUE Warrior does not destroy life as an exercise of brute power or domination. Love is what we all ARE–so long as we retain our purity of nature–in our deepest essence. Love is never a matter of mere belief but requires acceptance, allowing, and compassion.

So, Yeats’s poetic call to pacifism being noted, I do believe the pen—by forging words and images—can be mightier than any sword. Let’s stand up as Writer Warriors. Who would like to join me?

What can we do as writers or artists to deter the tide of violence appearing in the news or other media and to protest or prevent the maelstorm of brutal, atrocious violations assaulting the dignity of life in our world today?

I invite YOUR reply.

The Peaceful Warrior

I want to talk about Peaceful Warriors since I am writing about the Warrior archetype this month. The WARRIOR archetype appears to be so out of balance in so many parts of the world and in so many people these days that I want to emphasize that any archetypal part-of-Self acting ‘alone’ is liable to be out of harmony with the Whole; meaning both the whole of the Total Self System of a person’s archetypal cast, and the Whole of humanity and Life itself.

Dan Millman popularized the phrase “the Peaceful Warrior” in his best-selling book of that title.  He speaks of a spiritual warrior, a Mystic + Warrior archetype pairing, at least.  I find it pertinent that Millman’s experience was that of an Olympic oriented athlete; he was a gymnast in training when he met his spiritual guide whom he names Socrates in his book. Socrates taught Dan to develop a neutral overview perspective on any situation so as not to be attached to the outcomes or to the results of any action or occurrence. As a warrior-athlete—a highly trained and focused gymnastics competitor—Millman’s goal was to be and to perform at the highest level he could. He competed with himself to achieve highly, even after experiencing a crushing motorcycle accident by which he broke both of his legs not long before a qualifying gymnastics tournament.

So, what is a Peaceful Warrior? Is it an oxymoron? I don’t believe so. It is someone with positive, life affirming goals, a dedication to achieve those, and a balanced attitude about results. Strive to find that CENTER within your Self, and compete from that Center. To do so, you will find yourself manifesting not only a Warrior’s energy, but also that of the Nourisher, the generous Golden Child, the Idealist and/or Artist, and possibly also, the Mystic.

I invite your insights and I would love to post relevant guest blogs!

Rally Your Troops

The Warrior archetype pairs naturally with the notion of life as an “ensemble cast of mythic characters”.  We are all inherently multiple so it is helpful to get to know your own archetypal cast and to enlist their support as Allies. What better archetypal part-of-Self to help enlist and combine the strengths of your multiple sub-selves than your Warrior?

Is there a situation in your life that could benefit from stepping up to assert your goals or needs? An example would be strengthening your resolve to go ask your boss for a raise or a well deserved promotion. How would your Warrior set that up, while collaborating with other aspects of yourself as well?

You could start by staging an Archetype Ally Conference. Call on various of your ensemble cast—or all—to discuss the situation and arrive at a balanced plan of action.

Possible allies: Elder Leader, Lover, Nourisher, Artist, Idealist, Golden Child, Descender, Teacher, Communicator, Mystic, Healer, with Warrior as the Ally in charge. You could imagine yourself sitting around a conference table with some constellation of these archetype allies attending. Which would you include to help you move a step forward with an important goal or need. What plan might emerge by convening this assembly?

I invite you to actively imagine and to journal about your plan of action as tempered by the combination of these perspectives. You can practice your plan by inwardly imagining carrying through with your strategy. This may help you to fine tune the plan. Then,…ACT!

I welcome your insights and stories.

Conversation with a Warrior—In You!

Here are some questions I invite you to answer AS your Warrior within. To do this, it may help to sit in a quiet space and sink into a reverie. Imagine a space where you can converse with that part of yourself you can call a Warrior. This is a champion, a protector, or a pathfinder sort of persona.  You might wish to copy and print out the following prompts as an opener to your “archetype dialogue”. Your Warrior is an Ally, so this is an opportunity to connect with this positive potential.

Hello, Warrior, how are you doing?

W:

 

How do you like to be called?

W:

 

What concerns have you had lately?

W:

 

What do you find to be a worthy cause?

W:

 

How do you prefer to fight for a cause?

W:

 

What do you defend against or protect us from in our life?

W:

 

What was one time when you were most active in our life? What happened and what did you do?

W:

 

When can I call upon you and how would you like me to do that?

W:

 

How can you help to achieve our Life Dream?

W:

 

How can I help you?

W:

 

What do you need from me?

W:

 

Please let me know when I can help you!

Light Warrior or Shadow Avenger?

 

From out of the murky depths of history, humanity has always had Warriors to protect their peoples and to forge new territories as Pathfinders.

In its most positive mode, the Warrior serves a worthy cause with nobility, at least according to their own peoples’ values. The Medieval knight errants upheld a code of honor. They wielded power from their skill at warfare, but their steel was tempered by acts of chivalry.

Dark warriors also emerge, too often perhaps, fueling fires of hatred and leaving destruction and grief in their wake.

But the Light Warriors, e.g. the Jedi knights of fantasy lore whose wisdom even more than their light sabers “bring balance to the Force” are those upon whom the folk can rely to safeguard a delicate  peace and to protect and preserve the common good.

Warriors will always be needed in this dualistic universe we call home, where light and darkness, good and evil (though so variously defined) pair off and polarize according to faith, tradition, or karma.

The Light Warrior, I would say, is more of a protector than an avenger. His or her goals are not selfish nor fanatical but rather aim to serve the greater whole. That is why so many epic tales of myth and legend depict the heroic adventures of protagonists who must save the entire world or all of humanity against cataclysmic forces or demonic, inhumane foes who wish to conquer and destroy for the sake of their own narrow beliefs or rapacious hunger for power and control.

The Light Warrior forces seek to build or to restore order, peace, and balance.

The movie Avatar presents an excellent example of both positive and Shadow-mode Warrior types. The greedy administrators of the earth invasion force, with their mercenary army, aim to rape the planet of Pandora of her mineral resources at the expense of the noble Na’vis culture and peoples. The Na’vis’s themselves along with the hybrid avatars and allies seek rather to preserve Pandora and its peoples and natural resources from the ravaging plunder of the cruel and selfish invaders.

So what about you? When it comes to your own inner Warrior archetypal modes of consciousness, are you more often a Light Warrior or a Shadow avenger or conqueror? Perhaps we first all need to recognize these polarized tendencies in ourselves if we are to seek to bring balance to not only our own personalities but to the world at large. How? By pausing before passing judgement on others’ beliefs and actions, including your own. My own spiritual orientation (Eckankar) includes a suggestion shared by many of positive spiritual focus today:

Ask yourself always, “Is it Kind? Is it Necessary? Is it True?” before acting, speaking, or thinking ill of any other or of yourself.  This can serve to balance the Warrior within.

I welcome your comments and stories!

Your Warrior

Warrior

Sign: Aries

Element: Fire

Process Stage: Origination

Archetypal Traits:

In Strength:  protective, courageous, brave, champion of a cause, defender, good strategist, able to rally forces

In Shadow:  aggressive, warlike, argumentative, overly competitive

Feminine: e.g.  woman warrior, soldier

Masculine: e.g. soldier, fighter

 

What kind of a Warrior are you? Are you highly competitive in a sport or in gaming activities? Is this a strongly developed, champion sort of role in your life?

Or are you a wounded warrior? Do you sometimes avoid conflict but secretly harbor resentments against those you wish you felt powerful enough to confront?

How do you approach your goals? Are you strategic and proactive, blazing a path to glory? Or would you rather not have goals, preferring to let life happen?

How can you strengthen your Warrior nature, if you feel that might be helpful? Well, what would your Warrior tell you?

“Never turn back; never surrender!”

Reflect on your own Warrior traits; we all have them. When is your Warrior your strong Ally? How can you enlist his or her aid to help you forge forward with your most worthy cause and goals? Also though, do you need to temper your warrior nature when it emerges? Could it be helpful to balance this energy with some of your softer archetypal energies, too? Next week we will look more at how you can establish “archeme constellations” or “clusters” to proceed in a more balanced, holistic manner in all of your life pursuits.

I invite your personal insights and reflections.

All of You

Here’s a simple tool you can use to identify your own primary archetypal persona influences: simply make a list of your various social roles.  Parent, friend, spouse, doctor, teacher, artist, writer, etcetera; these are social roles you occupy. List your main roles (I’ll fill in mine as an example for you):

Primary roles

• Pet parent
• Teacher
• Writer
• Spiritual practitioner
• Friend
• Family member
• Single home owner

Next then, consider the following classes of universal persona archetype forms:

ELDER LEADER   ARTIST  TEACHER

LOVER     IDEALIST    COMMUNICATOR

WARRIOR  GOLDEN CHILD   HEALER

NOURISHER   DESCENDER   MYSTIC

Can you associate each of your ROLES with one or more of these twelve archetype figures? E.G.:

Archetype role associations

Pet parent  :  NOURISHER

Teacher : TEACHER

Writer  :  COMMUNICATOR

Spiritual  :  MYSTIC/ IDEALIST

Friend   :  NOURISHER

Family  :  COMMUNICATOR/ NOURISHER

Single home owner : DESCENDER

The archetypal influences you have just identified (with regard to your own list) are what I call your Archemes in LIFE PATHS. You learn how to appropriately occupy and enact a social role by drawing upon or assimilating to character traits of these collective archetypal figures.  As you assume or behaviorally enact these archetypal role types, you embrace these identities on both conscious and unconscious levels at the same time. That means, once you have identified with one of these archetype personas, they are always part of you, even unconsciously while you are expressing other modes. And if you have experienced tension or emotional inhibitions with respect to any of your Role identities, this can create archetypal “shadow” traits that might dog your footsteps and interfere with your sense of self-confidence or competence.

Knowing that your archetypal influences are largely associated with your primary roles in life can help you recognize your own character strengths and weaknesses as well as your self-limiting qualities. Also thinking of your Archemes as an “ensemble cast of Allies” can help you bring together your various role-“guises” to forge and express a more unified Self.

So after identifying your Archemes, you can also look at what strengths you draw from these influences (and you can understand some of your challenges, too).  How can you combine some of your strengths across these archetypal forms to pursue a major goal, one that will benefit from having  “all of you” activated rather than one ‘part’ or another?

E.G. Designing life after retirement [Readers: You can consider your own Major Goal similarly]

Teacher traits:  part-time teaching if needed; continuing with life maps coaching and workshops;

Communicator traits: continue with writing/ publishing;

Nourisher traits: Move closer to family, care well for pets, maintain & expand friendships;

Descender traits: Create space for solitude, contemplation

Mystic traits:  Share ideas in new location, form groups, etc.;

Idealist traits: Go for it! (fulfill Life Dream, travel, beautify environs and home!)

COMBINED:  “service” orientation in all areas.

In sum, as Socrates reminded us all: “KNOW THYSELF!”

I invite your insights and stories!