Archetypes of the Aging Male

Archetypes of the Maturing Male Based on the work of Jungian analyst Robert L. Moore, PhD

“Four Might Ones are in every man; a Perfect Unity cannot Exist but from the Universal Brotherhood of Eden. The Universal Man, to be Glory Evermore. ” - William Blake, The Four Zoas

1. The Magician/Shaman/Wiseman

 Initiation to new levels of growth and transformation  Energy of awareness, inner work, initiation, and healing  If left immature—  sleepwalk through his life  never asking the questions  trapped by certitude and naivete  Negative Trickster: Detached, destructive  Inner shaman wakes him up to the other masculine archetypes  Helps him serve responsibly as a ritual elder for other men

2. The Ruler/King

 Just and creative ordering  Empowers himself and others  Central archetype for men, most important and most difficult  Must dis-identify with this AND form dynamic connection to it  Immaturity in this area means to be  immobilized by grandiosity  lost in depression  bereft of a sense of meaning, just order  lost connection with the creative springs of the psyche

3. Warrior Knight  Self-disciplined, aggressive action  Easily accessed by most men, but takes much effort to develop to maturity  Instinctual energy must be socialized  Immature Warrior engages--  Cruel or self-destructive behavior  Sadism or masochism  Mature Warrior is energetic, decisive and persevering in reaching his goals

4. Lover/Nature’s Man  Connecting to others and the world

of 2 KSS, Inc. Senior Peer Counseling Printed 04/04/18  Difficult to access without experiencing frightening emotional states  Lover is the hardwiring for loving and mystical experiences  Lover encourages unbounded connectedness to life through powerful feelings  Possession by Lover leads to addiction  If Lover is poorly developed leads to--  alternating promiscuity and isolation  emotionally vulnerable and interpersonally exploitative  impulsive and addictive, yet afraid of his passion.  Fear of being subsumed and emasculated with Feeling  To mature Lover energy—  set aside time to play daily to access child within  Express creatively, especially with dance  Remain open to spiritual experiences  Develop a passionate friendship with a spiritual dimension

 If mature, enthusiastic and compassionate about work and relationships  Passion, creativity and pursuit of pleasure  Nobel, emotionally generous, artistically creative  Celebrating the beauty of nature and the physical world, guardian of the Earth

4 Immature Archetypes:

Divine Child, Oedipal Child, Precocious Child, and Hero

of 2 KSS, Inc. Senior Peer Counseling Printed 04/04/18