Archetypes, part V - The Way of Phi in Practice -

The Star & The Visionary – How do they relate to Light – and to each other?

Dear friend,

Today we look at the archetypes of the Star and the Visionary.

The Star

Shining in the night sky, from a stage or the silver screen, the Star radiates energy. This energy can be used to nourish others or to light up the way, however, as with any energy, coming too close might be dangerous. The Star sends out light and is therefore a Linear archetype.

People who embody the Star archetype tend to like to be the center of attention. When people look and admire, the Star thrives. Even though the Star is, well the Star, this is a reciprocal relationship, in the sense that for the light that the Star shines to fulfill its purpose, it needs to be received in some way. It could be received as the sunlight which hits the Earth (and the other planets in our solar system) where it serves as the main power source. Indeed, all of our power comes either directly or indirectly from the Sun. The light could also be received in a more metaphorical way by people who either admire or follow the Star.

Even though a Star doesn't have any shadow (as it is the light source), people who embody the Star archetype do have a Shadow, in the Jungian sense of the word. One of the challenges for a person who becomes a "Star" is that they often get a lot of projections coming at them. The quote from Cary Grant summarises this predicament: "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." In other words, the Star that we see doesn't actually exist in reality, only in our minds.

The Visionary

The Visionary receives light (visions, ideas) and is thus a Circular archetype.

There are many types of Visionaries, or rather, the skills of the Visionary can be applied to many different realms, e.g. business, arts, spirituality or society/political science. Arguably, sometime the term "Visionary" is used more as a fancy way of saying that someone has new ideas, but what really qualifies someone to be a Visionary is implied by the first part of the word – "vision". And by vision, I don't mean regular external vision that you check at the optician. The vision a Visionary possesses is inner vision or a metaphor for someone who can access things in their minds which do not yet exist.

Some Visionaries are "visual" in the sense that they think in images, but that is not true of all. For there are many ways to think, and some people (like myself) think more in structures, whereas others might think in completely different ways. Indeed, thinking differently from other people could be an indication that someone might be a Visionary, albeit not conclusive evidence. 

For there is something more to the Visionary, something about the quality of the visions. Not necessarily that they are useful – let's consider the book of Revelations, perhaps the most well known "visionary" text – how useful are they really in a mundane meaning of the word? It is (probably) full of metaphors and who knows what they really mean or allude to? The same would go with a number of artists, whether poets or visual artists, even musicians and many other art forms too. But then there also seem to be artists who do random weird things without any real vision behind it. Perhaps motivated by a wish to shock or surprise or get attention or make money. Who knows, but in such cases the quality of the vision seems to be lacking for it to qualify its receiver as a Visionary.

Visionaries might not be understood by everyone, perhaps not even anyone, at least not right now. There are many examples of people who seem to have been "ahead of their time", e.g. Leonardo da Vinci or Vincent van Gogh, arguably two Visionaries, who have been recognised at least posthumously.

So the next time someone does or says something that we don't understand, perhaps we could be wise enough to give that person the benefit of the doubt and allow for the thought that maybe we have just met a future Leonardo or Vincent.

Meta-reflection

Could you not be both the Star and the Visionary? People like Steve Jobs and Elon Musk seem to have a bit of both in them. Indeed, you might wonder what the difference is between some of the archetypes that we have engaged with. Isn't the Star very similar to the Hero? What about the Visionary and the Sage? Or is it the Magician that is like the Visionary? Or maybe the Star reminds you of the Child...

The point isn't to pinpoint discrete characteristics, but rather to highlight influences, as all of the archetypes are present in each one of us to varying degrees. Some properties overlap and in some situations it might be difficult to say which archetype was most acitvated in a specific situation but that doesn't really matter. A lot of this is about perspectives and deep-seated motivations, which may or may not be typical for a certain archetype. Besides, the realm of archetypes requires more than a more precise Linear thinking to be approached and understood. It is more akin to fairy tales, which more often than not contain and convey deep wisdom, for those willing to believe in them enough to allow the story to move them. 

However, if you try stand as a commentator or an "impartial judge", without feeling anything, none of this is likely to make much sense.

Conclusion

If you are really curious about archetypes, you need to embark on the adventure of delving into your own depths, for that is the only place where you will ever access them. Any other place, and the investigation remains theoretical, academic and fundamentally useless. For archetypes are not some terminology to throw around to appear erudite. They are representations of our shared collective unconscious and in order to get there, we either have to die literally or figuratively.

The Way of Phi is an invitation to die figuratively, in the sense of overcoming the limited sense of self (Ego) and getting to know the real world outside of the prison.

If you are ready to embark on that journey you might want to have a guide. Reach out by clicking here, and we will discover if I can be that guide for you. Meanwhile, you can start reading my book The Way of Phi, now available in Swedish as Vägen till Phi, which you can find on Amazon or by clicking here.

With gratitude,

Christopher