The Hero and the Hero’s Shadow: The Archetype That Defines Us

A Personal Perspective: Finding balance on the grief journey.

Originally published at Psychology Today

KEY POINTS

• Archetypes are categories of people, characters, or voices that express fundamental aspects of the human experience. Each archetype has a shadow.
• There is a powerful connection between the representation of The Hero and the lines that divide us from each other and the inner Self.
• Both The Hero and The Shadow allow for growth — once realized, they are a constant source of elevation just waiting to be conjured.

Clemens Van Lay | Unsplash

Archetypes are categories of people, characters, or voices that express fundamental aspects of human experience. Archetype descriptions may vary across cultures but are universally recognizable. Think about The Good Mother or The Hero, and an image will come to mind. The same goes for all archetypal figures described by Carl Jung, the great twentieth-century psychoanalyst: The Father, The Wise Old Man, The Devil.

Each archetype also has a shadow. Spending any extended amount of time embodying an archetype will shed light on vulnerabilities. For example, The Hero might have a bloated ego that takes action when sometimes…