Jung’s 12 personality archetypes

Jung’s 12 personality archetypes appear in all cultures. They are at the very basis of ancient works such as The Odyssey and are also present in contemporary creations such as The Matrix. They live in the collective unconscious.

Carl Gustav Jung is perhaps the most famous of the dissidents of classical psychoanalysis. He departed from Freud’s concepts and explored the ancestral and collective roots of the unconscious.. From that intellectual adventure new lights emerged; among them, the 12 personality archetypes.

From the analysis of the symbols and myths present in different cultures, Jung established the 12 personality archetypes. These are a kind of molds or patterns of behavior, which make up specific ways of being. They are also cultural symbols and images that are engraved in the collective unconscious.

“One does not achieve enlightenment by fantasizing about the light but by making the darkness conscious… what is not made conscious manifests in our lives as destiny”.

-Carl Jung-

Jung defines the 12 archetypes as “an innate tendency to generate intensely emotionally charged images that express the relational primacy of human life”. Some kind of footprints fingerprints of all humanity that remain submerged in the unconscious of all. These end up defining the particular traits of each of us. These archetypes are the following.

1. Wise

The wise represents that freethinker who makes intellect and knowledge his main reason for being and foundation. Intelligence and the ability to analyze are for him the royal road to understanding himself and the world. It corresponds to those who always have a fact, a quote or a logical argument at hand.

2. Innocent, one of Jung’s 12 personality archetypes

The innocent is the one who seems to have read all the self-help books in the world and have made them their DNA. He is optimistic and seek happiness. She sees the good side in everything. He also wants to feel perfectly adapted to the world.. He also wants to please, belong, and be recognized by others.

Read Also: It's not easy to say goodbye, but sometimes it's necessary to do it - Beautiful Mind

3. Explorer

This is one of the 12 personality archetypes that corresponds to the daring traveler. He who sets out on the path without tracing a defined route, always open to novelty and the adventure. He has a deep desire to discover and discover himself. In the negative side of him he is also the seeker of the ideal who is never satisfied.

4. Ruler

The ruler corresponds to the classic leader, the one who is considered the one who is called to set the rules of the game in any situation. Stable and concerned about excellence he wants others to do what he says and usually has plenty of reasons to demand it. It is one of the 12 personality archetypes related to power, which can also become despotic in its desire to impose itself.

5. Creator

The creator has a deep desire for freedom because he loves the new. He loves to transform to bring about something totally new, that has his stamp.. He is witty, non-conformist and self-sufficient. With a lot of imagination, it is full of genius. Sometimes he is fickle and thinks more than he does.

6. Caregiver

He feels stronger than others and that is why he lavishes almost maternal protection on those around him.. He wishes to avoid any harm to those under his aegis and seeks to prevent any risk or danger from threatening the integrity or happiness of others. If he does not control himself, he becomes the martyr who blames others for their sacrifices.

Read Also: Why sometimes we cannot forgive or forget

7. Wizard

The magician is equivalent to the great revolutionary. He regenerates and renews, not only for himself, but also for others. He himself is in a constant process of transformation and growth. In the negative aspect of him, he is a sick person who makes others sick. He sometimes turns positive events into negative events.

8. Hero

The axis of the hero’s life is power. He has enormous vitality and resistance that is determined to fight for power itself or for honor.. He’d rather do anything than lose. In fact, he doesn’t lose because he doesn’t give up. He could be too ambitious and controlling.

9. Outlaw

The outlaw is another of Jung’s 12 personality archetypes that tells us about rebellion. This is a transgressor, provocateur and completely independent of the opinion of others. In fact, he likes to go against things and thinks with his own head, not because of influence or pressure. In the negative side of him he becomes self-destructive.

10. Lover

The lover is all heart, all sensitivity. He loves love and that is why he enjoys lavishing it. Not just romantic love, but all forms of love. His greatest joy is feeling loved. He enjoys beauty, aesthetics and the senses, in a refined way. He makes beauty, in the broad sense, a superlative value.

11. Jester

The jester archetype is also known as the fool archetype. The madman teaches us to laugh, even at ourselves. He doesn’t have masks and usually strips others of their mask. He doesn’t take himself seriously, because his thing is to enjoy life. On the negative side he can be libidinous, lazy and gluttonous.

Read Also: Know what an argumentative fallacy is and if you use one in your debates

12. Orphan

The orphan is one who carries wounds that he cannot heal. You feel betrayed or disappointed. He wants others to take care of him and when this does not happen, he experiences disappointment. He usually joins others who feel like him. He victimizes himself. To others he appears innocent, but he has a cynical disposition.

The one we have presented is not the only classification of Jung’s 12 personality archetypes. In other categorizations different archetypes appear, although they are basically equivalent to those that we have exposed in the essential part.. They apply to many areas, including psychotherapies, marketing and art.