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The Twelve Archetypes

Writer's picture: Putnam MarketingPutnam Marketing

This information can be found in the books Archetypes in Branding and Awakening the Heroes Within by Carol S. Pearson.


Whether you are communicating through your website, blog or social media, the images and messages that you use will help your brand to resonate with your audience. By using archetypes in your branding, you can create a memorable and powerful message that people will connect with on an instinctual level.


"The contents of the collective unconscious are called "archetypes," which means they are original (i.e., primal), inherited patterns, or forms of thought and experience. They are the ancient, unconscious source of much that we think, do, and say as human beings. They are the "givens" in our psychological makeup, the patterns that shape our perceptions of the world, the furnishings that are present in our psychological home from the moment of birth. We inherit the same forms, but each of us fills in the content by the way we experience our lives. Thus, Father might be a positive archetype to one person, but it might be filled with negative meaning for another." The Collective Unconscious and Its Archetypes by Philippe L. De Coster, D.D.



The Twelve Archetypes

ARCHETYPE: Innocent

GOAL: Remain in safety

FEAR: Abandonment

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Deny it or seek rescue

RESPONSE TO TASK: Fidelity, discernment

GIFT/VIRTUE: Trust, optimism


ARCHETYPE: Orphan

GOAL: Regain safety

FEAR: Exploitation

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Is victimized by it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Process and feel pain fully

GIFT/VIRTUE: Interdependence, realism


ARCHETYPE: Warrior

GOAL: Win

FEAR: Weakness

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Slay/confront it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Fight only for what really matters

GIFT/VIRTUE: Courage, discipline


ARCHETYPE: Caregiver

GOAL: Help others

FEAR: Selfishness

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Take care of it or those it harms

RESPONSE TO TASK: Give without maiming self or others

GIFT/VIRTUE: Compassion, generosity


ARCHETYPE: Seeker

GOAL: Search for better life

FEAR: Conformity

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Flee from it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Be true to deeper self

GIFT/VIRTUE: Autonomy, ambition


ARCHETYPE: Lover

GOAL: Bliss

FEAR: Loss of love

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Love it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Follow your bliss

GIFT/VIRTUE: Passion, commitment


ARCHETYPE: Destroyer

GOAL: Metamorphosis

FEAR: Annihilation

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Allow dragon to slay it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Let go

GIFT/VIRTUE: Humility


ARCHETYPE: Creator

GOAL: Identity

FEAR: Inauthenticity

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Claim it as part of the self

RESPONSE TO TASK: Self-creation, self-acceptance

GIFT/VIRTUE: Individuality, vocation


ARCHETYPE: Ruler

GOAL: Order

FEAR: Chaos

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Find its constructive uses

RESPONSE TO TASK: Take full responsibility for your life

GIFT/VIRTUE: Responsibility, control


ARCHETYPE: Magician

GOAL: Transformation

FEAR: Evil sorcery

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Transform it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Align self with cosmos

GIFT/VIRTUE: Personal power


ARCHETYPE: Sage

GOAL: Truth

FEAR: Deception

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Transcend it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Attain enlightenment

GIFT/VIRTUE: Wisdom, nonattachment


ARCHETYPE: Fool

GOAL: Enjoyment

FEAR: Nonaliveness

DRAGON/PROBLEM: Play tricks on it

RESPONSE TO TASK: Trust in the process

GIFT/VIRTUE: Joy, freedom


The Return

The journey is fundamentally about metamorphosis.

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