Our ego is the character we play in life. Even though we all play a different one (at least that’s what we think), there are 12 groups that can perfectly cover each person in the world.
The famous psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who founded analytical psychology, discovered these 12 archetypes.
He believed that these archetypes reside in our collective unconscious. He named them after mythical symbols and characters that were a part of our culture all throughout history.
The archetypes represent our fundamental human motifs and consequentially, they evoke deep emotions within us. The 12 types are divided into three sets of four, namely Ego, Soul and Self. Each group is a layer in the human psyche.
For example, the Ego is the part you would like others to perceive while the Self is the part that its agendas you try to keep to yourself. The Soul deals with your deeper purpose.
Despite the 3 sets, the 12 archetypes are divided into four groups of three. Each group determines the aim of the archetypes inside.
We are each a unique mix of all these archetypes, however, we identify with one of them the most.
There is one quite effective way (if not the most) to find out what of these 12 archetypes resonates with your identity the most.
All you have to do in order to find out what archetype you identify with in highest intensity is look into your shadow.
Weakness – The Hero
Create unintended negative consequences – The Magician
Powerlessness – The Rebel
Abandonment – The Orphan
Waste your life with boredom – The Jester
Being unloved – The Lover
Punishment – The Innocent
To be deceived – The Sage
Imprisonment, both inner or outer – The Explorer
Being selfish – The Caregiver
Betrayal and disorder – The Ruler
Mediocrity – The Creator
If you can’t quite decide your greatest fear, there is a list of all 12 archetypes and their characteristics in detail where you can manually decide the one that resonates with you the most.
Here they are:
Type: Ego
Motto: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Core desire: to prove one’s worth through courageous acts;
Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world;
Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken”;
Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible;
Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight;
Talent: competence and courage;
Type: Self
Motto: “I make things happen.”
Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe;
Goal: to make dreams come true;
Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences;
Strategy: develop a vision and live by it;
Weakness: becoming manipulative;
Talent: finding win-win solutions;
Type: Soul
Motto: “Rules are made to be broken.”
Core desire: revenge or revolution;
Goal: to overturn what isn’t working;
Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual;
Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock;
Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime;
Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom;
Type: Ego
Motto: “All men and women are created equal.”
Core Desire: connecting with others;
Goal: to belong;
Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd;
Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth, the common touch;
Weakness: losing one’s own self in an effort to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships;
Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretense;
Type: Self
Motto: “You only live once.”
Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment;
Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world;
Greatest fear: being bored or boring others;
Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny;
Weakness: frivolity, wasting time;
Talent: joy;
Type: Soul
Motto: “You’re the only one.”
Core desire: intimacy and experience;
Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and surroundings they love;
Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted, unloved;
Strategy: to become more and more physically and emotionally attractive;
Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity;
Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment;
Type: Ego
Motto: “Free to be you and me.”
Core desire: to get to paradise;
Goal: to be happy;
Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or wrong;
Strategy: to do things right;
Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence;
Talent: faith and optimism;
Type: Self
Motto: “The truth will set you free.”
Core desire: to find the truth;
Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world;
Biggest fear: being duped, misled or ignorance;
Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes;
Weakness: can study details forever and never act;
Talent: wisdom, intelligence;
Type: Soul
Motto: “Don’t fence me in.”
Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world;
Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life;
Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness;
Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom;
Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit;
Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul;
Type: Ego
Motto: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Core desire: to protect and care for others;
Goal: to help others;
Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude;
Strategy: doing things for others;
Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited;
Talent: compassion, generosity;
Type: Self
Motto: “Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Core desire: control;
Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community;
Strategy: exercise power;
Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown;
Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate;
Talent: responsibility, leadership;
Type: Soul
Motto: “If you can imagine it, it can be done.”
Core desire: to create things of enduring value;
Goal: to realize a vision;
Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution;
Strategy: develop artistic control and skill;
Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions;
Talent: creativity and imagination;
Source: Soul Craft;
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