Archetypes anyone?

[Agaliha]

I was just curious who here sees the Gods as archetypes....

Dictionary.com "Archetype"
An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype
In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious.

In a book I got at the library it lists these:

Earth Mother
Sky God
Moon Goddess
Sun God
Triple Goddess
Horned God
Vegitation God
Underworld Godess
Underworld God
Goddess of Love
God of War
Goddess of Wisdom/Truth
Messenger God
Goddess of Home
Forge God
Water God
Green God
Trickster
Scribe
Magician God
Father
Great God
Great Goddess
Dark God
Dark Queen
Death Goddess
Grain Goddess
Queen of Heaven
Huntress
War Goddess

Do those that see the Gods as archetypes [only or mostly] view all the individuals in one group as the same or all connected? For example in "Love Goddess" archetype: Venus, Aphrodite, Inanna, Ishtar, Freya....
Can you be pagan and view the Gods as archetypes?
Anyone want to share their views...and explain?

I don't know if I'm just not understanding the concept or what but I am slightly confused _inabox_

[mucgwyrt]

:hmmmmm: gods can be archetypal but not actual archetypes.

What I mean is, archetypes are like... what the gods are (e.g. the list you gave) whereas specific dieties (e.g. Athena) are not archetypes because they are "people" and have mythologies surrounding them; they are larger than an archetype. However it's possible that the Gods in essence (rather than in mythology) were originally just archetypes, before we named them and gave them lives ;)

I'm pants at explaining things so please forgive me!

[Agaliha]

That does make sense.
Though when I look at the list I see many that are honored as just an archetype: "Earth Mother" "Green / Horned God" "Great God & Goddess" etc.
I think a lot of Dieties embody their main archetype...
And I have seen people honor the "Generic" rather than the specific. Many people I have talked to didn't start with a pantheon with specifics [Grain Goddess being Demeter in Greek, for example] but with the archetypal forms.

I have read though a book that talked about Pagansim and archetypes. That you can honor the archetype without getting specific. So say you feel close to the Grain Goddess, you would honor everything about her without specifically honoring Ceres, Demeter, etc.

That's what I was curious about-- if anyone honored [and I think people can, you don't need specifics] the archetype and how it fit in with Paganism or their path.

[yavanna]

I don't know, honestly I go back and forth with myself about this. Sometimes I think there are now individual Gods/Goddesses, that they're all human constructed archetypes of one divine essense, but other times I'm really touched by a mythology or a dream and I really believe that there are individual gods and goddesses. Maybe if enough people worship a particular image of a diety, enough of thier energy manefests into energy creatures that can be identified with the original diety. I dunno, just a thought.

[Bix]

I don't know, honestly I go back and forth with myself about this. Sometimes I think there are now individual Gods/Goddesses, that they're all human constructed archetypes of one divine essense, but other times I'm really touched by a mythology or a dream and I really believe that there are individual gods and goddesses. Maybe if enough people worship a particular image of a diety, enough of thier energy manefests into energy creatures that can be identified with the original diety. I dunno, just a thought.
Sounds like how I am. :loveduv:

[Khaelo]

:hmmmmm: gods can be archetypal but not actual archetypes.

What I mean is, archetypes are like... what the gods are (e.g. the list you gave) whereas specific dieties (e.g. Athena) are not archetypes because they are "people" and have mythologies surrounding them; they are larger than an archetype. However it's possible that the Gods in essence (rather than in mythology) were originally just archetypes, before we named them and gave them lives ;)

I'm pants at explaining things so please forgive me!
That explanation looks excellent to me.

Another factor to keep in mind: Just as an archetype can describe a number of different gods, a given god can cover multiple archtypes. Continuing to use Athena as an example, she is both a War Goddess and a Goddess of Wisdom/Thought from the list. She's also a Virgin Goddess, an archetype that's not on the list but which is quite common. Inanna is a Queen of Heaven as well as being a Love Goddess. The Virgin Mary is a Queen of Heaven, a Mother, and not a Love Goddess. So, despite the common archetypes that run across pantheons and divine personalities, it can get quite complicated to pick one archetype that best fits a certain god. Just to make things more confusing. ;)

That's not to say that nobody views the gods as archetypes, of course. :D

[Darkwater Stone]

I was just curious who here sees the Gods as archetypes....

Dictionary.com "Archetype"
An original model or type after which other similar things are patterned; a prototype
In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious.

In a book I got at the library it lists these:

Earth Mother
Sky God
Moon Goddess
Sun God
Triple Goddess
Horned God
Vegitation God
Underworld Godess
Underworld God
Goddess of Love
God of War
Goddess of Wisdom/Truth
Messenger God
Goddess of Home
Forge God
Water God
Green God
Trickster
Scribe
Magician God
Father
Great God
Great Goddess
Dark God
Dark Queen
Death Goddess
Grain Goddess
Queen of Heaven
Huntress
War Goddess

Do those that see the Gods as archetypes [only or mostly] view all the individuals in one group as the same or all connected? For example in "Love Goddess" archetype: Venus, Aphrodite, Inanna, Ishtar, Freya....
Can you be pagan and view the Gods as archetypes?
Anyone want to share their views...and explain?

I don't know if I'm just not understanding the concept or what but I am slightly confused _inabox_

I have been doing this alot lately......Put's less restrictions on imagery, and makes prayer more thought provoking.

[Adam213]

A classic example is Lucifer, from Christian mythology. He is comparable to Prometheus, from the Greeks, and the Mayan Choco Polo.

[Khaelo]

LoL! I did a story for a writing class which included a character who was a Lucifer/Prometheus type. In discussion, I mentioned the mythological references. One of my classmates sniped at me for that, claiming that the two figures were "completely different." He based this on the assertion that one was evil and one was good. The good/bad of this figure rather depends on your point of view, in my opinion. ;)

I'm not familiar with the Mayan deity you bring up. But I'm guessing this is an archetype that goes beyond the Trickster to become the Rebel? (If one follows the Gnostic version of the Garden of Eden story, Lucifer could also be the Benefactor of Humanity, just as Prometheus is. :) Again, don't know about the Mayan one.)

[EternalMaiden]

Archetypes don't neccessarily have to be Gods or Goddesses, though.

I was doing a personal inventory once and found an in depth list of archetypes that ranged from Child to Shadow, Vampire to Wizard, Teacher to Student.

But yes, they all explain a part of your perception and the way you approach things. So it's pretty honourable to go by a Gods archetype.