Journey through the Archetypes: The Maiden

Cultivate the unique power & beauty of the Maiden archetype for playfulness, charm, intuition & rich inner world.

By Wilhelm Trautschold (German; 1815 – 1877)

Today we continue our archetypal journey on which we learn how to cultivate different archetypal energies to allow us to expand or move in the direction that we want. Different archetypes can call to us during different seasons of our lives, while for others, they may relate to more of their general nature and disposition. In the previous two, we explored The Mother & The Mystic. Today we shall explore a very complex and vast archetype of the Maiden.

When we think of Maiden, we usually simply assume a youthful energy and a certain girlishness. And while those certainly connect to the Maiden, she is in fact much more and way more complex. She can also be the rebellious teenager, the “rock star’s” girlfriend, a woman attracted to the subterranean, intense, unusual and different. You can also think of any eccentric woman with a whole world of inner fascinations and connections, and she too, is the Maiden (for example Florence Welch from the Florence & The Machine). A lot of female singers, writers, and creatives in general have a strong Maiden present in their psyche. This is because the Maiden is a dual archetype — she is both the young girl running in the meadows and the Queen of the Underworld which represents her more mature aspect. Together, she is simply the boundless fertility of nature, her cycles and movements (and why this archetype closely connects to the Mother). At Maiden’s heart is the power of transformation, an ability to elevate herself and others through it. She is compassionate, creative, eccentric, open, playful, charming and deep.

The Maiden embodies many crucial elements of the feminine journey as such because her story unifies many aspects of the Feminine. In her story there are elements of the Mother, of the Lover and also of the independent and self-motivated archetype of the Virgin. Most women will resonate with the Maiden to some degree because she is “the root” of a woman’s experience of herself. This article will focus on how to consciously lean into strengths of the Maiden and cultivate her in your psyche if you find her lacking yet necessary for you.