Journey through the Archetypes: The Mystic
Cultivate the unique beauty & power of the Mystic archetype for a sense of wholeness, non-attachment, inner peace and slowness
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 dominate or appear during different seasons of our lives — for example, a woman as her general pattern can be a Sage archetype, but then she has children and she is initiated by her circumstances to connect to the Mother archetype and integrate it into her personality. Another example — a woman may have a natural pattern of the Queen archetype, and one of the Queen’s desires are partnerships and powerful alliances, but she may find that her Queen alone can threaten or push people away, including potential romantic partners, so she decides to cultivate or is initiated into the Lover archetype where she learns magnetism, sensuality and even seduction that can help her create powerful alliances and networks. If we find that certain archetype can help us in life, we can consciously cultivate the archetype through activities until it becomes natural.
In the first article of archetypes, we spoke of the Mother. Today we are getting to know the Mystic archetype. The Mystic is quite different from the Mother — while the Mother is primarily identified with her relationships and her nurture of others, the Mystic is a solitary and independent archetype. The Mystic is one to herself, she enjoys spending time alone and cultivating her own inner life. There is a warm and soothing quality to the Mystic that is different to the one of the Mother — while the Mother’s nurture provides a sense of comfort, the Mystic’s warm and calm demeanour gives us a permission to be ourselves. Next to the Mystic, we feel comfortable in showing our most unusual, eccentric or vulnerable side because she is non-judgemental and non-reactive, and so has a capability to accept people as they are.
The Mystic may at times appear too otherworldly and removed from the general concerns. Because of that we may think that she cannot help us in developing our allure or that she is of no use in helping us succeed professionally, in relationships or in any other sphere of life. And while otherworldly, the mystic’s natural skills of non-attachment, deep focus and concentration, attention, inner fullness, soulfulness, sensuality, boundaries, as well as those of mystery, privacy and secrecy, are skills that can help us in any domain of life.
When it comes to glamour, the Mystic is actually the core archetype for it — because almost everything that we associate with glamour has to do with invoking a feeling of yearning. To create yearning, one needs to create space and to move away from the glue-like, adhesive ways of the general relationships. The Mystic as the archetype of self-possession and otherworldliness is the one to create this effect. The glamour of Monte Carlo, of Old Hollywood, of black and white photography, of classic aviators, of sunglasses and lingerie that hide eyes or the body simultaneously as they invite gazes, of 1990’s Ralph Lauren Ads & Campaign, all inspire a yearning for a certain idealised, romanticised reality that exists outside of the common and the ordinary. Yet the glamour also subtly tries to claim that this dream reality is possible and attainable, making us want it and to strive for it. It invokes a desire that is not really explosive and is rather experienced as a warmth that moves within. It satisfies yet with the very act of satisfying, it creates yearning and longing for more.
This ability to inspire yearning and longing and a desire to come closer is something that only the Mystic can do. To a mere mortal she appears like a Goddess, a being unattainable and distant, yet also something that they want to interact with and come to know; worship if nothing else.
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