Archetypes
The Chrysalis Archetype Cards project
Our unique teaching materials celebrate the diversity of the youth and adults who join us on our courses. The Chrysalis Archetype Card Deck is one of the main tools we use in each workshop.
Card decks are fun and interactive tools for self reflection and connection. We created the Chrysalis Archetype Card Deck to represent the beauty and diversity of qualities found in mythological, divine or heroic figures from around the world. The aim of the cards is to portray many possibilities for inner qualities as well as in diverse physical representations.
Original artwork by an Iranian Aurovilian artist, Naimeh Ghabaie, is painted in water colours using rare handmade pigments. The creation of the artwork was a two year collaboration, we provided the background research, symbology and focus for each archetype and Naimeh brought them to life.
The Chrysalis Archetype card deck includes 56 figures from all the continents. From our experience, we understood the need for representation: the empowerment of recognizing our own somatic features (such as hair texture, skin and body type, facial features etc.) in a role model. At the same time, we also know that finding resonance in figures from cultures different than our own, help to bridge gaps within our shared human experience. Both representation, and exposure to diversity help to prevent issues such as discrimination and racism.
We are in the process of exploring publishing options for The Chrysalis Archetype Card deck. We hope to have it available for you soon!
Why archetypes?
The term ‘Archetype’ originated in Ancient Greece, however the modern concept of archetype was first used in 1919 by Carl Gustav Jung, the Swiss founder of analytical psychology.
Archetypes are original models, prototypes or ‘first forms’ represented in all cultures around the world since prehistoric times. Archetypes are primordial images inherited from our earliest human ancestors, present in the ‘collective unconscious’ - that part of the human unconscious that is common to all human beings.
Our interpretation of archetypes integrates the Jungian concepts, however we also encompass multicultural definitions and interpretations of archetypal energies.
Every culture, every people, every group of individuals, over millennia has represented archetypes in their own way. For example, strength, transformation, receptivity, abundance, are archetypal qualities to which every human being can aspire. For example, Isis is an ancient Egyptian goddess of transformation and alchemy and Kane is a Hawaiian god of abundance and generosity.
Each cultural archetype is imagined and represented in a unique way as divine, mystical, heroic, human or even non-human characters. They also intersected with the idea of role models and the concept of “setting an example” for humanity.
The result is a huge variety of local representations of universal archetypes, an enormous variety of faces, colours, voices and stories. They are just as relevant in today’s world as when they first came into being and provide us with a rich treasure trove of lessons, guidance, support and discovery.