Archetypes

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An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior. (Thank you Wikipedia)

There are certain archetypes most of us will recognize, no matter how they are described.

To me an interesting archetype in this point in time is that of Michael, also referred to as Archangel Michael, or Saint Michael ~ chapels and churches are dedicated to Michael were built all over the world ~ as he slays the dragon.

From an archetypal perspective, the question is all about the dragon... What does the dragon represent?
Traditionally, the dragon would represent ‘evil’; the devil even.

Throughout history there have been many myths, legends, fairy tales and stories about the fight between good and evil ~ in most of them ‘good’ will be victorious over ‘evil’. That would make Michael the quintessential hero!

So how would that work in our lives? Most of us may not meet ‘evil’ on a regular basis ~ so how can Michael be a model in our lives?

Well, that depends on how we define ’evil’...
After all, we all have the odd temptation ~ chocolate comes to mind ~ we might want to fight. And have you ever had to resist telling ‘a little white lie’?
In all fairness, I have never linked those with Michael’s fight.

But what about the skeletons in our closets? The secrets we keep hidden so far in the dark places of our minds that no-one knows about them? The ones we would really like to forget ourselves... The things that may have happened to us a long time ago and that ~ whether we caused it, or were on the receiving end ~ are still motivating our behavior today...
Could these be the dragons Michael was fighting?

As the story goes, slaying the dragon brought a great sense of peace and freedom.

Looking at Michael as the archetypal warrior against ‘evil’, this would indicate that when we face up to the skeletons in our closets that are holding us back in our everyday lives; if we face them and fight them and slay them... that a great sense of peace will await us!

It seems that this is something we really need in this day and age.
Whether we like it or not changes are all around us, in some cases forcing us to change as well ~ urging us to get rid of the things that are holding us back.

And what the archetype Michael is telling us is that we can slay our dragons and find peace and freedom!
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