How to avoid getting "possessed" by your submissive shadow [Tenderfoot 2]

Vid no.4 in the Archetypal Character Arcs: Transformative Stories for the Modern World series.

Every archetype has multiple faces: the light and the dark, the empowering and the destructive.

If we lived in a fairytale or myth, where these extremes would be personified as separate characters, we'd be talking about the good and the evil.

But we don't live in a fairytale, life isn't so clean-cut, and all of the archetypes we're discussing in this series exist inside our minds as models, potentialities and parts of the self.

In the case of the archetypes' shadow sides, these potentialities are a little like traps that lie in wait, looking for their chance to drag us down and smother our growth.

To avoid that happening, we need to get to know our darker sides as well as our inner guides. This video will help you to do that while on the Tenderfoot's journey (no matter where you are in your overall life story).

ARCHETYPAL CHARACTER ARCS

To recap, each archetypal journey includes:

1 protagonist who transitions between (at least) two archetypes
1 positive-change story arc (the journey of transformation)
2 archetypal antagonists (the baddies)
2 shadow selves (the dark sides of each archetype)
a selection of specific strengths and virtues as rewards
and a particular lie vs. truth — the real acid test for our transformation

As archetypal, these journeys resonate for us on an instinctive level: we know the challenges in our bones; the archetypes are etched onto our DNA. But that doesn't mean we'll all pass the tests they present.

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BETWIXT - THE MENTAL HEALTH GAME

Betwixt is a fantasy story-based adventure game that helps you combat stress and anxiety while journeying through the magical world of your own mind and self.

Download the app on the iOS AppStore and Google Play ♡

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Key references for this series:

"Writing Archetypal Character Arcs" by K.M. Weiland
"Androgyny: The Opposites Within" by June Singer
"Awakening the Heroes Within", Carol S. Pearson
"The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious", C.G. Jung

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