Archetypes : Who Are You?

Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from netgalley.com.

Carl Jung defines archetype as an ancient, or archaic image, which derives from the collected unconscious. Archetypes help us identify themes and learn ways to connect to the world around. I'm a tarot reader, and in tarot, archetypes are important. Which is why I was curious to read Archetypes by Caroline Myss. This book introduces the reader to archetypes “and how they affect every aspect of our life.” Myss describes 10 core families of archetypes and asks the reader to figure out whether or not they self identify with any of these. Rather basic stuff, if you ask me.

The core audience for this book are women, as women are the ones who tend to delve deeply into these aspects. However, each archetype has a specific section catering to our male counterparts. I think this does the archetypes a dis-service because they are truly universal and know no gender typing.

I also found a few other things Myss says in this book disturbing. In her introduction, she describes a situation where a client was divorced and had cancer. She tries to say that perhaps the disease was not the thing killing her, but her disconnection from her archetype (or mythic influence). Later on, in the section on describing The Visionary archetype, she writes about how she cautions people from receiving personal readings from psychics. That they give “bogus information” and “drain your bank account.” This is hypocritical coming from someone who is at the same time teaching women how to use their archetypes to get in touch with their intuitive side.

The biggest thing about Archetypes is that the book feels rushed and unfinished. It only introduces the 10 families of archetypes, giving small lists of how to recognize their power and integrate it into our lives. The book mentions being a guide for a business called archetype.me. I dug a bit deeper and found out that this website/company never fully off the ground and is defunct. It doesn't lessen the material in the book but it does make me wonder about the validity of the information. Is this book really useful or just a infomercial to hook women into buying scents or clothing?