Catalyst for Change

The alchemist archetype herself is a catalyst for change and she is the one changing. She is a scientist studying the world and the one being studied. The alchemist herself is the fire, the stove, the vessel, and the material.

Alchemy is defined as the transformation of a base material to an ennobled material – moving from the mundane to the divine. This transformation takes place by the ritualistic use of fire in a furnace. Alchemists often worked with metals, but also drew from infinite sources in nature.

Science and Spirituality Merged

The alchemist archetype works with the physical substances and the five senses, and she consults mystical sources. The alchemist knows she’s working with divine power and acts in accordance with that power. Alchemical experiments are ceremonies. Astrology and the movements of the heavens matter for the timing of alchemical procedures. Goddesses, gods, spirits and angels are consulted in the work. The breath of spirit is necessary for the transformation to occur.

A gift of the alchemist archetype is that they don’t see a conflict between science and spirituality. Alchemy was born before there was such a distinction. Both science and spirituality seek to answer the great questions of the universe and the underlying nature of all things. They inhabit the border between the known and the unknown. Both seek union with greater wisdom.

Shadow of the Alchemist Archetype

The alchemist archetype in the shadow wants transformation to progress in a linear “point A to point B” fashion. Here she is goal-oriented and impatient to reach the end without delay. Despite the fact that she is working in an inherently experimental field – which requires failure to learn – she would rather have a formula for success. A fixation on the goal and need for a formula causes those of us working with the alchemist archetype to miss the entire point. It is through the uncertainty, the surprising events, and round-about processes that our desire for the goal itself experiences transformation.

In alchemy, there is a great detail of secrecy and coded language. Alchemists (like scientists) have a complex vocabulary and set of symbols. It requires a great deal of study just to learn how to read an alchemical recipe, and alchemists throughout time have been incredibly protective of their work. This hoarding of knowledge, shrouding discoveries in secrecy, and talking down to amateurs is the shadow of the alchemist archetype.

There is also a dance with unethical behavior, in that the alchemist as scientist seeks to have power over nature and bend nature to his will. The goal of redemption is distorted into domination. This desire for control manifests when the work becomes entirely self-focused. When alchemy is solely about your personal healing and transcendence, you miss the greater, cosmic calling of the alchemist archetype.

Letting Go of the Outcome

In the light, the alchemist archetype understands that the soul works in circles. It is common practice for the alchemist to take the finished product – gold, the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life – and put it back into the fire. This is the “rotatio” or the “round”. By refining and refining again the magical end of the work, the alchemist purifies her desire for the goal. When you find yourself fixated on the outcome, remember the alchemist’s wisdom. Give what you’ve attained back over to the fire. Let it go. Lose yourself and the goal to the work.

Subjectivity and Objectivity

Science was born from alchemy, but has forgotten its roots. In science, we believe we must be objective all of the time. The gifted alchemist understands that pure objectivity is not possible, we are always in the work to one degree or another. There is wisdom however, in getting some objective distance from our healing and transformation work at times. Being more intellectual and dry helps us gain new perspective. There is also wisdom in embracing our fully subjective experience of transformation. We are working on our inner selves and there’s no denying it. The gifted alchemist archetype navigates this spectrum freely.

Sharing Esoteric Knowledge

The alchemist in the light knows that instructions for transformation can be dangerous to the uninitiated. The coded language and hidden meanings are meant to be revealed over time as the initiate is ready. This is so true in spiritual work of all kinds such as shamanic journeying, meditation, yoga, etc. The alchemist archetype within encourages us to respect and take our time learning secret knowledge. Once we have this knowledge, it’s our duty to share it judiciously, so that others can benefit.

Giving Your Soul to the Work

The Greek work Meraki (pronounced “may-rah-key”) means the essence of ourselves that we pour into our work. This is the blood, sweat and tears, the heart and soul, that we invest. The word “sacrifice” is not about what we lose, but about what we offer wholeheartedly on the altar of the sacred. This is where we give ourselves over entirely to the work.

The gifted alchemist not only gives the outcome, but also her whole being to what she’s passionate about. The alchemical work is no longer about her own transcendence and enlightenment, but about the redemption of the world. She seeks to ennoble the world around her by seeking the divine in the heart of matter. There is no separation between the physical and the spiritual. This is the ultimate ending, middle and beginning of all alchemical processes – unification.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna (the divine avatar of the god Vishnu) says, ”I am the ritual and the sacrifice; I am true medicine and the mantram. I am the offering and the fire which consumes it, and the one to whom it is offered.”

All is one and the same in alchemy.

Ancient Origins of Alchemy

In ancient times, experimentation with nature – animals, stones, materials, plants – was part of ritualistic magic practices. When the transformative power of fire was added to the equation, alchemy was born.

Humans have wielded fire for well over a million years. Cooking is the most ancient form of alchemy. Forging metals is a bit “newer” invention. The earliest evidence of copper smithing is 9000-9500 years ago in North America and in the Middle East. The alchemist archetype has been around for a long time and is found all over the world.

There are long records of alchemical practices in China and India. Between 100-1300 CE, Chinese emperors funded alchemists for the production of brass and often required they be licensed. In India, there is evidence of forging bronze in 2300 BCE with the heyday of alchemy being in the 10th Century CE. Experienced metallurgists in India were Tantric yoga practitioners and alchemical work was absolutely ingrained in their spiritual practice.

Ancient Egyptians were also experienced metallurgists. Their alchemical work also included the practice of embalming. There is an ancient text telling how the goddess Isis gave birth to alchemy in the “city of the holy technique” when she negotiated with an angel to receive an alchemical recipe for resurrecting her husband Osiris. Bits of the recipe survive to this day.

Alchemists have also worked with fire and furnaces for thousands of years in North and South America. Copper and gold ornaments and tools were forged ceremonially in the first millennia CE. Pottery making is another form of alchemical practice that carries into indigenous cultures to this day.

So as you see, the alchemist archetype is found all around the world throughout the whole of human history!

Join me in my “Heart of the Alchemist Archetype” audio course to learn more…

Release the myth of alchemy in pop culture and learn what the REAL alchemist is all about. In this extensively researched class, Stacey Couch offers a global view of the deep history of alchemy. This is the ancient wisdom of the goddess Isis who is the “mother of alchemy.” The alchemist transforms that which she touches and is medicine for the world. She is redeemer and redeemed. As the alchemist you co-create the formula that brings you into alignment with Spirit. Discover myriad ways you can practice tangible alchemy in your everyday life. Receive journal and meditation prompts. Proceed at your own pace. When you know the techniques, tools, and materials of alchemy, you wield the alchemist’s immense power of transformation.

This is a one-of-a-kind course with information synthesized in a way you won’t find anywhere else. Packed full of riveting content on the alchemist, you will never see this archetype the same way again.

Listen to Sample

Purchase Now

Treasurer Archetype, Money Archetype, and Financial Archetype

The financial archetype that manages your money, evaluates your self-worth, AND brings clarity about what really matters.

Money matters. Resources are a universal concern for us all. If we’re going to talk about how personality archetypes help us understand ourselves (and human nature) better, we need to understand the archetypal pattern that rules our relationship to money.

Meet the treasurer archetype. The treasurer archetype identifies, exchanges, and manages our inner and outer wealth. It negotiates our relationship to matter AND what matters.

The realm of the treasurer archetype governs the following:

• Exchange of our resources and money
• Identifying what matters, what we value
• Finding our inner treasures
• Knowing our worth

The word “treasure” comes from the Greek word “thēsauros” meaning “storehouse”. The earliest storehouses were granaries. Evidence for the first granaries dates back to over 11,000 years ago. The idea of accumulating and storing resources is so old that it is part of our nature at this point. Once the resources are stored, decisions must be made about how and when to put them to use. If the resources sit, they rot.

Wealth is accumulated and it is spent and traded. The way we buy, sell, and exchange our material possessions and inner talents all falls under this archetype’s authority.

Scarcity Mindset and Getting Out of Balance

When the financial archetype of the treasurer is challenged and we don’t have a strong self-worth, we go to extremes with money. We either overdo or under do it. Our inner accounting gets out of balance.

When we fear not having enough and losing what we have, we inhabit a scarcity mindset. This shadow side of the treasurer expresses in a few different ways.

First there is the hoarder who gathers up material possessions to fill the lack of inner worth, and who refuses to let anything go. The miser is stingy and refuses to share with others, which hides an insecurity over not feeling like enough. The cheapskate who cuts coupons and always needs a good deal also has a scarcity mindset, irrespective of if they have plenty to live on or not.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the person who takes an abundance mindset to extremes. The shopaholic and spendthrift spend extravagantly and often beyond their means. They are trying to artificially inflate a low sense of self-worth.

The opposite of a scarcity mindset is not the worship of abundance, but a trust in that which never passes. This is trust in our soul and the Soul of the World.

Inner Accounting

How we do our accounting reveals what we value. Do you do two column accounting? This is looking at time in and money out, valuing only the activities that result in financial gain. Is the financial bottom line all that matters? This is the treasurer archetype out of balance.

We are in balance when we have a diversified balance sheet. This means that we carry multiple bottom lines, and value the flourishing of both tangible and intangible things.

Do you take into account your own mental and spiritual wellbeing or are you caught up in hustle culture? Are you okay with making a little less money, but having more time to spend with family and friends? Do you prioritize spending time on yourself and activities you love?

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

You can say you value helping others, but when faced with choosing between a high-paying, high-powered job in a corporation and a less lucrative job as a non-profit employee, which way would you go? We want security AND to follow our calling, our soul’s work, but life doesn’t always pan out that way.

Life gives us either/or choices so we can cultivate real self-worth.

… Are You Selling Out?

Maybe something is a good investment for you according to traditional accounting methods, but you have to compromise on your values to make the added profit. If you feel like you are selling out, your inner treasurer can help you reclaim your worth.

The treasurer archetype is the piece of us that knows how to choose what really matters. This is the essence of putting your money where your mouth is. This isn’t easy and it gets at the core of who we are.

Knowing Your Worth

The treasurer is intimately linked with our self-worth. Anytime anyone asks you your net worth or how much you make at your job, they are engaging your treasurer archetype. Your response, to avoid answering or to lean in, is fueled by your current value system.

Early on, our self-valuation system is money. We look to grow our self-worth by receiving increased compensation for our labor.  As we mature further in our capacity to consciously work with the treasurer archetype, we adopt value systems such as recognition, praise, social status, and strategic alliances. When these systems reveal themselves as lacking and illusive, we turn to the soul and ask what she values. This is when we begin to learn our true value.

The gift of the treasurer archetype is to help us understand our true net worth. This has nothing to do with things of this world and everything to do with our gifts, wisdom, compassion, and generosity. When we have a strong sense of self-worth, we are leveraging the power of this archetype.

The most important questions you can ask yourself are:

• What are my inner treasures?
• Do I see myself as a treasure?

Living in Integrity

To have integrity means to have congruence between the inner and outer. The treasurer archetype in the light brings us into integrity, aligning our values with our actions. This is what it means to walk your talk.

Material things change, fall away and are lost. When we place our trust in things we find that we are lost without them. When we shift our focus to values of the soul that are imperishable, we find our way to the heart of all things. This is not about doing away with the material world but instead realizing that the origin of all things is where we place our worth. In essence, the empowered treasurer archetype takes us into the heart of all things, to the Source of true worth.

Ultimately, the highest expression of the treasurer archetype is placing trust, value and worth in what always is. To live in integrity with the treasurer is to be in alignment with Source.

Check out PART TWO of this article on the treasurer archetype that includes a wealth goddess, a myth about a spirit animal, and helpful ways to transform your relationship with the treasurer including working with Feng Shui and tarot.

Let’s all help amplify voices, dispel myths, foster acceptance, and celebrate neurodiversity during Neurodiversity Awareness Month and Autism Awareness Month this April.

Being an Empath

There is overlap between people who have the empath archetype and those who are neurodivergent. As to the extent of that overlap, I am uncertain, but my guess is that it’s quite extensive. I say this as a member of both groups, having plenty of experience with being an empath and falling somewhere along the autism spectrum. I also have multiple close family members who are one or both of these.

Neurodivergence includes autism, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Highly Sensitive People (HSP), ADHD, synesthesia, and many other variations from neurotypical.

Unique Sensory Processing

Most types of neurodiversity include an unusual way of processing sensory information, either being over- or under- sensitive to sensory input. The empath archetype also has this pattern.

Our bodies have myriad ways of sensing the world around us. This is the case before we look at more esoteric things such as intuition, clairvoyance, etc. Let’s start with the basic five senses: touch, hearing, taste, smell and sight.

An important keyword here is “exteroception”. This is the sense of what is happening outside of our bodies. The basic five senses inform our exteroception, so are components of it. People with the empath archetype often focus on their heightened sense of exteroception. They feel especially sensitive to the external world around them. This includes the emotional lives of others.

To learn more about sensitivity and being a Highly Sensitive Person, read my article on the “Princess and the Pea Story: Valuing Sensitivity.“

Basics of Interoception

In contrast to exteroception, we also have the sense of “interoception” which is the ability to perceive what is happening within our bodies. This is the sense through which we feel our own hunger, relaxation, pain, temperature, joy, grief, etc. Interoception tells us about our emotional and physical states. When someone tells you to “check in with your body” or to “talk about how you are feeling”, you are using your sense of interoception. Somatic practices exercise interoception. When a person would like to become more “embodied” this is the sense they wish to heighten.

These two sensory systems are not mutually exclusive. We don’t have one set of sensors for internal conditions and another for external inputs. The sensors and neuropathways we use to sense what is around us and in us are interwoven. Exteroception and interoception dance.

Challenge of the Empath Archetype

This is where the challenge of the empath archetype comes in. When a person’s empathic abilities are underdeveloped, the person will not be able to discern which input is outside of her system and which is happening within her body. She doesn’t know what is and isn’t hers. She can’t tell the difference between someone else’s pain and her own. The unaware empath is unable to locate the origin of a sensation.

In the challenged state, the empath archetype has us picking up other people’s feelings. We mistake our friend’s anguish for our own. Soon we are carrying a lot of emotional baggage around that doesn’t belong to us. This emotion and sensation overload takes a toll on our bodies. This is the shadow side of being an empath that most people are familiar with.

This is not to say that we don’t share suffering or joy with others, we do all of the time. But, if we are constantly commingling our emotions, we misjudge the amplitude of these feelings. If we combine our grief with the global grief about a war, we are saddled with a crippling sadness beyond what our systems can handle.

POLL Results

Do you consider yourself an empath? And/or are you neurodivergent?

• I’m an empath = 19%
• I’m neurodivergent = 11%
• Both are true = 70%
  (27 VOTES)

Share your answer to these questions in the comments below!

Questions to Ask

To help bring out the gifts of the empath archetype, the first step is to learn about the exteroception and interoception systems. The most helpful question here is, “Where is this sensation coming from?” The answer could be “out there”, “in here”, or “both”. When the answer is “both places”. Then the next question is, “How much is coming from the different places?” Or put another way, “What here is mine and what here is that of others?”

The next challenge for someone with the empath archetype is to then modulate their sensory systems consciously versus unconsciously.

When an empath’s sensory system gets overwhelmed, their automatic, unconscious reflex is to shut down. It’s the equivalent of a hedgehog rolling into a ball. Nothing gets in our out. Nothing happens internally either. This stillness can offer respite, but it is not a lasting solution. As soon as the empath turns their senses back on, it all comes rushing back full force, or maybe even stronger.

This swing between hypersensitivity (feeling too much) and hyposensitivity (feeling too little) is a classic challenge for someone who is unaware of how to work with the empath archetype.

Bringing Out the Gifts

The gift of the empath archetype is navigating the sensory landscape and discerning these key things.

• Where is the sensation/emotion/experience originating?
• How much is coming from each location?
• Which of my senses do I to turn up or down to take care of myself?

This last pieces is really important. As an empath who feels everything strongly, you might be asking, “When would I ever want to feel something more?” A common myth about the empath archetype is that they feel everything too much and they need to set better boundaries. This myth encourages a reactionary shut down that is problematic. See-sawing back and forth between wide open and shut down causes exhaustion and stress.

Take this example: A woman who is unaware of how to work with the empath archetype is flooded by the anguish of a mass shooting in her community. She spends weeks drowning in terror and despair. She scrambles around trying to be there for others who were impacted, but never feels like she’s helping much. This woman continues to take on more suffering the more people she sees. Total exhaustion and physical illness hit. Then she spends days in bed. A chronic illness may settle in. The whole time she feels totally helpless in the face of such an atrocity.

Story of a Balanced Empath

Let’s say this woman is in the gifted empath archetype. She is aware of how to work with the patterns. Here’s how the same circumstances would look. She is flooded with the terror and anguish of the mass shooting. She pauses to turn down the loads of external suffering (exteroception), and turn up her more quiet interoception to “check in” with her own body and system.

The empath archetype in her reminds her to take a break to honor her own emotions first. She goes for a walk in the woods. She turns her exteroception back up to take in the beauty, peace, and comfort of nature. Listening again to her interior, she finds a sense of resolve and strength.

She is ready to visit a friend at the hospital who was wounded in the shooting. She keeps her exteroception at medium volume, micro-tuning it as needed. When her interoception tells her she has given all the care she has for today, she gives her friend a fully present, loving hug and leaves.

Her retreat allows her energy to re-engage day after day, for as long as her friend needs. The woman with the empath archetype is present the whole time to feel the depth and breadth and beauty of life. She feels connected and loved. In the aftermath of the tragedy, her days ebb and flow in the way described above. Always, the woman with the gifts of the empath archetype comes back to center. Always, she listens, senses, and adjusts.

…

To learn more about neurodivergence, especially in women, I highly recommend the book “Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World that Wasn’t Designed for You” by Jenara Nerenberg.

For more information on sensory differences, interoception, and all EIGHT of our senses see:

https://neurodivergentinsights.com/blog/8-senses

https://www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/sensory-issues-in-children#sensory-processing

Are you an empath? Do you have the empath archetype? Learn your archetypes and how they shape you so you can become more of your authentic self in the
> Personality Archetypes Explained Workshop <

The Don Juan Archetype

The use of the name “Don Juan” in reference to a womanizer began in 1630 with a play called The Trickster of Seville written by Tirso de Molina in Spain. There are many names for the Don Juan archetype including Casanova, ladies man, womanizer, lady killer, Lothario (which comes from the novel Don Quixote), Libertine, Romeo (thank you Shakespeare), playboy, and philanderer.

All of these names originate in the 16th and 17th centuries, which means the Don Juan archetype was likely born in that era. However, archetypes do not materialize out of thin air. Archetypes, by definition, are both timeless and universal. The Don Juan has to come from somewhere, but where?

Origins of the Don Juan

The Don Juan originated from another, well known archetype. That archetype is the trickster. Many qualities of the trickster archetype show themselves in the Don Juan archetype. The Don Juan tricks women into falling in love with him. He also plays tricks on society, thwarting social norms and breaking taboos. The Don Juan, like many tricksters, has a large sexual appetite and considers himself beyond the reach of governing bodies.

The Don Juan archetype turns ideas of honor on their head just like the trickster has a knack for turning things upside down. Moral codes suggest that a man not covet another man’s wife, but this is precisely what the Don Juan archetype in the shadow does. He goes after the women that society tells him he can’t have. He shoots above his rank and position, goes for the unwed maiden, or takes the powerful man’s wife. By society’s standards, the Don Juan is dishonorable. In trickster fashion, he has a way of using dishonor to build a reputation as a ladies man.

It is important to note that the Don Juan arose from the trickster archetype, but is NOT the same archetype. They are two distinct archetypal patterns. The Don Juan is concerned with love and sexual relationships. The trickster encompasses a much larger and different sphere of influences.

The Don Juan vs. The Lover Archetype

The lover archetype and the Don Juan are also similar but distinct. Both are concerned with affairs of the heart and romantic relationships. They evolve from trying to control their romantic partners to cultivating a truly loving relationship that respects the rights and freedom of their partner.

The big difference between the lover and the Don Juan archetype is apparent when looking at their shadows. The lover in the shadow is the one that is duped. The lover falls head over heels and forgets herself entirely in her infatuation with the object of her desire. The shadow lover could be described as loving too easily.

The Don Juan in the shadow behaves in the opposite way. The shadow Don Juan archetype is obsessed with himself and wants his partner to join him in that self-absorption. In the shadow, the Don Juan is the one that is doing the duping and does not love easily or openly.

Finding Self-Love

The Don Juan in the shadow is in love with himself and expects everyone else to be too. Not all narcissists are Don Juans, but all shadow Don Juans are narcissists.  He is charming, witty, and attractive which affirms his high opinion of himself. Most people adore him. The Don Juan dresses to impress and is entirely absorbed with what pleases him.

The general consensus about the Don Juan is that he is in love with himself and that he can’t love anyone else. He is seen as selfish and self-centered, which is true when he’s in the under-developed, shadow state.

The Don Juan’s self-love is based on a hardened self-image. This stone-like exterior prevents love from coming in as much as going out. The trick is on him. He has isolated himself from what feeds his soul. To evolve, the Don Juan archetype must soften, die to the image of himself, and truly get to know who he is deep down. Once he meets himself,  he discovers acceptance and honest love of self.

In the light, the Don Juan archetype knows and truly loves himself. He has dropped the trick of the surface image and embraced the vulnerability of being real. Only then can he experience reciprocity in love.

Reforming the Rake or Bad Boy

Another term for the Don Juan archetype is rake. Those of you familiar with the novel or show Bridgerton probably caught Daphne calling Simon a “notorious rake.” The Don Juan archetype is popular in books, shows, and movies these days because there is a special allure to the rake. Many women want to reform him.

The bad boys who slip the grasp of relationships and can’t seem to love their partners are attractive in a backwards kind of way. A woman tempted by the Don Juan thinks, “What if after having sampled all these lovers that I am THE ONE that he can’t live without? What if he loves me so much that he is ready to finally settle down?”

The problem is that this woman places her self-esteem in the Don Juan’s hands and he can smell her weakness a mile away. As much as the Don Juan needs to develop true self-love, he also must find a partner that knows the same self-love. They need to be confident on their own in order to be confident together.

Don Juan Archetype as Taboo Breaker

So far in this article, I’ve talked about the Don Juan as a “he” and his partner as a “she”. These are outdated conventions that the Don Juan archetype in the light breaks every day. The Don Juan in the light is loving and inclusive of all people. His inherent disregard for class, status, race, sexuality, and gender makes him a brilliant champion of human rights.

The Don Juan transcends sexual and gender taboos, breaking all boundaries to love. It is in his/her/their nature to confuse preconditioned notions of him/her/them. We find this archetype in people of all genders and all sexual orientations. Examples of Don Juans who break gender and sexual stereotypes are Shane McCutcheon in The L Word and Samantha Jones in Sex and the City.

Expert at Honest Consent

In the shadow, the Don Juan archetype uses deceit and manipulation to gain consent from his partners, or he disregards consent altogether. When looking at the light of the Don Juan, the opposite happens. The Don Juan has the potential to be gifted with consent.

According to Project Respect, “”Consent is a mutual verbal, physical, and emotional agreement that happens without manipulation, threats, or head games.” [1]

In the light, the Don Juan uses their charm, superb ability to read body language and non-verbal cues, and keen intuition to read if a person’s feelings match their words. The Don Juan is an expert at attaining and delivering honest consent. They want to know how their partner honestly feels. The Don Juan knows what they truly want and is honest about it. The Don Juan is committed to discerning and discussing any power inequities in the relationship, and to making sure that the relationship (romantic or otherwise) is based on mutual respect and love.

[1] https://www.yesmeansyes.com/consent/

Explore your relationship with the
Don Juan archetype…

“The Lover Archetypes” Online Class

This four-part audio course on “The Lovers” defines the Lover, Don Juan, and Femme Fatale archetypes. These archetypes are all concerned with affairs of the heart. The Lover shifts from personal to collective to embodied love. The Don Juan shows that the trick to thwarting hypocrisy is being honest and loving. The Femme Fatale confronts abuses of power with the agency of a loving heart.

Student Archetype

The student is all about learning. She looks to own information and skills, but knowledge is more than a collection of facts. Knowledge is also awareness and experience. To bring the learning to fruition, the student must gather the courage to apply it in the real world. She must give up living by the book, and learn to think for herself.

For the immature student, learning is a process that happens by transmission. A teacher relays information to the student. The student absorbs this information, and regurgitates it in original form. The teacher’s pet is the one who parrots information back the best, and that is the pinnacle of performance for her.

The student archetype who is underdeveloped swings between two extremes. On one end, she has no confidence in her own intelligence and thinks that she isn’t good at learning. This presents a barrier to education and causes her to be close-minded. This sets the student up to default to the teacher and not own her previous experience and ability to learn. On the other hand, the student archetype is overly confident in her ability. She thinks she already knows everything because she’s studied so hard. This also results in a closed mind.

Learning to the Test

The student starts out with an obsessive, insatiable hunger to learn. She wants to get all the answers right. For the undeveloped student archetype, good grades and being the top of her class are everything.

When she gets a bad grade, the student archetype can blame her teacher. She may fault the curriculum and badmouth the school. Whether the accusations are true or not, the student can place the responsibility for her education outside of herself.

When it is time to put her knowledge to use, the student can refuse to act. She uses the excuse of too few credentials, degrees, credits, or certifications. The antithesis of trial by fire, the student studies instead of acts. She prefers to remain in the ivory tower, naive of real world problems she’s ill equipped to solve. She’d rather take another exam and try for a better score than leave academia.

In her unevolved form, the student learns to ace the test. She much prefers the critical eye of her teacher over that of public opinion. Extrinsic approval and the reward of a high GPA motivates her.

Student in Experiential Learning

As she grows, the student archetype realizes that learning involves building on pre-existing knowledge. Learning is a process of construction and creation that needs her engagement. Passive absorption no longer satisfies her. Instead of taking in raw information without thought, the mature student intentionally processes experience.

As the student finds her role in the learning process her mind opens. She enters into the cycle of experiential learning. In the first step she takes in experience with mindfulness, watching with curiosity. Next, she reflects on what happened and sits with what puzzles her.

Paramount for the mature student is the act of metacognition – thinking about her own thinking. She engages her to come up with potential solutions. Coming up with answers on her own versus insisting someone provide the right answer, means the student is taking responsibility for her own learning process. She not only thinks for herself, but evaluates her own learning process to learn about how she learns.

The empowered student is willing to make an educated guess, and put this theory to the test with intentional action. This is testing to learn. She is the self-author of her knowledge, willing to carry it out into the real world and put what she knows to the test.

Multiple Forms of Intelligence

The student archetype initially focuses on IQ. She sees learning purely as an intellectual pursuit and wants to sharpen her cognitive abilities. She relies heavily on reasoning and logic to get her through. The immature student feels good about herself when she scores higher than her classmates on exams. She believes she can think her way through anything if she learns the right facts and procedures. There is definitely a shadow of competitiveness when IQ scores and GPAs are in the picture.

The enlightened student archetype stands back from the impulse to be a smarty-pants, know-it-all and opens up to the intelligence of others. She sees everyone as her equal regardless of who knows more or less than she does. She enjoys a good study session with colleagues with a mutual sharing of ideas.

As she matures, the student opens to other forms of intelligence within. These include emotional intelligence and intuitive intelligence. The biology also has its own intelligence. She starts listening to aches, pains, and pleasures of the body as valuable sources of information. The student learns to access the greater cosmic intelligence, and uses faculties beyond the five senses to receive information through spiritual guidance.

Learning from the physical, emotional, intuitive, and spiritual systems, the student grows into a truly talented learner. No longer does she need textbooks because knowledge is everywhere. She actively engages with creating and using it.

Student vs. Teacher

The student archetype is primarily interested in learning, period. If someone wants to hear what she’s learned, she’ll be glad to share. However, she doesn’t want to help someone else understand. The student is interested in her personal learning and advancement. She doesn’t make a good teacher.

Some people wonder if they have both the student and the teacher archetypes. These two archetypes are too similar to have both as your primary archetypes. People who are dedicated to helping others learn are inherently learners themselves. Thus, the student is embedded within the teacher. For the people who prefer to learn for learning’s sake, they have the student archetype only.

Explore your relationship with the
student archetype…

The “Learner Archetypes” Online Class

In this four-part audio course, “The Learners,” Stacey Couch goes in-depth into the student, dilettante, and seeker archetypes. These archetypes share a perpetual love of learning, driven to know about the nature of life. The student converts experience into knowledge and wise action. The dilettante turns information overload into the grace of awe. The seeker transforms ambiguous questions into universal truth.