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An Exercise to Determine Dominant Archetypes

For purposes of this exercise, we are limiting the archetypes to four major ones: the Warrior, the Martyr, the Orphan, and the Magician. By asking yourself the questions, then comparing your answer to the four possible responses, you can begin to understand which of the four archetypes play the most significant roles in your life.
  1. Do you feel as though you are constantly fighting a current that wants to take you in a direction that you don't want to go? Or do you find that there is a kind of effortlessness in moving towards your desired goals?
    • The Warrior celebrates the challenge of a struggle and finds satisfaction in achieving his goal against all odds.
    • The Martyr resents the constant problems that must be overcome. There is so much working against him that he cannot achieve his goal.
    • The Orphan is afraid and uncertain and needs help in trying to achieve her goal. She can't seem to settle on a particular goal.
    • The Magician finds opportunities at every turn. By removing obstacles created by fear and insecurity, the Magician sometimes feels as if everything he touches turns to gold. He experiences life as a flow.


  2. Do you find that you spend more time worrying about the future and struggling with the past than you do with embracing the perfection of the moment?
    • The Warrior believes that his energetic efforts in the present will create the future that he wants.
    • The Martyr believes that the future will be no better than the past or present, and nothing that he can do will change the outcome. It is his fate.
    • The Orphan focuses on the imperfections of the moment and has no certainty about future possibilities, because of disappointments in the past.
    • A Magician trusts in the purpose and meaning of the moment and operates with faith, allowing the perfect workings of the universe to manifest.


  3. Do you live in a state of chronic dissatisfaction about the quality of your life, or do you focus on the small blessings that surround you?
    • The Warrior works towards improving his life by taking continuous action in the world.
    • The Martyr feels that her own needs have been overlooked by others and rarely focuses on personal blessings.
    • The Orphan feels deprived and believes that the world has treated him unfairly, through no fault of his own.
    • The Magician feels gratitude and is eager to celebrate even the smallest blessing.


  4. What was your response to September 11?
    • Some Warriors want to protect and defend the US and join in on the military campaigns. Others, who operate with a different kind of Warrior energy, get arrested for anti-war demonstrations and spend a night in jail.
    • The Martyr is obsessed with the prospects of having to endure the horrors of WWIII.
    • The Orphan has a hard time functioning and leans on those around her for comfort during this frightening time.
    • The Magician believes that the tragedies that occurred can lead to greater blessings, and spends her energy transmuting muck to gold through the power of prayer, intention, visualization, and love.


  5. Do you ask for what you need?
    • The Warrior does not ask for help but celebrates her independence and prefers to rely on her own abilities to get what she needs.
    • The Martyr doesn't ask because there would be no point. Since no one has ever offered help in the past there is no reason to believe that anyone would offer help in the future.
    • The Orphan doesn't always understand what she needs. She may ask for what she needs in a form that is too specific and as a result she feels that she never gets what she really wants. What she receives is never enough and so she is always in need.
    • The Magician fully expects to receive what she needs and is open to all opportunities that come her way. She clearly asks for what she wants and puts it out to the universe in broad terms, so that she is rarely disappointed.


  6. If you are faced with a major illness, how do you react?
    • The Warrior does not complain about the loss but forges ahead, determined to overcome his misfortune.
    • The Martyr asks over and over "Why me?" Deep down, she knows that she always secretly expected that this sort of thing would happen and the physical pain actually gives some relief to her intense emotional suffering. She wonders what misfortune will follow this one.
    • The Orphan believes that his life will never be the same and feels hopeless and victimized.
    • The Magician knows how to turn around misfortune, so that it becomes an opportunity. The Magician believes that the loss of eyesight, for instance, can lead to the development of other senses, extrasensory perception, and greater inner wisdom. When people ask, "Why did this have to happen to you?" he responds, "Why not me?" He transmutes that which can be changed, and accepts that which cannot.


  7. Do you feel worthy of having a beautiful, abundant life?
    • The Warrior works hard and deals with continuous challenges, in order to make life the way he would like it to be. His sincere efforts allow him to feel worthy.
    • The Martyr does not feel that anything will work out for him.
    • The Orphan believes he can have an abundant life only if he is given the right conditions.
    • The Magician feels worthy of having a life that is beautiful and abundant, and celebrates the life that he has. The possibilities and opportunities are infinite.


  8. The recession is causing many people to lose jobs. What will you do if you lose yours?
    • The Warrior prepares for the challenge and energizes himself to pursue every possible lead to find a new job.
    • The Martyr expected that he would be one of the first to lose his job and is distressed at the prospect of needing to exert enormous efforts to get another one.
    • The Orphan is frozen in fear and struggles with depression and despair.
    • The Magician sees the loss of a job as an opportunity to use all the resources she has been endowed with to find another job — one that will be even better than the last. She focuses on what she can create, rather than what has been lost. She knows the importance of relaxing into the flow, and utilizes her gifts of intuition, intelligence, and imagination to create new opportunities.



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