My Child Archetypes
I am so excited! I found a webpage to take a Child Archetype Quiz and now have a ton of clarity on My Child Archetypes… this will hugely benefit my personal growth and life! Not only has it given me a ton of clarity on myself but I am also excited that I will be able use it in my relationships!
The more I dive into this Archetype work, the more I appreciate it!
Charlie (my 13yo son who I have always felt closely connected to because I ‘get him’) took the quiz also… surprise, surprise… we have the same top 3 Child Archetypes… just in different order!
I am curious to see what my daughter’s will look like (15yo who is clearly different from Charlie and I as far as nature is concerned but I am suspicious that she will too have the Divine Child… we shall see :))
These are the 4 Child Archetypes that show up for me: Wounded Child, Divine Child, Nature Child, Orphan Child
I strongly relate to the Wounded Child: connect with other wounded children, have compassionate and forgiving nature
- The shadow side was very strong growing up and into my 20’s, there was blame toward my parents and I would point toward the pain of my childhood as excuse for problems
- FORTUNATELY (sigh!) I caught myself still doing this in my mid 20’s and put a deliberate stop to it! For 15 years, I have worked and continue to work diligently on understanding my parents, forgiving them, having compassion for their own journey, and accepting them where they are at
- Also, I knew at a young age that I wanted to be in a profession of helping people… mainly children. The first 10 years as a professional I was a Children’s Case Manager, a Case Coordinator for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and a Child Victim Advocate with the State Attorney’s Office. I now work mainly with adults, helping them to heal their wounds and move into their own compassion and forgiveness
Next in line is a tie between Divine Child, Nature Child & Orphan Child
Between these three, I see the strongest examples of Divine Child in my life:
- Again, the shadow side was very strong while I was growing up and into my early 30’s, I lived in fear… fear of the dark, fear of evil/dark beings, fear of victimization, and fear of death controlled many aspects of my life, particularly at night. As a child, I hid in my room with music playing loudly when my mother watched scary movies, I detoured around her bookshelves of Stephen King books, I would change the channel when commercials for scary movies came on, and my heart would race when trying to go to sleep at night and if I woke in the middle of the night.
- I became fascinated with spirituality and the spiritual world in my early 30’s, it was the knowledge and insight I gained through this that helped me to fight and overcome my debilitating fears.
- I learned that being in fear would only make me more receptive to more fear & darkness, this was a HUGE motivator! I went to work… I would visually surrounded myself and our home with protective angels and light, I purposefully practiced exercises of turning my thoughts to light and love, and I built my faith and found a stronger connection with my Higher Power.
- I now feel fully protected from negativity and fear! Although I find great satisfaction from how I currently inspire others, I strive to continue to build on this so as to radiate a very strong aura of love, goodness & light
My Nature Child has always been a part of my life, but I don’t see it as obvious as Wounded Child and Divine Child, it has just been a constant and a norm for me:
- I have always loved the outdoors… camping, hiking through the woods, being on the water, walking along a creek, staying in a cabin in the woods, visiting the mountains
- As I have gotten older, I am much more aware of my nature preferences and make deliberate effort to honor and implement them: I appreciate builders who preserve the environment, when I go on vacation I prefer something ‘outdoorsy’ vs. going to a big city, when I have built homes I have put a priority on the nature view from each window, if I live in a home close to a main road or anything industrial I am not settled, my dream home forms a ‘c’ shape where every room faces a middle garden with a peaceful looking pool with natural lines, I would rather work outside- I bring my paperwork or laptop and work on my porch, I love to sleep with my windows open to hear the wind in the trees, animal sounds and birds singing, I dream of having a lake home with tons of outdoor activities that my family, as it grows, come to on family vacations, I feel more energy when exercising in nature or on the beach rather than indoors, I love watching little creatures living their lives, I decorate my home and office with natural wood and nature items
- I have not seen a shadow side of this in my life, the only thing I have seen was not implementing my appreciate of nature enough in my life… I strive to incorporate it even more in my life
Lingering in the background has been the Orphan Child, mainly because of my strong sense of independence and self reliance:
- I pride myself on being able to tend and provide for myself and the needs of my household and children. I like that I can take care of the ‘manly’ tasks of the home. After my divorce I took pride in being able to build and buy a house on my own, going on a vacation alone with my kids where we stayed in a secluded log cabin in the woods with only wood fire for heat, and I am determined to fully provide for me and my kids so anyone I date/marry will not feel their livelihood will be affected by having us in his life.
- The shadow side has been wearing on me and I am so so so ready to tackle this next aspect of my life! I don’t like ‘doing it all,’ I frequently put too much on my plate and can get overwhelmed. I regularly feel like I have more to do than time to do it. I have started to work on delegating but it has not come easily for me because I have perfectionist tendencies and a belief that ‘if I want something done right, I have to do it myself.’ I would like to feel more nurtured and taken care of in a relationship and I am pretty sure my self-reliance has kept me from attracting a man that will provide this to me. Because I do so much, I teach others they don’t have to do for me. In a relationship, I yearn for the ‘manly’ things to be taken care of and to be nurtured, not because I can’t do them myself but because he feels fulfilled doing for me… at the same time, he will still respect and recognize that I am capable of doing anything I put my mind to. In my work and home life, I need help with all the projects and work I have taken on. I am seeking a person of like-mind who can assist me in all areas of my life. I am also learning to stop taking on more projects.
I cannot see any evidence in my life of Eternal Child, Magical Child, or Invisible Child.
Great to have this clarity! It helps me to see my progress but it also helps so I can see what areas I still want to work on.
I will be curious to watch the shadow aspect of these come out when I feel threatened or vulnerable.
I look forward to recognizing the Child Archetypes in others as I get to know them and see how they respond when feeling vulnerabilities.
Do you want to learn about your Child Archetypes?
Join us on Thursdays 9:00am-11:00am. One of our participants is actively pursuing a Certification as an Archetype Consultant and offers us great guidance and direction!
Contact me for more info dawn@dawngrant.com
