I have spoken in another article about the importance of integrating the four archetypes of King, Warrior, Lover, Magician in our lives if we want to become complete human beings.
The article focuses on what can go wrong if the most powerful archetype, the King, is neglected and the Shadow King emerges. This article is based on the work of Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.
There are two shadow kings: the tyrant and the weakling.
We’ve all heard that expression “oh, his male ego has been hurt.” This eludes the Ego trying to overcome the power of the archetypal King and take the throne for itself. This will lead to the inevitable downfall of tyrants and we see this often in art, politics and business.
The tyrant thinks he knows everything and will not listen to anyone else. In the end he is overthrown or simply ignored. This will come at a terrible price not only for the person in question, but sometimes, in the case of great dictators, entire countries suffer.
The tyrant has no idea of service to those in his care so his downfall is inevitable. He has never “followed his bliss” and therefore cannot bear to see anyone else follow theirs.
We need to be affirmed for who we are as children, but eventually let go and establish our own identity. After this comes true humility where we declare our allegiance to the archetypal King and Queen and are able to serve the world.
Are you in that place now or is there still work to be done?
The polar opposite of the Tyrant is the Weakling. This is the man who is moody, listless. He would rather go off and sulk in a corner than stand up for what he believes. He can go off and lay on a beach in Bali for years, thinking he’s being really cool, but really he has no idea what his life is all about. While he is not as destructive as the tyrant, he is still of no use to the world, since he is not giving anything.
Push a weakling though, and he’ll jump to the opposite pole of the Tyrant yelling insults at everyone around him. The weakling and the tyrant can be very close friends.
If you are not in touch with your King archetype, look at those around you, as a denied archetype is always projected onto someone else. So who dominates you? You will find that I am sure that you blame them for everything that is not right in your life. Take back your power and restore the King to the throne.
To read more, see the inner king by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette.