Archetypes

Question 1

Day

Answer 1

safety; knowledge; order

Question 2

Night

Answer 2

danger; lack of knowledge; disorder

Question 3

Garden

Answer 3

ordered and controlled environment that is usually safe, happy, and nurturing

Question 4

Forest

Answer 4

dangerous garden; a place of trials; the unconscious; “lost in the forest”

Question 5

Desert

Answer 5

death; spiritual loss; hopelessness; isolation; wasteland

Question 6

Mountains

Answer 6

personal achievement; meeting place of heaven and earth; insight and enlightenment

Question 7

Caves

Answer 7

descent into the unconscious or the inner self; a place to face innermost fears

Question 8

River

Answer 8

ever-flowing time and eternal change; also boundaries and borders; general water imagery can represent purification or new life

Question 9

The Sea

Answer 9

vast, alien, and dangerous; waves can represent infinity

Question 10

Islands and Ships-at-Sea

Answer 10

a microcosm of society; spiritual as well as physical isolation or exile

Question 11

Maze

Answer 11

difficult, confusing, challenging task; in order to escape from a maze, the hero must discover the essential reality of his nature

Question 12

Hero

Answer 12

exhibits outstanding qualities and abilities; embodies the ideals of his society; embarks on a quest, confronts his adversary, has an epiphany, and returns

Question 13

Innocent

Answer 13

a child or naïve young man who has been sheltered from evil; often wears white; this character moves from innocence to experience through a trial and initiation process

Question 14

Outcast

Answer 14

a figure who is banished from society for some crime (real or imagined) against his fellow man; destined to wander from place to place

Question 15

Shadow

Answer 15

an alter-ego or double; represents the hidden or repressed parts of a character

Question 16

Villain

Answer 16

an evil character who attempts to destroy the hero

Question 17

Earth Mother

Answer 17

a wise feminine provider, nourisher, and nurturer

Question 18

Wise Old Man

Answer 18

a masculine counterpart of the Earth Mother; he cares for, instructs, and councils the hero

Question 19

Fatal Woman

Answer 19

a temptress; a witch; a woman who through her power can render a strong man weak and a wise man foolish

Question 20

Damsel-in-Distress

Answer 20

a vulnerable woman who must be rescued by the hero; often used to trap or ensnare the unsuspecting hero

Question 21

Faithful Companion(s)

Answer 21

loyal retainers who are heroic themselves; their duty is to assist and protect the hero also helpful animals – less heroic than the Faithful Companions, but no less helpful to the hero

Question 22

Scapegoat

Answer 22

a sacrificial victim; a character who suffers or is blamed unjustly in order that others may escape; his death often makes him a more powerful force

Question 23

Trickster

Answer 23

a character who, through superior wit or cunning, can deceive and manipulate those who seemingly have greater strength and authority; they also enjoy playing tricks on the stupid, pompous, or greedy

Question 24

The Battle between Good and Evil

Answer 24

also seen as light versus dark; mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds

Question 25

Natural World versus Mechanical World

Answer 25

usually nature is benevolent and technology/machines are malevolent

Question 26

The Fall

Answer 26

the hero experiences a downfall; the downfall often involves an expulsion from a paradise; in continuing the cycle of life, this spiritual death maybe followed with a redemption or rebirth

Question 27

The Initiation

Answer 27

the (usually young) character moves from innocence into experience; from childhood into adulthood

Question 28

Quest

Answer 28

a journey or search for origins (roots), identity, perfection (nirvana), fulfillment, love, the true father or mother, treasure, fame, wisdom, or salvation; describes the search for someone or some talisman which, when brought back/destroyed, will restore

Question 29

The Task

Answer 29

a piece of the Quest; the hero must save the kingdom, win the fair lady, or identify himself so he may reassume his rightful position; the hero must perform superhuman deed

Question 30

Transformation

Answer 30

a character literally changes from one form to another form

Question 31

The Father-Son Conflict

Answer 31

tensions often result from separation during childhood or from an external source when the individuals meet as grown men; a mentor often has a higher place in the affections of the hero than the natural parents

Question 32

Sword

Answer 32

a warrior’s honor, dignity, and name are tied to his sword; also represents a legacy or destiny passed from father to son

Question 33

Tree

Answer 33

the center or beginning of sacred power; the navel of the world; the cosmic axis that unites the underworld, the earth, and the heavens; essential symbol of connections

Question 34

Circle

Answer 34

completion, especially of a cycle; eternity (as circles have no beginning or ending); inside a circle can offer protection or be a conduit of power

Question 35

Snake

Answer 35

a complex symbol that on one hand represents evil, cunning, and manipulation, while on the other hand represents eternal life and wisdom; the snake is kin to the dragon or monster which Western culture depicts as needing to be slain

Question 36

Unhealable Wound

Answer 36

this wound is either physical or psychological and cannot healed fully; indicates a loss of innocence and always aches

Question 37

Three

Answer 37

associated with the triangle and divinity; symbolizes spiritual awareness, light, and unity: “past, present, future” and “mind, body, soul”

Question 38

Four

Answer 38

associated with the circle and the earth; symbolizes the cycle of earthly life and orderly arrangement: four seasons (spring, summer, fall, winter), four elements (water, earth, air, fire), four compass points/corners of the earth (north, south, east, wes

Question 39

Five

Answer 39

associated with the pentagon and man; symbolizes divine love and justice: man has five senses, four limbs & head, four fingers & thumb

Question 40

Seven

Answer 40

most potent of all symbolic numbers; signifies union of three and four: perfect order, harmony, completion of cycle (seven days on a week)

Question 41

Twelve

Answer 41

cosmic order and salvation; also signifies the union of three and four: 12 apostles, 12 tribes of David, 12 signs of the zodiac, measure of time (months, hours)

Question 42

Red

Answer 42

the color of blood and fire; symbolizes life, energy, passion, sacrifice, strength, and leadership, but also war, anger, too much ambition, danger, and disorder

Question 43

Green

Answer 43

the color of nature and the land; symbolizes renewal, hope, fertility, youth, and growth, but also the wild, uncontrolled forces of nature and man found in envy, jealousy, inexperience, and decay

Question 44

Blue

Answer 44

the color of the sky and the sea; symbolizes nobility, steadfastness, security, truth, calmness, and spiritual purity, but also discouragement and doubt

Question 45

Gold/Yellow

Answer 45

the color of the sun; symbolizes illumination, perfection, intuition, but also money and greed, cowardice, treachery, and adultery

Question 46

Purple

Answer 46

the color of royalty; symbolizes wisdom, temperance, clarity of mind, but also power and its many abuses

Question 47

Black

Answer 47

the totality of (or absorbs all) color; symbolizes maturity, wisdom, and mystery, but also death, chaos, and evil

Question 48

White

Answer 48

the absence of (or reflects all) color; symbolizes purity, innocence, timelessness, and the supernatural, but also mourning, hypocrisy, and terror, particularly in supernatural form