The Shadow Archetype of The Warrior
What is the shadow of the archetypal warrior in male psychology?
The masculine archetype of the warrior within male psychology also has its own shadow, the shadow of the warrior manifests differently both in active and passive forms. The active power shadow is called: The Sadist. The passive shadow form is called: The Masochist.
Only when the warrior energy’s become detached from human relationships does it lead to real problems, the once directed energy of vitality and aggressiveness from within the warrior spirit turns into cruelty and vengefulness and a hatred towards what is deemed weak and vulnerable. This is the active shadow possession of: The Sadist. When it comes to different forms of behaviour the individual may be abusive, take passion in humiliating others, they may be an obsessive workaholic or have compulsive personality disorders with regards to their own life and how they treat other people. The shadow warrior carries into adulthood the adolescent insecurity, violent emotionalism and desperation of the true embodiment of the hero he struggles to be but is always unsure of his legitimate phallic power as a man and therefore his fear leads into wanton brutality, The Sadist is unsure of femininity and is against anything “soft” and relational which explains for his erratic unstableness. We can see this embodied through the abusive boss who fires people at random, has fits of rage and is emotionally abusive to his work colleagues.
The passive pole of the shadow warrior is a masochist, someone who completely lacks psychological defence and security from the attacks of others, this individual can be seen as the “pushover” when it comes to how they let other people treat them, they lack vigour towards life and is often a dreamer who tortures themselves with ideas of possibility and imagination, but at the end of the day: never acts and feels terminally depressed. But if too much abuse is taken, the masochist will likely flip into the active shadow of the sadist through sudden outbursts of emotional and physical violence. The oscillation between active and passive shadow archetypes is typically very common for those who are stuck within them.
If we can access the warrior appropriately we will be energetic, decisive, courageous, enduring, persevering and loyal to some greater good beyond our own personal gain.
If this resonates with you and are interested in doing shadow work on a practical and effective level.
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