Understanding psychology is crucial for analyzing the decisions of great leaders throughout history. It not only improves our analysis but also helps us better assess our strengths and weaknesses, integrating these insights into our future processes.
King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette (1990) brilliantly and concisely maps out the mature and immature polarities across the four archetypes.
Recognizing that no one truly desires to be 'gray-normal,' this book aims to help readers unlock their inner genius.1 If you're eager to break free from the monotony of 'gray-normal' and cultivate a vibrant, colourful life, be prepared to face resistance:
“Ours is not an age that wants heroes. Ours is an age of envy, in which laziness and self-involvement are the rule. Anyone who tries to shine, who dares to stand above the crowd, is dragged back down by his lacklustre and self-appointed peers.
We need a great rebirth of the heroic in our world. Every sector of human society, wherever that may be on the planet, seems to be slipping into an unconscious chaos. Only the heroic consciousness, exerting all its might, will be able to stop this slide toward oblivion. Only a massive rebirth of courage in both men and women will rescue the world.” (41)
With that appreciation of the hostile environment in which we are operating, let us turn to the King - the primal energy in all men.
The King
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The two primary functions of the king are to establish order and generate prosperity. The ‘World’ is defined as that part of reality that is within his control. It is the king’s duty not only to impose order in his realm through the codifications of laws and creations of customs, but also to embody the principles of the ‘right’ order. The king must keep his cool in moments when others lose theirs; he is calm, stable, and secure.
The king’s physical vigour and vitality relates to his second function. It is the king’s duty to marry and produce heirs. This creative energy resonates throughout the kingdom, making the lands more fertile and, thus, richer.
To further promote prosperity, the king guides his subjects towards their own fullness of being by bestowing blessings. The effect of a blessing is profound; it heals and makes whole. While this language may feel antiquated, the authors refer to modern studies that show that “our bodies actually change chemically when we feel valued and praised” (61). Because he himself is secure, the king is able to bestow rewards and encouragement to others in abundance and without envy. He acts not just for his own benefit, but for the benefit of all those within his realm.
Unfortunately, we are more likely to encounter the two immature or shadow expressions of this archetype - the tyrant and the weakling. The tyrant’s main objective is to suppress creation because he senses that new life, new ideas, will threaten his position on the throne. Rather than bestow blessings, he ignores the accomplishments of others and depreciates their abilities and strengths. Instead of seeing others, he is obsessed with being seen by them. The authors provide the following example of an all-too familiar form of the tyrant:
Many people in corporate America today are not at all interested in the companies they work for. Many are just ‘treading water’, looking for a way out and up. Here we find the executives who are more interested in furthering their own careers than in being good stewards of the ‘realms’ placed under their authority. There is no devotion or real loyalty to the company, only to themselves. (67)
The weakling, too, operates from a place of deep insecurity. His destructive tendencies often result in self-inflicted harm, driven by a lack of initiative and paranoia. He projects helplessness and heavily relies on others for support. This dependency breeds paranoia, as he fears abandonment and withdrawal of support. Consequently, he manipulates those around him in a desperate attempt to get what he wants, ultimately rotting his relationships.
For both the tyrant and the weakling, the shadow king is his own priority. To access the mature king, we must first reverse this mindset and prioritize the well-being of others. Additionally, we must resist "abdication syndrome," the tendency to surrender our power to others, such as a boss or partner, which leads to impotence and chaos. Instead, we must seek the counsel of our inner authority and take responsibility for our actions.
By pursuing this path, we will experience a decrease in anxiety, becoming more calm, centered, confident, and secure. This transformation will enable us to bless both ourselves and others. Critically, however, we must acknowledge that our role as king will be finite:
The moral man who incarnates the King energy or bears it for a while in the service of his fellow human beings, the realm, the cosmos, is almost an interchangeable part, a human vehicle for bringing this ordering and generative archetype into the world and into the lives of human beings.
…Kings in the ancient world were often ritually killed when their ability to live out the King archetype began to fail. What was important was that the generative power of the energy not be tied to the fate of an aging and increasingly impotent mortal. With the raising up of the new king, the King energy was reembodied, and the King as archetype was renewed in the lives of people of the realm. In fact, the whole world was renewed. (50)
This process of renewal is vital for our well-being. As mature kings, if we have truly blessed our children and protégés, we should welcome this transition. It signifies the successful transfer of energy and wisdom to the next generation. This is a lesson that, arguably, some current heads of state have yet to fully absorb. Fortunately, that does not prevent us from applying the teaching to our own lives.
In the next post, we will explore the archetype of the warrior. If that’s of interest to you, I encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter for free. As an author new to Substack, your engagement and comments are incredibly valuable to me. Thank you for spending your time here.
Consistent with the Jungian tradition, the authors acknowledge that every man has a feminine sub-personality called the Anima, and every woman has a masculine sub-personality called the Animus. This suggests that all people, regardless of gender, can access both masculine and feminine archetypes.