The King and Warrior Archetypes of the Mature Man

Continuing with the discussion of the crisis in masculine potential and the difference between boy psyche and men psyche, I’d like to look the two key archetypes of the mature man, the King and the Warrior.

Much of this information is from the work of “King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine” by Robert L. Moore

The King

The King is the primal energy in all men (in women it manifests as the Queen) and comes first in the integration of the other three archetypes of the mature man. “The good and generative King is also a good Warrior, a positive Magician, and a great Lover.”  -1

The King is the matured version of The Divine Child whose selfishness is replaced by the mature man’s selflessness. It is The King archetype that allows man to be more Godlike than any of the other archetypes.

There are two functions associated with The King archetype that make the transition from Boy psychology to Man psychology possible:

• Ordering
• Providing of fertility and blessing

Theoretically, The King inhabits the center of the world and provides orderliness and organization to everything within its sphere of influence. In mythology, religion and folk tales, The King energy is represented by those such as the Biblical Yahweh, mythology’s Zeus and the Native American Sioux medicine man, Black Elk, among others. These masculine energies hold important positions of power and are esteemed for their wisdom, blessings and nobility.

It is also the role of The King to bless fertility and perpetuate the kingdom himself and through his blessings on his people. In this way, The King is the tie from the divine world to the physical world. If The King is healthy, his people thrive. Conversely, if The King is ailing, his people also suffer.

The fully functioning King energy exhibits in the mature male in characteristics such as integrity, reason, stability, calm and kindness. While these are highly prized attributes,

The Shadow Side of the King

The King archetype also has two shadow sides, The Tyrant and the Weakling, which most men have either witnessed or contain in themselves.

• The Tyrant

The Tyrant is ruthless and merciless in the pursuit of his own interests and is not beyond degrading others because he hates beauty, innocence and talent.  It is The Tyrant who physically and verbally abuses his family members or ignoring them altogether.

The Tyrant rises to the surface of every man who is fatigued or pushed past his endurance limits but it is most evident in narcissistic personality types who feel they are the center of the universe. There are even certain professions that The Tyrant gravitates toward including drug lords, pimps, mafia bosses and others.

• The Weakling

The characteristics of The King archetype give a man extremely sensitive to criticism and he responds with rage which is a cover for his feelings of inadequacy. This leads to the persona of The Weakling who, in contrast to The Tyrant who demands his rights, feels he cannot measure up and therefore does not deserve any rights associated with The King. Any man who has the essence of The Weakling is prone to paranoia due to cowardice and insecurity inside himself.

The Warrior

The Warrior is a sometimes repressed archetype because the aggressive behavior associated with it is frightening and antisocial. The history of man, however, is marked by warring behavior and even today, men indulge in corporate games and the combative energies of competitive sports to find outlets for this powerful energy.

“What accounts for the popularity of Rambo, of Arnold Schwarzenegger, of war movies like Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Full-Metal Jacket, and many, many more? We can deplore the violence in these movies, as well as on our television screens, but, obviously, the Warrior still remains very much alive within us.” – 1

The marked characteristic of The Warrior is aggression; always moving forward to take the offensive against life’s challenges. The societal challenge for The Warrior is discerning what level of aggressive behavior is important, and when to act on it.

The Warrior is always alert, knows what he wants, and even more important, knows how to get it. The Warrior is also very aware of death, especially his own, and understands the vulnerability of life and the purpose of his fighting. To this end, The Warrior is always well-trained in both body and mind, letting his aggression out only if it serves a greater purpose.

The Shadow Side of the Warrior

The Warrior often uses his power for good as in the example of military men but sometimes the shadow side of The Warrior rises as The Sadist and The Masochist.

• The Sadist

The Warrior’s detachment from human emotions creates the cold and cruel behavior of The Sadist who inflicts humiliation to cover his own insecurities and fears. Men who routinely beat their families practice sadistic behavior and then do not know how to make amends for the hurt they have inflicted.

• The Masochist

The Masochist, however, is the opposite of The Sadist because he feels powerless and acts as a pushover who is defenseless in most situations.

It is very clear that the highest forms of The King and The Warrior archetypes are:

• Nobility
• Generosity
• Clear thinking
• Courage
• Endurance
• Energy
• Loyalty

However, most men do not embody the pinnacle of both personas, and have differing degrees of and characteristics of The Magician and The Lover, which we’ll look at next week.

The challenge for each man is to shed the limiting archetypes of the Boy psychology and embrace the positive characteristics of the mature archetypes.

That is a challenge in itself but when the shadow sides of the archetypes are factored in, it is understandable that men live conflicted by their internal wiring and the pressures and influences of society and family structures.

One of the main emphases on The Warriors Quest is to help with the transformation and imitation into the King, Warrior, Magician and Lover.  The Kings, Warriors, Magicians and Lovers of ancient times who helped people navigate their lives are not accessible today at a time when they are desperately needed, this is why I created the 2 ½ day Warrior’s Quest.

 “The Warrior’s Quest” is a 2 ½ day intensive that will bring out the “hard wiring” or blueprints inside each man, among other aspects.  These blueprints will point a way to positive masculine persona and energy.  Find out more about The Warrior’s Quest HERE.

Reference

1 – King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine” by Robert L. Moore