Skip to main content

THE INNER COUNCIL

Module 2: Archetypes

The Inner Council is an archetypal model of subconscious interaction used to discover deeper aspects of soul purpose. By opening these narratives we are able to adventure towards personal realisations and goals that we have set ourselves in this incarnated state. Instead of these challenges showing up awkwardly in our personal relationships and daily routines, we can create a safe platform to unravel the mysteries of our personal mission and enjoy the journey.

This module builds upon the tools that you have developed during your ongoing Inner Child practices. We recommend that you have achieved several of the following aspects before you begin, however, please discuss this with your practitioner:

  • You have an active relationship, both in daily routine and in the meditative space with your Inner Child
  • You have been challenged by your Inner Child in aspects of the trust relationship
  • Your Inner Child has revealed events from your childhood that have contributed to your ongoing integration
  • You have been shown one or more clues that relate to past relatives or your ancestral lineage
  • You are contemplating present events with objective reasoning
  • You have witnessed at least one long term behavioural shift
  • You may or may not have been introduced to other characters from your unconscious

In this module we create a safe space to interface with other characters of our unconscious which allows our Inner Child to reveal deeper aspects of our ancestral story and work towards deeper integration. We learn the tools to approach and to interpret these encounters, how to ask for what we need and how to respond, understanding and resolving non-serving energetic contracts.

Please note: The module is delivered through theory, practice and demonstration. Interacting with the subconscious is purely results based and requires active and attentive attendance from yourself and the ability to give clear feedback to the practitioner as you progress through the module.

Archetypal therapy

Archetypal therapy uses the imagination as the primary reality and considers the images and forms of imagination as characters to be taken seriously, although not literally. In this sense, no psychological models are utilised in the method. The aim of therapy is the development of a sense of soul and we traverse the middle ground of the psychic as a means of integrating soul fragments through expression.

More considered an art than a science, the poetic and rhetorical nature of archetypal therapy requires the therapist to have a wide understanding of archetypal forms and stories, but not necessarily for defining and interpreting the content of the therapy, but to understand the tactile ground in which myth often portrays itself, its characters and environmental settings. An emphasis is placed on the techniques of active imagination to allow the content to make themselves known, on their terms, to both the patient and the therapist.

There is a fascinating history to both the myth content and the practical application of integration of soul through the exploration of myth and archetype. The purpose of this module is to give an understanding of its range and depth for the therapist to further enhance through personal investigation into myth and metaphor.

“The primary, and irreducible, language of these archetypal patterns is the metaphorical discourse of myths. These can therefore be understood as the most fundamental patterns of human existence. To study human nature at its most basic level, one must turn to culture (mythology, religion, art, architecture, epic, drama, ritual) where these patterns are portrayed.” – James Hillman

The Archetypes

We use the word archetype for a broad array of characters that can introduce themselves from the personal and collective unconscious. These can present themselves as a characteristic representation of an energy manifestation, as is familiar in the Tibetan practice of chod; a character that represents a missing integrational key, such as an unborn relative, long lost friend or childhood imaginary friend; a typical archetype mentioned in the work of Carl Jung; mythological figures such as gods and other deities; or an archaic animal archetype often anthropomorphised into communicative form who shares deep soul guidance and more fundamental aspects of our personal journey. These characters enact the required symbolism that is required for us to identify a narrative that will lead us along our exploratory adventures with our Inner Child.

Our sense of purpose in life can be understood as the equilibrium of archetypes, when archetypes are overloaded, they stop functioning in healthy ways and begin creating defensive formations, like repression and dissociation. When these defences fail, we can see a number of neurotic symptoms and disorders usually associated with childhood trauma (from mother-infant relations for example). When archetypes hold the balance we can feel a deeper meaning in life and can healthily empathise and relate with others.

This inner soul journey brings us along a path of purification as we resolve emotional and energetic blockages, align our sense of being and begin to learn the necessary requirements and tools we need in order to raise our spiritual integrity towards inner spaciousness and liberation. We learn to accept the responsibility required for each level of access into deeper knowledge and become the comfortable residents of our own inner domain as we understand the phenomenological healing power of embodied fiction.

Accessing the Archetypes

Learn about the forms and methods of active imagination and how, through the cultivation of imagination, we access the environment of the archetypes. We use these original concepts to understand the techniques that provide a safe container to further explore the depths of the subconscious. We learn about the Active Imagination methods used by Carl G. Jung, Henry Corbin & Gilbert Durand, the hermetic associations and also of the 11th century practices of Chöd from the Tibetan Mystic lineage of Machig Labdrön.

  • Active imagination – Carl G. Jung
  • Mundus imaginalis – Henry Corbin
  • Structures of the imaginal – Gilbert Durand
  • Hermetic consciousness – Rafael López-Pedraza
  • Chöd – Machig Labdrön & Dampa Sangye
  • Symbols, metaphors & meaning
  • General techniques of shamanic journeying

The inner council practice itself is a concept of active imagination where a setting provides the most potent meeting place for interaction with archetypes or wisdom keepers. We further utilise our Inner Child to engage in a reconciling dialogue of mutual respect and reciprocity, allowing the deepest of the subconscious to approach. The archetypes then often demonstrate integration techniques by inviting us on investigations and adventures which weave narratives through our conscious and subconscious.

Although there are many overlaps, we do not discuss the specifics of dream interpretation in this module.

The Module Delivery

We recommend a 3 month mentoring period for covering the Inner Council module to allow for the preparation of space holding and development of the techniques that will reveal the interactions of the subsconsious. The sessions are entirely tailored to your ongoing journey and can lead you through deep personal physical and energetic healing, ancestral integration and intuitive guidance for your future. We recommend you speak to your practitioner in regard to intention setting, preparation and expectations for the module.

This module is delivered over a 3 month period of 2 hour sessions every 2 weeks £570/$730/€665*

Please see the mentoring program for further details.

*These prices are a guide for practitioners, please contact your practitioner for their prices.