Everyday war and the Warrior

Everyday War and the Warrior

Archetypes are symbolic representations of universal human aspects and qualities, held within the collective unconscious and peppered throughout myth and narrative across all cultures. Some archetypes are more traditionally masculine and some obviously feminine but as with Jung’s Animus (male) and Anima (female), they can be embodied by either sex.

The Warrior Archetype

This force is represented by mars in astrology and associated with the element of fire. This energy can be destructive or can be directed for a positive aim; fire can be used to generate heat and safety and contains the magical ability of transformation as in cooking, or metal working at the forge. In this sense creative destruction leads to transformation and regeneration as in the act of burning crops, returning vital minerals to the earth and ensuring fertile new growth.

The Warrior embodies the qualities of strength, determination, discipline and practised skill.  He is able to exert his will on the world, through focused energy, free from distraction, yet not necessarily through violent means or a desire to control others. The warrior is a strategist who has an abundance of initiative and competitiveness; he is active, ambitious, and creative.

The warrior wields strength and power, yet his actions are measured by wisdom; he uses his power for defence rather than attack. He is unfailingly loyal to his community, whom he serves and protects; he fights for the benefit of the whole. The Warrior has a keen awareness of detail, is alert to small changes in the environment, and gives time to careful planning. Represented by the King of Swords in the tarot, he is ever vigilant, calculating and has the ability to adapt swiftly and decisively. Favouring the realm of the mind, he can often appear to be disconnected, aloof and lacking in empathy.

In civilian life this archetype will be embodied by activists, protesters and the forces of chaos that are the necessary precursor to revolution and change. However, our modern culture often denigrates these forceful and competitive masculine qualities, perceiving them as toxic, dangerous and unnecessary. The Warrior however is the survival instinct within us all which keeps us motivated, decisive and tenacious.

Revered 6th century military master Sun Tzu, teaches that the superior warrior is a strategist who is also honourable and respectful. His ultimate treatise for the ‘Art of War’ has been studied by many world leaders throughout history and is used in the corporate world to devise strategies in business. Many of his tenets can be applied literally to battle but equally metaphorically for a more spiritual way of living;

·         pick your battles

·         do not fight uphill

·         know your enemy

·         the battle is already won before it is fought

Modern day warfare no longer makes use of the traditions previously employed by our ancestors of ancient cultures, who understood that ritual served as a gateway to accessing and invoking the warrior force.

For example, the reputation of the Viking Berserker would strike fear into the heart of the enemy, who had heard stories of the mad, frenzied, fearless giants who were indestructible. Legend records that this elite class of warriors would induce a trance state, similar to the shamanic practice of shape shifting, usually into a bear or wolf form, from which they conjured a violent fury. Imbued with magic and joined with the consciousness of the power animal, they needed no armour.  Sure of victory, they went into battle bare-chested, knowing that when their time came, they had lived and died honourably and as such were certain of a seat in the great hall, in Valhalla.

The crusader, often romanticised, has been promoted as a more refined and respectable form of the warrior energy. The Knights Templar were more structured and organised and brought rules and laws to society.  Though there is much scepticism and conspiracy about their ultimate motives, the Templars had a strict code of practice for everyday life and in war, a clear protocol that set out how to enter and leave the battlefield.

Indigenous Americans also had a code of ethics for a principled way of living. For example, Two feathers from the Kainaiwa Clan of the Blackfoot sets out 7 codes of living passed down from the Elders, ‘The Way of the Warrior’, that as with Sun Tzu, are still relevant today and are listed as follows:

·         HONESTY AND JUSTICE Be acutely honest throughout your dealings with all people. Believe in justice, not from other people, but from yourself. To the true Exemplar, there are no shades of grey in the question of honesty and justice. There is only right and wrong.

·         POLITE COURTESY A Warrior has no reason to be cruel. They do not need to prove their strength. An Exemplar is courteous even to his enemies. Without this outward show of respect, we are nothing more than animals.

·         HEROIC COURAGE Rise up above the masses of people who are afraid to act. Hiding like a turtle in a shell is not living at all. A Fighter must have heroic courage. It is absolutely risky, It is dangerous. It is living life completely, fully, wonderfully. Heroic courage is not blind, it is intelligent and strong.

·         HONOUR A true person of honour has only one judge of honour, and this is him/herself. Decisions you make and how these decisions are carried out are a reflection of whom you truly are. You cannot hide from yourself.

·         COMPASSION Through intense training the Fighter becomes quick and strong. He is not as other men. He develops a power that must be used for the good of all. He has compassion. He helps his fellow man at every opportunity. If an opportunity does not arise, he goes out of his way to find one.

·         COMPLETE SINCERITY When a Warrior has said he will perform an action, it is as good as done. Nothing will stop him from completing what he has said he will do. He does not have to "give his word." He does not have to "promise."

·         DUTY AND LOYALTY For the Warrior, having done some "thing" or said some "thing," he knows he owns that "thing." He is responsible for it, and all the consequences that follow. A Warrior is immensely loyal to those in his care, to those he is responsible for, he remains fiercely true.

These traditions and rituals act as a doorway, a place of transition between the military mindset and the civilian mindset. The resulting energy and power raised, served as a vehicle to invoke and embody the archetypal Warrior. Many acts that are committed and made permissible in war, physical harm, imprisonment and murder are of course considered heinous and criminal in civilian life. These rituals could also be said to have a protective aspect, by creating a form of dissociation that enabled the warrior to mentally separate his ‘avatar’ in battle from his moral, law abiding personality of civilian life.

I wonder, did the warriors of history experience PTSD to the degree that today’s military do or did these rituals enable them to rationalise their behaviour and keep the different aspects of personality discrete?

In ages past was war more a necessary act of survival, with a healthy respect for the power and skill of the opponent, in contrast to the false flags, propaganda and source of finance for the arms industry that it is today?

The negative ‘shadow’ expression of the Warrior is found in the sadist, the tyrant, the brutal, power hungry, controlling force. It is this manifestation that seems so prevalent in the psychopathic globalists that seek to take away our freedoms by any and every means.

Is such evil born or made; the age old question. In childhood, the shadow form of this archetype is manifest in the class bully, who seeks to persecute and dominate or in a less overt form, in the coward. On the surface the coward is avoidant, passive and appears weak, due to his lack of assertiveness but do not be fooled. His unaddressed rage, not least at his own impotence is internalised, his emotions turn to ice and as a result he can be the cruellest of all.

In contrast the positive childhood expression of the warrior energy is the Hero trying to be brave, testing his abilities and finding his limits by exploring and inquiring. Thereby he hones his skills for a higher purpose.

In business the shadow aspect of the warrior is manifest as the workaholic who is so driven, that he or she will sacrifice time with family, their health needs or any rejuvenating recreation. The martyr is the distorted, internalised and unexpressed energy of the Warrior; she will sacrifice her own needs for the other whilst secretly harbouring resentment. This is known as ‘the washerwoman’ personality in homeopathy, the remedy being Sepia.

To conclude then; most of us instinctively know right from wrong. The ethics of these ancient practises and rituals guide us when we are faced with hard decisions and difficult situations. How can we use the fire energy of The Warrior archetype positively in our day to day lives? We might begin with the practice of meditation, which teaches self mastery and control and allows us access to the ‘observing self’. From this perspective the mature Warrior does not succumb to emotional disturbances but cultivates a healthy detachment. He is still assured of his strength but equally knows his limitations. Informed and prepared, the battle is won before it is fought.

Your Warrior energy helps you to combine the skills or logical, rational thought with physical strength and courage. Know when to act and when to cultivate patience. Respect your enemy and do not underestimate him, for he has something valuable to teach you.

References

Golubickis, M., Tan, L. B., Falben, J. K., & Macrae, C. N. (2016). The observing self: Diminishing egocentrism through brief mindfulness meditation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46(4), 521-527.

Guttman, A., Guttman, G., & Johnson, K. (1993). Mythic astrology: internalizing the planetary powers. Llewellyn Worldwide.

Hill, P. (2018). The Knights Templar at War, 1120–1312. Grub Street Publishers.

Jung, C. G. (2014). Four archetypes. Routledge.

König, K. (1974). Sepia. British Homeopathic Journal, 63(04), 256-266.

https://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-warrior.

Nordberg, A., & Wallenstein, F. (2016). “Laughing I shall die!”: The total transformations of berserkers and ulfheðnar in Old Norse society. In Transforming Warriors (pp. 49-65). Routledge.

Rodway, H. (1990). Tarot of the Old Path. Urania Verlags AG

Shephard, B. (2004). Risk factors and PTSD: A historian's perspective. Posttraumatic stress disorder: Issues and controversies, 39-61.

Sun, T. (1994). The art of war. Hachette UK.