I've always been drawn to Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell's work with archetypes. And I guess it was five years ago now that I obtained the Carolyn Myss book, Sacred Contracts, in which she rather blends an astrological chart system with a person's chosen 12 primary archetypes to learn about personality, life challenges, etc. Though I suspect she and ole C.J. might say that the archetypes choose the person. That's the "contracts" part: That you come into this life having previously made a contract of sorts for the kinds of things you're suited to do.
Five years ago, I took myself and this book off to Breitenbush Hot Springs during the Autumnal Equinox -- which also happens to be a women-only time and also happens to be a silent retreat time -- to spend the weekend working through the exercises in the book to discover my 12 archetypes. All there was to do there is eat, soak, rest, and read and write about archetypes. Rinse, repeat. There was blessedly none of the chit-chat at meals or anywhere else: "Where are you from? What workshop are you doing? I'm a social worker from Portland... wocka wocka wocka..." In the span of the weekend, I was able to stay focused, and "find" all 12 of my archetypes, which I may share about later.Carolyn Myss theorizes that everybody has four main archetypes in the mix of the 12: Child, Victim, Saboteur, and Prostitute. And before that starts sounding questionable, it's important to think of archetypes as essentially neutral and capable of both positive and negative expression. Light and Shadow. Like electricity: It can light up a room or kill someone.
The child is the most readily understandable of the four. Sacred Contracts identifies several variations in the child archetype, the Divine Child being just one of them. We were all children once, and depending upon how it went, Myss suggests we might identify with the following:
- Orphan
- Wounded
- Magical / Innocent
- Nature
- Divine
- Eternal Boy or Girl
She says that the Divine Child is closely related to the Magical / Innocent Child (think The Little Prince or Shirley Temple), "but is distinguished from them both by its redemptive mission...The Divine Child is associated with innocence, purity, and redemption; godlike qualities that suggest that the Child enjoys a speical union with the Divine itself."
There is, of course, the Christ child. Some have found parallels to the Egyptian god Horus, divine son of Isis and Osiris and Christ. In Buddhism, it is said that Siddhartha Gautama was born proclaiming the the cycle of birth and death was about to end. And not to leave out Jizo Bodhisattva, guardian of children, often pictured as a child-monk, and characterized by fearlessness and an undefended heart.
A person who has truly realized the principle of nonviolence has the God given strength for his weapon, and the world has not yet known anything that can match it.
~Gandhi
This is a powerful archetype to reveal itself in so many major religions -- such that it can be difficult to identify with. Myss proposes another example of an expression of the Divine Child archetype; someone currently living: The 14th Dalai Lama.
The movie Kundun portrays the Dalai Lama being found by the Tibetan Lamas, as a very young child he was drawn to them, and knew that certain personal items of the previous incarnation (even when placed among other very similar items) were "mine!" The Dalai Lama has maintained his loving, open-hearted, childlike nature. Here he is talking about how interconnected we all are in the world, and how -- knowing this reality -- in the 21st Century, war is "outdated."
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."
-Carl Rogers
I appreciate this current-era example of the embodiment of the Divine Child archetype. One I would also add from the Christian tradition is none other than Mister Rogers.
Though he is no longer with us, the work of Mr. Fred Rogers embodies the Divine Child archetype. He was a Presbyterian minister, but once he saw television, he became very concerned with how it might be negatively impacting children, and said, "I went into television because I hated it so, and I thought there was some way of using this fabulous instrument to be of nurture to those who would watch and listen."Here he is, single-handedly (single-heartedly?) winning back 10 million dollars for public television that was about to be cut by the Nixon administration in 1969:
I love it when he says, "Feelings are mentionable and manageable."
Here he is receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys in 1997.
Taking ten seconds to invite everyone to think about those "who loved us into being," Mr. Rogers opens the hearts of an entire auditorium.
And if you haven't already, seriously, grab some kleenex before you watch this, his good-bye message upon his retirement.
Jung wrote about the humble origins that often characterize the Divine Child. Also its paradoxical vulnerability alongside its uncommon strength and power. Entering through the lowly mess and chaos of a baby, the clear message of selfless devotion, love and peace. Fred Rogers, armed only with the Truth of his loving heart, wins 10 million dollars for public television. And keeps telling us over and over that we're wonderful just the way we are. The Dalai Lama, continues to view the Chinese as special friends, or important teachers, and harbors no ill-will towards the Chinese, whose occupation has perhaps inadvertently caused a worldwide interest in Buddhism.
An acorn is another good symbol for the Divine Child. Within its seemingly tiny confines, it embodies all of the majesty of the oak tree. A miracle, if ever there was one.
