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Glossary of Terms
Glossary: My best attempt at a short definition of these terms, please consult other sources as well. Some of the terms on my website can get confusing. Here is another Glossary of Terms from Animas Valley Institute: Also, Bill Plotkin’s Nature-Based Map of the Human Psyche can be found here and here. My definitions are heavily influenced by these maps and his work.
immatureActing from the immature subpersonalities. No matter how developed a person is, everyone acts from their immature “subs,” sometimes.
Inner JudgeThe part of you that wants to put other people down in order to feel better about yourself. Very similar to the Critic, but focused on others.
MatureActing from the mature archetypes of wholeness. The idea is to move towards doing this more often in your life. There is a directness, a confidence, wisdom, and clarity that comes when acting from this place. Much less drama. It doesn’t mean things will be easy without adversity, it just means things feel more like “I got this.”
❋ ArchetypesEnergies that are inside of every person that when worked on sufficiently, or invited into your life can produce the qualities of that archetype in your life. In my view, there are collective archetypes in the universe at large, and each human has access to those universal energies, whether they are aware of them or. These energies have a universal feel to them and the impact they have, although they manifest uniquely in all of us. Jesus’ statement “The Kingdom of God is within you,” reflects these ideas. Just because it is within you, does not mean that it is being expressed in any significant way.
Inner CriticThe energy (you can think of it as a “part” of you) inside of you that is designed to protect your Wounded Children. It will make you feel bad about yourself, all the time, no matter what. No matter how good or successful you are, it will find something wrong with it. It uses incredible psychological gymnastics to do this. It can switch between one side to another of an argument, and you barely know what just happened. It wants to keep you small and likable.
SoulYour unique purpose for being on this earth. The Dark Muse/Beloved is your main avenue into your soul, being your Guide to Soul. The soul is what we are all longing for, it is who I am in the deepest sense. In my view, not too much can be meaningfully done with the soul until one’s wholeness is sufficiently developed.
benevolent king/queen/warriorThese are the non-emotional energies of the North. The Warrior by itself, doesn’t know what is worth doing, but it has a fire and a fearlessness. I like to think of the Mother Grizzly as a great embodiment of the North. Loving and caring towards its cubs, but also is fierce and will kill to defend them.
dark muse/belovedThe part of you that knows exactly how to navigate the hazardous waters of the open ocean. Lover of all things dark, cryptic, mysterious, hidden, and elusive. Lover of death and decomposition, knowing that it leads to new life. Simultaneously, your inspiration, your imagination, your “other half” you’ve been waiting for your whole life, and the Guide to your Soul.
wild indigenous onethe energy inside of you that loves the wild earth. The fresh breeze, the musk of the soil. It finds joy in climbing trees, tracking animals, frolicking in the filed. Anything connecting with it’s home, the earth. Sensual, sexual, alive. Recognizing that your true home is the earth, not culture, friends, family, career, hobbies etc. You belong to the earth alone.
subpersonalities or "subs"They are also referenced as Protectors since they are designed to protect the Wounded Children. These are the parts of our psyche’s that are acting from immature places to take care of us and get our needs met in various ways. They always have some sort of ulterior motive. Things are always messy and not as they seem on the outside. They tend to cause drama in mild forms or extreme depending on the level of manipulation involved. Generally speaking, the deeper the pain comes with deeper need for protection from the subs, which means more need for manipulation to get one’s needs met. Leading to more drama in one’s relationships and life in general.
depthBeyond the superficial. Getting to the root of things, the core. Most therapeutic work acts on the superficial level of things. Depth work focuses on going to the core. This is far more effective and transformative, but also more work.
wounded ChildrenConformist, Rebel, Victim, Prince/Princess: These form the bedrock of your psyche, all the other immature parts develop to protect these vulnerable parts of you.
Conformist: The most common. The part of you that feels they need to fit in, be liked, hide who they really are. Be small and liked by others at all costs. To the detriment of your development overall.
Rebel: Immature rebellion. The part of you that wants to be against someone, something, or some group of people. It can feel more alive and meaningful than being a Conformist, although it still has no idea who it is. It just wants to be against, “them,” whoever they are. Ironically, Rebel’s mainly find some niche group to identify with and conform to. Could be thought of as angry outsiders. They view themselves as outside of whatever group they are against. Not to be confused with mature action standing for something and against something else. The difference between mature and immature expressions is that mature expressions are not doing for some ulterior motive, it is a genuine overflowing of their North archetypes.
Victim: The part of you that feels like the world is against you, is sad, depressed, hopeless. Nothing will ever get better. I have no agency.
Prince/Princess: The part of you that is entitled. Feels like you deserve something. Could be described as angry insiders. They are angry, but want to keep receiving the benefits of staying a part of whatever person, group, or situation they are involved in.
other definitionsrescuerThe energy inside of you that wants to help others and do good things in the world, but it’s motivated by feeling better about yourself. Getting your needs met in some way, getting validation from others. Most of the “good” things happening in the world are motivated by these underlying patterns. Most of the “love” offered in the world is also motivated by these immature patterns. Sad, but I believe, true. Not to be confused with mature service, compassion, love etc. Which flows naturally, and not with strings attached, not given hoping for a particular outcome or reaction from the person receiving it.
Escapist/Addict: The part of you that jumps in to save the day when all the Critic/Judge/Rescuer have failed to sufficiently “nurture” the Wounded Children. They want you to escape and numb in any way really. Screens, drugs, entertainment, relationships, friends, the list goes on. All of it the same idea.
shadow/SubconsciousThe long invisible bag that we drag behind us. The container inside of us that houses all of the archetypes. It hides them from our view. The parts of us that we would adamantly deny are us, they live in here. This protects us from being overwhelmed by too much psychic material emerging at a time. It is my view that all the energies/archetypes in existence in the world are all contained within every single human, most of them living in the shadow. One view of wholeness is the process of making more of what is contained in the shadow conscious, or come to the light. One’s wholeness needs to be quite developed before messing around too much with the shadow as it can be quite overwhelming when we start accessing these realms intentionally.
MysteryMystery: Another word for God, the Unknowable, the Infinite, the Universe, Creator.
Archetypes of Wholenessnurturing generative adult/inner parentThe part of you that leads, guides, directs, discerns, and acts in the world from a place of groundedness. This is the part of you that knows exactly how to love the Wounded Children, even though you may not. It communicates clearly and directly.
innocent/sage/tricksterThe young, innocent child. In awe and amazed by the earth, by the world. Open, humorous. The old, wise, experienced one. Using humor to push one further towards their wholeness and their soul. An eagle soaring in the sky, seeing your life from the mountaintop perspective helping one to get not lost in the weeds. The connection to Spirit.
Archetypes of immaturitywholenessIt is a process, there is no arrival point. It is describing having significant access to the 4 main aspects of human wholeness. Once developed sufficiently, Mystery may plunge you into the depths to discover your soul, your unique purpose for being on this earth.