Your Divine Attendant Spirits

Elizabeth Gilbert, in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, tells us that you are not a genius. You have a genius.

In her popular TED talk, Gilbert reminds us that “in ancient Greece and Rome, people believed that creativity wasn’t a product of human origin. It was an ethereal force bestowed upon each person by divine attendant spirits. The Greeks referred to these spirits as “daemons.” Socrates claimed he was guided by them. The Romans embraced the concept, naming this ethereal, creative force a “genius.” The Romans recognised a genius as a mystical entity that resided within an artist’s studio or within the walls of a person’s house, invisibly influencing and shaping their creativity.”

Think:
The pain and angst of the suffering artist. Or being labeled a Genius then having to live up to it, being known as a one hit wonder, or the writer with only one book inside them. The hit is not inside you. Neither is the book. Same goes for the Genius.

By acknowledging that the creative force is external, and then naming it, meant that humans were relieved of carrying the burden of creativity. To the Ancient Romans, the creative force manifested itself through a single, divine attendant spirit. These days, you might know this as the Genius archetype.

But.

Maybe the Ancient Greeks were onto something in the first place. Their view was plural. They acknowledged more than one divine attendant spirit. So you might recognise these divine attendant spirits as archetypes, and by extension, your personal archetypes, where each archetype contains a unique type of creative energy.

In the same way that you are not a Genius, you are not your personal archetypes. As your attendants, you have personal archetypes. You have access to archetypes. Instant access to unlimited creative brilliance through archetypes.

You can invoke the creative force in any archetype.

A person with the Seeker archetype as a one of their core personal archetypes is driven by a deep desire for knowledge, exploration, and understanding. They might channel the creative force through their writing by delving into a range of topics, questioning conventional wisdom, and seeking new perspectives. Their curiosity and thirst for discovery would infuse their writing with fresh insights, imagination and a sense of adventure that captivates readers and sparks inspiration.

Someone with the Advocate as a personal archetype would be fuelled by a strong sense of justice, empathy, and a desire to bring about positive change. They might channel the creative force through photography by capturing powerful images that convey important messages, evoke emotions, and raise awareness about social issues. Through their lens, advocates can shine a light on marginalised communities, document injustices, and inspire viewers to take action. In this instance, the Advocate is channeling the creative force through the medium of photography to advocate for social transformation.

From another perspective, let’s say the Artist archetype is not one of your personal archetypes, but your situation asks you to identify creative solutions for a project at work. Anyone can recruit a fit-for-purpose archetype for one-off tasks.

The Artist archetype is characterised by boundless creativity, intuition, and self-expression. You can tap into this type of creative force through problem-solving and resolution by approaching the challenge with innovative thinking, flexibility, and a willingness to experiment. By recognising problems as opportunities for creative exploration, when you embrace the qualities of the Artist, it will provide you with unconventional solutions, assist you to break free from conventional constraints, and infuse your thinking with originality and flair. The Artist archetype can harness your imagination, inspire new perspectives, creative collaboration, and bring about meaningful solutions.

Human beings are not meant to carry the weight of the creative force within them. And if we, like our ancient ancestors, acknowledge and honour this force in each archetype, and you build a relationship with the archetype by Self Authoring it, then that archetype will respond when called upon.

By acknowledging that there are different versions of the creative force, and that these versions can be named by using archetypes, means you will not only be relieved of carrying the burden of creativity. Tapping into Archetypes allows you to plus into and express the creative force in a range of unique and different ways that in turn, nourish your soul.

Archetypes are powerful, ethereal, creative forces. Think of your personal archetypes as your divine, attendant spirits, waiting to collaborate with you to achieve your goals.