Self-authored archetypal descriptions are more effective than generic ones for deep personal growth and transformation. Self-authored Archetypes are Soul-Sourced Archetypes. A self-authored archetype is a personally defined expression of an archetypal energy, written in your own words where you let your thoughts flow unedited, without judgement or restriction to reflect how it uniquely lives, feels, and acts within you and how it manifests in the external world.

By soul sourced, I mean guided and energised by your deepest, most authentic essence that is your true, Self which is sacred, rather than by ego, fear, or generic descriptions. Being Soul-sourced tells you it comes from your lived experience and alignment with your Sacred Self, where your purpose, intuition, and integrity flow naturally from the core of your soul. 

After teaching and coaching with archetypes since 1997, I’ve learned that Self-authored archetype descriptions are more effective than generic ones for deep personal growth and transformation. Of course, this is anecdotal from my end, at this point in time:

1. They build personal resonance and ownership.

When you write your own description, you’re translating an archetypal energy from your lived experience. You choose the words, tone, and imagery that match how the archetype actually feels and operates within you. This process creates an emotional or felt sense of resonance. You’re not simply reading about an archetype, or trying to make yourself fit or not, you’re meeting your true, and therefore Sacred Self through it.

2. They activate consciousness.

Writing your own description is an act of reflection and integration. It moves the archetype from the unconscious to the conscious mind, from an invisible influence to an acknowledged inner guide or teacher. This awareness itself set the process of transformation in motion.

3. They reveal nuance and context.

Generic descriptions tend to be broad. They catch some fish but not all. People are unique and more complex than generic. Your Self-authored version captures how that energy interacts with your personal history, your values, and life stage. For example, your Warrior might protect creativity rather than fight legal battles; your Lover might express itself through service instead of romance.

4. They engage your active imagination.

Self-authored descriptions use your own symbolic language, which speaks directly to your psyche. That language acts like a bridge between the conscious and unconscious as it allows insight, healing, and creativity to flow more freely than when you’re reading abstract theory that keeps you trapped in overthinking or constantly doubting your choice of archetypes. 

5. They support integration, not identification.

Generic descriptions can make people identify with an archetype (“I am a Healer”), while self-authored versions help to integrate it (“I have the Healer archetype” “The Healer is an aspect of my character that expresses through…”). Integration leads to balance, humility, and flexibility, all traits of mature archetypal awareness, or what I call your AQ: Archetypal Intelligence. 

Generic archetype descriptions introduce you to the energy of the archeytype. Self-authored descriptions embody the energy of an archetype, turning knowledge into wisdom, and theory into transformation. But don’t take my word for it. Try it now:

How to Write a Self-Authored Archetype Description

Purpose: To move from knowing about an archetype to embodying its energy consciously and personally.

Step 1: Choose the archetype – Choose one that feels alive for you right now, either a strength, a challenge, or one that keeps showing up in your life patterns (e.g., the Teacher, Dreamer, Healer, Warrior, Victim, Lover, Saboteur).

Step 2: Dialogue with it – Close your eyes, take a few breaths, and imagine the archetype as a presence standing before you, not a fantasy figure, but an energy. Ask it:

1. “How do you express yourself through me?”
2. “What do you most want to contribute to my life?”
3. “What happens when I ignore or suppress you?”
4. “What do you need from me to be at your best?”

Jot down what you sense, hear, or feel, any words, images, phrases, or sensations.

Step 3: Describe its light and dark sides – Brainstorm two lists of 10¹ to capture the: 

• Dark side: How it distorts, overreacts, limits or negatively impacts you. 
• Light side: How this archetype empowers, inspires, protects, guides or positively affects you.

This dual awareness is a form of mental contrasting, a science-based strategy which is essential to keep the archetype grounded in reality rather than idealisation.

Step 4: Write your personal description – Now combine your insights from both lists into one cohesive paragraph. Begin with: “The [Archetype] in me shows up as…” Include how it feels in your body, how it influences your choices, and what its presence teaches you. Example:

“The Healer in me shows up as a quiet patience and a deep need to restore harmony when things feel out of balance. When I honour it, I bring calm and compassion to others. When I suppress it, I feel heavy and disconnected from my purpose and my true, Sacred Self.”

Step 5: Work towards integrating the wisdom – Finish by completing these two prompts:

1. “When this archetype is awake and balanced in me, my life feels…”
2. “The gift this archetype offers my spirit is…”

Read your description aloud. Notice what feels true or powerful. That’s your Sacred Self recognising what’s true for you.

Self-authored archetypes do not function like other personality indicators. Self-authored archetypes are soul-sourced descriptions arising from your psyche, rather than generic descriptions that aim to catch most fish, but not all.

1. Read about how to brainstorm the two lists of 10 here ↩︎