You can heal the different parts of your life with archetypes. You can do it, but first we need to clarify what it means to heal. When we think of healing, it’s usually within the context of physical health, but healing is less about changing external circumstances or erasing pain, and more about transforming our relationship with pain, suffering, and life’s inevitable challenges. We can learn to transmute our pain and discomfort through the anatomy of an archetype¹.

Healing is about revealing the wholeness of your inherently true, authentic Self.² Think of it as your Sacred Self. Therefore, healing with archetypes is not about attaining perfection. Concealed by unconscious archetypal forces, our Sacred Self reveals more of itself as we become more conscious of our personal archetypes and our ability to negotiate and collaborate with them.

Your Sacred Self is at the centre of your soul around which your personal archetypes are grouped. When an archetype is not at its best, say when you get stuck in the identity of the negative Inner Child archetype , then it tends to take up residence in your body. When you’ve ignored their presence in your soul, each archetype is forced to find other ways to get their message to you. Too often, this results in pain, suffering or discomfort. But, we can learn to transmute the pain through the anatomy of our archetypes.

Gail Goodwin 2024

Healing with archetypes is a process of transmuting negative, toxic, stagnant or destructive energy into constructive, positive energy. Healing with archetypes is a creative, and at the same time, a destructive process. Healing with archetypes won’t happen without first deconstructing the archetype by brainstorming your negative and positive associations, in that order, and in equal measure. It works like magic, but it’s pure and simple, basic alchemy that functions within the cycle of life-death-life. Or, if you prefer, within the context of the archetype of Rebirth and the Hero’s Journey.

Transmutation sparks real healing because it allows us to move beyond the need for things to be different. It shifts the focus from external circumstances to internal peace and growth. It empowers us to live more fully in the present moment. Healing with archetypes doesn’t condone, avoid or ignore pain. It means embracing the reality of our experience while choosing not to be defined by it. This is easier to do when we transmute the pain through the anatomy of an archetype. Healing with your personal archetypes makes way for profound, internal transformation.

When we resist what has happened or try to “fix” something that’s beyond our control, we create internal conflict. This resistance only intensifies the pain in our soul because it implies that something is inherently wrong with our Sacred Self, or that something needs to be different for our Sacred Self to feel at peace. Transmuting the pain with archetypes reduces this inner struggle and allows us to be at peace with the present moment, even if it’s not perfect.

Healing with archetypes means accepting all parts of our experience, including the good, bad and ugly. Revealing the inherent goodness of our whole, Sacred Self comes from embracing these aspects as part of life and transmuting the pain with archetypes. This allows us to integrate these experiences into our lives instead of being defined by them or trapped in the mindset of needing to fix a “broken” Sacred Self.

True healing comes from growth, not from making the past disappear. Transmuting the pain with archetypes means we can learn from our pain, challenges, or difficult circumstances, and use them as catalysts for personal growth and transformation. The process of transmuting the pain with archetypes can deepen our empathy and nuturing nature, and build compassion for ourselves and others. If we’re merely trying to achieve a fix, then we miss the opportunity for inner growth that transmutation offers.

The problem with trying to fix rather than to transmute our pain means we focus on surface-level symptoms rather than addressing the cause of pain deep within our soul. Whereas, transmuting the pain with archetypes allows us to explore, identify and recognise what is at the heart of our suffering. This understanding leads to more profound healing because it touches on the core of the issue, not just the external manifestations of it.

Healing your life with archetypes is an ongoing process. In the ancient tradition of alchemy, when archetypal elements in opposition are brought together and unified, your personal transformation begins. The positive and negative forces of your archetypes coalesce because of a third, catalytic agent. That catalyst is your spirit.

1. “Anatomy of An Archetype” published 21 February, 2025. ↩︎
2. Schwartz, R C 2021. No bad parts: healing trauma & restoring wholeness, Penguin Random House, London. ↩︎