Labels bring a sense of identity. Oftentimes people label themselves by their upbringing, their belief systems, or their job title. But with labels comes an identity crisis when people don’t fulfill their self and socially imposed labels. They may feel like a failure, or like they will never fulfill their roles. Much of this is on a subconscious level but also comes from others’ expectations.
An example of a very common label amongst women is “I am a mother.” Embracing the identity of a mother can be a great lifestyle for many. But it also comes with so many implications on what a mother must be and what she cannot be. “I am a mother so I focus my energy on my children and providing for them instead of myself.” Also, “I am a mother so I make sure to spend my free time and money on my children.” The shadow side of this identity comes from the societal expectation that a mother needs to be self-sacrificing at all times.
Now that we have an example of a very common identity and its implications, let’s talk about range and why embracing your range is essential to embrace your uniqueness.
Say you were raised to be a proper woman. This often means you were taught to be polite, modest, and sweet. You might take this identity on and keep it throughout your life. You’ll avoid things that a “proper woman” doesn’t do like going out dancing, creating polarizing art, showing negative emotions in public, and so on.
But what if inside yourself, you crave all of those things? What if you are truly a sweet and caring woman, but you also want to take burlesque dancing classes on a Friday night? If you choose not to take burlesque classes because you were raised to believe that’s off-limits, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Even worse, when you repress your true desires, jealousy strikes when you meet someone who’s embodied in their full range.
If you fall into one line of thinking because of the way you were raised or from limiting beliefs you’ve learned, you’re stifling your potential.
With the above example, you might say, “I can’t wear stilettos with this outfit because that’s not who I am. I’m not a woman who attracts that type of attention.” Even though the outfit looks amazing on you and you actually want to wear it.
Obviously, I’m creating this common false dichotomy to paint an example. But let’s move on from that and talk about archetypes and the ways in which leaning into innate archetypes will help you embrace your range.
If you are new to archetypes, the most common ones are the maiden, mother, and crone. There are so many informational posts about archetypes out there that I’m not going to write one, but I’m going to link this which will help you understand it better.
There are more archetypes than maiden, mother, and crone. There is also the wild woman, the lover, the enchantress, the huntress, the seductress, and the queen. If you look inside yourself, you will find even more that are within you that are longing to be accepted and expressed.
This includes things that society deems unacceptable. If you’re so used to being pristine and orderly, can you embrace your inner messy woman? Channel Courtney Love and wear something you normally wouldn’t. Go out disheveled, maybe hang out in a dive bar and talk to whoever you want. If you’re used to overexplaining yourself or being overly accommodating, embody your inner Queen, pull back your shoulders, and say no for once.
Embracing archetypes is about doing what you want, versus what is expected of you.
If you are an artist, embracing archetypes will enrich your talents in so many ways. For example, have you ever created something but were too afraid to release it because you’re afraid of offending people, or making them uncomfortable? This will get you to a place where you don’t care about people’s judgments and you can create whatever you want.
A problem with many artists is they get stuck in a rut and only produce the same type of painting, music, or choreography. Embodying your innate archetypes will help you break through this. It will get you to the place where you’re producing a wide range of artwork in unexpected ways. It will also allow you to overcome perfectionism; can you be okay with being messy and allowing yourself to publish that imperfect painting? Become the wild woman that you are.