Recently I was chatting with a friend about the difference between the PRINCE and KING archetypes.
Here's the thing about archetypes: they are not *real*, but much like a map can give us a sense of what is out there around us, archetypes give us a sense of what is possible in terms of *how* we engage with the world.
Archetypes have been around almost forever, ever since humans were able to imagine gods and demons and spirits, each embodying the epitome of something we can only aspire to become, each giving us a sense of what is POSSIBLE.
And as archetypes developed over the thousands of years of our history, and as humans have tried to rise up to the occasion they present and look like them, archetypes began too to look like us, showing us more nuanced and refined version of what men and women COULD look like, giving us male and female archetypes.
This is where the archetype of the King, Warrior, Magician, and Lover (from Roger Moore's book of the same name) came from. Again, these are not REAL, but to a degree, we often behave AS IF they are, or at least as something to imitate, giving us guidelines for behavior, and a sense of morality: values to aspire to and develop so we can become more aware, secure, and mature.
And while ARCHETYPES and GODS may be perfect in their own way, they are far from having ALL the wisdom and qualities necessary to live in the complex world we live in. For example, someone expressing ONLY the KING archetype might not be the best father or partner as their children or wife will generally not behave only as citizens of a kingdom in response. And yet, considering his house and family and relationship as his "kingdom" to extend his care to will support him in being a good partner and father. Archetypes are helpful as tools for understanding and inquiry, but they are not the answer to the massive complexity we face every day. In fact, there is usually multiple archetypes we identify with, draw from, and express consciously at any given them. Or some may seems more immature in us while others are more present and fully expressed.
What are the archetypes you are most at home with? Which do you wish to develop? Are they based on people you know, stories you've read, or experiences you've had?
The Prince Archetype
The PRINCE is an immature, insecure, and unaware version of the King. He is full of hubris, believing in his greatness and readiness for the crown. But he only thinks of himself and his "pack"--those he is close to, those who believe him to be all powerful, his "yes men" who have his back and who he presides over imagining this group to be his new kingdom as he dreams of power.
And what he has to offer is nothing small: a flavor of things to come, a dynamic burst of growth, a wind of change with new (yet unrefined) ideas, a desire to dismantle the old dying ways and replace them with new (as of yet untested) ways.
Unfortunately, much like most men believe themselves to be above average, the PRINCE believes he is chosen, special, and powerful without having been truly tested and tempered by a world full of messiness, shadows, and atrocities. He fights skirmishes and imagines them to be wars. He has dalliances and imagines them to be partnerships. He lives in his castle, imagining it to be the capital.
And he often fights with the KING for the recognition he feels he deserves, for the ways he feels that the KING is getting in the way of his greatness and desire for change.
Truly, only time and experience will lead to the wisdom he needs to become King. But this will not be enough: In order to become King, he needs the KING to acknowledge that he is ready and wise enough to rule.
And this is where a struggle for power arises, and the place where the deepest learning for the PRINCE can be found: learning to engage with power through this struggle.
In a way, this is where the real hand-off, the real acknowledgment of wisdom shows up: the process through which the PRINCE learns to wisely "wrestle" power from the KING. If he simply takes the power, he becomes the tyrant. If he learns to share it with the KING, showing himself to be worthy of it, and even an asset to the KING, he will learn to grow his abilities to consider more than himself and his pack, and expand his consideration to a greater and greater portion of the kingdom, until the KING naturally hands him the crown, knowing that his wisdom and power have been fully integrated into the PRINCE as the new young KING: aware, mature, and secure enough to share the new ways without losing touch with the old ways, paving a path of new growth for the whole kingdom.
This is the larger path of sovereignty: to become not only the sovereign of oneself and one's immediate group, but to the greater kingdom.
The King Archetype
Not all Kings are made equal. Some have greater wisdom, skill, and experience, some less. Some are more aware, secure, mature, some less. As an archetype, the KING is constantly feeling the heat of the PRINCE archetype vying for the power of the crown or the never-ending needs of the kingdom that constantly call him to engage as a GOD would: to balance and rebalance and resolve and repair and grow the millions messy pieces that the kingdom is made of.
Whereas the PRINCE is desiring power for his own sake and the sake of those he loves, the KING knows full well that the price of power is the messiness and shadows that come with the people he rules--including the PRINCE. He knows that the minute his attention is diverted in one direction, something falls apart somewhere else. He knows full well that rulership is a difficult task requiring full presence.
And to the degree that he has learned to become wise, he knows that a peaceful and prosperous kingdom can only exist where every citizen has the power to choose their own destiny. And he knows that this is the greatest most difficult puzzle of all that every king and ruler has ever attempted to solve.
This is the wisdom and experience he must share with the PRINCE so that he may rule well one day. This is what he must promote in someone who does not yet comprehend the complexity of the task he will one day need to accomplish.
And where he is unable to share with the PRINCE, and teach him to rule, the KING will need to create a legacy in the form of the way power can be shared with others through the many struggles and the many conflicts that will arise during the king's time.
If he is able to engage in these struggles and conflicts with wisdom, he will be able to share this wisdom.
If he is able to engage with consent and sovereignty, he will be able to share this sovereignty with the PRINCE and with his KINGDOM.
This is and will be what he leaves behind.
Do you hear the call to Kingship?
You cannot do this well without a solid Brotherhood.
Join us for The ReMenBer Brotherhood Journey