Embracing the Self: the Hermit’s Growth

“… [A]rchetypes have an enormous impact on the individual, forming his emotions and his ethical and mental outlook, influencing his relationships with others, and thus affecting his whole destiny.” – M. L. Von Franz

 

Carl Jung’s archetype is an important key to understanding our psyche and yet is little known outside the field of psychology. Technically, they are imagerial representations of the collective unconscious which we carry in our minds from birth. According to Jung, these images are unconscious and “acquire solidity, influence, and eventual consciousness in the encounter with empirical facts.” Simply speaking, we assign meaning to different archetypes based on what we’ve experienced in life. For example, most of us understand what it means to describe someone as “motherly” because we’ve seen representations of it and if we’re lucky have had a mother who has nurtured us with “motherly” love.

It is through encounters with these empirical and unconscious representations – dreams are a powerful medium according to Jung – that throughout life we gradually become aware of our many different archetypes, previously the unknowns. Then, our consciousness and unconsciousness are more equally embraced and our personality gets closer to the wholeness; a process Jung calls “individuation”.

The Hermit archetype is of particular interest to those among us who classify ourselves as introverts. The Oxford dictionary defines a hermit as “[a] person living in solitude as a religious discipline”, and the term is commonly seen as having religious undertones. But this isn’t necessarily the case. The Hermit can also be understood as a wise old man living in seclusion. To illustrate, representations of the Hermit in popular culture can be found in the characters of Yoda, Ben Kenobi, and Luke Skywalker in old age in the Star Wars movies, all characters who have retreated into seclusion for spiritual training. A non-religious example might be the late Steve Jobs, Hermit-like in the fierce protectiveness of his privacy, who developed on his own a vision of technology that he then imparted to the world through his products.   

As characteristic of an introvert, the Hermit draws his energy from within. But even extroverts visit the Hermit archetype. As Couch put it, “[e]very year has a winter, and every journey of transformation has a cocoon time […] where turning inward is necessary for growth.” It is during this cocoon time that the Hermit engages in introspection and cultivates self-awareness, from which great wisdom can be achieved and shared with others when the figurative winter is over and the Hermit comes out of his cocoon.

But life is not all rosy for the Hermit. If the light of the Hermit is wisdom, his shadow could be perpetuated isolation. The longer the Hermit stays in his cocoon, the more comfortable he becomes and the more likely that he grows arrogant and resentful of the outside world. To prevent this, the Hermit must learn to come out of his comfort zone. He might draw inspiration from the Divine Child archetype – Jesus who was born a carpenter’s son and willingly embraces his divine mission to absolve humanity of their sins. If the Hermit successfully draws on his youthful energy and isn’t afraid to take up new challenges and take his place in society, he will be well on his way in the journey toward self-awareness and in the process break down boundaries that limit his potential. 

Pankaew (Val) Saksornchai, pk.saksornchai@gmail.com
Suansivamokasa, Dhammadrops Foundation, dhammadrops@gmail.com

 

References:

1. Couch, S. L. L. (2017). Archetypes: Hermit. [online] Available at: https://www.wildgratitude.com/hermit-archetype/ [Accessed 2^nd July 2017].
2. Dickson, J. (2012). Jesus: A Short Life. Oxford: Lion Hudson plc.
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4. Franz, M.-L. von. (1964). The Process of Individuation. In: Jung, C. G., ed., Man and His Symbol. New York: Anchor Press, pp. 158-229.
5. Franz, M.-L. von. (1964). Conclusion: Science and the Unconscious. In: Jung, C. G., ed., Man and His Symbol. New York: Anchor Press, pp. 304-310.
6. Isaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. New York: Simon & Schuster.
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8. Jung, C. G.. (1964). Approaching the Unconscious. In: Jung, C. G., ed., Man and His Symbol. New York: Anchor Press, pp. 18-103.
9. Myss, C. (2002). Sacred Contracts: Awakening your Divine Potential. New York: Three Rivers Press.
10. Oxford Dictionary. (2017). Hermit. [online] Available at: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hermit [Accessed 2^nd July 2017].
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