The female archetypes offer deeper insight into your innate instinctual behavior than any other chart. As with a horoscope, they offer a clear picture of your innermost mind and a helpful guide to your conscious mind. Often when we practice the same behavior, our unconscious mind is at work in response. This provides the primary framework for understanding how everything you do and say interacts within your larger mental framework.
There are several archetypes that apply specifically to the feminine experience. These include the nurturing mother, the innocent child, the loyal friend, the warrior maiden, and the free agent. These archetypes have important lessons to teach women about themselves and their place in the world. These contemporary examples of archetypes represent the means by which we can learn to express our true nature and the courage by which we can discover our inner potential.
The nurturing mother archetype is probably the most common of the female archetypes. The archetypes of motherhood pertain to nurturing a child through childhood and adolescence. This archetype often shows up in the literature where the mother figure provides an example of virtue. In these types of works, the mother character may be nurturing and kind, but she may also be stern and unyielding. Mother archetypes in literature commonly demonstrate the qualities of loyalty and compassion. They also may embody the virtue of self-discipline and moderation.
The innocent child archetype is related to the concept of youthfulness. In many fairy tales and childhood stories, the naive child is the protagonist, going through an experience that teaches him or her to trust and rely on self-worth. In this type of archetype, the young woman is usually portrayed as having no self-image or real sense of self. She relies on the love of a caring and protective father figure to provide her with a valid concept of self-worth.
Although traditionally portrayed as strong female characters, the plucky girl archetype does not always have to be a strong character. Often, the plucky girl is portrayed as weak and vulnerable. This is part of the allure of these archetypes. This may be true in regards to the limitations of the strength and stamina of its character but in the realm of literature, this weak character is a valuable foil to the strong and robust ones.
Another common archetypal character is the nurturing mother. A nurturing mother character typically exhibits characteristics of warmth, patience, and understanding. These attributes are often displayed by wise women throughout the ages. The wise woman requires an accepting husband who listens to her every time she talks. She expects her husband to provide for and protect her and, if need be, to step in and help her when she needs it most.
In contemporary examples of the nurturing mother, the image of a motherly figure can also be related to the nurturing mother archetype. This character is usually depicted as a white female in a pink dress tutu and carrying baby doll-like belongings. In the most extreme portrayals of this archetype, the nurturing mother is sometimes shown to be naked, only wearing a bra. The image of the nurturing mother can be very feminine and also very nurturing. It can represent a certain sense of motherly love and also of caring. The modern nurturing mother is likely to be a single, childless woman without children or perhaps the woman of a certain age who has lost a child.
In the contemporary examples of archetypes presented here, it is also possible that the manifestation of one of these archetypes may be combined with another. For example, the gentle woman could be combined with the nurturing mother. Or, the business woman might be paired with the mystic or the teacher. Each of these archetypes has multiple interpretations, as each person’s relationship with one may naturally be balanced with the other. It is not uncommon to see these archetypes displayed side by side in contemporary examples of archetypes.