In the early 20th century, psychiatrist Carl Gustave Jung developed the notion of archetypes: twelve universal mythic aspects of our human personalities. For example, if you joke a lot, you might have a dominant Jester archetype guiding you. Other examples included the Artist, the Ruler, the Hero, or perhaps the Magician or the Outlaw.
The truth is we are all more than one thing. For example, if you work as a supervisor, your Ruler self might dominate, but after work, when you’re with your family or friends, your Jester comes out, and people see a completely different side to you.
Not only are we all more than just one thing, but we’re also possessed of more than 12 archetypes because human culture over the last 50,000 years has produced countless narratives that tell the stories of our different selves. Our stories, told around campfires and incorporated into the arts, have also been expressed in our various human religions.
If we are to really know ourselves and our........