The Power of Archetypes

Money is energetically neutral, but it often doesn’t feel that way. Money can be a source of stress and conflict for many people. Whether it's worrying about how to pay the bills or feeling like we never have enough, our relationship with money can have a big impact on our overall well-being.

One way to improve our relationship with money is by exploring and understanding the archetypes that influence our behavior with money. But what is an archetype?

Archetypes

An archetype is a universal pattern or motif that represents a particular type of person or behavior. In the context of money, an archetypal framework I use as a Certified Money Coach (CMC)® is the Money Types described by Deborah Price in Money Magic. They can help us understand why we make certain financial decisions and how we can make better ones.

Note, this is NOT the only archetype system available with a focus on money! Ken Honda has his Money Personalities, and there are the Sacred Money Archetypes. But what I love about these is that they can be used as a lens to make deliberate choices about the action I take next.

Here’s a short description of each archetype:

Innocent

The Innocent is a trusting human, who presents as being happy-go-lucky and prizes safety. Inside, they can be fearful or anxious, feel powerless, and seek rescue. They can avoid managing money, and looks for someone with the secret key to solving all their problems.

An opportunity for the Innocent is to see and claim their power in creating their future, including the safety they seek.

Victim

The Victim can live in the past, but not joyfully. They’ve often experienced wounding, feeling abused or betrayed, or suffering a great loss. They find themselves playing out the same stories again and again, and can feel like there’s no point trying because things don’t change.

An opportunity for the Victim is to understand and heal from their past wounds, learning to take the wisdom and leave any suffering behind.

Martyr

The Martyr is often found busy taking care of others’ needs, at the expense of their own. They can be generous, but their generosity often has unspoken strings attached. They’re self-sacrificing and often take responsibility for things outside their responsibility. They look to be in control and to control others because they are prone to disappointment when they release control.

Like the Victim, an opportunity comes from understanding and healing from the Martyr’s woundedness, learning where the need to be right comes from, and satisfying that within themselves.

Tyrant

The Tyrant comes across as controlling and rigid. They can be prone to anger and judgment, covering up fear that they will lose love, safety, or belonging if they don’t have money. Control of money and decision-making is how they are able to control their fear of unworthiness. They can seek more and better to fill the hole of unworthiness.

An opportunity for the tyrant comes in confronting their fears around being loved and valued. Learning to ask for what they truly need, and trusting others to show up for them can feel like a great leap, but is also a great opportunity.

Fool

The Fool can be impulsive but maintains a sense of optimism with their impulsivity. They’re the gambler, looking for a windfall by way of shortcuts. They are relatively fearless and enthusiastic.

The greatest thing the Fool can do is to slow down. The idea of patience can be frustrating, yet there is great power in taking a moment and applying a financial decision-making process.

Creator-Artist

The Creator-Artist is often on a creative, spiritual or artistic path. They are not motivated by money alone and can find living in the material world difficult and challenging. They often have a love-hate relationship with money, which can lead them to avoid money.

When the Creator-Artist is able to integrate the spiritual and material world, they are able to engage with the world without the fear of being inauthentic or out of alignment. This will allow them to create without the resistance that comes with the pains of the stories carried about money, wealth, and power.

Warrior

The Warrior is generally very focused and goal-oriented. They are driven and take action, and are self-actualized. They will seek and listen to advice, but make their own decisions based on their learning and experience. Their fear can be dependence and loss of power.

The Warrior’s power comes from their discernment, and they may sometimes need to bring perspective in so they can see which battles are meant to and need to be fought.

Magician

The Magician knows how to transform and manifest their financial reality. They have made peace with their personal history, and take the wisdom of past experiences while leaving behind the suffering. They are generous and open to flow.

The Magician works alongside the Warrior, to guide action in alignment with their higher selves.

So what?

By understanding these archetypes and noticing how they show up in our behavior, we can use this to guide our choices as we work to shift toward the relationship we envision for ourselves and our money.

Curious about what archetypes might be active in your financial life? Check out the Money Type Quiz.