You can tell a lot about a person from their heroes. This is no different for individuals or society as a whole. You can tell much about the character of a person or people but those that they hold in high esteem and venerate. Who they consider to be the true version of the greatest form of man. You can tell a lot because this is often a spiritual thing as much as a physical or mental thing. There is something that resonates with a man’s soul with the archetype he admires and aspires too much.
Despite what you will be told not all archetypes are equal but rather correspond with a certain state of one’s “soul”. Something we’ll be getting more into further on in the essay. What one holds dear reflects what kind of person they are. Now this isn’t to say that there isn’t any room for personality and personal preference. At the individual level there are archetypes that are “equal” but even at the individual level not all archetypes are equal.
I know that’s confusing now but we’ll get into it later. I want to start this off by looking at various “factions” within the Western world and what they reflect about the people who make up those factions. I use the Western world because it is what I am familiar with but obviously this can be applied to any society or people as well. Alright let’s get started.
The Western Archetypes
Obviously I’m not going to be able to talk about every archetype that there is but I will try to address the main groups that I can think of. First off let’s start with those that venerate the slave/rabble. The “common man” is seen as the greatest good and those who champion the lowest are seen as the greatest doers of good. You see this in many leftist leaning circles but it had its start in corrupted Christianity. The lower and more base that you are then the more you shall be praised and worshiped. We’ll call this the Communist faction and it’s the strongest one in America and much of Europe.
Next we’ll talk about those that venerate the merchant as the ultimate doer of good. He may destroy all of God’s creation and cheat and steal from his fellow man through devious tricks and manipulation of psychology but you can rest assured that he’s the backbone of society and what we should all strive toward. We’ll call this the Capitalist faction and aside from the Communist faction its the most powerful in America and parts of Europe.
Next we have those that aren’t really tied to a political faction but rather comes from having little of a soul themselves. And is those that venerate the celebrity above all. Empty and vapid as those they worship when one lacks a soul to guide them this is often the result. There are aspects of the Capitalist faction as well as Communist faction tied into this one as well. We’ll call this the cult of celebrity faction and while more numerous than the two before it is not as readily brought into action.
Now we come to one final faction that is small but hopefully growing. And that is the faction that venerates the warrior above all else. Those that spill the blood of enemies and defend the boundary of the tribe. This faction is in small pockets across the Western world and once dominated it before it fell and was corrupted by these other factions. We’ll call this the primal faction (though many would say “fascist” simply because in the modern world fascist means anything that even hints of testosterone.)
What This Means For You
Now maybe this seems a bit inflexible and I understand I’m trying to address a very broad concept and obviously there will be overlap and some error in the grand scheme. What I want you to understand is the overall thrust of a faction or archetype. And more importantly to understand the archetypes that you venerate and why. There was a time when I thought the merchant was noble (this was before learning sales and marketing of course) but as I’ve grown has found otherwise.
And there was a time even before that when I thought that the rabble was the great good. I never fell into the cult of the celebrity but we all have our own unique errors that we must fix. As we grow physically, mentally, and above all else spiritually we begin to see the world clearer and make better judgement as we increase our strength and wisdom. A society that venerates the warrior is made up of individuals that have achieved the soul required to understand and venerate the warrior.
Like I’ve said before there are other noble archetypes but none of them matter without the warrior. The warrior is the basis upon which everything else good (or bad) can be built off of. Your heroes say a lot about who you are, which is why it is critical to pick good ones. A great place to start is disregard any mainstream society tell you are great for mainstream society itself is anything but great.
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-Charles Sledge
