A psychic archetype represents a core energy expression that we believe defines our psychological and spiritual journey, in current, past and future lives. Although we may engage in different forms of life, such as soldier or doctor, we are one enduring archetype, which could be the Warrior or the Healer.
This article explores the psychic archetype of the Student, which relates to the astrological sign of Gemini.
One archetype, many guises
History is full of warrior priests and soldier healers (medics). Teachers can be athletes and athletes can be teachers. We can wear many guises over the course of our lives, but we usually operate from a single psychic archetype.
Sometimes necessity and circumstances can force us into a guise that is far removed from our spiritual purpose, it will seem. If we look closely enough at our actions under any circumstance, we will be able to see the consistent psychic imprint of our representation.
I have a varied work history including construction, website design/management, teaching (college English), and now spiritual consulting. With each iteration of my work opportunities, I repeatedly found myself in the same role… as a spiritual and emotional advisor to those around me.
The student
Every society needs people with intense curiosity, broad openness of mind and a willingness to learn. Many different qualities must work together effectively to represent a true student archetype. In the tarot deck there are five cards that best represent this energy: the Fool and the four Pages of Colors. The sign of Gemini represents this archetype astrologically.
The Fool represents the leap of faith that is life; we are here to learn and discover. Each of the pages represents a desire to learn and develop a deeper understanding of the human qualities governed by the elements. The Page of Cups wants to learn about emotions and love. The Page of Pentacles wants to learn more about the material world. The Page of Swords wants to learn about thinking and communicating. And the Page of Wands wants to learn more about action, adventure, and spiritual purposes.
Gemini rules the 3rd House of Communication in the Zodiac and is ruled by Mercury, the messenger God. Mercury, Gemini and the 3rd House combines to rule over such aspects of human life as greetings, self-expression, interpretation of others, short-distance travel, siblings, friends, and your interactions with people in your daily life. Figuring out people, situations, and skills through communication and learning drives the energy of this sign.
Each archetype travels through lifetimes gaining experience within and beyond its ideal representation to enjoy and understand the full range of human experience, while learning lessons related to completing his or her work. We learn lessons through support and resistance. A person learns the many facets of safety by being very safe in one life and unstable and unsafe in another.
The ideal society (utopian vision)
It is really not difficult to imagine an ideal society in which everyone discovers his or her psychic or spiritual archetype and is given a way to express that archetype through work and interactions with the other archetypes in the world. Creating such a world would require a wholesale and comprehensive acceptance of the balance between science and spirituality, between creativity and necessity, and between compassion and integrity.
Reality is an ebb and flow of balance, imbalance and rebalancing, and that is where all souls learn lessons not found in utopian visions or in the spirit realm. We choose to be here, and psychic or spiritual archetypes indicate that we choose a singular type of role so that we can experience true mastery.
Do you know a student?
Each archetype has definable and distinguishable properties. The best students prefer to become ‘jacks of all trades’. They demonstrate the ability to learn quickly and integrate many different knowledge and skills. Their mastery is not the deep mastery of a single skill or knowledge, but the competent mastery of many ‘bits of knowledge’ and skills. They control integration.
Curious and Open
One of their strengths is their curiosity and openness. They love to learn. Give them an object, tool or device and they will want to know how it works, its history and its function. They can’t get enough information and always want to know more about the broad spectrum of life experience and skills. They also interact with people this way and enjoy conversations that allow them to learn something new about the person or the person’s expertise.
Flexible and adaptable
Because they have an agile mind, they can easily adapt to any situation. Even if the situation suddenly calls for ‘going in the opposite direction’, they are the ones who can make the sudden change seamlessly. They often have no agenda when interacting with others, trusting that the other person will “take them where they need to go.” These individuals help others deepen their mastery of their skills by reflecting on what the teacher is teaching.
Quick to learn and do
Because they are both open and adaptable, they can often put knowledge or skills into practice more quickly than any other type. But once they have the competence, they will want to learn something new, always looking for what they don’t know and what others want and need to share or teach. As quickly as they can learn how to prepare one dish, they will also want to learn how to prepare another dish after successfully preparing the previous dish. It is not about continually refining one practice, but about discovering and trying as many practices as possible.
Many styles, one goal
Learning has many styles, and it is important that an individual knows his or her learning style. Circumstances can also determine which learning style the student should accept and appreciate. Studying in a third world country is very different from studying in a first world country. The synchronicity of the student’s learning style and the learning conditions is important.
One of the best fictional representations of a well-rounded student can be found in TV shows such as MacGyver or The pretender. These characters demonstrate skills and mastery of a wide range of talents that connect them to all levels of society and vastly different people.
