Four Archetype: Inversion
distress signal: disrespect for difference
Archetype THREE is part of the Intimate/Emotional Belonging triad.
It moves through the Divine, Nature, and Human Octaves of being.
All Archetypes express their Inverted form when
the felt sense of belonging is fractured.
When not in close contact with Intimate Belonging, the gifts of Archetype Four become inverted. The ability to sensitively include everything then turns to painful absorption in the self. Difference in others is rejected, or is a source of envy, or is felt as rejection. The keen ability to sense what is missing turns into disdain for what is.
The jangly intensity of emotional drama is a poor substitute for the satisfying intensity of emotional intimacy. Sorrow is an indication that your heart wants deeper connection. True intimacy with yourself creates the space and courage to share intimacy with others. This card encourages you to creatively move emotional energy.
Practice: Imaginative Meeting
Duration: 6–9 minutes
Intention: Restore belonging by honoring what’s been rejected or disdained
Step 1: Ground and Name (1-2 min)
Close your eyes. Take three slow breaths, letting your body settle.
Bring to mind someone, or part of someone, you subtly or overtly reject.
Step 2: Meet the Creature (2–3 min)
Allow that person, or part, to appear in your imagination as a small creature.
Imagine yourself bowing and say: “I have not respected you…but you belong.”
Stay with this recognition for a few breaths, feeling for what stirs in you.
Step 3: Move What’s Been Missing (3–4 min)
Without planning or judging, allow your body to move in whatever small or large way it wants—stretching, swaying, shaking, swirling.
Imagine this movement is the life force that’s been burdened by disdain.
Stay with it until you feel even a slight shift in energy.
Bow and acknowledge: “Every difference has a place.”
Optional Journal Prompt:
“The part of me I’ve not valued because it feels ‘different’…”
When considering the Inversion of Archetype Four, it can be helpful to review the Soul Octave, Nature Octave, and (un-inverted) Human Octave to help you align with this archetype’s natural expression of belonging.
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