Arche--what?!?

What's an archetype I hear you ask? Wait...you didn't ask? Someone asked. So here's the answer. According to the dictionary an archetype is:

"1.the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a modelor first form; prototype.

2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present inindividual psyches."

(from dictionary.com)

Obviously #2 is what most applies here. Simply put, a mythical archetype is an idea that exists in multiple cultures across the world. For example, the flood myth. Almost every culture has some myth of a cateclismic...cate...really bad flood. The details are different, but similar in certain regions such as Central America or the Middle East.

I've divided the most universal archetypes into five categories based on books I've read (such as Parallel Myths by J.F.Bierlein) and personal opinon. Once again I don't claim to be a professional, just someone who gets bored easily.

Universal Events

Cosmic Ideas

A Pantheon of Archetypes

Legends and Lore

Elemental Creatures

I'll discuss each of these categories in the next five posts as part of the general introduction.