This article is brief introduction to a series of articles I am writing on the Archetypal Experiences of Birth. The word birth refers both to the experience of childbirth as well as to experiences in which we remember and/or relive our birth. This may occur spontaneously, in therapy, with psychedelic substances, holotropic breathwork, fasting, under extreme life stress or mental health crisis, or in other ways.
What is an Archetype?
Many experiences in life can be understood to be archetypal. Archetypes are multivalent patterns. Archetypes evoke multiple ways of experiencing life, through imagination, symbolism, psychology and deep meaning.
““Archetypes are cosmic primordial patterns and governing principles. They are universals that function as templates for the particulars of the material world”. ”
The word Archetype comes from the Latin ‘archetypum’ and the Greek ‘arkhetypon’. It means an original pattern or model, from which a copy or replica could be made. The word as we know it today particularly in fields of psychology, astrology and mythology was used by C.G Jung. Jung understood archetypes to be organising principles both in our inner world and the outer world, and described archetypes as:
“forms or images of a collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents of myths and at the same time as autochthonous individual products of unconscious origin.”
Richard Tarnas, a cultural historian and philosopher, describes three overarching types of archetypes (Tarnas, 2006):
Myth
Philosophy
Psychology
ARCHETYPES IN BIRTH
Birth is an experience where the veil between heaven and earth, between life and death can be thin, translucent or non-existent. Birth is a unique initiatory experience. At the centre of birth is the Mother and Baby, both of which can be described as archetypes. Another common archetype present during birth is the Midwife Archetype. The midwife archetype, may present as any of the following: an inner quality within the birthing person’s psyche, an ancestor(s) present during birth, a partner or any other support person present during birth, or a qualified midwife present during birth. Archetypes which connect to the primal and instinctual are also commonly experienced in birth, e.g. animals, primordial forces such as chaos, night, eros, the lunar archetype and so forth. Another archetype inherent in Birth is the archetype of initiation.
“... the novice for initiation is called upon to give up willful ambition and all desire and submit to the ordeal”
Continue reading below to learn about two important archetypes fundamental to life on earth, which shape the birth experiences we have. I will use these two archetypes as examples to describe what an archetype is, and to perhaps bring some curiosity to archetypal experiences in your own life.
lunar and solar archetypes in birth
The time we are born tells a story of the sun and the moon in the sky. I will explore both of these archetypes briefly, as an introductory example of two celestial bodies we feel in our own body during birth, whether we are the baby being born or the mother birthing.
The Moon
The Moon represents lunar consciousness, night time, connection and rhythm, familiarity and ever changing, our emotional and feeling body, the past which lives in our body, nurture and nourishment, safety and belonging, the way we experience bonding, attachment, loss with our mother and caregivers. In Chinese cosmology it was associated with the qualities and archetype of Yin and the feminine principle. The Moon relates to our need to ‘feel felt’.
Where the moon is travelling in the sky when we are born, is our moon sign (western zodiac astrology). For example we may be born with a Moon in Pisces. The archetypal qualities of Pisces, then shape our moon. The moon moves very quickly through each zodiac sign, approximately 2.5 days. We are also born under a particular phase of the moon, which imparts its own significance on our psyche and body. For example, we may be born under a Full Moon, a Dark Moon, Crescent Moon, or even a Solar or Lunar Eclipse.
Hina, The Moon Goddess in Polynesia. Painting by Paul Gauguin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
SUN
The Sun represents solar consciousness, daytime, radiance and force, light, heat, the centre of our solar system, our personality or ego consciousness. In Chinese cosmology it was associated with the qualities and archetype of Yang and the masculine principle. We are each born under a particular sun sign, and this particular sign shapes aspects of our identity, and in the way we live out our day life ambitions, work and activities. The Sun relates more strongly to our need to be ‘seen’.
The image here is of Ra, the Egyptian Sun God, above his Falcon head is a sun disc with a phallic snake symbol. Notice this image of Ra, shows a solo God, while the painting of Hina, the Polynesian Luna Goddess shows other people in the village paying respect and making offerings to Hina. A symbolic meaning could be drawn here when contrasting these two images, with the Moon symbolic of community, relationship, nourishment and connection. Whereas, the quality of the Sun has a more independent, self-possessed nature.
Ra - Egyptian Sun God. Jeff Dahl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
We currently live in a culture which places more value on solar consciousness than on the lunar consciousness - we are extremely out of balance. This is very evident in the world with the rise of capitalism and industrial cultures and in the solar focused calendars. This continues to cause harm to the environment, to indigenous populations, to mothers, partners, babies and families during birth.
archetypal experiences in birth
a series of articles
The Archetypal Experiences in Birth will be a series of articles, introducing planetary archetypes known in myth and astrology. I will start with our most intimate celestial body, the Moon. If you are interested, you can click on the links below when the articles become available to read on the Sensing Birth website.
The Perinatal Matrices in Life
The Personal Planets
The Moon in Birth, The Sun in Birth, Mercury in Birth, Venus in Birth, Mars in Birth
The In Between Ones
Jupiter in Birth, Chiron in Birth
The Outer Planets in Relation to the Perinatal Matrices
Neptune in Birth, Saturn in Birth, Pluto in Birth, Uranus in Birth
The Goddesses in Birth
Aphrodite in Birth, Persephone in Birth, Hecate in Birth, Artemis in Birth, Selene in Birth
Note to the reader: The information in this article is for educational purposes, to provide discourse for humanity to reflect on the experience of childbirth. The information in this article does not serve as professional or medical advice. Any errors are the author’s.
Article written by: Rose Skerten
REFERENCES
Grof S. The Way of the Psychonaut: Encyclopedia for Inner Journeys, Volume 1 and 2. California: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, 2019.
Jung C.G. Man and His Symbols. London: Aldus Books, 1964
Jung C.G. Psychology and Religion. Yale University Press, 1967.
Tarnas R. Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View. London: Penguin Group, 2006
Note: The water colour painting image in the header of this article is by J.R Tolkien, titled ‘Halls of Manwe on the Mountains of the World above Faerie’.