Table of contents
Abstract
What does it mean to awaken a Wildman archetype within? In this article, I will explore the beauty of the Wildman archetype from an analytical perspective. While honoring its literary value, I will explore the depth this symbol offers the uninitiated soul. I will explore its spiritual connection to our developmental plight to become more united with our higher calling. This is the path that God lays before honors the beauty of the journey our soul initiates. When soul and spirit unite, we develop the ability to soar to new heights, leading us to exponential growth. Let us explore.
Words of Poetic Wisdom
For Tom. Let’s hope this book makes sense to your heart, which is firm and strong as an oak. With Adventure,
Robert Bly (Personal Correspondence)
Encountering the Wildman Archetype
The Unveiling
In the heart of the rhythmic chaos, Santiago found himself on an unexpected journey. He was an observer thrust into center stage, a hesitant participant in a dance he didn’t fully comprehend. The drum beats, once a distant thunder, now resonated within him, awakening a dormant symphony of emotions. He knew not what he was doing, but something deep and wild within him seemed to be growing. It was as if he were becoming a Wildman at heart.
A Loss of Inhibition
As his initial reluctance melted away under the hypnotic spell of the dance, his fear of judgment surrendered. A primal urge welled underneath as something wild within him beckoned him to move. He did not know what the calling was. He only felt a yearning to connect with the pulse of the gathering. It was a liberation he hadn’t sought. Yet, in shedding the self-consciousness that had long constrained him, he somehow felt… Free, much like a Wildman at heart.
A Tuneful Homage Flowering Earth
Though indecipherable, the chants of the presenters carried a power that transcended words. They blended with the drumbeats, forming a chorus that spoke to a deeper part of Santiago’s being. It was a language he felt rather than understood, a visceral connection to the rhythm of the Earth itself. That wild being was growing stronger within. While scary, it comforted him, much like the embrace of his loving mother.
A Sobering Truth
No drugs and no lingering effects of alcohol were present, just the raw, unfiltered experience of the moment. Santiago’s senses were heightened, his body a vessel for the energy that flowed through the gathering. It was a drunkenness of spirit, a surrender to the primal forces at play. He had found his Wildman; yet, he remained incapable of understanding the challenges this revelation would bring.
The Echoing Heart
In unison with the drumbeats, Santiago’s heartbeat merged into a single, powerful rhythm. His body moved in synchronicity with the music, with each beat of the drum representing a testament to newfound liberation. Sweat and tears flowed freely, washing away the layers of inhibition that had long obscured his true self. Indeed, he embraced his inner Wildman.
As the dance reached its crescendo, Santiago felt a profound connection to the Earth. Feeling a connection to the community and himself, rain began to fall. While it did not feel like much, it was a gentle benediction of his unfolding transformation. It seemed to bathe him from the past he felt he left behind. Perhaps, it was an invitation to descend into the depths of his being. Maybe it was simply an invitation, to embrace the raw, unfiltered, and relatively new feelings that surged within him.
The Invitation
The dance continued, and Santiago danced on, a willing participant in a ritual of self-discovery. Yet, the ending remains unknown. However, unlike before, Santiago was no longer afraid. He had found his rhythm, and he was ready to follow the Wildman and his inner calling, wherever it led.
The Wildman Archetype Emerges
Iron John: To Enter the Forest Depths
“There was once upon a time a king who had a great forest near his palace, full of all kinds of wild animals. One day he sent out a huntsman to shoot him a roe, but he did not come back. 'Perhaps some accident has befallen him,' said the king, and the next day he sent out two more huntsmen who were to search for him, but they too stayed away. Then on the third day, he sent for all his huntsmen, and said: 'Scour the whole forest through, and do not give up until you have found all three.' But of these also, none came home again, none were seen again. From that time forth, no one would any longer venture into the forest, and it lay there in deep stillness and solitude, and nothing was seen of it, but sometimes an eagle or a hawk flying over it.”
Iron Hans (The Brothers Grimm)
Adulting & the Psychology of Initiation
There comes a time in every person’s life when they must spread their wings and learn to take flight. Yet, recently, there seems to be an inevitable appeal to be home-bound to the parental roost. However, I do not know how happy this makes the nestling. Even the media has recently caught on that young adults are somehow more depressed than ever before in their endeavors.
To engage our inner adult being, we enter into the depths of the unknown. Carl Jung called this the collective unconscious. As the passage above eludes, this is a scary place. It is filled with all kinds of wild animals. While beautiful it sounds, not even the skills of a huntsman can traverse the dangers of its hidden allure.
To enter into the unknown depths, we must leave the safety of the palace. The king, representative of the Great Father Archetype, provides safety for his subjects. Yet, to enter into the unknown shows freedom, much of which is separate from the king’s rule. Is this a place of initiation? A place where the nestling uses the lessons they were taught, to spread their wings and fly. While it may be dangerous, there are adventures abound. Yet, even in the flight of the eagle and hawk spoken of above, there seems a pearl of hidden wisdom. This hidden wisdom is present in the process. This process is one of significant diligence and underlying wisdom. It grounds us to the earth. It allows us the reverie of dreams to come.
Leaving the Roost
One might ask, what happened to the huntsman? Why did he go? What must be there to have peeked the depths of his curiosity?
I believe all of our paths start with an initiation like this. There are unforeseen grounds that have yet to be experienced. Oftentimes, fear excludes many from undertaking such an attempt. However, I believe it to be our psychological and spiritual calling to go into the depths of those woods.
We must make sense of those often hidden beasts within, those archetypes at play in our internal and external landscapes. The Wildman is but one representation of those inner symbols that call us to the destiny of our individuation. This journey helps us grow in unison towards the actualized self we wish to achieve. Yet, it is up to us to gather the courage to leave the roost. It is up to us to start that process of adulting. This is necessary to glean the treasure hidden in the forest’s depths. While scary beasts exist in the depths of the forest, there is also beauty to be found there. Yet, to harness that beauty, we must confront the demons of the past. We must ignite those inner daemons of the soul. In doing so, we can then nurture beauty that hides behind the beast of the Wildman.
Beauty and the Beast – Loving the Shadow Archetype Within
Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.
Carl Jung
I will have you think about the story Beauty and the Beast. I believe it to be a mirrored image to that of Iron John. Perhaps it is even a conclusion, as we understand beauty to be an underlying theme the beast yearns for. Yet, like our story here, the beast must undertake an initiation of sorts. He must fight his Daemon, that shadow nature of his own humanity. He must claim his inner beauty and link that treasure with the external beauty present in his life. In the Disney story, the Beauty is Belle. In the brother’s Grimm story, that beauty is an unknown agent, a woman, yet likely one who is well known to the Beast. Is this antagonist perhaps the Anima. Yes, it likely is. However, it also represents the girl of his dreams, the one who will help complete him.
To enter the dark forest we will face monsters. Beasts are there. Yet, there are treasures abound, just waiting to be found. It sounds like an adventure. But what does it mean to awaken to the psyche’s presence? What does it mean to find beauty within the depths of the Animaic soul?
Iron John and Initiation
Robert Bly, the author of the best-selling book, Iron John, focused on the importance of masculine initiation. I am not far from his thesis as well. However, when we see the Folie à deux (shared psychosis) so prevalent in recent times, I would be hard-pressed to say it is only a masculine problem.
Many roam aimlessly, in a land of outside confusion, lost in a terrain of never-ending dreams. Yet, to have a dream does nothing to create meaning for the soul’s depths. It lacks the conviction to realize its aim in the absence of actual work. Although dreaming is important, the psyche’s (soul’s) beauty can only be obtained when we traverse the inner lessons work provides us. While these inner lessons bring depths to our being, they rely on us. We need to create volition through work to realize the dream’s aim.
The Wildman and Shadow
Although the shadow and Wildman archetypes differ, the shadow element is found in all archetypal elements. The Shadow represents the more hidden aspects of the personae. It is an ego ideal we adopt that helps us deal with the outside world. While engaging either archetype is good for the individualized soul, it is not socially sanctioned. Individuality represents freedom. Yet freedom is an inherent danger for the greater collective. However, the collective depends on that individualized freedom to keep and grow the depths of creativity and ingenuity. These attributes stand as a cornerstone for the progress of a community.
The Wildman is dangerous when viewed from the eyes of society. We see this in the all-out media assault on everything that is mature and masculine. In this sanitized society, media fills us with PC thou shalt(s) and thou shalt not(s). No room exists for that which is primal. However, that may be the very issue at hand.
Violence is prevalent among children, adults, political foes, communities, countries, and races. While it is easy to point fingers, it is difficult to take accountability. Therefore, it is imperative to examine history as a mediator. Yet in doing so, one runs the risk of having to take account for their actions. A thorough examination of consciousness creates a grounding effect for the direction needed to progress. History is to learn, not to burn. I cannot help but think. How would humanity react if it only knew the real aspects of the myths our ancestors passed on? What if they knew the real version of fairy tales, not the watered-down versions spread by today’s collective press?
Robert Bly brings note to this. However, he placed some blame on Christianity while bringing attention to the Hairy John who initiated Jesus.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew, 3:4)
Integrating the Shadow Archetype
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things. (1 Corinthians, 13:11)
When we are a child, we think as a child. It is not appropriate to hold a child to adult expectations. However, with that said, when we reach the age of majority, it is time to put aside childish things. To leave the roost is to enter the forest. While there may be scary beasts present, the adventure is what creates the bravery needed to transcend fear. That adventure helps us engage in life. It helps us be fully present to that higher calling of a Self-image that welcomes us to its table.
The Shadow, the Wildman, and Letting Go
I do not see a difference between Iron John, the Wildman archetype, and the Hairy John that initiated Jesus. It may be the Folie du jour to blame an element outside of human control (that of God). However, it is the human brain that creates and judges its constructs. We cannot forget this. To engage the shadow is to create inner peace through initiation. Churches strive to create this inner peace. They profess a moral code that supersedes the simplistic nature of laws. Morals and ethics are of a higher standard than laws. Yet, laws are needed, as they represent the least common element needed for any civilized society to survive. However, it takes hard work. It takes processing and going within to create to awaken the beauty of the inner Self.
Can you feel its calling? Is it the Wildman? Maybe. Do not fear. Maybe welcome him, and dance for a bit. It may just loosen up the grit needed to undertake that next big something. A soul’s calling perhaps, that has been put off way too long.
Conclusion
Awakening the Wildman archetype within is a transforming journey. It is a reclaiming of our primal essence in a world that often seeks to tame and sanitize. It is a descent into the depths of our being. When we confront our shadows there, we embrace our raw emotions. We reconnect with the untamed rhythms of the Earth.
This journey, though challenging, is also deeply liberating. As Santiago discovered, shedding the layers of inhibition was crucial. Embracing his Wildman nature led to a profound sense of freedom. It also brought a deep connection to the nurturing Mother Earth. He learned to dance to his own rhythm and trust his instincts. He learned to navigate the complexities of life with a newfound courage and authenticity.
To Re-initiate Life’s Journey: A Final Blessing
The Wildman archetype serves as a powerful reminder that beneath the veneer of civilization lies a primal force. It is a deep wellspring of vitality and wisdom. By honoring this archetype, and the others so commonly found in myth and fairy-tales, we tap into our inherent strength. Resilience and capacity for growth are there. Perhaps, this is why parents and grandparents used to tell us these oftentimes scary stories. While the visual may carry the attention, parents must speak to their children. Even though ratings are needed for others to make an informed judgment, it is oftentimes in those periods of discomfort. That is when true values are passed between parents and children. This leads me to ask, who is passing on the values? Do you trust their message?
As we journey through life’s forests, let us not fear the beasts within. Instead, let us embrace them with curiosity and compassion, for within their embrace lies the key to our own transformation. Let us awaken the Wildman within, and dance to the rhythm of our own wild hearts as we envision, engage, and advance confidently in the direction of our dreams.
References
Apple Books. (1812b, January 1). Grimm’s Fairy Tales. https://books.apple.com/us/book/grimms-fairy-tales/id395539706
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 13. (n.d.). USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/13
Matthew, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3
Key takeaway: Embracing the Wildman archetype is a transformative process that leads to a more authentic, empowered,and fulfilling life.
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