I will be crystal clear. I think that Whiny Don Trump is a physical manifestation of our collective unconscious; an emanation from our cultural shadow. More precisely, the dominant archetypes populating his personal unconscious strongly resonate with the dominate archetypes populating our society’s shadow. I say that Our Dear Leader is a projection from our collective shadow because that is a big part of how popular politics works. People run for office and the voters project their conscious and unconscious perspectives on them, like any old celebrity, hero, or popular villain. Campaigns are designed and reported in ways that invite and encourage such projection. Particular human beings are more or less willing and able to identify with the archetype and let it inflate their persona. Drumpf is not the first trickster president, but he may be the trickiest. Not only does he resonate with the cultural archetype, he identifies with it. This makes him a powerful Fully Automatic Trickster (FAT). When FAT Donny became the head of our nation, it expanded the trickster to global scale and magnified the scope of the dire consequences the trickster evokes by nature.
Toxic Presidency
Recognizing these archetypal structures in the personal psyche is often a fundamental life-altering event. Emergence of archetypes into the cultural realm drives exploration and expedition. Attachment of them to governments makes war and genocide possible. This FAT is at the center of that Venn Diagram. No one knows, not even FAT Donny, what will happen next. Or when. That’s a lot of energy on a hair trigger. The probabilities that underpin our consensus reality have been loosened by the chaos of a FAT administration. Loose probabilities are an opportunity to change the consensus reality, political or otherwise. The question is how to influence this chaos in ways that can help to alter consensus reality and synthesize a more just, equitable, and safe society. In the physical, political realm, I might express that concept like this: by embracing the overtly white supremacist and violently patriarchal agenda championed by Trump the GOP has become so clearly authoritarian that it has riled up their political opposition to such a degree that it has grown stronger, more vocal, and intent on taking offices at every level, but its up to all us to get up and get it done. Know what I mean?
If you are still struggling to grasp the relevance of my approach, think of it in the same way we think of praying before taking to the streets and shuttin’ shit down. It is an attempt to tap into the energy/power of something bigger than we individuals and the cultures we are building; looking up without shame. For me it is simple. Humans are part of the natural biome that has evolved on this planet, so by definition each of us is part of something bigger than ourselves. All that in the context of the vast expanse of the (multi)-universe in time and space. How much bigger do you need? If you want to debate about Big Bang or Finger Snap, that’s cool. I’m more interested in what came after, because that is where I am; where we are. Together. This is my prayer, my spell, and my blessing. It is dynamic and functional. I believe it is a way to influence our consensus reality and so it is again like a prayer. An Atheist Prayer.
The Boof Trickster
I think that by recognizing archetypal structures in our collective cultural psyche, we will discover a potential means to leverage positive fundamental changes in our communities, societies, and culture. Carl Jung’s basic therapeutic insight was to understand that a more stable mind can be accomplished by effectively balancing the archetypes emerging from the personal unconscious into the conscious mind. This is the basic process of individuation; self awareness. The practice of bringing archetypes that emerge from the unconscious into constellation with others, provides a means to integrate the random emanations into a more stable structure. The constellated self. I contend that a similar mechanism may be possible at the cultural or societal level. A unified people. The seed for community and a culture of new blooms. Know what I mean?
As I see it, at least 2 other archetypes have emerged into our collective conscious, an opposing Trickster of Resistance and a Wise Mother. The resistance trickster is not personified and so cannot be fully automatic. To be sure, it has automatic tendencies. Parts of the opposition are as reactionary as FAT Donny. but those are blunted by dispersal and mindful disruption. Accenting the mindful aspects of the disruptions is a purpose of my video and social media work. I like to think that these video clips flesh out stories that have been parsed into headlines, hashtags, and memes in the words from your mouths and minds. The mirror image of main$tream media.
The Wise Mother’s wisdom is rooted in our planet Earth. She stands in direct opposition to FAT Donny, who treats her like any other woman he desires – with force and disdain. This is the nurturing Mother. The one that will renew and replenish our strength. The wise mother shows us how to grow in the space cleared by FAT rages of automatic disruption. This social archetype is manifest in the record number of women, particularly women of color, running for office or stepping up in other realms. The appearance of the wise mother is critical because it balances millennia of male heroics. She is respite from the chaos kicked up by the trickster pair. I don’t think I need to connect this archetype to the current situation in the political realm. Almost any fool can discern the power of the moment when most of us decide that enough is enough. It is time to lose our chains and join hands. I say almost any fool because we all know an emperor or 2 without clothes and everyone has blindspots. None of these archetypes is sufficient on their own or in isolation, yet each of them reflects a part of us. When I hear people talk about coming together I envision the cultural archetype I think we should try to manifest in this physical realm. An equitable and just society with enough courage and compassion to face the truths of all our histories.
Know what I mean?
Do what you will.