More from Archetypes – Shape Shifter

Lost my journal, this is a journal post:

Shape-Shifter  -spell caster

- has the ability to change appearnaces and navigate through different levels of waking consciounsess dream states and the astral plane

- shadow shape shifter exhibits instability ,fickleness and a lack of conviction ,like politicians who reinvent themselves to appealto the latest trends

- look for pattern offlexibility, changeability or deceptiveness, especially tied to your work or familiy

+ (light) skill at navigating through different levels of consciousness. Ability to see the potential in everything.

- (shadow)projecting any image that serves your personal agenda in the moment.

This archetype has long been known to shamans of the American Indian and other native traditions for having the ability to change appearances for a variety of reasons. The Shape-shifter can navigate through different levels of consciousness, dream and waking states and the astral plane. Somewhat related to the Trickster, it is more flexible and less tied to a specific goal. The shadow aspect emphasizes instability, fickleness, and lack of conviction, as can be seen in any number of modern day politicians who reinvent themselves to appeal to the latest popular trends.

Films: Wolfen; Lon Chaney, Jr., in The Wolf Man; Aaron Eckhart in In the Company of Men.

Religion/Myth: Because most deities or mythological figures who have the ability to shape-shift are also Tricksters, many of them overlap with that archetype: Tezcatlipoca (Aztec god of night who changes shapes and uses his “smoking mirror” to kill his enemies); Estsanatlehi (“Woman who changes,” the most powerful Navajo deity, a fertility goddess and shape-shifter associated with transformation and immortality).