the Tulse Luper Archetypes

The word "archetype" was coined by Carl Jung, Carl Jung defined his concept of the archetype as a formula that is the result of "countless experiences of our ancestors. They are, as it were, the psychic residue of numberless experiences of the same type." (quoted in Gordon ii). Jung called these recurring personalities archetypes, from the Greek word archetypos.

Joseph Campbell defined his work as a search for "the commonality of themes in world myths, pointing to a constant requirement in the human psyche for a centering in terms of deep principles." (The Power of Myth xvi). Both men felt that the experience of being human can be examined collectively across time, space, and culture, and that our commonality can be traced to the most primitive origins of the human consciousness, where the archetypal themes originate in modern men and women.

Archetypes can be thought of as the precursor to conscious thought, existing in the unconscious mind as expressions of psychic happenings, but without a basis in the physical world. We express archetypes in the conscious world of art, literature, and religion. Unconscious energies are given form in this way.

The Power of Myth
Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers

Man and His Symbols
Carl Jung