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Eternal Child Archetype
October 3, 2013
— archetypes, eternal child, puer aeternus
Each of us has a child archetype within our psyche. Carolyn Myss outlines six kinds of archetypal children. They are:
- Eternal child
- Divine child
- Magical child
- Orphan child
- Nature child
- Wounded Child
The eternal child has an attachment to youth and immaturity. The positive eternal child is the stuff that ads are made of, enthusiastic, fresh and free. The shadow eternal child has a resistance to responsibility and rejection of the aging process. The need to stay youthful may lead to extreme dependence on others for security. The puer aeternus is a man who never accepts responsibility. He is frequently a character in fiction, and sadly appears often in real life. Peter Pan is a modern eternal youth story with Tinkerbell playing the puella aeterna. Clinging to youth can prevent one from reaching the full range of emotions and insights. Youthful enthusiasm and a willingness to make fresh starts are the positive aspects of this child persona. Adults who are consistently unreliable or dependent on others reflect the worst aspects of the eternal child.
Peter Pancomments
the peter pan complex man. (Oh no!). b ut I would be interested in learning about the others..
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this eternal child syndrome fascinates me, because I feel that I have so many characteristics of the eternal child, and this explains all of those traits to me…my son has the eternal child syndrome, and now, as an adult, has had many difficulties because of it….thank you for this article. I would be interested in learning about the other child syndromes as well.
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teemanley9
February 19, 2018
In Carolyn Myss’ system there is the Wounded Child, the Orphan Child, the Magical/Innocent Child, the Nature Child, Puer/Puella Eternis (Eternal Boy/Girl), the Dependent Child and the Divine Child….so, quite a few ways to look at childhood. Thanks for visiting.
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Puer Aeternus Complex – REDIRECTION MAGAZINE reblogged this and added:
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