Unpacking The Warrior Archetype | Douglas Gillette | Ep #065

Every great civilization has a great warrior tradition and accompanying warrior myths. From birth, Spartan society nurtured and trained their boys to become warriors, and that rigorous training created men like Leonidas and his 300 men of unconquerable spirit. Japan had their fearless samurai warriors whose undaunted courage came from living life as if they were already dead.

Today the Warrior archetype lives on in our reverence for those who serve in the armed forces and in modern books and movies. William Wallace from Braveheart and General Maximus from Gladiator embody the Warrior archetype.

But in general, modern culture is not comfortable with Warrior energy. The advent of mechanized warfare during the first half of the 20th century dampened the romantic ideal of martial courage. Since the social and cultural revolutions of the 60s and 70s, we’ve generally taught boys and men to avoid confrontation and conflict and to instead nurture their “feminine side.” The result is the Nice Guy; the man who will avoid confrontation and aggression even when confrontation and aggression are justified.

Society pushes men to be sweet and sensitive because they fear them becoming coldly stoic, abusive, and destructively angry. But society’s perception of the Warrior archetype is not based on the Warrior energy in its full, healthy manifestation, but on the archetype’s shadows. The problem is not Warrior energy itself, but Warrior energy that is not used in harmony with the other masculine archetypes and directed by empathy, contemplation, and order. 

Properly tapping into the Warrior’s energy provides a man with an unsurpassable power source that will fuel him to reach his goals, fight for worthy causes, achieve greatness, and leave a lasting legacy.

 - The Art Of Manliness: The Warrior Archetype

We have been blessed with the opportunity to interview Author, Douglas Gillette over the past several months as we've set out to unpack and present to you the four foundational archetypes of the male psyche. 

Key takeaways from this episode: 

• The shadow aspects of the Warrior Archetype
• How we fall into the