When you say: “I weathered the Storm..” or “Is there any port in this Storm..” You aren’t literally standing outside in a storm. These -and a lot of other sayings where we mention the Storm- show the metaphorical meaning of the archetype Storm. There is then a lot going on in your life. You probably have or had a lot on your mind and maybe also have feelings of not being in control, impatience, anxiety or even anger.
How to deal with this? In this blog I show you how to approach these situations in your life in an archetypal way. Because what you actually say in these cases, is that your Inner Archetypal Storm is too dominant and maybe even taking over.
Meaning of the Archetypal Storm
The 1st association you probably have with ‘Storm’ or ‘being in a Storm’ is chaos and extreme emotions, either negative or positive. In all cases it is related to big and often sudden changes in life. The weather forecasts a ‘Storm’, it means strong winds, often accompanied by rain, hail, snow, thunder and lightning. In any case, weather to hide from.
When we find ourselves in a metaphorical storm, we have intuitively the same reaction: we try to avoid these situations. We want to metaphorically hide or flee from it. Whatever your reaction is when you feel like a storm is brewing, it indicates that you are no longer in control. A feeling that has a negative connotation.
But Like any other archetype, also the Archetypal Storm is in basic neutral. It has a light and a shadow side. Although we will most of the time recognize this archetype in us, when it shows its shadow side.
Light side of the Storm
The light side of this Archetypal Storm shakes things up inside you. It cleans some inner mess in the corners of your inner mind and body. Things you weren’t probably aware of, but that were stuck or that kept you from living your full potential.
This inside mess can be anything: a relationship with someone, a commitment you’ve made, a situation you are in at this moment, …. Anything or any moment you feel blown away.
The question that comes along with your Archetype Storm is “What needs to be blown away?”
Although we often recognize the Storm in it negative sense, any Storm starts with a soft breeze that starts blowing. When you sense that soft blowing wind in an early stage, it will be easier to stick to the steer wheel of your life. Then it is you who decides what needs to be blown away and not your emotions. You won’t avoid the Storm then, only prevent it from being destructive in a negative sense.
Shadow side of the Storm
The shadow side of this archetype shows, when your Inner Storm totally takes over. You are no longer at the helm, but your archetypal Storm determines what happens. You risk then that it makes you destroy things that are valuable to you as well. So when your inner Storm takes over you not only blow away what needs to be cleaned up.
The archetypes in us never act on their own. They bond. And when they are on their shadow side, they bond often with the shadow side of other archetypes. In this case your inner Storm often is bonding with your inner Warrior… You behave very destructive then in an expressive sense.
You firmly and emotionally end a relationship in a negative and painful way, for example. No more talking over, no more friendship.
You stop ‘suddenly’ and again fueled by negative emotions, initiatives you wanted to take.
You act very dominant in a negative sense in deciding what solution to pick for a problem you have, without taking into account of anybody else.
Just to name some examples of situations when your inner Storm is taking over. It is shown in extreme behaviour of people.
How to deal with this inner (upcoming) Storm?
So when you sense that inside you a Storm is brewing or even already raging, try to stand still and don’t act upon it. Examine what caused this Storm exactly?
Most of the time your Inner Storm is activated by something or someone outside you. Something that was or wasn’t said or done. Something you didn’t like at all. But this ‘something’ didn’t cause the Storm in you. It just triggered some old pain inside you and that old pain activates your Inner Archetypal Storm.
So when your Inner Archetypal Storm is dominating your behaviour, be aware that the cause for that isn’t outside you, but inside yourself.
The bad news is that you can’t blame someone else for your negative emotions. Probably your inner Judge will try so, but that is a coping meganism of the bond between the shadow side of your own Storm together with the shadow side of your inner Judge….
The good news is that you have the key to silence your inner Storm and rebalance it again, in your own hands….. The ‘only’ thing you need to do is to find that key… Which is, sorry some bad news again, not always easy.
‘Magic Spell’ to Silence the shadow side of your Storm
It might not feel like you have the key yourself. Because while in the midst of your Storm the overwhelming feelings of being wronged by the other will be very intens. But these are feelings that come together with the dominancy of your Inner Storm. Your inner Storm was triggered by it. But the Storm itself was there already in the form of a soft, increasingly stronger wind. Triggered by something outside you, it developed from a small breeze to a hurricane in the outside category.
What will help, is that you try to find that personal key, or better said the ‘personal magic spell’ to recognize and silence the shadowside of this inner Storm. Therefore you need to stand still and stop storm in, or out, or around. In the middle of a Storm we won’t have a clue what that magic spell might be.
These magic spells are personal, by definition. It can be anything. A sentence, a word, a movement, and action…. It will differ from one to another. In order to find your own, you need to go back to that moment your Inner Storm started as that little breeze. What was the trigger exactly? What was said or done that hurt you. Try to find the exact words or actions someone said or did, that activated your Inner Storm.
Go Back in Time
When you’ve found the exact words or actions, go back in time. Think for yourself when was the first time in your life, that you remember, when you had this same feeling or when you ware in a similar situation. What happened back then exactly? Was that the moment this inner old pain started? Or is there even a moment before that? Try to go back as far as possible back into your life, your childhhood, or sometimes even further to your ancestors lives.
When you have found a similar situation in your past, ask yourself the following question:
“With the knowledge I have now, what would I have done differently in that moment back in time? What lesson can I learn from that old situation, that might help me now?”
Inner Wisdom
Big chance this question will give you an insight that helps you now to rebalance your Archetypal Storm, without destroying things of value around you. And when it is rebalanced you will feel fresh and tidy. Some messy corner inside you has been cleaned up. Thanks to your Archetypal Storm that came along.
Need some help to clean up? Contact me. We can arrange a coaching session, both life or online, depending on where you live.
Or join the next Fantastic Friday Session on the Archetypal Storm. Want to know more first about working with archetypes? Read other blogs I wrote, like:
To be continued..
Frédérique te Dorsthorst – de Muij
December 2024