a brief introduction:
The Darkwood pedagogy uses the wisdom seven specific archetypes, called “The Darkwood Archetypes” and the Wheel of the Year.
By studying archetypal intelligence, you can get to know yourself deeply and also learn a language that helps you express your personal evolution and human experience.
The use of archetypal intelligence within the Darkwood Pedagogy is in part inspired by the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, a system developed by Howard Gardner in the early 1980’s.
This theory proposes that there is no such thing as “general intelligence”, but instead a wide variety of intelligences by which people learn, know, and express their wisdom.
Archetypal intelligence builds upon this theme of “wide variety” by allowing you to explore the many facets of your own intelligence.
These facets are represented by the Darkwood archetypes and their corresponding seasons and moon phases.
Studying the facets of your intelligence will help you understand “what makes you tick”, and then harness that understanding for a lifetime of ease, acceptance, and personal growth.
The Archetypes
descriptions and (unprofessional) photographs of altars I’ve used to represent each of the Darkwood archetypes.
The Priestess
The Priestess archetype greets us at Imbolc. Placing her hand on her chest, she feels her life force like a pilot light, mighty and warm against the frozen landscape; utterly alive. She honors her life force by devoting it, ensuring her energy remains focused by taking yearlong vows. The Priestess holds space for others to connect with themselves and the divine. She is the channel, a pure conduit of divine expression with no interest in performance or attention. She is purity itself, fresh from The Dreaming of the year, a distillation of devotion and service.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Priestess archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Honoring and focusing your life force
- Taking vows and making commitments
- Holding sacred space
- Channeling information on behalf of the divine
- Purification
- A healthy sense of self and service
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The girl child
The Girl Child archetype greets us at Spring Equinox. As determined as the daffodils pushing through the soil, this archetype is a threshold crosser, ushering us from the Dark half of the year to the Light half. It’s curiosity that gets her across that threshold, the archetypal antidote for fearing the unknown. With a vivid imagination and no use for “shoulds”, The Girl Child designs wonderfilled futures and knows how to use play to problem solve. Infused with feral innocence, The Girl Child aligns us with our original genius, unique, intact, and right on time.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Girl Child archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Crossing thresholds
- Imagination
- Play as a problem solver
- Feral innocence
- Original genius
- curiosity
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Tantrika
The Tantrika greets us at Beltane. As the light of the year swells toward fullness and the botanical world flowers, this archetype reminds us that we have nectar, too, and that we can use it to attract our heart’s desires. Collaborative as flowers are with their pollinators, The Tantrika likes to work with others, whether human, medium, muse, or the divine. In her beautiful Beltane bower, The Tantrika kneels at altars of pleasure, beckoning with the promise of win-win relationships and sweet songs of healing.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Tantrika archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Flowering unabashedly
- Offering with sweetness
- Beauty and pleasure as medicine
- Collaboration
- Attraction
- Desire
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Queen
The Queen archetype greets us at Summer Solstice. At the height of the year’s light, this archetype takes a bird’s eye view for the ultimate vantage point of her creations. Devoted visionary, she sees with her heart’s lens and knows that to manifest her visions she needs the help of others. As above so below, her high-ness The Queen is as grounded and stable as she is soaring. Heart-centered leader, The Queen archetype gets the job done with majesty and ease, holding steady at the center of her domain.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Queen archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- fullness
- Manifesting your dreams into reality
- Benevolent leadership
- Grounding and focus
- Delegating and appreciating helpers
- Being a visionary
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Warrior
The Warrior greets us at Lammas. The light of the year wanes for the first time since Winter Solstice, so it’s time for the Warrior to harvest the Light half’s bounty. Champion and protector of value and self worth, this archetype knows how to practice exquisite self care. Aligning with allies that support her mission, she subverts saboteurs with skill. The Warrior archetype knows when to activate and when to rest, honoring her skill set both on the battlefield and in the barracks. As sharp as her blade, this archetype has pristine focus and loyalty.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Warrior archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Self worth
- Exquisite self care
- Discerning allies from saboteurs
- Discerning battlefield from barracks
- protection
- Having
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Mermaid
The Mermaid greets us at Autumn Equinox. Ready to dive deep, The Mermaid walks us across the threshold from the Light half to the Dark. This archetype is hungry for her truest self, seeking what has been edited away as she time travels and re-integrates those lost parts with love. With her freak flag flying, The Mermaid is the divine weirdo; unapologetic, feral, and uncaged. She knows who she is, and names herself; answering only to names that accurately describe her. Independent and interdependent, she is the antidote to codependency.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Mermaid archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Independence
- Integration
- An unedited Self
- Being a divine weirdo
- diving
- Naming
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Wisdom Keeper
The Wisdom Keeper greets us at Samhain. With veils thinning and ancestors whispering to her in the last light of the year, this archetype is cosmically connected and fluent in celestial song. She inhabits a symbolic medicine tent where she goes to Know and to share her wisdom. Just as devoted to not-knowing, The Wisdom Keeper is devoted to The Mystery. The mantle of responsibility draped over her shoulders, this archetype feels the support of her lineage and carries its torch with reverence.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Wisdom Keeper archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Confidence
- Knowing and not-knowing
- Responsibility
- Trance
- The Medicine tent
- The ancestors
shop the anointing oil HERE
The Dreaming
The Dreaming occurs at Winter Solstice, the deepest Dark of the year. With long velvety nights, we drift and dream, dissolving into The Mystery. Cycling like life, we honor the womb and the tomb, becoming and disintegrating all at once. We look to the hibernators for guidance about rest, and let them teach us that quiet, stillness, and solitude are vital parts of our process. During The Dreaming we soften our gaze, pause our noticing, and let the anointing practices and rituals rest. We let the subconscious, Dreaming mind lead with the momentum of Dark.
This archetype reminds you of this facet of your own wisdom, a birthright. The Dreaming archetype represents your innate capacity for:
- Releasing and letting go
- Dissolving and un-forming
- The womb-and-tomb
- Rest
- Dreaming
- The Mystery
There is intentionally no anointing oil for The Dreaming archetype.
