{"id":122229,"date":"2024-01-28T17:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T21:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=122229"},"modified":"2024-01-31T12:53:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T16:53:21","slug":"divine-child-archetype","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/divine-child-archetype\/","title":{"rendered":"The Divine Child Archetype: An Immature Version of the King"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the Divine Child archetype? How is the Divine Child related to the King?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Divine Child archetype represents a King who has not fully matured. People embodying the Divine Child type have ambition but little to no ability to make their dreams reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading to learn about this archetype and how to develop it into a more mature version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Immature King: the Divine Child<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a common misconception that growing up means getting rid of boyhood aspects of the psyche and replacing them with mature, masculine ideals. In reality, it\u2019s impossible to eliminate any <\/em>aspect of someone\u2019s personality. Instead, as a man matures, he should view the boyish aspects of his psyche as foundations to build upon<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of these immature aspects is the Divine Child<\/em> archetype. Whereas the fully developed King takes charge and makes decisions to help a man reach his full potential, this undeveloped aspect represents the man\u2019s unrealized <\/em>potential.<\/strong> The Divine Child is the part of the psyche that determines what someone wants to do or thinks he can do\u2014but, in this immature state, it doesn\u2019t have enough power to turn those wishes into reality.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: We explained earlier that the King represents a person\u2019s executive functions. It follows that the Divine Child aspect, the immature version of the King, is strongest in people whose executive functions aren\u2019t fully developed. That development takes longer than many people think: Some studies have shown that executive functions tend to reach their peak in a person\u2019s mid 20s<\/a>. However, there are also numerous exercises and activities<\/a> that help people of any age to improve their executive functioning\u2014to build on this boyish aspect of their psyche. For example, improvisational theater<\/a> requires (and therefore trains) skills like focus, creativity, and flexible thinking.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people have immature King aspects because they didn\u2019t receive enough Kingly praise from others. For a child to develop a King\u2019s confidence, he needs people to recognize his talents and accomplishments.<\/strong> Without that positive reinforcement, he\u2019s likely to grow up believing that he lacks the skills and intelligence to be a good King; he\u2019ll think that he\u2019s not competent enough to make big decisions and that he doesn\u2019t deserve to judge others (positively or negatively). As a result, he may end up stuck in the Divine Child\u2019s mindset of wishes and unrealized potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: Modern psychology still supports the idea that emotional neglect\u2014such as ignoring a child\u2019s accomplishments\u2014can have serious impacts on their mental health. In Complex PTSD<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>psychotherapist Pete Walker says that emotional neglect alone can cause Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder<\/a> (CPTSD), possibly leading to a lifetime of anxiety and feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. CPTSD comes from severe cases of neglect, such as people who spend their entire childhoods getting little to no emotional support from their parents, but this extreme example helps illustrate how the lack of Kingly praise can harm a child\u2019s psyche.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the Divine Child archetype? How is the Divine Child related to the King? The Divine Child archetype represents a King who has not fully matured. People embodying the Divine Child type have ambition but little to no ability to make their dreams reality. Continue reading to learn about this archetype and how to develop it into a more mature version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":122294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,9],"tags":[1388],"class_list":["post-122229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy","category-psychology","tag-king-warrior-magician-lover","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Divine Child Archetype: An Immature Version of the King - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Divine Child archetype is an immature version of a King\u2014the decisive part of the psyche. 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