Know Thyself: Why you should learn about your unique empath archetype
The famous maxim, “Know Thyself,” inscribed at the Delphic temple in Greece, is a concept with many layers. Like an onion, there are many pieces to peel back in order to reveal where you are on your journey toward empathic self-discovery.
To know who you really are requires work and a commitment to unknotting the social conditioning you were raised with. As you go through this process of disentanglement, you will come to see who you are at the core, who you are within and without.
Knowing yourself is a lifelong process, there is no destination point, but a continuous deeper learning of self; understanding what motivates you, what inspires you, or what causes you pain for example. You may move in and out of clarity and varying degrees of self-awareness. The point to knowing yourself is the wisdom gained and the potential for an improved, authentic life experience that is all your own.
The path toward knowing yourself isn’t always easy, especially as a sensitive person. Empaths are more attuned to subtle energies. At times, it can feel like you are your emotions or actually, the emotions of others. Knowing how to discern, parse out, and sort through what is yours, what is from your family, what is from your society — will help bring you a greater understanding of who you are.
You have to break yourself out of the whole to see yourself as part of the whole. As you understand the paradox of yourself as an individual and as part of the archetypal collective, your gift as an empath becomes more concrete. You are capable of tapping into this collective with skill and precision as you hone your emotional, heart-centered abilities.
The Wheel of Archetypes
There are many systems to help understand oneself: astrology, numerology, and the Myers Briggs test are some examples of excellent tools. But what makes the empath archetypes unique is that they specifically tap into the epic journey you are taking based on the knowledge that you are working with heightened sensory perception and emotional awareness.
The archetypes help you develop a sense of self by being an empath as the default, not the exception. This system helps normalize the experience of empaths and elevates your ability and experiences as important and valid.
All nine archetypes fit together to form a collective. Each type brings a different set of individual skills, patterns, and traits. In numerology, nine is symbolic of cycles, wisdom and spirituality. Nine is a special number, the square of three, which is symbolic of harmony and cooperation.
All nine empath archetypes work with the energies of others. You know that no one survives as an island; it takes community and mutual mirroring and understanding to help each individual thrive.
Conclusion: Why should you learn about your empath archetype?
Empathic people are often told they are “too sensitive” and they are frequently undervalued in society due to a number of intersectional issues. On your path to embracing your empath archetype, start by accepting yourself as a sensitive person.
Bring your own value to the experience and don’t let other people’s ideas and opinions interfere with the beauty of who you naturally are. Learning about your empath archetype can help you thrive. It can help you know more about your purpose for being, and provide you meaning in the mystery of existence.
On a practical level, understanding the way empathy plays out can help you manage different areas of your life. Following the tips and advice in this guide, you can begin to implement the practices into your daily life. This will allow you to have better boundaries, relationships, clearer goals, and better coping skills.