The Magician | Character Archetypes | Flora & Fauna Symbolic Art

Here is “The Magician.”

The idea of the twelve character archetypes, invented by Carl Jung, is that there are universal, inborn models of people, behaviors, and personalities that influence human behavior.

Fiction writers and all kinds of storytellers use these archetypes as a helpful device when creating characters in a story. In real life, no one person fully embodies any one archetype. Rather, this is a useful device for us to describe parts of ourselves that we all have in different measures, which may come to the forefront at different moments in our lives.

Meditating on the essence of each archetype can be an inspiring and empowering reminder of the different strengths that exist within our own character. These ideas can help us answer the continual question of who we want to be.

I chose to paint animals and plants that humans have associated with the various traits inherent in the different archetypes. Some of these symbols are shared across different world cultures, others less-so.

Perhaps looking at this image will help awaken this part of your character a little bit, reminding you of a well within yourself that you can tap into when needed.

The Magician has a special knowledge of how the world works.

The owl is a widespread symbol of wisdom and knowledge.

Dragonflies symbolize change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization.

The iris flowers in the background are another symbol of wisdom.

In contrast to the Sage, which represents scholarly knowledge, the Magician represents the application of knowledge to make things happen; that is, to physically manifest things into being, in a way that appears to be like magic!

We can recognize The Magician in anyone amongst us who has a specialized skill that amazes others. These are the artists and musicians, the mechanics and engineers, the builders and designers, all the creative thinkers working their magic for the benefit of the world.

Contact me if you’re interested in purchasing the original painting or a print of this artwork.