Hero, Demon : Man

“The hero is a hero just because he sees resistance to the forbidden goal in all life’s difficulties and yet fights that resistance with the whole-hearted yearning that strives towards the treasure hard to attain, and perhaps unattainable – a yearning that paralyzes and kills the ordinary man.” ~ Carl Jung, Symbols of Transformation, par 510

As Jung says elsewhere the hero and the demon are the two symbols that cut the figure of man.  Both emanate as archetypes of the collective unconscious, and as such, they can both be destructive if the individual unconsciously identifies with them.

The energy of the hero can blindly propel one to attempt physical, intellectual, and spiritual feats beyond ones capability leading to broken bones, families, relationships, and yes, even death.   The energy of the demon can blind one to the horrors of manipulation, violence, cruelty and deceit.  Indeed, unconscious identification with any of the archetypes can open up a path to ruin.

Yet these energies are us, and our lives are shaped by how we relate to them.   What is the ego to do, adrift both in the world and upon the vast ocean of energy that sustains it?  I sense that this is a question each needs to answer for him or herself.  In as much as you are able formulate an answer that has some level of efficacy, creating some movement in your life, you have consciously begun to walk down your path of individuation.