The Innocent - Jungian Archetype Explained

The Innocent is the part of us that believes in life, ourselves, and others. It helps us have hope and faith, even when things seem really hard. It keeps us believing in what we want. It also helps us trust others so we can learn from them, which is important for learning life's basic skills.

Goal: Remain in safety

Fear: Abandonment

Response to Dragon/Problem: Deny or seek rescue

Task: Fidelity, discernment

Gift: Trust, optimism, loyalty

We all start out innocent, taken care of inside our mom's belly. If we're lucky, our parents love and care for us. They get help from family, friends, and groups that believe in us and what we can do. They encourage us to learn and grow, and keep us safe until we can take care of ourselves.

Kids who are loved and cared for believe the world is safe. They trust others to help them grow physically, mentally, and emotionally. This trust helps them learn important life skills, like how to fit in with others and how to work. They know one day they'll help others feel safe too, even if it's hard to imagine now.

We start out trusting what adults tell us, even if they're wrong. The Innocent part of us believes them, even when we shouldn't. If a parent says we're bad or stupid, we believe it. If we get a bad grade, we think we're dumb. We also believe bad things about race, gender, or class if others say so.

Having a happy childhood helps you be positive and trusting, but even if you didn't have one, you can still learn to be like the Innocent. Some people who had bad childhoods grow up to be happy and successful, while others struggle their whole lives.

Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained

Many stories talk about losing innocence. In Christianity, it's about leaving Eden and entering a world of pain. But the story doesn't end there. It says someone will come to save people who keep believing in God and take them back to heaven.

In some Eastern beliefs, losing Paradise means losing the ability to see things clearly. By following a teacher and practices like meditation, you can regain that clear sight and feel at one with the universe.

In a book by William Irwin Thompson, he says many cultures see losing innocence as something that keeps happening. For example, in some beliefs, the universe started whole but broke apart, and this breaking keeps happening all the time. So, both the brokenness and the wholeness are always there.

The Hopi and Maya believe in a world that keeps changing. Their stories say gods tried to make humans but failed many times before succeeding. This shows how we keep trying to make things perfect, even if we fail, and each try makes things a little better.

The Greeks told a story about how men and women used to be one being, but the gods split them apart. Now, people feel incomplete without each other. Some psychologists say this story is about losing and finding wholeness again by balancing male and female qualities inside ourselves.

Almost every culture has a story about a perfect time in the past. Riane Eisler says this might be based on real history, when people first started farming and living peacefully.

Eisler believes there were once peaceful cultures that worshiped goddesses, with no war or unfair treatment. People lived equally and their minds were balanced. She says we can bring back this peaceful way by believing it's possible.

The Journey of the Innocent

The Innocent's story starts in a perfect place, safe and loving. Then, we get pushed into a world that's unfair, with fights and broken dreams.

The Innocent part of us remembers that a perfect place is possible, even if we've never seen it. We believe life can be better. When we were innocent, it was natural. Now, we have to choose to find it again. That's why the Innocent is both the start and the end of our journey. Deep inside, we want to find or make that perfect world. At the end, we're wiser and can create a peaceful world where everyone is respected.

Heroes often start as Innocents but then feel lost or alone. In many stories, the hero is an orphan raised by others and searches for their real family.

No matter if we find our true family or not, the story is about feeling out of place. Our problems come from not being where we belong. Finding where we fit feels like going back to Paradise.

Love stories often start with feeling perfect happiness. Then, we see our partner isn't perfect, just human. No one can be the perfect parent or partner. Most relationships lose that first feeling of being in love.

All these stories about losing and finding innocence are hopeful. They remind us of the child inside who believes in good things.

Miracles happen when we're like the Innocent, trusting and believing.

Jesus said we need to be like children to enter heaven. This means having faith like a child, which helps us keep our dreams alive even when things are tough, and make them come true.

It's good to start new things with hope and excitement, like the Innocent. Since we don't know what's ahead, we need to trust. Each time we try something new, we learn and become smarter.

Miracles happen when we're trusting like the Innocent. Other parts of us try to control things too much. Some books teach that pain isn't real and only good things are true, so we can trust the universe and let miracles happen. Many religions see God as a loving parent to help us feel safe.

Disobedience and Faith

Often, stories blame the Innocent for losing Paradise and say they need to make up for it. In the Adam and Eve story, Eve eats the apple and they get kicked out of Eden, bringing pain into the world.

Losing innocence is sometimes seen as good because it leads to learning. In Judaism, people make a promise with God to follow rules, and God loves them. In Christianity, God sends Jesus to fix the mistake. Both religions say we can be close to God again, either here or in heaven.

In the movie The Land Before Time, a little dinosaur loses his home because of a drought. His mom tells him about a green valley far away. She dies, but he keeps going with other dinosaurs. He believes his mom and finds the valley in the end.

These stories show that trusting is good and will pay off. When we feel like the Innocent, it might seem hard to find happiness again, but we just need to believe. That belief can make amazing things happen.

Virginity and Fidelity

Heroes often promise to be loyal to someone or something important. Keeping that promise is a big part of being a hero. We all have promises we made when we were young that are special to us.

Old stories often praise women who would rather die than lose their virginity. The Virgin represents the pure part inside us that stays clean no matter what. Long ago, 'virgin' meant a woman who was complete by herself, not owned by a man. It can mean being whole inside, not just about sex.

In society, women were often judged more for staying pure, but men like Parsifal were also expected to be pure before marriage and loyal after. This isn't just about sex; it's about keeping the pure part of yourself and staying true to your young promises until you're ready for new ones. Waiting for true love means not giving up on your big dreams for quick fun.

The Shadow Side of Innocence

The Innocent wants to stay trusting and hopeful, so it might not want to grow up. This can lead to problems, like eating disorders. Some people, especially women, might try to stay like children by not letting their bodies change, because society sometimes sees women's bodies as bad.

The Innocent often ignores when someone can't be trusted, like a parent or partner. So, we might keep getting hurt in the same way over and over.

This happens to kids in homes where they're hit, adults in bad relationships, and people at work who are treated poorly. Even if we wouldn't stay in a really bad situation, we might slowly realize we're being treated badly.

The Innocent part of us might not want to see our own mistakes. We might think everything is either all good or all bad, so admitting we're not perfect feels really bad. So, we either pretend we're perfect or feel really guilty.

When the Innocent makes a mistake, they say sorry to themselves, change a little, and move on. If someone hurts them, they forgive quickly and hope it won't happen again.

But when the Innocent is scared, they might blame themselves instead of facing the fear. For example, kids might think it's their fault if parents hurt them, because it's less scary than thinking their parents are bad. Adults might do the same by blaming others for their own problems.

These ways of thinking stop us from doing something about our problems. If we pretend we're not being hurt, we don't have to fight back. If we blame others for our mistakes, we don't have to fix them. If we believe bad things others say about us, we keep hurting ourselves instead of trying to get out or accept we can't change it.

The Innocent thinks it's important to be what others expect and not have secrets, because secrets are scary. But inside us, there are parts we don't know about that can control us if we don't understand them. So, if someone is only an Innocent, they might feel scared inside. For example, they might want to break rules or be mean to themselves, or feel they have to give up everything for others.

The Innocent might see other parts of themselves in others and think they're bad. For example, wanting to learn might seem like being against the rules, or wanting to change things might seem like being an enemy. This can make the Innocent feel empty inside, do things that hurt themselves, or cause problems without knowing why.

The Growth and Development of the Innocent

Innocents often feel special and can be charming because they believe strongly in good things. They think the world and people will take care of them because they're good.

Some people stay like Innocents and act like they're grown up, but really, they want others to take care of them. They might work hard but don't take full responsibility. People often help them like they would a child. This works until something changes, like losing a job or a partner, and they have to take care of themselves.

But in the long run, they don't do well as adults because they don't grow up. If they don't learn that they're not always special, they might not achieve much. Their relationships suffer too because they want others to be like their mom, always agreeing with them, and don't see others as different people.

When we realize others don't want the same things, we might get angry like a baby or try to be nice to get our way. The Innocent part of us is like a child who tries to trick parents to get what they want.

The Innocent inside us feels hurt when life is meaner than we thought. But it's also strong and keeps believing in good things even when everything looks bad.

For the Innocent to grow up, they need to learn that even when things look bad, there's still hope. Like, even if I'm lost, I believe I'll find my way. They need to understand that while it's good to trust, they also have to be careful, like not leaving money where someone can take it.

Levels of the Innocent

Shadow: Denial, repression, blaming, conformity, irrational optimism, and risk taking

Call: Safe, secure environment; a desire to be protected, to experience unconditional love and acceptance

Level One: Unquestioning acceptance of environment, authorities; belief that the world as it is being experienced is all there is; dependence

Level Two: Experience of the "fall"—disillusionment, disappointment—but retention of faith and goodness in adversity

Level Three: Return to Paradise, this time as a Wise Innocent; trust and optimism without denial, naïveté, or dependence

At first, Innocents think things are all good or all bad. Like, either it's safe or not, people are perfect or terrible. They might think they have to be perfect too. So, they go from being very hopeful to very disappointed.

Later on, Innocents learn that some things are safe and some aren't. People, including themselves, have both good and bad parts. They feel safe because they trust the world but also because they've learned how things work.

At first, the Innocent thinks they're only safe if they follow rules, like not crossing the street. The safe place is small, and outside is scary. But as we face those scary things, our world gets bigger, even if it hurts. We get disappointed many times in life. If we're lucky, each time we learn and become wiser, finding a new kind of innocence that's based on understanding, not just ignoring problems.

As we learn from life, more things feel safe. We learn to cross streets safely. We get over breakups and learn to trust again by judging people better. We speak up in tough situations and see it's okay. We learn when it's safe to be honest and when it's not.

Over time, the Innocent learns that things aren't always straightforward. At first, they take everything literally, like believing stories exactly as told. For example, many old stories say gods forgive us if we give up something pure, so people used to sacrifice young people or animals.

Later, we understand that sacrificing innocence means giving up our wrong ideas to find truth. When we feel disconnected from God, others, or ourselves, we need to let go of our false beliefs and learn new things to feel whole again.

The journey is tricky. We have to keep our dreams but also let go of wrong ideas to learn. It's okay if we don't know what's true at first; the journey teaches us. We give up our simple beliefs to find a better kind of innocence later.

Exercises

Think about how the Innocent shows up in your life.

1. Do you act like the Innocent a lot or a little? Was it more in the past or now? Do you think you'll be more like it in the future? Do you show it at work, home, with friends, or in your dreams?

2. Who do you know that seems like the Innocent?

3. Is there something you'd change about how you show the Innocent?

4. Since the Innocent can look different for everyone, try to show what it looks like for you. You can describe it, draw it_tol, make a collage, or use a photo. What does it look like? How does it act? Where does it feel best?

Daydreams

In your imagination, picture a perfect childhood where you have all the love, things, safety, fun, and support you need. Take time to feel what that's like. Remember, you can always imagine a perfect childhood, no matter what yours was really like.

Also, imagine someone coming to save you, like a prince or princess, or a great helper. Think about waiting for them and how good you are. Then, imagine being saved and cared for by this kind person. After that, imagine becoming like that person yourself. How does that feel?

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