The Archer archetype protects us in self-inquiry

The warrior or the Archer is an ancient archetype which is seen in traditions across the world. However, today in many of our philosophical aspirations, we don't think that the qualities of an archer warrior, especially ferocity, is something that is spiritual. In fact, we think that spirituality should be cleansed of ferocity. But the truth of the matter is that if we want to venture into the cave of self-inquiry, we do need a degree of ferocity as well as skill. And these are the two things that the archer warrior archetype held in these traditions.

Many of these Archer or warrior archetypes were celebrated for their skill of archery. And what the archery points to is that we can't go into inquiry without an intelligence. It is not just about turning up at the door of the cave and going into it without any idea or any skill, or any technology. Archery is technology. It's a technology of warfare. Today, we may have other technologies of warfare, but in that time, archery is a technology, it requires training, it requires skill, it requires an intelligence, and these archers were celebrated for having this intelligence.

The second thing is about the quality of the archer, which is ferocity, the courage, the ability to go into something into the unknowable. Many of the doorway deities in the in the invocations of archetypes in the traditions, the in archetypal traditions, are these warrior archers, and their role is to remind us or to ask us or to make us attend to do we have the ferocity do we have what it takes? And, do we have intelligence, and skills?

For example, in the archetypal ritual traditions, dancing is that skill is that skill of inquiry, this particular kind of dancing that that people did, and people shared, which was how to inquire into this intelligence of the cave. It was done through dance. So this quality of the archer, this combination of ferocity and skill, is a really important reminder to us about how we can be prepared to go into the cave of self-inquiry and how we can do that in a way that protects us.