Learn all about the seeker archetype, including definition, characteristics, examples and how it relates to the Explorer archetype.
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What is the Seeker Archetype?
The seeker archetype is one of searching – searching for a place in the world, an identity, a sense of belonging, something better.
The seeker archetype will either be the person who sets out on a journey of discovery of the one who encourages others to do so. They may seek out or encourage in other’s life-changes such as marriage, divorce, retirement, starting a family, a new job and so on.
Whatever it is that they seek, they are not afraid of change or of setting out into the unknown.
Seeker Archetype Characteristics & Traits
- The seeker is gifted with a sense of ambition and possibility, though they fear being trapped.
- There are determined to be true to themselves and live their lives accordingly, even if that involves big life changes.
- A seeker needs to be allowed to fly – they cannot flourish with restrictions placed on them.
- The seeker has tremendous potential which, as long as it is not checked, can allow them to achieve great things.
- They are able to embrace and lead change in a manner which makes many others uncomfortable, thinking out of the box to do so.
However, the seeker can also find that they are not sure what it is they are seeking. They may feel they are searching for a truth which is not tangible – they are not sure what truth it is they are searching for.
They can become concerned with the big questions of life, finding themselves lost and overwhelmed by the enormity of it all and the impossibility of finding the answers which they seek.
They may find it hard to know when they have arrived at the end of a journey because they do not truly understand what it was they were setting out to find or achieve in the first place. The seeker can often be torn between living a life of conformity to suit others or living the life they wish to at heart.
Seeker Archetype Examples
An example of a seeker in modern film is the character of Jenny in ‘Forrest Gump’. Jenny is a tortured character, constantly searching for something in life which she can’t quite seem to identify which will ease the pain of her childhood abuse and only finding it at the very end of her life when she is terminally ill.
Agent Mulder in TV series The X-Files is also an archetypal seeker, constantly seeking the ‘truth’ and faithfully believing that he will succeed in his quest to find answers in the end.
Further Reading
Further reading on the seeker archetype includes:
