In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about the wild woman archetype. From definition of archetypes, some history, and examples
Quick Navigation
What is the Wild Woman Archetype?
The wild woman archetype is the first pattern of a woman before being exposed or influenced by society. It symbolizes the instinctive side of women.
Within each woman lies a potent energy, brimming with good instincts, creative passion, and timeless knowing.The wild woman archetype is all about seizing and regaining power, authenticity, one’s own voice and actions in daily life. This archetype has a passionate spirit and lives with strong emotions.
The Wild Woman archetype has been around for a very long time, but was popularized by Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her 1992 book Women Who Run With the Wolves. The book is broken down into twelve chapters, each of which covers different aspects of life and how those fit with the wild woman archetype. The Wild Woman archetype can be used to guide you when problems or challenges arise in life and you need to access your wisdom, courage, and power.
Below the surface, Wild Woman invites us to feel our pain and address its source. This is the only way we can truly heal. She asks us to stand still, reflect, accept, and transmute our experiences. This is how we acquire knowledge, grow, and move ahead.
What does wild girl mean?
When you’ve found a wild woman, you will know. She is someone who will not conform to standards and norms, and makes her own decisions. She’s outspoken, crass, and unapologetically devoted to what (and who) she enjoys and loves. She is her own person living her life on her terms.
To quote Hannah Kent, whose novel Burial Rites has recently been adapted for the big screen: ‘Wildness is not a lack of civilization or law. It is an excess of spirit that cannot be contained.’
She is impossible to overlook or mistake. She will be a free spirit, self aware, and full of confidence.
She is ungovernable. She will resist you if you try to control her. She fights anything that makes her uncomfortable, causes her to question herself, or she knows is wrong.
How do you describe a wild woman?
A Wild Woman is a woman who lives her life to the fullest extent possible. She lives authentically embracing individuality, originality, and creativity in all that she does.
She has the passion and daring to express herself and her ideas freely, even if it feels frightening, because then she is living her truth. She is a true friend to herself, knowing that when she takes care of herself, she has a lot more to offer.
She’s the part of you that’s connected to your intuition and knowledge, and who values and shares your special qualities and talents, but is constantly looking to learn more.
Wild Woman Archetype Characteristics & Traits
- Wild Woman is inquisitive, contemplative, and asks questions
- She is a passionate individual, and has a natural curiosity
- Wild Woman is brave, and will fight for herself or others if necessary
- Wild Woman has a strong sense of belonging
- She embraces her body and feels at ease in her own skin
- Wild women is creative
- She knows that life is not a straight line, and it comes in cycles
- She is in tune with her soul and recognizes what it needs
- Above all she follows her intuition and instincts
- WIld Woman is free spirited and strong
- She can’t hide her feelings since they show on her face and physique
- For a Wild Woman, being outdoors and interacting with nature is essential
- She searches for meaningful interactions, understanding, and heartfelt connections
- She is in balance, and she knows when to keep quiet and when to voice her opinion
Wild Woman Archetype Examples
On film, television, and popular culture in general, women are starting to be shown in more diversified, intriguing, and complex roles. It’s not merely the Madonna/Whore binary that has long been the norm.
The Wild Woman is one of the most rapidly developing character types. Our perception and definition of wild change as society changes.
Filmmakers have started to explore different types of characters than those previously seen on television and in the movies. Women are being represented in a way that goes beyond what society has traditionally accepted.
Women are beginning to appear in films in a more natural and untamed manner, rather than the limited ones society has established.
A good example of women who don’t need a knight in shining armor to come riding to the rescue are Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, and also Frozen and Brave as kids movies characters.
Hermoine in Harry Potter is unquestionably a strong female protagonist. She has brains, beauty, strength, and bravery.
When attempting to identify and analyze someone as fitting the Wild Woman archetype it is important to consider how she deals with confrontation and action. In this manner, the movie Cold Mountain is a great touching example of a story about people from under-represented groups who are facing difficulties in their lives. Ruby (Renée Zelwegger) express aspects of Wild Woman, while Ada Monroe, on the other hand, was progressing to becoming a Wild Woman by learning to survive on her own with no man, and with much less than she was accustomed to.
In the movie Wild, Reese Witherspoon overcomes demons from her past on her journey to become a Wild Woman.
Some independent films like Whale Rider, Thirteen, An Education, Spirited Away have done an excellent job of getting to the core of who women are and portraying them in a true manner.
How Do I Connect With My Wild Woman?
1. Accept your life-giving qualities.
The wild woman is the very essence of life energy. Her capacity to move, persuade, and obtain what she desires has a tremendous amount of force. A wild woman generates an indescribable level of vitality. You become charged with energy, inspired, and ready to go suddenly. She can’t explain it or rationalize her generosity; she does it because that is the only way.
2. Recognize your healing abilities
She knows because she feels everything so deeply. Because of this deep knowing, she has power and insight. She can heal herself and others without putting any effort. Simply being in her presence is therapeutic and restorative.
3. Claim your territory and be territorially aware
The wild woman pays attention to and cares for the land where she lives. She knows where her teritorry begins and finishes, and she is considerate of others’ territories as well.
She establishes her own teritory in a way that others are aware of where the limits are and that unauthorized entry is not permitted. She is warm, welcoming, and sensitive to who, how, and when to admit people.
4. Be vigilant
Her senses are acute and well-developed. She cultivates awareness and sensuality by working with her own body. Her body allows her to discover where she needs to go.
5. Find your tribe
She continues looking until she finds her people, then she knows she has arrived. She understands the value of genuine sisterhood and is uplifted by it. As a result, she can depend on her tribe as a source of encouragement.
6. Develop your instincts and sixth sense
She believes in her gut-feeling and continuously strives to go deeper. Her decisions are based on a connection between the mind and heart. She knows that life is a journey, and she understands the importance of feeling alive.
7. Listen carefully
She enjoys the calm of listening. She pays attention with her whole body, mind, and spirit. She has built a strong bond with herself and is always attentive to her inner voice. If she can’t hear anything, it’s a sign that the noise level needs to be lowered. She pays attention to what others have to say. She pays attention to the natural world.
8. Develop loyalty and surrender
She is devoted to herself, her spouse, and her community. She doesn’t follow the latest fad when it comes to changing her mind. She understands the value of sacrifice, patience, and life’s duality.
She is devoted to her calling and profession. She understands when it’s time to let go and give in.
9. Speak for you, and act on your behalf
She is never forgetful of herself or puts others before herself. She keeps herself a top priority. She doesn’t allow others to live her life for her. She has firm boundaries and adheres to them.
She understands how to stand up for herself and ask for what she deserves. She understands that everything begins and ends with her. She is in control of her own universe.
10. Stand your ground and be proud of yourself
She has a clear moral compass and knows what is good and wrong. She fights for what is right and is genuine in every way. Even when she is ridiculed, she is genuine and maintains her pride.
11. Never become domesticated
A wild woman can’t be tamed. She will fight or flee if she feels imprisoned or restricted. Even if she has built it herself, she will seek to free herself from the cage.
She believes in freedom and love above all else. She will not be happy if she is not free. If she isn’t loved, she will die.
12. Share your ideas
She is a free spirit who uses her creativity for personal growth, healing, and self-expression. A wild woman cannot live without her creative genius. Her art is her own creation. She can’t lead a drab life full of grayness. In order to exist, she must create.
She understands the value of moving her body freely and completely. She fully and joyfully inhabits her natural playfulness.
13. Develop a positive relationship with your body
She owns her body and embraces it for what it is. She maintains her body’s health, as well as its longevity. She uses her physical form to live and create life while expressing and nurturing herself. Pleasure is something she values highly, and she feels great about being a woman.
14. She is grateful for the masculine
She knows the value of collaboration, union, and marriage with her beloved. She utilizes her abilities to nurture, sustain, and ignite her relationship. Wild Woman understands and values the importance of the male in her life.
