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The Prostitute is an intriguing archetype. When I went to “shrink school” this archetype was not part of the Pantheon of ‘classic archetypes’. In my ongoing studies, I’ve heard reasonable arguments to consider it an important archetype for all. For it is integral towards survival. In order to do more than survive, The Prostitute needs to be confronted. The Prostitute normally conjures up a negative picture; a woman selling her body. So it needs some explanation.
The Prostitute is really about how consciously or unconsciously you sell your power or psychic energy (called libido by Jungians) in exchange for something. The usual desired object is money and all it entails - safety. But people prostitute for status, advancement, and other things as well. Selling your body is only a portion of the Prostitute. Physical prostitution is probably not as consequential as selling your power. For this is about power. We all sell ourselves to some degree for deemed safety. Most people with high Prostitute energy are in ‘financial bondage’ either in relationships or in hateful jobs.
How much to do you negotiate your power so others have you creative energy? How much do you sell yourself in order to get something in exchange?
Long time Spo-Fans know the Archetypes and their energies are neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’. They have positive and negative elements. So how is the Prostitute Archetype positive? At first it doesn’t sound likely it could be ‘positive’.
Its positive aspects arise when we consciously decide to negotiate our energies, views and positions for some other good or towards the good of others. In its highest conscious state it is called The Sacred Prostitute - the paradox of knowing you sell yourself but can’t be bought.
The Prostitute is not out to sell you; it points out how you would sell yourself and stay in situations despite the harm. It tells you to make a choice, not what choice to make. The decision to unplug from a Prostitute charged situation – a bad job, a bad marriage – requires enormous courage, for it means going into the unknown of ‘how will I support myself”. I admire people who can do so.
