Hades, or Aidēs, is—in ancient Greek mythology—the god of the underworld as well as the name of that realm. He was considered the deity of subterranean riches and fertility, bringing forth harvests from the earth’s depths.

Legend: According to Hesiod, when Hades was born, his father Cronus swallowed him, just as he did all his children. After the Titans were defeated and the world was divided among the three brothers—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—Hades received the underworld and dominion over the shades of the dead.

People were afraid to speak Hades’ name and replaced it with various epithets. Later, the name Pluto completely displaced the original. In this way Hades absorbed the god Plutus, the deity of wealth and fertility. This merger reshaped perceptions of Hades: he began to be associated with fertility, much like the mystical allegory of a wheat grain buried at sowing so it can rise again to new life in the ear.

Your Archetype’s Concept: What happens the moment you have your first child? You begin to feel your own mortality. Once you secure the continuation of the line, you become the generation that will leave. What’s the point of everything after you’ve obeyed the genetic imperative? Wealth and power—that’s what you’re meant to fill yourself with until your last breath: money, the pursuit of knowledge as a source of power, guaranteeing survival, and striving for efficiency. Go forth and stay busy multiplying strength and riches.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: profound creative power; a drive to express yourself in order to showcase your wealth, power, and efficiency. All of it is a breathtaking performance, a show that gives the species the urge to carry out its biological process and live out its allotted time. A distraction.

Relationships of Masculine and Feminine Energies: The program does not want wars, because wars take the lives of young men—those who have not yet fulfilled their reproductive potential. The program prefers human beings to be occupied. That way people see that they have a life, notice their achievements, and walk their path calmly until death. This is the essence of the program’s game.

The Program’s Message in a Nutshell: “Go on, get rich. Claim your power, claim your knowledge, keep moving forward. We must sustain survival so our children can enjoy the spoils. Go and stay as busy as possible.”

How to Live Yourself Within the Program: Our world is a grand illusion and distraction. Life seems to revolve around having a goal. Hades hands us a false goal, and you never reach your true one. Instead, you are homogenized into the program of our illusory world: “Stay busy, remain efficient in the flow, and head out the door (die) peacefully.” You cannot challenge Hades on his own turf. What you can do is step outside this programmatic intermediary that claims power over your life. The way to do that is to follow your Strategy and Authority; we already have that knowledge for precisely this purpose.

In ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan who defends humankind against the gods’ arbitrary rule. The Titan’s name means “one who thinks ahead” or “the foresighted one” (in contrast to his brother Epimetheus, whose name means “one who thinks afterward”).

Legend: Prometheus shaped humans from earth, and Athena breathed life into them. He then stole fire from Olympus and gave it to humankind. With Athena’s help, he ascended to the heavens, held his torch to the sun, hid the flame inside a hollow reed, and showed people how to preserve it by covering it with ash. As punishment for stealing fire, Zeus ordered Prometheus to be chained to a rock and condemned him to eternal torment: each day an eagle swooped down to tear at his liver, which grew back overnight. These agonies lasted for centuries until Heracles shot the eagle with an arrow and freed Prometheus. Remember as well that Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus, accepted from Zeus a maiden the god had fashioned. Ignoring his prophetic brother’s advice, he married Pandora, who, upon opening the box Zeus had given her, released all human ills into the world.

Concept of your archetype: Life is struggle; life is war. The rivalry between humankind and the gods is an eternal theme of existence. Fire scorches when humans are endowed with divine qualities. People become mirrors of the gods and their passions. To be godlike is to be a schemer and politician. Therefore, civilization and technological progress inevitably come into possession of Pandora’s box.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: a cult of war and struggle; will, might, cruelty, pain, envy, anger, rage, and revolution. The focus is on rituals and habits, on establishing patterns and order. Attempts to find balance within duality. Competing ideas about what is right and what is wrong.

Relationship of masculine and feminine energies: Union and reproduction are the driving force of the genetic imperative. Prostitution arises, stoking masculine passions and leading to self-destruction. These basic patterns are fueled by fundamental aspects of the male psyche, drawing men into the process and, ultimately, destroying them.

Program message in a nutshell: “I have no respect for any gods but myself. I’m here to become my own god. I rely only on myself.”

How to live yourself within the program: The gods manipulate the collective mind. We can step outside the script by following our Strategy and Authority. Awareness shows us how the program works. We must break our agreement with the gods: they are all parts of the program and do not serve humans first. Prometheus was a prisoner yet freed himself; we, too, can break those chains and become free. Follow yourself.

Vishnu is the supreme deity in the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Across Hinduism’s many paths, he is worshiped either directly or through his avatars—Krishna and Rama. The Puranas describe ten principal avatars of Vishnu. Nine have already appeared on Earth and completed their missions, while the tenth is destined to come at the very end of the Kali Yuga. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna declares that he enters the material world to restore the principles of goodness, conquer evil, and enact his divine play for the benefit of souls fallen under the spell of illusion.

Legend: Vishnu will appear on Earth as a rider on a white horse, clad in shining armor and wielding a gleaming sword. With that sword he will wipe out every enemy of justice, and people will live happily once more. No one, however, knows when this will happen. To this day, thousands in India worship Vishnu, place their hopes in him, and eagerly await his avatar.

Several sacred Hindu texts speak of Vishnu as the Supreme God, describing him as the Supersoul—an all-pervading essence that knows the past, present, and future. He is both creator and destroyer of the cosmos, the one who sustains and governs life throughout the universe. All material and spiritual elements emanate from him. The Puranas say that Vishnu’s body is dark blue, like storm clouds. He has four arms, in which he holds four attributes: a lotus flower, a mace, a conch shell, and a chakra.

Concept of your archetype: Form—that is, the body—is both punishment and the source of suffering. Life in form is always suffering and sacrifice, and only physical death brings liberation. The driving force of life is the promise of joy and the notion that beyond form something better awaits.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: Vishnu controls human behavior through the illusion of the body’s imperfection, telling and showing people what perfection supposedly looks like.

Relationship of masculine and feminine energies: Within this archetype, the man is the idea and the woman is the form. The woman is demeaned, serving the man—the great initiating force of the mind. The man benefits from this arrangement: by suppressing and humiliating women, he avoids feeling pain and hides from his own suffering. The division into Yin and Yang is a safeguard against pain, rooted in a deep fear of suffering.

Program message in a nutshell: “Human, you have been given a body—hence all your suffering. In form you are imperfect. Life is a sacrifice. Perfection and joy lie beyond life, so suffer, obey my rules, and you will be rewarded in heaven.”

How to live yourself within the program: As long as the form—that is, the body—functions incorrectly, failing to follow its Strategy and Authority, a person suffers. You must break the pact of suffering in form, for the form itself and its experience are beautiful. Gods and programs are merely bundles of personality crystals, conditioning intermediaries. Mind and body must shatter the bondage of conditioning, awaken, and fully inhabit the form.

The Keepers of the Wheel show no single archetypal face—it is an unseen force behind every god’s archetypal expression. Impersonal, secret powers working behind the veil uphold the perpetual motion of the Wheel of rebirth, life, and death.

Legend: The Keepers of the Wheel reveal themselves as the Great Teachers of Shambhala, Bodhisattvas, secret societies (the Illuminati, the Masons), intelligence agencies, and kindred orders. The Wheel is an attribute of every solar god and of their earthly envoys—the solar kings. It stands for universal rule, the life cycle, rebirth and renewal, nobility, and transformation in the material realm.

The Wheel embodies infinite, perfect completion and is an attribute of Varuna and, later, Vishnu. Rendered as a lotus, the wheel represents the chakra. In Daoist tradition, it signifies both the material world and the sage—the one who has reached perfect stillness and can turn the wheel without moving the body.

Time and fate, the cycle itself—the relentless turning of the Wheel of Samsara—vividly demonstrate the endless rotation of humanity, marked by birth, death, and rebirth. The three deep-seated causes of unenlightened existence—greed, hatred, and ignorance—form the hub of the Wheel.

Concept of your archetype: form and body are manifested life, and they are finite. The Personality Crystal is eternal. Existence on Earth is determined by form. The vehicle—the body—is not an adversary. The only way to live is to follow the body’s mechanics, which genetics have encoded into form. We endlessly reincarnate into one another. The Personality Crystal will never find happiness as long as it narrowly identifies with its vehicle—the body.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: covert governance, secret agent. Hidden forces and their clandestine maneuvers guarantee the world’s continuity; because of them, it keeps turning. Here everything closes and opens, ends and begins. Every limitation gives rise to new life. The Wheel has no end.

The program’s message in two words: inner truth—our form is finite, yet spirit and soul are not. That is the lesson. The secret the Keepers whisper to us through the program: “There is no end.” Therefore, there are no limitations, because there is no end.

How to live yourself within the program: when we accept the wisdom of form, when we understand limitation—that life is form—we become free and, in doing so, step into a new experience. Acknowledging that the personality is here to witness life, you can peacefully continue your process of observation. That is the entire point—to watch the movie of life.

Shiva’s wife, the Mother Goddess, is a symbol of destruction. A Liberator who protects those who know her, she also embodies eternal life. Eternal life has a price: only what is immortal can be infinite.

Legend: The wicked asura demon Mahisha seized control of the world through force and cunning. The gods pooled their power to create an invincible warrior—Kali—who combined Shiva’s fire, Vishnu’s might, Indra’s strength, and the combat skills of countless other celestials.

With a wild battle cry, she charged into the fray, destroying thousands of foes. Entire armies sprang from her breath and hurled themselves at the demons. Mountains crumbled, blood flowed like a river, and the very sky blackened with dread. The warrior-goddess crushed the demon Mahisha, pinned him to the ground, and severed his head.

But she was so intoxicated—poisoned by blood and battle—that she could not stop and began to destroy everything around her. Then, celebrating her victory, Kali burst into a frenzied dance that shook the entire world and threatened to annihilate it.

Shiva then took the form of a crying child and lay down before her on the corpse-strewn battlefield. Fooled by his illusion, Kali paused and stuck out her tongue in surprise, then began to soothe and nurse the baby. That evening, to appease the goddess, Shiva performed the dance of creation, and a captivated Kali joined him with her retinue.

Concept of your archetype: purification and transformation through destruction. It annihilates the idea “I am the body” and advances the idea “We are consciousness.” It shatters ignorance, upholds cosmic order, and creates the illusion that desire can be fulfilled. Death is not frightening—rebirth follows.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: tribal emotional principles—“ours” versus “others.” A vivid display of spiritual abundance strengthens the bearer and everyone nearby. It embodies the evolutionary force that moves matter into spirit. The moment you abdicate responsibility for life, your own power departs with it. Responsibility for deeds is essential. Genetics pushes the bearer to act so they can learn from mistakes.

Masculine–feminine dynamics: Shiva lay beneath Kali’s feet, thereby halting the tide of destruction. Kali’s horror at realizing she was offending her beloved husband ultimately tempers her rage and stops further annihilation of the universe. Love and acceptance. Only a spirit pure, unclouded by fear and attachment to self, can prevail.

The program’s message in a nutshell: Kali is a warning. Gather, remember, and recognize your own; take responsibility for your life; wait for clarity before deciding—do not let emotions steer you. Mishandle this energy and you will die. You are human, and you are here to evolve consciousness.

How to live out your archetype within the program: Consciousness can evolve only in form. The personality crystal reincarnates endlessly, and the entire story of our incarnations is stored within it. Our task is to gain the experiences meant specifically for us, to extract the most valuable lessons so we can discern them and share them. Goals are always right when they arise from correct movement. Stay with the experience until it is complete.

An Indo-Iranian deity. The Sun God who brings light and warmth; the god of covenant and contract. Of Indo-Iranian origin, associated with friendliness, agreement, concord, and sunlight. He upholds moral and ethical values. An emotional god.

Legend: Mitra embodied light: he sped across the sky in a golden sun-chariot drawn by four white horses. With 10,000 ears and eyes, this wise god was also famed for his courage in battle. He blessed his devotees, granting them victory over their foes and the gift of wisdom, yet showed no mercy to his enemies. As a fertility god, he brought rain and made plants grow. The “Rigveda” states that compassionate Mitra is peace-loving and friendly toward humankind: he brings wealth, bestows protection, and offers his patronage to those who pray to him.

The ancients saw this deity as a celestial mediator—one who could establish peace, unite scattered peoples into a single whole, and strengthen their relationships through covenant. It is no accident that Mitra was called the Lord of Truth, for the ancients believed he was the force that organized Chaos and established a single law for the entire cosmos—Truth.

Concept of your archetype: The covenant with the god is unbreakable. “I give you light and warmth, and you will follow my rules for living: offer sacrifices for your god and your tribe, constantly compare your life with that of others and strive to improve it, seek new experiences, and look for someone to follow so you don’t languish in boredom.”

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: we program ourselves to come into agreement with forces we regard as higher than ourselves; Mitra programs us to sign and keep those commitments.

Programs in the realm of the mind: “we, endlessly driven by our needs,” “we, endlessly searching for gurus to inspire us in our boring lives,” “we, endlessly comparing our lives with others,” and “we, endlessly wondering what to do with all of this.”

Relationship between masculine and feminine energies: A stimulation of movement, a push born of the opposites of Yin and Yang. At the foundation lies Yang, which drives Yin upward. This is the chemistry that stimulates the mind.

The program’s message in a nutshell: “Nothing is ever right, and nothing is ever enough. Do everything I told you to do, or refrain from everything I told you not to do—and I will grant you paradise. Anyone who breaks the contract will be cursed for generations; honor your father and mother (the tribal chief and the hierarchical structure).”

How to live as yourself within the program: When we follow our Strategy and Authority, the mind no longer asks what we should do today or tomorrow. The authority for moving from point to point is given to the body. Then there is no room for comparison, because we start moving in our own unique way. The mind accepts what is happening and explores it with curiosity.

When the body takes charge of movement, the mind’s chemistry changes. You become a witness, able to observe your mind’s doubts about the future, because they cannot be stopped—this chemistry is hard-wired into us. We can simply watch how these forces play out in the mind.

Archangel of the First Ray—of protection, faith, and Divine Will; Prince of the Archangels; Defender of the Faith; Angel of Liberation. Herald of Divine Will.

Legend: Michael is known first and foremost as a great military commander, an archistrategos (supreme strategist). He is the victor over Satan himself. According to tradition, he saved Abraham from the fiery furnace and Isaac from Abraham’s knife.

He leads the people through the wilderness into the Promised Land and gives Moses the Tablets of the Law. He is called the guardian of the magic words by which heaven and earth were created. Michael’s primary mission is the struggle with Lucifer—a battle that did not end with Lucifer’s defeat at the dawn of creation. At the beginning of time Michael cast down his adversary and overcame him, and at the end of time he will lead all departed believers to the Last Judgment.

And between these two extremes—the beginning and the end of human history—Archangel Michael is still fighting Lucifer on behalf of all humanity. A miracle-worker who shields the righteous and strikes evil forces with his righteous sword, Archangel Michael guards the souls of the departed and intercedes for the living. He is portrayed armed with a sword, standing guard at the gates of Paradise.

Concept of your archetype: build a temple, train priests, and control the people; give them the law and uphold it. Draw boundaries between yourself and them—the disobedient. At this point there is no freedom; minds must be controlled. All of history is nothing but the history of mind control, the constant manipulation of how people think and what they perceive. By controlling humanity’s mind, we aim to organize it. Vanity says, “I am good, I am right, I am better than others.” Superiority and arrogance toward other forms.

💬 Core qualities of the archetype: a protector of the people. There are rules, those who break them, and the punishments that follow. Controlling forces, sacred rituals, the clash of one form with another, the struggle between darkness and light. When you lay down the law, you draw a line of comparison—those on one side and those on the other. Here begin all religious wars, hatred, comparison, and the need to control. The nourishment of life allows it to move, learn, and grow. To be Michael is to supply the law and, at the same time, to be the living Law of the Tree of Life.

Program message in a nutshell: “We must prevail in this battle for the future; we are right; we stand on the side of light.” “If you are not with us, you will not enter Paradise.” There is a logical future, rules that set the pattern of life. “If everyone obeys, everything will be fine.”

How to live as yourself within the program: we all live in duality. Light can never finally defeat darkness, just as darkness can never defeat light. If one polarity fully overtakes the other, everything disappears. The bottom line is that we exist because of this very dynamic. I am both darkness and light, and it is not about one being good and the other bad—this is not the point. The point is to be unique, differentiated, beyond comparison. We cannot escape duality. There is no need to divide.

The two-faced god of doorways—of entrances and exits, of beginnings and endings. He was depicted with two faces turned in opposite directions: one toward the past, the other toward the future.

Legend: Janus was the king of Latium. He taught his people how to build ships, plow the land, and grow vegetables. For these merits Saturn rewarded him with the gift of knowing the past and foreseeing the future; hence the two faces—one facing forward, the other back.

Concept of your archetype: In the realm of the false self—“Whom else can I conquer?” (masculine energy) or “Where can I find a good father for my children?” (feminine energy).

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: Two substances fuse to produce an entirely new one—the organizing force behind our reproductive capacity. Potential for new beginnings: we bring forth something new because we know we will die. Inspiration, the masculine principle: the impulse to introduce new material, change and mutation, new people. The great sustaining force, the feminine principle: the nurturing mother—preventing death after birth, caring for the children so they can survive.

Relations between masculine and feminine energies: There is pressure to accomplish something that will make me immortal. If I cannot, then at least to prolong the life of my genes. Men want to impregnate women. In earlier times there was a cult of woman: she was equated with the gods because only she could bring forth a child. Under patriarchy, rules were imposed on women—restriction and subjugation.

Message in a nutshell: “To survive and witness mutation, you must mate.” Janus nudges us toward sexual activity. For a man this is the pressure to leave as much genetic material as possible. For a woman it is selectivity in partners; the goal is to bear the best offspring.

How to live as yourself within the Program: The Program is now interested in the workings of consciousness, having realized that it already functions within the body. Its focus today is the creation of biological structures united by a shared consciousness. We, as separate individuals, no longer captivate the Program. We can rewire our minds and step out of suffering only by recognizing the Program’s message and distancing ourselves from it, living our Strategy and Authority free of anguish.

Maya is the Cosmic Mother, the source of fertility. She embodies infinite wisdom and loving tenderness. She expresses feminine energy—feeding and raising. In Hindu thought, masculine energy is regarded as passive, whereas woman is the force of action.

Legend: The month of May is named after the goddess Maya, and the essence of May Day is nature’s awakening. Maya occupies a prominent place in the Hindu faith. Her image long ago moved beyond a simple personification of nature. Hindus and Buddhists venerate Maya as the Mother of Creation, the goddess who “spins the thread of life.”

With the development of agriculture, the cult of the fertility goddess only grew stronger, as did the matriarchal order in human communities. That era has since passed, yet the deity’s image has remained resilient across many cultures. A clear connection is evident among the various aspects of the fertility goddess, myths included. Mother deities not only grant life to all that exists, they also reclaim it.

Your Archetype’s Concept: A wholly feminine goddess. Her theme is tribal movement—sacrificing one’s individuality for the sake of genetic continuity. She embodies the need to perpetuate humankind and to nurture children. A mother makes a true contribution to her child only when she learns how to live herself. For life to emerge, it must be cultivated and strengthened.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: Maya programs us to sacrifice for our children. How do we explain the world to a child? Form must become infectious—filled with structure—and then be passed on.

Relations Between Masculine and Feminine Energies: A woman’s sacrificial nature—she must bear offspring and devote herself to feeding, raising, and educating them. This is a demonstration of the feminine principle, an evolution that unfolds through the development of form. We live in an era in which Yin is reclaiming its place, and the energies of Yin and Yang are returning to balance.

The Program’s Message in a Nutshell: Every mother must make her own sacrificial contribution to her child’s upbringing. A mother’s duty is to give her child everything they need to follow a path of individual discovery.

How to Live This Program: When you plan every aspect of a child’s future, you miss the very process of passing on the ability to survive in a unique way. Parenting happens only in the present; otherwise, we lose the process itself, because the future exists only in the mind. Human Design places its hopes on mothers and children as the agents of world transformation. Human Design is knowledge meant for children, yet it can be conveyed only by mothers who understand a child’s mechanics and are themselves experimenting, following their Strategy and Authority.

The goddess of prosperity, abundance, happiness, good fortune, and resources.

Legend: From an early age Lakshmi had heard of Lord Vishnu’s glory and grew up enthralled by tales of his brilliance, majesty, and power. Her mind was spellbound by the image of Vishnu, and, seized by the desire to make him her husband, she began performing the most severe austerities on the seashore.

Her austerities continued for a thousand years. Then Indra, king of the demigods, captivated by her beauty, appeared before her in Lord Vishnu’s form and said, “I am pleased with your devotion; ask for any boon you desire.” Lakshmi replied, “Grant me the grace to see you in your true form.” Unable to grant her request, Indra, disguised as another, withdrew in shame. Many other demigods attempted the same deception, but each was unmasked and driven away. At last Lord Vishnu himself appeared before her, fulfilled her wish, and revealed the secret: she was, in fact, his eternal consort and wife.

Lakshmi is consistently depicted with a lotus. The lotus is rooted in mud, yet its blossom rises above the water, unstained. Thus, the lotus symbolizes spiritual refinement and authority. Lakshmi is linked not only with royal but also with spiritual power. Her four hands point to her ability to bestow the four aims of human life: righteousness, wealth, bodily pleasures, and bliss.

Concept of Your Archetype: We are always striving for progress, hoping for a better material future. The principle is simple: developing form requires resources—money as a stand-in for energy. Civilization advances when a gifted individual who fully identifies with the process reveals their talent, attracts resources, and shares them. The evolution of form is possible only when resources are available; everything rests on money and energy.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: a powerful drive to act and express yourself, full identification with the process. Survival and self-definition require work and the acquisition of resources. In the real world this means money, and everything is geared toward profit. The importance of education is obvious: if a child develops a talent, they multiply civilization’s resources—investment is needed, funds are required. Anything truly talented gets paid for, one way or another.

Relationships Between Masculine and Feminine Energies: The story of climbing the social ladder is, above all, a woman’s story. Sex or commerce? Lakshmi attracted resources with her body, and her partners believed she was the one who brought them. “Love has a price. Want romance? Pay.” Women also enjoy spending money on clothing, cosmetics, and changing their appearance.

Program’s Message in a Nutshell: We live in bodies and must survive. We will attain awareness—and pass it on to future generations—only after we secure ourselves and assemble the resources that allow us to broaden our understanding and accumulate experience. Only then can change occur.

How to Live Yourself Within the Program: To initiate the process of individual spiritual mutation that can enrich form, you must accept Lakshmi’s challenge: find yourself in a situation where spirit does not yield to the mind’s demand to secure the material plane. Embracing change without expectations for the future is the source of emotional well-being, because everything in life happens right on time; then change, even when accompanied by crises, does not cause suffering.

Parvati is one of the names of Shiva’s consort; she embodies the benevolent form of Devi—Shiva’s shakti, his feminine creative energy.

Legend: According to legend, Shiva’s first wife, Sati, committed self-immolation and, after some time, was reborn as Parvati. To win Shiva’s love, Parvati settled near him on Mount Kailash, but at that time Shiva was absorbed in ascetic practice and rejected her. The gods, wanting Shiva to father a son capable of defeating the demon Taraka, sent the god of love, Kama, to kindle desire for Parvati in Shiva’s heart. Enraged, Shiva burned Kama to ashes with the fire of his third eye, though he later restored him to life. Parvati then decided to undertake her own austerities for Shiva’s sake. She embraced severe penance: first eating only fresh green leaves, then dried leaves, then none at all, and finally giving up even water.

She grew weak and hovered on the brink of death, so her father implored Shiva: “Please, look at her at least once; even if you do not wish to marry her, bring her penance to an end. Can’t you see she is dying?” Hearing this, Shiva resolved to test her. Appearing before her in the guise of a Brahmin, he began to revile and mock himself. Parvati rejected every insult, and Shiva, touched by her devotion and beauty, took her as his wife. Once united, she remembered all her past lives—an infinity of incarnations through which she had sought her essence—including her life as Sati, Shiva’s first wife. Their marriage is considered exemplary; they bestow blessings on the entire universe. From this union were born Skanda, the god of war, and Ganesha, the god of wisdom.

Concept of Your Archetype: When civilization is established and material well-being secured, what is needed is whatever prolongs life. In the Parvati program, the pinnacle of human happiness is the sweetness of shared existence enjoyed by spouses who are happy in marriage.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: loyalty, devotion, service, worship. Two connected principles: the masculine—always oriented toward the woman from above, expressing foundation and benevolence; and the feminine—a gentle, sweet wife who nonetheless keeps her husband in a firm grip.

Dynamics of Masculine and Feminine Energies: The program presses upon civilization, compelling it to humiliate the woman, turn her into Parvati, find an image that idealizes this humiliation, and create a culture that ideologically legitimizes and moralizes such degradation.

Program’s Message in a Nutshell: A woman is programmed to worship her spouse; a man, to be free from respecting the woman. The woman must provide sex whenever the man wants it, bear children, be a good mother, and please her husband. “Only then, woman, will someone marry you. Only then will you be happy.” The man, in turn, also owes something, but only as a consequence of what the woman owes.

How to Live Yourself Within the Program: The principle of form and the program that humiliates the feminine are a double-edged sword: first, without this program civilization would never have been built; second, the very act of building civilization planted the seed of its demise, because no civilization that demeans women has a future. Everything is interconnected. As long as civilization evolved through the mind, degrading the Yin was inevitable, since we are dealing with root pressure. Now, however, to live yourself you must follow your Strategy and Authority.

Ma’at is the goddess of truth, justice, cosmic harmony, and ethical norms. She embodies the great divine order and the law through which the seasons succeed one another, the stars and planets traverse the heavens, and gods and humans exist and interact.

Legend: Ma’at participated in the judgment of the souls of the deceased. She always carried an ostrich feather. The heart of the deceased was placed on one pan of the scales, and Ma’at’s feather on the other, so the judges could see whether the heart was heavy with sin. If the sins outweighed Ma’at’s feather, the heart was given to the monster Ammit to devour. If, however, a person had lived with Ma’at in their heart—that is, had been kind and just—they became a spirit and went to the gods.

The god Anubis held the scales, and the verdict was recorded by the god Thoth, Ma’at’s consort. The goddess never parted with her feather—it was tucked into her hair.

Ma’at is also manifest as a set of moral and legal norms, ethical laws, and religious precepts by which the pharaoh was once obliged to rule Egypt and his subjects to live. Her image inspired the Greek goddess of justice, Themis, whose symbol is likewise a pair of scales. Her principles also underpin the commandments of Christianity.

Your Archetype’s Concept: Ma’at’s task is to unite everything that keeps civilization functioning by means of what is traditional and immutable. Her goal is to bind everyone together and tether them to tradition, thereby ensuring the development of civilization. Ma’at proclaims laws and moral standards, meeting the people’s need for leadership and faith in higher powers. Anything individual is considered an enemy of civilization, so Ma’at locks things in place, impeding evolutionary progress and mutation.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: codifies the laws of civilization’s development, defining how everything should work. Personifies absolute truth and absolute justice, because once a law is laid down, it is absolute. People readily accept leaders as a given—why search for meaning when you can believe in what has already been established as divine law? Morality stems from this principle, so those who behave immorally or individualistically are condemned by society.

The Program’s Message in a Nutshell: “Obey me and you will be rewarded. You simply need to believe.” It programs the mind to think that, once a fact is established, it becomes absolute truth.

How to Live Yourself Within the Program: The path itself matters—the very act of living brings change. You don’t have to believe in a reward beyond this life or in a brighter future. There’s no need to believe in God, an afterlife, or a prize from society’s leaders or anywhere else, because life itself is the reward. This becomes possible when we honor the Principle of Form by following our Strategy and Authority. Then we will not stop gaining experience. In every moment of life we will discover our own law—what works for us and what does not.

God of the Moon, wisdom, counting, and writing; patron of the sciences, scribes, and sacred texts; creator of the calendar. Lord of Time.

Legend: Thoth’s wife was the goddess of truth and order, Ma’at. The god’s avatar was believed to be the ibis. There is every reason to believe that the ancient Egyptians venerated the woodland ibis—now almost extinct—as a sacred bird. Its association with the divine scribe likely comes from the fact that its feathers were used for writing. Thoth is also portrayed as a baboon—another sacred animal of ancient Egypt.

Identified with the Moon, Thoth was regarded as the heart of Ra and was depicted standing behind Ra the Sun, serving as his nocturnal deputy. He was credited with generating all of Egypt’s intellectual life. As Lord of Time, he divided it into years, months, and days and kept their count. Wise Thoth recorded every birth and death, compiled chronicles, created writing, and taught the Egyptians arithmetic, writing, mathematics, medicine, and other sciences.

As vizier and scribe of the gods, Thoth attended the judgment of Osiris and recorded the results of the weighing of the deceased’s soul. He took part in the funeral ritual of every Egyptian and guided each one to the realm of the dead.

Concept of your archetype: “Recognize the pattern (decide whether you are male or female), find your role, make a commitment, and do more.” Thoth fixes you in a role. His program is to commit to bringing new life into the world and providing for it—a long-term partnership aimed at raising a child.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: Thoth is an unequivocal conservative and, at times, a homophobe. For every “How should we live?” and “What should we do?” the program has a single answer—“Decide on your role.” Why? To survive as a lineage. A role is what others project onto us and what they expect from us. We take on the obligation to live that role—male or female—in connection with someone else: family, a long-term partner, so we can bring children into the world and allow them to grow up.

Relations between masculine and feminine energies: Thoth lays down the rules. Boys don’t cry or play with “girly” toys; their task is to earn money and supply the family with everything it needs. He programs girls in the same way, confining them to a frame: stay home and provide the husband with comfort, food, and sex.

In a nutshell, the program’s message: “You are not here to be alone. You are here to live out who you are. To do that, find a partner, make something greater of your union, take on the role of man or woman—and stop worrying about anything else.”

How to live yourself within the program: Thoth tunes you to what matters—the sanctity of marriage and the experience of inhabiting the role of man or woman. Yet once this becomes a concept, it locks us in. Your task is to find yourself within that construct. That means dissolving into the moment without expectations, surrendering completely to the experience—no questions asked. Follow the energy, don’t bargain, step into the experience. We cannot save anyone except ourselves. By following Strategy and Authority, we can discover ourselves in different roles.

An ancient Greek goddess of family bonds. Deeply feminine: she contains the three aspects of the divine feminine—the Maiden, the Mother, and the Grandmother. She conveys the feminine principle within relationships. At the root of it all lie strength of spirit and a warrior’s resolve: it is the woman, not the man, who holds the relationship together. This is the ability to reach the ancestors, the history of the lineage. The ancestral line through which we arrived matters greatly.

Legend: Harmonia is Cadmus’s wife, the daughter of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and Ares, the god of war, and the sister of Eris, the goddess of chaos. Harmonia is the offspring of two principles—beauty and struggle, love and war. Zeus married Harmonia to Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes. During his travels Cadmus once killed a serpent, entered its cave, and found a girl of indescribable beauty—the monster’s prisoner.

All the gods attended the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus and gave Harmonia a veil and a necklace forged by Hephaestus. That necklace later became a source of misfortune and suffering for everyone who wore it. It brought about the deaths of Harmonia’s daughters—Semele, Agave, and Autonoe.

The story of the malicious jewel became the prototype for every myth in which a treasure is cursed because it was obtained dishonestly or through war. In old age Cadmus and Harmonia, after losing their daughters, left Thebes. “The gods are punishing me for killing the serpent; I had better become a serpent myself,” Cadmus said, and he turned into a serpent. Harmonia rushed to him, wrapped her arms around his body, and became a serpent as well. Later the gods took them to the Isles of the Blessed.

Concept of Your Archetype: The power to create and to sever a bond: it is the woman, not the man, who keeps the relationship intact. A woman has the authority to deal with the masculine—to open herself to contact or to close it off. The feminine side of the bargain is that the bond must be long-term so the offspring can be raised, because relationship is a pact for continuing the lineage. This conflict is endless. She upholds the continuity of the family chain.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: the feminine power to create and to break a bond with a man; the opportunity for fertilization in exchange for a long-term relationship. At the same time, the power to end the bond also rests with the woman. The importance of family history and continuity between generations.

Relationships Between Masculine and Feminine Energies: Genetically, men can sire children almost without limit, whereas women are constrained. A man’s task is to find a worthy egg to fertilize; in that lies enormous responsibility. Relationship is conflict, and it is the very friction that lets things happen. Men’s suppression of women is an attempt to shield themselves from their power and divine nature.

Message to the Programs in a Nutshell: “Woman is the creator—essentially the Goddess herself—for man also came from woman. The purpose of relationship is to raise offspring. Quality is possible only when the feminine has a will of its own, not oppressed by the masculine. After all, how can we find meaning in a world where we are held down?”

How to Live Your Self in the Program: As soon as you begin to live your uniqueness—your nature, Strategy, and Authority—no one will dare to disrespect you. To see with your own eyes, free from the masculine fear of feminine energy, is the mastery of wisdom, regardless of the relationships you are called to accept and live out. The key to understanding Harmonia is to stand between those in conflict and find a way to resolve it, so they can unite in honest relationships, so women are not suppressed and thus retain their own power.

Christ brought knowledge of love, peace, patience, and forgiveness. Ethical principles are grounded in the teachings of the Bible, which express God’s will toward humanity.

Legend: God’s will is that we “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” God’s grace transforms a person and enables them to make the right choice—to act according to God’s will. Just as sin can be both an individual and a social phenomenon, grace can manifest in the individual as well as in society at large.

Christian ethics has a theological dimension—it aims toward the ideal society, the Kingdom of God, where everyone will live in harmony with God and nature. God is the absolute Lord of matter; humanity has been entrusted with dominion over the material world so that, through a physical body and within the material realm, each person may fulfill their ideal purpose.

Christianity is metaphysically dualistic because it acknowledges two distinct substances—spirit and matter—yet monistic as a religion, since it places matter in unconditional dependence on spirit as both creation and the medium of the spirit’s activity.

Your Archetype Concept: “Love your neighbor” represents genuine enlightenment within civilization. Mercy is a way to support the individual and live peacefully with others. Non-threatening competition means competing at the level of intellect instead of the old fistfights and wars. In this way, a tribe can develop the resources it needs without wars or conflict.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: humanism, mercy. Developing personal education as a way to prepare people for peace. Wealth arises from non-threatening competition. That is what it means to be civilized. It is un-Christian to kill your neighbor. Non-threatening competition overcomes primitive fears. Sound judgment, security, secular expression, the growth of intellectual institutions, the institution of marriage, and material institutions. The ultimate authority is God.

Relationship Between Masculine and Feminine Energies: Non-threatening competition supports marriage, and marriage is foundational. Strengthen the relationship between man and woman so that together they become the cornerstone of our species’ development. The sinlessness and inviolability of the marital bond—the sanctity of marriage. A union that produces offspring stands against abortion. Bring your children into a world of non-threatening competition, and they will live better lives than you did and will thank you.

Program Message in a Nutshell: “Love your neighbor as yourself. Compete at the level of intellect and succeed. Fear God. Only through Jesus and His teachings can you enter the Kingdom of God; you cannot get there on your own. Incredible mercy means being allowed to rise through your own achievements and merits in a world where you are not threatened.”

How to Live Within the Program: Mercy is a way to foster individuality and live in peace with others. The promise of God’s Kingdom after death as a reward for a merciful life is absurd. Our power is here and now, in the real world, and must not be constrained by fear of God or the forces of the afterlife.

Minerva is the Roman goddess of wisdom, the arts, war, and cities, as well as the patron of artisans. The Romans considered her equal to Juno and Jupiter. She was part of the chief Roman pantheon, the so-called Capitoline Triad, whose temple stood on the Capitoline Hill.

Legend: Minerva was the patroness of warfare. The Romans also believed she protected physicians, teachers, sculptors, musicians, and poets. Devotees held festivals in her honor—the Quinquatria—at which teachers and craftsmen were paid for educating children. Minerva was usually depicted in armor and a helmet, holding a spear, or with an owl and a snake. The owl symbolizes nocturnal reflection, and the snake represents wisdom.

Romans sometimes added the epithet “Capta,” meaning “of the head,” to Minerva’s name. This underscored that anyone who stole from her temple would answer to the goddess with his head. Justice and care for one’s tribe come first.

Concept of your archetype: in action—preserve society and foster its peaceful development. Put the preservation of tribal, collective, and family structures above personal interests.

💬 Key qualities of the archetype: fear of meaninglessness, fear of losing oneself in service to the tribe, clinging to the familiar, promoting tribal values, fear for one’s survival. Deep limitations imposed by tribal boundaries of expression. Tribal warfare, herd mentality, the source of the tribe’s moral code, manipulating people through laws. The ability to lead people, keep the ego in check, and consciously direct it toward earning resources for the tribe.

Dynamics of masculine and feminine energies: all about preservation, survival, strategic focus, and practicality. In relationships—an inner wholeness that resists emotion. Both the man and the woman know their worth and do not repeat the same mistakes. They strive to be the best, successful, or at least equal to one another. Emotions are expressed sparingly and may appear indifferent from the outside unless success, a personal goal, or the tribe’s goals are at stake—yet inside everything may be boiling. Strong personalities who achieve their goals despite any obstacle. Men are most often strong, resourceful, goal-oriented, and power-seeking.

Program message in a nutshell: “Be part of the tribe, honor and safeguard traditions, and multiply its values. The tribe’s interests come first; the individual does not matter. Together we achieve success and submit to shared principles and laws.”

How to live this program: Only by following your personal Strategy and Authority can you live your own experience and pursue your goals while remaining with the tribe, moving toward success and growth, and still preserving your uniqueness. Remember to stay true to your values and inner laws.