Archetype Roundtable

Archetype Roundtable

Hello everyone and welcome to the Archetype Round Table! This discussion is run jointly by Ishira Tsubasa and myself. Sorry about the delay in posting this, but real life has been getting busy for both Ishira Tsubasa and myself.

This roundtable was setup to help provide some insights and delve further into the archetypes in the Ingress storyline. Archetypes are almost like a character’s role or generalized attitude in a story or setting.

The members of this roundtable includes both Resistance and Enlightened agents.This session is in regards to the Spiritualist Archetype which is currently portrayed by Stein Lightman in the storyline, until a new Magnus is created.

1) What do you think of when you hear “Spiritualist Archetype”?
Arielsmurfeater (Enlightened):
For me the spiritualist is someone that deals with the spirit.. either the spirit realm, the human spirit or the spirit of nature. They deal with something that people can't touch, see or have a physical impact on.

Ishira (Resistance):
When I think about the spiritualist archetype I think about the ability to connect to multiple realms, dimensions, beings. Having the ability to accept things others may struggle with like the dead or our ancestors and being able to communicate with them or even just see them.

KoshTheRipper (Enlightened):
I think of someone who deals with things that people just can't see, those things that are on the edge of things, and they are just there out of the corner of your eye.

Leorobin (Resistance):
I think of the spiritualist as often related to cults and creeds, be it from established religions or following its own path. Depending on the background it can serve as a link between the material and immaterial planes of existence.

Athafil (Resistance):
Spiritualist is the archetype who has the connection with the unseen, the wise person who has the deep connection with nature with the hidden truth of the world.

Relique (Enlightened):
If humanists deal with things within the realm of the human condition than Spiritualists are required to deal with issues of the soul/spirit and the supernatural. When I think of spiritualists I think of priests of all faiths, tribal elders, east asian mystics, gurus, and the atypical new agers reading random books while trying to glean insight into the workings of the universe.

2) Do you think it fits only certain types of people?
Arielsmurfeater (Enlightened):
To some degree every works with the spiritual realm, however I feel that a special person can fill the spiritualist role, someone that can see beyond what's in front of them to things they can not see or touch. Someone that can see the subtle changes and influences of the spiritual world.

Ishira (Resistance):
In the way I was raised someone who was a Spiritualist was a leader because they could clearly communicate with the spirits and our ancestors and be able to guide people with a balanced understanding of how everything interacted. They were people that could accept the things that people would shy away from and be the mediator between the physical and spiritual realm/world's. They kept the world's balanced between each other, played the peacekeeper, and had to be able to look at the world in multiple perspectives with an equal respect for all of those perspectives.

KoshTheRipper (Enlightened):
It probably does fit a certain kind of thinking. I couldn't name anyone on hand at the moment.

Leorobin (Resistance):
I think someone skeptic or that is completely disconnected from its own faith/believes would be unfitting to be an spiritualist. There must be some degree of faith or trust to reach out to that which cannot be perceived in a direct way.

Athafil (Resistance):
While all people are spiritual this is a difficult archetypes, a hard choice because first of all a shaman has to know himself/herself and this is an hard thing to do. You have to understand that you are not only you but you are just a part of the whole.

Relique (Enlightened):
Skeptics and atheists are the antithesis of spiritualists. If someone if an extremely skeptical mindset or does not believe in the existence of the spiritual realms than you can not be a spiritualist.


3) Why do you think this Archetype was was chosen and how do you believe it fits within the Magnus?
Arielsmurfeater (Enlightened):
Just like the Skeptic grounds ideas to what is possible, the Spiritualist also grounds ideas to what could or could not affect people in ways other than physically. Take for instance the impact it would have on a person that would have to choose between saving someone that's important to them (parent(s), children, siblings etc) or causing them harm or death to save many more people that are strangers to them. The Spiritualist would be able to help them not only come to terms but weigh the benefits versus the costs either decision so an informed choice could be made.

Ishira (Resistance):
Because we are dealing with Exogenous and with spirits of our past I think it's highly important to have someone within a Magnus that can be accepting of the fact that seeing isn't always believing. That is willing to accept the world and all of it's layers and consider every single layer and how our actions change each of them. I think it's important for there to be someone that can communicate with spirits, our ancestors, and maybe other beings because they may have a better understanding or be able to bring insight that is needed when making decisions.

KoshTheRipper (Enlightened):
You're always going to have to deal with the things out of the corner of your eye. That's why you need a spiritualist.

Leorobin (Resistance):
I think it was chosen due to the nature of the interactions between the extra dimensional entities and our reality. While physical in their own terms, to some extent, these beings are abstract to those in our plane. As for its role in the Magnus, it helps broaden the scope of the ideas of the collective and include a different point of view based on the interactions with those other planes.

Athafil (Resistance):
Spiritualist is the old wise woman, the old merlin when all other option fail, the explorer is stumbling, the patron cannot see anymore a way, it is time for the spiritualist to step forward.

Relique (Enlightened):
I believe this archetype was chosen to be in the magnus because when dealing with extra dimensional entities, like the exogenous, it is beneficial to think outside the box.

Thank you to everyone that participated in this month's Archetype Drill Down! We look forward to further discussions on the Archetypes of Ingress! We will be posting these discussions at the end of each month. If your interested in these discussions please get a hold of +Ishira Tsubasa or +Ariel Diana.

+flint dille +Edgar Allan Wright +Andrew Krug +Hank Johnson +H. Richard Loeb +John Hanke