Male Archetypes


I outline three archetypal males. Which one are you?

While outlining archetypes, I understand that most will have parts of each. Indeed, a well-rounded man should have parts of each. However, it is likely that one of the types is the most natural, the most comfortable, your base type, as it were.

The Warrior

The mode of the warrior is physical or mental aggression. They will be combative, either arguing a point to victory or moving straight to fisticuffs. While we may associate various forms of physical prowess with the warrior, our modern information age can allow for more cognitive forms of combat. Many corporate raiders, CEOs, and financial traders are of this type. You will find warriors in just about any leadership position. They love to be in command, and they love to win. Warriors with a preference for physical combat may end up on the sports field or the police and military. However not all military are warrior types (many are there to serve their country, combat represents a duty not a goal). The warrior will often have a bulky build, tending towards mesomorphic (stocky athletic) or endomorphic (solid/fat). The particular somatoype perhaps driven by or driving their preference for intellectual or physical combat.

The Wizard

If the warrior likes to fight, the wizard likes to think. When on their own ground they may look as intellectually combative as the warrior. However, fighting and winning is less the goal than discovering some truth. While wizards do end up working in the sciences, many public intellectuals of this type. Indeed, it is likely that many pundits (especially economics) are wizards. They are as much interested in the race as the winner, the idea as the result. They will probably tend towards ectomorphic (skinny) or mesomorphic (perhaps smaller and slighter than warrior types).

The Lover

The strengths of the lover go beyond romance. The lover type is really a people-person type. Lovers are those individuals who can charm and delight others. They often have a strong aesthetic sense. It should be no surprise that many lover types are artists or performers. Where the warrior wants to win, and the wizard wants to understand or enlighten, the lover may just enjoy his own performance. The more introverted lover type may become writers; depending on their preference writing words or music. Lovers may tend towards the ectomorphic.


Chris Christie appears to have many warrior attributes. Former president Clinton may have been a mixture of lover and warrior. President Obama appears to be some mixture of wizard and lover (probably more of the former). Steve Jobs may have achieved his success by embodying enough of all three: the warrior was the asshole who drove others to produce, the wizard created the vision, and the lover saw the importance of aesthetics in industrial design.

As for me: I am probably mostly wizard (cerebral, curious, focused on ideas), a little lover (a certain aesthetic sense, friendly), and less warrior (while I may not always back down, I lack that “killer instinct” that marks the warrior type).

One Response to “Male Archetypes”

  1. El Sido Says:

    Wizard – defo

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