Links:Gambler
by Caroline Myss Phd.
The Gambler is a risk-taker who plays the odds. This archetype has far
more aspects than are commonly considered, including
not just card sharps and racetrack gamblers, but also drug addicts,
entrepreneurs,
and day traders. The Gambler is also active in
the psyche of people who take risks in politics and other social
activities
that amount to gambling with one's reputation. From an
energetic perspective, gambling is an attempt to outrun the speed at
which
ordinary change happens. Acquiring great wealth in a
spectacular
experience not only because of the money but because of
outrun
the odds is the psychic lock on the Gambler within a
person's psyche.
The positive aspect of this archetype manifests in following hunches,
and
in the belief in one's intuition, even in the face of
universal doubt. From real estate ventures to scientific research,
hunches
have often yielded successful fruitful outcomes. To
assess whether you are a Gambler, review your ability to follow your
intuition
and what others might consider risky inner
guidance. Ask yourself how many of your decisions are based on gut
instinct
rather than facts and figures.
You can evaluate your relationship to the shadow Gambler according to
whether
you have a compulsion. Some people who are
obsessed with winning lotteries and striking it rich at casino
tables--or
in get-rich-quick and pyramid schemes--may spend
relatively little money compared to professional gamblers, but their
focus
on finding ways to beat the odds is a central part of
their life. A related form of gambling may affect the way you are
focused
on looking for lucky breaks in your relationships, rather
than doing the hard psychic work needed to make them succeed.
Films: Steve McQueen in The Cincinnati Kid (shadow); Paul Newman,
Jackie
Gleason, and George C. Scott (shadow) in The
Hustler; Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes in White Men Can't Jump;
Edith
Evans in The Queen of Spades; Clive Owen in
Croupier; Roger Duchesne in Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler).
Fiction: The Gambler by Dostoevsky
Religion/Myth: Jason, Odysseus (heroic figures of Greek legend who
fearlessly
gambled against the odds, risking life and limb to
achieve their goals); Cunawabi (American Indian--Paiute--figure known
as
a gambler who takes many risky adventures and who
also brings night and illness)
