The Martyr archetype is well known in two arenas: as a classic political or religious figure, and in the self-help world of contemporary psychology. In the social and political world, the Martyr is often highly respected for having the courage to represent a cause, even if it requires dying for that cause for the sake of others. Suffering so that others might be redeemed, whether that redemption takes a spiritual or political form, is among the most sacred of human acts. It is a command by God to take on what other people cannot do or endure for a cause much greater than themselves. Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were called to martyrdom and they changed the world so that a whole new path of humanity could be born. Within the self-help field, the shadow Martyr is viewed as a person who has learned to utilize a combination of service and suffering for others as the primary means of controlling and manipulating their environment.
When you are working through the spiritual archetypes you may recognize a martyr complex in yourself. However, self-martyrdom is an entirely different shadow dynamic of the Martyr. Self-martyrdom changes nothing and makes everybody around you miserable. Working with the Martyr archetype is a challenge. Once you start feeling like a Martyr, instead of going down your usual martyring route, stop, pull yourself out of the Martyr and say, “I’m doing it again.” The lesson of the Martyr is becoming conscious of when you are pulling out your suffering to make others feel badly for you as a means of getting what you want, and then making a conscious choice to stop that behavior. The more you work with becoming aware of your agendas, the more light-filled and enlightened you become. You go from having no concept of being a Martyr to suddenly realizing how much pain your martyring has caused everybody else, and how much your manipulation of others has cost them. People recognize this archetype in others, particularly when they are directly influenced by the individual who has this archetypal pattern; however, they often cannot see it in themselves.
Film Reference: Meryl Streep in 'The Martyr'
When you are working through the spiritual archetypes you may recognize a martyr complex in yourself. However, self-martyrdom is an entirely different shadow dynamic of the Martyr. Self-martyrdom changes nothing and makes everybody around you miserable. Working with the Martyr archetype is a challenge. Once you start feeling like a Martyr, instead of going down your usual martyring route, stop, pull yourself out of the Martyr and say, “I’m doing it again.” The lesson of the Martyr is becoming conscious of when you are pulling out your suffering to make others feel badly for you as a means of getting what you want, and then making a conscious choice to stop that behavior. The more you work with becoming aware of your agendas, the more light-filled and enlightened you become. You go from having no concept of being a Martyr to suddenly realizing how much pain your martyring has caused everybody else, and how much your manipulation of others has cost them. People recognize this archetype in others, particularly when they are directly influenced by the individual who has this archetypal pattern; however, they often cannot see it in themselves.
Film Reference: Meryl Streep in 'The Martyr'