The Inner Council: Conflict Archetypes to navigate tension with clarity, depth & Magic
“While archetypes may emanate through us for short periods of time, in what we call numinous experience, no one can emanate an archetype continuously.
Only the archetype itself can withstand such projections such as ever-able, all giving, eternally energetic.
We may try to emulate these, but they are ideals, not achievable by humans, and not meant to be. Yet the trap requires that we exhaust ourselves trying to achieve these unrealistic levels to know ourselves more deeply.”
— Clarissa Pinkola Estés, women who run with the wolves
What if instead of spiraling into defensiveness or avoidance, you had an inner-knowing of ground to stand on, from which you draw your strength when tensions rise?
Welcome to the Inner Council Archetypes— a framework inside Conflict Alchemy that helps you meet tension with clarity, curiosity, and mystical depth. These archetypes are more than cute labels— they're embodied strengths and elemental forces that fine-tune the inner compass to help you face the fire of conflict without losing your center.
Archetypes anchor ideas and values outside of the self, allowing these concepts to be reflected back to us, instead of living in a realm of self reference. They're how we make meaning, see ourselves in myth, and find the medicine in a good movie or ancient tale. Working with archetypes externalizes your inner experience just enough to get some clarity (instead of endlessly looping in your head). It's like having mirrors for the soul—offering insight, direction, and a much-needed sense of humor in the face of chaos.
Human existence has always favored the self-reflective capacity that story evokes through subjective meaning-making. Creating origin stories and myths that surround the natural world and imbue the human experience with meaning, nuzzling our curiosities into the great mystery of life.
Inner Council Archetypes: Seer of Realms and Oracle of Truth
Introducing: The Inner Council Archetypes
The Inner Council refers to the inner circle of guides or forces that live within us, each representing a strength we can call upon when conflict strikes. Each one holds a particular strength, perspective, and body-based wisdom. These aren’t roles you’re stuck in—they’re allies to lean on. They are the five faces of strength guiding our inner conflict compass:
The Sage of Harmony
The Oracle of Truth
The Seer of Realms
The Lunar Healer
The Spirit Weaver
These archetypes came to life when I started asking a new question: “How do I meet conflict from my strengths instead of just analyzing my wounds?” As helpful as the Drama Triangle (victim, savior, perpetrator) can be, it can feel like starting at the problem. The Inner Council flips the script—it helps you remember your gifts and gain your ground with clarity, body awareness, and power.
It's important to remember that this system of categorization or identification is not meant to be a limitation. You are not meant to only identify with one archetype, to the contrary– as with the elements and the doshas, we have all 5 archetypes, and their potentials, within us.
The 5 Elements & the Archetypes
Each archetype is woven with one of the five elements—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. These aren’t just poetic metaphors; in Ayurveda, they’re the building blocks of all life and manifestation in the universe. Human, non-human, planetary, cosmic, seen and unseen are all transmissions of the five elements. They are the building blocks of materia and the manifestation of shakti, the life force energy of the universe. Understanding your elemental tendencies helps you recognize how you show up in conflict—are you the fire-starter or the peace-holder?
When you know your elemental flavor, you stop blaming your reactions and start understanding them. Conflict becomes less personal and more elemental—something you can move with, rather than feel consumed by.
How the Doshas Anchor the Archetypes in the Body
In Ayurveda, the doshas—Vata, Pitta, and Kapha—are bioenergetic forces that govern how energy moves through your body and mind. In the cosmology of Ayurveda, there are the 3 qualities of the universe, known as the gunas. They are pure energy/sustenance (sattva); kinetic energy/movement (rajas) and inertia/stability. These innate qualities give rise to the 5 elements and the elements organize themselves into the doshas. You could think of it like this: the 5 elements become so densely intricate within the matter of life-form that this density gives rise to something new altogether— the doshas.
Each dosha rules over different functions and systems of the body and each has their own thrones in the body where they live and thrive. When the doshas are balanced, so are we. When they’re not… hello, emotional chaos.
The Inner Council archetypes are mapped to the doshic “thrones” in the body, giving you a physical place to feel and anchor them. This isn’t just a mindset shift—it’s a somatic experience. You start tracking conflict not just through your thoughts, but through your nervous system and sensations. The archetypes offer a map on how and where to feel somatic access points to anchor into while navigating tension.
The Gunas, Elements & Doshas
The trickle-down manifestation of each of the cosmological building blocks according to Ayurveda.
Planetary Influences: Cosmic Color for Archetypal Flavor
Why stop at the body when we’ve got the whole cosmos to play with?
Each archetype is also flavored by planetary forces—archetypes that have been around in astrology, myth, and mysticism forever. The planetary influences aren’t prescriptive, but they add depth, mood, and mythic context to each inner guide.
Like the Moon bringing softness to the Lunar Healer, or Mars bringing edge to the Seer of Realms—these influences enrich your inner landscape, helping you feel your archetypes not just as roles, but as living, breathing presences.
Inner Council Archetypes: Lunar Mystic, Spirit Weaver, Sage of Harmony
Conflict doesn’t have to be a battlefield. It can become a temple—a space for sacred honesty, somatic insight, and alchemical transformation using the Inner Council as a tool and a guide to your own somatic and energetic knowing, Whether you’re navigating a hard conversation or trying not to throw your phone mid-text, knowing these archetypes and how they manifest and guide you will help you to stay curious, embodied and connected.
So the next time you're about to spiral, call in your Council.
They’ve been waiting for you to remember them.
with love,
Sabrina dokas
Resources & Suggested “Dig-deeper’s”
Pinkola-Estes, Clarissa- “Women Who Run With the Wolves”
Ayurvedic Studies: Dr. Bharat Vaidya- Ayurveda Sadhana Vidyalaya https://www.ayurvedsadhana.com
Vedic Astrology Studies: Dr. Gia Lisa Khrane https://www.nycvediccenter.com
