Not every Gunslinger carries a revolver. But he always delivers justice and calls out the bad guys. To my great delight, I stumbled across someone who has a modern day Outlaw archetype the other day. I saw Xavier Rudd in concert in Ottawa in early November. He is an Australian musician who really speaks to my ancestral heart. (Xavier=Medicine Man/Surfer Dude/Artist (Musician)/Activist/Warrior/Nature Child). Checking out some of Xavier’s music on YouTube, I came across another Australian artist, John Butler. This video of his blew my mind. (Zip ahead to about 1:45 where he really starts to rock out). A definite Artist/Virtuoso, but this guy ain’t in the front row of no orchestra. He’s way too cool for that. It was his unique fashion statement in this video of a live concert that had me soooo curious...in particular check out the weird neck wear. I mean, what is that thing? And who wears a necktie like that? The Outlaw. [Now check your own closet. Archetypal energies within us reach for certain wardrobe items. Got a Nerd? Bet you like polo shirts. Don’t have a Femme Fatale? You wouldn’t dream of wearing fishnet stockings. Love organic, unbleached cotton clothes? Naturalist. Tie-dye? Hippie.] The Outlaw/Gunslinger of course is a figure who came to full ripeness in the American West. The Frontier, that is. Jesse James, Clint Eastwood movies, the Lone Ranger. You know the guy and you can picture what he is wearing. Cowboy hat tilted jauntily over one eye. Gun belt slung off the hips. He walks with swagger and attitude. Leather vest, leather chaps, long underwear henley top with a few top buttons undone. He may be prim, but more likely he’s kinda dirty from the trail and from camping out in secluded places in the hills, hiding from “the law”. His name says it all. He’s outside the law and he can sling a gun faster than a Texas hurricane. He has flavours of the Vigilante, but a more strict code of honour. He has aspects of the Hero and is sometimes a Rescuer, especially if there is a Damsel in Distress/Belle in a wagon on the scene. The classic scene is the Showdown. It’s sundown, and the Outlaw calls the bad guy out of hiding into the open where the whole community watches as they face off. Turn back to back. Walk 20 paces. Then “Blam!” The Gunslinger always wins cuz he’s faster...unless that low down, no good scum of a villain cheats and turns early. If the Outlaw goes down, hearts fall as their Defender (he has aspects of that archetype too) crumples to the ground, dramatically clutching his chest with a few noble last words to utter. Even if he is a more violent Rebel/Hero, like Jesse James who killed hundreds of men, he’s so darn cool, we always feel let down when he gets taken out. It’s as if...no it IS that our own psyche wants to believe there is freedom enough to run wild and be outside the law. Especially if that law is our own rigid set of adopted behaviours that keep us a “proper citizen” or a “well behaved little boy or girl.” Our wildness wants to play that guitar like John Butler and rock out! Or shoot down all opposition in our own consciousness so we can be “home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play,” and free to roam across all imposed boundaries pushing our own frontier further West to seek adventure. John Butler could almost be just a Cowboy with that cool bolo tie thing, long underwear shirt, and vest, but he is also an environmental activist and he is pissed. In his songs, his guitar is his gun (he’s accurate and lethal) and he calls out the villainous corporations into the main street to humiliate them for their wrong doing and greed. LIke this song: One Way Road-John Butler They come, they take It's never enough because they can't relate To the real world, thinking that the oyster is just for the pearl They start those wars They want to own the land sea and all the stars And right those wrongs They change their history with their poison forked tongues All right, who’s they? A maybe it's the government of today Or B for the big business man who thinks the whole world revolves around him Or C for the corrupt official for A and B he be the man in the middle Or D for discoverer for Cook and Columbus and the pirate plunderers Doesn't mean I ain't gonna fight now Just because I don't got a gun The lyrical is heavier than lead and This guitar is my canon Just like my Martin and Mahatma I'm gonna love I'm gonna over come Maybe it's E for all of the above But I don't want to be Wrong way going down the one way road Wrong way going down the one way road Wrong way going down the one way road Gonna turn it all around gonna back it on up. John has a dame, and I must say she is a bit of a cool Mae West herself. She goes by the musical name Mama Kin and is also a chanteuse. John used to be a solo act, but he really HAD to get a small band together. Even the Lone Ranger had a side-kick. Outlaws gather posses, and John became the John Butler Trio. (The other brothers are pretty bad-ass and cool too). Of course, he’s gotta be the leader, cuz he’s settin’ his own laws. Sheesh, he’s practically defying the law of gravity with way he plays that guitar. Imagine if this character showed up at your office? What fun! If he’s wearing a suit, I bet he at least has an earring or a cool haircut...or a Harley in his garage for weekends with lots of “horse power.” (Warriors, Knights, Cowboys, and Outlaws need a steed). John Butler is a perfect example of how an Archetypes can show up in a modern form, but still adhere to all the key elements of their story, task, shadow and light aspects...and wardrobe choices! You can learn how to catch these characters in yourself by learning to look for the themes and script in your own life. So, next time you need to bust out some of the rigid laws that have taken over your own psyche, I suggest you put on some John Butler music, and let the Outlaw help your Law Abiding Citizen rise up against the Villain. Are you ready to find out who lives in you? Your Powerful Archetypes workshop will help you excavate your own cast of characters and map out your destiny. |
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