Are you a wounded healer?

"One of the clearest ‘markers’ of a ‘wounded healer’ is that she’s usually someone who has had an unusually extra-ordinary level of pain and wounding in her lifetime - which is actually a deep sign you are this particular archetype, and are being called to her healing. ”
~ Nicole Barton

I was speaking to a very special soul-sister the other day and we got talking about the Archetype of the ‘wounded healer’ (you know I love archetypal psychology, given it’s 1 of 3 ancient wisdom bodies of our Archetypal Apothecary path).

It got me thinking about how some women who feel a deep call to this path can have a clear knowing they are here to heal others (even though that largely feels terrifying when they first feel the call) - and yet other sensitive souls just know they feel a deep call to heal themselves and discover their purpose.

It occurred to me (with my soul sisters’ beautiful reflection) that the Archetype of the ‘wounded healer’ explains exactly why that is - because many of us are walking around as unconscious ‘wounded healers’ - including those who aren’t actually “healers” in helping professions.

So, who are the wounded healers?

Wounded healers tend to have set patterns of behaviours (they have a particular ‘personality’ type - you could call them ‘Archetypal Phosphorus’ ones, in Archetypal Apothecary language).

If you’re a ‘wounded healer’ you will tend to:

be deeply sensitive with a high degree of empathy
have access to intuition and wisdom, with deep insight and self-awareness - you’re the life-long ‘seeker’
have a powerful ability to connect to ‘other worlds’ / ‘spirit’
have an innate calling to ‘help’ people since you were a child (even friends and family)
be called on by others when they are in need - because you offer others possibility
have a tendency to make others (family and friends) feel better in challenging times
help others to see the light in the darkness
have a capacity to look at experiences as an opportunity for growth (eventually, though in wounding you may also get ‘stuck’ in it)
be able to find the calm in the chaos (even though there might be a lot of chaos)
have had an extra-ordinary level of wounding which has you understand ‘hardship’ - the wounded healer is someone who has an unusual amount of wounding in her lifetime
notice that your own pain and wounding provides you with the power to heal others - you feel may there’s a ‘reason’ you’re going through what you’ve been through
natually activate and inspire others into their healing journey by sharing your stories
have a life-long sense of ‘purpose’ - a calling to ‘more’

And yet, equally - because the wounded healer is ‘wounded’ - naturally, sometimes some of these tendencies can be hidden in the shadows. For example, often, a wounded healer can also resist her calling to healing because she has to go into her messy wounds to *become* a true healer - in which case she can often learn to outsource her healing to others, preferring ‘quick-fixes’ because she fears owning her own healing gifts.

What does this mean for you?

One of the clearest ‘markers’ of a ‘wounded healer’ is that she’s usually someone who has had an unusually extra-ordinary level of pain and wounding in her lifetime - which is actually a deep sign you are this particular archetype, and are being called to her healing.

Even if you’re not sure if you’re here to be a ‘healer of others’, this archetype may be experienced as a deep call, from sensitive souls, to learn to heal yourself of your wounds. To activate your own ‘inner apothecary’ so you can reclaim the gold of this particular archetype:

i.e. if you resonate with the description above, it likely means that you are a ‘wounded healer’ who may be here to learn to heal yourself and reclaim your gold as a healer.

More simply said; if you’re a sensitive soul here for self-healing = you’re still a ‘healer’.

Likewise, the other wisdom to take from this archetype is that in order to become true healers for others, we also need to firstly heal ourselves.

And both of these can be why a sensitive soul will resist the journey - because owning our power to heal can be terrifying.

Yet - whether you’re feeling the call to heal yourself, or to become a healer, teacher or guide - this highlights that there’s a healing reclamation of your own personal wounding that’s required. And this is why, for sensitive souls, healing our own wounds first is vital.

Is the wounded healer calling you to learn to activate your own ‘inner apothecary’ and reclaim your ‘healer’?

All my love,

if you've any questions, send me an email.

Nicole x