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July/August 2006 Living Now
The Ironic Gifts of the Predator Archetype

by John Darling

Francis Weller

How do you account for the evil and violence in the human heart, let alone everyday depression and fears? What if there’s something inside or around you that makes you think, say and do negative things?

Ashland psychotherapist Francis Weller identifies this energy as the Predator, which is an archetype like the Great Mother or Trickster. The Predator represents a dragon or troll gatekeeper often found in fairy tales, putting you through trials to help you to emerge stronger, wiser—and changed. 

“The Predator is an enormous presence in our lives that we can’t defeat, so we live lives of quiet desperation. If we try to get out of the box, we get attacked or it will say, ‘You don’t want to get hurt, do you?’ It uses our vulnerabilities. It watches us and knows where we are weak. It knows our wounds, shame and fear,” says Weller, who is also the director of WisdomBridge, which offers workshops on the recovery of the indigenous soul.

These negative messages feed the Predator, who becomes a “60-foot giant.” In response to this menace, you may give up your dream, vision or hope and just conform, rather than risk that the Predator might turn your worst fears and shame into reality.

The Predator, like the dragon and troll, always possesses and guards something precious—gold, a princess or a secret—which is a metaphor for your deepest longings and dreams.

The Predator is not here to sadistically hurt you, says Weller, but it will harm you if you listen to its negative messages and don’t turn to face it. The Predator presents a trial, an ordeal, a rite of passage out of childhood—and if you stay in your comfort zone and don’t try to pass through the gate, the Predator will feast on your energy, hopes and longings.

But when you push through your gate of fear, the trials of the Predator transform you.

“Where he sets up his base is where we need to be redeemed,” says Weller. “He teaches us what we need to restore to sacredness. He’s kind of a one-trick pony (in how he exploits our fear) but he knows every piece of our soul that we haven’t said yes to yet—and he takes us there.”

The Predator has appeared in ancient civilizations as a ritual straw dog for burning away fears, and it also is represented in mythical icons such as Kali and Gorgon. The Greek Gorgon, also known as Medusa with her menacing fangs and serpentine tongue, was enshrined in rites, mystery religions and art.

The Predator is seen as the other and may resemble Satan in Christianity, but it doesn’t reside in hell. The Predator lives in your inner self-defeating thoughts or it can feel like an outer dark entity. It’s helpful, says Weller, to think of it as the other rather than yourself so that you can prevail over the Predator.

How do you recognize when the Predator is speaking? “If it’s pulling you away from participation, it’s the Predator,” Weller says. “If you know you should be over there and you are here and something’s holding you in your seat, it’s your agreement with the Predator.”

When you’ve made agreements with the Predator, you end up living in passivity or rage—with the passive person stuck in nice and the raging person seeming bitter, Weller says. “Those on this side of the gate (still in agreements with the Predator) want to tear apart those on the other side of the gate. Before you cross the gate, the Predator is about humiliation. After you cross, it’s about humility.”

“If you obsess with your personal wounds and, no matter how much work you do on them, they persist, then you haven’t gotten across the gate,” Weller says. “If you keep getting these ‘negative personal interjects,’ then you’ve never turned around to face the Predator. What you’ve done is made the world small so you wouldn’t feel him.”

How can you break free from the Predator’s grasp?

Create sacred rituals to change your agreements with the Predator. Expose the negative messages of the Predator by speaking your truth. Spend time in nature where The Predator doesn’t thrive. Recognize the Predator as a strange ally, demanding that you show up in life and face your fears. Join in your community because “when you become thoroughly known by another human being, you become thoroughly charged,” Weller says.

John Darling, an Ashland writer and counselor, can be reached at jdarling@jeffnet.org. For information on WisdomBridge, visit www.wisdombridge.net.