In the hierarchy of the psyche, the Ruler archetype is the most important. Its only job is to make decisions.
Conscious decisions.
As the name implies, the Ruler archetype is the ruling authority of your mind. When developed, it has the power to make conscious choices and take decisive actions.
Whenever you align your behaviour with your intention, you are tapping into the power of the Ruler — especially during periods of change when your emotions are pulling you in a different direction.
The Ruler is one of three ruling archetypes. The Philanthropist makes emotional decisions, which can be destructive or constructive. The Warrior makes decisions by critically balancing emotions with strategic thought-processing. It has one foot in the Emotional brain and one in the Thinking Brain.
In contrast, the Ruler archetype is purely centred in the neocortex — the part of your brain which is responsible for higher-order brain functions involved in decision-making.
Neuroscience calls this part of your brain the homunculus.
Thought-Provoking Quote
“The homunculus sits there controlling behaviour…the homunculus briefly overrides the automatic pilot. But other than that, the homunculus makes decisions. Sure, it takes careful notes of all the inputs and information from the brain, checks your hormone levels, skims the neurobiology journals, takes it all under advisement, and then, after reflecting and deliberating, decides what you do.”
~ Robert Sapolsky, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, p.655 (2017)
No matter whether decisions are big or small, it is usually the Ruler making the decision. It takes information from other neural networks — other archetypes — and makes a decision in accordance with the information you have to hand.
However, the Ruler can be usurped by the Emotional Brain, especially the Philanthropist, but to some extent the Warrior — which you can read about by clicking on the links below:
Learn more about the Philanthropist
Learn more about the Warrior
What the Ruler Archetype Actually Does
The Ruler’s function is to convert awareness into decisive actions that produce a rich quality of life — something meaningful that can be celebrated.
Other archetypes supply the raw material — the Sage offers wise counsel through critical thinking. The Warrior offers the willingness to act, and the Philanthropist provides emotional information that tells you what you want.
When the Ruler is developed and strong enough, it is the bridge that connects knowing with doing. It draws on values, principles, and boundaries that a person has actually examined and chosen, rather than absorbed passively from family, culture, or the need for approval.
The more archetypes that you develop, the stronger the Ruler becomes. When you heal emotional wounds, your Ruler archetype operates from a love-based centre rather than a position of fear.
Love drives you towards a higher purpose and gives life meaning. It’s the foundational force that provides all the archetypes with their best qualities and enables you to grow, succeed and thrive.
Fear keeps you rooted in your comfort zone. Here, the decision-making function of the Ruler is distorted with limiting beliefs, false truths, and self-protective mechanisms. Some of your behaviour will be unhelpful, negative and destructive.
Choices still get made. But they’re driven by anxiety, greed and the need to control outcomes.
Recognising the Undeveloped Ruler Archetype
The shadow side of the Ruler is notable in people who are malevolent, egotistical and aggressive. If you’re indecisive, use intimidation tactics, and place unreasonable demands on others, use this as evidence to understand that parts of your personality are repressed.
And when most parts of your personality are repressed, the Ruler cannot develop.
Where a strong Ruler is decisive, self-directed, and honest, the undeveloped counterpart is hesitant, self-centred, and seeks to power over others in one form or another. If you’re not the Alpha in the pack, you make sure you are by being the loudest, most ruthless and most feared.
You can recognise whether the Ruler is undeveloped in your psyche by observing the following patterns:
Chronic indecision. Not knowing what you want or what outcome you’re aiming for can make decision-making difficult because you fear making the wrong choice.
Playing it safe. Consistently choosing the predictable, low-risk option regardless of whether it’s actually the right one.
Controlling rather than caring. Making unilateral, self-absorbed choices without input from anyone else. This is the “control freak” pattern: rigidity standing in for real authority.
Doubling down. Refusing to reverse a bad decision because it feels like admitting failure. Mistakes are defended and compounded instead of corrected.
Caving under pressure. Abandoning stated values and boundaries the moment they become inconvenient, in favour of whatever feels easiest in the moment.
Manipulating toward an outcome. Using pressure, misinformation, or intimidation tactics to get the desired result rather than making the case on its merits.
Undermining others. Using criticism or put-downs against people as a way of levelling a threat to one’s own position.
You may notice that these strategies are the need to minimise the risk of making the wrong choice or, worse, being seen to make the wrong choice.
Making the right decisions serves the ego’s need to protect your personal integrity and emotional safety.
How to Identify the Developed Ruler
In a developed state of conscious awareness, a mature Ruler is able to make decisions with confidence. Some decisions you’re also able to make quickly. Others you need to deliberate over but choose by tapping into your emotions (Philanthropist) and using discernment to observe the reality of your decisions (Sage).
You have a strong Ruler if you can identify with these qualities:
Self-directed clarity. Able to operate from consciously examined values rather than inherited or socially convenient ones, and ask “what does this situation actually require?” rather than “what do I want?”
Grounded conviction. You act decisively when action is needed, without rushing impulsively. You trust your judgment even when you are uncertain of the outcome.
Genuine openness to input. You seek counsel from others you recognise can offer authoritative information.
Comfortable with limitations. You can admit what you don’t know without experiencing limitation as a threat to your authority, intelligence or personal integrity. You trust the expertise of others in domains your knowledge is lacking.
Values over comfort. You can hold to a decision when it’s unpopular if you believe it’s the right decision because you are confident the choice you made is the right one.
Accept accountability. Mistakes are owned. You can hold your hands up and say, “I got that wrong, here’s what I’m doing differently” without elaborate justification, external blame, or the sense that being wrong threatens your identity.
Consistency. Their decisions track with stated values reliably, even under pressure, which is what makes them trustworthy to the people around them. It’s not the manufactured compliance of a tyrant, but the earned trust that comes from a person whose compass doesn’t move with the wind.
Want to Know More About the Ruler Archetype?
Every decision a person makes is, in a sense, a small statement about who you believe you are and what you think brings meaning to your life.
The underdeveloped Ruler makes decisions to protect a fragile self-image. The developed Ruler seeks to make decisions you believe are right in that moment for everyone concerned. You play the long game and align your behaviours with your intention rather than gratifying seeking gratification in the moment.
The developed Ruler does not have immediate needs to fill to feel safe. The choices you make are oriented towards the person you are trying to become.
If you want to know more about the Ruler archetype and how well developed your other archetypes are, sign up for our self-development program today and cultivate a richer quality of life.
Beyond The Comfort Zone is designed to help you overcome persistent conflicts, challenges and problems. You will learn how each archetype influences your life, its function, its motivations and its emotional wounds.
Emotional wounds are repressed parts of the personality that create conflicts and challenges. When you understand how parts of your personality are repressed by experiences from the past, you are in a better position to heal and move forward.
If you want to know more about archetypes and how they influence your life, read this article titled: What Are Archetypes? Or go deeper and enrol on our self-development program and transform your life by getting to know how your archetypes influence your life.
