Reframing the Mother Earth Archetype: An Interdisciplinary Analysis of the Collective Maternal Archetypal Projection
ML Yuhina
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) July 22, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21499365 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the maternal projection onto Earth is a specific psychological architecture at the species-collective scale, arising from a primal disconnection that generates an abandonment wound externalized onto the planet. Proposes that this developmental reframing places Earth and humanity on a parallel evolutionary trajectory, restoring co-responsible agency while preserving the archetype's cultural and spiritual significance. |
Abstract
The Mother Earth archetype has received sustained attention across mythology, philosophy, depth psychology, and planetary science, yet no work has integrated these conversations around a single question: what does the maternal projection onto Earth reveal about the collective psychological architecture through which humanity relates to the planet? This paper advances the theoretical proposition that the projection constitutes a specific psychological architecture at the species-collective scale, and that understanding it lets the human collective relate differently to the planet and to itself. Applying theory synthesis and constructive alternativism, the analysis traces the projection through five constitutive moments: a primal disconnection generates a foundational abandonment wound, carried within the species-collective unconscious and externalized onto Earth, where it is expressed through four structural dimensions. The contribution is a developmental reframing that places Earth and the human collective on a parallel evolutionary trajectory, restoring co-responsible agency without dismissing the archetype's cultural and spiritual significance. The synthesis integrates depth psychology, transpersonal psychology, Jungian archetypal psychology, developmental cosmology, and constructivist epistemology.