Permanent Zen Blog: The Sage vs The Artisan (Soul Types Cont'd)
Artisans vs Sages
Sages and Artisans are both expression specialists, concerned with bringing ideas to life, giving form or voice to their inner thoughts and feelings, thereby changing others’ perceptions. The Sage role is cardinal and the Artisan role is ordinal. If all the world’s a stage, Sages are the witty and eloquent presenters of the show, while the show itself is crafted by clever and imaginative Artisans.
Artisans
Artisan souls represent the essence of creativity and invention. They have a fertile imagination that drives them to explore new perspectives and combinations. They also like to realise (to ‘make real’) their ideas in interesting, tangible forms which they can present to others.
As such, Artisans are often drawn to professions where they can work with the invention, design and construction of new products, new styles, new methods: engineering, fine art, crafts, graphics, fashion and other forms of novel expression, more subtle forms including poetry, dance, modelling and athletics.
Spontaneous, innovative, and imaginative, the prodigious Artisan is not only the most creative role but the most eccentric. Viewing life as just one big canvas for their creative offspring, Artisans can slip into delusional worlds that bear little resemblance to reality. For this reason, Artisans must stay grounded in the world and avoid this natural penchant for being a bit scattered.
With five inputs to manage, the Artisan's focus in the world can be omni-directional, like an oscillating fan that sends a flow of air in many directions, never diverting its attention for too long in one spot.
Artisans often possess an inventive, make-the-most-of-what's-available style of creativity that allows them to create remarkable things out of a limited amount of resources. Artisans also have an innate curiosity for how things are put together, from the tallest skyscraper to the sub-atomic particle. And if they aren't applying their expressive abilities in the sciences or the arts, Artisans can be equally content as master carpenters, auto mechanics, or in one of the other technical fields.
On an introspective level, Artisans are often prone to moodiness, and if pushed to the edge, can be the craziest of all the roles. In a depressed state, an Artisan in the doldrums can join a gathering of people and be like an ominous cloud that blocks the sun, leaving everyone affected by the shadow. Conversely, a joyous Artisan can almost instantly change a roomful of sour dispositions with the magical quality of a rose that blooms in the snow, altering the ambiance of the room with enthusiasm and good cheer. Artisans literally influence the ambient area around them, and it seems their creative energy is not only contained to their inner worlds, but to the outer one as well.
An Ordinal role, the Artisan is generally not comfortable in large groups of people, gravitating to the intimacy of the one-on-one connection.
Artisans – especially female Artisans – like dressing up and often go for striking hairstyles and clothes as a way to explore and express their individuality.
This attracts attention and serves as a creative outlet, though it can also serve as a bold alter-ego for the more reserved personality inside to grow into.
Many male Artisans go for unkempt-looking hair and fuzzy beards.
Whether as artists, writers, actors, craftsman, engineers, composers, surgeons, carpenters, or philosophers, Artisans can make almost anything a canvas for their creative explorations, and in their own unique and inventive way, their expression and creativity makes the world a more colorful place.
Sages
Like Artisans, Sages are expression-oriented souls. Both like to play with ideas which they can express to others in some form.
Unlike Artisans, however, Sages are more interested in reaching and connecting with an audience, rather than the ideas per se. The bigger the audience the better, but any audience will do. Their life is a quick-witted performance; the world is their stage.
Sages want to promote a sense of shared experience — sharing life’s dramas, lessons and absurdities in an appealing way with as many as possible. A Sage will always look for insights to share and audiences to share them with.
Sages also have a natural affinity for humor and can be outstanding comedians, with a special flair for the outrageous and the absurd.
A common thread that links many Sages is their natural inclination to teach. Wise and perceptive, a Sage's brand of teaching need not be formal or suffer from the stale reek of academia. Important lessons can be taught through their use of satire, humor, and playful banter.
As disseminators of knowledge, however, Sages sometimes delude themselves into believing everything they say is true. They may combat this tendency by remembering their default wiring to touch life lightly. In their darker mode, Sages can excel at bending the truth and become masters of deceit, manipulating and distorting the facts to suit their own self-interests. Used car salesmen come to mind or those oily $500 an hour lawyers everyone loves to hate.
Loving to be the center of attention, Sages may metaphorically live life on stage, performing and basking in the applause from their audience rather than living with an intention to communicate and make connections with others. This strong need for being in the public eye can sometimes be their shortcoming when it comes to addressing the needs of others; sometimes Sages are just too wrapped up in their own soap operas. As occasional drama queens they throw tantrums with the histrionic intensity reminiscent of a Messiah nailed to a cross.
Despite these shortcomings, Sages are just plain fun, and they never cease to amaze us with their taste for aesthetics and the artistic sensibilities they bring to all endeavors. With their sparkling wit, theatrical flair, and a seemingly endless reservoir of fascinating stories, Sages can entertain those around them for hours.
The Sage’s facial features are often unusually big and rubbery or elastic, as the face is a key means of expression. The smile is often huge (think: coat-hanger), and the cheeks may be round and shiny from perpetual grinning. There is usually a twinkle of mischief or merriment in the eyes, as though the person is constantly thinking up practical jokes.
That’s not to say that Sages are always being bright and bouncy or attention-seeking. They can also be as serious and business-like as anyone else when dealing with weighty issues or responsibilities. Nevertheless, their overall appearance and demeanor will invariably have some element of the eccentric, flamboyant, or camp. Loud shirts, big wigs, bow ties and fancy spectacles are typical give-always, as is the “motormouth” tendency.
Colorful, scintillating, expressive, charming, perceptive, dynamic, and rarely boring, Sages stand out in the crowd. Whether they choose to be outrageous or informative, the Sage is an insightful emissary of the human condition, masterfully bridging playfulness with wisdom. They may try to claim center stage, but then again, the Sage has something to say.
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