The Sage is one of the seven soul types or roles in essence. Naturally entertaining and articulate, Sages excel in communication with both wit and wisdom.
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All The World’s A Stage
The Sage soul type embodies the essence of expressive communication.
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.
The raison d’être of any Sage is 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.
In effect, the Sage’s role is to cheerfully point out who we all are and what we all have in common. And to help us enjoy our shared journey.
The Wise Fool
The word sage has come to mean something like “wise one.” Our mental image of a sage is that of a classical bearded thinker or philosopher, such as Plato and Aristotle. Ironically, however, those people did not see themselves as sages, but as sage-wannabes.
The Greek word Philosophia translates as wisdom-love or desire for wisdom. A philosopher is not someone who has wisdom but someone who wants wisdom. A philosopher aspires to become a sage.
So the archetypal Sage isn’t someone who spends their days stroking their beard, trying to figure out the meaning of life. A Sage is someone who already knows. That’s not to say that any Sage-type individual is a font of infinite wisdom. Rather, it is that these individuals act with the jollity of one who knows just enough to not take life seriously.
To put it another way, while most people seek happiness, and while philosophers seek the understanding of life which they hope might lead to happiness, the Sage simply embodies and expresses happiness.
In effect, a Sage is one who listens to all of life and notices both surprising connections and amusing contrasts, and then takes pleasure in relaying these insights to others. Instead of a bearded thinker, the archetypal image of a Sage is more like a cheerful eccentric — a wise fool.
Sage Characteristics
“I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.” — Oscar Wilde
Sages are natural entertainers, performers, attention-seekers, ham actors, raconteurs, storytellers, court jesters, class clowns. As such, they are very much at home in front of an audience, taking centre stage, relishing the attention.
Sages generally have a quick wit and verbal skill; “the gift of the gab” comes naturally. In their non-verbal behaviour and interactions, they have a tendency to be melodramatic and will often exaggerate for dramatic or humorous effect.
Sages have a constant urge to share their wit and wisdom with the world at large. In the absence of wisdom, though, there is likely to be a constant stream of witty banter and clownish acting.
In children, this can come across as a compulsion to be silly or to play the fool. As a Sage’s knowledge and life experience grows, however, their “act” will become more cultured and polished.
Sages are often stereotypical extroverts, the very opposite of shy and retiring. This is especially true in the Young Soul cycle, which is outwardly focused and energetic. Young Sages can be very outspoken, exuberant, and larger-than-life.
Mature and Old Sages, in contrast, are more thoughtful and increasingly philosophical.
The Sage’s facial features are often unusually big and rubbery or elastic, as the face is a key means of expression. The face itself often looks inflated, elongated or exaggerated in a cartoon-like way.
The smile is often huge (think: coat-hanger), and the cheeks may be round and shiny from perpetual grinning, like Micky Mouse or Father Christmas.
In addition, 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. And with non-expressive overleaves such as observation mode or a stoical attitude or a chief feature of self-deprecation, a Sage can even seem quite subdued.
Nevertheless, their overall appearance and demeanor will invariably have some element of the eccentric, flamboyant, or camp. Sages like to look attractive or at least eye-catching. Loud shirts, big wigs, bow ties and fancy spectacles are typical give-always, as is the “motormouth” tendency.
Sage Soul Evolution
(As a reminder, all souls progress through five stages of self-evolution in physical form — see: Reincarnation: the 35 Steps.)
Baby Sages
In the second stage, Baby Sages tend to specialise in the dramatic expression of rules, dogma, law and order. Which side of the law is another matter. The American gangster Al Capone, the Soviet leaders Nikita Khrushchev and Boris Yeltsin, and the televangelist Jimmy Swaggart are all said to have been Baby Sages. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un looks like another.
Young Sages
Young Sages such as Miley Cyrus are typically extravert attention-seekers. They are drawn to seek fame and fortune as performers, actors, lawyers, orators, TV presenters, and DJs.
Many other well-known stars of stage and screen, past and present, are Young Sages. Examples include Bob Hope, Groucho Marx, Dean Martin, Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Wolfman Jack, Weird Al Yankovic, Jim Carrey, Mariah Carey, Eminem, Miley Cirus, Nicki Minaj, and the TV presenter Steve Irwin.
Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton are examples of Young Sages in leadership roles:
“Before I refuse to take your questions, I have an opening statement.” — Ronald Reagan
“I may not have been the greatest president, but I’ve had the most fun eight years.” — Bill Clinton
Mature Sages
Mature Sages are drawn to more thoughtful and sophisticated forms of dramatic expression, though still retaining a comedic slant. The lessons of the Mature cycle revolve around complex relationship issues and mental/emotional conflicts, which gives Mature Sages a lot of material to work with.
An outstanding example is the playwright William Shakespeare, whose ingenious plays often portrayed human life as a kind of play within a play.
Other famous examples include the Marquis de Sade, Isadora Duncan, Oscar Wilde, Giocomo Puccini, Luciano Pavarotti, Cary Grant, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Jay Leno, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Ellen Degeneres, and Jack Black, plus the US Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Old Sages
Old Sages like Whoopi Golberg, Placido Domingo, George Clooney and the spiritual teacher Rajneesh (Osho) are more relaxed and mellow. (You cn hear it in the voice.) They focus on developing mastery of expressive communication, using their natural wit and wisdom to great effect. They are very comfortable in their own skin. In fact, Sages finally come into their own in this fifth stage, the nature of which is to simply express one’s true nature.
“I love words and speaking: my professional motto for 30 years has been “Have Mouth, Will Travel.” — spiritual teacher Robert Rabbin
Positive and Negative Poles
[As a reminder, any manifestation of consciousness has both a positive pole and a negative pole. The positive pole is an expression of the true self or soul; the negative pole is an expression of the false self or ego.]
Manifesting in the negative pole, Sages can lapse into over-performing, over-acting and being melodramatic rather than being real. Oration or verbosity means hogging the spotlight, “loving the sound of their own voice”, craving attention for its own sake rather than to actually communicate something of value. (See, for example, Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.)
In their positive pole, in contrast, Sages express and communicate insightfully, amusingly, and in a way that brings everyone together on the same wavelength. (See, for example, Jim Carrey in Yes Man.) Using their natural talents for articulation and performance to enlighten as well as to entertain, they are life’s great communicators — indeed, Ronald Reagan’s nickname was “The Great Communicator”.
A Gallery of Sages
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SERVER | ARTISAN | WARRIOR | SCHOLAR | SAGE | PRIEST | KING
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