of us begins our incarnational cycle on the planet, we choose one of seven
which serve as the blueprint for who we are, what special abilities we possess, and how we interact with
Our role is the type of soul we are, the spiritual archetype we embody. Every soul has a particular role that determines his dominant way of being. Although a soul can have only one role, there are secondary role influences from his
essence twin and
(mathematical position within the greater whole). We could say that our role is
our primary style—it determines not so much what we do but how we tend to do
whatever we choose to do. Anyone can do any activity, regardless of role,
although each role tends to gravitate toward certain activities. For example,
since sages are the cardinal expression role, they often like to disseminate information. However, a person should not assume that he is a sage just because he likes to do that—people of other roles may also have that characteristic. A role is not an exclusive, rigid set of behaviors.
The Seven Roles
(Seeks to serve the common good)
Wants to solve the world's problems in a material, physical
sense. Bears up the burdens of mankind. Has a strong tendency toward
domestic living — in the home and family. Not too proud to ask for help.
They seek the well-being of all. Doctor, nurse, social worker,
bureaucrat, waiter, waitress, housewife.
(Seeks creativity and the structure behind it)
and creative in thinking, artistic expression, and engineering.
artisans in the fine arts than any other role. Uses his hands to
produce objects for use by mankind. Manipulates the objective world of
things or symbols of things. The physical world is material to be
used, molded, and fashioned. Artist, inventor, poet, writer, craftsman,
actor, architect, engineer, mechanic, repairman, athlete.
(Seeks a challenge)
and accomplishment oriented. Responds well to reward and punishment
behavior incentives. Sees what is undone and does it. Good at implementing
the directives of others. Likes to explore. Often athletic by nature. Businessman,
salesman, laborer, policeman, soldier, bouncer, boxer, athlete, truck
Often sees life as an experiment.
Views the world
primarily in terms of its information content. Life is seen as a classroom
and the Scholar is the star pupil. Everything is just so much data to be
gathered and sifted. The world is a laboratory to experiment in. The
physical appearance is often androgynous or neutral.
scholar, writer, researcher, mathematician,
(Seeks communication in all things)
The great communicator.
Able to express the
higher mental faculties of wisdom, beauty, love, harmony, and philosophy.
This is the story-doer type, who likes to act out and dramatize his
thoughts through art, music, teaching, salesmanship, or entertainment. He enjoys playing to an audience.
performer, actor, public speaker, teacher, broadcaster.
(Seeks to serve the higher
Sees the potential of people and is good at
eliciting it. Is equipped to bring out the hidden qualities of goodness in
others. A leader of mankind in inspiring others to noble virtues. Has "a
heart of gold." Feels the urge to raise the consciousness of others.
Pastor, minister, preacher, counselor, psychologist.
(Seeks to lead, mandate)
A born leader,
foresees what needs to be done, and sets forces in motion to accomplish
it. Concerned with initiating political or governmental action in the
arena of events. Often impressive or charismatic in appearance — regal
bearing. All of the other Roles tend to defer to a King.
politician, statesman, governor, manager, overseer, steward, president,
See Photos of the Roles
Distribution of Roles
According to Yarbro, roughly twenty-five percent of the
earth’s population (and the sentient population of the entire cosmos) are
Servers, twenty-two percent are
Artisans, seventeen percent are
fourteen percent are Scholars, ten percent are
Sages, eight percent are
Priests, and four percent are
Kings. This follows the order of most ordinal to
most cardinal, with the neutral role, scholar, comprising about one-seventh of
the population. So about sixty-four percent of the population has an ordinal
role, and twenty-two percent has a cardinal role, with, again, fourteen
percent having the neutral role, scholar. On any planet, there may be
historical periods during which these percentages vary.
The Four Axes (or Universal
On the chart at the top of the page,
the roles are classified as being on
one of four axes, or dominant universal qualities: Inspiration,
Action, and Assimilation (or neutral).
- Servers and
Inspirational roles (the inspiration axis relates to the
- Artisans and
Sages are Expressive roles
(the expression axis relates to bringing the inner world
into the outer);
- Warriors and
are Action roles (the action axis relates to doing in the
outer world), and
- Scholars are the Assimilative role
(the assimilation axis is neutral; it provides
objectivity and a resource for the other axes).
The axes are fairly self-explanatory: a role or overleaf on
the inspiration axis, for example, has an inspirational quality; in other
words, it has to do with the inner world. (A definition of inspiration is "the
act of drawing in.") The expression axis has to do with manifesting the
inner world -- for example, communication; it is the bridge between
inspiration and action. The action axis relates to the outer world, or doing.
The assimilation axis is objective and neutral. It provides a resource for the
other axes and helps integrate them.
Since the role is a person's primary way of being, we know
that the primary way of being for Servers
and Priests, the inspiration axis roles,
is inspiration. They need to feel inspired and feel that they are inspiring
others in order to feel that they are being themselves. They may also need to
express themselves, act, and assimilate, but these impulses are not as
important for them. Likewise, Warriors and
Kings, the action axis roles, languish if
they are not in a position to take tangible action. For
Scholars, having information to assimilate is as fundamental as
having food to eat. And Artisans and
Sages suffer if they do not have an
opportunity to express themselves.
Cardinal or Ordinal
The ordinal roles --
Artisan, and Warrior -- relate
to the smaller picture. They're narrowly focused and favor
one-on-one interactions with others. The ordinal side of an axis can be
compared to a camera's zoom lens; it deals with the specific, concrete and
immediate. The ordinal is contracted, and oriented toward detail.
The cardinal roles -- Sage,
Priest, and King -- relate to
the larger picture. They're broadly focused and favor larger groups or the
masses. The cardinal side is like a wide-angle lens; it deals with the
general, abstract, and far-reaching. The cardinal is expanded, broad, and
The Scholar role is
neutral (neither cardinal nor ordinal).
To short, the roles go from most ordinal to most cardinal in this order:
1 Server (most ordinal role)
3 Warrior (least ordinal of the ordinal roles)
4 Scholar (neutral, neither ordinal nor cardinal)
5 Sage (least cardinal of the cardinal roles)
7 King (most cardinal role)
Roles & Inputs
Inputs are psychic receivers used by the roles.
“solid” roles—have one input.
Michael has said that
inputs are like modular slots into which various kinds of perceptions can
be plugged. One input is usually concerned with current reality, the
more-or-less concrete, objective facts of circumstance. The three roles with
just one input focus there, making them more solid, practical types.
each have two inputs.
For the priest,
adding another "slot" that they can use for holding a perception of the higher
good allows them both to be visionary and to bring their vision into practice.
It is similar with servers, except their vision is
"wide" rather than "tall," a vision of what would be good for the whole on a
practical, earth-plane level.
have three inputs.
In Yarbro, Michael talks about how
the three sage inputs makes performing energizing, whereas it can be
enervating for, say, warriors. Sage actors on stage can pay attention to the
audience, the other actors, and their lines at the same time. In other
circumstances, they could use their inputs for other things.
Artisans have five inputs.
An artisan creating a piece of art may be simultaneously aware of many
different ideas he/she wants to put into it, making it easier to weave them
together seamlessly, than, say, for a king artist, who has to go back and
forth among those ideas. Scholar artists can create complex, detailed art with
a lot of concepts in it, but that's different. Artisan art tends to be more
surprising and inventive, maybe more right-brained, with more layers that the
artist may not even be aware of; scholar art tends to be more calculated. Five
inputs make it easier to make the kinds of connections between disparate
elements that we also make in the dream state; artisans tend to daydream a lot
and in general be thought of as dreamers.
Learn more about the
It is not better to be one role than another. Some people think that it’s
better to be a king than a server. From the point of view of our spark, if we
had wanted to be a king, we would be one. The roles describe various styles or
ways of being; they are not measures of importance.
To learn even more about
roles, visit our
database where you can see what the roles look like. Also, discover the
What Role Are You?
Getting curious about your
role? Take our
and learn more about yourself and the special spiritual archetype you embody.
The Seven Roles