Puer Aeternus: Archetype Anatomy
Puer aeternus. Latin for “eternal child,” used in mythology to designate a child-god who is forever young; psychologically it refers to an older man whose emotional life has remained at an adolescent level, usually coupled with too great a dependence on the mother.
The shadow of the puer is the senex (Latin for old man), associated with the god Cronus—disciplined, controlled, responsible, rational, ordered. Conversely, the shadow of the senex is the puer, related to Hermes or Dionysus—unbounded instinct, disorder, intoxication, whimsy. Like all archetypes, the puer is bipolar, exhibiting both a “positive” and a “negative” aspect.