Chapter 10 --  Spiral Dynamics:  Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change
Purple (KinSpirits)  The Clannish Meme

• Obey desires of the mystical spirit beings
• Show allegiance to elders, custom, clan
• Preserve sacred places, objects, rituals
• Bond together to endure and find safety
• Live in an enchanted, magical village
• Seek harmony with nature's power

Each transition is a state of dynamic tension between a more complex meme which is brightening and the preceding one which is fading to less influence.

The Purple meme was first awakened when successful beige living permitted curiosity.

Purple is the mother of communal/collective memes and the first to deal with forces outside the individual.

Kinship and proximity are the binding elements.

While Beige does not comprehend causes, that capacity activates with Purple.

In this zone there is no sense of being able to control nature, only to placate the indwelling spirits in hopes of avoiding harm and achieving harmony.

A vivid collection of myths, legends, and parables flourishes in Purple so much so that the line between what is real and what is fantasy often becomes blurred.

Time is more circular that the straight line most of us understand, meaning that degrees of past, present, and future are often indistinguishable to the Purple mind.

The group sees itself as "The People".  This intense in-group/out-grouping is both strength and weakness for Purple.

Reciprocity is part of the Purple compact and is a key organizing principle for virtually every tribal society.

In this sacrifice-self view, one's life belongs to the trip.

To deal with the awesome and inexplicable ways of nature, Purple groups seek out people whose view is a bit more elaborated than the rest.

Purple aligns forces in the body with touch and natural herbal remedies.

Purple relies on taboos and the people's customs for direction.

Elders are highly respected for their stored wisdom and experience.

The Chieftain's life belongs to an must serve the clan, not vice versa.

In animistic, nature-based Purple there are spirits and souls everywhere.

Religious medals, wedding rings, and lucky charms often carry Purple with them, and their loss can be traumatic and frightening.

Some of the deepest Purple aspects relate to parental bonding and the nuclear family.

the US is surprisingly Purple with regards to the American flag.

Purple art leans to two-dimensionality and symbolic distortion.

Tasks are specified by age or gender and assigned to particular sub-groups - manly work and woman's place.

Purple living is very organic and has little impact on the environment.

PURPLE/red:  Exiting Phase

• Greater exposure to the work reveals how baseless many of the superstitions actually are, challenging the credibility of the Purple leaders.
• Meeting the safety and security needs of people releases energy and resources, thus putting the system in a state of readiness for change.
• To keep Purple under control, leadership pours on more tradition and ritual, stifling those yearning to break free.  The need for personal autonomy creates anarchy in the well-wrought tribal order.
• The natural competition for richer niches ultimately pits Purple groupings against each other, rewarding those who assert themselves and take charge.  There can be only one bull in the Kraal.

The individual begins to find weaknesses in the "leaders" and comes to the conclusion that the spirits are not all-powerful and can even be maneuvered.

As Red looms up, there is a growing sense that a powerful individual can actually influence the world.

The intimidating red/PURPLE warrior who looks and sounds so powerful turns out to be weak and indecisive without the supportive group nearby.

The exiting phase means more personal clout.

In its healthy red/PURPLE is the emergence of the assertive ego and self-confidence in child development.

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Beck, D.E. & Cowan, C.C.  Spiral Dynamics:  Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change.