According to the Michael Teachings, before each of us begins our incarnational sojourn on the planet, we choose one of seven Roles (Server, Priest, Artisan, Sage, Warrior, King, Scholar) which serve as the blueprint of who we are, what special abilities we possess, and how we interact with others.

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.

In this system, Servers and Priests are Inspirational roles; Artisans and Sages are Expressive roles; Warriors and Kings are Action roles, and Scholars are the Assimilative role.

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Warriors are persuasive, single-minded doers, often with a hearty sense of humor, and sometimes, the subtlety (and strength) of a Mack truck. They seek challenge.

Kings are warriors' large-picture counterparts. They are charismatic leaders, organizing others to action, sometimes in a tyrannical manner. They seek mastery.

Scholars, rather than being oriented toward doing, are a resource for others. They study and assimilate, intellectually or otherwise. Sometimes, they are overly theoretical and distanced from life. They seek knowledge.

Artisans create what is new, whether in art, hairstyles, or carburetors. They are often warm and playful, sometimes self-deceptive and artificial. They seek originality.

Sages express and communicate. They are witty, friendly, entertaining, and sometimes loud and verbose. They seek insight.

Priests inspire others through their compassion and vision. They sometimes get carried away and take too much on faith or try to force their beliefs on others. They seek what is highest.

And Servers support and nurture others, sometimes in a self-denying and victimized way. They seek the well-being of all.

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 Warriors, 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 ordinal roles -- Server, 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 encompassing.

The Scholar role is neutral (neither cardinal nor ordinal).

The roles are classified as being on one of four axes, or dominant universal qualities: inspiration, expression, action, and assimilation (or neutral).

Servers and Priests are Inspirational roles (the inspiration axis relates to the inner world); Artisans and Sages are Expressive roles (the expression axis relates to bringing the inner world into the outer); Warriors and Kings 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.

Priest eyes are hot and focused.

Server eyes are warm and doe-like.

Warrior eyes are cold and bluntly focused.

King eyes are cold and pointedly focused.

Sage eyes are expressive, and mischievously mirthful when smiling.

Artisan eyes are childlike and radiant (their faces can be rubbery).

Scholar eyes are neutral.