The Departure The Hero's Journey Home / Beginnings The Call to Adventure Freedom to Live Refusal of the Call Supernatural Assistance Master of Two Worlds Crossing the First Threshold Crossing of the Return Threshold The Belly of the Whale Rescue from Without The Quest/Initiation The Magic Flight The Road of Trails Refusal of the Return The Meeting with the Goddess The Return Encounter with Temptations Atonement with the Father Apotheosis The Ultimate Boon
THE HERO'S JOURNEY EXPLAINED The archetypal hero appears in all,, and of the world. He is an expression of our personal and collective. All archetypal heroes share certain. They can be seen as a metaphor for. In other words, the hero shows us the path to our own consciousness through. This journey can be found in ancient and modern literature..even in contemporary film.. The Hero's Home / Beginnings But the makers of legend have seldom rested content to regard the world s great heroes as mere human beings who broke past the horizons that limited their fellows and returned with such boons as any man with equal faith and courage might have found. On the contrary, the tendency has always been to endow the hero with extraordinary powers from the moment of birth, or even the moment of conception This accords with the view that the herohood is predestined, rather than simply achieved. --Joseph Campbell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces (319) The early life of the hero is usually a one that determines the manner in which he will accept and carry out his journey. A hero's will almost always have an unusual aspect to it. Many heroes are born or are in at birth. There may be a regarding his destiny. Either way, he is marked by these circumstances as, as bound for. The Stages of the Hero's Journey We usually divide the Journey into three main stages of seventeen steps, but you must remember that the journey is a single process and an individual adventure towards growth and transformation. As such, the sequence of elements and the length of the experiences will vary from one person / character to another. I. Departure (from the known world) The Call to Adventure Refusal of the Call Supernatural Assistance The First Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentor) The Belly of the Whale
II. III. The Quest [Initiation through Transformation] The Challenges / Road of Trials The Meeting with the Goddess The Encounter with Temptations The Atonement with the Father The Apotheosis The Ultimate Boon The Return (to the known world) The Refusal of the Return The Magic Flight Rescue From Without Crossing the Return Threshold Master of Two Worlds Freedom to Live Remember that the journey is a process of separation, transformation, and return. Each stage must be completed successfully if we are to become Heroic. To turn back is to reject our innate need to grow, and unless we set out again, we severely threaten our ability to reach the transformation of consciousness necessary to return health and well-being to ourselves and to our "kingdom." I. The Departure A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder --Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (30) A. The Call to Adventure The call to adventure is the point in a hero s life when he first discovers that life as he knows it is going to, whether he wants it to or not. The Call may come boldly through the of an individual, or through a, often traumatic in our lives. Or it can sneak up on us, with our first awareness of it being a vague sense of,, or in our lives. B. Refusal of the Call or feelings of may motivate the hero to refuse the call to adventure. Often the hero feels that he has it " and refuses to give up all that he currently has (often resulting in the hero being to move on). The hero doesn't understand that the refusal of the call means. The hero may view his present system of ideals, virtues, goals, and advantages as and, or the hero may be waiting for. Sometimes the refusal will be encouraged by.
C. Supernatural Assistance An individual - usually (old crone or old man) appears on the scene to provide the hero with something ( or ) that will help the hero in his adventure - perhaps a to fight the dragon or a to help the hero believe in him/herself. D. The Crossing of the First Threshold The hero ventures into an unknown world - the - which breaks from the traditions and norms of his homeland, and the hero meets some. The hero may encounter a " " at the entrance to the unconscious realm. This guardian stands in the way of the hero moving on to the next area, offering resistance or putting the hero to an. Beyond the entrance to this zone is, the, and (desert, jungle, deep sea, alien land, etc.). E. The Belly of the Whale Once the hero has crossed the, his old world is (literally or figuratively). He moves into a world of (the belly of the whale) or and will not come out until he is ready to (so, technically, the hero stays in the belly of the whale through all of ). Often times there will be a "deepest part" to the belly. This stage gets its name from.
II. The Quest - Initiation to Transformation fabulous forces are there encountered, and a decisive victory is won --Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (30) A. The Road of Trials The Hero experiences terrible and miraculous or on the road of trials. There are usually several events that affect the hero at this point. The hero will appear and, but he will also begin to show. The hero finds parts of himself he was unaware of and begins to use that newfound or. The " " that the supernatural agent has given the hero at the time of departure will now start to become useful as the hero learns how to it to his advantage. B. The Meeting with the Goddess After surviving, the hero may experience a great. In many stories it is a romantic love. Or it may be the warm heart filling love we feel for and. It may also be an experience of a love. Either way, the hero gains,,, and wonderful feelings of well being as a result of the experience. C. Encounters with Temptations / Woman as Temptress The hero meets a presence that attempts to the hero's mission. Often the temptress is sent by the working against the hero in order to try to stop the hero from. The hero is misled into. "This is the easy way out." "Stop now or you will be destroyed." "Join us; you will be happy here. These encounters are meant to stop the hero from finishing the journey, and they must be. Like the Meeting with the Goddess, these encounters do not necessarily have to take the form of a female figure.
D. Atonement with the Father One of the classic conflicts in literature both ancient and modern is the conflict. The Father-figure symbolizes ; the hero must overcome,, and that may have been holding him/her back. Sometimes the father-figure is larger than life, and the hero must learn to live outside his. Other times the hero finds himself making up for the of his father. Most simply, this stage shows growth and the ability to take on to move beyond the and embrace the. E. Apotheosis The literal meaning of this term is. After facing and surviving the confrontation with the great power in his or her life, the hero may experience some great, an almost divine gift of, about, about his or in life. Of course, if the hero did not survive the encounter with the great power in his or her life, he or she may actually be in. In this case, it is a period of and before the return journey is made. Usually, some sort of outward physical accompanies this inner. F. The Ultimate Boon The hero receives the that he has been after. All the previous steps serve to prepare and the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something only the truly can obtain - like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail. Though the boon may come in the form of a (like the dragon's treasure), it will more importantly include a mental/emotional reward (like or special wisdom). The boon is, above all else, symbolic of, of the hero s.
III. The Return the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man. --Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (30) A. Refusal of the Return So why, when all has been achieved, the ambrosia has been drunk, and we have conversed with the gods, why come back to normal life with all its cares and woes? Sometimes, when the adventure has been a glorious or very satisfying one, the hero refuses to come back to. The hero often wishes to remain in with his prize. The hero can refuse a return, and may sometimes experience a symbolic "." Or the hero may experience a literal death that follows. Rarely will a true refusal occur, but often times the to refuse a return is evident. It s hard to leave once you ve found it B. The Magic Flight The hero has his reward; now he must return to. There may be forces still working against him (possibly trying to get the back that the hero has taken or to keep him from sharing his with the folks back home). A " " ensues. The hero usually appears as a person by this time. Their final chase is characterized by the hero's and. C. Rescue from Without Just as the hero may have needed a magical guide or helper to set out on the quest, sometimes he or she must have help to, especially if the person has been or weakened by the quest. Or perhaps the person doesn't that it is time to return, that they can return, or that others need their boon ( ). This is sometimes a blow to the hero's, but the hero will recover because he sees the and has accomplished a.
D. The Crossing of the Return Threshold The hero crosses a to return just as when the adventure. The hero s task at this point is, and to. There is a difficulty in the hero's return to the realm; the world has changed and so has the hero. The hero may not be back to his old world. He may feel in his immediate return. The returning hero must survive the impact of the world; he may not be able to verbalize the wisdom he has gained through his journey. The hero conquers the difficulty in returning, showing that he/she is able to. E. Master of Two Worlds The hero has gained in both the spiritual ( ) and physical ( ) worlds. The hero completely gives up all attachment to his personal,, and. The hero no longer tries to live out his plan, but willingly accepts whatever may come to pass in him, focusing more on the plan for. The boon that the hero brings restores not himself, but (water to a drought-ravaged land, protection from an outside invader, etc.). F. Freedom to Live When a hero has survived a great adventure, and has learned to himself, he often becomes from the fear of. The hero reconciles himself to the reality of the cycle of life -. The hero understands that it was only through the " " of his/her former self that the new was able to begin. The hero learns never to be afraid of (destruction or change), he has simply learned " " (exist).
The Journey is a Map While the story of the Journey first manifested itself in the ancient myths and legends, it is still around us today. It is the basis for almost all of the books and plays we read. We see it in television programs such as "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman", "The Adventures of Lois and Clark", and (believe it or not) in "The Simpsons." Even the movies we enjoy -- Forrest Gump, Groundhog Day, Labyrinth, Field of Dreams, Matrix, The Lion King -- are fictional depictions of the Hero's Journey. The Journey gives you a means for understanding and benefiting from these fictional adventures. Even if the characters aren't real, the journeys they take and challenges they face are reflections of the real journeys and challenges we all face in life. As you watch them move through their quests, you can learn from their experiences. Perhaps most importantly, though, the Journey is the pattern that we follow in our own lives as we face challenges and move from child to teenager, from teenager to adult, from adult to old age, and from old age into death. The adventures we face will be challenging and exciting. They can open the doors to knowledge and understanding. If we understand the Journey pattern, we will be better able to face difficulties and use our experiences to become stronger and more capable. Understanding the pattern can help us achieve wisdom, growth, and independence, and taking our Journeys helps us become the people we want to be. "Yet every descent is followed by an ascent; the vanishing shapes are shaped anew, and a truth is valid in the end only if it suffers change and bears new witness in new images, in new tongues, like a new wine that is put into new bottles." Sources: Balfour, Leslie. "Archetypal Gallery." Leslie Balfour, PhD. (2004) <www.lesliebalfour.com> 21 July 2005. ---- Carl G. Jung Campbell, Joseph. The Hero With A Thousand Faces. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1973. Campbell, Joseph [with Bill Moyer]. The Power of Myth. New York: Anchor Books, 1991. Davis, Bryan M. "The Archetypal Hero in Literature, Religion, Movies, and Popular Culture." 11 Oct 1997: 12 pp. Stephen F. Austin University. 21 July 2005. <http://titan.sfasu.edu/~beenet/resources/heromain.html> Delattre, Michele. "The Hero's Journey." Monomyth Home Page (2000) University of California at Berkeley. 19 July 2005 <http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/hero/index.htm> "Joseph Campbell's 'The Hero's Journey.'" Mr. Krulci's English Home Page. (2004) <www.krucli.com/the_hero's_journey.htm> 21 July 2005. Jung, Carl Gustav. Man and His Symbols. New York: Dell Publishing, 1964.