The Heroic Journey

Joseph Campbell

Campbell developed his idea of heroes and how they operate in cultures built on work he did as an anthropologist. He published his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces which explained the idea that numerous myths from different times and regions seem to share a fundamental structure and stages.

Hero’s Journey, or Monomyth

“The standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation—initiation—return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth. A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

The Hero’s Journey or Monomyth

The hero is separated from his/her familiar world, undergoes initiation and transformation, and then returns to his/her familiar world.

The Hero’s Journey

The journey is usually divided into 3 major parts, with many stages in each part.

3 Main Stages

I. Departure

II. Initiation

III. Return

Stage 1--Departure

The Call

The Call

The Call invites the hero into the adventure, offering the opportunity to face the unknown and gain something of value.

The CallThe Call can take many forms: the hero may have something taken away, find that something is lacking in his/her life, want to restore honor to his/her family, country, etc.

Refusal of the Call

The hero may be reluctant to answer the call, but there is eventually a form of motivation—known as SUPERNATURAL AID-- for the hero to answer the Call.

The Threshold

The ThresholdThe Threshold is the “jumping off point” for the adventure.

The ThresholdThe hero often encounters people who block his/her passage over the threshold. These are known as guardians, helpers, or mentors.

The ThresholdThreshold guardians have two purposes: to protect the hero from taking a journey he/she is unprepared for, and to point the way once the hero is prepared.

The Belly of the Whale

The Belly of the Whale

When the hero reaches the abyss ‘belly of the whale’, he/she faces the greatest challenge of the journey—the hero must surrender completely to the journey and face his/her greatest fear alone.

Stage 2-- Initiation

The Road of Trials

The Road of Trials

On every journey, there are challenges the hero must face. These challenges progress in difficulty, forcing the hero to face both emotional and physical danger.

The Road of Trials

By meeting these challenges successfully the hero builds maturity, skill, and confidence.

The Road of TrialsTwo types of heroic deeds:1. The Physical Deed: The hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves lives.

2. The Spiritual Deed: The hero learns to experience the supernormal range of human spiritual life and then comes back with a message.

The meeting with the goddess

The meeting with the goddess represents the point in the adventure when the person experiences an unconditional love. Although Campbell symbolizes this step as a meeting with a goddess, unconditional love and /or self unification does not have to be represented by a woman.

TemptationThe hero is tempted to leave his journey by someone or something

The Atonement

After the hero has been transformed, he/she achieves atonement.

The Atonement

Atonement means incorporating the changes caused by the journey into the hero’s life, causing him/her to be completely “reborn” and at harmony with life and the world.

The Ultimate Boon

The ultimate boon is the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps serve to prepare and purify the person for this step, since in many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the holy grail.

Stage 3—The Return

The Return

The hero now faces the final stage of his/her journey: the return to everyday life.

The Return

Usually, upon return, the hero discovers a gift that has been bestowed upon him/her in order to better contribute to society.

Master of Two Worlds

For a human hero, it may mean achieving a balance between the material and spiritual. The person has become comfortable and competent in both the inner and outer worlds.

Freedom to LiveMastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.

The Heroic Journey

The Heroic Journey