We
usually divide the Hero’s Journey Archetype into eight 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
duration of the experiences will vary from one person to another.
Separation (from the known)
The Call
The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentor)
Initiation and Transformation
The Challenges
The Abyss
The Transformation
The Revelation
The Atonement
The
Return (to the known world)
The Return (with a Gift)
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 may lock
ourselves into unending adolescence, forfeiting the benefits, freedom and
fulfillment of adulthood.
The Separation
The Call
The Call invites us into the adventure, offers us the
opportunity to face the unknown and gain something of physical or spiritual
value. We may choose willingly to undertake the quest, or we may be dragged into
it unwillingly.
The Call may come boldly as a "transformative
crisis," a sudden, often traumatic change in our lives. Or it can sneak up
on us gradually, with our first perception of it being a vague sense of
discontent, imbalance or incongruity in our lives. Within this range the Call
can take many forms: we have had something taken from us, our family, or our
society; our quest is to reclaim it, we sense that there is something lacking in
our life, and we must find what is missing, we want to save or restore honor of
our own, our family's, or our country's. We realize that something is not
permitted to members of our society, and we must win these rights for our
people.
On a psychological level, the call might be an
awareness of a shift in our spiritual or emotional "center of
gravity." We discover that we have outgrown the roles we are playing or the
environment in which we live.
The Threshold
Once called to the adventure, we must pass over the
Threshold. The threshold is the "jumping off point" for the adventure.
It is the interface between the known and the unknown. In the known world, we
feel secure because we know the landscape and the rules. Once past the
threshold, however, we enter the unknown, a world filled with challenges and
dangers. Often at the threshold, we encounter people, beings, or situations
which block our passage. These "threshold guardians" have two
functions. They protect us by keeping us from taking journeys for which we are
unready or unprepared. However, once we are ready to meet the challenge, they
step aside and point the way. More importantly, to pass the guardian is to make
a commitment, to say: "I'm ready. I can do this."
Early in our lives, our parents function as our threshold guardians. They
try to keep us from doing things that would cause us harm. As we get older, our
parents' job becomes more difficult. They must both protect and push, measuring
our capabilities against the challenges we must face. As adults, our threshold
guardians are much more insidious. They are our fears, our doubts, and our
ineffective thought and behavior patterns. In fact, they may be the "dragon
in disguise," our greatest fear, the catalyst for the journey, taunting and
threatening, daring us to face him in the abyss.