Hero's journey

The monomyth is the cyclical journey undertaken by the standard mythological hero as described by Joseph Campbell, in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The core concept of the monomyth is: "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 men."

The pattern of the monomyth is still found in modern mythology. The pattern was followed by George Lucas in the original Star Wars trilogy (and followed loosely in the prequel trilogy.) Another example of the modern monomyth cycle is Disney's The Lion King and Larry Wachowski's The Matrix.

Structure

The Monomyth is divided into three sections, each made of five parts.

Departure

Call to Adventure

The quest always begins with the hero in a state of neurotic anguish. The call comes when the psychological forces of the mind (Id and Superego) become unbalanced....

Refusal of the Call

When that happens, the adventure can turn into its opposite, and things go sour.

Supernatural Aid

Along the way, the hero often encounters a helper, usually a wise old man, who gives the hero both psychological and physical weapons.

Threshold Crossing

The hero eventually must cross into a dark underworld, where he will face evil and darkness, and thereby find true enlightenment, but first he/she must get past a guardian who guards the threshold.

Belly of the Whale

Having gotten past the threshold guardian, the hero finds him/herself in a place of darkness. It's an ambiguous place of fluid dream-like forms.

Initiation

Road of Trials

Once in the underworld, the hero is repeatedly challenged with mental and physical obstacles that must be overcome.

Meeting With The Goddess

With all the obstacles overcome, the hero can find bliss in the arms of a lover. This is the ultimate prize for the hero.

Woman as Temptress

There is a negative side to the Goddess however, in the form of lustful temptation. This can distract the hero from his ultimate goal and plunge him back into darkness.

Apotheosis

Father and son are often pitted against each other for mastery of the universe. To understand the father, and ultimately the self, the hero must reconcile with this ultimate authority figure.

Ultimate Boon

Having reconciled with the father and achieved personal enlightenment, the hero's psychological forces are again balanced. His new found knowledge, or boon, also has potential to benefit society.

Return

Refusal of the Return

Having found bliss and enlightenment in the underworld, the hero may not want to return with the boon.

Magic Flight

The hero may need to be rescued from without by humanity. This is followed a mad dash to return with the prize.

Crossing the Return Threshold

Before the hero can return to the real world however, he must confront another threshold guardian. The first threshold was a symbolic death; this is now a symbolic rebirth.

Master of Two Worlds

Once the final threshold is crossed, the hero is now free to move back and forth between the two worlds at will. He has mastered the conflicting psychological forces of the mind.

Freedom to Live

With the journey now complete, the hero has found true freedom, and can turn his efforts to helping or teaching humanity.