Campbell’s Categories of the Hero’s Journey THE MONOMYTH Campbell’s Categories of the Hero’s Journey

1. Call to Adventure Hero is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood. Hero has underestimated the power of destiny. dark forest, great tree, babbling spring=examples

2. Refusal of the Call If the hero refuses the quest he will become a victim and will need to be saved. The refusal is the refusal of the hero to give up his own interests.

3. Supernatural Aid Against the ills of the journey, the protective figure promises peace. fairy godmother, Hermes and Thoth=examples.

4. Crossing the First Threshold The hero enters a zone of magnified power. Beyond the darkness is unknown and danger. desert, jungle, deep sea and alien land=examples Odysseus & The Sirens=literary example

5. Belly of the Whale This part of the journey is considered a sphere of rebirth as the hero is swallowed into the worldwide womb or unknown. It may appear that the hero has died. This motif gives emphasis to a lesson that the passage of the threshold is a form of self-annihilation.

6. Road of Trials There is often a dream landscape included with a series of obstacles. The hero is aided by a supernatural helper with advice, charms and secret agents. Odysseus, Hermes and Circe=literary example

7. Meeting with the Goddess All barriers have been overcome. There is an appearance of a mystical marriage of the hero-soul with the Queen Goddess. mothers, sisters, mistresses and brides=examples of the goddess

8. Woman as a Temptress The woman is life and the hero is the knower and master. The woman can tempt the hero in a series of ways. It needn’t be of sexual content. This stage represents the difference between what life ought to be and what it really is.

9. Atonement with the Father Often the hero opposes a father figure during his journey. The son must complete a future task. There is often a radical readjustment of parental images. God vs. Sin=example Woman or goddess usually helps the hero.

10. Apotheosis (glorification) The hero becomes a godlike figure as well as a human hero. The hero attains this award after he has passed all of the obstacles and terrors of ignorance. The hero can be adrogynous in nature. Tieresias and Buddha are examples.

11. Ultimate Boon The born-king hero attains the ultimate boon by making no mistakes and clearing all obstacles. The prize is always scaled to the stature of the hero. Gilgamesh=literary example

12. Refusal of the Return The hero may decide that he does not want to return to the life he once lead. He often enjoys his current stature and his time in his quasi-utopia. Jason and the Golden Fleece=literary example

13. Magic Flight The job of the hero is to restore his society to the level at which he left it. Supernatural aid is involved. Odysseus=literary example

14. Rescue from Without The world may have to come back and get the hero. His land of common day may have to reach out and bring him back to their land.

15. Crossing of the Return Threshold The two kingdoms are usually one in reality. divine and human One is considered to be the forgotten dimension of the world we know. There is usually an exploration of the deed of the hero.

16. Master of the Two Worlds The hero may pass back and forth between the two worlds because he has earned the right (with help) to “rule” both areas.

17. Freedom to Live “The goal of the myth is to dispel the need for such life ignorance by affecting a reconciliation of the individual consciousness and with the universal will” (238). Life is transitory even though it lives in our minds.

ADVENTURE CYCLE call elixir helper Threshold of Adventure flight tests helpers

Works Cited Campbell, Joseph.The Hero With a Thousand Faces. New York: Princeton University Press, 1968.