The Hero’s Journey What is it? Why is it important to understand?

Hero’s Journey and Odyssey Call to Adventure Odysseus and the Greek leaders are called to battle Troy. Refusal of the Call Odysseus acts insane, until he must stop to protect his son. Supernatural/Mentor’s Assistance Athena aids both Odysseus and Telemachus. And Telemachus is literally aided by Mentor! Crossing the Threshold/Departure Odysseus leaves Ithaca to head to Troy. Odysseus leaves Calypso’s island.

The Call to Adventure The Hero learns that he must leave the known world behind and venture to unknown regions. How the Hero reacts to the call to adventure varies. The Herald is a person, message, or crystallizing incident that sets the Hero/Protagonist on the path of adventure. "Nothing interesting happened in The Protagonist's life... until, one day, X stumbled into her world and changed it forever."The Protagonist

Refusal of the Call Events then conspire to force them to accept the call, and in a good number of cases, the events in question hit home in a very tragic fashion. “Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan. I've got to go home. It's late, I'm in for it as it is!” “There's nothing here for me now.”

Supernatural/ Mentor’s Aid The Hero receives gifts and/or knowledge from a powerful being, such as a respectful, wise figure or a supernatural one. The gift in question will be special, powerful, magical, and in most cases is vital.

Crossing the Threshold AKA: “Down the Rabbit Hole” The conscious, willing decision to embark on the adventure and leave the known world behind. The Hero takes that first step into the unknown, crossing into the “new world,” their first encounter with the unfamiliar.

The Matrix: All Four in One Scene “You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Road of Trials A series of tests, tasks, or ordeals that the person must undergo to begin the transformation Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes. External and Internal Trials

Temptation the hero faces those temptations, often of a physical or pleasurable nature, that may lead him or her to abandon or stray from his or her quest Original title of “Woman as Temptation” is because the Woman is a metaphor for the physical or material temptations of life

Ultimate Boon The goal of the journey is achieved. 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. The boon can be an event/victory, an item, a concept (love, freedom, etc), and more.

Freedom to Live Mastery 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. freedom from negative emotions. Negative emotions such frustration, sadness, shame, fear, depression, doubt and despair are banished and instead they are able to celebrate the victory.