Hero's Journey

Tests/ Enemies/ Allies or The Road of Trials:

A series of tests, tasks, obstacles, ordeals that the hero must undergo to begin their transformation. The hero will have to learn about themselves and the Special World's rules/norms in order to accomplish goals. What they learn along the way is meant to fortify them for the "supreme" ordeal to come. Often the person fails one or more of these tests, which often occur in threes. Early challenges are relatively easy, but the challenges increase in difficulty as the quest progresses. The challenges reflect the needs and fears of the hero, striking at the hero's most vulnerable emotions, poorest skill, shakiest knowledge.

Reward:

Having survived death or slain the monster, the hero takes possession of the treasure, the sought-after reward. The reward, whatever it may be, is given to the hero in recognition of his/her perseverance and strength, or the hero seizes or steals the reward. The Reward can take many forms: a magic sword, a healing potion, reconciliation, a realization. It is or represents the achievement of the goal of the quest. It is what the person went on the journey to get. All the previous steps served to prepare and purify the hero for this step. In many myths the boon is something transcendent like the elixir of life itself, or a plant that supplies immortality, or the Holy Grail. If the hero stole the reward, they have to deal with that choice and the consequences of that theft. Shadow forces may try to take back the reward! Unless something is brought back from the Ordeal in the Innermost Cave, the hero is doomed to repeat the adventure. The consequences of attempting to change.

Refusal of the Call

Often when the call is given, the future hero refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear, insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his or her current circumstances. Something inside them doesn't want to do this, doesn't want to go -- something inside holds them back. The Refusal of the Call is an essential stage that communicates the risks involved in the journey that lies ahead.

Meeting the Mentor/ Supernatural Aid

Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears or becomes known. This person has some kind of advice, insight, wisdom, training, magic or magical gifts that helps the hero overcome the initial fears and face the threshold of the adventure. The mentor is typically a physically being, but can also be an object or an inner mentor, a strong code of honor or justice that guides the hero through the journey; oftentimes the mentor offers stability: a psychological foundation for when the danger is the greatest.

The Belly of the Whale— The Final Threshold

The final separation from the hero's known world and self. The separation from the Ordinary World is complete. The experiences that will shape the Special World and the hero will begin shortly, or may be beginning with this experience which is often symbolized by something dark, unknown and frightening. By entering this stage, the hero shows their willingness to undergo a metamorphosis, to deal with the consequences of having answered the call to adventure. This is where the adventure, the quest, the journey really begins.

The Supreme Ordeal:

The fortunes of the hero hit bottom in direct confrontation with his/her greatest fear. It's a life or death crisis. The hero might actually die or might experience some "figurative" type of death (eg: locked away in a tower; in a coma; dead but revived later by magic, etc). They face the possibility of death and are brought to the brink in a battle with a hostile force. This is the key element in rites of passage or rituals of initiation into fraternities or secret societies. The hero has to "die" so they can be "reborn" in the Resurrection stage. In this stage, the journey is on the brink of failure.

Approach to the Inmost Cave:

The hero comes to the edge of a dangerous place: sometimes deep underground or a literal cave or the headquarters of the hero's greatest enemy. Things are getting bad, but they will get worse. This may be a time for the hero to make preparations for the fight to come, or to rest before it. Sometimes, this is where the object of the quest is hidden. It is the most dangerous location (literally or figuratively) in the Special World.

The Road Back:

The hero is not out of the woods yet, beginning to deal with the consequences of confronting the dark forces associated with the Supreme Ordeal. If the hero has not yet reconciled with a parent, the gods, or the hostile forces, they may come raging after the hero. Just because the majority of the adventure has passed doesn't mean that the return journey will be smooth sailing. There are still lesser homebound obstacles to overcome. The trick in returning is to retain the wisdom gained on the quest, to integrate that wisdom into a human life, and then maybe figure out how to share the wisdom with the rest of the world. This is usually extremely difficult.

The Call to Adventure

The point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not. They are faced with an event that calls them to a journey of some kind.

Return with the Elixir:

The true hero returns to the Ordinary World with the final treasure or reward— a lesson, magic potion to heal, or knowledge that could be useful to the community. Sometimes the treasure is won on the quest, but it may be love, freedom, wisdom or the knowledge that the Special World exists and can be survived. Sometimes it's just coming home with a good story to tell. Even the tragic end of a hero's journey can yield the best Elixir, using it to heal a physical or emotional wound and accomplish tasks that were previously feared in the Ordinary World. In most tales, the Return with the Elixir completes the cycle of this particular Journey. Story lines have been resolved, balance has been restored to the ordinary World, and the hero may now embark on a new life, forever influenced by the Journey traveled.

The Resurrection:

This is often a second life and death moment, almost a replay of the death and rebirth of the Supreme Ordeal. The hero withstands one last desperate attempt by death and darkness to determine if he/she has internalized the lessons gleaned from the Supreme Ordeal, to show that he/she has achieved heroic status. Allies may come to the hero's aid at the last minute, but the hero must rise to the sacrifice at hand, as the ticking clock of the Road Back has been initiated. The Resurrection may be a Physical or Psychological Ordeal. The stakes of this final battle are high: other lives or an entire world may be at risk. While the hero is transformed by the Ordeal of Rebirth and returns to the Ordinary World transformed, the hero maintains attributes of his/her Ordinary self, in addition to the lessons and insights gleaned from the characters and struggles encountered throughout the journey. A new self must be created for the new world. Just as heroes had to shed their old selves to enter the Special World, they now must shed the personality of the journey and build a new one that is suitable for return to the Ordinary World.

Ordinary world

This is the hero's customary element. This sets up the contrast with the special world she/he is about to enter. In the Ordinary World, the reader is given the opportunity to to identify with the hero before the journey begins.

The Crossing of the First Threshold

This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving behind the security and knowledge that comes with knowing the landscape and rules of the Ordinary World.