The Hero’s Journey
1. Call to Adventure
- What stage of life is he or she in?
- What do you see coming next for this person?
- What would cause the person to leave this stage, to “leave home”?
- What is the person doing when the call comes? Is it an accident, a blunder, something planned, or hoped for? Is it anticipated or dreaded?
2. Refusal of the Call
- Does the hero refuse the call?
- If so, what motivates the refusal? Obligation and duty, fear, a sense of inadequacy to take on the quest, a dread or dislike of the task to be taken on?
- Is the person ready to leave home, to accept adult status? If not, why?
3. Supernatural Aid (assistance from someone)
- What special friends or helpers does the hero have?
- Does the hero receive some magical help, advice, or talisman from someone wise and benevelont?
- Is their someone who helps them prepare to leave on their journey?
- Is it a one time assistance, or will the helper (or helpers) appear throughout the journey?
- Is the helper an internal aspect of the hero?
4. Crossing of the 1st Threshold (enters a new world)
- What world is being left; what world is being entered?
- What or who is guarding the threshold?
- What obstacles must the hero overcome to truly begin the journey? -limits of home or society, limits of personality, limits of perception, physical limits?
- What events cause the person to cross the threshold?
- What is the threshold and how does the person cross it?
5. Belly of the Whale (transform into a new person-thrust into trauma)
- Is the person ready to transform? Does he or she enter the belly of the whale willingly, or is he or she thrust or captured in that place?
- What self is being left? The self of childhood? Of incomplete or unfulfilled adulthood? An outgrown self?
- What self is the person moving toward?
- What will symbolize this stage in the story?
6. The Road of Trial
- Given this person’s background and experience, what kinds of trials or ordeals make sense for him or her? What would be truly challenging for this person?
- What does the person fear and how will this fear be represented to him or her?
- What does the person consider to be obstacles to progress or growth?
- Does the person have some personality or character traits that will be mirrored back to him or her in a challenging way?
- What strategies, skills, insights, known or unknown strengths or talents, etc, does the person use or develop to survive or resolve these trials?
- What assistance, seen or unseen does the person have or receive to deal with these trials?
7. Meeting with the Goddess
- How will this step be represented in the story?
- Does the person have a soul mate, an other half? Does an all loving god or goddess, or non-gendered but supremely loving force make itself known to the person?
- Can the person accept and/or identify with the ultimate creative/destructive nature of the universe?
- Does the person begin to understand or experience the union of opposites, for example spiritual/material, good/bad, male/female, life/death, etc.
8. Woman as the Temptress
- Given this person’s background and experience, what kinds of temptations make sense for him or her?
- Is this person on a spiritual journey, will he or she experience the temptations of the flesh?
- Are there habitual patterns of thought or behavior that serve to undermine, or tempt the person from his or her path?
9. Atonement with the Father
- How does the person resolve him or herself with the sources of control and power in his or her life?
- What experiences mark the person as ready to take on the new roles of his or her transformed self?
- What behaviors, attitudes, relationships, dependencies, body parts, must be sacrificed to achieve this?
10. Apotheosis
- Given this person’s background and experience, what would heaven be for him or her?
- What does this person know or experience now that is beyond good and evil, male and female, life and death?
- Does the person give him or herself a moment to bask in the glow of what has been achieved?
11. The Ultimate Boon
- Given this person’s background and experience, what would be the goal of his or her quest? What is the ultimate boon for this person?
- Was there a stated goal of the quest? If so has it changed? Has the person learned more or less than he or she expected?
- What are the rewards of this person’s journey?
- What relationship does this person now have to his or her own immortality, gods, or god-like figures?
12. Refusal of the Return
- Does the person refuse to come back to everyday life?
- Is the person concerned that their message won’t be heard, or that their gifts will be unappreciated, or that the wisdom gained can not be communicated?
13. The Magic Flight
- Are there obstacles to the person’s returning to normal life?
- Given this person’s background and experience, what kink of obstacle would make sense or be especially difficult or suiting to his or her situation?
- Will these obstacles further enlighten us about either the person, their quest, or their boon?
14. Rescue from Without
- Must the person be rescued from their journey?
- Can their original guides and assistants still help them?
15. Crossing of the Return Threshold
- What marks the person’s return to normal life?
- What challenges does the person face in integrating the experience of the quest into his or her life?
- Can/does the person share his or her experiences and the wisdom gained from them with others?
- How do others receive the person upon the return?
16. Master of the Two Worlds
- Given this person’s background and experience, what would represent the two worlds in his or her life?
- Does this person demonstrate his or her mastery of both the spiritual and material, the inner and outer worlds?
17. Freedom to Live
- Does the person achieve the ability let go of the fear of death, to live in the moment, to neither anticipate the future nor regret the past?