SITUATIONAL AND SYMBOLIC ARCHETYPES THE QUEST The search for someone or something (talisman) which when found and brought back will restore fertility to a wasted land. THE TASK The nearly superhuman deed the hero must perform to: save the kingdom, win the fair lady, or to prove one’s rightful position. THE JOURNEY The hero goes in search of truth (or information) to restore fertility to the kingdom; or the journey he takes in order to accomplish his task. Usually he descends into a real or psychological hell to discover the darkest truths concerning his faults. He returns to the known world to share this knowledge or save the kingdom. The journey is divided into three main parts: The Departure, The Quest, The Return. Journey Variation A group finds themselves together on a voyage or in an isolated situation. Each member of the group will represent a level of society. As a small representation of society, the group will descend into a real or psychological hell to discover the darkest truths concerning a society or culture. THE INITIATION The “rite of passage” for the hero: an event, a ritual, or a ceremony represents the hero moving from one state to another as from adolescence to adulthood. THE RITUAL The actual ceremony that marks the rite of passage into another state or level of society. The ritual is a signpost for a character’s role in society (the prince becomes a king, the squire becomes a knight) BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL The battle between two basic forces. The future of the kingdom is often at stake. Good triumphs over evil despite great odds, but often a terrible sacrifice by the hero or by the kingdom as a whole must be made to insure victory. THE FALL FROM GRACE Involves a defilement or loss of innocence—often the characters are expelled or banished from a kind of paradise as a penalty. After the hero falls, he must rise from the depths to redeem himself. HEAVEN AND HELL Inaccessible parts of the universe which contain either supernatural or diabolical forces. Represented most commonly by the skies (heaven) or an abyss (hell). DEATH AND REBIRTH Represents the cycle of life in nature and in human life. Morning and spring may represent birth, while winter and evening represent death. It can also represent the Hero’s transformation—the moment near the end of the journey when his thinking, spiritual and/or emotional state, or position in society is changed. The old self dies; the new self is born. THE UNHEALABLE WOUND Any physical, spiritual, emotional, or psychological wound. Time may lessen the pain, but the scar will always remain and shadow the Hero. THE MAGIC WEAPON May be an actual weapon (for example, sword) that only the Hero can use. Or it may be an extraordinary quality that the Hero has that no one else does. INNATE WISDOM vs. EDUCATED STUPIDITY Characters who are supposed to be educated act foolishly or make foolish choices, while true wisdom comes from uneducated common people who are simply born with internal knowledge of the way the world works. SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION The gods or fates intervene or interfere (depending if the supernatural force is for the hero or against him) at some point in the Hero’s journey. LIGHT AND DARK Light represents hope, intelligence, goodness, the truth. Dark represents fear, the unknown, evil. WATER AND DESERT Water can represent rebirth and change (baptism). But when combined with darkness, water can take on a more ominous meaning— the unknown, danger or evil. Deserts are empty, barren places with no life or enlightenment. NATURE vs. THE MECHANISTIC WORLD A contrast between the natural world and the manmade world, or nature and civilization. Nature is often represented in a positive way—pure, innocent, clean. The mechanistic world is full of coldness, fear, danger. FIRE AND ICE Fire can be dangerous, but it also represents warmth, light, knowledge, life, and rebirth. It can even represent growth, as a purifier or strengthener (think metals and blacksmithing), even though it is painful. Ice represents lifelessness, sterility, ignorance, death. HAVEN OR WILDERNESS A haven is a safe place, where the wilderness is a place of danger. FATHER/SON CONFLICT Separated during childhood, often in a mutual struggle, these individuals meet again as men. MENTOR/PUPIL RELATIONSHIP In this relationship, an archetypes teaches the initiate by example, the skills necessary to survive the quest. TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS The hero comes into a new awareness of problems along with new hope for the community. The awakening is often the climax of the story—the “ah-ha” moment. YOUNG MAN FROM THE PROVINCES (also known as orphan) Spirited away as a young man and raised by strangers-later returns to his home and heritage where he is a stranger who can see new problems and solutions. INITIATES (also known as innocents) Young heroes or heroines who, prior to their quest, must endure some training and ceremony.