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“It is good to have an end to journey towards;
but it is the journey
that matters in the end.” - Ursula K. Le Guin
At the beginning of The Hero with a Thousand Faces,
arguably Joseph Campbell’s finest book, the author asserts, “It
would not be too much to say that myth is the secret opening through
which the inexhaustible energies of the Cosmos pour into human cultural
manifestation.”
In our time myth is considered to be more like a
fairy tale or a fictional flight of fancy. But this was not always
the case. In ages past myth was a mechanism for describing profound
truths in a way that could be recognized and remembered. Myths are
carefully crafted stories which transmit timeless truths through
the language of archetypes. Linguistically the word myth equates
with “mouth” and carries the meaning of truth transmitted orally;
or through stories.
Campbell was the premier scholar of myth in modern
times. Drawing on myths and traditions through time and across diverse
cultures he demonstrated how the stages of the archetypal hero’s
journey had the same pattern everywhere. The hero’s journey is structured
as a circle or a cycle which is roughly divided into three phases:
separation (departure), initiation and return. The hero always ventures
forth from a world of safe and ordinary reality and enters a realm
of supernatural wonder where strange forces are encountered. The
journey penetrates the heart of some mystic power, and eventually
the hero wins a decisive and life-enhancing victory, returning from
the magical journey transformed and possessing power to bestow boons
on those left behind.
Since this cyclic journey appears in stunning consistency
in myths and sacred writings around the world it should come as
no surprise that this archetypal pattern is also expressed in the
twelve signs of the zodiac. We can view zodiac, the great wheel
of astrology, as the circular frame of this familiar story.
In Atlantis Rising #62 I examined how the span of
the astrological ages, the Cosmic Months of Precession, might serve
to affect the evolution of the collective consciousness of humanity.
The ages are driven by a stellar mechanism, and at a macro level
Precession acts like a massive clockwork. The astrological signs
on the other hand are a function of time and the solar year and
their mythic content influences our psyches in a more individual
manner. Astrology is living myth. What follows compares the archetypal
nature of the twelve signs to the stages of hero’s journey as described
by Joseph Campbell.
Stages of the Hero’s Journey
I. Departure
1. Aries: Call to Adventure
A seminal trigger acts like a jolt and activates the
impulse to begin the journey. Like birth itself the hero is expelled
from Paradise into the cold, cruel world. Usually, the call comes
in the form of a life crisis or loss which shatters the safe and
bucolic nature of the hero’s previous life. The resonance between
the hero’s call to adventure and the nature of the first sign, Aries,
is easy to see. The rambunctious energy of new life and spring time
and the “headfirst” character of the first sign propels energy into
experience. The hero responds to the ageless call and sets forth
on the quest, signaling the onset of spiritual awakening.
2. Taurus: Supernatural Aid
As the hero or heroine sets out the first experience
is an encounter with a guide. This figure may be an old man in the
guise of a hermit but is just as often a gnarly old crone possessing
wisdom or a key. Campbell says this meeting represents the “benign,
protecting power of destiny,” and like the wonder of a fragile green
shoot pushing through a concrete highway, the force of new life
is tremendous because sufficient power is required to sustain the
initial impulse. To quote Campbell again, “Mother Nature herself
supports the mighty task.” The inherent wisdom of the forces of
nature are embodied in Taurus. Fertility and growth are automatic
processes and provide early support. Ponder the stability of a grazing
cow and the power of a charging bull.
3. Gemini: Crossing of the First Threshold
Now supported in a mysterious way as a result of the
guide, the journey moves into the realm of the unknown. Diverse
experiences await and at this stage of the quest the hero, our psyche,
is driven by Gemini curiosity to acquire as much knowledge as possible.
In mythical tales this phase is filled with lures, traps, wily tricksters
and temptations to snare the unwary. The emphasis is on quantity
and diversity. Likewise in astrology the paramount lesson of Gemini
is gathering data and cultivating discernment.
4. Cancer: Belly of the Whale
Mythically this stage is often called the “belly of
the whale” and stories involve being swallowed, experiencing a symbolic
death, or entering a womb, with the implication of a potential rebirth.
The previous sense of limited and separate identity is “swallowed
up” and a sense of being part of something larger takes its place.
The insular shell of Cancer and the womb it symbolizes acts as a
nurturing container. Symbolically Cancer’s lessons uncover the deep
roots of being and the processes of creation and birth.
II. Initiation
5. Leo: Road of Trials
The stage of the journey termed “road of trials” contains
themes of bravery and courage as the hero faces trials and ordeals
which test his or her mettle and build character. “Here there be
dragons,” as the old maps said. What is at stake is proving oneself,
and along the road of trials the hero recognizes his true spiritual
nature. The significance of this phase is gaining personal dominion.
Disney’s movie The Lion King wove these themes and this specific
archetype into a powerful and timeless story which touched a deep
chord.
6. Virgo: Meeting with the Goddess
Having attained awareness of his divine nature the
hero is ready to meet the Goddess. A mystical marriage occurs as
the hero, representing the soul, unites with the Queen, Goddess
or Mother of the World -- the Cosmic Mother principle. The sacred
feminine energy, called Kundalini in Sanskrit, represents the sacred
mysteries and the power which must be embraced and embodied to achieve
enlightenment. This transformation of love and metamorphosis occurs
at the Virgo stage of the astrological journey. If the mythic sojourner
is female it is here she becomes the consort of a god.
7. Libra: Atonement (At-one-ment) with with the Father
The hero is now elevated to divine status and challenged
to apply the experience gained thus far to the flesh-and-blood beings
in his or her own life. How do the revelations apply to the dynamics
of ordinary human relationships? Astrologically this is certainly
a question for Libra and the lessons of the sign involve reconciling
the pairs of opposites. Part of the deeper realization is the androgynous
nature of the Divine, so the pairs of opposites have a new significance.
8. Scorpio: Ultimate Boon
The next stage is truly magical as the quester reaches
a point where he or she now lives consciously in eternity. The psyche
moves into a realm where duality is left behind. Finally free of
all fear, the two dark masters of pain and pleasure no longer rule.
Stories include drinking magic elixirs and eating the food of the
gods. The sign of Scorpio likewise provides lessons of life, death,
regeneration and immortality. This segment of the zodiac is the
gateway to the unseen and eternal realms.
III. Return
9. Sagittarius: Magic Flight
By virtue of supernatural powers the hero returns
to the realm of ordinary reality and back to the world left behind.
It is now the responsibility of the enlightened and transformed
hero or heroine to share their wisdom with still-slumbering humanity.
The Buddha chose not to enter Nirvana but instead to remain and
offer his enlightenment so that the souls of Earth could take the
same journey. The sign of Sagittarius is the domain of dreams, shamanic
journeys and otherworldliness. All of these experiences are meant
to widen our horizons and confer wisdom.
10. Capricorn: Crossing of the Return Threshold At
this stage our returning hero realizes that the two kingdoms are
actually one. Although he seemed to travel in a magical realm peopled
with gods and demons the journey was in fact an inner one. Appearances
have been deceiving and an enlightened consciousness is a matter
of degree of the same awareness. There is no separation and matter
is actually crystallized light. Capricorn is the Seagoat who partakes
of the sum total of the depths and heights of manifest existence
and contains the entirety of evolutionary experience.
11. Aquarius: Master of the Two Worlds Perceiving
the true nature of reality the hero is now able to travel from the
Above to the Below and back like Hermes moving from Hades to Mount
Olympus by virtue of his Caduceus wand. The hero now moves in a
spiritual manner along the Mystical Caduceus at will and by choice.
This represents the Aquarian realm of higher mind and ethereal states
of consciousness and rarified energies which most of us have not
yet glimpsed.
12. Pisces: Freedom to live Campbell describes this
last phase as “Individual consciousness reconciled to universal
will.” Having come full circle the hero achieves the sublime surrender
aptly represented by the twelfth sign of Pisces. This stage involves
the capacity for sacrifice on behalf of others which is not suffering
but instead a complete alignment with the One through understanding.
The hero or heroine now possess true compassion which is the result
of sharing the hearts of humanity and recognizing the essential
unity of all life.
Odyssey
The hero’s journey is the eternal quest which has
been chronicled in every land and tongue. The hero represents the
Soul of Everyone who journeys through space-time on an epic return
to the Source. Heroes and heroines from the great stories stand
out as shining examples, but sooner or later we must all place our
feet on the “yellow brick road.” As metaphor this journey contains
a map of the inner quest we all embark upon; an ancient Path of
illumination. Life has a grand purpose and we are not meant to be
merely spectators.
The Wheel of the Zodiac contains the blueprint of
our becoming and is another symbolic map we all follow. Likewise
the individual horoscope contains the archetypal focus for each
lifetime, revealing lessons we must meet and master. At the dawn
of the Aquarian Age the pathway into the forest seems more like
a moving sidewalk.
Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces,
Princeton University Press, 1949 & 1968
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