The document outlines Joseph Campbell's theory of the "hero's journey" or "monomyth", which describes a common pattern found in myths and stories from around the world. It consists of 17 stages that the hero goes through, including a call to adventure, supernatural aid, trials and temptations, atonement with the father, and return home with knowledge gained. The stages involve leaving home, facing challenges, meeting mentors, achieving a goal or "boon", and bringing that boon back to share with others. Carl Jung's concept of archetypes and the collective unconscious influenced Campbell's theory that certain story patterns are universal across cultures.

1. The Hero Cycle

2. I m p o r t a n t Background

5. Just as the human body shows a common anatomy over and above all racial differences , so, too, the human psyche possesses a common substratum transcending all differences in culture and consciousness .

6. I have called this substratum the collective unconscious , … [which] is … the brain structure irrespective of all racial differences .

7. Just as everyone has two arms and two legs, so too does everyone share common ideas for stories and the characters who populate the tales.

10. First Major Section of the Cycle Departure

13. The call [is] a … moment, of spiritual passage , which, when complete, amounts to a dying and birth . The familiar life horizon has been outgrown; the old concepts, ideals, and emotional patterns no longer fit ; the time for the passing of a threshold is at hand. Campbell says this about the call to adventure :

14. Remember Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, who called first Bilbo and then Frodo?

16. The refusal is essentially a refusal to give up what one takes to be one’s own interest . Campbell says this about the refusal of the call :

17. What? You want me to leave and give up all this?

18. Do you want your life to be this, a wasteland of dry stones?

19. … Or do you want your life to be this, a flowering world?

21. For those who have not refused the call, the first encounter … is with a protective figure … who provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to pass. Campbell says this about supernatural aid :

22. Stage 4: Crossing of the First Threshold Threshold Great Unknown Sphere of Knowledge I am so out of here!

23. The hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to … the entrance zone of magnified power. Beyond … is darkness , the unknown , and danger . Campbell says this about the crossing of the first threshold :

24. Campbell says, “The hero … is swallowed into the unknown, and would appear to have died.”

26. Second Major Section of the Cycle Initiation

28. Once having traversed the threshold, the hero … must survive a succession of trials . Campbell says this about the road of trials :

30. [The goddess] is the incarnation of the promise of perfection …. She … guides [the hero] to burst his fetters . Campbell says this about the meeting with the goddess :

32. Not even monastery walls, … not even the remoteness of the desert, can defend against female presences ; for as long as the [hero’s] flesh clings to his bones and pulses warm, the images of life are alert to storm his mind . Campbell says this about the woman as temptress :

33. Woman as Temptress: Sirens

35. There is a new element of rivalry in the picture: the son against the father for mastery of the universe . Campbell says this about the atonement with the father :

36. Eventually, Luke realizes that his father and he share the same potential to be evil.

37. apotheosis n. Exaltation to divine rank or stature; deification; Stage 10

39. The ease with which the adventure is here accomplished signifies that the hero is a superior man , a born king . Where the usual hero would face a test, the elect encounters no delaying obstacle and makes no mistake . Campbell says this about the ultimate boon :

40. Third Major Section of the Cycle R e t u r n

41. The hero-quest requires that the hero return . The responsibility has been frequently refused . Campbell says this about Stage 12, the refusal of the return :

42. What? Leave all of this fun?

43. The final stage of [the hero’s] adventure is supported by all the powers of his supernatural patron … or complicated by … magical obstruction. Campbell says this about Stage 13, magical flight :

44. Magical Flight: Helped or Hindered by Supernatural Powers

45. The world may have to come and get him . Society is jealous of those who remain away from it , and will come knocking at the door. Campbell says this about Stage 14, rescue from without :

46. Stage 15: The Crossing of the Return Threshold Old Sphere of Knowledge The Now Known Unknown Hero’s Reentrance I’m back!

47. He [must] re-enter … where men who are fractions imagine themselves to be complete . Campbell says this about crossing the return threshold :

48. Freedom to pass back and forth across the world division … is the talent of the master . Campbell says this about Stage 16, freedom to live :

49. Master of the Two Worlds Old Sphere of Knowledge The Now Known Unknown The Hero-Now-Master Wherever , whenever , I am free to act!

50. Powerful in insight , calm and free in action , … the hero is the conscious vehicle of the terrible, wonderful Law of the Universe, whether his work be that of butcher , jockey , or king . Campbell says this about Stage 17, master of two worlds :

51. What You Need to Know for the The Hero Cycle Exam Or Your Road of Trials

53. The End.