The Hero's Journey Cycle

The cyclical journey that a mono-mythic hero makes from their ordinary world through the extraordinary world and back again has 12 stages.

The hero, uneasy or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background and environment, of comfort family and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.

The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within himself to a source of courage and wisdom.

At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

The hero is tested, sorts out allegiances and meets new enemies in the Special World.

The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Extraordinary World.

The hero enters a central space in the Extraordinary World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life.

The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing 'The Ordeal'. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

The hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Extraordinary World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.