Anyone who has taken an English Composition class or read hero centered fiction has seen or come to understand the basic structure of “The Hero’s Journey.” Whether discussing Frodo and the Ring of Power, or Luke Skywalker’s decision to fight the Galactic Empire, this method of storytelling is compelling, entertaining, and has a natural story arc for the main character or protagonist.
The phrase “The Hero’s Journey” was coined in a book published by Joseph Campbell in 1949 called The Hero of a Thousand Faces. In the book, Campbell referred to the protagonist as “The Monomyth” because all myths contained the same basic structure. The structure, as identified and cataloged by Campbell, consists of 12 steps:
Stage 1: The Departure
The Ordinary World. This is where we meet the Hero and identify with him.
The Call to Adventure. A challenge or quest is proposed.
Refusal of the Call. The Hero initially rejects this call because of fear, hesitation, insecurity, or another reason.
Meeting the Mentor. The mentor helps the Hero gain confidence, gives insight, or advice to overcome the fears
Crossing the Threshold. This signifies that the Hero has committed to the journey.
Stage 2: The Initiation
Tests, Trials, Allies, Enemies. The Hero needs to learn who can be trusted.
Approach to the Innermost Cave. Preparations are needed and might include maps, and reconnaissance to enter the cave.
The Ordeal. This is the greatest fear and most difficult challenge.
The Reward. The Hero overcame the greatest fear and challenge to earn the reward.
Stage 3: The Return
The Road Back. This stage is comprised of the Hero recommitting to complete the journey and accept the road back to the ordinary world.
The Resurrection. This can be the most dangerous life-and-death ordeal for the Hero and is the climax of the story.
Return with the Elixir. The final reward after the Hero was resurrected, purified, and has returned to the ordinary world.
Some scholars claim there are as many as 17 separate steps or events, and many Masons would say there are more than 17 steps or events in their Masonic journey. It is not the purpose of this article to give an absolute breakdown of the Hero’s journey and Masonic experience, but to point to similarities of our common experience and the monomyth/Hero’s journey. Hopefully, by looking at this literary device we can walk away with a better understanding of what our candidates want and have received.
In the first stage titled “The Departure,” we see a few important events which include the recognition of the “Ordinary World,” the response to “The call To Adventure,” “Meeting the Mentor,” and “Crossing the Threshold.” These components are prevalent throughout the Hero’s myth and are not uniquely Masonic, which Pierce A. Vaughn described recently in his book Renaissance Man and Mason in a chapter detailing the role of the pyschopomp.
The “Ordinary World” is everything outside our figurative lodge rooms. I say figurative because even in the context of an outdoor degree we still have an outer door and thus an “Ordinary World” that is always guarded by the Tyler. Passing the “outer door” is the response to the Masonic “Call to Adventure.” This is when our Hero/candidate responds to his scheduled initiation and shows up for his degree. He meets his brethren upon arrival, and from their ranks, his mentor emerges. Our Brother then takes his EA and “Crosses the Threshold” into “The Extraordinary World.”
The candidate or “Hero” could have “Met the Mentor” prior to initiation, but the mentor role is not truly understood until after “The Initiation” and the mentor/lecturer assigned. It is here that our candidate enters the second stage by experiencing “Tests and Trials.” Every jurisdiction is different and the requirements to go from “Initiation” to “Raising” can vary significantly. For example, every candidate in my home jurisdiction must memorize the answers to his lecture or catechism as completely as possible and recite them in open lodge unless a committee is appointed. The process is very linear to move from EA, through FC, and finally to MM.
The “Hero” makes his way through the aforementioned trials gaining knowledge of the craft. He does all of this by slowly moving towards the “Innermost Cave” and his showdown with destiny or “The Ordeal.” This could be at the end of the first section of the Master’s degree or the beginning of the second section. This is where our Brother discovers he is NOT what he thought himself to be. His fears of being found lacking are realized.
Here the story’s pace quickens. The candidate receives “The Reward” or “Seizes the Sword” and is allowed to continue his journey and is set on the path to the “Roadblock” as he enters the third and final stage of his journey “The Return.” We meet the enemy or enemies of man at this time and have the final showdown with man’s ultimate antagonist. Vaughn notes that, as the initiate progresses, the role of the “Hero” increases, and the role of his guide diminishes, as he finds his true, higher self. After all of the lessons taught and the virtues instilled, the “Hero” has no choice and accepts his fate on his rough and rugged road. Here the showdown happens, and “The Resurrection” part of our story begins as the candidate sacrifices everything.
Then with the act of Raising, we see our candidate or “Hero” start their journey back to the “Ordinary World” with the “Magic Elixir.” He has seen and done amazing things that distinguish him from his peers in the cold and common world. He has learned much and acquired new skills. Perhaps he puts these to use in his everyday life, or perhaps he becomes an adventurer always searching for light. In either case, his character arc is completed. He is not the same man who entered our sacred space.
Now that we have taken stock of what “The Hero’s Journey” is we need to come to an understanding of why it is important. Men join our fraternity for a number of reasons, and those specific reasons can vary dramatically from man to man, or lodge to lodge. As Carl Jung pointed out in Man and his Symbols, the universal Hero myth is an archetype that has been deeply seated in all of our conscious existence from time Immemorial What is extremely interesting is that the younger men that our Lodges so desperately want to court, and have as members are looking for some very specific outcomes. We see a common theme from the annual lists compiled by jurisdictions all over the country. These men are more interested in the esoteric teachings of Freemasonry along with the transformational experiences they heard their grandfathers speak about or have seen hinted at in popular culture than they are interested in drinking coffee and talking about the weather. This means that in order to give men what they want, for them to truly become advocates of Freemasonry, we have to deliver a life-changing transformational experience. We must give men a special world when they come to Lodge. We must provide them with mentors and challenges; then we must equip them to meet those challenges and triumph. In short, we must make every candidate the “Hero” of his own story.
To some lodges this may come as no surprise, but to many this is a true paradigm shift. This means well executed, meaningful ritual without ego or pretention. It will require men who will step up and be guides and mentors for our younger members. These guides and mentors must also challenge the newer and younger members to excel, to find the next “Magic Elixir.”
When a Brother starts through the chairs as an officer he soon realizes he is on a new journey, with new mentors, new challenges, and new goals to achieve. At the end of this journey, as he leaves his station in the East, he will be called upon to become a mentor, a helper, or he may even become a challenge to be overcome by newer members.
Brethren, I believe our predecessors possessed this knowledge, though it was not in some corporatized flow chart and distributed to the officers before some meeting or another. No, our Brethren understood the basic concepts I have discussed here. I also believe that is the reason they invested so much effort to build uplifting edifices, and transmit their ritual to their successors as undefiled as possible. Those Brethren knew that offering the best experience is the only way you can change a man’s life and, possibly, the world.
1.Jung notes, “The myth of the Hero is the most common and the best-known myth in the world. We find it in the classical mythology of Greece and Rome, in the Middle Ages, in the Far East, and among contemporary primitive tribes. It also appears in our dreams. It has an obvious dramatic appeal, and a less obvious, but nonetheless profound, psychological importance…Their special role suggests that the essential function of the Heroic myth is the development of the individual's ego-consciousness — his awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses—in a manner that will equip him for the arduous tasks with which life confronts him.” p. 110-12. One can easily see how the role of our Fraternity fits within Jung’s description.
This article was published in the November/December 2023 edition of the Scottish Rite Journal.
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