Initiation: the road of trials
After leaving the "departure" phase, the hero experiences what is kn
own as 'initiation'. The first stage of initiation is the road of trials. According to Joseph Campbe
ll's model, as the hero's journey continues, they depart from the comfort zones of their old lifesty
le and step into a dream landscape of curiosity, ambiguity and challenge. 'He' must survive successi
ve trials and ordeals which must be overcome, often with great difficulty, in order to continue with
the journey. For many responders this phase "the road of trials" is a favourite part of myth advent
ure. Many examples of such "difficult tasks' are mentioned by Campbell- the most prominant example h
e uses is Psyche's quest for her lost lover Cupid. In order to complete her quest Psyche is exposed
to numerous difficulties. Firstly, Psyche has to actually find Cupid (who has in fact been hidden a
way from her) 2- Venus, Cupid's mother, enforces violent brutality on the hero and smashes her to t
he ground and yet another.. 3- Psyche is ordered to sort a great quantity of mixed grain before the
fall of night. While subject to these miraculous tests and ordeals, which often appear to be insurmo
untable, the hero is helped by the advice, amulets and secret agents of the supernatural aid (whom t
hey have usually met during the 'departure' phase of the quest. The hero learns for the first time t
hat there is some benign power all around them supporting them in their superhuman passage. In the c
ase of psyche, she is aided by an army of ants also by a green reed, who is much more aware of natur
e's tendencies than she is, she is also helped by an eagle. The eagle ceases a bottle of water from
a freezing spring high on a towering rock which just happens to be the home of some sleeping dragons
. Lastly, Psyche's difficult tasks are once again made much easier thanks to the wise advice of a hi
gh tower. Campbell also quotes the work of Geza Roheim to help illustrate that a hero's quest is cha
racterised by a succession of struggles. However in this case, the example is not from a myth but fr
om the reality of our own world. We learn that you do not have to be a far fetched character in a mi
raculous tale to partake in the hero's journey. All people are presented with this "road of trials
" because they are pursuing a quest we know simply as 'living life'. Roheim predominantly talks abo
ut the challenge of overcoming obstacles of the hero's past which may prevent them from completing t
he quest of living a happy and satisfying life. He reveals that while anyone in any society or circu
mstance, who intentionally or unintentionally undertakes this perilous journey into the confused pa
ths of their own spiritual maze, will soon find themselves in a place of psychological difficulty. T
he task in this case is to cleanse and humble the senses to allow the process of dissolving haunting
images of our personal past to occur. Campbell quotes Roheim on the obstacles of this journey and w
hat must be done to overcome these obstacles when he says that in our dreams, the ageless perils, da
ngers troubles and ordeals of our past are nightly encountered - symbolic figures and events appear
which not only reflect the picture of our situation but also give a clue to what we must do to save
ourselves. One man said "i saw half of a horse lying on the ground. It only had one wing and was try
ing to arise but wasn't able to do so. This man was a poet trying earn his daily bread by working as
a journalist. His trial or task was to find a more financially beneficial job. The oldest recorded
account of the passage through this metamorphosis is the myth of the goddess inanna's decent into t
he nether world. Abandoned lordship abandoned ladyship she entered the land of no return. IN this ne
ther world the first trial is when Inanna is met by a chief gatekeeper who demands to know her inten
tions and who she is Inanna's only way of entering the gates is according to the gatekeeper to remov
e every part of her clothing. Naked she is brought before the seven judges of the nether world to be
assessed. This confrontation epitomises the whole sense of the road of trials. The hero whether god
or goddess, an everyday man or woman or the disturbed dreamer of a dream discovers and takes on boa
rd the perils of their quest. One by one these resistances are broken, the hero transcends his previ
ous limitations and reaches a new level of existence, and all manner of things seem to be possible.
initiation road trials after leaving departure phase hero experiences what known initiation first s
tage initiation road trials according joseph campbell model hero journey continues they depart from
comfort zones their lifestyle step into dream landscape curiosity ambiguity challenge must survive s
uccessive trials ordeals which must overcome often with great difficulty order contiEssay, essays, t
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