The Hera Journey: The Mythic Tale of the Sacred Feminine
Posted in: Featured, Goddess
The hero’s journey comes to us through the comparative mythology writings of the late, brilliant Joseph Campbell. Stripped to its basic structure: the hero is given a quest or call to adventure; he sets out on a journey, gaining allies, struggling through great trials, and growing through his experiences; he has to face his biggest battle and through his victory he achieves his quest and claims his treasure; and then he returns to the ordinary world as a reborn or changed man.
If this storyline sounds familiar, it’s because we humans have been telling this tale through much of our history, most currently in some of our most beloved movies and books. Frodo, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter have captivated us with their hero’s journey, activating the archetypal roots of this mythic story in our human psyche.
The assumption in many literary and academic circles is that the hero’s journey is a universal tale that speaks to our human quest for spiritual and personal growth. And though I love these hero stories as much as the next person, this assumption has never sat well with me.
In the basic structure of the hera’s journey: the Goddess chooses to leave the land above and descends to the Underworld; She travels the ways of this realm, embracing its mysteries and suffering its trials; She dies to Her previous life; and then She is reborn and returns to the land above, transformed into Her full maturity and powers.
Though the hera’s journey is not a common mythic thread in our modern culture, it speaks volumes to our personal journey of healing and transformation. It directs our journey inward, to the sacred dark of our inner psyche and the mysteries that underlie waking reality.
To make this journey, we must step past the world that we know, and be willing to give up the things that bind and block us from the truth of our life story and deepest potential. Our travels will not be easy; we must face the trials and sorrows that come from death-like endings and the shadow side of our wounding. And it is through this very process, and the embracing of our whole/holy nature of light, life, darkness, death, beauty and wounding, that we come into our full maturity and powers, and return to our everyday life transformed.
From this deep, wide open place, beyond the borders of my known world, I discovered a vastness of being, within and without, that deconstructed and rewired all parts of my inner landscape. And when I found my way to the other side of my story, I emerged healed, whole and utterly changed. It’s not that I haven’t had my fair share of hero journeys in my outward struggles to find my place in this world, but it was the hera’s path that guided me in the hard, wondrous work of reclaiming my soul and healing my life.
As the seasons turn and darkness descends in the natural realm, the hera’s path beckons you to journey into your inner darkness and the vast mysteries of this world. And though this is a hard path, of trials, sorrows and endings, its rewards are immeasurable, because the treasures you find at the end of your journey are nothing less than your true, beautiful Deep Self and the magnificence of your whole/holy humanity.
Fall Journey – You Hera Path: Seeking Your Spiritual Roots
Step beyond the world you know.
Discover the transformative mysteries of the sacred dark.
Claim the deep roots and hidden gifts of the next cycle on your journey of soul.
Your Fall Journey awaits you!
Photographer: Katja Kemnitz
