The Hero begins the journey in the ordinary world. First, he must enter a special world that challenges everything he is and believes himself to be through trials, tribulations, and initiations. Then, the hero can return home with some of great value, not necessarily materially, but spiritually
What is the Hero Archetype?
The Hero archetype represents the process of overcoming obstacles to achieve specific goals.
- In myths, the hero’s objective is often to find a treasure like a golden egg, save a princess, and return with the elixir of life.
- All of these are metaphors for a psychological journey to return to one’s true feelings and unique potential.
The Death of the Hero Archetype
The Hero archetype must die. Why? Because he has finally encountered his limitations.
- With the death of the hero archetype comes the emergence of true humility – and this humility only comes when we learn our limitations.
- Carl Jung, in his Red Book
- “The ‘death’ of a hero really means that the hero has met the enemy, and the enemy is himself.”
The Hero Archetype is Not What We Think
The Hero archetype actually represents an advanced form of child (boy) psychology
Purpose of the Hero Archetype
The Hero archetype is important because it mobilizes the boy’s energy, will, and power to break from the Mother archetype at the end of boyhood so he can face the tasks of life.
- With the Hero, the boy (or man) can fight large foes and potentially defeat them.
The Shadows of the Hero Archetype
While we tend to glorify the Hero, it’s revealing to examine its shadow. The shadow represents the hidden motives and behavioral patterns that tend to lie outside of our awareness.
Celebrating Heroes
Although we like to watch heroes in films and TV shows, in real life, we don’t celebrate heroes
- We tend to envy them
- A lot of times we envy in secrecy-acting celebratory for others but feeling quite the opposite
- The Hero archetype has an important role to play for us both individually and collectively
The Hero Archetype in Business
The Hero archetype is celebrated in the egocentric, celebrity CEO
The Coward
Can’t stand up for himself in physical, emotional, and intellectual confrontations
The Downfall of the Hero Archetype
Hero’s downfall is that he doesn’t know and is unable to acknowledge his own limitations
- When we do not face our true limitations, we are inflated
- The Hero archetype suffers from an inflation and so prohibits the man from consolidating the quiet power of his true masculinity
