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The Hera Journey: The Mythic Tale of the Sacred Feminine

Posted on: Aug 30, 2022 @ 10:00 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.

The hera’s journey leads us inward into the mysteries of the sacred dark, through our stories of trials and wounding, in search of our true, beautiful Self and our whole, holy humanity.

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.

The hero’s journey is a tale of the sacred masculine — a quest where outer trials and treasures fuel our spiritual adventures and personal development — that speaks to one half our human nature and one aspect of our journey work. There is another mythic storyline — the hera’s journey of descent and return from the realm of the Dark Goddess — that comes to us from the ancient Goddess tales of Persephone and Inanna.

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.