The Seven Stages of the Hero’s Journey (And How They Changed My Life)

Last Updated on July 8, 2025 by Avia

If you read my article on the seven stages of spiritual development across mystical traditions, you already know I’m a sucker for sacred systems…especially the ones that help us make sense of all the weird, beautiful chaos of being human. But today, we’re zooming in on a soul-map that changed my life in a big, bold, butterfly-out-of-a-burning-cocoon kind of way: The seven stages of the Hero’s Journey.

A Bit About Jung’s Hero’s Journey

If you’re wondering where this whole “seven stages of spiritual transformation” concept even came from—let’s tip our symbolic hat to Joseph Campbell.

Campbell was a brilliant mythologist who spent his life studying myths, legends, and spiritual stories from cultures around the world. Campbell’s revolutionary book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, revealed a striking pattern: across time and geography, stories of transformation all seemed to follow the same structure.

He called it the Monomyth, better known today as The Hero’s Journey.

At its heart, the Hero’s Journey is a universal roadmap for deep transformation. It’s found in ancient epics, sacred texts, fairy tales, and modern movies like Star Wars and The Matrix. But more importantly—it’s found in your life, too.

Campbell’s original journey has more than a dozen steps, but many thinkers (myself included!) work with simplified versions—like the seven-stage model I walked through in this article—because it’s easier to digest and more aligned with symbolic stages of inner growth.

Now, this isn’t about outer battles or blockbuster movie tropes. This is inner myth-making. It’s psychological alchemy meets spiritual awakening…a symbolic spiral of growth that runs through every meaningful transformation you’ve ever had (and probably didn’t realize had a name).

The Hero’s Journey is also deeply Jungian. Carl Jung understood what most of us feel in our bones…that our lives are stories playing out in layers. And those stories aren’t random. They’re archetypal. Universal. Mythic. They follow patterns (and if you know me, you know I love me some patterns!).

Thing is, when you learn to see those patterns, something clicks. It’s like switching on a flashlight in a haunted house and realizing: “Oh, this isn’t just chaos. This is a sacred initiation.”

Intro to My Hero’s Journey

I know this because I lived it. Several years ago, I went through a stretch of life where everything that once gave me purpose and identity…my career, my relationships, my sense of self…crumbled like an old tarot deck dropped in a thunderstorm. I couldn’t articulate what was happening at the time, but it felt… mythic. Like something in me was dying to be reborn.

Enter the Hero’s Journey.

When I studied Joseph Campbell’s model and traced it through Jung’s lens, I swear the heavens cracked open. This wasn’t just a philosophy…it was a mirror. Each stage resonated like a personal initiation I didn’t know I was taking. The Call to Adventure, the Crossing of the Threshold, the terrifying Abyss, the Return with Wisdom…I had walked them all. Sometimes barefoot. Sometimes cursing. But always moving toward something deeper.

It was a path I walked through fire. And walking it changed me.

It realigned my insides. It burned off layers I didn’t know I’d been wearing out of fear or habit. It gave me language for my inner storms and a compass for navigating the unknown. Most of all, it recharged my soul and left me with a clarity and wholeness that still anchors me to this day.

That’s why I’m sharing it with you.

Because the Hero’s Journey is your saga. Your odyssey, and you’re playing it out right now. And once you recognize the map, you’ll never look at your struggles, breakdowns, breakthroughs, or beautiful messiness the same way again.

So if you’re ready to embark (or realize you already have) read on.

1. The Call to Adventure

Before the dragons. Before the dark nights. Before the glorious return with soul-fire in your eyes… there’s this moment. The quiet nudge. The strange restlessness. The whispered “you were made for more” that curls up in your chest and refuses to leave.

This is the Call to Adventure, and it’s where every true spiritual awakening begins.

It doesn’t always come with trumpets or neon signs (though wouldn’t that be nice?). Sometimes it arrives as discontent. Or burnout. Or the sudden realization that the life you built doesn’t quite fit anymore. You might find yourself staring into your coffee wondering why everything feels fine…but hollow. Or maybe you have a dream so potent it rattles your bones for days. That’s the soul dialing in.

What It Feels Like:

• A spark you can’t ignore
• Longing for something… even if you can’t name it
• Creative urges, existential sighs, and strange bursts of hope

For me? It hit like a soft breakdown in a very normal moment.

I was sitting at my desk, surrounded by the trappings of a life I had meticulously built…good work, good people, good-enough everything.

Nevertheless, something inside me felt like it had fallen asleep with its eyes open. I couldn’t shake this sense that I was living around my purpose instead of inside it. I didn’t know where I was headed, but I knew I couldn’t stay in that numbed-out place.

Eventually, I had to admit it: My soul wasn’t asking politely anymore…it was staging a quiet rebellion.

Soul Symbols to Watch For:

• Lightning strikes of realization.
• Vivid dreams that tug at your core.
• Creative longing or restlessness.
• The feeling that something’s missing, even if your life looks good on paper.

Sit with it. Let it crack you open. You don’t have to have the answers yet. You just have to listen.

2. Crossing the Threshold

If the Call to Adventure is the soul’s whisper, then Crossing the Threshold is when you stop pretending you didn’t hear it.

This is the moment you step off the metaphorical cliff. You leave the cozy (but cramped) world of what’s known and start walking into the mystery. You don’t know exactly where you’re going…just that you can’t stay where you were.

This isn’t always a dramatic exit. Sometimes it’s a choice so quiet it echoes only in your bones. Sometimes it’s quitting a job, starting a creative project, ending a relationship, or finally saying yes to something your heart’s been aching for.

This is threshold energy…where your past self holds out one last hand, hoping you’ll crawl back to comfort, and your future self stands at the edge, smiling with open arms.

And yeah, it’s scary as hell.

Archetypes & Symbolism:

• The Fool in tarot (stepping forward with trust)
• The New Moon (beginnings with no guarantees)
• The East (direction of dawn, birth, and new journeys)
• Quote to tattoo on your spirit: “Your new life will cost you your old one.”

When I realized the life I was living wasn’t the life (the one I felt born to embody) I wrestled hard with what to do next. I wanted a sign, a perfect plan, maybe a gentle nudge from the Universe that came with a checklist and snacks.

Instead, I got a messy opportunity to change everything… and a choice that scared me to my marrow.

Crossing my threshold looked like finally saying yes to my own work…really saying yes. No more hiding behind other people’s dreams. No more deferring my inner fire just to keep the peace or stay “safe.” It meant letting go of predictable gigs. It meant claiming space as a creator, teacher, and guide (and trusting that the unknown would rise up to meet me).

Was I terrified? Yes. Did I try to negotiate with Spirit for a backup plan? Also yes. But I crossed anyway.

And that one step? It cracked the entire sky open.

Because every time we step into the unknown with a trembling heart and a steady soul, we send a message to the Universe:

“I’m ready. Show me who I really am.”

What Crossing the Threshold Can Look Like:

• Starting a passion project you’ve avoided
• Booking a one-way ticket (literally or symbolically)
• Saying no to what drains you…even if it “makes sense”
• Trusting a weird inner pull and letting it lead

Let yourself be honest. Let it hurt a little. That’s how you know it matters.

3. Trials, Allies, and Inner Demons

This is the phase where things start heating up…and not always in the glowy-enlightenment kind of way. The Trials and Allies stage is when the ego gets tested, your shadows crawl out of their hiding places, and life serves up spiritual curveballs like it’s trying to see what you’re really made of.

(Answer: stardust and sass, obviously…but still.)

You’ll start noticing patterns. Old wounds show up dressed in new costumes. Your biggest triggers parade through your life like it’s an emotional fashion show. But…and this is important…so do your allies.

You might encounter:

• A new mentor who sees the real you
• An animal totem that suddenly appears everywhere (hello, hawks and snakes – at least for me)
• A book, dream, or synchronicity that lands like a lightning bolt

This stage is the proving ground. Not because you have something to prove, but because you’re shedding what isn’t truly you. And sometimes, that kind of shedding gets messy.

What to Look For in This Phase:

• Repeating patterns (especially around fear, control, self-worth).
• Uncomfortable triggers that push old emotional buttons.
• Spirit animals or animal totems appearing regularly.
• Strange synchronicities that seem too timely to be coincidence.
• Deep dreams, flashbacks, or inner guidance showing up unexpectedly.

In my experience? Well, after stepping away from what felt like “the safe path” and finally choosing the unknown, I expected clarity, peace, maybe a few angelic choruses?

Instead, I got insomnia, self-doubt, emotional freak-outs, and a weird series of tech failures that felt borderline paranormal.

But that wasn’t the hard part.

The hardest part was meeting myself…the parts I had been ignoring for years. Old perfectionism. Unhealed wounds from childhood. The constant need to prove myself. All of it bubbled up like a cauldron I had tried to keep a lid on for way too long.

And just when I was about to crawl back to comfort, help started arriving.

I began seeing red-tailed hawks constantly…hovering, circling, swooping into view like feathered messengers. I had dreams that felt like soul-reminders. A friend showed up with words I didn’t know I needed. It was like the Universe whispered, “Yes, this is hard. But you’re not alone.”

I wasn’t being punished. I was being purified.

That phase taught me this: your inner demons aren’t trying to destroy you…they’re trying to show you what’s unhealed. And your allies? They’re everywhere. You just have to start seeing with different eyes.

Tip: Notice what keeps showing up…it’s not random.

If you’re being shown a lesson over and over, it’s because your soul is ready to learn it on a deeper level.

If you’re encountering support in weird ways, it’s because Spirit wants you to know you’re held.

Be honest. Be gentle. The shadow isn’t your enemy…it’s your doorway.

4. The Abyss / Death of the Ego

This is it. The sacred spiral’s underworld. The dark womb. The soul’s winter.

This is the part of the journey that no one really wants, but if you’re on a true path of spiritual awakening, death (of some sort) isn’t optional.

This is The Abyss (also known as the Dark Night of the Soul, the Death of the Ego), or as I sometimes call it: “That Time Everything Fell Apart and I Questioned All My Life Choices, Twice.”

Here, the ego doesn’t just get tested…it crumbles. The false identities, roles, and coping mechanisms that once held you together start slipping through your fingers. It feels like freefall. But it’s not death in the end-of-the-road sense. It’s the death-before-rebirth kind. The sacred unraveling.

Symbols to Work With:

• Cocoon: total transformation, suspended identity
• Cave: sacred darkness, isolation for incubation
• Tomb: symbolic death of the false self
• Winter: inner stillness, the silence before rebirth

When I hit this part of the seven stages of the Hero’s Journey, it didn’t arrive like a thunderclap…it crept in quietly. That was the scariest part. One day I was functioning. The next, it felt like someone had pulled the plug on my soul and all the lights went out.

It wasn’t depression (though it shared some of its shadowy edges). It was more like spiritual suspension. I didn’t know who I was. The roles I’d played…writer, friend, overachiever, helper…felt hollow. I didn’t want to create. I didn’t want to be seen. I didn’t even want guidance.

I just wanted to be still.

Everything I reached for…rituals, affirmations, meditation…felt… dead. The ego was melting, but nothing new had grown yet to take its place. And there was no guarantee that something would. That’s what makes the Abyss so brutal…it messes with your identity and your faith.

But this sacred stillness? It had its own strange heartbeat. It asked me to stop fixing. Stop defining. Stop trying.

And eventually, in that deep internal winter, something softened. I wasn’t being erased.

I was being rewritten.

And that rewrite didn’t come from the mind. It came from the marrow.

Reframe:

You’re not dying. You’re becoming.

The ego feels like it’s dying…but it’s just being humbled. Stripped. Refined. What remains is truth. What emerges is real.

You don’t need to rush this one. This is the still point of the journey. The soul works in silence for a reason.

5. Revelation / Divine Insight

After the ego crumbles and the dark night passes, something beautiful begins to stir. At first, it’s quiet. Gentle. Like the moment just before sunrise. You feel different…but you can’t quite explain it yet.

Then, suddenly…revelation.

What It Feels Like:

• A sudden sense of clarity, like your insides just clicked into alignment.
• Tears without pain…just release, recognition, reverence.
• An “aha” moment while walking in the woods, reading an old book, or staring at your dogs like they’re little Buddhas wrapped in fur (at least, that’s how it works for me).
• Dreams or synchronicities that speak louder than logic.

Speaking personally, I didn’t expect my moment of revelation to come while I was standing barefoot in my backyard, holding a mug of coffee, staring at nothing.

But there it was.

After months of ego death, stillness, and feeling like a ghost in my own life, I suddenly felt… here. Like all the threads I thought were lost had been quietly weaving something behind the scenes.

That moment reoriented me.

Soul Symbols to Work With:

• Butterfly: transformation, emergence, delicate strength
• Star: guidance, clarity, divine alignment
• Fire: illumination, purification, soul-light

Pro Tip: Write it down.

Seriously. When these moments hit, capture them. Whether it’s a phrase, a dream, a weird synchronicity, or a sudden surge of peace, these insights are golden threads. They are clues. Mirrors. Trail markers. And on darker days, they become soul-reminders.

You don’t have to shout it to the world. You just have to let it live inside you.

6. Integration and Return – Living What You’ve Learned

Revelation is dazzling. Awakening is powerful. But where’s the real spiritual secret sauce? It’s all about integration.

This is where you stop seeking… and start being. You embody transformation. You know, absorb, and live the truth. It exudes from you. In your breath. Your choices. Your morning routine. Your relationships. Your boundaries.

This stage is about rooting your spiritual growth into real, everyday life. It’s where the mystical meets the mundane and says, “Let’s do this.”

You’re no longer spinning in transformation…you’re weaving it into something whole.

Signs You’re in Integration Mode:

• You start reworking your routines and priorities.
• Old habits no longer fit…they feel itchy or out of sync.
• You’re more embodied, less frantic, more present.
• You stop asking, “Am I doing this right?” and start asking, “Is this true for me?”

After my revelation phase, I started doing dishes…differently. I know, that must sound ridiculous. But in truth, was doing everything differently, really.

I slowed down. I paid attention. I noticed where I rushed, where I numbed out, where I said yes when I meant no.

Integration came in the quiet decisions. The realignment of boundaries. The deeper conversations. The choice to rest. The refusal to shrink back into old roles just to keep people comfortable.

Symbols of Integration:

• Roots: grounding, presence, deep belonging
• Harvest: reaping wisdom, soulful reward
• Weaving: stitching insight into action, soul into skin

Don’t overthink it. Start with how you wake up. How you speak to yourself. What you say yes to. That’s where the magic roots.

7. The Wisdom Keeper

You’ve crossed the thresholds, faced the demons, died to the old, awakened to the real, and rooted your soul-truth deep into your daily life.

Now what? Now… you return.

But not as the same person. Not even close.

You return as a Wisdom Keeper. As someone who walks a little softer but stands a little stronger. Someone who’s not better, but deeply, irrevocably awake.

This is the final stage of the Hero’s Journey, and it’s less about grand declarations and more about quiet power. You don’t need to prove anything. You just are. And that authenticity becomes a living transmission for others.

Whether you share what you’ve learned through teaching, creating, healing, writing, parenting, listening, or simply existing differently… You carry spiritual medicine now. And trust me…people feel it, even if they can’t name it.

Archetypes of the Return:

• The Hermit – carrying the lantern, illuminating the path for others.
• The Crone – wise, seasoned, connected to cycles and soul-truth.
• The Magician – aligned with inner power, co-creating with Spirit.

Signs You’re in Your Sacred Return:

• You feel called to share what you’ve learned (in any form…words, art, energy, presence).
• You stop trying to be everything to everyone.
• People begin seeking your insight, even casually.
• You live from alignment, not obligation.

For me, this return looked like finally being able to hold space for others without needing to fix them. It meant creating with purpose, speaking with clarity, and trusting that the medicine I carry is enough, even when it’s messy. It meant letting people see my whole self, not just the polished version.

When I started living that truth, people noticed. They came to me with their questions, their tender stories, their longings…and I realized:

My journey gave me what I needed to help others walk theirs.

Remember: The return doesn’t have to be loud. It just has to be real.

BTW: You’re Already on the Journey

Whew. I know…this was a big article (I knew it would be), but how could it not be hefty? 

This journey…the seven stages of the Hero’s inner transformation…isn’t just some mythical framework from a dusty book. It’s a living, breathing, soul-deep sojourn. And if we truly take the time to submerge ourselves in it, to feel each phase and honor its lessons… it has the power to change everything.

We covered a lot here:

• The Call to Adventure, that whisper from the soul that things are about to shift
• The Threshold, where we leave the known behind and step into the sacred unknown
• The Trials and Allies, where our shadows and gifts collide
• The Abyss, where ego dies and silence teaches
• The Revelation, that soul-spark insight that changes our entire inner landscape
• The Integration, where truth becomes a way of life
• And the Return, where we become the medicine, not because we’re perfect, but because we’re real

I’ve lived every one of these stages…sometimes gracefully, sometimes kicking and sobbing with cookie crumbs in my hair. But through every loop of this spiral, I’ve come out clearer, deeper, softer, stronger. More me. Not fixed. Not flawless. But more aligned, more awake, and more willing to walk beside others on their own hero’s path.

And that’s the point of this article. Not just to name these stages, but to normalize them. To help you see that your spiritual breakdowns, quiet awakenings, and messy rebirths all matter.

So if this post lit something up in you, I hope you honor it. Even if it doesn’t, I deeply hope you retain & remember this:

You’re not lost. You’re becoming.

You’re not behind. You’re spiraling deeper.

And if no one’s told you lately: You’re doing better than you think.

This isn’t a path for the faint of heart, but you’re already on it, and you’re not walking alone. Thanks for sticking with me through these weighty but super-profound insights about my Hero’s journey, and thanks for indulging me in the telling of my tale in hopes that it might help you on your way. 

Mighty brightly,

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