The heroine's journey
Turning away from what you were taught to be, and arming yourself for the world that rewards striving.
About this arc
Three weeks around Maureen Murdock's circle
Turning away
from what you were taught to be
Winning
at a game that doesn't feed you
Going down
to what you've avoided
Climbing back
more whole
The turning away
Separation from the feminine.
Leaving the way you were taught to be — agreeable, accommodating, small — because it looked like the way to disappear.
Beats 1–2
The shape of this arc
The heroine's journey
The therapist Maureen Murdock drew this journey as a circle, not a line. You leave, you strive, you win — and then, instead of a final victory, the well runs dry and the road turns down. The way back up runs through the parts of yourself you left behind.
After Maureen Murdock, The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness (1990)