Transit't - Imago Anatopism, The Hero's Journey

Transit't - Imago Anatopism (moderate)

Waaaaay back in 1988, I (along with much of North America) spent many hours glued to the television watching two men talking. It was a series entitled The Power of Myth, and it was a conversation between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell.

The book which inspired this conversation, Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces, sold more than a million copies as a result. Not bad for a work on comparative mythology first published in 1949!

Transit't - Imago Anatopism (moderate)

The premise was fairly simple. "Campbell held that numerous myths from disparate times and regions share fundamental structures and stages".

He borrowed the term "monomyth" from Finnegan's Wake to describe the hero's journey - one which followed the same basic pattern and progression, no matter what culture or period spawned the myth.

Transit't - Imago Anatopism (moderate)

There are up to 17 stages in the journey, but not all myths include the entire range. You're familiar with them, even if you haven't read the book, if you saw Star Wars (the original ones, Parts 4-6).

For the month of May you can experience an inworld version of the hero's journey, at Alpha Auer's exhibit Transit't - Imago Anatopism, hosted by Mimesis Monday. The project "tells the tale of Volund, a nordic elf, a symbol following Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces."

Transit't - Imago Anatopism (moderate)

There are 12 phases in Volund's journey and they're placed at the end of the arms of a gigantic, clock-like structure. Follow the simple instructions (including those for windlight) and experience his journey for yourself.

As a wonderful side benefit, you will acquire the tools and characteristics of the "hero" as you do. This is not a hunt - it's a fabulous experience.

Transit't - Imago Anatopism (moderate)