Ascension Cycle
Hero’s Journey
Introducing the Cycle
People used to think the Hero’s Journey was a structure for writing a good story. Joseph Campbell describes this arc that becomes the backbone of every good character development cycle.
The journey begins at Zero in the Ordinary World and moves through different stages or energies that challenge us to grow the consciousness, raising our frequency or Level of Being. When we practice moment-to-moment awareness, we begin to become aware of the cycles of energy we are moving through. When we know what we are moving through, we can then understand the events we face, and work with the Reality to change and grow, rather than remaining an unconscious victim, dancing in the wind like a puppet of the astrological and energies and causal forces.
We can map this journey of unfoldment within a cycle across the twelve zodiacal energies:
Ordinary World → Aries: Call to Adventure → Taurus: Refusal to the Call → Gemini: Meeting the Mentor → Cancer: Crossing the Threshold → Leo: Tests, Allies & Enemies → Virgo: Inner Cave → Libra: Ordeal → Scorpio: Reward → Sagittarius: Road Back → Capricorn: Resurrection → Aquarius: Return with the Elixir → Pisces: Master of Both Worlds → a new cycle.
The key thing we need to understand is that consciousness moves through cycles. We see these cycles in our internal development. This is trained through all of the challenges we face in relationships, projects, difficult periods of our lives, and anywhere that we are being asked by the Universe to change, to shift our perspective, to adapt in order to match the flow of the Universe.
We are faced with choices and opportunities every day. Every organism seeks to retain its form or previous baseline by conserving energy, shying away from risk (growth launch pads) and continuing as it has been. This is a kind of comfort or stability—the Ordinary World.
However, without risk, danger, change—the Call—and leaving our comfort zone to give up what we were for who we could be, we do not grow.
Even more so for the serious spiritual practitioner who is offered profound growth catalysts by nature of working with awareness training, energy practices and making the serious promise towards oneself that they are committed to the inner work.
Therefore, for the serious spiritual worker, life and spiritual development are a recurring cycle of growth, challenge, self-discovery, and transformation. HOWEVER, it is not guaranteed, nor is it automatic. Just because we think we are growing, this does not mean that we truly are.
Initiation
When we make a commitment to work on ourselves with the moment-to-moment awareness and transmutation, it is the start of the potential for growth—initiation. For those who are prepared to make such a commitment, this becomes the start of something new, something more serious. Not because of belief, but because of our own intention to be serious with ourselves about ourselves. That is all. When a new journey starts, this is Initiation—the start of something beautiful, something for our heart, our spirit.
Making this commitment does not mean that growth is guaranteed. Really, it means that we are saying that when the opportunities to grow are presented to us, we are willing to work with them. Sometimes these opportunities look like problems, confusion, conflict or something in ourselves that we really do not want to see. However, with the conscious awareness acting and the commitment to ourselves having been made, we are set to approach life and its difficulties in a new way.
Consciousness goes through cycles of growth. These are all built upon confusion. We face a puzzle, an intense psychological trial, we lack understanding, or we misperceive through a lens of separation. If we apply the consciousness and deep meditation to these puzzles, eventually, we are able to unlock a kind of wisdom from these experiences—comprehension.
If we see clearly and transform, we have been triumphant, and the cycle allows us to raise our Level of Being. This comprehension is the marker of expansion, the growth of the consciousness, the unlocking of a puzzle or the receiving of an initiatic degree. If we miss the test, the chance to change, we do not continue on the cycle of growth and we will have to repeat it.
Refusal, the Mentor and Crossing the Threshold
The cycle of growth begins in Pisces. This is the Ordinary World. We are as we have been, thinking this is the way we will always be. However, nothing lasts forever. When the time is right, our circumstances will call on us to grow. This call is the energy of Aries. We start at the number One, with the question, “Who am I?” We are unaware of what we are capable of, what we could know, what we could become. We don’t know. We haven’t faced challenge, uncertainty, difficulty, confusion or peril. We haven’t been tested. So the question, “Who am I?” is unanswered, until we take the decision to embark on The Hero’s Journey.
A doorway to something new opens. There is a new possibility, a potential for change. And of course, being a creature of habit, we tend to dislike this.
Maybe we are offered the chance to move, to change jobs, or receive teachings from a new guide, but we feel hesitant. Perhaps we are finding ourselves in a new kind of dynamic. Someone now suddenly needs our advice or assistance. Maybe we are asked to speak, to move, to give up comfort or habit in some way. We need to put a larger goal and values beyond people-pleasing and so on. If we brush off the chance to expand our horizon, then we miss the circumstance that was brought to us.
However, it is natural to decide to resist and say no. This is the energy of Taurus or the Refusal to Call. We feel resistant. We don’t know why, but we just don’t want to do something new, to explore, to be different than we had been.
We see an example of this refusal when in Star Wars, Luke Skywalker’s character tries to run away from his presented mission. Of course, we know in this case, he is forced into accepting his fate and being pushed into the Hero’s Journey after the stormtroopers murder his uncle and aunt.
Unlike Luke Skywalker’s experience, many times it is not the case that someone would have to die in order to push us into accepting our growth journey. Many times, we simply refuse to give up our pride or fear, the journey ends early, and we do not experience any growth this time around. If we are still attached to what we know and what feels safe, our own particular ways or how we think things always have to be, then this becomes tricky…
For those in the inner work, when the call arrives, we need to move with firmness and courage; we need to let go of being scared of what others think of us; we need to learn to be more patient and forgiving, to not feel so superior, but rather see how we can contribute and assist; we need to give up our selfishness and become genuinely interested in what others have to say, or whatever the lesson is.
If we have the courage to take the leap of faith, to trust our inner knowing, then we answer the call, we proceed. We give up our pride and selfishness, our fears and habits and we embark on the journey into the unknown. It is at this time, that our first help arrives. In the journey, we call this The Mentor, the energy of Gemini. This is the appearance of perhaps a literal guide, perhaps several, or even just the information or insight that we need. It could arrive internally as comprehension in meditation. It could be a book, an article or certain words that someone says which stands out to us at this time. As long as we continue to trust, everything we need, WILL ARRIVE.
Now, here is where we reach the point where that initiatic journey commences—the Crossing of the Threshold. Crossing the Threshold, or the energy of Cancer is where we actually enter into the experience. It is one thing to understand intellectually that we need to change and another thing to actually begin changing. If we have answered, we have received the guidance and internal direction we need, then we are ready to take the initiation.
What does this actually mean? To cross the threshold, is to go into the subconscious. This symbolizes the need to work upon our own psychology and energetic roots in meditation, energy work & prayer. Without the inner change, the outer change will be contrived, forced and the untransformed internal part will become suppressed, a ticking time-bomb for later. If we commit to working on the corresponding psychological changes required to face the journey, then we cross the threshold. We meditate; we introspect; we transform.
Tests, Allies & Enemies
Now, the adventure really gets underway. Our inner changes are not real until they can be proven. The journey has officially begun. What we experienced in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer was to set up what comes next. We think we have done well, that we have advanced, but without tests, our change hasn’t been demonstrated.
So begins the period of Tests, Allies & Enemies. This is the energy of Leo. Leo is a period when there can be abundance. The ally is our Being, our own god, our Higher Self. They will send us support and help at this stage of the path. It could manifest as opportunities, supply of our needs, finances, etc. We should keep our eyes peeled during this time. If something comes to us, it may be good to say yes, to recognize the gifts from our Ally.
However, there will also be tests and enemies. Our tests are the events of life that trouble us in this period. There could be multiple such tests that arise during this time. It will be related to the issue we are tasked with overcoming this cycle. Let’s say we have a fear to speak up or to be in a new environment, then our test may appear as a chance to demonstrate a new Level of Being.
As another example, maybe we face having the same repeated fight with our loved one that we have had for years, and the “battle” becomes extra heated this time, because there is something we have not seen clearly for years, that we need to learn and see.
The enemy is our own shadow, the lower ego, the one who self-sabotages, our own internal doubts and lies. The part of us that sees and acts with selfishness and separation, causing misery to ourselves and others. If we do not identify with the lower ego or the shadow-self; if we are able to bring these structures of hatred and separation into meditation in order to dissolve them, then we will find growth, peace and a new raised frequency through the challenges of this period.
Virgo — The Inner Cave
Next comes Virgo—The Inner Cave. At this point, we are at our lowest. The darkest part of the shadow structure we are being shown within this cycle will now come out. It may manifest as a series of crazy, egoic thoughts and feelings, some kind of terrible confusion, conflict, feeling stuck, feeling hateful and separate, new levels of gluttony or laziness that we didn’t know we had…whatever it is…Our task is to look, to SEE, to actually see it and to go deeper in order to dissolve them. We must not shy away. We must FACE them.
If we give in to the laziness, the stories of intensely disliking someone, accusing them, feeling hurt, misunderstood then we become a puppet to the energies of Virgo, completely unconscious, thinking we are making decisions and pursuing what is true to us, when all that is happening is that we are falling under the hypnosis of the energies of the time period. This point is make-or-break. Either we will triumph or fail. Either we will learn and grow, or we will slide through it unconsciously, miss the lesson, and the whole second half of the journey will be an egoic one rather than one that brings us closer to the Being, to Source, to Divinity.
Virgo asks: “What do I serve?” The outcome of Virgo will be that we have chosen to serve Spirit or the lower ego. An additional conscious effort is required for us to continue upwards. We have the choice to grow and move up, or miss the lesson and remain as we had been. Rather than seeing the journey as a simple path with an ending, we affirm that it is always a cycle!—A cycle that either goes upwards or does not.
It is imperative to become aware of the challenges and opportunities so that we take the chance to see ourselves clearly as the universe is showing to us. This will allow us to introspect, to dissolve our energetic blocks, to move forward to new growth, and to raise our Level of Being. If we miss these key markers in the cycle due to being unwilling to change, we miss the chance to raise out of the old cycle and must repeat the lesson again until we learn it.
Libra — The Ordeal
We could say many things about this journey, as it continues, but they will not apply unless we pass the Test of Virgo at the halfway point.
If we pass this test, we can then move into consciously working with the energies of Libra. If we are successful in our work, during this phase we refine our balance further by way of the Ordeal. What we thought we were learning and comprehending needs to be fully demonstrated, proven. We began this proving in Virgo, but the Great Test comes now in Libra.
Maybe we have a family member who is testing our skills. They are irritating us in some way. Instead of facing ourselves, seeking to transform, to shift our perspective, we allow everything to come to a head. Perhaps the big test is we are tempted to run away. Or maybe we feel like having a big blow up or showdown, still not transforming within.
Perhaps we have not been listening to Source, to the Lord God within, the inner guidance, our intuition. Messages have been coming to us through advice all around us, the circumstances we are no longer meant to cling to are falling away, dreams and comments from strangers all point towards the message we need to hear regarding balance, but we are not listening because we don’t like it. The ego doesn’t like it. The ego is the resisting force of matter that goes against the flow of the Reality. Of course it goes against our growth. And yet it is there for us to prove our wisdom, our ability to dominate matter with Spirit through these trials by fire.
Scorpio — The Reward
Then comes the energies of the next period, that of Scorpio, the Reward.
The Reward is not necessarily something that we receive externally. Really, the reward is the transformation itself. Something that previously overcame us has now become something that we understand, that we are able to harness. Wisdom unlocked from our own difficulty is wisdom not just for ourselves but for everyone. We become a new kind of being holding a view transcendent beyond the pain and confusion we experienced so that those who interact with us are interacting with a being who holds that knowledge and wisdom. Unlocked is the wisdom of the now comprehended and integrated shadow.
However we must make no mistake, that for every energetic transformation, of course physical reward does also arrive. It is important to emphasise the energetic changes, because they are the root source of all of the gross matter and its organisation that we experience within Reality as we know it.
When we transmute our shadow into light, we enhance our own magnetism. This magnetism begins to pull towards us opportunities, resources, support and assistance. The authors of this article have personal Gnosis of this phenomenon, and can confirm its validity. Therefore, as we begin to change energetically, eventually the physical reward also arrives. It may not be what the unconscious masses necessarily value in the material world (things like fame or superior title) but the consciousness will recognise the help and favour that it is receiving for its journey. So when we align with divinity, we always receive just what we need. If our eyes are open, we can also recognise the favour we are receiving.
Related to this period are the symbols of the scorpion & the eagle. The scorpion has a tail, bearing poison. It is an animal that has the capacity to sting itself. The scorpion stinging itself is an esoteric alchemical symbol of how we must convert our own poison into medicine. The traumas and difficulties need to be comprehended and transmuted into light. With this, we become the eagle, the one who soars above in freedom and with insight. This view from above represents our Divine knowing that comes through the awakening of transforming pain and lower ego into solar matter. Therefore how good it is to succeed in the period of Virgo at the bottom of the wheel and of course all the subsequent stages of our journey through the cycle of 12 energies of the Zodiac or the 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey. Libra is the beginning of when we see the favourable results of the inner work within the cycle.
Sagittarius — The Road Back
Then of course follows the Road Back in Sagittarius as we return from our experiences with wisdom. The rewards have begun to show and yet we still need to stabilise further.
We may have gained wisdom, experience or comprehension, but what are we going to do with it? Does it become something for the Divine Purpose, or is it something the ego now takes for itself?
There is a bifurcation of the upwards part of the wheel. One journey back is fully aligned and one of true growth. The other is a false journey steeped in pride and delusion, whereby not only did we not learn our lesson, but we now begin to affirm to ourselves that we did, that we are growing just the same, and we have delusions of following the Being when we are still following our lower ego.
The road back is part of how we begin to come out of just sitting in our home in prayer, in reflection, in meditation and we begin to interact with the world and take action for our mission.
The initiate does not awaken simply to escape from life. We have to return. The difficulties that we faced in the earlier periods, and lessons we learned now assist us in order to wisely moving forward to step into the role that the universe is bringing us.
How will we know which of the journeys we are on the egoic one or the one that is aligned with the higher self and with Source? If we have surrendered our desires and impulses, if we are taking opportunities that are not necessarily aligned with the desires of the personality but something that was brought to us in order to give of ourselves for the greater good, then there is a good chance we are on the right track.
Capricorn — Resurrection
If we learned our difficult lesson and actually CHANGED, then something of what we were before has died. Transformation is not simply adding more knowledge onto the same person. Something actually has to be given up—an old way of seeing, an attachment, an identity, a reaction or a lie we have told ourselves.
In the highest level, when we complete initiatic mastery, this is the stage where the master now has crystallised their Rainbow Body or 6th Dimensional Light Body. In Samaelan Gnosis, this is called the solar body. Of course, a body is made of many parts. If we break this body into three ,it would be called the Atmic Body, the Buddhic Body and the Causal Body.
Of course, there are many cycles of growth which take place before this stage. In our level, depending on what we have conquered within this Zodiacal cycle, this is the stage where the newly transformed version of us integrates. The information we received in meditation is beginning to project out into the reality and manifesting the next part of the story.
The Phoenix from the Ashes, the newly created being now steps forward into their unique mission. We have given up our pride and selflessness, our energetic blocks, we have given up the lower ego, the shadows, traumas, desires, and a new creature is now expressing within the world. This is the Resurrection or the energy of Capricorn.
Aquarius — Return with the Elixir
Finally, we return with the Elixir of Wisdom in Aquarius.
The Elixir is what we now know because we have lived it. It is our own unique wisdom. We fell into ignorance and confusion in order to bring forth light. We went through the chaos and the struggle in order to bring back a unique perspective of triumph. Of course, this will only be if we truly were triumphant, if we truly learned our lesson and integrated the lower ego back into the authentic Self.
The Elixir is our personal Secret Power. For each student who is working with the mysteries, as they dissolve an integrate the shadow, as they seek to align with their Center Point, they unlock the power of their Being, and through the Being, their own unique frequency, its gifts and expression to all around, this is their Elixir.
Pisces — Master of Both Worlds
Finally, in Pisces, we come to the beginning and the end. Every ending is a new beginning. The Alpha and the Omega as it has been used to refer to the Divine is a clue to this. Life is eternal in its movements, without any end, without any beginning…
Whenever we grow we reach new heights.
Before our descent into the underworld of our own subconscious, in a way, we were ignorant, unconscious. We were blissfully unaware of our own inner chaos and darkness. Before when we refused to look within, it was always someone else’s fault. It was always on them to hurry up and change so everything for us could be better. It takes a terrible kind of courage to be radically honest with oneself, to go profoundly within and to only worry about cleaning up our own side of the street, never asking for the other person to do their part in order for us to do ours.
Equally it is a mistake for those who, having found inner peace, then decide to hide within a monastery a cave or their room without ever returning to the world in order to create, to integrate & embody, to contribute, to share, to diffuse. This is why even though it is necessary to go into the underworld, we always must return. If we have mastered that particular trial or difficulty in our level then at this stage, we are a master of both worlds, in our level, ready to begin a new cycle.
This is why we can understand the Hero’s Journey not simply as a circle, but as a spiral. If we learn, comprehend and change, we come back around but at another Level of Being. If we do not, we come back around and meet the SAME lesson again.
A good way that we can check in with ourselves is to consider whether or not we are changing, whether we have been open to the new, whether we have been able to hear the suggestions and advice of others.
The Cycle of Consciousness
The whole process is really a cycle of the infinite growth of consciousness. We begin from wherever we are. Previously everything felt very ordinary and mundane. However, suddenly something calls us towards change. Naturally, we resist it, maybe we receive some guidance, and eventually have the opportunity to actually step into the experience and face what it is trying to show us.
All of the events of life and our difficult interpersonal interactions test us, and if we are willing to look deeper, eventually we enter the Inner Cave where we have to confront the things in ourselves that we would prefer to avoid. If we see clearly, utilising the tool of deep meditation; if we comprehend the lesson and actually change, then the old way is able to be shed like a worn garment, something new can be born, and we return from the experience with wisdom before eventually beginning another cycle.
However, none of this is automatic. We can go through difficult experiences, meditate for years, study spiritual teachings, or think that we have understood something and still not actually change. The real marker is transformation. If the same psychological mechanism continues to overcome us in the same way, then whatever we may think we understand, there is still something that we have not comprehended.
This is why moment-to-moment awareness is so important. We could say that the most important part of this article to take away is to be serious about applying the moment-to-moment awareness so that we can see the challenges and opportunities of this cycle.
We have to begin seeing these cycles while we are actually inside of them. What am I being shown right now? What am I resisting? What is the test? What am I being asked to see in myself? What do I serve? Have I actually changed, or do I just think I have? With honesty, expansion, surrender, reflection, meditation and prayer, we will see and learn our lessons. We will triumph.
Circling back to the question from the beginning, when we have finally returned from the whole Hero’s Journey, we have arrived to Aries once again. The question is once more, “Who am I?” However, if we have been successful in our comprehension and growth, in its fullest sense then we KNOW the answer: “I AM THAT I AM.” This then becomes the number 13, symbolically the Kabbalistic number of death, death to the lower ego and the awakening to Spirit, the esoteric arcanum of Imortality. Hence, we now comprehend—I AM.
The Hero’s Journey and the astrological energies that can be mapped to it can help both the spiritual practitioner & the initiate to work with a framework to understand their personal & spiritual transformation. If we miss the opportunity, eventually the lesson comes around again. If we see clearly, comprehend and actually transform, we have the opportunity to raise our Level of Being and begin the next cycle from our new and expanded position in the infinite spiral of the ever playful, evolving CONSCIOUSNESS.
