The Hero's Journey
of the Major Arcana

The tale of the Hero’s Quest has been told in every culture and mythos on Earth; all the novels, movies, and computer games that we so adore are structured according to its plotlines.

It is the story of a Hero (the Protagonist) who faces daunting challenges and obstacles, and yet—after almost succumbing to the seemingly impossible odds—perseveres, overcomes, and triumphs (or in a Tragedy, the Hero fails). The Hero is perhaps the most treasured Mythological Archetype—each and every one of us relate to his (or her) story, for it is, in fact, our own story.

We are the Heroes in the Myth of our own Existence. (The word myth is not used here to mean a fanciful story of explanation, but instead it is a foundational archetypal story that forms the basis for what we believe and how we enact our lives.)

The Major Arcana

The twenty-three cards of the Major Arcana in The Kingdom Within Tarot tell the archetypal story of the Hero’s Journey — the story of the Way that an individual incarnated spirit in this world may follow in order to discover the Kingdom Within.

Although I will explain this Monumental Journey below, these words are simply the culmination of the toil of those who have come before. The timelessness of the images upon the Major Arcana cards are because each embodies one aspect or obstacle of our own Hero’s Journey on Earth.

In addition, Joseph Campbell’s "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" provides the basic outline for the archetypal Hero’s Journey, while Robert Anton Wilson’s "Prometheus Rising" suggests the basic stages of an evolving spirit. Frater Achad’s "Q.B.L." offers insight about the Hero’s traversal as s/he climbs the Tree of Life, while his text, "The Chalice of Ecstasy", discusses the Fool’s Redemption in detail.