The Descent to Soul Compared to Rites of Passage, the Hero’s Journey, and Indigenous Practices, Part III
by Bill Plotkin
Friday, February 25, 2022
This is the third part of a four-part Musing (one per week).
Although Arnold van Gennep’s rites-of-passage model and Joseph Campbell’s hero’s-journey model do not at all match up with the phases of the Descent to Soul (as discussed in the prior two Musings), they do accord with my understanding of the larger journey of soul initiation (JoSI), but only in terms of overall structure: JoSI begins with a separation or departure (van Gennep’s and Campbell’s terms, respectively) from the life stage of early Adolescence, then enters a long period of transition (van Gennep) or initiation (Campbell) corresponding to the entire life stage of the Cocoon, and ends with an incorporation (van Gennep) or return (Campbell) into the life stage of the Wellspring. But, as we’ve seen, JoSI is a far cry from a rite of passage, not the least difference being the duration — several years or more for JoSI compared to a few days at most for nearly all rites of passage. More generally, JoSI is a complex developmental sequence, while a rite of passage is the marking of a single transition from one life stage to the next (or, in other instances, from one social status to another).
Although JoSI can be understood as a version of Campbell’s hero’s journey (departure — initiation — return), the core feature of JoSI, the Descent with its encounter with Soul, is not, as we saw earlier, among the array of possible experiences in what Campbell understood as the myth of “the hero with a thousand faces.”
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Let’s also consider how my model of the Descent to Soul and of JoSI might compare and contrast — in terms of methods, structure, and outcome — with the initiatory processes of earlier and current indigenous traditions. I can’t offer a definitive comparison here simply because I’m not aware of any explicit analyses of either the structure or outcome of indigenous versions of the Descent or of the larger journey of soul initiation. I’ve read and heard intriguing accounts of indigenous initiatory practices (some are noted in appendix 1 of The Journey of Soul Initiation), also published as Soulcraft Musings #260 and 261, on 1/21/22 and 1/28/22), but not structural analyses. Respectful questions and speculation are nonetheless possible.
First, the structure of the Descent may or may not be different from indigenous models in the four ways noted above with regard to Campbell’s and van Gennep’s models. When making comparisons between a particular indigenous practice and my models of the Descent and of JoSI, we might ask: (1) Does it include a Dissolution phase and is that phase “only” a social or vocational severance or leave-taking from everyday Village life, or is it, as in my model, a complete and conclusive undoing of one’s former psychological and social identity and the definitive ending of one’s belief that any and all identities rooted in social life could ever again be fundamental to who one really is? (2) Does it include a Soul Encounter phase, and does this involve not a union with Spirit or the discovery or gaining of a new social role but a revelation of one’s unique place in the greater web of life? (3) Does it include a Metamorphosis phase of significant duration that brings about a change in consciousness and a psychospiritual shift in identity that is not primarily or necessarily social? (4) Does it include an Enactment phase, in which the initiate gradually learns to embody their new identity in their human community?
If there turns out to be significant differences between the indigenous practice in question and the Descent as modeled here, this would not render either as “better” than the other — only as something different.
In the next Musing, we’ll continue this exploration of the differences and similarities between the initiatory processes of indigenous traditions and our Animas approaches to the Descent to Soul and to JoSI — by looking at the methods used, the outcomes experienced, and the different understandings of life stages.
Adapted from Bill Plotkin, The Journey of Soul Initiation: A Field Guide for Visionaries, Evolutionaries, and Revolutionaries (Novato, CA: New World Library, 2021).
