Across
- 2. A monster from the deepest, darkest part of the human psyche that threatens the hero.
- 5. A search for truth or knowledge that may force the hero to confront personal faults and gain insight.
- 10. A search for someone or something whose discovery and return will restore the land or give hope to the community.
- 11. A struggle between two opposing forces, often showing good triumphing despite great odds.
- 14. A character whose sensual beauty attracts the hero and may bring about his downfall.
- 16. Some characters understand situations instinctively, while others—often educated people or those in charge—surprisingly lack wisdom.
- 17. A weapon with extraordinary qualities that the hero can use, often given by a mentor.
- 19. A courageous central character who faces danger, often to help others or serve a larger purpose.
- 21. A pattern of death and renewal that reflects the cycles of nature and life.
- 22. Water commonly symbolizes birth or rebirth; deserts represent death.
- 25. FigurewithGoodHeart A seemingly evil figure whose goodness is revealed through the hero’s love or nobility.
- 26. World Nature is portrayed as good, while technology and society are often portrayed as evil.
- 28. A rite of passage, usually into adulthood, that gives a character new awareness and maturity.
- 30. Someone whose public death is believed to remove a community’s guilt or misfortune.
- 32. Devoted servants who protect the hero and reflect the hero’s nobility.
- 33. Young heroes who undergo training or ceremony before a quest; they are usually innocent and often wear white.
Down
- 1. A physical or psychological wound that never fully heals, signals lost innocence, and may drive desperate actions.
- 3. Tension between father and son, often caused by childhood separation or an outside force before they meet as adults.
- 4. A nurturing figure associated with fertility, abundance, and spiritual or emotional nourishment.
- 6. A hero raised away from his heritage who returns home to reclaim his rightful place and help his community.
- 7. Animal companions whose support suggests that nature is helping the hero.
- 8. A close-knit group of allies willing to face danger together.
- 9. Light suggests hope, renewal, or understanding; darkness suggests the unknown, ignorance, and despair.
- 12. Gods intervene to influence events on earth, either for or against the hero.
- 13. An embodiment of evil who may offer the hero worldly rewards in exchange for his soul.
- 15. Skies and mountaintops are where the gods live; the bowels of the earth contain diabolic forces.
- 18. A vulnerable person who needs to be rescued, sometimes used to trap the hero.
- 20. A descent from a higher to a lower state, involving loss of innocence or expulsion from a kind of paradise.
- 23. Fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth; ice represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death.
- 24. Someone banished from a social group, usually destined to wander from place to place.
- 27. Two lovers whose relationship is doomed by social or family disapproval, or by another tragic circumstance.
- 29. A teacher or counselor who trains and advises the hero and serves as a role model.
- 31. A figure who inspires the hero spiritually or intellectually, rather than through physical attraction.
- 34. A difficult deed the hero must perform as one step toward a larger goal.