The Rebirth of the Hero: Mythology as a Guide to Spiritual Transformation

In The Rebirth of the Hero, Keiron Le Grice draws on the ideas and life experiences of C. G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Friedrich Nietzsche to explore the spiritual journey of the modern self, from existential crisis and the “awakening of the self” to the dramatic encounter with the underworld of the psyche and the arduous labor of spiritual transformation. In a work of wide-ranging scope and penetrating insight, Le Grice analyzes scenes from a number of popular films—Jason and the Argonauts, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Pan’s Labyrinth, and more—to illuminate the themes and stages of psychospiritual rebirth and individuation, helping to make the deepest of transformative experiences more readily accessible and intelligible to us all.

Drawing interchangeably on classical Greek myths, Christianity, alchemy, Romanticism, and depth psychology, the author also relates the individual’s personal journey of transformation to the relationship in Western civilization between spirit and nature, reason and instinct, and masculine and feminine. In so doing, The Rebirth of the Hero demonstrates the critical significance of the archetypal pattern of the hero not only for the individual, but also for cultural renewal and the wider spiritual transformation of our time.

“In this much-needed accessible navigation of the hero’s journey, Le Grice gathers dynamic sources––C. G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, and Friedrich Nietzsche––to provide a fresh perspective on the evolution of consciousness and psychospiritual transformation. Exploring the often-avoided subject of death and rebirth experiences from a non-pathological view, he makes an outstanding contribution in offering a freshly-laid path for the individuation process. Most importantly, he invites us to renew the value of myth, which, in turn, transforms the individual, culture, and the heartbeat of the earth.”

––Kathryn Madden, Ph.D.,
Editor-in-Chief, Quadrant: The Journal of the C. G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology, and author of Dark Light of the Soul.