Divine Masculine: Sojourn into the Underworld
Journey One: Recognition
The divine masculine archetypes are presented as five journeys that mirror life stages: adolescence, young adulthood, adulthood, wizened adulthood, and elderhood. Each journey reflects the challenges one has faced and the presence with which those challenges were met, leading to growth, resilience, and humility.
Journey One: Recognition begins with the idealistic and romantic adventurer, Romeo whose heart is full of hope and his head brimming with ideals about love, the world and his role within it. Naïve and earnest, he believes love conquers all—but he has yet to learn how easily love can be twisted back upon itself, warping into anger, fear, shame, and grief.
Journey One: Recognition
Romeo's first encounter is the bow & arrow wielding Cupid, whose ever-true aim spurs Romeo to separate from mother, father, family, and home—the places where his identity has so far been anchored—in pursuit of adventure, romance, and the wild promise of intimacy beyond his known world.
Romeo farewells Cupid as he progresses on exhilarated with possibility, his heart soars—bringing him next to meet Icarus, who offers to show him the secrets of true flight. Romeo accepts, but entranced by freedom and new insight, he flies too high and too fast, only to fall hard when his illusions melt away under the relentless sun.
In the painful haze following this ruinous fall, Dionysus finds him. The god of wine, revelry, and release offers comfort and solace through surrender and substance, teaching that pain can be transmuted through pleasure. Romeo takes to the tincture with zeal—and the rush is exquisite. But too much of Dionysus' potion dulls the soul’s deeper longing, and Romeo slips into a fevered stasis of illusion.
At this crossroads stands Perseus, warrior and guide, who offers not only protection but also the gifts he himself received—most notably, the winged boots of Hermes. These boots carry him beyond illusion, giving him the means to navigate both the seen and unseen with newfound agility.
The path leads Romeo to Archangel Uriel, the bringer of light and wisdom, who invites Romeo into stillness, study, and reflection. Within Uriel’s radiant presence, Romeo discovers ancient texts and sacred knowledge, glimpses of gnosis that invite him to question his stories and glimpse the deeper truths beneath.
Inspired with this new insight, Romeo encounters the Platonic Demiurge, who teaches him that all creation emerges from intention and form. Here, he learns the power of shaping his world through steady practice, purpose, and the harmonizing of soul and matter. An adept learner with a quick hand, Romeo wins admiration for both his craft and his burgeoning maturation into manhood.
With these lessons woven into his being, the romantic adolescent completes his journey and the mighty but yet-to-be-tested Thor rises in Romeo's place, retaining the lessons and gifts of boyhood. No longer just a hopeful lover, he now carries the hammer of discernment and the strength to forge ahead.
