Shakespeare said that art is a mirror held up to nature. And that’s what it is. The nature is your nature, and all of these wonderful poetic images of mythology are referring to something in you. When your mind is trapped by the image out there so that you never make the reference to yourself, you have misread the image.

The function of ritual, as I understand it, is to give form to human life, not in the way of a mere surface arrangement, but in depth.

The call to adventure signifies that destiny has summoned the hero.

People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder. Fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won.

The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.

The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.