symbolic archetypes

light vs darkness

light usually suggests hope renewal or intellectual llumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.

innate wisdom vs educated stupidity

some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in charge loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they accompany the hero on the journey

supernatural intervention

spiritual beings intervene on the side of the hero of sometimes against him

fire and ice

knowledge, light, life, and rebirth VERSUS ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death

nature vs mechanistic world

nature is good while technology is evil

the threshold

gateway to a new world which the hero must enter to change and grow

the underworld

a place of death or metaphorically an encounter with the dark side of the self. entering an underworld is a form of facing a fear of death.

haven vs wilderness

places of safety contrast sharply against a dangerous wilderness. heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources

water vs desert

necessity to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth symbol, as baptismm rain, rivers, oceans, etc. also function the same way. the desert suggests the opposite

heaven vs hell

man has traditionally associated parts of the universe accessible to him with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern his world. the skies and mountaintops house his gods, the bowels of the earth contain diabolic forces

the crossroads

a place or time of decision when a realization is made and change or penance results

the maze

a puzzling dilemma or great uncertainty, search

the castle

a strong place

the tower

a strong place of evil, represents the isolation of self

the magic weapon

the weapon the hero needs in order to complete his quest

the whirlpool

symbolizes the destructive power nature or fate

fog

symbolizes uncertainty

red color

blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder

green color

growth hope fertility

blue

highly positive, security, tranquility, spiritual purity

black

darkness, chaos, mystery, the unknwon, death,wisdom, evil, melancholy

white

light, purity, innocence, timelessness (negatives:

death, honor, supernatural

yellow

enlightenment, wisdom

number 3

fight; spiritual awareness, unity (holy trinity), male

principle

number 4

associated with the circle, life cycle, seasons,

female principle, earth, nature, elements

number 7

the most potent of all symbolic numbers signifying

the union of three and four, the completion of a cycle,

perfect order, perfect number, religious symbol