1. Situational Archetypes

2. The Quest
The search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land
Example: King Arthur and the search for the Holy Grail

3. The Task
The hero must perform some nearly superhuman deed in order to save the kingdom, win the lady, reassume his position, etc.
This is not the same as the quest where the ultimate goal is to restore fertility to the land.
The hero may have to complete multiple tasks
Example: Lord of the Rings - Frodo take the ring to the Elves

4. The Journey
This sends the hero in search for some truth or information necessary to restore the kingdom
Usually the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths, quite often about his own faults
Once the hero is at his lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living.
Example: Katniss in Mockingjay

5. The Initiation A rite of passage
An adolescent comes into he/her maturity with new awareness and problems along with the new hope for the community
This maturing is often the climax of the story.
Example: Triss in Divergent

6. The Ritual
The ceremonies the initiate will experience in his/her rite of passage.
The importance of the ritual rites cannot be over stressed as they provide clear sign posts for the character’s role in society
Example: Prim at the reaping in Hunger Games

7. The Fall A descent from a higher to a lower state of being
This experience involves the loss of innocence and is often accompanied by banishment from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience
Example: Paradise Lost – fall of Lucifer

8. Death & Rebirth The most common situational archetype
Symbolizes endings and new beginnings
Parallels the cycle of nature / cycle of life
Morning/springtime = birth, youth, or rebirth
Evening/winter = old age or death
Example: The Lion King

9. Nature vs. Mechanic World
Nature is good
Technology and science are often evil
Example: Avatar, Walden, Fahrenheit 451

10. Battle of Good vs. Evil A battle between two primal forces
Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds
Example:

11. Unhealable Wound
This wound is either physical or psychological and cannot be fully healed
This wound indicates a loss of innocence
These wounds always ache and often drive the sufferer to desperate measures
Example: Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Moby Dick, Harry Potter

12. Magic Weapon A test of the extraordinary quality of the hero
No one other than the hero can wield the weapon or use it to its full potential
It is usually given by a mentor figure
Example: King Arthur & Excaliber

13. Symbolic Archetypes

14. Light vs. Darkness
Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination
Darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair

15. Water vs. Desert
Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol
The use of water in baptism gives water the meaning of spiritual
Water represent life
Desert represents death

16. Heaven vs. Hell
Humanity has traditionally associated parts of the universe not accessible to it with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern its world.
The skies and mountaintops house its gods
The bowels of the earth contain the diabolic forces
Heaven represents good
Hell represents evil

17. Fire vs. Ice Fire represents knowledge, light, life, ad rebirth
Ice represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death

18. Haven vs. Wilderness
Places of safety contrast sharply against the dangerous wilderness
Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources

19. Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity
Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding situations instinctively, as opposed to those supposedly in charge
Common sense vs. book smarts