Up: [[Journeys]] Related: [[Mythology]]; [[13 - Death]] Created: 2026-06-06 The motif of descent is common to [[mythology]], the [[Heroine’s Journey]], and people on the path of [[Individuation]]. It is the theme of Tarot’s card number [[13 - Death]]. ### In Life, a descent is at hand if you are turning inward and feeling a loss of [[Libido]] (life energy). It often looks like depression, and is frequently but not always triggered by crisis. Descent may be chosen, forced upon us, or surrendered to. There is no set time frame for a descent and it doesn’t mean you are incapacitated. It can last weeks, months, even years while you go about your everyday life. A descent takes you into your unconscious (the unknown) where you will interact with a mixture of material from your personal unconscious and also the numinous, archetypal forces of the collective unconscious. This is no stroll through the park on a sunny afternoon but, rather, a jarring and overwhelming experience that feels like the death of who you’ve always thought yourself to be. That’s the generous phrasing; others, such as Jungian [[Alyssa Polizzi]], describe it as *dissolution, dismemberment, abduction, violation.* The purpose of a descent is that an old attitude, belief or perception be sacrificed. You return to life reborn, with new energy, insights and an expanded sense of [[The Self]]. If you work with your dreams, you’ll find you are more able to interpret them. And if you are aware of your complexes, you will clue in faster when they have been activated. In other works, it’s a time of transformation. ### In Mythology, a descent is a journey into the underworld that initiates the individual into the deeper mysteries of life. See also [[The Greek Underworld and the Unconscious are Similar]]. As in our human lives, descent myths don’t end with the descent. There is always a return that results in rebirth, evolution and transformation. Some of the better-known descent myths include: - [[Inanna - A Chosen Descent]] - [[Orpheus - A Chosen Descent]] - [[Persephone - A Forced Descent]] - [[Psyche - A Surrendered Descent]] Note: There is a relationship between a descent and a [[Dark Night of the Soul]] such as Jonah’s time in the belly of the whale, but they aren’t the same thing. The descent describes your entire journey, while a dark night is a time of spiritual crisis within that journey. Every dark night includes a descent, but there can be a descent without a dark night.