Research: The World Navel

- Yggdrasil, the World Tree (etching, Scandinavia, early nineteenth century A.D.) Hero With A Thousand Faces, (2008: 33)

According to Joseph Campbell in his collected works The Hero With A Thousand Faces (2008), "the World Navel is the symbol of continuous creation; the mystery of the maintenance of the world". (2008: 34)
In summary, it is essentially, the centre of all everything that exists in a referred world and/or story. Everything revolves around it and it is the source of all creation. As Campbell also states, "since it is the source of all existence, it yields the world's plenitude of both good and evil." (2008: 34) 

My understanding of this is that the World Navel is the connection between the ultimate power the hero has to gain to succeed in the quest, and the world in which they need to save. Ultimately, it is a source that both the protagonist and antagonist can use for their own needs or want. It's also what the world of the story revolves around and everything in the story links back to this one point.

 Examples of the World Navel that Campbell (2008:35) talks about; used in narrative and culture include, the spot in which the Buddha sat when reaching enlightenment, Christ himself having the power of God as his son and being "the way, the truth and the life" (Bible, John 14:6) for Christians to gain passage to heaven, Rome being the centre in which the Catholic church revolves around. Another example evident in film is the Force being the source and binding power of the galaxy in Star Wars; and how it can be used by both the Jedi and the Dark Side.

"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." 

- Quote from Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope

Evidence that Campbell presents where the World Navel is used from an antagonistic point of view is the anecdote about the trickster-divinity Edshu in West African mythology. Campbell explains how Edshu wore a hat that represented the four world directions; where one side was white, the other red, the front green and the back black. Edshu himself represented the World Navel. Two farmers on either side of him fight over what colour the hat was; as one saw it as red, the other as white. The meaning of this is that Edshu was the Navel of the chaos caused between the two farmers from the different world directions (colours) the hat displayed. (2008: 37).
(Note, Campbell references Leo Frobenius' work: Und Afrika sprach when explaining the anecdote of Edshu) 

This Concept fascinates me and it seems that it can be applied to stories very easily. I would use this in my own story as it can prove very relevant to the themes I wish to discuss based upon my text which talks about human philosophy.