Individuals join the military and go to war for personal reasons, but for some there is an instinctive need to find and initiate the inner warrior spirit. The awakening of the warrior spirit may come during training or in combat. It is an awareness of mysterious instincts, feelings and intuitions that guide one in combat and are more acute than logical reason. However, modern warfare can frustrate and undermine the authenticity of the warrior spirit, and psychologists have shown that failure to initiate, transform and reintegrate the warrior into society contributes to combat related PTSD....

Having encountered the mother goddess on the island of Crete, the young warrior is set upon a new adventure: the transformation of his warrior spirit. Psychologist James Hillman wrote, "A warrior is one who has learned, through serving the god of war, to embrace the beauty and fragility of life and the compassion of extreme comradeship. In learning to serve the goddess, the warrior is transformed into an instrument of justice and healing." PART I: In the Spirit of Dionysus The first requirement of the warrior's transformation is to isolate himself from the community, but he need not do so...