
I recommend reading the earlier entries in the Katabasis series before this post, or at least the first if you are unfamiliar with the term.
In today’s Very Special Holiday Episode of this blog, we’re going down the spiral of Katabasis once again. This time, we will be examining the Underworld Journey through the lens of reincarnation. However, unlike with Inland Empire we are not going through iterations and revisions of the same story across time. Instead, we be investigating a film that presents it in a different fashion.
Rather than going through multiple lifetimes, we are focusing on just one. The Underworld here is a single day in a single town. In Lieu of incarnating as a new person, our Hero relives an individual day/life over and over. He experiences a continuity of memory to remember each moment, and the actions of each life are free from repercussions except to his own mental state.
Groundhog Day
Bill Murray stars as Phil Connors, a Weatherman at a Action 9 News in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a Weatherman, Phil embodies the archetype of The Magician. His job is to attempt to predict the future, a divinatory role mirrored by the titular groundhog of the film. As we begin, he feels his magical powers grant him supreme control of the world around him, yet the reality is a different story.
Eternity

The film opens with images of clouds. We are looking upward toward the weather, which is its own character in this movie. It is the power of the Divine, making it both the Demiurge, trapping Phil in a cycle of reincarnation, as well as his Holy Guardian Angel, carrying him to the Abyss which he must cross to be enlightened, the only way to escape the cycle. In this situation, enlightenment takes the classic form of ego death and union with the Goddess.

The view of the sky fades away to the blue key screen for the weather map at the news station.
Phil speaks, saying “Somebody asked me today ‘Phil, If you could be anywhere in the world where would you be?’ and I said to him ‘Probably right here.'” He places his hand against the screen before continuing. Remember that Blue is the color of Dreaming and often as well a color for the Goddess.
Phil predicts incoming snow, though he gets wrong the location and time as we will see later in the film.
This is the setup, as we saw in our discussion of Incarnation, wherein everyone discusses the story that is about to be told and what will happen within it.
Phil Connors has to travel to the Underworld of Punxsutawney, PA, the site where Punxsutawney Phil will soon predict six more weeks of winter. The groundhog’s prognostication has a long history, stretching back to 1887, and occurring on February 2nd. This date aligns both with Candlemas and Imbolc, marking the midway point between solstice and equinox. Unfortunately, these predictions only have about 30% accuracy.
Nobody at the news station seems to like Phil very much. We meet Larry, his unfunny camera man. Phil discusses his upcoming journey with another employee of the station, explaining that he does not wish to stay in Punxsutawney long. We are here also introduced to Rita, his producer.

Rita takes the role of the Goddess in Phil’s journey, the Grail for which he is questing. She incarnates along with him, and her dialogue throughout the film serves as a guide for his path. This is the fulfillment of her role as “producer” in the story, facilitating whatever Phil needs to find his enlightenment.

She wears blue here, which creates the effect of her being translucent on the station monitors as she stands in front of the key screen. We can see directly through her to the weather, her Divinity being made clear to us from the start.
Phil denies any interest in her at this point. We are shown from the very beginning that his ego is a problem affecting his life and that of those around him. It is also a mask for his own self-loathing.
Phil’s constant denials, his rejection of his role, are his The Refusal of the Call in his Hero’s Journey, and show us everything about to happen to him. Every statement becomes a dramatic irony, as he says this will be the last time he travels to see the groundhog.
Phil, Rita, and Larry get in the news-van and head across the state as Rita explains that she enjoys the groundhog story. They arrive in Punxsutawney, Phil declining to stay with the others in their hotel or have dinner with them, instead preferring a Bed-and-Breakfast which we find out Rita has already booked for him. He calls himself “the Talent”, in other words a “Star”. He is appreciative of her work, saying that “keeping the talent happy” is the mark of a good producer, and she responds “Anything I can do…”.
“… within reason”.
Day One

Phil awakens / incarnates every day at 6:00 AM.
6 is the number of the Sun. The image of Divinity seen from Earth, and the Creator of the Weather.
“Then put your little hand in mine, there ain’t no hill or mountain we can’t climb” is heard as Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe announces each morning over the radio. Climbing the Mountain is a symbol for enlightenment found in many traditions, and especially Magia. Right from the beginning of his Katabasis, Phil has the answer to escape the Underworld: he must do it together with Rita/The Goddess.
The radio continues an announcement, talking about the weather and predicting a blizzard approaching.

Phil wears blue pajamas.
He washes his face as the radio continues discussing the fact that it is Groundhog Day.
Looking outside, he sees many people walking up the road toward Gobbler’s Knob, a park where the prediction will be revealed.
Phil leaves his room, heading downstairs to have coffee, and interacting with members of The Dead along the way. These other individuals repeat every day along with Phil, though because it is his journey only he has a memory of each iteration. They are like ghosts, residually haunting the town and mindlessly performing their scripted actions with no progression.
Phil expresses confidence that he will be leaving Punxsutawney as soon as possible, arguing that the weather report will not affect him.
He ignores a cold old man begging on the street and has an unpleasant interaction with an old schoolmate, Ned Ryerson, who tries to sell him life insurance. There is a goofy internet theory that Ned is the Devil responsible for keeping Phil in his time-loop until he purchases insurance, however we will see that Phil is ultimately the only one responsible. Ned expresses philosophy of the uselessness of life focused on work.
The Step of the Fool is accomplished as Phil uncomfortably steps into a pothole filled with icy water, as Ned laughs.
Frank Yankovic’s Pennsylvania Polka announces that the festivities have begun, and instructs Phil again to “pick out your partner and join in the fun”, his only way out. He arrives to give his report as Rita speaks of her love for the town.

Phil speaks to camera with disdain for the groundhog, as members of the “Inner Circle” (the groundhog’s caretakers) announce that a shadow has been seen and thus 6 more weeks of winter will occur.
Again, we see the number 6 displayed, and with it the mention of a shadow. Fire, and the Sun, cast shadows. One’s Shadow is a concept in Jungian psychology corresponding to the unconscious portion of the personality which dominates one’s life, and doing “Shadow Work” is a way to bring this unseen controller of the self into the light, thus clearing it up.
Phil’s shadow is his inflated ego, thinking himself all powerful and better than those around him despite hating himself, and it is this that must be cleansed by his Katabasis before he can return to Eternity. The groundhog is directly telling him what to do.
The crowd boos, and Phil again gives snark to the camera. Rita asks him to try again without the sarcasm, which he declines, Larry naming him a prima donna.

Whimsical and sparkly music plays as snow begins to fall across the news-van as it flees the town, signifying the magic is beginning. Phil continues to deny reality as the group finds their exit blocked by a large truck stuck in a tunnel.
He argues with a police officer about the blizzard, saying “I make the weather”.
They turn back to town, finding phone access to the outside world cut off, Phil claiming to be a celebrity in an emergency. At a bar, he again rudely declines to dine with Larry and Rita. He finds that his shower has no hot water before heading to bed.
The First Spiral

The next day begins exactly as the first. Music and a weather report again blares through the radio as Phil finds bewilderment in what is happening. We see that he already remembers words to the broadcast, and looking out the window he realizes his day has started repeating.
Heading downstairs, he has aggressive interactions with members of The Dead in his confusion. He expresses that he is not sure if he is leaving town, as others confirm it is again Groundhog Day. He again ignores the old beggar and tries to escape Ned’s conversation before stepping into the cold puddle.
At Gobbler’s Knob he asks Rita to slap his face, confessing that he’s having a problem. Another bit to camera as the groundhog predicts 6 more weeks of winter. Phil leaves without finishing his report and again finds his nighttime shower cold and with no way to contact the outside world.
He breaks a pencil and leaves it on his nighstand.
The next morning the radio plays the same music and report, and Phil finds the pencil in once piece. He rushes away from the Bed-and-Breakfast denizens, aggressively avoiding the old man and Ned, once more stepping into the cold puddle.
He brushes off the report on the groundhog and asks Rita to meet him in the diner where a waiter drops a plate of dishes. He explains to Rita that he is repeating the same day over and over, but she does not believe him. He asks her for help and she suggests he sees a medical professional. Two members of the Dead in the diner, Gus and Ralph, overhear Phil’s name and compare it to the groundhog before telling him to “watch out for his shadow”. Larry arrives to say they need to leave now to “get ahead of the weather”, but Phil protests, again asking for help.
A doctor, played by Harold Ramis (the film’s co-writer and director) confirms Phil has no physical problems and the town psychologist is woefully unprepared to offer any help.
At a bowling alley with Gus and Ralph, Phil wishes he was reliving a different, more pleasant day. He asks them what they would do if they were stuck in one place reliving the same day and nothing mattered. Ralph says that that “sums it up for him”. This begins Phil’s descent into nihilism.
Driving the drunk Gus and Ralph home, he realizes he can do whatever he wants with no repercussions. He knocks over a mailbox and leads police on a chase down railroad tracks before wrecking the vehicle and getting arrested.
Awaking the next morning to his Bed-and-Breakfast room, Phil celebrates a lack of consequences for his actions. He happily interacts with members of the Dead, preempting their questions with answers before they can ask them. He ignores the old beggar, punches Ned, and lets someone else step into the puddle.

At the diner, he has devolved into hedonism, stuffing his mouth and smoking in front of Rita as a waiter again drops a plate of dishes.
Rita quotes to him a poem by Sir Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel
“The wretch, concentered all in self,
Living, shall forfeit fair renown,
And, doubly dying, shall go down
To the vile dust, from whence he sprung,
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.”
The poem as a whole is about a feud between border clans, murder, and love. Within, the only way the marriage is allowed is by one’s brave conduct releasing him from captivity and connection to the land and traditions.
Rita is simultaneously criticizing Phil as well as once again giving him instruction on his way to enlightenment.
Larry arrives to try to get them to leave, but Phil says that the town is beginning to grow on him. He stops by a woman on his way out, Nancy, asking her questions about her past. Memorizing this information, the next day/cycle he awakes and finds her at Gobbler’s Knob and uses it to trick her into thinking they were old friends that she does not remember, and then sleep with her.
We see that he has begun to memorize the movements of the Dead within the town, and takes this advantage to steal money and sleep with other women.
Eventually, he exhausts these candidates for fulfillment, and sets his sights back on Rita. He begins a conversation with and about her in the news van, finding out everything that he can about her by taking her to the diner to talk. She resists and he presses further. He sabotages the van to keep them in town for longer each day.
We now see his repeated attempts to seduce Rita, with snippets of each day’s interaction across the town. He now has his orientation in a more correct direction, however for the wrong reasons. He’s still focused on manipulating the world around him, rather than working on changing himself.
In a restaurant he quotes French poetry to Rita, and we see that some shadow work has begun to creep in:
“La fille que j’aimera, Est comme un vin, Qui se bonifiera, Un peu, Chaque matin.”
“The girl I’ll love, is like a wine, who will get better, a little bit, every morning.”
This poem is inspired by the lyrics to the song La bourrée du célibataire (The Bachelor’s Dance)
Phil shows that he has learned French and that he is somewhat aware of the resolution to his situation.
His reward is the first stage of enlightenment and the first Encounter with the Goddess.

Building a snowman together, they are attacked with snowballs by local children, resulting in them laying in the snow together.
They dance in a gazebo as Ray Charles’s version of You Don’t Know Me plays, indicating that while Phil has reached this first encounter with the Goddess, he is not at the end of the road and his orientation is not yet correct.
Rita tells Phil that she thought this was a perfect day and that you can’t plan such a thing. Phil denies this, saying that you can, showing his awareness of his manipulations.
Back in his Bed-and-Breakfast room, Rita denies his advances and the two argue as Phil presses beyond what she is interested in doing. He expresses love for her, and she becomes uncomfortable, slaps him, and leaves, telling him he can’t love her because he only loves himself. He responds that he doesn’t even like himself, and here we see him exposing the core of his Shadow in the presence of the Goddess.
We’re shown his next night with Rita, as he clumsily fumbles through the motions of putting together the snowman again, followed by a montage of him being slapped in the face. Here, he is seeking to relive the magic of the first Awakening he has experienced, however this is an incorrect step. He must move forward to continue, not look to the past.
Passing ice sculptures, an instrumental version of You Don’t Know Me plays.
The Second Spiral

The next day at Gobbler’s Knob, Rita confronts Phil telling him he looks terrible.
At the beginning of this spiral, Phil has passed nihilism and hedonism, slipping into a depression.
He awakens the next day narrating everything the radio is about to say. He sits among the dead watching Jeopardy, reciting every answer before the questions are finished being asked. The Dead clap for his performance.
At Gobbler’s Knob he again expresses disdain for the groundhog and for the weather, saying it will be cold and gray, lasting for the rest of your life. He repeatedly smashes his radio alarm clock.
Back at Gobbler’s Knob he claims the reason for what is happening is the groundhog itself, and that it must be stopped by him. Rita and Larry show their concern for his mental state, as he says goodbye to her.
Approaching the Inner Circle’s truck containing the groundhog, he gets in and steals it.

Rita and Larry pursue in the news van, along with police and members of the Inner Circle. He drives it to an abandoned quarry, with the others catching up and blocking him in, before launching the car off a cliff. It explodes in a fireball, as Phil (and Phil) dies.

The radio alarm clock again strikes 6:00 AM as Phil wakes the next day.
A montage of him committing suicide in various ways follows, each time with him still awaking in bed. This is not actually confronting death, but looking to it as an escape from the cycle of rebirth he is experiencing, which is something it cannot be.
In the diner, Phil once again shows that he’s still suffering from an inflated ego as he declares to Rita that he is “a God”, though not “the God”. He explains to her that he has died multiple times, but she rebuts this saying that its not possible. This is a common inflation that many enlightenment seekers suffer.
To prove his Divinity, he shows off his magically gained powers by reciting information about many members of the Dead within the diner, times the waiter dropping the dishes, and predicts Larry’s attempt to get them to leave. He also explains his deep knowledge of Rita.
In doing so, she becomes a believer of his condition. Together, they walk through town and she decides to spend the rest of the day with him.
Here, he arrives at the second encounter with the Goddess.
In his Bed-and-Breakfast room, he and Rita sit on the bed throwing cards into a hat. She misses every card, but he perfectly sinks each one, again showing his growth. She asks “is this what you do with Eternity”, prodding him to continue to better himself. She tells him his experience is not a curse, from a matter of perspective.
They spend the night together, without physical intimacy but falling asleep next to each other reading poetry.

The window is an image of a blue eye watching them, with snow falling behind.
Phil quotes Joyce Kilmer’s Trees, saying “Only God can make a tree”. This poem reflects both the symbolism of the Human Being as a Tree, as well as implying looking upward toward Divinity and moving with the flow of the weather. This is showing again Phil’s growth, and his step into the proper orientation to reach his full enlightenment and escape the cycle.
He covers Rita and thoughtfully whispers his love to her as the night ends.
The Third Spiral

The next day, the radio announces the beginning of the third spiral.
Phil wakes and exits the Bed-and-Breakfast with a renewed sense of purpose.
On the street, he gives the old beggar the entire contents of his wallet. He brings Larry and Rita coffee and pastries at Gobbler’s Knob, endearing himself to them as he commits himself to his work.
He finds a piano instructor, and asks to take lessons by offering her a large amount of money. Similar to the Ned Ryerson Devil theory, Paul F. Tompkins proposed a competing goofy theory that this piano teacher is in fact responsible for the time loop. Again though, it is Phil’s own self who is responsible.
Phil learns many skills over his long period of time here.
However, much like in our discussion of Gravity, Phil must now learn to accept Death. The Goddess is that of Death and of The Dead, and to reach her fully this must be confronted. This is his crossing of the Abyss.
He meets the old beggar on the street and takes him to a hospital, where the man passes away. A nurse explains that it was “just his time” and that “sometimes people just die”.

Phil, unable to accept this yet, takes the beggar to the diner the next day and gives him food. On the street, he attempts CPR to save him but is unsuccessful.

Now accepting and understanding, as the beggar’s final breath leaves him, Phil looks to the sky.
Not only is this his confrontation with Death, it is also the moment of his ego death and full enlightenment. He has realized that even with everything he has gained, he is not all-powerful.

The final day begins.
Phil gives a moving speech at Gobbler’s Knob, bringing the crowd to tears as Rita smiles at him.
She compliments him, and invites him to coffee, which he declines because he has “errands to run”.
He wanders the town doing good deeds, saving multiple lives, and impressing the Dead by effectively granting them new life with his presence.
At the Inner Circle’s party that evening he shows off his piano skills, dances with Rita while the Dead thank him, and is the subject of a bachelor’s auction for charity. After a bidding war, Rita pledges the entire contents of her wallet to win him.
By no longer trying to be the center of the world, Phil has gained the true control and admiration that his Shadow had promised, but without the ego clouding it up.

Phil has now arrived at his final encounter with the Goddess. Rather than desperately trying to manipulate her, his selflessness has her pursuing him. In the park where they built snow men, he carves her image out of snow, which sparkles in the moonlight.
Rita is left speechless, as Phil confesses his love and the fact that regardless of anything else he has found happiness.
She is happy as well and they kiss as snow begins to fall, the soundtrack mimicking the magical sounds of the first blizzard which trapped him in the Punxsutawney Underworld.

I Got You Babe plays one final time as the radio starts a different morning broadcast, indicating that the day has finally changed.
Rita reaches over to turn it off as we find out they are still in bed together.

Phil, shocked, pinches her to make sure he is Awake, declaring that “anything different is good”.
Asking Rita why she is there, she says “I bought you, I own you” and “You said stay, so I stayed”.

Phil checks the window to find a snow-covered completely empty and silent street.
He, and Rita, have returned to Eternity.
“Today is tomorrow” he exclaims. “It was the end of a very long day.”

The clock reads 6:01 indicating that the normal flow of time has resumed.

Outside the Bed-and-Breakfast, Phil carries Rita over the threshold of the fence-gate arch, and they rush into the snow as symbolic newlyweds as Nat King Cole’s Almost Like Being In Love plays.
The scene fades to that of the clouds, as in the beginning, and the credits roll.
The Katabasis series will continue with reader suggestions, as well as a few more special entries.
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