Archetypes in Fairy tales and Us
Little Mermaid Archetype: Love the Self, Find Your Voice, Stand Tall
She is serene, sensitive, and so impressionable. Like the shadowy depths of her watery home, her spiritual enquiry runs deep as she ponders the imponderable laying beneath. Still, when she meets the man of her dreams, she dives right in with ne’er a thought about the practicalities or having her needs met. Her friends tell her she is just pipe-dreaming her life away and must face reality. But the finely tuned Little Mermaid goes wherever her soul leads. Despite her radiance, inside, feeling inadequate, she fears rejection and abandonment. Her sea-kin, such as the gentle Dugong and playful Platypus, awaken her intuitive powers, encouraging her to break free from her shadowy bounds. Can she go with the flow - for only then will she discover her unique place of belonging? The Little Mermaid must be open to loving herself once and for all to free her untold story. Even without all the answers to what she seeks to know, she must trust that the Divine has her back, reclaim her voice and accept she was born beautiful and powerful in a universe unfolding as it should.
Animal Totems: Dugong, Platypus, Starfish, and Green turtle: Print Available for Purchase.
Puss in Boots Archetype: Listening, Respecting the Voice of Higher Wisdom
The Fairy Wren is transfixed by the lyrical refrain of the forest carried on the wind: 'The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings' (Kate Chopin). As the cat closes in, her survival depends on agile responses to the here-and-now events. Still, she must also balance her duty of staying with the flock or taking flight to find the fuel that seeds her future. Life’s demands are duplicitous, but one thing is constant; we all are called to commit to our soul’s course to achieve uplift. Take Puss: he must faithfully mentor the miller's son, demonstrating how one toes the line between social conventions while remaining true to one's raw Self. His natural inclinations urge him to take what he wants whenever he wants. But there's an overarching ecosystem with limits to which he (and we) are expected to comply. For the tale's young man, an awakening takes place so he might heed the voice of Higher truth, favouring he does the right thing at the right time to move up in the world. Sensing when opportunity knocks, he follows the cat in thigh-high boots and gets the leg-up he needs. Can we follow his lead?
Animal Totems: Australian Fairy Wren and Domestic Cat. Print available for purchase.
Sleeping Beauty Archetype: Time-out To Tune Into What Matters
Her ordinary world seems extraordinary, yet even the wisest of wise are unknowing and at a loss to control every crisis. The sun sets, time marches on, and somehow the great star rises again to illuminate the far horizon. Sleeping Beauty’s life might be furloughed, but she dreams on, connecting with the Divine and all its mysteries. A dense scrub takes root to keep the outside world out for now, but cushioning her are the fresh shoots of undergrowth - her new life beyond. She best uses her troubles, focusing on what matters to her soul, not her vanities. She dances and sings in her dreamscape until she opens her eyes one fateful day, knowing she has been transformed. Events catalyse her awakening just as the protective brolgas, birds of good omen, promise. Her life will be reborn if she moves in rhythm with the beat and light of the timeless sacred, and does not use force to manipulate change according to her material desires. Although she feels humbled and immobilised by things outside of herself, the dragonflies, carried on the winds of change, cast light upon the path ahead. Now, blessed with the wherewithal to discern between all that is true and false, eternal and fleeting, she shows us how to find our way to a united and brighter future.
Animal Totems: Brolga and Dragonfly. Print available for purchase.
East of the Sun, West of the Moon Archetype: Biding Time Until the Revelation
The youngest daughter falls in love with a real prince bewitched and trapped inside a wild animal (i.e., a white bear in the classic storytelling). She wonders if this love is real or whether she is just deluding herself, living in a fantasy. Rather than spend her days dwelling on the past, she chooses to go out there and chase down her dreams. But her circumstances are beyond reason. Confused, she, like a new moon, sheds light to see what is hidden before setting forth to traverse the landscape. Her journey to find her other half is a painstaking pilgrimage. Persevering, she goes the moonlit way, discovering her next steps under the direction of unlikely mentors. On the back of a diprotodon (extinct Australian megafauna), she rides through the gates of illusion, ready to confront the truth. Whatever it is she sought to discover is revealed to her. She finds and releases not only her beloved but her own depths. Hers is the classic Hero's journey where she must be patient and pragmatic, never losing sight of the purpose of her quest no matter the torments from the 'trolls' of the past. She is somewhat like the The Little Mermaid in going after her lover proactively, but remains ever-true to herself through the unknown twists and turns of courtship.
This heroic archetype teaches clarity will come if we are prepared to wait and see - believing in our dreams and living by the truth of our Higher Self.
Animal Totem: Diprotodon. Print available for purchase.
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