Tag Archives: Fairytales

Why Fairytales Are Good For Grown Ups.

7 Nov

“To be attracted to or repelled by a fairy tale indicates that the story contains something that resonates with an unconscious process in the reader or listener, for one cannot be attracted or repelled unless one recognizes something that is personally meaningful.” -Meredith B Mitchell.

Fairytales parallel common human conditions. They resonate deep within us in emotionally creative ways and invite us into illogical, impractical, unrealistic, wonderful and terrifying worlds where good opposes evil, magic exists, and animals transform into people.

Because a fairytale is a story with a simple plot, stereotypical characters, universal themes, with elements of ideas and imagery from a vast array of human experiences that we can identify with, they are a perfect and safe playground for us to explore our own thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

Fairytales tell us all about all kinds of relationships. Just look at Continue reading →

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Jack And The Beanstalk.

5 Sep

Jack and the Beanstalk

I adore finding “magic beans” in my garden. Every season a few magically evade picking and eating, so I save them to be displayed and squealed over and sometimes wonder what would happen if I went to a local Farmers Market and tried swapping them for a (pet) cow!

I have grown enough beautiful beanstalks to know that they require staking if they are to reach their full potential, just as I know that all relationships require support if they are expected to grow.

It’s not enough to just expect our union to blossom into something fruitful if we don’t take care of it. The giant who came a cropper in the tale of Jack and the Beanstalk really could have Continue reading →

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Gruesome Twosome.

1 Nov
Zombie nephews. Photo by Hayley French at feijoadesigns.

Zombie nephews. Photo by Hayley French at feijoadesigns.

These two little treasures look iron depleted and could perhaps do with a good feed of spinach from our lush garden, but it’s Halloween and what they are really after is zombie brains and sweets galore.

Luckily their mother doesn’t belong to the fun police and nor is she a religious fanatic, both of which seem to push harder in the media every year to sanitize the darkness of Halloween. Why people continue to say it’s an Continue reading →

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Snow White And Rose Red.

5 Apr
Rose Red and Snow White

Photo credit and thanks to Nisha Ravji Photography and Models Sabina Vixen and Candy Thorne.

Snow White and Rose Red is a Brother’s Grimm fairytale about two sisters who shared a close and loving friendship with each other, where ‘No evil ever befell them.’

Their widowed mother taught them ‘What one has, she must share with another,’  so they effortlessly obeyed and shared whatever they had. This fostered the type of generosity and kindness that enabled them to offer shelter to a half-frozen bear who knocked on their door in the middle of winter, asking to be warmed. He became a trusted family friend, and when he left in the spring, they were sad. On their many adventures they encountered Continue reading →

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Good Versus Evil.

12 Jan

The world is and always has been, filled with good and evil. It is what it is. It’s a kind of wilderness that we need to learn to survive in. We have to find our own way through and manage ourselves down at the waterhole, staying alert to and seeking shelter from giants, angry dwarves, wolves and many bad apples along the way. Even if we don’t bump into trouble personally, disaster, violence, cruelty and horror has a way of bursting into our lives and living rooms, into our newspapers, onto our television screens and into our neighbourhoods more often than any of us would like.

Credit to: Artist Evan Heasman (Soju Shots")This is one of his deliciously dark art pieces.

Credit to: Artist Evan Heasman (Soju Shots) This is one of his deliciously dark artworks.

We live in a time where it’s getting harder to screen things out. Over exposure to excessive darkness and real life horror stories (even though they a reality) can cause us to Continue reading →

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Get Thee To A Fairy Godmother.

23 Nov

For exactly half of my life now, I have devoted a lot of time working with individuals and couples, transforming difficult problems in imaginative ways, so I am a great believer in seeking creative solutions in times of stuckness. Looking outside of yourself and your relationship, sooner rather than later, for someone who uses their magic to coach, advise, counsel and support you, can be the difference between loving forever after and broken dreams.

A fairy & me at my fairy party when I turned 35 – photo by Hayley French

In Fairytales, a Fairy Godmother is a fairy with magical powers that is in charge of mentoring. She is someone who takes a particular interest in the upbringing and personal development of a select group of people that come under her umbrella of care. Times have changed so much. People don’t have or don’t make the time to be really present in that kind of way for others anymore. Our society hollers ‘Stay busy!’ ‘Distraction is good!’ ‘Disconnection is even better! ‘Drink this and all will be well,’ none of which create the space to be Godparent like towards Continue reading →

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