Pagan Fairy Tales & Tarot

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 13 May 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

hyatt	13 May 2004
Hello guys- I am reading Pollack's "Forest of Souls". She has a chapter called "Tarot, Tarot, Tarot let down your hair", where she compares the tale of Rapunzel to the Tarot cards of the Tower, the Star, Moon and the Sun. It is REALLY fabulous! The four of Swords has reminded me of Sleeping Beauty in a couple of decks. I was wondering if anyone has any other comparisons or if anyone knows any good fairy tale books that tells the older pagan versions?

skytwig	14 May 2004
You might like the Inner Child Cards and book.... filled with Fairy Tale reference....

MeeWah	14 May 2004
8-Strength is one of my favourite cards. In decks that depict it with a woman & a lion, the card reminds me of "Beauty & the Beast", a favourite fairy tale. The story seems to be an allegory about human nature & the higher self. The "taming" of the beast (within) by communicating with it & developing an understanding which leads to a more harmonious relationship. 6-The Lovers with its flip side of 15-The Devil also sometimes reminds me of the same fairy tale (though the movie "Legend" with a very young Tom Cruise & co-star Mia Sara seems particularly apt). The Emperor, of "The Emperor's New Clothes". By reason of the position in life or the perception, an emperor or someone can fail to see what is evident to those outside of his experience. The Fool, of "Alice in Wonderland". A curious girl follows her impulses & a white rabbit to many adventures. In the end, she finds it was all a dream. There is much that can be said of the traveler on the road of life. Whether led by impulse, dreams or another influence, one may be forever changed by the experiences. Wheel of Fortune, of "Jack & the Beanstalk" by Andrew Lang. A poor & not very bright boy is tricked into trading his mother's cow for a handful of beans, but he finds that the beans bring good fortune. Opportunities come in different forms & sometimes, the unexpected results in a windfall. For Hyatt & anyone interested, there is more than one version of "Jack & the Beanstalk" as is true of most fairy tales. Over time & with the re-tellings, the stories changed. Andrew Lang's version is one of the older versions thought to be based on an even older story, which can be seen here: http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/jackbeanstalk/stories/langbeanstalk.html This next link is to a wonderful folklore & mythology site: http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0328jack.html

le pendu	14 May 2004
MeeWah, What wonderful thoughts! Thank you for sharing them with us. : ) Thanks also for the links. robert

MeeWah	14 May 2004
Robert: Very welcome to them & thanks for the kind thoughts. Guess ye all can see what I like to read :D Folk tales or fairy tales--all oft lessons in morality (such as Aesop's Fables). Most of all, of the striving for the undefiniable. We possess that spark of divinity that sets us apart from other creatures who in their own way, also possessed of divinity. As creatures of reason, imagination & free will, we are godlings & the shapers of ourselves & other worlds already present.

Nycelle	15 May 2004
For all fairy tale lovers, I have this to say - read The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Lots of people consider it a spoof and dislike it for that reason, but Goldman himself wrote it as an adventure fairy tale, and it is great. I haven't met anyone who didn't enjoy it. And there are some interesting Tarot correspondences in there - I've been pondering the possibility of a deck for a while. . .

hyatt	16 May 2004
Thanks for the Jack and the Beanstalk tale. I loved reading it!

MeeWah	16 May 2004
Nycelle: Thanks for the information on "The Princess Bride". I love the movie--is it fairly faithful to the book?

MeeWah	16 May 2004
The older fairy tales seem to have more of the Pagan quality; also depending on their country or culture of origin. Andrew Lang's "The Little Mermaid" reminds me of The Hanged Man. The story's theme is of a mermaid who falls in love with a human prince glimpsed from afar; the extraordinary measures she undertakes to be near him & ultimately, the tragedy of that love/attachment. Herein can be seen the theme of love, patience & sacrifice; also of attachments & unrequited love. I recommend a series of fairy tale books by Andrew Lang with colour titles: The Yellow Fairy Book, The Brown Fairy Book, etc, some of which are included in the second link of a previous post. They are still in print but I do not know if they have been edited in any way. Another I recommend is "The Fairy Ring" by Kate Douglas Wiggin & Nora Archibald Smith. The edition bearing a 1967 copyright differs from the 1951 publication. The later edition has a different illustrator; omits some of the original stories but has additional stories representing 15 countries instead of 8. Some of the stories are also listed in the second link. An interesting note is the illustration style of the older edition is similar to that of Aubrey Beardsley & Pamela (Pixie) Colman Smith.

The Pagan Fairy Tales & Tarot thread was originally posted on 13 May 2004 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.