The psycho-spiritual meaning of fairy tales

If you have always suspected that fairy tales are much more than moralistic bedtime stories for kids, then you would be absolutely correct. Upon closer examination of the tropes used in fairy tales, one finds a recurrent and universal message that mirrors the development of a healthy human psyche. This message can be summarised as follows: it is of the utmost importance to move from disharmony and fragmentation towards wholeness and harmony. This movement typically takes the form of a quest for the beloved, the other half that will make us whole.

Although, in the fairy tale, this quest happens on the outside, it is important to realise that it actually refers to an inner quest, a quest that each of us must undertake on the inside. Thus, to properly understand the deeper, psycho-spiritual meaning of fairy tales, one needs to transpose what is happening outwardly in the story, and apply it to the inner world of our own psyche.

A Jungian perspective

For the psyche to become whole, we must find and integrate our contra-sexual pole.

At this point, it is useful to bring in the Jungian concepts of Animus and Anima. According to Jung, for the psyche to become whole, we must find and integrate our contra-sexual pole, because this pole is usually in the Shadow (i.e. inaccessible and unintegrated). This means that for a man, his ability to express a healthy and mature masculinity depends on how much he is in contact with his Anima (inner Feminine). The same is true in reverse for a woman: her ability to express a healthy and mature femininity depends on how much she is in contact with her Animus (inner Masculine).

To put it differently, a man who would be a King needs to have a conscious relationship with his inner Feminine, his Queen. Conversely, a woman who would be a Queen needs to have a conscious relationship with her inner Masculine, her King. Once this relationship is established, we have accomplished the hieros gamos (sacred marriage), or divine union of the opposites.

This is why in fairy tales, when the main character is male, his task will be to find, save/transform, and reintegrate (i.e. marry) his Anima, usually depicted in the form of a princess. And vice versa, when the main character is female, her task will be to find, save/transform, and reintegrate (i.e. marry) her Animus, usually depicted in the form of a prince.

Let the journey begin

It is interesting to notice that most fairy tales have the same starting point: there’s something wrong with the kingdom (e.g. the king is sick or dying, the queen can’t bear children, or an important life-giving item went missing). What these problems have in common is that they express a reduction in life force, a diminished access to Source. Something must be done. Typically, a son/prince is sent out of the castle to fix the problem. This is the beginning of the classic Hero’s Journey, with its well-known key stages (Call to Adventure, Crossing the Threshold, Road of Tests and Trials, Unification and Transformation, Road Back).

During the journey, the prince will usually hear about, or come in contact with a princess. However, at this point in the story, there is something that renders the princess powerless or inaccessible: she is either asleep (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White), locked-up in a tower (Rapunzel), or she stubbornly rejects all her suitors (The Fair One with the Golden Locks). Being locked-up, asleep, or stubborn refers to the immature and inaccessible state of the Anima. After the prince has overcome all the tests and trials, he is able to wake up, rescue, or transform the princess. These acts are the symbolic equivalent of establishing a relationship with the Anima and bringing her out of the Shadow. Once this is achieved, it is possible for the prince to marry the princess, meaning for the psyche to become whole. In this state, both polarities are in the light and connected, and we have become a conscious carrier of the opposites.

Again, we find the same story in reverse when the main character is a girl or a princess. Typically, she will encounter a non-human creature that she initially rejects, because of its appearance or behaviour. Two well-known examples are The Frog Prince and The Beauty and the Beast. Only after she has learned her lessons and opened her heart to the creature is it revealed to her that the creature is, in fact, a prince. By establishing contact with her (immature) Animus and accepting it no matter what, the princess is retrieving her Animus from the Shadow, thus making it possible to reveal its true nature, symbolised by the transformation of the ugly creature into a handsome prince.

To summarise, fairy tales are an archetypal vehicle designed to talk to our psyche in symbolic language, delivering always the same core message in a wide variety of forms. This message is the accomplishment, on the inside, of the divine union of the opposites. If successful, this union leads to the restoration of a strong and permanent link with Source. This is when, it is said, we have found the Holy Grail and are drinking from the Fountain of Youth. The story ends and the characters can “live happily ever after”.

In the context of transpersonal therapy, I help people look at their life through the lens of symbols and archetypes. If you’re interested in working with me, don’t hesitate to contact me.