Reflecting on... Fairytales

‘Once upon a time…’; the promise of a story in which good triumphs over evil; the beginning of an adventure; an invitation to explore the endless possibilities of the imagination. What magic is awaiting us at the turn of a page…?

If I track my love of all things magical back to any source in my past, I believe it would be the fairytales I read as a child. The creation of something from special from thin air, the manipulation of elements and energies; it was in these stories that my fate was sealed; how could I resist? Though witches aren’t favourably depicted in these stories, and the majority of their use of magick is dark, I found my path in between the “higitus figitus” and “bibbity-bobbity-boo” of Disney’s portrayal.

I refused to let go of the magick created in stories, I still do. I imagine the flutter of fairy wings on Midsummer Night’s Eve; galloping unicorns in a secluded glade lit with the golden rays of a far, far away land sunset; and the tune of a faun’s flute as the melody of nature flows out; mermaids dancing in the white break of tumultuous waves; and my favourite of all… witches. The portrayal of the ‘witch’ concept in fairytales generally runs to the wicked or evil polarity but if you turn that on its head… these women are powerful and determined, despite where the story places their morality, they strive to better their circumstances which in some ways could be responsible for the positive shift in feminism. I don’t hold a grudge for witches being displayed as evil in fairytales, when these stories were written, magickal power, especially women with magickal power were considered unpredictable and selfish. In retrospect, they do make it harder to fight for understanding of the magickal arts in the present time but I am thankful for a cause… to fight for what I believe in and I am thankful for the characters… strong, powerful women who in spite of their wicked deeds, believed in something and acted on it.

From characters, to concepts…my unwavering belief in love is another magick that I have kept from the fairytales… Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty… these stories are set in a time when women were damsels in distress and men were the brave and chivalrous heroes who fought the forces of evil and came to the aid of the princess. The times, they have certainly changed but I think the values that drove those characters could be revived; when women seized control of their own lives and learnt to fight for themselves, the balance shifted; nothing could now minimise that power that was seized, nor would I wish it to be but manners and respect could be increased 100-fold. We should act now so in the future, the 21^st century can be remembered as a time when the values from fairytales returned.