*Copy of an old fairy tale book printed in 1920, "Through Fairy Halls," Olive Beaupre' Miller, editor.
*This page shows an illustration by D. Crane of the wonderful story, "The Six Swans," a German fairy tale collected by Wilhelm & Jacob Grimm & published in the 1800s.
This wonderful folk tale by the Brothers Grimm is one of the richest metaphorical expressions of human spiritual evolution anywhere. If its been a while since you read the text of this rich, gorgeous fable, you can be like the author and become an awed child again and read it with joy at:
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/49sixswans.html
There are many, many reasons to love the story of the Six Swans and their 7th sibling. Not the least of which is the rather unique female character in this story - the amazing, courageous, sacrificing, strong, loving, compassionate, faithful, resourceful, intelligent, invincible Sister. Far too many of our Indo-European myths and folk tales feature a male Hero. Rarely, except in bright and shining exceptions like this story, do we see a female figure emerge as the rescuer and savior of the males. Hence, finding an old story that breaks free of the patriarchal, gender bias of much story-telling is like finding a pearl of great price! Some have rightly suggested that the title of the story should be: "The Seventh Swan." The writer agrees.
SYMBOLIC THEMES
The story begins with a familiar folktale/mythological scenario: the King hunting; the King lost; the King searching for "a path;" encountering the ogress/old witch woman of the forest; the desperate promise, and the shot-gun wedding to the witches' beautiful daughter. More later on the "witch" figure, but the writer confesses here an affinity and admiration to the Wicca religion and the ancient Druid tradition of his Keltic ancestors. The writer is also an initiate into the Sacred Medicine Ground of the Yuchi-Zoyaha Tribe of American Indians and so has a high respect indeed for indigenous culture Earth medicine and its practice. The "witch" figure is typically and unfortunately branded in these stories as a dark evil figure - the Goddess banned from the courts of our patriarchal culture. For those of open mind, it is possible to flip the story as done by Gregory McGuire in Wicked, and understand the witch as a counter Hero, a rebel, someone with a strong connection to the divine feminine and with the courage to stand against the harsh patriarchal bias in many of our modern religious traditions. Keeping this in mind will help the reader of this story begin to wonder if the Witch-Queen is just another way of looking at a part of our creative ability that we have lost and relegated to the cultural scrap-yard of mythology and folk-tales. There is a deeper understanding in the Seventh Swan story that comprehends the Witch-Queen as an Initiator figure.
The Witch Queen: The King has 7 children by a previous marriage and the theme of the "rejecting step-mother unfolds." Of course, the number "7" is always the number of completion, of sacredness. In the context of Jungian psychology and its symbols of unconscious transformation, the Witch-Queen can serve to represent the devouring human ego - the part of each one of us that cannot recognize the divine nature of ourselves and those with whom we come in contact in our daily lives. In the story, just as in most of our lives, we unfortunately have the tendency to want to "own" those we love. We sometimes act as though love given to others diminishes us and takes value from us, so we can allow ourselves to be jealous and possessive. No need to point fingers here, this is something every honest person can admit to having done at some point or the other!
On a superficial level, the envious Queen turns her jealousy into hatred and weaves 7 magical shirts with the power to transform the hated children into something non-human. In another more esoteric way of understanding, she is the force that understands we have the ability to become more than what we are now. She is the maker of magic and the one who throws bewitching possibility our way. When not ready, this can indeed be a frightening thought and we sometimes react by projecting our negativity and cling to our smaller world with a vengeance.
Six Swan Brothers: In the story, the six brothers are immediately transformed into six swans. They sprout wings and mount up, flying over the tree tops. In mythology, the number "6" always stands for "humanity" and the earthly life in the physical body. In this wonderful story, the Seventh is the sister who resists the Witches charm and stays back in the hidden forest castle. The Queen knows nothing of the 7th and goes back to the King gloating over her successful swan job.
The Female Hero Arises: Now, the 7th becomes the Seeker, the symbol of the Avatar - the enlightened one who is not charmed or lost or confused by our rich but fleeting life in the body. The text reads: "I must stay here no longer. I shall go and seek for my brothers." This is always the compassionate pledge and commitment of the Bodhisattva - to voluntarily delay entering Nirvana to enter the path of sacrifice for one's beloved friends and family. In the story, the sister is willing to walk deeply into the dark forest with her only guide being her heart of love. At sun-set, she comes upon a forest hut: "Behold! Six handsome white swans came flying in at the window. They alighted ... and blew at one another until they had blow all their feathers off..." To her surprise, she had been reunited with her beloved brothers and a joyful reunion it was. But part of their curse was that they could only stay in human form for a quarter-hour before changing back into beautiful, feathered swans once more. A female savior was about to arise....
End of Part 1. To be continued....
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| The sacred, loving 7th sister with her beloved brothers Keith Overstreet November 3, 2010 |
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