Fairytales As Shamanic Journeys

Shamanic Journeys in Fairytales: Exploring Their Magic and Wisdom

Fairytales have always captivated our collective imagination, from prehistoric times to modern Disney animations, but did you know that they hold a much deeper, more profound significance than just their entertainment value?

These curious tales are, in fact, shamanic journeys that hold the keys to unlocking our personal growth and transformation. By understanding the deeper significance of these magical stories, we can access the wisdom they contain and apply it to our lives.

A Journey into the Unknown

Fairytales and shamanic journeys are adventures into the mysterious Otherworlds. In fairytales, the characters often embark on quests to distant lands, facing unexpected challenges and encounters. They may wander through woodlands, or fall down a well to discover another world, both classic ways of entering the Otherworlds.

Similarly, shamanic journeys require entering altered states of consciousness to explore otherworldly realms. The essence of these journeys is the act of stepping into the inner landscape, shifting dimensions and meeting wise guides and teachers who offer truths or healing — sometimes for a price.

Transformation Through Trials

Fairytale protagonists undergo trials and tribulations that ultimately lead to personal transformation. These challenges push them to discover their hidden strengths, learn valuable lessons and grow as individuals. When we explore the fairytale as a shamanic journey, we can grow with the protagonist — face our own fears, heal past traumas, and gain insights that lead to personal growth and transformation.

Healing Through Storytelling

Fairytales are meant to be guided shamanic journeys that offer healing as we move through the story. In Celtic lands, rather than lulling listeners into altered states with the drumbeats, drugs, or rattles commonly used in other cultures, spiritual teachers would tell stories that went on for hours, relaxing their listeners into a deep trance. These stories evolved into our modern legends and fairytales.

The narratives in fairytales often involve characters overcoming obstacles, finding love, or achieving their dreams, providing hope and inspiration to listeners or readers. When approached as shamanic journeys, they also offer healing. Practitioners receive guidance and support from their spirit guides or ancestral spirits.

Wisdom in Disguise

The wisdom offered by both fairytales and other types of shamanic journeys often comes in unexpected forms. In fairytales, characters may receive guidance from magical creatures, talking animals, enchanted objects, or wise mentors. A frightening wolf may initiate the protagonist into a new phase of life. A frog can show the way to heal subconscious wounds. As we follow the path of each fairytale, we too can receive wisdom from our spirit guides, animal allies and symbolic imagery. These hidden sources of wisdom remind us to stay open and receptive to the lessons life has to offer, even while we are in our everyday waking conscious state.

Exploring shamanic journeys based on myths or fairytales is known as “path working.” We follow the path laid out in the tale and explore the Otherworld realms, just like the characters in the stories, but we are consciously choosing to learn as we go, unlike some characters who are unwilling participants in their adventures.

Examples of Fairytale Shamanic Journeys

Here are three examples of popular fairytales that can be interpreted as shamanic journeys, offering valuable insights and life lessons:

1. “Cinderella”: The story of Cinderella is a classic example of a fairytale with shamanic elements. Cinderella’s journey begins when she is forced to live a life of servitude under her cruel stepmother and stepsisters (living in the Matrix). Her transformative shamanic journey begins when her fairy godmother appears, helping her attend the royal ball and reminding her that, like the faeries, she creates her own reality. Cinderella’s transformation from a servant to a princess can be seen as an inner journey, where she discovers her true self and self-worth. Her fairy godmother serves as her spirit guide, offering wisdom and assistance throughout her journey. In the end, Cinderella triumphs over adversity and finds her true love (wholeness and balance of her inner masculine and feminine elements), a testament to the power of inner strength and resilience.
2. “The Frog Prince”: In the tale of the Frog Prince, a spoiled princess encounters a talking frog that promises to help her retrieve her golden ball from a well (always an entrance to the Lower Worlds) if she agrees to befriend him. Reluctantly, the princess agrees, and the frog begins to teach her about kindness, compassion, and the importance of keeping promises. The princess’s journey with the frog is a shamanic journey, where she confronts her ego, learns valuable life lessons, and ultimately transforms into a more compassionate and understanding person. The frog acts as her animal spirit guide, bringing up wisdom from the lower worlds and helping her navigate her emotional and moral growth. To kiss the frog, she must learn to love and accept her animal nature, and in so doing she discovers her wholeness (and the ideal masculine side of her persona).
3. “Little Red Riding Hood”: The story of Little Red Riding Hood follows the young girl’s journey through the woods (a path to the Otherworlds) to visit her sick grandmother. On her way, she encounters a talking wolf that manipulates her and ultimately devours her and her grandmother. This fairytale can be seen as a shamanic journey, where Little Red Riding Hood goes through a classic dismemberment transformation (being eaten by the wolf and restored to wholeness), while also learning the importance of caution, discernment, and trusting her instincts. Her red hood may represent her transition into womanhood, and red is also a color associated with the faeries. Her journey through the woods is a journey into the Otherworlds, where she must confront her fears and face the dangers that lurk within. The wolf serves as a symbolic representation of deceptive forces that can lead one astray, or conversely, the guardian of the path to her new awareness. In the end, Little Red Riding Hood is saved by a wise huntsman who teaches her the importance of vigilance and trusting her intuition. He is, of course, her masculine animus coming into balance with her new identity as a woman.

Explore Them All!

In each of these examples, the characters embark on transformative journeys in the Otherworlds that challenge them to grow and learn important life lessons. The fairytale settings and magical elements serve as representations of the astral and etheric realms and the spirit guides encountered in shamanic journeys.

By recognizing and embracing the deeper meanings within these stories, we can embark on our own shamanic journeys, gaining insights and wisdom that can guide us in our everyday lives. Of course, there are many ways to interpret each fairy tale and I encourage you to explore them all.

Next time you immerse yourself in a fairytale, remember that you are also embarking on a shamanic journey, one that can offer you invaluable insights and inspiration.

Keep your eyes out for upcoming fairytale shamanic journey workshops later this summer.