The Golden Child

Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha

Sleeping Beauty

Being a wanted child is no guarantee of a happy childhood. It depends on why you were wanted.

The Christening

The christening. Note that all possible merits are “given” to her at birth–she is not considered or held responsible for anything. Such unconditional love is not a good thing.

Like all our heroes and heroines, Sleeping Beauty faces a moral test at adolescence. Unlike Herakles or Dymphna, she fails this test–making her a narcissist.

The state of being asleep and in a state of pleasant dream seems to be a standard image of narcissism–detached from reality.

As often elsewhere, a dwarf–representing the artist–acts as a messenger. The nominally “good” fairy here acts objectively immorally, putting all the courtiers to sleep for a century. Driving a chariot drawn by dragons, she seems to actually be the spirit of narcissism.

The second helper figure, the priest, appears here as an old man to direct the handsome prince, the true hero of the tale. Unlike the artist, this elder is a fully reliable spiritual guide.

The handsome prince must make his way through an impenetrable forest, which nevertheless yields for him, either because his heart is true, or because the curse has simply run its course.

The brambles suggest the sense of directionlessness or inability to move forward characteristic of depression.

The Grimm brothers’ title for the story and its heroine–“Brier-Rose”–suggest also that these brambles express the character of the narcissist. Anyone seeking to establish contact must fight their way through such a maze. It is contact with a narcissist, then, that causes this depressive symptom.

The sleeping court. Which image do you find most compelling?

Note that this effect of contact with the narcissist, of paralysis, is similar to the effect of looking at Medusa in the Perseus legend.

The image of a sleeping beauty is irresistible to artists. This suggests it is deeply archetypal.

Examples of the motif from other legends, including that of Brunhilde.

Sleeping Beauty images suitable for colouring and meditation.

The awakening. Contrary to a common misconception, in no version of the story is a kiss the critical factor. Nor, in Perrault’s or Basile’s version, is the awakening the end of the story.

Regrettably, the handsome prince has an Ogre Mom, who plans to devour his new wife and children, This family background may also explain how he became a hero.
Suitable for colouring

And the sins of the parent are visited upon the children unto the third generation. Sleeping Beauty’s three-year-old son must face his own challenges.

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The Juniper Tree

Another fairy tale underappreciated and underanthologized because of its disturbing elements.

The wicked stepmother assassinates her son.

Colour following the description in the story.

The phoenix collects three grail objects.

An obvious reference to Jesus’s resurrection.

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Twelve Brothers

Benjamin up the tree, watching for a signal from the castle.

The story makes obvious reference to the Biblical tale of Joseph and his brothers.

Despite her own heroic efforts, the princess retains narcissistic tendencies due to her upbringing. She therefore subtly fails her inevitable moral trial by picking lilies in the witch’s garden–seeking to possess instead of allowing them their independent existence. As a result, her brothers turn into ravens, and she must stay silent for seven years.