Posted by ScarletteSpider at Big Fish:
For those whom may be interested, I offer up these tidbits of info that you may not be aware exist.
Faerie Tales is something I know a lot about since it played heavily in my research for one of my PhD's in Transpersonal and Paranormal Psychology as well as one for Cultural Anthropology. The subject of the disertations were themes and creatures that exist in every culture, ancient religion, race and continent.
When I was working on showing how the stories traveled from one culture to another over a timeline of history, it was the Druidic Bard's art that turned bits and pieces of folklore into well crafted stories to teach life lessons with. I was tracing the evolution of the stories with archiological findings for Dragons and Faeries since they exist in every culture, continent, race and ancient religions.
At the end of the Briar Rose Collectors edition it gives you three different versions of the Sleeping Beauty story. Brothers Grimm, Charles Perault and Blue Tea Games.
But neither The Brothers Grimm or Perault's versions they presented in the game were the complete tales. And they had bastardized them from the original way that the Bard's told the tale. They left out some stuff in order to not piss off authorities in government and religion, which in their lifetimes held sway and power over everyone. To include some of the following missing pieces could very well have had them locked up, excommunicated or even put to death for heresy.
The reason the rose thorn bushes grew up around the castle while she slept was not only to protect her and the kingdom until the curse could be broken. But also because it was how her body sustained itself with nourishment while she slept. Kind of like an organic IV drip. The rose thorn vines actually eminated from her arms and legs and hair reaching ever farther outward as the years went by, in search of nourishment that hadn't been depleated already nearby.
The reason it allowed the prince to cut through them easily was twofold. One because since they were connected to the princess they were like sensor extensions of her eyes and ears in an empathic way. Here comes the one that could end her torment, so of course she was going to let him through. The other reason was as he got closer to the castle the easier it was to cut through them since they were devoid of any greenery or life except at the very core of the vines that sent nourishment back to the princess. So it was a lot like chopping wood for your fireplace.
Anyone that's chopped wood can tell you that dry older wood is a lot easier to cut up than newer green wood is.
But here's the really fascinating part that would have gotten those authors in deep doo-doo. The Grimm's tell us it was 12 Wise Women, Perault tells us it was 7 Faerie Godmothers. What most people don't know is that at the time the printing press came into widespread usage, publisher's were desperate to put out new reading materials as fast as they could for a growing demand by the middle and upper classes. Particularly for children's stories as not only entertainment but aids to teaching literacy, for knowledge is power and the key to a better life, more so then than it is nowadays.
So they found authors that took those old stories and updated to the tastes and dictates of religious, governmental and society's standards of the day. Which meant that in every case where the story through the oral tradition called an individual or group of White Light Witches, they changed it to first Wise Women, and then later to Faerie Godmother's since The Inquisition didn't even like the mention of Wise Women as anything but evil. Which is complete and total poppycock since most Witches of the day were Midwives and Herbal Healers. They were the ones you went to for cough syrup, to boils lanced, and to treat all manner of illnesses.
They were being heavily demonized by religious authority as being evil not because it was true, but because they were backing the new found profession of Medical Doctors, which was populated solely by men. They wanted women out of the baby birthing business so that men of science could steal their livelihoods.
So whenever an old Faerie Tales talks about Faerie Godmothers or Wise Women, they were really White Light Witches, also known as Green Witch or Hedge Witch which means they were healers and midwives and NOT evil by any stretch of the imagination. Whenever they actually did refer to a woman as a Witch, it was always in the negative and derogatory. That isn't to say that there wasn't a few bad apples in the barrel, but that doesn't mean the entire barrel of apples was rotten, only a very very few.
The BR game has a cutscene that actually shows some of the Faerie Godmothers in the background while the Wicked Godmother cast her curse. Note the double pointed head dress with the veils draped between the points...some one at Blue Tea did their homework because that is exactly how Faerie Godmothers of the day did denote themselves by hat and dress. They were considered nobles despite bloodlines, and were honored and respected for their wisdom and knowledge of the homeopathic and natureopathic healing arts.
The thing that Bros Grimm and Perault did get right was the number of them. Witches/Faerie Godmothers always practice in small groups made up of a prime number, typically either 9 or 13, but 7 will do in a pinch too. The Faerie Godmothers were a Coven Lodge of Druidic Priestesses where there were 12 regular Priestesses, and then the High Priestess making 13 in all. The Wicked Wisewoman/Godmother was actually the High Priestess. And those days they were painted as very evil where the truth is they were far from it. But many that reached that height of responsibility and power did also have a bit of ego and probably occasionally be one here and there that was ambitious, prideful and vain even though the religion taught strictly against those things. The High Priestess and Merlin (High Priest) of the Druid religion in those days held the rank of Lord and Lady and were considered not just noble but royals. To be excluded from a State Function would have been the highest of insults and worthy of some ill temper if not downright wrath.
The King and Queen didn't refuse her an invitation because she was wicked, she was no such thing. They refused her an invitation because in the practice of a Wiccaning Birth Naming ceremony, it is traditional to bestow 12 things to help the child along in life, and 1 thing that would present a challenge to the child in life so it would grow up with a strong character. The King and Queen didn't want their daughter to be of strong character. They wanted her pliable so she could be married off for political advantage with as little fuss and muss as possible. And considering who the choices were going to be when she grew up, there would be a big fuss if she had any mind of her own about it. Most of the likely suitors would have been old enough to be her father or grandfather, or fat, stupid, lazy, corrupt, drunkards, sadistically violent, or worse. And in those days the HP & P would have had a say in who she would be betrothed to on her Wiccaning Birth Naming day (Druid version of Christening). They didn't want her having a say in the matter since history shows us it would have been a very different and better choice politically than the one her parents had made for material wealth. The Princess's parents were short sighted.
In the end all that money they got for trying to sell off the princess in a marriage contract of betrothal did them no good. The HP saw to it that they not only didn't gain for long from that boon, but would learn a very hard lesson that would be today still one to guide your life an actions by....never ever never piss off a Witch! They have resources and abilities that fundamental religions don't have access to. And their laws and rules and codes of conduct for clergy are not the same as fundamental religions either.
Druidic Law states that they can do whatever they wish as long as it causes no harm to anyone or anything else in the doing, nor can it interfere with free will. But it also states that once they have been wronged they can defend themselves, exact retribution and/or revenge bringing down karma on their wrongdoers in 3, 7, 9 or 12 fold potency. 3 times for first offense, 7 times for second offense, 9 fold for third offense, and if stupid enough to trespass a fourth time then it is 12 fold and that will usually kill. The lack of invitation to the Wiccaning Birth Naming Ceremony was a fourth strike, and the result which the Faerie Tale is all about is what happens in a 12 fold Karmic backlash of retribution. The original version tells us of the first three strikes the King and Queen made against the HP & P.
So now you can see how and why some of these details had been left out of the updated revised versions of the story when it came time to put it to a printing press. And even in these more modern enlightened times, there are still pressures in media to tell the watered down bastardized revised versions instead of going back and fixing them to their original versions.
All Faerie Tales, Aesop's Fables and Mother Goose have ancient origins with original versions that have been resurfacing over the past few decades. Go and find the original versions, they are out there and more readily available than ever before. These stories were told for adults originally, and are far darker or adventurous or violent than what we read to our children at bedtime.
There are some good movie versions of these out there now too, Ever After is an excellent example of the true Cinderella story. Company of Wolves is also a true to the originals of all the Wolf stories of Europe. And if you ever get your hands on the original versions of 3 Little Pigs or Humpty Dumpty you will find chilling tales of danger and courage.
Brought to you by Reverend Scarlio'deach Dahma'n (gaelic for Scarlette Spider my totem)
Native American Medicine Woman, Cherokee Tribe (Licensed and Ordained Minister)
Tribal Elder Seminole Nation
Doctorite of Divinity Miami Seminary
PhD Cultural Anthropology Miami Seminary (Native American Shamanism)
PhD Cultural Anthropology Miami Seminary (Celtic Shamanism)
PhD Comparative Religions (common themes and creatures in ancient religions with focus on Faeries and Dragons)
PhD Comparative Religions Iliff Seminary (tracking the evolution of The Sacred Feminine Goddess Forms and Sacred Masculine God Forms through the timeline of human history and development.)
PhD Transpersonal and Paranormal Psychology (showing that most ceremonies, rituals, spells, etc are indeed teaching tools and baby steps for ancient clergy to show their village/congregation how to meditate and achieve higher forms of consciousness, develop pshychic abilities, as well as a means of prayer, celebration and entertainment, Minors in family, relationship and grief counseling)
Chairperson Colorado Clergy Coalition
CEO and Founder Willow Wisdom Ministry
Priestess Isle of Avalon Brotherhood Lodge UK (Honorary Druid)
And currently working on another PhD for Quantum Physics Mechanics (with a focus on how the power of the mind can create the paradigm you would rather live in than the one thrust upon us by society)
aka ScarletteSpider (at the Big Fish forums)
For those whom may be interested, I offer up these tidbits of info that you may not be aware exist.
Faerie Tales is something I know a lot about since it played heavily in my research for one of my PhD's in Transpersonal and Paranormal Psychology as well as one for Cultural Anthropology. The subject of the disertations were themes and creatures that exist in every culture, ancient religion, race and continent.
When I was working on showing how the stories traveled from one culture to another over a timeline of history, it was the Druidic Bard's art that turned bits and pieces of folklore into well crafted stories to teach life lessons with. I was tracing the evolution of the stories with archiological findings for Dragons and Faeries since they exist in every culture, continent, race and ancient religions.
At the end of the Briar Rose Collectors edition it gives you three different versions of the Sleeping Beauty story. Brothers Grimm, Charles Perault and Blue Tea Games.
But neither The Brothers Grimm or Perault's versions they presented in the game were the complete tales. And they had bastardized them from the original way that the Bard's told the tale. They left out some stuff in order to not piss off authorities in government and religion, which in their lifetimes held sway and power over everyone. To include some of the following missing pieces could very well have had them locked up, excommunicated or even put to death for heresy.
The reason the rose thorn bushes grew up around the castle while she slept was not only to protect her and the kingdom until the curse could be broken. But also because it was how her body sustained itself with nourishment while she slept. Kind of like an organic IV drip. The rose thorn vines actually eminated from her arms and legs and hair reaching ever farther outward as the years went by, in search of nourishment that hadn't been depleated already nearby.
The reason it allowed the prince to cut through them easily was twofold. One because since they were connected to the princess they were like sensor extensions of her eyes and ears in an empathic way. Here comes the one that could end her torment, so of course she was going to let him through. The other reason was as he got closer to the castle the easier it was to cut through them since they were devoid of any greenery or life except at the very core of the vines that sent nourishment back to the princess. So it was a lot like chopping wood for your fireplace.
Anyone that's chopped wood can tell you that dry older wood is a lot easier to cut up than newer green wood is.
But here's the really fascinating part that would have gotten those authors in deep doo-doo. The Grimm's tell us it was 12 Wise Women, Perault tells us it was 7 Faerie Godmothers. What most people don't know is that at the time the printing press came into widespread usage, publisher's were desperate to put out new reading materials as fast as they could for a growing demand by the middle and upper classes. Particularly for children's stories as not only entertainment but aids to teaching literacy, for knowledge is power and the key to a better life, more so then than it is nowadays.
So they found authors that took those old stories and updated to the tastes and dictates of religious, governmental and society's standards of the day. Which meant that in every case where the story through the oral tradition called an individual or group of White Light Witches, they changed it to first Wise Women, and then later to Faerie Godmother's since The Inquisition didn't even like the mention of Wise Women as anything but evil. Which is complete and total poppycock since most Witches of the day were Midwives and Herbal Healers. They were the ones you went to for cough syrup, to boils lanced, and to treat all manner of illnesses.
They were being heavily demonized by religious authority as being evil not because it was true, but because they were backing the new found profession of Medical Doctors, which was populated solely by men. They wanted women out of the baby birthing business so that men of science could steal their livelihoods.
So whenever an old Faerie Tales talks about Faerie Godmothers or Wise Women, they were really White Light Witches, also known as Green Witch or Hedge Witch which means they were healers and midwives and NOT evil by any stretch of the imagination. Whenever they actually did refer to a woman as a Witch, it was always in the negative and derogatory. That isn't to say that there wasn't a few bad apples in the barrel, but that doesn't mean the entire barrel of apples was rotten, only a very very few.
The BR game has a cutscene that actually shows some of the Faerie Godmothers in the background while the Wicked Godmother cast her curse. Note the double pointed head dress with the veils draped between the points...some one at Blue Tea did their homework because that is exactly how Faerie Godmothers of the day did denote themselves by hat and dress. They were considered nobles despite bloodlines, and were honored and respected for their wisdom and knowledge of the homeopathic and natureopathic healing arts.
The thing that Bros Grimm and Perault did get right was the number of them. Witches/Faerie Godmothers always practice in small groups made up of a prime number, typically either 9 or 13, but 7 will do in a pinch too. The Faerie Godmothers were a Coven Lodge of Druidic Priestesses where there were 12 regular Priestesses, and then the High Priestess making 13 in all. The Wicked Wisewoman/Godmother was actually the High Priestess. And those days they were painted as very evil where the truth is they were far from it. But many that reached that height of responsibility and power did also have a bit of ego and probably occasionally be one here and there that was ambitious, prideful and vain even though the religion taught strictly against those things. The High Priestess and Merlin (High Priest) of the Druid religion in those days held the rank of Lord and Lady and were considered not just noble but royals. To be excluded from a State Function would have been the highest of insults and worthy of some ill temper if not downright wrath.
The King and Queen didn't refuse her an invitation because she was wicked, she was no such thing. They refused her an invitation because in the practice of a Wiccaning Birth Naming ceremony, it is traditional to bestow 12 things to help the child along in life, and 1 thing that would present a challenge to the child in life so it would grow up with a strong character. The King and Queen didn't want their daughter to be of strong character. They wanted her pliable so she could be married off for political advantage with as little fuss and muss as possible. And considering who the choices were going to be when she grew up, there would be a big fuss if she had any mind of her own about it. Most of the likely suitors would have been old enough to be her father or grandfather, or fat, stupid, lazy, corrupt, drunkards, sadistically violent, or worse. And in those days the HP & P would have had a say in who she would be betrothed to on her Wiccaning Birth Naming day (Druid version of Christening). They didn't want her having a say in the matter since history shows us it would have been a very different and better choice politically than the one her parents had made for material wealth. The Princess's parents were short sighted.
In the end all that money they got for trying to sell off the princess in a marriage contract of betrothal did them no good. The HP saw to it that they not only didn't gain for long from that boon, but would learn a very hard lesson that would be today still one to guide your life an actions by....never ever never piss off a Witch! They have resources and abilities that fundamental religions don't have access to. And their laws and rules and codes of conduct for clergy are not the same as fundamental religions either.
Druidic Law states that they can do whatever they wish as long as it causes no harm to anyone or anything else in the doing, nor can it interfere with free will. But it also states that once they have been wronged they can defend themselves, exact retribution and/or revenge bringing down karma on their wrongdoers in 3, 7, 9 or 12 fold potency. 3 times for first offense, 7 times for second offense, 9 fold for third offense, and if stupid enough to trespass a fourth time then it is 12 fold and that will usually kill. The lack of invitation to the Wiccaning Birth Naming Ceremony was a fourth strike, and the result which the Faerie Tale is all about is what happens in a 12 fold Karmic backlash of retribution. The original version tells us of the first three strikes the King and Queen made against the HP & P.
So now you can see how and why some of these details had been left out of the updated revised versions of the story when it came time to put it to a printing press. And even in these more modern enlightened times, there are still pressures in media to tell the watered down bastardized revised versions instead of going back and fixing them to their original versions.
All Faerie Tales, Aesop's Fables and Mother Goose have ancient origins with original versions that have been resurfacing over the past few decades. Go and find the original versions, they are out there and more readily available than ever before. These stories were told for adults originally, and are far darker or adventurous or violent than what we read to our children at bedtime.
There are some good movie versions of these out there now too, Ever After is an excellent example of the true Cinderella story. Company of Wolves is also a true to the originals of all the Wolf stories of Europe. And if you ever get your hands on the original versions of 3 Little Pigs or Humpty Dumpty you will find chilling tales of danger and courage.
Brought to you by Reverend Scarlio'deach Dahma'n (gaelic for Scarlette Spider my totem)
Native American Medicine Woman, Cherokee Tribe (Licensed and Ordained Minister)
Tribal Elder Seminole Nation
Doctorite of Divinity Miami Seminary
PhD Cultural Anthropology Miami Seminary (Native American Shamanism)
PhD Cultural Anthropology Miami Seminary (Celtic Shamanism)
PhD Comparative Religions (common themes and creatures in ancient religions with focus on Faeries and Dragons)
PhD Comparative Religions Iliff Seminary (tracking the evolution of The Sacred Feminine Goddess Forms and Sacred Masculine God Forms through the timeline of human history and development.)
PhD Transpersonal and Paranormal Psychology (showing that most ceremonies, rituals, spells, etc are indeed teaching tools and baby steps for ancient clergy to show their village/congregation how to meditate and achieve higher forms of consciousness, develop pshychic abilities, as well as a means of prayer, celebration and entertainment, Minors in family, relationship and grief counseling)
Chairperson Colorado Clergy Coalition
CEO and Founder Willow Wisdom Ministry
Priestess Isle of Avalon Brotherhood Lodge UK (Honorary Druid)
And currently working on another PhD for Quantum Physics Mechanics (with a focus on how the power of the mind can create the paradigm you would rather live in than the one thrust upon us by society)
aka ScarletteSpider (at the Big Fish forums)
It's good to know the root of stories...
