The Lake Maiden

Card II The Sorceress

The tale for this card is The Lake Maiden.....in the coming weeks we will explore a bit of this tale.

Daily Draw

Princess of Pentacles: This card is based on the Princess and the Pea and is a reminder to stop and enjoy the basal pleasures that nurture the soul. Earthly delights are a necessary part of life. Without them we would simply exist.

I love getting this card today. From the Froud deck I got Faeries of the Future which promises a bright future and when I blogged about that card I wrote about how I was enjoying many positive adventures this summer and how the card seem to be reinforcing how I should ENJOY them without regret or worrying about what I "need" to be doing.

Princess of Pentacles seems to be reinforcing that insight. That there are times in life when we must just indulge in fun and pleasure. Where we must put aside the mundane and venture forth into just plain simple fun...without regret or worry. So I shall follow her advice and indulge myself this summer...work will come again soon enough!

The Thunder Dragon: A Tale of Power & Reward

The Thunder Dragon is Card I The Magician is the Fairy Tale Tarot. It is a simple tale of a visit by the dragon and a boy's kindness which is repaid by the dragon. Although simple, to me there are other fine points in the story that might be teased out. For example, the Grandmother is very wise and knows exactly what the events in the story mean. So wisdom from the old and knowledge to be respected.

In researching the tale I came about some information on dragons and Chinese culture which I find interesting. Dragons are viewed as male (yang) while their counterpart the phoenix is female (yin). In the story the male essence is adhered to, by the dragon's interactions with the father and boy but it is the female wisdom that "sees" what is to unfold.

Dragons in Europe were viewed as evil destroyers but not so in China. Dragons there are viewed as potent and powerful with the ability to control water, rainfall, and floods. So just as the dragon does in this tale as he sheds the house with his hood, he controls the rain and the flooding, sparing this house.

The Year of the Dragon comes around every 12 years and it is claimed that those born in the Year of the Dragon enjoy health, wealth and a long life.

I'm still working to locate some other versions of the tale itself and when I do I will do a compare and contrast. There are many dragon tales out there!

New Look

I decided to dust off and spurce up...Once Upon a Time....I haven't fallen off the face of the earth ...(YET)....just busy with other endeavors. I have many blogs and I am constantly thinking about deleting some and consolidating them...but alas....I can never do it...they are all meaningful and I enjoy them ...so I just keep puttering along...writing when I can!

I am still planning on exploring the Chinese Thunder Dragon Tale...there is just so much to read and learn about the different fairy tales. It is very interesting to explore and compare them between different cultures. Many tales seem to
"cross over" between different cultures. Fairy Tales that teach lessons of value for all human kind.

So next on my list (still) is a post about the Thunder Dragon Tale, which of course is card I The Magician in the Fairy Tale Tarot.

The Thunder Dragon

COMING SOON....comments and history of this Chinese Tale...of the Dragon spirit.

Fairy Tales and Life

Life is like a fairy tale.....rolling along with trolls under bridges and big bad wolves luking outside the door. Life can turn from shining carriage to pumpkin in a split second. Life can be harsh like the story of the Little Match Girl or warm and sunny like Cinderella. Life can be fast paced and unpredictable.

Fairy Tales offer us guidance, inspiration, and a sense of comfort....reminding us of childhood joys and sweet memories. That is the beauty of the Fairy Tale Tarot....it takes the aspects of tale-land and weaves them into our world of today....tiny glimpses of life seen through the magical lenses of time and different lands...

Fairy Tales speak of human spirit, human folly, human reality....yes...reality....for even with talking creatures and magic dragons....they speak of the essence of mankind. They are vibrant tales of the journey through this world and timeless proof that a good tale never ends...

Little Red Riding Hood: A Tale of a Girl Gone Bad

Do you know the song based on Little Red Riding Hood? Well neither did I until I started doing some research on this classic tale.

Sam the Sham and the Pharaoh's Blackwell 1966

Who's that I see walking in these woods?
Why it's Little Red Riding Hood
Hey Little Red Riding Hood
You sure are looking good.
You're everything a big bad wolf could want...

Listen to me!
Little Red Riding Hood
I don't think little big girls should..
Go walking in these spooky old woods alone.

Read all the lyrics and listen to the tune: HERE

Here are some additional thoughts about the good girl...gone bad....(said in jest)

• The classic and probably most common interpretation of the message of Little Red is one of being wary of strangers.
• Some propose that the tale was actually about wolves themselves and being wary of them and the wild forests of the time, as wolves could be quite dangerous.
• Others believe the tale outlines and describes the cycle of life...starting out innocent and then educated in the ways of the world...coming full cycle and being born again from the wolves' belly.
• Speaking of "bad girls" ...there are others that claim that the real warning is against becoming a "working girl" or a prostitute. The red cloak was a classic signal of a prostitute in 17th century France.
• Still others see in the simple tale the story of sexual awakening with the wolf a threat to the girl's virginity.

So as you can see....the Little Red Riding Hood tale....is multi-layered and pondering it's meaning can open up many versions and possibilities.

My Fairy Tale Path

Well I'm back from my blogging vacation. I had to take a little break from blogland for several reasons...the holidays, time, writers block, etc. etc....but I'm feeling like writing again so I was thinking it might be fun to examine each of the fairytales in The FairyTale Tarot...one at a time and examine how the fairy tale speaks to me...what direction it sends me on in the search for self discovery and an understanding of the human experience....

I'm sure my thoughts will differ from others and that's okay. The neat thing about fairytales and the FairyTale Tarot is that they can speak to each person on a personal level...they can teach us the same lesson and different lessons all at the same time.

To simplify matters I will just follow the order of tales as presented in the book ...soooo...first up will be Little Red Ridinghood...one of my faves...so in the next few days I'll get a post or two up about this classic tale of a girl "gone bad"....haha...just joking...sort of!!