It's so true that the magical tales heal our souls through their symbolic language. For true healing to occur, however, we need to include an understanding of the mind. Cinderella's story resonates deeply with me. Cinderella is the name of what remains of us when the haughty and pretentious stepmother burns in the flames of our unsatisfied desires. It took me years to reach the ashes and understand the spiritual meaning of disappointed love and thwarted desire. When for the first time (because this is not a one-time process) I consciously experienced what it means to be Cinderella and stand in the corner of the room embracing with both arms my ordinariness, I felt such a surge of peace, harmony and freedom, that I wondered at myself, why I resisted becoming nobody for so long. The paradox of such an experience is truly impressive. It is only when you become a nobody, you realize for the first time that this is the only way to begin to become your true self. Only when you stop being dependent on the object of your desires, you understand what freedom and love mean. Only when you lose everything, you start to appreciate what you had or still have. Then comes the gratitude. Only our inner Cinderella can be truly grateful. The princesses can't. The stepmother along with her two daughters too. Only our inner Cinderella can love. Pretentious princesses can't. As well as our inner stepmother, along with her two daughters. Only when the mirror of our thwarted desires is broken, we can see our true face and its beauty. To me, the Cinderella story is a veritable alchemical recipe for how to transmute our pretensions of specialness into the gold of our unique individuality.
Thank you for this great read!! 😊
"And as we step forward on this path, let us remember that the real magic kingdom lies not in any one company or franchise, but in the boundless realm of the imagination itself." - I will remember that.😊
I loved this comment Diana thank you for sharing. I too think the story of Cinderella especially resonant for alchemical transformation. These stories we learn early on really stay with us on our own journeys as we seek our inner gold.
I'm currently in the biblical section and just finished the Jesus paragraph. You may still cover this, but before I forget to say anything, the first thing to come to mind when you described the orphan stone was the OT prophecy applied to Jesus: the stone that was rejected has become the chief corner stone.
You are absolutely correct to make that connection, the orphan/cornerstone parallel is an important one that Jung explored in great depth. I left it out because the cornerstone symbolism is quite contentious in itself and is connected to the division between Hermetic (gnostic/pagan) and Platonic (Christian) alchemy. I do address it in depth in a later essay, 'Lilith, The Transmutable Woman'. So that was an astute observation! Thank you so much for reading I can't wait to tell my wife someone actually read it. I'm going to be dining out on this for the rest of the day
What an interesting and comprehensive read!!
It's so true that the magical tales heal our souls through their symbolic language. For true healing to occur, however, we need to include an understanding of the mind. Cinderella's story resonates deeply with me. Cinderella is the name of what remains of us when the haughty and pretentious stepmother burns in the flames of our unsatisfied desires. It took me years to reach the ashes and understand the spiritual meaning of disappointed love and thwarted desire. When for the first time (because this is not a one-time process) I consciously experienced what it means to be Cinderella and stand in the corner of the room embracing with both arms my ordinariness, I felt such a surge of peace, harmony and freedom, that I wondered at myself, why I resisted becoming nobody for so long. The paradox of such an experience is truly impressive. It is only when you become a nobody, you realize for the first time that this is the only way to begin to become your true self. Only when you stop being dependent on the object of your desires, you understand what freedom and love mean. Only when you lose everything, you start to appreciate what you had or still have. Then comes the gratitude. Only our inner Cinderella can be truly grateful. The princesses can't. The stepmother along with her two daughters too. Only our inner Cinderella can love. Pretentious princesses can't. As well as our inner stepmother, along with her two daughters. Only when the mirror of our thwarted desires is broken, we can see our true face and its beauty. To me, the Cinderella story is a veritable alchemical recipe for how to transmute our pretensions of specialness into the gold of our unique individuality.
Thank you for this great read!! 😊
"And as we step forward on this path, let us remember that the real magic kingdom lies not in any one company or franchise, but in the boundless realm of the imagination itself." - I will remember that.😊
I loved this comment Diana thank you for sharing. I too think the story of Cinderella especially resonant for alchemical transformation. These stories we learn early on really stay with us on our own journeys as we seek our inner gold.
I'm currently in the biblical section and just finished the Jesus paragraph. You may still cover this, but before I forget to say anything, the first thing to come to mind when you described the orphan stone was the OT prophecy applied to Jesus: the stone that was rejected has become the chief corner stone.
You are absolutely correct to make that connection, the orphan/cornerstone parallel is an important one that Jung explored in great depth. I left it out because the cornerstone symbolism is quite contentious in itself and is connected to the division between Hermetic (gnostic/pagan) and Platonic (Christian) alchemy. I do address it in depth in a later essay, 'Lilith, The Transmutable Woman'. So that was an astute observation! Thank you so much for reading I can't wait to tell my wife someone actually read it. I'm going to be dining out on this for the rest of the day