Symbols and Archetypes in Fairy Tales

Symbols and archetypes are powerful fairy tale elements. Both activate the unconscious and the imagination.

What is a symbol? It's an object that represents or stands in for an idea, belief, action, or something else. The glass slipper in Cinderella, the shard of broken mirror in The Snow Queen, Rumpelstiltskin weaving straw into gold.

What is an archetype? At its most basic, it's a role—one that we all grasp at an instinctual level, the King, the Queen, the Joker, the Thief.

By making use of symbols and archetypes, stories that might be considered simple become more complex, as they radiate through each individual in a personal way. Profound understandings and connections can be quickly sparked, through images that tap into deeper levels of consciousness. Because no matter how many times, nor how many ways, fairy tales are told and retold, we add our own inner details to Cinderella, the Evil Stepmother, Sleeping Beauty, the Wicked Witch, the Big Bad Wolf, and the Deep Woods.

Over and over, the relatable psychological symbolism of fairy tales, serve as a short-hand for bridging individuals with universal truth. Pretty much, in a way that other stories can't. I think that's why fairy tales are so enduring, why we tell them and re-tell them. And why they are so darn satisfying.

The Tarot is a set of cards that, like fairy tales, have been around for a long time. There are hundreds of different tarot decks, kind of like the many fairy tale retellings. An individual artist puts their personal spin on an archetypal image. The image isn't replaced, it simply wears a different set of clothes.

I thought it would be fun to show the tarot spread I created for The Girl Who Watched for Elves, one of the short stories that serves as a prelude to the Once Upon a Time Today collection. One of the things you might notice is that tenth card in the spread, the one on the bottom row on the far left, 'the elf card,' doesn't appear exactly as it's described in the story.

The Twenty-Card Spread in The Girl Who Watched for Elves ~ Hanson-Roberts Tarot Deck

That's because the story was written by combining the images from the above deck, with the most traditional and popular tarot deck, the Rider-Waite deck.

Now, take a look at the "Eight of Pentacles" in that deck. Ask yourself: If you saw that picture, would you see an elf? Possibly—probably—not! But during the tarot reading in the story, Heather was taking a trip down memory lane, and she knew the next chapter in her story was her reunion with her grandmother. She also know how much the story, The Shoemaker and the Elves, meant to her. She saw the card, according to her personal history. That's what we do with symbols and archetypal images. We personalize them. Because of their simplicity, it's almost impossible not to.

Transformational themes, symbols, archetypes—these elements contribute to the enduring and beguiling nature of fairy tales.

The Short and Long of It Giveway: WINNERS!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to comment and enter the The Short and Long of It Giveaway. I learned a lot from reading your thoughts about whether you prefer to read shorter or longer books!

While shorter books are quicker to read (great for our Goodreads reading challenge) and easier to digest in some regards, it seems that plenty of readers prefer to get caught up in longer reads. I'm not sure why this surprised me, but it did.

When submitting books to agents and editors in traditional publishing, a rule of thumb is nothing much longer than 100,000 words. That's a respectable size novel, not too long, not too short. However, it seems like when books are longer, and the length is not padding, but involve character growth, necessary world building, and an intriguing plot, readers enjoy that getting-lost-in-the-world feeling.

THE WINNERS*

Shorter:

Anne

Debra

Dena

Elizabeth

Longer:

Christina

Rebecca

Summer

Tanya Y.

*All the winners have been notified. 

grumpy, lovable—and wounded ... Flora's Secret by Enya

Today's excerpt from Half Faerie and playlist song highlight Flora, the grumpy, lovable, wise—and wounded—spring faerie. In my wildest dreams, Peter Jackson directs Daughter of Light and Kathy Bates stars as Flora. SIGH.

 From Half Faerie, "Chapter 45: A Dinner Party"

“One day the muannai will be as free to travel between the Mortal and Enchanted worlds as the rest of you are. That’s my dream,” Goring said.

“No, they won’t,” Flora said.

“Ah. You can foresee the future. Is that a special talent spring faeries possess?”

“Anyone can read the times, compare them to the winds of change, and draw their own conclusion.”

“Now you’re a poet.”

“Flattery doesn’t become you, Zachariah. Umbra’s incarnation will close the ancient doors. It won’t open new ones,” Flora said.

Goring twisted the cuff of his fitted white shirt. “And you know this, how?”

“The Whole is self-protecting, and Umbra is mortal ash. Everything about him is dead to the Mortal World. Incarnated or not, it will repel him.”

“Then why bother?”

“No one argues the Whole is out of balance. That something must be done,” Flora said.

Goring prodded her. “Least of all you.”

Her eyes flashed. “Least of all me.”

The muannaye leaned back in his chair. “The truth is that none of us here, at this table, or anywhere in the Whole, know what new age Umbra’s incarnation will usher in.”

Flora raised her glass of beer. “But we can all agree that it will be a new one.”

Goring picked up his glass to match Flora’s toast. “To the advent of a new age, a springtime in history,” he said.


This week's song comes from @RachmiFebrianty's Half Faerie playlist. She selected "Flora's Secret" by Enya as the perfect musical expression of the spring faerie's soul…I agree.

And yes, Flora does have a secret…

Giveaway: The Short and Long of It

The Winners!
How do you like your books?

Would you rather read three shorter books?

Or one longer book?

We're going to give away 4 ebook sets of the first three books in the Queen of the Realm of Faerie fantasy fairytale series (Nandana's Mark, The Flower of Isbelline, and The Dragon Carnviale), AND 4 ebook copies of True Love's First Kiss (a compilation of the first three books in the series)!

How can you win?

Tell us whether you prefer your books shorter or longer in a comment below.

If you prefer shorter books, you'll be eligible to win one of the 4 ebook sets. If you prefer longer books, you'll be eligible to win one of the 4 ebook compilations. The winners will be picked in a random drawing. Please leave your email address in your comment so we can contact the winners.

Want to increase your odds of winning?

Tweet about this giveaway.

Include a link to this giveaway page, mention @heidigwrites, and use the hashtag #longer or #shorter in every tweet for more entries! Each tweet will count as one additional entry.

This contest will run until midnight PST on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The winners will be announced on this blog on Monday, June 17, 2013.

In the Enchanted World, true love’s first kiss is magic.

Nandana’s Mark, Book 1: When two half-faeries—Melia and her younger sister—are cursed under dreadful circumstances, true love’s first kiss is the remedy.

The Flower of Isbelline, Book 2: Nothing but true love’s first kiss can save Melia’s younger sister from blind ambition and ruin.

The Dragon Carnivale, Book 3: Melia must choose the freedom she cherishes or true love’s first kiss—and a relationship that promises to secure her place in the Whole.

Queen of the Realm of Faerie is a fairy tale fantasy series that bridges the Mortal and Enchanted worlds. It is also an epic fantasy. The main character, Melia, is an eighteen-year-old half-faerie, half-mortal.

When the story opens in the first book, Melia is troubled by her dark moon visions, gossip she overhears about her parents at the local market, and the trauma of living among full-blooded faeries with wings—she doesn’t have any.

As the series unfolds, the historic and mystical forces that shape Melia’s life are revealed. Each step of her journey—to find the place where she belongs—alters her perceptions about herself, deepens her relationships with others, and enlarges her world view.

True Love’s First Kiss is a compilation of the first three books in this ongoing series.

Note: We've been notified that some people are still unable to make comments. GRRR!!!!! and Sorry!!!!! Not sure why that is, if anyone knows… Otherwise, if you try to make a comment and can't, please email me at heidi _ g @ comcast . net! I'll post your entry for you, Thank you.

The Weekly Extract: none of that Pixie Dust & Evanescence…She's Going Under

Last week's excerpt featured Tuck, a tree elf (think Orlando Bloom's Legolas in The Lord of the Rings). Tatou was furious because he was blind to the danger surrounding everyone else. All he could see was Plantine, Melia's younger sister and his true love. But maybe he had a point, and Plantine is in more trouble than anyone realizes….

From Half Faerie ...

“Did you hear Plantine? The stronghold’s throne is not enough for her. She wants the one at the Cathedral Palace, too.” Tatou whispered, although Plantine was so engrossed with Flora’s grief, she wouldn’t have heard the pixie if she yelled. “She wants to be the Queen of the Realm of Faerie.”

“She’ll be a tyrant,” Melia said.

“Tuck may be the only one who can reach her.”

“She’ll never agree to see him.”

“We have to convince her that seeing him is the right thing for her and everyone else.”

“May I enter?” Chloe stood in the doorframe.

Plantine ignored her. She helped Flora into her enormous bed.

“She’s not feeling well,” Melia said.

Chloe nodded. “Yrrick has announced a dinner party. Lord Goring would like to welcome his bride’s sister and her friends to the stronghold.”

Dread echoed in the hollow of Melia’s chest.

Plantine rushed from Flora’s side. “You brought more friends?”

“A priest from Idonne, a m—” Melia caught herself. They’d left Sinjiin in the Welcoming Hall in his tiger form. If he wanted Chloe—or anyone else at the Calashai—to know he was a mage, he could tell them himself. “—his pet tiger, and a tree elf.”

Plantine’s eyes glinted with dark temper. “A tree elf?”

“Yes,” Melia said.

Plantine turned away from the servant. She pressed her palms together and closed her eyes. “Thank you, Chloe. You may leave us now.”

The muannaye curtseyed and departed.

“I told you not to bring him here,” Plantine said.

Tatou darted towards her.

“If you throw anymore of that pixie dust on me, I’ll have you locked up,” Plantine warned.

The pixie hovered in front of Plantine’s face with her hand in her pocket. Melia held her breath. It was the last dark moon night in the moon cycle, and it looked like it was going to be a long one.

This week when you listen to the awesome Amy Lee singing Going Under, think of Plantine going under Umbra's influence—Umbra is the mortal ash accumulating in the Void that wants to use her as a vessel of incarnation.

 

Weekend Extract: Tatou's hot temper plus Imagine Dragons

I have two treats for you today. How about we start off with an extract from Half Faerie? One featuring Tatou and her hot pixie temper…

From Half Faerie, "Chapter 36: A Field of Lilies"

“You couldn’t have stopped last night’s attack,” Tatou said. “There were too many of them.”
“There were only two,” Melia whispered.
“No,” Tatou said. “You’re forgetting about the archers. When Clover took me to the stream, the woods were thick with them. If you’d arrived earlier, they would’ve killed you.”
“They’ll do worse with Plantine if we don’t reach her in time,” Tuck said.
“Lord Goring needs her,” the pixie said. “He won’t let anything happen to her.”
Melia raised her eyebrows at her friend.
“What? He thinks Plantine is the only one in danger?” Tatou asked.
Tuck pushed away from the table. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” The pixie walked across the table to stand in front of him. “Those wolves would have swallowed me whole last night if Clover hadn’t had the good sense to hide me. Did you see the wounds on Flora’s back? Or notice the burns on her face? We’re all getting hurt trying to help Plantine.”
Tuck raised his hands. “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m thinking only of Melia’s sister because I know how vulnerable she is from her mother’s curse.”
Tatou’s pixie temper soared. “Not too vulnerable to get the basin’s location and send—”
Gumf slammed the table with the palms of his hand. “Both of you, stop it.”
The tree elf and the pixie stared daggers at one another.
“You’re all on edge,” the Veil’s proprietor said. As if on cue, three dwarves appeared by his side. “Let them take you to your rooms. Bathe and get some rest tonight. You can continue your journey in the morning.”
No one moved.

Number two is special. Rachmi Febrianty created a brilliant playlist for the Daughter of Light trilogy. I've been listening to the songs over and over. And while I'm figuring out how to share them all with you, let me leave you with her suggestion for a song from Tuck to Plantine…it's perfect.

Please enjoy Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons…

The Place Alice Hoffman Creates

Welcome to the Alice Hoffman Birthday Blog Hop! Today, March 16, 2013, I'm thrilled to be celebrating Alice Hoffman's birthday with other readers who love her unique and inimitable voice. Please visit all the sites linked at the bottom of this post for the complete experience!

I intended to write this post on Claire Story of The Story Sisters, having recently read the book for the second time. The first time I read it I fell in love with Elv. Her fierce love of horses, her inability to reduce her sensitivities to socially acceptable levels, her sacrifice of self to protect her youngest sister, along with her ability to see fairies and demons, kept me glued to every page. And when her life took an unexpected twist I sat in my papasan chair and sobbed. Not the dainty, a few hot tears rolling down my cheeks, sniffles, no, it was the snorting, messy kind that you never want another human being to witness, but feels so cleansing when it’s over.

Brave, reckless Elv. I resurrected a pair of black leather cowboy boots with pointy toes and got another tattoo, a daisy fairy on my left hip.

But after the second read, I’m on the lookout for charms.

Because this time, I'm enthralled with Claire. She’s the one who was strong enough to love both her sisters. Which brings me to another thing I love about The Story Sisters, it’s unflinching when it comes to the girl’s complex relationships. I have a friend who is an only child and doesn’t get how beastly sisters can be to one another.

I have sisters. Our relationships are strained and complicated, too. Perhaps that’s why these words in Arnish—spoken at dusk—can bring tears to my eyes: Nom brava gig. My brave sister. Reunina lee. I came to rescue you. Alana me sora minta. Roses wherever you looked.

My sisters are velvety petals with thorns, too.

Claire won me over with her silence. And her rebirth. Learning to make jewelry, mastering the craft. No matter how conventional wisdom goes on and on about family and friends, sometimes soulful work is the only thing that keeps some of us alive.

So that was my plan for this first Alice Hoffman Birthday Blog Hop, gush about Claire Story and Arnish, maybe Pollo—and Pete who wraps all the broken Story women in bandages of strength and dignity while they conjure the will to move forward, but now I’m reading The Red Garden. Quite frankly, I’m a little bit stunned.

It’s a collection of contemporary-ish fairy tales. I’m not a fan of short stories. Perhaps because it seems like a lot of investment, getting to know the characters, the setting, etc. and then—whiff—they’re gone. It’s over. But I read Leaf Storm by Gabriel Garcia Marquez last year, and found it enjoyable and fascinating. Marquez linked his collection of stories around a single place, the fictional town of Macondo, Colombia. When I discovered all the tales in Hoffman’s The Red Garden wind around and through rural Blackwell, Massachusetts, I became curious.

There are fourteen tales. I’ve read seven. The stunned part is how each one builds, externally, the literal place of Blackwell, and internally, the pressure upon the heart of the reader. It all begins with Hallie finding refuge in that bear. And her cub. And then comes John Chapman with his apple seeds and innocent passion. By the time Sophia snatches up the card of death and Amy is buried in her blue dress and bare feet, the magic is palpable. When Emily’s long walk ends in the frenzied creation of a scent-focused garden for Charlie who’s lost his sight, we’re left with a taste of wistful in the mouth and the sense of crushed potpourri in the hand.

Remember Amy and her blue dress? She may be gone, but somehow she manages to save Evan and Mattie when nothing and no one else can. But when Topsy, the elephant, dies, it leaves a gash in your heart. Thank goodness, he gets reborn as a pug whose devotion will make you remember that man is a syllable of woman.

I can’t wait to read The Fisherman’s Wife tonight.

Because in The Red Garden Alice Hoffman has doubled her creation of place.

Since Jess and I decided we wanted to create this blog hop, I’ve been asking myself: What is it about Hoffman’s work that moves me, affects me, wrings me out on such deep levels?

With her stories, Hoffman creates a place for the weary, the wounded, the ravaged, the savaged, the damaged, the self-contained, and the lonely, to take off their hats and coats and rest. Among the world of her characters we’re not too sensitive, we’re not too broken, we’re not too full of sorrow, and we’re not beyond comprehension; we’re one of them.

I think that’s why I have to read an Alice Hoffman book every few months. Sometimes daily life breaks me down, breaks down the things about me that I love about myself; reading Alice Hoffman is getting an IV drip. In her pages, I get to live in a world where I’m not too weird—spinning off an another wavelength—I’m the norm. It’s such solace. It’s so hopeful. It reconnects me to humanity.

And that is a holy thing.

Thank you, Alice.

Is Place Mystical?

I am reading The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. Ever since I read Leaf Storm by Gabriel Garcia Marquez I am enchanted by this idea of a collection of short stories united by place. The place in Leaf Storm is Macondo, a fictitious town in Colombia. The place in The Red Garden is Blackwell, a rural town in Massachusetts.

Having the good fortune and misfortune of living many places--the good fortune of being exposed to variety and difference, the misfortune of leaving one a bit rootless--I find place to be mystical, i.e. every place on this great earth has its own unique convergence of energy.

You can't really sense place in a single visit, much as you can't always know a person after one conversation. But living in a place, over a period of time, you start to grasp its particularities, and idiosyncrasies, and how those effect the people who live there.

I have lived in the desert, I have lived near the beach, I have lived on the plains, I have lived in proximity of mountains…each place has its own identity, as definable as any person or character. I suppose that is why this concept…story of place…intrigues me so.

The first story in Red Garden leaves me thinking, as much of Alice Hoffman's work does. And I'm one of those animal lovers. For someone who is so wordy, it is perhaps their wordlessness that draws me to them. That and their eyes.

Alice Hoffman's Birthday Blog Hop!