Grimms' Fairy Tales - Happy New Year 2013!

Yesterday I downloaded these fairy tales, free of charge, from Kobo and started with Lily and The Lion.

First off, I wasn’t sure what to make of it. It seemed short and sweet with underlying wisdom, but it wasn’t until really early in the new year after waking in bed that I realized the wisdom: love requires sacrifice.

At the same time, I also had a memory from my 20s, and I thought about the princess in Lily and The Lion and how she reminds me of Aphrodite. Aphrodite is not always all bliss and flowers and dreams come true.  She’s a Goddess who will steal your husband, like the princess in the story, and demand something in return to set you free again to love. While begrudging Aphrodite, I thought more about my memory.

When I was in my late 20s I felt unlucky in love. My friend bought me a small Aphrodite statue made of iron - from Greece, nonetheless - to help my love life. I thought, “Finally, my love troubles are over”. I had the tiniest apartment known to man in those days, and searched for a space to put Aphrodite. The next day, my phone caught on fire because of a nearby candle and the cord was burned in two. Then, my Buddha fell off my bookcase and cracked. On top of that, no change in my love life occurred. Aphrodite began to give me the creeps and every time I looked at the statue I felt like it was out to get me. She’s now tucked away in a box somewhere.  If I find her, I will take her out of hiding. Maybe.

The point of sharing my experience is that Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, is a force to respect. She is no fool and does not deliver the gift of love without demanding something in return. The Grimm Brothers’ tale seems to have stimulated this insight, and the opening of a door in my mind to a place where experiences, feelings, and images, similar to the story, were found. I find this very interesting and will try another tale soon to see if this will happen again.