In his book Melchizedek and the Mystery of Fire, Manly P. Hall wrote, “When the human race learns to read the language of symbolism, a great veil will fall from the eyes of men” (Hall, 2024). In my past reports, I have often talked about the soul’s ability to be expressed through art and imagination, thereby generating our capacity for self-love. One of the most misunderstood aspects of this spiritual truth is when it comes to fairy tales. According to Bernard Roger, the fairy tales of Brothers Grimm and Mother Goose are Hermetic metaphors revealing the secrets of human transformation embodied in alchemy. For example, the prince and the princess in fairy tale stories always represent the Red King and White Queen, and the phrase “And they lived happily ever after” represents the completion of the Great Work and the attainment of the Philosopher’s Stone.
Let us examine these two examples in more detail. The Hermetic principle of gender is vital to explain and understand the symbolism of the Red King and White Queen. Gender, in this case, doesn’t refer to sexual roles but rather to the framework of creation in which there is an active force (the masculine), a receptive force (the feminine), and a reconciling result (Thomas, 2021). The union of the mind and heart, thought and feeling, produces physical manifestation through the Law of Attraction and the production of the Philosopher’s Stone, what alchemists call love and spiritual enlightenment. These occur on the Mental and Spiritual planes, respectively, and it is essential to understand that the male and female characters in fairy tales and other forms of art are never literal in the occult definitions. They symbolise the masculine and feminine principles within us.
In The Initiatory Path in Fairy Tales, Bernard Roger wrote, "The quest for the princess is the masculine path of initiation. In the feminine initiation, the candidate for initiation will discover her innermost being in the mirror of her union with the prince” (Roger, 2015, p.69). In other words, to love is the divine masculine, while to be loved is the divine feminine. Again, these two principles are not literal and refer to what Carl Jung called the animus and anima: the masculine and feminine components in women and men. In Man and His Symbols, Carl Jung writes that certain fairy tales “tell of a prince, turned by witchcraft into a wild animal or monster, who is redeemed by the love of a girl – a process symbolizing the manner in which the animus becomes conscious” (Jung, 1964, p.206). The most well-known example is Beauty and the Beast. In the story, Beauty’s love for Beast brings him back to life, breaks the witch’s curse and restores him to his true form: a handsome prince. Carl Jung states, “The spell was ordained to last until a beautiful girl should love Beast for his goodness alone” (Jung, 1964, p.131).
The term Magnum Opus, or “Great Work”, is used by alchemists to describe the path to spiritual enlightenment and the highest state of purity. As explained by Francis Melville, “The term is applied both to the Outer Work, the perfection of the Philosopher’s Stone, and to the Inner Work, the achievement of divine consciousness” (Melville, 2002, p.63). The story of Cinderella is an excellent example of the unfolding of the Great Work. Cinderella’s journey from servant girl to princess symbolises the three stages of the Great Work: nigredo, albedo, and rubedo. The nigredo stage involves the initiate going through a dark night of the soul before resurrection. In Cinderella’s story, this corresponds to the cruel treatment by her stepsisters. This is followed by the albedo stage, where consciousness is purified and resurrected to act as a life-enhancing elixir, symbolised by Cinderella’s journey to the ball and meeting with the prince. The rubedo stage involves the perfection of the Philosopher’s Stone and the completion of the Great Work, symbolised by the marriage of Cinderella and her Prince. As stated by Mary Osborne, “Returned home from the liminal journey, secret in hand, Cinderella is no mere princess but an adept of the Great Work” (Osborne, 2023).
One of the key concepts that is essential to understanding alchemy is the Language of the Birds. Fairy tales employ this language based on the phonetic law and focus on sound and meaning rather than spelling. In Mystery of the Cathedrals, the French alchemist Fulcanelli wrote that it is a language which, through direct experience, “teaches the mystery of things and unveils the most hidden truths” (Fulcanelli, 2016, p.44). He also called it the green language, or diplomatic language, because it centres around wordplay and reveals and conceals meaning. As Bernard Roger explained, “the language of the birds gives life to sounds in the form of uttered speech that has completely freed itself from all the rules of grammar” (Roger, 2015, p.57). According to legend, this sacred language allowed humanity to communicate with nature’s animals during the Golden Age, 26,000 years ago.
Almost all fairy tales start with the words “Once upon a time” and end with “And they lived happily ever after.” Let us examine these two phrases in more detail. According to Rene-Lucien Rousseau, the words once upon a time “belong to a magic rite that transports us outside of space into the timeless realm of the tales, a sanctified world in which everything is possible” (Roger, 2015, p.3). In other words, these words are designed to place their audience into a receptive state, which opens the audience's mind, and everyday logic gives way to the simple pleasure of listening. In contrast, the phrase, “And they lived happily ever after”, signifies the completion of the Great Work and the attainment of the Philosopher’s Stone. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the alchemical process was a threefold transformation of the spirit, body and quality of time (Weidner & Bridges, 2003, p.61). When the alchemist achieves these three transformations, he attains immortality and redeems the world.
In fairy tales and modern works of art, particularly cinema, the phrase “And they lived happily ever after” is usually accompanied by a tender kiss between the male and female characters. This is because a kiss is more than just about sexuality; it also has a metaphysical correspondence representing an eternal bond between two people: “As above, so below.” That is why, in many great love stories, the male and female characters consummate their love for each other, whether in happy or tragic circumstances, with a kiss at the end. This is usually preceded by trials and tribulations in which the lovers must overcome many obstacles before they can finally be together. The end of the story usually follows which is designed to leave it up to the viewer’s imagination to imagine the outcome.
After reading fairy tales, many people think they must search for a man or woman outside of themselves who will make them happy. However, if they go for a relationship without feeling self-love and inner security first, it can often lead to disillusionment and power struggles. According to the Law of Correspondence, we must feel love and romance within our hearts and minds before we can attract someone who will resonate with our vibration: “As within, so without.” This process takes time but is well worth it; otherwise, you don’t have any foundation to build relationships with others. As the poet Mark Anthony wrote, “Sometimes love means loving yourself until the right one comes along” (Mark Anthony Poet, 2021). In other words, there is no way to happiness: happiness is the way.
Bibliography
Fulcanelli. Le Mystere des Cathedrales. Translated by Mary Sworder. Albuquerque, Brotherhood of Life, 2016.
Hall, Manly P. “When the human race learns to read the language of symbolism.” Good Reads. Accessed September 26, 2024. www.goodreads.com/quotes/7657511-when-the-human-race-learns-to-read-the-language-of
Jung, Carl G. Man and His Symbols. London, Dell Publishing, 1964.
Leighton, Edmund. "God Speed!" Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Last revised July 6, 2014. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leighton-God_Speed!.jpg
Mark Anthony Poet. “Sometimes love means loving yourself until the right one comes along.” Facebook. Last revised October 22, 2021. www.facebook.com/markanthonypoet/photos/a.1974461952783665/3166319060264609/
Melville, Francis. The Book of Alchemy. Smithfield, Gary Allen, 2002.
Osborne, Mary A. “Looking for Gold: The Alchemy of Cinderella.” Parabola. Last revised January 31, 2023. https://parabola.org/2023/01/31/looking-for-gold-the-alchemy-of-cinderella/
Roger, Bernard. The Initiatory Path In Fairy Tales: The Alchemical Secrets of Mother Goose. Rochester, Inner Traditions, 2015.
Thomas, Ronni. The Kybalion. USA, Gildan First Enterprises, 2021. DVD.
Weidner, Jay. & Bridges, Vincent. The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time. Rochester, Destiny Books, 2003.
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