Thulean Archives

I want to talk about a book today, so if you're not interested, you're warned.^[1]

Sleeping Beauty.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful and kind princess named Aurora. Her parents were king and queen, and they were overjoyed when she was born. To celebrate her birth, they invited all the fairies of the kingdom to a grand feast. Each fairy brought a special gift for the little princess, such as beauty, kindness and intelligence. But an evil fairy named Maleficent, who had not been invited to the celebration, was very angry. She decided to seek revenge by casting a spell on the princess. She declared that Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a deep sleep for a hundred years, until a prince woke her up with true love's kiss.

The king and queen were devastated, but a good fairy had not yet given her a gift. Although she couldn't undo the curse, she could modify it. Instead of dying, the princess and the entire castle would fall asleep, waiting for the arrival of the prince. To protect Aurora, the king ordered that all the spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. Years passed by and Aurora grew up in the hidden castle, unaware of the outside world. One day she stumbled upon a small door in a tower. Curious, she opened it and found an old woman spinning with a spindle. Without suspecting any danger, Aurora touched the spindle and pricked her finger. She immediately fell into a deep slumber and the entire castle also. A magical thorn hedge grew around the castle to protect it.

One hundred years passed and many princes tried to break through the thorn hedge to reach Sleeping Beauty, but they all failed. Finally, a brave prince heard about the beautiful sleeping princess and decided to try his luck. With the help of the good fairy, the prince managed to penetrate the thorn hedge. He reached the castle and found the princess asleep in the chamber. When he saw her, he was enchanted by her beauty. Gently, he approached her and gave her a tender kiss of true love. At that moment, the princess opened her eyes and woke up. She was finally freed from the evil fairy's curse. Aurora and the prince instantly fell in love.

They got married and lived happily ever after.

Okay, what does this mean? I wonder.

Aurora, needless to say, represents the rising sun, the birth. The princess is not an individual in her own right, she symbolizes life. The one who is reborn is the prince. The wicked fairy who is not invited to his birth represents time and death. With birth, many gifts are given, but the promise of death is also given. Except that death is not the end, it is an anticipation of rebirth. The prince goes to the overgrown ruins symbolizing the interior of the womb with plants and trees representing the nourishing placenta and breathes life into the ancestor through a kiss. The ancestor comes back to life through him.^[2][3]

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1. Technically, I am not going to talk a lot about it, but instead I will
   READ you one of the tales in it.
2. This book contains 21 myths, in both French and English, as well as the analysis of each myth.
3. If you are interested, you can find a link below. If you are not interested, you can still find a link below. I will not discriminate!