Question 6: “The Ruined Dancing Shoes.”
I’m aware that beginners are following the seminar, so I've tried to avoid technical terms, but there is one point that does need to be explained for “Ruined Shoes.”
There are two different methods of calculations, one for Sun Signs and another for the Houses. The Sun Signs are based on the calendar year, which, as we know, derives from the length of time it takes the Earth to revolve around the Sun. The Earth’s motion along its orbit also gives us the astrological year, beginning and ending with the Vernal Equinox in March, and including four seasonal changes which occur every year in the Cardinal Signs.
In astrology, when we say the Sun rules Leo, we're usually referring to the summer Sign, inclusive of people born from late July through late August.
For the purpose of this Rising Sign seminar, however, we’re using the other method of calculation, the one for House cusps. This method is based on the diurnal motion of the Earth on its axis, also known as the “wobble.” The wobble causes our 24 hour cycle of day and night. The Houses, including the Rising Sign, or First House cusp, change every two hours. (12 Signs x 2 hours per Rising Sign=one 24 hour day.)
In this system, when we say that the Sun rules Leo, we’re not speaking of people born in summer, winter, or any other season. We’re speaking of someone born within a narrow two hour time interval, which could occur on any day of the year. We’re speaking about the Leo persona, the First House cusp, the Sign that’s rising at a person’s birth time.
The best way to grasp this is to imagine the sky as a type of clock, though we’re able to see only part of the clock's face. For instance, we might glance up at the Sun and think, “no wonder I’m hungry, it must be 2:00 p.m. already!”
Or, if we're in the garden without a watch or electronic gadget, we might check the position of the Sun and think, “better hurry up and finish planting these flowers, it’ll be dark in under an hour!” The Solar clock won’t tell us when to plant winter wheat or harvest fall corn, but it does tell us about time passing today. For larger questions, we’d need a different source, like an almanac.
Hints for the tale:
1) At first glance, this may appear to be just another story with a familiar structure: the Old King is decrepit, ill or dying, the Kingdom is in danger from drought or its enemies. Next, a young prince appears, passes a test, marries the princess and inherits the Kingdom. The land becomes fertile again and rival kingdoms are again afraid to attack it. But is that all there is to this one? Can a case be made that it’s an allegory about spiritual growth?
2) Why do you think the princess took so long to wake up and use her will power? What was the Troll so fascinating to her? (Many young princes tried to save her before the hero succeeded.)
3) Do the “frozen trees” have symbolic meaning?
4) Can you think of other stories in which the maiden must actively participate in her own rescue? Or does this one seem unique?
5) What sort of father was the king?
6) While younger readers might identify with the prince or princess, older readers may sympathize with her father’s plight, his hope of seeing see his daughter happily settled, passing on his responsibilities to the next generation, and a peaceful retirement.
Replies
After you finish, consider the older couple, the parents of the princess. What might they do with their freedom after she “wakes up?” (Their responsibility to her, and the Kingdom is over.)
First of all, they'll still feel responsible for their daughter and will call her their little girl forever. The daughter's hair might be white, and the old King's might be completely gone, but he'll still call her by the pet name he's given her.
However, with passing time, they'll realize they are free to do more things, make plans.
Both CG Jung and the Indian Ideal of the 4 ashramas (stages of life) view life after 50 as different. The householder stage ends, the Ego’s ambition, competitiveness, and desires wane, while many people experience increased interest in spirituality.
The Indian (Golden Age) ideal: by 50, a couple’s children would be self-sufficient, so the husband and wife could retire to the forest for a number of years, living simply (at survival level), then, eventually, they’d become hermits. From 50 onwards, the focus is on Soul, with minimum attention to the body’s needs. As long as older people are healthy, these seem to be life’s most enjoyable years. Responsibilities dwindle. Few Westerners would embrace the forest or a hermit’s mountain cave! But what does life offer us, after 50 in the 21st Century?
If an older person keeps up with new technology, they can be in touch with the world via Skype and other cyber avenues. Not everyone has family or close friends, but none of us needs to be alone.
That's true, older people now have an advantage now for the first time in history, internet connection!
1) At first glance, this may appear to be just another story with a familiar structure: the Old King is decrepit, ill or dying, the Kingdom is in danger from drought or its enemies. Next, a young prince appears, passes a test, marries the princess and inherits the Kingdom. The land becomes fertile again and rival kingdoms are again afraid to attack it. But is that all there is to this one? Can a case be made that it’s an allegory about spiritual growth?
What is spiritual growth? Is it waking up and then starting a long journey?
If so, it can show how important a strong sense of the feminine is. In the beginning of this story, she's hardly the equal of anyone let alone taking a hand in running a kingdom. However, she did not seem unhappy with her life - she went dancing every night, was wined and dined by a wealthy Troll; but she was pursued by the masculine who couldn't win the prize of the kingdom without her presence and cooperation. Also, the old King needed her to shape up and live in his world so that he could get a break.
So perhaps the wisdom of the story is the importance of developing the feminine as a first step in spiritual growth.
2) Why do you think the princess took so long to wake up and use her will power? What was the Troll so fascinating to her? (Many young princes tried to save her before the hero succeeded.)
It was timing - timing is everything. If the princess had been ready to wake up and take part in running her father's kingdom, the first prince would have met the mysterious stranger and been the winner.
3) Do the “frozen trees” have symbolic meaning?
Maybe the frozen trees mean the princess was traveling in the unconscious. According to the Cirlot Dictionary of Symbols, ice has been defined as the rigid dividing line between consciousness and unconsciousness.
4) Can you think of other stories in which the maiden must actively participate in her own rescue? Or does this one seem unique?
Rapunzel comes to mind who had to let down her long hair as a way for a handsome prince to climb the tower she was in.
5) What sort of father was the king?
The King seems to have been a caring father concerned about his daughter's health and happiness. Of couse, like all fathers, he knew best and actively tried to find his daughter a suitable husband. But boy was he tough on those found unfit!
6) While younger readers might identify with the prince or princess, older readers may sympathize with her father’s plight, his hope of seeing see his daughter happily settled, passing on his responsibilities to the next generation, and a peaceful retirement.
Yes, it is important to aging parents that their children have someone and not be alone.
Spiritual growth is defined different ways in different traditions or paths or traditions, but usually involves growth in conscious awareness and a connection with Soul. Sometimes it's a long, slow process as in this story, where so many days and nights pass (years go by while the suitors attempt to rescue the princess.) Jung's vocabulary is about making the Unconscious conscious, releasing repressed energy, restoring vitality to the waking-state personalilty, releasing passion or Eros, and ending with the ability to move forward in life as a mature adult, (perhaps take on responsibilities.) Also, the process sometimes enables access to creative gifts.
Uusally in mystical traditions, there's a peak experience in which the personality is transformed, resulting in maturity; the person is no longer limited by blocks that held him or her back Something changes. In many mystical traditions, as a result of spiritual practices, there's a peak experience of Soul -realization, after which the personality is transformed. If nothing changes after the experience, it isn't considered "real." Otherwise people become "psychological antiques" as Yogananda said.
Though the vocabulary is different between the Eastern and Western processes, the results are very similar.
In Chapter 5 of BTM we're considering more specifically the Leo/Solar/5th House growth in consciouness, vitality, passion, and WILL POWER,-the ability, even the necessity, of making independent decisions, and have confidence in our choices.
As soon as the princess awoke, she was asked to use her will.. Give the prince permission to take her needle and thimble, and go after the Troll. To marry the pricne, the Troll would have to go.That was how it had to be. She had to be there for the prince and not the Troll. It's often like this when couples go from living together to getting married and having children, their Fantasy World is given up for a new, adult reality. When they're ready for marriage,couple is there for each other in a different, more adult way.
It''s the same in the second half of life, people need to feel ready to do things differently, and it's different for everyone. As you say, timing is important, Some people are ready to retire at 55, some at 65,some at 70 and some will work till they dorp. The local paper is doing a series on 80- -olds who work full time, 4 have been women, the others thus far, men. They all have jobs they love and are in good health.
The Leo archetype is about individual independence and will power. The other Fixed Signs also have stamina, a type of charisma, and they all persevere. But the Sun/Day Sky archeytpe is associated with waking state awareness, relating to other people, and using our talents (5th house Creativity) as opposed to the NightSky/Moon/Cancer where, in sleep, we relate to our dream figures.
I like the image of frozen trees. Trees are living things, of course, and fortunately, a frozen state is only temporary, they came back to life at the end, after being sprinkled with Troll blood. It's interesting that they appeared to be made of valuable substances, but weren't as valuable to the kingdom as real trees would have been.
Yes, Rapunzel's timing was right with that prince, and she, too had a choice and actively participated in her rescue. Several of my University professpors were trained in the Claude Levi-Strauss structuralist approach to myth and folklore: the Fisher King Structure, the Sleeping Princess structure, etc so I found it interesting that this is not the Sleeping Beauty structure, after all! When the right prince came, she had to work. Leo is a Fire Sign, and an active path. Its quite different from the devotional path of sacrifice/surrender/obedience/ to the teacher of the previous archetype.
Yes, even though the situation was desperate for the kingdom, as in the other stories of old kings/declining kingdoms, he was very hard on the failed princes.
He kept looking for the onewho could wake up his "daughter." She could have been his inutiion, symbolically. Older people need to feel intutively confident in the changes they make, most live on fixed incomes. If they make the wrong retirement choices, it becomes costly--trying two or three retirement states, for instance. It's better to wait, if possivble, for clarity about big changes.
Finally, there's a mysterious stranger in this one, as in most of the earlier chapters' tales. The helper really does make a difference. In this way, dreams and fairy tales are very similar.The Masculine--price--really needed one here, and the gifts were more obviously useful than in earlier tales (the sack of frogs, the sack of thugs, etc.)
So, we have 1 ) Fixity stamina--this prince stayed awake and kept trying, 2 Fire--vitality, the revived princess and the trees, even the old king lived a number of years, the price did an apprenticeship in part of the domain 3) will power and conscious decision-making, letting go of the Troll, moving on with the Prince. There are a number of Elements here of Leo, but it's also about integration of the Masculine and Feminine in a way that differs from our earlier folk tales, where the old man and the old woman seemed each to inhabit their own heads, with ltttle verbal communication between them.
But that last part --communication--might bother me, in particular, because I have Gemini Rising, and not bother others.
1) At first glance, this may appear to be just another story with a familiar structure: the Old King is decrepit, ill or dying, the Kingdom is in danger from drought or its enemies. Next, a young prince appears, passes a test, marries the princess and inherits the Kingdom. The land becomes fertile again and rival kingdoms are again afraid to attack it. But is that all there is to this one? Can a case be made that it’s an allegory about spiritual growth?
Yes I see the prince as the persons masculine side that goes in search of the passion of oneself - where is my joy and passion - many times before the search stops with distraction by something, falling asleep and not continuing the journey into the self. This time though the time is right and the King recognises this (the parental part of the self perhaps - or the one who discerns the timing from a place of widsom) and gives the process more time than has been given before - how many times do we or others start a journey to find ourselves but allow ourselves to be distracted - 'this is not getting anywhere and I think I would rather be focusing on x, y or z' However the time has come - there is a sense of time running out too - perhaps what happens at mid-life - an awareness of urgency.
The prince is the masculine actively searching for the answer - nearly falling asleep - but has help from an external (magical) source. (perhaps a therapist, friend, or some other life situation that has given some wisdom to the person, and an ablity to trick the part that wants to hold the inner dynamics secret)
The needle in the ankle is interesting - weak point perhaps usually means we fall asleep - this time there is enough will to get through this temptation and follow the journey to its end.
The princess is the feminine that has hidden herself away from the practicalities of life, as we often hide our emotions and true self for fear of what we would see. In favour of a half life - 'sleepwalking' through life and our dreams and fantasies are where our true life energy lives.
The troll has bewitched us - in a sense the troll is the shadow - the sides we hide from hold us in their power and make us believe that keeping their identity a secret is the only way forward. Parts of ourselves are frozen in the process, we come alive in our dreams, but the repression of our full selves takes its toll - when we hold back our feelings we use a lot of energy keeping them hidden and have less to use in the world we live in by day.
The masculine takes evidence of his journey and what he has seen, in the form of the nourishment the dreams appear to give and tne tools used to feed oneself, and the growth that was happening unconsciously - reminds me of the ways we deal with life from a child - we use our best approach at the time of childhood and then continue this on even when it is no longer needed - it kept us safe, nourished, fed and helped us grow so why loose it.
This evidence brought back makes the whole unconscious process conscious to the parts of the self living in the actual world and so much of the work is done when we bring our patterns into awareness.
However, the prince needs to have the princesses permission in a sense to continue on - if she were to not give her thimble (protection from the needle that leads to unawareness - sleep - distraction) then he knows she would continue in the patterns - we need our feminine to recognise what has been happening and to make that conscious choice to change - in a sense we have to have our feelings expressed and a willingness from our receptive side to change, we can not effectively just will ourselves better once we understand why we have become the way we are - we need emotional engagment with the process.
As this decision is made, and the troll is identified fully with all parts of ourselves so the Troll sleeps and the repressed qualities come alive and are awakened to be able to live again fully in waking life. The strengths (trees) come alive and grow again. Any growth that was stunted in childhood is given a chance to grow and catch up again. We reparent ourselves where our original parenting failed us.
The blood is the life blood and so where it was spent deep deep inside - now it colours the flesh and the person / we become our full selves filled with the passion and life blood of our whole persona.
I got on a bit of a roll there - I think I have in the process covered most of the other points you suggest too, The father was a caring father - the wisdom that has grown through experience of life, perhaps in some cases our own higher self, or the parent we have grown for ourselves up to that point through our connection with various positive parental influences since being adult.
I can't think of other stories that have the princess take part in her own rescue - but I am sure there must be some...
You're on a very good roll! The passionate feminine, I loved that. Also the Troll being put to sleep! He's no longer empowered by her nighly visits to his Castle.
he princess comes out of this a strong, red-blooded, vital (Leo Rising) woman at the end, and she co-operated in the process. It feels a it the "couple" is well-balanced, if the were a dream, or a series of dreams, the dreamer appears healthy, or whole at the end
I like this story because it's as if we're observing the process of the "coupling," the masculine and feminine sides coming together--the alchemical conjunctio.And coming into conciousness is a cooperative effort. She's not witing for Shakti to come and do the work for her, as in the Lunar path, and she's willing to take action when the time comes to leae the Troll behind.
Thanks - you I like the whole 'woman power' this story reminds us of too :D