One of the characteristic components of the folklore of any country is the presence of fairy tales. And our country with you is no exception. You all probably remember how in childhood a parent or, for example, a grandmother, read you a bedtime story so that you would rather close your eyes and fall asleep. The calm and monotonous native voice, telling about something exciting before going to bed, acts truly calming and lulling. However, it will not be about the effect that reading fairy tales before bedtime has on the child’s psyche, but about the meaning that is embedded in these fairy tales, but very often remains incomprehensible because it is hidden. And not only children, not adults, can understand it.
The fact is that fairy tales are often permeated with the deepest symbolism, and also are an inexhaustible source of knowledge and information about all kinds of events of antiquity. In most tales there are no random images and characters, names, names and words, and the semantic load can be so deep that you just wonder — akin to a Russian nesting doll, inside which there is another, and inside it is another one, etc., the main meaning of a fairy tale may lie somewhere in its depth — under a layer of simpler semantic layers. All levels of the tale can be a window into the unknown world of the device of the universe and the foundations of life.
We all should know that fairy tales, in addition to the usual everyday educational function, can also be performed by a number of others — more complex ones, for example:
— Uncover the secrets of the universe and other secret knowledge
— Indicate the cyclical nature of being
— Serve as an astronomical or natural calendar
— Be a repository of history
— Link to ancestors
— Talk about initiation rites when a person passes from childhood to adulthood
— Guide a person on the path of spiritual pursuit and personal growth, etc.
In many tales, the presented directions can not only go next together but also intersect and even synchronize. The characters of fairy tales are some symbols, each of their actions carries a sacred meaning, and the paths along which they follow indicate special methods for obtaining secret knowledge and achieving inner harmony. Fairy tales are often compared even with magical formulas that lose their power if they are not pronounced correctly.
And let's take, as examples, several well-known Russian folk-tales. Not the fact that our transcripts will fully reflect the truth, but they can still serve as a kind of algorithm for understanding the hidden meaning in fairy tales.
So, we will consider three tales: “Turnip”, “By the Pike Commandment” and “Koshchei the Immortal”.
Fairy tale “Turnip”
What we know from fairy tales:
We know that grandfather landed in a very large size. To stretch the turnip, grandfather took turns to help the grandmother, granddaughter, bug, cat and mouse. They could only be when everyone was together.
Hidden meaning:
If we talk about the hidden, esoteric meaning of this tale, then it tells us about the knowledge that was accumulated by ancestors who lived in ancient times. Turnip acts as the roots of the clan, and its ancestor planted it — the very grandfather, who is the oldest and wisest.
Grandma in this tale symbolizes the traditions of the house; father — the support and protection of the family; mother — custody, warmth and love; granddaughter — procreation; Bug — welfare protection; cat — a favourable condition in the house and a positive microclimate; and the mouse is wealth.
Each of the presented images is closely connected with each other, and together they represent one whole. Only by connecting all the parts together, a person is able to achieve the true harmony of being, learn to live in a state of flow, when everything that is inside a person and everything that surrounds him outside comes into correspondence with each other.
A small parting word:
Time inexorably runs forward. The world is changing. And along with the world, man and his perception are changing. Today, very few can understand and explain the sacred and very deep meaning of the tales of our wise ancestors, and he, as you yourself have managed to make sure, of course, is. And the knowledge that was transmitted in these fairy tales, in general, may very soon sink into oblivion. It is easy to notice that over time, that subtle connection that connected different generations of people with each other was interrupted.
In order to understand the true essence of fairy tales, especially Russian ones, a person must put his current worldview in the background and try to look at the world and life in it with the look that people who lived in those distant times when fairy tales looked at them started to appear.
A search for meaning, by all means, must be present, because the Laws of Being, no matter what the time, no matter how developed the society, no matter how high-tech life is, have always been and will remain the same. Therefore, let the fairy tales about Koschei the Immortal, Baba Yaga, Ivan Tsarevich, Emelya, Alyonushka and other characters be for you not just interesting notions, but those pointers that you will be guided in your everyday life, in which it would seem, there is no true magic left.
Remember:
There is magic, and it surrounds you everywhere!
And I invite you to the world of the wisdom of fairy tales.