Fairy Tales ::

Can There Be New Fairy Tales?

Posted on November 4, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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Can we still call it a fairy tale if it is authored? Traditional fairy tales, of course, have a more collective, informal origin. Can a single psyche give rise to something that has the depth and resonance of a fairy tale?

Baba Yaga and the Challenge of Darkness. Or, I Love the Smell of Manflesh in the Morning

Posted on October 28, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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Just in time for Halloween, I wanted to write about my most favorite fairy tale character, Baba Yaga. If you do not know her, you should. She makes several important appearances in Russian folklore, most notably in Vasilissa the Beautiful.

Around the Central Fire

Posted on October 19, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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Jungians have their own language for what Quaker’s call the gathered meeting. We talk about it as the appearance of the transcendent function, the appearance of the analytic third that arises spontaneously when the tension of the opposites can be held.

Healing the Wound to the Creative Self — Rumpelstiltskin

Posted on October 14, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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When a parent has co-opted a child’s interest and talents to further their own narcissistic agenda, that child’s creativity and achievements are no longer at the child’s disposal. They have been made to serve someone else. Their talent can then feel demonic, as if their mood or sense of self depends entirely on their ability to perform and achieve.

The Wooden Baby and the Restoration of Maternal Attachment

Posted on October 8, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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The experience of parental competence is the factor that sets in motion the maternal attachment system. Feelings of panic, fear, dread, and overwhelm are common among new mothers (and not so new mothers at times as well). A mother’s experience of her own competence is the foundation of love and attachment for her baby. Without this, the baby only means frustration, fear, and inadequacy.

Finding the Inner Prince

Posted on October 5, 2015

by Lisa Marchiano

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Cinderella is one of the oldest and most universal fairy tales. The Chinese version, Yeh-Shen, was recorded almost 1,200 years ago. There are more than 500 versions of the Cinderella story around the world: African, Native American, Middle Eastern, Jewish, and Asian variants. Surely the story communicates something of great importance.