There is the Beginning you can remember; and there is the Beginning that, if you remember it at all, is something half-glimpsed in the elusive and fading fragment of a dream.  This is your long-ago Beginning, when you were a spirit, not yet incarnated.  The Spiral of Life beckoned, and you were so eager to enter it, because your self-belief was so potent that nothing could undermine your resolve to truly live.  You thirsted for adventures that would both challenge and fulfil, and you wanted to share them with your favourite companion: yourself.  You had no doubt that your unconditional love for yourself would lead you true, would be a shield against

Baba Yaga the Witch loves equally the fearsome wolf and the timid rabbit.  What she cannot abide is the impure of heart.  Yes, she is an eccentric, flirtatious and very disreputable old lady, but she is also a very hard worker.  Fierce and passionate, she sees the shining soul of every single thing, be it a bird, a broom, a snake, a cloud or a bone.    She is the centre of an entire enchanted world.  She is the wise  and just keeper of the Water of Life and Death. Save

The Merry Ghost sees each of the townspeople, but no one sees him; or only a special, gifted few.  Now he has nothing to lose.  Gone is the bitterness, the injustice, the shortcomings, the anxieties. Certain souls might be sensitive enough to detect a transformation of the atmosphere in the places he happily haunts, traces of joy and merriment arising from his creative freedom, from acting as he was meant to act.  But whether they do or not is unimportant to him.  He does this for himself.  Just as it is for himself that the happy little phantom sings, “Peace at last..” Save

Before we have even opened our eyes for the very first time, the Fairy Godmother has visited our newborn selves to bestow upon us her singular gifts.  It might be a skill, a quest that cannot be refused, a passion or loving relationships.  Her gifts are always unique, so it would be unjust to compare them with the gifts of others.  She has a deeply meaningful vision for each of us.  Others might not understand, or comprehend the beauty and rightness of the vision that is ours to realise.  But in the end, being enchanted by our own story is all that matters. Save

The Shamaness is a shape-shifter, moving between worlds to reinvent Herself.  She doesn’t just wait for the whims of circumstance to improve Her well-being, but evaluates everything, choosing the proper response, which is sometimes no response at all.  She is wise, and knows intimately the territory on Her drum, for it is the world She dreamed for Herself.  And it is in Her world, this magical, happy place, that She journeys with the rhythms of Her drum to take the best, most helpful decision. Save Save

What the Ugly Stepsister prizes above all is dominion over everything. She doesn’t share because she thinks there is barely enough for her- in fact, there is never enough. Other people’s joy is their betrayal.  If thwarted, she will seek revenge, and her poisons will taint you.  Her most insidious trait is that she is not entirely ugly: one side of her face, although sad, is also sweet, like the shine on a poison apple.  But remember – in fairy tales, the Ugly Stepsister does not always find redemption. Save

You see them sometimes at dusk, slowly lumbering up from their blissful slumber.  Trolls are sweet and gentle by nature, but cross them – well, you just might feel the sting of their powerful magic.  Not everyone likes Trolls.  Some see only the cragginess, the untidiness, the lines and folds of age.  Others look with the eyes of love, and see the beauty that comes from simply being who you are.  This one is obviously loved.  She not only has the adoration of this little squirrel, but someone took the time and trouble to let her know with an embroidered heart of silk.  And she carries this gift of love with her