The Many Tales of Snow White

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

The tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs can be simple or quite complex. Most of us are familiar with the Disney’s version where the Evil Queen is jealous beyond all means. She will spare no cost to cause doom to poor Snow White.

Even in this version, which was intended for children, you can see the magick that the Evil Queen uses. There is a magick mirror for divination, shape-shifting as the Queen changes into hag and then back again.

The Queen orders a huntsman to take Snow White out into the forest and kill her but, he is so consumed by her beauty, that he lets her go. On the run, she quickly finds a little house with seven dwarfs. Why seven?

Seven is often associate with being a lucky number. As a healer, you tune into seven Chakras. In Laurie Cabot’s book “Power of the Witch,” she writes about visualizing seven colors to go into alpha state for meditation and magick.

There are seven days of the week, seven colors of the rainbow, seven notes on a musical scale, seven seas, seven continents and of course, seven dwarfs.

Interesting Tidbit:

The Brothers Grimm left the dwarfs unnamed and it wasn’t until 100 years after the original tale appeared that, in a 1912 Broadway show, they were given names. The dwarfs were introduced as Blick, Flick, Glick, Plick, Snick, Whick and Quee. Can you even imagine? 

In 1937, in the first animated full length Disney film, we came to love the dwarfs as Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, Bashful, Sneezy, Happy and Dopey. 

Skin As White As Snow, Lips As Red As Blood, Hair as Black as…what?

Most of you know the version where the childless Queen is sitting at her spinning wheel. A drop of blood falls to the floor. The Queen thinks to herself, “I wish I has a child with skin as white as the snow (outside), with lips as red as this drop of blood and hair as black as the ebony wood that surrounds me.” She gives birth but dies shortly thereafter.

There is an older version that is quite different. The King and Queen are out for a winter ride in their carriage. The king looks over and says to his Queen, “I wish for a daughter with skin as white as that snow, lips as red as the blood on the ground and hair as black as those ravens.” (the ravens killed their prey and blood was on the ground.)

Not even seconds after saying this to his Queen, a little girl appeared with…you guessed it…skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair as black as ravens. Where did this child come from? In this version, it is thought that she is a Changeling.

A Changeling is a child believed to be a fairy child. Sometimes they are swapped out for a human baby and swapped if the parents keep the changeling well.

The King takes the Changeling back to his castle. He loves and gives so much attention to this lovely being. The Queen cannot help but to get jealous. She wants to kill the daughter. Instead the King dies and the story continues as we know it.

Thought:

A Changeling would explain why Snow White does not die when she eats the poisoned apple. She would simulate a death-like appearance. This is when the human child would return to its body and the Changeling back into a Fairy.

The Evil Queen, Hag or Witch

It is easy to figure out that the Evil Queen is indeed a Witch. She uses all kinds of tactics to get of rid Snow White. The Queen wants to be the “fairest” in all the land. I often wonder why she did not just use a little of that Glam magick. Instead she spends much time thinking of ways to kill Snow White.

A comb, a corset and an apple is what she comes up with. Each time the dwarfs rescue Snow except the last when a poisoned apple comes into play.

The apple is perfect. It is a fruit of transition. It represents the Maid, Mother, Crone just in the colors of White (inside flesh), Red (outside skin) and Black (seeds).

The apple is a fruit that can be consumed and therefore helps sustain life, the seeds contain arsenate which can result in death, though it would take an extreme amount of them to cause any harmful reaction.

Old Folktale Divination

Apples would be good for spells of protection and love. They were also used for divination in older times, as it is said when peeling an apple if you can peel the skin in one peel, without breaking it, you may than let it fall to the floor. It will fall in such a way to represent the first letter of the person you will marry.

If you cut an apple horizontally, you will find a pentacle in the center.  This wonderful fruit is good in spells especially for love or protection.

So, the apple works and Snow White falls into a sleep. The Prince comes along and is taken by her beauty. He insists that he can take better care of her. The dwarfs allow him to take the corpse to his castle. Along the way, the ones carrying the glass coffin stumble.

The piece of apple is released from Snow White’s throat. She awakes. There is no kiss that awakes her in the original tale. The Prince marries Snow White. They invite the Queen, who cannot refuse. She is forced to dance on hot coals and dies shortly after.

Karma is such an …itch.