"Cabined, cribbed, confined," and Walnut

"Cabined, cribbed, confined" ~ Shakespeare

There’s something about the slightly sinister gloom of this Christmas card which reminds me of the Hansel and Gretel story. Maybe it’s the attractive little cottage in the middle of the forest, approached by the two abandoned children of a woodcutter.   His emotional state makes me think of Walnut, so here is a slight reworking of the fairy tale, with some reflections on its relation to the Walnut remedy at the end.

Breaking the Spell

Once upon a time, devastation lay upon the land. There was disease and drought, crops failed, robber barons controlled every aspect of life and inevitably the poorest suffered the most. Because the rich would not help support the poor, many became destitute and began to starve.  A certain woodcutter had not really wanted to marry again in such difficult times but had fallen under the spell of his new wife.  He despaired of feeding his family.  Such was his desperation that he eventually gave into his wife’s demands and took his two children into the forest and left them there.  Hansel and Gretel however were immune to their stepmother’s wiles and determined their future would not be decided by her.

However when they tried to leave the forest and return home, a malign influence held them captive and they could not escape.  When we are stressed, we can be ‘oversensitive to ideas and influences’ and ready to believe any random message holds a promise of safety; thus the children willingly followed a white dove which seemed to be leading them home.  As dusk closed in, it led them to a pretty little cottage where the windows gleamed with a warm, welcoming light and the chimney flagged a huge plume of smoke from a big log fire.  The children were welcomed in by an old woman, seated by the roaring fire and given hot soup, newly-baked bread and plum cake to their hearts’ content.

But not everyone’s influence on us is benign and only our inner wisdom can decide what is really best for us.  When the children were sleepy with warmth and their first good food in months, the witch locked Hansel in a wooden cage to fatten him up for eating, and forced Gretel to work as a drudge.  This went on for several weeks until Gretel’s strength had declined so much she could hardly lift a broom.  One cold winter’s day the witch sent Gretel to draw water.  When she got there she had an idea and called to the witch, telling her there was no water left in the well.

The witch did not believe her but Gretel pointed into the well and said, ‘Look, no water!’ The witch, being very short-sighted, leaned right over and as she did so, Gretel summoned the last of her strength and pushed her down the well.  Gretel released Hansel and before they left, they took all the money the witch had stolen from other wayfarers, to highlight the truth that there’s always a jewel of great value in any experience which leads to growth.

Returning home they found their father ill in bed.  Being made to abandon his children had caused his health and his work to suffer until he had no income at all.  But he recovered on their arrival and they found to their joy that their stepmother had disappeared, never to be seen again.  (And no-one thought to look down a certain well ….)

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The family undergoes a massive life change, partly because of the famine, but mainly because of the new marriage. Just when the husband needs a clear sense of direction and duty, the wife has a destabilising effect on his judgement and we recall that Walnut is in the Group, Oversensitive to Ideas and Influences.  The children are less affected but still lose their way in the forest under such a malevolent influence and cannot ‘keep to the path’ of their destiny.

Life is a journey full of endings and beginnings. Walnut can help us negotiate those smoothly without succumbing to other people’s interference or losing our sense of what’s right for us. It gives us protection.

Also, Walnut nurtures us by giving us constancy in our chosen path.  When we follow our own destiny we grow, there is expansion in our lives – and that is symbolised by the children finding the money that will help them out of poverty.