As we continue our journey into fairy tales and the wisdom they show us, let’s look at Aladdin and His Magic Lamp. This story was brought from China to Europe by the French translator, Antoine Galland, in the early eighteenth century and is a story of rags to riches. It teaches us that, though life can be very hard and we can have many obstacles to overcome, if we shine the light of our mind and spirit on situations, we can create whatever we want.
Image by Gaëtan GUINÉ from Pixabay
Once upon a time there was a poor widow and her son, Aladdin. One day, a man appeared claiming to be the boy’s uncle but in reality he was a wicked sorcerer. He promised to set the boy up as a wealthy merchant but the truth was that he wanted the boy to steal a magic lamp from a cave for him with the aid of a magic ring. As soon as Aladdin had found the old lamp, he discovered he was trapped. Desperate to return to his mother, he accidently rubbed the ring and caused a genie to appear who promised to grant him several wishes. In a moment, Aladdin was on his way home with his treasure. His mother was overjoyed to see her son and decided to sell the lamp so she could buy some food. As she rubbed it clean, however, an even larger genie appeared who promised to grant even more wishes.
Over time, Aladdin and his mother became very rich. One day, Aladdin fell in love with the princess Badr al-Budur. Ignoring the fact that she was promised to another prince, he lavished presents on her father in a bid to stop the marriage.
Image by Artie Navarre from Pixabay
The sultan accepted his gifts but still married his daughter to the vizier’s son. Undeterred, Aladdin used his genie to kidnap the bridegroom and hold him in a cold, dark cell for two nights until the young man begged to have the marriage annulled. But as soon as Aladdin married Badr al-Budur, the sorcerer learned of his success and returned to steal the lamp. He managed to persuade the princess to give it to him in exchange for a new one but because Aladdin still had the magic ring, he was able to recover it with the aid of Badr al-Budur and kill the sorcerer.
That wasn’t the end. The sorcerer had an older and even more evil brother who disguised himself as an old woman known for her healing powers. Taken in by the disguise, the princess commanded the old woman to stay in the palace but Aladdin was warned by the genie of the lamp. He killed the imposter and everyone lived happily ever after.
There are some beautiful symbols in this story which show us how to shine our light.
Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
The magic lamp shows us how an illumined mind can transform us from something that looks dull and ordinary into wisdom.
The genie shows us the powers of the spiritual world, our genius and extraordinary power of our imaginations and how, when we rub the lamp of our wisdom, we can create magic and wish for whatever we want.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
This tale is also about the power of language. Aladdin only has to ask for what he wants and it magically appears. The lesson here is that, as long as we know what we want we can create it. However, we need to be disciplined with our thoughts. Negative thinking will sabotage us and bring us back to inner poverty again.
We also learn about the importance of uniting the male and female aspects of ourselves. It is only once Aladdin has married the princess Badr al-Budur that he becomes truly powerful and able to remove anything that stands in the way of his happiness.
Image by Gaëtan GUINÉ from Pixabay
So enjoy finding your wisest self and shining the light of your mind on your life. Be mindful of the language you use, stay positive and watch your dreams come true.
Next time, we’ll look at The Emperor’s New Clothes and see how people-pleasing never works in our favour …
Happy October!
Love Laurelle
