Why are fairy tales important? On a surface level, they seem like charming stories for children, telling of stepmothers, animals, kings and queens, lovely young women and heroic princes, ogres, witches, and magic numbers and curses. But fairy tales appeal to children and the child in adults because they take place in an enchanted world and convey a sense of life working out through an extraordinary power — often a power that comes from deep within the story's main character, even if it's illustrated by an outer boon or charm. Fairy tales give us a way to look deeply into ordinary human stresses and find some insight.

We are happy to welcome Thomas Moore back to S&P for an e-course on Fairy Tales, a favorite topic of his. Moore approaches fairy tales through their imagery, looking for metaphors and extended meanings of words and figures. Factual information and knowledge of symbols and psychological concepts can help, he finds, but in the end your imagination is your most potent tool for understanding.

In 12 emails delivered at a pace that you choose, you will receive:

  • An introduction and 12 fairy tales with Thomas Moore's commentary.
  • Practice suggestions to accompany each tale.
  • A recording of an hour-long teleconference with Thomas Moore that was held on May 28, 2019, during the original live run of this e-course.

These are the tales and topics to be covered:

1. What is a fairy tale and why are they important?
2. Rapunzel
3. Jack and the Beanstalk
4. Sleeping Beauty
5. The Blue Light
6. Rumpelstiltskin
7. Fire and Ice
8. Cinderella
9. Beauty and the Beast
10. Three Feathers
11. The Ugly Duckling
12. Little Red Riding Hood

Moore is the author of the number one New York Times bestseller Care of the Soul and 24 other books about bringing soul to personal life and culture, deepening spirituality, humanizing medicine, finding meaningful work, imagining sexuality with soul and doing religion in a fresh way. He is profiled in our Living Spiritual Teachers project, and his previous six e-courses at S&P have been among our most popular.

Let these tales revive the child spirit in you, as well as the thoughtful older one. Thomas Moore invites you to bring your current concerns to the course as well, so that this can be a real and worthwhile experience for you.

(4 CEHs for chaplains available.)

Available On-Demand
(choose your own start date and frequency)

$49.95

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