Little Red Riding Hood

This seemed like an innocent bed time story to tell your children. I too thought it was innocent until I have discovered the subconscious work that is all around us.

I’ve thought about this story for some time now and what does it display to our daughters. I have been hyper conscious of what is going into my own subconscious and even more conscious of what goes into my daughters subconscious. The subconscious mind is the most vulnerable from age 0-7 years old.

 

You see, the red cloak is a symbol for many things if you think about it. First the color red is meant for power, authority, anger, dominance, aggression. However, it can also mean love, passion, empowerment.

 

When you put a young girl in the story this will symbolize many things as well. Innocence, purity, adventure. What does it mean when a mother is entrusting her young daughter to go into the woods alone dressed in a red cape? It could mean that the mother is releasing her daughter to the “wolves” of the world with a highly attractive color so the wolves are sure to see her.

 

The mother does however tell her not to stray from the path. Does this symbolize to follow the sheep and stay in line? Is this path truly safe? As a mother she should know that her child would wonder from the path with her innocence and curiosities. Has the mother guided her and answered all the questions of the daughter on this path before, so there is no curiosity? Or is the mother simply sacrificing her daughter to the wolves because this satisfies the wolves and her culture accepts this as normal?

Then there is the wolf. In this story it seems that the wolf is a horrible creature that is meant to seduce the child and devour her. This wolf is much deeper than that. The wolf seemed harmless in the woods and gained the trust of the innocent child. The child, being trusting, told the wolf where she was going. He took advantage of this innocence and then devoured her grandmother before she arrived.

 

Once there, the child questioned how the grandmother looked. She was questioning her “sixth sense” as wolves are also used for symbolism. Wolves are also a guided spirit and remind us that you have the tools to “take a step back, and see with fresh eyes”. In this case, “not letting the darkness consume the spirit.”

 

Ah, this is an important part of the story. One I bet you never thought of. Not letting the darkness consume the spirit.

 

Those who walk with Wolf sometimes don’t trust themselves as much as they should. The child did not trust herself as much as she should have. When you find yourself falling into that emotional pattern, rely on your keen mind and logic to renew balance. The spirit within you should shine and be heard before those around you. Once you start to question something, take a step back and look at it from fresh eyes. Don’t be devoured before entrusting your spirit and calling upon it to give you the answer.

Most of us rely on others to give us the answer. Tell us how to act, dress, speak, be. We have lost our spirit and we need to call upon that guide more. We have ignored our inner voice, instinct to guide us and allow others to tell us the path to take.

 

What path are you taking in life?