Mermaid in the Pond
by Verena Kast
Category: Psychology

When adults read fairy tales, they are generally not just interested in what happens to the characters in the story: they also reflect on the meaning and the "moral". With their fantastic images and dramatic events, all fairy tales convey insights into the marvelous capacity of the human spirit to prevail despite difficult circumstances. Fairy tales show how we can find happiness, meaning, and wisdom in everything we do. The Mermaid in the Pond is a masterful Jungian retelling and interpretation of a classic but lesser-known fairy tale with a definite adult edge. For those of us stuck in day-to-day routines, it will help show how to take a reading of our own "passion barometer" by making this story our own. By exploring our deepest emotions regarding interpersonal relationships -- through story, symbols, and myth -- we thereby overcome fears and feel empowered to acknowledge, and communicate, what really turns us on.