To the uninitiated, many of the extraordinary events that occur in the struggle against evil in fairytales seem like nothing but pure fantasy. Most people in our modern world would never believe it was actually possible to shapeshift into various forms, get guidance from ancestral objects, or receive life-saving advice from an animal. Yet shamans have always relied on such supernatural abilities to assist them in their own continuous battle against the forces of evil.

While there are numerous forms of shamanism throughout the world, Mircea Eliade concludes in his monumental book on the subject that "what is fundamental and universal is the shaman's struggle against what we would call 'the powers of evil'" (509). To win this battle, shamans must first receive extensive training designed to put them in direct contact with the natural forces that can provide the protection and information necessary to succeed in their struggle. Finding a way to communicate with the natural world around us can have benefits for us all, including preparing us to deal with the evil that most of us will be forced to face at some point in our lifetime.

Marie-Louis von Franz points out that as much as ninety percent of this evil that we encounter in our daily lives "belongs to the realm of purely natural phenomena" rather than the "deeply-rooted" evil theologians tend to contemplate (191). She also believes that fairytales can provide a key to coping with this elemental form of evil. They demonstrate various "rules of behavior" that when followed can put us in touch with the "natural wisdom" that is available to us all.

In the collection of stories within Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, many of the techniques employed to tap into this "natural wisdom" bear a strong resemblance to shamanic methods used for the same purpose. Approached with an open mind, we can see that the wisdom that comes from Vasilisa's doll is actually imparted from the ancestor who gave it to her, and that when advice from animals is taken seriously, those who listen are always victorious against their evil opponents. Other fairytales allude to more advanced shamanic methods, such as the woodcutter's ability to outwit the devil by taking on various animal forms and the story of the young man in "The Black Magician Czar" who, when transformed, can "run all over the earth" like a shaman on a journey (280).

These powerful techniques are successful in combating evil because they do not come from the pages of a book or from the teachings of an esoteric tradition. Like the shaman, the victor of most fairytales must receive the knowledge directly from its natural source. Von Franz says that such knowledge is "superior to the great wisdom handed down by the blind seer and his books and traditions. It is superior because it cannot be figured out by anybody else" and therefore cannot be misused by evil forces. "It is completely creative and essentially unforeseeable, and thus superior to other knowledge" (294).

Being receptive to the knowledge is only the first step. It must also be put to use, which requires great strength of character and conviction. Since evil is not easily suppressed, it must often be destroyed, which is why some tribes say, "only a potential murderer can be a good shaman" (von Franz 273). Yet like the victor of so many fairytales, if we can learn to have faith in the higher purpose behind our natural wisdom, there will usually be a happy conclusion to the story.

Works Cited

Eliade, Mircea. Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Trans. Willard R. Trask. Bollingen Series LXXVI. New York: Bollingen, 1964.

von Franz, Marie-Louise. Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales. Rev. ed. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.