Definitions HQ

A Fairy tale (n.) cannot ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠express anything except what the psyche actually is, being a spontaneous, uncontrived product of it.

A Fairy tale (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠an instrument for channeling unconscious contents into consciousness — which is why children must be told them and grown-ups given dogmas.

A Fairy tale (n.) does ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not cause the child's night-terror — the witch-motif exists because it has always been the best expression of that terror.

A Fairy tale (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the myth of childhood: its poetry moves even adults because old infantile theories are still alive in our unconscious, shedding the glow of their emotion without reaching consciousness.

A Fairy tale (n.) can ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠be treated like a dream, as a spontaneous fantasy product in which the unconscious makes statements about itself.

The Fairy tale (n.) returns ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠forever young; the real question is not whether it is "true" but why the same old stories of ghosts and warnings keep being lived and retold without losing prestige.