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Rumplestiltskin is a tale which is reminiscent of a Norse Myth. In the Norse mythic story, Loki, God of Mischief, cuts off the beautiful, golden hair of the Goddess, Sif. Sif's husband is none other than Thorr. Thorr threatens to throttle Loki. Loki arranges to have three dwarves make new hair for Sif. The dwarves forge the hair from pure gold. When placed on Sif's head, it grows magickally and becomes her natural hair. This is actually a harvest tale. Sif is a Farm and Earth Goddess. Her hair represents grain which is harvested each year. Dwarves, representing the Elemental and agricultural powers of Earth, restore the hair. This alludes to the grain growing again. Thorr's part in the story is evident, for he is the weather God who helps ensure proper conditions for an abundant, healthy harvest.
Ah, but Rumplestiltskin is also a dwarf. It seems that a boastful fellow claims that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The king hears of this boast, and demands that the noisy fellow prove it. He has the daughter placed within his palace, in a room full of straw. In despair, she finds herself given an impossible task. A dwarf appears in the chamber, and asks," What woes you, child?"
"Alas", the girl cries," I must spin all this straw into gold, or I shall die!"
"What will you give me if I do the task for you?" asks the dwarf.
"My necklace!" says the girl. And in three spins of the wheel, the dwarf turns straw into gold. He does it again, and three spins has the same result. A third time does the dwarf spin the wheel, and more gold issues forth. The girl gives him the necklace. Note that there are a lot of threes around here. It seems to indicate an initiatic process and the nine months gestation which results in the harvest. The king arrives at daybreak to see the gold. Daybreak? Yes, there is a Solar aspect to him.
The girl is not free. The king decides to have her spin more straw into gold. She must stay another night. She is moved to a larger room. The dwarf again appears, however. This time, the girl offers her ring in payment. The dwarf again manages to spin the straw into gold.
The king is even more delighted. He tells the girl she must remain one more night. He moves her to an even larger chamber, and promisesagain, he will make her queen. There is a threefold progression into greater and greater chambers. Beginning as a miller's daughter, she ascends to the larger consciousness which results in Divinity. The dwarf appears again, but this time she has nothing to pay. The dwarf then says that if she agrees to give him her firstborn child, he will spin the gold. She agrees. The gold is spun. Naturally, the girl becomes queen.
A year later, she has forgotten her promise. She has a child. While walking in the garden, she encounters the dwarf. He demands the child. The woman is concerned, but the dwarf makes a deal. If she can discover his name, she will be freed from the debt. She has three days to do this. Each day, she gets three tries.
On the first day, the queen fails. So, too, on the second day. But on the third day, her messenger returns and tells her that he heard the dwarf singing a song. The song includes the name Rumplestiltskin. Well, when the dwarf arrives the third time, he gets a surprise! In a rage, he stamps his right foot into the ground so hard that he is waist deep in earth. He then pulls his left leg so hard that he splits himself in half. The Queen keeps her child.
In this tale, there are three episodes of three. There are three rooms, each bigger than the next. With each larger room, the task gets larger. There are three payments: a necklace, a ring, and the promised child. There are three attempts at discovering the name. The first triad implies growth in status, consciousness and ability. The triad of payments is cunning, in that it implies greater focus. The necklace also figures in the Norse tale of the Brisingamen. It represents command of the Elements. The ring is a symbol of infinity, continuity and the will. The child symbolizes rebirth into the higher life. As for naming the dwarf, it is an old mystical tenet that to know the name of a thing is to command it. The name of a thing is its nature. By naming Rumplestiltskin, the Queen shows complete understanding of his nature. The dwarf represents Elemental Earth and the natural Earth, as well. He is the force behind growing crops. When the dwarf splits in half, he reveals his polar extremes. Half is rooted in the Earth, and half lies atop the Earth. Once the Queen knew his name, she knew his polarity, as well!
Why wait a year until the last test? In many old Heathen and Pagan Traditions, a person could not attain to the next level of training until a year or a year and a day has passed. It was recognized that knowledge was not enough; time was also essential. A similar time is mentioned in the Welsh myth of Kerridwen and Gwydion. The Witch Tradition retains the policy of a year elapsing between initiations. (The Witch tradition has nothing to do with folkloric witches. It is the old agricultural religion which worshiped the Earth Goddess and Sky God.)
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Old Norse Runecraft and Spellcraft is a great introduction to the Runes and magick. It explains the Runes and their interpretations, the Futharks, divination with Runes, spellcraft, talismans, the Elements, the other Norse holy signs, and magick in myth & folklore. You can find it on this page along with our other Runic texts:
http://www.thortrains.com/UncleThors/bookrunes.htm
If you want a special price on all of our Rune works, go to our Specials page. For March, we offer a great Runic Library deal that saves you $16! just go to the link below and scroll down:
http://www.thortrains.com/UncleThors/specials07.htm
If it is Myth you want to explore, as we did in the article above, try our Myth and Magick package. Around the Myths, Around the Myths Again and Around the Magick take a hard look at the realities behind the myths. Just go to the Specials page link right above this, and scroll down. You will get three great books and save $9.00.