"Once Upon A Time" (ABC): A Look at the Symbols

Last Sunday ABC premiered the series “Once Upon A Time”.  I was struck by the shows symbolism; with symbols being ever present when you enter the world of fairy tales. The shows Protagonists are Snow White and Prince Charming. Their family is caught in a spell that has them, and other famous fairy tale characters trapped in the modern world. Since the symbols on the show were so striking, I have taken the time to decode what I saw in the post below. This post focuses on the fairy realm depicted in the show. The show takes place in both the fairy realm and the modern world.

Snow White in a Glass Coffin

The opening scene in this episode follows Prince Charming as he races through the woods reaching Snow White. Snow White who has been poisoned by the evil queen (her step mother) by the infamous poisonous apple.  According to an annotation on  SurLaLune’s fairytale website- a glass coffin is symbolic of a caterpillar in a chrysalis before its rebirth into a butterfly.  The glass coffin is also an allusion to reincarnation, because Snow White is brought back to life by a kiss from her prince and hence can be seen resting after her death, awaiting rebirth.  The fact that Snow White is laid to rest in a coffin of glass highlights that she is still an object of affection for the dwarfs and also the prince.

The Royal Wedding

After the prince revives Snow the plot follows the traditional fairy tale and the viewer is swept away to the wedding uniting Prince Charming and Snow White after she has been awakened by his kiss. In the traditional fairy tale the evil queen shows up to the wedding and is forced to dance to her death in red hot iron slippers.  However, in “Once Upon A Time” Snow's happy ending is stolen. The evil queen is able to place a curse on the couple and the kingdom.  This scene subconsciously conveys duality with the good folks in white and evil folks in black. The shows protagonists now have a limited time to come up with a plan of survival; before the curse hits the kingdom. Also, this scene reminded me of the traditional RWS tarot's four of wands, which can also sometimes mean a wedding, when it shows up in a reading.  Do you see the similarities as well? Check out an image of the four of wands below.  I also referenced the Hierophant #5 of the Major Arcana in this scene, given that the priest (marrying Snow and Prince Charming) is wearing a traditional papal outfit, as is the Hierophant is the RWS tarot deck (see previous blog post on the Tarot, if you would like more info on the inner workings of the Tarot deck).

4 of Wands in RWS Tarot

The show also makes a potent allusion to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.  In the episode a group of thirteen (including Prince Charming) are sitting around a round table brainstorming the best method to overcome the evil queen and the curse that she has sent out to destroy everyone. This is an allusion to classical myth structure and the solar hero. The twelve figures are representatives of the twelve signs in the zodiac and Prince Charming represents the solar hero who moves through the signs each year. 

The Round Table

At the end of the episode, Snow is now pregnant and worried about the future of her family. A good fairy enters her chamber with a sacred tree; which is a portal to the modern world. Sacred trees are a common theme in myth- referenced in Hindu, Norse, and Buddhist traditions (to name a few). The evil spell does over take the kingdom. However, Snow has now birthed a daughter (Emma) whom she sends through the tree portal. 

I enjoyed the show’s use of non-linear time as the episode flipped in and out of modern time and the fairy tale world using the past and future to tell a tale in the present.  For this post, I only highlighted symbols depicted within the fairy tale realm, however symbols were weaved throughout the modern portion of the show as well. What other symbols were you able to spot in the pilot of this very promising show?

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