Soon after the young queen fled, the king returned from war. His old mother cried out to him saying, "Why would you have me kill two innocents?" and she showed him the eyes and tongue. The king staggered and wept. Upon seeing his true grief, his mother told him those were the eyes and tongue of a deer and that she had sent the queen and their perfectly healthy baby off into the forest.
The king refused to eat and vowed to find them. He searched for 7 years. Although the entire time he did not eat or drink, a force greater than he kept him alive.
Upon arriving at the inn, kept by the woods people, the woman in white beckoned him to enter. He was so tired and as he laid down to sleep the woman placed a veil over his face. The symbol of veiling is about preserving the wild nature without giving it all away to whomever asks. Like veiling a bowl of bread dough, placing a white cloth over it causes the bread to rise. The veil preserves and ferments the wild self. In feminine psychology, the veil is a symbol for a women's ability to take on whatever presence or essence they wish.
The king's breath eventually blew the veil cloth off his face and when he woke he saw a lovely woman and a beautiful child gazing down at him. "I am your wife and this is your child." the young queen said. The king was willing to believe but saw that the woman had hands. "Through my travails and yet my good care, my hands have grown back." said his queen.
The woman in white brought the silver hands from a trunk where they had been treasured. The king rose and embraced his queen and his child. There was great joy in the forest that day.
The king and queen returned to the castle and the old mother with their seven-year-old-child. They held a second wedding and had many more children.
Thus, ends the 7 stages of initiation of the female psyche! A rebirth back to self so remember...
