Our Quest for Self: “The Six Companions” fairytale

Our notion of “self” is one of the deep and enduring mysteries of human existence.

The concept of self is both obvious and unfathomable, the meanings elusive and diverse. It can range from the concrete “me” to the illusory– the self as a shifting fabrication of preferences, experiences, and perceptions.

To speak mythologically of the “self” is to speak of our yearning for soul, for depth, for the direct experience of our own inner unfolding.

This process is guided by that part of us that knows our unique place in the grand scheme of things.

Many of our myths and stories describe this quest for a vision and relationship to self that satisfies our longing. In this episode, I tell you  “The Six Companions” fairy tale.

Transcript of Our Quest for Self: “The Six Companions” fairytale

Hello, and welcome to Myth Matters, storytelling and conversation about mythology and why myth matters to your life today. I’m your host and personal mythologist Dr. Catherine Svehla. Wherever you may be in this wide, beautiful, crazy world of ours, you are part of this story circle. 

“It doesn’t interest me if there is one god, or many gods, 
I want to know if you belong or feel abandoned.
I you know despair, and can see it and others…”

 Those are the opening lines to a poem by David Whyte, titled “Self Portrait.”

This notion of “self” is one of the deep and enduring mysteries of human existence. The concept of self is both obvious and unfathomable, the meanings elusive and diverse. It can range from the concrete “me” to the illusory– the self as a shifting fabrication of preferences, experiences, and perceptions. 

I think it’s clear that David Whyte is not writing about the self in the outer world, the self who has things and achieves, but rather the self as viewed from the mythic imagination, the self known in the mythic dimension, that place where the inner and outer worlds meet, where our material existence touches the transpersonal. 

To speak mythologically of the “self” is to speak of our yearning for soul, for depth, and for connection, for the direct experience of our own inner unfolding, a process that is guided by or takes place in conversation with that part of us that knows our unique place in the grand scheme of things. We’re generally willing to accept conventional titles and labels in the outer world, to be one of many grouped under the general categories that name the various roles that we play: sister, son, brother, grandfather, truck driver, clerk, writer etc. 

But the self that we know in the inner world, the part of us that responds to the call of the inner life, wants something different, doesn’t it? Something particular and inexhaustible. We need to live our connection to the mystery, to belong to a larger purpose or understanding, to have a foot in the mythic dimension. So, many of our myths and stories, perhaps the bulk of our fairy tales, describe this quest for a vision and relationship to self that goes beyond our conventional categories. 

Over and over, this theme is elaborated and articulated, the great pattern characteristic of psyche and our inner life. These are stories that involve journeys, tests and trials, and transformation. These are stories of the quest. They invite us to enter the pattern and fill it with the particulars of our life experience and longings, longings that are often hidden, even from us, for a very long time. Longings that appear, at least initially, as questions. The quest then, is to move deeper into them, into fuller understanding.

Today I want to tell you a fairy tale about a quest. It’s called “The Six Companions.” Now, I’m drawn to the role that questions play in this story, and the way that they may operate as clues. I’ll say more about that at the end of the story. But for now, I invite you to sit back and relax and listen, and let the story take you where you need to go. You might take a moment at the end, to make a note of the detail or the moment in the story that especially attracted your attention. This can be an important portal into the meaning that the story holds for you right now.

The Six Companions”

Once upon a time there was a widow’s son who found employment as huntsman to the king. He was a fine strong lad, well able to tell the difference between an orange and a lemon. It was his duty to go into the forest every day, to shoot birds and deer for the king’s table. He was so accurate a marksman that he could bring down two birds with a single shot. 

Now, the King had a clever advisor who always looked for any advantage. One day the advisor met the huntsman in the forest. The hunter was carrying a brace of birds. The advisor eyed the birds and said, “I will give you 10 piastres for those.”

But the young huntsman shook his head. “I must take all the birds I shoot to the king,” he told the advisor, “those are the terms of my employment.” He refused to sell them. 

His refusal made the advisor angry, and he watched to see how he might take his revenge. Soon afterwards, the huntsman tracked and shot a deer and brought it to the king. “Here is venison for your table, my lord,” the huntsman said. The king was very pleased. He praised the young hunter and said “Truly, there’s no better huntsman in the land.” 

The advisor was standing behind the king, and now a cunning plan entered his mind. “Since he is so excellent a huntsman,” he told the king, “why don’t you send him to hunt the herd of elephants that roams your valley? Think what a splendid palace you could build from the ivory of their tusks.” The king listened to the advisor. His eyes gleamed at the thought of the ivory palace he might build. He turned to the huntsman and said, “You hunt down the herd of elephants that roams my valley and bring me their ivory tusks. If you do not do this, off comes your head. “

The young huntsman’s heart sank to his boots when he heard this. He could shoot birds and track deer, but how was he to hunt a herd of elephants? Sadly, he made his way to his mother’s house and told her of the task. “Oh, mother,” he concluded, “I fear I’ll lose my head. He wept. “Don’t despair,” his mother said. “I know how to hunt the elephants. Your father was a huntsman before you and many times I heard him say, ‘if I ever went to hunt the herd of elephant that roams the valleys, I know what I would do.'” “What would he have done?” asked the huntsman. “Tell me quickly!” 

“He would have gone to the drained and empty lake in the heart of the valley,” his mother answered, “and filled it with 100 wineskins of good red wine. When the elephants came to the lake to drink, the wine would make them drunk, and they would all fall senseless to the ground.” The son listened with both his ears and then he went back to the king. 

“Now I’ll hunt the elephant,” he said, “please give me 100 skins of good red wine.” The king granted his request and the young huntsman set out laden with wineskins. He came to the empty lake in the heart of the valleys, poured the wine into it, and sat down to wait. 

At sundown the great grey elephants came to the lake. They waded in and began to drink. Soon every drop of wine was gone, and one by one the elephants fell senseless to the ground. So, the young huntsman succeeded in his task. The advisor ground his teeth in rage when he saw the  heap of ivory. But the king praised his huntsman and straightaway built himself a splendid palace of ivory. There was nothing like it in the wide world. 

“This is a wonderful palace of ivory,” the advisor said when it was finished, “but it’s empty. I know of a lovely maiden who should come to live in it. She is the sister of the seven valiant brothers who live on the high mountain. The young huntsman who brought you the deer for your table and the ivory for your palace, isn’t he just the man to fetch the maiden for you?” The king listened to the advisor. His eyes gleamed at the thought of the lovely maiden. 

He turned to the young huntsman and said, “You bring me the lovely maiden, the sister of the seven valiant brothers who live on the high mountain. If you do not succeed, off comes your head.” 

The huntsman was in despair when he heard this. He could hunt a herd of elephant but how was he to fetch the sister of the seven valiant brothers, who lived on the high mountain? He went to his mother’s house with a heavy heart and told her of this new task that king had placed upon him. “Mother, I fear I will lose my head,” he wept. Once again his old mother said “Don’t despair. Go carefully, my son, and whoever you meet on your way, take him with you as your companion.” 

So, the young huntsman set out for the high mountain with nothing but his wits to guide him. It wasn’t long before he came to a rushing river. On the bank was a  man drinking and drinking from his two hands as though he would never quench his thirst. “Hello fine fellow,” said the huntsman. The thirsty man looked up. “I am no fine fellow,” he replied. “But I have heard of a young huntsman who hunted the king’s herd of elephant. He is the fine fellow. I would be proud to call him brother.”

“I am that huntsman,” cried the young man. “Will you come with me to the high mountain to seek the sister of the seven valiant brothers?” “I will” the thirsty man replied, and he became the huntsman first companion.

They went on together across the plain and soon they reached a lonely hut. Inside a man sat at a table eating plateful after plate full of food, as though he could never satisfy his appetite. “Hello fine fellow,” said the huntsman. The hungry man looked up. “I am no fine fellow,” he replied. “But I have heard of a young huntsman who hunted the king’s herd of elephant. He is the fine fellow. I would be proud to call him brother.”

“I am that huntsman,” cried the young man. “Will you come with me to the high mountain to seek the sister of the seven valiant brothers?” “I will” the hungry man replied, and he became the huntsman second companion.

The three of them went on their way. After some time, man came leaping up behind them. What great leaps he took. Such a man might leap to the end of the world before you could say “amen.” “Hello fine fellow,” said the huntsman. “I am no fine fellow,” he replied. “But I have heard of a young huntsman who hunted the king’s herd of elephant. He is the fine fellow. I would be proud to call him brother.”

“I am that huntsman,” cried the young man. “Will you come with me to the high mountain to seek the sister of the seven valiant brothers?” “I will” the leaping man replied, and he became the Huntsman’s third companion. 

Now there were four. Onward they traveled and they came upon a man with his ear pressed to the ground, listening and listening as though he could never hear enough. He was listening to all that was happening in the wide world. “Hello fine fellow,” said the huntsman. The listening man looked up. “I am no fine fellow,” he replied. “But I have heard of a young huntsman who hunted the king’s herd of elephant. He is the fine fellow. I would be proud to call him brother.”

“I am that huntsman,” cried the young man. “Will you come with me to the high mountain to seek the sister of the seven valiant brothers?” “I will” the listening man replied, and he became the Huntsman’s fourth companion. 

The five of them took to the road once more. They entered a thick forest and what was this? The trees were quivering and quavering, and the ground shook underfoot. In the middle of the forest, a man was jumping up and down. He was strong enough to shake the earth. “Hello fine fellow,” said the huntsman. “I am no fine fellow,” he replied. “But I have heard of a young huntsman who hunted the king’s herd of elephant. He is the fine fellow. I would be proud to call him brother.”

“I am that huntsman,” cried the young man. “Will you come with me to the high mountain to seek the sister of the seven valiant brothers?” “I will” the strong man replied, and he became the huntsman’s fifth companion. 

At last, the six travelers came to the high mountain. They climbed to the top. The seven valiant brothers were waiting. “What do you want here?” the eldest brother asked, “we saw you coming from afar.” “We seek your sister, the fairest maiden in the world,” the huntsman replied. 

The seven valiant brothers burst out laughing. They thought they would have some sport with the six traveling companions. “If you would win our sister, you must complete the tasks we lay upon you,” the eldest brother said. He led the six of them to the great house that stood on the mountain. “The first task is to drink the seven jars of water that stand behind the door, one after another” he said. At once the thirsty man stepped forward. “I will do that, “he said, and he gulped down all seven jars of water, one after the other. The seven valiant brothers were astonished. 

“The second task is to eat– at one sitting– the seven cauldrons of food that stand upon the hearth, “the eldest brother said. The hungry man stepped forward. “That is nothing” he said, “Give me a spoon.” Then he ate the seven cauldrons of food spoonful by spoonful, until there was nothing left. The seven valiant brothers gaped in amazement. 

“The third task,” the eldest brother said, “is to travel to the end of the world and fill a flask with water from the stream of everlasting life.” Now, the leaping man came forward. “Let me go,” he said. The eldest of the seven brothers agreed, but there was something else as well. “At the same time as you set off, our sister shall go too. We’ll see which of you returns first with the water. If you are first, we will give our sister to you. But if she is first, then she remains with us.” They led their sister out of the house. The young huntsman marveled at her shining beauty. To him, she was indeed the fairest maiden in the world.

The leaping man and the girl set off together. The leaping man reached the end of the world before you might say “amen” and filled his flask with water from the stream of everlasting life. On his way back, he met the girl. “You are still on your way there. You see that I have beaten you” the leaping man told her. “Let’s sit down together for a while. I’m in no great hurry to return.” They sat down together and began to talk. The leaping man started to yawn and rub his eyes. “I think I will just take a little nap” he said, and before you could blink an eye he was fast asleep. 

Well, the maiden quickly stole to his side and emptied the water from his flask into her own. Then she headed back the way she had come. 

The five companions on the mountaintop waited for the leaping man to return. “He should be back by now,” the huntsman said. “What could have happened to him?” The listening man pressed his ear to the ground and suddenly jumped to his feet in dismay. “Alas” he cried, “the leaping man has fallen fast asleep. I can hear him snoring, and I can also hear the footsteps of the maiden on her way back with the flask of water she has stolen from our brother.” 

As soon as the huntsman heard this, he turned to the strong man and said, “Now brother, shake the earth with your mighty strength and  wake the leaping man.” The strong man stomped and rocked the earth, and far-off, the leaping man felt the ground beneath him shake. He woke up. “Where is the girl?” he asked. “She has stolen the water from my flask.” With one leap, he caught up with her and snatched the flask she carried. With another leap he came back to the high mountain. “Here’s the flask of water from the stream of everlasting life,” he said. 

Now the huntsman and his companions had completed all of the tasks that the seven brothers laid upon them. “Our sister shall go with you,” the eldest brother said, “take her, she is yours.” As soon as the maiden returned, the six companions left the high mountain and brought her in triumph to the king. 

“My lord king, here is the beautiful maiden, the sister of the seven valiant brothers who live on the high mountain,” the huntsman said. The king could scarcely believe his eyes, she was so beautiful. As for the advisor, his brow was black with rage. The king led the maiden to the ivory palace. 

When she saw it, she exclaimed, “who was it who brought the ivory here?” “The young huntsman,” the king replied. “If he hadn’t done so he would have lost his head,” the advisor said. “And who was it who brought me here?” the maiden asked. “The young huntsman,” the king replied. “If he hadn’t done so he would have lost his head,” the advisor said again.

The maiden turned to the king and advisor. “You are a fine pair,” she said, “to treat the young huntsman so unjustly. He is a bravest young man in the whole world and he alone shall be the master of my life.” Then she laid a curse upon the king and the advisor. “May the advisor be changed into a mouse and the king into a cat,” she cried. In an instant, before their eyes, the advisor became a little mouse and the king became a big black cat. 

The cat chased the mouse here and there and everywhere and is doing so to this very day. The beautiful maiden married the young huntsman, and they live together in the ivory palace as king and queen. As for the thirsty man, the hungry man, the leaping man, the listening man and the strong man, they were made great lords and lived well.

Well, stories like this one about the quest, tell us about the process of transformation and what enables us to come closer to that larger purpose, to those questions at the center of our life. The tests and the trials describe different forms of preparation or evolution, the personal growth that’s required. In some stories, the task is the development of character. In this story, it is a move beyond the comfortable use of skills already mastered, to meet hidden capacities, to put them to proper purpose, and integrate them. In effect, become a person who has the inner resources to meet the needs of life. 

At the beginning of the story, we have the mom and the son, the huntsman, and the king and the scheming advisor. We see that the Huntsman is playing a straightforward role in service to another. And it’s time for change. The call to change appears in the form of the scheming advisor and yes, he is a problem. But it’s frequently the problems or the situations that threaten to derail us that are the catalyst for change. Those are the things that can propel us out of the familiar. 

Standing on that threshold, our young huntsman takes instruction from his mother. Once he leaves, he’s on his own. And he’s going to the top of the mountain, that is metaphorically, to the place of his deepest aspirations. The huntsman is going to meet the beloved. But he doesn’t know it yet because he doesn’t yet know his own heart. 

On the way he meets these men with these very strange capacities. Each man has a really extraordinary ability, and yet it’s useless. It’s burdensome even, until those capacities can be placed in the proper context. Until they are all used, united in pursuit of a purpose. The purpose, of course, is to retrieve the young maiden, the sister of the seven valiant brothers.

Now, you may have noticed that there are seven valiant brothers plus the sister on top of the mountain, this place where aspirations are realized, and there are six men traveling to the mountain. Once they have the maiden, there are seven on top of the mountain, and seven who leave. Seven being a mystical number that expresses the union of three and four, the dynamic and the stable. It’s a number of realization.

So, this maiden, she’s not a prize. She is an aspect of self that’s necessary for this integration. The sister is the spark, the animating factor. Whether you see that as soul, whether you see it as the erotic or the muse, she’s what’s necessary for the aspects to cohere. And I think it’s interesting that the seven valiant brothers on the mountaintop all speak with one voice, only the eldest speaks. So, our young huntsman, having met previously unknown aspects of self, accepting their capacities, even in what appears to be a pathological form, and then putting them to good use in pursuit of his heart’s desire…. this is a form of completion. He becomes king.

Now, I mentioned earlier that there are different types of stories about quest, because there are different parts of the process. I do think that this introduction to and acceptance of, previously hidden aspects of self is pretty common. And although this story is a story about a huntsman and the maiden, the male going and retrieving the female, we know that it could also be the huntswoman, of course, and the beautiful youth. We are always expanding our awareness of who and what we are. It is the nature of our conversation with this elusive self, the conversation that takes place in the mythic dimension of life. 

I said that I was fascinated by the questions, and the thing that I noticed about this story is that at the beginning, the huntsman is asking, “how, how am I going to do this? How am I going to do this?” At the end of the story, the maiden is asking “Who? Who did this? Who did that?” The huntsman, in the course of his quest, has become the answer to her question. 

The quest has a question at its heart, the mystery that we seek. I wonder, is the purpose of this quest to find the answer? Or is it perhaps to become an answer? On that note, let me read you David White’s poem, in its entirety. 

Link to David Whyte on Poetry Foundation

I want to give a big welcome to new listeners and subscribers to Myth Matters, and also a shout out to the supporters and the patrons on Patreon. Thank you so much for your financial support of the podcast. 

If we have a better understanding of our need for myth and all that our old stories offer, we can live more satisfying lives. We can live a better story and create a more beautiful, just, and sustainable world. At the heart of this quest may be a broader vision of our “self.”

And that’s it for me, Catherine Svehla and Myth Matters. Thank you so much for listening. Please tune in next time and until then, keep the mystery in your life alive.

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If we have a better understanding of our need for myth and all that our old stories offer, we can live more satisfying lives. We can live a better story and create a more beautiful, just, and sustainable world. Together.