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St. Peter’s Key
Fairy tale text by Undine & Jens [2025]
Interpretation by Undine & Jens in green [2025]
After taking a closer look at the female side of the water creature as a water nature in the last few fairy tales, we went in search of the male side, the water spirit, so to speak, and found the Czech fairy tale film “Klíč svatého Petra” (“The Key of St. Peter”, in German “Der Petrusschlüssel”) from 2023/24, which we want to retell here from our perspective. The symbolism is wonderfully ingenious and profound, but also extensive, and so our fairy tale has become a bit longer.
Once upon a time, there was a good king who, over time, had grown old, gray, tired, and sick. He had a beautiful and virtuous daughter, but also a minister who, like his wife, was less virtuous, so the two of them sent the princess far away to a convent to learn something. But in reality, they only wanted to abuse their power as the king’s advisors undisturbed, seizing power and great wealth for their own interests, and so, little by little, behind the old king’s back, they emptied the kingdom’s treasury. Nevertheless, the two never got enough, were always fighting over money, and could neither live with nor without each other. When the princess finished convent school and reached marriageable age, she returned to her father’s castle, and the minister and his wife discussed how to get rid of her quickly, for the virtuous princess soon suspected that the old king was being deceived by them. The easiest way seemed to be an immediate marriage, and preferably as far away as possible, so that they could once again pursue their own interests in the kingdom undisturbed, perhaps even becoming king and queen themselves when the old king died. No sooner said than done, the ailing king was quickly persuaded, for he too desired a worthy successor as soon as possible, and so all possible grooms in the area were invited to the courtship.
Next to the royal palace lay a small town. In the marketplace, a virtuous minstrel was standing, singing his moral song against liars and thieves:
He who lies a lot has short legs,
And remains alone all his life.
Therefore, I advise you to remain honest and upright,
Otherwise, you will search for love every day, in vain.
Dear gentlemen and ladies,
So stop stealing from each other,
Because one day, believe me,
You will wake up with tears in your eyes.
An old, bearded man approached, tossed a coin into his hat, and said, “Very nice!” Then he went to lunch at the inn on the market square. But the minstrel wasn’t singing his song in vain, for behind the old king’s back, the vice of his greedy minister had already spawned many imitators throughout the kingdom, and a cunning thief was also up to mischief in the inn. After stealing many a pewter cup and well-filled purse, he spotted a large, shining gold key on the old man’s belt. He quickly engaged him in conversation and, behind his back, stole the key, which, however, turned into dark iron in his hand. Nevertheless, he put the “theft” in his sack and left the inn. A cunning girl had observed the thieving activity from a quiet corner, and now she went up to some soldiers and whispered something to them. Then she ran after the young thief and warned him about the soldiers who would soon pursue him. Escape was impossible, so she offered to take the sack of stolen goods to safety so they wouldn’t find anything on him. When the soldiers approached him, he gladly accepted the offer, and the girl disappeared around the next corner with the sack. But the soldiers only wanted to ask him if he really wanted to join the army, as the girl had told them. Then he recognized the liar, quickly dismissed the soldier, and pursued the cunning girl.
The chase went back and forth through the entire town, and as fate would have it, the girl collided with the virtuous minstrel, and the stolen key fell from the sack. She ran quickly on, the minstrel picked up the key, and then ran after the girl to return her lost item, for honesty was his greatest treasure. But just as he himself had sung that “lies have short legs,” this wild chase ended on the outskirts of town at a lake, where the thief and the liar wrestled over the sack of stolen goods at the end of a jetty and tumbled into the water together. Meanwhile, the minstrel arrived, considered and hesitated, but then he placed the key on the bank and jumped after the two to save them. But all three couldn’t swim and sank into the depths of the lake with the stolen goods.
Yes, the lake wasn’t very large, but it was all the deeper, and in the depths lived a water sprite who loved all the souls with which he could enliven and bring life to his lake. So, he seized these three souls as well and brought them to his water palace, where he placed them in small water glasses to accustom them to aquatic life. Then, at some point, he would release them as fish, frogs, toads, or other animals that are born in the water and given bodies. Yes, he loved the living souls, but his greatest love, deep in his heart, was the virtuous princess from the king’s castle, who, even as a child, had loved to bathe in his lake, but never went far in because she couldn’t swim. He had fallen in love with her because she was beautiful not only externally, but also internally. In this way, he hoped to bring life to his water palace, which he often found dark, cold, and lonely.
When he learned shortly afterwards of her courtship and that she was to be married, he was very excited, eager to attend, and rummaged through his chests to find a worthy suit that the princess might like. In doing so, he accidentally and unnoticed knocked over the water glass of the three souls, who then miraculously rose upwards. They were light, happy, and free like three lights in a joyful dance, further and further into the light, until they stood at the gates of heaven, where they saw Saint Peter. He was none other than the old, bearded man from the town, but without his key to heaven, of course, he couldn’t let them in. When he recognized them, he spoke angrily in a thunderous voice: “Where is my key? If you don’t return it to me within six days, you will end up in hell! Until then, I’ll grant you time on earth.” At the same time, a terrible sea of fire rose behind them, threatening to destroy them. No amount of pleading or begging helped; the three had to return to earth with tears in their eyes. And it was truly a terrible experience, as they suddenly found themselves from the vastness and lightness of the heavenly light back in their old, narrow, and dark bodies. So, they awoke on the shore of the lake, between water and earth. Far above them, the golden sun laughed from a deep blue sky, and they were at least glad to still have a chance. The tower clock was striking 12 noon, and they knew that if the bell struck like that again in six days and they couldn’t return the key to heaven, they would fall even deeper and end up in hell.
The minstrel remembered and confessed that he had last held the key and had placed it on the bank to rescue the two from the water. So, they searched the bank at first, but found no key. An old fisherman told them that the king had been there with his dog, who had found a large key, mistaking it for a bone to chew on, and carried it away. They quickly hurried to the royal palace, but the strict guard would not let them in. No amount of pleading or begging helped; not even the minstrel was allowed in, let alone the thief and the liar. How were they supposed to get into the royal palace? Then they accidentally learned of the courtship ceremony taking place the next day in the palace and decided to seize the opportunity and disguise themselves accordingly. The liar had the idea, the thief got the money, and the minstrel played the role of the suitor. And yet all three had a bad feeling about it, for they now knew hell in its terrible fire and the gate of heaven in its pure light, and where the vice of stealing and lying leads. So, they joined hands and swore to only do it to find the key again.
When the clock struck twelve the next day, the suitors were admitted to the castle, and the three soon found the old king’s chambers, where the dog lay in its basket, chewing on the key. What they were looking for was now so close, but who could take a bone from a royal dog? Even the cunning thief couldn’t do it, and, amid the dog’s angry growls, the old king and the princess soon arrived, and the three quickly hid in a wardrobe. Shortly afterwards, the minister and his wife appeared, and they explained to the princess that her father was very ill and that she should stay with him, as it might be his last hour. Then they gave him a sleeping potion and left the royal chamber to attend to the suitors undisturbed. Much patience was now required; the princess sat and held the sleeping king’s hand, while the dog chewed contentedly on the key. So, they listened for many hours to the weeping and wailing of the princess, who had long since lost her mother, and now her father was also dying.
Meanwhile, the minister and his wife interviewed the suitors, and they eliminated everyone from the list who wanted to live with the princess in their father’s castle. Only one remained, and that was the water sprite, who had also come as a suitor. He explained to the two that this castle was far too dry for him and that he wanted to live with the princess in his own water castle. The minister and his wife liked this, but the water sprite had to promise them not to tell anyone who he was, not even the princess, because people are very afraid of water sprites. Then it was announced in the king’s name that the courtship was over and only one had been deemed worthy. The other suitors grumbled about the disparaging treatment and because they weren’t even allowed to see the bride, but they finally left the castle disappointed.
Once the king had slept well, he no longer felt so bad and left the chambers with the princess and his dog, who was still chewing on the key, to look for the suitors. The three followed them at a distance but were discovered by the palace guards. Now the liar had to tell her story: that the Baron was a suitor, she was his sister, and the third in the group was their servant. The guards bowed and led the three into the palace courtyard, where the princess was pleased that there were now at least two suitors, the water sprite and the minstrel, specifically as duke and baron. Both were invited to the royal table to dine together and get to know each other a little. The minstrel was dismayed, for he didn’t want to marry a princess after all. But as they talked at the table, a deep affection suddenly stirred within him, for virtue had found virtue. The attentive liar noticed this immediately, nudged him with her elbow, and whispered, “Wake up, and get the princess out of your head! It’s all about the key!” The minstrel did his best to play the part, as did the water sprite, and one told of beautiful towns, villages, forests, and fields, and the other of beautiful lakes, rivers, streams, and springs.
Towards evening, the kitchen boy came to bring food for the royal dog, who happily ran out to meet him in the corridor, dropped the key, and received a fat bone in return. The kitchen boy curiously picked up the key and tried to use it to open a door in the long corridor. But what a miracle! As soon as the key touched the lock, the bit glowed with golden light, and the lock opened all by itself. And not only this one, but all the locks he touched with it. Cheerful and full of joy, he skipped through the entire palace, and all the doors opened before him, as before a king, until suddenly he stood in the chamber of the minister and his wife, who were once again bitterly arguing over their money. They stared at him with wide eyes and asked him how he had opened the locked door. Then he told them about the key and its miraculous powers. Immediately, greed awoke in the two of them, they took the key away from him, and he had to swear not to tell anyone about it. Now there was no stopping them. Around midnight, the two greedy bastards entered the city and, unnoticed, were able to open many doors and treasure chests to steal a whole sack full of gold coins. No one noticed them; only an old, bearded man met them in the dark alleys of the city. But they didn’t intend to use the gold to replenish the king’s empty treasury; no, this treasure of gold was meant to belong to them alone. They devised another cunning plan for the treasury.
The next morning, they went to the king, and since the princess hadn’t yet decided, they proposed setting the two suitors a task to test their ability to be royal successors. The king agreed, and around noon, they all gathered at the royal palace to announce the test. The three of them also arrived and immediately noticed that the dog no longer had the key in its mouth, but a regular bone. The observant thief spotted the key on the minister’s belt under his cloak as he and his wife bowed to the king in an exaggeratedly theatrical manner. He was deeply shocked, because these two were an even greater challenge than the royal dog, and apparently even greater thieves and liars than they were. Accordingly, they then heard the task they had to fulfill as a royal test: “The princess’s hand will be won by the one who can bring in the most gold by tomorrow noon. For a king should be able to fill his treasury, naturally, to support the kingdom and help the needy.”
The water sprite retreated to his water palace and filled a whole sack full of gold from the treasures that had accumulated over time at the bottom of the lake. The three conferred, and the thief clearly stated that he would no longer steal gold, but was only looking for the key. And because they knew it was now in the minister’s hands, they entered his chamber around midnight and searched everything. The key was nowhere to be found, but a sack full of gold in a treasure chest, which they opened with a lock pick. The thief struggled with himself, but thought of hell and searched the sack only for the key. When the gold coins rang, the minister’s wife threatened to wake up, and the three fled. But the minstrel spontaneously grabbed the entire sack and took it with him. When they were safely back in their room, the liar accused him: “You stole the gold out of love for the princess!” He blushed and replied, “Yes, and also that we won’t be thrown out of the palace tomorrow, but can continue searching for the key.”
When the clock struck twelve on the third day of their respite, the minstrel and the water sprite each stood before the king with a large bowl full of gold. The minister weighed both bowls and was shocked to discover that they weighed the same. Even worse was that their own treasure lay in the baron’s bowl, and the minister had nowhere to complain for fear of being discovered as a thief himself. He thought that the old man they encountered in the dark alley had probably betrayed him to the baron, especially since a group of citizens had meanwhile gathered at the royal palace, loudly complaining about the nightly theft in the town. The minstrel then suggested using the gold to help the robbed citizens, just as the minister had hypocritically suggested. The princess praised the suggestion, and the king agreed, ordering the citizens to be compensated. This, of course, hit the minister even harder when he had to redistribute his treasure to the citizens, and he also discovered that many of them demanded more than he had stolen, so that the water sprite’s gold also disappeared. But who could he complain to? The citizens were satisfied and left the castle courtyard. The minister and his wife stood there in despair, now desperate to get rid of the baron, and cunningly devised a second task that only the water sprite could fulfill.
They said: “Because the first task ended in a draw, we’re now setting a second one. Whoever brings us the golden fish that can grant every wish shall marry the princess, for only that is a wise groom.” With this, they wanted to get rid of the Baron and at the same time wish for great wealth. The duke cheered and shouted that he knew where this fish could be found. And the three discussed what to do next. The clever liar suggested following the duke and asking the golden fish to get them the key. No sooner said than done, they followed the water sprite and watched from a distance as he walked with a bucket into the nearest forest, where the spring of his lake lay. There, he lured the golden fish out with a mystical chant and scooped it into his bucket. The fish begged: “Please, set me free again!” But the water sprite replied: “I would gladly, but then I won’t get the princess.” With that, he set off on the return journey, which became increasingly difficult with the filled bucket of water, and the three of them had no opportunity to speak to the fish.
At nightfall, the water sprite reached the edge of the forest, where the old forge stood by the path. But the forge fire had broken out of the narrow furnace, and the entire house was ablaze. Desperately, several peasants tried to extinguish the fire with buckets of water, especially since the blacksmith and his entire family were still trapped in the flames. The water sprite tried to drag himself past the fire, but in the heat, he grew weaker and weaker and finally collapsed. The three initially tried to help extinguish it, but the fire burned ever higher, reminding them of the terrible fires of hell. Then they saw the golden fish in the bucket next to the unconscious duke, and the minstrel felt so much compassion for the blacksmith and his family that he asked the fish to extinguish the fire and save the people. The thief and the liar wanted to hold him back, but then they agreed that saving lives was more important than just thinking about their key. The golden fish then transformed into a shimmering golden magical wave of water that poured over the blazing fire. The forge immediately stood as unharmed as before, and the blacksmith and his family emerged from the house unharmed. With the remaining water in the bucket, they wet the unconscious duke. The duke regained consciousness, saw the empty bucket, and spoke to the blacksmith, who could not believe the incredible miracle: “Thank those three over there! They saved you, and me too.” Full of gratitude, the blacksmith bowed to them and offered his help whenever he could.
The next day, as the tower clock struck twelve, everyone gathered in the castle courtyard, and neither of the two suitors could hand over the golden fish, but they smiled at each other. In contrast, the minister and his wife glared at each other angrily, already pondering a third task to finally rid themselves of the baron. Meanwhile, the royal dog had chewed his bone and was looking around hungrily. Then, as the minister once again bowed theatrically to the king in an attempt to ingratiate himself, the dog caught sight of his imperishable bone under the cloak of the minister, immediately leaped forward, and tore it from his belt. Then the dog ran off with the key in his mouth, and the minister and his wife rushed after him, screaming and cursing, followed by the three, who saw their key run away. The dog left the castle, ran down to the lake, jumped in, and swam away under the desperate gaze of his pursuers. Suddenly a wave came over him, he gasped for air, and the key sank into the depths of the lake.
When everyone was back in the castle courtyard, the third task was now clear, and the minister announced: “Tomorrow at noon, there will be a diving competition in the lake. The better one will win the princess’s hand, because the groom must also prove his physical abilities.” The duke rejoiced, and the baron despaired, knowing he couldn’t swim. Then the clever liar had an idea, and the careful thief made a drawing of the key. With it, the Baron went to the blacksmith they had rescued from the fire at the edge of the forest and had a similar key forged overnight. The next noon, everyone gathered at the lake’s shore, and the minister set the two suitors the task of finding the lost key in the lake. The duke praised his skills as a swimmer and diver, and the baron was tied to a long rope by his servant so that he could be pulled out in case of emergency. The minister gave the signal, and both jumped into the water at the same time. The minstrel took the iron key from his pocket underwater and let it sink to the bottom, where the water sprite quickly found it and resurfaced in no time with the key in his hand. The minstrel was nowhere to be seen for a long time, struggling desperately to surface, and the servant had to help him with the rope.
The minister and his wife cheered, greedily grabbed the key, and congratulated the duke on his great victory. The duke proposed to the princess, and the baron confessed to her with a heavy heart: “Forgive me! I am just a poor minstrel, and my friends are former liars and thieves. In fact, we’re already dead and only did all this to avoid falling into hell, but to go to heaven.” The princess stood frozen, unable to believe it. But the minister cheered even more after these words and cried: “Yes, they’re just imposters! Get out of here and never let us see you again!”
No sooner said than done, and now the three had one more day to find the true key in the lake. But how, without knowing how to swim? They went to town, sold their jewelry and fine clothes, and dressed like poor fishermen. With the remaining money, they rented a small rowboat, and the next morning they rowed out onto the lake and began to search for the key where the dog had lost it. They tied the minstrel back to the rope, and he dived deep down to the bottom, burrowed in the mud, and they pulled him back up. This went on for a few hours; hope faded, and at some point, the thief and the liar embraced each other in the boat with a love they had never known before, and consoled themselves that at least they would go to hell together if they didn’t find the key to heaven. Meanwhile, the minstrel was getting better and better at diving and swimming, and eventually he didn’t even need the rope anymore. Before the tower clock struck twelve, he suddenly appeared, cheering and holding the key in his hand.
The three were overjoyed, rowed to the shore, sat down, and together seized the key. What a miracle! The entire key began to glow golden again, just as it had once shone on the belt of the old bearded man in the inn. And when the clock struck twelve, Saint Peter stood before them and said: “Congratulations! You have found the key again and have fundamentally improved yourselves. Now it shines in your hands without touching an earthly lock. That means the gates of heaven are open for you, and you can now enter heaven. What keeps you on earth now?” They wanted to hand him the golden key, but the minstrel hesitated and asked: “What will become of the princess?” Then Peter reported: “Well, in truth, the duke has defeated you three times, without theft or lies. For he is none other than the water sprite of this lake, who has long loved the princess’s beautiful soul. He will now take her to his kingdom, and you yourselves have seen what happens to the souls in the water palace.” The minstrel was frightened, withdrew the golden key, and cried: “No, that must not be! We must warn the princess!”
Meanwhile, the water sprite spent the morning in the castle with the princess. And after they had eaten long and well at the royal table, the minister suggested a boat trip on the lake for the young couple and offered to row with his wife. The king agreed, for he was tired from sitting so long, and the minister hoped that the water sprite would now fulfill his promise and take the princess to his kingdom. So, they went to the lake and boarded the royal boat. The duke sat next to the princess under a canopy, and the minister and his wife took the oars to take them far out onto the lake. Then the duke spoke to the princess: “Forgive me, for I am the water sprite of this lake. I love you more than anything, and out of love, I will now take you to my kingdom.” The princess was deeply frightened, stared at the water sprite in disbelief, and cried out in despair: “That can’t be true! Am I surrounded by nothing but deceivers?!” The water sprite blushed with shame, woke up, and realized his foolishness. He immediately jumped into the water without the princess and disappeared under the angry gaze of the minister, who in turn shouted: “We have to do everything ourselves!” He and his wife immediately grabbed the princess and pushed her into the water, who now finally realized how deceitful and unscrupulous the two of them were. She fought back as best she could, and finally, all three of them plunged into the depths of the lake.
As the twelfth stroke of the tower clock faded away on the shore, the three saw the royal boat out on the lake with the princess and the water sprite. Without a second thought, they ran to their boat and rowed with all their might out onto the lake. There they witnessed the water sprite jumping from the boat, the three fighting with each other, and then all falling into the water. They rowed over as fast as they could, the minstrel bravely jumped into the water and disappeared into the depths. Anxious seconds passed, his two friends stared expectantly into the dark water, but then it became light and the minstrel resurfaced with the princess in his arms. Everyone cheered, they pulled them both back into the boat and rowed to the shore, where the princess and minstrel slowly recovered.
Meanwhile, the king was also alerted by his guards and hurried to the lake as fast as his age could, happily embracing his daughter and thanking the minstrel who had saved her. Saint Peter arrived, and the three finally handed him the golden key, whereupon he said: “Well given! Only he who gives can also receive. God himself has given this key to all creatures to open every door, even to the highest gates of heaven. But no one should possess it as a thief or liar, for that is the road to hell.” Everyone listened attentively, and even the royal dog stopped growling when he saw the golden key in Peter’s hand. Then the three asked what would become of them now? And Peter said: “You can’t go to heaven now, for you’ve missed the deadline. But you can’t go to hell either, because you became better. So, this earth is all that’s left for you, and I think the minstrel could become a good king, for he is brave and has a virtuous heart. And his two friends would be good advisors to him, for they have experienced the life of thieves and liars and know how to overcome these vices. Lead a virtuous life, and the gates of heaven will always be open to you.” The princess and the minstrel were overjoyed when they heard these words and fell lovingly round each other’s necks, as did his two friends, the former thief and the former liar. And the old king rejoiced that he had now found a worthy successor, whom even Peter praised, and that he could finally hand over the arduous business of government.
With that, Peter disappeared again into the heavenly light, and the water sprite emerged from the lake, stepped onto the shore, and wished the newlyweds all the best. Then he asked the old king for forgiveness for his foolish love and said: “Now I know: what one truly loves must not be held on to. Why should I drag such a virtuous soul as your daughter down into the realm of the elements?” The king replied: “Well done! And what will become of my former advisors?” Then the water sprite smiled and said: “I can certainly use such a dissatisfied couple in the lake, for they are constantly quarreling and can even cause wonderful ripples out of their water glass, which are useful for a lake. They carry a small rusty key with them and keep trying to open their water glass with it. But they don’t succeed, and I will probably keep them for a long time.” With that, he dived back into the depths of the lake, everyone returned to the royal palace, and soon afterward the wedding was celebrated. The wedding tour took place in the royal boat on the lake, accompanied by the dancing waves, to the cheers of the people. The sweet sun shone from a deep blue sky, and it was said that the entire water shimmered in a golden light. Afterward, the old king enjoyed his retirement, and a golden age of virtue, happiness, and peace began once again in the kingdom.
After the long fairy tale text, we would like to keep our interpretation brief and only outline a few principles from a spiritual perspective. If one projects the entire story into a human being, one can recognize the generational problem right from the beginning: how the parents’ unresolved problems are passed on to their children and offspring. Thus, we find an old, sick, and weak reason as the king, who apparently lost his queen as unity with nature, allowing the ego-mind to seize selfish power, the mind as the minister and the ego as his wife. The two naturally always belong together, but can never live happily together because they embody the principles of separation and opposites. A hypocritical couple, also aptly portrayed in the fairy tale film. The virtuous daughter of the old king would then be the pure soul of nature, whom the ego-mind seeks to keep away from the human spirit of reason in order to fulfil its divisive nature and selfish goals.
The rest of the fairy tale then describes how the pure soul rediscovers her pure spirit so that holistic reason can reign once more. The “key” to everything is, of course, pure consciousness, which can open all doors and expand to the highest heaven, but is also capable of burning itself and contracting into the darkest hell. In the minstrel, we can find awakening reason, in the thief, the developing ego, and in the liar, the developing intellect. The intellect tells the lie of qualities and helpful possessions; the ego grasps at them and wants to hold on to them, and then the lie, in turn, ensures transience, so that everything gained is lost again. Awakening reason recognizes and rebukes both, but is not free of them, for they are part of being human. In practice, it is even reason that gives them consciousness and carries this key behind them, which the ego so eagerly seeks to appropriate in a thieving way, but in the process loses the key its gold of pure truth. Eventually, reason too sinks and drowns when he tries to save the ego-mind and keep him alive.
This is followed by a dramatic experience, that could be described as a near-death experience, so that their lives change fundamentally and they suddenly have a common task: to find the key to heaven. There is a deadline for this, symbolically reminiscent of the biblical six days of creation, which perhaps also exist solely to rediscover this key to pure consciousness. Naturally, this is first found in our physical body, which, as an animal body, chews on it like a dog on a bone. To do this, however, one must enter the interior of the body, which, like a royal palace, is guarded by the senses and thoughts, which are meant to protect one’s inner possessions from the external world. One can only pass by these guards by courting the inner soul. For without unity with the soul, there can be no holistic reason to control the ego-mind. There, one first gets to know the soul with her pain of separation, and then a lot of patience and mindful observation is required, because the physical body does not release consciousness as easily as a dog releases its bone.
This is followed by an interesting interlude with a kitchen boy, in which we can see the development of a child who, full of joy for life and with the help of consciousness, can open many doors within himself and in the world, until this key is seized and misused by the ego-mind. This is also beautifully portrayed in the fairy tale film.
In the two suitors for the soul as a flow of causes and effects, one can find two spiritual principles: The water sprite for the inner world as the source of forms, and the minstrel for the outer world as the play of forms. The ego-mind naturally prefers the water sprite because it wants to rule over cause and effect in its own world, just as science and economics still today want to banish the living soul to a dead nature in order to rule undisturbed.
Then there are three trials in which we can see three qualities of virtue: devotion, compassion, and wisdom, naturally always connected with the gold of truth. First, one must dispossess the ego-mind and pay off debts with devotion or forgiveness. Then it’s about finding the source of life and, with it, extinguishing the erupted fire of passion out of pure love and compassion without killing life. Here we rediscover the principle of hellfire, which today we simply call something else, such as “burnout”. Third, one must finally find the golden key of pure consciousness at the bottom of the inner world and, to do so, develop the ability to swim in the sea of causes and to dive down from the surface world, first bound by illusion and then freely, which is also called wisdom. The water sprite, with his inner world, is naturally much closer to the truth and can pass these trials without theft or lies. In the external world, the minstrel needs the help of illusion, which he finds in his two friends, because fundamentally he is not interested in gaining access to the soul as a flow of cause and effect, but rather in gaining the key to heaven of pure consciousness.
Also very interesting is the role of Saint Peter, who, as a holy man or spirit, was given the key to heaven. This is understandable, for only a holy and holistic spirit can preserve consciousness in its purity without egoism. Peter himself had similar experiences in the biblical story. He was first a simple fisherman named Simon. He attempted to walk on water like Jesus, but sank into it and was rescued by Christ. He later received the key to heaven and was called “foundation stone and rock” (“Petra / Petros”). Therefore, it is so important in the fairy tale to return the key to him, so that he can receive pure consciousness in truth and wholeness, not as a separate ego-mind, but as holistic reason. But when Peter was finally questioned by the ego-mind, he denied Christ as pure consciousness and said, “I am not.” Since then, at least in our fairy tale, he has continued to live as a holy, old, and bearded man on Earth and simultaneously in Heaven, something our ordinary ego-mind cannot comprehend. Thus, the minstrel, as an awakened rational being, has also chosen to stay on Earth and marry the soul. Thank goodness! For who goes to Heaven? And where to?
A similar saying also exists in Buddhism:
With folded hands, I request all those who intend to mark their entrance into Nirvana and leave this world to remain here for as many ages as there are particles in the world, to help and bring happiness to all those wandering in the cycle of existence. (Seven Branches of Good Conduct, Tsongkhapa, 1357-1419)
Yes, and everything else is actually explained in the fairy tale itself. Have fun and be inspired while contemplating on it…
• ... Table of contents of all fairy tale interpretations ...
• The old witch - (topic: true Love and Reason)
• The Jew among Thorns - (topic: Reason and Mind)
• The Princess and the blind Blacksmith - (topic: Christmas)
• The Hare and the Hedgehog - (topic: I’m already here)
• Hans my Hedgehog - (topic: Reason and Nature)
• The Simpleton - (topic: Nature of the sea)
• The Water-Nix - (topic: Source and River)
• The Nix of the Mill-Pond - (topic: Water-being)
• The Little Mermaid Undine - (topic: Wave dance)
• Knight Peter and the Sea Fairy - (topic: Knight-love)
• St. Peter’s Key (topic: pure Consciousness)
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Song and text inspiration: Der Petrusschlüssel, 2024, ARD/Kika |