Deeper Meanings

I love the magical art of James Christensen.  Once he came to speak at my local library and I relished the instructions he gave us on imagination.  Something he said that really caught my fancy was, “When you’re sitting in a room and a fish flies by, that changes everything.”  For years I looked only at the literal meaning of that statement—a silly image that made me laugh.  But when I finally realized that the fish is a symbol of Christianity, it hit me a lot deeper. 

Have you heard of Sensus Plenior?  It is a Latin term meaning “fuller sense” or “deeper meaning.”  The greatest teachers used it:  Jesus, Aesop, and surprisingly, even Mother Goose.  America’s founders were schooled in Sensus Plenior.  They knew how to find multiple meanings in all the classic works.  For example, the whole concept of separation of powers upon which the U.S. Constitution is founded came from the first chapter of Genesis.  When the founders read about the sun, the moon and the stars, they saw a pattern for how governing bodies should be separated.

After I learned about Sensus Plenior, I started reading to my kids differently.  The story became the preface to a discussion of how the prince's battle with the dragon was symbolic of Christ's victory over death.  The ability to understand symbols gives the power to see beyond the literal.

Mother Goose

Faint etchings on the page seized my attention like a whisper.  The hint of intrigue beckoned me to explore the possibilities it held.  Deciphering the words, the text had a disappointing ring of familiarity:

Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle,

The cow jumped over the moon.

The little dog laughed to see such fun,

And the dish ran away with the spoon.

But after a closer look, an interesting pattern emerges.  All of the characters in this nursery rhyme have similar symbols:

Moon--Its phases are a birth, death and rebirth.  Its renewal of life symbolizes an eternal mother so some cultures associate it with a Mother Goddess.  The light it reflects from the sun illuminates darkness just as the mind reflects light and knowledge from the Divine Son.

Cow--Also a maternal symbol since cows give nourishment for new life.  The horns are like the crescent moon and the cow is considered celestial. (Thus the term “Holy cow!”)

Cat--Is also related to the moon because of the way its irises widen and narrow like the waxing and waning of the moon.  So the cat stands for the changing nature of the moon.  It is considered stealthy, but since it seeks to follow its desire the cat also represents liberty.  

Fiddle--Stringed instruments also represent feminine qualities.  Music stands for harmony and happiness. And Dance is an expression of creativity and the rhythm of life.

Dog--A companion of the mother figure, representing loyalty and watchfulness.
All of these characters are secondary to the main action of the rhyme:  the dish which runs away with the spoon.  Here is where the rhyme takes on a deeper meaning.
The Dish serves Bread, which symbolizes our daily toil and sorrow.

The Spoon is a vessel, such as Cup which means to be open and receive the Living Water and forgiveness.

So, "the dish ran away with the spoon" means that our sorrows depart with forgiveness.
          Granted, one must either be well-versed in symbology or have a symbolic dictionary at hand to get that level of meaning out of some of the nursery rhymes.  Others are far more obvious, like Mary and her Lamb.  It is a rewarding exercise to crack open such a geode and find the sparkling gem hidden within. 

Source for information about Sensus Plenior:  Dr. Oliver DeMille's speech, "The Freedom Crisis."