Wishful Thinking: Stars, Lamps and Fairy Godmothers

In my opinion, the true essence of a fairytale, and the thing that distinguishes it from an ordinary story, is the element of unreality. In other words, the possibility of the extraordinary. This is why magic, true love and adventure is so captivating. They're things we rarely get in the real world. And a major theme that runs throughout many of these childhood tales is wishing. In the fairytale world, wishes can come true via shooting stars, age-old genies and fairy godmothers. Ask and you recieve. But in our world, it's not so easy, and the things we want don't just appear at our feet in a cloud of smoke. Most of the time we have to work hard for the things we desire.
The belief that if you wish on a shooting star it will come true is an old superstition that has been around a long time. I figured that it might originate from a fairytale, but I could be wrong. Yet, there are instances of wishing on stars in the world of fantasy, and one story that comes to mind is 'Pinocchio'. Although not in the original version, Disney's addition of Gepetto's wish on a star for his puppet to become a real boy makes it a little more magical. You're probably all familiar with the rhyme that goes with it, 'Star Light, Star Bright, first star I see tonight' etc. Turns out this rhyme dates back to nineteenth century America. So the idea of wishing on stars has been around for quite a while.
Although the Blue Fairy brings Pinocchio to life, she tells him that his becoming a real boy must be earned. Just like in our world, this shows the things Pinocchio wants rely on his own actions to manifest into reality.
'Aladdin' is probably the best known fairytale associated with wishing. The genie is famed for his place in folklore as the ultimate wish-granter. But this story conveys the moral that with a little self-belief we can achieve our dreams and desires ourselves. The reason Aladdin wishes to become a prince is because he believes Jasmine wouldn't look twice at him if she knew he was poor. But in the Disney movie we can see a spark between the two when they first meet in the market, no genie present. Aladdin doesn't need magic to attract the princess. We'd all like a genie who can give us whatever we wish for in the blink of an eye, but if we were handed everything for free we'd never develop the talents and personality that come from the lows as well as the highs in life.
Finally, 'Cinderella', with its Fairy Godmother, is a well-known story of wishes coming true. When Cinderella's attempts to attend the Ball are thwarted, help comes in the form of the magical godmother she never knew she had. Perhaps the message we can derive from this is that the people in our lives, our friends and family, can be turned to during the times we lose sight of our goals. Sometimes life seems harsh, and we might be told by others to stop dreaming and get back to reality. But everyone is working towards something, and we all have wishes. Maybe, if we're not afraid to accept help when its offered, we'll move a little closer to our dream. If Cinderella hadn't had faith in her godmother's ability to get her to the Ball she wouldn't have had her happy ending. Even though she had been treated badly by her step-mother and step-sisters, she still hadn't lost trust in the kindness of people. And this, I feel, has an impact on our abilities to grant ourselves our own wishes; faith in others and in ourselves.
There are a lot of cliches associated with wishing, one being 'be careful what you wish for'. But this seems to take the magic out of it. Wishing is a sign of hope, in my opinion, an indication that one has faith in the possibility of extraordinary things happening. However, simply sitting back and hoping fate will work its magic is not likely to do much good. Wishful thinking paired with effort - that's more promising. In a world where magic is shoved into a corner, and wishing on stars is considered naive and childish, that perfect partner and big promotion will most likely require us to make the first move, and fate the second. But I may be entirely wrong, and those lucky people who swear they've found their soul mates, as well as the ones who've won millions on the lottery, might beg to differ.