Author Archives: Symbol Reader

Symbolism of the Cave

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Symbol Reader

A well-known passage from Plato’s Republic describes how a group of people, chained to the wall of a deep cavern, spend their entire lives looking at the shadows dancing on the cave wall in front of them. The captives are oblivious to … Continue reading →

Posted in cave | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, cave, Cave of the Nymphs, death, Egypt, gnas, goddess, Hermes, incarnation, Plato, Porphyry, Power, rebirth, Soul, symbolism, symbols, tomb, transcendence, transformation, womb | 6 Comments

Reading The Red Book (45)

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Symbol Reader

“The one God, to whom worship is due, is in the middle.” C.G. Jung, Black Book 5 “I knew how frightfully inadequate this undertaking was, but despite much work and many distractions I remained true to it, even if another … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged Abraxas, Appendices, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Chnoumis, daimon, depth psychology, Elijah, Epillogue, Eros, individuation, inner child, Liber Novus, logos, opposites, Salome, Seven Sermons to the Dead, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Systema munditotius, The Red Book | 4 Comments

Shiva and Parvati: the Birth of Kali

Posted on November 6, 2022 by Symbol Reader

I have across a fascinating version of the birth of goddess Kali. In this myth she came to the world as a result of Parvati’s anger, which she shed and transformed during her spiritual practice. Lake Manasarovar at the foot … Continue reading →

Posted in Kali | Tagged archetypes, Gauri, goddess, Hinduism, Indian mythology, Kaali, Kailasa, Kailash, Kali, meditation, Parvati, shadow, Shiva, symbolism, symbols, tapas | Leave a comment

Annie Ernaux

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Symbol Reader

“There is this need I have to write something that puts me in danger, like a cellar door that opens and must be entered, come what may.” Annie Ernaux, Getting Lost Annie Ernaux has won the Nobel prize in literature … Continue reading →

Posted in Annie Ernaux | Tagged Annie Ernaux, candidness, Dostoevsky, literature, memoir, Nobel, truthfulness | 2 Comments

Number Three and Its Mysteries

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Symbol Reader

Three is intimately connected with the myth of the goddess and with the three main phases of the moon – waxing, full and waning, corresponding to the three phases of a woman’s life – maiden, mother and hag. Pythia sitting … Continue reading →

Posted in three, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Aum, Binah, C.G. Jung, Cora, Demeter, Dion Fortune, duality, Ereshkigal, evil, force, form, four, Hekate, Holy Trinity, Inanna, Kabbalah, manifestation, Morrigan, numbers, Pillar of Severity, quaternio, Saturn, symbolism, symbols, The Tree of Life, three, Tridevi, Trimurti, triple goddess, Underworld | 10 Comments

Reading The Red Book (44)

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Symbol Reader

“Don’t be afraid to suffer – take your heaviness and give it back to the earth’s own weight.” R.M.Rilke, “Sonnets to Orpheus” We have almost reached the end of our journey through The Red Book. This post summarizes the final … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged archetypes, Baucis, C.G. Jung, Christ, depth psychology, dismemberment, Elijah, evil, Gnosticism, goddess, gods, good, healing, Helena, individuation, Jesus, Kabbalah, Osiris, Philemon, Salome, Satan, shadow, Simon Magus, suffering, symbolism, symbols, tikkun ha olam | Leave a comment

Lyon

Posted on August 12, 2022 by Symbol Reader

You may have heard of two magical triangles, one of black, the other of white magic. The origins of that legend are impossible to fathom. The white magic triangle is said to include Lyon, Prague and Turin, while the black … Continue reading →

Posted in Lyon | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Celts, Cybele, dark, Fourvière, France, Gaul, Hermes, light, Lion, Lugdunum, Lyon, magic triangle, Marianne, Mercurius, Mercury, Romans, shadow, Soul, symbolism, symbols, traboules | Leave a comment

Reading The Red Book (43) – Seven Sermons to the Dead

Posted on July 25, 2022 by Symbol Reader

We have now reached the seventh and final Sermon to the Dead, which you will find in the third section of The Red Book called Scrutinies. The dead come to Philemon and ask him to “teach us about men.” This sermon addresses the most … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged Agrippa, archetypes, Binah, Black Madonna, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, God, goddess, Great Mother, Liber Novus, matter, Meister Eckhart, Nut, Philemon, psyche, Seven Sermons to the Dead, Soul, star, symbolism, symbols, synchronicity, The Red Book, world soul | Leave a comment

Between Hermes and Mnemosyne: Jung and Warburg

Posted on July 16, 2022 by Symbol Reader

In the part of Homeric Hymn to Hermes, in which Hermes and Apollo exchange gifts, Hermes sings about the origins of the gods: “And the first of the gods that he commemorated with his song was Mnemosyne, Mother of Muses, … Continue reading →

Posted in Aby Warburg | Tagged Aby Warburg, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Hermes, image, Kerenyi, Mnemosyne, Mnemosyne Atlas, psyche, Soul, symbolism, symbols | Leave a comment

Painting the Sun

Posted on July 4, 2022 by Symbol Reader

I. “Turner’s favourite colour was yellow. He spent hours studying its myriad iterations, using more yellow pigments than any other … … Turner admired yellow’s optical power. Bright and warm, it jumps out at us from a distance and forces … Continue reading →