"The deepest core of life is poetry and symbol." - Dane Rudhyar
Like Symbol Reader on Facebook
-
-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
Meta
Author Archives: Symbol Reader
Gentleman Overboard: Existential Loneliness
“‘Where is it,’ thought Raskolnikov. ‘Where is it I’ve read that someone condemned to death says or thinks, an hour before his death, that if he had to live on some high rock, on such a narrow ledge that he’d … Continue reading
Christiana Morgan: Her Invisible Life
This is a beautifully written biography of an extraordinary woman, who, as the author puts it, “remains at most a footnote in other people’s history.” She was a prominent patient of Jung’s, who used her paintings and visions as material … Continue reading
Posted in Christiana Morgan
Tagged anima, archetypes, biography, C.G. Jung, Christiana Morgan, Claire Douglas, depth psychology, earth, Eleusis, Henry Murray, Kafka, muse, psychology, Stach, symbolism, symbols, TAT, veil, visions
6 Comments
Prague: A Threshold
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 Prague
Tagged alchemy, Alphonse Mucha, archetypes, art, Art Nouveau, astrology, Black Madonna, C.G. Jung, Cancer, city, Don Giovanni, Edward Kelley, goddess, Il Commendatore, Jaroslaw Rona, John Dee, Kafka, Kepler, literature, magic, magic triangle, Mother, mystery, Prague, Rudolf II, Secession, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Tycho Brahe
7 Comments
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman finished his trilogy of fantasy novels His Dark Materials in 2000. But I feel his epic has a lot to say about the symbolic portents of our times and the near future. I tremendously enjoyed the HBO/BBC adaptation … Continue reading
Posted in His Dark Materials
Tagged Age of Aquarius, air, alchemy, alethiometer, archetypes, C.G. Jung, consciousness, creativity, daemon, daimon, Dust, freedom, Gnosticism, His Dark Materials, Milton, orthodoxy, Paradise Lost, Philip Pullman, psyche, religion, Soul, symbolism, symbolreader, symbols
10 Comments
Symbolism of the Cave
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)
“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
6 Comments
Shiva and Parvati: the Birth of Kali
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
“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
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)
“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
symbolreader 