Author Archives: Symbol Reader

Symbolism of the River

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“I do not know much about gods, but I think that the river is a strong brown god,” so begins the third of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The divinity of rivers has been recognized by all mythologies since the beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in The River | Tagged ancient Egypt, archetypes, banks, Buddhism, C.G. Jung, Christianity, death, Four Rivers of Paradise, Ganga, Hapi, Hinduism, Kumbh Mela, life, myth, mythology, Nile, nirvana, paradise, rebirth, religion, Rene Guenon, river, Shiva, Source, symbolism, symbols, Upanishads, World Axis | 14 Comments

The Musical Hamilton and its Symbolism

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“Sometimes the right person tells the right story at the right moment, and through a combination of luck and design, a creative expression gains new force. Spark, tinder, breeze.” Lin Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, “Hamilton the Revolution” “Revolution is … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamilton (The Musical), Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Cancer, Capricorn, diversity, Founding Fathers, gender, Hamilton, hip-hop, history, inclusivity, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Jones, music, musical, Obama, politics, psychology, race, symbolism, symbols, USA | 12 Comments

Moments experienced intensely: photography of Sebastião Salgado

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“All my photos correspond to moments that I have experienced intensely.” Sebastião Salgado, “From my Land to the Planet,” Kindle edition The movie Salt of the Earth (2015) directed by Wim Wenders and dedicated to the life and work of … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography, Sebastião Salgado | Tagged archetypes, art, black and white, deforestation, depth psychology, documentary, earth, exhibition, From my Land to the Planet, Genesis, Instituto Terra, movie, photography, planet, Salt of the Earth, Sebastião Salgado, symbolism, symbols, te environment, the Nenets, Wim Wenders | 13 Comments

The Seeds of the Sixties

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“His disciples said to him, ‘When will the kingdom come?’ ‘It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Rather, the Father’s kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people … Continue reading →

Posted in The Sixties | Tagged archetypes, astrology, conjunction, depth psychology, Dionysus, Don Draper, Mad Men, myth, mythology, Pluto, Prometheus, psyche, Ram dass, Richard Tarnas, social change, suffrage, symbolism, symbols, the 60s, The Sixties, the unconscious, Tobias Churton, Uranus | 16 Comments

The Tree of Life in the Vision of W. B. Yeats

Posted on January 25, 2019 by Symbol Reader

One of the most beautiful poems ever written is “The Two Trees” by William Butler Yeats. The poet was a favourite of his beloved Maud Gonne, an Irish revolutionary and his muse. The visual richness of the poem is informed … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged archetypes, hermeticism, Maud Gonne, poetry, symbolism, symbols, The Two Trees, Tree of Life, William Butler Yeats | 19 Comments

The Bembine Table of Isis

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“I am all that has been and is and shall be; and no mortal has ever lifted my veil.” (the words inscribed on the statue of Isis of Sais) The Bembine Table of Isis, also known as Mensa Isiaca, is … Continue reading →

Posted in The Bembine Table of Isis, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, ancient Egypt, archetypes, Bembina Table, Bembina Tablet, C.G. Jung, Egyptian mythology, esoteric, esotericism, isis, Manly P. Hall, materia prima, Mensa Isiaca, Museo Egizio, neoplatonism, Plato, symbolism, symbols, Turin | 9 Comments

Roma: Movie of the Year

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Symbol Reader

The movie Roma is a beautiful hymn to women. It tells the story of Cleo, an indigenous (Mixtec) woman who works as a maid to an upper-middle-class Mexican family. She is wonderfully portrayed by Yalitza Aparicio, who had never acted … Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Review | Tagged Alfonso Cuaron, anima mundi, archetypes, domestic work, film, goddess, Hestia, housework, humility, James Hillman, Mixtec, movie, Power, review, Roma, servant, service, serving, Soul, symbolism, symbols, water, woman, women | 21 Comments

Symbolism of the Egg

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Symbol Reader

I. “Set the egg before you, the God in his beginning. And behold it. And incubate it with the magical warmth of your gaze.” II. “And I am the egg that surrounds and nurtures the seed of the God in … Continue reading →

Posted in The Egg, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, Carl Jung, Cosmic Egg, cosmogony, egg, incubation, myth, mythology, Orphics, Orphims, Phanes, Protogonos, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, World Egg | 20 Comments

The Reality of Dreams in Henry Fuseli’s Art

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Symbol Reader

Henry Fuseli’s paintings fire up the soul. What is special about this eighteenth-century artist is that he never painted from “nature” but rather he chose to cast his eye inwards and look for inspiration in the fiery depths of his … Continue reading →

Posted in Henry Fuseli, Painting | Tagged archetypes, art, Carl Jung, dreams, Henry Füssli, Henry Fuseli, Leucothea, Leukothea, mysterium tremendum, myth, numinous, Odysseus, painting, reality, Rudolf Otto, symbolism, symbols, the collective unconscious, The Red Book | 19 Comments

Inanna at the Ground of Being

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned.” “Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer,” translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer In the well-known Sumerian myth, Inanna, … Continue reading →