Author Archives: Symbol Reader

Symbolism of Lakes

Posted on May 24, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“And near him stood the Lady of the Lake, Who knows a subtler magic than his own– Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful. She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword, Whereby to drive the heathen out: a mist Of incense … Continue reading →

Posted in Lakes | Tagged archetypes, Avernus, Byron, Chillon Castle, contemplation, death, Lady of the Lake, lake, Lake Geneva, Lausanne, Lausanne Lyrics, Mickiewicz, mirror, poetry, reflection, Romantic poetry, Shelley, symbolism, symbols, transition | 22 Comments

The Soul after Death: Hermes and Eurydice

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Symbol Reader

The transitional, in-between state of the soul after death was believed to be the domain of Hermes by ancient Greeks. They worshiped Hermes as the one god who will guide them to the right place of exit after they die. … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged death, Eurydice, Greek myth, Hermes, liminality, Orpheus, poetry, psychopompos, Reiner Maria Rilke, Soul, transition | 15 Comments

Drawing with Light: on Photography

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Symbol Reader

It is easy to romanticize the dawn of photography (literally “drawing with light”). I am not pretending I understand the technical intricacies of the entire process but I am drawn to the alchemical feel and terminology of the first photographic … Continue reading →

Posted in Photography | Tagged acheiropoietos, archetypes, art, Barthes, camera obscura, Charles Baudeleaire, daguerrotype, darkness, history of photography, image, light, narcissism, photography, shroud of Turin, Sontag, St Veronica, symbolism, symbols | 18 Comments

Insects: Smaller-Than-Small in Appearance, Bigger-Than-Big in Effect

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Jainism, an Indian religion prescribing a path of nonviolence towards all living beings, professes a doctrine of Ahimsa (non-injury, absence of desire to harm), one expression of which is sweeping the ground with very small brushes before stepping on it … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects | Tagged ahimsa, Animal Presences, animals, archetypes, Breaking Bad, bugs, C.G. Jung, Crime and Punishment, depth psychology, Dostoevsky, dung beetle, evil, Hades, insects, Jainism, James Hillman, khepri, Pluto, Raskolnikov, symbolism, symbols, vermin, Walter White | 29 Comments

Salammbô

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I.“Her hair, which was powdered with violet sand, and combined into the form of a tower, after the fashion of the Chanaanite maidens, added to her height. Tresses of pearls were fastened to her temples, and fell to the corners … Continue reading →

Posted in Salammbo | Tagged archetypes, experience, goddess, Gustave Flaubert, initiation, innocence, literature, Moon, Salammbô, Scorpio, serpent, sex, snake, symbolism, symbols, woman | 12 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (4): Prima Materia – The One, Who Art All

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

In this vignette found in Michael’s Maier’s Tripus Aureus Jung saw “the double face of alchemy.“ On the right hand side, a man is busy at a furnace, engaged full on in the physical and transformative experience, while in the library three … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, anima mundi, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Dark goddess, dragon, earth, isis, materia prima, Mercurius, stars, symbolism, symbols, water, Yliaster | 28 Comments

“Law, Like Love“ by W.H. Auden

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Law, say the gardeners, is the sun, Law is the one All gardeners obey To-morrow, yesterday, to-day. Law is the wisdom of the old, The impotent grandfathers feebly scold; The grandchildren put out a treble tongue, Law is the senses … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged "Law, Like Love", poetry, W.H. Auden | 8 Comments

Reflections on Don Quixote: The Universe of Fiction

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Idle Reader: Without my swearing to it, you can believe that I would like this book, the child of my understanding, to be the most beautiful, the most brilliant, and the most discreet that anyone could imagine. … I wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Don Quixote | Tagged archety, beheading, Cervantes, chivalry, creativity, Don Quixote, fantasy, fiction, imagination, knight, knighthood, language, literature, Mercurius, Mercury, reality, symbolism, symbols, trickster | 19 Comments

A Heaven in a Wild Flower

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“When I heard the learn’d astronomer, When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged Anselm Kiefer, For Robert Fludd, mystery, poetry, science, Sunflowers, Walt Witman, When I heard the Learn'd Astronomer | 12 Comments

Color Symbolism: Purple

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Symbol Reader

In Woody Allen’s movie “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” Mia Farrow’s character, frustrated by her marital woes, falls in love with a character in a movie. The movie character also becomes attracted to her, and exits the screen to profess … Continue reading →