Author Archives: Symbol Reader

Images of the Zodiac: Contemplating Capricorn

Posted on January 12, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Johfra Bosschart, Capricorn A mountain goat is a very special creature to me and therefore I adore this image of Johfra, showcasing the goat in all its glory. Once I spotted a herd of them high in the mountains, once … Continue reading →

Posted in Johfra Bosschart | 23 Comments

Of Mountains and Valleys

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Kashmir valley, image credit “Call the world if you please ‘the vale of soul-making.’ Then you will find out the use of the world.” John Keats, in a letter Mountain valleys can be breathtakingly beautiful. Lusciously green, nested between high … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Smell – A Potent Wizard

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Jan Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens, “Smell” “A sigh isn’t just a sigh. We inhale the world and breathe out meaning. While we can. While we can.” Salman Rushdie, “The Moor’s Last Sigh” Helen Keller compared the sense of smell … Continue reading →

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Senex and Puer

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Symbol Reader

image credit The turn of the year is ruled by the senex/puer archetypal polarity. In the most popular allegorical depictions, the old man gives way to a young boy. This happens when the Sun is in Capricorn: the sign of … Continue reading →

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Where No Wolf Tracks Could Be Found

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Symbol Reader

BALANCE By Adam Zagajewski, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh I watched the arctic landscape from above and thought of nothing, lovely nothing. I observed white canopies of clouds, vast expanses where no wolf tracks could be found. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

Botticelli’s “Mystic Nativity”

Posted on December 22, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Sandro Boticelli, Mystic Nativity This beautiful painting has been one of my favourites for many years. I was always touched by the beautiful twelve angels dancing in a circle at the top, the three angels gracing the roof and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

If Love Be Blind, It Best Agrees with Night

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Edmund Dulac, “Night, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” Act III, scene II of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet begins with a breathtaking monologue of Juliet in which she beckons the night to come faster so that she can start her “amorous … Continue reading →

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Images of the Zodiac: Contemplating Sagittarius

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Johfra Bosschart, Sagittarius 1.“The right art,” cried the Master, “is purposeless, aimless! The more obstinately you try to learn how to shoot the arrow for the sake of hitting the goal, the less you will succeed in the one and … Continue reading →

Posted in Johfra Bosschart | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

Artemis: the Goddess of Primal Instincts

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Symbol Reader

In this time of the year many of us run after the perfect gifts for our loved ones. A gift I chose for myself this week was a small silver box with an engraved stag. I saw it at a … Continue reading →

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Unus Mundus

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Symbol Reader

John Stephens, “Navajo Creation Myth”   “Hunter of Shadows, thou thyself a Shade, Be comforted in this,—that substance holds No higher attributes; one sovereign law Alike develops both, and each shall hunt Its proper object, each in turn commanding The … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged , , | 25 Comments