Category Archives: Psyche

From Lascaux Cave Paintings to Greta Thunberg

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Symbol Reader

It fascinates me when similar ideas come to me simultaneously from completely different directions. The first revelation was a must-read article in The Guardian on how the cave paintings of Lascaux remind us that “in our self-obsessed age, the anonymous, … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, earth, ego, Ferdinand Hodler, Freud, Greta Thunberg, humility, landscape, Lascaux, narcissism, nature, painting, psyche, subject, symbolism, symbols, unconscious, Yeats | 7 Comments

Two Different Kinds of Soul

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I. “The dual fate of Heracles after death, dwelling simultaneously on high with the gods and below in Hades, reflects the Greek notion that we have two different kinds of soul. Thymos is warm, emotional and red-blooded; while psyche is … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged Ancient Greece, archetypes, death, depth psychology, Dionysus, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Hades, life, Pluto, psukhe, psyche, reality, Soul, symbols, thumos | 13 Comments

The Divine Furor of the Soul: On Marsilio Ficino

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“The soul is the greatest of all miracles in nature. All other things beneath God are always one single being, but the soul is all things together…Therefore it may rightly be called the centre of nature, the middle term of … Continue reading →

Posted in Genius, Marsilio Ficino, Psyche | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, depth psychology, Genius, Marsilio Ficino, Mercurius, psyche, Soul, spirit, symbolism, symbols | 23 Comments

On Genius (2): Genius in Antiquity

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story…” Homer, “The Odyssey” Gustave Moreau, “l’Inspiration” I am still making my way through a very beautifully written book by Darrin M. McMahon called Divine Fury: A History of Genius. Its … Continue reading →

Posted in Genius, Psyche | Tagged Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, astrology, C.G. Jung, daimon, daimones, daimonion, Darrin M. McMahon, depth psychology, Divine Fury: A History of Genius, Genius, Hesiod, Homer, inner voice, inspiration, muse, Octavian Augustus, Plato, poetry, Republic, Socrates, talent | 17 Comments

The Secret Life of Words: Desire

Posted on September 27, 2014 by Symbol Reader

1.“When you were a wandering desire in the mist, I too was there, a wandering desire. Then we sought one another, and out of our eagerness dreams were born. And dreams were time limitless, and dreams were space without measure.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged archetypes, desire, etymology, language, Soul, star, symbolism, symbols | 17 Comments

On Genius (1)

Posted on September 23, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Karl Brullof, “Genius of Art“ I have started to read a book Divine Fury: A History of Genius by Darrin M. McMahon. I am approaching this book with a substantial bias: I think that the term “genius“ is an old … Continue reading →

Posted in Genius, Psyche | Tagged Darrin M. McMahon, depth psychology, Divine Fury: A History of Genius, Genius, Juno, patriarchy, Power, Romans, talent, women | 28 Comments

The Private Self

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Symbol Reader

William Turner, “Choir of Salisbury Cathedral” “Bene vixit, bene qui latuit.” (To live well is to live concealed) Ovid An article on Virginia Woolf’s idea of privacy written by Joshua Rothman has caught my attention recently. The author quotes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged Mrs Dalloway, mysticism, privacy, private self, psychology, Saint Teresa of Avila, social media, Soul, The Interior Castle, Virginia Woolf | 33 Comments

Cultivating the Dark Core of Passion

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged culture, discipline, Dostoevsky, Japanese tea ceremony, Kafka, method, obsession, passion, psychology, reason, Seiza, Soul | 31 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 archetypes, James Hillman, mountain, mountains, Soul, spirit, symbolism, symbols, Valley | 21 Comments

The Embodied Soul

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Symbol Reader

I often wonder at the wisdom of words. If you trace back the roots of words, their etymology, you will often discover important truths. We often use the word psyche, but what do we really mean by it? Jung defined … Continue reading →