Category Archives: The Symbol

Ancient Roots of the Symbol

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Symbol Reader

The book Birth of the Symbol: Ancient Readers at the Limits of Their Texts by Peter T. Struck, published in 2004 by Princeton University Press, traces the ancient origins of the concept of a symbol. The author has this to … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol, Uncategorized | Tagged Ancient Greece, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Chaldean Oracles, Divine, enigma, gods, Iamblichus, interpretation, meaning, Nous, Peter Struck, Plato, Porphyry, Proclus, Pythagoras, sunthemata, symbol, symbolism, symbolon, synchronicity, theurgy | 2 Comments

Only Symbols or Silence

Posted on March 23, 2017 by Symbol Reader

I “The anthropologist Paul Radin points out that … ‘it must be explicitly recognized that in temperament and in capacity for logical and symbolical thought, there is no difference between civilized and primitive man,’ and as to ‘progress,’ that none … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol, Uncategorized | Tagged Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, mystery, mysticism, symbolism, symbols | 15 Comments

Two Shimmering Thoughts by Jung on His Birthday

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“The unconscious can be reached and expressed only by symbols, and for this reason the process of individuation can never do without the symbol.” Carl Gustav Jung, Collected Works Volume 13, “Alchemical Studies,” section 44 2.“What takes place between light … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol | Tagged C.G. Jung, depth psychology, symbol, symbolism, the unconscious | 16 Comments

A Thunderous Epiphany: How Symbols Are Created

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Symbols throw us across a spiritual abyss. When contemplating a sacred work of art, it may feel as if a great divide separated us from the Holy hidden in images. Then, our vision expands, and the image becomes transparent to … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations, The Symbol | Tagged archetypes, art, depth psychology, etymology, images, numinosum, numinous, sacred art, symbolism, symbols | 18 Comments

Symbols and Rites

Posted on November 27, 2014 by Symbol Reader

1. “At the dawn of history, the whole world – animate and inanimate, natural and supernatural – was interpreted symbolically. Life, death and rebirth were in constant close proximity, and these unceasing transformations were explained through stories and symbols: the passage … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol | Tagged acrhetypes, depth psychology, rites, rituals, symbolism, symbols | 9 Comments

The Veiled Speech of the Symbol (2)

Posted on November 30, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Last month I blogged about a book on symbols that I had just started reading (https://symbolreader.net/2013/10/23/the-veiled-speech-of-the-symbol/). I have finished it now and, while I got some inspiration from it, it did not satisfy me fully. Nevertheless, the nuggets that I … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, myth, René Alleau, Ritual, symbols, The Primal Force in Symbol | 28 Comments

The Veiled Speech of the Symbol

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Symbol Reader

My new purchase: And a few quotes from the Introduction that stirred my imagination: “A symbol does not signify; it evokes and focuses, assembles and concentrates, in an analogically versatile manner, a multiplicity of meanings that cannot be reduced to … Continue reading →