Tag Archives: alchemy

Hermes in the Forest of Symbols

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Symbol Reader

I. “…Hermesian reading is an open, in-depth reading, one that lays bare the metalanguages for us, that is to say, the structures of signs and correspondences that only symbolism and myth make it possible to conserve and transmit. To read, … Continue reading →

Posted in Hermes, Uncategorized | Tagged Adocentyn, alchemy, archetypes, Argus, Botticelli, C.G. Jung, caduceus, Carl Jung, Corpus Hermeticum, crossroads, dead, esotericism, Faivre, God, Greek myth, Greek mythology, guide, herma, hermaion, Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, Hermetica, hermeticism, Hermopolis, magic, Marcilio Ficino, Mercury, messenger, myth, mythology, peacock, Picatrix, Primavera, psychopompos, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Thoth, Zeus | 6 Comments

Reading The Red Book (14)

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Symbol Reader

Jung’s Liber Novus, better known as The Red Book, is divided into Liber Primus and Liber Secundus. The former was created on parchment and resembles a medieval illuminated manuscript. The reason why Jung decided to switch to paper in Liber … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, analytical psychology, archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, devil, eye, individuation, instincts, joy, Liber Novus, Mars, red, rubedo, self-knowledge, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, The Red One | 7 Comments

A Reedeming Darkness of The Black Madonna

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“Underneath all our conditioning, hidden in the crypt of our being, near the waters of life, the Black Virgin is enthroned with her Child, the dark latency of our own essential nature, that which we were always meant to be.” … Continue reading →

Posted in The Black Madonna, The Dark Goddess, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Artemis, Black Madonna, body, Buddha, Buddhism, C.G. Jung, Chartres, Christianity, Cybele, Dark goddess, darkness, death, Einsiedeln, enlightenment, Ephesus, fertility, Gnosticism, goddess, isis, Lyons, Mary Magdalene, Montserrat, nothingness, paganism, Paris, Shulamite, shunyata, Songs of Songs, Sophia, Soul, spirituality, symbolism, symbols, tantra, Tara, Underworld, wisdom, womb | 13 Comments

Reading The Red Book (7)

Posted on July 28, 2019 by Symbol Reader

I. “The spirit of the depths is pregnant with ice, fire, and death. You are right to fear the spirit of the depths, as he is full of horror.” II. “You thought you knew that abyss? Oh you clever people! … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged alchemy, analytical psychology, archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, khepri, Liber Novus, madness, psyche, scarab, Soul, symbols, The Red Book, the red stone, the unconscious, the underworld | 1 Comment

Notre-Dame de Paris

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Symbol Reader

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUrULTifMPc In “Civilization,” a classic TV series of 1969, standing in front of Notre-Dame, Kenneth Clark asked: “What is civilization? I don’t know. I can’t define it in abstract terms — yet. But I think I can recognize it when … Continue reading →

Posted in Notre-Dame, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, architecture, C.G. Jung, cathedrals, chimeras, Christianity, civilization, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, fire, Fulcanelli, gargoyles, goddess, Gothic, isis, light, Mary, masons, Notre-Dame, Our Lady, Ouspensky, Paris, spirituality, stained glass, Stryge, symbolism, symbols, the Middle Ages, Vasari, Virgin | 27 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

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 →

Posted in Inanna | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, axis mundi, Dark goddess, depth psychology, descent, Diane Wolkstein, Dumuzi, eight-pointed star, Enki, Ereshkigal, Gilgamesh, goddess, hermeticism, huluppu tree, Inanna, incarnation, initiation, Jung, Lilith, magic, Mesopotamia, mysteries, myth, mythology, rebirth, seven spheres, shadow, Sumer, Sylvia Brinto Perera, symbolism, symbols, transformation, Underworld, Venus, World Tree | 16 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (9): the Coniunctio – part 3 – the Red Stone

Posted on September 9, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“We must sleep with eyes open, we must dream with our hands, we must dream the active dreams of a river seeking its course, the dreams of the sun dreaming its worlds, we must dream out loud, we must sing … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Uncategorized | Tagged albedo, alchemy, analytical psychology, C.G. Jung, coniunctio, depth psychology, Faust, feeling, feminine, Four elements, Goethe, green lion, hermaphrodite, intuition, masculine, philosopher’s stone, psyche, red stone, Rosarium Philosophorum, rubedo, sensation, Soul, thinking, white stone | 6 Comments

Turin like a Dream

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“Cities, like dreams, are made of desires and fears,” wrote Italo Calvino in Invisible Cities. Though Turin is not the first Italian city I have fallen in love with, what I experienced there had not happened to me before. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Turin, Uncategorized | Tagged 45th parallel, alchemical caves, alchemy, Angelic Fountain, Apis, archetypes, art, “White Magic”, black magic, black magic triangle, Castor, Church of the Great Mother of God, cities, coniunctio oppositorum, darkness, duality, Egyptian Museum of Turin, first capital of Italy, Frejus monument, Giorgio de Chirico, Holy Grail, isis, Italo Calvino, Italy, light, magic, Nietzsche, Nostradamus, occultism, Osiris, Palazzo Madama, Piazza Solferino, Piazza Statuto, Pillars of Hercules, Pollux, shroud of Turin, symbolism, symbols, Torino, Turin, union of opposites, white magic triangle | 7 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (8): the Coniunctio – part 2 – the White Stone

Posted on February 17, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“When God, disgusted with man, Turned towards heaven. And man, disgusted with God, Turned towards Eve, Things looked like falling apart. But Crow Crow Crow nailed them together, Nailing Heaven and earth together— So man cried, but with … Continue reading →