Tag Archives: darkness

In Praise of Witches

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1. “We are an evolving, dynamic tradition and proudly call ourselves Witches. Honoring both Goddess and God, we work with female and male images of divinity, always remembering that their essence is a mystery that goes beyond form. Our community rituals are participatory … Continue reading →

Posted in The Witch | Tagged archetypes, darkness, discrimination, evil, Hekate, magic, symbolism, symbols, The Malleus Malleficarum, witch, witch trials, witch-hunt, witchcraft, witches, women | 16 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

The Light that Shines in Darkness

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Symbol Reader

The New Age movement has given women more significance and more power of expression than art, science or politics of the last century. It is said to have been originated by Madame Blavatsky, who was a co-founder of the Theosophical … Continue reading →

Posted in Madame Blavatsky | Tagged archetypes, clarity, darkness, Derek Mahon, Gary Lachman, light, Madame Blavatsky, poetry, symbolism, symbols, the Age of Aquarius, The New Age, the occult, The Secret Doctrine, The Theosophical Society, vision | 26 Comments

“Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines” by Dylan Thomas

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Light breaks where no sun shines; Where no sea runs, the waters of the heart Push in their tides; And, broken ghosts with glow-worms in their heads, The things of light File through the flesh where no flesh decks the … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, blood, body, darkness, death, Dylan Thomas, life, light, Light breaks where no sun shines, poetry, rebirth, symbolism, symbols | 16 Comments

Awe-Inspiring Sculptures: “Night” by Michelangelo

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Night” by Michelangelo was sculpted in white marble and put to rest on the tomb of Giuliano de Medici in San Lorenzo Church, Florence. Her attributes are an owl and a mask. I remember seeing the sculpture for the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in Sculpture, The Night | Tagged animus, art, Carl Gustav Jung, Chaos, Dark goddess, darkness, Greek myth, Greek mythology, love, Michelangelo, night, Nyx, sculpture, symbolism, symbols | 31 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (10): Return to Ithaca through the Cave of the Nymphs

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Venus the Morning Star (Venus Phosphorus – Light-Bringer) “When on the East the sheer bright star arose that tells of coming Dawn, the ship made landfall and came up islandward in the dim of night. Phorkys, the old sea baron, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes literature, astrology, Athena, cave, Cave of Nymphs, creation, darkness, Greek mythology, Homer, honey, Ithaca, light, myth, noos, nostos, Odysseus, Odyssey, olive tree, Porphyry, rebirth, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Venus morning star | 11 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 →

Posted in The Night | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Christmas, darkness, goddess, Hymns to the Night, Modranect, night, Novalis, Nut, Nyx, paganism, Rilke, Shakespeare, symbolism, symbols, winter solstice | 32 Comments

The Shadow Archetype

Posted on June 23, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Mikhail Vrubel, The Demon Where there is light, there must be shadow, and where there is shadow there must be light. There is no shadow without light and no light without shadow. Karl Jung said this about ‘the Shadow’ in … Continue reading →