"The deepest core of life is poetry and symbol." - Dane Rudhyar
Like Symbol Reader on Facebook
-
Recent Posts
Categories
Archives
Meta
Tag Archives: death
Odysseus’ Return from the Dead in the Vision of Tadeusz Kantor
Cricoteca, the Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990), a Polish avant-guarde artist, stage designer and, above all, a celebrated theatre director, is a striking addition to the unique architecture of Krakow, Poland. I found their … Continue reading
Posted in Tadeusz Kantor, The Theatre
Tagged anxiety, archetypes, art, Cricot 2, cricoteca, death, fear, Odysseus, reality of the lowest rank, symbolism, symbols, Tadeusz Kantor, theatre, War
6 Comments
Like the Rainbow on the Waterfall: the Mystical Aura of Consumption
While the fourteenth century was ravaged by the Black Death, the nineteenth century belonged to tuberculosis, or the White Death, a disease much more insidious and widespread. John Keats died of it at the age of twenty-six, and so did … Continue reading
Posted in Tuberculosis
Tagged art, consumption, Davos, death, disease, Edgar AllanPoe, Hans Castorp, illness, John Keats, life, literature, Magic Mountain, myth, Romanticism, sanatorium, symbolism, TB, Thomas Mann, Tuberculosis, White Death
6 Comments
David Bowie’s Blackstar
The video to David Bowie’s “Blackstar” overpowered me immediately when it was released on 19 November last year. It is a visual poem and a symbolic feast. Despite the iconic yellow smiley face flashed at the viewer at the very … Continue reading
Posted in David Bowie, Uncategorized
Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Blackstar, Chaos, David Bowie, death, nigredo, suffering, symbolism, symbols, video
16 Comments
Asclepius: Earth-Walking Healer, Son of Apollo
“Coronis was pregnant by Apollo when she found herself attracted to a stranger. He came from Arcadia, and his name was Ischys. A white crow watched over her. Apollo had told the bird to guard the woman he loved, ‘so … Continue reading
Posted in Asclepius
Tagged adyton, Apollo, Asclepius, Asklepios, C.G. Jung, cock, Coronis, death, Demeter, depth psychology, dog, dream, Dreaming, Eleusis, Epidaurus, Greek myth, Greek mythology, healing, Hermes, incubation, medicine, Medusa, Ophiuchus, rebirth, rite, Ritual, rod of Asclepius, serpent, snake, symbolism, symbols
21 Comments
Symbolism of Lakes
“And near him stood the Lady of the Lake, Who knows a subtler magic than his own– Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful. She gave the King his huge cross-hilted sword, Whereby to drive the heathen out: a mist Of incense … Continue reading
Posted in Lakes
Tagged archetypes, Avernus, Byron, Chillon Castle, contemplation, death, Lady of the Lake, lake, Lake Geneva, Lausanne, Lausanne Lyrics, Mickiewicz, mirror, poetry, reflection, Romantic poetry, Shelley, symbolism, symbols, transition
22 Comments
The Soul after Death: Hermes and Eurydice
The transitional, in-between state of the soul after death was believed to be the domain of Hermes by ancient Greeks. They worshiped Hermes as the one god who will guide them to the right place of exit after they die. … Continue reading
Posted in Poetry
Tagged death, Eurydice, Greek myth, Hermes, liminality, Orpheus, poetry, psychopompos, Reiner Maria Rilke, Soul, transition
15 Comments
Two Different Kinds of Soul
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
Jung on Alchemy (1): The Moist and Earthly Foundation
My upcoming series of posts is going to be based on three works of C.G. Jung: 1) Psychology and Alchemy, volume 12 of the Collected Works 2) Alchemical Studies, volume 13 of the Collected Works 3) Mysterium Coniunctionis, volume 14 of the Collected … Continue reading
Posted in Alchemy
Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Carl Jung, change, coarse wood debris, death, depth psychology, growth, Psychology and Alchemy, rebirth, regeneration, symbolism, symbols, the unconscious, transformation, water of life
21 Comments
“The End” by Mark Strand
“Not every man knows what he shall sing at the end, Watching the pier as the ship sails away, or what it will seem like When he’s held by the sea’s roar, motionless, there at the end, Or what he … Continue reading
“Light Breaks Where No Sun Shines” by Dylan Thomas
“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
