Tag Archives: etymology

The Rose as a Symbol

Posted on April 13, 2025 by Symbol Reader

Rose,the unfading rose beyond my verse—rose that’s full and fragrant,rose of the black garden in the deep of night,rose of any garden and any night,rose that’s born again by the art of alchemyout of tenuous ash,rose of the Persians and … Continue reading →

Posted in The Rose | Tagged albedo, alchemy, Aphrodite, archetypes, art, astrology, Briar Rose, C.G. Jung, Dante, death, depth psychology, Dionysos, Eros, etymology, goddess, love, Mary, Mystical Rose, pain, Paradiso, Rilke, Rosalia, rose, rose window, rubedo, Sleeping Beauty, Soul, suffering, symbolism, symbols, thorns, transition, Venus, Virgin Mary, wine, Yeats | 10 Comments

The Symbolism of the Dragon

Posted on March 10, 2024 by Symbol Reader

“Dragons are subterranean, winged, smoke- and fire-breathing creatures, hybrid go-betweens in a magical bond between heaven and the underworld, where they guard secret treasures and reign over fires and concealed palaces.” A description found on Dragon Path on Mount Pilatus … Continue reading →

Posted in Dragons | Tagged Agathis Daimon, alchemy, archetypes, Bilbo, C.G. Jung, Cadmus, Campbell, China, depth psychology, dragon, Dragons, drakaina, drakon, drakontes, etymology, fantasy, Gaia, goddess, gold, golden apples, Greek myth, guardian, Hermes, hero, Hesperides, James Hillman, Krakow, Ladon, Mercurius, Mysterium Coniunctionis, mythology, Nagas, Pilatus, ring, river, shadow, Shesha, Smaug, Soul, Stilbon, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, treasure, Typhon, uoroboros, Vishnu, water, Yggdrasil | 12 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

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

The Lightening Message of Grace

Posted on August 22, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Kanji symbol for cherry blossom Linden tree fossil In his book On the Way to Language (1959), the philosopher Martin Heidegger includes a philosophical dialogue between an “Inquirer“ (I) and a Japanese man (J). This particular exchange really stirred my … Continue reading →

Posted in Language | Tagged archetypes, bark, book, cherry blossoms, Chiron, etymology, Greek myth, Japanese, language, liber, linden tree, Martin Heidegger, Medusa, On the Way to Language, Pegasus, Philyra, symbolism, symbols | 14 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 →