Tag Archives: goddess

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 | 15 Comments

The Black Madonna of the Luminous Mountain

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Symbol Reader

The Shrine of Our Lady of Jasna Góra (Luminous Mountain or Clarus Mons) in Częstochowa, Poland, houses a most unique image of the Black Madonna. It is a Byzantine icon of the Hodegetria type (from Greek “She who shows the … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Madonna | Tagged archetypes, Black Madonna, Czestochowa, Dark goddess, Einsiedeln, goddess, heart chakra, hermit, isis, Jasna Góra, Jerzy Duda Gracz, Mary, Paulines, religion, St Paul of Thebes, symbolism, symbols, way of the cross | 10 Comments

Lakshmi – the Goddess of Worldly Enjoyment and Spiritual Liberation

Posted on December 18, 2016 by Symbol Reader

Lakshmi, the most widely worshiped Indian goddess, emerged on a lotus out of the primeval ocean of milk. In the pantheon of goddesses she is a soothing and gentle presence. In her book Awakening Shakti, Sally Kempton includes compelling words … Continue reading →

Posted in Lakshmi | Tagged abundance, artha, dharma, Diwali, goddess, Indian mythology, kama, Lakshmi, Laksmi, lotus, luck, moksa, Padma, Sakti, soma, sri, symbolism, symbols, tantra, Visnu, wealth | 14 Comments

Mary Magdalene: the Treasure in the Heart

Posted on July 27, 2016 by Symbol Reader

I.“There is something special about their relationship, something not simply reducible to teacher and devotee, and all attempts to hedge and prevaricate about its nature merely render its energy more palpable. The unspoken bond between them reverberates through even the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mary Magdalene | Tagged celibacy, Christianity, Eve, Gnostic gospels, Gnosticism, goddess, gospels, Jesus, Jesus's wife, Lilith, Mary Magdalene, Nag Hammadi, patriarchy, sacred feminine, Sophia, symbolism, symbols | 10 Comments

Shiva and Shakti – Consciousness and Power

Posted on May 2, 2016 by Symbol Reader

I. “Since Shiva is only the silent, immobile witness, whereas she is the power herself, the devotees of Shakti and Devi have concluded that it might be best to direct one’s attention and prayers exclusively to the Goddess. Not the … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged feminine, goddess, masculine, Shakti, Shiva, tantra | 8 Comments

No Such Thing as Woman

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Symbol Reader

“What I saw, with jarring clarity, was that there is no such thing as woman. Woman, I realised, is a thing of legend, a phantasm who flies through the world, settling here and there on this or that unsuspecting mortal … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged archetypes, femininity, goddess, woman | 4 Comments

Mary

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Symbol Reader

In the new issue of National Geographic there is an absorbing article on “Mary: The Most Powerful Woman in the World.” The article, which I cannot recommend enough, can be read here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/12/virgin-mary-text The holiest woman, even in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged goddess, Holy Mary, isis, letter M, Madonna, Mary, sea, symbols | 12 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (5): Hermes, the Arcane Interpreter of All

Posted on November 22, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Mercurius is an adumbration of the primordial light-bringer, who is never himself the light, but…who brings the light of nature, the light of the moon and the stars which fades before the new morning light.” C.G. Jung, Alchemical Studies, par. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy, Hermes, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Blavatsky, goddess, Greek myth, Greek mythology, hermaphrodite, Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, hermeticism, Maia, maya, number four, psychopomp, symbols | 9 Comments

The Magnificent Imperia of Constance

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Symbol Reader

She is splendid, imposing, imperial. 9 metres high, she slowly revolves round her axis, revealing all the facets of her provocative ensemble. In her left palm sits a naked minuscule pope, in her right – a minuscule naked emperor; both … Continue reading →

Posted in Imperia of Constance | Tagged archetypes, art, Constance, Council of Constance, goddess, Imperia, Jan Hus, Minoan snake goddess, Peter Lenk, Power, sculpture, symbolism, symbols | 20 Comments

“The Canticle of the Void” by Paul Murray

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Smaller than the small I am that still centre within you that needle’s eye through which all the threads of the universe are drawn. Perhaps you think you know me but you do not know me. Of everything that is, … Continue reading →