Tag Archives: Hades

The Underworld in Finnish and Greek Myth

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Symbol Reader

I have been reading The Underland: A Deep Time Journey by Robert MacFarlane, which is a dazzling exploration of the author’s daring travels into the bowels of the earth. He devotes space to mining, caving, cave painting, Parisian catacombs, glaciers … Continue reading →

Posted in "The Underland" by Robert MacFarlane, Uncategorized | Tagged "The Dead", Acheron, Ancient Greece, archetypes, Cocytus, descent, five rivers of Hell, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Hades, Kalevala, katabasis, Lethe, myth, mythology, Phlegethon, Robert MacFarlane, Styx, symbolism, symbols, The Underland, the underworld, Tuonela | 5 Comments

Insects: Smaller-Than-Small in Appearance, Bigger-Than-Big in Effect

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Jainism, an Indian religion prescribing a path of nonviolence towards all living beings, professes a doctrine of Ahimsa (non-injury, absence of desire to harm), one expression of which is sweeping the ground with very small brushes before stepping on it … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects | Tagged ahimsa, Animal Presences, animals, archetypes, Breaking Bad, bugs, C.G. Jung, Crime and Punishment, depth psychology, Dostoevsky, dung beetle, evil, Hades, insects, Jainism, James Hillman, khepri, Pluto, Raskolnikov, symbolism, symbols, vermin, Walter White | 29 Comments

Two Different Kinds of Soul

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Symbol Reader

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

The Secrets of the Odyssey (7): Circe and the Underworld

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Symbol Reader

J.W. Waterhouse, “Circe Invidiosa” As his journey progresses, Odysseus gradually loses all his ships and companions, all of his spoils of war, until he becomes solitary at the very end of the epic. Right after the disaster with contrary winds, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged astrology, Circe, goddess, Greek mythology, Hades, Homer, Ishtar, lady of the beasts, Leo, Odysseus, Odyssey, Soul, the underworld | 16 Comments

Hekate: the Goddess of the Crossroads

Posted on October 27, 2013 by Symbol Reader

1. “Saffron-cloaked goddess of the Heavens, The Underworld and the Sea Unconquerable Queen, Beast-roarer, Dishevelled one of compelling countenance Keyholding Mistress of the Whole World” Orphic Hymn to Hekate 2. “Hail, many-named Mother of the Gods, Whose children are fair … Continue reading →