Tag Archives: Ishtar

Lilith

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Symbol Reader

On the ceiling of the Sistine chapel we can see an atypical depiction of the serpent of Paradise. Michelangelo chose to portray the snake as a red-headed woman, undoubtedly Lilith. Why did Michelangelo decide to include Lilith in his biblical … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Adam, Adam Kadmon, alchemy, Aramaic magic texts, archetypes, Black Madonna, Burney relief, C.G. Jung, Dark goddess, depth psychology, desert, Elijah, evil, Genesis, Gnosticism, huluppuh tree, Inanna, Ishtar, Kabbalah, Lamashtu, Lilith, lilitu, Mandaean Gnosis, materia prima, Mesopotamia, myth, nigredo, paradise, patriarchy, red, sephiroth, serpent, Shekhinah, Sumer, symbolism, symbols, Talmud, the Bible, The Dark Goddess, The Red Sea, Tree of Life, whore of Babylon | 15 Comments

Gilgamesh: He Who Saw the Deep

Posted on May 3, 2020 by Symbol Reader

If you happen to have some time on your hands, I strongly recommend that you take a look at Ancient Masterpiece of World Literature (https://www.edx.org/course/ancient-masterpieces-of-world-literature), a course which Harvard University is currently offering online free of charge. You can also … Continue reading →

Posted in Gilgamesh, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, Carl Gustav Jung, cedar, culture, death, deluge, depth psychology, Divine, Enkidu, epic, flood, Gilgamesh, goddess, human, humbaba, immortality, Inanna, Ishtar, Mesopotamia, myth, mythology, nature, Rilke, Sumer, Sumerian, symbolism, symbols, Underworld, Uruk, Utnapishtim | 12 Comments

Reading The Red Book (11)

Posted on September 22, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“I am all that has been and is and shall be; and no mortal has ever lifted my veil.” (the words inscribed on the statue of Isis of Sais) The title of Chapter IX of The Red Book (Liber Primus) … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Uncategorized | Tagged analytical psychology, anima, archetypes, blindness, C.G. Jung, Carl Jung, dance, dance of the seven veils, Dark goddess, depth psychology, descent, earth mother, Elijah, Eros, goddess, Gustave Moreau, Inanna, Ishtar, logos, Moon, myth, mythology, opposites, Oscar Wilde, pleasure, prophet, Salome, serpent, snake, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, thinking, Underworld, veil | 8 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

The Woman Who Embodied the Goddess

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Aphrodite of Corinth Beyond light and shade, Beyond thing and thought, There is love forever lurking. B.Z. Goldberg, The Sacred Fire Among the many totems of the great Babylonian goddess Ishtar was the fish. Her initiates would eat it as … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacred Prostitution | Tagged Aphrodite, archetypes, Atargatis, Corinth, fish symbolism, Hora, Horae, Ishtar, Pisces, priestess, sacred prostitution, Shulamite, stranger, symbolism, symbols | 23 Comments

The Dark Face of the Goddess

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Symbol Reader

“I am dark, but lovely,” proclaims the Shulamite in the Song of Songs. The highest and purest form of the feminine archetype is Sophia, the white dove symbolizing the wisdom of the feminine side of God and the deepest wisdom … Continue reading →

Posted in The Dark Goddess | Tagged Dark goddess, earth archetype, Erich Neumann, Hekate, Inanna, Ishtar, Kali, Lamashtu, Lamia, Lilith, Medea, Medusa, Oedipus, sacred feminine, Sekhmet, sphinx, the Great Mother, the Terrible Mother | 49 Comments

The Eight-Point Star to My Wandering Bark

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Symbol Reader

I never wanted my blog to be an encyclopedia of symbols. First of all, I am not an expert and encyclopedias are written by experts. But more importantly, I think talking about symbols should rather resemble telling stories, showing images, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Eight-Point Star | Tagged 8-point star, Anthony Aveni, archetypes, astrology, Cirlot, images, Inanna, Ishtar, Jung, Margate Shell Grotto, numerology, pagan wheel of the year, symbolism, symbols, Venus, Venus evening star | 37 Comments

Thinking of Ishtar

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Symbol Reader

the magnificent Ishtar gate Ishtar gate lion A shop assistant in my local grocery store wished me “Schöne Ostertage” (happy Easter days) but what I heard was the name of the goddess Astarte, which is a counterpart of the Babylonian … Continue reading →