Tag Archives: mysticism

The Private Self

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Symbol Reader

William Turner, “Choir of Salisbury Cathedral” “Bene vixit, bene qui latuit.” (To live well is to live concealed) Ovid An article on Virginia Woolf’s idea of privacy written by Joshua Rothman has caught my attention recently. The author quotes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged Mrs Dalloway, mysticism, privacy, private self, psychology, Saint Teresa of Avila, social media, Soul, The Interior Castle, Virginia Woolf | 33 Comments

The Return of the Feminine and the World Soul

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Part of the difficulty of understanding and describing the feminine is her very elusive nature, the veil that surround her, as well as our patriarchal repression and denial of her wisdom and power. Also the ancient feminine mysteries, her initiations … Continue reading →

Posted in Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee | Tagged anima mundi, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, mysticism, sacred feminine, spirituality, sufism, the goddess, The Return of the Feminine and the World Soul, the World Soul | 18 Comments

The Myriad Forms of Meaning

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Image via http://thenewforty.areavoices.com/files/2012/01/spectrum.jpg The following is a beautiful excerpt from a book by Ray Grasse, The Waking Dream: Unlocking the Symbolic Language of Our Lives. In mythological terms, the process of which the myriad forms of meaning unfold from their … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged archetypes, dismembered god, Divine, mysticism, myth, Osiris, ouroboros, Ray Grasse, Self-consciousness, Soul, Source, spirit, spirituality, symbolism, symbols, the Self, The Waking Dream, uroboros | 31 Comments

The Knight’s Feet in Soft Slippers

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Keanu Reeves, seems perfect to have played Hamlet Hamlet is such a famous and celebrated play that it was dubbed a ‘collection of quotes.’ Who has not heard: “This above all: to thine own self be true,” or “There is … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamlet | Tagged art, forgiveness, Fortinbras, Hamlet, Kenneth Chan, literature, mysticism, Pisces, poetry, Shakespeare, spirituality, symbolism, theatre, violence, Zbigniew Herbert | 20 Comments

Symbolism of the Forest

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Symbol Reader

In the middle of our walk of life, I found myself within a forest dark, for the straightforward pathway had been lost. Dante, The Divine Comedy Foggy Forest on Emei Shan, via http://tryse.net/blog/2009/08/ It seemed to him that he had … Continue reading →

Posted in The Forest | Tagged archetypes, Baudelaire, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, forest, literature, Lord of the Rings, mysticism, poetry, spirituality, Swedenborg, symbolism, symbols, the law of correspondence | 35 Comments

The Symbolic World – Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Symbol Reader

A short talk by a Sufi mystic about a symbolic world which mediates between our ordinary consciousness and the world of the soul.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, divinity, light, mysticism, oneness, shadow, spirituality, symbols | 5 Comments

Why Think of Something Rather than Nothing

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Malevitch, Black Square I have an American Indian friend who is a Pueblo chieftain. Once when we were talking confidentially about the white man, he said to me: “We don’t understand the whites. They are always wanting something, always restless, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, emptiness, Krishnamurti, Michal Ajvaz, mysticism, nothing, nothingness, psychology, Seinfeld, spirituality, symbols, truth, Zen | 16 Comments

The Source of Unity and Harmony

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Symbol Reader

To the magus, there exists no accidental happening…everything is established solidly by that law which the wise man discerns in happenings that appear accidental to the profane. The curve observed in the flight of birds, the barking of a dog, … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, magic, mysticism, religion, spirituality, symbols, the occult, the profane, the sacred, the supernatural | 4 Comments

Musings on the Symbol of the Cross

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Symbol Reader

Salvador Dali, Christ of Saint John of the Cross The symbol of the cross has held a fascination with me for a very long time now. I don’t wear a lot of jewellery but the Celtic cross is something I … Continue reading →

Posted in The Cross | Tagged Ankh, archetypes, art, C.G. Jung, Christ of Saint John of the Cross, Christianity, Dali, mysticism, paganism, religion, spirituality, symbols, the cross, uroboros | 14 Comments

What Maslow Surely Missed

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Symbol Reader

A Favela drummer, image via http://www.veezzle.com/photo/1141733/favela-drummer I was reminded today of the opening scene of The Lord of the Rings. In it, Galadrielle says, ‘The world is changing. I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth … Continue reading →