Tag Archives: mythology

The Attraction to the Divine Unknown

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“I find it relevant to quote here a formulation devised by Dio of Prusa (‘Dio Chrysostom’), a Greek thinker who lived in a period straddling the first and the second centuries CE. In what I am about to quote, taken … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged daimon, daimonion, Dio of Prusa, divinity, gods, Greek myth, myth, mythology, theos | 13 Comments

Hathor: the Exuberant Goddess of Abundant Life

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I.”Who fills the earth with golden motes of sunlight, who comes alive in the liminal east and sets in the liminal west.” II.”I give thee everything that the sky provides, that the earth creates, and the Nile brings from his … Continue reading →

Posted in Hathor | Tagged ancient Egypt, archetypes, celestial cow, Dendera, Divine Cow, Egyptian myth, goddess, Hathor, isis, Milky way, myth, mythology, Nefertim, papyrus, summer solstice, symbolism, symbols, the afterlife | 27 Comments

The Original Madonna: Early Neolithic Goddess

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Of course the Man was wild too. He was dreadfully wild. He didn’t even begin to be tame till he met the Woman, and she told him that she did not like living in his wild ways. She picked out … Continue reading →

Posted in Marija Gimbutas | Tagged archaeology, archetypes, depth psychology, folklore, goddess, Marija Gimbutas, matriarchy, mythology, Neolithic, Neolithic goddess, Old Europe, patriarchy, symbolism, symbols | 22 Comments

The All-Seeing Eye

Posted on August 29, 2014 by Symbol Reader

1.“Illumination comes to those who hear the song of Light unchanged, unflickering, eternal — Light that is one though the lamps be many.” Dane Rudhyar 2.”The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, … Continue reading →

Posted in The All-Seeing Eye | Tagged alchemy, All Seeing Eye, ancient Egypt, archetypes, Blavatsky, caduceus, cone, esoteric knowledge, esoterism, eye, Eye of Horus, Eye of Re, Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, Horus, isis, Isis Unveiled, Juno, kundalini, Moon, myth, mythology, Osiris, peacock, peacock’s tail, pineal gland, Plotinus, psychology, putrefation, sun, symbolism, symbols, third eye, Vatican | 34 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (9): Leucothea in the Sea of Space and Time

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Symbol Reader

The climax of the Odyssey is the hero’s arrival in Ithaca but a harbinger of that pivotal moment is his sojourn on the island of Scheria (Phaecia), which I have written about here. William Blake also connected these two events, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, goddess, Greek myth, Homer, Leucothea, mythology, Odyssey, Phaecia, poetry, Scheria, symbolism, symbols, The Sea of Space and Time, veil, white goddess, William Blake | 9 Comments

Okeanos

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Okeanos is situated at the outermost limits of the world, which is encircled by its stream. The circular stream of the Okeanos flows eternally around the world and eternally recycles the infinite supply of fresh water that feeds upon itself … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations | Tagged Greek myth, mythology, Oceanus, Okeanos, ouroboros, uroboros | 17 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (8): the Sirens, Scylla & Charybdis, and Thrinacia

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Symbol Reader

John William Waterhouse, “The Siren” Reading the Odyssey in a superb translation of Robert Fitzgerald is like listening to the most delightful music. No interpretation can possibly replace the sheer pleasure of experiencing Homer’s talent. The opening lines of Book … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Calypso, Charybdis, fig tree, Greek myth, Helios’ cattle, Homer, Libra, mythology, Odysseus, Odyssey, Scorpio, Scylla, sirens, symbolism, symbols, Thrinacia | 29 Comments

Your Golden Hair Margeurite: Hair as a Symbol

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Rapanzel, via http://haleys-comet.deviantart.com/art/Rapunzel-Let-Down-Your-Hair-110501671 In an old pagan ritual known as the Maypole dance, on the Eve of May Day, female dancers circled the pole the counter-clockwise direction, which is sacred to women and associated with the moon while male dancers … Continue reading →

Posted in Hair | Tagged Apollo, archetypes, Auschwitz, Berenice, braids, Coma Berenices, Death Fugue, hair, holocaust, isis, Louis XIV, maypole, mythology, Osiris, Paul Celan, plaits, Samson, Shiva, symbolism, symbols, wigs | 23 Comments

Images of the Zodiac: Contemplating Pisces

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Johfra Bosschart, “Pisces” One of the best novels I have read in my whole life is without any shadow of a doubt Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in 12 Fish by Richard Flanagan. Its narrator, William Buelow Gould, is … Continue reading →

Posted in Johfra Bosschart | Tagged Age of Pisces, archetypes, astrology, Dane Rudhyar, divine feminine, Egyptian mythology, fish, goddess, Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in 12 Fish, Johfra, myth, mythology, ocean, Osiris, Pisces, redemption, Richard Flanagan, symbolism, symbols, synthesis, water, wholeness, Zodiac | 27 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (3): Calypso and Phaecians

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Symbol Reader

According to a well-known saying by Whitehead, all Western philosophy is a footnote to Plato. Philosophy may have begun with Plato but storytelling and literature began with minstrel poets such as Homer. Our cultural womb and cradle is ancient Greece; … Continue reading →