Tag Archives: Odyssey

Mythical Lisbon

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Symbol Reader

This year, I traveled to Portugal for the first time, and throughout my journey, I felt as though I was encountering something deeply mysterious. The country struck me as a land of silence and secrecy, and I became captivated by … Continue reading →

Posted in Lisbon | Tagged Alfama, archetypes, azulejos, Baixa, Baixa Pombalina, Belem, caduceus, cities, Critias, fado, hermeticism, initation well, Jeronimos, Knights Templar, light, Lima de Freitas, Lisbon, Lusitiania, Masonry, Odysseus, Odyssey, Ophiussa, pavement, Plato, Portugal, Quinta de Regaleira, ravens, saint Vincent, saudade, serpents, Sintra, Soul, symbolism, symbols | 8 Comments

Symbolism of Mermaids: The Beauty and Danger of Unconscious Depths

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Symbol Reader

“Her hair was as a wet fleece of gold, and each separate hair as a thread of fine gold in a cup of glass. Her body was as white ivory, and her tail was of silver and pearl. Silver and … Continue reading →

Posted in Mermaids | Tagged alchemy, anima, archetypes, art, Atargatis, C.G. Jung, church, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, consciousness, depth psychology, enlightenment, Eros, fantasy, gender fluidity, goddess, hybrid, incarnation, liminal, Little Mermaid, Melusine, mermaid, Mermaids, merpeople, merperson, monster, morality, mythology, Odysseus, Odyssey, passion, Picasso, Pisces, psyche, queer, seduction, selkie, sexuality, sirens, Soul, Starbucks, symbolism, symbols, the unconscious, Typhon, Warsaw, Wild Woman | 9 Comments

The Nymphs

Posted on December 30, 2020 by Symbol Reader

I. To Nereids “O lovely-faced and pure nymphs,daughters of Nereus, lord of the deep,at the bottom of the seayou frolic and dance,fifty maidens revel in the waves, maidens riding on the backs of Tritons,delighting in animal shapes,bodies nurtured by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Ancient Greece, Apollo, archetypes, beekeeping, Calypso, cave, Cave of the Nymphs, Chariklo, childbirth, Chiron, civilization, Crete, Daphnis, Delphi, Dionysos, divination, Dryads, fertility, Greek mythology, healing, Hera, Hermes, Ida, Ithaca, Maia, marriage, mountain, mythology, Naiades, Nereids, nostos, numpholeptos, nymphs, Oceanids, Odyssey, oracle, Pan, Pleiades, Porphyry, psyche, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Syrinx, water, Zeus | 3 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (13): Journeying on Snakelike Wet Paths

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Symbol Reader

While reading Hermes Guide of Souls: The Mythologem of the Masculine Source of Life by Karl Kerènyi I came across the following passage describing the nature of Odysseus’s journeying and the special patronage of Hermes over Odysseus: “We previously called the … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, Greek myth, Greek mythology, guide of souls, Hermes, Homer, journey, journeying, Kerenyi, messenger, Odysseus, Odyssey, psychopomp, symbolism, symbols, travelling, Zeus | 31 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (12): Freedom in the Bosom of the Waters

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Library on Nautilus An odyssey is a journey that never ends, so I had a suspicion I will return to my beloved subject sooner or later. I have received a note from the authors of Homer’s Secret Odyssey today, which truly made … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, calendars, Captain Nemo, Florence and Kenneth Wood, Homer, Homer’s Secret Odyssey, Jules Verne, literature, myth, Odyssey, sea, space, symbolism, symbols | 18 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (11): Death of Odysseus, Master of Land Ways and Sea Ways

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Edward Dodwell, “Ithaca” Having emerged from the Cave of the Nymphs, while the Moon is still in its dark period and the Sun stands still at Winter Solstice, Odysseus hides away in the hut of a pig-keeper Eumaeus. As a … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, epic poetry, Eumaeus, Greek myth, Gregory Nagy, hero, Homer, Homer’s Secret Odyssey, Kenneth and Florence Wod, literature, Odysseus, Odysseus’ death, Odyssey, pig farm, symbolism, symbols, universe, winnowing shovel | 15 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (10): Return to Ithaca through the Cave of the Nymphs

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Venus the Morning Star (Venus Phosphorus – Light-Bringer) “When on the East the sheer bright star arose that tells of coming Dawn, the ship made landfall and came up islandward in the dim of night. Phorkys, the old sea baron, … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes literature, astrology, Athena, cave, Cave of Nymphs, creation, darkness, Greek mythology, Homer, honey, Ithaca, light, myth, noos, nostos, Odysseus, Odyssey, olive tree, Porphyry, rebirth, Soul, symbolism, symbols, Venus morning star | 11 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

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

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 →