Tag Archives: Plato

Symbolism of the Cave

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Symbol Reader

A well-known passage from Plato’s Republic describes how a group of people, chained to the wall of a deep cavern, spend their entire lives looking at the shadows dancing on the cave wall in front of them. The captives are oblivious to … Continue reading →

Posted in cave | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, cave, Cave of the Nymphs, death, Egypt, gnas, goddess, Hermes, incarnation, Plato, Porphyry, Power, rebirth, Soul, symbolism, symbols, tomb, transcendence, transformation, womb | 6 Comments

Gender and the Cosmic Shift

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Symbol Reader

Natural History Museum of Bern, Switzerland is currently running an exhilarating, colourful exhibition called “Queer – Diversity is in our Nature.” The thesis of the curators seems to be that the animal kingdom is rich and diverse with numerous examples … Continue reading →

Posted in LGBTQ+ | Tagged androgyne, archetypes, Chaos, gender, gender bending, gender fluid, Greek myth, Hermaphroditus, identity, LGBT, love, Metamorphoses, nature, non-binary, Ovid, Plato, quantum entanglement, Salmacis, shifting identities, symbolism, symbols, Symposium | 9 Comments

Ancient Roots of the Symbol

Posted on March 6, 2020 by Symbol Reader

The book Birth of the Symbol: Ancient Readers at the Limits of Their Texts by Peter T. Struck, published in 2004 by Princeton University Press, traces the ancient origins of the concept of a symbol. The author has this to … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol, Uncategorized | Tagged Ancient Greece, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Chaldean Oracles, Divine, enigma, gods, Iamblichus, interpretation, meaning, Nous, Peter Struck, Plato, Porphyry, Proclus, Pythagoras, sunthemata, symbol, symbolism, symbolon, synchronicity, theurgy | 2 Comments

The Bembine Table of Isis

Posted on December 31, 2018 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 Bembine Table of Isis, also known as Mensa Isiaca, is … Continue reading →

Posted in The Bembine Table of Isis, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, ancient Egypt, archetypes, Bembina Table, Bembina Tablet, C.G. Jung, Egyptian mythology, esoteric, esotericism, isis, Manly P. Hall, materia prima, Mensa Isiaca, Museo Egizio, neoplatonism, Plato, symbolism, symbols, Turin | 9 Comments

In the Crystalline Maze: Symbolism of the Mirror

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

The magic of mirrors and their tremendous mystic powers cannot be doubted. The soul’s primal instinct is to seek unity in love. We project our Selves onto the world and onto others in an attempt to see our own soul … Continue reading →

Posted in The Mirror, Uncategorized | Tagged Ankh, Borges, divination, Fauna of Mirrors, mirror, mirror stage, Narcissus, Neoplatonists, participation mystique, Plato, Poimandres, psychology, self-knowledge, Soul | 26 Comments

On Genius (2): Genius in Antiquity

Posted on October 3, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story…” Homer, “The Odyssey” Gustave Moreau, “l’Inspiration” I am still making my way through a very beautifully written book by Darrin M. McMahon called Divine Fury: A History of Genius. Its … Continue reading →