Tag Archives: psychology

Reading The Red Book (4)

Posted on July 14, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“Look into your depths, pray to your depths, waken the dead.” C.G. Jung, “The Red Book” The chapter entitled On the Service of the Soul contains a dire warning: soul work is not a light endeavor. Jung describes his fear … Continue reading →

The Musical Hamilton and its Symbolism

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“Sometimes the right person tells the right story at the right moment, and through a combination of luck and design, a creative expression gains new force. Spark, tinder, breeze.” Lin Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter, “Hamilton the Revolution” “Revolution is … Continue reading →

Posted in Hamilton (The Musical), Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Cancer, Capricorn, diversity, Founding Fathers, gender, Hamilton, hip-hop, history, inclusivity, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mark Jones, music, musical, Obama, politics, psychology, race, symbolism, symbols, USA | 12 Comments

The Holiness of Trees

Posted on October 22, 2016 by Symbol Reader

“Trees in particular were mysterious and seemed to me direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life. For that reason the woods were the place where I felt closest to its deepest meaning and to its awe-inspiring workings.” C.G. Jung, … Continue reading →

Posted in trees, Uncategorized | Tagged C.G. Jung, communication, environment, life, nature, Peter Wohlleben, psychology, Soul, symbolism, Tree of Knowledge, Tree of Life, trees | 41 Comments

Cultivating the Mysterious Essence: on Authenticity

Posted on April 21, 2016 by Symbol Reader

I. “The ancient masters cultivated the mysterious essence. They were profound, subtle – beyond our ability to comprehend. For this reason we cannot know them, but we can try to describe their existence: Cautious, as if crossing an icy … Continue reading →

Posted in Authenticity | Tagged analytical psychology, Authenticity, C.G. Jung, empowerment, Hegel, Heidegger, individuation, personality, psychology, tao, Taoism, Trilling | 25 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (6): Sol and Sulphur – the Fiery Ferment of the Soul’s Hidden Depth

Posted on April 3, 2016 by Symbol Reader

“As in the hand a sulfur match flares white and sends out flicking tongues on every side before it bursts into flame –: in that ring of crowded onlookers, hot, eager, and precise her round dance begins to dart and … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, Black Sun, devil, fire, gold, Jung, Lucipher, Mysterium Coniunctionis, psychology, Sol, Soul, sulfur, sulphur, sun, symbolism, symbols, Venus | 8 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

Struggle for Love in a Dream

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (Poliphilo’s Strife of Love in a Dream or Poliphilo’s Struggle for Love in a Dream), more than just a book but rather a milestone in depth psychology, was published in Venice in 1499. It featured beautiful woodcut illustrations and … Continue reading →

Posted in Hypnerotomachia Poliphili | Tagged archetypes, art, Carl Gustav Jung, depth psychology, dream, dreamlike, Eros, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, psyche, psychology, Renaissance, Soul, Strife of Love in a Dream, symbols | 10 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (3): Meditation and Imagination

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Alchemy speaks a secret language, which, provided there is a basic soul readiness, can be learnt through a slow and arduous process, yet abounding in moments of rapture and revelation. Its method of explanation was best summarized by a Latin … Continue reading →

Posted in Alchemy | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, hermeneutics, images, imagination, meditation, psychology, Psychology and Alchemy, symbolism, symbols, vessel | 28 Comments

Nemesis: the Restorer of Cosmic Order

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I. ”Nemesis, winged tilter of scales and lives, Justice-spawned Goddess with steel-blue eyes! Thou bridlest vain men who roil in vain Against Thy harsh adamantine rein. Great hater of hubris and megalomania, Obliterator of black resentment, By Thy trackless, churning, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nemesis | Tagged archetypes, Greek myth, Greek mythology, griffin, Helen of Troy, hubris, inferiority complex, justice, Leda, Narcissus, Nemesis, psychology, superiority complex, symbolism, symbols, Zeus | 32 Comments

Juno: the Source of the Soul’s Procreation

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Erte, “Hera” Before Her reign was overthrown as the Achaean tribes took over Greece Hera (Roman Juno) was the supreme mother goddess, a benevolent cow-eyed triple goddess of the earth and the sky, the creator of the Milky Way, which … Continue reading →