Tag Archives: rebirth

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

Durga

Posted on April 5, 2022 by Symbol Reader

I. “Salutations to Thee, O giver of blessings! Dark Virgin, observant of the vow of chastity, Whose form is beauteous as that of the rising sun, And Thy face as that of the full moon; … Thy body is like … Continue reading →

Posted in Durga, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, conch, death, demons, Durga, Durga Puja, eight arms, fortress, Great Goddess, Hindu myth, India, invincible, Kali, Lakshmi, lotus, mace, Mahisha, rebirth, regeneration, Saraswati, seed, sword, symbolism, symbols, Time, trident, universal goddess, War | 7 Comments

The House of the Black Madonna

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Symbol Reader

One of the most important Black Madonna shrines in Europe is The Basilica della Santa Casa (Basilica of the Holy House) in Loreto, Italy. Catholics believe that it enshrines the authentic house, where Mary lived, where she heard the Annunciation … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Madonna | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, black, Black Madonna, blackness, butterfly, cave, Dark goddess, death, feminine, fire, goddess, hearth, Hestia, kitchen, Loreto, Mary, medlar, Persephone, psyche, rebirth, sacred, Solothurn, Soul, symbolism, symbols, the underworld, tomb, vessel, womb | 10 Comments

A Hymn to Plant Life

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Symbol Reader

While listening to a talk of Alan Watts recently, I was struck by one of his observations. He said that in Daoist inspired landscape painting was a statement against anthropocentrism, which sees humans as the crown of creation. In a … Continue reading →

Posted in plants | Tagged Alan Watts, archetypes, breath, C.G. Jung, dao, death, desire, East, Emanuele Coccia, ideas, life, logos, nature, Olafur Eliasson, philosophy, plants, prana, psyche, rebirth, seasons, Soul, symbolism, symbols, tao, unconscious, West | 2 Comments

Reading The Red Book (19)

Posted on April 11, 2020 by Symbol Reader

I. “… opening The Red Book seems to be opening the mouth of the dead.” James Hillman in James Hillman and Sonu Shamdasani, “Lament of the Dead: Psychology After Jung’s Red Book” II. “We need the coldness of death to … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Uncategorized | Tagged "The Dead", analitycal psychology, ancient Egypt, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Carl Jung, death, depth psychology, James Hillman, Liber Novus, opening of the mouth, rebirth, Shonu Shamdasani, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book | 7 Comments

Egyptian Pyramids as a Symbol of Rebirth

Posted on March 28, 2020 by Symbol Reader

“Ancient Egypt was an agrarian society, and the Egyptians’ view of the world was determined in part by agricultural life along the Nile. Each year, spring rains in the Ethiopian highlands fed the source of the Nile and eventually raised … Continue reading →

Posted in Osiris, Quotations, Uncategorized | Tagged ancient Egypt, benben, death, Duat, Egyptian mythology, Nefertum, Nut, Osiris, pyramids, rebirth, seed, the Nile, the sun | 7 Comments

Reading The Red Book (9)

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“In October [1913], while I was alone on a journey, I was suddenly seized by an overpowering vision: I saw a monstrous flood covering all the northern and low-lying lands between the North Sea and the Alps. When it came … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Uncategorized | Tagged Age of Aquarius, Age of Pisces, Aion, analytical psychology, archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, hero, Liber Novus, murder of the hero, rebirth, renewal, Siegfried, solar hero, Sowilo, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, Wagner | 2 Comments

Symbolism of the River

Posted on March 10, 2019 by Symbol Reader

“I do not know much about gods, but I think that the river is a strong brown god,” so begins the third of T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The divinity of rivers has been recognized by all mythologies since the beginning … Continue reading →

Posted in The River | Tagged ancient Egypt, archetypes, banks, Buddhism, C.G. Jung, Christianity, death, Four Rivers of Paradise, Ganga, Hapi, Hinduism, Kumbh Mela, life, myth, mythology, Nile, nirvana, paradise, rebirth, religion, Rene Guenon, river, Shiva, Source, symbolism, symbols, Upanishads, World Axis | 14 Comments

Inanna at the Ground of Being

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned.” “Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer,” translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer In the well-known Sumerian myth, Inanna, … Continue reading →

Posted in Inanna | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, axis mundi, Dark goddess, depth psychology, descent, Diane Wolkstein, Dumuzi, eight-pointed star, Enki, Ereshkigal, Gilgamesh, goddess, hermeticism, huluppu tree, Inanna, incarnation, initiation, Jung, Lilith, magic, Mesopotamia, mysteries, myth, mythology, rebirth, seven spheres, shadow, Sumer, Sylvia Brinto Perera, symbolism, symbols, transformation, Underworld, Venus, World Tree | 16 Comments

Winter Solstice

Posted on December 20, 2017 by Symbol Reader

“We begin at the southern gate, crowned with the majesty of Christmas. There the Sun enters upon its northward journey — a journey which has been described by seers and poets in beautiful symbolism, for it brings to men, and … Continue reading →