Tag Archives: Soul

Symbolism of Gardens

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Symbol Reader

I.”The men where you live,” said the little prince, “raise five thousand roses in the same garden–and they do not find in it what they are looking for.” “They do not find it,” I replied. “And yet what they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardens | Tagged depth psychology, Eden, garden of Earthly Delights, Gardens, Hieronymus Bosch, Hortus Conclusus, Jung, paradise, rock garden, rocks, Song of Songs, Soul, stones, symbolism, symbols, Zen garden | 20 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 | 10 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

Clarissa Pinkola Estés on the Animus as a Merchant of Soul

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“By classical Jungian definition, animus is the soul-force in women, and is considered masculine. However, many women psychoanalysts, including myself, have, through personal observation, come to refute the classical view and to assert instead that the revivifying source in women … Continue reading →

Posted in Animus, Quotations | Tagged animus, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, depth psychology, feminine, masculine, Soul, symbols, Wild Woman, woman | 19 Comments

Wanderings of Spirit: Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Symbol Reader

The joyful, anti-didactic spirit of Ovid’s Metamorphoses has always been close to my heart. As I have come across a new, modern translation by Charles Martin, I have decided to reread this timeless classic. I always remembered that Shakespeare loved … Continue reading →

Posted in Ovid's Metamorphoses | Tagged change, Charles Martin, constancy, Greek myth, Metamorphoses, Ovid, Pythagoras, Scott Moncrieff, Soul, unity | 13 Comments

The Soul after Death: Hermes and Eurydice

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Symbol Reader

The transitional, in-between state of the soul after death was believed to be the domain of Hermes by ancient Greeks. They worshiped Hermes as the one god who will guide them to the right place of exit after they die. … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged death, Eurydice, Greek myth, Hermes, liminality, Orpheus, poetry, psychopompos, Reiner Maria Rilke, Soul, transition | 15 Comments

Color Symbolism: Purple

Posted on April 4, 2015 by Symbol Reader

In Woody Allen’s movie “The Purple Rose of Cairo,” Mia Farrow’s character, frustrated by her marital woes, falls in love with a character in a movie. The movie character also becomes attracted to her, and exits the screen to profess … Continue reading →

Posted in The Color Purple | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, color, crown chakra, depth psychology, immanence, individuation, purple, seventh chakra, Soul, spirit, symbolism, symbols, transcendence, transformation, violet | 30 Comments

Two Different Kinds of Soul

Posted on March 16, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I. “The dual fate of Heracles after death, dwelling simultaneously on high with the gods and below in Hades, reflects the Greek notion that we have two different kinds of soul. Thymos is warm, emotional and red-blooded; while psyche is … Continue reading →

Posted in Psyche | Tagged Ancient Greece, archetypes, death, depth psychology, Dionysus, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Hades, life, Pluto, psukhe, psyche, reality, Soul, symbols, thumos | 13 Comments

Jung on Alchemy (2): The Mandala

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“People will do anything, no matter how absurd, to avoid facing their own souls. They will practice Indian yoga and all its exercises, observe a strict regimen or diet, learn theosophy by heart, or mechanically repeat mystic texts from the … Continue reading →