Tag Archives: suffering

Reading The Red Book (44)

Posted on September 4, 2022 by Symbol Reader

“Don’t be afraid to suffer – take your heaviness and give it back to the earth’s own weight.” R.M.Rilke, “Sonnets to Orpheus” We have almost reached the end of our journey through The Red Book. This post summarizes the final … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged archetypes, Baucis, C.G. Jung, Christ, depth psychology, dismemberment, Elijah, evil, Gnosticism, goddess, gods, good, healing, Helena, individuation, Jesus, Kabbalah, Osiris, Philemon, Salome, Satan, shadow, Simon Magus, suffering, symbolism, symbols, tikkun ha olam | Leave a comment

Frida Kahlo’s Symbolism of Life

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Symbol Reader

Frida Kahlo stands today for much more than art; she is a symbol and an icon of feminism, a heroine of the disability rights movement, anti-racism movements and LGBT communities. Her boundless creativity drew no lines between life and art; … Continue reading →

Posted in Ambition, frida kahlo | Tagged accident, archetypes, art, Casa Azul, death, Diego Rivera, ex-votos, fashion, feminism, fertility, frida kahlo, healthabortion, infertility, jewellery, life, miscarriage, pain, painting, religion, retablos, suffering, symbolism, symbols, Tehuana | 11 Comments

Reading The Red Book (26)

Posted on October 25, 2020 by Symbol Reader

“There are not many truths, there are only a few. Their meaning is too deep to grasp other than in symbols.” C. G. Jung, The Red Book, Liber Secundus, chapter XIII Chapter XII of Liber Secundus, the second part of The … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, depth psychology, Dionysus, dismemberment, Holy Communion, Liber Novus, liver, mandala, Osiris, Prometheus, psyche, sacrifice, Soul, suffering, The Red Book | 8 Comments

The Suffering of Perseus and Medusa

Posted on June 3, 2018 by Symbol Reader

“I wasn’t hurt enough when I should have been, Kino admitted to himself. When I should have felt real pain, I stifled it. I didn’t want to take it on, so I avoided facing up to it. Which is why … Continue reading →

Posted in Medusa, Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, Cellini, Gorgon, Greek mythology, healing, Jungian psychology, Medusa, Men Without Women, monster, Murakami, myth, patriarchy, Perseus, shadow, suffering, symbolism, symbols, trauma, wound | 2 Comments

Krishnamurti on Suffering

Posted on March 6, 2016 by Symbol Reader

“Questioner: I seem to have suffered a great deal all my life, not physically, but through death and loneliness and the utter futility of my existence. I had a son whom I greatly loved. He died in an accident. My … Continue reading →

Posted in Quotations, Uncategorized | Tagged attachment, conflict, Krishnamurti, pain, self-understanding, sorrow, suffering | 21 Comments

Shakespeare and Goethe on Love: from Despair to Hope

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Symbol Reader

“She had a wildness in her eyes and into it I plunged.” Goethe, “Sorrows of Young Werther” In January 1778 Christel von Lassberg drowned herself in the river Ilm, the reason most probably being unrequited love. A copy of Goethe’s … Continue reading →

Posted in love, Uncategorized | Tagged bear, freezing, Goethe, hibernation, literature, love, passion, rebirth, regeneration, Romanticism, Shakespeare, spring, suffering, symbolism, symbols, trauma, Werther, Werther effect, winter, Winter's Tale | 10 Comments

David Bowie’s Blackstar

Posted on January 16, 2016 by Symbol Reader

The video to David Bowie’s “Blackstar” overpowered me immediately when it was released on 19 November last year. It is a visual poem and a symbolic feast. Despite the iconic yellow smiley face flashed at the viewer at the very … Continue reading →

Posted in David Bowie, Uncategorized | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Blackstar, Chaos, David Bowie, death, nigredo, suffering, symbolism, symbols, video | 16 Comments

The Blessings of Darkness and Light: Tribute to Khalil Gibran

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Symbol Reader

I.“Now I know that I am the sphere, and all life in rhythmic fragments moves within me.” “The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you.” “Love … Continue reading →

Posted in Khalil Gibran, Uncategorized | Tagged "The Prophet", Almustafa, archetypes, Khalil Gibran, love, Mary Haskell, mysticism, pain, religion, spirituality, suffering, symbolism, symbols, the union of opposites | 20 Comments

The Guilt of Prometheus and Pandora’s Gifts

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Symbol Reader

Prometheus was one of the Titans – the gods who descended from primordial deities, and preceded Olympian gods and goddesses. His name meant “forethought;” he proved he deserved it by showing a gift of premonition and prophecy when he sided … Continue reading →