Tag Archives: symbolism

Asclepius: Earth-Walking Healer, Son of Apollo

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Coronis was pregnant by Apollo when she found herself attracted to a stranger. He came from Arcadia, and his name was Ischys. A white crow watched over her. Apollo had told the bird to guard the woman he loved, ‘so … Continue reading →

Posted in Asclepius | Tagged adyton, Apollo, Asclepius, Asklepios, C.G. Jung, cock, Coronis, death, Demeter, depth psychology, dog, dream, Dreaming, Eleusis, Epidaurus, Greek myth, Greek mythology, healing, Hermes, incubation, medicine, Medusa, Ophiuchus, rebirth, rite, Ritual, rod of Asclepius, serpent, snake, symbolism, symbols | 26 Comments

Icy Lechery: Art by Tamara de Lempicka

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“Was it true that, according to her final wishes, the ashes of the Polish-Russian artist Tamara de Lempicka were dropped from a helicopter by her daughter Kizette into the crater of the Mexican volcano Popocatépetl? What an Olympian, cataclysmic, magnificent … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting, Quotations | Tagged archetypes, art, eroticism, nude, painting, sensuality, sex, symbolism, symbols, Tamara de Lempicka | 10 Comments

To Apollo: The Averter of Evil, the Bringer of Harmony (part 1)

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“I am the eye with which the Universe Beholds itself, and knows it is divine; All harmony of instrument or verse, All prophecy, all medicine, is mine, All light of art or nature; – to my song Victory and praise … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo | Tagged Ancient Greece, Apollo, archetypes, art, bow, civilization, Daphne, Delos, depth psychology, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Homeric hymn to Apollo, Leto, lyre, muses, music, nymphs, paean, possession, sun god, symbolism, symbols, the Self, Zeus | 21 Comments

Rusalki: the Slavic Nymphs

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Symbol Reader

“She shook the bright drops from her hair And gazed upon the anchorite; To look upon her form so fair The good monk trembled with affright. And he beheld her from afar With head and hand strange signals make, Then … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged archetypes, Great Goddess, mermaid, rusalka, rusalki, Slavic myth, symbolism, symbols, the collective unconscious, water nymphs | 26 Comments

Two Shimmering Thoughts by Jung on His Birthday

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“The unconscious can be reached and expressed only by symbols, and for this reason the process of individuation can never do without the symbol.” Carl Gustav Jung, Collected Works Volume 13, “Alchemical Studies,” section 44 2.“What takes place between light … Continue reading →

Posted in The Symbol | Tagged C.G. Jung, depth psychology, symbol, symbolism, the unconscious | 16 Comments

On the Birth of Aphrodite

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Symbol Reader

If our exact time of place and birth is like a lodestar to interpreting our qualities and our destiny, it must make a lot of sense to look closely at the birth of Venus and relate what we find to … Continue reading →

Posted in Aphrodite/Venus | Tagged Ananke, Aphrodite, apple, archetypes, beauty, birth of Venus, blood, castration, Furies, Gaia, goddess, Greek myth, Greek mythology, harmony, Kronos, love, Ouranos, red, Rilke, rose, sexuality, symbolism, symbols, Titans, Uranus, Venus | 17 Comments

The Wild Abandon of the Vine Month

Posted on July 12, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite overcanopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk roses and with eglantine. There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, Lulled in these flowers with … Continue reading →

Posted in Summer, The Vine | Tagged blood, Celtic calendar, Christ, communion, Dionysus, fairies, Maenads, Midsummer Night's Dream, sacrifice, Shakespeare, symbolism, symbols, vine, vine month, vineard, wine | 12 Comments

Rose Red: Symbolism of Blood

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1.“White and red combined are the colour of the mysterious rose, the whiteness of milk and the redness of blood, the white of light and the redness of fire.” Eliphas Levi, “The Book of Splendors” 2.“Blood is the first incarnation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blood | Tagged alchemy, bleeding, blood, body, Carl Gustav Jung, color, Dark goddess, dark moon, depth psychology, family, fate, flesh, goddess, Kali, menstruation, passion, red, rose, rubedo, Sekhmet, symbolism, symbols, ties, whore of Babylon | 17 Comments

Hathor: the Exuberant Goddess of Abundant Life

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Symbol Reader

I.”Who fills the earth with golden motes of sunlight, who comes alive in the liminal east and sets in the liminal west.” II.”I give thee everything that the sky provides, that the earth creates, and the Nile brings from his … Continue reading →

Posted in Hathor | Tagged ancient Egypt, archetypes, celestial cow, Dendera, Divine Cow, Egyptian myth, goddess, Hathor, isis, Milky way, myth, mythology, Nefertim, papyrus, summer solstice, symbolism, symbols, the afterlife | 27 Comments

In Praise of Witches

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Symbol Reader

1. “We are an evolving, dynamic tradition and proudly call ourselves Witches. Honoring both Goddess and God, we work with female and male images of divinity, always remembering that their essence is a mystery that goes beyond form. Our community rituals are participatory … Continue reading →