Tag Archives: symbolism

The Secrets of the Odyssey (8): the Sirens, Scylla & Charybdis, and Thrinacia

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Symbol Reader

John William Waterhouse, “The Siren” Reading the Odyssey in a superb translation of Robert Fitzgerald is like listening to the most delightful music. No interpretation can possibly replace the sheer pleasure of experiencing Homer’s talent. The opening lines of Book … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Calypso, Charybdis, fig tree, Greek myth, Helios’ cattle, Homer, Libra, mythology, Odysseus, Odyssey, Scorpio, Scylla, sirens, symbolism, symbols, Thrinacia | 29 Comments

Your Golden Hair Margeurite: Hair as a Symbol

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Rapanzel, via http://haleys-comet.deviantart.com/art/Rapunzel-Let-Down-Your-Hair-110501671 In an old pagan ritual known as the Maypole dance, on the Eve of May Day, female dancers circled the pole the counter-clockwise direction, which is sacred to women and associated with the moon while male dancers … Continue reading →

Posted in Hair | Tagged Apollo, archetypes, Auschwitz, Berenice, braids, Coma Berenices, Death Fugue, hair, holocaust, isis, Louis XIV, maypole, mythology, Osiris, Paul Celan, plaits, Samson, Shiva, symbolism, symbols, wigs | 23 Comments

The Flowers

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Goddess Flora “The Flowers” by Stéphane Mallarmé (translated by Henry Weinfield) “From golden showers of the ancient skies, On the first day, and the eternal snow of stars, You once unfastened giant calyxes For the young earth still innocent … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | Tagged archetypes, art, Flora, Flowers, Mallarme, poem, poetry, spring, symbolism, symbols | 7 Comments

Life’s Prose and Love’s Poetry: On Various Types of Relationships

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Symbol Reader

“Dream delivers us to dream, and there is no end to illusion. Life is like a train of moods like a string of beads, and, as we pass through them, they prove to be many-colored lenses which paint the world … Continue reading →

Posted in Eros and Psyche | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Beatrice, Dane Rudhyar, Dante, Divine Comedy, evolutionary astrology, Jeffrey Wolf Green, love, Mark Jones, relationship, sadomasochism, Soul, soul mates, symbolism, symbols, twin flames, twin souls, Venus, Venus in Pisces | 25 Comments

The Art of Sight

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, “Allegory of Sight” “We are all visionaries, and what we see is our soul in things,” wrote Henri Amiel in his journal. The psyche presents itself most directly through images. The world … Continue reading →

Posted in Painting | Tagged archetypes, art, image, imagery, images, John Berger, looking, Saramago “Blindness”, seeing, symbolism, symbols, the sense of sight, visibility | 32 Comments

On Two Levels of Love

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Dane Rudhyar Dane Rudhyar, whose birthday we celebrate tomorrow, always inspired me with awe by his astrological writing which encompassed his vast knowledge of art, music, philosophy, myth and practically all forms of spirituality. The following excerpts come from his … Continue reading →

Posted in Eros and Psyche | Tagged archetypes, astrology, Dane Rudhyar, love, Mars, Neptune, symbolism, symbols, Uranus, Venus | 7 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (5): Lotus-Eaters, Auriga and Polyphemus

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Symbol Reader

What makes the Odyssey so fascinating to me is the constant presence of gods and goddesses, who ceaselessly impinge on the human world. In Homeric Moments, Eva Brann, reflects on the qualities of Greek gods: “Living lightly is the god’s … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, Athene, Auriga, Cyclop, Cyclopes, giant, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Homer, Homer’s Secret Odyssey, Odysseus, Odyssey, Pallas, Polyphemus, Poseidon, symbolism, symbols | 18 Comments

The Gift of Otherness

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Joseph Conrad, a Polish writer who wrote in English and lived in England, summarized beautifully what I also feel to be the role of an artist: “The changing wisdom of successive generations discards ideas, questions facts, demolishes theories. But the … Continue reading →

Posted in Krakow | Tagged Agora, astrology, Buber, dialogue, Kapuscinski, Levinas, maidan, Mars retrograde in Libra, nationalism, otherness, Poland, symbolism, symbols, the Other, tolerance, Ukraine | 31 Comments

The Secrets of the Odyssey (4): A Tribute to Penelope

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Penelope While Odysseus, cursed by Poseidon, cannot find his way home and lives through a series of fantastical adventures, his wife Penelope is experiencing a deep wound of longing and despair. She is left to run the kingdom of Ithaca … Continue reading →

Posted in The Odyssey | Tagged archetypes, bird, Fates, goddess, Greek myth, Greek mythology, Greek myths, Homer, Homer’s Secret Odyssey, Moirai, Odysseus, Penelope, Pleiades, Rene Guenon, symbolism, symbols, weaver, weaving | 22 Comments

Images of the Zodiac: Contemplating Pisces

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Symbol Reader

Johfra Bosschart, “Pisces” One of the best novels I have read in my whole life is without any shadow of a doubt Gould’s Book of Fish: A Novel in 12 Fish by Richard Flanagan. Its narrator, William Buelow Gould, is … Continue reading →