Tag Archives: unconscious

The Symbolism of the Heron

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Symbol Reader

Ever since I watched The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki – twice, drawn back by the questions it left me with – I’ve been captivated by the symbolism of these enigmatic birds. Herons appear frequently in Japanese art, … Continue reading →

Posted in Heron | Tagged Athena, augury, Bagalamukhi, Bennu, Birds, consciousness, Egypt, Gimbutas, goddess, Greece, Heron, Iliad, Japan, magic, Mahavidyas, Mary Oliver, Miyazaki, mythology, Odysseus, omens, ornis, phoenix, Shakti, shapeshifter, Soul, symbolism, symbols, trickster, unconscious, Yeats | 6 Comments

Disasters and Their Symbolic Dimensions

Posted on July 13, 2025 by Symbol Reader

“In the beginning, there was nothing at all that anyone could have discerned – only a yawning gap that stretched in all directions – featureless, indefinite, without orientation.” Sarah Iles Johnston, Gods and Mortals: Ancient Greek Myths for Modern Reader … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters | Tagged alchemy, archetypes, Blatten, C.G. Jung, calamities, catastrophe, depth psychology, Derborence, disaster, Enkidu, enlightenment, Gilgamesh, hope, landslide, literature, mountain, nature, Pandora, Piuro, psyche, Ragnarok, Ramuz, Switzerland, unconscious | Leave a comment

Reading The Red Book (40) – The Seven Sermons to the Dead

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Symbol Reader

“One, two, three, but where, my dear Timaeus, is the fourth?” Plato, “Timaeus” We have now reached the fourth Sermon to the Dead, in which the dead demand of Philemon: “Speak to us about Gods and devils, accursed one.” The … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, devil, Eros, four, Greek myth, Leviticus, Liber Novus, Pan, Philemon, psyche, quaternio, Satan, scapegoat, scapegoating, Septem Sermones, Seven Sermons to the Dead, Soul, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, unconscious | 5 Comments

Reading The Red Book (38) – Seven Sermons to the Dead

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Symbol Reader

We are making our way through The Seven Sermons to the Dead, which are part of Scrutinies, the final section of The Red Book. In my previous post I looked into the genesis of the sermons while this one focuses … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged Abraxas, archetypes, C.G. Jung, creation, devil, evil, fullness, Gnosticism, God, good, Helios, Liber Novus, Philemon, pleroma, psyche, Scrutinies, Septem Sermones, seven sermons, Soul, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, unconscious | Leave a comment

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 (33)

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Symbol Reader

“One can certainly gain outer freedom through powerful actions, but one creates inner freedom only through the symbol.” C.G. Jung, The Red Book, Liber Secundus, chapter XX Chapter XX of Liber Secundus, the middle part of Jung’s Red Book, has … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged analytical psychology, archetype, C.G. Jung, Christ, Christianity, cross, Hermes, Jesus, Liber Novus, Liber Secundus, magic, Moses, Nehushtan, prisca theologia, psyche, serpens mercurialis, serpent, snake, Soul, symbolism, symbols, the way of the cross, transcendent function, unconscious, unity of opposites | 3 Comments

Reading The Red Book (32)

Posted on March 21, 2021 by Symbol Reader

Chapter XIX of Liber Secundus (part II of The Red Book) is called The Gift of Magic. The Soul wants Jung to accept the gift of magic represented by “a black rod, formed like a serpent-with two pearls as eyes-a … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged archetypes, C.G. Jung, Carl Gustav Jung, depth psychology, feeling, four functions, intuition, Kabbalah, Kether, Liber Novus, magic, magician, psyche, ring, sacrifice, sensing, serpent, solitary, Soul, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, thinking, unconscious | 5 Comments

Reading The Red Book (31)

Posted on February 26, 2021 by Symbol Reader

“Little good will come to you from outside. What will come to you lies within yourself. But what lies there!” C.G. Jung, The Red Book, chapter XVIII (Liber Secundus) Chapter XVIII of Liber Secundus is called The Three Prophecies. The … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged analytical psychology, Aquarius, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Chaos, eternity, Liber Novus, magic, mysticism, opposites, prophecy, psyche, psychology, religion, Rudolf Steiner, science, Soul, symbolism, symbols, The Red Book, timeless, truth, unconscious, vision, War | 6 Comments

Reading The Red Book (29)

Posted on January 10, 2021 by Symbol Reader

I. “Your sun will rise from muddy swamps.” II. “The lowest in you is the source of mercy.” III. “But the lowest in you is also the eye of the evil that stares at you and looks at you coldly … Continue reading →

Posted in The Red Book by C.G. Jung | Tagged analytical psychology, archetypes, C.G. Jung, Chaos, crucifixion, depth psychology, evil, good, language, Liber Novus, life, madness, Neo-Platonism, Nous, Phanes, psyche, shadow, Soul, symbolism, symbols, system, The Red Book, unconscious, words | 5 Comments

Reading The Red Book (28)

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Symbol Reader

“I see behind you, behind the mirror of your eyes, the crush of dangerous shadows, the dead, who look greedily through the empty sockets of your eyes, who moan and hope to gather up through you all the loose ends … Continue reading →