The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images

The best collection of Symbols in a book I’ve found so far, and there are several out, I have more than one so I can compare, this one is Superior. Wonderful photos and research. Highly recommend.

This is a marvelous book. A symbol potently stands in for an idea that we can barely grasp and cannot easily express. The book sensitively and perceptively assembles 1,700 carefully selected images of hundreds of exemplary symbols. Spanning human cultures from prehistoric times and across the planet, the symbols have been variously embodied in wood, bone, ivory, gold, bronze, stone, mica, terra-cotta and other ceramics, and as imagery on rock faces, walls and ceilings, boards, fabrics, canvas, and paper. The book’s creators have selected these images with great care and have framed them well. The symbols are gathered thematically: of the cosmos itself and of the plant, animal, human, and spirit worlds. Each particular symbol is accompanied by an informed and end-noted essay about its accompanying images and its category of possible meanings. This heavy, 800-page book reflects extraordinary care in design, choices of imagery, full-color printing, and overall high quality. A splendid publication!

The book is beautiful. I went through every page from beginning to end; I left, came back, and looked up random symbols, and it’s filled with incredible information, stunning artwork, and rich history. For me, it was like drawing a tarot card or connecting with an oracle. I loved it—ever since I started reading it, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it

"Dream dictionaries" are fun, and could even be helpful. I own like 6 or 7 of them. But THIS book, The Book of Symbols, is the one that I have found to have the most accurate interpretations of the things I see and experience in my dreams. Dream dictionaries read more like a collection of superstitions attached to different dream symbols. But The Book of Symbols doesn't approach these symbols with superstition-- they approach it historically and describe what these symbols have represented to human beings for all of human history. So when I had an incredibly vivid dream about being struck my lightning, this was the book that used to interpret this dream, that my psychic subconscious was either warning me of a sudden calamity, or that it represented some sort of great moment of empowerment. It turned out that it was both. Something happened to me a few months after having this very vivid dream that was catastrophic and felt, figuratively speaking, like I had been struck my lightning. But what happened to me also seemed to be a catalyst for some really powerful things to take place in my life. And it was this book and it's research that is has compiled on symbols on archetypes that I used to interpret this experience. I recommend this book to everyone I know who is interested in archetypes, symbolism, or dreams.

My friend who has studied Jung psychology for many years recommended I get this book as the one good book to get on symbols, a starting reference to help me decode and decipher the symbols in my dreams. I had second thoughts about buying this book after I read some of the negative reviews. After having used it for a few weeks, I have come to the conclusion that many of those leaving negative reviews for this book bought it without understanding what this compendium is meant to be. It says very clearly in the description, "The highly readable texts and over 800 beautiful full-color images come together in a unique way to convey hidden dimensions of meaning. Each of the ca. 350 essays examines a given symbol’s psychic background, and how it evokes psychic processes and dynamics." While I am new to deep diving into my dreams, I think this is the kind of book that is most useful to people who are already interested in dream interpretation and have invested in the Jungian model of the psyche. Those already well-versed in the field probably have many books that go into greater detail and this wouldn't supplement your library well. If you're new to the field, the entries in this book probably won't make a whole lot of sense because it's intended as a starter or adjunct reference book to what you already know. Get Robert Johnson's Inner Work book first, do the exercises, then use this book. I have docked a star because the text is awfully small, I'm less than wowed by quality of the color photo printing, and there is only one ribbon bookmark (orange) in the product, not multiple ribbons as shown in the product images.

I am a watercolor and collage artist. Recently, I've been studying Betsy Dillard Stroud. She is an extremely talented artist. She makes little "stamps" using linoleum and cutters and uses watercolors/acrylics/inks to stamp designs onto her nearly completed paintings. This is kind of the finishing touch. She makes the remark that every artist should own a good book on symbols and their meaning. It was my take on that statement that she was fashioning her hand carved stamps to mean something ... they meant something to her ... and she was using these to say that in her art work. After googling a bit, I decided on this book. It took awhile to arrive. It was well worth it. This is a forever keeper. It's a gorgeous book. Hard cover. 800+ pages. The pages have little scallops cut out of them, and each scallop has a different color ... to aide you in finding sections quickly. I forget what this process is called but it's done in "library type of reference books". It's a very nice book. Every subject imaginable is enclosed. I know I will make use of this book forever! If you're not an artist, I could see this being a permanent addition to your library, and hate to call it a "coffee table" book because it is much, much, much more than that. High quality materials (paper), high quality art (the colors reproduced), it's all there.

Fantastic broad reference book. Perfect for dream, art, or fiction interpretation. The book came in good condition. Im very happy with it.

Absolutely wonderful sourcebook

Het boek is super mooi, maar de hoeken zijn beschadigd

IMÁGENES: Coincido con algún otro lector en que la (restringida, por la amplitud del tema en cuestión) selección de imágenes son lo más interesante de este libro. TEMAS: La elección de los temas tratados resulta correcta, para mi criterio quedan algunos fuera y otros podían haber sido prescindibles, pero en un trabajo que intenta abarcar algo tan amplio es lógico encontrar algunas discrepancias. Al menos, se han agrupado de forma lógica y ordenada, lo que resulta de agradecer. TEXTOS: Los textos son algo pobres, más propios de un escritor que de un investigador; y parece que la elección del editor sobre el tamaño tan mínimo de letra empleada se ha hecho a propósito para desanimar su lectura (ciertamente hay que forzar bastante la vista para poder leer los textos, algo impropio de una edición cuidada como pretende ser ésta). CONCLUSIÓN: Una obra de interés eminentemente gráfico y cuidadas ilustraciones, con vocación generalista, que intenta agradar a todos pero que carece de profundidad.

Ce livre est sublime ! je l'adore. Je l'ai reçu aujourd'hui en parfait état :)

Muy bonita edición

Very nice, good book.❤️