The Book of Symbols. Reflections on Archetypal Images Hardcover – October 24, 2010

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 ofthe finishing touch. She makes the remark that every artist should own a good book on symbols and their meaning. It was my take on thatstatement that she was fashioning her hand carved stamps to mean something ... they meant something to her ... and she was using theseto 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 ... toaide 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 permanentaddition 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.

"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.

I love symbolism, mythology, etc. Most books on symbolism follow a certain pattern, which is just fine. This one stands out.Physically, it has beautiful foil insets for the different sections, just like in old dictionaries. It's sized where it's convenient to carry but would also make a good coffee table book.The content is a collection of individual essays about each topic with beautiful images to accompany most subjects. It's divided by category too, which reinforces its reference-book styling. The essays are brief enough for a fairly quick read. Most, I would say took me no longer than 4-5 minutes, and that include studying the pictures. Expect an introduction to subjects, not a deep study, and you'll treasure this too.I'm very happy to add this to my library.

The strength of this delightful book is its breadth and diversity: you'll find a few choice, well-researched words about most common and many uncommon symbols to help you begin your current dance with them. Like a good tourist guide, the abundance of lovely pictures whet the appetite for [symbolic] adventure, inspire you to step off the beaten track and explore, and invite vague plans for future trips into the great undiscovered country that is the human psyche, which Jung reminds us is hand made from 100% symbol. Whether you dive in for a quick answer [for mind only!], wander aimlessly looking for ideas, or read studiously from end to end, you'll find plenty of prima materia to work into gold.I'd be very surprised if anyone working with myth, symbol and image (be they writers, artists, alchemists, analysts or just plain ol' venturing souls) would not be glad to have this lovely book in their reference library or beside the bed next to a well-thumbed etymological dictionary, as I am... and do: I predict it won't be long until it too is well thumbed![PS: A gentle reminder not to forget that any description ain't the symbol it describes and if you start to think it is, you've probably missed the symbol's point]