Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (1)

This encyclopedia presents 120 full-page color photographs of art works and artifacts of the sacred traditions of the world, from ancient times to the present. The images are grouped into archetypal themes such as Cosmos and Creation, Sacred Animals, Goddesses, Gods, The Divine Child, Heroes and Heroines, Revelation, and Transformation. Accompanying pictures are brief essays on historical and cultural context, cross-cultural symbolism, and the psychological meaning of the archetypes, as well show more as bibliographies, glossaries, and a comprehensive descriptive index. The source of the images is the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS), a unique collection of more than 13,000 pictures and scholarly materials prepared by analytical psychologists, art historians, and scholars of religion. The Archive is housed at three locations: the C. G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology in New York and the C. G. Jung Institute of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Source: Publisher show less

From Publishers Weekly: This is an astonishing book, an important publishing event and a significant sourcebook of body wisdom. Developed from the resources in the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, this is a richly collaborative volume, the product of years of research and thoughtful encounter by members of the Archive. While volume one was organized around the mythic themes that follow the solar calendar from cosmos and creation to death, transformation and rebirth, this second show more volume focuses on the human body as the locus of the sacred and as the source of deep psychological insights. Each topic is presented in a four-page unit consisting of a full-page color illustration of an art work which captures the archetype, an art-historical discussion of the artifact, an archetypal commentary and a brief bibliography. The odd element of this structure is that the art-historical commentary on the artifact is given equal status to the archetypal commentary. As a result, the archetypal discussion is not as rich as it might be, for the archetypal commentaries do not connect the present iteration of the archetypes with past incarnations. Nevertheless, this enormously useful reference book will be a welcome addition to the scholar's library. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"This extraordinary book offers a rare opportunity for both layperson and scholar to encounter and gain insight into the living symbols that reveal the sacred incarnated in the physical world."—Linda Schierse Leonard, author of Creation's Heartbeat: Following the Reindeer Spirit

Review 2: "Volume 2 of this encyclopedia comes when we need it most—just when the body is coming back into the core of spiritual and religious concern. Organ by organ, from the heel of Achilles to the circumcision of Christ, The Body is an essential handbook for today's thought."—T. George Harris, editor of Deeper Health in Spirituality, Science, and Community

About the Author: George R. Elder, PhD, is a historian of religions trained in Christian studies at Union Theological Seminary and in Buddhist studies at Columbia University. He was a professor for many years at Hunter College, City University of New York, and is the author of numerous scholarly essays. Dr. Elder is currently National Editor of ARAS and a Jungian counselor. show less