This is a remarkable dictionary, exploring the vast and various symbols which abound in literature, religion, national identity and are found at the very heart of our dreams and sub-conscious. Compiled by an international team of experts, each entry is given its complete range of interpretations - sexual and spiritual, official and subversive, cultural and religious - to bring meaning and insight to the symbol.
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Some sample entries:
RAY
At all cultural levels in works of art rays are drawn from the SUN, from HALOES or from other forms. These rays symbolize an emanation of light radiating from a centre, sun, saint, hero, genius or other individual. They express a fecundating influence, whether of the spiritual or material order. An individual emitting rays belongs to the element Fire, and is related to the Sun. The recipient of the rays determines whether they instil warmth, stimulus or fertility, or else burn, dry up or sterilize.
CHAIR
The chair is universally recognized as a symbol of authority. To remain seated while others stand is to demonstrate your superiority, while to offer somebody a chair is to recognize his or her authority or prestige, either as a person or a representative of that authority. In academic circles professional authority is dignified by the Chair in that particular branch of learning, while in the church the bishop's sphere of authority is known as his see, from the Latin sedes, meaning `chair'. Thus the Holy See is the symbol of the divine authority with which the Pope is invested as Sovereign Pontiff. A raised chair confirms superiority.
BUBBLE
Air- or soap-bubbles symbolize a created object which is lightweight, spontaneous and short-lived and which suddenly bursts to leave no other trace of its existence than the transient and arbitrary volume of a little air.
Similarly Buddhists make them emblems of anitya, the transience of the world of illusion. `Whoever', states the Dhammapada, `looks upon the world as upon and air-bubble, can look beyond the kingdom of death.' Another sutra affirms that `the occurrences of this life are no more than dreams, phantasies, air-bubbles, shadows, glittering dew, a lightning flash.' This is no doubt the source from which The Secret Garden Flower teaches `that in the sight of the Tao, Heaven and Earth are but an air-bubble and a shadow'.
About the Author
Jean Chevalier was a university lecturer in philosophy and theology before working for UNESCO. He subsequently devoted himself to writing and research, publishing many works on religion and spirituality. He died in 1993.
Alain Gheerbrant is a well-known poet and travel-writer, living in Paris.
John Buchanan-Brown is a long-established and gifted translator of French books.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, interesting, comprehensive. A dictionary that it's a pleasure to sit down and read!
12 July 2011
By Nature Lover
Format:Paperback
Most people who own this sort of book have many similar books on their shelves (I do). If that's the case, this book is a great addition to your library. If you're looking for a single book to do the job, this is the one I'd recommend. I'm slightly perplexed by other reviewers who seem to knock the book down to base level for lacking pictures, but for those among the readership who are intelligent enough to know what an acorn, bat, candle, wheel, wolf and worm all look like, pictures aren't necessary. The symbolism included includes visual symbolism but stretches far beyond this too, including mythological and religious symbolism (would a picture of Cain and Abel really help?), rituals and activities (Blessing, Dance), types of clothing, philosophical and literary symbols and so on and so forth.
For me, as an academic, this book is the best of its kind, but it will be accessible to anyone - each entry is explained in concise, short-sentence prose, which includes some sparse details of stories and traditions. Best of all (and this is where this book really towers head and shoulders above nearly all its competitors) is that it is fully referenced, so the source for each symbol is listed in full, and you can go and read up further if you find the information too concise. For its breadth of coverage, and the depth of its explanations, this book finds a really useful balance. It's a really decent size, but is well produced and light enough to fit in your hand like a copy of War and Peace or Middlemarch.
It's also got some blank space inside the front and back covers, so if you want any pictures, you can draw them there; although my guess is that you'll be too engrossed in the text to ever get round to it.
For me, as an academic, this book is the best of its kind, but it will be accessible to anyone - each entry is explained in concise, short-sentence prose, which includes some sparse details of stories and traditions. Best of all (and this is where this book really towers head and shoulders above nearly all its competitors) is that it is fully referenced, so the source for each symbol is listed in full, and you can go and read up further if you find the information too concise. For its breadth of coverage, and the depth of its explanations, this book finds a really useful balance. It's a really decent size, but is well produced and light enough to fit in your hand like a copy of War and Peace or Middlemarch.
It's also got some blank space inside the front and back covers, so if you want any pictures, you can draw them there; although my guess is that you'll be too engrossed in the text to ever get round to it.
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Perhaps I was a bit hasty in my research about this book, but I was nevertheless dumbfounded to find that this book has no pictures whatsoever about the symbols it sets out to describe.
If it was a word dictionary I would understand this reasoning, but because we are talking about a dictionary about something as visual as symbols, it must count as a criminal act to publish a book without images of them. And it wouldn't have mattered if the images had been kept tiny, the size of a thumb nail in a corner, or as a reference. They are simply essential to this book, and they are not there.
Haven gotten that out of the way, I can now turn to a more positively note and say that the word descriptions of the symbols are excellent. In most types of dictionaries you would appreciate concise writing, but here you welcome the lengthy examinations of each symbol's meaning, history and sometimes lost or hidden meanings.
So all in all it's an OK book. But still upset about the error of leaving the images out.
If it was a word dictionary I would understand this reasoning, but because we are talking about a dictionary about something as visual as symbols, it must count as a criminal act to publish a book without images of them. And it wouldn't have mattered if the images had been kept tiny, the size of a thumb nail in a corner, or as a reference. They are simply essential to this book, and they are not there.
Haven gotten that out of the way, I can now turn to a more positively note and say that the word descriptions of the symbols are excellent. In most types of dictionaries you would appreciate concise writing, but here you welcome the lengthy examinations of each symbol's meaning, history and sometimes lost or hidden meanings.
So all in all it's an OK book. But still upset about the error of leaving the images out.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By loz81904
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have just purchased the dictionary of symbols as a reference tool for my English Literature Degree, helping me understand literary analogies, allegories and some allusions (such as mythology) and for use as assignment quotes.
So far it has been fantastic for quotes as it is surprisingly hard to find academically acclaimed guides to symbolism via online searches... believe me I've tried!
OK.. so it doesn't have pictures, you really don't need them, and all entries are alphabetically listed so really easy to find what you need. It spans many different subjects and cultures for its references, and is really interesting (I have found myself reading articles I didn't need to). Some entries are short and concise as they don't have many different meanings, however others such as serpents have an longer entry looking at a wealth of meanings including biblical and psychological.
Maybe not for everyone, but I honestly don't know how I have coped without this book.
So far it has been fantastic for quotes as it is surprisingly hard to find academically acclaimed guides to symbolism via online searches... believe me I've tried!
OK.. so it doesn't have pictures, you really don't need them, and all entries are alphabetically listed so really easy to find what you need. It spans many different subjects and cultures for its references, and is really interesting (I have found myself reading articles I didn't need to). Some entries are short and concise as they don't have many different meanings, however others such as serpents have an longer entry looking at a wealth of meanings including biblical and psychological.
Maybe not for everyone, but I honestly don't know how I have coped without this book.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A tide of dissatisfaction enveloped me when i received and perused this book. It is outrageous to put a book into print on the subject of symbols with no illustration whatsoever.
The meanings given behind many symbols are far too long winded and combined with added 'waffle' make this book nothing short of a chore to study.
The company that publishes this book is Penguin. I suggest they get their 'international team of experts' together (see back cover) and produce a book aimed at the people who actually pay for it, namely me!! the customer. I'm sorry but in my honest opinion this book fails and disappoints at every level. I regret making the purchase.
The meanings given behind many symbols are far too long winded and combined with added 'waffle' make this book nothing short of a chore to study.
The company that publishes this book is Penguin. I suggest they get their 'international team of experts' together (see back cover) and produce a book aimed at the people who actually pay for it, namely me!! the customer. I'm sorry but in my honest opinion this book fails and disappoints at every level. I regret making the purchase.
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