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Symbolic Archetypes

Symbolic Archetypes. 9/22 & 23. What is a Symbol?. A symbol is a concrete object used to represent an abstract idea. Examples. Gods live in the skies or mountaintops. Evil forces live in the bowels of the earth. Heaven - Hell. Water - Desert.

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Symbolic Archetypes

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  1. Symbolic Archetypes 9/22 & 23

  2. What is a Symbol? • A symbol is a concrete object used to represent an abstract idea. • Examples

  3. Gods live in the skies or mountaintops Evil forces live in the bowels of the earth Heaven - Hell

  4. Water - Desert • Because water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. • The appearance of rain in a work of literature can suggest a character’s spiritual birth. • Conversely, the aridity (dryness) of the desert is often associated with spiritual sterility. • Characters who live in the desert are often “dead” to morals or the “good side”.

  5. Haven vs. Wilderness • Places of safety contrast sharply against the dangerous wilderness. • Heroes are often found in unexpected places. • Wilderness threatens civilization.

  6. Circles • Spheres, eggs, wheels • Wholeness, unity, infinity, continuity, and cycles

  7. Civilization • Cities • Corruption, sin, lust, voluptuous materialism

  8. Colors • The most ancient and universal of symbols. • They can symbolize moods or emotional process. • They can represent pairs of opposites and dualism such as light and dark, masculine and feminine, etc.

  9. Black (darkness) • The shadow; the repressed part of the Self. • Mystery; the unconscious, the underworld, emotional darkness, hidden desires/instinct • Black represents the first step in the transformation process in which the old is destroyed in order for new creation of the Self to occur

  10. In positive terms Growth Fertility Hope birth In negative terms Rot Decay Jealousy Envy Green

  11. Blue • The color of spirit, the heavenly, the divine, intuition and inspiration

  12. Red • Blood, life, anger • Lust and passion • Courage and war

  13. Gold • Divine light, illumination, self-worth/ value

  14. White • Purity, holiness, sacredness, redemption, mystical enlightenment and innocence. • Signifies • the union of opposites to form a whole • the symbolic death of transformation • renewal • In Eastern thought, white is the color of the crown chakra, what is known as the halo in Western thought

  15. Yellow • The sun, illumination and intellect. • The color of fire and thus the purification of flame

  16. Silver • The color of the moon, magic, the Goddess, psychic nature.

  17. Orange • Balance, creative expression, pride and ambition. • As the color of fire, can represent burning away impurities

  18. Sun Cycle • Rising sun • The East, birth, rise of the hero, goodness or optimism

  19. Sun Cycle • Setting Sun • The West, death, fall of the hero, evil or pessimism

  20. Seasonal Cycle Summer Peak of hero’s power, marriage, triumph, youth Spring Birth phase, rise of the hero, resurrection growth Fall Beginning of death, decline of hero, increasing isolation and alienation Winter Death, chaos, fall or death of hero

  21. Deserts Spiritual emptiness, death, hopelessness, and sterility Gardens Paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty, fertility Seasonal Cycle continued

  22. Water • Sea • The mother of all life, spiritual mystery and infinity, death and rebirth, timelessness and eternity, the unconscious • Rivers • Father or protector, death and rebirth, baptism, the flowing of time into eternity, transitional phases of life cycles

  23. Review True or False • Gods live in the skies; evil lives in the bowels of the earth. • Water and desert both symbolize birth.

  24. True or False 3. Heroes live in the woods. 4. Cities symbolize corruption.

  25. 5. 6. 7. 8. List One Possible Meaning of the Symbol

  26. Colors: List One Meaning • Black • Green • Blue • Red • White

  27. Time to Use your Knowledge • Get in your group and work on your Creation Myth art project

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