An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism - Volume One

Beverly Moon, Ph.D., the editor of this volume, is a historian of religions trained at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. A professor of world religions at Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan, she recently published "Goddesses Who Rule" together with Elizabeth Benard.

Although this volume is out of print, you can generally find new or used copies via the Internet.  Amazon.com is one possible source.

"ARAS was conceived with the grand idea of making the collective unconscious of mankind manifest. The psyche is an image organ, a 'picturing' of vital activities. True to that fact, the central feature of ARAS' book is a collection of 'primordial images,' an iconography of the soul, which has the power to evoke itself within the individual. To ground each image and to balance its evocative power, the editors have supplied a detailed assemblage of facts and commentary. This book offers the responsive reader probably the best opportunity outside of personal analysis for a glimpse into the collective unconscious. For the practicing analyst it is an invaluable tool for the amplification of dream images."

~ Edward F. Edinger

 

"The ARAS encyclopedia is a profound work of scholarship pervaded by deep feeling. Like the archive before it, this book was created by an extraordinary assemblage of talent, working with sustained intensity upon a body of knowledge that does not exist anywhere else ..."

~ Roger Kennedy - Director, The National Museum of American History

 

"We now have a single volume that lets readers 'see' the archetypal movements of psyche as illuminated by the visual and psychological splendors of imagery from diverse cultural and historians epochs ... The book's visual approach is extraordinary and irresistible. I have carried it into meetings and classes where people have stood in line to leaf through the pages. The visual appeal of An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism elicits active engagement. Imagine seminars, workshops, and therapeutic groups using the book as a basis for personal responses to archetypal themes.

Each image together with its individual commentary, glossary, and bibliography encourages further inquiry. Readers are given the impression that they can live the image, carry it on within their lives and contribute to the continuity of its emanation. Art Therapy groups might reflect on the images included in each of the thematic sections (Sacred Animals, Monsters, Sacred Marriage, etc.) and then paint a related picture. Through participation in the creative life of the theme, we become agents of the underlying symbols who need us to realize their ongoing individuation within the particulars of the images."

~ The Arts in Psychotherapy, Vol. 19, 1992. Review by Shaun McNiff, Ph.D., Professor, Lesley College Graduate School
~ Choice, Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, March 1992. Review by MR. Pukkila, Colby College.

An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism was selected for inclusion in their 1993 Outstanding Academic Books list.

The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
The God Thoth as an Ibis with the Goddess Maat
One of the Twin Gods of War
No Mask

Introduction by Joseph Henderson
Preface by Charles H. Taylor
Editor's Note by Beverly Moon

COSMOS AND CREATION

Colossal Wheel from the Sun Temple • Helios, the Zodiac, and the Four Seasons •
The Cosmic Egg • The Jain Universe in the Form of the Cosmic Person •
Brahma Offering Lotuses • Eleven-Headed Female Figure •
Four Dwarfs Support the Sky • The Entrance to Paradise •
Gods and Demons Churning the Ocean

CENTER OF THE WORLD

Fuji Pilgrimage Mandala • Khandariya Mahadeva Temple • the Ur Zigguarat •
The Dome of the Rock • The Great Stupa at Sanci • the Ascension of Christ •
The Dance of the Xocotlhuetzi • Christian Labyrinth

SACRED ANIMALS

Frog • Zeus Meilichois • The God Thoth as an Ibis with the Goddess Maat •
Hathor as a Nurturing Feral Cow • Lion Capital at Sarnath • Bear Screen •
Anubis on His Pylon-Shaped Shrine • Bees Clasping a Honeycomb

MONSTERS

Lion-Man • Ganesa Lord of Hosts • Mushhush, the Serpent-Dragon •
Twisted Face • Medusa and Pegasus • The Binding of Fenrir •
Thor Catches the World Serpent • Apocalyptic Vision: Ecclesia and the Dragon •
Sisiutl, the Two-Headed Serpent

GODDESSES

Goddess Presented with Offerings • Aphrodite Riding a Goose • Tara •
The Goddess Nimba • The Goddess Freyja • The Goddes Camunda • Coatlicue

GODS

Krsna Lifting Mount Govardhana • Oath-Taking Figure • Odin, the One-Eyed God •
The Norse God Freyr • One of the Twin Gods of War (Ahayuta) •
Rama and Sita in the Forest • The Moon as an Above Person •
Hachiman in the Guise of a Buddhist Monk

SACRED MARRIAGE

Father Sky, Mother Earth, and Rainbow • The Investiture of King Zimri-Lim of Mari •
The Binding of Isaac • Leda and the Swan • The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

THE DIVINE CHILD

The Divine Child Dancing on a Lotus • The Birth of Mithra from a Rock •
The Birth of Athena • The Nativity of Christ • Skaoaga and Her Bear child •
First Bath and First Steps of Sakyamuni • Kukai (Kobo Daishi as a Boy) •
The Buddha-to-Be as a Truthful Youth • Snake Goddess and Child

SACRED KINGSHIP

Ptah Embracing Sesostris I • Mandhata, the Cakravartin •
Thutmose III Suckled by the Sycamore Goddess • Beaded Crown • Torah Crown •
The Coronation of the Virgin

SAVIORS

Christ the Savior in the Tree of Life • Preaching Hall and Tirthamkara •
Colossal Buddha • Standing Buddha Maitreya • Maitreya and Attendants •
Avalokitesvara as Pyschopomp

HEROS AND HEROINES

Saint George and the Dragon • Bahram the Gor Killing the Dragon •
Judith and Holofernes • Ananda • Mahakasyapa • The Good Shepherd •
Susanna and the Elders • Amenhotep Son of Hapu

DUALITY AND RECONCILIATION

A Pair of Intertwined Serpents • Esu Shrine Figures •
Ardhanarisvara, the Lord Whose Half Is a Woman • Androgynous Water Spirit (Nommo) •
Irises and Aigzag Bridge • The Royal Portal • Twin Figures with a Beaded Jacket •
Ankh Mirror Case of Tutankhamen

REVELATION

The Coming of Elijah • The Ancient in Years • The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) •
Divination Tray • Divination Vessel with an Attached Figure • Land Otter Man •
ShamanÕs Mask • Queen Trisala Dreaming

DEATH

The Crucifixion • The Creation of Adam and the Fall • The Temptation of Eve •
Anubis and the Weighing of the Heart • The Weighing of Souls • The Last Judgment •
Siva and His Family • Wailing Female Mourner

TRANSFORMATION

Apollo and Daphne • Aphrodite Emerging from the Waters • The Baptism of Christ •
The Resurrection and Ascension of Christ • The Crossing of the Red Sea • Mithraeum •
The Goddess Chinnamasta • Menorah Flanked by Olive Trees • Minoan Libation Table