The Book of Symbols: A Tool to Experiencing Life As Magical

Why are so many people buying this beautiful book and giving it pride of place on their favorite bookshelf?

It's not a rave or a sudden fad, it's older and wilder by far than that; it's about the way that symbols live deep in our psyches, and when we look around and make sense of our world, we "decode" the things we see through symbols and what they mean to us.

Who hasn't heard of Carl Gustaf Jung, that brilliant Swiss psychoanalyst, who explored the meanings of symbols and how they affect us in day-to-day ways, as well as our dreams and subconscious? Back in the 1930s, students and followers of Jung got busy collecting all kinds of symbolic images. They created an organization called The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS) and the collection grew to hold more than 17,000 amazing images and information about them, with time-lines and cross references.

If you were a member of ARAS online, or you could go to one of their institutes, you could hunt down the symbols and images that haunt or thrill you, and find a treasure trove of history and meanings. Great news!! Thanks to Publishing House Taschen, we can now access all these stunning and inspiring symbols and archetypes in our own study or sitting room! The Book of Symbols has 800 pages and not one page too many. It's divided into five categories: Animal World, Creation and Cosmos, Human World, Plant World and Spirit World, and weaves a poetic exploration of each symbol's meaning through history, looking from many angles, such as Art, Literature, Folklore, Religion, and Psychology.

This isn't a specialist's book, it's a wonderfully human book, tapping into a place that unites and excites us all, no matter where or when we came into the world. On a very deep level, we all want to experience life as magical-to see the mystery and wonder in ordinary life. The Book of Symbols is a tool in our hands to help us see that the mystery is not hard to find. It's deep within us and everywhere around us, and always calling to us in beautiful and evocative ways. In the words of Meister Eckhart "When the Soul wants to experience something she throws out an image in front of her and then steps into it." This book is an ally to the Soul in making the journey rich and exciting.

"Waysweaver" sites promote ideas, products and crafts that have their source in ancient traditions, and enhance our experience of wonder and delight in day to day life. http://www.thebookofsymbols.waysweaver.com/