Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious SymbolismMircea Eliade--one of the most renowned expositors of the psychology of religion, mythology, and magic--shows that myth and symbol constitute a mode of thought that not only came before that of discursive and logical reasoning, but is still an essential function of human consciousness. He describes and analyzes some of the most powerful and ubiquitous symbols that have ruled the mythological thinking of East and West in many times and at many levels of cultural development. |
Contents
SYMBOLISM OF THE CENTRE | 27 |
History of Archetypes | 33 |
The Images of the World | 37 |
Symbolism of the Centre | 41 |
Symbolism of Ascension | 47 |
Construction of a Centre | 51 |
INDIAN SYMBOLISM OF TIME AND ETERNITY | 57 |
Indian Myths of Time | 60 |
Thracians Germans Caucasians | 103 |
Iran | 105 |
Ethnographic Parallels | 107 |
The Magic of Knots | 110 |
Magic and Religion | 112 |
The Symbolism of LimitSituations | 115 |
Symbolism and History | 119 |
OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYMBOLISM OF SHELLS | 125 |
The Doctrine of the Yugas | 62 |
Cosmic Time and History | 67 |
The Terror of Time | 71 |
Indian Symbolism of the Abolition of Time | 73 |
The Broken Egg | 77 |
The Philosophy of Time in Buddhism | 79 |
Images and Paradoxes | 82 |
Techniques of the Escape from Time | 85 |
THE GOD WHO BINDS AND THE SYMBOLISM OF KNOTS | 92 |
The Symbolism of Varuna | 95 |
Bindings Gods in Ancient India | 99 |
The Symbolism of Fecundity | 128 |
The Ritual Functions of Shells | 133 |
The Part played by Shells in Funerary Beliefs | 135 |
The Pearl in Magic and Medicine | 144 |
The Myth of the Pearl | 148 |
SYMBOLISM AND HISTORY | 151 |
Archetypal Images and Christians Symbolism | 160 |
Symbols and Cultures | 172 |
Remarks upon Method | 175 |
179 | |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient Andersson aquatic archaic archetypal image ascension Atharva Veda baptism become binding birth bonds Brahman Buddha Centre ceremonies Chamanisme Christ Christian Comparative Religion complex Cosmic Tree cosmological Cosmos Cowrie creation culture Daniélou death demons divine Dumézil Earth Eliade Eternal Return existence express fact Frazer function funerary goddess gods Heaven hierophany historian history of religions human ibid important Indian Indo-European Indra initiation instance jade kali yuga Karlgren knots krita yuga ladder live lunar magical magico-religious mandala manifests Māyā means metaphysical moon moreover mystical mythical mythology myths Nārada Nirrti oyster Paradise paradoxical Paris Patterns in Comparative pearl plane prehistoric primitive primordial profane realised reality religious resurrection revealed rhythms Rig Veda rites ritual sacred Scheftelowitz shaman shells situation sorcery soul sovereign spiritual structure symbolises symbolism techniques temple texts things tradition transcend universal unreality Upanishad Varuna Vedic Vishnu Vritra Waters Yoga yogin yuga
Popular passages
Page 15 - Images by their very structure are multivalent. If the mind makes use of images to grasp the ultimate reality of things, it is just because reality manifests itself in contradictory ways and therefore cannot be expressed in concepts.
Page 12 - The symbol reveals certain aspects of reality — the deepest aspects — which defy any other means of knowledge. Images, symbols and myths are not irresponsible creations of the psyche; they respond to a need and fulfill a function, that of bringing to light the most hidden modalities of being.