Ariadne's Clue - Guide to the Symbols of Humankind (98) by Stevens, Anthony [Paperback (2001)]

by Anthony Stevens

Symbolism is the most powerful and ancient means of communication available to humankind. For centuries people have expressed their preoccupations and concerns through symbolism in the form of myths, stories, religions, and dreams. The meaning of symbols has long been debated among philosophers, antiquarians, theologians, and, more recently, anthropologists and psychologists. In Ariadne's Clue, distinguished analyst and psychiatrist Anthony Stevens explores the nature of symbols and explains how and why we create the symbols we do. The book is divided into two an interpretive section that concerns symbols in general and a "dictionary" that lists hundreds of symbols and explains their origins, their resemblances to other symbols, and the belief systems behind them. In the first section, Stevens takes the ideas of C. G. Jung a stage further, asserting not only that we possess an innate symbol-forming propensity that exists as a creative and integral part of our psychic make-up, but also that the human mind evolved this capacity as a result of selection pressures encountered by our species in the course of its evolutionary history. Stevens argues that symbol formation has an adaptive it promotes our grasp on reality and in dreams often corrects deficient modes of psychological functioning. In the second section, Stevens examines symbols under four "The Physical Environment," "Culture and Psyche," "People, Animals, and Plants," and "The Body." Many of the symbols are illustrated in the book's rich variety of woodcuts. From the ancient symbol of the serpent to the archetypal masculine and feminine, from the earth to the stars, from the primordial landscape of the savannah to the mysterious depths of the sea, Stevens traces a host of common symbols back through time to reveal their psychodynamic functioning and looks at their deep-rooted effects on the lives of modern men, women, and children.

Genres: Psychology, Mythology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Semiotics, History, Science

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Anthony Stevens is a well known Jungian analyst and psychiatrist who has written extensively on psychotherapy and psychology.

Stevens has two degrees in psychology and a doctorate in medicine from Oxford University. He studied for a time under John Bowlby. He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists. He lectures regularly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere.

Stevens is the author or co-author of many books and articles on psychology, evolutionary psychiatry, Jungian analysis and the significance of archetypal imagery.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[tea, boginja opste prakse]

bozx kakav rolerkoster od knjige....zbog ovih tumacenja simbola kao sto su voda, rijeka itd i objasnjenja inicijacija i obreda sam imala najcudnije traumaticne snove + super je kao uvod i podsticaj da se cita jung!!

[Justin Bello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most dictionaries of symbolism written by crackpot psychics and other fools, Anthony Steven's book offers not only the legitimacy of a PhD, but also highly impressive scholarship. For anyone interested in Jung, archtypes, or the works of Joseph Campbell, this is a must have.

[Araminta Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book on symbol is in western culture I've read to date.

[BobK21 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would it really mean to trace our capacity as spontaneously expressive and representational creatures — as symbolic creatures — back through time in order to understand ourselves and the world more deeply? How could such an exploratory process be conducted?

What would it mean to make such a process a departure point for archaeological investigations into the depths of our developmental history?

We have to begin by recognizing that human experience tends to be structured in certain ways that are sovereignly determined by nature in its creative totality (whatever that might mean metaphysically is beside the point, for now), and by reflecting on those patterns with depth, clarity, and precision.

A primal example of this is that we are creatures who wake and dream (or maybe we’re dreamt). Beyond us, all life on Earth tends to be structured in certain ways, given the conditions of existence on this particular planet. When it comes to the ‘conditions’ of human existence, it’s undeniable that fundamental aspects of the nature of our own existence are non-linear and mysterious beyond our ability to consciously grasp. At the same time though, we are conscious of a great deal.

Various patterning influences have been playing central roles in our development since the beginning of life on earth. How can we recognize these influences, and study the ways they have tended to structure life on Earth?

One way might be to:

-Identify the most phylogenetically enduring elements, necessities, demands, and limitations of life on Earth (human and non-human life). These enduring elements are the aspects of the “environment” that have exerted the greatest amount of selective pressure on life on Earth across its entire spatial and temporal range of manifestation. This is the method by which symbolic archaeologists determine targets for excavation and examination.

As Anthony Stevens notes in this book, these enduring elements are “the source of primordial webs of cognitive and affective associations.” Because of their enduring presence as part of the environment selecting for life on Earth, these “webs of cognitive and affective [emotional and motivational] associations” are the domains of countless symbolic representations concerned with wise adaptation in the world — adaptation concerned with action that prioritizes evolutionary fitness.

Besides waking and dreaming, what other enduring elements influencing higher-order life on Earth can be identified through such meditation? Hunting and being hunted are two other primal realities. The four elements of earth, air, water, and fire are a classical example. The four seasons and the day and night skies are others. Humans are naturally social, and within the social realm affiliation and acclaim, (or to put it another way, relationship and renown) structure life in more terrifyingly elemental ways than we can imagine.

The aspects of existence that the particularly adept archaeologist Jordan Peterson has centrally focused on are the exploring entity, explored territory, unexplored territory, and total anomaly. He also identifies these elements as the knower, the known, and the relative and absolute unknown. In many ways, navigation seems to be his primary concern. I’m intensely interested in this.

When we peel back its layers in a slightly different way than Dr. Peterson generally focuses on in his spoken content (Maps of Meaning is a different story), three constituent elements of navigation that emerge are spatial and temporal landscapes (territories), the reflexive orientation responses of entities within and towards landscapes, and the temporal and spatial movements those entities make through those landscapes.

These three categories naturally come to mind because many life-forms on Earth, including humans, are fundamentally exploratory entities. In order to survive, we need to constantly explore the world around us to discover the new implications it has for our behavior and keep our models of it up-to-date. Existence is one continual enterprise of exploration and encounter.

This book by Anthony Stevens is incredibly inspiring. If this review has gripped you in any way I'd encourage you to track down the book and read it meditatively.

There's gold in the past, and we'll need the riches that are within us for the future. Digging is a way of being.

https://abettik.medium.com/symbolic-a...

[Dulguun Gantumur · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Jungian psychoanalysis, at least as it pertains to symbols. But these too are an excellent example of his thought and one can get a glimpse into the field from the concise and readable first section. The second section is a thesaurus, rather than a dictionary of the many universal symbols found across humanity and can be a useful tool to compare and aesthetically appreciate the world in a new way. However, one shortfall the second section had was its overwhelming focus on either Greco-Roman, or Chinese symbolic traditions. While other civilizations were of course mentioned, they were not used nearly to the extent that these two traditions occupied in the book. Nonetheless, it does stand as an impressive work and provides the reader with an introduction to Jungian thought and how it conceives of universal symbols.

[Claire Binkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found what I needed from this book and took it back.
It's helpful.

[Stefan Gašić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poznati Jungovac koji savršeno dobro nastavlja tradiciju i koristi znanje o simbolima da ih pravično protumači.
Knjiga delimično nudi osvrt na stvaranje simbola kao arhetipskih figura koje su sadržane u kolektivnom nesvesnom, a pored toga se fokusira na objašnjenje u vidu rečnika. Tako nam Stivens daje tumačenja od Fizičkog okruženja, preko Kulture i psihe pa sve do čovekovog Tela.

[Bridgett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long collection of symbols grouped in themes. Useful to just look at once in awhile, as well as to read all the way through.

[Michelle Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique cross reference for symbols and mythology. Actually a pretty good read if you like both those subjects, or can be used like an encyclopedic source. Well researched.

[Mary]

First 80 pages were rad.