At every stage of civilization, people have relied on symbolic expression,
and advances in science and technology have only increased our dependence
on symbols. An essential part of the ancient arts of the Orient and Western
medieval traditions, symbolism underwent a twentieth-century revival with
the study of the unconscious. Indeed, symbolic language is considered
a science, and this informative volume offers an indispensable tool in
the study of symbology. Its alphabetical entries--drawn from a diverse range
of sources, including all of the major world religions, astrology, alchemy,
numerology, heraldry, and prehistoric art--clarify the essential and unvarying
meanings of each symbol. Whether used as a reference or browsed for pleasure,
this informative volume offers a valuable key to elucidating the symbolic
worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas.
32 b/w illustrations
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