This remarkable and wide-ranging book is an inventory of symbols and the symbolic imagination. The editors and their fifteen contributors are drawn from a variety of scholarly backgrounds—including anthropology, ethnology, psychotherapy and art history. This diversity of approach is responsible for the book's unique character, a reflection of the multiplicity of symbols and signs and the phenomenal range of possible interpretations they offer. This book draws together folklore, literary and artistic sources, and focuses on the symbolic dimension of every colour, number, sound, gesture, expression or character trait that has benefitted from symbolic interpretation. The conscious and unconscious minds are explored, desire and dreams are treated alongside the known and the chronicled. Extraordinary in its range and eclecticism, this dictionary was originally published in French as the Dictionnaire des Symboles, and it is regarded as the standard work on the subject.
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Language Notes
Text: English
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Jean Chevalier was a university lecturer in philosophy and theology before working for UNESCO. He subsequently devoted himself to writing and research, publishing many works on religion and spirituality. He died in 1993. Alain Gheerbrant is a well-known poet and travel-writer, living in Paris. John Buchanan-Brown is a long-established and gifted translator of French books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
79 of 82 people found the following review helpful
By Joel M Sax
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a thinker's dictionary, not a guide to road signs and icons. The editors took the trouble to recruit symbol experts from many different professions, ranging from the paranormal to the skeptical academic. The result is a dictionary with entries that have more depth than the usual "quick hits" that other symbolism dictionaries give you. Chevalier is not afraid to give contradictory or contrasting meanings of icons. (He is not a universalist, but a relativist.) He is usually careful to identify the culture in which a particular meaning is given. I keep this in easy reach on my bookshelf, reminding myself, however, that no dictionary on this subject can possibly cover all the meanings a symbol may have. It is worth having around.
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
i have known this dictionary in the french original for about 20 years now and recommend it again and again to students. i have always hoped that it could become available for non french readers. finally! as a jungian analyst, i find the dictionary extremely helpful: it does an extraordinary job of displaying the breadth of symbolic meanings involved in so many symbols that are still very much alive in people today. the refence to various cultures is especially important in our multi-cultural world.. i am very thankful for this translation into english and hope the german translation will follow soon.
43 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have about a dozen symbol books... most of the classics. This one is the best for interpreting those strange symbols in your dreams, daydreams, etc. It is not the shallow stupid interpretations "you are going on a journey..." stuff, but true archetypical and esoteric interpretations.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Used for English Comp II
I needed this book in order to do some research for my paper in my English Comp II class and it was a great help for me!
Published 5 months ago by Christy Walters
1.0 out of 5 stars
not worth it
This is a great book for obtaining a few interesting symbols. The really terrible part is that the author did just that. Collected a few symbols on which they had no information. Read more
Published 19 months ago by thewarlock
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love your bookshelf, indulge its academic cravings. Please.
I give this five stars because it is an excellent resource and I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.
I bought this book expecting it was about pictorial symbols and glyphs... Read more
I bought this book expecting it was about pictorial symbols and glyphs... Read more
Published on May 6, 2011 by W. Henry-Elwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Condition, Great Price
Very detailed and comprehensive descriptions of symbols, origins, and cultural mutations. Can function as a standalone reference or a starting point for more detailed investigation
Published on March 29, 2011 by Patrick Stolle
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book of Symbols (and World Folklore and Mythology)
This is an amazing book -- it covers symbolism, but it also a functions as a book of world folklore and mythology. It's nearly 1,200 pages and the entries are quite extensive. Read more
Published on March 29, 2011 by Dennis Hendrix
5.0 out of 5 stars
Expands the imagination
This remains my favorite dictionary of symbols, though it lacks the illustrations and finer graphics of (say) the recent Taschen edition of "The Book Of Symbols". Read more
Published on January 23, 2011 by Robert Moss
4.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best
I have several books on symbols and this is among my favorites. It's very comprehensive and thorough, but as another person mentioned it is definitely a thinker's book. Read more
Published on December 30, 2009 by Jessie Opilo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect tool for analyzing myth, mysticism, the occult, and religions
I wholly endorse this book. The authors, using clear and lucid prose, manage to touch upon every major symbol and symbol system I can think of. Read more
Published on September 21, 2009 by C. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars
the penguin dictionary of symbole
I have done considerable research looking for the single best dictionary of symbols with regard to the accuracy of their interpetations, and this is the book. Read more
Published on September 11, 2009 by J. Woodburn
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderfully Solid Reference Book
This book is well written, comprehensive and fun to read. I own about a half-dozen books on symbols and symbolism and this one is hands down the best I currently own. Read more
Published on May 20, 2009 by Kevin Owsley
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