Explore a truly astonishing range of interests, philosophies, religions, and cultures -- from alchemy to angels, Buddhism to Hinduism, myth to magic. The distinguished authors bring a wealth of knowledge, visionary thinking, and accessible writing to each intriguing subject in these lavishly illustrated, large-format paperback books.
| ||||||||||||
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cosmic Tree- Archetypal Image of Mystery and Power,
By OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: Tree of Life: Image for the Cosmos (Art and Imagination) (Paperback)
As part of the "art and imagination" series I was confident that this would be an excellent and informative book. However, I was unprepared to find it the single best work on the topic of the universal spiritual symbolism of the tree that I've ever found.
The essay that makes up the first part of the book is a comprehensive and insightful exposition of the symbolic significance of the tree in virtually every culture from the shamanistic, to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religions, to the Vedic and Buddhist traditions, to the realm of modern art. The tree is shown to be the universal symbol of the sacred center of the world- the axis mundi. It represents the link between heaven and earth- rooted in the dark unconscious; growing up through the earthly middle world of experience, suffering, and purification; and then branching out into the light of transcendent heaven. To climb the Tree is the perfect image of the path towards enlightenment. Or, conversely, depending on your perspective, you can also see the great Tree as rooted in heaven and growing downward to flower in our lower world. The truly amazing factor is how this imagery can arise spontaneously in the minds of men and women who have had no contact with these traditions. I can testify to that myself. The second part of the book is made of plates of illustrations- 165 with 31 in full color. All are provided with interpretive descriptive paragraphs. These images are perhaps more powerful to contemplate than the text. Though it is out of print, this book is worth the effort and expense to track down for your permanent reference library.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cosmic Tree- Archetypal Image of Mystery and Power,
By OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: The Tree of Life: Image for the Cosmos (The Art and Cosmos Series) (Paperback)
As part of the "art and imagination" series I was confident that this would be an excellent and informative book. However, I was unprepared to find it the single best work on the topic of the universal spiritual symbolism of the tree that I've ever found.
The essay that makes up the first part of the book is a comprehensive and insightful exposition of the symbolic significance of the tree in virtually every culture from the shamanistic, to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, to the Judeo-Christian and Muslim religions, to the Vedic and Buddhist traditions, to the realm of modern art. The tree is shown to be the universal symbol of the sacred center of the world- the axis mundi. It represents the link between heaven and earth- rooted in the dark unconscious; growing up through the earthly middle world of experience, suffering, and purification; and then branching out into the light of transcendent heaven. To climb the Tree is the perfect image of the path towards enlightenment. Or, conversely, depending on your perspective, you can also see the great Tree as rooted in heaven and growing downward to flower in our lower world. The truly amazing factor is how this imagery can arise spontaneously in the minds of men and women who have had no contact with these traditions. I can testify to that myself. The second part of the book is made of plates of illustrations- 165 with 31 in full color. All are provided with interpretive descriptive paragraphs. These images are perhaps more powerful to contemplate than the text. Though it is out of print, this book is worth the effort and expense to track down for your permanent reference library.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
