Articles

Ontological Combat Mode: The Beauty of ‘Demon Slayer’

‘Demon Slayer’ is one of the best known, and best received, animes/mangas of all time.... This essay attempts to articulate the symbolism of the story poetically and ekphrastically, as a dialogical rumination on the beauty of the tale and its characters. In its style and construction, it attempts to evoke and induce the spirit of the story, the vividness of its color, the flame and water of its profundity....

Ontological Combat Mode: The Beauty of ‘Demon Slayer’

‘Demon Slayer’ is one of the best known, and best received, animes/mangas of all time.... This essay attempts to articulate the symbolism of the story poetically and ekphrastically, as a dialogical rumination on the beauty of the tale and its characters. In its style and construction, it attempts to evoke and induce the spirit of the story, the vividness of its color, the flame and water of its profundity....

Mainstreaming the Demonic, ‘Sinister,’ and a Simple Solution

Article

Mainstreaming the Demonic, ‘Sinister,’ and a Simple Solution

When AI fabricates a reference or fact, it’s called a hallucination. When it generates a frightening image or suggestion, should we call it a haunting?

Mainstreaming the Demonic, ‘Sinister,’ and a Simple Solution

When AI fabricates a reference or fact, it’s called a hallucination. When it generates a frightening image or suggestion, should we call it a haunting?

The Life-Giving Power of a Georgian Feast

Article

The Life-Giving Power of a Georgian Feast

A long table is set and guests take their seats. The pattern of the tablecloth is hidden by dozens of colorful dishes of traditional foods. Spirits rise with the commingled scent of the food, in anticipation of what is to come. The gathered guests may have traveled from far away, or they may be family and neighbors. This table may be high in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, or it may be in the hills of Pennsylvania. Wherever the table is, and whomever is gathered around it, all turn their attention to the head when they hear the *ding* of a clinking wine glass....

The Life-Giving Power of a Georgian Feast

A long table is set and guests take their seats. The pattern of the tablecloth is hidden by dozens of colorful dishes of traditional foods. Spirits rise with the commingled scent of the food, in anticipation of what is to come. The gathered guests may have traveled from far away, or they may be family and neighbors. This table may be high in the Caucasus Mountains of Georgia, or it may be in the hills of Pennsylvania. Wherever the table is, and whomever is gathered around it, all turn their attention to the head when they hear the *ding* of a clinking wine glass....

Article

‘Arrival’ & the Universal Language

What is the foundation of civilization? Is it science, bloodline, technology, military? The sci-fi story Arrival, the book by Ted Chiang and 2016 film directed by Denis Villeneuve, offers an intriguing solution to this riddle. The main character, Louise Banks....

‘Arrival’ & the Universal Language

What is the foundation of civilization? Is it science, bloodline, technology, military? The sci-fi story Arrival, the book by Ted Chiang and 2016 film directed by Denis Villeneuve, offers an intriguing solution to this riddle. The main character, Louise Banks....

Empty Throne in the Heart of the Golem of the Modern State: Thomas Hobbes, History, Fake Heaven, and ‘Game of Thrones’

Article

Empty Throne in the Heart of the Golem of the Modern State: Thomas Hobbes, History, Fake Heaven, and ‘Game of Thrones’

It is often overlooked that (as of the 17th century) the West has been living, to a significant extent, in line with the symbolic archetypes shaped by the works of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes....

Empty Throne in the Heart of the Golem of the Modern State: Thomas Hobbes, History, Fake Heaven, and ‘Game of Thrones’

It is often overlooked that (as of the 17th century) the West has been living, to a significant extent, in line with the symbolic archetypes shaped by the works of the philosopher Thomas Hobbes....

Sous la Seine, prélude aux Jeux Olympiques

Article

Sous la Seine, prélude aux Jeux Olympiques

Mathieu Grossi se penche sur le film Sous la Seine et son symbolisme qui nous aide à comprendre le scandale de la cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris.

Sous la Seine, prélude aux Jeux Olympiques

Mathieu Grossi se penche sur le film Sous la Seine et son symbolisme qui nous aide à comprendre le scandale de la cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris.

La perspective du serpent: nudité et ruse

Article

La perspective du serpent: nudité et ruse

Georges poursuit ses investigations sur la Genèse pour expliquer la personalisation du potentiel chez le serpent.

La perspective du serpent: nudité et ruse

Georges poursuit ses investigations sur la Genèse pour expliquer la personalisation du potentiel chez le serpent.

The Three-Worlds Doctrine in Phenomenological Terms

Article

The Three-Worlds Doctrine in Phenomenological Terms

For those who study comparative religion and traditional cosmologies it is quite clear that the three-fold division of the cosmos is an anthropological recurrence. We find that in Islam, in Hinduism, in Buddhism, in Neoplatonism and many other traditions. Some of the readers of The Symbolic World may be familiarized with this idea via the works of Dr. Wolfgang Smith....

The Three-Worlds Doctrine in Phenomenological Terms

For those who study comparative religion and traditional cosmologies it is quite clear that the three-fold division of the cosmos is an anthropological recurrence. We find that in Islam, in Hinduism, in Buddhism, in Neoplatonism and many other traditions. Some of the readers of The Symbolic World may be familiarized with this idea via the works of Dr. Wolfgang Smith....

Article

La connaissance du bien et du mal

Georges Elias se plonge dans le symbolisme de l'arbre du bien et du mal pour éviter des problèmes gnostiques.

La connaissance du bien et du mal

Georges Elias se plonge dans le symbolisme de l'arbre du bien et du mal pour éviter des problèmes gnostiques.

Meaning and Imagination: A 2024 Address for Graduates

Article

Meaning and Imagination: A 2024 Address for Graduates

As we come to the end of the modern world, the community here at the Symbolic World is working to plant and cultivate the seeds of renewal. Ultimately, the rebirth of a symbolic — or sacramental — vision and culture must include the renewal of education. We cannot continue to (de)form our children in the pedagogy of modernism and still hope to participate in the restoration of meaning....

Meaning and Imagination: A 2024 Address for Graduates

As we come to the end of the modern world, the community here at the Symbolic World is working to plant and cultivate the seeds of renewal. Ultimately, the rebirth of a symbolic — or sacramental — vision and culture must include the renewal of education. We cannot continue to (de)form our children in the pedagogy of modernism and still hope to participate in the restoration of meaning....

Technology and the Story of Redemption: Being the People of God in a Mechanized World

Article

Technology and the Story of Redemption: Being the People of God in a Mechanized World

In the Bible, the first reference to someone building something comes in Genesis 1:1 when God made the heavens and the earth. This is the beginning of a theology of technology, yet the import is easily missed because we do not share the thought world of the Ancient Near East, the original context for Genesis....

Technology and the Story of Redemption: Being the People of God in a Mechanized World

Robin Phillips

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May 23, 2024

In the Bible, the first reference to someone building something comes in Genesis 1:1 when God made the heavens and the earth. This is the beginning of a theology of technology, yet the import is easily missed because we do not share the thought world of the Ancient Near East, the original context for Genesis....

Article

L’importante intimité des rêves

Georges Elias fait appel aux travaux de Carl Jung et Matthieu Pageau pour situer les rêves dans le monde symbolique.

L’importante intimité des rêves

Georges Elias fait appel aux travaux de Carl Jung et Matthieu Pageau pour situer les rêves dans le monde symbolique.

Article

L’éclipse et la mort de Dieu

Il était déjà environ la sixième heure, et il y eut des ténèbres sur toute la terre, jusqu'à la neuvième heure. Le soleil s'obscurcit, et le voile du temple se déchira par le milieu. (Luc 23:44-45)

L’éclipse et la mort de Dieu

Il était déjà environ la sixième heure, et il y eut des ténèbres sur toute la terre, jusqu'à la neuvième heure. Le soleil s'obscurcit, et le voile du temple se déchira par le milieu. (Luc 23:44-45)

What is a woman ? de Matt Walsh, et le symbolisme du questionnement

Article

What is a woman ? de Matt Walsh, et le symbolisme du questionnement

Mathieu Grossi utilise le symbolisme du questionnement et du genre pour faire sens de cet important conflit culturel.

What is a woman ? de Matt Walsh, et le symbolisme du questionnement

Mathieu Grossi utilise le symbolisme du questionnement et du genre pour faire sens de cet important conflit culturel.

“Where Two of You Gather, There Am I”: On the Symbolism of the SW Summit

Article

“Where Two of You Gather, There Am I”: On the Symbolism of the SW Summit

During the last days of February and first days of March 2024, the Symbolic World Summit took place, a conference aimed at “reclaiming the cosmic image.” This summit brought together people from all parts of the world....

Symbolic World Collective

“Where Two of You Gather, There Am I”: On the Symbolism of the SW Summit

Symbolic World Collective

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Mar 16, 2024

March 18, 2024

During the last days of February and first days of March 2024, the Symbolic World Summit took place, a conference aimed at “reclaiming the cosmic image.” This summit brought together people from all parts of the world....

Ontological Combat Mode: The Beauty of ‘Demon Slayer’

Ontological Combat Mode: The Beauty of ‘Demon Slayer’

Mainstreaming the Demonic, ‘Sinister,’ and a Simple Solution

Mainstreaming the Demonic, ‘Sinister,’ and a Simple Solution

The Life-Giving Power of a Georgian Feast

The Life-Giving Power of a Georgian Feast

‘Arrival’ & the Universal Language

‘Arrival’ & the Universal Language

Empty Throne in the Heart of the Golem of the Modern State: Thomas Hobbes, History, Fake Heaven, and ‘Game of Thrones’

Empty Throne in the Heart of the Golem of the Modern State: Thomas Hobbes, History, Fake Heaven, and ‘Game of Thrones’

Sous la Seine, prélude aux Jeux Olympiques

Sous la Seine, prélude aux Jeux Olympiques

La perspective du serpent: nudité et ruse

La perspective du serpent: nudité et ruse

The Three-Worlds Doctrine in Phenomenological Terms

The Three-Worlds Doctrine in Phenomenological Terms

La connaissance du bien et du mal

La connaissance du bien et du mal

Meaning and Imagination: A 2024 Address for Graduates

Meaning and Imagination: A 2024 Address for Graduates

Technology and the Story of Redemption: Being the People of God in a Mechanized World

Technology and the Story of Redemption: Being the People of God in a Mechanized World

L’importante intimité des rêves

L’importante intimité des rêves

L’éclipse et la mort de Dieu

L’éclipse et la mort de Dieu

What is a woman ? de Matt Walsh, et le symbolisme du questionnement

What is a woman ? de Matt Walsh, et le symbolisme du questionnement

“Where Two of You Gather, There Am I”: On the Symbolism of the SW Summit

“Where Two of You Gather, There Am I”: On the Symbolism of the SW Summit

March 2025 Patron Q&A

March 2025 Patron Q&A

ARC and the Duality of Our Present Moment

February 2025 Patron Q&A