The Body: An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism

This is an astonishing book, an important publishing event and a significant sourcebook of body wisdom. Developed from the resources in the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism, this is a richly collaborative volume, the product of years of research and thoughtful encounter by members of the Archive. While volume one was organized around the mythic themes that follow the solar calendar from cosmos and creation to death, transformation and rebirth, this second volume focuses on the human body as the locus of the sacred and as the source of deep psychological insights. Each topic is presented in a four-page unit consisting of a full-page color illustration of an art work which captures the archetype, an art-historical discussion of the artifact, an archetypal commentary and a brief bibliography. The odd element of this structure is that the art-historical commentary on the artifact is given equal status to the archetypal commentary. As a result, the archetypal discussion is not as rich as it might be, for the archetypal commentaries do not connect the present iteration of the archetypes with past incarnations. Nevertheless, this enormously useful reference book will be a welcome addition to the scholar's library. (Sept.)