Logos Soup

As his last work before he died, the great artist Gustave Doré created a series of etchings based on Edgar Allan Poe's masterpiece, "The Raven." This episode is a blend of poetry and art analysis as I explore the symbolic and psychological meanings of "The Raven," and Doré's ghastly, ominous final artworks.

In his poem, A Dream Within a Dream, Edgar Allan Poe meditates on the tragedy of time passing, and cherished moments fading away into oblivion. The poem uses two "dreams" to portray a dualistic reality; one in which the conscious psyche quietly accepts the loss of every beloved moment, while the unconscious psyche desperately clings to each memory, and begs the unforgiving universe to it him hold on.

Is life a tragic journey between birth and death? Jesus met a Samaritan woman near a drinking well, and told her that the water He can give her will prevent her from ever going thirsty again. This episode analyzes His encounter with the woman, and discusses the meaning of two sacramental symbols of Catholicism — the waters of Baptism, and the blood of the Eucharist.

This episode is a continuation of yesterday's discussion on what Carl Jung called the "Anima Archetype," and the two ways in which she can manifest in art, stories, and dreams; either as a loving spiritual guide, or as a seductive Femme Fatale who devours the consciousness of heroes. In this episode, I analyze two paintings, both titled "Salome." The first painting was created by Franz Stuck, and the second by Jean Brenner; both painters articulated in their own ominous and psychoanalytically meaningful visions of the horrifically beautiful Salome.

In Jungian Psychoanalysis, the Anima Archetype is the guide that leads a person to higher consciousness. The Anima also represents itself in art, literature, and dreams in two forms; the benevolent and the devouring. In this two-part art analysis series, I will be contrasting paintings of two of the most iconic Anima images in art history; Beatrice (the benevolent) and Salome (the devouring). One is an image of intimate, divine connectedness, and the other is the femme fatale who took the life of John The Baptist.

As Jesus prepares to face his crucifixion, he encounters the prophets Moses and Elijah, and is transfigured into a form whose, "face shone like the sun and [whose] clothes became as dazzling as light." This episode analyzes the Catholic Mass readings for March 8, 2020, and discusses the question, "How powerful can people become if they unflinchingly follow the voice of greater consciousness?"

In this episode, @Haram.Shitposting and I compare and contrast the theologies of our Islam and Catholicism. We discuss topics such as The Holy Trinity, evolution, psychedelics, and art, in an attempt to understand what both religions offer people in an increasingly Atheistic world.