The phrase Symbolism suggests the use of symbols or illustrative compilations that express a symbolic meaning and is the Artists approach to putting forward ideas and truths through the use of symbols; it plays a big part in the religious, magical and ceremonial arts and also poetry as well as many other types of written work.
Being able to read symbols is a gift when analysing what is happening in one's life and is a tool used in many therapies such as; Dream analysis, Colour therapy and Psychoanalysis. Consequently the artist who uses symbols does so because they believe it to be a visual language that is connected to one's inner spirit/soul which conveys deep and meaningful messages that are personal to the 'self'.
In my opinion, after years of studying symbolism in daily life, I view symbolism as a valuable tool for guidance and as a visual Journal for logging what is happening in ‘material’ life at that moment in time.
Symbolism is a great way to get in touch with your inner spirit; it can help with finding solutions to problems. It is a great tool for enabling you to see the TRUTH of something for what it really is and seeing something from a different perspective can often free your spirit....
Magpie (pictured above) is my favourite symbol in the bird kingdom. Well it was when I lived in the Northern Hemisphere. Wherever I went ... I would always come across a Magpie bobbing its majestic head at me ... watching me ... instructing me 'to use what knowledge I have to the best of my ability.' Well I have .... and interestingly, there is a species of Magpie here in New Zealand ... not the same appearance as the UK ... and I've noticed the same thing is happening with these too ...
