Most people don’t see the world... for what it is. They see what they’ve been taught to see.
Symbols are everywhere, but unless you’ve been trained to read them, you walk through life... half-blind.
TL;TR:
- What are symbols?
- Carl Jung, symbols and archetypes
- Symbolism is NOT mysticism, it’s strategic intelligence.
- Symbolism in modern power structures
- Symbols serve an ancient function
- The great paradox of spycraft
- How to train your symbolic eye
What are symbols?
- It refers to something beyond itself.
→ It represents, evokes, or contains a larger, often abstract, meaning. - It operates within a shared system.
→ Its interpretation depends on cultural, social, or initiated context. - It activates an emotional, identity-based, or archetypal response.
→ It’s not just seen... it’s felt, projected onto, and lived through.
In Jung’s words: "a symbol is the best possible expression for something unknown."
Symbols are basically how humans encode beliefs, identities, fears, and power, without saying a word. Every culture, every religion, every group of power uses symbols.
For recognition, transmission, and silent allegiance.
To those who know how to see, symbols are a second language.
To those who don’t, it's just more noise.
When you see/feel a symbol, you're basically looking at a container of belief, a marker of identity, a trigger for action.
It tells you how someone thinks, what they fear, what they’ll fight for.
That’s powerful.
Carl Jung helps us understand symbols
For him, symbols are not objects.
They are "living images", they are the expression of something deep inside the human mind.