“Truth did not come into the world naked, it came in types and images” Gospel of Philip
What is it that modern society really knows about its identity or origin? And, who or what is God? Today, we can swim in an ocean of theology, philosophy, gurus, books and bloggers to try and remedy humanities fundamental ignorance regarding itself. Or, we can start at the beginning, before our “age of prose” and follow the “iconologic” of L. Caruana in his new book “Enter Through the Image.”
The idea of iconologic or an “image language” is not new. Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, two of our cultures great “mytho poets”, spent their lifetimes seeking out this lost manner of thinking as a way for humans to have a better, more coherent way of understanding themselves. What is new is the way these ideas are presented by Caruana; a fresh, more accessible spin for a wider audience.
The reader is taken on a quest for truth and self-knowledge, as Caruana leads you through a labyrinth of cultures and imagery, ancient and modern, showing how patterns, which can only come from a collective unconscious, have been with humanity since the beginning of time; patterns from divinity that seeks to be known and know itself. He tells us “whenever we stand in silent awe before a sacred image, we find ourselves, caught unawares, before a hallowed threshold.” It is our job, we are told, to cross this threshold, and enter through the image.
Symbols, for Caruana, are reflections of our inherent transcendent reality, and though artists have expressed them in various ways, are ineffable and inscrutable. Myth and symbol hold our mind to truth, but are not themselves the truth; they are simply borrowed time and gain through-out the ages. And certainly, this book is about encouraging us; Caruana instructs the reader on ways to take these empty playthings of God and use them as tools of exploration and gnosis, of themselves, the cosmos and the core divinity that unites us all.
Does Caruana succeed at his instruction in iconologic? Not always. One bizarre section has him interpreting the dreams of Baudelaire and Descartes, which seems unnecessary and overly lengthy, but is amusing none the less. In fact, much of his discussion on dream symbology and analysis, although important as a point, becomes a bit redundant, unless the reader has never heard of such a thing. A further critique to consider, is the way certain chapters start very clear and exciting; and certainly end that way. But somehow in the middle seem to become bogged down as though the author is holding court with himself, and has forgotten he has an audience at all.
That being said, Enter Through the Image is a unique discussion on comparative mythology. A solid and thorough backbone of academic research enriched by the visionary insight of a well noted artist, makes it appealing to the conventional, more serious students of human origins, as easily as the esoteric artistic psyche. Sophistication would be the ground rule for either crowd, however, as it not a simple read. From eastern mysticism, to Dali; Gnostic christians, Egypt, LSD research, Tibet and Dante (to name just a few), Caruana is skilled in his connections of it all.
With L. Caruana’s Enter Through the Image, we are offered a certain type of book that allows us to escape what can become a mundane conventional existence, into a world rich and vibrant, full of an excitement that comes from uncovering secrets and opening gifts. A book so full of self discovery, that the reader risks missing a bit of the party if read only once. A rare book that will be dog eared and thread bare by the time all of its treasure is sifted.
Excerpt of review, D. Khouri
Blatantly obvious symbolism.... Katy Perry: Dark Horse / Emenem Rap God
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. This about sums it up.
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