René Guénon

Fundamental Symbols: The Universal Language of Sacred Science

By René Guénon

Published: 1962

A work exploring the universal language of sacred science and the metaphysical principles underlying traditional symbolism, emphasizing how all manifested things reflect divine essences through a system of universal correspondences.

Chapters

Ch. 1

Contents

Ch. 2

Introduction

Ch. 3

Editor's Foreword

Ch. 4

_Traditional Symbolism and Some of Its General Applications_

Ch. 5

I § The Reform of the Modern Mentality

Ch. 6

2 § Spirit and Intellect

Ch. 7

3 § The Eternal Ideas

Ch. 8

4 § Word and Symbol

Ch. 9

5 § The Sacred Heart and the Legend of the Holy Grail

Ch. 10

ADDENDUM

Ch. 11

6 § The Holy Grail

Ch. 12

7 § Tradition and the Unconscious

Ch. 13

8 § The Science of Letters ('Ilm al-huruf)

Ch. 14

9 § The Language of the Birds

Ch. 15

Symbols of the Centre and of the World

Ch. 16

10 § The Idea of the Centre in the Traditions of Antiquity

Ch. 17

II § Symbolic Flowers

Ch. 18

12 § The Triple Precinct of the Druids

Ch. 19

14 § The Land of the Sun

Ch. 20

15 § The Zodiac and the Cardinal Points

Ch. 21

16 § The Tetraktys and the Square of Four

Ch. 22

17 § A Hieroglyph of the Pole

Ch. 23

18 § The Black Heads

Ch. 24

19 § The Letter G and the Swastika

Ch. 25

Symbols of Cyclic Manifestation

Ch. 26

20 § Some Aspects of the Symbolism of Janus

Ch. 27

21 § The Hieroglyph of Cancer

Ch. 28

22 § Seth

Ch. 29

23 § On the Significance of Carnivals

Ch. 30

24 § Some Aspects of the Symbolism of the Fish

Ch. 31

25 § The Mysteries of the Letter Nūn

Ch. 32

26 § The Wild Boar and the Bear

Ch. 33

_Some Symbolic Weapons_

Ch. 34

27 § Thunderbolts

Ch. 35

28 § Symbolic Weapons

Ch. 36

SOME SYMBOLIC WEAPONS

Ch. 37

29 § The Sword of Islam (Sayf al-Islām)

Ch. 38

30 § The Symbolism of Horns

Ch. 39

_The Symbolism of the Forms of the Cosmos_

Ch. 40

31 § The Cave and the Labyrinth

Ch. 41

32 § The Heart and the Cave

Ch. 42

33 § The Mountain and the Cave

Ch. 43

34 § The Heart and the World Egg

Ch. 44

35 § The Cave and the World Egg

Ch. 45

36 § The Exit from the Cave

Ch. 46

37 § The Solstitial Gates

Ch. 47

38 § The Symbolism of the Zodiac Among the Pythagoreans

Ch. 48

39 § The Solstitial Symbolism of Janus

Ch. 49

40 § Concerning the Two Saint Johns

Ch. 50

The Symbolism of Building

Ch. 51

41 § The Symbolism of the Dome

Ch. 52

42 § The Dome and the Wheel

Ch. 53

43 § The Narrow Gate

Ch. 54

44 § The Octagon

Ch. 55

45 § The Cornerstone

Ch. 56

46 § 'Lapsit exillis'

Ch. 57

47 § Al-Arkān

Ch. 58

48 § Gathering What Is Scattered

Ch. 59

49 § The Black and the White

Ch. 60

50 § Black Stone and Cubic Stone

Ch. 61

51 § Brute Stone, Hewn Stone

Ch. 62

Axial Symbolism and Symbolism of Passage

Ch. 63

§ Symbols of Analogy

Ch. 64

53 § The World Tree

Ch. 65

54 § The Tree and the Vajra

Ch. 66

55 § The Tree of Life and the Draught of Immortality

Ch. 67

56 § The Symbolism of the Ladder

Ch. 68

57 § The Eye of the Needle

Ch. 69

58 § Traversing the Waters

Ch. 70

59 § The Seven Rays and the Rainbow

Ch. 71

60 § Janua Cæli

Ch. 72

61 § Kāla-mukha

Ch. 73

62 § Light and Rain

Ch. 74

64 § The Roots of Plants

Ch. 75

65 § The Symbolism of the Bridge

Ch. 76

66 § The Bridge and the Rainbow

Ch. 77

67 § The Chain of Union

Ch. 78

68 § Frameworks and Labyrinths

Ch. 79

69 § The 'Sign of Four'

Ch. 80

70 § Bonds and Knots

Ch. 81

The Symbolism of the Heart

Ch. 82

71 § The Radiating Heart and the Flaming Heart

Ch. 83

72 § Heart and Brain

Ch. 84

73 § The All-Seeing Eye

Ch. 85

74 § The Mustard Seed

Ch. 86

75 § The Ether in the Heart

Ch. 87

76 § The Divine City

Ch. 88

List of Original Sources

Ch. 89

Chapter

Ch. 90

Books by René Guénon

Ch. 91

Index