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Sandplay Therapists of America

Symbol Literature

Symbol Literature

On this page you will find articles and materials of interest regarding symbols.

Featured Symbol Articles

As a part of their membership applications, STA Clinical Members are required to write two papers, which demonstrate depth of understanding of symbols and symbolic process. We are pleased to share some of these papers here, in addition to other research into the function of symbols in the human experience.

• The Eye in the Hand
• The Sandplay Collection
• Wisdom: A Symbol of The Self in Roman Catholic Scriptures
• The Wolf: Evil or Spiritual

Symbols in Journal Articles

In this section you will find a reference list of symbols that are explored in articles in the Journal of Sandplay Therapy. Back issues of the Journal may be ordered from the Journal page.

• Symbols in Journal Articles

The Eye in the Hand
Frank Adair, M.D.

In the Spring of 1998, I began my Sandplay process. Although I had been in Jungian analysis and practicing psychotherapy for over ten years, I had no idea of the deeper experience unfolding in front of me. This paper is that story as told through the exploration of the symbol of the Eye in the Hand. The journey will begin with my first Sandplay and my personal experience with the symbol over this last year. What will follow will be an amplification of the symbol from historical, mythical, religious, and cultural points of view. Jungian and Sandplay perspectives will then be elaborated followed by a summation where I present the Eye in the Hand as a symbol of the analytical moment. (Full Text)

The Sandplay Collection
by Gretchen Hegeman

These words explore the meaning and the constructing of the miniature collection used in sandplay therapy. They will not provide the reader with a starting gun and a road map. The point, rather, is the uncertainty, the intangibility, of the collection. There are endeavors with clearly marked starting points and for which the needed equipment can be listed. The start may be easy and the equipment makeshift or general, eventually evolving through wear and varying quality or type, to fit the individual. What is pursued in sandplay therapy, however, cannot be so clearly marked and listed. How the miniatures participate in the healing process of sandplay and the miniatures' efficacy in that process are intangible. There is no formula for creation. What is offered here is intended to be a foundation allowing the discovery of one's own miniature collection. (Full Text)

Wisdom: A Symbol of The Self in Roman Catholic Scriptures
Lynn McManus

This paper is part of a personal quest. I, a modern Roman Catholic woman, wish to find images of the Creator as Female. As a Catholic, I have access to images of both female saints and the Virgin Mary. Mary is in her own right a very powerful and wonderful image: she is completely and totally human, just like I am, and yet she was able, and still is able to bring God into the world. She shows us what we may be capable of doing: bringing God into the world. She is an image with which I find solace and with which I am satisfied. My question is pure and simple: if I am to bring God into this world, how can I identify myself with God? God, theologically, is clearly both masculine and feminine (Gen 1: 27). Religion, for me, is the human attempt to present spiritual and eternal truths to the temporal world. My quest is to find, within the Roman Catholic tradition, God imaged as Woman, and to discover for myself what that image is. I am also curious to see how this image compares with the feminine divinity as described by Neumann. Unless otherwise noted, all references to Neumann will be from the chart of the Archetypal Feminine (Neumann, facing page 82, 1963). (Full Text)

The Wolf: Evil or Spiritual
Mariellen Griffith

During the past few years the wolf in many forms has appeared in sandtrays, primarily from female clients, a few from children. My personal early experiences with wolves came from the Walt Disney cartoon, the three little pigs singing "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf", and fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf was depicted as evil, out to kill unsuspecting and innocent people and animals. Was the wolf representing the evil shadow side of my clients? However, my clients interpreted their use of the wolf as a helpful creature, a guide, or companion. I was confused. I decided to do some research and find out the meaning of the wolf symbol. (Full text)

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