Eastwood, Pratibha
REFLECTION: RESONANCE OF SYMBOL PAPERS
Journal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume 8, Number 1, 1999
KEY WORDS: sandplay therapy, symbol papers, reflection, symbol, symbol study, impetus, leela, integration, personal experience.
ABSTRACT: This is a reflection paper on Barbara Weller’s “So you have to Write a Symbol Paper.” The article starts by summarizing Jungian information on what a symbol is and how it differs from archetype. The article then looks at the personal transformational journey that writing a symbol paper can be (even if for S.T.A. requirements). It divides the process of exploring a symbol into three stages. 1. The impetus to choose a symbol; 2. The gathering of the data which is described as Leela, the divine dance; and, finally, 3. The integration and organizational stage of the material. The article emphasizes the experience of studying a symbol as a transcendent function.