Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them

By Angeles Arrien

"The soul never thinks without an image," claimed Aristotle. Indeed, as Angeles Arrien displays in this reissued edition of Signs of Life, shapes have significant psychological and mythological meanings embedded in our minds. Understanding the messages they convey and our attraction to them opens up a door to the secret workings of our inner selves and to a fuller appreciation of the art itself.As in her widely popular The Tarot Handbook, Arrien applies her background as a cultural anthropologist to the import human beings attribute to shapes. Examining her results, she has developed an effective tool to determine the connection between a person's preferences for certain shapes and the same person's inner, subjective states. In the course of using Arrien's book, individuals, parents, teachers, and therapists will experience the universal processes of growth embodied in images and myths.

Life, we discover, is art, and through Arrien's fascinating journey in Signs of Life, we gain a new perception of the omnipresent patterns and symbols that surround us.

Illustrated throughout with drawings and photographs

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0874779332
• ISBN13: 9780874779332
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 9.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Book was falling apart

I understand that the books we order are USED. But this book broke apart when I opened it. Literally. The spine was so brittle that the pages simply fell out as I turned them. I've ordered used books for years, and this is a first.

Was not “very good” condition at all.

This book was rated very good. There were pages falling out. Completely unacceptable. I want a brand new book shipped to me at this point.

Practical Uses for the Five Universal Shapes

I recommend this book to artists who are interested in finding out ways to express their personal vision. Expanding on Arien's initial exercise of arranging the five shapes, one can develop images that come from the center of one's life rather than from outside influences. It goes without saying that a person feels better when he/she understands why he/she feel more comfortable (or uneasy)with certain aspects of their lives. This simple book can help a person to know and understand where they are in life and how they might have gotten there. I go back to it every few months and use it in teaching art classes and in art retreats.

Angeles Arrien is a gifted teacher.

Once again Angeles inspires and soothes my soul with her beautiful and powerful writing. This book is a treasure and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the language of the Universe.

A very thought provoking book.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is in process of self examination. The simplicity of the use belies the depth of the information that can be extracted from Ms Arrein's analysis. Her use of "universal" symbols clears away much of the overburden of intellectual understanding and cultural training that colors our perceptions of the world. The work in this book cuts through to base emotions and drives. This book will improve your understanding of your motivations in all aspects of your life.

A book you'll come back to again and again

This was one of the books that picked me instead of me picking it. I feel like it was my fate to posess this book. It helps me view my soul as if I was looking through spiritual glasses. And of course being creatures of change, what we see is different from time, even within ourselves. This book remarkably brings to the reader knowledge or information that is not commonly found in this society. Very reflective and definately a great tool when on path to personal enlightment.

Excellent starting point for making art from the inside.

As an art teacher, I encourage adult students to read this book so as to begin to understand how to express through art what is inside them. This is in contrast to making art by looking at something in the outside world and duplicating it in some way. I have found that most students respond favorably to the shapes assay. They are intigued by how close the shape preferences do actually mirror where they are in their lives. A great book! I recommend it highly.