About the Book

• The Lady and the Unicorn: A Psychological Metaphor



• Dreaming�With Eyes Wide Open: Schizophrenic Hallucinations



• Information Processing in Schizophrenia



• Clarification of our Clinical versus Forensic Function: Dual Relationship



• Art Psychotherapy



• Lord of the Rings: A Psychological Metaphor



• Aviation Psychology



• So, You have just been Passed by a Girl! A Holley Carborator may help



• Approaches in Memory Rehabilitation



• Memory Enhancement Module



• Negaunee Center



• The Final Transition



• Is Deinstitution- alzation a Misnomer



• Token System: a Psychiatric Case Study



• A Token Economy System: Inpatient Psychiatric Population



• Insight: An Aspect of Neurocognition

The Lady and the Unicorn: A Psychological Metaphor

Recently, in Paris, I became aware of a series of six tapestries at Musee Cluny woven in the 15th century. These tapestries are remarkable in both content and quality. The series of six tapestries appear enigmatic to all who view them, myself included. The first five represent our cardinal senses; sight, sound, taste, smell and finally touch. These five tapestries culminate quintessentially into a sixth tapestry which provides a metaphorical mystery as to its subtle meaning.

Having left the dark ages and entering the renaissance the world culture believe it was upon the threshold of the age of enlightenment. A revolutionary leap forward in culture and consciousness was being manifested in every walk of life. The question of the specific triggering point for this epochal event still remains obscure. The world was expanding and surpassing all preconceived boundaries as a result new cultural ideas and paradigms are being considered.

The Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries have been recognized as an allegory of the five sense. For instance, in the first tapestry the sense of �Sight� has been interpreted by the princess holds a mirror in which the unicorn is reflected.

Clearly, the unicorn is a mythical creature. This fabled creature is considered symbolic of virginity and usually represented as a horse with a single straight spiraled horn projecting from its forehead. Earliest references, of the unicorn portray it as fierce yet good, selfless yet solitary, but always mysteriously beautiful. The unicorn could only be captured by deception; the single horn is believed to be able to neutralize poison (Wikipedia). This may be a reflection of our unconscious self, sometimes only sensed emerging indirectly into our consciousness.

The second tapestry represents the sense of �Hearing� the lady plays a positif. All creatures turn and are devoting their full attention to the sound.

Presented in the third tapestry is the sense of �Smell� the young girl is weaving flowers into a garland, she delicately holds a carnation that she has just taken from her maidservant basket. Undoubtedly, stimulating her memories of an event long forgotten.

The sense of �Touch� is represented by the fourth tapestry where the princess hold a standard, bearing the crest of arms of her patron. Simultaneously, she touches the unicorn�s horn with her left hand. This suggests the recognition of the duality between the unconscious desires and conscious awareness of one�s self.

The final tapestry is sense of �Taste� as the princess removes a piece a fruit from her handmaiden�s basket. We seek nourishment for heart and mind.

Whereas depicted in the sixth tapestry numerous symbols emerge. The inscription embroidered in gold on a blue pavilion of �A MON SEVL DESIR� literally interpreted as of �my only desire�. Indeed, as Alain Erlande-Brandenburg has clearly shown, the young girl in the last tapestry places the jewel necklace that she has worn in the previous five tapestries into a chest. This action may be symbolic her awareness and desire to release herself from the passions one�s poorly-controlled temporal senses. The last tapestry of the Lady and the Unicorn would therefore seem to present the characteristic of free will and self control. Thus, from this perspective �A MON SEVL DESIR� meaning �According to My Will Only�.

Another possible interpretation presented by Ficino in the translation of Champier, considers that there were six ways, to recognizing Beauty: these being through the five senses and the intellect, the word �entendement� in translation meaning �understanding�, or may be symbolic of the sixth sense being that of �reason� and the motto �A MON SEVL DESIR� would mean �the only thing that love desires is beauty (of the soul). On the other hand, the sixth sense � having five external and one internal sense, may equally represent namely �The Heart�. Which we as an individuals over out lifetime must master ��Gerson considers the heart to be a sixth internal and spiritual sense, the belief that the heart, assisted by reason, must mitigate and control the five physical senses in order to keep the soul pure��(Boudet, 1999).

Furthermore, the theme of duality seems to run through all six Cluny Tapestries, although the lion and the unicorn mainly act as standard bearers. The lion symbol denotes a duel nature of both celestial love and the derivative truth but also the opposite denoting the evil, of loving oneself self and our power� (Swedenborg, 1772). The close relationship between the lady and the mythical animal, especially noticeable in Sight and Touch, emphasizes the unicorn as an ambivalent allegory which is both erotic and spiritual, as tradition maintains that a unicorn could only be tamed by a virgin. This would seem to reinforce the idea that in this instance the unicorn acts both as an apology for beauty and desire. The unicorn maybe a distancing device in relations to the pleasure of the senses, a double meaning which is characteristic of the late-medieval culture or the equivocal.

An important discovery by Ezio Ornato (Boudet, 1999) that the Motto �A MON SEVL DESIR� correspond to at least three anagrams which may reveal the hidden meaning of the last tapestry, as well as of the worked as a whole: �LE VI SENS D�AMOR�, D�OM LE VRAI SENS�, and �SENS AMOR DEUIL�. The first reveals that the six tapestries represent the six senses, each of them being a vehicle of love; the second elucidates the sixth sense in contrast to the other respective senses, probably representing its spiritual nature; the third anagram refers to the interpretation of the word �DESIR� may suggest, a synonym for possibly �regret� or appeasement� in the context of contrition related to the loss of a loved one.

The series of tapestries are from the Lady and the Unicorn metaphorically suggest the duality between the intellect and the heart being represented as in Jung�s duality between sensation and intuition. It appears the princess has an intuitive understanding of the trappings present by the senses. The tapestries are rich in symbolic images that may lend themselves to further exploration. They may very well reveal and attempt to weave an understanding of our selves into a whole patterns yet the tapestries remain both enigmatic as well as revealing.

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