Wine &
Spirits
(see also food)
Wine: Wine may be the fluid of life or the symbol of the blood of death, and is typically associated with its powers of intoxication. Wine and blood are often interchangeable symbols. Wine is also alcohol, and holds much of the same significance. Information taken from: Online Symbolism Dictionary
Spirits: ...His craving for alcohol was the equivalent, on a low level, of the spiritual thirst of our being for wholeness, expressed in medieval language: the union with God...
...You see, "alcohol" in Latin is "spiritus" and you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison. The helpful formula therefore is: spiritus contra spiritum. These quotes are from a letter by C.G Jung, addressed to Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Alcohol: The aqua vitae as both fire and water; the conjunction of opposites; the coincidentia oppositorum; the male and female, active and passive both in a state of creation and destruction. From: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols (J.C. Cooper)
Songs referenced:
American
Pie
(cover)