The Phoenix
The symbolism of the Phoenix, like the mystical bird itself, dies and is reborn across cultures and throughout time. In Greek mythology they tell the story of the Phoenix, a large grand bird that is the colour of fire with eyes of sapphire blue and at the end of its long life cycle it smoulders into ash and an egg is left from which the phoenix is reborn and the cycle begins anew.
In Judaism, the phoenix is known as Milcham or Chol (or Hol): The story of the phoenix begins in the Garden of Eden when Eve fell, tempted by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit. According to the Midrash Rabbah, upset by her situation and jealous of creatures that were still innocent, Eve tempted all the other creatures of the garden to do the same. Only the Chol (phoenix) resisted. As a reward, the phoenix was given eternal life, living in peace for a thousand years and then being reborn from an egg to continue to live in peace again, repeating the cycle eternally.
For me this metaphor is about hope rebirth and rejuvenation. For things to change and ultimately get better you need to be able to let something go and begin anew. I believe in the phoenix. the symbolism means so much to me that I decided to set up private practice named after this. I felt the power of that metaphor during my own journey through therapy, which had helped me tremendously and now I hope it will help others find their own Phoenix inside of them. I believe we all are Future Phoenix’s in the making.
