The Lady of the Hare

This book is both a fascinating account of dream therapy and an exploration of the symbolism of the hare in myth and fable around the world. John Layard, a British Jungian analyst, first recounts his treatment of a devout Christian woman whose dream of the sacrifice of a hare marked a turning point in her spiritual and psychological healing. He then goes on to examine the meaning of the hare in the mythology of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Among the many manifestations of this universal archetype are the hare as trickster-hero, as a goddess associated with the moon, as a Buddhist symbol of spiritual transformation, and as the Easter Rabbit of the Christian tradition.