Psychedelic Themes and Symbolism in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass: A Psychological Exploration

Psychedelic Themes and Symbolism in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass: A Psychological Exploration

Lewis Carroll’s literary works, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871), have long been cherished as delightful, whimsical stories for children. However, the profound psychological themes they explore resonate with much deeper layers of the human psyche. Viewed through the lens of psychedelic symbolism, these books present a fascinating narrative of altered states of consciousness, self-discovery, and the deconstruction of reality, all of which are concepts closely tied to psychology, particularly in the context of psychedelic experiences and mind-altering perceptions.

Through bizarre characters, illogical events, and warped realities, these books explore the fluidity of time, identity, and reality, mirroring many of the hallucinatory experiences that people encounter during mind-altering journeys. This article explores how Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking-Glass depict states of cognitive dissonance, ego dissolution, and self-perception—all of which can be mapped onto psychedelic experiences.

Falling through the rabbit hole is like taking “the acid”.

Yes, that’s a fascinating comparison! The idea of falling down the rabbit hole in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is often likened to entering an altered state of consciousness, similar to what someone might experience while taking psychedelic substances like LSD (acid). This metaphor is widely used in both literary and cultural contexts to describe the disorienting and often surreal experience of entering a reality that is unpredictable, illogical, and strange—just like the mind-altering effects of psychedelics.

From a psychological standpoint, both the rabbit hole and taking “the acid” represent a disruption of the ego and ordinary consciousness, leading to a state of ego dissolution, confusion, and self-exploration. The metaphor also suggests a kind of entrance into the unknown, where the individual is forced to confront their deepest thoughts, emotions, and perceptions in a world that feels alien and dreamlike.

Moreover, just as Alice encounters bizarre characters and experiences in Wonderland—each representing different aspects of the unconscious mind, the ego, and the id—psychedelic journeys often involve encounters with symbolic imagery and inner projections that can be interpreted as reflections of the individual’s psyche. These encounters can evoke feelings of awe, fear, wonder, and transcendence, paralleling Alice’s experiences with the strange and often contradictory characters in Wonderland.

In both cases, the journey leads to self-awareness and transformation, though it’s not without its challenges. Just as Alice must navigate her strange, distorted reality, those who take psychedelics often undergo a journey of discovery, where they must confront their own perceptions of themselves and the world.

Ultimately, falling through the rabbit hole is a powerful metaphor for stepping into an altered state—whether by psychedelic substances or through psychological exploration—and the unpredictable, life-changing experience that follows.

A Mirror As Portal To Another World, Spiritual World

The mirror has long held a powerful symbolic connection to the spiritual world across many cultures, philosophies, and mythologies. Throughout history, mirrors have been seen as more than just reflective surfaces. They have represented portals to other realms, a bridge between the material and the spiritual, and a gateway to the unseen. This connection is often tied to occultism, divination, and communication with spirits, suggesting that mirrors can serve as a medium through which the invisible world makes itself known to those who dare to look.

In Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll plays with this ancient symbolism by having Alice enter a world through a mirror, essentially stepping into a space that lies beyond what the ordinary eye can perceive. The Looking-Glass world she enters is a reflection, a distorted mirror-image of the real world. But, as is often the case in both spiritual and psychedelic journeys, this world is far from ordinary—it is a place of reversal, transformation, and subversion of logic.

Mirrors as Portals to the Spiritual World

In occult traditions, mirrors are often seen as gateways to the spiritual realm—the world of spirits, the unconscious, and the afterlife. They are believed to reflect not just physical appearances, but also the soul, mind, and even the hidden aspects of reality. Mirrors are seen as intermediaries, linking the physical and spiritual dimensions.

This association is especially strong in spiritism and spiritualist practices, where mirrors were used in rituals to invoke spirits or communicate with the dead. The act of gazing into a mirror could allow the practitioner to cross the threshold into another realm or bring forth entities from the other side. The idea of the mirror as a conduit between worlds is even seen in ancient cultures, such as the Egyptians, where mirrors were thought to be used in rituals to summon gods or foretell the future.

The symbolism of the mirror can also represent the introspection required to explore one’s own psychic or spiritual depths. In psychological terms, the mirror is often seen as a metaphor for self-awareness, inviting individuals to confront their deepest fears and truths, much like the psychedelic journey where the individual faces their own psyche. However, this exploration can be dangerous or unsettling, as gazing into the mirror may reveal hidden aspects of the self or the shadow—those parts of the unconscious that one may not be prepared to face.

Mirrors and the Theme of Evil: Snow White and the Wicked Queen

The motif of mirrors as a connection to evil is evident in many works of folklore and mythology, one of the most famous being the story of Snow White. In this tale, the Evil Queen consults her magic mirror to determine who is the fairest in the land, and when the mirror reveals that Snow White is now the fairest, it sets off a chain of events that leads the Queen to attempt to murder Snow White. The mirror’s role as a spiritual intermediary becomes evident here—it serves not only as a reflection of truth, but also as a conduit for the Queen’s dark desires and evil intentions.

The Evil Queen’s reliance on the mirror represents the dangerous side of spiritual and self-reflection. In this case, the mirror doesn’t simply reflect the surface; it offers access to a deeper, more dangerous truth—the Queen’s own obsession with beauty and power. The Queen’s self-obsession is tied to vanity, and the mirror provides her with a continuous reaffirmation of her status, but when it shows her the truth—that Snow White is more beautiful—it drives her to commit extreme, immoral acts. The mirror’s truth is not objective reality; it is filtered through the Queen’s own distorted, egocentric lens.

This represents a psychological truth: the mirror can reflect both the positive and negative aspects of the self. In the Queen’s case, the mirror feeds her ego and reinforces her narcissistic tendencies, becoming a tool for evil self-deception. The idea that the mirror can reveal the truth of the self, but also lead one down a path of destruction, points to the danger of looking too deeply into the unconscious mind without the ability to properly integrate its revelations.

Mirrors in Alice’s Journey

The mirror in Through the Looking-Glass functions as a portal to another dimension, and it is no coincidence that Alice’s journey through it parallels themes of self-discovery and identity. Just like the mirror’s role in spiritism—where it allows the practitioner to glimpse into hidden realities—Alice’s passage through the Looking-Glass reflects a world where everything is reversed, identity is fluid, and reality is distorted. This is a symbolic journey into the unconscious, where Alice confronts aspects of her own psyche—her sense of self, her place in the world, and her relationship with the external forces that shape her life.

In both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Alice’s encounters with strange characters and bizarre circumstances are tied to her own identity crisis—her attempts to understand who she is and where she fits into a world that often seems nonsensical and beyond her comprehension. The Looking-Glass, then, serves as a mirror of the soul, reflecting back to Alice not just external experiences but also her inner thoughts and desires.

Psychologically, Alice’s journey behind the Looking-Glass is symbolic of a deep introspective process, where she must confront the illogical and hidden parts of her psyche, as well as the confusion and disorder she feels in a world where reality is subjective and mutable. This mirrors psychedelic journeys, where individuals often face fragmented perceptions of self, ego dissolution, and visions of distorted realities. Just like the Queen in Snow White, who is confronted with truths she is unwilling to face, Alice’s journey involves the courage to confront what lies behind the surface, even if it means seeing parts of herself that are uncomfortable, confusing, or contradictory.

The Mirror as a Gateway to the Invisible World

The concept of the mirror as a spiritual portal is not limited to fairy tales or occultism. Many psychological and mystical traditions see the mirror as an object that allows access to a deeper reality—one that exists beyond the material world we know. The mirror in these traditions is often a tool for self-reflection, but also a gateway to the unconscious. Jungian psychology, for example, suggests that the unconscious mind communicates with us through symbols and archetypes, and the mirror, in its reflective capacity, helps to reveal these hidden aspects of the self.

When Alice enters the Looking-Glass world, she steps into a realm of reversed perception, a world where everything familiar is unfamiliar and where truth is distorted. This mirrors the experience of psychedelic trips, where ordinary perceptions are thrown out of alignment, and the individual is forced to confront the depths of the psyche—a mirror image of the self that is often both beautiful and disturbing.

Similarly, mirrors in folklore, from the magic mirrors of Snow White to the mirrors used in divination, suggest that the reflection one sees is not necessarily the true self, but a distorted version—one shaped by ego, desire, fear, and self-deception. This distortion is key in both Alice’s journey and in psychological experiences. Just as the mirror shows the Evil Queen’s distorted view of beauty, so too does Alice’s journey show that the self—and the world—can be understood in multiple, sometimes conflicting, ways.

The mirror in Through the Looking-Glass serves as a symbol of self-reflection, a gateway to hidden realities, and a distorted reflection of truth, much like the spiritual and psychological use of mirrors across cultures and traditions. Just as mirrors in the occult are used to invoke spirits or communicate with unseen realms, they also serve as a metaphor for the journey into the unconscious mind, where deeper truths about identity, reality, and the nature of the self are revealed—often in bizarre, distorted, and unsettling ways.

In both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, the mirror plays a central role in transforming Alice’s perception of herself and the world, inviting readers to confront not only the absurdity of the external world, but also the complexities and contradictions within their own inner landscapes. Mirrors, in this sense, do more than reflect the surface—they offer a glimpse into the invisible worlds that lie just beyond the veil, and in doing so, they challenge us to see beyond the surface of things, into the hidden depths of our own psyche.

1. The Rabbit Hole and the Looking-Glass: Portals to Alternate Realities

The initial act of Alice’s descent into Wonderland via the rabbit hole represents an abrupt shift from the familiar to the unfamiliar, a classic metaphor for entering an altered state of consciousness. Psychologically, this can be interpreted as the disruption of ordinary perception, where everything Alice knows about reality is turned on its head. Falling down the rabbit hole can be seen as a metaphor for stepping outside the bounds of rational thinking into a world where psychological rules no longer apply, much like how psychedelic substances can alter an individual’s perception of time, space, and self.

From a psychological standpoint, this sudden immersion into a disorienting world without clear boundaries often leads to feelings of dissociation and cognitive dissonance, where one’s sense of self and reality feels fragmented. Psychologist Abraham Maslow once described peak experiences, those heightened states of consciousness often associated with psychedelics, as moments where the boundaries between self and the world break down, and there is a profound sense of unity or transcendence. Alice’s descent into Wonderland mirrors this psychological experience, where she must navigate a reality that feels fluid and ever-shifting.

Similarly, the Looking-Glass in Alice Through the Looking-Glass functions as another portal to an alternate world, one where everything is reversed and where identity, meaning, and perception are all upended. Entering through the Looking-Glass serves as a metaphor for entering the world of the unconscious mind. Carl Jung’s theories on symbolism and the collective unconscious offer a psychological framework for understanding this: the Looking-Glass can be seen as a representation of the subconscious, where unconscious aspects of the self emerge, often in distorted or surreal ways.

• “I’m not at all sure that’s right, but I shall try to find out.”
  This line from Through the Looking-Glass encapsulates the uncertainty Alice faces when navigating the Looking-Glass world. The disorientation she feels mirrors the psychedelic experience, where individuals often find themselves grappling with uncertainty about the nature of their reality.

2. The Reversal of Time and Space: Nonlinear Consciousness

Both books feature significant distortions in time and space, which can be viewed as representations of altered states of perception—a key feature of the psychedelic experience. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice encounters time as a concept that is perpetually in a state of flux, with the Mad Hatter’s tea party existing in a timeless bubble, and in Through the Looking-Glass, time is reversed.

Psychologically, the distortion of time can be understood through temporal disintegration, a common phenomenon in psychedelic states. When under the influence of psychedelics, people often experience time dilation (where time feels like it either stretches or shrinks), or temporal dissociation, where past, present, and future lose their clear boundaries. Sigmund Freud noted that when the ego is in a state of dissociation, one’s perception of time and space becomes altered, which can be seen in both Alice’s adventures.

• In Through the Looking-Glass, the Red Queen explains that everything happens backward in the Looking-Glass world, symbolizing a reversal of the ordinary rules of time and space. This could be interpreted as a psychological metaphor for the cognitive distortions that occur during a psychedelic experience, where temporal reality is warped and illogical sequences become the norm.
  • “It’s a poor sort of memory that only works backwards.”
    This statement illustrates the fluidity of time perception in an altered state, a process in which psychological continuity and time’s linearity dissolve, forcing individuals to navigate a reality that feels as though it exists out of order.

3. Fluidity of Identity: The Dissolution of the Ego

Perhaps one of the most significant aspects of the psychedelic experience is the dissolution of the ego—the sense that one’s identity becomes fluid and transitory, much like the constant transformation of Alice’s size in both Wonderland and the Looking-Glass world. In Wonderland, Alice grows and shrinks multiple times, each time experiencing a shift in her perception of self, which can be linked to the ego-dissolution that frequently occurs during psychedelics.

Psychologically, the fluidity of Alice’s identity in Wonderland reflects the psychological theories of identity and the self. Erik Erikson’s theory of identity development suggests that individuals must navigate different phases of their identity. Alice’s repeated transformations symbolize the psychological confusion and uncertainty many experience when faced with profound changes in how they perceive themselves.

• “I can’t explain myself, I’m afraid, Sir, because I am not myself you see.”
  Alice’s inability to explain who she is, despite her vast experiences in Wonderland, illustrates the dissolution of self that many experience under the influence of psychedelic substances. Individuals often feel detached from their own identity, as their previous sense of self breaks down and is replaced by a fluid, ever-changing concept of the self.
• Similarly, in Through the Looking-Glass, Alice navigates a chessboard-like world, where the rules of identity are constantly changing. Just as psychedelics can destabilize the sense of self, Alice’s shifting role in the chess game symbolizes the quest for self-actualization, a core concept in humanistic psychology.
  • “I’m not a Queen, and I’m not a pawn. I’m a person who’s dreaming of a game.”
    This realization is particularly significant because it reflects the transitory nature of the self and the sense of being both part of and separate from the larger world, similar to how psychedelics offer individuals a chance to view their own lives from a distanced perspective, sometimes resulting in a deeper understanding of one’s place in the world.

4. Surreal Characters and Hallucinations

The characters Alice meets in both Wonderland and the Looking-Glass world can be interpreted as hallucinatory projections of her mind, reflecting the unconscious psyche at play. The Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, Queen of Hearts, and others reflect the absurdity and unpredictability of a mind undergoing psychedelic transformation. These characters challenge Alice’s sense of reality and identity, mirroring the hallucinatory figures people encounter in psychedelic states.

• The Cheshire Cat, who fades in and out of existence, represents the impermanence of perception, a hallmark of psychedelic trips. In altered states of consciousness, people often experience fragmented perceptions of reality, where things appear, disappear, or become disjointed.
  • “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
    The Cheshire Cat’s statement reflects the disruption of logical thinking and the embrace of irrationality, both of which are features common to psychedelic experiences. Psychedelics often dissolve the logical structures that typically govern everyday thinking, allowing individuals to view the world in a much more abstract and fluid way.

5. The Moment of Awakening: Returning to Normal Consciousness

In both Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Alice ultimately returns to reality after her surreal adventures. This return to “normal” consciousness mirrors the psychedelic come-down, where the individual gradually reestablishes their sense of reality. Psychologically, the transition from an altered state back to regular consciousness is often accompanied by reflection and insight, as the person seeks to make sense of their experience.

• Alice’s reflection that she was dreaming underscores the ephemeral nature of altered consciousness, much like the transient nature of a psychedelic experience. Upon returning to “ordinary” reality, individuals often feel that their experience has been profound, yet temporary, and there is often a need to integrate the lessons learned into their everyday life.
  • “I’m a Queen now. I am the Queen of the Looking-Glass world!”
    This realization is symbolic of the post-trip reflection, where the person may feel that the insights gained from their journey have altered their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Alice’s awakening from the Looking-Glass world marks the completion of the journey, but her newfound awareness allows her to view reality through a new lens, much like how one might feel transformed after a psychedelic experience.

Conclusion: A Psychological Journey Through Wonderland and the Looking-Glass

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass offer more than just fantastical adventures for children. Through their depictions of altered states of consciousness, ego dissolution, and psychological transformation, they present profound psychological metaphors that resonate deeply with psychedelic experiences. These works illustrate the fluidity of time, identity, and reality, and offer valuable insight into the processes of self-discovery and the disintegration of ego that occur in altered states.

By embracing the absurd and the illogical, Carroll’s tales serve as both a literary exploration of the unconscious mind and a psychedelic journey of perception and self-exploration, making them timeless stories that continue to intrigue not only children but those seeking to understand the mysteries of the human mind. Their surreal landscapes serve as metaphors for the unpredictable, often mind-bending experiences that occur when one steps outside the bounds of ordinary reality, ultimately encouraging individuals to reflect on their own perceptions and transformations within the world.