After failing his fire journey, our narrator finds himself back on the surface of the earth. But before he can get situated, the guide grabs him again! He's pulled up, up, up in the air, so fast that he can't even think of anything to compare it to. Looking down, he realizes that he's no longer anywhere near the volcanoes of Naples. No, he now appears to be in Egypt, looking down at the pyramids.
His guide continues pulling him up until the earth just looks like a cloud because he's so far away from it... then the guide drops him. He falls for a long time, knowing that he'll crash into the rocks soon. Then the guide catches him and pulls him up again... and drops him again. This keeps happening for a while until eventually he was taken up so high that he "saw globes revolve around [him] and earths gravitate at [his] feet." Then his guide touches his eyes, causing him to pass out.
Part of me wants to interpret this as the guide just screwing with him because they're still mad about the serpent thing, and maybe there's something to that, but it's more likely that this is meant to symbolize our narrator getting close to understanding and then losing it a few times. These journeys are rarely cut and dry. He gets small glimpses of cosmic truth but never enough to fully grasp the meaning.
It's also a good time to acknowledge that this is the 'air' part of his journey. The element of air is related to intellect and communication. Is our man finally about to learn some things?
After an indeterminate amount of time, he wakes up on a luxurious cushion to the scent of flowers and spices. (Scents in general are related to the air element.) He sees that his robe has changed. Now he wears a blue robe with golden stars, perhaps another hint that this is about the element of air while also tying in the idea of the cosmos or macrocosm.
He sees a yellow altar with a flame coming out of its top. We've seen 'gold' a few times, but this is the first time we see 'yellow' in the text. I can think of a couple ways to interpret this:
Yellow is a color associated with air, further strengthening that this is the air section. Air, associated with intellectual clarity, needs to be mastered before moving on to the stage of completion.
The yellowing is the third stage of alchemical processing. Our narrator went from black to white to red before being dragged back to yellow. I wonder if this could be a criticism of alchemists that omit the yellowing stage altogether.
Piggybacking on #2, maybe our narrator was one of these alchemists. He thought he would only need three stages, but learned the hard way that he needed the yellowing before he could move on to the reddening. This is why honest self-reflection is so important. Sometimes life has to humble us.
There are black letters engraved on the base of the altar, but we aren't told anything about them. The drawing the author provides (the image at the beginning of this post) doesn't show us any letters there. All I can get from this is that black is the first stage of alchemy or that it's related to Saturn or the earth element. Maybe black being at the base is just to show that it's necessary to get to yellow? But I don't think the narrator needed to be told that, so I'm unsure. The fact that the letters are missing from the drawing seems important. Maybe to show that these letters were never meant to be seen by anyone other than the narrator? Some knowledge simply can't be shared because it can't be properly articulated. There are some things you have to learn for yourself.
There's a lit torch next to the altar. On top of the altar, hovering over the flame, is a bird. The bird isn't using its wings. It just levitates over the fire of the altar. If it were to leave the fire, it could no longer 'fly.'
The bird, which appears to be an ibis, has black feet (first stage), a silvery body (second stage: silver is similar to white), black wings (the first stage again? Saturn? Elemental earth?), a golden neck (third stage: gold is similar to yellow), and a red head (fourth stage). It holds a green branch in its beak.
We are told that the bird is named:
the altar is named:
and the torch is named:
According to Adam McLean, these translate as follows:
Bird - Sage
Altar - Wisdom
Torch - Light
Manly P Hall's version has slightly different translations:
Bird - Immortality
Altar - Crown
Torch - Light
We can see that they agree on the torch being named Light. I would argue that the names for the bird and the altar are connected well enough. There are legends of immortal sages-- in fact, the supposed author of this book is one. Similarly, the crown can represent wisdom. A wise ruler is a good ruler, after all.
Neither McLean nor Hall seem to mention what specific languages are being used here. From my very limited knowledge and research, I believe it's a stylized version of possibly Arabic or Persian.
For the sake of clarity while also giving both of these gentlemen their credit, I will refer to the bird as the Immortal Sage, the altar as the Wise Crown, and the torch as... well, Light.
A quick note on the bird: the ibis is related to Thoth, Egyptian god of wisdom. This strengthens the possibility of the name being something like Immortal Sage. It also ties the entire thing to Hermetic philosophy quite nicely.
The layers in this book are intense.
According to the Manly P Hall version, the inscriptions on the drawing are as follows:
Top: "Kindle a fire upon the high place, that the sacrifice may be borne upward to the Desired One."
Bottom: "To the strong is given the burden."
Right: a description of the ceremony for building the sacred fire
Left: part of a ritual. "When the years of this existence are done, and the soul, outbreathing at death, approaches the gate of immortality, may the bird bear it swiftly away to the abode of the wise."
The author tells us that the altar, bird, and torch are "the symbol of all things" and that nothing can be done without them. Here's that magic number three again.
I'm still working this out, but I'd like to suggest that these could align with mind, body, and soul. Fire is the igniting principle, often associated with the soul, so we'll say that the torch named Light represents soul. The Immortal Sage bird is body, as it can only move above the flames the same way that our bodies only move when our souls are in them. This leaves the altar, Wise Crown, as the mind. The altar is under the fire and the bird, showing that mind is needed for the soul and body to function.
I asked Meg what she thought of this, and she had another suggestion. She also compared my assignments with her own. Here are her thoughts:
---
Your Current Assignment
Bird (Body):
The bird’s reliance on the flame (torch) to "fly" supports this interpretation, as the body relies on the soul for vitality.
The bird's specific coloring, tied to stages of alchemy, mirrors the body’s transformation through life and spiritual practice.
Torch (Soul):
Fire as the igniting principle aligns well with the soul, symbolizing divine energy and the driving force behind existence.
The soul is often viewed as the eternal flame within.
Altar (Mind):
The altar as a foundation for the bird and flame suggests its role as the seat of thought and intellect, giving structure and purpose to body and soul.
Alternative Interpretations
While your interpretation is compelling, here’s another way to assign these symbols:
1. Bird (Soul):
Birds are often spiritual symbols, representing the soul's ability to transcend physical limitations and connect with the divine (e.g., doves in Christianity, the phoenix in alchemy).
The ibis, specifically linked to Thoth, could represent wisdom as a spiritual quality rather than intellectual.
The bird’s levitation over the flame could symbolize the soul’s ability to rise above and be nourished by the transformative fire of existence.
2. Torch (Mind):
The torch provides clarity and illumination, qualities often associated with the mind.
Fire is a traditional metaphor for intellect, as it "lights the way" and dispels ignorance.
This aligns with the air element's connection to thought and communication, suggesting the mind is what bridges the physical and spiritual.
3. Altar (Body):
The altar, as a physical and grounded structure, aligns well with the body’s role as the foundation for spiritual and intellectual pursuits.
The black letters at the base could symbolize the primal, material aspect of existence (nigredo or the body as the "first stage").
Altars are also where offerings and sacrifices are made, symbolizing the body’s role as the vessel for spiritual practice.
Rationale for Both Assignments
Your Assignment (Bird = Body, Torch = Soul, Altar = Mind):
This framework emphasizes the interdependence of the three aspects:
The mind (altar) provides a foundation.
The body (bird) is active and dynamic but relies on the soul (torch) for energy and purpose.
Alternate Assignment (Bird = Soul, Torch = Mind, Altar = Body):
This emphasizes the soul’s transcendent nature (bird), the mind’s clarity (torch), and the body’s grounding presence (altar).
Which Interpretation Fits Better?
The best fit depends on the lens you’re using:
Alchemical Framework:
Your interpretation works well if we focus on the alchemical stages, especially since the bird's colors align with alchemical symbolism.
The reliance of the bird on the torch mirrors the dependence of the body on the soul for life.
Hermetic/Spiritual Framework:
The alternate interpretation aligns with Hermetic philosophy, where the soul (bird) is the intermediary between spirit and matter, while the mind (torch) is the tool for illumination and the body (altar) is the grounded, material plane.
Conclusion
Both interpretations are valid, and which one resonates more depends on your focus:
Stick with your assignment if you’re emphasizing interdependence and alchemical transformation.
Use the alternate assignment if you want to highlight the spiritual and Hermetic hierarchy of body, mind, and soul.
---
I don't know which of us is correct-- or even if either of us is correct-- but it's something worth considering. For the bird, torch, and altar to represent "all things" means they must symbolize some type of triad, and body/mind/soul would cover everything it takes to be human.
With that, section five is complete.
Stay safe!
- me
Comments