On yellow

[Ian Livingston]

I am already into the mode where I can't recollect exactly the page and
passage you are referring to here, but I really do think it fits Cyprian to
think in terms of The Forge and the Crucible specifically.  For instance,
Eliade notes, "All in all, the alchemist treats substances as the God was
treated in the mysteries; the mineral substances 'suffer', 'die' or 'are
reborne' to another mode of being, that is, are transmuted....  Alchemical
transmutation is therefore equivalent to the perfecting of matter or, in
Christian terminology, to its redemption...The alchemical combination of
sulphur and mercury is always expressed in terms of a marriage...a mystical
union between two cosmological principles."  Then on the matter of torture,
"...To the Greek alchemists, 'torture' did not yet correspond to an actual
operation but was symbolic.  It is only with the Arab writers that 'torture'
has reference to chemical operations.  In the Testament of Ga'far Sadiq, we
read that dead bodies must be tortured by fire and by all the Arts of
Suffering in order that they may revive; for without suffering or death one
cannot achieve eternal life...."  I know we are not yet there, but this
becomes pertinent later.
Also as regards Cyprian's character, Eliade avers, regarding the local
alchemists:  "Alexandrian alchemists were from the very beginning aware that
in pursuing the perfection of metals they were pursuing their own
perfection....The adept must transform himself into a Philosopher's Stone.
"Transform yourself from dead stones into living philosophic stones,,,,'
'For this substance is you and you are its ore....'  The ensuing death is
sometimes expressed in terms of hieros gamos:  the two principles -- the Sun
and Moon, King and Queen, unite in the mercury bath and die (this is the
nigredo): their 'soul' abandons them to return later and give birth to the
filius philosophorum, the androgynous being... which promises the imminent
attainment of the Philosopher's Stone...."  Cyprian certainly is the
'androgynous being'
As to the colors mentioned (there was just a few pages back a question about
the recurring allusion to things "black") I need to go back and read the
text again to trace whether these other colors appear in relation to
Cyprian, but it would not at this point surprise me.  Eliade:
"Transmutation, the magnum opus which culminated in the Philosopher's Stone,
is achieved by causing matter to pass through four phases, named, from the
colors taken on by the ingredients: melansis [nigredo] (black), leukosis
[albedo] (white), xanthosis [citrinitas] (yellow) and iosis [rubedo] (red)."
All these notes refer to the initiation of the new alchemist.  I think that
Cyprian undergoes a sort of initiation, becoming a "living philosophic
stone" in this sequence of events.  "Gold is the symbol of immortality,"
says Eliade.  The question arises, then, does Cyprian become associated in
any way with gold before the end?  And, if so, does this in any way relate
to the outcome of the novel?  Is there relationship between Cyprian here and
the rather tawdry, ordinary folks at the end of the novel?  I'll reread the
section tonight to see how much of this holds up under scrutiny.

On Sun, Apr 27, 2008 at 3:04 PM, Mark Kohut <markekohut at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I do think it is "no accident' that TRP seemed to put some of eliade's
> ideas here in ATD, just south of the Balkan area---nor is it an accident
> that Eliade FOUND his ideas here
> (in the real world), of course.
>
> 'courtyard within a courtyard' is very eliadeish................as is much
> more (if not yellow)
>
> Mark
>
>
> *Bekah <Bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net>* wrote:
>
>  On Apr 27, 2008, at 9:38 AM, Ian Livingston wrote:
>
>  Look into alchemy.  The four colors of transmutation: black, white,
> yellow and red.  See Eliade,  The Forge and the Crucible.
>
>
> Interesting.  So I Googled the definition of "transmutation" and was sent
> to Wiki which gave me "sexual transmutation" among others.  So I clicked the
> link:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation
>
>  Sexual sublimation, also known as sexual transmutation, is the attempt
> among some religious traditions to transform sexual energy into creativity,
> thereby facilitating a mystical awakening.
> In psychology <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology>, sublimation<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sublimation_%28psychology%29>is the
> transference <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transference> of sexual energy,
> or libido <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libido>, into a physical act or a
> different emotion in order to avoid confrontation with the sexual urge. It
> is based on the belief that sexual energy, the creative function of the
> human being, can be used to create a spiritual nature instead of being let
> out in hopes of creating physically or sensually.[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-Sivananda1-0>
> [2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-1>[3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-2>
> The term itself means to transform the crude sexual energy into a carrier
> of spiritual essence. Different schools that describe this energy as vital
> energy, vital winds (prana <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prana>),
> spiritual energy, ojas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojas>, shakti<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakti>,
> tummo <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tummo>, or kundalini<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kundalini>
> .[4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-3>[5]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-4>
> [6] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_sublimation#cite_note-5>
>
> "The Yellow Book: Gnosis, the Divine Mother Kundalini and Jinn Science"
>  is about sexual transmutation.  It's yellow.
>
> Btw,  the author of "The Forge and the Crucible" is Romanian - just north
> of the Balkan area. Do they know about this sort of thing?  (paranoid
> mysticism)
> ***
>
> Good point and interesting but I still see the Austrian connection as the
> most realistic meaning behind Cyprian's cryptic comment.
>
> Another idea might be that yellow could mean cowardly and that could
> possibly be relevant to a meeting with the Prince.   (I still like the
> Austrian connection best.)
>
> Bekah
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it
> now.<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=51733/*http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20080427/9fb9fe28/attachment-0001.html>