Our narrator begins his journey at night with a linen veil over his head. It's not stated explicitly, but the language used ("I was groping over hot sand which I felt give way under my every step") suggests that his vision is at least partially obscured. This would be an obvious metaphor for his 'blindness' to the spiritual truths he's going to uncover.
Veils are used in occult texts often, symbolically obscuring or revealing mystical information. For example, the "veil of Isis," frequently referenced in mystical traditions, symbolizes the hidden secrets of nature and creation. Even in the last section, the narrator mentions "lifting the veil which the hand of the Creator has placed over the Sphinx" to indicate that the reader is going to learn something that has been hidden.
The narrator walks to an iron altar, where he sets down the golden bough he has been carrying and speaks some secret words. The sky thunders, the ground shakes, Vesuvius rumbles. The bough bursts into flames and a thick smoke surrounds our narrator. Everything goes dark and he falls into an abyss.
There's already a bit to unpack here.
To start, this is a symbolic death. The narrator is travelling to the underworld. The golden bough is a hint to this, as the myth featuring it has the character Aeneus find a golden bough before being allowed to enter the underworld (where he wishes to visit his deceased father, who will tell him the future).
The golden bough is placed on an iron altar (a metal associated with Mars), seemingly as an offering for what is to come. He knows he has to pay a price for the wisdom he seeks. This could be representative of his old self or his old life. Knowledge like this changes a person, and he was prepared to sacrifice what was needed for that change. The bough catches fire, a symbol of transformation. Think of the phoenix; it burns to death and rises again.
The abyss symbolizes the unknown, perhaps the subconscious or the shadow self. The narrator is thrown into the abyss, somewhat unexpectedly, much the way that spiritual death often seems to occur. Something major happens that forces a person to confront something they've been (perhaps unknowingly) avoiding.
When the narrator finally lands on solid ground, he opens his eyes and looks around. Everything he saw earlier is gone. No volcanoes, no iron altar, no sand. He's in an underground chamber, alone. He sees a white robe nearby, which he puts on, and a copper lamp, which he picks up. There's a black table covered in Greek letters instructing him on where to go. He turns into a narrow corridor with black marble walls. This corridor goes on for three miles, where he finds some steps leading down. He walks down the steps for an indeterminate amount of time. When he finally reaches the bottom, he sees a light. He hides his lamp to see the new light better, but it disappears.
Once again, we have a lot to unpack.
He's underground. We were already aware that this is a journey to the underworld, but here's more evidence of it. The white robe makes sense for the beginning of his travels in the way that paper is white before it's fulfilled its purpose. White is a color symbolizing purity or innocence, further supporting the "death and rebirth" theme.
The lamp is made of copper, which links it to Venus and contrasts the iron altar of Mars above ground. This shift symbolizes a move from masculine action to feminine reflection. If he's going to get anywhere, he needs the guidance (lamp light) of his feminine side.
Something I noticed is that the walls and table are black while his robe is white. This contrasts the underworld, being a place of 'death,' from his newfound life. Black is dark and ominous. White is light and hopeful. This could suggest that he's determined not to give in to 'death.'
The corridor he's walking goes on for three miles. First of all, oh my God I hope he took breaks, but also, three is an important number in magical/religious communities. Body, Mind, Spirit. Land, Water, Air. Heaven, Earth, Hell. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. Sulfur, Mercury, Salt. The Threefold Law. The Triple-Goddess. Cerberus. The three Fates. We'll see three and multiples of it through the rest of the work.
He walks down the steps, symbolizing that he's going 'deeper' into his spiritual work. Once he's at the bottom, he sees a light. A glimmer of an idea. He has to hide the light he carries-- meaning he has to set aside his feelings (again, Venus) -- to try to see and understand. Unfortunately, it's gone as quick as it was there. This is something most of us can relate to. You're on the brink of figuring something out, you can almost see the answer... and then it's gone.
Back to our guy. He's not worried about the past or the future. He's in the present, and in the present he wants to find that damn light. He keeps moving forward, through many black galleries, until he reaches a square room.
The room has a door on each wall, in each of the cardinal directions. There are five colors on the Rosicrucian Cross, each symbolizing one of the five elements, but my own interpretation is a little different. For completion's sake, here are the colors according to the Rosicrucians:
Red - Fire
Blue - Water
Black - Earth
White - Spirit
Yellow (not present in this room) - Air
One thing to note is that the Rosicrucian Cross I'm referencing seems to have been designed after this text was written, so I feel okay about using my own color associations:
Red - Fire
Blue - Air
Black - Earth
White - Water
My interpretation of these colors makes sense, given what we'll see through the white door later. This also aligns nicely with the typical directions of the elements in western occultism. Water is to the west, fire is to the south, air is to the east, and earth is to the north. Here's a visual:
Our narrator enters this room from the north: the "earth" door. He's been travelling underground, after all. This is also to symbolize that he's moving away from physical, material things and towards less tangible concepts.
In the middle of the room, there's a square pedestal holding a shining crystal star. Is this the light he saw earlier? We'll see that this star is a guide for him. Stars are often a symbol of guidance, maybe because humans use them to navigate.
I want to note that this star is on a square pedestal in a square room. Squares are associated with stability and foundation, suggesting that this is a secure beginning for his journey.
He also sees a painting on the northern wall: the image at the beginning of this post. It seems to be a woman initiating a man into the mysteries. A cup (water) and lancehead (air) are on the table. She uses the rod (fire) to officiate him. (You can see my version of the painting here, if you're interested.)
Given the feminine/masculine symbolism we've already seen here, it's safe to assume that the different genders in the painting are significant. There's been a lot about connecting to the "feminine" qualities, so the fact that the woman is the one initiating the man speaks for itself.
It's important that this painting is on the northern wall, where the black 'earth' door is. The other elements have representations in the painting, but nothing stands out to me as an obvious symbol for earth. Maybe this is to show that the man in the painting has also left the material world behind, and now he's exploring his emotions (cup, water) and thoughts (lancehead, air). The woman uses the rod (fire) to initiate him, fire being the igniting principle.
The painting shows a flame burning towards the man. This could be why our narrator first tries to go through the red door; it seems like that is what the painting is instructing him to do. However, when he attempts to go to the red door, it slams shut. He turns toward the "sky-blue" (more evidence for air) door instead, but he's distracted by a noise behind him. The noise is the star, which quickly lifts itself and flies through the white door to the west (water). He follows the star.
I believe this choice with the doors is to show that we all have our own agency in how we carry out our spiritual journeys, but that some ways simply won't be available at first. The red door slams shut because he can't access that information yet or because he's not strong enough to face whatever is behind it. He turns to the eastern door (air) and considers going through it, but then he hears something and turns to see his guide shoot through the western (water) door. In his case, at least, he's not ready for thought. He needs to connect emotionally first.
That... was a lot! But that's all for section two, so we'll see how our hero fares through the western door next time.
Stay safe!
- me
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