2 ?b90

359
In alchemy, from which the term "ouroboros" is borrowed,
we discover all the archetypal stages and their symbolism
even the symbol of Osiris as the basic symbol of the
I...
arcane substance, so that the whole process of alchemical
change and subli24tion can be interpreted as a transforma-
C
tion of Osiris.
Ceml and Oppiano Licario have become one upon the death of the latter;
Cemi's final transformation in which all opposites meet is described in
terms of Chinese alchemical processes, as Lezama interprets them in "Las
eras imaginarlas: la biblioteca como drag6n". He assumes the qualities of
Oppiano/Osiris which lead. to centroversion, "the innate tendency of a whole
to create unity within its parts.... "
44d
Ritmo hesicAstico, involving
internal balance, is attained through a process of purification and two
critics have interpreted the complicated detail of the penultimate paragraph
in slightly different ways,, yet the concensus of opinion is that Cemi
triumphs. C. J. Waller, relying heavily upon entries in G. A. Gaskell's
Dictionary of All Scriptures and Myths, sees the "Ilamitas fluctuantes de
las 6nimas en pena" (1,, 645) as "the spiritual energy of Buddhi consuming
the lower qualities of the astral plane"; she continues, "the flames (souls)
reach for the 'embri6n celestial' ...
the ideal or innermost state of ex-
istence pertaining to the Buddhic and Atmic planes"; the white tiger- becone s
the guardian of the West Quarter which "symbolizes the Buddhic plane, " the
mddula is "the innermost spiritual nature of the soul" which "merges in a
symbolic contact with the Buddhic plane, represented by the white tiger";
. meanwhile the mirror is the "immortal soul as a reflector of the atma-buddhi, "
the fountain is "a manifestation of Truth, eternal reality, and s ource of
Life"; finally "as the water carries the tiger to the angles of the mirror,,
he abandons it, strangling himself with his tail, apparently signifying the
removal of the guard of the Buddhic plane and complete manifestation of the
Atma-Buddhi. , 45 1 must emphasize that the relevant symbolism in Lezama's
essay refers always to Taoismq not Buddhism.