Robinet, The World Upside Down: Essays on ... - The Golden Elixir

<strong>The</strong> <strong>World</strong> <strong>Upside</strong> <strong>Down</strong>go to the end are born, transform themselves, and die endlessly.Going backward and going forward are necessary to one another,because the origin and the end are not two. 3However, the ordinary persons who “follow the course” generateother beings. <strong>The</strong> seekers of immortality, who go backward, generatean embryo of immortality within themselves: they self-regenerate.<strong>The</strong> ordinary course follows the sequence of the seasons—winter,spring, summer, and autumn—and the sequence of four of the fiveagents associated with the seasons: Water, Wood, Fire, and Metal (seetables 1 and 2). <strong>The</strong> alchemists often insist that the opposite coursecauses Water to generate Metal, and Wood to generate Fire. SinceMetal is related to the West and its traditional emblem is the Tiger,they say that the Tiger emerges from Water and the North. Similarly,Wood is related to the Dragon and the East, but emerges from Fireand the South. <strong>The</strong>refore the backward rotation is performed by goingfrom North to West, and from South to East. Time is traced in abackward sequence. <strong>The</strong> normal flow of time leads to death; thosewho seek immortality move toward youth and birth.<strong>The</strong> wheel of Heaven turns to the left; the Sun, the Moon, and theplanets turn to the right. <strong>The</strong> wheel of Heaven turning to the leftcauses the movement of the four seasons; the Sun and the Moonturning to the right transform the ten thousand beings.<strong>The</strong>refore red cinnabar, which symbolizes Fire, is placed in theSouth, and is the Red Bird. As it moves to the East, this cinnabargenerates Mercury, which is of a green color and symbolizesWood; it is placed in the East and is the Green Dragon. Black leadbelongs to Water, is placed in the North, and is the Dark Warrior.As it turns to the West, black lead generates White Silver.<strong>The</strong>refore it is said that Fire turns to the East and is the Dragon(while Fire traditionally is the Red Bird and turns to the West),and Water turns to the West and is the Tiger (instead of being theDark Warrior).This means that the True Breath of the Great Tripod secretlymoves according to the turning of Heaven; and as for the symbolismof the Moon, the Sun and the planets, they turn to the right.3Quanzhen jixuan biyao, 9b-10a.3