In the monster’s maw

 

– Ignatius… or Don Carrot, if you prefer… would you like to resume your story where you left off?
– You mean when I was about to enter the monster’s maw!
– Yes…
– I no longer know whether I am telling a story, or whether — like you — I am telling things about those images I brought you… It’s high time you told me what you see in them.
– You see, Ignatius, from the inner fire to the ocean of the unconscious there is but a small step, a small door — one that you, or Don Carrot, seem ready to open…
– The door… the mouth has been open for a long time, Mr. Lucian…
– You are right. In the previous images, everything took place in a closed space, centred on the throne and the fire. Here, the scene opens: the setting has become cosmic and chaotic.
The Promethean fire now ventures beyond the inner sanctuary and confronts the matter of the world — the aquatic depths, symbols of the collective unconscious in Jung.
The Promethean hero — you, Don Carrot — is about to descend into the primordial waters: it is the descent into hell of the fire of consciousness.
The fire of tongues and the water (the waves, the creature) oppose and intertwine:
it is the encounter between the two fundamental elements of alchemy — Spirit (sulphur) and Soul (mercury). This encounter heralds a crisis, but also a possible union of opposites — the very heart of the alchemical process…
– I don’t know whether I should believe you, Mr. Lucian… I thought you were my friend… but if I must believe you, then I think it’s also you I must fight…