In my last post, I talked about alchemical references in the “Enlightenment and Tile Survey” video. I may have found another one: the label saying the light bulbs were manufactured in Pennsylvania. Did you know Pennsylvania was home to a famous alchemist? His name was Johannes Kelpius (1667–1708). He lived in a cave. This is the entrance:
Hey, wait a minute… doesn’t it kind of look like… oh, forget it. We will never get to the bottom of it. What I want to focus on now is the Sun. In alchemy, it is a symbol for many things. One of them is gold. But everything in alchemy is also meant to have a spiritual significance. Kelpius believed that faith could change our leaden souls into gold. In other words, anyone can find the good within, no matter how corrupted they might be. It’s only a question of working hard on it.
Sun means light. u/BlueSearcher recently pointed out in this post that this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foCh_V4CpNU
is based on the painting “The Sun” by Munch. The video is called “Visible Light”, and indeed the image of the Sun is split into the four primary colors: blue, yellow, green, and red (and yes, the guy in the video is Ivan Beck). There is a lot in the series about the function of sunlight. I think it’s absolutely valid to explore it from a scientific point of view. I love science. But on the other hand, we can’t ignore the symbolic point of view: there are too many clues, and they feel like more than Easter eggs. So I’m trying to follow the alchemical path, which, and that’s the point, also involves colors. Two of them have a strong presence in the series: green and red.
The production of the Philosopher’s Stone (and, metaphorically, the discovery of the Sun and of the “light” within us) can be summarized by a seven-letter acronym: V.I.T.R.I.O.L. It stands for “Visita Interiora Terrae, Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem”, which means: “Visit the interior of the Earth (hey, wait…); by rectifying (or working with righteousness), you will find the hidden stone” i.e., the philosopher’s stone.
In theory, any stone can become the philosopher’s stone. The good is not only in every soul, but in every piece of Creation. The philosopher’s stone, i.e. the Sun, is hidden everywhere. We only have to bring it out through hard work. At the beginning, though, the Sun isn’t really the Sun: we are in Nigredo, the Black phase. So, at the beginning, even the Sun is black. Like this:
The Black Sun, from Splendor Solis by Salomon Trismosin (16th century).
Or like this:
Hey Ivan, how are you? It looks like you have something on your face. Hey, but… it’s a black sun! Let me say it: you should see a good alchemist, Ivan. By the way, there’s nothing to worry about. According to Jung, the “black sun” phase is the moment when the patient is digging deep into their own mind. Into their own subconscious.
If V.I.T.R.I.O.L. sounds like “vitriol”, it’s because… yes, it actually is vitriol. Alchemists used ferrous sulfate heptahydrate (green vitriol) to start the whole process. Green vitriol was imagined as a Green Lion hunting the Sun. Like this:
Illustration from Philosophia Reformata (1622), written by Johann Daniel Mylius.
A pretty corrosive situation, I should say. It reminds me of this:
It’s the ending of Found Footage #2, when some strange green energy hits the Complex, maybe triggering some kind of transformation.
The alchemical process goes on, passing through the White phase (purification, Albedo) and the Yellow phase (transformation, Citrinitas). You’re doing great, because according to Jung the Yellow phase marks the emergence of the inner Wise Old Man or Woman. An Older Gentleman, we might say.
Finally comes Rubedo: the Red phase. It’s the Philosopher’s Stone phase, in which you become one with the whole universe. Now you’re ready to shine like pure gold.
There’s a lot of red in the Complex. I must admit that when it appears, it’s not spiritually relaxing at all: the Red Neighborhood, the Red City… And speaking of Found Footage #3, I have to say a few words about poor Ravi. I really think he was a good person. I would never have suspected he had a double life.
People, let me introduce you to Sūrya, the Hindu god of the Sun.
Humankind knows him by many names: Sūrya, Aditya, Arka, Bhanu, Savitr, Pushan, Martanda, Mitra, Bhaskara, Prabhakara, Kathiravan, Vivasvat… and Ravi.
Did you know that, in the Hindu calendar, Sunday is called “Ravivara” after “Ravi”?
Sūrya (or should we say Ravi?) is often depicted driving a chariot pulled by seven horses, which represent the seven days of the week, or the seven colors of visible light, from violet to red. Starting from Pennsylvania, we’ve run into a lot of “sevens”, you must admit.
Okay, people, I’m not sure of anything. I’m just asking: if Ravi, metaphorically, were the Sun, wouldn’t that shed new… ehm, light on the whole of Found Footage #3? After all, at the beginning Ravi goes underground, like the Sun does every evening. What follows could be the tale of the Sun making its course through the night. Or, from another point of view, it could also be an initiatory journey.
Would you really be surprised if FF3 had a spiritual meaning? I think this series is great enough (as the Complex is) to give space (or A-space) to that kind of interpretation.
Let’s see it this way: Ravi must suffer in order to rise again. Along the way, he finds the image of the alchemical Sun near the communication station. Ravi tries to communicate with the outside world. He literally tries to speak with another dimension, almost like he’s praying. Same with the Father behind the wall.
The final scene seems absolutely desperate, but I think there is hope, because the sun rises every morning and because Ravi reaches Rubedo, the Red phase: the phase of the philosopher’s stone.
“Red Sun in the Sky” is a piece of music from the Backrooms OST, but it is also a propaganda song dedicated to Mao Zedong. Ravi saw Mao’s portrait on the wall as he made his way into the night and into despair.
In his last shot, the intensity of the red light makes it seem as if Ravi is burning. But remember: alchemical fire doesn’t destroy, it transforms. Ravi is ready to shine, like pure gold. If I had to bet, I’d say that Ravi will rise again.
Red Sun from Splendor Solis by Salomon Trismosin (16th century).
