Definitions HQ

Transformation (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠in myth, not man becoming god but the god undergoing death and rebirth in and through man — appearing first as an assailant to be wrestled.

Transformation (n.) into ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠something higher is not man's to command — he must hope something carries him up, since he is unlikely to succeed at the Munchausen experiment.

Transformation (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠not seeing something different but seeing differently — as if the act of seeing gained a new dimension.

Transformation (n.) needs ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠a substance that is by essence both extremely common, even contemptible — serpent, raven, ape of God — and divine, for transformation leads from the bestial depths to the heights.

Transformation (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the self-education of the educator: the man with a running abscess is not fit to perform an operation.

Transformation (n.) never ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠means, in the later alchemical texts, mere strengthening or rejuvenation of the starting state; it means change into a higher nature.