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aspoonofsugar · 2 years ago

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RWBY Volume 9 = Splendor Solis

Here comes a RWBY alchemy meta, which I can write thanks to @hamliet's help!

PREMISE

Alchemy is an ancient practice, whose goal is to create the philosopher stone. This stone gives immortality, transmutes lead into gold and creates new life (homunculus). From a philosophical point of view, alchemy's aim is to nurture the spirit and to make it perfect.

As @hamliet has explained in several metas, RWBY is an alchemical story, which metaphorically illustrates the procedure to create the stone. In particular, the series follows a specific structure and it references almost step by step the Ripley Scroll, a famous alchemical text.

That said, RWBY takes inspiration from other sources, as well. For example, volume 9 alludes to the Splendor Solis. This text is made of 22 illustrated plates, which describe the alchemical process. Let's see what RWBY does with them.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE SPLENDOR SOLIS

The 22 plates of the Splendor Solis are usually divided in 4 groups:

4 introductory plates- they present the protagonists of the alchemical journey

7 parables - they describe the alchemical death and rebirth

7 flask plates - they describe the alchemical process from a practical point of view

4 final plates - they describe the alchemical process from a spiritual point of view

RWBY volume 9 doesn't go through the whole thing, but rather focuses on the 7 parables and uses their imagery to illustrate RWBYJ's journey. In particular, the 7 parables are:

Plate 5 - Miners excavating a hill

Plate 6 - Philosophers beside a tree

Plate 7 - The drowning king

Plate 8 - Resurrection out of the swamp

Plate 9 - Hermaphrodite with an egg

Plate 10 - Severing the head of the king

Plate 11 - The bath

Let's see them one by one. I will change the order slightly to make their relevance to RWBY volume 9 easy to understand.

PLATE 6 - THE PHILOSOPHICAL TREE

Plate 6 has 3 philosophers beside a tree.

The tree symbolizes:

The alchemy process

The journey to the Underworld

1- The tree is the path towards the philosopher stone and the philosophers are the people following it. To be precise:

The 3 men's clothes symbolize the different stages of the alchemical process (black - nigredo, white - albedo and red - rubedo)

The golden branch and flowers show the passage from the albedo to the rubedo through citrinitas (the yellow stage)

In short, the scene is a metaphor for the alchemical journey with a focus on the yellow stage, which connects the white stage and the red stage:

The RWBY girls represent the 4 stages of alchemy (Blake - Nigredo, Weiss - Albedo, Yang - Citrinitas and Ruby - Rubedo). In volume 9, they go through a self-refinement journey and struggle through the citrinitas stage. This is why a lot of yellow is found in the Ever After.

2- The text that accompanies plate 6 talks about Aeneas's journey into the Underworld. To enter this realm, Aeneas needs a golden branch from a special tree, which can be obtained only by people chosen by fate. In short, it is the tree that decides who can visit the kingdom of the deads.

Well, the Curious Cat learns a similar lesson the hard way:

Jaune: So Neo can’t go through the door… NeoCat: No. She has no attachments to your world. Nothing to return to. She has failed me… just like Alyx did.

The Tree is the only way out from the Ever After and it can be found only through acceptance:

Curious Cat: It’s not a place you go. It’s a place you know.

The Ever After itself alludes to the Underworld in 3 different ways:

It is the first version of the world, above which the Brothers have created Remnant. This is why it is under and you fall into it (symbolically)

It is the world buried inside people's hearts and minds. It is a place where repressed feelings need to come out and to be addressed

It is the world of the deads (Hereafter), so in this dimension the characters come to terms with grief

Plate 6 represents the main setting of volume 9, whose plot revolves around the Great Tree, the yellow stage and the themes of grief and acceptance.

PLATE 9 - THE HERMAPHRODITE

The Hermaphrodite is the result of the Conjunctio, which is the metaphorical marriage of Solar and Lunar (Sun and Moon) and the physical marriage of sulfur and mercury. In short, it is the result of a union:

Bumbleby goes through their final chemical wedding in the Ever After (they reach their Happily Ever After). This moment is a top off of their individual developments and the consumption of their previous weddings. They are bees (a recurring alchemical symbol linked to the soul) making honey. They are two souls becoming one. So, their kiss has flowers bloom and creates life.

PLATE 5 - MINERS EXCAVATING A HILL

Plate 5 leads us to volume 9's climax and to the heart of the Splendor Solis's inspiration in RWBY. This plate has:

2 miners excavating a hill (a metaphor for making the stone from the prima materia). It is important that the two characters wear respectively a golden and a silver robe, which call back to the Sun and Moon

The Sun and Moon mirroring each other. The Sun is in the sky (air) and the Moon is in the river (water). They are opposites balancing each other

Eshter's story pictured in the frame of the pedestal. Eshter is a biblical character and the second wife of King Ahasuerus, who is determined to kill the Jews. Still, Eshter (a Jews herself) steps in, touches the King's staff and convinces him to let her people live

The plate's theme is the beginning (prima materia) of a union (sun and moon) through communication (Eshter's parable).

It is referenced here:

The Genial Gems create a giant white hill, which clearly alludes to the philosopher stone. What's more, the scene has 2 protagonists:

Jaune is linked to the sun and masculine (gold), while Weiss to the moon and feminine (silver). They grow closer thanks to empathy.

In particular, their interaction is an inversion of King Ahasuerus and Eshter's. In the biblical episode, the King wants to kill the Jews and Eshter stops him. In RWBY, Jaune doesn't want to let the Paper Pleasers ascend and Weiss tries to get through to him (together with BY):

Weiss: Then why do you care so much about this village?! Jaune: Because I can actually PROTECT these people!!

Just like Esther touches the King's staff, Weiss grabs Jaune's sword:

Eshter's gesture is a symbol of intimacy and connection. Similarly, using another person's weapon in RWBY shows closeness, which foreshadows Jaune and Weiss's interaction in the climax.

Symbolically, the King is Power and Eshter is Truth. This fits Jaune being heart and Weiss being mind. Finally, Eshter is the King's second wife and here Weiss steps in as Jaune's second anima after Pyrrha.

In general, the whole scene is important thematically, as it foreshadows the resolution of the volume:

The Paper Pleasers are kind, but frail, so they go through a process of self-refinement and are reborn as Genial Gems (philosopher stones). This is exactly what happens to Ruby and Jaune.

So, RWBY's miners scene (plate 5) leads WBYJ to the Tree (plate 6), where the climax unfolds.

PLATE 7 - THE DROWNING KING

Plate 7 shows two kings. The one in the background is old and about to drown. The one in the front is young, serene and is together with a dove, which symbolizes resurrection. The scene illustrates the death of the king and his rebirth as a new, more perfected self:

Curious Cat: Oh, it was all very sad. The Red King couldn’t cope when he lost to Alyx, a crying mess. Thankfully, he was called back and fixed up, and now he’s the Prince you met.

The Red Prince's story is an inversion of this Plate. He starts as a wise King, but experiences loss and is reborn as a pampered and capricious cheater. He undergoes a transformation, which results in a regression.

These are the dangers of the alchemical death, which can lead to self-refinement, but also to a loss of the self. What will it be for our main characters?

The Drowning King is meaningful for 2 RWBY characters:

Jaune

Ruby

Jaune finds himself stuck in the Ever After, where he grows old physically, but never matures psychologically. His way out is to turn a new leaf and grow up:

Alyx: Maybe it’s time for a change, to be the kind of man you always wanted to be.

So, he leaves the Rusted Knight behind and becomes Jaune Arc:

The Old King is drown and the New King appears.

Ruby is similarly stuck because she is prisoner of Summer Rose's idealized idea. So, she breaks Summer's pedestal:

Ruby: What? What was that? She… She lied. She left with Raven. Why would she…? Blacksmith: Who knows why people keep the secrets they do. Maybe you’re not the only one who has felt the weight of other’s expectations. Like Alyx, like your mother.

And chooses herself:

Summer Rose is gone, but Ruby Rose has just begun.

Volume 9 takes 2 other symbols from this Plate, which accompany Ruby's arc and the theme of the Drowning King.

The 2 Suns

Butterflies

The 2 Suns shine brilliantly in the Ever After, just like they do over the 2 Kings' heads. They symbolize Ruby's dependence on Summer, but also her eventual rise to be even brighter than her mother:

I'll be who you were and I'll be even more

Butterflies are symbolic of the process of transformation Ruby goes through. They start as caterpillars (lead), but change into butterflies (gold). This is the meaning of Ruby's ascension:

Just like Herb, Ruby finds quiet in a cocoon and eventually emerges stronger and more beautiful.

Finally, Ruby's rebirth from the tree is hinted at in the bottom of Plate 7's frame, where 2 panels can be seen:

The left panel shows a woman and a satyr embracing under a tree as a man with a club moves to attack them. The right panel shows the same scene, but the tree transforms into a man who shelters the couple from the attack.

Similarly, WBYJ fight NeoCatt in front of TreeRuby, who eventually breaks free and joins the battle.

PLATE 8 - RESURRECTION OUT OF THE SWAMP

Plate 8 has a figure coming out from the mud. They wear black and red and have a silver arm:

Our girl Ruby is reborn wearing her signature black and red clothes, with her emblem and eyes shining silver.

Similarly, Jaune falls into a metaphorical swamp:

Where he faces Alyx (his shadow), so he can resurface with a trump card to save Neo and defeat the Cat:

Jaune: Burn the leaves!

In short, this Plate represents both Ruby and Jaune's resurrections. Still, who is the angelic figure on the right? She is Sophia, who embodies Wisdom:

Curious Cat: Looking at you, wise huntress.

In volume 9, Weiss steadily grows in this role. She empathizes with Ruby and leads the others towards the theme of the volume (acceptance). In particular, she guides Jaune with her wise words and symbalically has him fall under the tree, so that he faces his ghosts and is reborn stronger. Moreover, Weiss is there to wait for Ruby and welcomes her back with a full Nevermore:

Just like the Reborn King in Plate 7 is celebrated by a dove, Weiss summons her first Nevermore once Ruby is back.

It's probable Weiss will fully bloom into Wisdom and will be important for the conclusion of both Ruby and Jaune's arcs, as they will be for hers.

Our Snowhite just needs a final resurrection to complete her fairy tale. So far, each rebirth has been highlighted by an avatar:

Jacques traps Snowhite in a glass coffin (her room). Still, she calls her Prince (The Arma Gigas) and breaks free

Cinder kills Snowhite, but a Prince (Jaune) saves her and she is crowned Queen (The Queen Lancer)

Right now, Weiss has lost her home and the SDC. She is left with a family name, which means nothing and is asked to do something with it. Probably, her final resurrection will be that of the Schnee name, which will become a symbol of hope. Surely, the Nevermore is meant to play a symbolic role in that. After all, the Nevermore is a Grimm she killed together with her team. So, it makes sense it comes to symbolize the resurrection of her family, her team and her loved ones. Surely, it is so in volume 9. Weiss's path ahead, then, lies in her supporting and guiding others with love and wisdom. Her adventure in the Ever After is simply the realization of this truth.

PLATE 10 AND PLATE 11 - SOLVET ET COAGULA

Let's skip to Plate 10 and Plate 11. These 2 scenes are meant to be seen as complementary, as they illustrate the process of solvet and coagula. Separate and unite. Destruction and Creation:

Blacksmith: She will have the chance to return her broken heart… And becomes something new. Such is balance.

The Tree works precisely through this duality. When Afterans get broken, they go to the Tree and are re-made in a new form. Destruction is the first step of Creation. This is what the 2 Plates convey.

Plate 10 represents Destruction, as its subject is a dismembered body:

Plate 11 represents Creation, as it shows a man being purified and reborn through a bath (the bath = baptism):

The symbolism of Plate 11 is especially interesting for Jaune and Ruby's arcs. In particular, let's focus on the 2 statues below the balcony, which are perched in alcoves of the building wall. They are Jupiter and Mercury and they point to 2 different paths.

Jupiter is linked to tin and points to a representation of Vulcan, the divine forger, while he works with his hammer. In Greek Mythology, Vulcan discovers fire and becomes the God of metalworking.

Mercury is linked to quicksilver and points to the man in the boiling tub. In Greek Mythology, Mercury is the messanger of the Gods and is famous for his speed.

The first path leads to fire and is slow:

Blacksmith to Jaune: I’ve been waiting a long time for you.

The second path leads to water and is quick:

Blacksmith: I didn’t expect you’re here just yet.

Both Jaune and Ruby go through an alchemical transformation, but they do so in opposite ways.

Jaune's change is slow, as he spends years trapped in the Ever After. That said, when he finally reaches the Blacksmith (Vulcan's furnace), he is ready to change and his transformation is painless. He gains a new form through the Blacksmith integrating him with Alyx's knife. Symbolically, to reach this point he goes through a baptism of fire. The Tree leaves are burnt and bring Jaune visions.

Ruby's change is quick, as she reaches the Tree after 2 days in the Ever After. Still, it is also highly traumatic and violent, to the point she risks to lose herself in the process. She is asked to choose a new identity, which means it could have been the end of Ruby Rose. Symbolically, to transform she drinks tea (hot water). The Tree leaves are dissolved in water and lead Ruby to ascension.

So, our Jeanne D'Arc and our Little Red Riding Hood have parallel and yet opposite arcs, which lead them towards a better version of themselves. Is this ideal form reached, as for the end of volume 9?

No, it isn't, which is why the Hermaphrodite (Plate 9) is only indirectly referenced in Bumbleby's wedding. For the individual, the Hermaphrodite represents completion, but so far our protagonists are still incomplete:

Otherside, Did you mean to make me half or whole? Will I ever be (complete)? When will I become all of me?

This is why the driving question of the volume isn't "Who are you?", but "What are you?". It hints to the fact this is not the final step of self-actualization, but rather the beginning of it:

Ruby: Oh, uh, I’m a human. A girl? A Huntress? Mouse: That’s a lot of things.

Somewhat: Hmmm. Somewhat. Yeah. Somewhat. I’m not any one thing, I’m somewhat of a lot of things!

Little grows into Somewhat, just like Ruby grows into someone. She doesn't really know who she is. All she knows is that she will discover it:

Little: I’m sure it’ll make sense eventually.

Somewhat: It will be alright, Huntress.

Volume 9 not being the ending of our characters' arcs is highlighted also by the rainbow motif throughout the season:

The Rainbow Phase is a stage, which can happen either at the beginning or at the end of Albedo. In RWBY it happens both at the beginning and at the end of the White Phase. It represents a shift and a positive change, but it is a passage rather than the final product. Moreover, a color which is often present in this moment is green (transformation), which accompanies the Blacksmith and her powers:

So, volume 9 is the climax of the Yellow Phase, which leads the characters to the final Red Phase. Still, what is the Yellow Phase really about?

THE MOTHER TREE

Each alchemical stage is linked to a Jungian Archetype:

Nigredo is linked to the Shadow

Albedo is linked to the Anima/Animus

Citrinitas is linked to the Wise Woman

Rubedo is linked to the Self

The Wise Woman is a female mentor figure, who often overlaps with the Great Mother. She is a first unconscious representation of the Self:

The unconscious changes its dominant character and appears in a new symbolic form representing the Self, the innermost nucleus of the personality. In the dreams of a woman this centre is usually personified as a superior female figure – a priestess, sorceress, earth mother, or goddess of nature or love.

So, the Wise Woman is the overcoming of the mother that comes with self-awareness.

In RWBY volume 9 she appears in 2 forms.

Summer Rose is the Wise Woman/Great Mother, when it comes to the microchosm (Ruby's journey)

The Blacksmith/ Mother Tree is the Wise Woman/GreatMother, when it comes to the macrochosm (Remnant's history)

Ruby sees the true form of her mother. She realizes Summer isn't perfect, which in turn helps her accept she herself doesn't have to be either. She is enough:

Summer: I love you… Just the way you are.

This truth frees Ruby, who is finally able to step up and to become herself. Sure, she still has to forge a fully developed identity. Still, she is starting to move away from Summer:

Guide my way out Of this place (I can guide me, I can guide my way out) Guide my way out Of this place

Her mother is a fundamental part of who she is, but Ruby can become more.

Ruby's story in volume 9 is a first timid step towards self-actualization, which is well summarized by her first and last conversations with Little/Somewhat:

Ruby: No. No, that’s my name. Do you have a name? Mouse: I’m still young, so… not yet. Ruby: How about I call you… Little, for now. Would that be alright?

Mouse Afteran: I’m… Well, you know I haven’t thought about it yet. You look like you have wits about you. What do you think I am? Ruby: Well, uh… To me, you seem like a friend. Blake: A guide. Weiss: A protector. Yang: A…dorable. Ruby: Do any of those sound close?

When they meet, Ruby names Little, just like a mother names a child. When they say goodbye, Ruby and the others help Somewhat, but eventually they name themselves. Similarly, Summer's promise helps Ruby, but it is our girl herself who makes the choice and decides who she is gonna be:

Somewhat: You do feel… familiar. Like a happy dream I can’t remember.

Red like roses fills my dreams

RWBY discovers the truth about the origin of the world:

The Tree created the Gods, who eventually created Remnant and humanity.

The Blacksmith's speech is interesting because it ties perfectly into RWBY's alchemy motif.

In some ancient texts, the Philosophical Tree is the equivalent of the Philosophical Stone

Later on, the Philosophical Stone ends up taking the Tree's place

The Tree remains an important alchemical metaphor, which often appears together with flowers, as the final product of the transformation

Well, according to the Blacksmith:

The Tree is the origin of the universe. It is an organism, which creates and destroys by following the alchemical process

The Brothers are born from the Tree and come to embody the 2 principles of the solvet (Darkness) and coagula (Light). However, they enter a fight, which breaks the balance

RWBY are the Brothers' children. The girls symbolize the Philosopher Stone, as all together make team rwby (ruby)

The message is clear. The girls (together with the other characters) will give the world a new balance (macrochosm):

Blacksmith: But balance was not two forces locked in never-ending battle. Balance is an ecosystem, an organism, a living breathing thing. Thus, balance cannot be restored with force or calculations.

At the same time, they will bloom into themselves (microchosm):

Blacksmith: True balance finds its own equilibrium. It only requires love and the patience to see things through in the end.

This is the meaning of RWBY's philosopher stone. Life (saving the world) and self-actualization (growing up).

WOMEN'S WORK AND CHILD'S PLAY

Alchemy is sometimes referred to as women's work and child's play. This phrase is mirrored also by 2 Plates at the end of the Splendor Solis. Right now it isn't important to analyze said imagery nor to understand the meaning of this saying. What matters is that these words perfectly fit RWBY.

RWBY is the story of 4 girls saving the world and of a child inspiring others to be kind and hopeful:

Blacksmith: One small kindness in one small moment would be such a marvelous transformation.

This will be the day we've waited for. This will be the day we open up the door. I don't wanna hear your absolution; Hope you're ready for a revolution. Welcome to a world of new solutions. Welcome to a world of bloody evolution. In time, your heart will open minds, A story will be told, and victory is in a simple soul.

Really, RWBY is the perfect alchemical story.

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