An indoor scene with seven naked and three clothed children at play with a hobby horse and cushion, watched by two adults. There is a large middle European ceramic stove at the back. On the frame are birds, plants, caterpillars, butterflies, dragonfly, snail, beetle, and strawberries. Alchemy is like child's play. (Stephen Skinner's Splendor Solis commentary)
Child's Play vs The Player
Cooperative play, basic trust in life - "We might see this plate as suggestive of the importance of holding and play for transformation. Just as children completely give themselves over to their play, so should we engage in a creative process with our entire being, rather than just entertaining its possibilities."
My drawing show three otters engaged in a energetic ball game. Otters discover their environment through play and are always moving around. Normally it forms a single drawing with the beavers you'll see on the next plate. The otters playing ball in the flowing water portrays the same kind of energy that is shown in alchemy as children turning a room upside down as the play. The transformation requires an attitude of playfulness and sincerity if one is to change and let go of the old ways.
Note: the quotes in italic are from the book by J.L. Henderson and D.N. Sherwood, Transformation of the Psyche: The Symbolic Alchemy of the Splendor Solis
