This plate shows a tired but radiant sun rising above the horizon in the countryside. There is a city in the background. On the frame are birds, flowers, butterfly and fruit. Gold is triumphant, elevated above the earth by the alchemist. (Stephen Skinner's Splendor Solis commentary)
The Red Sun vs The Somebody
Becoming conscious - "This image of the inner sun tells us that becoming more conscious does not result in a state of elation or bliss. This is a world of quietly evocative imagery, were ordinary life is imbued with depth and meaning."
In my drawing, the bird that was previously hiding (in the Nobody) is now fully participating in life, with the sun illuminating the whole scene. It also points to wholeness of the personality. Here "somebody" means being a full person, someone unique– in other words having the ego needed to realize consciousness – and it also means "some" body, in the sense of being a part of something larger but without getting lost in it. As symbolized by the single house in nature with the city in the background, the individual ego exists as a distinct personality in the larger collective context of the Self and the whole psyche.
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
