The four Vessels on the Altar

This transformation takes time. We have been given time out of eternity so that it can happen. Metamorphosis happens within the individual circumstances of our life, and yet according to a clearly recognizable structure. This common structure of the path of transformation, which is valid for everyone, has always been represented or described in the spiritual traditions through the images of the respective culture. It is basically a triple transformation; its main characteristic is that it is not linear. In other words: One cannot recognize or derive from one state the next one in advance. That is why the process is also called the process of "Die and Become” (Goethe: “Stirb und werde”): The old identity must first dissolve before a new one can be built from its components.