mystifiedmoon

[mystifiedmoon]

Ruby and the Splendor Solis

Here comes a quick alchemy meta! 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 (RWBY/Ruby).

Today's post will explore Ruby and Maria's interaction in volume 6 episode 8 (Dead End):

As a matter of fact the scene references the 6th plate of the Splendor Solis.

WHAT IS THE SPLENDOR SOLIS?

The Splendor Solis is an alchemical text, which describes how to make the philosophical stone through 22 illustrated plates:

4 introductory plates present the protagonists of the alchemical journey

7 parables illustrate the alchemical death and rebirth

7 flask plates explore the alchemical process from a practical point of view

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

How does Ruby and Maria's scene reference plate 6?

PLATE 6 AND VOLUME 6

Let's begin with describing what plate 6 is like:

This plate has three philosophers under a tree with golden fruits. The tree is a metaphor for the alchemical process as whole. It is the philosophical tree and if you climb it you reach the golden fruit (perfection/the philosopher stone).

The three people embody the phases of alchemy:

The young man climbing the ladder is nigredo (black)

The man who wears white outside and red inside is albedo (white)

The man who wears red outside and white inside is rubedo (red)

Citrinitas (the yellow stage) is instead symbolized by the yellow flowers and by the golden bough the men are pursuing. The scene as a whole represents a transformation, which is why the birds that fly in the sky have some green shades. Green is, thus, the color of transformation.

How does all of this rely to Ruby and Maria?

First of all, the two silver eyed warriors speak under a tree:

With golden fruits:

Secondly, this scene frames Maria as the teacher and Ruby as the student. Maria is initiating Ruby to very important knowledge, so that our young alchemist can continue her journey.

Ruby: I don't know… I don't know anything… What do I tell Jaune and his team when we don't even have a plan? Qrow's out drinking, Ozpin hasn't come back and even if he did, I don't know if I could trust him. And there's always Jinn, but… we only have one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down… Maria: If you're tired of not knowing anything, how about we discuss those eyes of yours?

MARIA, THE TEACHER

Maria embodies the archetype of the old wise woman. She is a mature version of Ruby (an older silver-eyed warrior), who comes in our protagonist's life to offer guidance. She is the more expert alchemist:

Maria grabs the golden fruit. Symbolically, this shows that she is far ahead of Ruby in the alchemical quest.

This is made clear by her:

semblance

weapon

Preflexes lets Maria sense everything better than others. Metaphorically, it means she has a better understanding of reality than others. This ties with her having wisdom.

Life and Death is made by two kamas that can be combined in a staff:

They can be separated (solvet) and united (coagula). Solvet and coagula is the mantra of alchemy, as this process aims to create the philosophical stone by separating and uniting the elements. Over and over. Until perfection is obtained. Metaphorically, it means a soul is refined through creation and destruction. Life and Death.

RUBY, THE STUDENT

Ruby is young and ignorant. She doesn't know what to do and she doesn't know about her eyes. She is the alchemist apprentice, who is going through a transformation:

Differently from the Splendor Solis plate, there are no birds in the scene. However, the scenery is full of butterflies, which are another symbol of change. Of death and rebirth:

As far as the nature of Ruby's transformation is concerned, the setting gives us some hints, as Maria and Ruby are speaking in a garden full of white snow. That is because RWBY is approaching albedo (the white phase). In particular, volume 6 climax marks Ruby's passage from nigredo to albedo. This process if metaphorically foreshadowed in Ruby and Maria's conversation thanks to a specific visual cue:

Let's look at Maria's plate:

The grapes are purple/black = nigredo, the black phase

The plate is white = albedo, the white phase

The lemons/oranges are yellow = citrinitas, the yellow phase

The strawberries are red = rubedo, the red phase

The kiwis are green = transformation (plus prima materia, aka the beginning)

In short, the plate and fruits are a metaphor for the alchemical process as a whole. What's interesting is that a little butterfly flies on them:

It pauses for a little while on top of the grapes (nigredo) until Maria gently takes it and has it fly forward (towards albedo). The meaning is clear. Maria acts a mentor, who helps Ruby leave the black phase and enter the white one. She gives Ruby the knowledge she needs to face her "trial of fire":

Maria: The light will only work in the presence of Grimm. Meaning the only practice you'll get will be a trial by fire.

TRIALS BY FIRE

Ruby faces her trial by fire in the climax of volume 6, as she fights the Leviathan:

There she uses Maria's teaching and the relic of Knowledge to defeat her foe through her internal light. This moment is when Ruby and the group leave Mistral and the Black Phase once and for all. They are ready to face Atlas and the White Phase.

Still, this isn't the only trial by fire our Little Red Riding Hood has to go through. She struggles through a second one in volume 9, as she and the group leave the White Stage (Atlas) through the Yellow Stage (the Ever After), so that they can enter the Red Phase (Vacuo). Once again this passage is shown through the Splendor Solis.

There is a giant tree:

A wise woman:

Butterflies:

Once again, Ruby is given guided by an older and wiser woman under a tree. This time she has to make a choice to go through a transformation. A process of death and rebirth:

In volume 6 Ruby learns about her internal light, whereas in volume 9 she discovers her inner shadows. In volume 6 she is given knowledge, while in volume 9 she is offered a choice. At the same time, in volume 6 the Splendor Solis reference is focused on a single meaningful scene, while in volume 9 it is more pervasive and present throughout the entirety of the season. In volume 6 the Splendor Solis comments Ruby's journey (the microchosm). In volume 9 this alchemical texts conveys RWBY's adventure (the macrochosm).

However, this isn't the only difference between the two transformative trials.

IDEAL AND REAL

Volume 6 has Ruby become an ideal:

Volume 9 has Ruby grow into herself:

Similarly, in volume 6 she latches on an idealistic idea of Summer (the Huntress), whereas in volume 9 she accepts Summer as a person (the Mother):

This passage from ideal to real isn't something unique to our heroine's arc, but it ties to everyone's story. Here come two examples.

Jaune's arc

In volume 6 Jaune is inspired by Pyrhha to push forward no matter what:

He wants to become more like Pyrrha, his ideal self.

In volume 9 Jaune is taught by Weiss to stop and accept a loss:

He realizes he is good as he is, despite his flaws.

Chemical weddings

In volume 6, Bumbleby goes through their second chemical wedding, where they kill Adam. The focus of Yang and Blake's relationship is that both girls have to become "worthy" of the other:

And now I know I'm worthy of you (Oh can't you see, you could be with me) With every smile you told me, "I love you" (I am your dream, I love you)

They push each other to grow and to become their ideal selves. Yang has to overcome her anger and abandonement issues to stay with Blake. Blake has to stop running away to be by Yang's side. Their fight with Adam tests their progress on their respective flaws.

In volume 9, White Knight has their second chemical wedding, where Jaune dies and is reborn thanks to Weiss. Their bond is about letting go of childish fantasies (the charming prince and the beautiful princess) and to accept the other for who they are:

Weiss: I think you’re asking too much of yourself. We’ve been telling ourselves that failing means we’re no good. But I can guarantee even the best Huntsmen in history… they’ve all lost. But they were still incredibly brave… and good.

They let go of paragons and come to love their real selves with both strengths and flaws. Their conversation in front of the Genial Gems conveys exactly this.

Interestingly, Bumbleby and White Knight foil each other in another way, when it comes to alchemical symbolism.

Bumbleby focuses on death and separation. They represent the "solvet" part of the process.

White Knight is linked to rebirth and union. They explore the "coagula" part of the process.

To be clear, the solvet and coagula parts are present in both relationships. Yang and Blake go through destruction to come back stronger and more beautiful than ever. Similarly, Weiss and Jaune have to face death, so they can be reborn.

Still, the focus of BB's weddings is on death/destruction:

Adam cuts Yang's arm and impales Blake

Adam dies

Whereas WK's weddings climax in resurrection/creation:

Weiss is reborn

Jaune and Ruby are reborn

This is because the two relationships are complementary and illustrate different sides of the alchemical process. However, there is a third ship meant to embody both parts.

RUBY AND OSCAR = SOLVET AND COAGULA

Ruby and Oscar's wedding is kicked off by their first meeting, when Qrow (a bird) brings Oscar to Ruby and unites the Solar King and the Lunar Queen:

Ruby and Oscar's wedding references the imagery above.

It is a union of opposites. The scenery of their first scene together has Ruby marked as fire and air, whereas Oscar is associated with earth and water. Moreover, both the moon and sun are present.

In general, Ruby is moon, silver, red and air, while Oscar is sun, gold, green and earth. They complement each other and are perfectly balanced. So, they don't need a specific focus on neither death nor rebirth because theis arcs are gonna explore both the solvet and the coagula. They are the whole.

This complementarity shows also in Oscar paralleling Ruby during the trials of fire.

While Ruby is talking with Maria and going through an internal transformation, Oscar goes through an external transformation (he changes clothes). Ruby connects with Summer (coagula), while Oscar is free from Ozpin (solvet). Both their transformations are tested in volume 6 climax, where Ruby grows into a leader (macrochosm), whereas Oscar grows into himself (microchosm).

While Ruby struggles with herself in the Ever After, Oscar struggles with Ozpin in Vacuo. Ruby separates her perception of the self from Summer (solvet), whereas Oscar is merging with Ozpin (coagula). Ruby is in a fantastical world symbolic of the inside (microchosm). Oscar is in the real world, which is going through big changes (macrochosm).

Right now, Ruby and Oscar are bound to meet again through Raven (another bird), which might kick off their second alchemical wedding. Not only that, but Raven herself might play the part of the Nevermore, as she wears a Nevermore mask and her name alludes to The Raven, Poe's famous poem and the inspiration for the Nevermore Grimm. If so, this meeting might be Rosegarden nevermore wedding, which for RWBY ships is about overcoming grief and death through love. Another declination of solvet and coagula.

[mystifiedmoon]

Looking back, there's actually more symbolic foreshadowing for Whiteknight than I initially realised in the dance arc in V2. When Jaune goes to ask Weiss out, intending to follow Phyrha's advice about cutting out the bravado and just being honest about how he feels, he's holding a white flower to give to her:

But he then sees Weiss asking out Neptune instead, and realising she has someone else she's interested in, he drops the flower and leaves.

Essentially the flower represents his romantic interest in Weiss, but also a potential future of a relationship between the two based on mutual honesty and respect, (following Pyrrha's advice to just be yourself) instead of the false selves they project and initially see the other to be.

After this scene of dropping the flower he stops with his attempts to ask Weiss out altogether. Him dropping the flower is him dropping his romantic interest in Weiss, instead focusing on just being a good friend and looking out for her (convincing Neptune to go talk to Weiss because he knew it would make her happy).

But we see this flower transition into this vase, drooping and wilting at the dance:

...followed by a frustrated Weiss trying to perk the same flower up:

Which seems to foreshadow Weiss later on being the one to take a romantic interest in Jaune in V9, and also being the one to support and reassure Jaune when he's at his lowest:

Which does in turn seemingly cause that potential budding flower of their relationship to grow and bloom again, just as the two of them have been growing into their own true selves over the course of the series.

And I just think that's pretty neat.

[mystifiedmoon]

So, we know that ultimately Salem isn't the real problem. Her immortality is irrelevant when looking at the big picture.

If brought together, these four Relics will summon my brother and I back to your world, and Humanity will be judged. If your kind has learned to live in harmony with one another and set aside their differences, then we shall once again live among you, and Humanity will be made whole again. There's the issue. Not that I don't think the gods are still going to be pricks about it but Team RWBY has already done more to unite Remnant than anyone has throughout the centuries.

I have to laugh at anyone who claims they've made things worse.

[mystifiedmoon]

I can’t state enough that I hope Oz doesn’t know shit about the Ever After. I hope he asks where RWBY have been and how they survived and Ruby gets to ask him “what’s your favorite fairytale” before revealing that Oz is on a quest for an afteran with a god complex

[mystifiedmoon]

RWBY Writing Analysis Number One - Roman Torchwick's death and why it's so good

Hello all.

Roman Torchwick, the glorious bastard of RWBY, is by far my favorite villain in the entire show.

A smooth talking criminal with a sense of humor, a perfect foil to Ruby, and a character who's impact lasts all the way to the present volume. He's got humor, consistent writing, and one hell of a sense of style.

But one thing I've seen many people complain about is his death scene. Many have claimed that it's unsatisfying. I disagree wholeheartedly, as there is a LOT of nuance and messaging behind the way Roman Torchwick dies.

Let's talk about it!

Roman's motivation

First thing's first, let's establish Roman's modus operandi. We can identify his main goal and his motive from a few lines in Volume 3 Episode 11, Heroes and Monsters.

Roman: You're asking the wrong questions, Red! It's not what I have to gain, it's that I can't afford to lose!

Roman: I may be a gambling man, but even I know that there are some bets you just don't take.

Roman: Like it or not, the people that hired me are going to change the world! You can't stop 'em, I can't stop 'em!

Roman: You know the old saying, "If you can't beat 'em-"

He gets cut off, but the "old saying" he's referring to is "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"

Roman's goal is to survive. He'll do whatever it takes to survive, no matter how morally black. Nothing is off limits as long as it keeps him alive.

The writers want to prove his modus operandi / philosophy (being that he'll do whatever it takes to survive) wrong.

Roman's death

Throughout the first 3 volumes of RWBY, Roman aids Cinder Fall in her plan to take down Beacon Academy. This involves hijacking an Atlesian airship and shooting down two other airships, the whole train bomb stuff at the end of Volume 2, providing the White Fang with Atlesian military technology, and stealing dust en masse.

Ultimately, it's him working with Cinder Fall that gets him killed. He helps Cinder with her plan, helps her wreak havoc in Vale all in the name of survival, and how does it end up for him? He is killed by the very Grimm that Cinder herself had unleashed on Vale.

He did everything it took to survive, no matter the cost, and it ended up getting him killed. All that talk about "if you can't beat them, join them" ended up being the very thing that gets him killed. It's ironic, really, and it proves his philosophy wrong.

The Real World

Another facet of Roman's final moments is his last monologue to Ruby.

Roman: You got spirit, Red. But this is the real world!

Roman: The real world is cold!

Roman: The real world doesn't care about spirit!

Roman: You wanna be a hero!? Then play the part and die like every other Huntsman in history!

Roman: As for me, I'll do what I do best: lie, steal, cheat, and SURVIVE!

Although the writers wanted to prove his philosophy of doing whatever it takes to survive wrong, they want to prove him right in this respect - the real world is cold, and the real world doesn't care about spirit.

Despite what he says about spirit, he also has spirit himself. That spirit isn't spent on making the world a better place, however, it's spent on his own survival. And, despite all that effort to survive, he dies a pitiful death at the hands of the very Grimm he helped unleash on Vale.

The world didn't give him a satisfying death. The real world doesn't care that he's a major villain. The real world is cold, and doesn't care about spirit. Roman's death proves him right.

However, that shouldn't stop you from doing the right thing. Roman knows the world is cold, and doesn't care about it. He only cares about himself and Neo's survival.

Ruby, on the other hand, learns that the real world is cold after the Fall of Beacon, in no small part due to Roman Torchwick. However, unlike Roman, she doesn't let this stop her from still doing the right thing.

"that's why we're here, to make it better"

So yeah. To all who say Roman's death is unsatisfying, take a read.

[mystifiedmoon]

Helpless and broken

Failed to stem the

Tide of pain

The floodgates open

The Sky is Falling

A double sun, yes, but also perhaps a water wheel? Water wheels turn water into energy.

The design on Oscar's back, on the red patch between his shoulders, is called the fleur-de-lis, and it looks quite a lot like a green stem. It stops right at the nape of his neck... right where the hood of Ruby's cape rests on her shoulders.

Waves of gold overwhelm my senses

A fire blooms

Why should I

Why should I fight to connect with a world

I cannot exhume?

Inside

Ruby has been described as having a spark... even the smallest spark can create a fire. Her emblem is a burning rose at first glance, but when turned sideways... the shattered moon.

The moons control the tides.

Both songs speak similarly of feeling utterly helpless and overwhelmed by their failures.

Ruby and Oscar are fire and water. Ruby's semblance is akin to the wind, and the wind breathes life into fire.

Oscar's semblance will be water, I am certain of it, because the earth absorbs water as nourishment... earth and plants... after all, rain will help the flowers be.

The very same rain that Oscar waits in, feeling nothing but pain until I see you again...

See who? Ruby, because we're the same, you and me?

[mystifiedmoon]

Imagine if in V10, we get a reverse dojo scene with Ruby to be the one to snap at Oscar, and he allows her to vent on him, listening as she lets out all her frustrations because it allows her to be honest and open up more.

And then Oscar shares his own burdens in the time she and the rest of her team, and Jaune were gone - albeit in a more calm manner, and then they come to an agreement to support one another when it comes to their problems, and not just with themselves but with everyone else around them!

(May or may not lead to a spicy love confession, one fell first, the other fell as far and harder as the core of the planet, gehahahaha!)

So very glad that we are all sharing one braincell about these two.

Dojo Scene 2 is all I want. What you've described is everything I want. I especially want to see Oscar talk about what he's been through. He's following too closely in Ruby AND Oz's footsteps with all this bottling up nonsense.

I believe it's going to happen. It has to. They both have been through so much. Their attachments to each other have been shown time and time again. There is no way it's not going to get addressed after all that build up.

Also we've been talking a lot lately about how they are mirrors to each other and lets just take a second to breakdown how even their respective experiences with the other's deaths and their subsequent grief fits this framework.

First we have Oscar. He lost many friends, but especially this beacon of light that was Ruby Rose. A person that touched the hearts of so many people. Who's message of hope united the world together and inspired him to become the person he always wanted to be. And she dies without a trace, no witnesses that saw it happen made it back, just quietly gone with the wind. To quote my dear friend @bokunoherokomikuko, "it feels like an erasure of who she is". Oscar also had no opportunity to help save her, but after it happened he was surrounded by many people sharing in his grief.

And on the other side of this looking glass, we have Ruby who was trapped in an alternate dimension with her longest and closest friends, but felt no support or sharing of her burdens and grief with any of them. Didn't feel seen or needed. And when she witnessed Oscar's death, she still didn't have her team. She was isolated. Alone. And Oscar, who has always been this soft spoken, quiet pillar of support, died at her own hand in the most theatrical, graphic, and violent way imaginable.

I refuse to believe any of this is coincidental.

[mystifiedmoon]

Hey radical spicy hot take but Trapdoor is 100% a ruby song. And. Trapdoor is 100% a oscar song. They are a mirror to each other. They are put on the same pedestal. They bear the same weight. They occupy the same space, simultaneously, impossibly. Do you see my vision?

anono... how does it feel to have such a big brain. all songs are rg songs if you try hard enough. 😤

Yes, Trapdoor is first and foremost a Ruby song, but her and Oscar are 100% mirrors living such similar character arcs. I could talk about all those parallels in a post all their own (one day), but for now a really good example is actually comparing Trapdoor to Sky is Falling (thank you @greenteaandtattoos for pointing it out first).

I'm gonna ramble a bit

Trapdoor is a song about the weight Ruby has been carrying. How she has tried so hard and how it's seemingly done more harm than good. It talks about how she doesn't feel seen or heard or needed, let alone wanted. How she's losing herself. How she feels like a trapdoor, part of the floorboards being walked on and unnoticeable. How one more step is all it might take for her to break and fall further into the depths below. And simultaneously like a trap that will lead all her friends to ruin.

And Sky is Falling (in my opinion) is a song about the weight Oscar has been carrying. How he's struggling with moving forward in light of everything he's been through and everything they've lost. The song itself is cited as referencing the original Henny Penny (aka Chicken Little) fairytale since it's a story that uses the song's title as a cry wolf for fearing the end of the world. But that feels a bit like a red herring to me. Or at least not like the whole picture.

The original myth of Atlas and the weight of the world isn't actually about the god holding the world on his shoulders. It's about him holding up the sky. So whether you read it as Oscar struggling with what to do given Atlas is falling... or struggling with how to move after Ruby fell. Ruby, who was his hope, who was holding Atlas on her shoulders. So when she fell, so to did the city in the sky.

And it seems there’s no soul on the video screen

Some examples of how the songs mirror each other a bit tho:

Trapdoor

Though I try to keep the hope alive

Sky is Falling

Lost all my hopes and dreams

Trapdoor

Watch it all Unfold As I Cascade below Frozen In the darkest moment I can't bear the weight I hold

Sky is Falling

Starin' at the casket, hopin' to move past it Knowin' things will never be the same, and that's it Cold soaked as I'm standin' in rain Feelin' nothin' but pain until I see you again

Both of them struggling to hold onto hope. Both of them struggling with the cold of grief. The water imagery in "cascading" and "rain". The feeling of drowning. How to keep moving in the face of it all.

Sidenote, the fact Oscar, who is soft spoken and kind, died in front of Ruby in such a graphic way at her own hands. Versus Ruby, a beacon of light and hope who died with so few witnesses and without a trace... and how their traumas around that NEED to be address.

Also just on the topic of them being mirrors, it's interesting just how many of these songs can so easily link back together. Trust Love's "open up your eyes" to Sky is Falling's "cover up your eyes". Then Sky is Falling's direct parallel, Touch the Sky. In my opinion, this song talks about both of them. The first verse is very Oscar "Little Prince" Pine, but especially this part:

I'm soarin' like I never have before Flying self-assured and free And I somehow feel I finally feel like me I looked in the mirror and I gotta say It's been a long, long time since I felt this way Right now, I'm just a bit surprised 'Cause I feel just fine and I might just touch the sky

And then directly towards Ruby's ascension in the second verse:

Open doors and so much hope in front of me Full of confidence, every challenge crushed My heart's electric, racing endlessly Feeling like the stars have all aligned Illuminate the darkness that was blinding me Now I'm positive that it's my time to shineI will explode, you'll see me rise You may not even recognize I just can't wait for this reveal

But also... very strong argument can be made that both verses apply to both of them. Finally feeling like themselves, the people they've wanted to be, the ones they're meant to be. These kids and their identity... But especially cause, um, Ruby isn't the only one that explodes.

Also the way that there are so many parallels between Touch the Sky, Sky is Falling, Trust Love, and then some of the other v7/8/9 songs. Someone could to a whole thesis on all the music in RWBY alone.

So to summarize, Oscar looked in the mirror - not the mirror that showed Oz's reflection, but the mirror he sees in Ruby - and he became more like himself. Influenced by the hope she inspires.

And Ruby, like Alice, fell through the looking glass. But in the Ever After the only Oscar that was there to stare back at her wasn't a reflection of hope, it was was one of fear.

So she had no choice but to fall further and looked inward. Until she found the hope that was always inside her. The hope Oscar always knew was there because he sees her.

And the fact that Ruby's hope, her motivation, has always been "the people she hasn't lost yet". And how Oscar is the only living companion Neo 'kills' to hurt her. I'm getting so off track here but...

The Parallels. It's CINEMA.

They make me UNWELL.

[mystifiedmoon]

Ruby deserves an Oscar after all the harsh experiences she went through plus keeping all of her emotions bottled up inside fr 🏆❤️

Don’t worry, don’t worry, she has him 😌

[mystifiedmoon]

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.

[mystifiedmoon]

It's nice to imagine Oscar saying this to Ruby:

"I know you want to be strong for your friends and I won't let you stop because it is your decision...

but I want you to lean on me. I want to be your shoulder to cry on when you're at your weakest. I want to be there for you when you want to cry. I want you to trust me. I'll be right here if you need someone. It's okay to cry."

Or he says:

"I want you to share your burdens with me."

[mystifiedmoon]

Ironwood: I have the media. I have the army. I have the government!

Qrow: I have nine kids with weapons and a problem with authority.

[mystifiedmoon]

RWBY and the Philosopher’s Stone

So, I finally watched RWBY after a friend name-dropped several characters and I was like wait… those names are alchemical. I was still pleasantly surprised to find out just how deeply rooted in alchemy the story is, from its characters to its plot structure. 

Background: alchemical structure is a type of story structure that focuses on inner transformation via outward obstacles. You can find it in literary traditions across the world, from Moxiang Tongxiu’s novels to A Song of Ice and Fire to Harry Potter to The Witcher to Trollhunters. Carl Jung incorporated it into his psychology. Daoism plays heavily into Chinese alchemy. The Wizard of Oz, one of RWBY’s main inspirations, is a blatant alchemy allegory. It’s everywhere, so it’s not surprising RWBY is drawing heavily on alchemy, but it is neat to see how blatant the references are. 

Thematically, the goal of alchemy is a metaphorical philosopher’s stone. The philosopher’s stone, in legend, is said to produce an elixir of eternal life, and to be able to transform “baser” metals into gold. 

In stories, when positive, as it usually is, this usually results in a character either overcoming death (see, Harry Potter) and/or transforming the world and others around him (Harry Potter saving his friends, etc.) But the journey from how they get from prima materia (raw material) to the philosopher’s stone? Now that’s the story. 

(When reversed, a metaphorical stone results in something that can destroy everything; see: the One Ring, also Salem, because Salem’s whole thing is that she cheapened the process of life and death, while alchemy states that death is a necessary part of achieving life.)

So, mostly I’m gonna talk about the symbolism I’ve seen so far and make some predictions for what’s likely to happen next in the story, and for the characters.

Each of the four main characters has a name that corresponds to one of the four phases of the Magnum Opus. “Blake Belladonna” refers to the nigredo, or black stage; “Weiss Schnee” to the albedo, or white stage; “Yang Xiao Long” to the citrinitas or yellow phase, and “Ruby Rose” to the final stage, rubedo, or red (Ruby’s name is quite literally taken from that stage). Naming them for these stages shows a dual purpose: while Ruby is the central character, she needs her team around her, and Team RWBY will save the world together. Team JNR is also a part of the stages, but I’ll get to what they represent later on. 

Jung associated each of the major stages with a major archetype. The major stages can be further broken up into a total of seven or twelve or even fourteen stages. Most commonly you’ll see George Ripley’s Twelve Gates referenced, and I believe that’s what RWBY is referencing as well since its allusions are pretty perfect. The “gates” or stages also sometimes overlap, especially when different characters might be at different stages. 

Nigredo: Seasons 1-3 

Alchemy begins by gathering the prima materia, or raw material. The characters assembling in season 1 is more of the gathering than the actual transformative process. But once we hit season 2, we dive straight into the process. 

Calcination occurs during the climax of season 2, during the fight on the train. Season 3 contains dissolution, or the washing of impurities through the exposure of certain secrets (like the fall maiden) as well as the literal dissolution of Beacon Academy, and separation (the end of the season, when Team RWBY is scattered). 

Narratively, Jung associated nigredo with the shadow, with someone’s dark night of the soul, their low point. In historical artistic depictions, often part of nigredo is dismemberment… which happens to Yang when she saves Blake from Adam. See, Splendor Solis: 

The goal of the shadow is that it should be integrated with, accepted, rather than denied. Facing the shadow is a necessary part of growth and ultimate transformation… and the point is, through facing the shadow, hope and light come.  

Keep reading

[mystifiedmoon]

Nora calling out Ironwood on his paranoia, stubbornness, and constant mistreatment of Mantle.

Ironwood apologists: Ironwood is under a lot of stress, its his badly written semblance, Blake and Yang are helping a terrorist, he was badly retconned into a cartoon villain.

Its like anything a male character says is defended to the point of worship, while anything a woman says is ignored or twisted.

[mystifiedmoon]

a fairytale retold, the little prince reunites with his rose

[mystifiedmoon]

Explaining James Ironwood through Eunnieverse Fanart.

Before I begin my Robyn Hill Defense Post, I feel it might work to use the fanart of a former RWBY Fanartist to explain why I feel James Ironwood was always going to be an antagonist. And NO, he’s not a cartoonish villain, that’s just the people crying about “protagonist-centered morality” and what-not.  Anyway, credit to Eunnieverse aka Eunnie.

Remember how people accuse Team RWBY of “betraying Ironwood?”

Remember how people keep claiming James is some “Battle-tested General”

Foreshadowing James’ personality and how his response to everything is a display of military bravado.

How Ozpin and others trusting James cost them.

Not afraid to beat up kids.

“Loyalty always matters!” Loyalty to whom and to what?

And last but not least…

Let us remember that James just loves throwing his authority around while telling his fellow council members “I respect checks and balances” Nah, you don’t. And your embargo failed to do anything positive.

Anyway, thank you Eunnieverse for your fantastic portrayal of Ironwood.

[mystifiedmoon]

This just makes me play the song on loop.... I miss those two!! ╥﹏╥

Treasure is an RG Song: Part ???

Aside from all the things I've rambled about before, now I'm just stretching for funsies.

Treasure chest in Oscar's room since day 1:

Oscar sitting up against a treasure chest at Brunswick farms:

The Aviator when talking about The Little Prince:

As the little prince was falling asleep, I picked him up in my arms, and started walking again. I was moved. It was as if I was carrying a fragile treasure. It actually seemed to me there was nothing more fragile on Earth. By the light of the moon, I gazed at that pale forehead, those closed eyes, those locks of hair trembling in the wind, and I said to myself, What I’m looking at is only a shell. What’s most important is invisible . . . As his lips parted in a half smile, I said to myself, again, What moves me so deeply about this sleeping little prince is his loyalty to a flower—the image of a rose shining within him like the flame within a lamp, even when he’s asleep . . . And I realized he was even more fragile than I had thought. Lamps must be protected: A gust of wind can blow them out. . . .

Implying that Oscar, is a treasure, and that Oscar's own treasure is Ruby.

Also all this talk about lanterns in the last meta with The Little Prince confirmation hits differently now... 😱