In Taosim—which was very important to Evola thought—cinnabar
is associated with longevity, immortality, even self-deification.
In “The Forge and the Crucible”, Mircea Eliade tells
us:
“Among the Taoists, whose alchemical furnace is successor
to the ancient forge, immortality is no longer the result of the casting of a
magic utensil, but is acquired from him who has succeeded in producing the divine
cinnabar. From that moment there was a new means of self-deification; it was
sufficient to absorb drinkable gold or cinnabar in order to become like the
gods”
Clearly, the idea of the “man-god” and
self-deification is fundamental to understanding Evola, as it is a constant
theme in his writings.
“Tao” is usually rendered as “via”, but
Italian commentaries also use “cammino” interchangeably.
No matter how it is translated, what the title means is
something like this: “The way of self-deification” – that is
also the most succinct way to describe Evola’s entire project.
NOTE: Cinnabar is associated with gold, since it is often found
in goldmines.
From:
evola_as_he_is@yahoogroups.com [mailto:evola_as_he_is@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of vandermok Sent: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 5:03 AM To: evola_as_he_is@yahoogroups.com Subject: [SPAM] [evola_as_he_is] CINNABAR (It was: New book by Evola
announced)
I would prefer to translate it 'The journey of the
Cinnabar'. Remember Dante: "In the middle of the journey of my life, I
found myself in a forest dark".
That is not an autobiography, but refers to the development
of the ideas rather than of the physical life. Think of the enigmatic
title; what is CINNABAR? Cinnabar is sulphide of mercury. I assume we
can see here the lunar-mercurial force and the solar-golden one of the
sulphur, and not the salt of the physical body.
I would prefer to translate it 'The journey of the Cinnabar'. Remember Dante: "In the middle of the journey of my life, I found myself in a forest dark". That...
'Journey', which is perfectly appropriate in this context, occured to us. However, we were told by someone who knows what he is talking about that 'Journey of...
In Taosim-which was very important to Evola thought-cinnabar is associated with longevity, immortality, even self-deification. In "The Forge and the Crucible",...
I just want to stress that the second 'the' in "The Way Of The Cinnabar" is evidence of a fundamental ignorance of the english language. "The Way Of Cinnabar",...
This is not about the translation of 'Tao' in Italian but about the translation of 'Cammino' in English. Please don't make matters more complicated than...
"The field of cinnabar is the ocean of breath". It is not by chance that Evola translated into Italian (from the German version of R.Wilhelm) the treatise 'The...
As recalled by Evola in 'The Hermetic Tradition', alchemy, which was originally a spiritual discipline aimed at inner transmutation by means of techniques...
Any title that retains the simplicity of the original, such as "The Way Of Cinnabar", also retains its ambiguity - it can mean, the way taken by the cinnabar,...
This exegesis of yours could certainly be used to clarify further what we wrote four years ago on this matter : "'Cammino" means 'walk', 'path' or 'way' in...
If "the term 'cinnabar' ('cinabro') simply designates the conclusion of the alchemical work, the marriage of sulphur and mercury, the elixir of immortality",...
Agreed, but it is also a problem of language. In Italian 'il cammino al o per (to, toward) il cinabro' does not sound well even in that interpretation. By the...
Just for your information: The English title will remain The Path of Cinnabar - and let me forward this comment from our native italian translator: Personally,...
Errare humanum est. ... Cinnabar - and let me forward this comment from our native italian ... = "The Cinnabar ... cammino al o per (to, toward) il cinabro'...