炼金术的过程一般可被分解为七大步骤(也有四步说、十二步说、十四步说等等。这里采用《Azoth of the Philosophers》里表现的七步说)——众所周知,炼金术在中世纪被视作是异端邪术,所以炼金术士会使用密语、暗号、象征画来记录炼金学的奥秘——这七大步骤似乎可以对应上阿波罗兽与狄安娜兽以外的加速器(推测)究极体:
煅烧-暗龙兽
溶解-棘龙兽
分离-暴君独角仙兽
结合-墨丘利兽
发酵-渡鸦兽
蒸馏-莲花兽
凝固-大德拉库兽
·煅烧阶段的象征画一般是剧烈燃烧的火焰、狮子与其他动物搏斗、火蜥蜴、国王被烧死等——这和之前猜想的故事很接近,应该可以对应上暗龙兽。(The skull in the first circle is the classic symbol of the process of Calcination. Other images at this stage include funeral pyres, hell, bonfires, blazing furnaces (athanors), crucibles, salamanders, the Red Lion fighting other animals, the Sun and Moon roasting over flames, the King being burned alive, cremated, or sitting inside a sweat box. Another Calcination image is a yellow lion devouring or struggling with a green snake. )
·溶解阶段的象征画一般是看守宝藏的毒蛇、恶龙、恶魔等等,除此以外便是著名的“绿色狮子吞噬太阳”——考虑到墨丘利兽和棘龙兽之间的关系,这个阶段对应的数码兽应该是(墨丘利兽的使魔)棘龙兽。(Images of Dissolution include retorts, tears, menstruation, floods, melting, orgies, Mother Nature, water springing from the earth, plants blooming with seven flowers, poisonous toads, the King swimming naked, the King and Queen sitting in a bath together, dark dragons, basilisks (winged serpents), and demons guarding secret treasures. Another image of Dissolution is the Sun and Moon surrounded by total darkness with a white bird descending from the sky.)
·分离阶段的象征画一般是决斗、战争、手术、国王与王后(对应太阳与月亮)吵架,赫尔墨斯或墨丘利试图劝和——单看以上象征,似乎很难找到对应暴君独角仙兽之处,不过分离 Separation一词的对应符号源自天蝎座 Scorpio,暴君独角仙兽的造型显而易见地就是源自天蝎,而且它的进化路线非常特别,是互为“宿敌”的独角仙兽与锹形虫融合在一起。(Images for the Separation process include filter funnels, piles of sand or dirt, knights wielding swords, the caduceus as a weapon, divorce, dismemberment, surgery, splitting of the Red Sea, breaking apart of heaven and earth, scenes from the Apocalypse, and complicated geometric diagrams such as the Squaring of the Circle. Alchemical engravings often show white birds taking flight at this stage, sometimes with images of fire, destruction, and a blackened earth below symbolizing the results of the earlier operations. Another popular image is that of a youthful Hermes (or Mercury) wearing full armor and trying to separate the arguing King and Queen, like a teenaged boy in a family dispute.)
·结合阶段的象征画一般是对立的事物融合在一起,例如两性人、侧脸结合为一张完整脸的狗或乌鸦,还有就是争吵的国王与王后握手言和。墨丘利也在场,所以此阶段不必多说,是墨丘利兽。有意思的是,在此出现的墨丘利似乎别有所图……( Images of horizontal Conjunction include the fruitful earth, sexual intercourse, rams and satyrs, double-chambered furnaces (athanors), glue or tape binding opposing entities, two streams coming together in one stream, Janus or double-faced people, people wearing crowns, and the hermaphrodite, Often engravings show the King and Queen in reconciliation at this stage, with Hermes (or Mercury) joining them an embrace or handshake. In some of these drawings, Hermes is shown with a wry smile or even with two faces. This is a subtle revelation that the Conjunction is really a good-natured ruse by the notorious trickster, who knows that both the King and Queen must die or sacrifice their identities in the marriage to produce the Child of the Philosophers, which is all Hermes really cares about.)
·发酵阶段是一个死亡与重生的阶段,象征画一般是棺椁、死亡、腐烂、乌鸦——渡鸦兽放在这里就非常合适。考虑到前面提到的墨丘利别有所图,在此登场的渡鸦兽或许是敌役?(Images of the Putrefaction phase of Fermentation include corpses, graves, coffins, funerals, guardian angels, massacres, mutilation, worms, rotting flesh, Drawings of this phase occasionally depict a bird descending into a pitch black sky or caught lost in the dark clouds during a thunderstorm. Skeletons or black crows standing on corpses or rotting balls of earth are also seen. Images of Fermentation include scenes of sowing and germination, greenness and rebirth. Sometimes the King and Queen are show with wings or as angels to emphasize their spiritized form. )
·第六阶段蒸馏的象征一般是蒸馏器、莲花、玫瑰、白鸽等等,所以,对应这个阶段的的数码兽应该是莲花兽(莲花兽被蔷薇兽取代也源于此?)。题外话,第六阶段对应的金属是银,对应的天体是月亮,或许狄安娜兽也是在此阶段觉醒。(The alchemical symbol for Distillation is the alembic, which is a hood that fits over the boiling fluid, condensing the rising vapors, and directing the purified condensate via a funnel or tube to a collecting vessel. Images include complicated distillation trains with multiple piping into tall vessels, large turning wheels, baptismal fonts, a rain of purified dew, the lotus flower, a five-petaled rose, the Rosy Cross, the unicorn, white doves, and the Pelican. The Pelican was thought to sacrifice its own blood to feed its young, and it is also the name of a feedback-distillation apparatus. Sometimes this crucial step is represented by flames ascending into the sky or a dragon in flames with its tail in its mouth. Dream images include flying, climbing to the tops of mountains, or confronting mountain lions or eagles.)
·最后一个阶段凝固便是黄金实验的终局,象征画一般是太阳(前一阶段被禁锢的国王与王后挣脱枷锁,变为太阳Sol和月亮Luna)、凤凰、黄金等等,除此以外,还有一个非常特别的符号可以指代这个阶段,那便是狮头蛇(Lion-headed serpent)。这个图案象征着炼金中的各种物质完美融合,实现最终的统一——虽然没有这样造型的数码兽存在,但是,如果我们把狮头蛇调转一下、变换成蛇头狮子,(拥有戈尔贡之眼的魔兽型数码兽)大德拉库兽便能与之完美对应。(Lion-headed serpent devouring its eagle-headed tail entwined about faces representing an alchemical combination of mercury and sulfer, an emblem of the unity of all matter.)
说回奥古杜兽。从上空观察奥古杜兽,我们还能发现它的造型基于“Sigillum Dei”。
“Sigillum Dei”,它亦被称为“真理之印”,是现存最古老魔法书之一的《The Sworn Book of Honorius》所记载的神秘符号。据说它由上帝和他所有天使的名字组成,因而拥有强大的力量,可以用于操控魔鬼,但由只有那些经过严格筛选的巫师才有能力驾驭它的力量。(The Sigillum Dei Aemaeth as named by Dr John Dee, or “Sigillum Dei” (Seal of God) was a Talisman created in the middle ages that was purported to aid the user in communication with angels. The seal featured a seven pointed star in a circle with a pentagram in the middle.The study of this talisman by Dr. John Dee, a well respected 16th Century scholar, aided him and Sir Edward Kelley (a more well known and perhaps a clever charlatan) in receiving the language of the angels: “Enochian”.)
在以诺魔法(Enochian magic)中,同形的印记与召唤行星天使的“七国之秘(Heptarchia Mystica)”有关——结合上星耀,这个造型与奥古杜兽已经非常相似了。
除此以外,这个印也衍生出了“巴巴伦之印(The Seal of Babalon)”。
巴巴伦(Babalon),阿莱斯特·克劳利(Aleister Crowley)所创“泰勒玛(Thelema)”体系之中的女神。克劳利是在执行以诺魔法时得知这个名字的——需要注意的一点是,泰勒玛也是赫尔墨斯主义密教,而克劳利的著作正名为《透特之书》——她被视作是伟大的母亲,万物源头,混沌而无规律的物质。她的配偶是混沌(Chaos),对应前述的“先在之父”,是第一重创造力的体现,也是万物的总和与本质。
无疑,巴巴伦与诺斯替主义中的巴贝洛(Barbelo)同根同源,而巴贝洛又与索菲亚出自同一原型(在塞特派中,处于索菲亚位置的角色即是巴贝洛)。照此看来,奥古杜兽的本体应该更加偏向于索菲亚。
这个猜想倒是很有可能,但我们要考虑到设定变动的情况——特别是究极混沌兽组成变更一事。在现今的合体名单中,大德拉库兽是究极混沌兽的一部分,而非奥古杜兽的一部分。
混沌兽或究极混沌兽与前文提到的混沌有关吗?
答案是“很可能”。
这副名为《伟大的混沌》的画作表现了混沌状态,象征着宇宙创生之前的状态,或称为“宇宙之卵”。(The Greco-Roman tradition of Prima Materia, notably including 5th and 6th centuries Orphic cosmogony was merged with biblical notions (Tehom) in Christian belief and inherited by alchemy and Renaissance magic.The cosmic egg of Orphism was taken as the raw material for the alchemical magnum opus in early Greek alchemy. The first stage of the process of producing the Lapis Philosophorum, i.e., nigredo, was identified with chaos. Because of association with the creation in Genesis, where "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:2), Chaos was further identified with the element Water.)
巨大的眼、手,也是究极混沌兽的特征,【因4股强大的力量同时融合而产生的歪曲,无法维持身体力量的平衡,力量几乎都汇集到了双臂上,所以双臂变得非常巨大。另外,无法将数码核吸收进身体内,呈现出两个裸露在双肩上的状态】。
在炼金术上,混沌又象征着炼金的原石——这个描述很容易让人联想到黄龙兽——因此可以说混沌(混沌兽)与太阳(阿波罗兽)是互相对应的两极,刚巧混沌兽的必杀技名为暗黑日珥——黑色太阳在炼金术中便对应着黑化阶段。
在前述的克劳利理论体系中,巴风特被视作是一个对立统一的象征,是混沌与巴巴伦结合的体现。(As such, Baphomet represents the Union of Opposites, especially as mystically personified in Chaos and Babalon combined and biologically manifested with the sperm and egg united in the zygote.)
克劳利认为巴风特代表最为物质形式的创造能力。(In the Book of Thoth (1981), Crowley identifies Baphomet with the Tarot card "The Devil" and attributes him to the Greek god Pan, the All-Begetter. In this context, Baphomet represents the "creative energy in its most material form...the divine madness of Spring" where he is exalted in the manifested, material world — a supreme appreciator of existence and the power of creation.)
在与克劳利有关的诺斯替浸礼会教义之中,狮头蛇与巴风特(Baphomet)被联系在一起。("And I believe in the Serpent and the Lion, Mystery of Mystery, in His name Baphomet.")
巴风特也曾是克劳利的称呼。(The name Baphomet was taken by Aleister Crowley when he became the Outer Head of the Order (or OHO) for OTO.)
而克劳利更广为人知的自称是666兽,即启示录之兽(Beast)——在DA中,吸血魔兽与启示录兽都启示录之兽有关(而且,同以巴风特为原型的梅菲斯兽也与启示录兽有关)。
——结合这些线索来看,大德拉库兽与那个未定魔王的联系更紧密,也就是说,原本的第七魔王很可能就是大德拉库兽(从设定契合度的角度来看,千年觉醒一次的设定也与恶魔城之主德拉库非常吻合)。
另外,之前也曾提到过,倘若黄金乡是一个具体的地方,储藏在那里的东西应该不是普通的黄金,而是数码世界内最珍贵的矿物“黄龙矿”。
黄龙矿能与炼金术联系起来吗?
很有可能。
使用原始物质炼就哲人之石的术语为“伟大的工艺(The Great Work)”,换做拉丁文是Magnum opus。(The Great Work (Latin: Magnum opus) is an alchemical term for the process of working with the prima materia to create the philosopher's stone. It has been used to describe personal and spiritual transmutation in the Hermetic tradition, attached to laboratory processes and chemical color changes, used as a model for the individuation process, and as a device in art and literature. )
玛格纳兽正以Magnum为名——这似乎并不是巧合——在获得X抗体后,玛格纳兽拥有了这样的设定,【玛格纳兽的肌肉「时之数码合金」紧张的时候,会一时变化为全身闪耀金黄色的「黄金数码合金」状态,这是一种并非只用于物理系防御,连数据分解系等攻击都能抵御的绝对防御状态。再有,「黄金数码合金」的状态,接近于「时之数码合金」的构成基础——以无与伦比的绝对硬度为傲的特殊矿石「黄龙矿」的特性,拥有绝对防御力的同时,对于数码兽伴有较高不适的比重,不过玛格纳兽通过锻炼自身的「时之数码合金」可以克服】。为什么是“黄金数码合金的状态”,而非“黄金数码合金”呢?或许这是在指代炼金术中的“黄化(Citrinitas)”阶段?(Citrinitas, or sometimes xanthosis,[1] is a term given by alchemists to "yellowness." It is one of the four major stages of the alchemical magnum opus, and literally referred to "transmutation of silver into gold" or "yellowing of the lunar consciousness."[citation needed] In alchemical philosophy, citrinitas stood for the dawning of the "solar light" inherent in one's being, and that the reflective "lunar or soul light" was no longer necessary. The other three alchemical stages were nigredo (blackness), albedo (whiteness), and rubedo (redness).)
在荣格心理学里面,炼金术的不同阶段对应着精神的不同发展阶段,而古代种数码兽执行装甲进化的道具不叫数码装甲,而是名为“数码精神(Digimental)”——Mental一词是否正有着Mental Alchemy的意味在里面呢?
或许,炼金术的真正产物正是数码精神?