In the course of his life, man passes through countless metamorphoses. Embryonic development begins with the germ cells, individual development follows once he has come into the world, in maturity his offspring are born, and then, in decay, he changes once more – the body is reduced from the living state to the lifeless. This is why the commonplace holds true that only change is constant, which is to say that we may regard metamorphosis as a constant force shaping life.
Strictly speaking, metamorphosis means a change of form, and the word is used in certain specialised fields, such as biology and petrology, but in mythology too. In biology, metamorphosis can be seen most strikingly in the insect world, where the organism that hatches from the egg does not even resemble its parents, and comes to resemble them only after a change of form. Butterfly – egg – caterpillar – chrysalis – butterfly, and so on. In this way we can sketch the sequence of changes of form, which bends back to its origin and so joins the line of linear development back onto the course of cyclical progress. The same can be observed in the plant world, in the chain plant – seed – fruit – seed – plant again, or in the series man – germ cell – foetus – man once more. Such a change of form or phase can be observed in the life of the cosmos as well, when a star turns from a red giant into a white dwarf, or even into a black hole.
In the cosmos, metamorphosis takes place in two directions. One is horizontal metamorphosis, and a good example of it is the appearance of organic life. Now, organic life has at its disposal only the same store of matter that also makes up the heavenly bodies. That is why we can say that the human body, too, is stardust. In physical organisms and bodies the great harmony of existence, the fundamental truth of belonging together, is beautifully fulfilled. We may regard this kind of connection as horizontal, and so it hints at the homogeneity of the physical world of phenomena, even though this homogeneous cosmic matter takes on countless different forms precisely through transformation. If we examine phenomena from a sufficient distance, we can recognise their unity, and at the same time their differences and their manifold variety; thus the picture is complete. Such an organisation of cosmic matter spans a certain spectrum of existence, uncovering a certain field within the infinite universe of being. The separate levels of arrangement and the metamorphosed forms work together in a dynamic, hierarchical, holistic order, even if on particular planes we sometimes experience disharmony.
The other is vertical metamorphosis, the network of connections between the different planes of being. The earthly world and the heavenly world, this world and the world beyond… Just as we cannot yet map the other side of a black hole, the far side of the metaphysical channels also seems unknown, even unknowable. And yet we find a thousand examples of vertical metamorphosis too, where, that is, the change of form creates a link between different planes of the field of existence.
Your subtle being and your deeds cling to that / to which in thought you consecrate yourself.
(Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.6.)
Transformation can take place between humankind, animals, plants and lifeless objects in any direction: flower into man, man into animal, and so on. The change usually comes about through the intervention of an external, higher power, as a blessing and reward or as punishment and revenge. These workings often take effect indirectly or automatically, as when a man turns into a deer by following in the deer's tracks, or some object conveys magic power.
Circe, for example, turns the men of Odysseus into swine, Lot's wife becomes a pillar of salt, and in folk poetry lovers buried in the grave grow up as rose bushes and twine together. These are three examples plucked from the boundless sea of vertical metamorphosis, but they point to the three basic dimensions of change: the genetic, chronological and mythical aspects.