As their flesh once labored to bring forth flesh,
so the minds of the elders labor,
with like passion
to bring forth a mind.
By rites of initiation
they would accomplish
the metamorphosis of matter into man,
the evolution of a mind for meaning in the animal
which is the issue of their flesh.
By this
they would insure that the race endure
as a race of men.
The rites of this second birth
into the metaphysical cosmos,
everywhere mime the conditions of
the first physical birth.
The novice is
purified of the past
relieved of possessions,
made innocent,
placed nascent in the womb solitude. . .
The matter,
which is man himself,
and the myth of a race
are joined.
His solitary meditation
is a gestation
and, in the end,
a man emerges by ordeal,
to be newly named, newly rejoiced in.
- Maya Deren (1952)
