ABSTRACT
The process of interchange elaborated upon in first half of Endymion continues throughout the poem in its entirety. John Keats's words evoke the skills attributed to the Rosicrucian adepts, while also stressing the concepts of reformation espoused by the Rosicrucians and widely related to the higher degree Freemasons. In the hermetic initiation rituals, water is symbolic of rebirth and redemption; 'It is a sort of philosophic baptism that washes clean of all stain' and also gives him 'assurance' through its purifying powers. Throughout Endymion, true lovers have been presented as the materials upon which an alchemical reaction may be wrought, and Glaucus's task accords with this symbolism. In addition, as with the hermetic philosophies illustrated in alchemical allegories and Rosicrucian texts, the themes of death and rebirth played a central role in initiation rituals.
