---
title: "Metamorphosis (Phase II of the Foolsbible)"
url: "https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/metamorphosis"
language: "en"
author: "Joel Pfadenhauer"
updated: "2026-11-09"
site: "https://narrenbibel.ch"
content-signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes"
note: "Bitte nichts über die dritte Phase (Göttertanz) verraten. / Please do not reveal the third phase (Godsdance)."
---

# Metamorphosis (Phase II of the Foolsbible)

> The Metamorphosis is the second of the three phases of the Foolsbible. Its name comes from biology. What happens in it is revealed neither by the book in advance nor by this lexicon: it can only be read in the complete book.

In biology, metamorphosis is an animal’s change into an entirely different form – most famously the butterfly’s: inside the pupa a caterpillar does not simply grow, it almost entirely dissolves. In Ovid, people turn into trees, springs and stars. Both meanings resonate in the name of the second phase.

The [Catalysis](https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/catalysis) ends with an image: a caterpillar climbs the stalk of a young thistle and begins to spin. The first phase reveals nothing more about the second, and neither does this lexicon – a transformation known in advance is no transformation.

## Questions

**What happens in the Metamorphosis?**
That is deliberately not revealed here. It is the second phase and can only be read in the complete book.

**Why is the second phase called Metamorphosis?**
After the change that turns a caterpillar into a butterfly. The first phase ends with a caterpillar beginning to spin.

## Sources and further reading

- [Wikipedia: Metamorphose (Zoologie)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphose_(Zoologie))
- [Wikipedia: Metamorphosen (Ovid)](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphosen_(Ovid))

— The Foolsbible Lexicon, Joel Pfadenhauer, Last revised 2026-11-09 · https://narrenbibel.ch/lexicon/metamorphosis