Icon of Cherub
$55.00
All practitioners of western esotericism are familiar with the four mysterious faces on Waite’s “The World” card as well as “The Hierophant’” in Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot. We recognize them with the very ancient name, that of Cherub. But what does it mean? What do they stand for?
Gustav Davidson, in his acclaimed book A Dictionary of Angels explains that «Cherubim -in name as well as in concept- are Asyyrian or Akkadian in origin. The word, in Akkadian, is karibu and means “one who prays”, although Dionysius declared the word to mean “knowledge”…
In the Old Testament, they are the 1st angels to be mentioned… In the rabbinic and occult lore, the cherubim are prevailingly thought of as charioteers of God, bearers of his Throne… In the early traditions of Muslim lore it is claimed that the Cherubim were formed from the tears of Michael shed over the sins of the faithful».
Without a doubt, however, the most famous reference is in the Book of Ezekiel where the cherub is depicted as having two pairs of wings, and four faces: that of a lion, an ox, a human, and an eagle.
Over the centuries, and from religious art and scriptures, cherubs moved into the occult iconography, attracting the attention of important figures such as Eliphas Levi. The now famous French occultist and author, once wrote that the four heads of the Cherub are the tetrad of Merkavah; The human figure represents reason; the eagle’s head is faith; the bull is resignation and toil; the lion is warfare and conquest. This symbol is analogous to that of the Egyptian Sphinx.
«This Sphinx…» Aleister Crowley writes from his part in Liber Aleph, it is a «… Glyph of the Satisfaction and Perfection of the Will and of the Work, the completion of the True Man as the Reconciler of the Highest with the Lowest. This then is the Adept, who doth Will with solid Energy as the Bull, doth dare with fierce Courage as the Lion, doth know with swift Intelligence as the Man, and doth keep Silence with soaring Subtilty as the Eagle or Dragon. Moreover, this Sphinx is an Eidolon of the Law, for the Bull is Life, the Lion is Light, the Man is Liberty, the Serpent Love. The Signification of this Mystery is that the Adept must be Whole, Himself, containing all Things in true Proportion, before he maketh himself Bride of the One Universal Transcendental, in its most Secret Virtue…»
Daemon Melissyios, the artisan of LOGOS 373, inspired from the holy scriptures and the occult writings of Eliphas Levi and the Great Beast, offers to all practitioners the icon of a Cherub, as an object of meditation, suitable also for altars and shrines dedicated to the mysteries of the divine sphinx.
Each copy of the original painting is printed on high quality paper (constellation flandra 280gr | 28 X 36cm), stamped by the artist’s sigil and personalised with the holder’s name. In order to preserve the good condition of the paper, the print travels on a full handmade wooden case (as seen in pictures), with velvet interior, bearing LOGOS 373 artistic workshop’s logo, and sealed with wax to be broken only by the receiver, for «a thing of beauty is a joy for ever» (Keats, Endymion I).
