The Old Man, Riding a Crocodile and Carrying a Goshawk

This is a composite magical image from the Hermetic Qabalah, a glyph of the 15th Path (Vau, Taurus) on the Tree of Life. The figure is not a named god or demon from a specific pantheon, but a synthetic emblem—a visual formula for the alchemical and spiritual work of this particular Sephirah-to-Sephirah connection. The elements are symbolic: the old man represents the accumulated wisdom of time, the sage who has mastered the cycles of nature; the crocodile is the primal, untamed force of the waters of creation (often linked to the Egyptian god Sebek, but here a symbol of the raw, fertile, and dangerous substance of the unconscious); the goshawk is the swift, piercing vision of the spirit, the ability to see the truth from a great height and strike with precision.

Position on the Tree of Life

This image is the magical image for Path 15, the Path of Vau (the Hebrew letter meaning 'nail' or 'hook'), which connects the Sephirah Chokmah (Wisdom) to the Sephirah Tiphereth (Beauty). This path is the 'Intelligence of Stability' (or 'Constituting Intelligence'), and its Tarot correspondence is the Four of Wands (in the Golden Dawn system) or the Emperor (in the Thoth deck). The image thus embodies the stability, authority, and creative power that must be harnessed to bridge the raw, masculine force of Chokmah with the harmonized center of Tiphereth.

Astrological and Planetary Correspondence

The path is attributed to Taurus, the fixed earth sign ruled by Venus. The old man riding a crocodile reflects the stubborn, patient, and fertile nature of Taurus, while the goshawk (a bird of prey) introduces the Venusian quality of sharp, focused desire. The crocodile's aquatic nature also hints at the lunar and emotional undercurrents that Taurus must master.

Historical Context

This specific image appears in the Magical Images column of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's 777 tables, compiled by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers and later expanded by Aleister Crowley. It is not a traditional mythological figure but a synthetic construct derived from the system of correspondences. The image likely draws on several sources:

• Egyptian iconography: The crocodile-headed god Sebek (Sobek) was associated with pharaonic power, the Nile's fertility, and the destructive aspect of the sun. The old man riding a crocodile may be a syncretic echo of the god Kronos (time) devouring his children, or of Saturn (the old man) ruling over the watery abyss.
• Alchemical symbolism: The senex (old man) is a common figure in alchemy, representing the prima materia or the 'old king' who must be dissolved and reborn. The crocodile is a symbol of the aqua permanens (the fixed water) and the volatile spirit. The goshawk (a falcon) is the volatile principle, the soul that must be fixed.
• Medieval bestiaries: The crocodile was often depicted as a creature of deceit, weeping to lure its prey, while the goshawk was a noble bird of the hunt, symbolizing the knight's vigilance. Their combination suggests a mastery of both deception and clear sight.
• Crowley's interpretation: In The Book of Thoth, Crowley associates the Emperor (the Tarot card of this path) with the image of a 'king on a throne', but the 777 image is more archaic and dynamic. The old man is the Emperor in his aspect as the 'Father of the Universe', riding the beast of the earth (the crocodile) and carrying the hawk of the sky (the spirit).

In the Table of 777

In the Magical Images of Column CLVII for the 15th Path, this image stands as the primary visual key for the aspirant to meditate upon. It is a composite of the fixed, the fluid, and the swift—a formula for the alchemical marriage of wisdom (the old man), the raw power of nature (the crocodile), and the piercing will of the spirit (the goshawk). The image is not to be worshipped but used as a tool for self-transformation on the path between Wisdom and Beauty.