A monster, most likely a dolphin, appears as a magical image on the 25th Path of the Tree of Life. The identification is tentative but significant, as the dolphin in classical and Hermetic tradition is a psychopomp and a symbol of salvation, often associated with the sea-gods Poseidon and Apollo, and with the soul’s journey through the waters of the Abyss.

Position on the Tree of Life

This image corresponds to Path 25, which connects Hod (Splendor) to Netzach (Victory) on the Tree of Life. This path is attributed to the Hebrew letter Samekh, meaning “prop,” and to the astrological sign of Sagittarius. The dolphin—a creature of the depths that leaps into the air—mirrors the archer’s arrow, bridging the watery unconscious (Netzach) and the rational mind (Hod).

Astrological and planetary correspondence

Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter, governs this path. The dolphin’s association with Jupiter is twofold: the dolphin is the sacred animal of Poseidon (Neptune) in Greek myth, but in astrological magic, the dolphin is also a symbol of the beneficence and expansive nature of Jupiter, as seen in the constellation Delphinus. The dolphin’s leaping motion reflects the Sagittarian impulse toward transcendence.

Historical context

The dolphin as a magical image appears in the grimoire tradition, notably in the Key of Solomon and the Lemegeton, where it is sometimes a form taken by spirits of the order of the Thrones or of the element of Water. In the Picatrix, the dolphin is a figure used in talismanic magic for safe travel and protection at sea. In the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the dolphin is the magical image for the 25th Path, as recorded in Crowley’s Liber 777. The image is deliberately ambiguous: “a monster [probably a dolphin]” suggests a chimeric or distorted form, perhaps a dolphin with monstrous attributes, aligning with the path’s role as a trial of the soul in the Abyss. The dolphin’s role as a guide for souls (as in the myth of Arion) parallels the path’s function as a bridge between the lower and higher Sephiroth.

In the table of Liber 777, the magical image for Path 25 is given as “A monster [probably a dolphin].” This image is placed in the column of Magical Images for the 25th Path, where it stands as a cryptic symbol of the soul’s navigation through the waters of the unconscious toward the light of the Supernal Triad.