These are two distinct but thematically linked magical images: a wolf with a serpent’s tail, and a man with dog’s teeth and a raven’s head. The first combines the ravenous wolf—a symbol of instinct, devouring, and the wilderness—with the serpent’s tail, evoking the coiled, chthonic energy of the serpent, often associated with wisdom, fertility, or the underworld. The second image merges human form with canine dentition and a raven’s head, blending the human intellect with the scavenging, prophetic, and liminal qualities of the dog and raven. Together, they embody a threshold state, part beast, part human, part spirit.

Position on the Tree of Life

These images correspond to Path 17 on the Tree of Life, which connects Binah (Understanding) to Tiphareth (Beauty). This path is associated with the Hebrew letter Zayin, meaning “sword,” and with the astrological sign of Gemini. The dual nature of the images—two distinct forms, each a hybrid—reflects the Gemini principle of duality, division, and the sword that cuts asunder. The path represents the active, analytical intellect that separates and defines, yet also the potential for integration of opposites.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

The astrological correspondence for Path 17 is Gemini, an airy, mutable sign ruled by Mercury. Gemini’s dualistic, communicative, and mercurial nature aligns with the paired images: the wolf-serpent and the raven-headed man. Mercury, as the planet of intellect, messages, and boundaries, governs the sword of Zayin, which both divides and connects. The hybrid forms suggest the blending of elemental forces—earth (wolf), water (serpent), air (raven), and fire (the transformative, cutting aspect of the path).

Historical context

These images derive from the grimoire tradition of the Key of Solomon and its derivatives, particularly the Lemegeton (or Lesser Key of Solomon). In such texts, spirits and magical figures are often described with composite, monstrous forms that signify their nature and powers. The wolf with a serpent’s tail appears in the Goetia as the form of the spirit Buer (who appears as a star-headed centaur with a serpent’s tail) or as a variant of the spirit Marbas (who appears as a lion-headed man). The man with dog’s teeth and a raven’s head is reminiscent of the spirit Murmur, who appears as a warrior riding a vulture or a griffin, with a crown and a trumpet. These images were systematized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who assigned them to the 32 paths of the Tree of Life in their magical correspondences. The dual forms emphasize the path’s role as a bridge between the supernal and the lower worlds, requiring the magician to master both the wild, instinctual forces (wolf, serpent) and the intellectual, prophetic faculties (raven, human).

In the table of Liber 777, these images appear at the intersection of Path 17 and the column of Magical Images, providing a visual focus for the path’s energy. They are not to be taken literally but as symbolic keys for meditation and ritual, representing the integration of opposites on the path of the sword.