The Bull with Gryphon’s Wings is a composite magical image, a theriomorphic fusion that embodies a specific alchemical and spiritual synthesis. The bull, a primordial symbol of strength, fertility, and the fixed, material world, is here granted the wings of a gryphon—a creature itself a hybrid of lion and eagle, representing solar vigilance, nobility, and the mastery of both earth and air. This union signifies the elevation of brute, chthonic force into a vehicle for spiritual ascent, a key theme in the Hermetic tradition.

Position on the Tree of Life

This image is assigned to Path 25 of the Tree of Life, which connects the sephirah Netzach (Victory, associated with Venus and the emotional, instinctual realm) to Hod (Splendor, associated with Mercury and the intellectual, analytical realm). The path represents the alchemical marriage of these two principles—the raw, passionate energy of Netzach being refined and given form by the intellectual clarity of Hod. The Bull with Gryphon’s Wings is a perfect glyph for this process: the bull’s earthy, generative nature is the raw material, while the gryphon’s wings are the means of its transformation and elevation.

Astrological and Planetary Correspondence

While the image itself is not directly a planet or zodiac sign, its components are astrologically resonant. The bull is universally linked to Taurus, an earth sign ruled by Venus, reinforcing the connection to Netzach. The gryphon, as a solar beast, is associated with the sun and the element of fire, particularly the sign of Leo (the lion component) and the eagle (a symbol of Scorpio in its higher aspect). The fusion thus suggests a working that integrates the fixed, sensual nature of Taurus with the transformative, solar power of Leo and Scorpio, a potent combination for alchemical transmutation.

Historical Context

The Bull with Gryphon’s Wings is not a common figure in classical mythology, but it draws on deep wellsprings of ancient symbolism. The winged bull is a known motif in Mesopotamian art, most famously the lamassu—a protective deity with a human head, bull body, and eagle wings, guarding palace gates. The gryphon itself originates in Near Eastern and Greek art as a guardian of treasure and a symbol of divine power. The specific combination of bull and gryphon, however, is a product of the Renaissance and later Hermetic synthesis, where such hybrids were used to encode complex philosophical ideas.

In the context of the Golden Dawn, the image is a direct descendant of the system of magical images found in the Sępher Yetzirah and later elaborated by Eliphas Lévi. Lévi’s Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie (1856) describes the Baphomet as a “goat with the head of a bull,” and the winged bull appears in his illustrations as a symbol of the earth element in its most exalted form. The Golden Dawn, through MacGregor Mathers and later Aleister Crowley, systematized these images into a coherent table of correspondences. The Bull with Gryphon’s Wings, therefore, stands as a late 19th-century occult invention, designed to fill a specific symbolic niche on the Tree of Life.

In Liber 777, this image appears in the column for “Magical Images” at the row for Path 25, a position that is otherwise occupied by more abstract symbols in other columns. It is a direct, visual representation of the path’s function: the marriage of the fixed and the volatile, the earthly and the celestial, the instinct and the intellect. The image serves as a focus for meditation and ritual, intended to help the magician internalize the path’s specific energy—a dynamic, transformative force that is neither purely material nor purely spiritual, but the active bridge between them.