Grigori
I've been researching the crown as a ritual tool. It seems to have fallen out of favour and is not discussed much anymore, but was an important item for Crowley and his peers. Crowley goes so far as to say a magician should not wield the much more common sword, until he is wearing his crown.
While googling the Uraeus serpent, I accidentally found a blog devoted (apparently, its in Portuguese so I am making some guesses) to Egyptian artifacts, and it included what seems to be an image of the crown just as described by Crowley. Visible is the Uraeus serpent, and the 3 pentagrams at the front, the centre one containing a white cabochon (diamond?) stone, the others containing the tau. Missing are the jewels on the hood of the serpent and the hexagram at the back is not visible/present. Attached to this post is the image from the blog and also an image of a young Crowley wearing a crown, though it is not the same as the one described in Book 4 (written by an older Crowley).
http://gloria-ao-egito.blogspot.com/2009/09/uraeus.html
Anyways, I guess I don't really have a question, but was interested in a discussion. Does anyone have any thoughts on the image, or on the ritual use of a crown in general? Given the feeling likely/expected by someone wearing a crown, I can see how useful it may be as a tool in ritual.
(PS I have posted to the blog asking the author where the image came from, if anyone speaks Portuguese and may be able to better than my google translator effort, I would be much obliged)
Book 4 said:The Crown of the Magician represents the Attainment of his Work. It is a band of pure gold, on the front of which stand three pentagrams, and on the back a hexagram. The central pentagram contains a diamond or a great opal; the other three symbols contain the Tau. Around this Crown is twined the golden Ureaus serpent, with erect head and expanded hood. Under the Crown is a crimson cap of maintenance, which falls to the shoulders.
Instead of this, the Ateph Crown of Thoth is sometimes worn; for Thoth is the God of Truth, of Wisdom, and the Teacher of Magick. The Ateph Crown has two ram's horns, showing energy, dominion, the force that breaks down obstacles, the sign of the spring. Between these horns is the disk of the sun; from this springs a Lotus upheld by the twin plumes of truth, and three other sun-disks are upheld, one by the cup of the lotus, the others beneath the curving feathers.
There is still another Crown, the Crown of Amoun, the concealed one, from whom the Hebrews borrowed their holy word "Amen." This Crown consists simply of the plumes of truth. But into the symbolism of these it is not necessary to go, for all this and more is in the Crown first described.
The crimson cap implies concealment, and is also symbolical of the flood of glory that pours upon the Magician from above. It is of velvet for the softness of that divine kiss, and crimson for that it is the very blood of God which is its life. The band of gold is the eternal circle of perfection. The three pentagrams symbolize the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while the hexagram represents the Magician himself. Ordinarily, pentagrams represent the microcosm, hexagrams the macrocosm; but here the reverse is the case, because in this Crown of Perfection, that which is below has become that which is above, and that which is above had become that which is below. If a diamond be worn, it is for the Light which is before all manifestations in form; if an opal, it is to commemorate that sublime plan of the All, to fold and unfold in eternal rapture, to manifest as the Many that the Many may become the One Unmanifest. But this matter is too great for an elementary treatise on Magick.
The Serpent which is coiled about the Crown means many things, or, rather, one thing in many ways. It is the symbol of royalty and of initiation, for the Magician is anointed King and Priest. {108}
It also represents Hadit, of which one can here only quote these words: "I am the secret serpent coiled about to spring; in my coiling there is joy. If I lift up my head, I and my Nuit are one; if I droop down mine head and shoot forth venom, there is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one."
The serpent is also the Kundalini serpent, the Magical force itself, the manifesting side of the Godhead of the Magician, whose unmanifested side is peace and silence, of which there is no symbol.
In the Hindu system the Great Work is represented by saying that this serpent, which is normally coiled at the base of the spine, rises with her hood over the head of the Yogi, there to unite with the Lord of all.
The serpent is also he who poisons. It is that force which destroys the manifested Universe. This is also the emerald snake which encircles the Universe. This matter must be studied in Liber LXV, where this is discussed incomparably. In the hood of this serpent are the six jewels, three on each side, Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire, the three holy elements made perfect, on both sides in equilibrium.
While googling the Uraeus serpent, I accidentally found a blog devoted (apparently, its in Portuguese so I am making some guesses) to Egyptian artifacts, and it included what seems to be an image of the crown just as described by Crowley. Visible is the Uraeus serpent, and the 3 pentagrams at the front, the centre one containing a white cabochon (diamond?) stone, the others containing the tau. Missing are the jewels on the hood of the serpent and the hexagram at the back is not visible/present. Attached to this post is the image from the blog and also an image of a young Crowley wearing a crown, though it is not the same as the one described in Book 4 (written by an older Crowley).
http://gloria-ao-egito.blogspot.com/2009/09/uraeus.html
Google translator said:Uraeus is the common term applied to the plow, snake-shaped ornament worn in crowns of gods and pharaohs of ancient Egypt, stands also on the monuments that should be protected. A cobra, pronta para o ataque, com o pescoço dilatado, foi dada aos homens pelo deus-Sol. The snake, ready to attack, with the neck extended, was given to men by the Sun-god.
Anyways, I guess I don't really have a question, but was interested in a discussion. Does anyone have any thoughts on the image, or on the ritual use of a crown in general? Given the feeling likely/expected by someone wearing a crown, I can see how useful it may be as a tool in ritual.
(PS I have posted to the blog asking the author where the image came from, if anyone speaks Portuguese and may be able to better than my google translator effort, I would be much obliged)