Chief Adepts Wand

In my efforts to continue discussing small peculiarities on the Thoth deck, and hoping you all will teach me about it, I have another question.

On the 5 Wands (stife) the central wand is according to Crowley the wand of the Chief Adept, "showing that the authority is derived from the superiors".

The Phoenix wand belongs to the Second or Major Adept, the lotus to the Third or Minor Adept. (presumably the lower grades)

My question is about the crowns being worn on the Chief Adept wand's snakes. I'm assuming they are the crowns of Upper Egypt (left side) and Lower Egypt (right side). Although I'm basing that on online pictures, all of which show the Upper Egypt crown as white, and the Lower as red. In the Strife card they both are red.
http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/index.htm

The crown's don't seem to feature on any of the pictures I can find of the Chief Adept's wand. (They do seem to be on the wands on the 6 and 7 also, but smaller and colored teh same as the border)
http://www.geocities.com/nisetar/chiefadeptwand.jpg

Can anyone offer some insight into what was the standard for the Golden Dawn. Or what the addition of these crowns may refer to (is it more than a symbol of authority)? Does the color change have some assigned significance?

Also any references to the wings on the base of the wand would be much valued. I can't tell if they are common or not. They struck me as peculiar in that I associate this large central wand as the Saturn component of the card.

Thanks to all for humoring me. Please continue to do so I'm quite enjoying this discussion and learning a lot

I won't be able to look at my deck or my library for awhile but as soon as I do I'm going to be all over this! My initial thought is that the central wand is the caduceus or a representation of it and it has wings at it's base because typically Hermes carried it and he wore talaria so Crowely just combined the two into one wand...

You come up with great topics Similia!

Henry

Hermes' symbol of office as divine messenger was his staff, or caduceus.
This was originally a willow wand with entwined ribbons, traditional badge
of the herald. But the ribbons were eventually depicted as snakes.

The story evolved that Hermes used the caduceus to separate two
fighting snakes, which forthwith twined themselves together in peace.

Caduceus of Hermes

In alchemy, the staff is depicted as entwined by two serpents,
representing the solar and lunar forces. Their union is the conjunction
of alchemical principles and their offspring is the Stone, represented
as a golden ball with wings at the top.

*

5 of Wands

"The symbol represents the wand of the Chief Adept, showing that
the authority is derived from the superiors; were it not so, this card
would be thoroughly disastrous." AC

15 The Devil

"His creative energy is veiled in the symbol of the Wand of the Chief
Adept, crowned with the winged globe and the twin serpents of Horus
and Osiris." AC

similia said:

Also any references to the wings on the base
of the wand would be much valued.

Click to expand...

Winged footed Mercury (Hermes)? Though I've heard this is
a modern (commercial) addition to the swift one's wardrobe.

I also realised after posting last night, that the wings appear on the Chief Adept wand only on the 5. 6 & 7 are wingless. Perhap the wings have some special significance that relates to the 5..?

Is there a connection between mercury and the 5? (Geburah is Mars, Leo is ruled by the Sun and Uranus is exhalted in Leo. Mercury doesn't seem to be listed under fall or detriment. Perhaps there's a story here that someone could share?)

I hadn't realised the same wand was in the Devil. It also seems to emphasize the snake's crowns, this time coloring them yellow. A good reminder of Saturns relationship to Capricorn for me. Thanks Fulgour.

I remembered today that the 5 Wands has Crowley's mark on it, as it relates to his birth day. Perhaps the mercury reference could refer to the Magus and hence Crowley himself..?

Crowley: III Swords

similia said:

I remembered today that the 5 Wands has Crowley's mark on it, as it relates to his birth day. Perhaps the mercury reference could refer to the Magus and hence Crowley himself..?

Click to expand...

Aleister Crowley b. October 12, 1875
Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England
Tarot Card: III Swords (Saturn in Libra)
BOOK T : XXVIII LORD OF SORROW
(Unhappiness, sorrow, and tears)
Disruption, interruption, separation, quarrelling; sowing of discord and strife, mischief-making, sorrow and tears; yet mirth in Platonic pleasures; singing, faithfulness in promises, honesty in money transactions, selfish and dissipated, yet sometimes generous: deceitful in words and repetitions;
the whole according to dignity. Three White Radiating Angelic Hands, issuing from clouds, and holding three swords upright (as though the central sword had struck apart the two others, which were crossed in the preceding symbol): the central sword cuts asunder the rose of five petals, which in the previous symbol grew at the junction of the swords; its petals are falling, and no white rays issue from it.

Sorry was too slack to look up the specific date. 5 wands is Crowley's ascendent, the first decan off leo (July 22- August 1)

5 of Wands/Thoth

Not to be flippant or off the wall here, but I have a question pertaining to the 5 of Wands.

Looking at this card, and the flames, along with the main wand, would this be a card one could say is holding back alot of anger?

A person who has the authority to whip someone's rear-end, but holds their anger in check???
(Someone in standing for someone else? A mobster/goon if you will. A right hand of someone?)



Barb

Barbaras Ahajusts said:

Looking at this card, and the flames, along with the main wand, would this be a card one could say is holding back alot of anger?

Barb

Click to expand...

I always saw the "Strife" meaning as a pretty direct reference to Eris:

Strife whose wrath is relentless, she is the sister and companion of murderous Ares, she who is only a little thing at the first, but thereafter grows until she strides on the earth with her head striking heaven. She then hurled down bitterness equally between both sides as she walked through the onslaught making men's pain heavier.

To me it signifies the stable 4 will of completion being put under pressure by another will (the wand of the Chief Adept) and the conflict in will has the potential as described in the above snippet from the Iliad.

Potentially a lot of anger in that conflict in my view.