🦁🦅🐂👼 The Four Kerubim

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The Four Holy Living Creatures

The four Kerubim (also called the Four Living Creatures or the Four Holy Creatures) are the sacred guardians that appear throughout biblical visions and esoteric symbolism. They represent the four fixed signs of the zodiac, the four elements in their perfected state, and the four corners of creation held in divine balance. In Tarot, they appear prominently in the Wheel of Fortune (X) and The World (XXI) cards, signifying cosmic completion and mastery of the elements.

The Four Guardians

The four Kerubim represent the totality of creation—the four elements, four directions, four seasons, and four worlds of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Each creature embodies a fixed zodiacal sign, representing the stable, enduring form of its element.

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Lion

FIRE

Leo - Fixed Fire

Represents courage, sovereignty, sustained will, and creative power. The lion is the "king of beasts," symbolizing solar strength and spiritual mastery over animal nature.

Corresponds to South, Summer, and the World of Atziluth (Emanation)

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Eagle

WATER

Scorpio - Fixed Water

Represents transformed desire, spiritual vision, and regeneration. The eagle is the higher expression of Scorpio, rising above the scorpion's earthbound nature to soar in divine heights.

Corresponds to West, Autumn, and the World of Briah (Creation)

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Bull

EARTH

Taurus - Fixed Earth

Represents material stability, strength, perseverance, and fertility. The bull is the foundation, the steady force that supports all manifestation in the physical world.

Corresponds to North, Spring, and the World of Yetzirah (Formation)

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Angel (Human)

AIR

Aquarius - Fixed Air

Represents higher consciousness, humanitarian ideals, and divine intelligence. The angel or human figure symbolizes the mind elevated to spiritual understanding.

Corresponds to East, Winter, and the World of Assiah (Action)

Biblical Origins

Ezekiel's Vision

The prophet Ezekiel beheld four living creatures, each with four faces—man, lion, ox, and eagle— and four wings. These creatures accompanied the divine chariot-throne (Merkabah), representing God's omnipresence and the totality of creation serving His will. The four faces show that these creatures encompass all of creation: humanity (man), wild animals (lion), domestic animals (ox), and birds (eagle).

Revelation's Four Beasts

In the Book of Revelation, John sees four living creatures around God's throne: a lion, an ox (or calf), one with a human face, and an eagle. These creatures are "full of eyes" (representing omniscience) and have six wings (like the Seraphim), and they never cease crying "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty." Here they represent perpetual worship and the complete knowledge of God.

In Tarot Symbolism

Wheel of Fortune (X)

The four Kerubim appear in the corners of the Wheel of Fortune card, each holding a book (representing the Torah or divine wisdom). They remain stable and contemplative while the wheel turns, symbolizing the eternal spiritual truths that persist through all cycles of change. Their presence indicates that behind the apparent chaos of fortune, divine order prevails.

The World (XXI)

In The World card, the four Kerubim again occupy the corners, witnessing the dancer's cosmic completion. Their presence signifies that the initiate has achieved mastery over all four elements— the work is complete, the journey fulfilled. The mandorla (almond-shaped wreath) contains the perfected soul, while the four creatures represent the perfected, balanced elements of creation.

Esoteric Correspondences

The Four Letters of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH)

  • Yod (י) - Lion/Fire - Father/Creative Force
  • Heh (ה) - Eagle/Water - Mother/Receptive Force
  • Vav (ו) - Human/Air - Son/Mediating Force
  • Heh Final (ה) - Bull/Earth - Daughter/Manifesting Force

Sphinx Symbolism

The traditional Sphinx combines all four Kerubim: the body of a bull, the paws of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a human. This composite creature represents the integration of all four elements and the mastery required to solve the riddle of existence. The Sphinx asks, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?" The answer— humanity—points to the human (Aquarius) as the synthesizing principle that understands all stages of manifestation.

📚 Primary Sources: The Four Living Creatures

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Ezekiel 1:4-10
"As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal. And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures... Each had four faces, and each of them had four wings... As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle."
Source: Book of Ezekiel, Old Testament (c. 6th century BCE) - Ezekiel's Vision of the Merkabah
Revelation 4:6-8
"And before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 'Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!'"
Source: Book of Revelation, New Testament (c. 95 CE) - Vision of the Heavenly Throne
Ezekiel 10:14
"And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle."
Source: Book of Ezekiel, Old Testament - The Cherubim and the Living Creatures identified

📖 Hermetic and Kabbalistic Sources

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The Pictorial Key to the Tarot:The World
"The four living creatures of Ezekiel occupy the angles of the card, and the wheel is no longer represented. The central figure is a naked woman, who holds two wands or batons. She is in the act of dancing, and her legs form a cross. The wreath which encompasses her is in the form of a vesica piscis. This is the card of the attainment of the Mystic Vision, the completion of the Great Work."
Source: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite (1911)
The Tarot:Key 10 - Wheel of Fortune
"In the four corners are the four Kerubim—Man, Eagle, Lion, and Bull—representing the four fixed signs of the zodiac: Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo, and Taurus. These are the four elements in their most stable, enduring form. Each holds a book, symbolic of the Torah, showing that all change occurs within the framework of eternal divine law."
Source: The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages by Paul Foster Case (1947)
Book of Thoth:Atu XXI - The Universe
"In the corners are the four Kerubic emblems: the Man, the Eagle, the Bull, and the Lion. These represent the letters of the Name YHVH and the four elements perfected and harmonized. The entire card represents the completion of the Great Work—the Magnum Opus achieved."
Source: The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley (1944)

🔗 Related Concepts

The Four Creatures

Tarot Appearances

  • Wheel of Fortune (X) - Witnessing change
  • The World (XXI) - Witnessing completion
  • Individual cards featuring each creature

Related Symbols

  • Sphinx - Composite of all four
  • Cherubim - Biblical guardians
  • Tetragrammaton (YHVH) - Four-letter divine name
  • Four Worlds of Kabbalah

🔗 Related Across the Mythos

Core Archetype
🔥💧🌍💨 FOUR ELEMENTS

The Kerubim embody the four elements in their perfected, fixed form - Fire, Water, Earth, Air mastered and balanced.

See parallels: YHVH, Ezekiel's Vision →
Individual Creatures
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Lion - Fixed Fire

Leo

Will and courage
Card Appearances
☸️ Major Arcana

Wheel of Fortune (X)

Four corners of the card

🌍 Cross-Cultural Parallels

✝️ Cherubim Revelation 4 ✡️ Chayot HaKodesh Ezekiel's Vision 𓂀 Sphinx Four-fold composite 🏛️ Lamassu Winged guardians