Sphinx
It represents the zodiac and the four elements
The Sphinx of the Egyptians is a representation of the zodiac in relation to the four elements; it has a human head (Aquarius, air sign), the body of an ox (Taurus, earth sign), lion’s paws (Leo, fire sign) and the wings of an eagle (Scorpio, water sign). These same figures are found in the Apocalypse of St. John, when he speaks of the four living creatures who stand before the throne of God and who, day and night, without ceasing sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’ The first of these creatures is like a lion, the second like an ox, the third like a man, and the fourth like an eagle. You will say that in the zodiac there is no eagle but rather a scorpion. In reality, in the primordial zodiac, the Eagle held the place of Scorpio, but this is quite a story that must be understood from a symbolic point of view. As a result of misdirected sexual forces, the Eagle fell and was turned into Scorpio. The Eagle represents a being who could soar very high in the sky, but who fell because he ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.*
* Related reading:
Daily Meditations 2023 (eBook)