Mark of the Beast (Crowley)

The “Mark of the Beast” as shown at right is a creation of Ritual Magician Aleister Crowley. The name of the symbol, which functioned in some ways as Crowley’s personal seal, was a play on his magical moniker “To mega Therion,” (The Great Beast).

In the simplest terms, the image is a symbol of the masculine principal, and is usually paired with its feminine counterpart, the seven pointed Seal of Babalon:


The mark is constructed of three overlaping circles plus one half circle, echoing the number of revolutions in the mark’s associated ritual, and the number of coils in the kundalini. The uppermost circle is the alchemical sigil of the sun; the half circle below is the lunar crescent. The resemblance to male genitalia is, of course, intentional.