In both Egypt and Assyria we find the Bull used as a sacred symbol, even as it is to this day in India. There is a connection of a subtle nature between the Bull and the Bee—Apis. In the most ancient Mithraic monument of Assyria there is shown in bas-relief the figure of a lion out of whose mouth a bee is coming forth. This at once brings to mind the riddle of Samson, himself associated with the Solar myth. He is made to say: “Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came forth sweetness.” And when they gave him the answer: “What is stronger than a lion, what is sweeter than honey?” the key to the symbology is supplied in his answering words: “If you had not ploughed with my oxen (Taurus), you had not found out my riddle.” Here there is an obvious association of the symbol of the Bull with that of the Bee, and it is here that we get the affiliation of the two signs Taurus and Leo. A lion trampling on a snake and a bull in the folds of a snake are to be found among the symbolical monuments of the past. The lion-headed man, Abraxas, is a symbol which links the sign Aquarius to that of Leo, and is of great antiquity: among the Persians we find this word Abraxas or Abracax engraved on magical stones. It stands for the 365 days of the year and the virtues corresponding to them. But this Taurean key to the riddle of Samson is not merely a cosmical symbolism. It is also a spiritual one. For the four Fixed Signs of the zodiac stand for the basic elements or what are known as the Four States, and these in their turn have analogy with human principles. Thus— Leo represents Fire, which stands for SPIRIT. Aquarius ” Air ” ” MIND. Scorpio ” Water ” ” SOUL. Taurus ” Earth ” ” BODY. In this paradigm we have Spirit above and Matter beneath, linked together by the Human Soul or Mind in relations with Spirit, and the Animal Soul in relations with Matter. The riddle of Samson therefore may be read kabalistically thus: Out of Spirit proceeded Matter, as from Fire the element of Earth was evolved. To which we may add the rider in corresponding terms: Save by incarnation you could not attain to spiritual liberation, which is equivalent to the saying: If you had not ploughed with my oxen, you had not found out my riddle. Here we have the process of differentiation covertly referred to by the propounder of the riddle, showing that Matter is the ultimate expression of Spirit, its negative pole. It stands for the female principle in Nature, and hence the tradition involves the woman who betrayed Samson’s secret. Thus in cosmical symbology some of the great secrets of cosmogenesis and anthropogenesis lie concealed. The ancient wisdom conceived the two schemes as involved in the complete arc of life, which holds good for any planet, and for the system to which it belongs.