Note 125 — Chapter IV · THE SONG OF THE MOTH

Compare the coronation above. Feather, a symbol of power. Feather crown, a crown of rays, halo. Crowning, as such, is an identification with the sun. For example, the spiked crown upon the Roman coins made its appearance at the time when the Cæsars were identified with Sol invictus (“Solis invicti comes”). The halo is the same, that is to say, an image of the sun, just as is the tonsure. The priests of Isis had smooth-shaven heads like stars. (See Apuleius, “Metamorphoses.”)