715. Having seven heads, signifies the knowledge of the holy things of the Word, which they have adulterated, and consequent insanity, and yet craftiness. This is evident from the signification of "head," as being intelligence and wisdom, and in the contrary sense insanity and folly (of which above, n. 553, 577), and that it also means craftiness (n. 577); also from the signification of "seven," which is all persons and all things, and is predicated of things holy see above, n. 257, so here of the holy things of the Word, which they have adulterated. As "seven" is predicated of things holy, so also in the contrary sense it is predicated of holy things adulterated and profaned, for in the Word every word has also a contrary sense, and what is contrary to what is holy is profane. From this it is clear that heads and seven are not meant by the "seven heads" that the dragon was seen to have, but the knowledge of the holy things of the Word which they have adulterated, and consequent insanity but yet craftiness.

[2] "The head of the dragon" signifies insanity, because the intelligence of the man of the church is from genuine truths which are from the Word. The truly human understanding is formed and perfected by natural, civil, moral, and spiritual truths, the interior understanding by spiritual truths, but the exterior by moral and civil truths; therefore such as the truths are such is the understanding that is formed of them. All spiritual truths are from the Word, and make one with the good of love and charity. When, therefore, a man places everything of the church and of heaven in faith, and separates from that faith the good of charity and love, as those do who constitute "the head of the dragon," as has been said in the preceding article, then the interior understanding cannot be formed, consequently in place of intelligence in things spiritual such have insanity; for from a false principle falsities flow in a continual series, and from the separation of the good of charity no genuine truth can be given them, since all truth is of good, yea, is good in form. Thence it is evident that "the head of the dragon" signifies insanity in spiritual things.

[3] "The head of the dragon" also signifies craftiness, because all those who constitute his head are merely natural and sensual, and if these have at the same time studied the Word and the doctrine of the church, and have caught at falsities in place of truths, and have confirmed these by knowledges, they are crafty above the others; but this craftiness does not manifest itself in the world as it does afterwards when they become spirits, for in the world they cover over the craftiness with external piety and feigned morality which conceal it; but as the craftiness abides in their spirit it is plainly manifest when externals are removed, as is done in the spiritual world. But it is to be known that the craftiness signified by "the head of the dragon" is a craftiness in perverting the truths and goods of the Word by means of reasonings from fallacies and sophistries, also from things persuasive, by which the understanding is fascinated, thus by inducing upon falsities the appearance that they are true. That this is so can be seen from "the serpent" by which the first parents were led astray, that is said to have been:

More crafty than any wild beast of the field (Genesis 3:1);

that "serpent" having a similar signification as "the dragon," therefore the dragon is also called "the old serpent that seduceth the whole world," in the ninth verse of this chapter.

553. And upon their heads as it were crowns like gold, signifies that they seem to themselves, when they reason, as if they were wise and victorious. This is evident from the signification of "head" as being wisdom and intelligence (of which presently); and from the signification of "a crown of gold," as being a reward of victory (of which above, n. 358. "A crown like gold," signifies the reward of victory, because kings in ancient times, when they were in combats with their enemies wore crowns of gold upon their heads, besides various insignia that then belonged to kings. This was because kings represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and Divine truth combats from Divine good; so this was represented by "a crown of gold," and wisdom and intelligence itself by the head upon which was the crown. This is why the martyrs had crowns, for they fought from Divine truth against the falsities from evil that are from hell, and came off victors, because they fought even unto death, which they did not fear. From this it can be seen that "upon their heads as it were crowns like gold" signifies that those who are sensual men seem to themselves, from the persuasion of the falsity in which they are, to be wise and victorious.

[2] As the locusts are described in respect to their heads, their faces, their breasts upon which were breast plates, and as to their tails, and hair, and teeth, it is important to know what their heads signify, and afterwards what the other things signify. The "head" signifies in the Word wisdom and intelligence, because these have their seat in the head; but when those who are in no wisdom or intelligence because they are in falsities from evil are treated of, the "head" signifies folly and insanity, because falsities and evils are therein and therefrom. So here, where those who are sensual and in the persuasion of falsity are treated of, the "head" properly signifies folly and insanity, for such see falsities as truths and evils as goods, for they constantly see what they see from fallacies. Of such, therefore, it is said that "upon their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces as men's faces," and other things follow, all of which were appearances from the fantasy with them, therefore it is said "as it were" crowns, and "like" gold, which shows that these appearances were not real but fallacious. For in the heavens all appearances that exist are real, because they are correspondences; for the interiors belonging to the affections and thoughts therefrom of the angels, when they pass to the sight of their eyes, are clothed in such forms as are manifest in the heavens; they are called appearances because they are visible, and they are said to be correspondences and are real because they spring from creation. But it is otherwise with the appearances in some of the hells, where those are who are in the persuasions of falsity from evil; from these persuasions fantastic visions spring, in which there is inwardly nothing real, and for this reason they also vanish if a single ray from the light of heaven flows in. Such are the appearances that are here described in reference to the "locusts." (But of appearances in the spiritual world, both those that are real and those that are not real, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 170-176; and above, in the explanation, n. 369, 395)