I put a jewel upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a crown of adorning upon thy head (16:12). This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church, here such as it was in the beginning; "a jewel upon the nose" signifies the perception of truth from good; "the ear-rings in the ears" signify hearkening and obedience, and "a crown upon the head" signifies wisdom; for intelligence, which is from Divine truth, becomes wisdom from the good of love, and this is signified by "a crown of gold." [4] In Revelation:

A woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (12:1). The "head" upon which was a crown of twelve stars, signifies intelligence, as will be seen in the explanation hereafter. That the Jews placed a crown of thorns upon the Lord's head, and that they smote His head (Matt. 27:29, 30; Mark 15:17, 19; John 19:2);

signifies that they treated with such contumely Divine truth itself and Divine wisdom; for they falsified the Word, which is Divine truth and in which is Divine wisdom, and adulterated it by their traditions and by applying it to themselves; thus they desired a king who would exalt them over all in the whole earth. And as the Lord's kingdom was not earthly but heavenly, they perverted everything that was said respecting Him in the Word, and mocked at what was foretold of Him. This is what was represented by "their placing a crown of thorns upon His head, and smiting His head." [5] Where the statue of Nebuchadnezzar seen in a dream is described, it is said in Daniel:

Its head was of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay (2:32, 33). That statue represented the successive states of the church; "the head of gold" represented and signified the Most Ancient Church, which was in celestial wisdom, and thus in intelligence above the churches that followed; this wisdom and its intelligence are meant by the "head of gold." That the other parts of that statue signified the states of subsequent churches may be seen above (176, 411). In David:

Thou hast brought us into the net; thou hast laid oppressions* upon our loins. Thou hast caused man to ride over our head (Ps. 66:11, 12). "To cause man to ride over our head" signifies that there is no intelligence (see above, n. 355, where this is more fully explained). [6] In Moses:

These blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren (Gen. 49:26; Deut. 33:13-16). That "blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph" signifies that all the things that had just been mentioned, that are blessings of heaven, should take place in the interiors of his mind, which are the lives of the understanding and will, for these are the interiors of the mind. That they shall come upon "the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren" signifies that they should also take place in the exteriors of his natural mind, for the "Naziriteship" signifies the exteriors of the natural mind, since it means the hairs, or the hair of the head. (But these words may be seen further explained above, n. 448; and in the Arcana Coelestia, n. 6437, 6438.) In the same:

Take you wise men and intelligent, and I will put them as your heads (Deut. 1:13). It is said "as your heads" because wisdom and intelligence, in which they should excel all others, are meant; therefore it is said, "Take you wise men and intelligent." [7] In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath He covered (29:10). "Prophets" signify those who teach truths and are intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth and intelligence; therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath closed your eyes, the prophets, and your heads, the seers," where the prophets are called "eyes," and the seers "heads," because "eyes" signify the understanding of truth in respect to doctrine, and "seers" like as "heads" signify intelligence. [8] In the same:

Jehovah will cut off from Israel** head and tail, branch and rush. The old man and the honorable will make the head, and the prophet, the teacher of lies the tail (Isa. 9:14, 15). In the same:

Neither shall there be for Egypt any work which will make the head or tail, branch or rush (19:15). "He will cut off from Israel head and tail," and "neither shall there be for Egypt head or tail," signify that all the intelligence and knowledge [scientia] of truth they have shall perish (as may be seen above, n. 559, where these passages are more fully explained). In the same:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the crossings of the river, by the King of Assyria, the head and the hairs of the feet; and shall also consume the beard (Isa. 7:20). That this signifies that reasonings from falsities will deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, may be seen above (n. 569), where this is explained in particular; it is said "in the crossings of the river," because "the river Euphrates" signifies the reasonings from falsities, therefore here attack by these upon the truths of the church which are destroyed by reasoning from falsities. [9] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber's razor, and cause it to pass over*** the head and over the beard; a third part thou shalt burn with fire, a third part thou shalt smite with the sword, and a third part thou shalt disperse in the wind (5:1, 2). Here also "to cause a razor to pass over the head" signifies to deprive of all intelligence of truth; for the reason that intelligence perishes when there are no ultimates of intelligence, which are signified by "the hairs of the head, which should be shaved with a razor by causing it to pass over the head;" for when ultimates are taken away it is as when the base is taken away from a column, or the foundation from a house. This is why it was unlawful in the Jewish Church, which was a representative church, to shave the hairs of the head and induce baldness, in like manner the beard; so also those who are without intelligence appear bald in the spiritual world. [10] From all this the signification of "a bald head" and "baldness" in the following passages can be seen. In Isaiah:

On all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off (15:2);

in other words, there is no intelligence. In Ezekiel:

Shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads (7:18). In the same:

Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled (29:18). These words have a similar meaning. So Aaron and his sons were forbidden to shave their heads and the corner of the beard, of which it is said in Moses:

That Aaron and his sons shall not shave their heads nor rend their clothes, lest they die, and lest Jehovah be angry in consequence with the whole congregation (Lev. 10:5). And in the same:

That the sons of Aaron should not make baldness upon their head, nor shave the corner of the beard (21:6). The "beard" signifies the ultimate of the rational man, and "not shaving the beard" signifies not to be deprived of the rational, by taking away its ultimate; for, as was said above, when the ultimate is taken away the interior also perishes. What is meant by:

When a woman taken captive from the enemy is desired for a wife she must shave her head and pare her nails (Deut. 21:11, 12);

may be seen explained above (n. 555). [11] Because shame was represented by the hands upon the head, it is said in Jeremiah:

Thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. From her also thou shalt go forth with thy hands upon thy head (2:36, 37). And in the same:

They were ashamed and put to confusion and covered their heads (14:3, 4). Because this was a representative of shame:

Tamar, after she had been ravished by her brother Amnon, put her hand on her head, and went weeping**** and crying (2 Sam. 13:19). To "put the hand upon the head" signified that no intelligence remained. Also grief for sin in having acted insanely and foolishly was represented by sprinkling dust upon the head, and by bowing the head down even to the earth; and by this cursing also was signified. As in Ezekiel:

They shall cast up dust upon thy head, they shall roll thee in ashes (27:30). In Lamentations:

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the earth, they keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their head; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have made their head to hang down to the ground (2:10). [12] But in the contrary sense the "head" signifies the craftiness that those have who are in the love of ruling. This is meant by the "head" in Moses:

The seed of the woman shall trample upon the head of the serpent, and the serpent shall hurt the heel (Gen. 3:15). In David:

The Lord at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His anger; He hath judged among the nations; He hath filled with dead bodies; He hath stricken through the head over many a land; He shall drink out of the brook in the way; therefore shall He exalt the head (Ps. 110:5-7). (This passage may be seen explained above, n. 518.) In the same:

God shall strike through the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of such as go on in guilt (Ps. 68:21). That the craftiness by which they purpose and contrive evil against others returns upon themselves is signified by:

Bringing their way upon their own head (Ezek. 9:10; 11:21; 16:43; 17:19; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7). What is signified in Revelation by:

The seven heads upon which were seven diadems (12:3; 13:1, 3; 17:3, 7, 9);

will be seen hereafter. Moreover, the "head," as what is highest and primary in man, has also many other meanings; as the peak of a mountain, the top of anything, what is primary, the beginning of a way, of a street, of a month, and the like. * Latin has "oppressions," the Hebrew "oppression," as found in AE n. 355. ** Latin has "Abraham," the passage quoted just before has "Israel," as in AE n. 559, 624. *** Latin has "through," the passage, as cited before, has "over," with the Hebrew. **** Latin has "weeping," the Hebrew "going."