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Artist and astrologer John Varley encouraged Blake to sketch the figures from his visions, known as "visionary heads." Among the most famous is his depiction of a flea. Blake claimed that, as he was sketching, the flea revealed to him that these creatures were inhabited by the souls of bloodthirsty men, condemned to insect bodies because, if they were the size of horses, they would consume enough blood to depopulate entire regions.
The fleaβs voracious nature is reflected in its eager tongue and the cup it carries for drinking blood.