In a previous post I referred to something Laura had said to the C’s when considering why she kept encountering representations of knees in works of classical art:
“One thing that has been driving me nuts is the repeated representation of knees. I mean, they are everywhere. In the zodiac of Dendara there is even a leg with the knee joint as a constellation. And in the Bacchus and Ariadne painting, someone is brandishing a leg. What is it with this knee. I know that the word is related to genes, and that the word 'patella' is related to the root of platter, and thus 'grail,' all of these funny ideas are connected to the knee. Even my name!”
A: Yes, so leave it until you have more pieces.”
This focus on knees led me to look again at the double image of Poussin’s painting of the Shepherds of Arcadia, which led me to uncover another possible hidden message within the painting.
Remember that Poussin himself said his paintings had a definite and even secret import when he suggested that
“ . . . these things [the meaning in his paintings]
, I believe, will not displease those people who know how to read them”. Art scholar Judith Bernstock says that to ‘
receive Poussin’s paintings . . . one must study them continually and closely, always searching them for connections’.
Well we have certainly been searching for such connections and here are some that we have previously considered using the double perspective of the painting as suggested by the C’s in order to find out what Poussin might be hiding:
- A possible map reference pointing to a new Arcadia in Nova Scotia (which is what the early French settlers called the region before the British annexed it to the British Empire) including Oak Island where we know a TDARM has been buried;
- A reference to a double star system in the constellation of Lyra, which today covers most of North America using ancient geomancy principles;
- The territory in Britain straddling the River Trent, which was held by the Brigantes tribe prior to the Roman conquest of Britain, which may link us to Brigid/Tara/Hagar and Kore (all names, I believe, for the same person); and
- A possible concealed skull formed by the tomb and the heads of the two bearded figures, which surmounts a possible chalice or Holy Grail at its base.
There is also a possible fifth connection that may be concealed within the painting and this only becomes readily apparent when you look at
the knees of the two bearded figures, who probably represent Hercules the demi-god son of Zeus and member of the Argo’s crew.
If you follow two lines, which start at the base of the tomb running past each man’s knee as formed by the staves that each bearded figure is carrying, you can make out a kite or V shape (I have previously suggested that this might refer to the Great Pyramid at Giza). The C’s made a point of telling Laura how the kite was used in the Middle Ages as a means of communication between the bloodline families and I pointed out that the kite may have been introduced into Europe by Marco Polo when he saw them being flown in China (Cathay). I also suspect that many of the bloodline families had strong connections with Venice and the powerful families that emerged from the island state post the decline and fall of the Western Roman Empire.
I then chanced upon a remark made in a thread, which is dedicated to the
Alfa Romeo badge, marque or motif. See
Alfa Romeo Logo - A Serpent eating a man
This thread contained some amazing information and is well worth reading for our purposes. In case people are not familiar with the Alfa Romeo badge, you can see it in the image below.
Although the history of the emblem is set out in the thread, I am also setting out below an explanation of the history from an official Alfa Romeo website:
Alfa Romeo Logo Meaning | Alfa Romeo of Dayton
The Alfa Romeo Logo: Symbolism
The Alfa Romeo logo is divided vertically into two halves, a design feature that hasn’t changed since 1910. Designers chose to represent the brand with two traditional symbols of Milan: the cross of the municipality on the left, and the Visconti serpent on the right. So, what does the Alfa Romeo badge mean? The Visconti serpent is known to be a heraldic symbol of Milan’s Visconti family, but the meaning of the symbol itself remains a subject of debate.
- The cross of the municipality — The left half of the logo is associated with the red cross worn by medieval Milanese soldiers during the Crusades, and could be considered the Cross of St Ambrose or St. George’s Cross.
- The Visconti serpent — While the giant serpent on the right side of the logo could also be a dragon, it is definitely eating a human. The snake-eating-man symbol, also known as a Biscione, was the symbol for the influential Visconti family of 11th century Milan. As the Visconto gained control over the city in 1277, the Biscione became associated with Milan itself, and can still be found on many buildings and monuments all over the city.
- The crown — The crown worn by the serpent supposedly commemorates the Viscontis gaining a dukedom in the 15th century.
- The man being devoured — He’s likely a Saracen or Moor being defeated during the Christian Crusades.
- Savoy-dynasty knots — The original 1910 logo included two knots dividing “Alfa” and “Romeo” on the logo’s border. A decorative knot used primarily in Italian heraldry, the Savoys were removed from the badge in 1950.
The St George’s Cross is, of course, also the emblem and flag of the Knights Templar. Moreover, the image of a man being eaten by a serpent or a dragon has a certain resonance for those familiar with the Cassiopaean material, particularly where the Lizzies are concerned. As Iconoclast, who initiated the thread said: “
the whole imagery also reminds me of the numerous legends about dragons and dragon slaying.” When one considers the stories of Perseus slaying the Medusa and Jason and his Argonauts searching for the Golden Fleece being guarded by the dragon Ladon, this point is perhaps very pertinent to this thread too. The image of the ‘
serpent chalice’ shown in the Alfa Romeo thread should also be kept in mind, given that a chalice appears to be concealed in Poussin’s painting in the view shown above.
It is also worth remembering that corporate logos often contain occult symbolism and may be a modern means by which the Illuminati convey ancient secrets that are only appreciated by the cognoscenti. There is a very good website called ‘
Vigilant Citizen’ that uncovers a lot of the hidden meanings contained within corporate logos, badges and symbols. See
The Vigilant Citizen - Symbols Rule the World Their reports are very informative and I would recommend them to you.
Although there are a lot of references in the Alfa Romeo thread that may be useful to our current quest, including those relating to the Tribe of Dan, it is the following exchange on the thread, which really drew my attention:
“I do understand. Look up the pulsar Arcturus and its streams. Very interesting images in that constellation. Focus on the three prongs everywhere. On the darker side of it, see attached. It seems to be the "gates of time". Cross reference images to Denver murals and Bank of America Murals.
Nope, still don’t see it. I’m not sure you’re understanding the term in the way it is generally used here. The Law of Three defines three forces in operation, not just things that come along in threes - see the glossary. Sometimes the third force is imagination. “
“Well, I am open of course to being wrong. But "Arcturus", in the Bootes constellation, (shaped like a kite, on the handl of the dipper) is in the knee of the shepherd king (masonic symbolism - bare knee) - crown, treasure chest, burning lamps etc. And he is fighting a dragon/snake and holding a shield. (medusa/minotaur)
And if you look at my avatar, you can poof that shape up to 3/5 principle. The torus is related to the atom as well if my learning is correct. Seems to me this is the place of decision - the way up (cone- hyperspace) or the way down - third force - consciousness.
It probably is just my imagination though. I'm open to that.”
This then brought the retort:
“I'm just curious, and I could be just dense here, but do you see any actual pragmatic usefulness in these things you point out? Do these 'concepts' help us to understand something? Just saying, because I can't quite follow what you're trying to point out...”
In my view EmeraldHope’s comments have proved very useful when you apply them to the particular view of Poussin’s painting that the C’s suggested to Laura, as shown at the top of this post. Indeed, I think EmeraldHope may have really been on to something. You will see towards the end of this piece that the third force and consciousness does actually come into it as well.
I have already pointed out that if we take the triangular shape marked out by the knees of the bearded figure (who is the Shepherd King now for our purposes) you can make out
a kite shape. By this Poussin may have intended to direct those in the know to the
Bootes Constellation, within which
Arcturus is the brightest star.
Why is this relevant to us? Well the Bootes constellation is known as ‘
The Shepherd’ and the painting depicts shepherds. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the constellation:
Boötes is one of the largest constellations in the sky. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, the constellation
is dominated by the Kite, a diamond-shaped asterism formed by its brightest stars.
The constellation’s name comes from the Greek word
Βοώτης, Boōtēs, which means ox driver, plowman, or
herdsman. The correct pronunciation is /boʊˈoʊtɨs/, with each ‘o’ pronounced separately and stress on the second syllable. The two dots over the second "o" indicate that both "o's" should be pronounced separately as "B
OH-
OH-TEEZ. Boötes was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century.
The constellation is home to the contrasting double star Izar and
Arcturus, the brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere and third individual brightest star in the sky, after Sirius in Canis Major and Canopus in Carina Constellation. Continuing with the theme of knees,
Arcturus’ position is always described as being next to the
knee of Bootes. In the Shepherd of Arcadia painting there are two shepherds shown kneeling on one knee. One may therefore represent Hercules and the other Theseus/Dionysus perhaps (see below for more on this connection).
Boötes is the 13th largest constellation in the night sky, occupying an area of 907 square degrees. It is located in the third quadrant of the northern hemisphere (NQ3) and can be seen at latitudes between +90° and -50°. The neighbouring constellations are
Canes Venatici,
Coma Berenices,
Corona Borealis,
Draco, Hercules,
Serpens Caput,
Virgo, and
Ursa Major.
Boötes belongs to the
Ursa Major family of constellations, along with
Camelopardalis,
Canes Venatici,
Coma Berenices,
Corona Borealis,
Draco,
Leo Minor,
Lynx,
Ursa Major, and
Ursa Minor.
So as you can therefore see Bootes is associated, inter alia, with:
(1) the constellation of Hercules (who I think is depicted in the painting);
(2) the constellation Draco associated with the dragon (and by extension the Alpha Draconians - Lizzies);
(3) the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear and Big Dipper) associated with the Merovingians and King Arthur - “
Arth” meaning “bear” in Welsh);
(4) the constellation Corona Borealis, which is associated with
Ariadne, the wife or consort of Theseus or Dionysus, depending on which version of her story one follows. By Greek tradition, her wedding diadem was set in the heavens as the constellation
Corona Borealis after her death in childbirth. It could be a pregnant Ariadne depicted in Poussin’s painting and the tomb depicted could be hers as well, thereby linking us to the Dionysian (underground) mysteries beloved of secret societies such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians; and
(5) the constellation Virgo (for which see below).
Also of interest is the fact that the patch of sky Boötes occupies in space faces away from the plane of our Milky Way galaxy and contains few astronomical objects. In fact, the constellation contains one of the most empty places in the known universe
, the Boötes Void. This mysterious void is an area of the universe 250 to 330 million light-years across that is nearly empty, containing only a handful of galaxies, according to NASA.
Hercules
For our purposes, I want to concentrate on the constellation Hercules though, as one of its stars is of particular interest here.
Hercules (constellation) - Wikipedia.
The traditional visualisation imagines
α Herculis as Hercules's head; its name,
Rasalgethi, literally means "
head of the kneeling one". Hercules's
left hand then points toward Lyra from his shoulder (
δ Herculis), and
β Herculis, or Kornephoros ("
club-bearer") forms his other shoulder. His narrow waist is formed by
ε Herculis and
ζ Herculis. Finally, his left leg (with
θ Herculis as the knee and
ι Herculis the foot) is stepping on Draco's head, the dragon/snake who Hercules has vanquished and perpetually gloats over for eternity.
The reference to Hercules stepping on the dragon’s head links with the story of Hercules in the Garden of the Hesperides and Ladon, the Dragon protector of the Golden Fleece. However, it has perhaps a certain resonance for us as regards the Lizzies (Alpha Draconians) and the Orions and their plans for the conquest of Earth at fourth density.
It is also worth looking at the history of the Hercules constellation in antiquity for clues as to why Poussin might have depicted him in a kneeling position in his painting.
History of the Constellation of Hercules
According to Gavin White, the Greek constellation of Hercules is a distorted version of the Babylonian constellation known as the "
Standing Gods" (MUL.DINGIR.GUB.BA.MESH). White argues that this figure was, like the similarly named "
Sitting Gods", depicted as a man with a serpent's body instead of legs (the serpent element now being represented on the Greek star map by the figure of
Draco that Hercules crushes beneath his feet). He further argues that the original name of Hercules –
the 'Kneeler' (see below) – is a conflation of the two Babylonian constellations of the Sitting and Standing Gods.
The earliest Greek references to the constellation do not refer to it as Hercules.
Aratus describes it as follows:
“
Right there in its [Draco's] orbit wheels a Phantom form, like to a man that strives at a task. That sign no man knows how to read clearly, nor what task he is bent, but men simply call him On His Knees [Ἐγγόνασιν "the Kneeler"].
Now that Phantom, that toils on his knees, seems to sit on bended knee, and from both his shoulders his hands are upraised and stretch, one this way, one that, a fathom's length. Over the middle of the head of the crooked Dragon, he has the tip of his right foot. Here too that Crown [Corona], which glorious Dionysus set to be memorial of the dead Ariadne [Is it her tomb depicted in the painting
?], wheels beneath the back of the toil-spent Phantom. To the Phantom’s back the Crown is near, but by his head mark near at hand the head of Ophiuchus* [...] Yonder, too, is the tiny Tortoise, which, while still beside his cradle, Hermes pierced for strings and bade it be called the Lyre [Lyra]: and he brought it into heaven and set it in front of the unknown Phantom. That Croucher on his Knees comes near the Lyre with his left knee, but the top of the Bird’s head wheels on the other side, and between the Bird’s head and the Phantom’s knee is enstarred the Lyre.”
* Ophiuchus is the old name for the constellation of Serpentarius, the Serpent, a constellation that we know Francis Bacon and his Rosicrucians paid great attention to along with Cygnus as a result of supernovae occurring there. If Poussin was also a Rosicrucian, as Osborn strongly hints at, he would have shared a common interest in these constellations. Remember also for these purposes that Zeus was supposed to have given his divine son, Apollo, a Lyre to play. Does the Phantom represent the human race on its knees after the fall perhaps?
The story connecting Hercules with the constellation is recounted by
Dionysius of Halicarnassus:
“
On his way back to Mycenae from Iberia having obtained the Cattle of Geryon as his tenth labour Heracles came to Liguria in North-Western Italy where he engaged in battle with two giants, Albion [N.B. the ancient name for Britain] and Bergion or Dercynus. The opponents were strong; Hercules was in a difficult position so he prayed to his father Zeus for help. With the aegis of Zeus, Heracles won the battle. It was this kneeling position of Heracles when he prayed to his father Zeus that gave the name "the Kneeler" and Hyginus”
Given Poussin’s classical knowledge, I think that none of what is mentioned here would have escaped his attention and it is, therefore, quite possible that he deliberately encoded this meaning into his painting.
But it is the star
Herculis i that I want to draw to everyone’s attention since it had a particular role in antiquity.
The constellation Hercules
The C’s have confirmed that the Great Pyramid of Giza was built in 10,800 BC about 2,000 years after the deluge. They have also confirmed that it was aligned to both past and future super novae.
In this last regard, I would recall to your attention what Gary Osborn had to say in his article on the
Poussin Codes, which I have posted previously:
“Well after some months I discovered that aside from the additional symbolism it contains – notably esoteric in origin and association – this painting also contains a direct reference to the Orion star constellation and the Precessional Cycle of roughly 26,000 years.
The two extreme positions on the Giza Meridian of the Orion star constellation, which historians say was used by the ancients as a ‘gauge-marker’ for this cycle, appeared to be present in the painting . . . how Orion appeared 13,000 years ago - i.e., 11,000 BC, and how Orion would appear in 2000 AD. (See presentation The Arcadian Shepherds Version II).”
Now 11,000 BC puts us roughly in the ball park of the Deluge and the destruction of Atlantis. Well it is interesting to note which star was the pole star around that time. It just happened to be
Herculis i or
Iota Herculis, which is the star shown on Hercules foot on the right in the picture above, the one stepping on the serpent/dragon’s (Draco’s) head.
It is interesting to note that there are fifteen stars in Hercules that are currently known to be orbited by extrasolar planets. At the moment, none of them seem to be earth like and capable of sustaining life but I stand to be corrected by any astronomers out there. There also some deep-sky objects appearing in the Hercules constellation:
AT2018cow, a large astronomical explosion detected on 16 June 2018. As of 22 June 2018, this astronomical event has generated a very large amount of interest among astronomers throughout the world and may be, as of 22 June 2018,
considered a supernova tentatively named
Supernova 2018cow.
Hercules contains two bright
globular clusters:
M13, the brightest globular cluster in the northern hemisphere, and
M92. It also contains the nearly spherical planetary nebula
Abell 39. M13 lies between the stars
η Her and
ζ Her; it is dim, but may be detected by the unaided eye on a very clear night. [Etymologically, “Abel” is linked to the word “Apple” in old English.]
Keystone asterism
Like the ‘Kite’ in Bootes and the ‘Celestial Flail’ in Draco, the constellation Hercules also has an asterism, which is a quadrangle formed by
π Her,
η Her,
ζ Her and
ε Her (known as the "
Keystone" asterism) as Hercules's torso.
Where I see the words “Key” and Stone” shown together this immediately makes me think of the C’s use of the words “Key” and “Stone” (as in “Einstein” meaning one “one stone”) in the transcripts. Could the “
key book” the C’s referred to, as discussed before, therefore be a book on the Zodiac perhaps?
Iota Herculis – the Pole Star of 10,000 BC
Iota Herculis is a B-type subgiant star that is at the end of its hydrogen fusion stage. With a stellar classification B3IV, it is considerably larger than the Sun, having a mass that is 6.5 times solar and a radius 5.3 times. Though its apparent magnitude is only 3.80, it is 2,500 times more luminous than the Sun, yielding an absolute magnitude of -2.11, brighter in fact than the most of the hot B stars in the Pleiades open star cluster. The Hipparcos satellite mission estimated its distance at roughly 152 parsecs (pc) from Earth, or 496 light years (ly) away; an updated parallax measurement from Floor van Leeuwen in 2007, however, puts the distance at 455ly with a much tighter error factor of only 8l.
It is also interesting to look at the Chinese view of this star in antiquity.
In Chinese, 天棓 (
Tiān Bàng), meaning
Celestial Flail, which refers to an asterism consisting of
ι Herculis,
ξ Draconis,
ν Draconis,
β Draconis and
γ Draconis. Consequently, ι Herculis itself is known as 天棓五 (
Tiān Bàng wu, English:
the Fifth Star of the Celestial Flail.)
Remember that a lodestar is a star that is used to guide the course of a ship, especially the Pole Star. In 11,000 BC, the Pole Star was Iota Herculis, not Polaris as today.
Hamlet’s Mill
This reference to the Pole Star brings me back to what EmeraldHope said in his post:
“But "Arcturus", in the Bootes constellation (shaped like a kite, on the handl of the dipper) is in the knee of the shepherd king (masonic symbolism - bare knee) - crown, treasure chest, burning lamps etc. And he is fighting a dragon/snake and holding a shield. (medusa/minotaur).”
We have now investigated the ‘
knee of the shepherd king’ in relation to the constellation and person of Hercules. However, it is his reference to “
handl of the Dipper” that particularly resonates with me here. The C’s had made an enigmatic reference to ‘
Handl” (note the unusual spelling) in the transcripts and we investigated this clue when looking into their quote: “
No Alfalfa in the German Highlands” and at the German composer, George Handel. However, “Handl” is also close to the word “handle” in English and the “handle of the Dipper” means the pole star, which the
Big Dipper (known as the “
Plough” in England) or Ursa Major constellation, the Great Bear, revolves around in the northern sky. Today that star is Polaris but in 10,000 BC it was Iota Herculis.
Interestingly, the Big Dipper is also an asterism in the constellation of Ursa Major just like the ‘
Kite’ is in Bootes, the ‘
Celestial Flail’ was in Draco to the ancient Chinese and the
Keystone asterism is in Hercules. An asterism is a prominent group of stars that form a noticeable pattern of stars but are smaller than, or even part of, a constellation. The
Big Dipper is therefore a clipped version of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear, with the Big Dipper stars outlining the Bear's tail and hindquarters. ... The
Little Dipper is also an asterism, these stars belonging to the constellation Ursa Minor the “Little Bear”. The two outer stars in the Big Dipper's bowl are sometimes called the pointers. They
point toward Polaris, the North Star or the location of the North Celestial Pole. Polaris is at the end of the Little Dipper's handle.
We have encountered the idea of the Pole Star turning the handle of the Big Dipper before in the concept of ‘
Precession’ where the stars of the Zodiac process 360 degrees around the night sky of a wobbling Earth over a period of approximately 26,000 year. The way this concept was encoded in ancient myths was explored in the book ‘
Hamlet’s Mill’ by Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, first published in 1969, which
was an essay investigating the origins of human knowledge and its transmission through myth.
Hamlet's Mill - Wikipedia
A reference to the book was made in Gary Osborn’s article on the Poussin Codes where he indicated that precession was a concept Poussin would have been well aware of as a Rosicrucian adept.
Hence, when we study Poussin’s painting we seem to be drawn more and more into classical mythology, with all its hidden meanings, and the Zodiac with its well known signs.
The Twins and the Two Johns
This now brings me back to EmeraldHop’e reference to Arcturus in his quote. This also links with another well known constellation
Gemini, since the sign of the twins could be said to be represented in his painting by the beardless twin shepherds who are either standing or kneeeling beside the tomb holding staves. I have already suggested they could represent the twins
Castor and Pollux (twin stars in the constellation of Lyre) who accompanied Hercules on the Argo in its mission to find and retrieve the Golden Fleece. However, they could also represent two other well known figures in Christianity, i.e., St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist, the beloved Apostle.
I have been reading Peter Gardiner and Gary Osborn’s book
‘The Shining Ones’ and thought I would share what they had to say on the topic of the two Johns who, as suggested, may be the alternative figures represented in the painting. They point out that the Egyptian trinity of Isis, Osiris and Horus is linked with the Knights Templar and John the Baptist. If Poussin was a Freemason, then the Freemasons, who see themselves as heirs of the Templars, would share this veneration of the saint in spite of its overt links with Catholicism (although Poussin was, of course, a catholic himself, educated by the Jesuits, whose brothers were an archbishop and priest respectively). You will recall that the Templars were accused of worshiping the ‘evil’ image of a human head – a carved head reliquary – which they called ‘
Baphomet’. We have previously discussed what the term Baphomet may actually connote; i.e., the ‘
Baptism of Metis’ or Sophia/Wisdom. I hope to have more to say on this subject in due course.
According to Gardiner and Osborn, this carved head has been described as having two faces back-to-back or perhaps three heads or faces – two faces back-to-back with a third placed centrally (like the three-headed Celtic god
Bran). Some say that Baphomet had the face of a man or a woman or both. But if it had two faces, then in Gardiner and Osborn’s view, they think it was most probably a head with a male and a female face back-to-back, in which case it was more than likely modelled on the two-faced Roman god
Janus, the god of new beginnings and/or endings, of spiritual
portals and gateways. (see the alternative double view of Poussin’s painting depicting a possible Janus figure below).
Janus was also the god of change, transition or transformation from one condition to another and one world to another, which relates to the midpoint between the opposites being a gateway. This is highly relevant to us, as we are now on the cusp of a transformation from third density to fourth density.
Gardiner and Osborn’s theory is that the two or three faces or heads of the Baphomet head were those of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist with that of Christ in the centre. It is well known that the Templars venerated John the Baptist and preferred St John’s gospel to the other three gospels. Hence, Gardiner and Osborn think that the Templars equally venerated St. John the Evangelist who is often depicted in classical art as clean shaven and effeminate looking. Think of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Last Supper painting where this is clearly the case. The same is true of his painting of John the Baptist too. And when you look at the two twin figures in Poussin’s painting they are clean shaven and effeminate looking as well. Moreover, images of heads, both male and female, abound in Templar literature and art.
The authors then point out that the Baphomet figure is based on the ancient Egyptian triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus and other similar triads. These tricephalic (three-headed) images symbolise the
three forces in
consciousness – positive, negative and neutral – whether or not the midpoint is clearly indicated by a third face or not. Their reasoning is based on the alchemical symbolism of the
androgyne, the union of male and female opposites. As they point out in their book, the chief male god of a pantheon is almost always associated with the sun or sky (think of Ra or Apollo) and the chief female goddess with the Moon or the Earth (think of Selene or Gaia). From the union of these deities comes forth the ‘son of the sun’; a trinity is created. ‘One becomes two, the threefold appears’. Could this be the solution to the puzzle of the three hares all sharing two ears as they turn in rotation?
The Eye of the Medusa
Now the Eye of the Medusa is considered to be the star
Algol located in the constellation of Perseus, who slew the Gorgon Medusa and cut her head off, giving it to Athena/Artemis as a trophy before he sailed off into the sunset with Andromeda to establish the Perseid line based by tradition in Mycenae. Early astronomers nicknamed Algol the
Demon Star. ... The star Algol takes its name from an Arabic word meaning “
the Demon's Head.”
Algol - Wikipedia
The name
Algol derives from Arabic رأس الغول
raʾs al-ghūl : head (
raʾs) of the ogre (
al-ghūl) (“ghoul”). The English name Demon Star was taken from the Arabic name. In Hebrew folklore, Algol was called
Rōsh ha Sāṭān or "
Satan's Head", as stated by Edmund Chilmead, who called it "Divels head" or
Rosch hassatan. A Latin name for Algol from the 16th century was
Caput Larvae or "
the Spectre's Head". In Chinese, 大陵 (
Dà Líng), meaning
Mausoleum, refers to an asterism consisting of β Persei,
9 Persei,
τ Persei,
ι Persei,
κ Persei,
ρ Persei,
16 Persei and
12 Persei. Consequently, the Chinese name for β Persei itself is 大陵五 (
Dà Líng wu, English: The Fifth Star of Mausoleum).
One wonders whether Poussin’s tomb could even be a representation of Algol, the Medusa’s head, as a mausoleum.
Historically, the star has received a strong association with bloody violence across a wide variety of cultures. In the
Tetrabiblos, the 2nd-century astrological text of the Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy, Algol is referred to as "
the Gorgon of Perseus" and associated with
death by decapitation: a theme which mirrors the myth of the hero Perseus’s victory over the snake-haired Medusa. Astrologically, Algol is considered one of the
unluckiest stars in the sky and was listed as one of the 15
Behenian stars (a selection of fifteen stars considered especially useful for magical applications in the medieval astrology of Europe and the Arab world).
Volund the Star Smith
Returning to Arcturus and Hercules, I came across this interesting article by
Peter Kruger on an ancient German poem based on ‘Volund the Star Smith’, which seems to link together much of what we have been discussing about these constellations all in one mythological story.
Germanic Astronomy
I was particularly struck by this passage in the article concerning the kneeling man who we have been linking to Hercules:
"Hercules, the figure on bended knee and called by the Greek name of Engonasin, about whose origin no certainty prevails. Of this constellation is begotten the desertion, craftiness, and deceit characteristic of its children, and from it comes the thug who terrorizes the heart of the city. If perchance his mind is moved to consider a profession, Engonasin will inspire him with enthusiasm for risky callings, with danger the price, for which he will sell his talents: daring narrow steps on a path without thickness, he will plant firm feet on a horizontal tightrope; then, as he attempts an upward route to heaven, (on a sloping tightrope) he will all but lose his footing and, suspended in mid-air, he will keep a multitude in suspense upon himself." [Manilius, Astronomica, 1st century, AD, p.353.]
This description of Hercules fits very well with the attributes of Gemini man who is known as the "
consummate man" who is somewhat shallow and interested in the things of material life. Hence, the figure of Hercules could be seen to represent the material and non-spiritual man. Hercules also features in the story of the ‘
Golden Apples of the Hesperides‘ where I mentioned in a previous post that he behaved very badly, like a thug as described above by Manilius:
Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 1390 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.):
"[The Argonauts port their ship across the Libyan desert :] They set her [the ship Argo] down from their sturdy shoulders in the Tritonian lagoon. Once there, it was their first concern to slake the burning thirst that was added to their aches and pains. They dashed off, like mad dogs, in search of fresh water; and they were fortunate. They [the Argonauts] found the sacred plot where, till the day before, the serpent Ladon, a son of the Libyan soil, had kept watch over the golden apples in the Garden of Atlas, while close at hand and busy at their tasks the Hesperides sang their lovely song. But now the snake, struck down by Herakles, lay by the trunk of the apple-tree. Only the tip of his tail was still twitching; from the head down, his dark spine showed not a sign of life. His blood had been poisoned by arrows steeped in the gall of the Hydra Lernaia (Lernaean), and flies perished in the festering wounds.
Close by, with their white arms flung over their golden heads, the Hesperides were wailing as the Argonauts approached. The whole company came on them suddenly, and in a trice the Nymphai (Nymphs) turned to dust and earth on the spot where they had stood. Orpheus, seeing the hand of Heaven in this, addressed a prayer to them on behalf of his comrades : ‘Beautiful and beatific Powers, Queens indeed, be kind to us, whether Olympos or the underworld counts you among its goddesses, or whether you prefer the name of Solitary Nymphai. Come, blessed Spirits, Daughters of Okeanos (Oceanus), make yourselves manifest to our expectant eyes and lead us to a place where we can quench this burning, never-ending thirst with fresh water springing from a rock or gushing from the ground. And if ever we bring home our ship into an Akhaian (Achaean) port, we will treat you as we treat the greatest goddesses, showing our gratitude with innumberable gifts of wine and offerings at the festal board.’
Orpheus sobbed as he prayed. But the Nymphai were still at hand, and they took pity on the suffering men. They wrought a miracle. First, grass sprung up from the ground, then long shoots appeared above the grass, and in a moment three saplings, tall, straight and in full leaf, were growing there. Hespere (Hespera) became a poplar; Erytheis an elm; Aigle (Aegle) a sacred willow. Yet they were still themselves; the trees could not conceal their former shapes--that was the greatest wonder of all. And now the Argonauts heard Aigle in her gentle voice tell them what they wished to know.
‘You have indeed been fortunate,’ she said. ‘There was a man here yesterday, an evil man, who killed the watching Snake, stole our golden apples, and is gone. To us he brought unspeakable sorrow; to you release from suffering. He was a savage brute, hideous to look at; a cruel man, with glaring eyes and scowling face. He wore the skin of an enormous lion and carried a great club of olive-wood and the bow and arrows with which he shot our monster here. It appeared that he, like you, had come on foot and was parched with thirst. For he rushed about the place in search of water; but with no success, till he found the rock that you see over there near to the Tritonian lagoon. Then it occurred to him, or he was prompted by a god, to tap the base of the rock. He struck it with his foot, water gushed out, and he fell on his hands and chest and drank greedily from the cleft till, with his head down like a beast in the fields, he had filled his mighty paunch.
The Minyai were delighted. They ran off in happy haste towards the place where Aigle had pointed out the spring."
The reference to Hercules being prompted by a god to tap the base of the rock with his foot from which water gushed out reminds me of how in Exodus Moses struck a rock with his staff from which water then gushed out to quench the thirst of the children of Israel. One also wonders whether the tale conceals the destruction of Atlantis by cometary bombardment and the gradual recovery of the Earth with new life eventually springing forth.
With the tale of
‘Völund the Smith’, we can see how these Greek myths of the classical age were refashioned for Northern European peoples to explain how the constellations came into being.
“And they invented fables of his performing twelve labours, as the symbol of the division of the signs of the zodiac in heaven; and they arrayed him with a club and a lion's skin, the one as an indication of his uneven motion, and the other representative of his strength in "Leo" the sign of the zodiac.”
Nevertheless, these myths always contained coded information for those who knew how to decode it, which is where the Illuminati and the Brotherhood of the Serpent come in to the picture, with their modern manifestations being Freemasonry and Roscicrucianism.
As for the constellation of Virgo and how it fits into the picture, I was struck by what Kruger had to say
“Searching at the Germanic Astronomy starry sky for a young woman next to Hercules we obviously have to take a closer look to the constellation Virgo. Virgo is depicted normally with a staff or rod in her right hand and an ear of grain in her left hand. The word Virgo itself is often explained as meaning “twig, young shoot”. Virgo is thought to represent in one tale Erigone who on finding her father Icarius (Bootes) dead, hanged herself in grief and was raised to heaven. An alternative story (cf. Aratus, Phaen. 98 ff.) identified her as Astraea, literally the star-maiden. We should also mention the story of Persephone living both in Hades and in Olympus.
As an interesting side aspect the very bright star Spica, the ear of grain is not always seen as part of the constellation Virgo but as a separate constellation. It is tempting to identify Virgo, the star maiden Astraea, with Bodvild and assume that Spica, the ear of grain in her hand of the Greek story is thought to be a ring in the Northern myth.”
Persephone, the wife of Odysseus, is often linked with Kore/Hagar, the last surviving branch of the Perseid family. Remember also the link between “Kore” and apple “Core” within which are found the pips or seeds to create new apple trees or shoots.
I previously posted Laura’s comments on Poussin’s painting and would refer to them now in order to establish a link with the possibility that the woman in the painting may represent both Ariadne and the constellation Virgo. Laura said:
“I do notice that the shepherdess' head is right in the middle of a tree branch, almost as
if it were a halo. But, I don't know what kind of tree it is .......
And, we know that the Arachnea, the spinner, was transformed into a spider by a Jealous Hera, the "cow-faced." But was THEN represented as the "menstruating Moon Goddess." And, Ariadne gave the clues to Theseus, but was THEN loved by Dionysus.
The two trees on the left of the painting look like Poplar trees to me, which would link them to Hespere/Hespera in the Garden of the Hesperides, since she became a poplar tree in the story of Hercules quoted above. I am no expert on trees but the tree standing behind Ariadne looks like an Ash tree to me, judging from the shape of the leaves. The Ash tree is linked with the
Yggdrasil, which in Norse cosmology is an immense and central sacred tree, the
World Tree. Around it exists all else, including the
Nine Worlds.
Yggdrasil - Wikipedia
Could Poussin have intended this link? I think so. Of course a world tree around which everything revolves links us back to the Pole Star and the Little Dipper, which currently acts as the handle cranking the mill.
Coming back to the tale of
‘Völund the Smith’ once more, we finally catch up with EmeraldHope’s treasure chest:
21. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
To the boys it seemed | that gems they saw,
Gold in plenty | and precious stones.
24. They came to the chest, | and they craved the keys,
The evil was open | when in they looked;
He smote off their heads, | and their feet he hid
Under the sooty | straps of the bellows.
As for the serpent depicted by the constellation
Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), Kruger has this to say in his article:
“Just below the constellation Hercules we find the constellation of Ophiuchus. This constellation is normally seen as a man holding a giant serpent. On the other hand the constellation serpent is depicted on the sky as divided into two constellations, the head and the tail of the serpent.
It is now very interesting to look on the way the stars of Ophiuchus are normally connected on star maps as in the figure below. Indeed this constellation looks like a house or a chest. This has been noticed before, Björn Jonnson interpreted it e.g. as the door of Valhalla.”
If we take both observations together we can see in fact a chest and in front of the chest a constellation called the head of the serpent, the other part of the figure being the tail of the serpent. The two parts of the constellation Serpent can be interpreted as parts of the slaughtered sons. In the following strophes [verses]
we find additional interesting information about the fate of the dissected brothers.
Ophiuchus, the constellation in the shape of a house or chest
25. Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, he took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;
Gems full fair | from their eyes he fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise he gave them
26. And from the teeth | of the twain he wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild he sent it;
Völund spoke:
27. Bothvild then | of her ring did boast,
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . | "The ring I have broken,
I dare not say it | save to thee."
37. "Their skulls, once hid | by their hair, I took,
Set them in silver | and sent them to Nithuth;
Gems full fair | from their eyes I fashioned,
To Nithuth's wife | so wise I gave them.
38. "And from the teeth | of the twain I wrought
A brooch for the breast, | to Bothvild I gave it;
Now big with child | does Bothvild go,
The only daughter | ye two had ever."
Both the silver cup and the brooch can be found without a problem to represent star constellations. The cup is the constellation Crater placed near Hydra and the brooch made out of the teeth is seen as Corona Borealis. Indeed Corona Borealis looks like a jawbone with teeth. Only the eyes of the sons turned into gems are too non-specific to be identified in the sky.
I am struck by the similarities between this tale and that of Perseus and the Medusa, where Perseus slays Medusa and cuts off her head, presenting it to Artemis/Athena who wears it as a trophy on her aegis. The Corona Borealis is also linked with the story of Ariadne and Theseus, as we discovered earlier. Hence, what we are seeing here is the same ancient myths with encoded information being presented in different tales to be passed on through oral tradition to posterity.
Conclusion
Thus, I think in this article, I have managed to link practically all of the things that EmeraldHope referred to in his quote and all these would seem, in one way or another, to be concealed in Poussin’s painting:
“Well, I am open of course to being wrong. But "Arcturus", in the Bootes constellation, (shaped like a kite, on the handl of the dipper) is in the knee of the shepherd king (masonic symbolism - bare knee) - crown, treasure chest, burning lamps etc. And he is fighting a dragon/snake and holding a shield. (medusa/minotaur)
And if you look at my avatar, you can poof that shape up to 3/5 principle. The torus is related to the atom as well if my learning is correct. Seems to me this is the place of decision - the way up (cone- hyperspace) or the way down - third force - consciousness.”
Thus, without knowing it at the time, EmeraldHope has helped to provide an explanation for some if not most of the features in Nicolas Poussin’s painting.
On this point I would just like to quote again from Philip Gardner and Gary Osborn’s book ‘The Shining Ones’ where they state:
“
When individual or maybe even a few such ‘clues’ are spotted, their broader significance may be easily overlooked, ignored or explained away as something mundane or at best a ‘coincidence’. Many lead us on a highly convoluted trail of double and sometimes multiple meanings. However, when they are looked at in total, the deeper meaning becomes apparent.”
I think this is very true of the clues the C’s have given us and why it is necessary to lay out all the evidence to try and see the bigger picture or what the C’s refer to as a mosaic.