Alton Towers, Sir Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucians
- Thread starter MJF
- Start date
Thanks for pointing this out. I will definitely have to make time in my reading schedule for Crowley. Talking about time, having read the latest session transcript, I feel that we may not have much time left for this quest even though I still have so much material to share with everyone. Hopefully, we still have a bit of time left before the worst happens.One has to difference between astronomical planets and astrological planets. There is a difference of the kind like between chemical Mercury or Sulfur and alchemical Mercury and Sulfur (or "the Element Water" and H2O). Note that the "scientific" notions have been taken from the earlier "occultistic" ones. But in this process there was also taking place a kind of "epistemological" reduction of the concepts.
Crowley tries to explain it in more detail here ("Theories of the Ancients" and the following paragraphs after that):
I would just say for now though that I think the C's steered Laura to the south of France and near to the Pyrenees for a good reason, since I think the Holy Grail is located near to her. I say this because I now feel that this particular area was where Arcadia was located, given the Arcadians close links with the Greeks (the Celts of northern Europe) during the Trojan War in Britain. Indeed, it was the Arcadians who were supposed to have come up with the famous Wooden Horse. It may also have been one of the first places that Atlantean survivors landed at post the last cataclysm which destroyed Atlantis. As it was a gold producing area in antiquity, the Atlantians may already have had a presence there. Indeed, the Basques who inhabit both sides of the Pyrenees are amongst the oldest continuous inhabitants of Europe and people from Iberia would seem to have populated Northern France, Southern Ireland and Southwestern Britain post the retreat of the ice sheet at the end of the last Ice Age. I would suggest that these Atlantians brought the Grail with them before it was taken either to Egypt, Mesopotamia or possibly Britain (Stonehenge most likely). I hope to delve into this issue in subsequent posts.
I'd like to link to a post that Laura wrote to someone that contains information about Aleister Crowley and his works:
fwiw
fwiw
Palinurus
The Living Force
Following a link given by moyal in the latest session thread, I'm reading a recent paper on H.P. Lovecraft published on Miles Mahis' website by David Kasady and Leaf Garrit. Therein I encountered a description of the afore several times mentioned Richard Hakluyt and the Virginia Company.
For convenience, I'll give the passage in full (from page 9 of the PDF-file) as I found it quite revealing (bold is original):
For convenience, I'll give the passage in full (from page 9 of the PDF-file) as I found it quite revealing (bold is original):
Yes this was the business model on which much of the early British Empire was founded. Some economists claim that the East India Company, which controlled British India until the Indian Mutiny, was one of the most profitable companies of all time. Don't forget the Hudson Bay company that developed English Canada as well. Historians say that trade followed the flag but I think it was more often the case that the flag followed trade. In fairness, one can argue that the Spanish, Portugese and French were doing something similar. Moreover, I believe the Dutch followed a similar corporate model in the East Indies as well. There are some who think that John Dee's hand may have lain behind Sir Francis Drake's famous circumnavigation of the world voyage. However, Drake never sailed further north than today's Oregon, which therefore prevented John Dee from capitilising on the official grant of land rights which he held over what today would encompass the whole of Canada.
Subsequent English colonies did certainly have a religious element about their foundation though, which can be seen reflected in their present day names. For example, Pennsylvania was a Quaker colony (originally called the Province of Pennsylvania) named after William Penn and Maryland was intended to be a colony and refuge for English Catholics. Although it was supposedly created in 1632 as a haven for English Catholics, ironically many of the original settlers were in fact Protestants. It should also be remembered that one of the early and most influential groups who settled in English speaking America were the Puritans (the Pilgrim Fathers) who arrived on board the Mayflower, which sailed from Plymouth in 1620 in the reign if James I. Those who survived the journey became the settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. I have read that the Bush family claim that one of their ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. I don't know how true this claim is though.
Perhaps we are beginning to see a re-run of this commercial imperialism in outerspace, where companies like SpaceX are looking to exploit the potential resources of the solar system by establishing off-world colonies, with Mars being an early target.
Subsequent English colonies did certainly have a religious element about their foundation though, which can be seen reflected in their present day names. For example, Pennsylvania was a Quaker colony (originally called the Province of Pennsylvania) named after William Penn and Maryland was intended to be a colony and refuge for English Catholics. Although it was supposedly created in 1632 as a haven for English Catholics, ironically many of the original settlers were in fact Protestants. It should also be remembered that one of the early and most influential groups who settled in English speaking America were the Puritans (the Pilgrim Fathers) who arrived on board the Mayflower, which sailed from Plymouth in 1620 in the reign if James I. Those who survived the journey became the settlers of Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts. I have read that the Bush family claim that one of their ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. I don't know how true this claim is though.
Perhaps we are beginning to see a re-run of this commercial imperialism in outerspace, where companies like SpaceX are looking to exploit the potential resources of the solar system by establishing off-world colonies, with Mars being an early target.
Meager1
Dagobah Resident
As we look across the split rail fence, and you see mountains and I see lakes, it behooves everyone to take in the larger view.
Abraham Lincoln was never President of The United States of America, by which we mean the unincorporated Federation of actual, physically-defined States of the Union. He was never President of the Federal Republic, either.
Instead, he was President of the United States of America --- the British Territorial Government acting as a Federal Subcontractor. They were allowed to operate in our names because they exercised some of our delegated powers. They were loaned the use of our Title IV flag for the same reason.
But they are not us and we are not them and Abraham Lincoln was never an American President.
We can be sure of this because he was a Bar Attorney and Bar Attorneys were prohibited from holding any public office in our Federal Republic, and that prohibition which was always incipient in the original Constitutions, had been made more explicit and given specific penalties as of 1819. I would be happy to provide you with the documentation and the specific penalties.
Because of the similar names, The United States of America being the actual Federation of States, and the United State of America being our Federal Subcontractor, it was possible for Lincoln to obfuscate the offices, making it appear that he had been duly elected as the president of the actual Federation, when in fact, he was elected to a private corporate office serving one of our Federal Subcontractors.
He knowingly and with malice aforethought usurped upon our public office while occupying a similar-named private office.
Simple as that. A ruse. A contrived and purposeful impersonation that led people to believe that he had powers he never possessed and that he was operating in a public office that he was in fact prohibited from occupying.
Acting in Gross Breach of Trust, Lincoln appeared to declare war on the Southern Confederate States, without the benefit of any Declaration from any Congress, and thus, the Mercenary Conflict known as The American Civil War began.
In the middle of it, in March of 1863, Lincoln took another illegal, fraudulent action, and began issuing so-called Executive Orders. His very first Executive Order became known as General Order 100, and among other things, it put the military in charge --- but in charge of what?
The next day, Lincoln bankrupted the Northern Confederacy. His version of "USA" went into receivership, while our actual Federation of States remained apart from the entire conflict.
It was a "war" without any proper beginning, and at least so far as our Federal Subcontractors were concerned, without any ending, either. No Peace Treaty was signed by any competent parties with standing to take action, and so it dragged on and on and on.
Finally, however, the actual States of the Union woke up, We observed that both our warring Federal Subcontractors--- we will just generally call them the US, INC. and the USA, Inc.--- were owned by the Pope, so that the whole pretense of war was phony from beginning to end.
The American Civil War was was actually a Mercenary Conflict, illegal, conducted in Gross Breach of Trust, in violation of the respective service contracts known as Constitutions, and promulgated by fraud in violation of the Treaties of Versailles, Paris, Westminster and Ghent, by Undeclared Agents of the British Crown.
That, dear General, is what the American Civil War was. And absolutely everything coming out of it is tainted by fraud. Lincoln's presidency and all his fine words---- tainted by fraud. All the results of the conflict --- including the practice of issuing Executive Orders --- are fraudulent. So is the entire Lieber Code and the authorities claimed by the Military acting under it --- more fraud.
There is no recourse to The Law of War, because there is no war.
There is nothing to be addressed but a 160 year-old British Confidence Swindle, and that is the essence of the "Special Relationship" that the Brits keep touting.
So the States woke up, the people declared their birthright political status, the State Assemblies assembled, and the State Citizens took a roll call vote to adopt a Peace Treaty ending the purported Civil War.
The authority to do so resides with them, because the Confederate States were all businesses and instrumentalities that belonged to the States of the Union, which are the actual physically-defined member States of our Federation.
So the only Parties with standing to address the issue have spoken, have abolished slavery in all jurisdictions related to this country, and adopted a Peace Treaty ending the Civil War.
There are no other Parties with standing on the issue, because the Pope is just playing with himself. He owns the US, INC. directly, and owns the USA, Inc. indirectly. Last time we looked, you can't wage any legitimate war against yourself.
So this really is an end to the fun and games. The end of the Lieber Code. The end of Executive Orders. The end of Private Attorney Generals. The end of Public Trusts only presumed to exist. The end of all legal presumptions of war. The end of this entire fraudulent stinko system of things.
There is plenty of blame to go around. The Military bears its share for its part and the only saving grace is that the men actually and directly responsible for this Mess are long dead.
Going forward, the Military owes its allegiance to the American States and our unincorporated Federation of States and stands under our Civilian Government, which is now in Session. The same is true of all Federal Agency Personnel.
The very first order of business is to educate, educate, educate. Obviously.
We can't do that with a bought-and-paid-for foreign media monopoly pumping out propaganda every day. That's why you have been ordered to shut those corporations down and seize their assets in the Public Interest. They have exercised a foreign-based monopoly on our air waves and that cannot be allowed.
As the actual Priority Creditors, we are the natural inheritors of all US and all USA Corporations and assets, bar none. Any corporation engaged in unlawful activity or acting against the Public Good is to be liquidated or, at our discretion, turned over to new management.
Essential services must continue, but any and all anti-American activity by US or USA corporations must stop. This is why you have been ordered to shut down the CDC, NIH, Vaccine Manufacturers, and other entities which have promoted the current attack on our populace, seeking to redefine people as human beings and then to redefine human beings as "trans-human" in an effort to deny them their fundamental and Natural and Unalienable Rights.
This activity has already been outlawed in this country and all these corporations supporting these activities must be shut down. This includes the vaccine manufacturers who have colluded in this dirty business. That's why you have been ordered to take the actions necessary to accomplish these results.
The second order of business is to recoup and redeploy our assets. Almost everyone on Earth owes us both assets and credit, and none of that is "abandoned". That's why you have been ordered to assist us in recouping and redeploying our assets, both to settle debts and to expedite trade and commerce.
Janet Yellen is barking up the wrong tree. The "Congress" that she is addressing doesn't have the authority to access our assets or our credit, and except for very limited appropriation ability, never did. None of them have been elected by us and none of them have a contract. Joe Biden doesn't have a contract.
As would-be Federal Subcontractors, they have obligations. They haven't met those obligations in the past, and they aren't likely to meet them in the future. They're fired. Simple as that. If there is any question, we can make our case to the American People in less than fifteen minutes, and the Pope, who is the only other Principal-in-fact, has already acquiesced.
These are matters of business and crime, and should not be mistaken for or promoted as anything based on personalities, race, age, religion, or politics. It's my understanding that the Military is in fact in control of the Federal Civil Service and the Agencies as part of its former presumed-to-exist mandate under the Lieber Code.
Kindly pass the word. The FBI can stop investigating its own Employers as if we were the problem, and start doing what they were created to do. Ditto the U.S. Marshals Service, which should be working in tandem with our Continental Marshals Service.
There's ten days and counting until Janet Yellen passes the word to bankrupt the United States, again, an action which is totally unnecessary and damaging to our country and to the world at large. Let's finish cleaning up this Mess, once and for all, and get everyone on the same page.
Anna Maria Riezinger, Fiduciary
The United States of America
Abraham Lincoln was never President of The United States of America, by which we mean the unincorporated Federation of actual, physically-defined States of the Union. He was never President of the Federal Republic, either.
Instead, he was President of the United States of America --- the British Territorial Government acting as a Federal Subcontractor. They were allowed to operate in our names because they exercised some of our delegated powers. They were loaned the use of our Title IV flag for the same reason.
But they are not us and we are not them and Abraham Lincoln was never an American President.
We can be sure of this because he was a Bar Attorney and Bar Attorneys were prohibited from holding any public office in our Federal Republic, and that prohibition which was always incipient in the original Constitutions, had been made more explicit and given specific penalties as of 1819. I would be happy to provide you with the documentation and the specific penalties.
Because of the similar names, The United States of America being the actual Federation of States, and the United State of America being our Federal Subcontractor, it was possible for Lincoln to obfuscate the offices, making it appear that he had been duly elected as the president of the actual Federation, when in fact, he was elected to a private corporate office serving one of our Federal Subcontractors.
He knowingly and with malice aforethought usurped upon our public office while occupying a similar-named private office.
Simple as that. A ruse. A contrived and purposeful impersonation that led people to believe that he had powers he never possessed and that he was operating in a public office that he was in fact prohibited from occupying.
Acting in Gross Breach of Trust, Lincoln appeared to declare war on the Southern Confederate States, without the benefit of any Declaration from any Congress, and thus, the Mercenary Conflict known as The American Civil War began.
In the middle of it, in March of 1863, Lincoln took another illegal, fraudulent action, and began issuing so-called Executive Orders. His very first Executive Order became known as General Order 100, and among other things, it put the military in charge --- but in charge of what?
The next day, Lincoln bankrupted the Northern Confederacy. His version of "USA" went into receivership, while our actual Federation of States remained apart from the entire conflict.
It was a "war" without any proper beginning, and at least so far as our Federal Subcontractors were concerned, without any ending, either. No Peace Treaty was signed by any competent parties with standing to take action, and so it dragged on and on and on.
Finally, however, the actual States of the Union woke up, We observed that both our warring Federal Subcontractors--- we will just generally call them the US, INC. and the USA, Inc.--- were owned by the Pope, so that the whole pretense of war was phony from beginning to end.
The American Civil War was was actually a Mercenary Conflict, illegal, conducted in Gross Breach of Trust, in violation of the respective service contracts known as Constitutions, and promulgated by fraud in violation of the Treaties of Versailles, Paris, Westminster and Ghent, by Undeclared Agents of the British Crown.
That, dear General, is what the American Civil War was. And absolutely everything coming out of it is tainted by fraud. Lincoln's presidency and all his fine words---- tainted by fraud. All the results of the conflict --- including the practice of issuing Executive Orders --- are fraudulent. So is the entire Lieber Code and the authorities claimed by the Military acting under it --- more fraud.
There is no recourse to The Law of War, because there is no war.
There is nothing to be addressed but a 160 year-old British Confidence Swindle, and that is the essence of the "Special Relationship" that the Brits keep touting.
So the States woke up, the people declared their birthright political status, the State Assemblies assembled, and the State Citizens took a roll call vote to adopt a Peace Treaty ending the purported Civil War.
The authority to do so resides with them, because the Confederate States were all businesses and instrumentalities that belonged to the States of the Union, which are the actual physically-defined member States of our Federation.
So the only Parties with standing to address the issue have spoken, have abolished slavery in all jurisdictions related to this country, and adopted a Peace Treaty ending the Civil War.
There are no other Parties with standing on the issue, because the Pope is just playing with himself. He owns the US, INC. directly, and owns the USA, Inc. indirectly. Last time we looked, you can't wage any legitimate war against yourself.
So this really is an end to the fun and games. The end of the Lieber Code. The end of Executive Orders. The end of Private Attorney Generals. The end of Public Trusts only presumed to exist. The end of all legal presumptions of war. The end of this entire fraudulent stinko system of things.
There is plenty of blame to go around. The Military bears its share for its part and the only saving grace is that the men actually and directly responsible for this Mess are long dead.
Going forward, the Military owes its allegiance to the American States and our unincorporated Federation of States and stands under our Civilian Government, which is now in Session. The same is true of all Federal Agency Personnel.
The very first order of business is to educate, educate, educate. Obviously.
We can't do that with a bought-and-paid-for foreign media monopoly pumping out propaganda every day. That's why you have been ordered to shut those corporations down and seize their assets in the Public Interest. They have exercised a foreign-based monopoly on our air waves and that cannot be allowed.
As the actual Priority Creditors, we are the natural inheritors of all US and all USA Corporations and assets, bar none. Any corporation engaged in unlawful activity or acting against the Public Good is to be liquidated or, at our discretion, turned over to new management.
Essential services must continue, but any and all anti-American activity by US or USA corporations must stop. This is why you have been ordered to shut down the CDC, NIH, Vaccine Manufacturers, and other entities which have promoted the current attack on our populace, seeking to redefine people as human beings and then to redefine human beings as "trans-human" in an effort to deny them their fundamental and Natural and Unalienable Rights.
This activity has already been outlawed in this country and all these corporations supporting these activities must be shut down. This includes the vaccine manufacturers who have colluded in this dirty business. That's why you have been ordered to take the actions necessary to accomplish these results.
The second order of business is to recoup and redeploy our assets. Almost everyone on Earth owes us both assets and credit, and none of that is "abandoned". That's why you have been ordered to assist us in recouping and redeploying our assets, both to settle debts and to expedite trade and commerce.
Janet Yellen is barking up the wrong tree. The "Congress" that she is addressing doesn't have the authority to access our assets or our credit, and except for very limited appropriation ability, never did. None of them have been elected by us and none of them have a contract. Joe Biden doesn't have a contract.
As would-be Federal Subcontractors, they have obligations. They haven't met those obligations in the past, and they aren't likely to meet them in the future. They're fired. Simple as that. If there is any question, we can make our case to the American People in less than fifteen minutes, and the Pope, who is the only other Principal-in-fact, has already acquiesced.
These are matters of business and crime, and should not be mistaken for or promoted as anything based on personalities, race, age, religion, or politics. It's my understanding that the Military is in fact in control of the Federal Civil Service and the Agencies as part of its former presumed-to-exist mandate under the Lieber Code.
Kindly pass the word. The FBI can stop investigating its own Employers as if we were the problem, and start doing what they were created to do. Ditto the U.S. Marshals Service, which should be working in tandem with our Continental Marshals Service.
There's ten days and counting until Janet Yellen passes the word to bankrupt the United States, again, an action which is totally unnecessary and damaging to our country and to the world at large. Let's finish cleaning up this Mess, once and for all, and get everyone on the same page.
Anna Maria Riezinger, Fiduciary
The United States of America
moyal
Jedi Master
Ok. We are now pretty off-topic, but while we are...
Lincoln's Assassination was also a manufactured event
Did Lincoln attend his own funeral?
Lincoln's Assassination was also a manufactured event
Did Lincoln attend his own funeral?
With the greatest respect, did you mean to post this on another thread since I find it hard to connect what you are saying here with what we have been discussing on this thread for several months now? I am sure it is all good stuff but how is it relevant to Sir Francis Bacon, John Dee, the Rosicrucians, Alton Towers, the Holy Grail etc?
Shoigu is the only person with whom KingPu appears in public during his vacation. It is obvious that Shoigu is a very close friend of the "owner of the Russian land."
These two guys have been hunting / fishing and swimming in lakes in Siberia for many years.
In March 2021, the two of them rode all-terrain vehicles in the Siberian taiga - Путин и Шойгу провели выходные в тайге. Фоторепортаж
And today (26.10) there was news that Shoigu and KingPu rested together again, fished and rode a boat))
Как Путин и Шойгу отдохнули в Сибири. Фоторепортаж
В начале сентября, после рабочей поездки в Приморье и Амурскую область, Путин провел небольшой отпуск в Сибири. На отдыхе его сопровождал глава Минобороны Сергей Шойгу
www.rbc.ru
PS
It is interesting that Shoigu's father is Tuvan by nationality, and his mother is from Ukraine (we can say that she is Russian). We also know that Shoigu was christened and professes the Orthodox faith. -these two factors are not very compatible with the title of "king of the Mongols".
Shoigu is the only person with whom KingPu appears in public during his vacation. It is obvious that Shoigu is a very close friend of the "owner of the Russian land."
These two guys have been hunting / fishing and swimming in lakes in Siberia for many years.
In March 2021, the two of them rode all-terrain vehicles in the Siberian taiga - Путин и Шойгу провели выходные в тайге. Фоторепортаж
And today (26.10) there was news that Shoigu and KingPu rested together again, fished and rode a boat))
Как Путин и Шойгу отдохнули в Сибири. Фоторепортаж
В начале сентября, после рабочей поездки в Приморье и Амурскую область, Путин провел небольшой отпуск в Сибири. На отдыхе его сопровождал глава Минобороны Сергей Шойгу
PS
It is interesting that Shoigu's father is Tuvan by nationality, and his mother is from Ukraine (we can say that she is Russian). We also know that Shoigu was christened and professes the Orthodox faith. -these two factors are not very compatible with the title of "king of the Mongols".
Thank you for your comments. Please note that my reference to Shoigu as a potential 'King of the Mongols' was taken from a theory advanced by another Forum Member some years ago. I am perhaps more interested in his other theory that Putin might be Nostradamus’s ‘Appeaser King'. I also wanted to tie-it in with the passages in the prophecy of Tiburtina about the Muscovites. Please note that I am fully aware of the difficulties in trying to interpret the cryptic quatrains of Nostradamus. I have read several interpretations of his works over the years and quite often the author seeks to relate them to contemporary events, which then pass without the quatrain being realised. The particular quatrain singled out here though is unusual for Nostradamus, as it cites a specific year, which is 1999. This does seem to coincide with Putin's rise to prominence, so the Forum member may have been on to something. You will note that when Laura raised the matter with them, the C's refused to comment.
I note you are from St. Petersburg, which is Putin's home town. The fact you choose to describe Putin as 'Kingpu' may suggest that you are not a fan of his. However, love him or hate him, I believe he is a man of destiny and will have a big part to play in events that are likely to unfold fairly soon.
As somone who comes from Great Britain, the epitaph 'Appeaser' has a certain resonance for me, as it is usually applied to the British war time Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and is a pejorative description when used in his case, since he is wrongly thought of as trying unsuccessfully to appease Adolf Hitler at talks in Munich in 1936. My own view is that Chamberlain was fully aware of Hitler's unreliability and was buying Britain time to prepare for a coming and perhaps inevitable war with the Nazis. It is a fact that British arms expenditure rocketed in the years just before the war and Chamberlain was responsible for this. Whether you could describe Putin as an appeaser is hard to say since he has intervened successfully in the conflict in Syria and brokered a peace in the recent conflict with Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also helped to tone down the escalation of fighting in the Ukraine, which stopped it becoming an all out conflict engulfing the whole of Ukraine. However, as a Russian national, you may view his actions differently. He certainly doesn't seem to be as war orientated as certain US Presidents have been in recent times.
The only other point I would add here is that my gut feeling is that Nostradamus's 'King of Terror' may well be the Dark Star - Nemesis, which we may soon be seeing in the night sky.
I note you are from St. Petersburg, which is Putin's home town. The fact you choose to describe Putin as 'Kingpu' may suggest that you are not a fan of his. However, love him or hate him, I believe he is a man of destiny and will have a big part to play in events that are likely to unfold fairly soon.
As somone who comes from Great Britain, the epitaph 'Appeaser' has a certain resonance for me, as it is usually applied to the British war time Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and is a pejorative description when used in his case, since he is wrongly thought of as trying unsuccessfully to appease Adolf Hitler at talks in Munich in 1936. My own view is that Chamberlain was fully aware of Hitler's unreliability and was buying Britain time to prepare for a coming and perhaps inevitable war with the Nazis. It is a fact that British arms expenditure rocketed in the years just before the war and Chamberlain was responsible for this. Whether you could describe Putin as an appeaser is hard to say since he has intervened successfully in the conflict in Syria and brokered a peace in the recent conflict with Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. He also helped to tone down the escalation of fighting in the Ukraine, which stopped it becoming an all out conflict engulfing the whole of Ukraine. However, as a Russian national, you may view his actions differently. He certainly doesn't seem to be as war orientated as certain US Presidents have been in recent times.
The only other point I would add here is that my gut feeling is that Nostradamus's 'King of Terror' may well be the Dark Star - Nemesis, which we may soon be seeing in the night sky.
Ophiuchus, the serpent holder
Session dated 7th June 1997:
Q: Supposedly, Christian Rosencruetz was initiated by the 'philosophers of Dancar.' I want to know where this blasted place is! Okay, skip it. One of the Rosicrucian manifestos said: 'God has sent messengers and signs in the heavens, namely the new stars in Serpentarius and Cygnus, to show that a great council of the elect is to take place.' What do they mean by a 'great council of the elect?'
A: Pyrenees.
Q: Okay, the purported enclave of the alchemists... Why was it signified by new stars in Serpentarius and Cygnus? What do they represent?
A: Novae.
[….]
“Q: In reading the Celtic legends, I discovered that Cassiopaea was equated with Danu, or Don, as in Tuatha de Danaan, or the court of the goddess Danu. So, in other words, the supreme goddess of the Aryans was Cassiopaea. And, Cassiopaea is found in the zodiacal area of Aries, the 'lamb,' where Cephus the 'rock' and 'king' is also found, as well as Perseus, 'he who breaks' and serpentarius. {Just noticed that the previous question about the supernova in Serpentarius could be a reference to the supernova in Cassiopeia by this grouping method.} The image is of Perseus overcoming the serpent, and the ancient Celtic engravings of the horned god show him gripping two serpents by the throat. I would like to understand the symbology here...
A: You are on the right track.”
Session dated 5 September 1998:
“Q: (L) Now, formerly I asked about the 'two new stars in
Cygnus and Serpentarius' that were written about in the
Rosicrucian Manifesto of about this period of time, and
you said they were talking about 'novae.' But, it seems
that there are no new stars in either of these
constellations. Yet, at approximately this time, was the
supernova in Cassiopaea.
A: Yes, those with foreknowledge were looking.”
“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.”
“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.
See The Shepherds of Arcadia - Eye Of The Psychic
The Shepherds of Arcadia
In my last major post titled ‘Buried in Galle 2’, I referred to the exchanges between Laura and the C’s as regards the constellation Serpentarius, which is closely linked with the constellation Ophiuchus, and how the Nova in the constellation of Cassiopaea in 1572 had so fascinated eminent 16th century astronomers such as John Dee, John Field and Tycho Brahe, especially as in their other guise as astrologers they had linked it to the advent of the ‘Fiery Trigon’.
Session dated 7th June 1997:
Q: Supposedly, Christian Rosencruetz was initiated by the 'philosophers of Dancar.' I want to know where this blasted place is! Okay, skip it. One of the Rosicrucian manifestos said: 'God has sent messengers and signs in the heavens, namely the new stars in Serpentarius and Cygnus, to show that a great council of the elect is to take place.' What do they mean by a 'great council of the elect?'
A: Pyrenees.
Q: Okay, the purported enclave of the alchemists... Why was it signified by new stars in Serpentarius and Cygnus? What do they represent?
A: Novae.
[….]
“Q: In reading the Celtic legends, I discovered that Cassiopaea was equated with Danu, or Don, as in Tuatha de Danaan, or the court of the goddess Danu. So, in other words, the supreme goddess of the Aryans was Cassiopaea. And, Cassiopaea is found in the zodiacal area of Aries, the 'lamb,' where Cephus the 'rock' and 'king' is also found, as well as Perseus, 'he who breaks' and serpentarius. {Just noticed that the previous question about the supernova in Serpentarius could be a reference to the supernova in Cassiopeia by this grouping method.} The image is of Perseus overcoming the serpent, and the ancient Celtic engravings of the horned god show him gripping two serpents by the throat. I would like to understand the symbology here...
A: You are on the right track.”
Session dated 5 September 1998:
“Q: (L) Now, formerly I asked about the 'two new stars in
Cygnus and Serpentarius' that were written about in the
Rosicrucian Manifesto of about this period of time, and
you said they were talking about 'novae.' But, it seems
that there are no new stars in either of these
constellations. Yet, at approximately this time, was the
supernova in Cassiopaea.
A: Yes, those with foreknowledge were looking.”
Earlier in this thread, we discussed the painting the ‘Shepherds of Arcadia’ by Nicolas Poussin and the secrets he had encoded in his painting, which seemed to draw the attention of the parish priest of Rennes-le-Château, Abbe François-Bérenger Saunière. Indeed, the painting is even supposed to hold the key to the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. In my earlier post titled ‘Arcturus’ (see Alton Towers, Sir Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucians), I discussed the possible relevance of the constellation Bootes the Shepherd or herdsman, within which Arcturus is the brightest star. I also linked the kneeling bearded figure in Poussin’s painting with Hercules, one of the Argonauts, and the constellation of Hercules, previously known as the ‘Kneeler’. In turn, this linked us with the constellation ‘Ophiuchus’, the old name for the constellation of ’Serpentarius’, the Serpent since in one version of the tale of Jason and the Argonauts, Hercules had killed the watching snake Ladon, which had guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.
I had also come across an interesting article by Peter Kruger on an ancient German poem based on the tale of ‘Volund the Star Smith’, which seemed to link together much of what I had discussed about these constellations in one mythological story. I was particularly struck by what Kruger had to say concerning the kneeling man, who we have linked to Hercules in Poussin’s painting. As for the serpent depicted by the constellation Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), Kruger had this to say in his article:
I had also come across an interesting article by Peter Kruger on an ancient German poem based on the tale of ‘Volund the Star Smith’, which seemed to link together much of what I had discussed about these constellations in one mythological story. I was particularly struck by what Kruger had to say concerning the kneeling man, who we have linked to Hercules in Poussin’s painting. As for the serpent depicted by the constellation Ophiuchus (Serpentarius), Kruger had 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.”
You will note that Kruger associates the constellation Ophiuchus with the shape of a house or chest - a treasure chest perhaps? Well it so happens others link the constellation with a coffin and, by extension, a tomb as depicted in Poussin’s painting.
Kruger also made a connection with the constellation Virgo and how it fits into the picture as regards Bootes. I was particularly struck by what Kruger had to say here:
Kruger also made a connection with the constellation Virgo and how it fits into the picture as regards Bootes. I was particularly struck by what Kruger had to say here:
“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.
The reason I mention all of this is because in reviewing the works of the late Philip Coppens, the Dutch author of numeous works on well-known mysteries and esoteric subjects (see my last post for his Crystal Skull article), I came across a very interesting article he had written on the Shepherds of Arcadia or Les Bergers d’Arcadie, which corroborates a lot of what I said in my own article on Poussin’s painting. I attach a link to Coppen’s article and I also set out below the article in full for your perusal. At the end of his article, you will find my commentary on it and the potential implications for us of his various findings.
See The Shepherds of Arcadia - Eye Of The Psychic
The Shepherds of Arcadia
Unknown Masters - The Shepherds of Arcadia
Nicolas Poussin’s Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting at the centre of the controversy of the Priory of Sion. New evidence is able to offer a final analysis of this famous painting, which offers intriguing prospects on the worship of the dead… and the elixir of life.
by Philip Coppens
The Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting from the hand of the French painter Nicolas Poussin. It exists in two versions. Our interest is in the second version, now on display in the Louvre. The painting has become a key ingredient in the enigma of the so-called Priory of Sion, because a code indicates that “Poussin has the key”.
Nicolas Poussin Self Portrait
Henry Lincoln, who popularized the enigma of the Priory in the Anglophone countries, requested that Christopher Cornford of the Royal College of Art perform an expertise on Poussin’s techniques. Cornford concluded that at the base of this painting is a pentagram, which Poussin had used for the composition of the characters on the fabric. For Lincoln, it was the green light to conclude that the territory of Rennes-le-Château and other villages were built on a pentagonal design, which for him remains the true secret of Rennes-le-Château. Nevertheless, one needs to ask how Saunière had the possibility of receiving millions of francs from his benefactors because of some type of sacral geometry. At the very least, there needs to be more to it than that… A sacral geometry in the landscape of the Aude has probably nothing to do with Poussin. But this Poussin painting remains of interest, if only because of the use of the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
Latin is often without the inclusion of the verb “to be”, so that this sentence is actually saying: “And in Arcadia I am…” the central question is who is this person that says he is there. A second question has to be: why is there an “and”? This suggests a preceding sentence: “This, blablabla, and I am in Arcadia…”.
This version goes back to ca. 1640. Poussin apparently used the poem of Jacopo Sannazaro, dating from 1502, who transforms the Arcadia of Virgil in a Utopian world. Apparently, the specific lines of interest of this poem are 257-267 and speak about the tomb of Phyllis: “I will make your tomb famous among these rustic people. The shepherds will come from the hills of Tuscany and Liguria to adore this corner of the world only because you were here in the past. And they will read on the beautiful square monument the inscription which pains my heart at all time, and the scars strangle me with so much pain inside: ‘she who was always shown so haughty and rigid in Meliseo we now find buried, soft and humiliated, in this cold stone’.”
First observation: this inscription is different from the inscription in the Poussin painting: ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
This contradiction was noticed, because in 1672, Giovanni Pietro Bellori, in the first Poussin biography, explains that “… the tomb must be found in Arcadia and there death occurs even in those pleasurable surroundings”. He adds that the topic “was apparently suggested by pope Clement IX, when he was a prelate”. In 1685, the second biography, of Andre Félibien, thinks that “this inscription underlines the fact that the person buried in this tomb lived in Arcadia”. Too many researchers pay only attention to this inscription. Such an approach is difficult to validate, because it is a detail, which excludes the other aspects from this painting. Equally, Lincoln made too much about another detail of the landscape in the background, which for him is identical to the landscape near Rennes-le-Château. Few people have studied the characters – the shepherds – that are obviously the main focus. It is noted that these characters are painted with a very visible symmetry: the two figures on the extreme left and right-hand side place a hand on the tomb. Those in the middle are sitting, and with their fingers indicate letters of the inscription. But it appears difficult to go beyond these initial observations?
Nicolas Poussin’s Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting at the centre of the controversy of the Priory of Sion. New evidence is able to offer a final analysis of this famous painting, which offers intriguing prospects on the worship of the dead… and the elixir of life.
by Philip Coppens
The Shepherds of Arcadia is a painting from the hand of the French painter Nicolas Poussin. It exists in two versions. Our interest is in the second version, now on display in the Louvre. The painting has become a key ingredient in the enigma of the so-called Priory of Sion, because a code indicates that “Poussin has the key”.
Nicolas Poussin Self Portrait
Henry Lincoln, who popularized the enigma of the Priory in the Anglophone countries, requested that Christopher Cornford of the Royal College of Art perform an expertise on Poussin’s techniques. Cornford concluded that at the base of this painting is a pentagram, which Poussin had used for the composition of the characters on the fabric. For Lincoln, it was the green light to conclude that the territory of Rennes-le-Château and other villages were built on a pentagonal design, which for him remains the true secret of Rennes-le-Château. Nevertheless, one needs to ask how Saunière had the possibility of receiving millions of francs from his benefactors because of some type of sacral geometry. At the very least, there needs to be more to it than that… A sacral geometry in the landscape of the Aude has probably nothing to do with Poussin. But this Poussin painting remains of interest, if only because of the use of the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
Latin is often without the inclusion of the verb “to be”, so that this sentence is actually saying: “And in Arcadia I am…” the central question is who is this person that says he is there. A second question has to be: why is there an “and”? This suggests a preceding sentence: “This, blablabla, and I am in Arcadia…”.
This version goes back to ca. 1640. Poussin apparently used the poem of Jacopo Sannazaro, dating from 1502, who transforms the Arcadia of Virgil in a Utopian world. Apparently, the specific lines of interest of this poem are 257-267 and speak about the tomb of Phyllis: “I will make your tomb famous among these rustic people. The shepherds will come from the hills of Tuscany and Liguria to adore this corner of the world only because you were here in the past. And they will read on the beautiful square monument the inscription which pains my heart at all time, and the scars strangle me with so much pain inside: ‘she who was always shown so haughty and rigid in Meliseo we now find buried, soft and humiliated, in this cold stone’.”
First observation: this inscription is different from the inscription in the Poussin painting: ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
This contradiction was noticed, because in 1672, Giovanni Pietro Bellori, in the first Poussin biography, explains that “… the tomb must be found in Arcadia and there death occurs even in those pleasurable surroundings”. He adds that the topic “was apparently suggested by pope Clement IX, when he was a prelate”. In 1685, the second biography, of Andre Félibien, thinks that “this inscription underlines the fact that the person buried in this tomb lived in Arcadia”. Too many researchers pay only attention to this inscription. Such an approach is difficult to validate, because it is a detail, which excludes the other aspects from this painting. Equally, Lincoln made too much about another detail of the landscape in the background, which for him is identical to the landscape near Rennes-le-Château. Few people have studied the characters – the shepherds – that are obviously the main focus. It is noted that these characters are painted with a very visible symmetry: the two figures on the extreme left and right-hand side place a hand on the tomb. Those in the middle are sitting, and with their fingers indicate letters of the inscription. But it appears difficult to go beyond these initial observations?
It was Henri de Lens who saw the correspondence between these characters and the constellations: “the shepherdess on the right-hand side is the constellation Virgo. The shepherd on the shoulder of Virgo is without any possible doubt the constellation Bootes, known as the “shepherd”. One even took the care to paint him with a foot on a stone, which corresponds with the old representations of the Shepherd. The shepherd of the left, knelt and indicating one of the letters of the inscription, is none other than the constellation of Hercules, whose position is thus characteristic [of his constellation].” De Lens then observes that the whole of the characters on the Poussin fabric are stars suspended on the fabric of the sky; their position on the fabric conforms to their positions in the sky.
It is noted, nevertheless, that for the moment, we have identified only three characters. De Lens identifies the man on the left with Andromeda. It is however difficult to subscribe to such an identification, because Andromeda is female, and the man on the left is clearly male. Because of that, Frederic Pineau and Gerard Lacoste in the “Tomb of Virgil”, propose that the fourth character is Serpens. Although this would make it appear that the man should be a serpent, Serpentarius himself – linked with this constellation – is identified as a male. However, and more importantly, it is noted that Serpens is also identified with Asclepius, the god of medicine; thus, we have a male god, who thus qualifies for the identification on the painting. Let us study, in detail, these constellations. The identification of the woman on the right as the constellation of the Virgin is logical. This constellation is very popular. She symbolizes justice, but also the harvest. In a Catholic interpretation, she is the mother of Jesus. Virgo, the Virgin, is also known as Astraea. She was the daughter of Jupiter and Themses. The Virgin is only one of three female constellations. The others are Andromeda and Cassiopeia. The Virgin searches for peace on the ground, but does not find it anywhere, thus decides to live in the sky.
In Greek mythology, Bootes and the Virgin are also linked by a legend. Bootes is Icarius, an Athenian who received the secret to create wine from Dionysos. Unfortunately, Icarius gives this product to some peasants, who become drunk, but they think that they are poisoned, and then decide to kill Icarius. Erigone, his daughter, finds his tomb, and decides to hang herself. Zeus decides to transfer them to the night’s sky, she as Virgo, Icarius as Bootes. The presence of a tomb is noted, but it is quite clear that Icarius cannot find his own tomb…Thus… we need to continue …… Hercules The second person (from the left) is Hercules. He is on his knees, and one notes that this constellation, in Antiquity and at the beginning of the 17th century, such as for example in the Uranometria from Bayer (1603), is depicted as the “man with the knee” (the Kneeler in English).
Hercules
Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Even though our person in the painting is not holding an arrow… one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word arc… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia. In the area of the constellation Virgo, one finds the constellation Bootes, that of Herdsman, or Shepherd. It is noted that the painting is called the Shepherds of Arcadia. Nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to see. It cannot automatically be assumed these are sheep-shepherds, which the presence of a woman might indicate. But one needs to note that on the painting, the woman is without stick (the shepherd’s staff), which can possibly exclude her from the company of the shepherds, who would thus be three men strong. Note: Bootes, one knows, is a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star.
One also notes that the principal star of Bootes is Arcturus, or Arktouros: the ‘Ox Guard ‘. The star sits on the “left knee” of the constellation Bootes. It is the fourth most luminous star in the sky. Arcturus is also known as the “Guard of the Scandinavian Skies”, which betrays his role of guardian. One needs to observe that on Poussin’s painting, Bootes points with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and that thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… One such occurrence could be chance, but twice? As such, we definitely need to ask the question whether the references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who thus gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.
Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Even though our person in the painting is not holding an arrow… one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word arc… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia. In the area of the constellation Virgo, one finds the constellation Bootes, that of Herdsman, or Shepherd. It is noted that the painting is called the Shepherds of Arcadia. Nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to see. It cannot automatically be assumed these are sheep-shepherds, which the presence of a woman might indicate. But one needs to note that on the painting, the woman is without stick (the shepherd’s staff), which can possibly exclude her from the company of the shepherds, who would thus be three men strong. Note: Bootes, one knows, is a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star.
One also notes that the principal star of Bootes is Arcturus, or Arktouros: the ‘Ox Guard ‘. The star sits on the “left knee” of the constellation Bootes. It is the fourth most luminous star in the sky. Arcturus is also known as the “Guard of the Scandinavian Skies”, which betrays his role of guardian. One needs to observe that on Poussin’s painting, Bootes points with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and that thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… One such occurrence could be chance, but twice? As such, we definitely need to ask the question whether the references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who thus gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.
Bootes
Bootes The constellation Serpens is seen as a unique constellation, as it exists in two parts: Serpens Caput, the head of the snake, and Serpens Cauda, the tail of the snake. But! In between both “parts” sits the constellation Ophiuchus, known as the Support of Snake. But what De Lens or other researchers have not noticed is that the constellation of Ophiuchus is also known as… “the coffin”. And with this observation, one can conclude that not only the characters in this painting are constellations, but that the tomb equally has a stellar aspect to it: that of Ophiuchus. Moreover, it is noted that the relationship between Serpens and Ophiuchus is visible in the position and the relationship of the man on the left and the tomb, which thus continues the rapport that links the placement of the foot of Bootes, and the relative position of Virgo, making the painting conform with a section of the night’s sky. Was it possible that Poussin possessed such stellar knowledge? The constellations which we have identified were all on the list of Ptolemy and thus well-known in the 17th Century. But with the relationship of Serpens and Ophiuchus, one observes an interesting detail, which the astronomers qualify as typically 17th Century, i.e. the Poussin era. They observe that before this century, Serpens and Ophiuchus were normally seen as only one constellation, a kind of “great constellation”, divided into several parts. In the 17th Century, it was referred to as Serpens and Ophiuchus, and also received a legend linking it with the foundation of medicine. Why “the coffin”? Ophiuchus, one says, resembles the surface of a coffin – a tomb. True, but it is only the most elementary layer. In the legends, Ophiuchus – Asclepius – was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead!
One can now understand the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO, and why it is on the tomb: “and even in Arcadia one finds death…” That the subject referred to should be death, is nothing more than the standard interpretation that many have offered as to what was implied. What most critics have missed, is the ability to underpin their conclusion with a logical argument. The resulting question therefore is whether the group of shepherds was painted to indicate that there is somebody amongst them who can raise the dead – and may be able to raise the person inside the tomb – irrelevant of who is inside the tomb… Asclepius is well-known for his staff, around which runs a snake, which enforces his identification with Serpens. It is noted that Poussin painted the person with his staff, but has not incorporated the serpent, thus leaving that ultimate identification only to those who have made the proper identification. After all, if a staff with a circling serpent had been painted by our French master, it would have been a dead giveaway of the identity of this man…
Asclepius appears in various myths. He was the surgeon of the Argonauts, and elsewhere is present in their boat, the Argo – even though this constellation is one of the southern skies. One says that he was able to raise people from the dead, the list including Glaucos, the son of king Minos of Crete. Indeed, it is said that he raised an enormous amount of people – spirits – from death.
When Asclepius tries to revive Orion, who was bitten by a scorpion, his actions are finally noted by the gods. Pluto starts to complain. He says so to Zeus, the supreme deity, that if Asclepius perseveres on his present course and continues to raise the dead, Hades, the kingdom of dead, under the rule of Pluto, will soon be empty. Zeus agrees with Pluto, indicating that the gods cannot allow men to become immortal. Zeus therefore kills Asclepius with lightning, places him in the sky, with Serpens, the symbol for the renewal of life.
Asclepius learned the curative art from Chiron. Some myths say that Asclepius received this wisdom by observing a snake. After he killed it, he saw another serpent, with a herb in his mouth. Asclepius took this herb and from that moment had the power to revive.
Apollodorius indicates that it was Athena who gave him a magical potion, namely the distilled blood of the Gorgon. The legend indicates that the blood of the Gorgon has a specific effect, depending on which side of its body the blood was taken. If taken from the right side of the Gorgon, it has a miraculous effect and would be able to bring the dead back to the life, but taken from the left side, it is a mortal poison. This underlines the mythical message that the snakes symbolize the two essential characteristics: positive and negative.
With such a magic potion, Asclepius has a capacity that is above the mandate of the majority of the mortals. Therefore, he drew the attention of the gods, and apparently Zeus was even more offended as Asclepius accepted money in exchange for raising the dead. The crime of Asclepius was that he was a man, who had the ability to revive the dead. This, in the eyes of the gods, could not continue. As such, Zeus took his life and transformed him into an immortal, a constellation. It is an interesting punishment, underlining that the “crime” is severe from the perspective that it breaks the “rules of life” the gods have given to humans, but that it is not a “genuine crime”; Asclepius is just to clever to remain a mortal…
It should be noted that the same “fate” applies to the other characters on Poussin’s painting: Hercules, after performing his works, was poisoned and ascended to the sky from his funeral pyre. Poussin has painted the “as above, so below”, but has not painted the gods as “above”, but as below, turning the immortal constellations into shepherds. Even though dead exists in Paradise – Arcadia – these shepherds had experienced death, but had also become immortal. Though death may be present, they are no longer subject to it.
Asclepius
Let us conclude with a final important observation: the blood of the Gorgon, from the right side, can be seen as the “elixir of life”, which can be seen as the elixir that makes men immortal – though not in the same sense as the immortality of the gods, but in the sense that death, by the grace of this potion, can be conquered by man. It thus underlines the two possibilities of immortality: one by the grace of the gods, the other by magical practices. Is this the secret of Poussin? We note that in the writings of the Priory of Sion, or rather in the research into that organisation, performed by the French author Gérard de Sède, there is a letter between the two brothers Fouquet, dated to ca. 1656. It is a letter from Louis to his brother Nicolas, the right hand man of the French king, Louis XIV. Louis reports that while in Rome, he met with Nicolas Poussin and that the latter possesses certain information that will be able to give the person aware of this, certain privileges, even with the king… For obvious reasons, Louis does not commit to paper what this “secret” is, but informs his brother they will talk about it next time they meet. A decade later, Nicolas spectacularly falls from grace, and the king personally decides to round up and inspect his former aide’s personal belongings himself, obviously looking for something. What exactly has never been satisfactory explained, with the official charge being fraud, but which nevertheless resulted in a most severe imprisonment for Nicolas, whom for the rest of his life was not allowed to talk to a single person, his prison warden living in the same isolation as Nicolas. Asclepius It is logical that Louis would have told Nicolas of Poussin’s secret at their next encounter. Would Nicolas on his term have “informed” the French king? Or worse, tried to get certain “privileges” from the king, the latter not taking kindly to this type of blackmail?
It is a possibility, which does, however, take us far from the immediate subject of the painting: an enigmatic scene, whereby the constellation of the skies were transposed on the landscape of Arcadia, with the possible message that death is more intriguing than most of Poussin’s contemporaries felt it was. At its core, it may have been a message on death, but also on alchemy, and the “elixir of life”, which were sought by many in the 17th century, whereby Poussin may have injected a more original, Greek flavour into the debate, in the most artistic manner imaginable, and perhaps to underline that true immortality should not be the bailiwick of mortals, whereby any dabbling, would eventually receive the wrath of the gods… who should remain solely in charge of the rules of immortality.
This article originally appeared in Les Carnets Secrets 4 (2006).
Continued in Part 2
It is noted, nevertheless, that for the moment, we have identified only three characters. De Lens identifies the man on the left with Andromeda. It is however difficult to subscribe to such an identification, because Andromeda is female, and the man on the left is clearly male. Because of that, Frederic Pineau and Gerard Lacoste in the “Tomb of Virgil”, propose that the fourth character is Serpens. Although this would make it appear that the man should be a serpent, Serpentarius himself – linked with this constellation – is identified as a male. However, and more importantly, it is noted that Serpens is also identified with Asclepius, the god of medicine; thus, we have a male god, who thus qualifies for the identification on the painting. Let us study, in detail, these constellations. The identification of the woman on the right as the constellation of the Virgin is logical. This constellation is very popular. She symbolizes justice, but also the harvest. In a Catholic interpretation, she is the mother of Jesus. Virgo, the Virgin, is also known as Astraea. She was the daughter of Jupiter and Themses. The Virgin is only one of three female constellations. The others are Andromeda and Cassiopeia. The Virgin searches for peace on the ground, but does not find it anywhere, thus decides to live in the sky.
In Greek mythology, Bootes and the Virgin are also linked by a legend. Bootes is Icarius, an Athenian who received the secret to create wine from Dionysos. Unfortunately, Icarius gives this product to some peasants, who become drunk, but they think that they are poisoned, and then decide to kill Icarius. Erigone, his daughter, finds his tomb, and decides to hang herself. Zeus decides to transfer them to the night’s sky, she as Virgo, Icarius as Bootes. The presence of a tomb is noted, but it is quite clear that Icarius cannot find his own tomb…Thus… we need to continue …… Hercules The second person (from the left) is Hercules. He is on his knees, and one notes that this constellation, in Antiquity and at the beginning of the 17th century, such as for example in the Uranometria from Bayer (1603), is depicted as the “man with the knee” (the Kneeler in English).
Hercules
Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Even though our person in the painting is not holding an arrow… one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word arc… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia. In the area of the constellation Virgo, one finds the constellation Bootes, that of Herdsman, or Shepherd. It is noted that the painting is called the Shepherds of Arcadia. Nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to see. It cannot automatically be assumed these are sheep-shepherds, which the presence of a woman might indicate. But one needs to note that on the painting, the woman is without stick (the shepherd’s staff), which can possibly exclude her from the company of the shepherds, who would thus be three men strong. Note: Bootes, one knows, is a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star.
One also notes that the principal star of Bootes is Arcturus, or Arktouros: the ‘Ox Guard ‘. The star sits on the “left knee” of the constellation Bootes. It is the fourth most luminous star in the sky. Arcturus is also known as the “Guard of the Scandinavian Skies”, which betrays his role of guardian. One needs to observe that on Poussin’s painting, Bootes points with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and that thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… One such occurrence could be chance, but twice? As such, we definitely need to ask the question whether the references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who thus gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.
Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Even though our person in the painting is not holding an arrow… one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word arc… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia. In the area of the constellation Virgo, one finds the constellation Bootes, that of Herdsman, or Shepherd. It is noted that the painting is called the Shepherds of Arcadia. Nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to see. It cannot automatically be assumed these are sheep-shepherds, which the presence of a woman might indicate. But one needs to note that on the painting, the woman is without stick (the shepherd’s staff), which can possibly exclude her from the company of the shepherds, who would thus be three men strong. Note: Bootes, one knows, is a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star.
One also notes that the principal star of Bootes is Arcturus, or Arktouros: the ‘Ox Guard ‘. The star sits on the “left knee” of the constellation Bootes. It is the fourth most luminous star in the sky. Arcturus is also known as the “Guard of the Scandinavian Skies”, which betrays his role of guardian. One needs to observe that on Poussin’s painting, Bootes points with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and that thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… One such occurrence could be chance, but twice? As such, we definitely need to ask the question whether the references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who thus gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.
Bootes
Bootes The constellation Serpens is seen as a unique constellation, as it exists in two parts: Serpens Caput, the head of the snake, and Serpens Cauda, the tail of the snake. But! In between both “parts” sits the constellation Ophiuchus, known as the Support of Snake. But what De Lens or other researchers have not noticed is that the constellation of Ophiuchus is also known as… “the coffin”. And with this observation, one can conclude that not only the characters in this painting are constellations, but that the tomb equally has a stellar aspect to it: that of Ophiuchus. Moreover, it is noted that the relationship between Serpens and Ophiuchus is visible in the position and the relationship of the man on the left and the tomb, which thus continues the rapport that links the placement of the foot of Bootes, and the relative position of Virgo, making the painting conform with a section of the night’s sky. Was it possible that Poussin possessed such stellar knowledge? The constellations which we have identified were all on the list of Ptolemy and thus well-known in the 17th Century. But with the relationship of Serpens and Ophiuchus, one observes an interesting detail, which the astronomers qualify as typically 17th Century, i.e. the Poussin era. They observe that before this century, Serpens and Ophiuchus were normally seen as only one constellation, a kind of “great constellation”, divided into several parts. In the 17th Century, it was referred to as Serpens and Ophiuchus, and also received a legend linking it with the foundation of medicine. Why “the coffin”? Ophiuchus, one says, resembles the surface of a coffin – a tomb. True, but it is only the most elementary layer. In the legends, Ophiuchus – Asclepius – was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead!
One can now understand the inscription ET IN ARCADIA EGO, and why it is on the tomb: “and even in Arcadia one finds death…” That the subject referred to should be death, is nothing more than the standard interpretation that many have offered as to what was implied. What most critics have missed, is the ability to underpin their conclusion with a logical argument. The resulting question therefore is whether the group of shepherds was painted to indicate that there is somebody amongst them who can raise the dead – and may be able to raise the person inside the tomb – irrelevant of who is inside the tomb… Asclepius is well-known for his staff, around which runs a snake, which enforces his identification with Serpens. It is noted that Poussin painted the person with his staff, but has not incorporated the serpent, thus leaving that ultimate identification only to those who have made the proper identification. After all, if a staff with a circling serpent had been painted by our French master, it would have been a dead giveaway of the identity of this man…
Asclepius appears in various myths. He was the surgeon of the Argonauts, and elsewhere is present in their boat, the Argo – even though this constellation is one of the southern skies. One says that he was able to raise people from the dead, the list including Glaucos, the son of king Minos of Crete. Indeed, it is said that he raised an enormous amount of people – spirits – from death.
When Asclepius tries to revive Orion, who was bitten by a scorpion, his actions are finally noted by the gods. Pluto starts to complain. He says so to Zeus, the supreme deity, that if Asclepius perseveres on his present course and continues to raise the dead, Hades, the kingdom of dead, under the rule of Pluto, will soon be empty. Zeus agrees with Pluto, indicating that the gods cannot allow men to become immortal. Zeus therefore kills Asclepius with lightning, places him in the sky, with Serpens, the symbol for the renewal of life.
Asclepius learned the curative art from Chiron. Some myths say that Asclepius received this wisdom by observing a snake. After he killed it, he saw another serpent, with a herb in his mouth. Asclepius took this herb and from that moment had the power to revive.
Apollodorius indicates that it was Athena who gave him a magical potion, namely the distilled blood of the Gorgon. The legend indicates that the blood of the Gorgon has a specific effect, depending on which side of its body the blood was taken. If taken from the right side of the Gorgon, it has a miraculous effect and would be able to bring the dead back to the life, but taken from the left side, it is a mortal poison. This underlines the mythical message that the snakes symbolize the two essential characteristics: positive and negative.
With such a magic potion, Asclepius has a capacity that is above the mandate of the majority of the mortals. Therefore, he drew the attention of the gods, and apparently Zeus was even more offended as Asclepius accepted money in exchange for raising the dead. The crime of Asclepius was that he was a man, who had the ability to revive the dead. This, in the eyes of the gods, could not continue. As such, Zeus took his life and transformed him into an immortal, a constellation. It is an interesting punishment, underlining that the “crime” is severe from the perspective that it breaks the “rules of life” the gods have given to humans, but that it is not a “genuine crime”; Asclepius is just to clever to remain a mortal…
It should be noted that the same “fate” applies to the other characters on Poussin’s painting: Hercules, after performing his works, was poisoned and ascended to the sky from his funeral pyre. Poussin has painted the “as above, so below”, but has not painted the gods as “above”, but as below, turning the immortal constellations into shepherds. Even though dead exists in Paradise – Arcadia – these shepherds had experienced death, but had also become immortal. Though death may be present, they are no longer subject to it.
Asclepius
Let us conclude with a final important observation: the blood of the Gorgon, from the right side, can be seen as the “elixir of life”, which can be seen as the elixir that makes men immortal – though not in the same sense as the immortality of the gods, but in the sense that death, by the grace of this potion, can be conquered by man. It thus underlines the two possibilities of immortality: one by the grace of the gods, the other by magical practices. Is this the secret of Poussin? We note that in the writings of the Priory of Sion, or rather in the research into that organisation, performed by the French author Gérard de Sède, there is a letter between the two brothers Fouquet, dated to ca. 1656. It is a letter from Louis to his brother Nicolas, the right hand man of the French king, Louis XIV. Louis reports that while in Rome, he met with Nicolas Poussin and that the latter possesses certain information that will be able to give the person aware of this, certain privileges, even with the king… For obvious reasons, Louis does not commit to paper what this “secret” is, but informs his brother they will talk about it next time they meet. A decade later, Nicolas spectacularly falls from grace, and the king personally decides to round up and inspect his former aide’s personal belongings himself, obviously looking for something. What exactly has never been satisfactory explained, with the official charge being fraud, but which nevertheless resulted in a most severe imprisonment for Nicolas, whom for the rest of his life was not allowed to talk to a single person, his prison warden living in the same isolation as Nicolas. Asclepius It is logical that Louis would have told Nicolas of Poussin’s secret at their next encounter. Would Nicolas on his term have “informed” the French king? Or worse, tried to get certain “privileges” from the king, the latter not taking kindly to this type of blackmail?
It is a possibility, which does, however, take us far from the immediate subject of the painting: an enigmatic scene, whereby the constellation of the skies were transposed on the landscape of Arcadia, with the possible message that death is more intriguing than most of Poussin’s contemporaries felt it was. At its core, it may have been a message on death, but also on alchemy, and the “elixir of life”, which were sought by many in the 17th century, whereby Poussin may have injected a more original, Greek flavour into the debate, in the most artistic manner imaginable, and perhaps to underline that true immortality should not be the bailiwick of mortals, whereby any dabbling, would eventually receive the wrath of the gods… who should remain solely in charge of the rules of immortality.
This article originally appeared in Les Carnets Secrets 4 (2006).
Continued in Part 2
Part 2 of Ophiuchus, the serpent holder
Commentary on Coppen’s article
“Moreover, it is noted that the relationship between Serpens and Ophiuchus is visible in the position and the relationship of the man on the left and the tomb, which thus continues the rapport that links the placement of the foot of Bootes, and the relative position of Virgo, making the painting conform with a section of the night’s sky. Was it possible that Poussin possessed such stellar knowledge? The constellations which we have identified were all on the list of Ptolemy and thus well-known in the 17th Century. But with the relationship of Serpens and Ophiuchus, one observes an interesting detail, which the astronomers qualify as typically 17th Century, i.e. the Poussin era. They observe that before this century, Serpens and Ophiuchus were normally seen as only one constellation, a kind of “great constellation”, divided into several parts. In the 17th Century, it was referred to as Serpens and Ophiuchus, and also received a legend linking it with the foundation of medicine. Why “the coffin”? Ophiuchus, one says, resembles the surface of a coffin – a tomb. True, but it is only the most elementary layer. In the legends, Ophiuchus – Asclepius – was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead!”
Ophiuchus – the Serpent Holder
What have the C’s had to say about Ophiuchus? Well in the session dated 20 June 1998 they said this:-
Q: What was the head worshipped by the Templars that was supposed to have been called "Baphomet?"
A: Seer of the passage.
Q: What does that mean?
A: Remember, secrets of Knights Templar were kept in caves guided by eternally burning lamps.
Q: Okay, next question, is this Ophiuchus, the serpent holder, the same as what you have called 'the holder of Trent?'
A: Close.
You will note that when Laura asked whether Ophiuchus was the holder of the Trent they said “close”. However, in an earlier session they had described 'Baphomet,' as the holder of the Trent.
Session July 26 1997:
Q: What is the definition of the god 'Baphomet,' if they did, indeed, worship such?
A: The holder of the Trent.
The Constellation Virgo
“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.”
Commentary on Coppen’s article
Coppens points out that, like me, Henri de Lens saw the correspondence between the characters in Poussin’s painting and the constellations:
“… the shepherdess on the right-hand side is the constellation Virgo. The shepherd on the shoulder of Virgo is without any possible doubt the constellation Bootes, known as the “shepherd”. One even took the care to paint him with a foot on a stone, which corresponds with the old representations of the Shepherd. The shepherd of the left, knelt and indicating one of the letters of the inscription, is none other than the constellation of Hercules, whose position is thus characteristic [of his constellation].” De Lens then observes that the whole of the characters on the Poussin fabric are stars suspended on the fabric of the sky; their position on the fabric conforms to their positions in the sky.”
He then points out that Frederic Pineau and Gerard Lacoste in the “Tomb of Virgil” propose that the fourth character in the painting is Serpens rather than Andromeda, as de Lens had suggested. Although this would make it appear that the man should be a serpent, Serpentarius himself – linked with this constellation – is identified as a male. However, and more importantly, it is noted that Serpens is also identified with Asclepius, the god of medicine.
I think this is a highly important connection that Coppens has made here. Asclepius was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead. Asclepius is also well-known for his staff, around which runs a snake, which enforces his identification with Serpens. This also makes me think of the staff of Moses and of Aaron and the caduceus, which we have discussed in previous articles and also links with the Egyptian Pharaoh’s Was or sceptre. Asclepius appears in various myths. He was the surgeon of the Argonauts, and elsewhere is present in their boat, the Argo. In a previous article, I mentioned that the two non-bearded shepherds depicted in the painting could represent the twins Castor and Pollux, who are immortalised in the constellation Gemini the Twins. They were also members of the Argo’s crew, as was Hercules. So in Asclepius, we know have a fourth member of the Argo’s crew.
Coppens also points out that Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, usually holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Now Coppens does not comment on these two constellations, Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan but the eagle has since come to symbolise the USA and, as was noted in an earlier article, Cygnus is the constellation that in geomancy covers Nova Scotia and Oak Island where we know a TDARM is buried. Was Poussin, painting in the 1620’s, aware that an expedition had been mounted by the Rosicrucians and Alchemist enclave in the Pyrenees in the 16th century to find and then re-bury the TDARM? Coppens then comments that even though the figure in the painting is not holding an arrow… “one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word “arc”… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia.”
I understand that “arc” in French means a bow and, of course, arrows are fired from a bow. In contrast, the word “arc” in English means a part of a curve, although a bow when pulled obviously describes an arc. Moreover, a rainbow also forms an arc in the sky and the Bible describes how Noah first saw a rainbow when the Ark had safely settled on dry land. Hence, the arc of the rainbow can be linked in this manner with the Ark, which by extension can be linked to the Ark of the Covenant, which may have contained the Holy Grail. Gerald Gardner in his book The Shadow of Solomon sagely points out that the word “Ark” (arca in Latin) means a storage box (remember that Kruger associated the constellation Ophiuchus with the shape of a house or chest, which is a storage box), which is linguistically synonymous with the word “Arc (arcus in Latin). Could Poussin have been cunningly alluding to the Ark of the Covenant in this way? Where Coppens notes that Hercules has a stretched out hand, with which he is indicating the letter “R” of… Arcadia, Laura in contrast thought the Hercules figure might instead be pointing to the ‘RhoChi’ of the Roscicrucians, the letters “R” and “C” forming the initials of Rosen Creutz, the Christian Rose Cross, the symbol of the Rosicrucians, which may in turn be connected to Christian Rosenkreuz, the legendary (but perhaps allegorical) founder of the Rosicrucian Order. Reversing the letters you get the ‘ChiRho’, which was an early visual representation of the connection between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection, where the use of a wreath around the Chi-Rho symbolised the victory of the Resurrection over death.
Coppens makes a good point where he says that nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to be seeing in the painting. He states that it cannot automatically be assumed that they are sheep-shepherds. He notes that Bootes the herdsman is known to be a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star. Again this is a possible reference to the precession of the zodiac or of the equinoxes along the ecliptic (the plane of Earth's orbit) caused by the cyclic precession of Earth's axis of rotation through a natural wobbling motion (called ‘polar motion’), with a total precession period lasting 25,772 years. Precession also changes the “North Star” as seen from Earth. The position of the Sun on the day of the vernal equinox is presently in the constellation of Pisces near the border of Aquarius. Modern star maps have the equinox entering Aquarius in about 600 years time but some think we may be moving into the Age of Aquarius much sooner than this. Coppens also points out that in Poussin’s painting, Bootes is pointing with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… Coppens pointedly asks whether “one such occurrence could be chance, but twice?” As such, he states that “we definitely need to ask the question whether these references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who is thus giving confirmation of a stellar connotation to his painting”.
I have recently discovered that there is a link between the word “Arc” and the ancient City of Petra in Jordan. In Hebrew Talmadic lore, the biblical city of Kadesh or Kadesh-barnea, as it was called, was known as Rekem-Giah, which in the Hebrew commentary on the book of Deuteronomy known as the Targum is said to have been where the Israelites encamped when in the wilderness. Rekem, also spelled Arke or Arce, is Petra, a fact attested not only in ancient textual accounts of Jewish and early Christian origin but also in Nabatean inscriptions recently discovered at the entrance of the Siq where Petra is located. Indeed, Rekem-Giah or Rekem gea actually translates as ‘of the ravine’, which is a reference surely to the Siq itself (where the climax of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed), which played a prominent role in the religious beliefs of the Petra Nabateans, who had taken over the area from the earlier Edomite inhabitants. You may recall that the writer Graham Phillips has proposed that the Knights Templar could have discovered the Ark of the Covenant in Petra during their occupation of the site in the 1180’s (see my earlier article - The Knights Templar, Jeremiah and the Ark of the Covenant). Again, you may also recall that the C’s have asked the all important question – “where was Arcadia?” If Poussin is deliberately trying to draw our attention to the word “Ark” or “Arc”, is there any place in Western Europe that today denotes or bears the name “Ark” or “Arc”? Well there is one but I will leave that for a subsequent post, as I still have more research to do on this issue.
Coppens then makes the observation that Bootes in the constellation Serpens is seen as a unique constellation, as it exists in two parts: Serpens Caput, the head of the snake, and Serpens Cauda, the tail of the snake. In between both “parts” sits the constellation Ophiuchus, known as the ‘Support of Snake’. But Coppens then points out that what De Lens or other researchers have not noticed is that the constellation of Ophiuchus is also known as… “the coffin”. And with this observation, he states that one can conclude that not only the characters in the painting are constellations but that the tomb equally has a stellar aspect to it: that of Ophiuchus. Coppens goes on to add:
“… the shepherdess on the right-hand side is the constellation Virgo. The shepherd on the shoulder of Virgo is without any possible doubt the constellation Bootes, known as the “shepherd”. One even took the care to paint him with a foot on a stone, which corresponds with the old representations of the Shepherd. The shepherd of the left, knelt and indicating one of the letters of the inscription, is none other than the constellation of Hercules, whose position is thus characteristic [of his constellation].” De Lens then observes that the whole of the characters on the Poussin fabric are stars suspended on the fabric of the sky; their position on the fabric conforms to their positions in the sky.”
He then points out that Frederic Pineau and Gerard Lacoste in the “Tomb of Virgil” propose that the fourth character in the painting is Serpens rather than Andromeda, as de Lens had suggested. Although this would make it appear that the man should be a serpent, Serpentarius himself – linked with this constellation – is identified as a male. However, and more importantly, it is noted that Serpens is also identified with Asclepius, the god of medicine.
I think this is a highly important connection that Coppens has made here. Asclepius was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead. Asclepius is also well-known for his staff, around which runs a snake, which enforces his identification with Serpens. This also makes me think of the staff of Moses and of Aaron and the caduceus, which we have discussed in previous articles and also links with the Egyptian Pharaoh’s Was or sceptre. Asclepius appears in various myths. He was the surgeon of the Argonauts, and elsewhere is present in their boat, the Argo. In a previous article, I mentioned that the two non-bearded shepherds depicted in the painting could represent the twins Castor and Pollux, who are immortalised in the constellation Gemini the Twins. They were also members of the Argo’s crew, as was Hercules. So in Asclepius, we know have a fourth member of the Argo’s crew.
Coppens also points out that Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, usually holding an arrow – “arc” in French. Sagitta is the arrow, pointed in the direction of two birds: the eagle, Aquila, and the swan, Cygnus. Now Coppens does not comment on these two constellations, Aquila the Eagle and Cygnus the Swan but the eagle has since come to symbolise the USA and, as was noted in an earlier article, Cygnus is the constellation that in geomancy covers Nova Scotia and Oak Island where we know a TDARM is buried. Was Poussin, painting in the 1620’s, aware that an expedition had been mounted by the Rosicrucians and Alchemist enclave in the Pyrenees in the 16th century to find and then re-bury the TDARM? Coppens then comments that even though the figure in the painting is not holding an arrow… “one notes that Hercules has a stretched hand, with which he indicates the letter R of… Arcadia… a word which contains the word “arc”… Coincidence? I would rather think it is a very intelligent detail painted by Poussin, which reinforces the bond between Hercules and Arc-adia.”
I understand that “arc” in French means a bow and, of course, arrows are fired from a bow. In contrast, the word “arc” in English means a part of a curve, although a bow when pulled obviously describes an arc. Moreover, a rainbow also forms an arc in the sky and the Bible describes how Noah first saw a rainbow when the Ark had safely settled on dry land. Hence, the arc of the rainbow can be linked in this manner with the Ark, which by extension can be linked to the Ark of the Covenant, which may have contained the Holy Grail. Gerald Gardner in his book The Shadow of Solomon sagely points out that the word “Ark” (arca in Latin) means a storage box (remember that Kruger associated the constellation Ophiuchus with the shape of a house or chest, which is a storage box), which is linguistically synonymous with the word “Arc (arcus in Latin). Could Poussin have been cunningly alluding to the Ark of the Covenant in this way? Where Coppens notes that Hercules has a stretched out hand, with which he is indicating the letter “R” of… Arcadia, Laura in contrast thought the Hercules figure might instead be pointing to the ‘RhoChi’ of the Roscicrucians, the letters “R” and “C” forming the initials of Rosen Creutz, the Christian Rose Cross, the symbol of the Rosicrucians, which may in turn be connected to Christian Rosenkreuz, the legendary (but perhaps allegorical) founder of the Rosicrucian Order. Reversing the letters you get the ‘ChiRho’, which was an early visual representation of the connection between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection, where the use of a wreath around the Chi-Rho symbolised the victory of the Resurrection over death.
Coppens makes a good point where he says that nobody has asked the question about what type of shepherds we are supposed to be seeing in the painting. He states that it cannot automatically be assumed that they are sheep-shepherds. He notes that Bootes the herdsman is known to be a shepherd of bears. His bond with the bear is undoubtedly the result of his position within reach of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. It is said that it was Bootes who chases the Great Bear around the Pole star. Again this is a possible reference to the precession of the zodiac or of the equinoxes along the ecliptic (the plane of Earth's orbit) caused by the cyclic precession of Earth's axis of rotation through a natural wobbling motion (called ‘polar motion’), with a total precession period lasting 25,772 years. Precession also changes the “North Star” as seen from Earth. The position of the Sun on the day of the vernal equinox is presently in the constellation of Pisces near the border of Aquarius. Modern star maps have the equinox entering Aquarius in about 600 years time but some think we may be moving into the Age of Aquarius much sooner than this. Coppens also points out that in Poussin’s painting, Bootes is pointing with his left hand to the tomb, and that his left knee (Arcturus) touches the inscription… and thus his left knee… is close to Arcadia. Arc-adia; Arc-turus… Coppens pointedly asks whether “one such occurrence could be chance, but twice?” As such, he states that “we definitely need to ask the question whether these references to “Arc” are by design – the design of the intellect of Poussin, who is thus giving confirmation of a stellar connotation to his painting”.
I have recently discovered that there is a link between the word “Arc” and the ancient City of Petra in Jordan. In Hebrew Talmadic lore, the biblical city of Kadesh or Kadesh-barnea, as it was called, was known as Rekem-Giah, which in the Hebrew commentary on the book of Deuteronomy known as the Targum is said to have been where the Israelites encamped when in the wilderness. Rekem, also spelled Arke or Arce, is Petra, a fact attested not only in ancient textual accounts of Jewish and early Christian origin but also in Nabatean inscriptions recently discovered at the entrance of the Siq where Petra is located. Indeed, Rekem-Giah or Rekem gea actually translates as ‘of the ravine’, which is a reference surely to the Siq itself (where the climax of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed), which played a prominent role in the religious beliefs of the Petra Nabateans, who had taken over the area from the earlier Edomite inhabitants. You may recall that the writer Graham Phillips has proposed that the Knights Templar could have discovered the Ark of the Covenant in Petra during their occupation of the site in the 1180’s (see my earlier article - The Knights Templar, Jeremiah and the Ark of the Covenant). Again, you may also recall that the C’s have asked the all important question – “where was Arcadia?” If Poussin is deliberately trying to draw our attention to the word “Ark” or “Arc”, is there any place in Western Europe that today denotes or bears the name “Ark” or “Arc”? Well there is one but I will leave that for a subsequent post, as I still have more research to do on this issue.
Coppens then makes the observation that Bootes in the constellation Serpens is seen as a unique constellation, as it exists in two parts: Serpens Caput, the head of the snake, and Serpens Cauda, the tail of the snake. In between both “parts” sits the constellation Ophiuchus, known as the ‘Support of Snake’. But Coppens then points out that what De Lens or other researchers have not noticed is that the constellation of Ophiuchus is also known as… “the coffin”. And with this observation, he states that one can conclude that not only the characters in the painting are constellations but that the tomb equally has a stellar aspect to it: that of Ophiuchus. Coppens goes on to add:
“Moreover, it is noted that the relationship between Serpens and Ophiuchus is visible in the position and the relationship of the man on the left and the tomb, which thus continues the rapport that links the placement of the foot of Bootes, and the relative position of Virgo, making the painting conform with a section of the night’s sky. Was it possible that Poussin possessed such stellar knowledge? The constellations which we have identified were all on the list of Ptolemy and thus well-known in the 17th Century. But with the relationship of Serpens and Ophiuchus, one observes an interesting detail, which the astronomers qualify as typically 17th Century, i.e. the Poussin era. They observe that before this century, Serpens and Ophiuchus were normally seen as only one constellation, a kind of “great constellation”, divided into several parts. In the 17th Century, it was referred to as Serpens and Ophiuchus, and also received a legend linking it with the foundation of medicine. Why “the coffin”? Ophiuchus, one says, resembles the surface of a coffin – a tomb. True, but it is only the most elementary layer. In the legends, Ophiuchus – Asclepius – was known as the god of medicine… but also as a mythical healer who could raise the dead!”
Coppens poses the question as to whether the group of shepherds was deliberately painted to indicate that there is somebody amongst them who can raise the dead – and who may be able to raise the person inside the tomb – irrelevant of who is inside the tomb. He states that it is noted that Poussin painted the person with his staff (i.e., Asclepius) but has not incorporated the serpent, thus leaving the ultimate identification only to those who have made the proper identification. “After all, if a staff with a circling serpent had been painted by our French master, it would have been a dead giveaway of the identity of this man…” However, in my view, this linking of Asclepius to Ophiuchus may provide us with an indirect connection to the Holy Grail, which in legend could bring about the resurrection of the dead. Perhaps Poussin knew it had been hidden by the Knights Templar in a tomb in the same way that the TDARM on Oak Island has been hidden away in a tomb inside the Money Pit. Again if the Templars found the Holy Grail within the Ark (an Egyptian chest or box) it may have been deposited there by the Prophet Ezekiel in a carefully constructed vault or tomb located under the Petra Treasury building, like the one discovered by modern day archaeologists in the late 20th century. Indeed, the Grail may have been hidden this way on other occasions too, such as perhaps in the Osirian complex or maybe under the Sphinx.
Ophiuchus – the Serpent Holder
What have the C’s had to say about Ophiuchus? Well in the session dated 20 June 1998 they said this:-
Q: What was the head worshipped by the Templars that was supposed to have been called "Baphomet?"
A: Seer of the passage.
Q: What does that mean?
A: Remember, secrets of Knights Templar were kept in caves guided by eternally burning lamps.
Q: Okay, next question, is this Ophiuchus, the serpent holder, the same as what you have called 'the holder of Trent?'
A: Close.
You will note that when Laura asked whether Ophiuchus was the holder of the Trent they said “close”. However, in an earlier session they had described 'Baphomet,' as the holder of the Trent.
Session July 26 1997:
Q: What is the definition of the god 'Baphomet,' if they did, indeed, worship such?
A: The holder of the Trent.
The Constellation formerly called Serpentarius is, as we have seen, located near to the constellation of Hercules. To the ancient Greeks, the constellation represented the god Apollo struggling with a huge snake that guarded the Oracle of Delphi. Later myths identified Ophiuchus with Laocoön, the Trojan priest of Poseidon, the trident carrying Greek god and founder of Atlantis, who as the Roman Neptune often appeared in the guise of a horse. Laura had noted that an image of the shadow of a horse’s head representing Neptune is meant to be contained in the Poussin painting. I have also argued that Baphomet can be linked to Metis, Sophia, Demeter, Athena and Persephone and by extension to Brig or Brigid and all such other wisdom and nature goddesses, many of whom are considered to be triple goddesses, Moroever, Brig today can be found represented by the figure of Britannia carrying a trident.
The Constellation Virgo
If Brig or Brigid is the Holder of the Trent, is she represented by a constellation that is close to Bootes, Ophiuchus or Serpentarius? Well the answer, I think, is yes since the constellation of Virgo is, of course, close to these constellations (see the star map above in Coppens’ article) and as de Lens has pointed out, Virgo is represented by the female shepherd on the right in Poussin’s painting. As Coppens also points out, Virgo symbolises justice (think blindfolded Lady Justice holding the scales of justice) but also the harvest (think Demeter and Persephone). In a Catholic interpretation, she is the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. It is interesting that the month of May (springtime) has been set aside by the Catholic Church for the particular veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which includes processions of her statues and crowning ceremonies honouring her status as the Queen of Heaven. This practice may well be a Christianisation of earlier veneration ceremonies involving spring or harvest female deities such as Demeter, Persephone and Brigid. In this connection with crowning, it should be noted that the constellation Corona Borealis is located near the constellation of Virgo and is surrounded by the constellations of Hercules, Bootes and Serpens (Caput). The Corona Borealis is also associated with Ariadne, the wife or consort of Theseus or Dionysus. By Greek tradition, her wedding diadem (corona or crown) was set in the heavens as the constellation Corona Borealis after her death in childbirth. Virgo, the Virgin, is also known as Astraea who was the daughter of Jupiter (Zeus) and Themses. For some reason ‘Themsis’ reminds me phonetically of the River Thames in England, which runs to the south of the ancient city of Troy in Cambridgshire and where London (Trinovantum or Troia Nova – New Troy) is now located along its eastern banks.
Coming back to what the C’s said in those exchanges with Laura about Ophiuchus, which I set out at the commencement of this article, Laura pointed out that Perseus is, 'he who breaks' and the image is one of Perseus overcoming the serpent, and the ancient Celtic engravings of the horned god show him gripping two serpents by the throat. When she said that she would like to understand the symbolism involved here, the C’s simply said that she was on the right track. Perseus, as we know, was an archetypal dragon slayer since he killed the Medusa and he can be equated to Jason and to Hercules (who slew the serpent Ladon) who are also viewed as dragon slayers. In the star map shown in Coppens’ article, the constellation Hercules sits above the constellations of Serpentarius, Serpens Cauda (the tail) and Serpens Caput (the head) forming the two ends of the snake with Ophiuchus (the support, coffin or box) located at the centre. However, if you move to the right (the right track) of Serpens Caput you find the constellation Virgo. Hence, when Laura asked whether Ophiuchus, the serpent holder, was the same as what the C’s had called 'the holder of Trent and they replied “close”, Could they have been implying it was Virgo?
Baphomet
As we saw, the C’s said that Baphomet was the holder of the Trent and I have equated Brig or Brigid with not only Metis, Sophia, Demeter, Athena, Persephone and Ariadne but also with Helle, Kore, Scotia and Hagar, who I think may also be Meritaten, Akhenaten’s daughter. However, Trent may also signify a triad and, as you may recall, the authors of the ‘Shining Ones’ Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn had speculated whether the pure crystal skull the Templars called Baphomet was in fact a two faced skull (like Janus the Roman god of change, transition or transformation from one condition to another or one world to another – thus a gateway, which strangely equates with qualities associated with the star Algol, the eye of the Medusa) or even a triple faced object with two faces back-to-back and a third face placed centrally like the three headed Celtic god Bran – whose talking head was linked with resurrecting the dead and providing abundance. I have previously suggested that Bran may also be linked with Abram or Abraham and with Brahna and Brahma. Did Abraham possess Baphomet, the head of Bran, when he fled Egypt and did it subsequently become associated in myth with his name and that of his consort Hagar/Kore?
Gardiner and Osborn also make the astute observation that the Baphomet figure is based on the Egyptian triad of Osirus, Isis and Horus and other such ancient triads such as the Druid triad of Bel(i), Taran and Esus and Zeus, Poseidon and Hades the triad of the Greeks (Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto to the Romans). As we learned, Brigid was also part of a triple goddess triad, as was Athena or Artemis. This makes me think that all such triads link back to Baphomet, which I have proposed is the Holy Grail, the Merkhaba or the Gift of God that came originally from Kentakkia. If this theory is correct, then the story of Baphomet seems to have been translated to the sky through the modern Zodiac with Virgo coming to represent the triple goddess and by extension Baphomet.
As I said in my earlier article on Arcturus:
Coming back to what the C’s said in those exchanges with Laura about Ophiuchus, which I set out at the commencement of this article, Laura pointed out that Perseus is, 'he who breaks' and the image is one of Perseus overcoming the serpent, and the ancient Celtic engravings of the horned god show him gripping two serpents by the throat. When she said that she would like to understand the symbolism involved here, the C’s simply said that she was on the right track. Perseus, as we know, was an archetypal dragon slayer since he killed the Medusa and he can be equated to Jason and to Hercules (who slew the serpent Ladon) who are also viewed as dragon slayers. In the star map shown in Coppens’ article, the constellation Hercules sits above the constellations of Serpentarius, Serpens Cauda (the tail) and Serpens Caput (the head) forming the two ends of the snake with Ophiuchus (the support, coffin or box) located at the centre. However, if you move to the right (the right track) of Serpens Caput you find the constellation Virgo. Hence, when Laura asked whether Ophiuchus, the serpent holder, was the same as what the C’s had called 'the holder of Trent and they replied “close”, Could they have been implying it was Virgo?
Baphomet
As we saw, the C’s said that Baphomet was the holder of the Trent and I have equated Brig or Brigid with not only Metis, Sophia, Demeter, Athena, Persephone and Ariadne but also with Helle, Kore, Scotia and Hagar, who I think may also be Meritaten, Akhenaten’s daughter. However, Trent may also signify a triad and, as you may recall, the authors of the ‘Shining Ones’ Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn had speculated whether the pure crystal skull the Templars called Baphomet was in fact a two faced skull (like Janus the Roman god of change, transition or transformation from one condition to another or one world to another – thus a gateway, which strangely equates with qualities associated with the star Algol, the eye of the Medusa) or even a triple faced object with two faces back-to-back and a third face placed centrally like the three headed Celtic god Bran – whose talking head was linked with resurrecting the dead and providing abundance. I have previously suggested that Bran may also be linked with Abram or Abraham and with Brahna and Brahma. Did Abraham possess Baphomet, the head of Bran, when he fled Egypt and did it subsequently become associated in myth with his name and that of his consort Hagar/Kore?
Gardiner and Osborn also make the astute observation that the Baphomet figure is based on the Egyptian triad of Osirus, Isis and Horus and other such ancient triads such as the Druid triad of Bel(i), Taran and Esus and Zeus, Poseidon and Hades the triad of the Greeks (Jupiter, Neptune and Pluto to the Romans). As we learned, Brigid was also part of a triple goddess triad, as was Athena or Artemis. This makes me think that all such triads link back to Baphomet, which I have proposed is the Holy Grail, the Merkhaba or the Gift of God that came originally from Kentakkia. If this theory is correct, then the story of Baphomet seems to have been translated to the sky through the modern Zodiac with Virgo coming to represent the triple goddess and by extension Baphomet.
As I said in my earlier article on Arcturus:
“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.”
The C’s have told us that the roots of Freemasonry lie with the Osirians, who would have viewed the triad as being Osirus, Isis and Horus. This leads me to believe that Baphomet may be directly linked to the head of Osiris and we therefore need to look more closely at that most intriguing of buildings the Osirian, which I hope to do in a subsequent post.
The Tuatha de Danaan and Daniel the Prophet
When it comes to the origins of modern astrology, Gardiner and Osborn had an interesting observation to make about the Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the goddess Danu, whose chief god was the Dagda, ‘the Mighty One of Great Knowledge’ who possessed a giant cauldron that brought back to life anyone immersed in it. They point out that these people of the tribe of Danu (Dan anyone?) can be linked with the Bible and serpent worship. They note that Benjamin Walker in his book Gnosticism had stated that the writers of the Old Testament disliked the Danites who they called serpents (Genesis 49:17). They nevertheless adopted the Phoenician god of divination Dan-El and transformed him into the Hebrew prophet Daniel.
Daniel served as a court astrologer and dream interpreter for both the Persian king Cyrus and for the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar (and was therefore clearly a ‘seer’). We also know from the C’s that he was inspired by them at 6th density. The authors think his name Daniel was not so much a personal name as a title like the Celtic one – a person of the goddess Danu. The authors then surmise that from this and other references one can see that the Tuatha de Danaan were a people who came from the Middle East and left their holy rituals along the way. These holy ways included astrology and dream interpretation or divination.
More importantly, the authors suggest that it is possible that this whole mythological story (of the Tuatha de Danaan) is based around a common astro-theological theme that has spread over the course of thousands of years into all manner of cultures. Hence, could the story of Abraham, Nefertiti, Hagar, the Ark of the Covenant and Holy Grail have become mythologised by subsequent cultures (Greek, Irish, Scandinavian, Persian etc.) and memorialised within the stars of the night sky as the modern Zodiac?
Bootes and the Kite
Finally, the constellation Bootes is also associated with a kite (see below), within which Arcturus is the brightest star. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, the constellation is dominated by the Kite, a diamond-shaped asterism formed by its brightest stars. Could this be the reason why the bloodline families communicated with each other using the symbolism of a kite? Where these families in on the secret of the Grail?
The Tuatha de Danaan and Daniel the Prophet
When it comes to the origins of modern astrology, Gardiner and Osborn had an interesting observation to make about the Tuatha de Danaan, the people of the goddess Danu, whose chief god was the Dagda, ‘the Mighty One of Great Knowledge’ who possessed a giant cauldron that brought back to life anyone immersed in it. They point out that these people of the tribe of Danu (Dan anyone?) can be linked with the Bible and serpent worship. They note that Benjamin Walker in his book Gnosticism had stated that the writers of the Old Testament disliked the Danites who they called serpents (Genesis 49:17). They nevertheless adopted the Phoenician god of divination Dan-El and transformed him into the Hebrew prophet Daniel.
Daniel served as a court astrologer and dream interpreter for both the Persian king Cyrus and for the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar (and was therefore clearly a ‘seer’). We also know from the C’s that he was inspired by them at 6th density. The authors think his name Daniel was not so much a personal name as a title like the Celtic one – a person of the goddess Danu. The authors then surmise that from this and other references one can see that the Tuatha de Danaan were a people who came from the Middle East and left their holy rituals along the way. These holy ways included astrology and dream interpretation or divination.
More importantly, the authors suggest that it is possible that this whole mythological story (of the Tuatha de Danaan) is based around a common astro-theological theme that has spread over the course of thousands of years into all manner of cultures. Hence, could the story of Abraham, Nefertiti, Hagar, the Ark of the Covenant and Holy Grail have become mythologised by subsequent cultures (Greek, Irish, Scandinavian, Persian etc.) and memorialised within the stars of the night sky as the modern Zodiac?
Bootes and the Kite
Finally, the constellation Bootes is also associated with a kite (see below), within which Arcturus is the brightest star. Located in the northern celestial hemisphere, the constellation is dominated by the Kite, a diamond-shaped asterism formed by its brightest stars. Could this be the reason why the bloodline families communicated with each other using the symbolism of a kite? Where these families in on the secret of the Grail?
Conclusion
Philip Coppens article is very incisive and in drawing us to Asclepius and the astrological significance of the four figures in Poussin’s painting, he provides us with major clues helping towards understanding what Poussin was seeking to convey to his audience as regards the secrets encoded in his painting. As Coppens acknowledges, Poussin (the ‘Keeper of Secrets’) was a highly intelligent and educated man who had been tutored by the brilliant Jesuit polymath, scholar, alchemist and astronomer Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). He would have been very well versed in classical history, mythology and astrology. I also suspect he knew about the mystery of Oak Island and may possibly have known the location of the Holy Grail, hidden by the Templars prior to their dissolution and suppression. The C’s have told us the answer to the mystery lies in the painting itself and not in the brushes. The painting may therefore provide us with a map, guiding us to where the Grail is hidden. But this map may prove to be as much an astrological one as it is physical.
Philip Coppens article is very incisive and in drawing us to Asclepius and the astrological significance of the four figures in Poussin’s painting, he provides us with major clues helping towards understanding what Poussin was seeking to convey to his audience as regards the secrets encoded in his painting. As Coppens acknowledges, Poussin (the ‘Keeper of Secrets’) was a highly intelligent and educated man who had been tutored by the brilliant Jesuit polymath, scholar, alchemist and astronomer Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680). He would have been very well versed in classical history, mythology and astrology. I also suspect he knew about the mystery of Oak Island and may possibly have known the location of the Holy Grail, hidden by the Templars prior to their dissolution and suppression. The C’s have told us the answer to the mystery lies in the painting itself and not in the brushes. The painting may therefore provide us with a map, guiding us to where the Grail is hidden. But this map may prove to be as much an astrological one as it is physical.
Palinurus
The Living Force
I'm so impressed by what you now brought together again that I hardly dare to make any comments, just out of fear to spoil your party.
Nevertheless, there are a few remarks to be made:
1. Philip Coppens is not a Dutch writer, he's from Belgium , to the South of the Netherlands
2. In part 1, you copy/pasted the passage about Hercules twice (starting with: Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow... up to and including ... gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.)
3. The expression ET IN ARCADIA EGO was first used in ca. 1623 by the painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as (il) Guercino, for a painting on which he apparently worked for four years:
As a concluding remark, I want to stress I'm getting more and more intrigued with where you are going with all this. I for one can hardly wait until the next installments will be published.
Nevertheless, there are a few remarks to be made:
1. Philip Coppens is not a Dutch writer, he's from Belgium , to the South of the Netherlands
2. In part 1, you copy/pasted the passage about Hercules twice (starting with: Hercules is normally painted with a stretched hand, normally holding an arrow... up to and including ... gives confirmation of a stellar connotation to the painting.)
3. The expression ET IN ARCADIA EGO was first used in ca. 1623 by the painter Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, better known as (il) Guercino, for a painting on which he apparently worked for four years:
4.
I cannot see any reason why these two interpretations would be mutually exclusive. For me they just represent two different layers or two sides of the same coin. No need to choose one above the other, as they both seem valid to me.
As a concluding remark, I want to stress I'm getting more and more intrigued with where you are going with all this. I for one can hardly wait until the next installments will be published.
Sorry, I really thought Coppens was Dutch not Belgian. This may be down to me copying someone else's mistake over his nationality.
I will check my draft on point 2. However, if there is a mistake in point 3 then that is down to Coppens, as I copied his article in full, mistakes included. I appreciate what you are saying in relation to point 4 but I thought it appropriate to pose the two possible interpretations.
My next instalment will in fact be on Leonardo da Vinci but I hope to return to Poussin's painting again in due course, as I am researching new material in relation to Rennes-le-Chateau that may shed new light on Poussin.
