Abbé Saunière and the Rosicrucians Part 2
Q: Well, on the same subject: did Abbe Saunier put clues in the stations of the cross in the Church at Rennes-le-Chateau?
A: Some, but they are gilded.
Q: What do you mean by that?
A: You will see.
Mural of the Sermon on the Mount
The Bag of Gold
Gough then tells us that the Stations of the Cross are also suggestive of concealed knowledge. He states that while most are standard, albeit unusually lavish (being the most expensive versions available, purchased from the same manufacturer that provided the west wall fresco), some have been personally modified by Saunière and his trusted advisors. And the modifications are very unusual. For instance, one depicts a night scene, complete with a full moon, of Christ being taken down from the cross. The implication is that Christ never died on the cross. Another station hints at treasure concealed in local mines.
Gough then adds that these are a mere warm-up for clues Abbé Saunière left closer to the altar, and beyond.
In the station of the cross shown above, where Christ is taken down from the Cross, Saunière has added the night and moon to a traditional day scene. Why did he do this?
Gough then tells us that dramatically, Abbe Saunière has selected and arranged the order of the Saints statues within his church to imply the presence of the Holy Grail.
Intriguingly, he points out that the first letter of each Saint’s name spells out G R A A L, which is the French for Grail! The sequence of Saints goes like this:
* St Germaine
* St Roch
* St Antoine de Padoue
* St Antoine
* St Luc
Furthermore, the configuration of the statues apparently forms a large, albeit disproportionate shaped ‘M’, and seems to represent Mary Magdalene, as depicted below:
Q: (M) What are the beehive huts in the area?
A: Not germaine.
Abbe Saunièrs altar painting – the Magdalene in the Grotto
So, what we apparently have here are four X’s. Gough asks, could Abbe Saunière have been trying to tell us that he has uncovered concealed knowledge and is preserving it for those with ‘eyes to see’?
However, it so happens that the C’s gave us a bit more detail about this concealed knowledge in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay, in this relief painting done by Berenger Saunière in the church at Rennes le Chateau, Mary Magdalene is depicted as gazing hopefully or reverently at a tree branch formed into a cross, stuck in the ground. What kind of tree is it?
A: The “tree of life.”
Q: Well, I had a different idea... some people say it is an acacia tree. Are you saying it is not a genus, horticulturally?
A: Genus is family tree.
Q: And what family is it a family tree for?
A: Check your Magna for lesson.
Q: My magna? What in the world? Okay, “blue apples:” Stones or grapes?
A: Why not both?
1) A Mountain (Pech Cardou)
2) A Castle (Hautpoul residence)
3) A Tower (Tour Magdela)
A possible fourth landmark in the painting, on the viewers left, could either represent the adjoining tower to the Tour Magdela or the Church of Mary Magdalene.”
Abbe Saunière’s Grotto of the Magdalene
This strange activity of Saunière in collecting rocks was something the C’s commented on in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay! I can accept that! What was Berenger Sauniere collecting all those rocks for?
A: What about conductor?
Q: What do you mean?
A: What conducts?
Q: Was he building a little Stonehenge?
A: Have you researched the power of Stonehenge, and how it relates... where it fits in?
Q: Yes, we are bit by bit collecting things...
A: Well? And crop circles? Amazing connections... And what of “The Rosy Cross?”
XXSLX – just what does it mean?
The Tour Magdela is a spectacular structure. It defines the village of Rennes-le-Château and, in Gough’s view, provides definitive clues to the secret that Abbé Saunière unearthed.
Gough then tells us that Margaret Starbird proposes that ‘the word “magdala” in Hebrew means ‘tower’ (with connotations also of “stronghold” or “fortress”)’. He states:
“We mentioned before the frequent occurrence of the numbers 22 and 17 in the Rennes-le-Château legend. Well, here we find some of the most revealing examples:
* Two sets of 11 steps (22) lead up to the observatory platform that leads to the Tour Magdela.
* An anomalous tile on the floor of the Tour Magdela points up a 22-step stone staircase where a lone window points unambiguously at a grotto, approximately a mile in the distance.
* The ancient place-name of the Grotto is ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’, which translates ‘The Burial Site of Mary Magdalene‘.
* The offset of the lone window to the grotto in the distance is, astoundingly, 22 degrees.”
The patterned tile on the Tour Magdela floor
And the 11 symmetries of a regular octagon can be presented as shown in the diagram below. Lines of reflections are blue through vertices, purple through edges, and gyration orders are given in the centre. Vertices are coloured by their symmetry position.
On the regular octagon, there are 11 distinct symmetries. John Conway labels full symmetry as r16. The dihedral symmetries are divided depending on whether they pass through vertices (d for diagonal) or edges (p for perpendiculars) Cyclic symmetries in the middle column are abelled as g for their central gyration orders. Full symmetry of the regular form is r16 and no symmetry is labelled a1.
The most common high symmetry octagons are p8, an isogonal octagon constructed by four mirrors can alternate long and short edges, and d8, an isotoxal octagon constructed with equal edge lengths, but vertices alternating two different internal angles. These two forms are duals of each other and have half the symmetry order of the regular octagon.
Each subgroup symmetry allows one or more degrees of freedom for irregular forms. Only the g8 subgroup has no degrees of freedom but can be seen as directed edges.
Are we seeing here the possible rudiments of a hyperdimensional physics based on energy flows?
But that last diagram also reminds me very much of this particular ‘tree of life’:
This reference to “energy” reminds me of what the C’s were alluding to in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay! I can accept that! What was Berenger Sauniere collecting all those rocks for?
A: What about conductor?
Q: What do you mean?
A: What conducts?
Q: Was he building a little Stonehenge?
A: Have you researched the power of Stonehenge, and how it relates... where it fits in?
Q: Yes, we are bit by bit collecting things...
A: Well? And crop circles? Amazing connections... And what of “The Rosy Cross?”
Q: Well, this is what we are looking at! I have even discovered that Sir Francis Bacon’s name is even derived from “beech,” and that his Latin signature has the gematria number of 17 – and January 17 is the feast day of St. Anthony, who replaced St. Augustine in this affair somewhat... and I have connected the Rosicrucians all over the blasted planet, for crying out loud! And, who is who here? Just who are the good guys?
A: Airports are used by both.
Q: Well, what is THAT supposed to mean?
A: Transdimensional Atomic Remolecularizer.
Here is what the C’s have had to say about the power of Stonehenge:
Session dated 23 October 1994:
Q: (L) What was Stonehenge built to do or be used for?
A: Energy director.
Q: (L) What was this energy to be directed to do?
A: All things.
Q: (L) Was the energy to be directed outward or inward to the centre?
A: Both.
Session 7 November 1994:
Q: (L) Why are there so many crop circles in Britain?
A: Window. Why Stonehenge was built there.
Session 9 November 1994:
Q: (L) In many ancient ruins there are found certain symbols which interest me, specifically the coil or spiral which seems to be ubiquitous throughout the world. This is also very similar to one of the Reiki symbols. What is the origin and meaning of this symbol?
A: Energy collector translevel; Stonehenge was one. Stonehenge is a coil. The missing stones form a coil arrangement. People have been “zapped” at Stonehenge.
Session 29 March 1996:
A: It is, but not as you think. Stonehenge power. Vortex. Magnetic principles understood by you when you occupied other bodies, ask Hilliard, ole boy.
An anomalous tile points up the 22 steps of the staircase and the lone window
The view of the Grotto from the lone window in the Tour Magdela
Abbe Saunière’s Grotto of the Magdalene continued
Resuming with Gough’s account of the Grotto. He mentions that concealed in The Burial Site of the Mary Magdalene grotto are the apparent remains of two graves. The first, near the entrance, is an imprint in the shape of a small coffin. Not surprisingly, the spot had recently been adorned with candles and flowers, so its potential importance is clearly known to a few. Further back, underneath a rocky outcrop, Gough found the remnants of what appears to be a shallow grave, one that was dug up at some point in the not-too-distant past (possibly the time of Saunière).
See the photographs below of the alleged entrance to the burial site of Mary Magdalene and the shallow grave.
Shallow grave
So, before making any conclusions, let’s review the facts:
* The number 22, the feast day of Mary Magdalene, is concealed throughout the Tour Magdela.
* Saunière personally designed unconventional restorations in his church that point to the significance of Mary Magdalene, The Grail and concealed religious truths or spiritual knowledge (‘X’ marks the spot).
* The Abbé was obsessed with grottos, including erecting statues of saints who were associated with them (i.e., Saint Anthony and Saint Mary Magdalene). We must not forget that he built one from scratch, constructed with stones he had secretly gathered from the valley below, in the vicinity of the real grotto; the ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’ – the Burial Site of Mary Magdalene. Sauniere’s imitation grotto points at the tower of the Magdalene, the Tour Magdela, which in turn, unambiguously points at the ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine.’
Thus, the temptation is to say that the Abbé Berenger Saunière discovered the bones of Mary Magdalene and possibly her daughter Sara, the embodiment of the Holy Grail, in the grotto pointed to by the Tour Magdela. In fact, this is very tempting. And if we forget for a moment the dogma of Christianity, then this supposition becomes very attractive, indeed. It even passes many of the tests of Occam’s Razor (again, if we leave our preconceptions about Christianity behind).
But as any real physical evidence is lacking, all we can confidently state is that Abbe Saunière did find a treasure, or secret, or both, in the grotto, and what his restorations have done is simply commemorate his discovery by encoding the number 22. That appears clear. What did he find? Well, that is speculative, although I do have my theories. However, I am confident that Occam’s Razor tells me that I am on the right trail. The Grotto might not be the smoking gun at the scene of the crime, but at least it is evidence there was a crime – so to speak.
A: Well, quite simply we would say, where is Arcadia?
Q: (L) Arcadia was Turkey. You have made many references to Turkey, to Troy, which was located in what is now Turkey. A lot of funny stuff tracks back there. And, Troy means ‘three.’ Interesting.
A: Tis a clue for you, not a destination!
Q: (L) Well, can you tell me just exactly what these guys, these priests, were getting paid to do or not do? What was the money changing hands for? It was a lot of bucks...
A: Keepers of the guard. [MJF: This phrase is similar to the description of Nicolas Poussin as a person who was a ‘Guardian of Secrets’.]
Q: (L) Guard of what?
A: Whatever was going on there.
Q: (L) It seems sort of significant to me that, when one of them was getting ready to retire, he was brutally murdered, and seemingly tortured before his death, and the following year this Abbe Sauniere purchased a large tract of land. Was there any connection between Sauniere and the death of Abbe Gelis?
A: Not the point. What happens to those who “know too much?”
Q: (L) Who was paying them? What was the source of the money?
A: Not available to you yet.
Q: (L) Was it true that before he died, Sauniere made his confession and was refused absolution?
A: Not right track.
Q: (L) Were there ANY parchments found in the church there?
A: Ditto.
In Part 1 of this Article, I focused on the Rosicrucians’ involvement in the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateȃu and Abbé Saunière’s putative links to them. This included his connections to the quasi-masonic Martinists, an organisation originally founded in the 18th Century, which shared many of the hallmarks of the Rosicrucians through their symbolism and teachings. Saunière’s affiliation to the Martinists can be gleaned from his personal bookplate, which depicts the Martinist symbol of two interlocking black and white triangles, representing the Seal of Solomon, an hexagonal version of the Tetragrammaton, which in Alchemy also symbolises the Philosopher’s Stone. We also looked at the possibility that Abbé Saunière had created a spiritualist centre at Rennes-le-Chȃteau, in keeping with Martinist beliefs that, with training and enlightenment, an initiate could contact the ‘unknown’ or the spirit world (necromancy).
Finally, we looked at Abbé Saunière’s potential connection to a strange organisation called The Hiéron du Val d'Or (founded in 1873), which, as a fervent royalist and culturally conservative body in its outlook, sought to erect a kind of Catholic hermetic freemasonry. Saunière, an arch monarchist, who had been punished by his local Bishop for making hostile attacks on the French Republic from the pulpit, would naturally have been drawn towards such an organisation. Indeed, some Rennes-le-Chateȃu researchers even believe that his membership of that organisation could have cost him his life.
In Part 2 of the article, I will look at other evidence that may connect Abbé Saunière to the Rosicrucians and I will explore in Part 3 whether he may have had other skeletons in his cupboard, which have not yet been given much attention. For this analysis, I am going to rely on an article published by the Rennes-le-Château researcher Andrew Gough – see: CATCH 22: THE GRAIL AND THE GROTTO | Andrew Gough
The Interior of the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene at Rennes-le-ChâteauFinally, we looked at Abbé Saunière’s potential connection to a strange organisation called The Hiéron du Val d'Or (founded in 1873), which, as a fervent royalist and culturally conservative body in its outlook, sought to erect a kind of Catholic hermetic freemasonry. Saunière, an arch monarchist, who had been punished by his local Bishop for making hostile attacks on the French Republic from the pulpit, would naturally have been drawn towards such an organisation. Indeed, some Rennes-le-Chateȃu researchers even believe that his membership of that organisation could have cost him his life.
In Part 2 of the article, I will look at other evidence that may connect Abbé Saunière to the Rosicrucians and I will explore in Part 3 whether he may have had other skeletons in his cupboard, which have not yet been given much attention. For this analysis, I am going to rely on an article published by the Rennes-le-Château researcher Andrew Gough – see: CATCH 22: THE GRAIL AND THE GROTTO | Andrew Gough
Gough starts his article by pointing out that if the legend of Bérenger Saunière and Rennes-le-Château were an Inspector Morse or CSI episode, then the restorations that Abbe Saunière designed for his church and village would represent damning evidence for the prosecution. They are incredibly revealing and offer the most plausible application of Occam’s Razor. So, what do they include?
Saunière began restoring his church, home and grounds in 1891, funded by an initial donation from the Countess of Chambord, the same shadowy figure who funded Abbé Louis de Coma’s building projects, which were predominantly dedicated to Mary Magdalene and the remembrance of the biblical ‘Gethsemane’. We have previously looked in this thread at some of the decorations found in Saunière’s church, including the statues and the ’Stations of the Cross’, which seemed to contain hidden meanings within them. Indeed, the C’s made a cryptic remark that some of the clues in the church’s artwork were “gilded”.
Saunière began restoring his church, home and grounds in 1891, funded by an initial donation from the Countess of Chambord, the same shadowy figure who funded Abbé Louis de Coma’s building projects, which were predominantly dedicated to Mary Magdalene and the remembrance of the biblical ‘Gethsemane’. We have previously looked in this thread at some of the decorations found in Saunière’s church, including the statues and the ’Stations of the Cross’, which seemed to contain hidden meanings within them. Indeed, the C’s made a cryptic remark that some of the clues in the church’s artwork were “gilded”.
Q: Well, on the same subject: did Abbe Saunier put clues in the stations of the cross in the Church at Rennes-le-Chateau?
A: Some, but they are gilded.
Q: What do you mean by that?
A: You will see.
Gough then points out that Saunière’s most famous restoration is a statue of the devil, immediately to the left as one enters the church. It is believed to represent Asmodeus, keeper of secrets and guardian of treasure, most notably Solomon’s (which is curious given what we now know of King Solomon and Solomon’s Seal). Alternatively, it is said to represent Rex Mundi, the Cathar God of evil. Sceptics will state that this is not the only church to have a statue like this, but to date, they have only provided evidence of one other (just west of Carcassonne). We should note here that there is still a Cathar presence in the Langedoc, including the village of Rennes-le-Château, in modern times.
Beyond the statue, on the west face of the church interior, Saunière commissioned an extraordinary mural, which depicts the biblical Sermon on the Mount, where Christ preached on the beatitudes.
Beyond the statue, on the west face of the church interior, Saunière commissioned an extraordinary mural, which depicts the biblical Sermon on the Mount, where Christ preached on the beatitudes.
Mural of the Sermon on the Mount
For Gough, what makes the mural special is the presence of a bag erupting with gold at the foot of the hill before Christ. Undisturbed by this provocative site, Christ’s beloved followers remain transfixed, devout in their adoration and seemingly oblivious to the gold! Most people interpret this as evidence of a hidden treasure in the region of Rennes-le-Château. However, Gough believes that the real treasure is spiritual, not physical, as vindicated by the fact that Christ’s followers appear to ignore the gold completely. This point makes me think here of what the C’s said in the transcripts about the ‘Fall of Man’ and going after the gold.
The Bag of Gold
Gough then tells us that the Stations of the Cross are also suggestive of concealed knowledge. He states that while most are standard, albeit unusually lavish (being the most expensive versions available, purchased from the same manufacturer that provided the west wall fresco), some have been personally modified by Saunière and his trusted advisors. And the modifications are very unusual. For instance, one depicts a night scene, complete with a full moon, of Christ being taken down from the cross. The implication is that Christ never died on the cross. Another station hints at treasure concealed in local mines.
Gough then adds that these are a mere warm-up for clues Abbé Saunière left closer to the altar, and beyond.
Gough then tells us that dramatically, Abbe Saunière has selected and arranged the order of the Saints statues within his church to imply the presence of the Holy Grail.
Intriguingly, he points out that the first letter of each Saint’s name spells out G R A A L, which is the French for Grail! The sequence of Saints goes like this:
* St Germaine
* St Roch
* St Antoine de Padoue
* St Antoine
* St Luc
Furthermore, the configuration of the statues apparently forms a large, albeit disproportionate shaped ‘M’, and seems to represent Mary Magdalene, as depicted below:
As I have ventured before, I believe that Mary Magdalene may just be a cypher for the Holy Grail, which is the real mystery of Rennes-le-Château, rather than the ‘Sang Réal’, the bloodline of Christ. Referring to St Germaine’s statue again, it is curious that in the Session 28 November 1998 (see more below on this session), the C’s responded to a question about the local stone beehives huts at Rennes-le-Château by saying this was not “germaine”.
Q: (M) What are the beehive huts in the area?
A: Not germaine.
Once again, we see the C’s using the unusual spelling of the English word “germane”, a word which means relevant to a subject under consideration. This is a clue the C’s have used on several occasions. We have explored, for example, its possible connection with the infamous Comte de Saint Germain, who far from being the eccentric 18th century French nobleman, fraudster and fop that history paints him as, may well have been a leading Freemason/Rosicrucian with strong links to the cause of the Stuart claimants to the throne of Britain. He may have even played a crucial part in the American Declaration of Independence in order to help create the dream of Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis (see my earlier posts). However, I wonder whether in this case, the C’s could be drawing our attention to this sequence of statues in the church at Rennes-le-Château, in which, starting from St Germaine’s statue, you have a message being spelled out in the word “GRAAL”. Afterall, it was the Rosicrucians who moved like a “thief in the night” against the Templars in order to lay their hands on the Grail. I would make one further observation and that is whether the odd shape of the letter “M” displayed here could possibly be a reference to a star map, a particular constellation perhaps? As the C’s said:
“A: Just look. Now folks, remember: Rennes-le-Chateau is a means, not an end. Sort of like unlocking the trunk, expecting to find the gold, and merely finding a map.”
One last but important point which Gough makes on the statues in the church is to point out that the statue of Saint Anthony stands opposite the statue of Mary Magdalene. Their respective feast days are the 17th and 22nd; numbers that reoccur throughout the Rennes-le-Château legend.
Gough then tells us that as you move towards the east of the church, your attention is immediately drawn to the alter painting of Saint Mary Magdalene in the Grotto. Saunière personally designed it, and Gough claims that it contains some very revealing details.
In the painting, Mary Magdalene is seen on her knees, staring at a long wooden cross, or an ‘X’. Her hands are crossed in a peculiar fashion, forming what appears to be a swastika, which we know was once an ancient sacred symbol, before it was appropriated by the Germans in the Second World War.
“A: Just look. Now folks, remember: Rennes-le-Chateau is a means, not an end. Sort of like unlocking the trunk, expecting to find the gold, and merely finding a map.”
One last but important point which Gough makes on the statues in the church is to point out that the statue of Saint Anthony stands opposite the statue of Mary Magdalene. Their respective feast days are the 17th and 22nd; numbers that reoccur throughout the Rennes-le-Château legend.
Gough then tells us that as you move towards the east of the church, your attention is immediately drawn to the alter painting of Saint Mary Magdalene in the Grotto. Saunière personally designed it, and Gough claims that it contains some very revealing details.
In the painting, Mary Magdalene is seen on her knees, staring at a long wooden cross, or an ‘X’. Her hands are crossed in a peculiar fashion, forming what appears to be a swastika, which we know was once an ancient sacred symbol, before it was appropriated by the Germans in the Second World War.
Abbe Saunièrs altar painting – the Magdalene in the Grotto
In her book, The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, Margaret Starbird, a recognised expert in the sacred feminine and Mary Magdalene in particular, highlights the symbolism of the ‘X’ in classical art. Starbird concludes that it is a sign of concealed esoteric knowledge, meaning quite literally, ‘X’ marks the spot. On this basis, I wonder if the esoteric X she speaks of is what lies behind the well-known ‘Skull and Crossbones’ emblem of Freemasonry.
However, it so happens that the C’s gave us a bit more detail about this concealed knowledge in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay, in this relief painting done by Berenger Saunière in the church at Rennes le Chateau, Mary Magdalene is depicted as gazing hopefully or reverently at a tree branch formed into a cross, stuck in the ground. What kind of tree is it?
A: The “tree of life.”
Q: Well, I had a different idea... some people say it is an acacia tree. Are you saying it is not a genus, horticulturally?
A: Genus is family tree.
Q: And what family is it a family tree for?
A: Check your Magna for lesson.
Q: My magna? What in the world? Okay, “blue apples:” Stones or grapes?
A: Why not both?
I suggested early on in this thread that the term “Magna” might be related to the famous declaration of the English Barons known as ‘Magna Carta’ (a sort of Bill of Rights) because of Laura’s English heritage. However, given their references to “blue apples”, “stones or grapes [of wrath]”, I now think the C’s are talking of ‘Magna Graecia’ (Greater Greece), the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily; these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers.
The term Magna Graecia first appeared in Polybius’ Histories, where he ascribed the term to Pythagoras and his philosophical school at Croton in Southern Italy. This last point might be the reason why the C’s referred to a “lesson”, since you obviously attend lessons in a school. The reference to “blue apples” and “stones or grapes” is absolutely loaded with meaning and I intend to deal with this in a separate post, once I have finished reading William Henry’s ‘Blue Apples – A Search for the Lost Stargate Technology and Spiritual Teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene’. However, suffice to say for now that Pythagoras’s teachings play a part in this mystery [MJF: think here of Gary Osborn’s analysis of Poussin’s paintings, as set out in my earlier articles on ‘The Poussin Codes’], as does the ‘Rose-Cross’ (see more below on this).
Gough then states that: - “clearly, we can see that Mary Magdalene and a Grotto are involved, but are the supporting clues symbolic or literal? As we take a closer look at the skyline in the background, we see what appears to be real structures, and they appear to be mirror images of actual buildings in the village of Rennes-le-Château. From the viewer’s right, we see can see:
The term Magna Graecia first appeared in Polybius’ Histories, where he ascribed the term to Pythagoras and his philosophical school at Croton in Southern Italy. This last point might be the reason why the C’s referred to a “lesson”, since you obviously attend lessons in a school. The reference to “blue apples” and “stones or grapes” is absolutely loaded with meaning and I intend to deal with this in a separate post, once I have finished reading William Henry’s ‘Blue Apples – A Search for the Lost Stargate Technology and Spiritual Teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene’. However, suffice to say for now that Pythagoras’s teachings play a part in this mystery [MJF: think here of Gary Osborn’s analysis of Poussin’s paintings, as set out in my earlier articles on ‘The Poussin Codes’], as does the ‘Rose-Cross’ (see more below on this).
Gough then states that: - “clearly, we can see that Mary Magdalene and a Grotto are involved, but are the supporting clues symbolic or literal? As we take a closer look at the skyline in the background, we see what appears to be real structures, and they appear to be mirror images of actual buildings in the village of Rennes-le-Château. From the viewer’s right, we see can see:
1) A Mountain (Pech Cardou)
2) A Castle (Hautpoul residence)
3) A Tower (Tour Magdela)
A possible fourth landmark in the painting, on the viewers left, could either represent the adjoining tower to the Tour Magdela or the Church of Mary Magdalene.”
He then points out that intriguingly, Saunière’s altar painting, which again he personally designed, would seem to point to the presence of Mary Magdalene in a Grotto just outside of Rennes-le-Château. Additionally, there is symbolic evidence of concealed knowledge.
Abbe Saunière’s Grotto of the Magdalene
Gough points out that the grotto outside of Abbé Saunière’s church is a much ignored and, in his view, a highly significant clue. The priest built the grotto with unusual stones that he gathered on his walks into the valley beyond the modern-day parking lot. He collected them in a rucksack and even built an extension to his church that allowed him to conceal his daily harvest from the villagers. Only he had a key.
This strange activity of Saunière in collecting rocks was something the C’s commented on in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay! I can accept that! What was Berenger Sauniere collecting all those rocks for?
A: What about conductor?
Q: What do you mean?
A: What conducts?
Q: Was he building a little Stonehenge?
A: Have you researched the power of Stonehenge, and how it relates... where it fits in?
Q: Yes, we are bit by bit collecting things...
A: Well? And crop circles? Amazing connections... And what of “The Rosy Cross?”
It is curious that the C’s should suddenly mention the “Rosy Cross” of the Rosicrucians here. In William Henry’s book, Blue Apples, referred to above, Henry points out that the Rose-Cross is associated with Jesus. However, he then tells us that it is much older than him. Indeed, he tells us that Sir Laurence Gardner [MJF: whose book the ‘Shadow of Solomon: The Lost Secret of the Freemasons’, I have referred to in previous articles] dates it to the time of Moses and the Pharaoh Tuthmosis III (c. 1468-1436 B.C.). Pythagoras (600 B.C.) and Plato (400 B.C.) picked up this golden thread which wound its way into the thinking of the Therapeutae, the powerful cult of healers who lived in Qumran at the beginning of the Age of Pisces. This leads me to believe that the C’s might have been pointing to Abbé Saunière’s connections to the Roscirucians (via the Martinists) and by extension perhaps to the Holy Grail.
Returning to Gough’s account of the grotto that Saunière constructed, he tells us that like the natural grotto in the cliff-side near where he collected the unusual stones, it was dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It contained a statue of The Magdalene, and a stone bench with the raised characters XXSLX written across the top. Sadly, the entire grotto was destroyed by treasure hunters, who were convinced it concealed a secret. It has since been rebuilt and the XXSLX is still intact, although nobody has come close to deciphering it. Perhaps we should ask the C’s.
Returning to Gough’s account of the grotto that Saunière constructed, he tells us that like the natural grotto in the cliff-side near where he collected the unusual stones, it was dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It contained a statue of The Magdalene, and a stone bench with the raised characters XXSLX written across the top. Sadly, the entire grotto was destroyed by treasure hunters, who were convinced it concealed a secret. It has since been rebuilt and the XXSLX is still intact, although nobody has come close to deciphering it. Perhaps we should ask the C’s.
XXSLX – just what does it mean?
Gough asks what are we to make of this apparent code, especially since there is no ‘S’ in Latin? The grotto was originally aligned on the Tour Magdela, the Tower of the Magdalene, arguably Saunière’s finest creation, some 75 yards in the distance. It now sits on a slight variance from the original.
The Tour Magdela
The Tour Magdela is a spectacular structure. It defines the village of Rennes-le-Château and, in Gough’s view, provides definitive clues to the secret that Abbé Saunière unearthed.
“We mentioned before the frequent occurrence of the numbers 22 and 17 in the Rennes-le-Château legend. Well, here we find some of the most revealing examples:
* Two sets of 11 steps (22) lead up to the observatory platform that leads to the Tour Magdela.
* An anomalous tile on the floor of the Tour Magdela points up a 22-step stone staircase where a lone window points unambiguously at a grotto, approximately a mile in the distance.
* The ancient place-name of the Grotto is ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’, which translates ‘The Burial Site of Mary Magdalene‘.
* The offset of the lone window to the grotto in the distance is, astoundingly, 22 degrees.”
The patterned tile on the Tour Magdela floor
Notice that the floor tiles show a regular octagonal pattern reminding one of the eight-petalled Lotus Flower, which corresponds to the Eightfold Path of Good Law and the Buddhist Mandala. Such a regular octagon can also from the basis of a Tesseract.
Tesseract
And the 11 symmetries of a regular octagon can be presented as shown in the diagram below. Lines of reflections are blue through vertices, purple through edges, and gyration orders are given in the centre. Vertices are coloured by their symmetry position.
On the regular octagon, there are 11 distinct symmetries. John Conway labels full symmetry as r16. The dihedral symmetries are divided depending on whether they pass through vertices (d for diagonal) or edges (p for perpendiculars) Cyclic symmetries in the middle column are abelled as g for their central gyration orders. Full symmetry of the regular form is r16 and no symmetry is labelled a1.
The most common high symmetry octagons are p8, an isogonal octagon constructed by four mirrors can alternate long and short edges, and d8, an isotoxal octagon constructed with equal edge lengths, but vertices alternating two different internal angles. These two forms are duals of each other and have half the symmetry order of the regular octagon.
Each subgroup symmetry allows one or more degrees of freedom for irregular forms. Only the g8 subgroup has no degrees of freedom but can be seen as directed edges.
Are we seeing here the possible rudiments of a hyperdimensional physics based on energy flows?
But that last diagram also reminds me very much of this particular ‘tree of life’:
The Judaic Kabbalah tree of life 10 Sefirot, through which the Ein Sof unknowable divine manifests Creation. The configuration relates to man.
And we know that Saunière created a Kabbalah tree of life in his garden. So, was his choice of floor tile just a matter of whimsy or was Saunière betraying his esoteric and Rosicrucian roots by doing so?
Did Saunière know something else about Rennes-le-Château? As Andrew Gough has observed: “Part of the legend of Rennes-le-Château is the negative, wicked and omnipresent energy that seems to permeate from this part of the Aude valley. Enthusiasts with more receptivity than I to these sorts of things tell me that the energy of the place is staggering. In fact, many are resolute that the energy is the true treasure!”
This reference to “energy” reminds me of what the C’s were alluding to in the session dated 12 July 1997:
Q: Okay! I can accept that! What was Berenger Sauniere collecting all those rocks for?
A: What about conductor?
Q: What do you mean?
A: What conducts?
Q: Was he building a little Stonehenge?
A: Have you researched the power of Stonehenge, and how it relates... where it fits in?
Q: Yes, we are bit by bit collecting things...
A: Well? And crop circles? Amazing connections... And what of “The Rosy Cross?”
Q: Well, this is what we are looking at! I have even discovered that Sir Francis Bacon’s name is even derived from “beech,” and that his Latin signature has the gematria number of 17 – and January 17 is the feast day of St. Anthony, who replaced St. Augustine in this affair somewhat... and I have connected the Rosicrucians all over the blasted planet, for crying out loud! And, who is who here? Just who are the good guys?
A: Airports are used by both.
Q: Well, what is THAT supposed to mean?
A: Transdimensional Atomic Remolecularizer.
Here is what the C’s have had to say about the power of Stonehenge:
Session dated 23 October 1994:
Q: (L) What was Stonehenge built to do or be used for?
A: Energy director.
Q: (L) What was this energy to be directed to do?
A: All things.
Q: (L) Was the energy to be directed outward or inward to the centre?
A: Both.
Session 7 November 1994:
Q: (L) Why are there so many crop circles in Britain?
A: Window. Why Stonehenge was built there.
Session 9 November 1994:
Q: (L) In many ancient ruins there are found certain symbols which interest me, specifically the coil or spiral which seems to be ubiquitous throughout the world. This is also very similar to one of the Reiki symbols. What is the origin and meaning of this symbol?
A: Energy collector translevel; Stonehenge was one. Stonehenge is a coil. The missing stones form a coil arrangement. People have been “zapped” at Stonehenge.
Session 29 March 1996:
A: It is, but not as you think. Stonehenge power. Vortex. Magnetic principles understood by you when you occupied other bodies, ask Hilliard, ole boy.
Thus, the C’s seem to be drawing us to energy and hyperdimensional physics, which are no doubt the real secrets of the Emerald Tablets (or Table) of Hermes-Thoth and the Philosopher’s Stone of the Alchemists. And we know that the Holy Grail, like the Reptoid device hidden on Oak Island in the 16th Century, has the attributes of a TDARM.
Talk about a ‘Rosy Cross’ and ‘X’ marks the spot, here is a picture of an anomalous tile taken by Andrew Gough which points up the 22 steps of the spiral staircase of the Tower of the Magdalene (Tour Magdela), where he states a sole window points unambiguously at a grotto whose ancient place name is ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’ (The Burial Site of the Mary Magdalene).
Talk about a ‘Rosy Cross’ and ‘X’ marks the spot, here is a picture of an anomalous tile taken by Andrew Gough which points up the 22 steps of the spiral staircase of the Tower of the Magdalene (Tour Magdela), where he states a sole window points unambiguously at a grotto whose ancient place name is ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’ (The Burial Site of the Mary Magdalene).
An anomalous tile points up the 22 steps of the staircase and the lone window
The view of the Grotto from the lone window in the Tour Magdela
Abbe Saunière’s Grotto of the Magdalene continued
Resuming with Gough’s account of the Grotto. He mentions that concealed in The Burial Site of the Mary Magdalene grotto are the apparent remains of two graves. The first, near the entrance, is an imprint in the shape of a small coffin. Not surprisingly, the spot had recently been adorned with candles and flowers, so its potential importance is clearly known to a few. Further back, underneath a rocky outcrop, Gough found the remnants of what appears to be a shallow grave, one that was dug up at some point in the not-too-distant past (possibly the time of Saunière).
See the photographs below of the alleged entrance to the burial site of Mary Magdalene and the shallow grave.
Shallow grave
* The number 22, the feast day of Mary Magdalene, is concealed throughout the Tour Magdela.
* Saunière personally designed unconventional restorations in his church that point to the significance of Mary Magdalene, The Grail and concealed religious truths or spiritual knowledge (‘X’ marks the spot).
* The Abbé was obsessed with grottos, including erecting statues of saints who were associated with them (i.e., Saint Anthony and Saint Mary Magdalene). We must not forget that he built one from scratch, constructed with stones he had secretly gathered from the valley below, in the vicinity of the real grotto; the ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine’ – the Burial Site of Mary Magdalene. Sauniere’s imitation grotto points at the tower of the Magdalene, the Tour Magdela, which in turn, unambiguously points at the ‘Grotte du Fournet – dite de la Magdeleine.’
Thus, the temptation is to say that the Abbé Berenger Saunière discovered the bones of Mary Magdalene and possibly her daughter Sara, the embodiment of the Holy Grail, in the grotto pointed to by the Tour Magdela. In fact, this is very tempting. And if we forget for a moment the dogma of Christianity, then this supposition becomes very attractive, indeed. It even passes many of the tests of Occam’s Razor (again, if we leave our preconceptions about Christianity behind).
But as any real physical evidence is lacking, all we can confidently state is that Abbe Saunière did find a treasure, or secret, or both, in the grotto, and what his restorations have done is simply commemorate his discovery by encoding the number 22. That appears clear. What did he find? Well, that is speculative, although I do have my theories. However, I am confident that Occam’s Razor tells me that I am on the right trail. The Grotto might not be the smoking gun at the scene of the crime, but at least it is evidence there was a crime – so to speak.
So, did Abbé Berenger Saunière discover the real tomb of Mary Magdalene and her daughter, who supposedly carried the “sang réal”? I somehow doubt it. However, he possibly did discover something of importance, perhaps even connected to the Grail itself. However, real crimes were committed in the Rennes-le-Château area, which involved, inter alia, the brutal murder of one of Saunière’s priest colleagues. Whatever secret these priests were guarding, it had to have been very important for someone to commit murder. The C’s commented on this same point in the session dated 28 November 1998:
Q: (L) Okay, meanwhile back at Rennes-le-Chateau, there are these three priests and a bishop who have more money than they ought to have. Clearly, there is something going on there. My thought is, after analyzing it is, the purported ‘parchments’ found in the column of the altar in the church there, were never really found, that they and the purported code were both made up as a clever fraud; the whole thing was made up, yet there is a mystery there. I also think that the connecting of the Shepherds of Arcadia painting to that church, that area of France, is fraudulent also. The smokescreen is being focused there to keep it from being directed elsewhere. Am I on the right track here?
A: Well, quite simply we would say, where is Arcadia?
Q: (L) Arcadia was Turkey. You have made many references to Turkey, to Troy, which was located in what is now Turkey. A lot of funny stuff tracks back there. And, Troy means ‘three.’ Interesting.
A: Tis a clue for you, not a destination!
Q: (L) Well, can you tell me just exactly what these guys, these priests, were getting paid to do or not do? What was the money changing hands for? It was a lot of bucks...
A: Keepers of the guard. [MJF: This phrase is similar to the description of Nicolas Poussin as a person who was a ‘Guardian of Secrets’.]
Q: (L) Guard of what?
A: Whatever was going on there.
Q: (L) It seems sort of significant to me that, when one of them was getting ready to retire, he was brutally murdered, and seemingly tortured before his death, and the following year this Abbe Sauniere purchased a large tract of land. Was there any connection between Sauniere and the death of Abbe Gelis?
A: Not the point. What happens to those who “know too much?”
Q: (L) Who was paying them? What was the source of the money?
A: Not available to you yet.
Q: (L) Was it true that before he died, Sauniere made his confession and was refused absolution?
A: Not right track.
Q: (L) Were there ANY parchments found in the church there?
A: Ditto.
You will recall in Part One of this article I referred to the theory of Jean-Luc Chaumeil. who wrote Le Tresor du Triangle d’Or (The Treasure of the Golden Triangle) in 1979, where he claimed that Abbé Sauniere, Abbé Henri Boudet, Abbé Emile Hoffet, and the Bishop of Carcassonne were all members of the Hieron du Val d’Or and that it was a political scuffle within this organisation, which led to Sauniere’s premature death. Chaumeil describes Sauniere as merely a pawn in the Priory of Sion or Hieron du Val d’Or’s bizarre plot regarding Rennes-le-Chateau and the surrounding area.
According to this version of the story, Sauniere had been involved with the order since before his arrival at the parish of Rennes-le-Chȃteau and had been dispatched there by them for the purpose of finding the parchments [or planting them?]. But in 1916 he is said to have had a falling out with the order, which supposedly explains his mysterious death the following year.
Chaumeil states that Saunière’s “handler” with regard to lodge business was the curé of Rennes-le-Bains, Abbé Henri Boudet, who is said to have orchestrated all of Sauniere’s activities, including the remodelling of his church and the surrounding domains. Boudet was also purportedly the middleman who passed along Priory of Sion hush money - not to Sauniere, but to his housekeeper, Marie Deneraud, who was also in their employ and to whom all cheques were made payable.
She also, says Chaumeil, was the agent through which Boudet transmitted all of his highly specific instructions for Saunière.
And Chaumeil tells us that Saunière did not even know true nature of the “treasure” and “secret” which he protected until 1915, one year before his supposed falling out with the order, when Boudet made a deathbed confession to his fellow cleric and conspirator. Whatever the secret was, Sauniere must have found it disturbing to say the least.
Whatever the truth of the matter, there certainly seems to have been dark dealings going on in the Rennes-le-Chȃteau area involving the local Roman Catholic clergy. Moreover, there has been a lot of speculation over the years about Saunière’s private life, particularly his relationship with the celebrated French opera singer Emma Calvé, who was also a well-known figure within Parisian occult circles.
For those who want to read more about the strange dealings of the local clergy, I am attaching a link to another article by Andrew Gough focused on this subject. It suggests that Saunière was not alone in preserving some great secret. See: SECRET OF THE ABBES | Andrew Gough.
Continued
According to this version of the story, Sauniere had been involved with the order since before his arrival at the parish of Rennes-le-Chȃteau and had been dispatched there by them for the purpose of finding the parchments [or planting them?]. But in 1916 he is said to have had a falling out with the order, which supposedly explains his mysterious death the following year.
Chaumeil states that Saunière’s “handler” with regard to lodge business was the curé of Rennes-le-Bains, Abbé Henri Boudet, who is said to have orchestrated all of Sauniere’s activities, including the remodelling of his church and the surrounding domains. Boudet was also purportedly the middleman who passed along Priory of Sion hush money - not to Sauniere, but to his housekeeper, Marie Deneraud, who was also in their employ and to whom all cheques were made payable.
She also, says Chaumeil, was the agent through which Boudet transmitted all of his highly specific instructions for Saunière.
And Chaumeil tells us that Saunière did not even know true nature of the “treasure” and “secret” which he protected until 1915, one year before his supposed falling out with the order, when Boudet made a deathbed confession to his fellow cleric and conspirator. Whatever the secret was, Sauniere must have found it disturbing to say the least.
Whatever the truth of the matter, there certainly seems to have been dark dealings going on in the Rennes-le-Chȃteau area involving the local Roman Catholic clergy. Moreover, there has been a lot of speculation over the years about Saunière’s private life, particularly his relationship with the celebrated French opera singer Emma Calvé, who was also a well-known figure within Parisian occult circles.
For those who want to read more about the strange dealings of the local clergy, I am attaching a link to another article by Andrew Gough focused on this subject. It suggests that Saunière was not alone in preserving some great secret. See: SECRET OF THE ABBES | Andrew Gough.
Continued
