WE will not go into the details of the strange Abbé, Berenger Sauniere, nor will we delve into the history of the elusive Priory of SION. We will, however, relate that which pertains to the story under present consideration.
To begin at the beginning, we shall start with the source that got us interested in the mysterious mountain, Pech Cardou, in the south of France, not far from the Chateau de Blanchefort. In 1996 e.v., Andrews and Schellenberger published The Tomb of God. While this work dismisses most of the pioneering work of Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln, at times doing so at the expense of credibility, taking the legends and history into consideration, there is new material. New material which adds new pieces to a puzzle that has a long way to go before it will be completed.
In The Tomb of God, Andrews and Schellenberger postulate the thesis that they have discovered the place where the body of Jesus of Nazareth was buried, after it had been discovered in the Holy Land, by high dignitaries associated with the leaders of the First Crusade, in the late 11th / early 12th centuries e.v. In order to facilitate a complete transfer of this precious cargo to Europe, the Order of Knights Templars was founded, ostensibly to protect pilgrims on their way to sacred sites in Palestine and Jerusalem, and the secret tradition was born, in the West.
This might make an interesting motion picture screenplay, or an occult romance, but it doesn't completely wash. We did see in the Poussin painting, Les Bergers d'Arcadie, a curious relationship to those famous parchments of Berenger Sauniere, and the map itself. These items alone cannot be explained away scientifically, attributing it to coincidence. This is one of those mysteries that spans a long period of time, and these things happen in the world of the occult. We, too, have encountered such a mystery in the works of Aleister Crowley, who received The Book of the Law in Cairo in 1904 e.v.
As if the mysterious relationship between the Poussin painting, the map, and the parchments wasn't enough, this story, or at least this part of the story, ties in with certain peculiar Masonic legends, which have never really been explained, and with the Ecclesia Gnostica Universelle, the Gnostic Catholic Church, which came into existence in the late 19th Century e.v., with the help of persons intimately associated with the mysteries of Rennes-le-chateau.
We are getting ahead of ourselves. In The Tomb of God, the authors relate the following information concerning Blanchefort and the Knights Templars:
"Blanchefort, with its legendary associations with the Knights Templar, had been woven into tales of treasure much embellished by conjecture over the years. The fortunes of the Knights templar had risen dramatically when the founding members returned to France, not least because of the decision taken by the Council of Troyes in 1129 granting the order recognition by the Church. While this explains the change in their spiritual status, it does not account for the change in their fiscal status. As before, however, evidence was to come to our aid.
"Much of the Templar wealth was amassed over the years through the inheritance of land and property, donated either by initiates or by those wishing to support an increasingly influential and potent force in the affairs of the French kingdom. Many of these land transactions, written in Latin, survived the destruction of the Order in 1307, and whereas much of the Templar 'history' in the area is little more than fiction, we found vital documents which did indicate their very real presence on and around this strategic mountain.
"According to a document dated 20 May 1130, the Templars had been present in the area since 1127, the year in which their first Grand master, Hugues de Payens, had returned from Palestine. This document confirms the transfer of the locality of Peirois or Peyrolles into the hands of the Order, whose master 'after God' is Hugues de Payens.
"The second document comes from the same archive and is equally relative to our story. Spanning a period from late March to early April 1134, it is also a land transaction, recording a gift from one William of Aleniano to the Knights of the 'Temple of Solomon.' But it is the surname of Blancefort, one of the Templar witnesses to the signing of this document, that is of real interest. "Earlier researchers [hmm. Hmm. Ahem. That is, Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln...] who studied Albon's Cartulaire général (a compilation of Templar transactions) had described the 'Blanchefort' in this document as possessing the Christian name of Bertrand, thus identifying him with the sixth Grand Master, elected in 1156. The Château de Blanchefort was thus elevated to dizzying heights on the back of this assertion, declared as having belonged to the sixth Grand Master, Bertrand de Blanchefort; concealment of 'treasure' could therefore have been conducted under his protection.
"However, closer study of the source of this identification reveals a discrepancy. It is not a Bertrand who is recorded but a Bernard: Bernardi de 'Blanca Fort'. This destroys at a stroke the documentary 'evidence' that Bertrand the Grand Master of the Knights Templar had anything to do with the area of Rennes. The index of the Cartulaire concerning the Rennes area confirmed this. Of Blanca-Fort knights, there were three mentioned: Arnaldus, Bernardus, and Raimundus. There is no mention of a Bertrand. Aware that the Templar connection made by a previous book [i.e., Holy Blood, Holy Grail...] was wishful thinking, we were now thinking that the chÂteau was devoid of templar connections, thereby undermining our theory. Was there really nothing else? Turning again to the document about Bernard, one witness stood out: Raymond, Abbé of Alet-les-Bains.
"At the centre of Alet-les-Bains stand the ruins of a Benedictine abbey. The Rule of the Templars had been modelled on the Benedictine rule of poverty, chastity and obedience; knowing this common link, we researched the ownership of Alet Abbey. One source told that it had been in Templar hands from 1132 to 1180. This was a real breakthrough, for we knew that on 19 June 1119, ownership of the Château de Blanchefort had been transferred to the Abbeys of St. Gilles and Alet-les-Bains by order of Pope Calixtus II. So, unless the château had been transferred to another owner between 1119 and 1132, it was, during the early years of the Order, a Templar possession.
"This document therefore established that both Peyrolles and Blanchefort were, from the years 1130 and 1132 respectively, both under Templar control. Moreover, the Abbey of Alet had come under their control in the same period. But what of our theories about early surveying and the château geometry? Did the church at Peyrolles have an earlier and more secular origin as a Templar barracks or commanderie? This seems possible, by reason of its isolation from the rest of the village and its position on the ancient highway as marked on the Cassini map. This route used to run from south of Alet-les-Bains eastwards through La Mort to Peyrolles church, before striking south past the Château de Serres. From Serres it crossed the river and then curved around the base of Mount Cardou to reach the base of the Site. Later study of the church at Peyrolles did indeed show that substantial additions had been made to an earlier building. This was apparent in the south-facing wall, where the top half of a filled-in archway demonstrated the existence of a large arched entrance in the original construction.
"Peyrolles was visible from Blanchefort, which meant that the Templars could easily have monitored movement around the area of the Site on Cardou. If the Templars were associated with the concealment of the 'treasure' on Cardou, then the Château de Blanchefort, by virtue of its position, could easily have fulfilled the role of observation-post." -- The Tomb of God, pp. 263-265.
If the Templars used Blanchefort as an observation-post, then what could they be observing? Monitoring Pech-Cardou? That is possible. At any rate, while Andrews and Schellenberger try to dismiss as much of HBHG as they can, there is a reason to accept some of this material, especially if one is able to carry out research oneself.
In those early years of the Order of the Temple, a curious event occurred, which we shall quote. In brief, Blanchefort ordered an entire group of German miners to work in the area around his castle, and around Bezu, and, probably, around Cardou. They were kept isolated from the locals, and were given their own rules and statutes. At least by the time of the 17th Century e.v., there was an Order of Reformed Miners of the Strict Observance of St. Francis somewhere in France. (As noticed by Hargrave Jennings in the highly important Chapter 37 of the Second Edition of his Rosicrucians.)
"In 1153 a nobleman of the region -- a nobleman with Cathar sympathies -- became fourth grand master of the Order of the Temple. His name was Bertrand de Blanchefort, and his ancestral home was situated on a mountain peak a few miles away from both Bézu and Rennes-le-Chateau. Bertrand de Blanchefort, who presided over the order from 1153 until 1170, was probably the most significant of all Templar grand masters. Before his regime the order's hierarchy and administrative structure were, at best, nebulous. It was Bertrand who transformed the Knights Templar into the superbly efficient, well-organized, and magnificently disciplined hierarchical institution they then became. It was Bertrand who launched their involvement in high-level diplomacy and international politics. It was Bertrand who created for them a major sphere of interest in Europe, and particularly in France. And according to the evidence that survives, Bertrand's mentor -- some historians even list him as the grand master immediately preceding Bertrand -- was André de Montbard.
"Within a few years of the Templars' incorporation Bertrand had not only joined their ranks but also conferred on them lands in the environs of Rennes le Chateau and Bezu. And in 1156 under Bertrand's regime as grand master, the order is said to have imported to the area a contingent of German-speaking miners. These workers were supposedly subjected to a rigid, virtually military discipline. They were forbidden to fraternize in any way with the local population and were kept strictly segregated from the surrounding community. A special judicial body, la Judicature des Allemands, was even created to deal with legal technicalities pertaining to them. And their alleged task was to work the gold mines on the slopes of the mountain of Blanchefort -- gold mines that had been utterly exhausted.
"During the seventeenth century engineers were commissioned to investigate the mineralogical prospects of the area and draw up detailed reports. In the course of this report one of them, César d'Arcons, discussed the ruins he had found, remains of the German workers' activity. On the basis of his research he declared that the German workers did not seem to have been engaged in mining. In what, then, were they engaged? César d'Arcons was unsure -- smelting, perhaps, melting something down, constructing something out of metal, perhaps even excavating a subterranean crypt of some sort and creating a species of depository." -- HBHG, pp. 92 - 93.
We are also told that the Knights were charged with the duty of creating a "hiding place" -- for what, we are not told. However, in the legends and mysteries of High Grade Freemasonry, we are given an important clue. Albert G. Mackey, in Mackey's Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences, Volume II, s.v., "Noachite, or Prussian Knight," informs usthat this degree came from an early French Ritual --
"The early French rituals state that the degree was translated in 1757 from the German by M. de Beraye, Knight of Eloquence in the Lodge of the Count St. Gelaire, Inspector-General of Prussian Lodges in France....The degree was adopted by the Council of Emperors of the East and West, and in that way became subsequently a part of the system of the Scottish Rite. But it is misplaced in any series of degrees supposed to emanate from the Solomonic Temple. It is, as an unfitting link, an unsightly interruption of the chain of legendary symbolism substituting Noah for Solomon, and Peleg for Hiram Abif."
In other words, it is out of place. That might not be an accident. We find, in the AASR, after this degree, the entry into the High Priesthood of the Mysteries. At least, that is what we have come to understand, from our study of the available materials. Later versions use the history and symbols of the Holy-Vehm, which is interesting, but not entirely relevant to our story. Continuing with Mackey, he relates the legend of the Noachites --
"The legend of the degree describes the travels of Peleg from Babel to the north of Europe, and ends with the following narrative: 'In trenching the rubbish of the salt-mines of Prussia was found in A.D. 553, at a depth of fifteen cubits, the appearance of a triangular building in which was a column of white marble, on which was written in Hebrew the whole history of the Noachites. At the side of this column was a tomb of freestone on which was a piece of agate inscribed with the following epitaph: Here rest the ashes of Peleg, our Grand Architect of the Tower of Babel. The Almighty had pity on him because he became humble."
Mackey goes on to state that this legend is historically untenable, and discusses it in a figurative context. But, if it is not exactly history, might it not be allegorical history, as so many of these stories happen to be? This story would seem to allude to the entire cycle of Masonic legends relating to the Royal Arch, and the Cryptic Degrees, in which the workmen in the time of the building of the Second Temple, discovered the crypt in which had been deposited the Ark of the Covenant and the Ineffable Name of God. In the Masonic Chronology, it is one of the earliest degrees, the Royal Arch, and all the Cryptic degrees coming at this time, or later. In the engravings of Lambert de Lintot, we see the legend referred to in the lowest of the panes in the diagram. Directly above it is an engraving of the Holy Royal Arch of Enoch, and the Nine Crypts. Above that is a depiction of a castle, which shows a tower with the words "SION + GOD WILL" -- indeed there is something more to this than meets the eye superficially. Here follows the narration, as given in the Ritual, from Blanchard, which means that it is for the 21° Cerneau Rite --
"My brother, we read that the descendants of Noah resolved to build a tower so high as to prevent the Almighty from again destroying the world by a flood and to get themselves a name in the world. They chose for their purpose the plains of Shinar, in Asia. Ten years after the foundation was laid, the Lord looking down upon earth and beholding the pride and audacious attempt of the people, He descended to confound their project by causing a confusion of languages among the workmen so that they could not understand one another; whence it was called Babel. Sometime after, Nimrod established a distinction among men, and founded a city, and called it Babylon. Tradition says, the dedication was at the full of the moon so the festivals of this degree are held in the month of March, at the full of the moon. Tradition further informs us that after the languages were confounded at the building of the tower of Babel, the workmen separated and dispersed into different countries. The architect of the tower traveled into Germany where he arrived after a long and tedious journey, living upon roots and other vegetables. He fixed his residence in that part now called Prussia, where he erected a dwelling to shelter himself from the inclemency of the weather, and where he also erected many monuments.
"In the year 1553, in digging for salt mines, the workmen found the ruins of a triangular edifice 15 cubits deep. In the centre of this edifice they found many trophies of antiquity: An urn of agate, and many marble columns with hieroglyphics engraven thereon.
"The origin of this order, my brother, was long before the era of Hiram or Solomonian Masonry; as every one knows that the tower of Babel was built long before the temple of Solomon, and in former times it was not necessary that a candidate should be a Master Mason to be qualified to receive this; for in the times of the Crusades the Knights of the different orders in Europe were initiated into this degree by the Christian Princes to conquer the Holy Land which was invaded by the Infidels, as were also the masons descendant from Hiram." --"Scotch" Rite Masonry Illustrated, by James Blanchard, Vol. II, pp. 79-80.
In other words, these workmen found this hidden crypt. In 1553 e.v., we are getting close to the time of the alleged discovery of the tomb of Christian Rosencreuz... An Agate urn... this has parallels in very ancient Sumerian stories, about the cauldron of the sages, which is perhaps the earliest prototype for the Grail Chalice. The cauldron of the sages was a relic won as a trophy, when the Enlilites subdued a community of Serpent (and Cow-Goddess) worshippers near Carchemish, one of the earliest known settlements. This bowl was subsequently placed, we are told, in a crypt underneath the holy of holies in the central temple of Enlil at Nippur. We shall deal with this more in depth, below. This, according to history, and according to the writings of Zecharia Sitchin, is where the "Bond- Heaven-Earth" or DurAnKi was located. This is the Secret of the Grail, by the way. The merging of Heaven and Earth.
When we turn to Pike's Book of the Words, we get some interesting code-language, in his interpretations of the words of the 21° -- and Pike was an expert at packing his interpretations with many meanings, and in particular, secret meanings which alluded to the history of a particular tradition he served at least by publishing this material in English, for the American descendants of the Grail lineage.
"PHALEG: 'divided; division; a river; creek; canal.' From the root pal, whence, 'separated, divided, consecrated, i.e., set apart.'
"SEM, SAM, or SHEM, means 'a name;' and thence, 'Glory, Memory, a Monument.' Shem Yahvah, 'the Name of God, Deity.'"
"Khem: 'Hot, Heat.' [Pike goes on to give the description of the Egyptian God Khem (or Khnemu or Knoum, the Priapic Deity. This is also Ba-neb-tettu, the Goat God of Mendes. This is also the Egg, and the Kneph, born of Hathor, the Goddess of Infinite Space....This may seem out of place in relation to Phaleg and Shem, but wait, there's more...]
"JAPHET: Yapat from patah, 'spread, opened, enlarged.'...." -- Pike, WORDS, p 154-155.
So, a River, which runs right past the site, the Sals(or Salt) River. There were "Prussian Salt-Miners" and "Prussian Salt-Mines..." These Johannite Knight Templars were indeed Consecrated and Set Apart, due to the nature of their Initiation, and the German Miners were Separated and Set Apart, and undoubtedly Consecrated too, much like the people who worked on the Manhattan Project were set apart and separated...They built a Monument, the Name of God, which has to do with Khem, Khnem, Ba-neb-tettu, Baphomet, Hathor, etc., They spread, opened, the mountain, and enlarged the passageway... This, too, might explain the meaning of Werner's name for the Qadosh Fathers, namely, The Sons of the VALLEY, and the elusive group mentioned in Holy Blood, Holy Grail, namely, Hieron du VAL D'OR??? Food for thought and grounds for further research.
As we have learned to interpret Pike this way, from earlier researches and mysterious clues which came out of analysing his words for the 15°, we can accept this analysis of the 21°:
1. The German Miners and the Prussian Knights or Noachites are the same.
2. They weren't excavating in Prussia, they were digging a crypt in the south of France.
3. Rather than discovering a monument, they created it.
4. Rather than finding the urn which contained the ashes of Phaleg, they were depositing the Grail Chalice...and whatever else there was to deposit.
5. They did this within the sight of the Chateau de Blanchefort, and they did it in Pech Cardou, Mount Cardou, which Schellenberger claims to mean Mount of God. (Mountain of the Body of God, Corp de Dieux.) This is just another clue. For the name has further significance, and intimate connection to the "days of Noah..."
|[HOME] |[CONTENTS] | [MINERS] | MOUNTAIN OF SALVATION] |[CAULDRON OF THE SAGES] | [CONCLUDING REMARKS] | [MAIL]|
Original Material Copyright © 1999 - 2003 Jonathan Sellers