|
 June 2005 Shugborough is Associated with the Ancient African Dogon Religion through the Merovingians by Shannon Dorey 
The code on the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument at Staffordshire in Lichfield, England has been confusing theorists since it was first created in the 1760s. Rumours say the secret letters on the Shugborough monument are "hiding a set of instructions on how to find the Holy Grail, the chalice in which the blood of Jesus was collected, as it fell from his crucified wounds."a1 My research ties the monument to the Merovingians and the Masonic Society through the ancient African Dogon religion. I believe the Dogon religion is the original mystery religion thought to have been lost to humanity. Evidence indicates the letters on the monument identify an Operative Masonic altar and the Operative Masonic society associated with the altar was a secret underground political group involving the exiled Stuarts and their attempt to regain the English throne. Historical documents indicate the group was probably formed around the time of Charles I execution in 1649 by the Rosicrucian and alchemist Elias Ashmole. Ashmole, who had been the first Operative Mason of any consequence, had been born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, 23 May 1617, and died in South Lambeth (London) in 1692.1 The Shugborough monument is found on the grounds at Shugborough Hall, the seat of the Earls of Lichfield. It was built as a meeting place for this group sometime in the 1760s long after Ashmole's death but at a time when the Stuarts' desire to regain the English throne was still paramount. The Stuarts' played a significant role in the Masonic society and the original mystery religion because they were connected to the Merovingian bloodline. The Merovingian bloodline appeared in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and in the Da Vinci Code fiction, where the Frankish royal family was supposed to be descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. According to my research, the Merovingian bloodline is much older than the biblical Jesus and Mary Magdalene. It predates these myths by thousands of years. Through my research of the ancient African Dogon religion, I have found links between the fish and serpent like alien Nummo talked about by Dogon, and the Merovingians. According to legend, the Merovingians traced their ancestry back to Merovée, a semimythical person who was born of two fathers. One was a king named Clodio and the other a sea monster that seduced his mother when she was swimming in the sea. The Merovingians were supposed to have been descended from aliens, who were the offspring of "nephilim" or fallen angels. Because of their ancestry, Merovée and his descendants were reputed to have supernatural powers and unnaturally long lives.1a According to the Dogon, the serpent and fish like alien beings known as Nummo came to Earth from another star system. They were associated with both the Sirius and Pleiades star systems. These green, amphibious beings were identified with the Philistine god Dagon, which is likely the root of the Merovingian name Dagobert. According to the Dogon, the alien Nummo lived high in the mountains in caves as well as underground because the sunlight dried out their skin. Because they were amphibious, they needed to keep moist in order to stay alive. The "underground stream" associated with the mythology of the Rosicrucians, and the River God Alpheus found in the artist Nicholas Poussin's painting, "Et in Arcadia Ego", are related to the Nummo. The Masonic altar at Shugborough was designed in reverse to Poussin's "Les Berger d'Arcadie" which was painted in 1637-39. In the painting Shepherd's point to the phrase "Et In Arcadia Ego", the name of Poussin's earlier painting which included the River God.1b The painting of the morose water deity in "Et in Arcadia Ego" dates from 1630 to 1635.1c "The river Alpheus is a central river in the actual geographical Arcadia in Greece, which flows underground and is said to surface at the Fountain of Arethusa in Sicily and is deemed to be sacred."1d Since most of the Stuarts were exiled in France, another meeting place for this group existed at Rennes-le-Château in south France. Most of the clues for solving the letters found on the Shugborough monument come from Rennes-le-Château with some appearing in ciphers that were thought to have been composed in the 1780s by the curé at the time Abbé Antoine Bigou. In one of the ciphers, Nicolas Poussin is mentioned as providing a key to the mystery.1e It is the reversal of Poussin's painting to that of the monument that is the key to solving the letters found on the altar. The painting indicates the letters are supposed to be read in reverse. Not only are the letters on the Shugborough monument reversed according to Poussin's painting, but the top letters are also separated from the bottom letters because the top letters are also meant to be flipped. The clue for this is also found in the church at Rennes-le-Château where the original Visigothic Pillar that used to support the old altar had been displayed upside down in the church.2 Another clue found in the church is a statue of Jesus being baptized by John where two upside down "Vs" are seen hanging from John's cross to form the letter "M". A picture of this is shown below.3  © Alan Scott 2005 When flipped and reversed the top letters on the Shugborough monument spell MAVSONO or  . In the early 1970's an actual tomb was located from Poussin's painting of the Shepherds monument on the outskirts of Arques approximately six miles from Rennes-le-Château.4 A mile or so east of Rennes-le-Château were the ruins of the Château of Blanchefort, fourth Grand Master of the Knights Templar, who presided over the order in the mid-twelfth century.5 The Templars are also related to the Masonic and pagan mythology associated with the Shugborough monument. The clues found at Rennes-le-Château may have been part of a Masonic ritual which had initiates identifying the meaning of the letters on the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument.Those Masons who met at Rennes-le-Château were also connected to those from the Shepherd's monument through alchemy, the Rosicrucians and the Merovingians. The connection is important because as was mentioned earlier, the exiled Stuarts were linked to the Merovingian bloodline.5a Evidence indicates those associated with this group, which included Poussin, were involved in a cryptic form of Freemasonry, known as "Royal and Select Masters". The second letter "A" and the third letter "V" represent the Masonic symbols of the compass and the square, which are meant to appear overlapping each other as shown below. Aside from the fact they represent the Masonic symbols, together they provide the "A" for the word MASON.  These next pictures show how the cross and square appeared on Masonic artefacts supporting the theory that these two letters were meant to be read together.  6  7
The clue for these "Vs" being read overlapped also appears at Rennes-le-Château engraved in stone in the word "OMARIE". The "A" in the name "MARIE" is overlapped with an "M". It is part of a phrase which when translated into English means, "Oh Mary Conceived Without Sin Pray For Us". Henry Lincoln said it almost appeared as if the stone mason who had created the phrase and the name "MARIE" had made a mistake first putting in "MM" and then overlapping the second "M" with an "A".7a He joked that this was highly unlikely. The letters "M" are written like upside down "V"s so that the overlapping letters in the stone work clearly depict the Masonic symbol shown above. The "OM" to start the phrase may also be a clue to the fact the group was an "Operative Masonic" organization, which followed the ancient operative traditions. This is important because at that time a transition was taking place and speculative Freemasonry was taking over the old operative traditions that were becoming lost.7b It was the old operative traditions that were most closely linked with the pagan religion. There is also another clue found at Rennes-le-Château which represents the overlapping "Vs". It is found in a framed picture of two triangles overlapping each other on a bookplate. The bookplate is framed together with a picture of the demon Asmodeus and apparently found in the museum at Rennes-le-Château. Asmodeus appears on top and the bookplate of the overlapping triangles, shown below, appears below it.8 A reversal of these two images appears on a statue at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château. 
According to Simon Miles, the picture of the overlapping triangles or hexagram representing the Masonic "Vs", shown above, was thought to have been created by Berenger Saunière, who became the parish priest at Rennes-le-Château in 1885. The letters "BS" appear on the picture of the triangles, which is why it was assumed the drawing had been created by Berenger Saunière. As Miles points out, however, the picture of the triangles on the framed bookplate is actually the frontpiece to Heinrich Madathanus "Aureum Seculum Redivivum", or "The Golden Age Revived", first published in Frankfurt in 1625. Madathanus was the pseudonym of Adrian von Mynsicht (1603-1638), an alchemist, esotericist and apologist for the Rosicrucians.9 This is important because of Elias Ashmole's relationship to the Rosicrucians and the fact he was also an alchemist. Notice the angels in the four corners. These angels also appear on the statue at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château. On the statue they appear on the top and Asmodeus appears on the bottom. Miles pointed out that the symbol of the overlapping triangles is also prominently displayed on a monument in Rome, Italy, known as the Porta Alchemica, or "Alchemical Door". This door is covered in hermetic and alchemical symbols and quotations. It can be found in the walls of the Villa Palombara, located in the Piazza Vittore Emmanuele and was built around 1680 by the Marquis Massimigliano Palombara.10 The association with the Alchemical door is significant not only because of Ashmole's connection to alchemy but the fact a round Alchemical Tower is also found on the grounds at Rennes-le-Château.10a On top of the centre of the archway of the Italian "Alchemical Door" is a head not unlike the head that appears on top of the Shugborough monument. There is also the bottom of a wreath that appears around the circle above the "Alchemical Door". Wreaths appear on the top of the Shugborough monument as well. It may indicate that this door in Italy provided another meeting place for the exiled Stuarts and their Italian sympathisers. The symbol from the "Alchemical Door" was also compared to the 21st emblem of Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens, which is another alchemical manuscript published in Frankfurt in 1617. In the picture, a man with a pair of compasses is in the process of constructing the overlapping triangles or hexagram by drawing a triangle within a larger circle.11 Inside the triangle is a smaller circle and inside the circle is a picture of Adam and Eve. The compasses in the picture reiterate the hexagram's or the overlapping triangles' connection to the Masonic Society. A seashell also appears in the foreground of the picture emphasizing its association to the Merovingians who are also connected to the Masonic Society through the pagan religion. Take note of this seashell, as it also appears on the statue at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château. The picture from the front piece of the "Aureum Seculum Redivivum" appears yet again in another alchemical work entitled, "Donum Dei" by Simon Baruch, drawn by Adam McLean and shown below left. A book by Abraham Eleazar entitled, "Uraltes chymisches Werck", Erfurt, 1735, displayed Simon Baruch's engravings.12 In Eleazar's book, known as the book by Abraham the Jew, is another picture by Simon Baruch of two salamander type beings and a hill with what appears to be a rose growing from it. The rose was the symbol of the Rosicrucians. It was also drawn by Adam McLean and shown below right. As was mentioned earlier, Ashmole was a Rosicrucian. These salamanders and rose also appear on the statue at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château.   © Adam McLean All of these pictures were combined to create the statue found at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château shown below. This statue was built under the direction of the parish priest, Berenger Saunière.  © Alan Scott 2005 In the picture of this statue, it shows the top of Asmodeus head on the bottom, a seashell on his head, the salamanders and letters BS above the shell, and then the four angels above them. This is of course flipped to the framed picture in the museum of Asmodeus on the top, and the cover of the "Aureum Seculum Redivivum" with the overlapping triangles in the middle and the four angels, one in each corner, on the bottom. On the statue, the rose is in the centre of the cross above the angels. The rose and cross were the symbols of the "Rosy Croix" or Rosicrucians. At the ends of the cross appear fleur-de-lis, which are associated with French monarchs and stem from the baptismal lily used in the crowning of King Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty. This symbol is particularly significant to the Dogon pagan religion and is talked about in my book, The Nummo. The ancient spelling of the word "fleur-de-lis" is "fleur-de-luce", which means "Flower of Light".12a The letters "BS", from the cover of the "Aureum Seculum Redivivum", also shows a reversal of the initials of "Simon Baruch" who created the two pictures shown above and found in the book by Abraham Eleazar, who was known as Abraham the Jew. The statue's location at the entrance of the church is important because it ties it to the "Alchemical Door". As Henry Lincoln pointed out, the statue is also revealing the four elements. Fire is associated with the mythical salamanders that were born out of fire, water is related to the water stoop in the form of the shell over the devil's head, the angels are identified with air, and the devil was known as Rex Mundi, who was Lord of the Earth.12b Tapestries of the four elements had also appeared in the house at Shugborough. Only one is still remaining and hangs in the staircase hall. It is of "Earth" and was probably woven by John Vanderbank at the Soho Manufactory in London in the early 1700s. "It is closely based on a panel of the Gobelins Elements, designed by Le Brun a generation earlier."12c The four elements are important to alchemy and are also associated with the African Dogon religion where the development of the world was associated with the four elements of air, water, fire and earth as well as the four directions of space.12d The arms of the angels also appear reversed to each other, perhaps another clue to the reversal of the letters not only on the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument but on the statue itself. The arm of the angel at the top is positioned in such a way as to create the appearance of her peering outward as if guiding a ship with the cross acting as its mast. This is significant because of the Rosicrucians alleged association with the secret group known as the Prieuré de Sion. The Grand Masters of the Prieuré de Sion were known as "Nautonniers" an old French term meaning 'navigator' or 'helmsman'.13 Knowledge of the Prieuré de Sion was based on a document known as the Dossiers Secrets which was deposited in the Bibliotèque Nationale sometime in the 1950s or 1960s.13b The existence of the Prieuré de Sion has never been fully proven but these associations found at Rennes-le-Château would tend to support its existence. There is also a hidden round room in the church in Rennes-le-Château with a window that resembles a ship's portal. The door to the curved room was found in the back of a cupboard in the church's sacristy.13c The letters "BS", which show the reversal of the name Simon Baruch, is just one of the many connections that Saunière was trying to make in his creation of the statue. Artist and alchemical researcher, Adam McLean didn't have any information on Simon Baruch, a name which he believed had likely been made up. He said the word "Barûkh" in Hebrew meant, "blessed", an important reference relating to the Elysian Fields, which were associated with the Isle of the Blessed.13d It is also related to the Irish and Welsh Celtic myths relating to "Bran the Blessed", the "Cauldron of Regeneration" and the islands of the Otherworld. These associations are important as they relate to regeneration and immortality. In the Dogon religion the alien Nummo were immortal. Humans were created and regenerated by the alien Nummo in a device not unlike the cauldron of Welsh myth. McLean also pointed to a non-canonical Biblical work called the "Book of Baruch" that may be connected in some way. Baruch's engravings, which are found in the book of Abraham Eleazar, known as the book by Abraham the Jew, are all about alchemy. Abraham Eleazar's book also contained a series of engravings by Nicholas Flamel,14 the famous medieval alchemist who was alleged to have been Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion between 1398-1418.15 This may indicate that Simon Baruch was actually Nicholas Flamel. According to Flamel, he performed his first alchemical transmutation at noon on January 17th in 1382.15a Following the strict method found in the book of Abraham the Jew, Flamel had apparently "changed a half-pound of mercury first into silver, and then into virgin gold. And simultaneously, he accomplished the same transmutation in his soul. From his passions, mixed in an invisible crucible, the substance of the eternal spirit emerged."15b Is it possible that Nicholas Flamel's experiment was somehow connected to the regeneration process in Dogon mythology? Whether Flamel can be believed or not, the truth is that he became very wealthy afterwards. By 1413 he had founded and endowed 14 hospitals, seven churches and three chapels in Paris and a similar number in Boulogne.15c The date January 17th also appeared continuously in the mysteries and stories relating to Rennes-le-Château. In the introduction to Abraham Eleazar's book, it said Abraham Eleazar was a "Jew, a Prince, Priest, and Levite, Astrologer and Philosopher" who sprang from the roots of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In the first paragraph of the work, there is also mention of the great profit Elias.16 On the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument, the letters "SON" spell the end of the word "MASON". The letter "O" at the end stands for "Operative", which as was mentioned earlier, was a term that was used to refer to working masons. I believe the working masons likely provided the army's backbone in the Stuart uprisings. The term also became identified with mathematicians and scientists in the 1600s. Elias Ashmole was supposed to have been the first Operative Mason of any consequence.17 In extracts from the Theosophical Writings of H.P. Blavatsky, it was reported that Elias Ashmole was admitted to the freedom of the Operative Masons' company in London in 1646. Blavatsky further reported that Elias Ashmole was the celebrated antiquarian, who founded the museum of Oxford and was initiated together with Colonel Mainwarring in the Brotherhood of the working Masons in Warrington. She recounted how "the entrance of such men as Elias Ashmole into the Operative Fraternity paved the way for the great 'Masonic Revolution of 1717', when SPECULATIVE Masonry came into existence." 18 In A Chronology of the History of Freemasonry it was reported, "In this year, of 1646, a company of Rosy Croix that had been formed in London according to the ideas of Bacon's New Atlantis, assembled in the conference room of the Masons. Elias Ashmole, who was a member, and the other Brothers of the Rosy Croix, rectified the formulas of reception of these workmen, which consisted of some ceremonies similar to those used among all the professionals, and substituted a mode of initiation which they copied, partly, from the old mysteries of Egypt and Greece."19 The connection between the Masons and the mystery religions is important because my research indicates the Dogon religion is the original mystery religion. This would explain why so many Masonic symbols are connected with the Dogon religion. It is in fact Greek mythology that plays a role in deciphering the bottom letters on the monument "D M". These letters, which when reversed like Poussin's painting, spell MD, meaning medical doctor. Ashmole was an M.D.; Oxford had conferred the title of M.D. on him in 1669.20 The symbol associated with the medical profession is the symbol of the caduceus, which is related to Hermeticism and the Greek god Hermes. Hermes plays a significant role in the mythology of the Masons. Hermes was part of the alchemical images circulating at the time. Hermes is part of the word Hermaphrodite, and androgyny and hermaphroditic figures also play a role in Masonic, pagan and alchemical mythology. Below is a picture taken from an Engraving of Ashmole's Theatrum Chemcicum Britannicum, 1652, which was copied by Adam McLean.21  © Adam McLean Hermes is in the top centre holding the caduceus symbol in one hand and the six pointed star in the other. The fact Ashmole was a famous Operative Mason and the cover of his book appears with the caduceus symbol relates this symbol to the Operative Masons. The serpent symbolized the goddess in ancient pagan cultures. In ancient Egypt Isis was depicted as a serpent. The female on the right looks as if she has a fish tail as does the figure on top of the monument in the centre of the engraving. These symbols are all important as they relate to Masonic symbolism and the ancient Dogon mythology related to the Merovingians. This figure was identified with the Shepherdess. In the pagan religion, it was the Shepherdess who guided the flock. In the pagan religion the female goddess figure was spiritually superior to males. In my book The Master Of Speech, I compared the caduceus to the symbol for DNA, which is so much a part of the Dogon religion. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, various scientists were connected with the Masonic societies because it was mathematics and geometry that Masons used to build their structures. Masonry came to be a symbol for advanced science, which was rooted in the myth of Asmodeus (also known as Ashmedai) who was supposed to have been the builder of Solomon's temple. As was mentioned previously, he appeared at the entrance to the church at Rennes-le-Château. According to the Haggadah, when Solomon was erecting the Temple, "he did not know how to get the blocks of marble into shape, since, according to the law (Ex. xx. 26), they might not be worked by an iron tool." The reference to marble associates it with the Shugborough monument, which is a marble bas-relief. The myth goes on to say that the wise men advised Solomon to obtain "the 'shamir'", a worm whose mere touch could cleave rocks. But to obtain it was no slight task; for not even the demons, who knew so many secrets, knew where the shamir, was to be found. They surmised, however, that Ashmedai, king of the demons, was in possession of the secret, and they told Solomon the name of the mountain on which Ashmedai dwelt…"22 The shamir was likely an advanced scientific instrument capable of shaping marble, which is why Ashmedai became identified with the scientists and alchemists of the day. Remnants of magnificient masonry seem to have existed throughout the world from the Egyptian pyramids to the Bolivian remnants at Tiahuanaco. These ancient buildings were made with massive stones, making it inconceivable that humans could have lifted them. For instance Tiahuanaco's Gateway of the Sun is carved out of a single piece of solid andesite and weighs more than 10 tons.22i The gateway is reminiscent of the Masonic archways and the alchemical doors discussed previously. The Great Pyramid of Egypt covered a full 13.1 acres at it base. It weighed about six million tons and consisted of roughly 2.3 million individual blocks of limestone and granite. When the nineteenth century archeologist, W. M. Flinders Petrie examined the blocks at the base he had been astounded to discover "tolerances of less than one-hundredth of an inch and cemented joints so precise and so carefully aligned that it had been impossible to slip even the fine blade of a knife in between them. 'Merely to place such stones in exact contact would be careful work', he admitted, 'but to do so with cement in the joint seems almost impossible; it is to be compared to the finest opticians' work on a scale of acres.'" 22ii Ashmedai's association with Solomon's temple connected him to the figure of Hiram Abiff, who was supposed to have been the architect of Solomon's temple, and a key figure in Masonic rituals. William Harvey, J.P., F.S.A. (Scot.) Provincial Grand Master of Forfarshire, reported the name Hiram Abiff was undoubtedly Phoenician, but that there was some confusion, as to its actual form. "'Hiram' is the more common rendering, but the author of the Chronicles adheres to the spelling 'Huram,' and other writers adopt the variant 'Hirom.' Mr J. F. Stenning says that it is equivalent to 'Ahiram,' and means 'the exalted one'. According to Movers, Hiram or Huram, is the name of a deity, and means 'the coiled or twisted one,' but other scholars regard this derivation as very improbable."22a My research indicates this last definition is accurate. The description sounds like a serpent and since Asmodeus or Ashmedai was identified with the devil or Satan the name reiterates the connection of Hiram to Ashmedai. As was mentioned earlier, the serpent was also a significant symbol in the pagan religion and associated with the Goddess Isis. The symbol of the serpent, identified with the sacred feminine, was later reversed by patriarchal groups including the Roman Catholic Church turning it into a figure of evil. According to legend, Hiram Abiff was murdered by one of three workers who assaulted him in their attempt to discover the secret he held. Hiram Abiff's secret was never divulged and his body was hidden outside the city walls, where it remained until recovered by Solomon.23 "The Raising of the Master", a sketch done by the seventeenth century artist Giovanni Francesco Guercino, depicts the story of Hiram Abiff. Guercino's sketch also incorporates the compasses as well as other themes from Masonic rituals and is now owned by the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland, Edinburgh.24 Guercino had also painted "Et in Arcadia Ego" in 1618, which was the name of Poussin's earlier painting of the River God.24a In Guercino's painting there was a skull, which is an important Masonic and Knights Templar symbol. Individual skulls and skulls and crossbones also appear at Rennes-le-Château. Masonic themes can be found throughout Guercino's other works. Guercino was born in Cento on February 2, 1591(?), and died in Bologna on December 2, 1666(?)24b In 1665 Poussin had died in Rome. Is it possible that foul play could have been involved in the artists' deaths? The timing of their deaths coincided with the imprisonment of Nicholas Fouquet in 1665 relating to a letter written by Fouquet's brother Abbé Louis Fouquet to Nicholas about a "secret", which Louis Fouquet had learned after meeting with Poussin in 1656. Part of the letter that Louis had written to his brother Nicholas Fouquet appeared in The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail and is quoted below. "He and I discussed certain things, which I shall with ease be able to explain to you in detail - things which will give you, through Monsieur Poussin, advantages which even kings would have great pains to draw from him, and which, according to him, it is possible that nobody else will ever rediscover in the centuries to come. And what is more, these are things so difficult to discover that nothing now on this earth can prove of better fortune nor be their equal."24c My research indicates the "secret" being referred to in this passage involves the Merovingians. Research indicates that Poussin was well aware of the fish and serpent like alien beings connected to the Merovingians. The last part of this letter, "nothing now on this earth can prove of better fortune nor be their equal" relates to the book of Job 41 in regard to Leviathan when the passage says, "Nothing on earth is his equal--a creature without fear." In the "Et in Arcadia Ego" Poussin painted the fish tailed river god Alpheus who was identified with the "source" or the "Alpha" relating him to the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. A painting of the Tiber River God and the twins Castor and Pollux appeared under the stairway in the house at Shugborough. Castor and Pollux were mentioned in The Master Of Speech. One was mortal and the other was immortal. In Dogon mythology, the Jackal was mortal and his androgynous sister, known as the Master of Speech, was immortal. The sister of Castor and Pollux was Helen of Troy. Stories of Forbidden love are also related to the Dogon pagan religion. The River god is clearly associated with the fish tailed alien Nummo and the Merovingians. In the Dogon religion during the first experiment to create humans, the Jackal was born defective and single sexed. His sister was born androgynous and perfect. The word "twin" in the Dogon religion represented androgyny. Interestingly, in earlier church history Christ was identified as having been a twin. Henry Lincoln pointed out that behind the altar in the church at Rennes-le-Château there were statues of two baby Jesus', the one on the right was held by Joseph and the one on the left by Mary. He said that in the early church Jesus was thought to have been a twin and that his twin was "Thomas". The Hebrew word for twin is "Thomas".24hi The Christ figure in the Dogon religion was the Master of Speech and was originally a hermaphrodite so in later history Jesus' twin should have been female. Because the Dogon hermaphroditic Christ figure was identified with the color red, I believe this serpent goddess figure is the source of the symbolism associated with the document, Le Serpent Rouge that was found in October 1997 in Rennes-le-Château and produced by Pierre Jarnac. Marcus Williamson and Corella Hughes first became aware of the existence of Le Serpent Rouge in an appendix to the book Genesis by David Wood.24i The Dogon religion is in fact an earlier version of the biblical Genesis talking about the creation of humans by the alien Nummo. The figure is also the likely source of the rosy cross relating to the Rosicrucians. In the Dogon religion the body of the serpent was identified with the cross. The serpent's head represented the top of the cross and his/her tail the bottom. The arms were the sides of the cross. In the Dogon religion, Lébé was represented as the ancestor of humanity and was born from two of the serpent fish like Nummo/human mothers.24j This may have been the source of the Merovingian myths relating to Merovée having been born of two fathers. Symbols relating to the sacred feminine were later reversed by patriarchal societies and figures like the sun goddess became the sun god. In the same instance the two mothers may have been turned into the two fathers. This individual is also the probable source of the Merlin myths. Merlin was said to have had no mortal father.24k The Jacobite Connection According to the Dogon, the alien Nummo lived high in the mountains in caves as well as underground because the sunlight dried out their skin. Because they were amphibious, they needed to keep moist in order to stay alive. As was mentioned earlier, the "underground stream" associated with the mythology of the Rosicrucians, and the River God Alpheus found in Poussin's painting, "Et in Arcadia Ego", is related to the Nummo. The Nummo were described as being green serpent like beings with horns or casques on top of their heads.24l I believe the figure of Baphomet and worshipped by the Templars was a representation of the Nummo.24m The green Nummo also appear on the Shugborough Coat of Arms24ma as a green fish tailed horse, which is shown below.  ©Earl of Lichfield In my book The Master Of Speech, I speculated that the Nummo later became identified with horses because the chevrons on their backs looked like a horse's mane on ancient artifacts. Because they had horns they also became identified with unicorns. In the Celtic religion they became associated with the horse goddess Epona. Henry Lincoln believed that the Knight's Stone found in Rennes-le-Château and dating to the 7th century was a depiction of the horse goddess Epona.24m1 These associations are all important as they connect to the Dogon religion. They also relate to the phrase "Horse of God" found in one of the ciphers at Rennes-le-Château. Not only did Poussin's painting indicate he knew about the alien beings associated with the Merovingians but the fact his other painting was used in the construction of the Shepherd's Monument would suggest that he was also a part of this secret Masonic political group identified with the exiled Stuarts. The connection is important because the Stuarts were linked to the Merovingian bloodline.24n This theory connects both Poussin and Guercino with the Masons, this political group, and the pagan religion related to the Merovingians. Louis XIV of France, who might have felt his own throne threatened in lieu of Charles I beheading in 1649, could have misconstrued the secrets involved with these groups. It could explain why he had Nicholas Fouquet arrested and later imprisoned. Poussin was known as a keeper of secrets and signed his work "Tenet Confidentiam".24o Both Poussin and Guercino would have chosen death emulating their hero Hiram Abiff, than to reveal the secrets they knew relating to the Merovingians and the Stuarts. Because the Jacobites were Catholics, it could also explain why later Catholics including the Parish Priest Berenger Saunière were involved with the Masonic Society. It may also explain the significance of the wreath with the keys that Saunière had put over the entrance way to the church at Rennes-le-Château shown below. The wreath with keys turned in the opposite direction is a Masonic symbol.  © Alan Scott 2005 According to Alan Scott, this picture with the keys and wreath is the crest of Pope Leo XIII.24p The turned keys was likely another clue to the fact the letters on the top of the Shugborough monument were meant to be flipped. This association with Pope Leo XIII is important in the context of the Masonic Society, science and hermeticism. On February 20 1878, Leo XIII was elected to succeed Pope Pius IX. Leo XIII worked to encourage an understanding between the Church and the modern world, which had been damaged by Pius IX's uncompromising Syllabus of Errors. The Syllabus of Errors had been "issued in 1864 condemning as heresy 80 propositions, many on political topics, which were at the foundation of scientific, rational secular society." One of the propositions included condemning secret societies including Freemasonry. He also objected to the statement that human reason was "...the sole arbiter of truth and falsehood, and of good and evil". Pope Leo XIII firmly re-asserted the scholastic doctrine that science and religion co-existed together. He even opened some of the Vatican archives to screened historians. In later years his bull Apostolicae Curae of 1896 condemned Freemasonry, suggesting a reversal of his earlier statements.24q This could explain why the Mason's symbol of the wreath and the keys are shown flipped to that of the Pope's crest. Leo XIII crest is also the keystone of the doorway to the church at Rennes-le-Château. The papacy's on and off again relationship with Freemasonry could explain some of the confusion relating to Catholicism and Freemasonry. The close association of Masonic symbols with the pagan religion no doubt contributed to the Catholic Church's final rejection of Freemasonry. The pagan religion indicates the Merovingians existed long before Christianity ever came into existence. Compare the following Masonic altars with the picture of the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument, which is on the top left of this group of altars. The bottom section of the Shugborough altar also appeared in the engraving of Ashmole's Theatrum Chemcicum Britannicum, 1652 which was shown earlier.   25  26  27 28  29 One of the drawings is dated 1780. The Anson family apparently built the Shepherd's Monument somewhere between 1761 and 176730 so this drawing is from the same time period. On the last 2 drawings of the Masonic altars a circular wreath appears at the top centre on the keystone. These wreaths resemble a close up of the wreath on the top of the Shugborough monument shown below.  A second wreath appears in the centre of the Shepherd's Monument above the keystone. Compare it to the Masonic symbols of the keys and wreath beside it. They form an "X" which is also associated with the Masonic crossbone.   31A similar wreath also appears on the Original Visigothic Pillar that used to support the old altar in the church at Rennes-le-Château. It can now be found in the museum there and is shown below. The left side of the pillar depicts the wreath with the crossed lines. One line is inside the wreath and one line is outside of the wreath. This is identical to the wreath that appears in the picture above from the Shugborough monument.  © René Meyer 2003 The front of the pillar depicts a Masonic cross. As was mentioned earlier, the cross had been displayed upside down in the church, another clue to the flipped letters on the Shugborough monument. The inscription "Mission 1891" had been added to the foot of the upside down cross by the priest Berenger Saunière. It was one of two Visigothic stone pillars which had supported the original white marble altar in the church. He made these changes to the cross when he removed the pillars that supported the altar. The picture shown above is the only one of the two pillars that still remains.31a The fact the original altar was white marble also connects it to the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument. When the cross is shown upright in its correct position, as it is in this picture, it reveals the date 1681.32 The date 1681 relates to one of the ciphers associated with Rennes-le-Château that made reference to "Peace 681" and talked about in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.32a In Freemasonry, "Royal and Select Masters" date years from the year in which the Temple of Solomon was completed. It is called Anno Depositionis (A.D.) - "In the year of the Deposit" and adds 1000 to the common time.33 This makes the year "681" in the cipher become "1681" relating to the year on the cross. "Royal and Select Masters" are related to a cryptic form of Freemasonry. According to Paul M. Bessel, "the Cryptic degrees are centered on stories involving a vault or crypt where certain treasures were hidden beneath King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem for very specific purposes." One theory is that the Jacobite Masons created the Cryptic Rite. The association of the Shepherd's Monument with Rennes-le-Château, the cipher and the Visigothic pillar would support this theory. Bessel further reported,"the Stuart exiles living in France in the early 1700's, sometimes called 'Jacobites' from the Latin form of the name for James, were involved in Freemasonry. Some Masonic lodges in France and Italy were made up completely of Jacobites, and the grandson of James II, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie' was definitely an active Mason. In 1745, the same year he attempted to invade England, he became the Grand Master of the Masonic Knights Templar, and also formed a Chapter of Rose Croix." The Jacobite Masons "considered the death of Hiram Abiff to represent the execution by the English Parliament of Charles I, the father of James II, and the raising of Hiram Abiff to represent the coming restoration to the English throne of the Stuart Kings. The 'Royal Master' was the Stuart claimant to the throne, who was called by some the 'Pretender' to the throne (at first James II, then his son James III, and then the grandson, Charles), and the secret vault was the place where the Jacobites plotted their return to power. The 'Select Masters' were the closest companions of the 'Pretender'. The ritual of the 'Select Master's' degree can easily be seen to be that of a secret political movement, if one believes this theory," Bessel reported.34 The peace of 1681 that is being referred to in the cipher was when Charles II dissolved Parliament for the last time to prevent parliament from passing the Exclusion Bill, which would have prevented Charles' brother James II from being the heir to the throne. Since Charles didn't have any legitimate children, parliament feared James II would become heir thereby bringing a Catholic king to the throne. James II had refused to become a protestant like his brother Charles to appease parliament. After the dissolution of the Parliament of 1681, no further Parliaments were called. Charles, whose popularity was very high at the time, allowed James II, who had earlier fled, to return to England in 1682. It is interesting to note that on his death bed Charles II converted back to Catholicism.35 These associations are important considering the connections between Rennes-le-Château and the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument located in Lichfield in Staffordshire. Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln reported that Staffordshire had been a hot bed for Masonic activity in the early and mid-seventeenth century and that in 1688, shortly before he had been deposed, James II had created the Radclyffes earls of Derwentwater. Charles Radclyffe was born in 1693. His mother had been an illegitimate daughter of Charles II by his mistress, Moll Davies. Radclyffe was thus on his mother's side of royal blood- a grandson of the next to last Stuart monarch. He was a cousin of Bonnie Prince Charles and of George Lee, Earl of Lichfield- another illegitimate grandson of Charles II.35a When Charles Radclyffe, another alleged Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion,35b escaped from Newgate Prison in 1714, he was aided by his cousin, the Earl of Lichfield. In 1746, Charles Radclyffe died beneath the headsman's axe at the Tower of London. This was approximately 14 or 15 years before the Shepherd's Monument had been built. As was discussed earlier, the underground political group associated with the Shepherd's Monument was likely created around the time of Charles execution in 1649. Records show that Elias Ashmole had been sworn in to Operative Masonic groups in London and in Warrington, which was in Lancashire in 1646. The group associated with Staffordshire had to have been formed around the same time or perhaps even earlier. As was mentioned previously, the Operative Masons associated with these groups likely provided the backbone for the army used in the uprisings. The Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland was likely another meeting place for this political group. The Sinclairs were also connected to the Merovingian bloodline. The heads found on the top of the Shugborough monument are related to the carvings of the "Master Mason" and "The Apprentice" found in the Rosslyn Chapel. It was believed the original carving of "The Apprentice" in the Rosslyn Chapel had been altered and the individual in the sculpture originally had had a full beard. According to Scottish Templar historian Chev. Robert Brydon, the carving was very likely originally not that of an "apprentice" at all, as in ancient and medieval times only Master Masons were allowed to sport full beards, which implies the original carving was that of a "murdered Master" and not a "murdered apprentice".35c This is important because it would associate the carving with Hiram Abiff, the murdered architect of Solomon's Temple, who as was mentioned previously, symbolically represented the executed Charles I. The sculpture of the "Master Mason" may have been altered in the 1600 or 1700s to protect its association with Charles I and the Jacobite uprising. The story about the murdered apprentice was probably fabricated at that time. Neither head on the Shugborough monument has a beard which would fit with this theory. The heads on the monument were likely displayed this way to protect the Masonic altar's association with the exiled Jacobites. It is interesting to note that a beardless head also appeared on the top centre above the keystone of the "Alchemical Door" in Italy talked about earlier and created in 1680 by the Marquis Massimigliano Palombara. As was mentioned earlier, it is quite possible the "Alchemical Door" in Italy provided another meeting location for Italian sympathisers of this group. According to Masonic historical records James II, King of Scotland, had appointed William Sinclair, Baron of Roslyn, head and governor of the Masons "...The king wanted this dignity to be hereditary in his family and to belong to those that succeeded the barons of Roslyn (2). The title remained, indeed, in the family of Sinclair until in the year 1736, the time when the Grand Lodge of Saint John of Edinburgh was established."39 It further reported, "Masonry flourished under the kings of Scotland who succeeded James II. James VI particularly protected it."40 Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln authors of The Holy Blood Holy Grail reported that the Sinclair family was the Scottish branch of the Norman Saint-Clair/Gisors family. Their domain at Rosslyn was only a few miles from the former Scottish headquarters of the Knights Templar. The chapel at Rosslyn was built between 1446 and 1486 and was long associated with both Freemasonry and the Rose-Croix or Rosicrucians.41 Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln further reported that in 1613 Frederick of the Palatinate had married Elizabeth Stuart. She was daughter of James I of England, granddaughter of Mary Queen of Scots and great grand daughter of Marie De Guise and Guise was the cadet branch of the house of Lorraine. Marie de Guise, a century before, had been married to the duke of Longueville and then, on his death, to James V of Scotland. This created a dynastic alliance between the house of Stuart and Lorraine. After Frederick's marriage to Elizabeth Stuart, he established an esoterically oriented court at his capital at Heidelberg. This culture was defined by Yates as "Rosicrucian". "The Frederickian movement …was an attempt to give those currents politico-religious expression, to realize the ideal of Hermetic reform centered on a real prince…It…created a culture, a 'Rosicrucian' state with its court centered on Heidelberg."42 In 1618 Frederick accepted the crown of Bohemia, offered by the country's rebellious nobles. He angered the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire resulting into the Thirty Years War. By 1620 he and Elizabeth had been driven into exile in Holland, and Heidelberg was crawling with Catholic troops.43 It was the alchemical and Rosicrucian movement in connection with the Masonic society that identified Elias Ashmole with these secret groups. Robert Denyau had reported that Jean de Gisors had founded the Rose-Croix in 1188.44 Gisors was also alleged to have been the first Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.45 The Rosicrucian manifestos promised a transformation of the world and of human knowledge in relation to esoteric, Heremetic principles. One of the tracts was the Chemical Wedding of Christain Rosenkreuz written in 1616 by German theologican Johann Valentin Andrea, another alleged Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.46 Andrea admitted to writing the Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreuz in 1616. The Rosicrucian tracts claimed the existence of a secret brother hood found by one Christian Rosenkreuz, who was born in 1378 and died in 1484.47 Andrea apparently created a network of secret societies known as Christian Unions. Each society was headed by an anonymous prince, assisted by twelve others divided into groups of three with each being a specialist in a given field of study. The primary focus of the Christian Unions was to preserve threatened knowledge and scientific advances that the Church deemed heretical. Scholars, scientists, philosophers and esotericists found a haven in these unions and many were smuggled through them to safety in England where they became closely associated with Masonic circles. They were intimate with Robert Moray, Elias Ashmole and Robert Boyle.48 "During Cromwell's Protectorate, these dynamic minds both English and European formed what Boyle - in a deliberate echo of the 'Rosicrucian' manifestos- called an 'invisible college'. And with the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the 'invisible college' became the Royal Society."49 Charles II had been instrumental in getting the society its charter in 1662 and became a member of the group.50 The common theme among the scientists who began the Society was acquiring knowledge by experimental investigation. The first group of such men included Robert Moray, whose was one of the earliest on record to be inducted into a Masonic lodge in 1641,51 Robert Boyle, who was listed as another alleged Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion,52 John Wilkins, John Wallis, John Evelyn, Christopher Wren and William Petty.53 Elias Ashmole had also been a founding member of the Society.54 Virtually all the Royal Society's founding members were Freemasons. It was argued in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail that the Royal Society was a Masonic institution - derived through Johann Valentine Andrea's Christian Unions, from the 'invisible Rosicrucian brotherhood'.55 The first European prince to become a Mason and to publicize his Masonic affiliations was François Duke of Lorraine who was initiated in 1731 at The Hague by Jean Desaguliers, a friend of Newton's. Newton was alleged to have been another Grand Master of the Prieuré de Sion.55a In 1735 François married Maria Theresa of Austria and linked the house of Habsburg and Lorraine and inaugurated the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. He was at this time the Holy Roman Emperor. His court at Vienna became Europe's Masonic capital. He also spent time in England and became a member of the Gentleman's Club of Spalding. François who was a practising alchemist also had an alchemical laboratory in the imperial palace, the Hofburg. When he became grand duke of Tuscany, he was able to prevent the Inquisition's harassment of Freemasons in Florence.56 It was because of Francois' protection, that Charles Radclyffe, who had founded the first Masonic lodge on the continent, had been able to leave behind his Masonic legacy.59 According to Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, the Archduke Johann von Habsburg, cousin of Franz-Josef, Emperor of Austria had visited the parish priest Berenger Saunière at Rennes-le-Château in the late 1800s. They had opened consecutive bank accounts with the Archduke making a substantial transfer to Saunière's account. Saunière used the money to redecorate the church.60 There were various changes made in the church some of which included the addition of the statue of Asmodeus or Ashmedai, the statue of the angels and salamanders, the creation of the crest of Leo III over the archway, and the building of the statue of St. John baptising Christ with the letter "M" hanging from his cross.61 This association of the Masonic Habsburg's with Rennes-le-Château is important because it reiterates Rennes-le-Château's connection with the Masonic Society and the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument. The Anson Family And Herculaneum The Anson history indicates they were involved in the secret societies relating to the Masons. The first Anson family purchased Shugborough in 1624. In 1693 William Anson demolished the existing building and began laying the foundations for a new house. He died in 1720 and Thomas Anson inherited the property. In 1730 Thomas Anson became Fellow of the Royal Society. His proposers were William Jones (mathematician) and the Rev Zachary Pearce (vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields). In 1732 Thomas Anson and Lord Sandwich founded the Dilettanti Society to promote the study of Ancient Greek Art and Buildings. The Dilettanti Society was an exclusive Dining-Club that had been formed to advance the cultured tastes of Gentlemen who had been on the Grand Tour to Italy. 62 The fact Thomas Anson was associated with the Royal Society reaffirms that the Ansons were heavily invovled with the Masonic Society. It is interesting that he founded the Dilettanti Society. I believe the Ansons may have also been involved or were privy to information about the excavations that went on in Herculaneum and may have found something of historic and scientific significance there that reaffirmed their beliefs. The marble from the Shugborough monument may have even come from Herculaneum. Herculaneum was an ancient city of Italy, situated about two-thirds of a mile from the Portici station of the railway from Naples to Pompeii. It was preserved, along with Pompeii, in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius beginning on August 24, A.D. 79 that destroyed the towns, burying them in ash that had hardened into volcanic tufa.63 In contrast to Pompeii, Herculaneum was a smaller town with a wealthier population at the time of its destruction.64 The temple of Jerusalem had been sacked by Titus in 70 AD. Is it possible that some of the religious artifacts had ended up in Herculaneum and had been buried there by the ash? Between 1709 and 1716 a workman sinking a well in a monastery in Resina struck the seats in Herculaneum's theatre and brought up samples of rare marble.65 The site didn't really become popular until 1719, when Prince Elbeuf of the house of Lorraine, in command of the armies of Charles VI, was seeking crushed marble to make plaster for his new villa near Portici. While digging he learned from the peasants that there were pits from which they not only quarried excellent marble, but had extracted many statues over the years.66 He ordered the area to be deepened and exploratory tunnels to be dug. Part of a statue of Hercules and three female statues were found, as well as the inscription 'Appius Pulcher' who was a governor of Sicily and friend of the Roman statesman Cicero. The prince plundered most of what he found to decorate his house, but sent the group of female statues to Prince Eugene of Savoy in Vienna.67 Between 1738-45 Charles, 18-year-old king of Naples and Sicily, ordered that excavations to be resumed. He employed a Spanish military engineer, Joaquin de Alcubierre, and his court engineers to have shafts and tunnels dug into the city. Few records were kept and bronze letters were apparently removed without transcribing the inscriptions. The Theatre of Hercules was also identified. Many finds were removed to the palace in Naples. For some reason the king had decided that the treasures would remain secret and it was forbidden for anyone to sketch or write about them.68 Why were the treasures to be kept secret, what did they prove or represent? In 1739, an account of the excavations, written by Charles De Brosses, was sent to the French Academy and news of the finds began to disseminate throughout Europe. 69 In 1740 Thomas Anson visited Alexandria, Rosetta, Cairo and Aleppo, amongst other places. 70 Thomas' brother George Anson had become a post captain in the navy in 1724 and in 1744 George Anson returned from his circumnavigation of the Globe in the Centurion. Could he have stopped somewhere near Herculaneum on his return? During the War of the Austrian Succession, which went on between 1740-48, he had commanded HMS Centurian on a mission to harass and capture Spanish ships en-route from Acapulco to the Philippines. Anson returned to England after having captured the Señora de Cavadonga, a galleon containing an immense amount of treasure worth around £500,000. His new wealth bought him status and privileges and he rose to become Admiral of the Fleet.71 In 1745 Transformations began at Shugborough.72 Could the marble for the Shepherd's Monument have come from Herculaneum? It was believed that by 1745 all the treasures had been found at Herculaneum. The discovery had excited scholars of all nations; and many of them hurried to Naples to see the marvellous statues and wall paintings. But everything was kept private, as the government wished to reserve to itself the right of illustrating the monuments. Between 1748-9 royal permission was granted to excavate at Herculaneum again at Civitas. The temple of Fortuna Augusta was found at that time but little else.73 The goddess Fortuna Augusta is a significant pagan goddess. The prow, rudder and globe are all symbols relating to the Roman goddess Fortuna. In pagan cultures she was identified with the goddess Rosmerta who was often seen paired with Hermes/Mercury. A stone plaque of Mercury and Rosmerta from first or second century AD from Glanum, near Saint Rémy de Provence, France shows Rosmerta holding a cornucopia, symbol of abundance and Fortuna's emblems of rudder and globe. Hermes was carrying the caduceus.74 My research indicates Fortuna was the Roman equivalent of Isis. The fact she was associated with a rudder and prow identified her with the sea. As was mentioned earlier when referring to the angels in the church at Rennes-le-Château, the alleged Grand Masters of the Prieuré de Sion were known as "Nautonniers" an old French term meaning 'navigator' or 'helmsman'.75 This would have associated her with this group. Between 1748-9, the Spanish military engineer, Joaquin de Alcubierre, had been joined at the Herculaneum excavation by Swiss architect and the father of modern archaeology, Karl Weber, who was much more conscientious in his methods. In 1762- German art historian Johann Joachim Winkelmann wrote an open letter to scholars all over Europe attacking the mismanaged excavation and disgraceful cataloguing and preservation that held sway at Herculaneum and Civitas, despite Weber's efforts.76 This letter was so important to the Anson estate that it was kept by the Anson family when everything except family photos had been sold in 1842 to cover gambling debts. 77 Why would this letter have been so important to the estate? The fact it was kept suggests that it had a significant connection. In 1765 the temple of Isis was also discovered. The impact of the Herculaneum excavation in the latter part of the 18th century was unprecedented in Europe. It had an enormous influence on culture, fashion, decorative art, fine art and literature. In 1775, 20 years after he visited Herculaneum and Pompeii, Robert Adam (1728-92), architect of the king's works, came up with a design for an Etruscan room at 20 Portman Square, London. It was never built but there was an Etruscan dressing-room at Osterley outside London that was influenced by the ruins of Pompeii. James Stuart (1713-88), who visited Pompeii in 1754, created and built a purely Pompeian 'Painted Room' in London's Spencer House in 1759. The work of Charles Cameron (1745-1812) at St Petersburg for Catherine the Great was also full of a Pompeian influence.78 Thomas Anson served as a Member of Parliament for Lichfield beginning in 1747. When his brother George died in 1762, Thomas inherited all his brother's enormous fortune.79 The depth of the Anson interest in pagan and Masonic mythology was evident by the poem that was read in parliament when George died. The poem related to the Shepherd's Monument and had a reference to "reason's finger pointing at the tomb".80 At that time in history, "reason" was identified with science and hermeticism. The late 1700s was the period of the age of reason. In the poem there was a reference to the lover's breast and the marble associated with the monument. Here is the poem as it appeared in The Holy Blood Holy Grail. Upon that storied marble cast thine eye The scene commands a moralising sigh. E'en in Arcadia's bless'd Elysian plains, Amidst the laughing nymphs and sportive swains See festal joy subside, with melting grace And pity visit the half-smiling face; Where now the dance, the lute, the nuptial feast. The passion throbbing in the lover's breast. Life's emblem here, in youth and vernal bloom. But reason's finger pointing at the tomb!"81 This quote relates to the phrase found in Poussin's painting "Et In Arcadia Ego". The phrase means "And In Arcadia I" suggesting the presence of an immortal being forced to live in Arcadia, which although beautiful is still mortal.81a This relates to the Dogon religion where a love affair between two of the eight ancestors ruined the Nummo's genetic engineering experiment thereby causing humans to lose their immortality. The quote is reiterating the fact that no matter how passionate lust and love can be, it can never negate the fact that mortality and death are a part of the human condition. In the poem, the Elysian plains are also mentioned and are identified as being in Arcadia. The ancient Arcadians claimed descent from Arkas, the patron deity of the land, whose name also meant 'bear'. Arkas was the son of Kallisto, a nymph connected with the Greek Goddess Artemis.81b According to Greek mythology, Kallisto mated with Zeus and gave birth to twins, Arkas and Pan.81c These twins are significant to the Dogon religion and are discussed in my second book, The Nummo. The name Arcadia derives from 'Arkades', which means 'People of the Bear'. The ancestors of the Merovingians were supposed to be connected with Arcadia's royal house.81d In an anonymous poem dated 1767 relating to Shugborough, a reference was made to "righteous men" being wrapped in "Elysium".82 Elysium was also related to Eleusis in Greece, and the Eleusian mysteries associated with the Greek goddess Demeter. Demeter's relationship to Dogon mythology was talked about in The Master of Speech. In the Dogon religion, during the regeneration process, humans were wrapped around with cord like ropes. According to the Dogon, "the body was surrounded from top to bottom by a flexible iron helix, called amma su or 'cord of God'". Pictures of this aspect of the regeneration process also appear in the Book of Kells. This is especially evident on folio 188 Recto, The Opening of St. Luke's Gospel, where individuals are also wrapped up with cord like rope. Some are hanging from what appears to be a tree. They are also being regurgitated from the mouth of a serpent. In the Dogon religion Lébé was regurgitated from the mouth of the Master of Speech. This symbolized the regeneration of Lébé using the Master of Speech's DNA.83 Dogon diagrams relating to the regeneration process, where humans were killed and brought back to life again, also revealed a cup like object. The drawing itself resembled a chalice. In another story relating to the regeneration process, the Master of Speech, who was the pagan Christ figure, was sacrificed so that his/her DNA could regenerate all plants, animals and humans. In the story the hermaphroditic Master of Speech was tied to what was known as the Kilena tree. In later world mythology, the Kilena tree also came to be identified with the Tree of Life. The tree's roots spread out in three directions and its two branches supported the Master of Speech's pectoral fins. The Kilena tree was supposed to perish with him/her because it stood for all plant life, which as was mentioned above, was supposed to be regenerated along with humans and animals. The three roots of the Kilena tree symbolized the three "words" or three genetic experiments the Nummo had completed. This symbolism is also seen in Norse mythology where the roots of the World Ash Tree represented the three "wyrds".84 According to Carol Thompson, the World Ash Tree of Norse mythology consisted of three huge roots and was considered to be the pillar of the universe. Each root went into one of three wells. Thompson reported that in the World Ash Tree, the first root was in Vanaheimr and went into the Well of Urd or Well of Wryd, where the three Norns lived in their cave perpetually deciding the fate of human beings. The Well of Wyrd was said to contain all the cosmic knowledge from the beginning of all time.85 During the regeneration process in the Dogon religion, the Master of Speech was struck on the forehead with something similar to lightning and the shock passed into the nape of his/her neck, spine and kidneys. During the process, a plant known as the "yayaga" grew on the Kilena tree. It looked similar to the way that "mistletoe grows on a tree". The description of this process by the Dogon is important because of mistletoe's relationship to regeneration in Greek, Druid and Norse mythology.86 According to David Beaulieu in his history of the mistletoe, the pseudonym for the mistletoe shrub was the "golden bough". In Virgil's Aeneid, the "golden bough" was found on a special tree in the grove sacred to Diana, at Nemi. It was a tree containing a mistletoe plant. The prophetess Sibyl instructed Aeneas to pluck this magic bough before attempting his descent into the underworld. Beaulieu further reported that in the folklore of Europe, it was thought that mistletoe plants were brought to earth when lightning struck a tree in a blaze of gold.87 This association with lightning further relates to Elysian. In Greek mythology, Elysian was a place of supreme delight and paradise. It was associated with the name Elysiuum, the land of the blessed dead, which was an obscure and mysterious name that evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning.88 The Elysian Fields were supposed to lay on the western margin of the Earth, by the encircling stream of Oceanus, which was a vast ocean that encompassed the Earth. It was there the mortal relatives of the king of the gods were transported, without tasting death, to enjoy an immortality of bliss. The Elysian Fields were associated with the Isle of the Blessed.89 This is likely the source of the Irish and Welsh Celtic myths relating to "Bran the Blessed", the "Cauldron of Regeneration" and the islands of the Otherworld. The goddesses associated with these myths were also shape shifters90 in the same way the Nummo were described as being shape shifters by the Dogon. The Elysian Fields may also be connected with Simon Baruch, and the Hebrew word "Barûkh," which meant "blessed" and talked about earlier as being a possible synonym for Nicholas Flamel. In Greek mythology, the Elysian Fields also meant the "plains of arrival" perhaps indicating the location of the eight ancestors first descent to Earth. It was also associated with the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and how lives were several times repeated on both sides of the Earth.91 This is important because the Nummo were supposed to have been immortal and associated with reincarnation. The name "Eleusis" was what Margaret, Countess of Lichfield was likely referring to when she mentioned "Alicia", which she said meant "joy and happiness". The Countess believed the letters on the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument meant, "Out of your own sweet vale Alicia vanish vanity twixt Deity and Man, thou Shepherdess the way". The settlement of Eleusis was founded in Athens in ca. 2000 B.C. on the slopes of one of the hills.92 Like Rome, Athens was also built on seven hills. It is located on the Attica plain on the Greek mainland.93 The name "Athens" was also named after the goddess "Athena", who is related to this mythology and whose name starts with "A". A sculpture of a celtic pagan goddess found in the Romano-Gaulish town of Alèsia in Burgundy may also be related to "Alicia" and "Eleusis". The goddess, found in the town of Alèsia, located on Mont Auxois near Dijon, carried a cornucopia, which was the symbol of abundance. She was also associated with spinning, which was a characteristic of Athena. In the Dogon religion, the Master of Speech was identified with weaving. The goddess from Alèsia was also seen with a steering oar, the prow of a boat and a globe connecting her to the pagan goddess Fortuna.94 The temple of Fortuna Augusta was found at Herculaneum and discussed earlier. I related Fortuna to the alleged Grand Masters of the Prieuré de Sion who were known as "Nautonniers" an old French term meaning "navigator" or "helmsman". Other Gallo-Roman temples found in the town of Alèsia, included shrines to the goddess of horses, Epona and to the Mother Goddess. The horse goddess Epona relates to the Nummo and "horse of God" talked about earlier. The town of Alèsia also held a Merovingian basilica, then a medieval convent and shrine, which became famous for its mystery plays.95 The mystery plays were identified with the Eleusian mysteries and Demeter. The Countess' interpretation of the letters on the monument also accurately reflects the pagan mythology, where the goddess was spiritually superior. In the Dogon religion, the Master of Speech was considered to be the perfect combination of Nummo and human and perceived as a mediator between humans and Nummo. The "sweet vale" referenced by the Countess in the phrase "Out of your own sweet vale Alicia vanish vanity twixt Deity and Man, thou Shepherdess the way", was probably a reference to the Vale of Tempe mentioned in the Anonymous Shugborough Poem dated 1767.96 The Vale of Tempe, which the Greeks were accustomed to associate with rural delights, was a chasm cloven in the rocks, the fable tells us, by the trident of Poseidon. It is a narrow valley in N. Thessaly, through which the river Peneus (Salambria) reaches the sea located between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa. The Vale of Tempe was sacred to Apollo, and laurel was gathered there to make the wreaths for the victors of the Pythian games.97 Wreaths also appeared on the Shugborough monument and in Masonic symbols. Wreaths were a popular symbol of Demeter who was known as "Demeter of the beautiful wreath".98 The Shugborough poem also referenced the River Ilissus, which was mentioned in Plato's Phaedras as the place where the wind god Boreas was said to have carried off Orithyia. As was mentioned earlier, forbidden love is an important theme of the pagan religion. Boreas, who once appeared on the Tower of Winds found on the Shugborough grounds, was portrayed in ancient drawings with serpent-feet. He was a major winged figure in Greek mythology with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backwards.99 Refer to The Nummo for more information on Boreas. Besides suggesting his dual nature, the faces suggest a sense of the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and end. In the Shugborough poem, the River Ilissus was compared to the Trent River, and the Vale of Tempe to the grounds of Shugborough. Most of the monuments on the grounds of Shugborough are also related to Athens, and some of them are mentioned in the poem. For instance, the Arch of Hadrian was erected in Athens in honor of the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century A.D. Likewise a Doric temple of Athena was built in 566 B.C., on the Acropolis. The famous builder and astronomer, Andronicus Cyrrhestes, designed the original Tower of Winds for Athens. It was created to be an elaborate water clock on the inside and a sundial on the outside, with a weather vane on the top. The nickname "Tower of the Winds" was derived from the personifications of the 8 winds carved on the 8 sides of the building.100 The winds are associated with the eight ancestors of Dogon mythology. On top of the tower, Andronicus put the River God Triton who was half human and half fish and who had been responsible for educating the goddess Athena.101 Triton's protoypes were men who decked themselves with the tails of fishes or dolphins. An ancient vase-painting from Italy shows a trio of such dancers.102 The Lysikrates Monument, also known as the "Lantern of Demosthenes", which appears on the Shugborough grounds also appears in Athens. Demosthenes, who lived from 384 BC - 322 BC, was generally considered the greatest of the Attic orators. Demosthenes prosecuted his fellow envoys for failing to create a peace treaty with Philip II of Macedon. During the trial, Demosthenes was accused of sexual and gender impropriety. The prosecutor "Aiskhines attributed Demosthenes' nickname, Batalos ("arse"), to his 'unmanliness and kinaidia' and frequently commented on his 'unmanly and womanish temper', even criticising his clothing: 'If anyone took those dainty little coats and soft shirts off you ... and took them round for the jurors to handle, I think they'd be quite unable to say, if they hadn't been told in advance, whether they had hold of a man's clothing or a woman's.'" 103 These references are important because they identify the androgynous nature of Demosthenes. The fact he was an orator could also be a symbolic reference to, "the Master Of Speech", in the Dogon religion. His father had also been a famous sword maker suggesting an association to metals and the Smithy. In the Dogon religion the alien Nummo's spaceship was identified with a Smithy. It was in the Smithy where humans were created and regenerated. More about the Smithy can be found in Chapter 2 of The Nummo. Dual fish tailed figures also appear on the monument. In Dogon mythology, a symbol replicating the horned helmet represented the severed head of the Master of Speech. It signified a fish with its barbs or whiskers. The Nummo were identified with the catfish, which is why the gorgon and serpent figures seen on many artefacts have whiskers. The "Green Man" with whiskers found in the Rosslyn Chapel is also related to the green Nummo. In later history, the Nummo became associated with cats. This association explains why cats are usually seen with witches in later myths.104 According to Kemp, "Shugborough means the place of the witch". There is also the "Cat's Monument" that appears on the grounds at Shugborough. The interesting thing about the monument is that dual rams are also shown on it. The ram was another symbol of the Nummo in the Dogon religion. Another cipher associated with Rennes-le-Château that ties the theme to the Merovingians relates to the artist David Teniers. The cipher suggested his work was also a key to solving the mystery relating to the Merovingians.105 The artwork of David Teniers the Younger, who lived in Antwerp from 1610-1690, indicates knowledge of the Nummo and their association with the Merovingians. In his famous painting of Archduke Leopold-Willem in his Art Gallery in Brussels 1650-1651, not only do dogs run across the bottom of the painting; which is a Masonic symbol, but the picture that is most focused on in the gallery is the one done by Raphael of St. Margaret and the Serpent. A green blanket highlights the picture in Teniers' painting.106 According to the myth associated with St. Margaret, she was swallowed by a dragon serpent but escaped safely when the cross she was carrying irritated the serpent's innards and she was regurgitated. St Margaret was sometimes known as St Marina (Marine), associating her with water. She was often depicted with many pearls in her coronet denoting her association with the sea.107 These connections are important as they relate to the Dogon religion. The Dogon Lébé, who was born of two mothers and likely associated with the Merovingian ancestor Meroveé, was first swallowed and then regurgitated by the female serpent goddess, the Master of Speech. This symbolized the androgynous Lébé's regeneration using the Master of Speech's DNA. Lébé's rebirth was to provide hope for humanity.108 Religious serpent/dragon slayer stories appear to be later warped versions of the earlier pagan mythology. Apollo and Python are earlier Greek versions of the story. St. Martha, sister of Mary of Bethany, may also be associated with the earlier pagan mythology. She subdued the dreaded water-dragoness known as the Tarasque, in some legends using nothing more than a jar of holy water,109 and in other legends singing it to sleep. The French town where this occurred changed its name to Tarascon.120 The musical octave, which represents the eight ancestors, is a metaphor for the "third word" and final experiment in the Dogon religion. It was associated with the vibration that created life and regeneration. It was through the regeneration process that humans were turned into single sexed beings losing their Nummo or serpent characteristics and with it immortality. It was supposed to be a temporary condition with humans eventually being able to evolve back into immortal and androgynous beings. This could indicate that these myths originated from the Dogon religion.121 Both the Nummo and the Master of Speech were identified as being hermaphroditic figures but identified with the sacred feminine. In later mythologies they were identified as being "twins". It is possible that St. Martha and Mary of Bethany became the later Christian versions of the earlier pagan myth of the "twins". As was mentioned earlier, in the early Christain church Jesus was also thought to have been a twin. St. Martha and Mary's brother Lazarus, who is resurrected by Christ, may in fact represent the androgynous Lébé who was regenerated by the Master of Speech, the pagan Christ figure. Because the Nummo were self-fertilizing, they were also identified with virgin goddesses. Joan of Arc, (Jeanne d'Arc), known as the "humble shepherdess" and the "virgin from Lorraine", was also connected to this mythology.122 At that time in history, her leadership traits would have identified her with the masculine androgynous characteristics of the Nummo. St. George is likewise related to this mythology. The story of St. George slewing the dragon identifies St. George with the Jackal and Smith figures of the Dogon religion. It is a later version of the Greek myth of Apollo slewing the Python dragon at Delphi. As I mention in my second article on Shugborough, I believe the Masonic Society evolved from the Sigui Society in the Dogon religion, which was related to males and the Jackal. The slewing of the dragon may be related to the killing of the Master of Speech whose death was to provide hope for humanity. He/she was immortal and his/her DNA was to provide the basis for future humans. This individual didn't really die because she/he was immortal but it was just told to the people that way to help them understand the concept. The Rose-Croix was the cross of St. George connecting the myth with the Rosicrucians. The Rose-Croix was likewise related to the Romance of the Rose by Jean de Meung and was in Dante's paradiso. Frances Yates also identified Leonardo Da Vinci as a Rosicrucian.123 Leonardo Da Vinci wrote from left to right as well as from right to left, which my research indicates was a characteristic of the writing style of the alien Nummo who I speculated communicated using sonar.124 Reading the letters in reverse was also the key for the decipherment of the Shugborough Shepherd's Monument, which was represented by Poussin's painting and talked about earlier. These references relate to the pagan mythology. For more information on the Dogon religion purchase The Nummo or The Master Of Speech. If you would like to contact the author, email sd@thenummo.com. Follow this link to the Merovingians if you would like to read more about Shugborough, the Merovingians and the Dogon religion.
a1http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/content/articles/ |
         |
