An excellent scholarly article was linked off these pages several days ago, with a deep and intelligent analysis of the possible origins of some very curious hermetic markings on a Valladolid Cathedral manuscript (http://www.esoteric.msu.edu/VolumeV/CURI...).

The writer makes several highly enlightening and original deductions, such as about the connection between the Masonic "Tri-Tau" cross and the IHS emblem, as well as many important observations upon the influence and interrelationship between esoteric schools of thought and arcane societies, and the article is a must-read for any serious aficionado of Medieval Alchemy.

I feel, however, that the author had misinterpreted the meaning of one of the ink-drawn symbols on the title page of the MS. Yet this apparent "misinterpretation" only leads to a further fascinating connection with an aspect of "the Holy Grail"!

I am referring to "Figure C" in the article, which was identified as the Sigil of Saturn. The alchemical "Sigil of Saturn" is invariably depicted diagonally, simply by drawing straight lines through "Saturn's Magic Square", which connect the digits 1-2-3, 4-5-6, and 7-8-9. The resulting figure forms two super-imposed opposing angles, called "a double lingam", which are crossed by a long diagonal line ( See at http://www.whisperingwood.homestead.com/...).

Professor Vogt has a very interesting analysis of this sign as being an encoding of the Seal of Solomon, and a proto-representation of the Masonic square-and-compass. And yet the symbol on the Valladolid MS, though similar in some respects, is clearly different - it is oriented horizontally, the diagonal line is greatly shortened, there are two flanking "pillars", and some curious markings on top.

The symbol in question is found elsewhere: it is in fact the "Auspice Maria" (http://altreligion.about.com/library/glo...), seen on some Catholic edifices and jewelry. The letter A is superimposed on an M as the initials of the above words, meaning "Under Maria's protection". And curiously enough, we find this symbol associated abundantly with the famed Priory of Sion, reputed "Guardians of the Grail".

Dr. Steven Mizrachs of FIU, who has several excellent articles on the priory, shows a very similar design as being the Seal of Dagobert II. As well as the logo of Saint Sulpice! (http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/pos-symbols...).

Indeed we find it said that "Auspice Maria ("Under Mary's Protection") is the motto of the Society of St. Sulpice (http://www.stmarysspiritualcenter.org/ab...). Mizrachs wonders on that page why that logo is missing the horizontal bar in the "A". But it's possible he hadn't looked far enough - because the actual logo DOES have the horizontal bar. As well as two little spheres on top of the side columns (http://www.sulpc.org/sigle_e.html).

A further image from the website of the Sulpician Order has a cross topping the A. (http://www.sulpicians.org/joinus/faq.html). This looks even more similar to the image on the Valladolid MS, which the writer says is topped with a "winged disk". Though it would be highly interesting to see the Egyptian winged disk here, I feel that the top part of this sign could be an ink-smudge, made as the artist tried to make a tiny cross with two spheres on its sides.

So what is the significance of this curious connection? There could be several. First, Vogt identification of the Masonic Square and Compass in the symbol is strengthened by the presence of the two spheres on top of the "side-columns", as that makes them look even more like the famous Masonic Two Pillars. Thus this representation can shed light on the esoteric origins of Freemasonry, as the drawing predates traditional dates of its founding by about three quarters of a century.

But more importantly, the Auspice Maria is a symbol deeply connected with facets of the "Sacred Feminine", the ancient legacy which the PoS were said to be perpetuating through the ages.

According to Papus (Gerard Encausse) in his "Traite Methodique De La Magie Pratique" from 1898, the "Auspice Maria" was a symbol used by devout Christians to counter the influence of Astarte, the Babylonian Ishtar, who was considered to be "the Demon of Friday" in Christian demonology.

Papus says that the symbol is a conjunction of the monogram of Mary and the name of the Angel Anael (and not the word "auspice"). Anael is a female angel high up in the angelic hierarchy, and is the "Guardian Angel of Friday".

Friday was the day ruled by the planet Venus, the Ultimate Female. Since the days of antiquity this day was used for various Sexual Rites, with Saturday after it being a day of rest. Manifestations of such sexual release can take on the form of the "evil" Astarte, or the "good" Anael, depending on one's beliefs and circumstances.

The "Auspice Maria" symbol used by the Sulpicians today testifies to their commitment to have "good sex", according to the Christian doctrines to which they are heirs. But the ancient associations of this symbol, as explained by Vogt, show that the Sulpicians may be carrying a much more ancient legacy than that. Whether any of them still remember what it originally meant, is a different question.

Edit: forgot to add one little detail, a nice coincidence for the conspiracy buffs. If we take the "Asupice Maria" symbol, and try to represent the underlying diagram in Roman numerals, we get IX-XI. No other than 9-11...

Honorable Forum members!

I've been enjoying this highly enlightening site, and I believe it's being read by enough knowledgeable people who can perhaps give me their learned take on the following silly question: how much "truth" is there to the White Gold/Star Fire story, written up in recent years by Laurence Gardner and chemically concocted by one David Hudson?

Laurence Gardner is of course the guy who wrote "The Blodline of the Holy Grail" and "Genesis of the Grail Kings", books which expand on the ideas presented by the trio Lincoln/Baigent/Leigh in "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". His website can be found here: http://graal.co.uk/ . Gardner's "Star-Fire" articles originally saw light in Nexus magazine in Nov 1998, and are available here: http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/st... . They're an interesting read, regardless of whether you buy the theory.

Many of Gardner's ideas appealed to me, and I also basically accepted his explanation of the Star Fire myth. But even a perfunctory look at what people are saying about him on the Net shows that he's ridiculed by just about everyone today, including the "mystic fringe", and all of his titles are disputed as fake or can be bought online without any credentials. If somebody is actively leading a smear campaign against him or something, then it's certainly a very effective one.

Just recently the writer Philip Gardiner (not a relation of Gardner...) has put a question to the public about this issue on his website, with some facts about Gardner and his book that are difficult (for me) to argue with ( http://www.freewebs.com/grailhunters/new... ) .

Perhaps someone here knows more about this and has a better take on what's going on. This is an interesting subject, not least because Gardner also appears to be a player in some sort of a conspiracy involivng the restoration of the Stuart house to the throne of England, believe it or not.

Please consider the following. David Hudson's "Orbitally Rearranged Monoatomic Elements", or ORME's, are said to be the Philosophers Stone of alchemist fame, and their ingestion reputedly endows one with various "magical" powers, such as levitation and teleportation. This is the modern compound which Gardner says reproduces the Star Fire qualities (which in the old days was rather gruesomly made from the menstrual blood of the Annunaki females.)

Hudson's company is called "Ormus", and he says that this is a coincidence, as he hadn't heard of the Gnostic Ormus before. Ormus was a (largely mythical) 1st Century mystic and contemporary of Jesus, who is hailed by many to be the spiritual father of Rosicrucianism.

The word "orme" ties into various mystical teachings in more ways than can be readily listed in a short note. "Orme" is the French word for "Elm". An event in Mideaval history known as "the Cutting of the Gisors Elm", took place in 1188 in France and signified an important split of ranks (and bloodlines) within the old Templar Order. Immediately afterwards, the Rosicrucian order was founded by no other than Jean de Gisors, of the Gisors castle. The same dude is said to have founded the elusive but now famous "Priory of Sion" that same year.

And "orme" is also related to "n-orman", and is in fact a Norman word signifying "winged snake", which was incorporated into many place names around England, like the Great Orme's Head in North Wales. It is also the origin of the English word "worm". El cuzano.

In Hebrew, the word "orma" is first used in Genesis 3:1 to describe the Snake. This word is translated as a very strange "subtil" in the King James Version and "crafty" in the New American Standard. In Hebrew the word means both "trickery" and "nakedness".

Is this a lot of connections, or what? There's more, too.

Some chemical properties of monoatomic elements resemble the behavior of micro-particles within a certain structure of our cellular cytoskeleton, known as "microtubules". An obscure field of reserach as yet, this feature of our cells is hailed by researcher Stuart Hameroff as a Quantum Computer, with each microtubule capable of being in one of two states at any given time and thus able to form a binary code sequence.

Hameroff appeard in the "What the Bleep do we know" movie. The ideas presented in that movie for Quantum Activation can take us right into the next stage of evolution, envisioned by researchers like Timothy Leary. One can find a very good interview with Hameroff in issue no. 2 of the Sub-Rosa magazine, which would mean that Greg has thought about this subject as well and will perhaps also offer us his thoughts on this.

The question would be then, are Gardner/Hudson just dreaming, did they make it all up, or did they stumble on something really powerful and somebody's trying to shut them up, or what the bell is going on. And why isn't there a wider recognition of this research, why are all the scientists denying Gardner's and Hudson's ideas, and Hameroff is being mocked. Any takers?

Regards,
Sol