The Diana event has its roots in the ancient relationship between the city of Paris and the goddess Isis. As the old story goes, Isis arrived by boat, at an island in the Seine.

Paris is laid out as an invisible Temple to Isis. The alignment of the Champs Elysées, the historic axis of the city, is to the rising of Sirius. One might even say that Paris itself is the Boat of Isis.

Isis is the Goddess of Ten Thousand Names. She contains within herself, as it were, all of the other archetypal projections of the divine feminine. So we see that the statues from ancient Egypt of Isis with her son Horus are exactly mirrored by later Christian statues of Mary and Jesus.

France is the focal point of the Black Madonnas; these mysterious statues of the Madonna are related to the ancient Isis tradition. Chartres Cathedral for example is built on a grotto which already contained a black image of the Madonna and Child prior to Christian times. The Madonna is Isis.

Paris itself is a Temple to Isis, or the star Sirius.

Where there is a Temple, a space is created for the performance of ritual.

The Arc de Triomphe was conceived by Napoleon. It was located at the Place de l'Etoile. The place of the Star. Which star? Sirius of course.



Arcana 17: The Star card represents Isis, and shows Sirius:

Napoloeon conceived the Arc de Triomphe as an integral part of the city-as-Temple-to-Isis.

It is located on the alignment to Sirius, at the Place de l'Etoile. Or, to be strictly accurate, the place which used to be called Place de l'Etoile. The correct name now is Place de Charles de Gaulle.

Depicted on the wall of the Arc de Triomphe, as we have seen courtesy of Bauval and Hancock in Talisman, is Napoleon being crowned by Cybele. She is known as Magna Mater, or Great Mother, or Alma Mater.



Which brings us back to Morrissey....



Beneath the Arc de Triomphe is an eternal flame, on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier



There is also an eternal flame in the torch of the Statue of Liberty, both at the entrance to the harbour in New York, and at the entrace to the Avenue de New York, in Paris. We have seen that this statue was originally conceived as Isis, and was a Masonic endeavour. (And an eternal flame on the grave of JFK )

So it is clear to eyes-that-see that Paris is laid out as a Temple to Isis, in time and space, and that the Arc de Triomphe is a major component of this. It is a gate, or portal, which opens up onto the Champs D'Elyséess, of Fields of the Dead, aligned to Sirius, the star of Isis, she of ten thousand names. The names undoubtedly include Diana, who is an aspect of this archetype of the divine feminine.

But can we identify an even more specific connection between the goddess Diana, the Arc de Triomphe and Napoleon?

The ancient Roman festival dedicated to Diana was held in August, either for three days August 13 – 15, or at the full moon. The festival was known as Nemoralia.

This is a fascinating item: the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is one of the most important dates in the catholic calendar, and indeed in the French calendar, and takes place on August 15. But the origin of this day is that it has been taken over from the roman festival of Nemoralia, Festival of Torches, in honor of Diana. More here.

The climax of the festival of Nemoralia was the final day, August 15. This is Diana's feast day. August 15.

Napoleon was born August 15, 1769.

The Arc de Triomphe was his conception, and he arranged it so that the first stone was laid on his birthday, August 15 1806!

(Note: in an earlier post I had quoted this day incorrectly as August 6. It was not. It was August 15, 1806)

The first stone of the Arc de Triomphe was laid on the birthday of Napoleon, and the feast day of the goddess Diana, when torches were lit in her honour.

We are looking here at a story which does not have a defined beginning. It has its roots in antiquity, with the coming of Isis to Paris in her boat. Paris is laid out as a Temple to the goddess, aligned to her star Sirius. Napoleon is born, and brings the Temple to a new degree of splendour by installing the Gate, or Portal, or Arch of Triumph, on the Place of the Star, aligned to the Star.

In the tarot, we we've seen, the 17th card of the Major Arcana, the Star, represents an aspect of Isis. She is also depicted in the 2nd card of the Major Arcana: The High Priestess. With the moon on her headdress, and under her feet, she sits between twin pillars.



So, how are we going: Napoleon conceived of the twin pillars of the Arc de Triomphe, sited on the Place de l'Etoile, the Place of the Star, providing a gateway to the Champs d'Elysées, the Fields of the Dead, aligned to Sirius, and laid the first stone on his birthday, the climax of Nestoralia, the festival of torches held to honour Diana.

Now: where a Temple is laid out, a space is prepared for the performance of ritual.

The ritual is, naturally, always, the symbolic death and resurrection of the deity to whom the Temple is dedicated.

So Paris, the Temple of Isis, is also a space prepared for a ritual: the Death of the goddess Diana, as Isis.

They marked the location with a torch.




The ritual would be a variation or enactment of the eternal story of Isis, based on the triangle of relationships between Isis and Osiris and Horus.

These things are set in motion slowly. There is no hurry and no necessity to complete these plans within any current generation. Seeds are sown, and left to sprout, and grow and take root. It is not so much about laying down a plan as it is creating a field of possibilities.

The novel of Arch of Triumph 1945 was written as a conscious attempt to create a story using these archetypes. Paris, in August. Egyptian. Osiris. The Arc de Triomphe as the gate to Hades. Death in a car after travelling along the ritual road aligned to Sirius. Diana.

The way in which the author has gone about constructing the character of Joan Madou shows this procecss very clearly, and we will look at that in a coming post.

But there is an even clearer and immediate clue which signals to us that the novel/film of Arch of Triumph is very much aware of its direct relationship to this hidden ritual project involving the Arc de Triomphe and the greater Temple of Isis which is Paris.

The clue is this:

The idea of the Arc de Triomphe was publically announced for the very first time on February 17 1806.

The movie The Arch of Triumph was released February 17, 1948.

There is another key date associated with the Arc de Triomphe, and in particular its eternal flame. This was lit on November 11 1918, and has never been extinguished.

The flame was set up November 11 1920.

The book Arch of Triumph specifically references this date:



And the movie Joan of Arc was released November 11 1948.

Let's just recap:

Ancient Roman feast of Torches, held in honour of Diana: August 15
Birthday of Napoleon: August 15
First Stone laid of Arc de Triomphe: August 15

First announcement to the world of the intent to build Arc de Triomphe: February 17
Release of movie The Arch of Triumph 1948: February 17

Lighting of Eternal Flame under Arc de Triomphe: November 11
Released of movie Joan of Arc 1948 : November 11

The event has been taking shape since ancient times. A Temple to Isis was built. It became a great city. A ritual slowly began to take shape. A woman would take on the role of Isis. A royal woman. There would be a connection to Egypt, to a father and a son. She would precede her arrival at the city with a boat journey. In the city, in the temple, at the time when the stars and moon were arranged in the heavens to reflect the events below, a ritual death would take place, related to a journey along the avenue of the Fields of the Dead, via the Gate of the Underworld.

Her name will be Diana, and her ritual death will be accompanied by torches, as it was on her feast day in ancient times. She will represent Isis, the goddess of ten thousand names.

The book was written, the movie released, the royal heir was born and given the name: Charles, or Free Man.

The girl was born, her conception planned and timed so that she would be born as the Sun conjoined with Sirius, just as Charles investiture was so timed. She was given the name: Diana, and they couldn't help themselves, Frances. Diana Frances Spencer.

France's Diana.

Now, they just needed to find an Egyptian father and son....

A famous photo of Diana dancing with John Travolta, why not:



Diana: goddess between the pillars. Chequerboard floor. Saturday Night Fever.

Black, white, red, celeste blue...

Photo date: November 9, 1985