CAE EL VELO: MARIA MAGDALENA, HISTORIA Y SIMBOLO

Dios no es sólo Él. Es también Ella. Porque es Padre y Madre. La fusión de los dos principios, masculino y femenino, que lo permea todo en la Naturaleza. Energía. Amor universal. Los opuestos complementarios, la polaridad no excluyente, plasmada desde hace milenios en culturas profundamente sabias donde el leit motiv de los gemelos se reitera por doquier. Al respecto, resulta ilustrativo lo expresado por Juan Marín en El Egipto de los Faraones" :

(...)"Como se decía al iniciado en los Misterios de Samotracia (según nos cuenta el romano Varro), ´entre Cielo y Tierra hay la misma relación que entre alma y cuerpo, que entre sequedad y humedad´. Osiris era el ´lingam´ sivaico, mientras que Isis era el ´yoni´ de Parvati. Ellos estaban simbolizados en el cielo por los dos "Gemelos" .
(...) "Según Plutarco, la teoría de los "Dos Principios" estaba en la raíz de todos los ritos iniciáticos del mundo antiguo (...)"

Por su parte, en su libro Egyptian Divinities, el egiptólogo Moustafa Gadalla afirma:

(…) "Los textos egipcios expresan que Nun --el caos de la pre-creación -- poseyó características que se identificaron con cuatro pares de poderes/fuerzas primordiales. Cada par representa los gemelos primigenios de doble género --los aspectos masculino/femenino. Los cuatro pares son equivalentes a las cuatro fuerzas del universo (la fuerza poderosa, la fuerza débil, la gravedad, y el electromagnetismo).

Y no por último menos importante, en este brevísimo recuento del simbolismo gemelar sobresale la obra Mito y Significado, de Claude Lévi-Strauss , cuyas conclusiones sobre su nexo con el talón como zona del pie de especial importancia podrían incluso aplicarse al epíteto inscrito en el cartucho de Kheops --"el que sujeta y es sujetado"--ubicado en la Cámara de Descarga de la Gran Pirámide y analizado por el Dr. Georgeos Díaz-Montexano en su estudio El Enigma de los Grafitos de Kheops.

La connotación de fragilidad que poseyó esta zona trasera del pie está, pues, relacionada en gran medida con el mito de los gemelos (véase v.g. el nacimiento de Esaú y Jacob) . De ese modo, al igual que Thetis sujeta a Aquiles por el talón para otorgarle la inmortalidad al sumergirlo en las aguas estigias que corrían por el Hades, el "gemelo" que nace en segundo lugar sujetaría por el talón al hermano que le precede, "debilitando" de ese modo esta zona crucial del pie. Ello, alegóricamente, explicaría en muchos casos el combate entre hermanos para representar transiciones históricas (v.g. nomadismo/sedentarismo) o la pugna entre principios opuestos que, sin ser en realidad excluyentes, luchan por prevalecer hasta lograr fusionarse mediante la fuerza del Amor: yin/yang, bien delimitados y a la vez conteniéndose el uno al otro. En la cosmología del Antiguo Egipto, i.a., los "gemelos" proliferan como símbolos de la dualidad y polaridad necesarias para el equilibrio cósmico: Shu-Tefnut, Geb-Nut, Osiris-Isis, Set-Nephtys... Como también Cástor y Póllux en Grecia, Rómulo y Remo en Roma, Quetzalcóatl y Xólotl entre aztecas y mayas, o los Ibeyis, en la cultura yoruba… Todos vinculados de algún modo con serpientes y dragones, la Madre Kundalini que mora en el raquis humano... La lista es larga.

Ahora bien, ¿qué relación tiene este simbolismo esotérico con las figuras de Jesús y María Magdalena? Ante todo, la misoginia de la cultura judía en los tiempos bíblicos, continuada y exacerbada a lo largo del tiempo por altas personalidades de la Iglesia católica, es una de las explicaciones de la reiterada labor de tergiversación y ocultamiento del papel de la mujer en nuestra llamada "cultura occidental".

En este sentido, la acción de respetar el necesario sigilo es un ejemplo harto elocuente. Moisés, en Exodo 27, versículos 33 a 35, tras haber "escuchado" en un alto nivel iniciático, coloca sobre su rostro un velo en señal de voto de silencio y, más tarde, clásicos griegos como Herodoto, Platón, Pitágoras, Plutarco, callan en sus escritos lo que no les estaba permitido decir acerca de una religión mistérica que, basada en la sabiduría del dios egipcio Thot -el Hermes Trimegisto de los gnósticos-podía sólo transmitirse "de labios a oídos". Todo ello es correcto.

No obstante, una cosa es el silencio que se guarda de modo voluntario por razones disciplinarias y éticas y, otra, el impuesto a lo largo de los siglos a la mitad femenina de la Humanidad, escindida por el mismísimo Zeus como castigo aplicado a los Titanes en su intento de luchar contra las deidades del Olimpo. En un comienzo -y Platón lo expresa en su diálogo El Banquete (Symposio) o Del Amor por boca de Aristófanes--, el hermafroditismo que habría caracterizado a la naturaleza humana representaba, en aquella mítica fusión macho-hembra, la fuerza poderosa y unitaria del Amor, la necesidad de amalgamar ambas porciones -andro y gino, Hermes y Afrodita- en una totalidad armoniosa regida por un equilibrio tan perfecto que recordaría la sexualidad o, mejor aún, la asexualidad de los ángeles, en quienes la sublimidad de dicho sentimiento habría hecho desaparecer cualquier tipo de distinción, incluida la de género.

La realidad ha demostrado, empero, el lamentable fracaso de la aspiración unitaria e igualadora contenida en el mito. En este caso, la mujer, desprovista de voz y, por consiguiente, de voto o poder de decisión, era presentada como la imagen viva de la charlatanería, de la plática hueca, depositaria de la palabra que, transmitida por ella "de labios a oídos", lejos de sabia no era más que rumor, en síntesis, mero chismorreo.

Por razones de tiempo y de espacio no nos detendremos aquí en el análisis de la apabullada Eva que, desde el Génesis bíblico, cargó con la exclusividad de la culpa de la "caída del Adán ingenuo"... Lo cierto es -como señalaron las ponentes del XII Congreso de Teología realizado en Madrid en septiembre de 1992 en torno al problema de la marginación femenina-que la historia omite, por haberlas omitido la propia realidad, a las papisas y a las Madres de la Iglesia: La Papisa Juana, pues, no pasa de ser un personaje imaginario. La Iglesia ha tenido Padres, jamás Madres. De las reinas se han divulgado sus amoríos; sobre las mujeres destacadas en la ciencia, la literatura, el arte, la política, la religión, la sociedad en general, los comentarios han sido lacónicos, en contraposición a los extensos legajos dedicados a las arpías, gorgonas, medusas, furias, parcas, serpientes, etcétera, a cuyo verdadero significado esotérico apenas se alude.

Por los mass-media, y por los codos, se propagan los efectos nocivos del climaterio femenino; el masculino brilla por su ausencia. Las sirenas cantan y engañan, al paso que los tiburones despedazan a sus presas sin tanto alboroto. Para designar un terrible torbellino y un pavoroso escollo del estrecho de Mesina, los apelativos Escila y Caribdis -evocadores de lo femenino-parecieron idóneos a los misóginos antiguos. La esfinge edipiana, también en su versión exotérica, era monstruo-mujer, elaborado por los griegos a partir de la figura original egipcia, de esencia andrógina. La belicosa gemela de Ares, con otra perversa manzana, sembraba la discordia a modo de entretenimiento. En Latinoamérica, la legendaria Madre de Aguas se califica por lo común de agresiva y sanguinaria... La lista, una vez más, es extensa…

En nuestros días, descuella el resonante ejemplo de una injusticia histórica y simbólica que, felizmente, parece haber llegado a su fin: la vida y obra de Myriam, la de Magdala. En su libro El Legado de María Magdalena, el investigador barcelonés José Luis Giménez desenmascara con evidencias irrefutables la milenaria mentira acerca del verdadero papel de la amada discípula de Jesús, ligada a él, además, como esposa y madre de su descendencia. El Legado... contribuye a echar abajo la calumnia de la "prostituta redimida". Saca a la luz fuentes intencionalmente olvidadas o relegadas de larga data que le permiten rescatar la dignidad de la Mujer y del Amor, tanto desde el punto de vista histórico como emblemático. En pocas palabras, apuntala con firmeza los mensajes que, de manera velada, transmitieron desde épocas remotas aquellos que conocían la naturaleza inviolable del secreto.

Tal como hiciera Dan Brown en el Código da Vinci o Michael Bigent, Richard Leigh y Henry Lincoln en The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, entre muchos otros autores que han tocado este polémico asunto, José Luis Giménez ha contribuido a destapar la Caja de Pandora en cuyo fondo, bien visible, reposa la Esperanza. Porque la Verdad siempre se abrirá paso.

Iré por partes: el Santo Grial es, ante todo, un símbolo de la presencia crística en el ser humano, de su pureza, de su Realización espiritual. Para lograrlo, la comunión de los principios femenino y masculino resulta indispensable. François Bérenguer Saunière lo sabía. Este hombre singular, párroco de la Iglesia de Sta. María Magdalena en Rennes-le-Chteau, en el sur de Francia, al concebir la modificación de los retablos allí existentes, incluyó dos imágenes, una a cada lado del altar mayor, descritas y fotografiadas por José Luis Giménez en su Op. Cit.: a la derecha, la Virgen María con un niño y, a la izquierda, San José con otro niño distinto. Es decir: la polaridad que no se excluye, lo gemelar que se fusiona.

Ahora en tierras españolas, en el cisterciense Real Monasterio de Santes Creus (provincia de Tarragona), que data del siglo XII, el autor de El Legado... saca a la luz, en tal sentido, otras piezas de enorme relevancia: en la capilla de San Juan Evangelista, este aparece representado en la parte central del retablo con un aspecto incuestionablemente femenino, del mismo modo que ocurriría en el viejo Egipto con las representaciones hermafroditas de Akhenaton durante el período de Tell-el-Amarna (dinastía XVIII). Aquí, tal como señala J.L. Giménez, la intención del autor es obvia: San Juan, identificado en ocasiones con la figura de María Magdalena, tiene, como esta, largos y rizados cabellos pelirrojos, a diferencia del porte varonil con que aparece en cuadros de El Greco, de Tiziano, de Velázquez... Sin embargo, Leonardo da Vinci, conocedor del esoterismo antiguo, en particular del egipcio, supo también reflejar -y ocultar-- magistralmente lo andrógino en sus pinturas...

En los siete íconos adicionales al retablo, situados en su parte inferior, hay imágenes con pasajes bíblicos acerca de la vida de Jesús y María Magdalena que encierran una gran riqueza simbólica: además del número 7 alusivo de los plexos de energía chákrica, en uno de los íconos la Magdala aparece junto a dos criaturas gemelas, mientras que en el correspondiente a San Juan Evangelista, además del cáliz en su mano, aparece al fondo la cruz de San Andrés formada por dos árboles... el axis mundi.

Podrían hacerse numerosas lecturas deshermetizantes de este retablo realizado por un pintor anónimo a principios del siglo XVII. El dedicado a María Magdalena embarazada, llorando al pie de la cruz junto a una calavera, se analizará en párrafos posteriores.

Volvamos al tema específico del Santo Grial. En la escritura jeroglífica egipcia, la letra G era indicada por el signo que representaba un apoyo, asiento, sostén o protección de jarra, vasija, pote... O sea, el receptáculo, el recipiente, lo que recibe, símbolo -al igual que el arca y al barca-del yoni o útero que, en este caso, da cabida a la sangre que se identifica con el ens seminis, las "aguas mercuriales", la saliva, todo ello como líquido sagrado que interviene en la Suprasexualidad tántrica denominada también Ciencia Transmutatoria, Muerte Psicológica, Alquimia Sexual, Nacimiento Segundo , Gran Obra. Y si tomamos en cuenta el principio "acrofónico" aplicado por Jean-François Champollion a la escritura fonética en su labor de desciframiento de los jeroglíficos egipcios, puede inferirse que la citada letra G representada por el vaso, jarra, etc., podría aludir veladamente al Grial.

Oscar Uzcátegui, al referirse a Nut, la Madre Cósmica egipcia/Isis, señala que en su representación, "Encima de la paloma, Nut tiene un cáliz sagrado. Dicho cáliz es la copa o gomor dentro de la cual se halla contenido el maná del desierto con el cual se han alimentado todos los profetas.
"Esa copa o gomor es el yoni femenino, en el cual está contenido el vino de la sabiduría y al cual se le rendía culto en los misterios del dios Baco entre los antiguos romanos y griegos. Es una lástima que todavía la antropología y la arqueología oficiales sigan creyendo que las vestales romanas y griegas eran prostitutas que se embriagaban y practicaban orgías bebiendo vinos espumosos.

"Todo esto ha sido siempre simbólico. [El vino y el maná] (...)" Ambas cosas no vienen a ser otra que el ens seminis dentro del cual se encuentra todo el ens virtutis de la sabiduría, como lo apuntara en su tiempo el virtuoso Paracelso.

"Todo adepto sin cáliz es una blasfemia dentro de los misterios. Un sacerdote oficiando sin su cáliz es un absurdo total. El cáliz es el complemento fundamental de la lanza." En la historia de Jesús y María Magdalena hay ambas cosas: lanza y cáliz. Asimismo, en la lengua de Oc (Languedoc), nuevo escenario de la vida de la Magdala, la pronunciación del término que significa "cáliz" y "vaso" suena así... grial. El cáliz o copa que muy probablemente no fue empleado por Jesús para beber en una cena que no ocurrió en realidad, sino en el plano de la alegoría.

Desde hace siglos, La Última Cena ha sido un tema recurrente para los artistas, en especial para los pintores. Fray Angélico y Andrea del Castagno lo plasmaron en el siglo XIV, y sobre todo en la obra magistral de este, La Santa Cena , es ella, la discípula más amada de Jesús quien ocupa el centro de la composición, reclinada sobre la mesa y rodeada, en perfecta simetría bilateral, por el resto de los Apóstoles. Jesús, aquí, está sentado frente a ella al otro lado de la mesa, contemplándola, como indica la inclinación de su cabeza. En cada extremo... una copa.

Por otra parte, la copia del fresco del "Cenáculo" de Leonardo realizada por Marco de Oggiono no difiere del original, excepto en que aquí, los pies de Jesús son perfectamente visibles bajo la mesa, en particular el derecho, que avanza como considero hicieron los iniciados en los Misterios egipcios al cumplir el doble recorrido ceremonial. En otra versión del Cenáculo de Leonardo, de autor desconocido, es en extremo significativa la jarra situada frente a la figura femenina:
María Magdalena, la Myriam oriunda de Magdala es, no obstante, el personaje cuestionado y hasta denigrado de esta historia. El célebre cáliz ha sido codiciado y buscado por muchos debido a su legendaria riqueza material. Otros lo han hecho por su genuino valor emblemático, mientras que María Magdalena -tesoro en sí misma-- era presentada como la prostituta redimida por Jesús, la discípula ignorada, la mujer menospreciada, excluida, marginada como todas las demás, junto con los pobres y los extranjeros, en aquella sociedad furiosamente patriarcal.

Pero la Magdala lleva en su nombre la partícula MR, mer/mir, el signo jeroglífico egipcio que, en su polisemia, incluye la noción de Amor. De ahí su apelativo: Myriam, María...

Posee, por añadidura, un sentido que, sin duda, remite al Gran Arcano 13 del Tarot egipcio a la luz de la doctrina cabalística: El Segador, la Muerte como Transformación, lograda cuando las fuerzas polares desintegran el cuerpo físico al obtener la Realización. Y hay más, muchas más constataciones que por muy asombrosas que parezcan, rebosan de lógica esotérica. Fue así como me llegaron y así como las transmito.

¿En qué elementos baso tal asociación? La calavera que suele acompañar a María Magdalena significa la Muerte Psicológica, la aniquilación del ego bestial, la decapitación simbólica que la enlaza con San Juan Bautista. Además, las letras correspondientes a este Gran Arcano son: Mataloth (egipcia), Mem (hebrea) y M (latina). ¡La M que ojos expertos han visto dibujada con los cuerpos de Jesús y la Magdala en La Ultima Cena de Leonardo, unida con la V alusiva de la vagina, de lo femenino! Como gema, le corresponde la amatista y las piedras rojizas. Como color, las tonalidades rojas. En el mundo espiritual, la destrucción y la renovación. En el intelectual, el ascenso del espíritu a esferas divinas. El signo zodiacal, Aries, promesa de inmortalidad que en mi criterio la asocia directamente con Jesús, el carnero de Dios. En la Alquimia, es la Transmutación, el flujo de los opuestos polares , o sea, el ya explicado simbolismo gemelar.

En este análisis, "debe tenerse presente que el signo zodiacal Aries encarna la cabeza de un carnero y evoca la fuente de vida o el brote que florece en el equinoccio de primavera. (...) Géminis (...) es el dualismo, la dualidad de los gemelos; y la representación de Virgo ´se basa en la letra hebrea mem y en el símbolo fenicio que significa pescado, convertido en épocas tempranas en signo representativo de Jesús y del misterio de su nacimiento virginal´. . El símbolo del pez, cargado de sentido espiritual en el esoterismo antiguo, derivaría de su condición de primer animal de la Creación dotado de espinazo, reflejo del raquis humano.

Todo encaja. Mucho más cuando se lee que la función humana que compete a este Gran Arcano 13 es la del sentido del gusto. Porque la noción de gusto, de paladar, evoca alimentos, comida: la simbólica hogaza de pan que ya en los jeroglíficos egipcios, como letra T, era un signo determinativo del género femenino. En este contexto: el principio yin (ostia) que, fusionado con el masculino yang (vino/sangre), observamos unidos en la Eucaristía en calidad de hierogamos, las Bodas de Canaán. De ahí, pues, la reunión de Jesús con sus apóstoles en una Ultima Cena como acto de despedida ante su próxima "Muerte", transmutación obtenida gracias al Amor de su esposa y discípula. Insisto, todo encaja.

Y a este enfoque deshermetizante del principio femenino encarnado por María Magdalena, agrego mi lectura del controvertido puñal que empuña "una mano desprovista de cuerpo" en dicha escena: es su propia mano, la mano derecha de Myriam la de Magdala quien esgrime el cuchillo , --utilizado emblemáticamente en los Misterios iniciáticos egipcios-como prueba del aniquilamiento de los yoes bestiales: .

Como vemos, la escritura jeroglífica vuelve a arrojar luz sobre el significado de esta acción: en el arte esotérico del Antiguo Egipto era común encontrar brazos extendidos en actitud de dar, presentar, esgrimir o portar algún tipo de ofrenda, todo ello con diversas connotaciones, v.g.: . . Así lo explica también Christian Jacq al analizar el acto de dar, de ofrecer, expresando que, para los egipcios, mientras más largos eran los brazos y las manos, mayor era la ofrenda. Y la de Magdala lo era, lo es, lo será. De ahí que el personaje a su derecha eleve a la altura del pecho las dos palmas de las manos con el mismo sentido que dicho gesto posee en la escritura jeroglífica egipcia: "adorar".

El Legado de María Magdalena, por tanto, me indicó los caminos a seguir, los lugares donde -como hizo su autor José Luis Giménez-- debía hurgar con lupa y escalpelo para elaborar conjeturas verosímiles que contribuyesen a ratificar sus conclusiones, que sentí ciertas en todo momento. La verdad finalmente se ha abierto paso. Myriam la de Magdala es símbolo y también historia.

Lic. Julia Calzadilla
Historiadora de Arte,
Egiptóloga.

JULIA CALZADILLA
La Habana, 1943
Obras principales
Literatura para niños y jóvenes:
Los poemas cantarines (1974)
Cantares de América latina y el Caribe (1976)
El escarabajo Miguel y las hormigas locas - en colaboración con Marinieves Díaz- (1988)
Los chichiricú del charco de la jícara (1988)
Los alegres cantares de Piquiturquino (1988)
Los pequeños poemas del abuelo Cantarín (1988)
Las increíbles andanzas de Chirri (1989)
La obra literaria de Julia Calzadilla sobresale por su dominio del idioma, la presencia de la ternura y el acento amoroso de sus poemas y relatos. Tanto en su poesía como en su prosa, se empeña en rescatar valores genuinos de la cultura, el folclor cubano y del continente y de la tradición oral.
Es una de las figuras más destacadas de la literatura para niños y jóvenes. Sus libros Cantares de América latina y el Caribe y Los chichiricú del charco de la jícara, le valieron sendos premios Casa de las Américas, mientras que Los poemas cantarines y El escarabajo Miguel …merecieron premios de la Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba.
En Los chichiricú … la autora articula los 25 relatos que lo conforman en la leyenda cuajada de humor y alegría de los jigües o güijes-míticos pobladores de ríos, arroyos y charcos- dueños del misterio y la gracia. Y es que Julia Calzadilla sabe hurgar en la mitología afrocubana y trasladar a sus textos el corpus mágico de una literatura oral.
Por encima de lo fabuloso y lo anecdótico, interesa a esta escritora dar el hecho poético, el juego, la exaltación de la fantasía, el rescate, la recopilación y el enriquecimiento del folclor. Quiere divertir y agudizar la sensibilidad de sus jóvenes lectores, y su perspicacia, y eso la lleva a incursionar en el policial infantil con Las increíbles andanzas de Chirri. Sus libros resultan atractivos para niños y jóvenes de cualquier latitud.
Su título más reciente es Casuarino y el libro mágico de los chacaneques. se ubica en una geografía imaginaria, pero transparentemente latinoamericana y trata acerca de la extinción de una civilización autóctona ante el enfrentamiento con unos visitantes inesperados e indeseables. Es una novela de aventuras.
También para niños y jóvenes escribió ¿Ruidos extraños?, dedicado al caballo Rocinante, de quien ningún autor o cineasta habla jamás y Por si las moscas, sobre el Popol Vuh y la civilización maya.
Para adultos Julia Calzadilla ha escrito recientemente La Gran Rueda: una lectura decodificatoria de la espiritualidad en los MISTERIOS del Antiguo Egipto, una extensa y muy seria investigación sobre los ritos de esta civilización; La música en las venas, sobre el Trío de las hermanas Lago, y el libro de poesía para adultos Cáscara de Nuez.

Los caballeros Templarios

Eran guerreros. Una sociedad religioso-militar. Sus iglesias y sus bancos eran sus plazas fuertes. Los templarios inventaron el concepto de banca moderna. Para la nobleza europea, viajar con oro era peligroso, por lo que los caballeros de la orden les permitían depositarlo en la iglesia del Temple más cercana y retirarlo en cualquier otra, en cualquier punto de Europa. Lo único que necesitaban era acreditarse mediante la documentación correcta, y pagar una comisión. Fueron los primeros cajeros automáticos. Se cree que su misión era proteger Tierra Santa. Eso es un error frecuente. La idea de la protección de los peregrinos era el disfraz bajo el que los templarios llevaban a cabo su misión. Su verdadero objetivo en Tierra Santa era rescatar los documentos enterrados debajo de las ruinas del templo. Para poder rescatarlos, el Priorato de Sión creó un brazo armado, un grupo de nueve caballeros llamado la Orden de los Caballeros Pobres de Cristo y del templo de Salomón. Más conocidos como los Caballeros Templarios. Nadie lo sabe a ciencia cierta, pero en lo que todos los estudiosos coinciden es en que sí encontraron algo enterrado en las ruinas... algo que les hizo ricos y poderosos más allá de lo imaginable. Los caballeros informaron al rey que necesitaban de algún lugar donde guarecerse y le pidieron permiso para instalarse en los establos que había bajo las ruinas del templo. El rey Balduino lo concedió, y los caballeros ocuparon como residencia aquel devastado lugar de culto.

El Sancta sanctórum

Se creía que los documentos que buscaba el Priorato estaban enterrados en aquellas ruinas, bajo el Sancta sanctórum o cámara sagrada. Durante casi una década, los nueve caballeros vivieron en aquellas ruinas, excavando en secreto entre los escombros. Al fin habían encontrado lo que estaban buscando. Sacaron el tesoro del templo y regresaron a Europa, donde su influencia pareció acrecentarse de la noche a la mañana. El papa Inocencio II dictó una insólita bula papal por la que se concedía a los caballeros un poder ilimitado y se los declaraba «una ley en sí mismos», un ejército autónomo, independiente de cualquier interferencia de reyes o clérigos, de cualquier forma de poder político o religioso.

Con su recién adquirida carta blanca otorgada por el Vaticano, los templarios se expandieron a una velocidad de vértigo, tanto en número como en peso político, acumulando la propiedad de vastas extensiones de tierra en más de doce países. Empezaron a conceder créditos a casas reales arruinadas y a cobrar intereses, estableciendo de ese modo el precedente de la banca moderna e incrementando aún más su riqueza y su influencia.

El Santo Grial

Durante más de mil años han circulado leyendas sobre este secreto. Toda la serie de documentos que revelan el secreto se conocen con el nombre de Sangreal. Godolfredo de Bouillon ordenó a los templarios recuperar estos documentos del Templo de Salomón para demostrar los vínculos hereditarios de los merovingios con Jesucristo. El Sangreal tiene que ver con la sangre real de Jesús y María Magdalena. La palabra Sangreal ha evolucionado hasta formar un término más moderno, el Santo Grial. Se creía que el Santo Grial era un cáliz y una serie de documentos que revelan un oscuro secreto. Pero los documentos son sólo la mitad del tesoro. Si esos documentos dieron tanto poder a los templarios fue porque descubrían la verdadera naturaleza del Grial.

Siempre se había creído que el Santo Grial era el cáliz en el que Jesús había bebido durante la última cena y con el que, posteriormente, José de Arimatea había recogido la sangre que le brotaba del costado en el momento de la crucifixión. Según el Priorato de Sión, el Santo Grial no es en absoluto un cáliz. Aseguran que la leyenda del Grial, que afirma que se trata de una copa, es de hecho una ingeniosa alegoría. Es decir, que la historia del Grial usa el cáliz como metáfora de algo mucho más poderoso, incluyendo sus referencias simbólicas a la divinidad femenina.

El Santo Grial fue probablemente el tesoro más buscado de la historia de la humanidad. Suscito leyendas, provocó guerras y búsquedas que han durado vidas enteras. ¿No sería absurdo que hubiera sido un cáliz?. De ser así, entonces habría habido otras reliquias que hubieran despertado un interés similar y hasta superior, como la corona de espinas, la cruz de la crucifixión, el título o inscripción INRI sobre la cruz, cosa que no ha sucedido, a lo largo de la historia. Se creía que el Grial estaba en algún lugar indeterminado de Inglaterra, enterrado en una cámara oculta, bajo una de las muchas iglesias de la Orden del Temple, y que había estado ahí escondido al menos desde el año 1500.

La época del Gran Maestro Leonardo da Vinci y que el Priorato, para mantener en secreto sus valiosísimos documentos, se había visto obligado a trasladarlos muchas veces. Hoy en día los historiadores plantean que, desde su llegada a Europa procedente de Jerusalén, el Grial había cambiado de sitio en al menos seis ocasiones. La última vez que fue avistado fue en 1447, cuando numerosos testigos oculares describieron un fuego que se declaró y casi destruyó los documentos, antes de que estos fueran trasladados en cuatro enormes arcones, tan pesados que para moverlos hicieron falta dieciséis hombres.

Después de aquello, nadie declaró haber vuelto a ver el Grial. Lo único que persistió fue el rumor ocasional de que estaba escondido en Gran Bretaña, la tierra del rey Arturo y los Caballeros de la Tabla Redonda. Fuera cual fuera la realidad, había dos hechos indiscutibles: Leonardo da Vinci conocía el paradero del Grial y probablemente, en la actualidad, ese lugar seguía siendo el mismo. Por tal motivo, los apasionados del Grial siguieron escrutando la obra pictórica y los diarios de Leonardo con la esperanza de desentrañar alguna pista secreta sobre su actual ubicación. Algunos aseguraron que el fondo montañoso de La Virgen de las rocas se correspondía con la orografía de una serie de colinas cavernosas que se encontraban en Escocia.

En el extraño mundo de los buscadores modernos del Grial, Leonardo da Vinci seguía siendo el mayor enigma por resolver. Su obra artística parecía siempre a punto de revelar un secreto, y sin embargo, lo que fuera que ocultaba permanecía oculto, tal vez bajo una capa de pintura, tal vez codificado a la vista de todos, o tal vez en ningún sitio. Quizá la gran cantidad de atractivas pistas no fuera más que una promesa hueca dejada para frustrar al curioso y provocar esa sonrisa en el rostro de la Mona Lisa. Circulaba el rumor de que el Priorato había jurado volver a trasladar a Francia el Grial, pero no había ninguna prueba histórica que indicara que eso había sucedido. E incluso en el caso de que la hermandad hubiera logrado traer el Santo Grial hasta Francia, el número 24 de la Rué Haxo, junto a unas pistas de tenis, no parecía un lugar lo bastante noble para su definitivo descanso. El Grial simboliza a la diosa perdida. Las leyendas de las búsquedas caballerescas del Grial perdido, eran en realidad historias que explicaban las hazañas para recuperar la divinidad femenina. Los caballeros hablaban en clave para protegerse de una Iglesia que había subyugado a las mujeres, prohibido a la diosa, quemado a los no creyentes y censurado el culto pagano a la divinidad femenina. La historia del Grial está en todas partes, pero oculta. Cuando la Iglesia prohibió hablar de la repudiada María Magdalena, su historia tuvo que empezar a transmitirse por canales más discretos... canales llenos de metáforas y simbolismo. El mundo de las artes. La reproducción de La última cena es un ejemplo perfecto. Algunas de las más destacadas obras pictóricas, literarias y musicales nos hablan secretamente de la historia de María Magdalena y de Jesús.

Las obras de Leonardo da Vinci, de Botticelli, de Poussin, de Bernini, de Mozart, de Víctor Hugo. En todas latía el intento por restaurar el culto a la prohibida divinidad femenina. Leyendas clásicas como las de Sir Gawain y el Caballero Verde, el Rey Arturo o la Bella Durmiente eran alegorías del Grial. El jorobado de Notre Dame, de Víctor Hugo, y La flauta mágica de Mozart estaban llenas de simbología masónica y de secretos. Una vez abrimos los ojos al Santo Grial, lo captamos por todas partes. En pinturas, en piezas musicales, en libros, en los parques temáticos, en las películas más populares y hasta en los dibujos animados.

El papa Clemente V

A principios del siglo XIV, la autorización del Vaticano había permitido que los templarios amasaran tal poder que el papa Clemente V decidió que había que hacer algo. Con la colaboración del rey francés Felipe IV, el Papa ideó un ingenioso plan para neutralizar a los Caballeros de la Orden del Temple y hacerse con sus tesoros, pasando de paso a obtener el control sobre sus secretos. En una maniobra militar digna de la CIA, Clemente envió órdenes selladas a todos sus soldados, distribuidos por todo el territorio europeo, que no debían abrirse hasta el viernes 13 de octubre de 1307. Al amanecer de aquel día, los documentos sellados se abrieron y revelaron su sobrecogedor contenido.

En aquellas cartas, el Papa aseguraba que había tenido una visión de Dios en la que le advertía de que los templarios eran unos herejes, culpables de rendir culto al demonio, de homosexualidad, de ultraje a la cruz, de sodomía y demás comportamientos blasfemos. Y Dios le pedía al Papa que limpiara la tierra, que reuniera a todos los templarios y los torturara hasta que confesaran sus pecados contra Dios. La maquiavélica operación de Clemente funcionó con total precisión.

Aquel mismo día se detuvo a gran número de caballeros de la orden, se les torturó y fueron quemados en la hoguera acusados de herejes. En la cultura moderna aún persistían ecos de aquella tragedia; el viernes trece seguía considerándose día de mala suerte en muchos sitios. La orden de los templarios fue casi destruida durante la Inquisición, la Iglesia acusaba a los templarios de todo tipo de herejías. Inventaban toda clase de cargos contra ellos. Los condenaban por sodomía, por orinarse sobre la cruz, por rendir culto al diablo, la lista era extensa. Y en esa lista se incluía la veneración a falsos ídolos. Especialmente, la Iglesia acusaba a los templarios de celebrar en secreto ritos en los que veneraban una cabeza de piedra... Siguen existiendo, bajo diversas denominaciones.

A pesar de las falsas acusaciones de Clemente, que hizo todo lo posible por aniquilarlos, los templarios tenían poderosos aliados y algunos lograron escapar de las purgas vaticanas. El verdadero objetivo del Papa eran los poderosos documentos que habían hallado y que en apariencia eran su fuente de poder, pero nunca los encontró. Aquellos documentos llevaban ya mucho tiempo en manos de arquitectos clandestinos de los templarios, los miembros del Priorato de Sión, cuyo velo de secretismo los había mantenido a salvo de la masacre vaticana. Pero al ver que la Santa Sede iba cerrando cada vez más el cerco, el Priorato sacó una noche los documentos de la iglesia de París donde los escondían y los llevó a unos barcos templarios anclados en La Rochelle. — ¿Y adonde los llevaron?. La respuesta a ese misterio sólo la tiene el Priorato de Sión. Como esos documentos siguen siendo fuente de constantes investigaciones y especulaciones, se cree que han sido cambiados de sitio varias veces. Hoy en día, las conjeturas apuntan a que se encuentran en algún lugar del Reino Unido.

La Última Cena

Está perfectamente documentado que Leonardo era un ferviente devoto de los antiguos cultos a María Magdalena. Su famoso fresco La última cena, es uno de los más sorprendentes homenajes a la divinidad femenina. Pues hay símbolos ocultos en sitios inimaginables. En La última cena aparecen trece hombres, seis discípulos a la izquierda y seis a la derecha y Jesús en el medio. El discípulo que está sentado en el puesto de honor, a la derecha del Señor es hombre o mujer?.

Al estudiar el rostro y el cuerpo, surge una oleada de desconcierto. Aquella persona tenía una larga cabellera pelirroja, unas delicadas manos entrelazadas y la curva de unos senos. Era, sin duda... una mujer. — ¡Es una mujer! No es un error. Leonardo sabía pintar muy bien y diferenciaba perfectamente entre hombres y mujeres. No podemos apartar la vista de aquella mujer sentada junto a Cristo. «En la última cena se supone que había trece hombres. ¿Quién es entonces esa mujer?» Aunque habíamos visto muchas veces aquella pintura, nunca nos había llamado la atención aquella evidente disonancia. Nadie se fija. Nuestras ideas preconcebidas de esta escena son tan fuertes que nos vendan los ojos y nuestra mente suprime la incongruencia. Es un fenómeno conocido como escotoma. El cerebro lo hace a veces con símbolos poderosos. La mujer a la derecha de Jesús es joven y de aspecto puro, con un rostro discreto, un hermoso pelo rojizo y las manos entrelazadas con gesto sereno, es María Magdalena la mujer capaz de destruir ella sola a la Iglesia. En La última cena prácticamente le está gritando al mundo que Jesús y Magdalena son pareja. —Fíjese en que uno va vestido casi como reflejo perfecto del otro. Las dos figuras del centro de la obra. Las ropas tienen los colores invertidos. Jesús lleva la túnica roja y la capa azul, mientras María Magdalena lleva una túnica azul y una capa roja. «El Yin y el Yang.» —Y si vamos ya a matices más sutiles, vea que Jesús y su esposa aparecen unidos por la cadera e inclinados en direcciones opuestas, como si quisieran crear claramente un espacio negativo entre ellos. La inequívoca forma de la V en el punto focal de la obra. Era el mismo símbolo, del cáliz y del vientre femenino. —Finalmente, si miramos a Jesús y a Magdalena como elementos de la composición más que como personas, veremos una letra del abecedario, ahí, destacada en el centro de la pintura, el trazo de una enorme y perfecta letra M. Los teóricos de las conspiraciones dicen que es la M de matrimonio o de María Magdalena, pero, nadie lo sabe a ciencia cierta.

Otras pinturas con la M.

Hay innumerables obras que contienen esa misma letra oculta de un modo u otro, ya sea en filigranas, en pinturas ocultas debajo de otras o en alusiones compositivas. La más ostentosa, claro, es la que hay grabada en el altar de Nuestra Señora de París, en Londres, diseñada por un anterior Gran Maestre del Priorato de Sión, Jean Cocteau. La M oculta es intrigante, pero nadie la pone como prueba de que Jesús y María Magdalena estaban casados. Aunque ese matrimonio está documentado en la historia. Es más, que Jesús fuera un hombre casado es mucho más lógico. Lo que es raro es la visión bíblica que tenemos de él como soltero. Esto porque Jesús era judío y las pautas sociales durante aquella época prácticamente prohibían que un hombre judío fuera soltero. Según la tradición hebrea, el celibato era censurable y era responsabilidad del padre buscarle una esposa adecuada a sus hijos. Si Jesús no hubiera estado casado, al menos alguno de los evangelios lo habría mencionado o habría ofrecido alguna explicación a aquella soltería excepcional.

Walt Disney

Había dedicado su plácida existencia a trabajar para transmitir la historia del Santo Grial a las futuras generaciones. A lo largo de toda su vida a Disney lo consideraron siempre como «una versión moderna de Leonardo». Los dos se adelantaron mucho a su tiempo, los dos fueron artistas extraordinariamente dotados, miembros de sociedades secretas y notorios bromistas. Al igual que en el caso de Leonardo, a Walt Disney le encantaba incluir mensajes ocultos y símbolos en sus obras. Para el ojo entrenado del experto en simbología ver alguna de las primeras películas de Disney era quedar sepultado bajo un alud de alusiones y metáforas.

La mayor parte de sus mensajes trataban de la religión, de la mitología pagana y de las historias de la diosa sometida. No es casualidad que retomara los cuentos de la Cenicienta, la Bella Durmiente y Blancanieves; en las tres se trata el tema de la encarcelación de la divinidad femenina. Además, a nadie le hace falta saber mucho de simbología para entender que Blancanieves —una princesa que cayó en desgracia tras darle un bocado a una manzana envenenada— representa una clara alusión a la caída de Eva en el Jardín del Edén. Ni que la princesa Aurora de La Bella Durmiente —«Rosa», en nombre clave, y escondida en la espesura del bosque para protegerse de las garras de la bruja malvada, es la historia del Grial contada a los niños. A pesar de su imagen de seriedad corporativa, la factoría Disney ha mantenido siempre ese elemento fresco y desenfadado, y los creadores se divierten incorporando símbolos secretos a sus producciones. La Sirenita, por ejemplo, era un cautivador tapiz de símbolos espirituales relacionados hasta tal punto con la diosa que no podía ser obra del azar. El cuadro que decora el hogar submarino de Ariel no es otro que Magdalena Penitente, la famosa pintura de Georges de la Tour del siglo XVII. Un homenaje a la denostada María Magdalena, muy adecuado, por otra parte, teniendo en cuenta que la película resultaba ser un collage de noventa minutos con claras referencias simbólicas a la santidad perdida de Isis, de Eva, de Piscis, la Diosa pez y, reiteradamente de María Magdalena. El nombre de la sirenita, Ariel, poseía estrechos vínculos con la divinidad femenina, y en el Libro de Isaías era sinónimo de «La ciudad santa sitiada». Estaba claro, además, que el hecho de que la sirenita fuera pelirroja tampoco era casual.

Francois Mitterrand

Mitterrand fue un hombre osado. Se decía que el anterior presidente de Francia, que había encargado la construcción de la pirámide, tenía «complejo de faraón». Responsable máximo de haber llenado la ciudad de obeliscos, obras de arte y objetos procedentes del país del Nilo, Francois Mitterrand sentía una pasión tan desbocada por la cultura egipcia que sus compatriotas seguían llamándolo «La Esfinge». Un hombre del que se rumoreaba que se movía en círculos secretos, un hombre cuyo legado final a París fue La Pirámide. Al final del túnel del Passage Richelien se encuentra el monumento más misterioso de París, concebido y encargado en la década de 1980 por la esfinge en persona, Francois Mitterrand.

La pirámide. El nuevo acceso al Louvre se ha hecho casi tan famoso como el mismo museo. La polémica y ultramoderna pirámide de cristal diseñada por I. M. Pei, el arquitecto americano de origen chino, seguía siendo blanco de burlas de los más puristas, que creían que destrozaba la sobriedad del patio renacentista. Para sus críticos, la pirámide de Pei era como una uña arañando una pizarra. Sin embargo, también había admiradores que elogiaban aquella pirámide de cristal de más de veinte metros de altura y veían en ella la deslumbrante fusión de las estructuras antiguas con los nuevos métodos —un vínculo simbólico entre lo nuevo y lo viejo—. Aquella pirámide había sido construida por deseo expreso de Mitterrand con 666 paneles de cristal, ni uno más ni uno menos, curioso empeño que se había convertido en tema de conversación entre los defensores de las teorías conspiratorias, que aseguraban que el 666 era el número de Satán.

La pirámide inversa. El "Carrusel del Louvre", es un enorme circulo de césped rodeado en su perímetro por setos bien cortados. En la zona de césped el subsuelo horadado alberga los monumentos más atípicos de la ciudad. En el centro se hunde en la tierra como un abismo de cristal, la Pirámide Inversa hacía la zona subterránea del Louvre. La Pirámide Inversa o "El Cáliz" es una enorme claraboya invertida que cuelga del techo como una estalactita en una sala grande contigua del sótano. Está pirámide es un asombroso perfil triangular hecho de cristal colgando desde las alturas a más de dos metros del suelo.

La pirámide miniatura. Justo debajo de la pirámide inversa, en el suelo de la sala grande, se ve una diminuta estructura, la Pirámide miniatura de apenas un metro de altura. La única construcción hecha a pequeña escala en tan inmenso complejo.

La tumba de María Magdalena

Iluminadas con la luz tenue del sótano, las dos pirámides se enfrentan y sus puntas casi se tocan. "El Cáliz" encima, "La Espada" debajo. La Pirámide miniatura sobresale del suelo como la punta de un iceberg, como el ápice de un enorme sala piramidal sumergida, como una cámara oculta. Al alzar los ojos al cielo, desde allí, a través de los cristales, en noches claras, se observa un firmamento cuajado de estrellas.

BET EMET MINISTRIES

Hebrew For "The House Of Truth"

Craig M. Lyons Ms.D., D.D., M.Div.

bennoah1@verizon.net

TRACING THE SUN THROUGH THE ZODIAC & GEMINI...COULD THIS BE THE ORIGIN FOR THE "JESUS STORY" #7

GEMINI & JESUS: MAY 21-JUNE 21

We ended the last article looking at the correlations between the "Jesus Story" in the New Testament and the path of the Sun through the Zodiac, in particular the constellation Taurus as it parallels the depiction of the "Jesus Story" taken chronologically throughout the New Testaments' depiction of Jesus Christ. We have traced the "Jesus Story" not only through the Heavens as it parallels the path of the Sun through the Zodiac when "personified" and "allegorized" but have seen the genius of the Creator to inscribe upon the Heavens above His will for mankind and their "Spiritual Evolution". We have traced the Sun through the previous Houses of the Zodiac and when "personified" and with the aid of "anthropomorphic" language we have seen how the "Evolution of the Soul in matter" has been told through the "myths" and "legends" of sungods. The irony of this whole thing is that the "Jesus Story" is the story of the birth, life, growth, and death of the Soul in this physical realm we call "life". This "Jesus Story" is a "plan-o-gram" for mankind to follow and emulate as were many of the prior "sungod" stories as well. We have seen beginning with Capricorn that man was born into this physical world with the necessity of a "2nd birth" which is symbolized as we move to the House of Aquarius where we find the symbolic immersion into a "watery womb" or a "watery tomb" in baptism where as Judaism teaches man receives the "Soul that comes down from Heaven" and is "born again". We saw that this imagery of being "born again in water" is accompanied with "repentance" as seen in the immersion of John the Baptist and his "baptism of repentance". We saw that the language of John is very important as he lays out the desired growth of man's Soul; for it must increase as the power of his flesh decreases. We immediately move from this even in our spiritual growth to a full-blown war with our soul as we must fight the "darkness" within seen in the allegory of "Jesus' Temptation" with the Devil. This is but a picture of the Sun and its eternal battle with "darkness" again symbolized in the "Jesus Story" in Jesus' temptation where the "spirit" and "flesh" battle continuously. The Soul is intended to increase in strength over our flesh as we live out our lives and continually reflect more of the light of God daily as does the Sun in it new ascending path in the Heavens. We saw as we moved to Pisces that as we grow "spiritually" we must feed ourselves "the bread that comes down from Heaven" before we can feed others and become "fishers of men". Thus the symbolism of Pisces which stresses again the need for this bread due to the "intersection" in Heaven of these "two fish" or "2 natures in man; spiritual and fleshly". As we live a life of repentance unto good works we accomplish such a goal when fed the true "manna" of God. We then followed God's Sun into the Constellation of Aries where we first met up with the idea of "sacrifice" in relationship to the Lamb of God. We learned from this that God was teaching us that we are to become "living sacrifices", holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service while at the same time we are not conformed to this world continue to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in order that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2...KJV). We next found ourselves at the Spring Equinox were we learned that this is a special time with God and man which speaks God's Harmony and peace to all Creation. We also learned that this is the Harvest time when the Earth brings forth her fruit. We made note of the need for our fruit in our lives that comes through good works and obedience to the Commandments of God were according to Judaism we find and receive our atonement. As living sacrifices according to the Hebrew Scriptures we accomplish our own atonement. As we moved with the Sun into the Constellation of Taurus we saw the repeated emphasis upon "sacrifice" and continued fruitfulness on a large scale; a scale large enough to reach the world with this true message of maturation of man's Soul. We camped a little while here as we contrasted the Houses of Aries and Taurus for parallels between them and the unbelievable similarities between the "personified Sun" as "Mithra" and as "Jesus" in the New Testament. We move must move on with the Sun as it never sleeps and move with it into the House of Gemini and learn the next "Spiritual Lesson" that God has for us as we learn of the maturation of the Divine within matter; ie., our Souls.

Now we continue to go more deeply as we trace the Sun in its path through the Zodiac as it leaves Taurus and enters the constellation of Gemini. We by now are familiar with the astronomical concept that the Sun goes on a journey through the Zodiac during the 12 months of the year. We have been following this journey of the Sun and we have seen how uncannily the path of the Sun through the Zodiac matches up with the chronological depiction of "Jesus" and the journey that Jesus takes during his life and ministry as depicted by the writers of the New Testament. We have seen that according to the writers of the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus' ministry is said to last a year. We have also seen that the Sun completes its circuit of the Zodiac in a year. This is not a coincidence. We now look at the constellation Gemini to see the continuing struggle of the Sun against the darkness and note the parallels to the depiction of Jesus and his ministry as recorded in the New Testament.

The constellation of Gemini has been seen as twin figures by cultures throughout the world, back into prehistory. The 'Two Stars', referring to its very bright suns, which the Greeks recognized as Castor and Polydeuces, were named for the younger and elder forms of the god Horus by the Egyptians. To the Romans they were Hercules and Apollo. Often perceived as twin boys, the lore sustains that they were placed in the night sky by Jove to honor and exemplify the fidelity of their brotherly love. In other instances they were seen as a sister and brother or two angels, then within later Christian traditions, as Adam and Eve.

Stories of hero twins are also related throughout the world. For the Greeks their was Castor and Polydeuces, also known as the Dioscuri, or Heavenly Twins. They were the children of Zeus and Leda, queen of Sparta (yes...you may call them: 'sons of the swan.'), thus also the brothers to the infamous Helen, late of Troy. The exploits of these twins are many, and all heroic. In their youth they sailed with Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece. To the Romans, who knew them as Castor and Pollux, the twins were invoked on the field of battle to assure victory. For centuries beyond they were held as guardians to sailors on extended or risky voyages.

LETS LEARN SOME ASTRONOMY BEFORE WE LOOK AT THE THEOLOGY

We have not up to this time spent a lot of time with the Summer Solstice but our time has come as we find the Sun struggling to rise to the zenith of its path across the Heavens where it will eventually reach the apex of its path which is the Summer Solstice. Let us not forget the Sun, since raised from the dead at the Winter solstice has been ascending in the Sky on its way to its zenith. Associated with this path of the Sun across the Sky is the constellation Gemini. The constellation Gemini is traditionally depicted as two men (the twins). The two brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux (north of the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor), are two of the brightest stars in the sky and were identified by the Greeks with two children, in most accounts the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. As indicated by the "twins of Gemini" this is a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches onward to its zenith. This path of the Sun to its zenith in the Sky ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. It is at this time that the Sun is at the peak of its strength. In the northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. The Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. It is the time of the greatest light. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer solstice and Winter solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal equinox and Autumnal equinox. People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the Summer solstice. On this day, typically Jun 21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer.

Let us not forget that the seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the Sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. As mentioned above the time of the year when the Sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the Summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. On the Summer Solstice, which occurs on June 21, the Sun is at its highest path through the sky and the day is the longest. Because the day is so long the Sun does not rise exactly in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west allowing it to be in the sky for a longer period of time. After the Summer solstice the Sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day until it reaches the point where it is in the sky for exactly 12 hours again. This is the Fall or Autumn Equinox. Just like the Spring Equinox, the Sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west on this day and everyone in the world will experience a 12 hour day. After the Fall Equinox the Sun will continue to follow a lower and lower path through the sky and the days will grow shorter and shorter until it reaches its lowest path and then we are back at the Winter Solstice where we started.

The Summer solstice typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, Jun. 21 which is the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about Dec. 21 and is the Winter solstice which is the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum. We get the word "Solstice", from the Latin for "Sun stands still", in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°). For several days before and after each solstice the Sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day. At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of Summer solstice, about June 22, the Sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

Now that the technical information is out of the way we now focus on the fact that in pre-historic times, Summer was a joyous time of the year for those Ancient people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. This is the time of the first harvest, which usually consisted of the herbs planted during the Vernal Equinox. Other crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable. Midsummer has been one of the important solar events throughout the evolution of humankind. It was an indicator that the year was about to begin waning, thus winter would be again returning. Although not all the ancients were as precise in the calculations from an astronomical point, you can be sure that they were keenly aware of the Sun's progression, and did most assuredly know when Solstice was upon them, as the Sun appeared to stand still in its northern progression.

The ancients knew that life came from the Sun, it was life giving, life supporting, without it life would be lost. The Sun was viewed as the Ancient's "Savior" of sorts. The journey of the Sun impacted life at every level in the course of time, only relatively recently with the advances of electricity, greenhouses, transportation networks, has human reliance on the passage of the Sun been lessened. Even with this dependence lessening, in this technological age, necessity of the Sun and its path is crucial to our existence, however it is not as apparent today to many. Midsummer is the time when the Sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest.

NOW SOME THEOLOGY

We say in the previous article that Jesus, in the form of the personified Sun, passed through Taurus and in so doing likewise passed across the Milky Way which is that starry band of millions of stars that lies like a lake across the sky. We saw that at this point in the "Jesus Story" Jesus crosses "the lake" and we as expected found the allegorical story of Jesus walking on water.

Answer for yourself: What happens as the Sun moves past Taurus and the Milky Way?

On the star map provided I want the reader to look to the bottom right and locate the "Hyades" which is part of the Constellation of Taurus. If you draw a diagonal line ascending from bottom right to upper left you come to another Constellation named Gemini. This path between the "Hyades" in Taurus and ascending to Gemini is called the "Ecliptic" and this is the path of the Sun as it moves through the Zodiac in the Heavens. In our study it is important to note as seen in the reference above Sun crossing the "water" or "milky way" in the Heavens which is later retold in the "personified Jesus Story" as Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee and walking on water. After the Sun crosses the Milky Way it moves into the constellation Gemini called "the twins" Castor and Pollox (the two bright stars in Gemini are named Castor and Pollux).

Answer for yourself: What do we find Jesus doing in the gospels right after crossing the lake? We find an account of Jesus healing the sick but how many? How many people is Jesus healing? He is only healing "two".

If our premise holds we should expect to find Jesus associated with "two" (Castor and Pollox) people and that is exactly what we find. In the "Jesus Story", after crossing the lake (which we saw was Jesus as the personified Sun crossing the Milky Way), Jesus heals two demon possessed men.

Matt 8:28-34 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Does the New Testament mention Castor and Pollux? It sure does

Answer for yourself: Is this just a coincidence that Jesus meets two men that need to be healed or is this again symbolic for the constellation Gemini as the Sun moves through the Zodiac?

Acts 28:11 11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. (KJV)

We made mention earlier of the connection of the Harvest with this time of the year around Summer when the Sun enters Gemini. This is a time of increase or doubling as the Sun continually rises in the Sky to its Zenith and its peak of strength. This is especially so noting the connection of Shavuot, or Pentecost, with the sign of Gemini. In Matt. 12:1 we find Jesus and his disciples going through the fields full of grain plucking the heads of grain to eat. As you can see the seasons are advancing.

Matt 12:1 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. (KJV)

We find in the "Jesus Story" the masterful strength portrayed by Jesus in his teachings where he pronounces that like the Sun his strength is without limit and beyond contest:

Matt 12:8 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (KJV)

No one can challenge Jesus and win or try to usurp his power for none can win for we find Jesus in all his glory and majesty in his ministry portrayed at this time which is keeping in symbolism of the Sun moving to its Zenith where its light is at its greatest. This great power of the "personified Sun" in the allegory of the "Jesus Story" is seen in Jesus ability to control the "darkness of the physical realm" as witnessed in the many accounts of the miracles of Jesus over "demons" in the New Testament. Let us not forget what we previously learned about the "Devil" being "personified darkness".

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matt 12:23-24 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Is Jesus being challenged by these evil Pharisees accurate to Jewish theology and Jewish history? No not really as we show in other articles where Jesus was likewise supposedly challenged by the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath and eating of the Sabbath. Jewish law allows for both healing on the Sabbath as well as plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath when one's life is endangered and we find Jesus in the text fleeing from Herod Antipas. This action would be perfectly permissible by Jewish Law but the writers of the New Testament had to show the opposition to Jesus and did so by misrepresenting the Pharisees. This dualism between light and darkness and it constant and eternal struggle is pictured in these false representations of the Pharisees.

We mentioned previously that at the Solstices, both the Winter and the Summer Solstices, the earth's tilt reaches it maximum and begins to retrograde and along with this it appear that the Earth has remained motionless or "dead" once again in 3 years. In keeping with the parallel of the personification of the Sun and the life and evolution of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament we should expect to find at this particular time in the ministry of Jesus some reference to "death for 3 days".

Answer for yourself: Do we find such a reference in sequence to the events in the life of this Jesus as found in the Gospel account of a death for 3 days? We sure do!

Matt 12:38-40 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (KJV)

Here we find, in sequential order in the Gospels mind you, Jesus' reference to the Summer Solstice and the 3 days of death of Jonas where he is in the belly of the big fish. This teaching of Jesus occurs when the Sun is in Gemini which is the time of the Summer Soltice. This death of Jonas is likened by Jesus to his own coming death at the next Solstice which is 6 months away, the Winter Solstice, were like Jonas he will remain dead for 3 days like the Sun is dead for 3 days before being resurrected again.

Answer for yourself: Is this just a lucky coincidence that when the Sun remains "dead" in the Heavens and Sky for 3 days, at the Summer and Winter Solstice, we find Jonas dead for 3 days and later Jesus dead 3 days?

We find associated with this event the challenge of those bad Pharisees that seem to be constantly challenging Jesus in the "Jesus Story" just like the Sun is constantly challenged by the darkness continually in its rise to its zenith of strength at the Summer solstice in Gemini.

John 3:19-21 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (KJV)

Jesus, as the personified Sun, conquers the evil of the religious leaders of Israel. This shows his greater strength over his adversaries just like the Sun shows its maximum strength in rising to its zenith in the Sky at the Summer solstice. But we are not finished yet.

Answer for yourself: Are there more contests of strength over darkness that are associated with this sabbath account in the New Testament? Yes there is.

Jesus, as the personified Sun, again shows his unbeatable power over demons as he cures a man with withered hand in Matt.12:9-14.

Matt 12:9-14 9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. (KJV)

Again we have a Sabbath account where to those not familiar with Judaism it appears that healing on the Sabbath is a crime. Not so. The only deeds prohibited on the Sabbath as types of "work" not allowed are those categories of work associated with the building of the Temple and "healing the sick" is not one of them. Again we have the tragic misrepresentation of Judaism as a harsh religion when it is not but at the same time the Pharisees are made to appear evil when they were not.

Answer for yourself: What lies behind these unhistorical accounts?

More to the point we find the eternal struggle of light versus darkness in this depiction just like we find in the path of the Sun in its rise to its zenith at the Summer solstice. Notice we are moving through the Gospels in chronological sequence in the life and ministry of Jesus just like the Sun in move in sequence in its path through the Heavens and not surprisingly the "Jesus Story" is in step with the Sun's increasing and ascending path through the Sky.

Next we see this eternal struggle in the next account of healing a man who is blind and mute in Matt. 12:22.

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Again I ask you is this a coincidence that Jesus, as the light of the world, cures a man blind who epitomizes the great power of darkness in the world? Again as I see it having studied Comparative Religion now for over ten years and before us in the Gospel accounts of the "Jesus Story" is the age old battle of the Sun against the darkness whom we call the "darkness-evil", "dark-evil", "d-evil", the "devil".

But we are not finished yet.

As the Sun approaches Gemini and enters into the sign of Gemini we experience a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches its zenith in the Sky. The Sun's path through the constellation of Gemini ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. The Sun is at the peak of its strength.

At its zenith, the Sun straddles over its descent into darkness. The Pharisees are made to call him the prince of demons.

Matt 12:24 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

In the gospel of John the first time we meet Thomas he is identified as "the Twin," (in Greek Didymos) and this is repeated in John 21:2. This "name" for Thomas is not recorded in the other three New Testament gospels, and the fourth gospel does not explain whose "twin" Thomas is. But in the Syrian Church, there is no doubt that Thomas is the "twin" of Jesus.

This astounding belief comes from the gospel of Thomas, which begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." Some Syrian manuscript versions of John 14:22 identify the disciple Judas (the Judas who isn't Judas Iscariot) as "Judas Thomas," and in the Syrian Christian tradition the apostle Thomas and "Didymos Judas Thomas" or "Judas Thomas" are understood to be the same person.

Answer for yourself: Were you aware that Ancient legends suggest that St. Thomas the Doubter was Jesus twin brother? How is this connected to the "Jesus Story"?

Well let us begin taking notice that the name Thomas Didymos means "twin" in two different languages. That means it was so important to some people that he's called that twice, just to make sure we know. Interesting, right? I think so.

Answer for yourself: Are you aware that one of Jesus' disciples was named the same name as an astrological sign? Are you aware that one of Jesus' disciples was names after the constellation Gemini? Coincidence, you say? Maybe so, maybe no. Let's jump into the myth surrounding the zodiac sign of Gemini and see what we can find and then you decided if this is but coincidence.

Answer for yourself: Can you guess what you get when you translate "didymai" (plural form of didymos) into Latin! You get "Gemini"!

Answer for yourself: Don't you think it rather strange that we have an Ancient Church tradition that connects Jesus and Gemini? Could this be more evidence that links the "Jesus Story" with the Sun passing through the Zodiac?

In classical Greek mythology, the stars in the constellation of Gemini were named Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the "Dioscuri" or "Sons of Zeus." Although Leda was mother to both, the twins had different fathers. Pollux was the son of the chief Olympian God, Zeus, who had changed himself into a swan in order pursue the lovely Leda. Thus, Pollux was immortal. Castor was not immortal therefore being the son of Leda's husband, Tyndareus, King of Sparta, he was destined to die. So now we have a pair of twins, one who is divinely conceived and one who is born of an earthly father. This is very interesting and should make you wonder at what is coming next. To me, this already triggers all kinds of Christology that is associated with the "Jesus Story" but lets not jump the gun here and get back to Gemini.

This dual structure of the hero reappears in the archetypal motif of the Twin Brothers, one mortal, the other immortal, the most obvious instance being the Greek myth of the Dioscuri [Castor and Pollux]. Their mother, in the same night, conceived the immortal son in the embrace of Zeus and the mortal son in the embrace of her husband Tyndarus. Again, Herakles [Hercules] was begotten by Zeus, and his twin brother by Amphitryon. We are also told that the mother of Theseus was impregnated in the same night by Poseidon and King Aegeus... (Erich Neumann, The Origins and History of Consciousness, p. 136).

Answer for yourself: Did you notice we have the same story again but this time about Hercules? Is there some kind of pattern forming here? It sure would seem so. Apparently, this idea of twins - one divine, one earthly - shows up around the world in almost every nation "under the Sun".

Answer for yourself: Did you know that one of these twins is sacrificed in order to ensure a better world and this idea comes up again and again from nation to nation as well?

Answer for yourself: Is it possible then that Jesus and his twin, Thomas Didymos, are yet another example of this ancient mythological theme? I think it's not only possible, but extremely likely.

Answer for yourself: Is it but coincidence that we find that Jesus was the son conceived in Mary by God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, and this would make Thomas, the earthly son, conceived by Joseph (paralleled to Castor and Pollux)?

Answer for yourself: So what have we seen? We saw that the Sun is moving Northward in the sky to its zenith at the Summer solstice where its power and might is the maximum and likewise we see the strength of Jesus exhibited in his tackling the whole of the Jewish religious establishment over issues like healing on the Sabbath and plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath which likewise shows his power and authority over darkness of the Pharisees. But we are coming to a turning point in the ministry of Jesus; whereas his ministry has been largely successful up to now we will find that once Jesus, as the personified Sun, lips over the zenith a the Summer Solstice it is literally all downhill for Jesus from then on as his ministry is in decline exactly like the Sun it the Sky as both move toward their ultimate death.

But we are not finished.

Now me move on to Jesus' transfiguration at the Summer Solstice. One night, during dinner with his disciples, Jesus foretells of his suffering (that he will be betrayed by one of them), death, and resurrection. To prove this is all true and voluntary, Jesus then leads three of his disciples to a very high mountain (symbolically halfway between Heaven and Earth), where he undergoes the Transfiguration from Jesus to the Christ figure, the true Son of God. He then comes down from the mountain and begins his priestly ministry (Mat. 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36).

Matt 17:1-13 1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the Sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. (KJV)

In the "Jesus Story" we find Jesus transfigured on a mountain in front of his disciples, Peter, James and John. Note the parallel to the story that Jesus goes to a high mountain top and shines brightly, just as the Sun is high in the sky and shines warmly and brightly during the Summer months.

Answer for yourself: Are you aware that several other savior-gods were likewise transfigured on mountain tops? We can begin at the beginning with Osiris as usual. G. Massey explains in his The Historical Jesus or the Mythical Christ, on page 78, the mythical meaning of the transfiguration. Massey relates that the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration is obviously derived from the ascent of Osiris into the mount of the moon. The sixth day was celebrated as that of the change and transformation of the solar god into the lunar orb, when he re-entered on that day as the regenerator of its light. With this we may compare the statement made by Matthew, that "after six days Jesus" went "up into a high mountain apart; and he was transfigured," "and his face did shine as the Sun, and his garments became white as the light."

 In Egypt the year began soon after the Summer Solstice, when the Sun descended from its midsummer height, lost its force, and lessened in its size. This by now we should know from our studies. This represented Osiris, who was born of the Virgin Mother as the child Horus, the diminished infantile Sun of Autumn; the suffering, wounded, bleeding Messiah, as he was represented. Osiris, killed by his brother Set, himself personified Darkness, descended into hell, or hades, where he was transformed into the virile Horus, and rose again as the Sun of the resurrection at Easter.

Massey goes on to explain that after such glory exhibited by the Sun at the Winter solstice we even see in the above passage the hint of the decline of the Sun who has just reached its triumph in the Sky as Jesus, as the personified form of the Sun, forecasts his inevitable death at the soon coming Winter solstice.

Taken "literally" then we miss the hidden truths of the "Inner Mysteries" intended only for the initiates into the "mystery" behind the "Jesus Story". We grew up as Christians and followers of "the Christ" in the Outer Mysteries of Christianity taking everything we read "literally"; never realizing that the Ancients had a hidden meaning in the Inner Mysteries reserved for only the few who desired such higher truths from God.

Answer for yourself: Does any of this sound familiar to you? Could the "Jesus Story" be the original "Osiris Story" and we not know it? And are both nothing more than personifications of the Sun and its path through the Zodiac and the stars?

So we move on to the next article in this series as we follow the Sun in its path in the Heavens out of Gemini into Cancer and see if our pattern of the life and ministry of Jesus in the "Jesus Story" can follow the path of the Sun through the Zodiac as it reaches its Zenith and we should expect soon to see Jesus' transfiguration and we will as we read that his "face shined like the Sun".

Let us continue with the next article in this series.

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TRACING THE SUN THROUGH THE ZODIAC & GEMINI...COULD THIS BE THE ORIGIN FOR THE "JESUS STORY" #7

GEMINI & JESUS: MAY 21-JUNE 21

We ended the last article looking at the correlations between the "Jesus Story" in the New Testament and the path of the Sun through the Zodiac, in particular the constellation Taurus as it parallels the depiction of the "Jesus Story" taken chronologically throughout the New Testaments' depiction of Jesus Christ. We have traced the "Jesus Story" not only through the Heavens as it parallels the path of the Sun through the Zodiac when "personified" and "allegorized" but have seen the genius of the Creator to inscribe upon the Heavens above His will for mankind and their "Spiritual Evolution". We have traced the Sun through the previous Houses of the Zodiac and when "personified" and with the aid of "anthropomorphic" language we have seen how the "Evolution of the Soul in matter" has been told through the "myths" and "legends" of sungods. The irony of this whole thing is that the "Jesus Story" is the story of the birth, life, growth, and death of the Soul in this physical realm we call "life". This "Jesus Story" is a "plan-o-gram" for mankind to follow and emulate as were many of the prior "sungod" stories as well. We have seen beginning with Capricorn that man was born into this physical world with the necessity of a "2nd birth" which is symbolized as we move to the House of Aquarius where we find the symbolic immersion into a "watery womb" or a "watery tomb" in baptism where as Judaism teaches man receives the "Soul that comes down from Heaven" and is "born again". We saw that this imagery of being "born again in water" is accompanied with "repentance" as seen in the immersion of John the Baptist and his "baptism of repentance". We saw that the language of John is very important as he lays out the desired growth of man's Soul; for it must increase as the power of his flesh decreases. We immediately move from this even in our spiritual growth to a full-blown war with our soul as we must fight the "darkness" within seen in the allegory of "Jesus' Temptation" with the Devil. This is but a picture of the Sun and its eternal battle with "darkness" again symbolized in the "Jesus Story" in Jesus' temptation where the "spirit" and "flesh" battle continuously. The Soul is intended to increase in strength over our flesh as we live out our lives and continually reflect more of the light of God daily as does the Sun in it new ascending path in the Heavens. We saw as we moved to Pisces that as we grow "spiritually" we must feed ourselves "the bread that comes down from Heaven" before we can feed others and become "fishers of men". Thus the symbolism of Pisces which stresses again the need for this bread due to the "intersection" in Heaven of these "two fish" or "2 natures in man; spiritual and fleshly". As we live a life of repentance unto good works we accomplish such a goal when fed the true "manna" of God. We then followed God's Sun into the Constellation of Aries where we first met up with the idea of "sacrifice" in relationship to the Lamb of God. We learned from this that God was teaching us that we are to become "living sacrifices", holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service while at the same time we are not conformed to this world continue to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in order that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2...KJV). We next found ourselves at the Spring Equinox were we learned that this is a special time with God and man which speaks God's Harmony and peace to all Creation. We also learned that this is the Harvest time when the Earth brings forth her fruit. We made note of the need for our fruit in our lives that comes through good works and obedience to the Commandments of God were according to Judaism we find and receive our atonement. As living sacrifices according to the Hebrew Scriptures we accomplish our own atonement. As we moved with the Sun into the Constellation of Taurus we saw the repeated emphasis upon "sacrifice" and continued fruitfulness on a large scale; a scale large enough to reach the world with this true message of maturation of man's Soul. We camped a little while here as we contrasted the Houses of Aries and Taurus for parallels between them and the unbelievable similarities between the "personified Sun" as "Mithra" and as "Jesus" in the New Testament. We move must move on with the Sun as it never sleeps and move with it into the House of Gemini and learn the next "Spiritual Lesson" that God has for us as we learn of the maturation of the Divine within matter; ie., our Souls.

Now we continue to go more deeply as we trace the Sun in its path through the Zodiac as it leaves Taurus and enters the constellation of Gemini. We by now are familiar with the astronomical concept that the Sun goes on a journey through the Zodiac during the 12 months of the year. We have been following this journey of the Sun and we have seen how uncannily the path of the Sun through the Zodiac matches up with the chronological depiction of "Jesus" and the journey that Jesus takes during his life and ministry as depicted by the writers of the New Testament. We have seen that according to the writers of the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus' ministry is said to last a year. We have also seen that the Sun completes its circuit of the Zodiac in a year. This is not a coincidence. We now look at the constellation Gemini to see the continuing struggle of the Sun against the darkness and note the parallels to the depiction of Jesus and his ministry as recorded in the New Testament.

The constellation of Gemini has been seen as twin figures by cultures throughout the world, back into prehistory. The 'Two Stars', referring to its very bright suns, which the Greeks recognized as Castor and Polydeuces, were named for the younger and elder forms of the god Horus by the Egyptians. To the Romans they were Hercules and Apollo. Often perceived as twin boys, the lore sustains that they were placed in the night sky by Jove to honor and exemplify the fidelity of their brotherly love. In other instances they were seen as a sister and brother or two angels, then within later Christian traditions, as Adam and Eve.

Stories of hero twins are also related throughout the world. For the Greeks their was Castor and Polydeuces, also known as the Dioscuri, or Heavenly Twins. They were the children of Zeus and Leda, queen of Sparta (yes...you may call them: 'sons of the swan.'), thus also the brothers to the infamous Helen, late of Troy. The exploits of these twins are many, and all heroic. In their youth they sailed with Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece. To the Romans, who knew them as Castor and Pollux, the twins were invoked on the field of battle to assure victory. For centuries beyond they were held as guardians to sailors on extended or risky voyages.

LETS LEARN SOME ASTRONOMY BEFORE WE LOOK AT THE THEOLOGY

We have not up to this time spent a lot of time with the Summer Solstice but our time has come as we find the Sun struggling to rise to the zenith of its path across the Heavens where it will eventually reach the apex of its path which is the Summer Solstice. Let us not forget the Sun, since raised from the dead at the Winter solstice has been ascending in the Sky on its way to its zenith. Associated with this path of the Sun across the Sky is the constellation Gemini. The constellation Gemini is traditionally depicted as two men (the twins). The two brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux (north of the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor), are two of the brightest stars in the sky and were identified by the Greeks with two children, in most accounts the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. As indicated by the "twins of Gemini" this is a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches onward to its zenith. This path of the Sun to its zenith in the Sky ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. It is at this time that the Sun is at the peak of its strength. In the northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. The Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. It is the time of the greatest light. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer solstice and Winter solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal equinox and Autumnal equinox. People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the Summer solstice. On this day, typically Jun 21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer.

Let us not forget that the seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the Sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. As mentioned above the time of the year when the Sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the Summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. On the Summer Solstice, which occurs on June 21, the Sun is at its highest path through the sky and the day is the longest. Because the day is so long the Sun does not rise exactly in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west allowing it to be in the sky for a longer period of time. After the Summer solstice the Sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day until it reaches the point where it is in the sky for exactly 12 hours again. This is the Fall or Autumn Equinox. Just like the Spring Equinox, the Sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west on this day and everyone in the world will experience a 12 hour day. After the Fall Equinox the Sun will continue to follow a lower and lower path through the sky and the days will grow shorter and shorter until it reaches its lowest path and then we are back at the Winter Solstice where we started.

The Summer solstice typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, Jun. 21 which is the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about Dec. 21 and is the Winter solstice which is the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum. We get the word "Solstice", from the Latin for "Sun stands still", in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°). For several days before and after each solstice the Sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day. At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of Summer solstice, about June 22, the Sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

Now that the technical information is out of the way we now focus on the fact that in pre-historic times, Summer was a joyous time of the year for those Ancient people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. This is the time of the first harvest, which usually consisted of the herbs planted during the Vernal Equinox. Other crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable. Midsummer has been one of the important solar events throughout the evolution of humankind. It was an indicator that the year was about to begin waning, thus winter would be again returning. Although not all the ancients were as precise in the calculations from an astronomical point, you can be sure that they were keenly aware of the Sun's progression, and did most assuredly know when Solstice was upon them, as the Sun appeared to stand still in its northern progression.

The ancients knew that life came from the Sun, it was life giving, life supporting, without it life would be lost. The Sun was viewed as the Ancient's "Savior" of sorts. The journey of the Sun impacted life at every level in the course of time, only relatively recently with the advances of electricity, greenhouses, transportation networks, has human reliance on the passage of the Sun been lessened. Even with this dependence lessening, in this technological age, necessity of the Sun and its path is crucial to our existence, however it is not as apparent today to many. Midsummer is the time when the Sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest.

NOW SOME THEOLOGY

We say in the previous article that Jesus, in the form of the personified Sun, passed through Taurus and in so doing likewise passed across the Milky Way which is that starry band of millions of stars that lies like a lake across the sky. We saw that at this point in the "Jesus Story" Jesus crosses "the lake" and we as expected found the allegorical story of Jesus walking on water.

Answer for yourself: What happens as the Sun moves past Taurus and the Milky Way?

On the star map provided I want the reader to look to the bottom right and locate the "Hyades" which is part of the Constellation of Taurus. If you draw a diagonal line ascending from bottom right to upper left you come to another Constellation named Gemini. This path between the "Hyades" in Taurus and ascending to Gemini is called the "Ecliptic" and this is the path of the Sun as it moves through the Zodiac in the Heavens. In our study it is important to note as seen in the reference above Sun crossing the "water" or "milky way" in the Heavens which is later retold in the "personified Jesus Story" as Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee and walking on water. After the Sun crosses the Milky Way it moves into the constellation Gemini called "the twins" Castor and Pollox (the two bright stars in Gemini are named Castor and Pollux).

Answer for yourself: What do we find Jesus doing in the gospels right after crossing the lake? We find an account of Jesus healing the sick but how many? How many people is Jesus healing? He is only healing "two".

If our premise holds we should expect to find Jesus associated with "two" (Castor and Pollox) people and that is exactly what we find. In the "Jesus Story", after crossing the lake (which we saw was Jesus as the personified Sun crossing the Milky Way), Jesus heals two demon possessed men.

Matt 8:28-34 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Does the New Testament mention Castor and Pollux? It sure does

Answer for yourself: Is this just a coincidence that Jesus meets two men that need to be healed or is this again symbolic for the constellation Gemini as the Sun moves through the Zodiac?

Acts 28:11 11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. (KJV)

We made mention earlier of the connection of the Harvest with this time of the year around Summer when the Sun enters Gemini. This is a time of increase or doubling as the Sun continually rises in the Sky to its Zenith and its peak of strength. This is especially so noting the connection of Shavuot, or Pentecost, with the sign of Gemini. In Matt. 12:1 we find Jesus and his disciples going through the fields full of grain plucking the heads of grain to eat. As you can see the seasons are advancing.

Matt 12:1 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. (KJV)

We find in the "Jesus Story" the masterful strength portrayed by Jesus in his teachings where he pronounces that like the Sun his strength is without limit and beyond contest:

Matt 12:8 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (KJV)

No one can challenge Jesus and win or try to usurp his power for none can win for we find Jesus in all his glory and majesty in his ministry portrayed at this time which is keeping in symbolism of the Sun moving to its Zenith where its light is at its greatest. This great power of the "personified Sun" in the allegory of the "Jesus Story" is seen in Jesus ability to control the "darkness of the physical realm" as witnessed in the many accounts of the miracles of Jesus over "demons" in the New Testament. Let us not forget what we previously learned about the "Devil" being "personified darkness".

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matt 12:23-24 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Is Jesus being challenged by these evil Pharisees accurate to Jewish theology and Jewish history? No not really as we show in other articles where Jesus was likewise supposedly challenged by the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath and eating of the Sabbath. Jewish law allows for both healing on the Sabbath as well as plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath when one's life is endangered and we find Jesus in the text fleeing from Herod Antipas. This action would be perfectly permissible by Jewish Law but the writers of the New Testament had to show the opposition to Jesus and did so by misrepresenting the Pharisees. This dualism between light and darkness and it constant and eternal struggle is pictured in these false representations of the Pharisees.

We mentioned previously that at the Solstices, both the Winter and the Summer Solstices, the earth's tilt reaches it maximum and begins to retrograde and along with this it appear that the Earth has remained motionless or "dead" once again in 3 years. In keeping with the parallel of the personification of the Sun and the life and evolution of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament we should expect to find at this particular time in the ministry of Jesus some reference to "death for 3 days".

Answer for yourself: Do we find such a reference in sequence to the events in the life of this Jesus as found in the Gospel account of a death for 3 days? We sure do!

Matt 12:38-40 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (KJV)

Here we find, in sequential order in the Gospels mind you, Jesus' reference to the Summer Solstice and the 3 days of death of Jonas where he is in the belly of the big fish. This teaching of Jesus occurs when the Sun is in Gemini which is the time of the Summer Soltice. This death of Jonas is likened by Jesus to his own coming death at the next Solstice which is 6 months away, the Winter Solstice, were like Jonas he will remain dead for 3 days like the Sun is dead for 3 days before being resurrected again.

Answer for yourself: Is this just a lucky coincidence that when the Sun remains "dead" in the Heavens and Sky for 3 days, at the Summer and Winter Solstice, we find Jonas dead for 3 days and later Jesus dead 3 days?

We find associated with this event the challenge of those bad Pharisees that seem to be constantly challenging Jesus in the "Jesus Story" just like the Sun is constantly challenged by the darkness continually in its rise to its zenith of strength at the Summer solstice in Gemini.

John 3:19-21 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (KJV)