Search Results

Over the centuries many myths and legends have arisen pertaining to the Knights Templar, their quest for the Holy Grail, and that they may have found it. Yet, questions persist as to what the Grail may actually be. Some suggest that it’s a cup that Joseph of Arimathea used to catch the blood of Jesus as he died upon the cross, or that it’s the cup that Jesus drank from during the Last Supper. Others suggest that it’s a bowl or a platter. Then there are those that suggest it’s an allegorical reference to the womb of the Virgin Mary or the descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene who became known as the Fisher Kings, the Desposyni; the Sang-Real. The multifaceted etymology and symbolism of the term "Sangraal" or "Holy Grail," suggests various interpretations based on its linguistic breakdown. Divided as "San-Graal," it could mean a sacred cup, bowl, or meal, potentially alluding to the Last Supper or ancient Mesopotamian deities' baskets. Alternatively, parsed as "Sang-Raal" or "Sang-Real," it might signify "true blood" or "pure music," hinting at a divine lineage tied to Jesus and his descendants. This analysis frames the Grail narrative within Chrétien de Troyes' "Perceval, le Conte du Graal," written before 1191, where Perceval’s failure to ask "Whom does the Grail serve?" delays the healing of the Fisher King, symbolizing a deeper spiritual truth about serving God, the "Grail King," to restore harmony. We further delve into the historical and allegorical implications of the Grail story, proposing that the Fisher King represents Jesus’ descendants, the Desposyni or "Sang-Real," linked to the Merovingian Dynasty through Merovech, whose mythical birth by a Quinotaur and name (suggesting "vines of Mary" or "sea") imply divine and Marian descent. It critiques the idea of Charlemagne as the Fisher King due to chronological discrepancies, instead suggesting Hugues de Payens, a Templar founder closer to Chrétien’s time, as a more fitting candidate, potentially a patrilineal descendant of Aaron and King David with a claim as the Exilarch, or Jewish king in exile. We tie this narrative to Jewish-Roman conflicts, like the First Jewish-Roman War and Bar Kokhba Revolt, which dispersed Jews across the Mediterranean, shaping their descendants’ identities as Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, and underscores how truth is subjective and malleable, often obscured by entrenched beliefs. A Knight Templar holding the grail cup

Pepin III and Bertrada had a son named Charles II, aka Charles the Great aka Charlemagne, named after his grandfather, Charles Martel. Charlemagne was therefore ¾ Jewish and matrilineally in direct line of descent from King David. This has significant overlooked and unaddressed implications! While Charlemagne may not have had the paternal Divine Right to inherit, rule, and govern as king of the Franks, according to matrilineal Jewish tradition, as a direct descendant of King David through the Babylonian Exilarches, he was a Prince (Nasi) of the Jews responsible for the protection and spiritual welfare of all Jewish peoples. So, in addition to being a secular ruler, Charlemagne was a spiritual authority who had a documented ancient lineage and responsibility exceeding that of any Pope. It explains why he didn’t feel he was subordinate to a Pope, his tolerance, support, and protection of Jews during his reign, and why the Christian Church didn’t squawk too much about his otherwise seemingly impertinent “unchristian” actions. As King of the Franks and Prince of the Jews, Charlemagne was responsible for ALL peoples in his kingdom. This makes him a far more extraordinary man and leader than history acknowledges. Sadly, it appears the Church has suppressed this information for obvious reasons. Charlemagne, King of the Franks and Prince of the Jews Charlemagne, inheriting a Jewish lineage through both his mother Bertrada and grandfather Charles Martel, defied the Church’s anti-Jewish stance by fostering close ties with Jews, inviting them to settle in his realm with protection and opportunities, and employing them as advisors, physicians, and diplomats, such as his cousin Isaac the Jew. His reign saw the introduction of stirrups, enabling the feudal system with mounted knights called Paladins, including the Counts Palatine of Champagne from the House of Blois, who managed vast fiefdoms. Charlemagne asserted dominance over the Church, exemplified by his conquest of the Lombards in 774, claiming their crown and gifting the Papal States to the Pope. His only major military setback came in 778 at Roncevaux Pass, immortalized in The Song of Roland, while a concurrent mission by his advisor Arnaud to Egypt and Giza uncovered Rosicrucian mysteries, leading to the Order of Amus in France. Despite his illiteracy, Charlemagne championed education, expanding the Palace School at Aachen under Alcuin of York to include liberal arts and sciences, educating his children, including his daughter Rotrude. Charlemagne takes the iron crown of the Lombards Charlemagne’s reign intertwined with Byzantine and Abbasid relations, notably through a failed betrothal of Rotrude to Constantine VI, disrupted by Empress Irene’s actions at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, and his diplomatic rapport with Caliph Harun al-Rashid. In 797, amid Muslim attacks on Jerusalem’s Christians, Patriarch George sought Charlemagne’s aid, leading to Isaac’s mission to Baghdad, returning in 802 with gifts like the elephant Abul-Abbas. This alliance saw Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800, cementing a co-dependent rise with the Church that began with Clovis I’s conversion and peaked with Pepin III’s coup, granting the Pope king-making power. Charlemagne’s protection extended to Jerusalem’s Christians, funding restorations like the Holy Sepulcher, though he never visited the East. His Davidic lineage and Caesaropapism positioned him as a secular protector of both Jews and Christians, integrating clergy into his military and eclipsing the weakened Byzantine and Roman Church authorities, setting the stage for the Templars and the First Crusade. Charlemagne as a friend and ally of the Muslims

The rise of the Merovingians and the Church in Rome was deeply intertwined with the decline of the Roman Empire and the evolution of Christianity. Rome, founded in 753 BC, became a republic by 509 BC and an empire through conquests, peaking under Trajan in the second century AD. By the third century, corruption and instability led Diocletian to split it into Eastern and Western halves in 285 AD. Constantine I, born in 272 AD, emerged as a pivotal figure, ending Christian persecution in the West after becoming emperor in 306 AD and, following his victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 AD, embracing Christianity with the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. His unification of the empire in 324 AD and the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD established Nicene Christianity, asserting secular authority over the Church (Caesaropapism). As the Western Empire crumbled – marked by Alaric’s sack of Rome in 410 AD – the Church in Rome struggled, while the Merovingian king Clovis I (466–511 AD) bolstered its survival. Clovis united the Franks, converted from Arian to Nicene Christianity in 496 AD, and allied with the papacy, defeating the Arian Visigoths in 507 AD, thus laying a foundation for mutual growth amid the empire’s collapse and the Eastern Church’s dominance. Emperor Constantine I's vision before the Battle of Milvian Bridge This co-dependent relationship evolved further with later Merovingians and Carolingians. Charles Martel (688–741 AD), a Mayor of the Palace without divine kingship rights, expanded Frankish power and protected the Church, defeating the Moors at Tours in 732 AD and aiding the papacy against the Lombards, granting them the Papal States. His son, Pepin III (the Short), orchestrated a coup in 751 AD, deposing the last Merovingian king, Childeric III, with papal approval, establishing the Carolingian dynasty. Crowned by the Pope, Pepin solidified the Church’s authority to anoint kings, with the Franks as its military arm. Pepin’s deal with the Jews of Narbonne in 759 AD – ceding it as a Jewish client-state under Machir, a Davidic descendant – furthered Frankish influence, despite lacking a navy to conquer it outright. This alliance, sealed by intermarriages, shifted power dynamics, reducing Rome’s reliance on the Byzantine East and reinforcing the Pope’s secular and spiritual authority. By Pepin’s death in 768 AD, the Franks, not Byzantines, were seen as Christianity’s defenders, a perception shaped by their ties with both the papacy and, diplomatically, the Abbasid caliphate. A Pope installing a Frankish king

The Merovingian dynasty, founded by Merovech (born ca. 415 AD, died 458 AD), emerged as a powerful Frankish lineage in Gaul after the Western Roman Empire’s collapse, blending Gallo-Roman, Germanic, and Celtic traditions. Merovech, a Salian Frank warlord, is noted by Gregory of Tours as the father of Childeric I, but the Chronicles of Fredegar (c. 660 AD) add a mythical twist, claiming his mother, Basina, conceived him with a Quinotaur – a five-horned, fish-tailed sea beast – hinting at a divine or heroic origin akin to Greco-Roman tales. This legend, possibly crafted to legitimize Merovech’s rule, ties his name (potentially meaning “vines from the sea” or “vines of Mary”) to both maritime and Marian symbolism. The Merovingians ruled over modern-day France, Germany, and beyond, rising through strategic resistance against Rome’s decline, including guerrilla warfare that weakened Roman dominance, culminating in the empire’s fall by 476 AD. Their kings, marked by long hair symbolizing sacred power and rumored supernatural abilities like healing and clairvoyance, were seen as priest-kings, echoing ancient traditions of divine rulership. Concept of a Quinotaur The Merovingians’ mystique partly stems from claims of descent from Jesus and Mary Magdalene, linking them to biblical King David and reinforcing a “Divine Right” to rule, a lineage traced through Merovech’s ancestors, including Sicambrian Franks, Egyptian pharaohs, and Arthurian kings. This divine heritage, intersecting Eastern and Western nobility, positioned Merovech as a “Fisher King” and Desposyni, though such claims remain speculative. After Merovech, the dynasty continued through figures like Chlotaire I, whose kingdom split among sons Sigebert I and Chilperic I. While Chilperic’s line retained divine legitimacy through Dagobert II, Sigebert’s male line broke, shifting power to Pepin I of Landen’s descendants – like Charles Martel and Pepin III – who became “Mayors of the Palace” rather than kings. This shift sparked rivalries, culminating in Dagobert II’s assassination with papal collusion, leaving later Merovingian kings as figureheads while real authority rested with the Mayors of the Palace, marking the dynasty’s decline despite its storied origins. A Merovingian King

Before Christianity reached Gaul, the region was inhabited by Celtic tribes guided by Druids, a professional class serving as religious, political, legal, and medical authorities. The Druids, active during the time of ancient Greece and Rome, taught the immortality and transmigration of the soul, a belief linked to Pythagorean doctrines, as noted by Alexander Polyhistor and Julius Caesar in De Bello Gallico. Caesar described their education as focused on fostering courage through this belief, alongside studies in astronomy, geography, natural philosophy, and religion. The Druids shared mystical and philosophical ties with Pythagoras – whose influences spanned Egyptian geometry, Phoenician arithmetic, Chaldean astronomy, and Magi religious principles – and groups like the Rosicrucians, Knights Templar, and Masons. A key symbol, the Pythagorean Pentacle (Hugieia), originally a protective emblem from Egypt or Babylon, was used as an alchemical calculator representing elements, planets, and the soul’s transmigration, though it later gained a negative connotation with the rise of Roman Christianity. The Pythagorean Pentacle (Hugieia) The Roman conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar between 55 BC and 50 BC, with 55,000 soldiers overpowering 250,000 Celts, led to the annexation of Gaul, Germania, and Britannia, introducing Greco-Roman gods like Mercury (akin to Hermes) that paralleled existing Celtic deities. Christianity emerged in Gaul under Roman rule by the second century AD, gaining traction by the third century amid a harsh world of vassals and slaves, offering a monotheistic faith centered on love, equality, and redemption – appealing to the oppressed despite Roman persecution. Early Christianity coexisted with tolerated pagan faiths like Mithraism, Manichaeism, and the cult of Isis, while exhibiting diverse interpretations such as Arianism (Jesus as subordinate to God), Priscillianism (Gnostic-Manichaean roots), and Pelagianism (human will capable of earning salvation). These variations reflected Christianity’s unstandardized early dogma, contrasting with the polytheistic traditions it eventually supplanted. Druids in an oak grove

Benedict of Nursia was a 6th century Italian monk and hermit who founded a dozen or more monasteries and the Benedictine Order. The Benedictine Order was not an “order” in the traditional sense, rather a confederation of autonomous congregations. Inspired by the mystical writings of John Cassian, a 4th century monk and theologian, Benedict wrote what has become known as the Benedictine Rule of Strict Observance. The “Rule” emphasized obedience and humility to God, labor, self-sufficiency, and simplicity. The Golden Rule of Ora et Labora is derived from the Benedictine Rule of Strict Observance of prayer and work: the monks each day devoted eight hours to prayer, eight hours to manual work, sacred reading, or charity, and eight hours to rest and refreshment. In Masonry we learn this rule as the symbolic meaning of the 24-inch gauge as a working tool. The Benedictine movement quickly became popular and spread throughout Europe, the British Isles, and into Scandinavia. As the Benedictine movement grew two of its most influential centers became Cluny and Chartres. Cluny, perhaps, had the most political influence. It became known as a place of Popes and opulence, diverging from the Benedictine Rule. By the time of Pope Urban II, who had been an Abbot at Cluny, a reformation was underway to return to the Rule of Strict Observance. This reformation was a factor in the creation of the Cistercian movement. However, Chartres is without question the most significant Benedictine center and is discussed at length. Chartres Cathedral of Notre Dame Chartres, located 50 miles southwest of Paris on the Eure River, has a rich history rooted in its Celtic origins as a principal Druidic center named after the Carnutes tribe. Known as Autricum during the Gallo-Roman period, it evolved into a medieval countship under various noble houses, eventually sold to King Phillip III in 1286. The region’s spiritual significance stems from the Ardennes Forest, tied to the mother goddess Aard – also known as Hathor in Egyptian mythology – whose worship dates back over 75,000 years and influenced later religious traditions, including Jewish Kabbalism. The area’s geology, featuring chalk, limestone, and granite hills with caves and grottos, hosted Neolithic dolmens and Druidic rituals in sacred oak groves and underground shrines like the Place Fort, considered the "Womb of the Earth." Chartres’ mystical reputation grew with legends of Druids anticipating the birth of Jesus, venerating a "Virgo paritura" statue, and connecting the site to the Black Madonna cult, blending ancient feminine divinity with early Christian practices. The governance of Chartres reflects its dual spiritual and secular legacy, beginning with Charlemagne’s establishment of the first count around 835, Hardouin d’Ardenne, who separated temporal and ecclesiastical powers. This hereditary countship passed through figures like Theobald (877-904) and Eudes III (Odo II, 995-1037), linking to the Merovingians, Pepinids, and Carolingians via the d’Ardennes family, including Saint Stephen Harding. Chartres’ religious evolution saw Roman destruction of Druidic sites, followed by a Gallo-Roman temple to Prosperina and early Christian churches, culminating in a 4th-century basilica under Bishop Adventius. By the 10th century, the Cathedral School of Chartres emerged as a leading intellectual hub, influenced by scholars like Gerbert d’Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II) and Fulbert, integrating Druidic, Jewish, and Arabic knowledge into a curriculum of liberal arts and natural philosophy. The cathedral itself, shaped by groups like the Children of Solomon and Tiron Abbey monks, embodies celestial harmonics and esoteric traditions, cementing Chartres’ role as a bridge between ancient mysticism and medieval Christianity. Chartres Cathedral School

The origins and influence of Coptic saints begins with Ormus, an Egyptian Serapic priest who was converted by St. Mark around 42 AD, and blended ancient Persian, Egyptian, and Jewish wisdom with Christian principles to reform Egyptian doctrines, founding the Coptic Church in Alexandria. St. Mark, a North African Levite, established this church and the Catechetical School of Alexandria by the mid-second century, a hub of intellectual culture teaching theology, sciences, and arts amidst Alexandria’s Great Library. The Coptic Church, using the Coptic language, split from mainstream Christendom in 451 AD over theological disputes at the Council of Nicaea, rejecting monophysitism accusations. Origen, a key figure at the Catechetical School (185–253 AD), possibly born to a Christian martyr father, Leonides, later founded the Christian School of Caesarea, becoming a theological authority; some modern Templar narratives may conflate him with Ormus, suggesting a lineage of “Ormusiens” guarding purified Egyptian wisdom until 1118. Further Coptic saints include St. Paul of Thebes, a hermit sustained by a palm tree and a raven’s bread in the Theban desert, and St. Anthony the Great, deemed the father of monasticism, who organized followers into communities based on Christ’s teachings of poverty and charity, influencing monastic growth across Egypt and the Levant. Legend recounts St. Anthony seeking St. Paul, finding him dead on a later visit, and burying him with the aid of lions, later passing his staff to St. Macarius on his deathbed. This encounter, symbolizing a transfer of wisdom, is depicted in David Teniers the Younger’s 1660s painting, reflecting Masonic and Rosicrucian themes of knowledge passing from the Old to New World, tying Coptic saints to a broader esoteric tradition rooted in ancient and Christian synthesis. The meeting of St. Anthony and St. Paul by David Teniers the Younger

Before discussing the exilarches it’s beneficial to touch on the term “nasi”, and messianic prophesy. The noun nasi is generally translated in English as “prince”. The first use is for the twelve “princes” who will descend from Ishmael in Genesis 17:20: “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.” Later in the history of ancient Israel, the title of nasi was given to the political ruler of Judea. Similarly, Mishnah Horayot 3:3 defines the nasi of Leviticus 4 to mean "king". The exilarches, leaders of the Jewish diaspora in Babylonia, trace their origins to the House of David and the Second Temple period. The nasi, head of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, emerged around 191 BC as a counterpart to the Babylonian exilarch. Both the exilarches and nasi were recognized by Romans and Jews as political and communal authorities. After the patriarchate ended in 425 AD with Gamaliel VI’s death, the exilarches, seen as kings-in-waiting from the Davidic line, held sway over the Jewish community in Babylon, wielding secular and spiritual power under Persian and later Arab rule until the Mongol invasion of 1258 AD. Messianic prophecy tied to the Davidic line, as in Psalm 89 and Genesis 49:10, framed the exilarches as precursors to the Messiah, expected to restore Israel, rebuild the Temple, and usher in peace, with figures like Hillel the Elder and Rabbi Rashi linked to this lineage. The exilarchate’s authority peaked under the Caliphate, with figures like Mar-Zutra II briefly establishing independence, though challenges arose in the 9th century as Talmudic academies gained influence. Following the diaspora after the Roman-Jewish wars (66–135 AD), exilarch families split, with some remaining in Babylon and others migrating west as Sephardic Jews to Spain, southern Gaul, and Italy, or north as Ashkenazi Jews to Turkey, Greece, northern Gaul and Germany, establishing influential networks through trade, marriage, and schools like those in Cordoba and Troyes. The prophecy of Genesis 49:10 – that the Messiah would not come until the exilarchate and patriarchate ceased – was seen as fulfilled with the Second Temple’s fall and the execution of the last Babylonian exilarch, Hezekiah ben David, in 1058 AD. His great-grandson, Hugues de Payens, a Templar founder, emerged as a messianic figure, tied to the First Crusade’s sack of Jerusalem in 1099, where he aimed to unify the Jewish people, recover First Temple treasures such as Aaron's High Priest garments to validate his claim, and lead them to a “Second Promised Land” per 2 Samuel 7:10, establishing a legacy of exilarch influence across Europe, including in Templar-controlled regions like Portugal, northwestern Italy, and southern Gaul under Charlemagne’s lineage.

Judaism has its early roots in Mesopotamia, where Semitic peoples like Abraham’s family originated around 2000 BC, through the Hebrew captivity in Egypt and the exodus to Canaan around 1600 BC, culminating in King David’s conquest of Jerusalem from the Jebusites around 1000 BC. During this time, Jewish communities emerged across the Levant and beyond, supported by Talmudic academies and yeshivot that taught Halakha, encompassing laws from the Ten Commandments to social, food, and priestly instructions. Significant early communities included Damascus, a Semitic hub since ancient times with 10,000 Jews by Roman times, and Elephantine, Egypt, where Jewish mercenaries maintained a temple from 650 BC into the 2nd century AD. The Babylonian exile in 586 BC marked the diaspora’s start, splitting Jewish centers between Babylonia and Israel, with notable yeshivot like Sura and Pumbedita thriving in Babylonia under various empires until the 11th century, while poorer exiles returned to rebuild Jerusalem after Cyrus’s conquest. The Jewish diaspora expanded further under Hellenistic, Roman, and later empires, reaching Alexandria – home to a diverse Jewish population of peasants, generals, and officials – and Turkey, linked to Noah’s Ark and Abraham’s origins, with communities documented by the 4th century BC. In Europe, Greece hosted Jews from the 3rd century BC, with synagogues like Delos dated to 250-175 BC, while Josephus notes a diaspora of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin into Asia Minor and Europe by 90 AD. Italy saw a Jewish presence from the 2nd century BC, growing in Rome after 63 BC with freed slaves, and Spain’s Jewish roots trace to Roman exiles and Jerusalem nobles post-Titus’s conquest. By the 5th-11th centuries, Jewish communities spread north of the Alps and Pyrenees, notably in France (Provence, Paris) and Germany (Mainz, Cologne), driven by trade, migration from Babylonia and North Africa, and Roman garrison towns, establishing a lasting presence across the Mediterranean and beyond.

Cutting to the chase, a fundamental question pertains to what we often refer to as the Templar treasure: What is it and what happened to it? The Templar treasure is presumed to involve artifacts that the Templars recovered in Jerusalem, specifically the Ark of the Covenant and treasures of the First Temple of Solomon. Ok. This evokes another question: Why were the Ark and artifacts from the First Temple of Solomon presumed as important to the Templars? The answer to this question is the golden thread, the underground stream, that connects and flows through who the founding Templars were. The root of the answer goes back to ancient Mesopotamia and stories pertaining to their pantheon of gods. We explore the Templar treasure, presumed to include the Ark of the Covenant and First Temple artifacts, linking their significance to the Templars through Mesopotamian mythology and biblical narratives. We trace the Table of Destinies – also called the Emerald Tablets or Philosophers’ Stone – from the god Anu to Moses via a lineage of deities and patriarchs, equating them to the Urim and Thummim worn in the high priest’s breastplate (Choshen). The Shamir, a mythical stone-cutting tool created on the sixth day of creation, was used by Moses to engrave the breastplate’s stones and by Solomon to build the Temple without iron, disappearing after its destruction in 586 BC. The Holy Grail is identified as the gold plate on the high priest’s mitre, while Moses’s staff equated to a scepter, a symbol of authority with divine origins, passed through generations until lost post-Temple destruction. These treasures, tied to the Ark and Mesopotamian roots, are speculated to have been rediscovered by the Templars in a sealed chamber beneath Solomon’s Temple, though their fate remains unknown after the Babylonian invasion.

Egyptian influences on the Ark of the Covenant, suggest that the Israelites, immersed in Egyptian culture during their 430-year captivity, incorporated Egyptian religious and architectural elements into its design, such as sacred furniture and barque-like features used to transport deities or mummies, adorned with cherubim and carried by priests. The Ark, a reliquary for the Ten Commandments, mirrors Egyptian chests like the pedes and Chest of Anubis, with its Mercy Seat and carrying poles, reflecting Late Bronze Age Egyptian ritual furniture (c. 1389–1073 BC). David’s choice of Mount Moriah’s threshing floor for an altar, later the site of Solomon’s Temple, ties the Ark to chthonic and fertility themes akin to the Egyptian god Osiris, while its procession echoed Egyptian ceremonies. The Ark’s ultimate fate remains speculative - possibly hidden beneath the Temple Mount between 650–587 BC - with Masonic rituals allegorically hinting at its concealment and rediscovery, framing David, not Solomon, as a central figure in its narrative through the lens of Hiram Abiff. The Ark of the Covenant

Moses is important if we are to understand the Templar’s modus operandi and who Hugues de Payens was. Moses was the first high priest-king of the Israelites. He was one of the greatest biblical patriarchs and leaders, but he wasn’t liked or well accepted. Why? From the Israelite perspective he wasn’t one of them. Sure, he had the birthright of a Levite, but he had been raised from birth in Pharoah’s household as an Egyptian prince. Moses didn’t even know he was an Israelite until just prior to being cast out of Egypt. He didn’t know his heritage, experience the sufferings of his people, or worship the One God of Abraham until later. In addition, Moses was considered a harsh leader who had a bad temper, threatened, and meted out death as punishment. Yet, Moses was chosen and appointed by God to lead the Israelites out of bondage. It wasn’t a popularity contest, and the people were obliged to begrudgingly obey him. To the enslaved Israelites, Moses was an Egyptian regardless of his blood and birthright, and his wife and sons were foreigners. Moses as an Egyptian prince Compounding matters, Moses married Zipporah, a foreigner, the daughter of a Cushite sheik descended from Abraham’s second wife, Keturah’s, son Midian. Oy vey! Why not marry a nice Jewish girl, they wondered? And he brings her to meet the Israelites expecting they are going to embrace her? So, Moses and Zipporah have two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, who have been raised as Cushites in a foreign land. How well do you think that Moses’s sons were accepted as future leaders among the Israelites? Traditionally children are assigned to the tribe of the father, the tribe of Levi in this case. However, a child is assigned the religion of the mother. In this case Zipporah was a Cushite, an Arab, not an Israelite, but she did worship the One God of Abraham. What this means is that while Gershom and Eleazer inherited the divine right to rule and govern the Israelites as high priest-kings, they and their descendants would forever be perceived as foreigners, not liked, and have difficulties. Zipporah with Gershom and Eliezer in Midian How do we know that Moses and his family were not liked? One of the most important events in a biblical patriarch’s life is his death and burial. The death and burial of a biblical patriarch is usually described, and traditionally he is buried by his sons. So, why isn’t Moses’s death and burial discussed in detail in the Bible? Why is it he just wanders out on Mount Nebo like some old dog to die? Why wasn’t he accompanied and attended to by his sons, Gershom and Eleazer, Joshua as head of the military, and his nephew Eleazer, Aaron’s son, the high priest? Why isn’t the exact location of Moses’ burial known? Moses funeral on Mt. Nebo The line of Moses and descent of High Priest-Kings was suppressed, censored, and removed from the Bible after Moses’s death when Deuteronomy was written. Even so, his descendants continued to play an important, albeit unsung, role that is clearly suppressed in the Bible. Moses’s youngest son, Eleazer, and his descendants were responsible for safeguarding the treasury of magical items. Gershom’s descendants continued as high priest-kings, having both temporal and spiritual authority to rule and govern Israel beyond the reign of Solomon and the Hasmonaean dynasty as evidenced with John the Baptist, Jesus, and John the Evangelist. This line continued after John the Evangelist when the Johannite Church was formed as an apostolic line of descent that percolated down through Babylonian exilarches at least until the founding of the Templars. Hughes de Payens, a direct descendant of Moses and THE Exilarch, was consecrated by Theoclete as Patriarch of the Johannite Church and was 70th in the apostolic line of descent from John the Evangelist.

As a wedding present, Tiamat gifted Kingu the Table of Destinies, two emerald-green stones of immense power also known as the Emerald Tablets and as the Philosophers’ Stone. Perceiving they made him invincible, Kingu proudly wore the stones either on his crown or on his breastplate. In a war of the gods, Tiamat and Kingu were defeated. The emerald-green stones were ripped away from Kingu, came into the possession of ancient Man, and allegedly the Knights Templar as alluded to as the Holy Grail by Chrétien de Troyes in Perceval, le Conte du Graal, described by Wolfram von Eschenbach as the “lapsit exillis”, the stone of exile in Parzival, which is further elaborated as a “lapis ex coelis” (heavenly stone) by Julius Evola in The Mystery of the Grail. Kingu was cast down in a war of the gods

The essence of primal theology is veneration of a “Divine Feminine”. In Sumer she was known as Nammu, roughly equivalent to the Hindu goddess, Shakti. This “god-goddess” was androgynous, meaning it possessed both male and female attributes, could change gender as needed, and reproduce via parthenogenesis. Many ancient cultures across the globe allude to this Divine Feminine god-goddess in their creation stories as the progenitor of their pantheon of deities. Nammu-Shakti’s considered pure, and because of her transformative dual gender, depicted as or associated with a serpent or dragon. A common creation theme is that, through parthenogenesis, Nammu-Shakti gives birth to twins who are opposites. Sometimes the twins are male and female, sometimes they’re two males with diametrically opposed personalities: Cain and Able for example. Nammu-Shakti, the Dragon Queen In the story of the Mesopotamian primordial goddess of the sea and the abyss, Nammu, her twins were Abzu, god of freshwater, and Tiamat, goddess of saltwater and mother of all life. Tiamat was also known as the “Dragon Queen”. Two important points emanate from this aspect of the Mesopotamian creation story: 1. The Hermetic axiom “as above, so below” refers to Nammu as the primordial goddess of the sea, meaning the waters on the surface of the Earth, and the abyss, meaning the waters below the surface of the Earth. 2. A triad is created that provides the foundation for not only the Mesopotamian pantheon, but as a triangle is the first geometric form, it provides the basis for mathematical and geometric development. What we find is that Nammu (often symbolized as the stars in heaven), the pure one who is androgynous and who embodies both male and female characteristics, is at the apex of an equilateral triangle representing wisdom. Below Nammu to the left, Abzu represents Nammu’s structured masculine qualities of positive energy, strength, and ego. As such, Abzu symbolizes the impure animalistic “Red Man” and the Sun. Opposite Abzu on the right of the triangle is Tiamat, symbolizing Nammu’s fluid creative feminine qualities, negative energy, and purity and beauty of the “White Queen” as the Moon. Together, Abzu and Tiamat signify a union of opposites found in a hexagram that comprises Nammu as a total solar eclipse. This triad of Nammu, Abzu, and Tiamat, symbolized as a triangle, also represents flexibility of our mind, our thoughts, as they emanate within the left (masculine) and right (feminine) hemispheres of our brain. In Freemasonry this scenario is captured as three burning tapers placed about an altar containing an open book. The three burning tapers are referred to as the "Three Great Lights". They exemplify the Stars (Nammu), Sun (Abzu), and Moon (Tiamat). The open book, known as the "Book of the Law", refers to the laws of nature and the universe. Nammu, Abzu, and Tiamat are also represented as the three pillars of Freemasonry: Abzu as the pillar of strength (Boaz), Tiamat as the pillar of beauty (Jachin), and Nammu as the hidden pillar of wisdom. Triad of Nammu, Abzu, and Tiamat with the alchemical child The alchemical marriage, the union of opposites, Abzu, the “Red Man”, and Tiamat, the “White Queen”, produces a son, Kingu (Shiva in Hinduism). As Kingu nurses at Tiamat’s breast he’s divested of the superfluities of life and ego, symbolizing perfection as the “Red King”, and supplants Abzu, the imperfect “Red Man” to become Tiamat’s consort. It should be noted that "Kingu" is the root of "king", a potentate who rules and governs. Thus, we have the origin for a trinity that has permeated various cultures throughout history, notably that of Osiris, Isis, and Horus in Egypt, and “God”, Mary Theotokos, and Jesus in Christianity. Alchemical wedding of the Red King to the White Queen

Every once in a while, researchers and writers hit a brick wall or get tangled up in bob wire. Their ability to find a solution or their creative thinking process comes to a screeching halt. It happens mostly when we’re trying too hard, thinking about it too much. Then again, sometimes “life” happens, there’s too much on our plate, and all our plans go awry. Have you ever had that happen? I have. Sometimes if I take a step back, take a deep breath, and relax by doing something completely unrelated, I can clear my mind and move forward again. I wonder. When that happens do you think it’s a “growing pain”, part of a transformation process as we morph into something else, something different, than we once were? Hmmm… It was New Year’s Eve; the temperature was in the low fifties, and it’d been pouring the rain all day. Looking out my dining room window I saw a mockingbird perched on a wooden post of the barbed wire fence down below the house. There he sat with his head cocked, one eye looking up toward the sky, just singing his heart out. The rain didn’t seem to bother him. It was a dreary oppressive kinda day with this rain and all. You know, one of those days when the damp and chill go right through you no matter what you got on; right down to the bone, making you shiver. What could that mockingbird be singing about in all this mess I wondered. Around here we call barbed wire “bob wire”, pronounced bob wure . It’s two strands of wire twisted together to form a cable that has knots of thorny barbs every so often. Tattoos of bob wire, mostly seen on ex-cons, remind me of a crown of thorns, symbolizing the pain and suffering it can inflict. Mostly bob wire is used as fencing to keep livestock in a field more so than running at an inward angle atop high chain-link fences or walls to imprison folk. Let me tell you, it’s quite painful getting tangled up on those barbs going through a fence. They can shred not only your clothes but rip the hide right off you! Just ask any ole country boy who was about to get caught doing something he ought not have, then tried escaping through a bob wire fence while on the run. Not that I have any experience in making the bob wire sing mind you. The downside of bob wire is that it can kill an animal tangled up in it. I’ve seen it! Struggling to free themselves in a panic, that wire can wrap around an animal like a snake, its barbed teeth clamping down, holding, and chewing an animal to pieces as its coils tighten around them, causing them to bleed out or die of panic and fear. We’ve lost a few foals that way. Tragic and sad. Not a good way to go! The rain just kept coming down, overflowing the gutters, and splashing out of the rain barrel by the front stoop. It was such a muddy puddled mess that even Short Dog didn’t want to go out to do her business in it. It was gloomy and downright oppressive! I couldn’t concentrate on writing or reading. There was nothing on TV worth watching. Short Dog had curled up on Tami’s brown recliner to sleep and I was vegging. I had to do something to snap out of it. After all, it was New Year’s Eve. # Tami was in Texas helping her sister settle her late husband’s estate. He had died earlier in the month from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), possibly as a result of receiving covid vaccinations and boosters even though he was advanced in age, had cardiopulmonary issues, and other comorbidities. Now Tami was in Austin helping Sis untangle the financial morass and helping get his will probated. November and December were hectic and stressful months. It all began two days before Thanksgiving when I learned my mom, who was ninety, had cancer. She claimed she had stomach cancer, didn’t have long to live, and demanded we immediately come to Florida to help with her final arrangements. You know how it is when time is running out and you’re trying to get important stuff done “right now, right now”. To say she wasn’t happy when told we couldn’t just drop what we were doing to run down there is an understatement. Yes, she was alone, scared, and had no one to help her. Several times she had been invited to come live with us but had defiantly refused, steadfastly insisting on her prideful independence. That was her decision. As adults we’re responsible and accountable for our decisions and actions, our life choices, no one else. Can’t go around pointing fingers and pinning our mistakes on someone else. Nothing we could say or do would influence Mom to change her mind. She wouldn’t leave her apartment in Florida. So be it! Not to be mean, unempathetic, or indifferent, I cared and was concerned, but her situation was the culmination of many poor life choices. Now she faced the consequences and there was nothing we could do to mitigate her situation or the inevitable outcome. Sometimes I wish I had a magic wand or could wiggle my nose or something to change things, or miraculously appear wherever, but I don’t have no wand and I can’t wiggle my nose. I’m only human; one person doing his best to survive one day at a time like everybody else. If happiness is to be had we must find it within ourselves. It’s between us and God, no one else. Regardless of what we say or do someone else will always judge, second guess, squawk, or complain after the fact. It’s easy to do if you’re not saddled with the responsibility or stuck with the consequences of having to decide or do something. They ain’t living your life, haven’t experienced what you have, and sure as hell ain’t paying your bills. At the end of the day, you just do the best you can. When the time comes to stand before God is when you got to answer. You don’t got to answer to no one else before then, so fuck ‘em! The best we could do was to arrive in Florida on Sunday evening after Thanksgiving. We have a farm with horses and dogs you know. We have responsibilities and commitments. We can’t just pick up and be gone for days on a moment’s notice. Arrangements must be made in advance with neighbors to care for the farm, horses, and outside dogs, and with our daughter to take care of the inside dogs. Extra round bales of hay had to be put out and bags of grain purchased for the horses. Livestock waterers at the barn had to have their functionality checked. Extra dog food needed to be available for the outside dogs, and the two inside dogs taken to our daughter who has a very small place, animals of her own, and is an hour away. In addition, it was a major holiday weekend and traffic would be extraordinarily heavy. What is normally a twelve-hour drive could easily take much longer. We also had to find accommodations as mom was a bit of a hoarder and only had a cluttered one-bedroom apartment. Besides, plans had been made a month earlier for the kids and grandkids to spend Thanksgiving with us. Two large meat chickens we raised and butchered ourselves were being thawed and other food for the big dinner was already prepared. Like it or not, the reality was Mom would just have to wait a few days. It was unlikely her demise would occur before we could get to her. Simultaneously, our brother-in-law was hospitalized in Texas with ARDS. His cardiopulmonary function and O2 stats were low. He was being treated aggressively, heavily sedated, had a tracheotomy, and was on dialysis. His odds for survival were less than favorable and dropping by the hour. It was a terrible conundrum! What should we do? Should we go to Florida or go to Texas? Either way, flying on short notice during a holiday weekend was not a viable option. We would have to drive either twelve hours to Florida or eighteen hours to Texas. Regardless of our choice, it would be physically, mentally, and emotionally hard on us. We’re not spring chickens anymore either, you know! We couldn’t do it all! I wouldn’t wish such a difficult choice on anyone! Relatives would complain no matter what. Ultimately, we opted to go to Florida to help Mom. # This incessant rain just wasn’t letting up. It didn’t seem to bother Bear though, our outside Great Pyrenees guardian dog. He lay sleeping, chained under the pine tree next to his straw-filled doghouse, his thick white wet and matted fur caked with mud. When I took Short Dog out to potty Bear lifted his massive head, looked at us and groaned as if to say “oh, it’s you”, and lay back down. Generally, I don’t like the idea of chaining up a dog, but in Bear’s case we didn’t have much choice. He had previously been kept in a fenced one-acre lot with his sister to guard our large flock of birds. After his sister died, he began climbing over and digging under the hot-wired strands of high tensile and bob wire attached to the split-rail and wove wire paneled fence, getting out, and roaming distant hollers. Sometimes we would get reports and find him miles away. When he got out, he ran a high risk of either getting shot by a good ole boy or killed by a pack of coyotes. He also injured his hips pretty bad a couple of times during his escapes. One more injury just might do him in. Sad. Unfortunately, with Bear being chained up after his sister died, our birds were left unprotected. In less than two weeks we lost every one of our flock of sixty-some-odd birds to predation. Critters are opportunists you know. They will take advantage of a situation to chow down on an easy meal. Lawd knows we have plenty of opportunists around here, critters like hawks, coons, possums, skunks, bobcats, foxes, coyotes, bear, and even cougar; all of whom consider yard birds as easy pickins and fine dining. With all the goin’s on since Thanksgiving I was struggling with this thing called writer’s block. I just couldn’t seem to focus on my research and writing or get much of anything done. Tami being gone exacerbated my mental state as I was concerned about both her and Sis,   my brother-in-law ,  as well as Mom. The oppressive fog, rain, and boredom were getting to me. That mockingbird sitting on the bob wire fence just kept his head cocked, eyeballing the sky as if he was looking for something, and singing his fool head off in the pouring down rain. I had to do something to break the monotony and get out of this depressive funk. Not relishing the thought of being alone on New Year’s Eve, I needed to be with people and get a decent meal. The fast food, hot pockets, TV dinners, and pizza I’d been surviving on since Tami went to Texas just weren’t cutting it. So, I decided to get cleaned up and go out to eat. It was early afternoon, and the restaurants wouldn’t be too crowded with revelers yet – I hoped. I donned a nice white and blue grid Ralph Lauren shirt, you know, one of those shirts with a little horse embroidered on it and slipped into a clean pair of jeans. My jeans were supported by a brown western themed belt secured with a silver buckle inset with three turquoise stones. The buckle was custom made during a spring trip to Albuquerque and matched a turquoise necklace purchased in Texas the year before. I pulled on my scuffed, beat-up Ariat work boots having traces of horse manure in their separating soles and grabbed my faded brown oil splattered Carthart work coat; its lower sleeves tattered with frayed bob wire punctures and rips from mending fences and such. In my humble opinion, while my expensive shirt, belt buckle and necklace, black Luminox watch, and large gold Masonic Past Master ring may have hinted at money, my scruffy   boots, jeans, and coat portrayed the hard-working outdoor character of a farmer more so than the ethos of a red-necked good ole boy. Besides, I wasn’t going out to impress anyone, leastways no one from around here. I just wanted to get out of the house. I was tired of being cooped up like some chicken, wanted to be around people (not socially interact with them), and fill my belly with something warm and good to eat. Dodging raindrops, I climbed into my white F-150. Avoiding rivulets of water that were etching gullies into our half-mile dirt and gravel driveway, I sloshed my way down our mountain, past a neighborhood of 80s era homes and double-wides, and turned left. Driving east through the fog I contemplated where to eat as the truck’s wipers rhythmically slapped the rain off the windshield. I toyed with the idea of perhaps going to Outback Steakhouse or Cracker Barrel, but they were a good distance away and it meant taking the interstate. Nah, it was too far to go and too risky in this weather, better to stay close to home. I had a hankerin’ for a nice juicy steak and settled on going to Texas Roadhouse; wishing Tami was with me as I don’t like dining out alone. Texas Roadhouse was remodeling but open. Pulling into the nearly full parking lot there was orange plastic fencing cordoning off an area of excavated dirt mounds where construction was being done. After finding a place to park I went into the restaurant. There were people milling about inside the door and it was busy, but not overly so, and folks were being seated fairly quickly. A smiling young lady at the check-in counter asked how many were in my party, raising an eyebrow and offering a sorrowful look when I replied: “one”. Soon I was guided swiftly through the din of crowded tables and seated along the rail of the raised upper area overlooking the packed sports bar section. Multiple large, flat screen TVs hung on the wall were tuned to football games. One TV was blaring a country music video channel. As a basket of fresh rolls and a plastic cup containing a dollop of honey butter were set on the table, I was informed my server would be right with me. Although I already knew what I wanted, I scanned through the menu anyway, debating whether or not to get an appetizer of “cactus blossoms” (deep fried sweet onion petals with a tasty ranch dressing-like sauce). It was then, like a heavenly vision, she miraculously appeared out of nowhere! This young, twenty-something girl floated above me at the end of the table with a bright captivating smile. She was of average height, a lithe well-proportioned figure, smooth creamy skin, and big brown eyes. Her long dark brown hair was twisted up in a looped ponytail. For some reason she reminded me of a girl I had briefly dated in high school, only prettier. It wasn’t that this girl was a raving beauty or anything, her appearance was actually quite average. No, it was something else: her effervescent personality, her shimmering aura. It was like there was this immediate inexplicable divine connection. It was as though I knew her, but I hadn’t met or seen her before and didn’t know her at all. A heaven-sent vision, she embodied a graceful goddess-like omniscient confidence, exuding friendliness, and sincere caring; radiating a positive energy field that attracted my full attention like a magnet. Her very presence assuaged and reinvigorated my sad soul. As she hovered at the end of the table smiling and glowing, ready to take my order, I was resurrected. It felt good to be alive! “Hi! My name is Mattie. I’ll be your server today. Will anyone else be joining you?” She cheerfully asked. “Hi! No. I’m here by myself” I stammered, gazing into the depths of her brown stars. “Awww, that’s sad. It’s New Year’s Eve.” She replied with expressive compassionate frowning sincerity. “Would you like to start off with an appetizer? A cactus blossom?” “Ummm, no, I’ll pass on an appetizer today, thank you.” “Ok. What would you like to drink?” “I’ll have a sweet tea with lemon, light on the ice.” “Alright; sweet tea with lemon, light on the ice coming right up. Are you ready to order or do you need a few minutes?” A prisoner of those twinkling eyes and winsome smile I responded: “It would be nice to have a six-ounce sirloin.” “How would you like that cooked?” “Medium rare, please.” “And what would you like as your sides?” “Buttered corn and a house salad; no onions, tomatoes, or cucumbers, with honey mustard dressing, please.” “Ok. We’re having a six-ounce sirloin, medium rare, corn, a house salad with no onions, tomatoes, or cucumbers, with honey mustard dressing. Can I get you anything else?” “Ummm, no. I’m good. That will be more than enough. I don’t eat that much.” “Awww. Ok.” She said compassionately. “I’ll make sure you enjoy a good dinner. I’ll be right back with your sweet tea.” With a springy step she bounded off to fetch my tea. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Who was this angelic creature who had unexpectedly lit my fire? Yeah, I was gob smacked! Hat es wehgetan, als sie vom Himmel gefallen ist? Als Gott sie machte, wollte er sicherlich angeben. I silently reflected in German, meaning: “ Did it hurt when she fell from the sky? When God made her, he surely wanted to show off. ”   To say that I wasn’t briefly enamored with this nymph would be a lie. I might be a wrinkled, thinning gray-haired old codger, but I’m still human and have feelings. Quickly I came back to Earth. First and foremost, I was married to Tami, the love of my life. I could not and would not toy further with an idea of being disloyal to her. Also, I was way too old for this girl, perhaps old enough to be her grandfather. If I was forty years younger and unmarried, I might have made a play for her, but doing so now was out of the question. If anything, she probably pitied this old fool dining alone on New Year’s Eve, noting my wedding ring and maybe thinking I was a widower. Perhaps I reminded her of her father, an uncle, a grandfather, or another crepey-skinned gray-haired ancient person she knew. Still, the iridescent energy, the ageless beauty that sprang from this flower of youth was a gift I could appreciate. Such a flower deserved more than a sedate cantankerous old curmudgeon. It was a far better thing to admire God’s gift from afar! Caught up in my thoughts, Mattie again mysteriously appeared to float at the end of my table as if by magic. “Here’s your sweet tea,” she said smiling, leaning forward to set it on the table. “I’ve put your order in. It should be ready shortly. Is there anything else that I can get for you? More bread?” Our eyes locked in a moment. Mesmerized by whatever spell she cast, I caught my breath, enchanted by the depth of her soul beyond the window of those rich brown irises. My heart was thumping. It was hard to speak. After what seemed an eternity, we disengaged, and I was able to respond weakly with a smile of my own. “Thank you. No, I’m good for the moment.” “Ok. If there’s anything you need just let me know.” I watched in adoration as she bounced away, her ponytail bobbing as she went. Wow! That was intense! To be young again… For some strange reason I fantasized sharing my life’s story with her over coffee. Though she couldn’t see it and didn’t know it, this old man had lived a life worth living; physically, mentally, and emotionally pushing its envelope. I’ve gone out and actually done things most people only read about, see in movies, or dare to dream; a real-life Indiana Jones of sorts combined with Dan Brown’s symbologist character, Robert Langdon. I’ve experienced the peaks of life’s lofty heights and plumbed its darkest depths with my arms raised high, sometimes screaming, riding its rough, noisily clacking wooden rollercoaster. Drawn to the sun, a fading shadow of what I once was, I soon expect to roll into my final destination and my earthly ride will be over. I’ve experienced history firsthand and have many tales to tell, but how could this vivacious young girl suspect, let alone know, that. All she saw was a lonely grizzled old man having dinner alone on New Year’s Eve. If I were to share my life’s adventures with such a young person, would they “get it”, would they benefit and learn from my experiences, my mistakes   and failures, my successes? Would it be worth my time and effort? I wondered. Nah. Best to sit back, relax, dream, reminisce, and savor the beauty of the moment. Mattie came by to check on me a few times as I mentally blocked out the hubbub of excessively loud country music and overtalking conversations, ruminated, and quietly ate. She was a professional who provided prompt, friendly, high-quality service. Indeed, Texas Roadhouse was fortunate to have her on their staff. Truly, she was a gifted sweetheart, a rare flower, a fragrant breath of fresh air. I was fortunate to have had her as a server. Her cheerful demeanor had revived and reinvigorated me, drawing me out of my funk. Her compassionate grace and beauty were what I needed. Mattie was an unwitting inspiration, a Muse. After dinner I returned home sated, fed our stalled stallion, filled the water trough, and fed the outside dogs. Short Dog did her zoomies with the speed of a greyhound, burning off pent up energy as she raced full speed in loops around the yard. I spoke with Tami on the phone for a little bit then watched The Snows of Kilimanjaro , starring Gregory Peck as Harry Street, that recounts the memories of a disillusioned writer suffering from an infected wound while on safari in Africa. Memories. Clouded memories of past lives and adventures crept in as I drifted into the deep fog of a dream-filled sleep…