by Dr. Bruce Cornet

from PlenetaryMysteries Website

Review and Synopsis

With only indirect help from esoteric societies and members of the occult, Wood spent years researching the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau in France. Pitting his mind and intelligence against what seemed to be an intractible mystery that had confounded many sleuths for centuries, slowly and piece by piece he began putting together clues left by members or associates of the Knights Templar and the Brotherhood of the Rose Cross. Many of the clues he found in books and paintings from the Renaissance to the early part of this century. He spent several years mapping sacred monuments, geographic landmarks, and churches in the valley of Rennes with little more success than his predecessors, who had filled many books on the mystery and about the treasures that legend says are buried there.

His eventual success was aided by other researchers, such as Henry Lincoln, who did a documentary on this mystery after the book, Holy Blood and Holy Grail (by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln), was published in 1982. That book created quite a controversy, and peaked his interest in the Knights Templar, who the authors said held answers to the mystery and legends about Jesus’ blood descendants. Then in 1984 he had a breakthrough, which led to further discoveries and his book, which was published in 1986. He credits advances in computer and satellite technology with providing him the tools necessary to accurately map the features in the valley of Rennes.

Without accurate satellite mapping capability, he said, he would not have been able to measure distances and angles between features accurately enough to discover the mathematical proofs. What he discovered will confound and frustrate even the most ardent skeptic, because of the mathematics and precision involved to create and lay out such huge symbolic figures over a 40 square mile area of rugged terrain in France.

These figures cannot be seen from the land nor from the air, but only in one’s imagination or on maps where the "keystones" marking their positions had been carefully laid out to a precision or accuracy of several feet. And it is that precision or accuracy that belies hidden or ancient technology lost to all but a few gatekeepers or custodians of secret knowledge through the ages.

Certain types of knowledge are kept secret either because that knowledge, if it were to fall into the wrong hands, would be abused and used to control humankind for evil purposes, because it would be challenged by conventional wisdom and overwritten or erased, or because it was intended for a specific time and would have little meaning before that time. But secret knowledge, the type that is kept secret by mystery religions, has no time handle on it (e.g. "Do not open until the year 2,001"). By its very nature, it is shared with only the initiated who have been properly educated and successfully tested for their loyalty and ability to keep secrets.

The knowledge kept secret by the Knights Templar, which was handed down to them through a lineage of more ancient esoteric societies, is of the type that contains messages for humankind and our survival in the future. It is about a previous cycle in human evolution and a past civilization that had reached a high level of technological capability. In myth that civilization is called Atlantis. But that civilization was brought to an end by major Earth changes and global catastrophes at the end of a solar cycle, such as those revealed in the ancient Mayan calendar.

The overall message in Genisis and Geneset is about the periodicity of cycles much longer than cycles of human civilization (e.g. Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman civilizations), and about when the next cycle might end through forecasting the future. Such forecasting has been handed down to us in various forms. Apocalyptic Prophecy was one way of sending a message to future generations. Similar forecasting of End Times was encoded into the Great Pyramids of Egypt, and awaited the development of our sciences and archaeology before great minds were able to recognize and decode the messages. In order to insure that the messages survived, they were encoded in myth and legend, and passed on from generation to generation in secret societies that preserved lost knowledge as sacred geometry (cf. West, 1990; Hancock, 1995; Hancock and Bauval, 1996). But if that knowledge was meant for the End Times, then the originators intended it to be revealed or made known to the world at the appropriate time. But no one individual had the Key to that appropriate Time.

Wrapped in myth and fiction, Apocalyptic Prophecy forecasts the end of a cycle as if the initiator or originator knew exactly when that time would be. No one today would put much faith in a weather forecast, but if that forecast came from someone we thought was a diviner inspired by God, it might be taken more seriously. And indeed, the book of Revelation in the New Testament has been taken very seriously by many Christians. When John wrote Revelation in prison, he was not psychotic or delusional, because he was a channeler for an angel of Jesus.

In order to understand Genisis, one has to understand that we are not talking about ancient Egypt and the religion of the Pharaohs. We are talking about the occult and the way ancient knowledge has been interpreted and modified by different mystery religions during the last 2,000 years. Whether or not the ancient Egyptians would agree with Wood’s interpretation of Egyptian myths and legends is not relevant. It is what those who preserved that knowledge thought, how they thought, and what they did with it that is relevant. An Egyptologist would probably cringe at some of the interpretations Wood gives Egyptian symbolism, and not think very much of his revelations. But it is not the myth and stories used to wrap and conceal sacred geometry that are important. It is the sacred geometry and its mathematical proofs discovered by Wood that are important.

In order to understand the Knights Templar, you have to understand Gnosticism. For those not versed in Gnostic scripture or knowledgeable of the Gnostic texts discovered in Egypt in 1945, I will give some background. Wood talks about the Cathars, a Medieval French gnostic sect that lived in the valley of Rennes, who were nearly exterminated by Catholic soldiers and the Church during the 13^th Century. It is through the Cathars that gnostic wisdom was handed down to the Knights Templar (see The Sign and the Seal by Graham Hancock, 1993). Early Christianity was not as singular and uniform in doctrine as modern Christianity might lead one to believe. There were two opposing viewpoints about Christ and His Resurrection.

"Gnostics believe that, as God’s son, Christ was a spirit and could not have been crucified. This explains the Templar contempt for the crucifix, and tales of it being trampled and spat upon in secret rites. The emblem of the Cathars was a cord worn about the waist. Templar confessions mention just such a cord worn during ceremonies..."

(Baddeley, 1996: 45)

Pagels’ book The Gnostic Gospels (1979/1989) provides a very different perspective on early Christianity:

"Scholars investigating the Nag Hammadi find discovered that some of the texts tell the origin of the human race in terms very different from the usual reading of Genesis: the Testimony of Truth, for example, tells the story of the Garden of Eden from the viewpoint of the serpent! Here the serpent, long known to appear in Gnostic literature as the principle of divine wisdom, convinces Adam and Eve to partake of knowledge while "the Lord" threatens them with death, trying jealously to prevent them from attaining knowledge, and expelling them from Paradise when they achieve it. Another text, mysteriously entitled the Thunder, Perfect Mind, offers an extraordinary poem spoken in the voice of a feminine divine power [Isis]:

For I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I am the wife and the virgin.... I am the barren one, and many are her sons.... I am the silence that is incomprehensible.... I am the utterance of my name.

These diverse texts range, then, from secret gospels, poems, and quasi-philosophic descriptions of the origin of the universe, to myths, magic, and instructions for mystical practice.

"WHY WERE THESE TEXTS BURIED - and why have they remained virtually unknown for nearly 2,000 years? Their suppression as banned documents and their burial on the cliff at Nag Hammadi, it turns out, were both part of a struggle critical for the formation of early Christianity. The Nag Hammadi texts, and others like them, which circulated at the beginning of the Christian era, were denounced as heresy by orthodox Christians in the middle of the second century. We have long known that many early followers of Christ were condemned by other Christians as heretics, but nearly all we knew about them came from what their opponents wrote attacking them....."

After several examples Pagels continues:

"This campaign against heresy involved an involuntary admission of its persuasive power; yet the bishops prevailed. By the time of the Emperor Constantine’s conversion, when Christianity became an officially approved religion in the fourth century, Christian bishops, previously victimized by the police, now commanded them. Possession of books denounced as heretical was made a criminal offense. Copies of such books were burned and destroyed. But in Upper Egypt, someone, possibly a monk from a nearby monastery of St. Pachomius, took the banned books and hid them from destruction - in the jar where they remained buried for almost 1,6000 years."

Pagels, 1989: xvii-xix

Within the valley of Rennes in France exists a puzzle laid out initially as sacred stones, stone circles, and other artifacts of the Druids, who continued the religious practices of the ancient Egyptians (Brotherhood of the Serpent), and who were instructed to place these markers in precise locations. This may have been in accordance with an ancient pagan custom of marking places where deities had been encountered: Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,

"Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it."

And he was afraid, and said,

"How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone which he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Beth-El (which means, the house of God). Gen 28:16-19.

David Wood (Genisis, 1986) thinks, and with good reason, that there is a strong link between the geometric figures he has revealed and ancient Egypt. But whoever placed these markers, which have since become sites for churches, castles, towns, and sacred or mythological features, did so with a technology that today would require satellite mapping to a precision of feet over a 40 square mile, rugged mountainous terrain. Wood discovered that someone, probably at least as far back as the 1^st Dynasty of ancient Egypt (2920-2770 B.C.E.), left to future generations of humans a message of symbols with proofs, a message encoded in the universal language of mathematics, a message so complex that only a society with satellite mapping capability could accurately decipher the entire message or puzzle.

And therein lies the Time Handle, which would guarantee that the secrets of the valley of Rennes would not be revealed until we had recovered technologically from the last period of Earth catastrophes about 11,000 years ago. Wood and Genisis are proof of that. And somehow the ancients knew that we would not reach our current level of recovery until very near the end of the next cycle. But how could they have known that? - unless they had some control of events in our history which would prevent, until the appropriate time, the rapid technological development that we experienced in the last century. But the answer to that question may very well lie hidden in the mystery religions and with those initiates entrusted as gatekeepers and guardians.

Imagine someone leaving a complex series of figures, overlapping and interlocking, with only a minimum number of markers or points on the ground to define those figures. Imagine these figures being so large that one could handle them only by scaling them down on a map of manageable size. Wood was able to do this because of a computer CAD program, enabling him to measure distances accurately to the foot, which would have been nearly impossible by any other means, and inconceivable using the more primitive technologies of our recognized forefathers and ancestors. To make such figures decipherable, the creators had to chose mathematically significant points to define the figures, such as places on the ground located on or near points where certain "lines" of the figures crossed. In order to solve this puzzle you had to be a good cartographer and surveyor, well educated in ancient religions and mythology, and a clever mathematician who understood sacred geometry and numbers.

Even though the figures I have selected from his book do not do justice to the ingenius work of Wood, they will give you an idea of the significance of his revelations. Not only did Wood uncover a connection between the myths and legends associated with the valley of Rennes and the ancient gods and goddesses of Egypt, but also a connection to Jesus, Mary Magdelene, and the Virgin Mary. Aspects of this mystery were preserved first by the Druids, then by the Cathars or Gnostics, the Knights Templar, and today by the Freemasons, despite attempts by the Roman Catholic Church in the early part of the second millennium (1209-1249 C.E.) to destroy all knowledge of or information about this mystery and its secrets.

Below I give a synoptic interpretation of Wood’s diagrams with their symbolic meanings. If you want to get the full scientific basis for his interpretations, I suggest you read Genisis by Wood (1986), and Geneset by Wood and Campbell (1995).

The solution to the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau begins with its church on that high plateau, and its priest, Berenger Sauniere, who restored and transformed the church into a museum of religious art and mysteries in the late 19^th Century. The story has already been extensively told elsewhere, notably in the best-selling book, The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh, and Lincoln. During the restoration, unusual documents were found hidden in a hollow of the altar, possibly left there by the Cathari or Gnostics. The key to deciphering one of the coded Latin texts was ultimately found on a gravestone in the churchyard of Rennes-le-Château. When decoded the solution was apparently meaningless. It reads:

[SHEPHERDESS, NO TEMPTATION, THAT POUSSIN, TENIERS, HOLD THE KEY, PEACE 681. BY THE CROSS AND THIS HORSE OF GOD, I COMPLETE - or DESTROY - THIS DAIMON OF THE GUARDIAN AT NOON. BLUE APPLES.]

and

[TO DAGOBERT II, KING, AND TO SION BELONGS THIS TREASURE AND HE IS THERE DEAD.]

By sleuthing Wood (1986) was able to see a pattern to the many clues to this mystery, which led him to recognize numbers and figures pertaining to a secret doctrine, which had been concealed in the imagery of various famous paintings:

• The Plague of Azoth

• Les Bergers d’Arcadie

• L’Hiver (Winter) - often referred to as The Deluge

• Le Christ au lievre

• the altar design of the church at Rennes-le-Chateau, depicting Magdalene kneeling in a cave with the persistent skull at her knees

• Virgin of the Rocks, showing the Nephthys outline and the triangular rock shape on the northern slopes of Chateau de Blanchefort in the Rennes valley

• and last but not least, The Mona Lisa

Wood decoded the title MONA LISA in the following manner:

"LISA is simply L’ISA and Godfrey Higgins tells us quite clearly that ISA is the Eve or Isis. Under the nose of the Roman Church he had called this painting Ra-Isis, which leaves me in no doubt as to why she wears her knowing smile."

The persistent references to the Black Madonna or Mary Magdalene, the demonic statue erected by Sauniere which stands in the doorway of the church at Rennes-le-Chateau, the rock carved into and named "the armchair of the devil" (click image right), the isolated position and geometric construction of Poussin’s stone tomb, and clues in cryptic passages from the book, Le Serpent Rouge, among many other clues, led Wood to realize that he was dealing with hidden references to the Egyptian gods Ra and Set, and goddesses Isis and Nephthys.

Through his research and understanding of the various mystery cults and their secrets, particularly the clues which had surfaced concerning the secrets of the Knights Templar, he began to see an intimate link between the myths and legends about the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt and the myths and legends of the Bible concerning Satan and the Serpent, and the real life characters, Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Wood (1986: 47) states,

"The links were joining and it was obvious that Isis was becoming the central figure.

 

"Returning to Pisces in Le Serpent Rouge, we find also a reference to the pilot or custodian of the Ark of Noah, and the word used in the actual document is le nautonnier. This, it seems, is a direct link with the Priory of Sion, whose highest grade is Nautonnier."

Further along on the next page Wood relates,

"Two direct references to Isis occur in Le Serpent Rouge under Virgo: ..... . . Two times I.S. embalming and embalmed. Miraculous vessel of the eternal White Lady of the Legends.

 

and under Leo: .... . . long ago her name was ISIS, Queen of the benevolent springs, COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Others knew her as MAGDALENE with the celebrated vase full of healing balm. The initiated know her to be NOTRE DAME DES CROSS.

"Later it will be seen that the ’vessel’ referred to is a clever triple entendre relating boat, chalice and the female generative organ.

"The second reference blatantly discloses the equation:

"ISIS = MADGALENE = NOTRE DAME DES CROSS."

Thus Wood began to realize that the mystery, which was shrouded in Biblical symbols and references, had to do with a much greater mystery: The origins of the myths and legends themselves. During the early stages of mapping the valley of Rennes, he identified repeating pentagonal angles between important positions in the area around Rennes-le-Chateau, which led him eventually to realize that he was dealing with a very large figure laid out across the various peaks and valleys of the region, a figure much larger than anyone had anticipated.

click image to enlarge

Through his persistence and mapping of key sites and positions in the valley, he ultimately revealed the diagrams of giant circles, an unusual extended pentagram surrounded by figures that resembled an ark and a boat , and a hexagram which was mated to the extended pentagram with interlocking circles that enclosed both star figures. The extended pentagram is unusual in that it preserves the star angle of 36 degrees at each point, while allowing the arms of the figure to be of different sizes or lengths.

Wood pointed out that you will not find such a figure in any geometry or mathematics book, and the mathematicians he contacted were incredulous that such a geometric figure could maintain a 36 degree angle in each arm. But Wood not only had proved that such a figure exists, he revealed that to have such a previously unknown and yet possible pentagram laid out in the valley meant that someone of very high intelligence, power, and technological capability had to have been responsible. He further recognized that this extended pentagram symbolized the female body with two legs, two arms, and a large (extended) head. The associated hexagram with its six points, which was discovered later, represents the male body with its external genitalia. The joining (mating) of these two figures forms a composite star, which he calls the Star of Set.

As Wood describes his discoveries in Chapter 6, The First Line:

"The Paris meridian is the original European marker of longitudinal measurement, established around 1670. It was replaced in 1884 by the British Greenwich meridian despite vehement opposition from the French, who made a strong plea that if an international meridian was to be established it should be a line based on either the Great Pyramid of Giza or Jerusalem! Feelings ran so high that the French only finally accepted the international verdict in favour of Greenwich as late as 1978 - and to this day domestic maps of France still feature their national meridian instead of Greenwich. As it happens, the evidence this solution eventually discloses strongly favours the French line.

"Two things then became significantly clear. Firstly the angle of intersection between the meridian and the sunrise was 72º - the base angle of a pentagram. Secondly, very near to this intersection was the famous tomb depicted in Poussin’s painting Les Bergers d’Arcadie. (click image right)

"What should I do next? As so often in these early stages, I turned back to Rennes-le-Chateau. I remembered the reference to the six colours of the rainbow under the verse for Aquarius in Le Serpent Rouge. Was it possible, I wondered, that ’rainbow’ could in any way relate to the distance to the church of Arques (rainbow = arc-en-ciel)?

"I decided on a simple test; I measured the line between the churches of Rennes-le-Chateau and Arques - the sunrise line - and divided it into six equal parts. At once I felt I had something; the second division moving west from Arques brought me exactly into the Paris meridian intersection. This was, of course, impressive enough. But what further correspondences were there?

"I felt I could perceive a similarity in the distance between each sixth part and the distance between Rennes-les-Bains and Roque NÀgre. Tentatively I tested it; it fitted precisely. I felt that special tingle of anticipation together with a sense of conviction; this was the right path.

"With six ’manuscripts’ (or components of light) identified, I examined the possibility of that measure having numerical significance. I found it was ONE ENGLISH MILE!

"I scanned the area to see if there were more ’coincidences’ - one was amazing. The distance between the sister churches of Rennes-le-Chateau and Rennes-les-Bains was exactly three miles!

"I looked at the tomb again, I felt Poussin had to be important to have been mentioned in the original cipher. Then I noticed that, when extended, a line drawn from the tomb to the intersection of the meridian and the sunrise, passed through Rennes-les-Bains church. This was impressive to say the least, but at the time it did not appear to make any contribution to the solution. Extending the line further south took it close to Le Fauteuil du Diable (Seat of the Devil or Isis) and L’Homme Mort (the dead man). Could this be the ’He who is there dead’ from the second cipher?

"My next move was either inspired or just plain lucky. I felt sure there was something of importance on the Poussin line south of Rennes-les-Bains and, taking my proven ’one English mile’, I struck off that distance to the south of the church. It seemed to be no help at all; I marked the spot and pinned the map on the wall to try to understand how the designers would have made the next move. When I viewed it from a distance something quite uncanny seemed to be happening. Could this really be so? It was 2 o’clock in the morning and I was very tired - almost too tired to believe my imagination was not playing tricks. My slotted-templet positions seemed to be arranged round the position I had just marked in a perfect circle. I hunted for the extensions for my compasses which would accommodate this massive circle. With the position near L’Homme Mort as center, I set the radius to the church of Rennes-le-Chateau. I will never forget my surprise - even disbelief - as the compass traced the circumference."

(Wood, 1986: 54-56).

Further along in that same chapter Wood reveals a major discovery:

"The fact that an occult society with sufficient funds could arrange churches in the 12^th and 13^th centuries to form this image over such terrain was unbelievable enough - but how could they have anticipated the position of the Paris meridian, which was not established until the 1600s? "A geometric figure of these proportions threaded through mountainous terrain to coincide with a meridian to this degree of accuracy would require ’star-fixes’ using sophisticated equipment. After all, meridians are not lines painted on the ground for all to see. But quite apart from this, we are confronted here with a chronological impossibility: when the churches were built the meridian was not there! Or was it? Was even this to be doubted? Had someone established a global grid reference long before we could even imagine?

"Stunned by the magnitude of these discoveries, I returned to the geometry. If the layout of a temple existed here, circles and pentagonal angles would not form it. I needed right angles. As I proceeded I was pleased to find that the eastern arm of the north point of the pentagram formed a right angle with the line of the sunrise. I wondered if the walls of the temple were beginning to take shape. Try as I might I failed to find features on the ground to support that particular right angle so I next started a systematic search for anything which would form 90º with any other arm of the pentagram; I found nothing.

"There was no alternative but to return to the laborious task of sifting evidence and searching for clues. I needed to recognize another ground feature, and I eventually found it in the illustrated sculpture on the face of the altar in the church at Rennes-le-Chateau, one of the works commissioned by Berenger Sauniere (illus 49 and 50). Many things interested me in this feature.

"It may be seen in the illustration that the Magdalene kneels in a cave, with a skull at her knees [symbolizing the skull of Baphomet?]. Outside we see a distinctive hill, and an even more definite shape - like a ruined arch. I had seen that shape before - but not upright. It was the shape of the rock at the summit of the Berco Grando when viewed from above (illus 51). The hill in the sculpture was recognizable as the Berco Petito. I checked my diagram and there was no doubt; the line between them, or to be more exact, between the rock outcrops on them, was tangential to the circle, and met the western arm of the north point of the pentagram at 90º.

"As I drew the line across the meridian I knew instinctively that I was about to receive another shock. On the 180º of approach my new line generated the angles of 72º and 108º. Here was the number of the goddess Isis (18) with her mother Nut (0) in attendance. Dividing these two numbers by 18 analyzed their ’hidden’ meaning: the first became 4 indicating the square or construction, the lineage of the temple walls: the second becomes 6 the number of the sun-god Ra. The relationship between the meridian and the temple walls burst into my mind. Longitude marks time and so does the sun. The numbers disclosed by the Isis factor acting on the meridian were 4 and 6 which when multiplied give the 24 hours of the day. And Osiris was there as well, for the 360º cycle, when divided by 24 gave his number before he was dismembered (15)."

(Wood, 1986: 65-67).

In Chapter 11, entitled The Knights Templar, Wood discusses the enigmatic idol called Baphomet. In an article on the Knights Templar by Gavin Baddeley (1996), he gives the following theories:

"As I have already suggested, most historians now believe that the Templars were innocent of heresy, but if they were guilty, just what was the nature of their strange cult? Confessions make frequent reference to worshipping a devil named Baphomet. Baphomet’s origins are obscure, and it appears in no other Medieval demonologies. The most obvious derivation is that Baphomet is a mispronounced ’Mahomet’, and that the Templars had begun worshipping the prophet of their Islamic foes.

"Odd as this sounds, it isn’t impossible, as Arabic culture at this time was far in advance of European and, if the Templars brought back other fragments of Islamic culture [from the Crusades] (mathematics, architecture, medicine etc.), then why not Eastern religion? The Order was long accused of getting too close to their heathen enemy, and to the Christian Church the gods and prophets of other religions were devils. So if a group like the Templars set up an idol to their version of Mahomet alongside the cross, then charges of devil worship are unsurprising.

"WHERE THE DEVIL....?

"Another theory suggests that Baphomet is a compound of the words ’baphe’ (baptism) and ’metis’ (wisdom) or a corruption of the Arabic ’abufihamet’ (father of wisdom). Both theories imply the Templars were worshipping, or at least privy to, a secret knowledge. Several commentators believed this points to the Templars having been gnostics (’gnosis’ meaning knowing)."

(Encounters magazine, issue 11: 45).

Wood (1986), however, gives a more likely theory for Baphomet, which is consistent with gnostic worship of the Mother Goddess, Sophia, also known as Isis:

"...When the Templars were disbanded, a silver head of a woman was found in a preceptory in Paris, and it bore an inscription CAPUT LVIIIM (58m). Henry Lincoln suggests that the M may be implying the symbol for Virgo, the virgin, and he may well be right, for the original virgin was Isis, Goddess of the Templars. The number 58 is less puzzling if one remembers that five (5) is the number of the pentagram and eight (8) is indicative of Isis. We may now complete the simple equation which exposes her secret number:

5 X 8 = 40 = 58 - 18  ISIS

"The numbers 5 and 8 are also exhibited in the beliefs of the ’Brothers of the Rose Cross’, where the rose is constructed with a centre of five petals, surrounded by eight petals. When the language of the gods is revealed later, the reason for the number 58 will be even more apparent.

"But now let us return to the huge skull Baphomet. Could it be a gigantic skull which would prove beyond doubt that a being of such proportions had actually lived on this planet? Was this truly the source, or origin, or father of the human race? Could this be one of the secret artifacts hidden in the valley of Rennes-le-Chateau?

"Is it being implied that Baphomet is Satan? In order to conceal his identity, has Satan been intentionally associated with the Devil?

"Is it coincidence, once more, that simply by allocating the numerical value of the letters in the English alphabet to the letters of Baphomet (2 + 1 + 16 + 8 + 15 + 13 + 5 + 20) the total is 80 (Isis and Nut)? An 8-letter word totalling 80. I have little doubt that the final investigation of the Baphomet skull will reveal it to be female; possibly the actual, or the symbolic equivalent, of the skull of Isis - the Supreme feminine intellect responsible for our elevation from animal form .

Publisher’s Note

- Immediately prior to our going to press, the author’s findings have been substantiated by Hugh Schonfield in The Essene Odyssy, published by Element Books (p. 164). He showed that by applying the Hebrew Atbash code to the name Baphomet, the name Sophia, female wisdom, is revealed. Sophia is equated with Isis by Plutarch."

(Wood, 1986: 123)

The Gnostic Society and Church (Ecclesia Gnostica) today has locations in Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; and Oslo, Norway. Their website is: http//home.sn.no/~noetic/SGN.html. On that website they describe their Teachings and Doctrinal Orientation:

1. There is an original and transcendental spiritual unity which came to emanate a vast manifestation of pluralities.

2. The manifest universe of matter and mind (psyche) was not created by the original spiritual unity but by spiritual beings possessing inferior powers.

3. These creators possessing inferior powers have as one of their objectives the perpetual separation of humans from the unity (God).

4. The human being is a composite, the outer aspect being the handiwork of the inferior creators, while the "inner man" has the character of a fallen spark of the ultimate divine unity.

5. The fallen spark of transcendental holiness slumber in their material and mental prison, their self-awareness stupefied by forces of materiality and mind.

6. The slumbering sparks have not been abandoned by the ultimate unity, rather there is a constant effort forthcoming from this unity that is directed toward their awakening and liberation.

7. The awakening of the inmost divine essence in humans is effected by salvific knowledge, called Gnosis.

8. Salvific knowledge, or Gnosis, is not brought about by belief, or the performance of virtuous deeds, or by obedience to commandments, for these can at best but serve as preparatory circumstances leading toward liberating knowledge.

9. Among the helpers of the slumbering sparks a particular position of honor and importance belongs to a feminine emanation of the unity. The name of this emanation is Sophia (Wisdom). She was involved in the creation of the world and ever since remained the guide of her orphaned human children.

10. From the earliest times of history, messengers of light have been sent forth from the ultimate unity. The task of these messengers has ever been the advancement of Gnosis in the souls of humans.

11. The greatest of these messengers in our historical and geographical matrix was the descended Logos of God, manifesting in Jesus Christ.

12. Jesus exercised a twofold ministry: He was a teacher, imparting instruction concerning the way of Gnosis, and he was a hierophant, imparting mysteries.

13. The mysteries imparted by Jesus (which are also known as sacraments) are mighty aids toward Gnosis and have been entrusted by him to his apostles and to their successors.

14. By way of the spiritual practice of the mysteries (sacraments) and by a relentless and uncompromising striving for Gnosis, humans can steadily advance toward liberation from all confinement, material and otherwise. The ultimate objective of this process of liberation is the achievement of salvic knowledge and with it freedom from embodied existence and return to the ultimate unity.

I could end the review here. Or I can continue. What do you think? Have I already said enough? Or should I provide further information that would entice the reader to seek more information?

P. 88

"The [Ark of the Covenant] then was constructed according to precise measurements which are given to us in Exodus, Ch. XXV v 10:

And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, a cubit and a half the height thereof.

"Before proceeding further I will admit there have been many different opinions as to the number of inches in a cubit, or even as to whether the cubit can be transcribed into exact inch measure. Without wishing to sound cavalier on these points, I nevertheless dismiss them by two simple assumptions. Firstly, among those who have studied the subject, one of the most popular values for the cubit is 18 inches (Isis) and this is supported by my own findings which were arrived at by a completely different route. Secondly, that an English inch is related to an Egyptian measure is more easily understood if one can accept [that] both the Celts and Egyptians were descendants of the same people - possibly even the survivors of the lost continent of Atlantis. This contention is supported by both Celtic myth and the inexplicable fact that the Egyptian culture appears to have been transplanted and shows little or no sign of having developed in situ from a primitive race.

"If my assumption of the feminine principle concealed in the temple was correct, I felt it would also be evident, albeit hidden in the major reason for the temple being built, the Ark of the Covenant. We will now examine the Ark in inch measure. The length 45 inches, the height and breadth 27 inches. The perimeters are, therefore: 4 X 45 = 180 (Isis and Nut) 4 X 27 = 108 (Isis and Nut)

"The box was then covered inside and out with gold:

And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. Exodus XXV, 11.

P. 91

"It would now appear the platform of 45 inches by 27 inches has been assumed to be a lid, but that is certainly now what the text says. Without any shadow of doubt we are being told of another construction, a mercy-seat and a ’seat’ is the hieroglyph for Isis as I have previously shown. Furthermore, ’mercy’ is also indisputably connected with our goddess. Her benevolence is seen in Le Serpent Rouge under Leo:

Come to me all ye who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

"In the Babylonian Tablets she appears as Ishtar, who grieves for mankind’s destruction and speaks out against the action of the gods in destroying Man by the flood.

"When the Ark was grounded, the Queen of Heaven cried out:

O you gods here present, by the lapis-lazuli round my neck I shall remember these days as I remember the jewels of my throat; these days shall I not forget.

"Ishtar obviously knew that mankind was not intended to survive, for she then announced that Enlil must not see those who did, saying:

He shall not approach this offering, for without reflection he brought the flood, he consigned my people to destruction.

"And what is even more significant is the manner in which she associates herself with the remnant of Man:

.......but are they not my people, for I brought them forth. Now like the spawn of fish, they float in the ocean.

"She seems to be claiming here to have been responsible for the creation of the human race, and those who designed the temple of Rennes-le-Château leave us in no doubt they also believed this to be the case.

"If we return to the text it can be seen that a seat is being constructed, not a lid. The dimensions of the seat are the same as those of the Ark, 45 inches X 27 inches, but there is one dimension missing, for the obvious reason that there would be no need to instruct a carpenter as to what height to make a seat - he would have known it. The measure is 1 cubit or 18 inches (Isis), as are all seats.

"The perimeter measures are unbelievable:

4 lengths of 45 = 180 (Isis)
4 lengths of 27 = 108 (Isis)
4 lengths of 18 = 72 (Base angle of the female pentagram)

and the total is 360 - the circle. The symbol of the female generative organ is demonstrated once again [the circle]. The message should be clear: the Ark of the Covenant is the property of Isis and it is clearly marked with her name (illus 66)."

Ch 24, pp. 278-286:

The Secret of Light

 

"There were many things which brought me to discover the final geometric key of Rennes. It was more like being led to a position by a symphony of implications, any one of which could hardly be considered tangible evidence if examined individually. The most persistent factor which made me consider my solution incomplete, was the absence of a geometric equivalent for the male, or his phallus. Admittedly there was the Ass and the fourteen stones of the inverted cross, but this was imagery and not interacting geometry. In my previous studies of occult geometry, I had heard that one of the keys to the mysteries was the secret union of the pentagram and the hexagram. I had seen dozens of attempts to achieve this, but none of them, in my opinion, warranted serious consideration. Supposedly if this were ever successfully achieved, it would be immediately apparent to an adept from the resultant figure. A figure which, in turn, would be a great revelation.

"Almost as soon as this crossed my mind, I felt the familiar tingle of the proximity of a truth. All those diagrams had been constructed in circles and squares. All of them used a pentagram which was ’contained’. I wondered how different the geometry would be, using the extended pentagram of Rennes, based on a circle of 15 divisions. The answer was immediately self-evident; the arc carried by the arms is five divisions of the circle. The arms are five miles long and the arc is six. If either the 360,000 inch or the 372,000 inch circle is used, it makes little difference - 6.1483 and 5.9499 respectively.

"Then came that flash of inspiration which is always needed at times like these.

The arms of Satan and the Cross of Lorraine.....

The arms of Jesus and the Cross of Lorraine.....(from Charles P’guy La Tapisserie de Sainte GeneviÀve)

"Hence we concluded that the arms of Jesus are the arms of Satan. Jesus was of the line of King David and Solomon whose emblem was the hexagram and the Christians consider the pentagram to be the symbol of Satan. The 6 points of the hexagram are two arms, two legs, a head and a phallus.

"The geometry was becoming clear to me. The hexagram divides the circumference into six portions and the arms support 2 portions of the circle which is precisely the same proportions of arc as that supported by the extended pentagram. (Two sixths and five fifteenths).

"The construction was now quite simple:

"1) Draw two circles with the centre of the second on the circumference of the first. This is the Vesica Piscis, a figure representing the female organ.

"2) Join the intersections of the circumferences. This is the cleft of the female organ which doubles for the arms of both the hexagram of one circle and the arms of the pentagram of the other. These are the arms of Jesus and Satan.

"3) The result is immediately obvious; it is a 7-pointed star - Set - Satan (illus 145). But if the arms are united in this fashion the ’head’ of the hexagram coincides with the vulva of the female. There was much in the secret doctrine to suggest there was good reason for this arrangement, but this position usually implies a similar action occurring at the opposing axis of the hexagram. The opposite point of the hexagram does not however coincide with the head of the female and I decided to alter the construction to make it do so (pecked lines in diagram). The only value I could see in this figure was the improved ratio of the size of the triangles representing the head and the phallus.

"The next step was to apply this geometry to the ground in the hope that it would expose the identity of the controlling features. This it did in a most convincing manner. I plotted the regular equiangular triangle and found that the north-easterly arm went through the Pierre Dress’e (illus 146) and then directly into the summit of the mountain of Montredon which had been the confirmatory point fixing the north wall of the Temple. The other arm was equally impressive; it passed through the church of Luc-sur-Aude to the summit of Pech de Luc, forming the perfect 60º triangle.

 

Once again I was alerted to the occult significance of the names. Luc could be Lucifer - light; and Aud in occult teaching is the union of the Ob (Hebrew) and the Od (Hebrew). These are the entwined serpents of Astral Light and signified by the Caduceus (see illus 147A). I knew another great secret was nearby. First I needed to find the controlling circle.

"I had noticed previously that the Château de Blanchefort was midway between the apex and the intersection of the legs of the pentagram. Taking Blanchefort as centre, I described a circle and the result was surprising. Travelling clockwise it passes through the survey beacon on the summit of Le Laplegadou, to the intersection of the pentagonal legs, to Rennes-le-Château, to the church of Luc-sur-Aude and back to the pentagonal apex. The triangle it had contained was a regular 60º one, but it conformed to my interpretation of the star union, the one which was condensed.

 

Then I noticed something which was most strange. The circle had ’cut off’ the right hand of the pentagonal arm. I recalled the words of Jesus in Matthew V, verse 30. ’If thy right hand offends thee, cut it off’ and the Peste d’Azoth by Poussin had confirmed it. I drew a new line from the apex of the pentagram to the severed position and could hardly believe what I saw. It now passed precisely through the female head rock of Toustounes. This had to be confirmation of the interpretation. I then noticed that the innocuous Château Blanchefort adopted a totally different character when seen as the guardian force at the centre of the hexagram; from here it was the beast, the demon guardian of the first coded cipher (illus 148).

"Next with the same centre at Blanchefort I increased the radius to accommodate the regular triangle, the result was certainly impressive. This circle passed through la Berco Petito, the Château of Couiza, Pech de Luc, Montredon and then another surprise - the famous Château d’Arques (illus 149).

"The next step, which is geometrically obvious, was to join the opposing points of the hexagram. In a completely regular figure the diagonals would have intersected at the centre of the circle. As one of the triangles was suppressed in height, the intersection moved away from the centre. I examined this point very carefully.

"If ever I was sure of anything it was now. This point was on a line of features which were staggering: the tiny cemetery of Coustaussa, the Château Serres, the Poussin Tomb, the Pierre Dressee and the famous Château d’Arques again. There was also a geometric intersection; the line passed through the intersection of the Paris meridian and the side of the triangle which cuts off the right hand.

"And what of the position itself? The angle of Rennes-le-Château between it and the pentagonal arm was 28º the number of Nephthys with whom we have identified the church. Set was also demonstrated, for the angle formed by the intersection of the axes was 56º. Even the number of Thoth or maybe the beast was evident; it was the angle generated by the intersection of the sides of the two triangles of the hexagram, 66º. Here are miracles enough for anyone, but there are more. The line which joins this new secret location to the position of the seed is exactly parallel to the Paris meridian.

 

Then it struck me that both of the unbelievable lines of features which had led to the secret locations had originated at the Château d’Arques. I measured the angle between these two lines. It was 36º! At the new location I checked the angle from the seed to Château d’Arques which had passed through the tomb of Poussin; it was 99º and you will recall there were 99 stones in the completion of the temple and that was the distance from the ground to the top of the tomb in inches after we had completed the construction. But the tomb had shown us something else, the speed of light. I measured the distance from Château d’Arques to the new location. It was the speed of light in inches!

"My mind reeled at what was implied. I had found the seed in the womb of the circle of light and now I had found the centre of light. The seed in the womb of Isis and the means by which to activate it - the harmonic of Set - the Typhon - Satan. [Set represented the principle of Contraction to the ancient Egyptians - the opposite of Expansion. West, 1993]

"Was this staggering secret of the Astral Light of the alchemists with the serpent (the Ob) lying at nearby Peyrolles, the massive Serpent Rouge? Could now I have the final secret? Could there be an harmonic of light which will unite the super conscious mind to the conscious? A gateway to the infinite wisdom of the gods who created us in their image.

"I looked at the numbers again; was it another harmonic - one which could disrupt molecular structure. I realized that for a moment I had seen through the bars of the cage to what lies beyond. I had seen outside the playground of earthly science where man invents his own physics and then applauds himself for having understood it. A model which is shaped by the quality and the extent of the intelligence it contains. But the fluid forces from which the cage of time is constructed are slightly at variance with the inflexible mathematics by which it is measured. There is a small recurring gap in the mesh of the veil of time and light. The receding galaxies do not recede, but if they did not appear to do so there could be no escape from the time and space in which we could exist.

"We are creatures of the sieve, but we know nothing of the holes.

"The lesson of the labyrinth is now clear. There are parts of entity which linear science will never see, no matter how far the tangents are reflected. But to see beyond the veil, to break through the circle of the abyss is within our reach.

"If these are the secrets of Rennes-le-Chateau! What is buried there?

"I called the publisher; we must delay publication for this. He was patient; he had seen me before on these flights of fantasy and he knew where they led - to the fantastic.

Publisher’s Note: As a safeguard against the possibility of circumstances arising whereby he is unable to finalize his research, the author has requested that two further items should be recorded at this stage. In doing this he discloses something which would be vital to any future researchers who were attempting to follow his trail. These statements in themselves are nothing short of a mathematical miracle.

Wood:

"It has been previously demonstrated that the perimeter of the temple rectangle was enlarged to accommodate the arc of Nut and thereby become 27 miles.

1) The total length of the straight lines forming the pentagram and contained in the circle of churches is 27 miles.

2) The total length of the straight lines forming the hexagram and contained within the temple perimeter is 27 miles.

These are manifestations of the pregnant womb, 27 or 270 (9 months of 30 days), the reflection of the pentagonal 72 and they signify light in the creative womb. For those who have the ’understanding’ this is the function of light in the creation of the universe."

(Wood, 1986: 278-286).

Open Letter from the Author

Our cultural views about sex have distorted many people’s reactions to Genisis, thanks to Christian disinformation about the correctness of male authority and its perverted interpretation of the Adam, Eve, and Serpent story, in which women are blamed for the fall of MANkind. Women, according to core Christian teachings, are therefore guilty of the worst sin against God, thereby deserving an inferior social status, eternal sexual abuse, and subservience to men. Isn’t that how our society in practice has treated women? DeAnna Emerson, for example, very much supports Wood’s book and interpretation. Her book, "The Mars / Earth Enigma: A Sacred Message to Mankind", and forthcoming book, Secret of the Grail, were recently discussed on the Hieronimus & Co.’s 21st Century Radio show (Galde Press at 1-800-777-3454).

Helen Ellerbe’s book, "The Dark Side of Christian History", is also an eye opener. I recently took two courses under Prof. Elaine Pagels at Princeton University on Gnostism and early Christianity. The story she teaches is basically the same. Many cultural and moral viewpoints which our society teaches its young come from the Church, despite the ban on prayers in school; those viewpoints stem from a history of Church propaganda, which distorts other beliefs and religions by calling them pagan (R = X), heretical (XX), and sometimes satanic (XXX). Even though the power of the Church has weakened significantly since the Industrial Revolution began, it is still the dominant religious force in many countries around the world.

Wood throws light onto a subject that only a couple hundred years ago would be grounds for torture (for confession of sin) and burning at the stake (for purification from sin). Now I call that EVIL in its purest and ugliest form. Such inhumane practices were demanded by Papal Bulls! Ancient goddess worshipping cultures and groups venerated women and the female reproductive process. Those cultures regarded men and women as equals, and the Earth to be a place of peace and harmony. The Church corrupted all of that with its insane policies and quest for complete male dominance and Papal control of the Earth. In essence, the Pope wanted to rule the Earth and replace Satan. His position accomplished much to that end during the darkest age of human history.

I do not wish to insult anyone’s culturally conditioned sensibilities, just state the facts. As a consequence of Christian "ethics", our culture has been taught to regard anything that references the genitals as perverted, immoral, sexist, and/or evil. That is the Church and Paulianity speaking, not Nature and Spirituality. We as humans are value makers. What value we place on the things of this world is the fiction of our minds. Without our value system, everything would be equal or just as it is, without prejudice and without judgment. Isn’t that what Jesus really wanted? If my review of Genisis caused you to look at your own value system, then it has served a purpose, and I am thankful that you read it.

Dr. Bruce Cornet