As we have shown throughout the Irish Origins of Civilization, the symbols and traditions we historically associate with Judaism, Christianity, and Masonry, originate in Ireland. They were first employed by the Druid Elders of the West, once known throughout the world as the Arya.

The facts about the Western origins of the major elements of civilization have been incorporated in cryptic form within the Bible and other Judeo-Christian scriptures. Indeed, Druidic elements can be found throughout the texts and traditions of the corrupted solar religions that assimilated and cannibalized the ancestral canon of the Elders. A few of the more obvious examples are:

Noah and his ark
The Great Deluge
God's Wrath with Mankind
David and Goliath
Moses and the Burning Bush
Moses erecting a circle of 12 stones at Gilgal and Sinai
The Brazen Serpent in the Wilderness
The Nativity & visitation of the three wise men
Joseph being a "Carpenter"
Baptism of Jesus by John
Christ entering the temple at 12 years of age
Christ dying at age 33
Christ's ministry lasting 3 years
The Last Supper with Chalice
The Twelve Disciples
The Sermon on the Mount
The Crucifixion on Skull Hill
References to the Mount of Olives and Fig Tree
The Garden of Gethsemane
Judas hanging himself from a tree
Joseph of Arimathea (supposed uncle of Jesus)

Of course, we are not told anything about the Druidic origins of Judeo-Christianity by the sanctimonious mythmongers whose interpretations serve to undermine the reason of Christians and Jews, and prevent the true foundations of religion from being exposed. The mythmongers, ensconced in Britain and Rome, inverted the true story concerning the origins of religion. Their ideological descendants continue the work of deception. The elements of civilization, they falsely contend, first moved from the Eastern to the Western hemisphere. There can be no sanity in this world, politically or spiritually, until this lie is dashed and the true facts are brought into the light.

Notably, in an Irish version of the gospel of St. Matthew, the phrase “there came wise men from the east” is rendered “the Druids came from the east.” In like manner, in the Old Testament, Exodus vii. II, the “magicians of Egypt” are made “Druids of Egypt" - James Bonwick (Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions)

If we accept the rather unsubstantiated story of the Western migration of the 10 tribes, we read that they left Babylon and, not wanting to return to Jerusalem, they crossed the Caucasus Mountain ranges into Europe. Allegedly, it is for this reason that peoples of the West referred to these visitors as "Caucasians." This, however, was a generic term and had nothing to do with race. As the Israelites moved into Europe, they were allegedly also known as "Sons of Isaac." This term later became pronounced "Isaac's Sons," and later as "Saxons." Therefore, the British-Israelite pseudo-historians tell us that the so-called "Anglo-Saxons" are "Aryan-Israelites" originally from Judea and Palestine. This may be true but, historically speaking, the migration of these so-called Israelites occurred in relatively recent historical times. So much had been going on in previous centuries, when the men who truly and deservedly bore the titles "Israelite" and "Jew" walked the Earth. Modern teachers have chosen to refer to the early epochs as "Mythological Cycles." They dismiss them and concentrate attention on relatively recent historical times and events. There are good reasons why they do so. It is a matter of necessity. It takes a lot of effort to maintain the engines of deception. The truth needs no such maintenance. It remains everlastingly strong and pristine, at least for those who value it.

And the truth is that the so-called "Israelites," those we read about in the Old Testament, were wealthy pharaohs in Egypt. Investigations made in the last decade and a half, into the ancestry of those calling themselves "Jews," have conclusively proven this to have been the case. Modern research has served to uncover the scandalous mythmongering and misuse of terms, titles, and words. Thanks to authors Ahmed Osman, Moustafa Gadalla, and Ralph Ellis, many key historical theories of earlier men of genius (Sigmund Freud, Karl Abrahams, Immanuel Velikovsky, Comyns Beaumont, Conor MacDari, and others) have been confirmed and reinforced. In short, we now know the true identity of the Israelites and Judites - the so-called "Twelve Tribes." We know that once upon a time they were identical with the infamous Hyksos pharaohs whose origins have been a bone of contention among scholars for decades.

The Scythians
The ancient Irish records contain evidence showing that the Celtic or, more correctly, Gaelic Scythians of Europe (namely Fenias Farsa and his descendants) were closely allied with the Egyptian pharaohs of the Delta region, those same Hyksos. These same annals also refer to the descendants of the Scythians who had lived in Egypt as the Milesians, a name taken from their chieftain Mile. The vast majority of the world's historians prefer to deal with the Milesian presence in Spain, and avoid dealing with the historical anecdotes that speak of a sojourn in the land of the Nile. However, when the dots are connected, a fascinating story comes to light, not only concerning the connections between ancient lands and peoples, but concerning the origins of the age old technocracy of power.

In our work on the Irish origins of civilization, we show that the Scythians were very likely the same people referred to by Egyptologists as the "Hyksos" kings of Egypt. If we are correct, and if there was indeed a connection, then we have, from the annals themselves, strong confirmation of the West to East movement of the elements of civilization. Equally importantly, we can offer stronger and more logical accounts for the word "Saxon," and why some have claimed the Saxons to have been Israelites. The word Saxon is believed by some investigators to come from Saca (or Saka or Sakai) denoting "Scythian." And this word allegedly also gives us the name Isaac. According to the Bible, Isaac was the son of Abraham who was,  along with his wife Sarah, the first "Israelite" to enter the land of Egypt.

The name Isaac appears to indicate that Abraham and his descendants were Scythians. And we think this to be most likely, although we suggest caution when consulting the official accounts concerning this prophet and his spurious emigration.

In any case, the etymology suggests that the Scythians were Hyksos, referred to in the Old Testament as the Israelites and, furthermore, that the so-called "Anglo-Saxons" were descendants of the same Scythian-Hyksos-Israelites. The implications of this are far-reaching.

There can be no doubt that the Gaelic Scythians were in Egypt as the ancient Irish records state. Their capital near Galilee (named after the Gals, or Gaels), called Scythopolis, has long been excavated by archaeologists. And we can be sure that other settlements existed in the region, as well as in the Nile Delta area. Therefore, since the Scythians and so-called "Israelites" (the Hyksos of Egypt) were so intimately connected, it is quite correct to refer to Saxons of the Western lands as "Israelites," although not for the reasons given by orthodox Jews, Christians, and British-Israelites, who persist believing the Israelites to have been a ragged, but god-inspired, underclass cruelly oppressed by despotic Egyptian slave masters. Personally, we believe the Scythians were connected not only to the Hyksos but also to the Iranians and to the so-called Amorites of Mesopotamia.

The Celtic-Scythian settlement of Scythopolis, a stone-throw from Jerusalem

The Scythians traveled as far East as India and China. The Jats of Northern India may be an offshoot of the Scythian migrants. The Yuezhi of China may also be descended from the Scythian visitors. One of the names for the Eastern branch of the Scythians was Getes, or Gets, connoting "Goat." (The Swedish word for goat is get). These Gets are very likely the same people as the Mesopotamian Guts or Guteans, who founded one of the most powerful ancient dynasties in the region. Although the following quoted researcher erroneously imagines the migrations to have be from the Eastern to the Western hemisphere, his analysis in other respects is most insightful. It reveals the facts that have been kept from us for centuries by complicit historians who would rather we not know the truth about the origin, nature, and movement of the ancient races of the world:

In a rather bold paragraph in their recent book on The Tarim Mummies, James P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair suggest that there may have been more cohesion among these nomads than was previously believed. They wrote in the following paragraph regarding the Yuezhi nomads near the border of China:

Da (Greater) Yuezhi or in the earlier pronunciation d'ad-ngiwat-tieg, has been seen to equate with the Massagetae who occupied the oases and steppelands of West Central Asia in the time of Herodotus; here Massa renders an Iranian word for "Great," hence "Great Getae." ...Others have seen in this word an attempt to capture in Chinese the name of a tribe that is rendered in Greek as the Iatioi who are recorded in Ptolemy's geography. The original pronunciation has been reconstructed as gwat-ti or got-ti or gut-si, which opens up distant lexical similarities with the Goths (the German tribes of northern and eastern Europe), the Getae (the Dacian, i.e., Balkan, tribes northwest of the Black Sea), the Guti (a people on the borderlands of Mesopotamia), the Kusha (our Kushans), the Gushi (a people mentioned in Han texts and regarded as brigands along with the peoples of Kroran), or a combination of some but not all of the above (Mallory and Mair 2000, 98-99).

...comparison of like-sounding tribal names, although merely a paragraph in length, could potentially generate volumes of discussion and can help us understand more definitively the nature of the barbarian invasions in ancient Rome, the powerful Kushan Empire in India, the possible origins of the Guti people, the Guti kings of Mesopotamia, and the similarity between the Goths, Getae, and the Yuezhi. Moreover, this opens up the possibility that at least some of the people termed "Scythians" were a single tribe -- the Getae. So could there have been a nation of nomads who knew themselves as Gets, Gats, Guts, or Yuts?

This is not the first time that the suggestion has been offered that the Yuezhi could be related to Goths. In his Tableaux Historiques De L'Asia, Julius Von Klaproth (1783-1835) wrote:

The name of Yueti or Yut recalls that of Yuts or Goths, which came to Europe: it would be very possible that the Yutes who arrived in Scandinavia with Odin, are the same people who three centuries before our era, still inhabited the area...northwest of the Chinese Kansu province. This would suppose the emigration of the Goths of Central Asia after that of the other Germanic peoples.

This identification between the Yuezhi and the Goths by Klaproth suggests that the tribes involved in the movement of nomads into Roman territory may have been greater than modern scholarship holds. Could it be that the Goths, along with the Alans, were pushed into Europe under pressure from the Huns? Moreover, could these same tribes be found in the Indian and Persian frontiers? The South Asian Jats are one such group that may lead us in the proper direction, as their settlement corresponds geographically with the Indo-Scythian settlement on the Indian subcontinent. Perhaps by examining the customs and characteristics of this living population we can better understand the role the Getae played in history - Sundeep S. Jhutti (The Getes)

Scythians and Atonists
Most importantly, we believe these widespread Scythians were at one time close allies of the Atonists and that they may even have been the original Atonists of Egypt. Since Atonism is the root of Judeo-Christianity, and because it is also the root of Freemasonry, it does not surprise us to see Masonic orders such as the Knights Templar employing symbolism connoting the ancient Scythians. The very insignia of the Templars, which depicts two knights riding a single steed, commemorates, in our estimation, the Scythian-Hyksos, or Scythian-Atonist, blood bond. The so-called Double Cross of Lorraine appear to us to be another prominent Masonic emblem connoting the same tryst.

Above: The seal of the Knights Templar. Two knights riding a single steed. Although many ridiculous explanations regarding this strange symbol have been proffered forth through the years, we believe the emblem represents the age old Scythian-Hyksos, or Scythian-Atonist alliance, that is the ancient confederation of Gaelic "Celts" from Europe with Egyptians, as mentioned in early Irish chronicles. The horse was a seminal symbol for the Scythians. If the Scythians were the Hyksos, or allied with them, then they were Atonists. After entering Egypt as welcome scholars and mercenaries, they married in with the families of prominent Egyptians, such as Pharaoh Akhenaton. This much is confirmed by the Irish annals. After the removal and exile of the demented tyrant Akhenaton, the Atonists moved westward toward ancestral habitats. The coming of the Atonists to Spain and Ireland was recorded in histories dealing with the "Milesian" invasion of Ireland dated to approximately 600 BC. The Milesians were referred to as Gaels, which traditionally meant they were "Celts." Their ancestors in Ireland were the Megalithic Druids who were, in our estimation, close allies of the Egyptian Amenists. This made the Druids rivals to the Atonists or Milesians. And this accounts for why we read of the antipathy that quickly lead to all out war between the Druids (Megalithic Irish) and the Milesians. (See The Irish Origins of Civilization, Vol. 1, for more on this subject; the chapter entitled: The Coming of the Milesians or Atonists). The Tuatha de Danann were the ancient inhabitants of Ireland who were forced to give way to the Gaels and to become the gods of Celtic imagination, the lords of the subterranean world. There is no doubt that the name Tuatha de Danann was given to the pre-Celtic inhabitants of Ireland and that it must have been they who built the megaliths. Their uncertain origins combined with their curious stone constructions give them a cloak of mystery...If the Celts drove out the megalithic peoples of Ireland, there is no reason why the same thing should not have happened on the continent, where much of the region occupied by the Celts still bears traces of megalithic monuments – Jean Markale (The Celts)   click image for more info   The Cross of Lorraine. This emblem, also referred to as the Double Cross, is clearly two crosses merged as one. We believe it connotes the alliance between ancient Atonists, preserved to the present day by the world's royal dynasties, and major secret societies. Atonism is the root of Judeo-Christianity. The trefoil motifs are a throwback to Druidry.

Coat of Arms bearing Druidic oak leaves (13 on each side), Masonic checkerboard, Lions' heads, Druidic 3 bars, a Double-Cross of Lorraine, a Atonist Phoenix, and Atonist Crown with pyramids. The fact that the design is embraced by Irish Oak Leaves is most suggestive.

 

What the Artists Reveal

 

Baptism was not known among the so-called Jews. The artist depicts the dove, the river, and the great tree. He knows what most Christians are not meant to know about their all too pagan religion. “The groves were God’s first temples,” says Bryant. The groves, too, were among man’s first gods...Not only the Druids of Britain, but the Greeks, and the Semitic races of Asia were worshipers of trees. The giant oaks and the symmetrical evergreens were gods...”The worship of trees,” says Soury, “only disappeared in Syria at a very late date...The largest and tallest trees, and the evergreen ones, were adored as gods – John E. Remsberg (The Christ)

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Christ with solar halo, and book. He makes the sign of the goat. The raised two fingers was originally meant to symbolize the "horned one." This did not signify something evil. It simply denoted the great stag god, Herne. The very word god, comes from the word gott, or goat. Place names such as Cadiz, Aegean, Golgotha, and Giza, mean "Place of the Goats" or more correctly "Goths," that is the Arya from the West. Jesus was based on the Gothic or Irish Iesa (Esa).

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The Adoration, by Domenico Ghirlandaio. The figure of the Virgin Mary represents the night sky. This particular artist suggests the round of the zodiac by the circular hem of the Madonna’s cloak. Christ is the sun born into the sign of Virgo, the Virgin. Joseph, the ”Carpenter” looks up toward the heavens. He is contemplating the signs, and he represents the ancient gnosis suppressed by the Church of Rome. The three animals present represent signs of the zodiac. The bull represents Taurus (and the Amenists and Druids), the ass represents Cancer; the lamb represents Aries (and the Atonists). The arched portal on the left of the canvas cryptically signifies Druidism. The word druid means "doorway" or "portal." It gives our modern "door." Indeed, this is what the words pope and cardinal also mean. The fact that one of the three visitors holds a lamb indicates that they are members of the Solar Cult, and probably Atonists. The blatant Romanesque motifs (of archway, Corinthian pillars, and marble altar) were added by the artist to signify where the Bible story depicted was truly composed. It was not in Judea or Galilee.

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Many Medieval and Renaissance paintings depicting events from the scriptures feature a mount or high place in the background. This artist has chosen to place his mount very centrally on his canvas. This motif is purely Druidic, as is the motif of the sacred garden or, more correctly, grove.

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This artist has placed the luminaries (the sun and moon) on either side of the crucifix. This brings out the Astro-Theological elements in the story of the crucifixion. Could the four attendees at the foot of the cross then represent the four cardinal points of the zodiac? Could the strange letters above Christ's head be the first letters for Iammim, Nour, Ruach, and Ibeshah, or Fire, Water, Air, and Earth? Is Jesus the fifth element? For more on this subject, see our book Astro-Theology and Sidereal Mythology

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The Crucifixion, by Signorelli. A red-haired Mary Magdalene mourns at the foot of the cross on Skull Hill. A mound and and a portal stand in the background. A skull lies at the foot of the cross. The skull denotes the Templars, Cistercians, and Culdeans, and hints to the viewer that the painting contains esoteric motifs understandable only to those initiated into the Mysteries. The red hair of Mary connotes her Western origins and the Western origins of the Biblical lore concerning this event. Red hair was the distinguishing mark of the Scythians and the Merovingians. The Bible's convoluted texts were composed by scribes in the pay of the Merovingians and Templars, that is of the Atonists.

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The Adoration of the Shepherds, by Andres Mantegna. Here are all the major Druidic (and Amenist) elements. The triform tree in the background; the phallic standing stone behind the Madonna's head such as can be found in Ireland; the sacred mound behind the tree; the tree of life to the left of the Madonna; and the portal.

Hiram Abiff (Builder of Solomon's Temple)

Druidism itself was known in ancient Britain as "Y Maen" - the stone religion, or "The Stone Kingdom." Let us also remember that Zion also means "Stone;" Mount Zion is "the mount of stone" - Fredrick Haberman

Who or What was Hiram?

As we have mentioned above, the scriptures are replete with Druidic leitmotifs. If anything makes such texts "holy," it is the plagiarized elements belonging to the noble Elders of old. Naturally, without a study of how the Druidic symbolic tropes were cannibalized and finally incorporated into the Christian canon, one is sure to misunderstand our theory concerning the dark origins of Judeo-Christianity and Masonry. However, in our opinion, the symbolism serves to tell the tale and to expose the level of perfidy of these wholly corrupt institutions. One Druidic trope concerns the famous Old Testament character referred to as Hiram Abiff (from Abi, meaning "Master," "Father," or "Elder"). This character also plays a very prominent role in Freemasonry.

He has been accepted by Jews, Christians, and Masons, as one of their most illustrious spiritual ancestors. Allegedly, he was the builder of the Temple of Solomon.

As to so-called Druidical monuments, no argument can be drawn thence, as to the primary seat of this mysticism, since they are to be seen nearly all over the world – James Bonwick (Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions, 1894)

Newgrange (in Ireland) is the oldest scientific instrument in the world still functioning. It predates Stonehenge and the Pyramids, and stands as one of the world’s most ancient monuments. It is quite likely it will still be functioning when our own scientific instruments have turned to dust – Martin Brennan (Lecture on Newgrange Tumulus)

Of course, we refute the idea that such a temple existed, at least as the Testaments portray it. We are more inclined to agree with those investigators who speculate the temple to have been the great pyramid at Giza. We stress, however, that the term "Solomon" was the title for  highest class of solar priests, plural. It was not a personal name and (like Moses, David, Joshua, and Jesus, etc) it was bestowed on several individuals. It denoted both the physical sun and spiritual enlightenment. It denoted men who were illumined or illustrious. And so, Astro-Theologically speaking, the Temple of Solomon, was simply the zodiac, the place of "many mansions." We believe the mythmongers used many cover terms for the zodiac. Here are a few that were used as references to the heavenly temple:

Abode of the Most High Tabernacle New Jerusalem Nazareth Bethlehem Hall of Judges Kingdom of God Tent of God Flocks by Night Aeons / Ages Seasons

Mansions Citadel 7 Churches Mount of Olives Mount of Glory City of David Gates Celestial City Throne of the Elect Mount Zion

Seat of Judgment Wilderness Bottomless Pit Heaven or Hell Grotto Oracle Tomb Labyrinth

If the Temple was so spectacular and so wealthy, why did Herodotus not bother to go there? Why did the knowledge seeking Alexander the Great when in the area, not bother to go there, even for the plunder? - Ernest Busenbark (Symbols, Sex and the Stars)

Clearly, Hiram was the sun and not an individual per se. Additionally, the term was most probably used as a title for those chief astrologers and astronomers whose temple was the heavenly zodiac. Earthly shrines and temples were geographically and geometrically based upon the various constellations and luminaries in the zodiac, and so it is not at all far-fetched to suppose the Temple of Solomon to be that which cosmic one which encircled the heavens above men's heads, and in which the "gods" resided. Elements found in the story of the life and death of Hiram lead us to believe the story to be largely Astro-Theological in nature.

...this whole affair of which we speak and preach, and which is called Gospel, has no reference at all to any person that ever existed, or events that ever occurred upon earth, but it is astronomical – Rev. Robert Taylor (The Devil’s Pulpit)

…King of Heaven, prince of Creation, sun of the eastern sky who appeared both to the dead in Hades and to the mortals upon earth he, the only true Helios, arose for us out of the highest summits of Heaven - Melito of Sardis (Second Century Theologian)

There is also evidence indicating that the term "Hiram" was used by the Bible's mythmongers to obliquely refer to the Druids or, more specifically, to their highest degreed Elder, the grand master of building, navigation, astronomy, language, and magic. It is acknowledged by historians and Masonic writers that Hiram was of the "Phoenician" race. And since the Phoenicians (or more correctly the Arcadians) were Elders from the British Isles, it follows that Hiram the Elder, if he existed, was a member of the Ayra. It implies, more correctly, that "Hiram Abi" was yet another title referring to the chief among the Arya or Druids. Given the superb temples which fill Egypt, most of it erected by Amenists, we can certainly conclude that there was, among the people and their leaders, the deepest awe and respect for the master builders.

The Druids taught the existence of one god, to whom they gave a name "Be' al," which Celtic antiquaries tell us means "the life of everything," or "the source of all beings," and which seems to have affinity with the Phoenician Baal. What renders this affinity more striking is that the Druids as well as the Phoenicians identified this, their supreme deity, with the Sun - Thomas Bulfinch (Bulfinch's Mythology, Chapter XLI)

The Druids had also their high places, which were large stones or piles of stones on the summits of hills. These were called Cairns, and were used in the worship of the deity under the symbol of the sun - ibid

...the Roman writers admit that "they paid much attention to the order and laws of nature, and investigated and taught to the youth under their charge many things concerning the stars and their motions, the size of the world and the lands, and concerning the might and power of the immortal gods - ibid

…in the very oldest monuments of the Druids, we have the circle of stones, in the number 12, the signs in the circle - signs of the zodiacal circle, with the arch of heaven for the cupola; and, in fact, the divisions of the heavens marked in a great variety of ways - Godfrey Higgins (Anacalypsis)

The Kelts placed pillars on the tops of their hills, many of which are still visible. The pillars were dedicated to the Sun-god, Bal, or Bel, identical with Hu or Huan of Wales, and with Aedh...Many upright stones, pillars and uncut monoliths are to be seen in India....Bringing the stone, often from a great distance, sometimes from the Himalayas, no doubt on account of their great sanctity....The stones are usually roughly cut, like those which one sees so frequently standing in fields in Wales and Cornwall - Dorothea Chaplain (Matter, Myth, and Spirit or Keltic and Hindu Links)

In short, if a Hiram existed, he was, given the accounts about him, certainly one of these four:

An Israelite
A Phoenician
A Scythian
A Druid

In every case (given the researches of this author, and of others in the last decade and a half) his ancestry would have been Irish. In every case he would be one of the Arya.

Our contention is strengthened by Philip Gardiner, author of the book Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon’s Temple Revealed. In Gardiner's work we find intriguing facts about Hiram and the Irish (or Aryan) connection. The most intriguing reference concerns Hiram and the symbol of the serpent. The serpent was the symbol of the ancient Dragon Court, and of the Irish Druids (Adders, Naddreds, Pendragons, etc). It also served as the universal symbol for wisdom and royalty.

There are more real links between Hiram and the serpent. For instance, we noted above that he was of the Tribe of Naphtali. The standard of the Tribe of Naphtali, according to Jewish tradition, is a serpent or basilisk and this could have come from Egyptian origins, as Jewish tradition states that Naphtali was the brother of Joseph, chosen to represent the family to Pharaoh – Philip Gardiner (Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon’s Temple Revealed)

…Hiram is said to be a son of the Tribe of Dan and even the tribe of Dan had an emblem, which was amazingly also the serpent, this time with a horse – ibid

According to Rabbinical teaching the prefabrication of the Temple was performed by the Shamir, a giant worm or serpent that could cut stones (incidentally worm means serpent). Not dissimilar to Norse and Celtic beliefs where Valhalla and Camelot were built with the fire of the dragon and in China where building is aided by the serpent energy – ibid

This is what the Bible has to say about Hiram Abiff:

And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram my master craftsman, (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skillful men and with the skilful men of my lord David your father – (2 Chronicles 2:13-14)

Hiram was referred to as a "widow's son." This anecdote refers to the heavens. In this case, Hiram would be the sun and the widow, his mother, would be Nuith or even Isis, the queen of heaven. Additionally, the term "widow" can refer to the Irish goddess Eri, and in this case it would strengthen our theory of the Irish symbolism that has been employed in the story of Hiram Abiff.

Hiram is described in the Book of Chronicles as - the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan. Christians will say this refers to the Israelite Tribe of Dan. But is there something more to this term? Was there significance to the Tribe of Dan having a serpent as their clan symbol? There certainly is. The significance has to do with the traditions of Druidism. Not only are the names of the twelve so-called Tribes of Israel Irish names, but the various emblems of the tribes are Druidic. The root Dan (and related roots such as Don, Dona, Adon, and Dun, etc) can be found throughout the world. It is particularly conspicuous in regions frequented by Celts. It originates with Danu, a prehistoric Irish deity and one of the most prominent goddesses known. The name can also be rendered Anu, or Ana. In this form the name turns up among the Babylonians and Sumerians. The name connotes the heavens. This is one reason why the serpent was a symbol for the Danites. The serpent is Draco of the zodiac. Draco figuratively guards the northernmost stars, those considered most sacred to ancient astrologers. The great cosmic serpent was a symbol for the female. The Egyptian hieroglyph denoting woman was a serpent. In light of this, there can be little doubt that the Danites referred to as Israelites were really astrologers, that is Arya.

Hiram is said to have hailed from the great Phoenician city of Tyre. But this city bears an Irish name. Tyre and Tara both derive from the name of Eri, and Eri's name is the origin of the name "Ireland." She is the Hera of the Greeks, and her name is still preserved in words such as Terra, and Terrestrial, meaning "Earth."

Hiram has also been associated with the god Osiris. This is due to many similarities between their myths. Here is a list of the similarities between the accounts of the lives of Hiram Abiff and the god Osiris:

Both went to foreign lands to share their knowledge of arts and sciences

In both legends there is a precious thing possessed: Hiram has the secret word; Osiris has the kingdom

In both legends there is a wicked conspiracy by evil men to seize the precious thing

In both legends there is a struggle and a murder of the virtuous leader

Both are murdered by their brothers (Osiris by Typhon; Hiram by Jubelum, his brother Mason)

Both bodies are buried hastily, with the intention of a later, deliberate burial

Locations of the bodies are both marked by Acacia at the head

In both legends, there are two separate searches for the bodies

In both legends there is a loss of something precious: in Hiram's death, the secret word is lost; in Osiris' death, the phallus is lost

In both there is a substitution for the precious thing that has been lost; concerning Hiram it is the substitute for the secret word; concerning Osiris it is the substitute phallus.

• (Thanks to http://watch.pair.com/symbol.html#hiram)

The word Osiris derives from the Egyptian word Ausares, which can be more correctly rendered Aus Ari. In this instance we see the all important phoneme ARE or ARI. The worship of Osiris (god of the Amenists and god of the Underworld) was, we believe, transported to Egypt from Ireland during prehistoric times. The similarities between Osiris and the Irish fertility gods is uncanny.

From the midst of chaos was born Osiris, and at his birth a voice was heard proclaiming −"The ruler of all the earth is born"...Osiris traveled over the whole world, and civilized its inhabitants, and taught them the art of agriculture. But on his return to Egypt the jealous Typhon laid a stratagem for him, and in the midst of a banquet had him shut up in a chest which exactly fitted his body. He was nailed down in his prison, which cast into the Nile floated down to the sea - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis, or Mysteries of the Druids, 1861)

Since vowels were absent in most ancient writings (Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, etc) Hiram can be rendered HRM. This, in turn, can be re-rendered HERMES.

Herne. The Irish Hermes, Stag horned keeper of secrets, and guardian of the gates to the spirit world. The Hindu Shiva (Pashupati) is also a variant of the Irish Herne.

In this permutation, the term refers to secret knowledge, and to the Hermetic Tradition. The name of Hermes, however, is a derivation of the Irish Herne. Herne, also known as Cernunnos, Nikor, or as the Green Man, was the stag-horned forest god. He was seen depicted (like Orpheus and Krishna) sitting tranquilly among the forest animals. Herne was also depicted holding a circlet in one hand and a serpent in another. (As we saw above, the serpent features prominently in the story of Hiram Abiff). The circlet and serpent motif connotes the number 10, now known as ten. When the Greek letters of the name Hermes are added, we get 343, which equals 10. If the name Hiram connotes the mysteries of the number ten, then Abiff, meaning Father or Elder, simply implies that the number ten was considered the "Father Number." Indeed, the ancient architects and geometrists, of Egypt, Greece, and Ireland, held the number in high esteem. Ten was a most sacred number.

Primordial gods (such as Atum Ra) and archetypal figures (such as Adam) were esoterically associated with the number 10. In English numerology, the letters of ATUM (1, 2, 3, 4) come to 10. This is the same for the letters of the word ADAM (1, 4, 1, 4). The human hands figuratively denote 1414 - that is one thumb and four fingers, on each hand - ergo 1414 (or 10). Ergo, the numerological testament declares each man to be an Adam.

The Druids are men of penetrating and subtle spirit, and acquired the highest renown by their speculations, which were at once subtle and profound. Both Caesar and Mela plainly intimate that they were conversant with most sublime speculations in geometry and in measuring the magnitude of the earth - Ammianus Marscellus (Historian 350 AD)

In their book entitled The Hiram Key, Masonic authors Christopher Lomas and Robert Lomas contend that Hiram Abiff was Pharaoh Seqenenre Tao II, of Egypt's 17th dynasty. (Click here for more on this pharaoh).

Jacques de Molay. Grand Master of the French Knights Templar during the thirteenth century. He was allegedly condemned to death as a heretic by King Philip IV. Like most of the Templar nobility, he had visited England and was probably educated by Culdean Monks from Ireland. Masonic lore tells us that he bore the title Hiram Abiff, which lends credence to our contention that (like David and Solomon, etc) Hiram Abiff was indeed a title and never a personal name.

Additional Symbolic Examples
 

The god Mercury, who was associated with the language and the arts of communication, was originally the Irish god known as Ogma, the son of the supreme Irish goddess Brigid. Mercury was the Roman rendition of the Hellenistic Hermes, who was based on Thoth of the Egyptians, and Herne of the Irish. Thoth's name can also be rendered as Tut or Taut, and his name is close to the English word truth. Words such as tote (to calculate) taught, throat, talk, and thought, etc, come from this god's name.

The sacred Ogham alphabet of the Druids

Herne, also known as Cernunnos or Nikor, was the forest god of the ancient Druids. Herne is also a prototype of the Hindu Shiva (or Pashupati).

Ogma's name is pronounced auma, or as a long-sounding aum. This is close to the Sanskrit sacred phoneme AUM. One of Ogma's titles was "the Honey Mouth." He was also the god of strength.  To this day the ancient Irish alphabet is known as the Ogham. Versions of the Ogham have been found as far off as America and Bosnia, although the evidence has been carefully covered-up.

They worship chiefly the god Mercury; of him there are many symbols, and they regard him as the inventor of all the arts, as the guide of travelers, and as possessing great influence over bargains and commerce. After him they worship Apollo and Mars, Jupiter and Minerva. About these they hold much the same beliefs as other nations. Apollo heals diseases, Minerva teaches the elements of industry and the arts, Jupiter rules over the heavens, Mars directs war...All the Gauls assert that they are descended from Dispater, their progenitor - Julius Caesar (on the religion of the Irish and Druids, from: de Bell. Gall. vi. 17, 18)

The Kabala
The sacred alphabet, together with the veneration of the sacred tree, reached the Orient and, after adaptation, the alphabet became the foundation of the Phoenician and Hebrew scripts. Hebrew is related to Gaelic, and is the "lost" alphabet of the Egyptians. It possessed 22 letters and 5 vowels. These secrets, concerning the magical operations of these letters, was transmitted in the mystery schools of old. Today, it has been discovered that these 22 letters denote the 22 pathways on the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The Kabala, and its related disciplines, comes not from the Israelites but from the Druids. It was they who would have used this pagan image (of a tree) and who would have likened the journey of mental and spiritual enlightenment to the paths or branches of a tree. This symbolism does not originate with those races taking the credit for it today. Top Jewish rabbis and scholars have deftly concealed their own puzzlement concerning the Kabala and why it is part of their rabbinical canon. They take credit for it and pretend that they understand it, but they do not know its origins or how it really came into their possession. It did so from their association with the Egyptian Solar Cult of Aton.

Like many Egyptian idioms and teachings the Kabala was absorbed by association. It is not a creation of the Old Testament Jews. Researcher Kieran Barry (although he not concerned with the Irish or the Druids) offers compelling evidence to show that the Kabala was known to the Greeks before it was known to the Jews. What he does not realize is that it came to the Greeks by way of the Hermetic colleges themselves founded upon Druidic mystery traditions. Of all the modern researchers into this field, it was Robert Graves, Godfrey Higgins, Albert Churchward, and the great Gerald Massey, who understood the truth presented here, concerning the Irish origins of the Kabala, the Tree of Life, and the sacred alphabets. The image of the living, organic Tree of Life was a pagan symbol that does not derive from the Levitical tradition.

It was a most ancient motif of ancient Caucasian tribes and it appears in the Scandinavian Viking tradition as Yggdrasil, the cosmic tree that has its roots in the underworld and its branches in the heavens, and which is demarked by 7 major stages, in a similar way as the chakra system. Around Yggdrasil coils the serpent, another symbol employed largely by the Irish and the Egyptians.

...we can see that the greater number of the peculiar features of this history existed in Egypt--the tree of life and knowledge, the serpent of Paradise, Eve thinking of appropriating divinity to herself, and in short Adam himself, are all there - M. Lefébure

One is filled with admiration, on penetrating into the Sanctuary of the Kabalah, at seeing a doctrine so logical, so simple, and at the same time so absolute. The necessary union of ideas and signs, the consecration of the most fundamental realities by the primitive characters; the Trinity of Words, Letters, and Numbers; a philosophy simple as the alphabet, profound and infinite as the Word; theorems more complete and luminous than those of Pythagoras; a theology summed up by counting on one's fingers; an Infinite which can be held in the hollow of an infant's hand; ten ciphers and twenty-two letters, a triangle, a square, and a circle - these are all the elements of the Kabalah. These are the elementary principles of the written Word, reflection of that spoken Word that created the world! - Albert Pike (Morals and Dogma)

The motif of the Tree of Life was known to the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Irish Magi. The great hero Odin, like Christ, ritually hung upon a great tree in order to understand the mysteries of life. The tree became a symbol of the royal couple, the king and queen, who were considered agents of the gods. On the plagiarization of ancient gnosis, Professor. L. A. Waddell wrote:

...the Hebrew rabbis who composed Genesis with its Garden of Eden and Creation of Man story, had manifestly helped themselves to the floating traditional history in late Babylon in respect to the oldest kings known to the ancient world, namely the kings of the First Aryan Dynasty. But not understanding it, they had travestied the historical facts and the noble character of the great King "Adam," by making "Adam" to be the first lowly "created" man, instead of the first man and superman - (Makers of Civilization in Race and History)

The Number Three
The number 3 was extremely important in the Shamanic tradition because it represented the harmonious median between conflicting polarities, such as ignorance and knowledge, or folly and wisdom, etc. Three represented the agents of harmony. The Druids understood that nature did not possess such vexatious dichotomies, but that the minds of men most certainly did. Duality was a phenomenon of consciousness, not of nature, even though a fragmented psyche may erroneously project that falsity, and then believe it to be the case.

In Welsh the word for three is tri, and that is the same in Sanskrit. The Irish Gaelic word for Trinity is Triquetra, which is similar to the Sanskrit word Trikuta, which means "Three Peaks." In Egypt, the hieroglyphic depicting three peaks or hills signified "foreigners," or travelers from distant lands.

Druidic Ireland was divided according to the hemispheres of consciousness. There were four main counties, with one administrative center making the fifth sacred province. This province was called Mide, (or Meath) which meant the middle place. The capital city Tara was situated there, as well as the great astronomical megaliths (Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and other impressive geomantic sites). The Egyptian supreme goddess of balance and harmony was called Maat, and this word is of Gaelic origin. Ma'at is the great mother, the same type as Danu or Brigit. Her name meant "straight," "true," or "just." The hieroglyph denoting Ma'at also signified the mathematical formula one half (1 divided by 2).

The power of the Magi lay in their understanding and application of the properties of the Third Principle. Iesa, the third aspect of the Druidic Trinity, was their most venerated god. Iesa was the prototype of Jesus, and can also be linked to the Hindu god Shiva - Lord of deconstruction and renewal. This Third Principle turns up in the Christian canon as the Holy Spirit, the symbol of which is the dove.

...among the whole of them three classes more especially are held in distinguished veneration, the Bards, the Ovates, and the Druids. The Bards are chanters and poets. The Ovates are…physiologists. The Druids, in addition to physiology, practice ethic philosophy. They are deemed to be most upright, and, in consequence, to them are committed both public and private controversies, in as much that on some occasions they decide on battles and stop the combatants on the eve of engaging. These and others say that souls are immortal, and that the world is so too; yet that ultimately fire and water will prevail - Strabo (First Century Greek historian and geographer)

We find the archetype of threeness expressed throughout the esoteric Kabalistic doctrine. Mystery school traditions such as Kabalism were based on the teachings of the Druid Elders. Druidic colleges employed tripartite divisions. The very Druidic Order was subdivided into three parts. And the Druidic Trinity(Bel, Taranis, Esus) was surely the archetype upon which all others were based.

Ancient Egyptian religion had from the earliest times displayed a natural inclination to the arrangement of its gods in groupings of threes, or "triads." Following the model of Osiris - Isis - Horus, the triad later took on a "familial" pattern of father-mother-child, and several cities worshipped their own particular variations on theme - Nicholas Reeves

Hebrew theology was divided into three distinct parts. The first was the law, the second was the soul of the law, and the third was the soul of the soul of the law. The law was taught to all the children of Israel; the Mishna, or the soul of the law, was revealed to the Rabbis and teachers; but the Qabalah, the soul of the soul of the law, was cunningly concealed, and only the highest initiates among the Jews were instructed in its secret principles - Manly Palmer Hall (The Secret Teachings of All Ages)

More Esoteric Symbolism

Left - Irish figure dug up from under a tree. Figure has characteristically crossed arms, as are common in Egyptian images Right - Similar statuette with "Buddhic" mudra Christian monks successfully saw to it that such icons were destroyed.

...In my Celtic Druids I have shewn that the worship of Buddha is everywhere to be found - in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Hu, the great God of the Welsh, is called Buddwas; and they call their God Budd, the God of victory, the king who rises in light and ascends the sky - Godfrey Higgins (Anacalypsis)

Numerous analogies and correspondences with India are to be found in the Celtic and Celto-Iberian religion, which was familiar with the idea of reincarnation, a vegetarian diet, the tree cult and the swastika, a symbol that is found even today on the door-posts of Basque farmhouses. In the Musee Borely at Marseille there are two sitting stone figures, presumably cult idols, dated as originating in the second century BC...Although these figures are headless and believed by scholars to be Celto-Iberian gods, yet they are astonishingly similar to early Buddhist works of art, to bodhisattva sculptures characteristically sitting in the lotus position, with the brahmanic cord over the shoulder and bangles around the neck and upper arms and hands is also reminiscent of the mudras (gestures) in statues of the Buddha - Gruber and Kersten (The Original Jesus)

The Hierophant - card 5 of the Tarot. Despite the garb the image connotes the Druidic Priesthood that was subdivided into three schools

An examination of the Major Arcana's 5th card - The Hierophant - reveals that the central figure, a pope-like initiator, holds in his hand a wand with three horizontal bars. This strange non-Christian motif is of Druidic origins. It represents the three divisions of the Druidic Order. This fifth Arcanum is an oblique reference to the original Solar Church - the disseminator of sacred knowledge to the world. Subsequently, the Christian mythographers incorporated the number three, in their pontiff's tiara, and in the architectural layout of their churches and cathedrals, etc. And of course, it was incorporated into dogma as heaven, purgatory and hell, and in the sublime, but rather obscure trinity of God, the Son, and Holy Ghost. The penchant for arranging and dividing according to the trinity, was very conspicuous among the Egyptians, who had learned of it from the Druids.

The suits of the ancient Tarot (as well as of regular playing cards) are based on the four sacred treasures of the ancient Irish. These four august treasures which are the prototypes of the suits are the Wand or Lance of Lugh (the Sun King), the Sword of Nuada (the High King), the Stone of Manannan Mac Lir (God of the Sea), and the Cauldron of the Dagda (the All-Father).

Sir Thomas More wearing the "Collar of Esses" (Iesa). Note the Celtic triskellion and serpentine "S" motifs. A ceremonial undergarment worn by the Egyptian solar priesthood was suggestively known as the "Essen" breastplate
 

Into this Cauldron of Plenty dead heroes could be placed to be given new life, and from it all manner of dead things could be renewed. It provided food during times of famine and was also used for divination purposes. It is this Cauldron of the Druids which became the prototype of the so-called Gnostic "Holy Grail," the sacred chalice believed to contain to the "blood" of the dying savior Jesus Christ. Of course, we understand that the motifs of the grail chalice, as well as that of the dying savior, are of Druidic origins. It was not Jesus' blood that the cauldron or chalice contained, but that of Esus or Iesa, the dying god of the earth, who gave up his life and who poured his blood and life-force upon the land to ensure the renewal of all life. Esus was the earth, but also the sun. He died to be reborn. As the Sun King, he was the icon for victory, triumph over evil, and the unification of opposites.

• The word Dagda comes from the same root as daddy, meaning "Father." In Hebrew we have dagh, which means fish, but which connotes reptile or serpent. (The Hebrew term probably comes from Gaelic anyway). Another word for fish, is luce, which gives us lucifer. What does this tell us about Christians who have used the fish-symbol as an insignia of their path and for their leader?