APPENDIX VIII - The Trees of Life - the burning bush, serpent symbolism, draco constellation, circumpolar stars, garden of eden, pharmacology, sacred mushroom, john allegro, christianity and the mushroom...

APPENDIX EIGHT

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The Trees of Life

Introduction

I know that I hung on the windy tree, For nine whole nights, Wounded with the spear, dedicated to Odin, Myself to myself - (Song of Odin)

Tree imagery is found in myths and legends throughout the world. Most religious scriptures also employ floral motifs in one context or another. To this day we refer to the pages of a book as "leaves," and when we glance at the pages of history we find everything from fig leaves covering the genitalia of Adam and Eve to laurel-sprig coronets on the heads of Roman Caesars. According to the Bible, even Jesus was given myrrh at this birth and a "crown of thorns" before his execution.

The word bible comes from the ancient pagan city of Byblos, where some of the world's first paper was made and transported. (The word paper comes from "papyrus," a Greek word referring to the sedge plant that grew along the banks of sacred rivers such as the Nile and Euphrates.) Byblos was a Phoenician capital, and the Phoenicians (or Arcadians), because of their expertise with wood and architecture, were commissioned to erect the Temple of Solomon.

Numerous city streets have been named "Oak," "Pine," Redwood," and Cedar," and a plethora of state buildings feature columns representing the trunks of sacred trees. Ironically, while Earth is denuded of its exquisite forests and woods, we find acorns, berries, and oak leaves as decorations on bank notes, flags, medals, corporate logos, and government edifices the world over.

We might ask why? And where does it all come from? Is it all just for decorative purposes, or are there other reasons for its prevalence?


	A rug inside the White House displaying olive leaves and berries. The common notion is that olive sprigs represent peace. However, as we will see later, there is a good reason why the rugs in the "Oval" Office and White House are circular in shape. As we showed in Volume Two, The White and Red Houses of the latter part of Egypt's first dynasty were departments that officiated for the will of pharaoh. The second most important state building in Egypt was the treasury. It was known as Per Hetch, meaning "White House."


	The circular rug inside the Oval Office. In the center of the rug we see the sun with emanating rays. Around the edges we see what appear to be olive sprigs with berries, as also appear on the Seal. This circular design is very important for astrological reasons. We will explore this in greater depth in a later section. Below: Overview of the Oval Office, showing the carpet with solar rays representing the Atonist sun cult. According to the "whistle-blowing" film National Treasure, the President's personal desk - known as the "Resolute Desk" - is the twin of another used by the Queen in Buckingham Palace. The movie also alleges that there was correspondence between Queen Victoria and Scottish Rite Mason Albert Pike. Even if these alarming anecdotes are the result of artistic license, there is enough symbolism around to confirm the British control of the US Federal Government.


	A CEO receiving the Silver Papal Olive Branch as a sign of success and professional matriculation. The olive does not, however, represent peace. It is a Judaic symbol representing the Davids or Atonists, the original pharaonic Judites. As we mentioned in Appendix One, the Pope is a Judite even though he belongs to the Roman Catholic religion, whilst the Queen of England is also a Judite even though she belongs to the Protestant religion. The "opposames" know just how the game is played.


	The Eagle on the one dollar note. Notice the thirteen olive leaves and thirteen red berries. As we have explained in Volume Two, the olive leaves and number thirteen symbolize the Levites or, more correctly, the commanders of the Atonist cult dating back to Pharaoh Akhenaton. Before Akhenaton's time, the word Levi referred to the Irish letter "L" or Luis, which corresponded with the Rowan tree.

The emblem for the Tribe of Judah displays olive leaves and berries. The lion signifies the Judites (Atonists).


	The emblem of the Unites Nations bears an uncanny resemblance to that of the Tribe of Judah. Each sprig of olive (or laurel) contains thirteen leaves. Added together we have twenty six, the sum of the letters of the name of Jehovah. Incidentally, the English and Egyptian words for god - "god" and "neter" - also add to twenty six. (Later we will discover precisely what the circular grid shape on the emblem refers to.)

The hand of Akhenaton holding an olive sprig with leaves and berries. His Atonists have dutifully continued to employ the few symbols he favored, such as the sun, beams of light, lion, and olive branch, etc.

Image of Apollo found at Delphi. Note the sprig of laurel that was one of his main symbols. Apollo was patron of Delphi where the famous serpent or "Pythonic" oracle once existed. Apollo is the origin of the Biblical name Paul. Apollo's name apparently meant "redeemer." It also connotes "apple" and "pole." (Here for more.)

At the famous oracle of Delphi the tree played as intrinsic, if not so predominant, a part as at Dodona, its function being shared by the fissure in the earth and the sacred spring, which testify to the chthonic origin of the oracle, whilst the use of the sacred tripod has been thought to connect it with the class of fire oracles. There is evidence that a laurel -tree grew beside the oracular fissure in Gaia's time, and, according to tradition, the earliest temple of Apollo was a hut of laurel boughs erected by the god's own hands - J. H. Philpot (Trees in Religion and Myth, 1897)

Masonic aprons with olive and laurel sprigs

The Very Reverend Sir Israel Brodie, chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation of the British Commonwealth of Nations (1948–65), seen here wearing the regalia of a Past Grand Chaplain, garb with olive and laurel leaf motifs. Masonic organizations have never minded plagiarizing the symbols and traditions of the Arya. Note the similarity between the emblem on the Masonic apron and the emblem of the United Nations. High level insiders know quite well that there is no significant difference between Judaism and Masonry. They know they are merely branches on the rotten tree of Atonism that grew in the soil of Amenism and Druidism:

There is no symbol more interesting to the masonic student than the Sprig of Acacia, not only on account of its own peculiar import, but also because it introduces us to an extensive and delightful field of research; that, namely, which embraces the symbolism of sacred plants. In all the ancient systems of religion, and Mysteries of initiation, there was always some one plant consecrated, in the minds of the worshippers and participants, by a peculiar symbolism, and therefore held in extraordinary veneration as a sacred emblem. Thus the ivy was used in the Mysteries of Dionysus, the myrtle in those of Ceres, the erica in the Osirian, and the lettuce in the Adonisian - Albert A. Mackey (The Symbolism of Freemasonry)

...in their emblems there is much also that is Druidic, and if Freemasonry did not emanate from Druidism, there can be no doubt that it sprang from the same origin - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

Oak leaves, acorns, and olive sprigs can be found on military regalia the world over.

The Rothschild coat of arms. The arrows and eagle appear on the American one dollar note, while the lion (representing British oligarchic control, and symbolizing the Judites, Levites, or Atonists) appears on innumerable national flags and royal coats of arms. Symbolism explains the "mysteries" that historians and "experts" just can't seem to fathom.

Napoleon Bonaparte as emperor of France. Note the coronet of leaves and other floral motifs on the throne and regal attire. Note also the staff in his left hand bearing a hand with two raised fingers. This is the emblem of the thirty third degree of Freemasonry.

Corinthian, Doric, and Ionic columns represent the trunks of trees. The pilasters on certain columns have floral motifs representing the leaves that grow on tree boughs and branches. We still refer to a division of a government organization as a "branch."

A Masonic tracing board, with three columns (Ionic, Doric, and Corinthian) representing the three sacred trees of the ancient Arya. Notice the design of the pilasters on top of each column. The column on the left has no floral motif or scroll. This column denotes the initiated beginner whose mind is rude and spiritually unawakened. The central column's pilaster bears a scroll, signifying the first stages of the awakening process. The column on the right bears floral motifs, denoting the "flowering" or "blossoming" of the mind. It is also taller than the other two columns. The ladder is a simulacra for the Kabalistic Tree of Life and the journey toward enlightenment.

The sun, moon, and star (Sirius) denote the Cults of the ancient world and their knowledge that begins in the heavens and descends to earth through the minds of initiated and purified men. The black and white squares represent ignorance and knowledge, as well as night and day. The black squares in the center of the image are laid out like the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The two small blocks in the background are known as "Lewis," a term that comes from the Irish letter "L" (Luis) denoting the rowan tree. In Masonic enclaves, "Lewis" is a term used to describe the son of any Freemason. Apparently, the nomenclature denotes Druidic influence. The three columns or pylons turn up in the movie Solomon and Sheba. (See below.)

Stairway to Heaven

Initiated artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, and Nicholas Poussin incorporated Kabalistic and Hermetic leitmotifs in their canvases. In Poussin's painting entitled Grapes from the Promised Land, we see the ladder and tree. Millions of people view paintings of this kind unaware of the secret information incorporated into the designs.

The pillar of the sun (Spring Equinox) and the pillar of the moon (Autumn Equinox). At the base of the solar pillar, we see an upward pointing triangle, known as the "Blade." It denotes male gender and masculine mode of expression. The downward pointing triangle on the base of the lunar pillar represents the feminine polarity. It is known as the "Chalice" which is itself a symbol of the Holy Grail (Sacred Blood), which, in turn, signifies the sophic or sacerdotal female. This entire image represents the northern arch, or the six spring and summer months through which the sun passes before its fall into the dark "underworld" of the winter months. Columns such as these are to be found on innumerable state and educational edifices as well as on porches of temples and Masonic lodges.

The Old and New Testaments

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God – (Revelation 2:7)

The tropes and iconography of Judaism and Christianity are largely based on earlier pagan traditions. The scriptures provide us with ample evidence of this fact. The Old and New Testaments are chock full of pagan references. Specifically, there are many passages that refer to sabean phenomena. In other words, there are many references, both cryptic and obvious, to the stars and luminaries. As we revealed in our book Astro-Theology and Sidereal Mythology, solar symbolism frequently appears in the majority of Biblical chapters.

The Romans ridiculed the Gods of Egypt whom they themselves adored but under different names. They burnt Serapis, Anubis, and Isis; they revered Pluto, Mercury and Ceres. So the Roman Catholics while pretending to abjure the Gods of heathenism have actually adopted many of them - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

The scriptures are also replete with floral symbolism. For example, in the Book of Genesis we hear of three trees. There is the Tree of Life, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the oak under which the prophet Jacob buried the pagan idols previously worshiped by the Jews.

And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem – (Genesis 35:4)

Adam and Eve at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But what does this phrase mean or allude to? Why did god not immediately bestow upon Adam and Eve the ability to discern between good and evil? Furthermore, why a tree and why fruit? Why did these motifs enter into the Christian story of creation? And why did the act of eating a mysterious undefined fruit cause god to act with eternal wrath toward his innocent children? Are we to believe that Adam and Eve were given curiosity before they were given the capacity for obedience, loyalty, and intelligence? Does any father eternally condemn a newborn infant for forgetting one promise? Or was there some other good reason for Adam and Eve's disobedience? Nothing of this sort was found in Egypt before the rise of monotheism:

While the Romans doubted, and the Greeks ridiculed, their gods, the nobler and more primitive Egyptians loved, and were supposed to be loved, by them. The profane and the impure divinities of the Grecian Olympus, the debaucheries of Silenus and of Pan, the fraudulent Mercury, and the unchaste Venus, find no counterpart in the Egyptian pantheon - William Ricketts Cooper (The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt)

The Book of Genesis tells of Eve's temptation by a "serpent." However, the serpent is not referred to as the devil. The term devil does not appear in any passage dealing with the serpent in the garden. The attribution was interpolated at a later date by duplicitous clergymen.

Unbiased researchers who have done their homework know from which cultures and traditions the scribes borrowed the floral and vegetal motifs that appear in their writings. Specifically, the plagiarized symbolism had long been employed in an unadulterated and reverent manner by Egyptian and Irish (Gaelic and Celtic) adepts to signify god and the knowledge transmitted to man by the Creator. In light of this, Christians and Jews should spend time reviewing the tenets of their religions. They should ask probing questions of their priests, pastors, and rabbis, and press them to explain the existence of pagan symbolism in the architecture and holy books. Better still, they should go to the experts who spent their lives uncovering the truth about the origins of religious imagery:

The two trees in the Garden of Eden can be accounted for upon Egyptian ground, but on no other; one being the tree of the pole in the stellar mythos, the other the tree of life or of dawn in the garden eastward. The two typical trees are recognizable as Egyptian in the Book of the Dead. In one chapter (97th) they are called the two divine sycamores of heaven and earth. The sycamore of heaven is identified as the tree of Nut. It stands in the “lake of equipoise,” which is at the celestial pole. The tree of earth is the tree of Hathor and of dawn. Atum-Ra, the solar god, is also described as coming forth from betwixt the two trees...The tree of earth, or Hathor, and the tree of heaven, or Nut, were brought on together and united in the tree of burial for the mummy. Wherever it was possible the Egyptian coffin was made from wood of the sycamore tree, the khat-en-ankhu, or tree of life, so that the dead might be taken in the embrace of the mother of life, who was represented by the tree – Gerald Massey (Ancient Egypt: Light of the World)

Tree symbolism can be found in the Book of Exodus. In chapter three we read about the famous burning bush where God addressed Moses:

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground - (Exodus 3:2-5)

Let's find out where this image of the burning bush comes from, and what it truly alludes to.

The Mushroom Cults

The ancient Israelite religion of Jehovah worship was based largely on the mushroom cult - John Marco Allegro

There are a few intriguing interpretations of the term "burning bush." Some researchers believe the mysterious term refers to mushrooms, or some other hallucinogenic plant once cultivated by priests and holy men. Drinking potions made from the juices, resins, and saps of potent plants allowed human consciousness to expand. Higher senses and centers of awareness opened and the imbiber entered into mental contact with preternatural intelligences often taken for gods. Scholars such as John Marco Allegro explored the manner in which various early Judaic and Christian priesthoods made use of psychotropic, vision-inducing, substances. Allegro's two controversial books on psychotropic rituals in early Judeo-Christianity were ridiculed and suppressed. Apparently, his revelations set off many alarm bells. During an interview, Allegro said:

Thousands of years before Christianity, secret cults arose which worshipped the sacred mushroom — the Amanita Muscaria — which, for various reasons (including its shape and power as a drug) came to be regarded as a symbol of God on earth. When the secrets of the cult had to be written down, it was done in the form of codes hidden in folktales. This is the basic origin of the stories in the New Testament. They are a literary device to spread the rites and rules of mushroom worship to the faithful

Ancient priesthoods were particularly interested in the genus Amanita. As we can see from the following photographs, there are uncanny similarities between the costumes and regalia of the Catholic clergy and the appearance of the Amanita Muscaria mushroom. Allegro's radical theories are not, it seems, without credence after all.

The pallium, or ancient stole of the bishop, is the feminine sign when worn by by a priest in worship - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

The most common Hebrew word for “priest” – kohen —familiar as well-known Jewish surname, comes from a Sumerian title meaning literally, "guardian of semen” - John Marco Allegro

"What a load of old women"

Pope-tops

The following unrealistic painting depicts the coronation of Emperor Constantine. Notice the "umbrella-like" object above Constantine's head.

Bacchus, god of wine and merriment. His chalice contained blood-red wine. Bread is a goddess symbol because it contains seed, yeast, salt, and water.

Some researchers theorize that the "Grail Chalice" is a symbol of the sacred mushroom amanita muscaria.

I opened my mouth, and behold, a cup was offered me; it was full of something like water, but its color was like fire. I took it and drank; and when I had finished my heart overflowed with Understanding - (Second Esdras or Fourth Ezra 14:39-40)

Fountain in St. Peter's Square

Tree of Life with primal parents

The Burning Bush

The polka dot cap of the amanita mushroom, and the central tree with serpent. Are Adam and Eve holding apples or mushrooms?

Detail from St. Sebastian, by Hans Holbein the Younger

The sacred mushroom. No religion should be without one.

Of course, Allegro was quite wrong. Hallucinogenic mushrooms were certainly employed by pagan priesthoods throughout the world, but never by Christians. They are much too holy for that. Allegro must have been taking the hits, not the priests.

Right: Pre-Columbian magic mushroom-priest. (From Guatemala.)

Allegro discovered that the symbol of the cross or crucifix was a simulacra for the sacred mushroom. He wrote of the connection between the mushroom and the cross:

The cross piece was the mushroom cap and the upright support was the stem of the fungus. Every aspect of the phallic mushroom was replete with sexual allusions, and the sign of the cross was primarily a sexual fertility symbol. It is with this significance that the cross became the sign of the phallic god Hermes, erected throughout the ancient world at cross-roads, and thought to bring good luck to travelers, as the Crucifix is commonly displayed by the roadside in Catholic countries today

Allegro emphasized the implicit phallicism of Judeo-Christian symbolism. It was another motif carried over from pagan iconography of earlier times. His points are well taken, as we will see when we analyze the names Jehovah and Yahweh.

John Marco Allegro (1923-1988), whose exposure of the "mushroom" cults within Christianity caused consternation and reprisal. Allegro authored the controversial books, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed, and The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth.

The burning bush turns up as a burning tree on the insignia of the Scottish Church. Perhaps the clergy know something about the scriptures and the history of their religion that we do not know.

Emblem of the Scottish Church. The mound and tree of flame are purely Druidic. The triform roots also denote the Druidic Order. Note how similar in form is the tree to a mushroom. Note also the "vesica pisces" that contains the living or burning tree. This "womb" symbol represents the goddess and feminine principle. It is the true "holy" place.

Moses at the "burning bush" in dialogue with Jehovah. The alternative spelling of "Jehovah" is Yahweh, from Yehew, which in turn comes from yew, the name of one of the most revered trees in Druidism. In Hebrew, the sacerdotal language of the adepts, the name of God is spelled with four letters, considered extremely sacred to all Jews. These letters are I H V H (pronounced Yod, He, Vau, He). The first letter of Jehovah can legitimately be rendered "Y" or "J." (These three letters are interchangeable in Hebrew. Numerologically, they each represent the number 1 or 10). The letter Yod/Iod/Jod, is conspicuously ithyphallic. In Hebrew script the letter is erect and does represent the male member. This implicit phallicism is accepted by rabbis and students of Judaism. Jehovah, after all, is a purely male and consortless entity. His prophets and champions are likewise male. It is not a surprise that Jehovah makes his presence known to Moses in the form of a tree. In the Garden of Eden, Jehovah makes his presence known to Adam and Eve while addressing the forbidden tree. All is explained when we realize that, in Druidic tree lore, the letter "I" (as well as "J" and "Y") represents the yew tree. God is the tree and the tree is God.

The jackal-god Wepwawet was said in the Pyramid Texts to have 'emerged from a tamarisk bush,' while Horus was believed to have come forth from an acacia - (Myths and their Settings)

The idea of the tree-oracle was familiar to other branches of the Semitic race, and is expressed in their common tradition of a tree of knowledge. Several allusions to oracular trees are met with in the Old Testament. That Jehovah should speak to Moses out of the burning-bush, if not to be regarded as a case in point, was at any rate quite in conformity with surrounding tradition, for there is no doubt that the belief in trees as places of divine revelation was very prevalent in Canaan. The famous holy tree near Shechem, called the tree of the soothsayers in Judges 9:37, and the tree or trees of the revealer in Genesis 12:6 and Deuteronomy 11:30, must have been the seat of a Canaanite tree -oracle. The prophetess Deborah gave her responses under a palm near Bethel, which, according to sacred tradition, marked the grave of the nurse of Rachel. And David, when he inquired of the Lord as to the right moment for attacking the Philistines, received the signal in "the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees." The ashra or artificial tree in which the deity was supposed to dwell also appears to have been used by the Canaanites for the purposes of divination - J. H. Philpot (Trees in Religion and Myth, 1897)

An Irish yew tree in the grounds of Kenilworth Castle.

Berries of the yew - Taxus Baccata. Sweet and succulent on the outside, deadly poisonous on the inside.

The yew is often found in church yards from England and Ireland to Galicia; some of these trees are exceptionally large (over 3 m diameter) and may be over 2,000 years old. It has been suggested that the enormous sacred evergreen at the Temple at Uppsala was an ancient yew tree - Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Entry on Taxus Baccata)


	Mary Poppins (Poppy) flying high in the clouds. This movie is but one of numerous Disney-Touchstone-Hollywood extravaganzas loaded with subtextual references to the Cult of Dionysus, Atonism, Druidism, and so on. Note the mushroom-shaped umbrella and lack of rain. Mary flies by way of her magic "umbrella." In fact, she is the mushroom. Remember also the nursery rhyme that begins with the lines "Mary, Mary, quite contrary."

Land of the Tree and Serpent

In the religious history of the Aryan race in Europe the worship of trees has played an important part. Nothing could be more natural...From an examination of the Teutonic words for “temple” Grimm has made it probable that amongst the Germans the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods...tree worship is well attested for all the great European families of the Aryan stock – Sir James George Frazer (The Golden Bough, 1922)

Another intriguing interpretation that might explain the reference to a burning or blazing tree, comes from a study of Kabalism. Kabalistic magical systems (which are Irish and Egyptian, not Jewish), are based around a tree-like schemata which involves twenty two branches or pathways, and ten (sometimes eleven) spheres known as the Sephira. The divine intelligence located at the highest zone of the Kabalistic "Tree of Life" communicates its wisdom downward through the nine lower zones. The human world is positioned at zone number ten. The following diagram illustrates the manner in which the ancient adepts viewed the decent of divine intelligence:

The Kabalistic Tree of Life, with twenty two branches or pathways, and ten spheres (Sephiroth) through which the intelligence of Spirit descends. In the complete Kabalistic system, there are really four trees, one for each letter in the name of god, or each element. Sacred scriptures, such as the Old and New Testaments, as well as apocryphal works, can be decoded by way of Kabalistic and astrological ciphers.

Interestingly, the descent of spiritual power and knowledge, from zone one at the top of the tree, to zone ten at the bottom, was likened to a bolt of lightening. The Kabalists imagined spiritual wisdom descending from heaven in the form of a blazing lightening flash. In other words, what we read about in the Book of Exodus can be deciphered by a study of Kabalistic precepts. In short, the burning bush is the luminous Tree of Life.

In Kabalism, spiritual instruction descends as a lightening flash to reach the mind of the initiated man. This is the true meaning of the scene in the Book of Exodus. Christ hung on the tree, Odin hung on the tree, Buddha sat beneath the Bodhi tree to meditate, Krishna played his flute beneath the boughs of a great tree, and Moses heard the voice of God in front of a burning tree.

The logo of the Opel Car Company. Many logos feature the lightening flash with ring, orb, or sphere. This image connotes the intelligence or power of God passing through one sephiroth.

Importantly, the Kabalistic System and Tree of the Sephira do not originate with the Jews. These motifs were known and revered by mystery school adepts thousands of years before the advent of Judeo-Christianity. They were sacred icons long before the rise of Greece and Rome.

That the Druids...revered the form of the cross can hardly be doubted. Schedius de Mor...informs us that it was their custom to seek studiously for an oak tree large and handsome, growing up with two principal arms in the form of a cross beside the main stem. If the two horizontal arms were not sufficiently adapted to the figure, they fastened a cross beams to it. Then they consecrated it by cutting upon the right branch in fair characters the word Hesus, upon the middle stem, the word Taranis, upon the left branch Belenus, and over them the word Thaw. The tree so inscribed, they would make their Kabala like the Jewish Jerusalem, the Turk's Mecca, and the Christian's altar to which they would direct their faces when they prayed - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

In fact, Egypt was once given the pseudonym "Land of the Tree and Serpent." This is because Egypt, or Khem, was the "Black Land" of magical arts. On the banks of the Nile the great healers, hierophants, architects, and astrologers set up their temples and schools.

The hieroglyphic sign for "year" (renpet) was a branch from a date palm with all the leaves stripped off...The presentation of a symbolic palm branch to the king was an important part of his jubilee festival...Heh, the god of eternity was depicted wearing a notched palm branch on his head or holding one in each hand - (Myths and their Settings)

The Egyptian word for "records" or "annals" was genut, from genu, meaning "branch" - ibid

The willow (tcheret), often identified as tamarisk, was sacred to Osiris...The jackal-god Wepwawet was said in the Pyramid Texts to have 'emerged from a tamarisk bush,' while Horus was believed to have come forth from an acacia - ibid

The Scandinavian world-tree, Yggdrasil, supports on its branches nine spheres or worlds - which the Egyptians symbolized by the nine stamens of the persea or avocado. All of these are enclosed within the mysterious tenth sphere or cosmic egg - the definitionless Cipher of the Mysteries. The Qabbalistic tree of the Jews also consists of nine branches, or worlds, emanating from the First Cause or Crown, which surrounds its emanations as the shell surrounds the egg - Manly Palmer Hall


	Ancient Egypt was once known as the "Land of the Tree and the Serpent." As we pointed out in Appendix One, the Jews were not the originators of the Kabalistic System or the twenty two letters of the so-called Hebrew alphabet. The symbol of the tree and serpent and the twenty two letters (corresponding to the twenty two branches of the Tree) were Egyptian and Aryan leitmotifs. The Kabalistic system was once depicted as a living tree with its roots in the earth and its branches in the heavens.

As we can see, the pomegranate tree (the Tree of Life) stands behind the body of the Priestess. She represents Isis and also the Nile. This is why the artist gave her a blue dress that flows like water over a crescent moon. The Greeks adopted the idea of the Tree of Life from the Egyptians. In their pantheon we have Persephone who ate the pomegranate. Like Isis, Persephone is associated with the underworld or, more correctly "netherworld" or "neter" world, the world of the gods. The pillars on either side of the Priestess represent the banks of the Nile river and also the portals at sacred temples on the Nile. She holds a partly open scroll. This represents the beginning stages of understanding and insight. A fully open scroll symbolizes complete spiritual awakening. This Arcanum indicates the trials of the underworld that must be negotiated and passed before one can eat of the tree of knowledge. The fruits on the tree behind the Priestess are arranged in a similar fashion as the ten Sephira on the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The Priestess represents the central pillar on the Tree. This pillar is known as "Equilibrium," and every path or branch on it is associated with a female Tarot Arcanum. This is why we see the Priestess between two columns. She is the living Tree of Life. She is its fruit, so to speak, the living pomegranate. The pillars on either side of her are known as Mercy and Severity, and also as Jachin and Boaz.

I gave to him from the Living Water, which strips away the chaos that exists in darkness - (Trimorphic Protennoia, a Gnostic text)

The souls of the Righteous are separated by the Spring of Enlightening Water which they have - (Book of Enoch)

One reason why Egypt was known as the Land of the Tree and Serpent had to do with the shape of the Nile river and Delta. From the air, the river's tributaries resemble the branches of a great tree. And because water is the source of life, the "tree" (or river Nile) becomes a "Tree of Life." In the Book of Genesis we read of the four great rivers that ran out of paradise. And we hear of the two trees. Again, we must look to Egypt for the origin of these antique leitmotifs.

The ancients probably noticed that the placenta has a tree-like shape. This would have interested them and given them one more reason to make use of tree symbolism. Trees bore fruit, and so did the female body. In other words, woman is the veritable tree of life. (The goddess Nut gives her name to the fruits of the tree.)

Jesus at the Last Supper, sitting between the portal. Note his feminine (or androgynous) appearance. Then note the image of the High Priestess, the figure depicted on card number two of the Tarot.

Masonic G between two trees

A striking Christian image entitled Ecclesia, or "Church." On the crown worn by the figure representing the Church of God, we see the fleur-de-lis, a cardinal goddess symbol. We also see many starry motifs. Streams of living water flow from the body of the "Church" to nourish the needy and the believers, which include a soldier with a drawn sword. Of course, the symbolism is explained when we realize that the word Church comes from Circe, Grecian goddess of sorcery and magic. She was the original life giver. Circe was connected to the flower known as snowdrop. Circe's name is a variant of Taurt, Egypt's most ancient goddess of heaven. (Here for more info.)

Christian image entitled "Madonna of the Sheaves."


	The goddess Persephone is associated with the pomegranate and rumor has it that the pomegranate was the only fruit to be allowed into the inner sanctum of the Temple of Jerusalem. This is interesting because this fruit's interior is blood red, symbolizing the menstrual fluid of the female. The pomegranate's seeds are also reminiscent of the spermatozoon. In Christianity, the symbolism and references to holy wine and spiritual communion originate with this particular pagan motif. (Here for more on the pomegranate.) Satisfy yourself with the true Wine in which there is no drunkenness nor error - (Teachings of Silvanus)

There are three columns or pillars on the Kabalistic Tree of Life. The left-hand pillar is "Severity," the right-hand pillar is "Mercy," and the central pillar is that known as "Equilibrium." There are three sephiroth on each pillar. The presence of the number three denotes the Druids and Arya. These three pillars or paths of ascent correspond with the Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna pathways in the Vedic (Aryan) system of yoga.

Man as the living god and living wand


	Amen Ra - king of the gods - standing in the portal to the Mysteries. The entrance is protected by the twin guardian serpents.

Left: Hindu cross with floral design. Right: Christian crosses with floral shape and designs. In ancient times, the cross and the tree symbolized the same ideas.

A Christian image showing the tree and cross as one. Note the bunch of grapes over the genital area of the female figure on the left. We will see this again below on the attire of the Pope.

Mexican tree of life with primal couple.


The Caduceus (or Kerykeion) of Hermes also represents the Tree of Life. The Greek Hermes is identical with the Roman Mercury. Both gods were based on the Egyptian dog-headed Thoth, who was himself based on the Irish Herne. The wings and disk of the sun god were emblazoned on the portals of many mystery schools and temples. Sometimes, instead of wings, palm fronds were used on either side of the solar disk. In ancient days, mystery schools were referred to as Palmyriums, after the palm tree's association with the mystical "tree of life." Among the Egyptians the temples are surrounded with groves and consecrated pastures; they are furnished with propylae, and their courts are encircled with an infinite number of columns; their walls glitter with foreign marbles and paintings of the highest art; the naos is resplendent with gold and silver, and electrum, and variegated stones from India and Ethiopia; the adytum is veiled by a curtain wrought with gold - Clement of Alexandria (on Egyptian temples) Early Spartans laid the dead upon olive leaves and palm branches. The male palm was a necessary accompaniment of all phallic and solar festivals and was used prominently in temple decoration. It is found repeatedly on ancient coins and tablets, always with seven branches. In Egypt a palm branch was an emblem of Thoth, the scribe of the gods. The branches were carried in religious processions as symbols of self-creation, time, and perpetually because they were said to add one new frond with each change of the moon. In the Book of Revelation palms seem to possess the same significance – Ernest Busenbark (Symbols, Sex and the Stars) In these early Sumerian/Akkadian myths we meet Etana, the chosen king, later a demigod, who must find the tree which stands at the center of the earth. This tree is the home of an eagle, who has devoured the young of the serpent who guards the tree. The serpent appeals to the Father god, Shamash, for justice, and Shamash shows the tree how to help the serpent capture the eagle. There exists an early Akkadian seal (ca. 2350 BCE) showing the serpent in human form enthroned with the caduceus emblem behind him and guarding him - R. T. Mason (The Serpent in Myth and Legend)


Many pagan deities and gods have been depicted holding wands, staffs, batons, and scepters. These wands represented spiritual mastery and were also symbols for the human spinal cord. The ancient alchemists (from Khem, meaning "Egypt") and mendicants were expert healers and experts on anatomy. They knew about the subtle centers of the body (the chakras and nadis, etc) that continue to elude modern-day "experts." Strangely, we find the caduceus of the ancient adepts on modern-day medical corporations. (The word "staff" is still used to signify the personnel of a corporation or business.) ...the Egyptians made use of an instrument called the ur-heka, or great magical power. It is sometimes a sinuous, serpent-like rod without the serpent’s head. At others it has the head of the serpent on it, united with the head of a ram - Gerald Massey (Ancient Egypt: Light of the World)

Jewish and Christian mythmongers simply adopted the customs, rites, and traditions of their betters. They set to work to incorporate pagan leitmotifs into their own incoherent iconography. The point is directly addressed by Mrs. Valentia Straiton, who, quoting from S. A. Mackey's Mythological Astronomy, wrote:

Jewish history covers nothing that is new, but the early Jews had great ingenuity in "turning singular into plurals, and plurals into singulars, and what was feminine with their masters, they made masculine...in some places things inanimate have been turned into men by adding the sign of the masculine gender, this was frequently done by the Greeks"

Today, we take this mishmash as theology when it is in fact nothing more than priestly propaganda. As Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky perceptively wrote:

Judaism earlier, and later Gnosticism, Christianity, and even Christian Masonry, have all been erected upon identical cosmical myths, symbols, and allegories, whose full comprehension is possible only to those who have inherited the key from their inventors

The Bible of the Christian Church is the latest receptacle of their scheme of disfigured allegories which have been erected into an edifice of superstition, such as never entered into the conceptions of those from whom the Church obtained her knowledge

In her fine book on Christian atrocities, author Helen Ellerbe writes about the Church's vile acts of appropriation and obliteration:

Older temples and sacred sites, once dedicated to pre-Christian goddesses, were re-dedicated or replaced with churches for Mary. In Rome on the Esquitine hill the Santa Maria Maggiore replaced Cybele’s temple. Near the Pantheon a church dedicated to Mary adjoined Isis’ sanctuary, while another was built on the site which had been dedicated to Minerva. On the Capitoline in Aracoeli the Santa Maria supplanted a temple of the Phoenician goddess Tanit. In Cyprus, shrines that were Aphrodite’s hallowed ground easily became those of Mary, who to this day is still called Panaghia Aphroditessa – (The Dark Side of Christian History)

The Ark of the Covenant was originally Egyptian. Here the priests carry the Ark through the streets during a religious festival. People donated money and jewelry into the Ark. The box bears four leaves representing fertility.

Sacred plants and trees have been incorporated into the designs of religious institutions all over the world. This pagan imagery is particularly conspicuous in Rome, the seat of Catholicism.

The pine cone is a symbol of Dionysus. This god was worshiped by the Phoenicians under the name Don or Adonis (from Atunis), by the Irish as Autun, by the Nordics as Odin, by the Egyptians as Aton and, later by the so-called Jews, as Adonai. However, the term Adonai is a pseudonym for Jehovah. So again, we see the connections between the Judeo-Christian god and the natural forms. Below the pine cone statue, we see the face of Adon/Adonai/Aton/Jehovah.

In Greek mythology, a thyrsus (thyrsos) was a staff of giant fennel (Ferula communis) covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and always topped with a pine cone...The thyrsus associated with Dionysus (or Bacchus) and his followers - (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, on the Thyrsus)


	An Assyrian King holding the pine cone, symbol of fertility, abundance, social order, and royalty.


	The thyrsus wand of giant fennel wood, with pine cone head. On many wands the staff was entwined with ivy. In the West, the thyrsus was associated with Dionysus (or Grecian Bacchus). This means its true origins lie with Donar (Thor) and Adonis of the Nordics and Phoenicians. Scholar and author Robert Graves went so far as to say that Don was a masculanized version of Danu, the ancient Irish goddess. In other words, the adventures and symbols associated with the male god were originally associated with the goddess.

On the left is an aerial view of St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. The city contains numerous examples of tree symbolism. The design of St. Peter's Square bears a striking figurative resemblance to images of Yggdrasil, the Nordic Tree of Life.

According to Norse and German legend, Yggdrasil was the world ash tree that encircled the earth with branches all over the world and with roots in heaven where knowledge and wisdom were concealed by the well of Mimir and the sacred fountain of Urd where the gods had their doomstead (place of justice) – Henry Binkley Stein (Thirty Thousand Gods Before Jehovah)

Obelisks that stand in plazas and squares such as St. Peter's are phallic pointers to the circumpolar circle in the heavens. This is why, as in the case of Washington DC, we find an "Oval Office" near to the obelisk.


		St. Peter's Square may have been designed to represent the head of a Scottish thistle. After all, there are close ties between the Knights Templar who own and control Britain, and the bishops and cardinals of Vatican City. The paths in the square resemble the design of the Union Jack, the British flag. As we showed in Volume One, Christianity was conceived in Britain.


	Left: A mosaic in the Vatican showing a yew tree. A comet-like star is also shown, along with the fleur-de-lis, another symbol of the Merovingian secret societies such as the Knights Templar and Knights of Malta. The trefoil fleur-de-lis apparently represents the Virgin Mary. Esoterically, it may represent Isis who was herself a Western goddess. Of course, the fleur-de-lis could be a figurative representation of the sacred mushroom. Mushrooms do grow in the shade of trees such as the yew, pine, and fir. Right: The design of the Vatican is that of a Latin cross. However, the dome in the center of the cross has been deliberately designed to represent a sun wheel. This design, of the cross and sun wheel, is curiously similar to the emblem of the Rosicrucian Order, namely, a cross with a sun-like rose in the center (see below). The dome also bears a certain resemblance to the underside of an Amanita-type mushroom.

In the form of prayer called Litaniæ Lauritanæ, there are more than forty addresses to the Virgin, invoking her as the star of the sea, as the mystical rose, and by a variety of other heathen epithets - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

It is no coincidence that the Vatican was designed according to the rose cross, or that the headquarters of the Knights of Malta (identical to the Order of the Knights Templar) should be in Vatican City. The cross signifies the Church and the rose signifies the occult orders who operate behind official religious organizations. Numerologically, the letters of the word ROSE are 9615, same as the first letters of the Egyptian royal family

I for Isis = 9
O for Osiris = 6
N for Nephthys = 5
S for Set = 1

Interestingly, these letters also spell SION, as in the Priory of Sion or the town of Sion in Switzerland.

To understand who or what is symbolized by the rose, we need only turn to the Old Testament' "Song of Solomon." In that book, the "...rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys" is clearly a female lover. Therefore, the rose cross of the secret fraternity is really the cross of the female and not a rose, per se.

The image of the rose cross to the left, actually depicts a female stellar goddess below the rose. The rose itself is surrounded by a halo of stars. Note also the symbol of the uroboric serpent (Draco) which represents not only the female's sacerdotal status, but the circumpolar precinct. As we will discover shortly, in predynastic times, Draco was not symbolized by a serpent, but by a woman. Indeed, the Egyptian hieroglyphic for a woman is a serpent. Even more mysteriously, the four letters (or Tetragrammaton) of the name Jehovah (Yod, He, Vau, He) are inscribed above the cross. As we have already mentioned elsewhere, this name of god actually ends with a feminine vowel, making the entire word feminine. The same applies to the word Elohim. (Here for more on the Tetragrammaton)


			Stylized rose crosses have a habit of turning up in the corporate world. The skull symbolizes the Knights Templar, a powerful secret organization connected to the Rosicrucian Order.


	The fleur-de-lis on the flag of Scotland can be found on a great deal of British heraldry. Historically, it signifies the Knights Templar who are deeply involved with the Vatican. Although during the fourteenth century the Vatican persecuted some of the Templar nobility because of their obstinacy and wealth, the latter soon fell back into line with Vatican authorities. There is no reason for us to entertain the idea of continuing rivalry between the Latin or Roman Church and the Knights Templar. On the contrary, the evidence indicates that the "bad boy" Templars have come back to the cross, so to speak. The creature seen on the Scottish flag, and on many others, is the Dragon-Lion signifying the Cult of Aton. The Merovingians who established the Vatican, Cistercian Order, and Knights Templar, date back to the so-called Dragon Court or Brotherhood of the Snake that had its headquarters in Egypt but which originated in prediluvian times. (In a following section, we will see where the fleur-de-lis comes from and who it really symbolizes.)

The US Pentagon. Five concentric pentagons and in the center five pentagrams within a sixth. If a line is drawn around the five inner pentagrams another pentagon is formed, the seventh. Then in the center of the five pentagrams we see the shape of an eighth pentagon. Interestingly, the design (however geometrically stylized) is not unlike a Tudor Rose. Since the word Tudor is a corruption of Juda or Judah, the Atonist reference is again apparent.

The so-called Tudor Rose is actually two roses, one inside the other. There is the white rose and the red rose. Of course, the emblem connotes the famous "War of the Roses" fought between 1455 and 1487, in England. Naturally, the symbol of the rose and its occult significance predates this period of history. The rose symbolizes powerful secret societies and the occult knowledge they manipulate.

Yahweh and the Yew Tree

Those chapters...in the Book of Genesis which describe the Garden of Eden; its being watered without rain; the sacred tree; the cherub with drawn sword guarding the entrance; the serpent, at first upright and talking to Eve, then creeping on its belly, and the after war against it, and which attempts to explain the origin of sin and death, would seem to belong to the Egyptian mind rather than to the Jewish – Samuel Sharpe (Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity)

Mr. Sharpe is certainly correct. What he fails to mention, however, is where the Egyptians received the symbolism and leitmotifs appropriated by Jews and Christians of later ages. Nevertheless, he is right to draw our attention to the imagery of the Bible, which, when read aright, betrays Western as well as Egyptian origins:

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them – (Matthew 7:15-20)

The Druids who gave this powerful and beautiful symbolism to the world were eventually eradicated. We have told the story of the annihilation of the Druidic colleges, and the cannibalization of their traditions, in Volume One of our book. We drew attention to passages that subtly bespeak of the genocide perpetrated by the enemies of truth, the sorcerers whose descendents - the Atonists - dominate the world today:

The Lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form…But with the roar from a mighty storm he will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken – (Jeremiah 11:14)

I the Lord have brought down the high tree (the Druids and Amenists), have exalted the low tree (the Atonists), have dried up the green tree (Druidic colleges), and have made the dry tree (Christianity) to flourish. I the Lord (Aton) have spoken and have done it – (Ezekiel 17)

Jehovah is certainly Aton. He is known to Jews as Adon or Adonai. A little homework, and we find out that Adon was a Phoenician-Canaanite god of great importance. He was certainly also worshiped by the Phoenicians. Their cities Byblos and Sidon, bore great statues of Adon. This god can be found in Ireland as Autun, in Italy as Auton or Adonis, in Etruscia as Atunis, and in Egypt as Aton. These deities originate from the Scandinavian Donar (Thor) and Odin, the god who sacrificed himself on the Yggdrasil, the "World Ash Tree" that stretched between heaven and earth. How many nations have legends of the holy man or hero and the tree of knowledge? Many do so, and the motif originated in North-Western lands.

...the worship of the oak tree, or the oak-god, appears to have been shared by all the branches of the Aryan stock in Europe, that is by the peoples who descended from the Indo-Europeans – James G. Frazer (The Golden Bough)

In the religious history of the Aryan race in Europe the worship of trees has played an important part. Nothing could be more natural...From an examination of the Teutonic words for “temple” Grimm has made it probable that amongst the Germans the oldest sanctuaries were natural woods...tree worship is well attested for all the great European families of the Aryan stock – ibid

Trees of cultic adoration would have a multivalent symbolism: as World Tree, Tree of Life. Locally, each tribal group would have had its own sacred tree marking the “center” of its territory, and at which its kings would be inaugurated – Paul Lonigan (The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts)

There is a tradition among the Jews that the tree of knowledge was named Dar and that this was supposed to be the oak, whence Dar, in Irish, means “an oak;” it also implies “wisdom” – Dudley Wright (Druidism: The Ancient Faith of Britain, 1924)

Maximus of Tyre also speaks of the Celtic...image of Zeus as a lofty oak, and an old Irish glossary gives daur, “oak,” as an early Irish name for “god” – J. A. MacCulloch (The Religion of the Ancient Celts)

The pass of Lyon, opening from the pleasant flat hill-girt Vale of Fortingall, is a natural gateway which for reserved grandeur is unsurpassed in Scotland. The Parish teems with memorials of bygone ages. It possesses the remnant of what is claimed to be the oldest tree in Europe, if not the world. Holy men and bards from Ireland have tarried within its bounds…The fact that the site selected of old for the church is within a few feet of the ancient yew is probably no accident. In Ireland certain very famous trees, usually yew trees, were closely connected with the tribes in whose territory they stood. They were held as sacred, and served as tribal meeting-places. This custom was pagan in origin, but the trees continued to be held in reverence in Christian times. When Christianity was introduced, pagan sacred sites were often converted into Christian sacred sites – Alexander Stewart (A Highland Parish or the History of Fortingall, 1928)

Another rendition of the name Jehovah is Yahweh. This word is a variation of Yehew or Yehu, which is a variation of yew (Gaelic Ihu.) It is not surprising that Moses met Jehovah at a burning bush or tree. It would lack consistency if he had not done so.

The first letter of the name Jehovah also denotes the yew tree. The letter "J" is interchangeable with "I" and "Y." In Hebrew, the first letter of god's name is known as Yod, Jod, or Iod, meaning "one" and also "phallus." These letters derive from the Irish Jodh, which can also be found in Greek as Iota.

The yew tree was one of the most sacred of all trees in Druidism. The taller thinner variety (similar to the cypress), known as fastigiata, grew abundantly throughout Western Ireland and was sacred to the ancient warrior queen and goddess of the Tuatha de Danann, Banbha, after whom Ireland was once named. Botanists believe all other yews in the world to be descended from two Irish trees. County ”Mayo” takes its name from a word meaning ”yew forest.”

In Ireland certain very famous trees, usually yew trees, were closely connected with the tribes in whose territory they stood. They were held as sacred, and served as tribal meeting places. This custom was pagan in origin, but the trees continued to be held in reverence in Christian times. When Christianity was introduced, pagan sacred sites were often converted into Christian sacred sites – Alexander Stewart (A Highland Parish or the History of Fortingall, 1928)

Interestingly, the most sacred Egyptian groves, orchards, and temple precincts appear to have had these Irish yews in pride of place. According to Ralph Ellis, the yew was the Egyptian’s original ”Tree of Life,” and it featured prominently in Egypt’s most sacred mystery school traditions and initiatory rites. It was a symbol of death and underworld rites. The oldest implements in the world, dating to over fifty thousand years ago, were made of yew wood. The tree may have been considered sacred because it poisoned all animals that ate of its bark or leaves except the stag and deer. The deer and stag were supremely sacred to the Irish Druids. The yew can still be found in British churchyards. Given that the yews are older than Christian churches, it follows that Christian churches and cathedrals were deliberately positioned near to the tree for symbolic purposes. A study of the yew tree serves to confirm the West to East movement of the elements of religion. As we mentioned above, the last letter of the Irish Ogham alphabet - ”I” - signified the yew tree. The letter, identical to the Hebrew Yod, is the first letter in the name of the Judeo-Christian god (Jehovah or Yahweh). It is also the initial letter of Juda, which comes from Yahuda or Yahud. So, we might ask, were the ”Jews” originally ”Men of the Yew,” that is, the initiates of Druidic colleges?

The incarnate god was probably representative of a god or spirit of earth, growth, or vegetation, represented also by a tree. A symbolic branch of such a tree was borne by kings, and perhaps by Druids, who used oak branches in their rites. King and tree would be connected, the king’s life being bound up with that of the tree, and perhaps at one time both perished together. But as kings were represented by a substitute, so the sacred tree, regarded as too sacred to be cut down, may also have had its succedaneum. The Irish bile or sacred tree, connected with the kings, must not be touched by any impious hand, and it was sacrilege to cut it down – J. A. MacCulloch (The Religion of the Ancient Celts)

“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)

In the works of Greek and Latin writers we hear repeatedly of sacred woods and groves, sanctuaries in forest clearings and on hilltops, beside springs and lakes and on islands, and of places set apart for the burial of the noble dead – H. R. Ellis Davidson (Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions)

Elohim and the Elm

The sacred tree, or tree of life, so universally recognized in eastern systems of theology, is called to mind; and we are naturally led to refer the traditions connected with it to a common origin – Austen Henry Layard (Nineveh and its Remains, 1849)

Early Christians and Jews were divided into several competing groups, some hardline, some moderate, and others more liberal in their beliefs and attitudes. There were Adamites, Ebionites, Simonians, Marcionites, Paulists, Nasoreans or Mandeans, Carpocratians, Cainites, Essenes, Samaritans, Zealots, Zadokites, and many more competing and antagonistic groups. There were those who believed in one god, Jehovah, and those who believed in a plurality of gods known as the Elohim.

Of course, this word Elohim is often taken for the name of a particular god. But this is not the case. The word is plural. In fact, as we showed in our book Astro-Theology and Sidereal Mythology, the Elohim were based on the nine creator gods of the Amenists, headed by Ptah. Ptah is Ju-pitar or Jupiter of the Romans (Zeus of the Greeks), and Dis Pater of the Celts. He is found in the Bible as Saint Peter (Petra), the rock upon which Christ establishes his Church. Again, the symbolism of paganism turns up in the iconography of Christianity.

Trees are repeatedly mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, and in the scriptures of various pagan nations. The Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil mentioned in Genesis, the burning bush in which the angel appeared to Moses, the famous vine and fig tree of the New Testament, the grove of olives in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus went to pray, and the miraculous tree of Revelation, which bore twelve manners of fruit and whose leaves were for the healing of the nations, all bear witness to the esteem in which trees were held by the scribes of Holy Writ. Buddha received his illumination while under the bodhi tree, near Madras in India, and several of the Eastern gods are pictured sitting in meditation beneath the spreading branches of mighty trees. Many of the great sages and saviors carried wands, rods, or staves cut from the wood of sacred trees, as the rods of Moses and Aaron; Gungnir – the spear of Odin – cut from the Tree of Life; and the consecrated rod of Hermes, around which the fighting serpents entwined themselves – Manly Palmer Hall (Secret Teachings of All Ages, 1928)

The word Elohim was used in the Old Testament over two thousand five hundred times as a name for god. However, as we said, it meant more than one god. The word Elohim is simply a corruption of the Hebrew words Aleim or Alim, which are themselves variants of the ancient Irish word Ailim, signifying "A," the first letter of the Irish alphabet. These Irish and Hebrew words can be correctly rendered Elm. The elm, ash, and oak (as well as the rowan, yew, pine, myrrh, myrtle, acacia, olive, almond, fig, and palm) were sacred to the adepts and kings of the ancient world.

The myrtle performed the same office of symbolism in the Mysteries of Greece as the lotus did in Egypt, or the mistletoe among the Druids. The candidate, in these initiations, was crowned with myrtle, because, according to the popular theology, the myrtle was sacred to Proserpine, the goddess of the future life - Albert A. Mackey (The Symbolism of Freemasonry)

Ra was known as Khepri when he rose as the sun in the morning. He was Atum when he set in east at night. The hieroglyph of his name was LA or LE which, when reversed as AL or EL, became the hieroglyph for the eye of Horus. (Note the two eyes above Ra.) It is also one of the origins for the appellations El and Allah. Both words simply connote "sun god." (See King Jesus, by Ralph Ellis for more on this.)

EL or AL


	Horus, one of the Elohim, holds the papyrus wand, representing sacred knowledge and divine protection. (After Set vowed to murder him, Isis hid and raised Horus among the papyrus reeds of the Nile.) Behind him stands Ma'at, goddess of justice, balance, and harmony. Male gods, such as Horus, were agents of Ma'at, that is, of justice and rightness. The Christian mythmongers transmogrified Horus and Ma'at into Jesus and Mary. They also plagiarized the Wisdom Texts of Egypt and presented that wisdom as their own in the Old and New Testaments. Actually, the Books of the Torah and the New Testament's Gospels and Epistles, etc, are pathetically anemic revisions of the originals that have recently come to light. Even a brief review of the texts shows us exactly where the Christian mythmongers found their theological precepts. (Here for a list of original Egyptian Wisdom Texts.)


	This image is one of the most important ever found. It confirms that Egyptian iconography was liberally plagiarized by early Alexandrian Christians. The image of Horus standing upon the crocodile or serpent of the abyss is a common enough motif in Egypt. There are many examples of it. However, in this rendering, the sun god has a fish above his head. The symbol of the fish represents the name "Jesus." (Here for more)

The syllable el is the origin of the word elm. The syllable also appears in words such as elite and elder, meaning "senior" "old," or "ancient." The elm was therefore the tree of the elders or gods - the Els or Als. The term connoted the sun and is the origin of the Greek term Heli or Helios, meaning "sun." The syllable appears in Allah, which is a version of Elah, Aleim, or Elohim.

For Jehovah is the synthesis of the Seven Elohim, the eternal center of all those attributes and forces, the Alei of the Aleim, and the Adonai of the Adonim – Madame Helena Blavatsky (The Secret Doctrine)

For Yahweh is the great God of Gods, Lord of the Elohim – (Deuteronomy 10:17)

The Levites and the Rowan

Aryans do not kill even a small plant unnecessarily, not to speak of cutting trees for sense gratification…Aryans do not distinguish between lower and higher grades of life. All life should be protected. All living beings have a right to live, even the trees and plants. This is the basic principle of an Aryan civilization – Srimad Bhagavatam (SB 6.16.43, Purport)

Just as the word ”Jew” derives from the word for yew tree, so does the ancient name ”Levi” (or ”Levite”) come from the Gaelic letter ”L,” known as Lewi or Luis, and which can also be rendered Lewis or Louis. The letter "L" (or Luis) referred to the Rowan tree that was the most sacred of all trees in Irish Druidism. The rowan in Danish is rönne, and in Swedish it is rönn. The name Ron (or Ronald) may derive from the name of this tree.

The worshippers or keepers of the Rowan were known as the Lewi. This is where the word Levite originates. The original Western Levites were astrologers, priests, and teachers. The Biblical ”Levites” adopted the old Druidic title as their own, either because they had descended from Western Druids, or because they were initiates and adepts from Druidic colleges. The Isle of Lewis in Scotland was once a major Druidic center. Place names Lewisham and Lewes derive from the root. Additionally, the supreme sun god of the ancient Irish was known as Lugh. He appears globally as the English Llud, Sumerian Lughal, Welsh Llew, Gaulish Lugos, Italian Logos. He appears in the Christian scriptures as Saint Luke, patron saint of surgeons and healers. The word London comes from Lludunum (or Lugh’s Hill). Lugh’s temple is now the site of the Christian St. Paul’s Cathedral. The Rowan may have been given its name Luis because it was sacred to Lugh. His title was Samildanach, or ”Master of all Arts.” In Masonic tradition, the term “Lewis” refers to the son of a Mason. It also refers to a particular tool employed by stone masons.

Flowers of God. The very lobbies of churches and cathedrals are named after plants. Above: Note the Egyptian pyramid with the eye of Aton. On the bishops chest we see the "heavenly" toadstool and fleur-de-lis.

The Pope as a living tree and mushroom-head. Note the embroidered vines and grapes, the symbols of Dionysus the androgynous god of the ancient Romans. (At Pope's genital level we see the bunch of grapes.) Dressing in female robes signifies spiritual androgyny. Moreover, the Church is commonly referred to in the third person as "Mother Church" and "She." (See below for more on this.)

Papal Leaves and Miter (or Crown of Mithras)


	A painting by Giovanni da Modena with the unusual title Restitution of the Mystic Apple to the Tree of Knowledge. The artist has clearly fused the crucifix with the tree. He has also incorporated the serpent. Jesus is undoubtedly identical with the heroes of pagan cultures, such as Dionysus, Odin, Adonis, Bacchus, Balder, Osiris, Horus, and so on.


	Christian image on a doorway in Sion Switzerland showing Jesus on the cross surrounded by the vines of Bacchus or Dionysus.


	The Jewish menorah is a stylized tree. The Mossad insignia bears leaves and "Hebrew" letters that appear curiously floral in form.


	As we said, the word Levite originally denoted "Men of the Yew Tree." The terms, symbols, and customs of Judaism have the same roots as those of Christianity. Their origins are Western and Egyptian. The unbiased researcher can have no doubt about it. Above: We see an image of the sign of priestly blessing made by the ideological descendants of the Kohanim, Levites, or Jewish high priests. Note the pyramidical shape made by the fore fingers and thumbs, emphasizing the Egyptian roots of most ancient Jewish traditions, (a fact still to be accepted by modern day "experts"). The shape forms the letter "A" for Aton. The shadowy ancient figure Melchizedek was the first Levite or Kohen. In our minds, "Melchizedek" was, like "Moses," merely another contrived pseudonym for Akhenaton. According to Jewish history, the Levites were considered a tribe apart. Their duties were for the most part militaristic and administrative, but they had particular jurisdiction over temple sacrifices. Interestingly, Akhenaten fancied himself a great military leader as well as a judge and priest.

		Eye and pyramid motif above doorway in the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. (Here for more information.)

The truth about the origins of Judeo-Christianity can be found in the Bible's testaments by those unbiased and objective researchers. The truth has also be cryptically disclosed down through the ages in artwork, and today that truth is disclosed in certain popular movies. Let us take a moment and analyze the hidden information contained in the epics Ben Hur, Solomon and Sheba, and The Ten Commandments:


	Towards the end of Ben Hur, the makers of the epic film begin letting their viewers subtextually know the truth about the life of Jesus. Ben Hur ("High Man" or "High Sun") is on his way home after making a painful visit to his mother and sister who have been confined to a leper colony. He comes across a great multitude gathering to hear Jesus speaking from the "mount." Now curiously, all the way through the film, the topography has been typically arid, that is, barren and sandy, as one would expect to find in most parts of Palestine, Galilee, and Judea. Suddenly, in this scene, for no apparent reason, the appearance of the topography dramatically changes. We see green fields filled with leafy trees and a flowing river from which Ben stoops to quench his thirst. The hills are of a type found in Britain, not Judea or Galilee.


	Suddenly, a strange man appears. He recognizes Ben and walks eagerly toward him. He is Balthazar, one of the three wise men or Magi who attended the birth of Jesus. He has come to hear Jesus give his sermon on the mount. However, the actor chosen to play the apostle has the appearance of a Westerner, in fact, a Druid. He is dressed in purple and white (the colors of the Druids) and he carries a staff. He walks through the verdant land, across the bridge toward the mount and although we are not consciously aware of it, we are in merry ol' England, not Palestine. We are at Silbury Hill or Glastonbury Tor, not the Sea of Galilee. That, at least, is what the makers of the movie symbolically imply. Interestingly, Ben Hur's cloak has the appearance of Irish or Scottish tartan. In this context, the scene is uncannily similar to one that occurs toward the end of the recent blockbuster movie The da Vinci Code, when Sophie (Sophia/Mary) stands in the grounds of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland (on the Rose Line) wrapped in Scottish tartan. Let us recall that Scota, the daughter of Pharaoh Akhenaton, gave her name to the land of Scotland. Let us understand also that popular movies and dramas about ciphers, secret codes, and lost relics, etc, are themselves cryptic. They contain valuable intimations and implications that go unseen and undeciphered by the vast majority of viewers.


	When Jesus appears upon the mount to address the multitude, we see that the makers of the film have chosen an actor with red hair. Jesus is also wearing white, the color designated for the High Druid. Again, we notice the English-type countryside, not at all typical of the Middle East, and not typical of that shown throughout the film until these scenes.


	The whistle-blowing dramatically continues with the fascinating scenes that follow after a few minutes. We are taken to Calvary and to the moment when Jesus is executed by the Romans. Again, the topography is distinctly English in appearance. Looking on are eight members of the tribes of Israel. Their headdresses are mushroom-like or even "penis-like." However, what are we being told subtextually about the identity of these bizarre characters? That information is given in the very next scene.


	The camera moves from the "Israelites" to the figure of Balthazar the Druid. He appears and stands in the shade of a tree containing a beehive, the symbol of the goddess Spes (Roman Elpis), and the astrological sign of Cancer. It is also a symbol of Masonry. Balthazar's caucasian features and attire go consciously unnoticed even though they speak volumes about the true origins of Christianity.


	Almost immediately, Balthazar is joined by Ben Hur and they mournfully watch as Jesus is crucified. The sequence obliquely lets us know that the death of Jesus is occurring in Britain, and that the Israelites or "Jews" are Druids.


	When the camera shows the scene of the crucifixion, we see Jesus on his cross framed against the sky. Of course, this is pure astro-theology. The cross is indeed to be found in a certain house or quadrant of the heavens. The term Ben is Gaelic, meaning "hill" or "high place." The term Hur is Egyptian, meaning "Horus" (or Sun). Ben Hur, therefore, does not mean "Son of Hur," but "Son of the Sun," or even "High Sun," a reference to Aton. Hur can also be a variant of the Germanic Herr, meaning "man." The cross in heaven

Another whistle-blowing epic is the United Artists spectacular Solomon and Sheba, with Yul Brenner and George Sanders. Let's take close look at a few scenes in this fascinating movie:


	In an early scene we see King Saul on his death bed, speaking to his son Solomon. On Solomon's armor we see the symbol of the sun. He is about to inherit the mantle from his father, who, sidereally speaking, is the old and dying sun. (Solomon's brother and rival is Adonijah, a name that is a combination of Adon or Aton, and Jah for Jehovah/Yahweh. The name Solomon is clearly a reference to the sun and moon. It is, however, a variant of the Latin word Sol and the Egyptian word Amon. The latter word is the name of the most ancient sun god. He was worshiped almost exclusively by Egyptian high priests and royals. Atum Ra was worshiped publically.)


	In the following scenes we find that Saul (Sol) has regained enough strength to address his people concerning his legacy. He wishes to let them know about Solomon's succession to the throne of Israel. But what's this? We find that the actor chosen to depict Saul is the same actor (Finlay Currie) who played Balthazar in Ben Hur (and also St. Peter in Quo Vadis.) Apparently, the makers of the film could not find a more Anglo-Saxon looking actor. And we may wonder why that is. What is more, he is yet again dressed in the colors of the Druids. In fact, he wears the colors of each division of the Druidic Order. Blue signified the Ovates or Poets. (We get the words faith, fate, and Vatican from this Irish word denoting this particular class of Druid.) Purple designated the main body of the Druidic Order, and white was the color reserved for the High Druid.


	While King Saul (Sol) addresses the chiefs of the twelve tribes, he directs his daughter to display the emblems of the twelve tribes, that also appear on the so-called Hoshen Breastplate. However, underneath the twelve diadems, we see what appears to be either Nordic runes or Irish Ogham script. There is really nothing surprising about this when we realize that every name of the twelve tribes is of Irish origin. The movie-makers obviously know what the masses are never supposed to know about their religion and god. Interestingly, the diadems of the Hoshen Breastplate were also known as the Urim and Thummim and, like the runes and Ogham, were used for divining. (Here for more.)


	After Saul dies and Solomon prepares to become the king of Israel, he retires to meditate and commune with Jehovah. The scenes that follow are truly revealing. We see Solomon entering a Druidic megalithic site with three giant ithyphallic stones. Around these mist-covered obelisks are four trees. Compare these three monoliths to those from a typical Druidic cromlech in Ireland:


	As King Solomon meditates, he hears the voice of Jehovah (Yahweh). The scene is reminiscent of the moment when Moses heard God addressing him at the so-called "burning bush." In this scene we see the sacred tree, the great megalithic stones, found throughout Britain (as well as in Middle Eastern countries), and we see the sacred flame representing Brigit, the ancient Irish goddess of the groves. Masonic author Albert Churchward wrote of the meaning of the three totemic pylons held sacred by many world cultures: The Druids in their temples or lodges had the same, that is, the Adytum was supported by three stones or pillars…The Maya in Mexico and the Incas in South America had also the “Three Pillars” to represent symbolically the triune God or their Trinity – Albert Churchward (Signs and Symbols of Primordial Man, 1910) The Three Pillars as now used in our lodges, called Wisdom, Strength and Beauty, and situated in the east, south and west…We venture to say that very few of our brethren are acquainted with the origin, which dates back to the Stellar Mythos, and then represented Horus, Shu and Set - ibid

Many important revelations are made throughout the epic film The Ten Commandments. On of the most important scenes involves a startling revelation concerning the physiognomy of Egyptian royalty...

After Moses is expelled from Egypt, he takes refuge with a shepherd by the name of Jethro - referred to as a priest of Midian - who lived near Mount Sinai. His eldest daughter Zipporah (meaning "bird") falls in love with Moses, and seeking to ingratiate herself with him and appear attractive in his eyes, remarks enviously but poetically on the beauty and elegance of Egyptian women. The movie's dialogue is as follows: "She was very beautiful wasn't she, this woman of Egypt who left her scar upon your heart? Her skin was as white as curd, her eyes green as the cedars of Lebanon, her lips tamarisk honey...like the breast of a dove, her arms were soft, and the wine of love was in her veins..." Clearly, the movie moguls know something most don't about the racial origins of the Pharaohs.

This particular scene cryptically reveals many important facts about Moses and the Israelites, as does the Old Testament account itself. For example, the name Jethro means "His Excellence," and thereby implies royalty. Additionally, Mount Sinai is a simulacra for the Great Pyramid at Giza and the "Wilderness" connotes a period of ritual asceticism undergone by high priests of Egypt. Most importantly, the term "shepherd" is a indirect reference to the Hyksos dynasty of Pharaohs to which Moses (or more correctly Akhenaton) belonged.

Interestingly, the Quran deems Jethro to have been a member of the "Druze" people. This term, believed to mean anything from "those who read" to "mountain dweller," is probably derived from a term denoting the ancient Druids – the true “learned ones”- who frequented the Middle East in ages past.

Another vital revelation in the movie concerns the royal identity of the so-called Israelites or Jews...


	In the early scenes of the film, we see Moses' Egyptian mother, a princess, coming across the basket of reeds in which Moses lies. When she removes the infant, her maid notices that the child has been wrapped in a piece of cloth from a Levite cloak. She remarks on its presence and asks why it was around the child. The princess responds as follows: "If my son is covered in it, it is a royal robe." Her servant then exclaims: "Royal?...It's the Levite cloth of a Hebrew slave!" She continues to say: "I will not see you make this son of slaves a prince of Egypt." The princess confidently responds by saying: "...we'll see...you will see him walk with his head among the eagles." During this revealing scene, the princess is also heard to say: "I am the Pharaoh's daughter and my son shall be reared in my house as Prince of the Two Lands." In this particular scene we have been told, albeit obliquely, that Moses and the Levites were pharaonic. They were royalty in the land of Egypt, not oppressed slaves. We have been told that Moses was a "eagle," that is, a high-ranking priest-king of Egypt.

			Our god is made to take all forms as a “consuming fire,” a “still small voice,” and all through his early worship until the reign of Hezekiah he was worshipped as the serpent Nehushtan which Moses had made in the wilderness (II Kings 18:4) – John Martin Woolsey (Symbolic Mythology)
Above Right: In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, we read that Moses erected a "Brazen Standard" in the wilderness, after leaving Egypt with the "Chosen People." This act clearly defines Moses as a Pharaoh, or of Pharaonic descent. His Israelites were a powerful dynasty within Egypt, whose desecration and megalomania compelled the people to rise up against them. When Moses and Aaron come to negotiate with the Pharaoh, we also hear of rods and snakes. As we will see later, the staff and snake represents, among other things, the polar axis of the earth. Left: The serpent standard was a symbol of Egyptian priest-kings. The Uraeus wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. In the scene mentioned above, from the Ten Commandments, the princess said that she will raise Moses to be a Prince of the Two Lands. In other words, Moses was a Serpent Prince.

Another movie with equally important subtextual references to the true origins of Judeo-Christianity is the 1951 epic Quo Vadis. The title, meaning "where are you going," was derived from a passage in the Acts of Peter in the New Testament.


	In one of the most important scenes, Saint Peter, while walking on the Appian Way outside Rome, hears the voice of Jesus instructing him to return to Rome and attend to the plight of the Israelites who are being persecuted by the Emperor Nero. However, in the movie's rendition of the Biblical passage, St. Paul hears the voice of Jesus coming from a tree. What is more, the actor playing Saint Peter is yet again Findlay Currie. And yet again he is attired in the fashion of a High Druid. The dialogue in this scene is as follows: "These tree-tops there, do they not bend with the wind...and that sudden brightness coming...it is the light of the Lord."

While kneeling to listen to the voice of Jesus, St. Peter rests his staff, which looks remarkably like an Pharaonic crosier, up against a large oak. This image of the crosier or staff leaning against a tree is a very ancient motif. It was associated with the god Dionysus, known to the Greeks as Bakus or Bacchus.

Tree and staff with masks and pipes of Bacchus. Bacchus or Dionysus was a prototype for the Biblical Jesus.


	In the movie's closing scenes, the main protagonists travel out of Rome along the Appian Way, and pass the place where St. Peter heard the voice of Jesus. Peter's young companion tells the party: "It was here the Lord spoke to us," to which his female companion, Lygia, replies "then this is a blessed place." (Note Lygia's appearance and red hair of which more will be said later.)


	The final scene is of St. Peter's staff. He inadvertently left it up against the oak on the Appian Way after hearing the voice of Jesus. Now we see it again with the light of god behind it. However, the staff has sprouted blooms and leaves. In other words, it has become a tree. Were the film makers attempting to emphasize something important about the staff and tree at the very end of their movie? After all, what is the rod or staff that has serpentine vines coiled about it?


	In another important scene, the hero Marcus Vinicius, Tribune of Rome, rides triumphantly into the great city after returning from successful conquests in the East. He salutes Emperor Nero and we see that he is literally "crowned" with thorns, that is, with laurel leaves. (Here for more information.)

These examples come from a few scenes in a mere four epic films. We could analyze hundreds of movies in the same manner to gain profound insight into the truth about the pagan origins of Judeo-Christianity. For instance, in the movie Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, when the protagonists are seconds away from an encounter with a Jehovah-like god, they are first surrounded by ithyphallic pylons that erupt violently from under the earth to enclose them. These stones appear identical in form to those erected by the ancient worshipers of Priapas, Bel, Cronus, Yahweh, and other Earth gods. Is it just by chance that the movie makers decided to use these time-honored images? We don't believe so.

In the movie, the protagonists finally locate "God" at the very center of the universe, that is, at "Galactic Center." Many nations and races have elaborate myths and legends that pertain to this region of space.

The gods and shaman of the Maya, for example, had to ascend a "tree" to reach the door in the center of the galaxy, whereas in Egyptian myths, the god or hero travels on a barque (boat) to the location. Of course, the phrase "center of the galaxy or universe" may subtextually refer to the circumpolar region. (More on that later.)

In chapter eighteen of the Book of Genesis, we read that Jehovah comes to visit the aged prophet Abraham and his wife Sarah. A few minutes after god is seated and fed in the "tent" of Abraham, three other visitors arrive. They are clearly extraordinary beings and Abraham promptly bows before them. They ask for water and sit near a tree. Reading the lines, we are alerted by the references to three travelers and to the tree beneath which they rest. We also note the similarity of these anecdotes to those in the Gospel of Matthew which tell of the three wise men or Magi who allegedly follow the "star in the east" to the stable where Jesus was born. In both cases, the imagery involved is both Druidic and sidereal:

And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal...And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat


	Abraham and his three angelic guests, sitting in the shade of the sacred tree. Note that Abraham's wife Sarah stands right by the tree, as if she is part of it. She is also depicted in a blue head scarf similar to that seen in images of the Virgin Mary. (Image from a mural in the Monastery of the Cross in Jerusalem. Here for more information.)

Lady of the Tree

She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her – (Proverbs 3:15–18)

The goddess specifically associated with the Tree of Life was known as Nuith or Nut. The English word “nut” (signifying the fruit of a tree) comes from her name. Paintings on papyrus can still be seen featuring images of the goddess Nuith standing by or even in the sacred life giving tree. Many other pagan goddesses were associated with the tree of life. The mother of Adonis, for example, was known as Myrrha, a name that relates to the myrtle tree and fragrant myrrh plant. (Myrrha was turned into a tree by the gods, and her son Adonis was born from her trunk.) The name Myrrha appears in the Bible as Mary the Virgin and Mary Magdalene, the fallen women. The Egyptian version is Meri, meaning "beloved." Many Egyptian goddesses had "Meri" as a pseudonym. The word merry, meaning "joyous" is also a derivation. The name Adonis means "lord," or "high one." The Babylon version of Adonis was Tammuz. He too was connected to trees and vegetation. (The River Thames comes from this god's name, as does the Biblical Thomas.)

Women sit by the gate weeping for Tammuz, or they offer incense to Baal on roof-tops and plant pleasant plants. These are the very features of the Adonis cult: a cult confined to women which is celebrated on flat roof-tops on which sherds sown with quickly germinating green salading are placed, Adonis gardens... the climax is loud lamentation for the dead god - Walter Burkert (Greek Religion)

Women in Athens would plant "gardens of Adonis" quick-growing herbs that sprang up from seed and died. The Festival of Adonis was celebrated by women at midsummer by sowing fennel and lettuce, and grains of wheat and barley. The plants sprang up soon, and withered quickly, and women mourned for the untimely death of the vegetation god - (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, on Adonis)

In what appears to be the most widespread version of his death, Adonis is killed by a boar, symbol of aggressive masculinity...The goddess Aphrodite mourns him excessively, and so did the women of Athens during the festival....the women moved to the roofs of their houses...and spent the night in the open amid flowerpots especially set up and filled with plants for the occasion - the so-called Gardens of Adonis...The fragrant plants probably had erotic associations, the myrrh was at the same time a reminder of Adonis' mother - Eva C. Keuls (Reign of the Phallus)

...This Holy Spirit, the Great Mother, is symbolized by a great Tree whose branches spread over the entire world and reach above the heavens. A more beautiful symbol can hardly be conceived. This Tree “has three roots, widely remote from each other. The first is amongst the gods; the second among the Giants (the blessed spirits); the third embraces hell" – E. Valentia Straiton (The Celestial Ship of the North)

The primal Stellar Cult paradise was the place of one tree. The paradise or garden in Amenta...is the place of two trees...These two trees appear in the Ritual as the tree of Hathor and the tree of Nut; the tree of the Earth and the tree of Heaven; the tree of the North and the tree of the East. The tree of Hathor was the tree of life – Albert Churchward (The Origins and Evolution of Religion)

The woman, tree, and cosmic serpent

The date-palm goddess bestowing her bounty and sweetness. Palms were one of the most important and revered trees for ancient Egyptians. Mystery schools were known as Palmyriums, and images of palm fronds were often carved above the portals and gates of great shrines and temples.

The virgin goddess Nut or Nuith in proximity to the sacred sycamore, the "tree of life" or "tree of the virgin." As the imagery depicts, the goddess is the tree.

Note the solar disks emanating fiery rays from her womb. She is the "burning one" or "burning tree." She is the fragrant one, the original Holy Chalice or Grail. (Here for more on Nuith.)

Hathor was sometimes referred to as "Mistress of the Date Palm...She could also be called "The Lady of the Sycamore"...or more specifically, "The Lady of the Southern Sycamore" - an actual tree that grew at the temple of Ptah in Memphis during the Old Kingdome (c. 2686-2181 BC) - (Myths and their Settings)

The most famous of these sycamores, the sycamore of the South, was regarded as the living body of Hathor upon earth and the tree at Metairieh, commonly called the Tree of the Virgin, is probably the successor of a sacred tree of Heliopolis, in which a goddess, perhaps Hathor, was worshipped. The district around Memphis was known as the Land of the Sycamore, and contained several trees generally believed to be inhabited by detached doubles of Nuit and Hathor - J. H. Philpot (The Trees in Religion and Myth)

The only goddess to play a part in Judaism was Asherah. She is clearly a version of the Canaanite Ishtar and the Babylonian goddess Astarte or Ashtoreth. This goddess's name contains the syllable as or ash, referring to the tree of that name. As Mrs. Philpot explains in her excellent work The Tree in Religion and Myth:

Amongst the Canaanites every altar to the god had its sacred tree beside it, and when the Israelites established local sanctuaries under their influence, they set up their altar under a green tree, and planted aside it as its indispensable accompaniment an "ashera," which was either a living tree or a tree-like post, and not a "grove," as rendered in the Authorized Version. This ashera was undoubtedly worshipped as a sacred symbol of the deity. Originally it appears to have been associated with Ashtoreth or Astarte, the Syrian Istar...But the ashera was also erected by the altars of other gods, and in pre-prophetic days even beside that of Jehovah Himself, whence it may be concluded that "in early times tree-worship had such a vogue in Canaan, that the sacred tree or the pole, its surrogate, had come to be viewed as a general symbol of deity

...Baal and Astarte generally being represented by a pillar, known as the Asherah in the Bible, a Hebrew word, also common noun, meaning a sacred tree or pole used in the goddess cult - David Livingstone (The Dying God)

The very term ashera, derives from ash, meaning "holy" or "god" and era, meaning "earth" or "place." Era was also the name of the primordial goddess of the Irish or Arish. Indeed, the very names Irish and Arya derive from her name, as to words and names such as terra, Tara, Taara, Tyre, Taurt, and so on. The origin of the name Osiris or, more correctly, Asar or Asura, comes from the ancient Irish god Aesar (or Iesa), no different than the Celtic Esus. The name Asar means "sacred tree." Similar terms such as asa, aesir, or asha, mean "gods."


	Compare this burning tree motif to those above of Nuith. We will see the truth behind the facade fabricated by Jewish and Christian mythmongers. The bush is the symbol of the goddess, not the god. Moses kneels before Asherah, not Jehovah.

Of course the female counterpart of god was eventually displaced and forgotten. However, as we showed in our book Astro-Theology and Sidereal Mythology, the female was not only depicted in proximity to the sacred tree - she was the sacred tree. And where the goddess and tree was found, the serpent of wisdom was also apparent.

One striking and important specimen of early type in the British Museum collection has two figures sitting one on each side of a tree, holding out their hands to the fruit, while at the back one (the woman) is etched a serpent...thus it is evident that a form of the “Fall,” similar to that in Genesis, was known in early times in Babylonia – John G. Jackson (Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth)

In the Bible, the Christian mythmongers inverted the story of the female and her connection to the life-giving tree of life. The proto-Christians were Atonists, or members of the Solar Cult. They were paternalistic and so was their god. Even though Jehovah's name meant "yew tree," his servants were determined to downplay the pagan elements of their theology, presenting their solar heroes (Solomon, David, Joseph, Samson, Moses, Aaron, Jesus, and others) as stand alone entities. In the New Testament, the main women around Jesus are portrayed as being of low character, and Paul makes several scathing remonstrations against women in his writings. Apparently, this extremist attitude was a phenomenon that crept in after the second century AD. In early Judaism, for instance, women were revered, and there are hints throughout the scriptures indicating that women played a significant role in Christianity before the time of its codification at Nicea. Nevertheless, the Old Testament mythmongers made a complete travesty of story concerning the goddess and her relationship to the sacred tree and serpent of wisdom. Despite the fact that the mythmongers radically skewed and adulterated the story of the primal parents in the garden, and despite the textual contradictions and improbable elements of their concoction, millions of Christians stubbornly believe that what they read in the Book of Genesis actually happened. They believe that Eve was responsible for man's sorry predicament, by tempting him to disobey Yahweh and eat of the forbidden fruit.

From the Old Testament onward, we read many diatribes against womankind. We also have remonstrations against the veneration of nature and other gods and goddesses:

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat...Behold! the man has become one of us, to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of Life and eat and live evermore – Genesis (3:13 & 22)

Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger – (Jeremiah 7:17–18)

Sociologist Erich Fromm wrote the following statement about the conspicuous bigotry of the Old Testament's authors:

The document that most powerfully exemplifies an extremely male, patriarchal attitude is the Old Testament…It is not surprising that the subject of productiveness, the Creation itself, also finds an extreme male solution in its pages…The reason why the Old Testament exhibits such a one sided, male character is that as the primary text of Jewish monotheism it represents a male victory over female deities, over the matriarchal remnants in the social structures. The Old Testament is the triumphal hymn of the victorious male religion, a song of victory commemorating the destruction of all traces of the matriarchy in religion and society – (Love, Sexuality and Matriarchy)

What the Christian mythmongers chose not to reveal is that the female was the forbidden fruit. In fact, in the earliest times, god was the tree. Before the Book of Genesis was written, god and the tree were one. In short, in the unadulterated version, woman initiates man into his godhead. She brings him the fruit, or leads him to the tree of knowledge. In the corrupted version, she is the temptress who leads him away from truth and causes his fall.

In pre-monotheistic ages the sophic female was the guide and instructor. She is the portal to the mysteries. As Arcanum II of the Tarot shows, she sits at the portal of the temple, in front of the sacred tree. She is the first ambassador of god, not the male hero or saint. She is also the first sacrificed or crucified one, meaning that she gives up her "life," as the earth does, so that all humankind can live and grow. Men begin as seeds in her "garden" or womb, and at his death a man returns to her arms - his breath returns to the sky and his flesh to the earth.

As we have stated elsewhere, Biblical concoctions such as the Genesis story are terribly mutilated renditions of Irish and Amenist (or Aryan) creation sagas and initiation rites. When re-rendered in a pristine form, without the propagandist elements introduced by the Christian or Atonist priesthood, the mythographs take on a very different complexion.

Caesar and other Roman writers, as well as the Greeks, knew nothing of the esoteric wisdom of Ancient Egypt, and therefore of the Druids. They perverted all that had been told them – Albert Churchward (The Origins and Evolution of Religion)

Biblicists cannot provide us with a good reason as to why god was angry at Eve for eating of the Tree of Life. Apparently, once consumed, the fruit of the tree could have made Adam and Eve into gods. It could have opened their eyes and shown them the nature of good and evil. It was a unique and curious fruit to be sure. But if it was so important to god that man did not partake of the forbidden fruit, why did he draw Adam’s attention to the fruit’s existence? Why did he plant the tree if its fruit was so dangerous? Surely he could not have been testing Adam? Well, not surprisingly, answers to our questions are scarce. They are answered, however, by unbiased investigators in no doubt about the Vatican's insidious lie-machinery:

In the Persian myth of the creation, the first human pair that emerged from the mythical world-tree and were born upon this earth were named respectively Meshia and Meshiane. These are two unmistakable Irish named characters...That the Persians got their chief gods from the ancient Irish is indubitable – Conor MacDari

The Pope, though he permits our typifying Jesus as a fish, as the sun, as bread, as the vine, as a shepherd, as a rock, as a conquering hero, even as a winged serpent, yet, threatens us with hell fire if we ever dare to celebrate him in terms of the venerable gods whom he has superseded and from whose ritual every one of these symbols has been derived - Robert Graves

Note the twin sprigs at the top of the tree, similar in design to the wings of the hermetic caduceus.

Above we see a Grecian depiction of the tree, ostensibly representing god, beside which stand the primal couple Dionysus and Minerva (re-rendered by the mythmongers as Adam and Eve.) The tree has a serpent coiling round its trunk. This symbol, of the tree and serpent, was the hierogram for the goddess Ishtar or Astarte. Some legends hold that the god of the tree (Jehovah or Elohim) created woman not as a companion for man but as consort for himself. He wished to mate with her, and from their union came man. Ergo, woman is not man’s equal or wife but his superior.

The reproduction of the species is feminine: it runs steadily and quietly through all species, animal or human, through all short-lived cultures. It is primary, unchanging, everlasting, maternal, plantlike, and cultureless. If we look back we find that it is synonymous with life itself – Oswald Spengler

Woman exists everlasting, self-subsistent, immutable; man, evolving, is subject to continual decay. In the realm of the physical, therefore, the masculine principle is of second rank, subordinate, to the feminine - J. J. Bacofen (Das Mutterrecht, Vol. II)

The prime datum is the earth, the basic maternal substance. Visible creation proceeds from her womb, and it is only then that the sexes become divided into two, only then does the masculine come into being. Thus the male and female do not appear simultaneously; they are not of the same order...The female is primary, the male is only what comes out of her - ibid

The elites within the Christian priesthood drastically altered the role and significance of the sophic female. She was no longer the consort and equal of god, but a disobedient miscreant who led man (god's first creation) into sin and perdition.

In no land or literature has the mythical mode of representation been perverted and reduced to driveling foolishness more fatally than in some of the Hebrew legends – Gerald Massey

We still have the motif of the divine woman and the tree, but in mutilated form. Nevertheless, it is there, in the New Testament’s account of Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene standing near to the cross (tree) on Golgotha. As we said, the very name Mary denotes the myrrh tree. (Jesus was allegedly offered wine and myrrh during his ordeal on Mount Calvary.) Sadly, in the adulterated Christian version, the women are demure and woeful, and the tree is reduced in aspect to an loathsome instrument of torture. It is neither a god nor a lover. It is not a goddess symbol. It is still a sacrificial object, but that is its only resemblance to the pagan antetype.

In the unadulterated version of the mythos, to be in the presence of the sacred tree and/or serpent meant to be near god. Originally, the woman shown in close proximity to either one, is in the company of god, her creator, consort, and lover.

Clearly, given the imagery used by the Christian mythmongers, Jesus stands in the place of the serpent of wisdom. The paternalistic priests supplanted the goddess and replaced her with their masculine god and hero.

Serapis and Jesus were both represented by a great serpent – E. Valentia Straiton (The Celestial Ship of the North)

The crown of thorns on the brow of Jesus is another pagan floral motif. The original crown of thorns, so to speak, was the antlers (horns) of the stag-god Herne. Herne, also known as Nikor and Cernunnos, was lord of the forests and the earth. He was known by many names throughout the world. In India he was Pashupati, lord of the animals and prototype of Shiva. (Note the similarity between the words "horned" and "honored," as in "horned one" or "honored one.")

Crowns, with their thorn-like spikes were representations of the sun's rays and also the horns of the male stag, one of the original symbols of kingship. Expert on ancient Vedic traditions, Albert Pike, explained the phenomenon as follows:

The genuine acacia, also, is the thorny tamarisk, the same tree which grew around the body of Osiris. It was a sacred tree among the Arabs, who made of it the idol Al-Uzza, which Mohammed destroyed. It is abundant as a bush in the desert of Thur; and of it the ‘crown of thorns’ was composed, which was set on the forehead of Jesus of Nazareth. It is a fit type of immortality on account of its tenacity of life; for it has been known, when planted as a door-post, to take root again and shoot out budding boughs above the threshold – (Morals and Dogma)

Mrs J. H. Philpot agrees, and also explained the relationship between Osiris and the sacred tree. As we read her words, we would do well to remember that Jesus of the New Testament was a character largely based on Osiris:

...there is evidence that the great Osiris was originally a tree-god. According to Egyptian mythology, after he had been murdered his coffin was discovered enclosed in a tree-trunk, and he is spoken of in the inscriptions as " the one in the tree," "the solitary one in the acacia." The rites, too, by which his death and burial were annually celebrated appear to couple him closely with Tammuz, Adonis, Attis, Dionysus, and other gods whose worship was associated with a similar ritual - (The Tree in Religion and Myth)

On the night before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus prayed in a garden on the so-called Mount of Olives. This is the second instance in which Jesus ascends a hill or mound. The other instance is when he delivered the so-called "Sermon on the Mount." In both cases, the image of the teacher on the mount or mound has its origin in Druidism. The mound (or sidhe) is a seminal goddess symbol.

Christ in Gethsemane, from Jean Duke de Berry's fifteenth century illuminated "Book of Hours." Note how the artist has "solarized" Jesus and set his head among the stars. Obviously, the Mount of Olives is a simulacra for the astronomer's observatory upon which the ancient Magi and Druid elders observed and charted the heavens. Note also the two trees reaching up into the night sky. In Ecclesiastical parlance, this episode in the life of Jesus is known, suggestively, as the "Agony in the Garden." Perhaps the word "garden" should be replaced by the word "grove."

Perhaps it is mere coincidence that Jesus and his father Joseph were, as the Gospels tell is, "carpenters," that is, workers in wood.

In his treatise on ancient pagan beliefs, mythologist Sir James George Frazer explained that the concept of a crucified savior was not original to Christianity or Judaism. Nor was it only male heroes or saints that sacrificed themselves so that others could survive. In pagan times, the rites of sacrificial death and rebirth included female goddesses and heroines:

In Greece the great goddess Artemis herself appears to have been annually hanged in effigy in her sacred grove of Condylea among the Arcadian hills, and there accordingly she went by the name of the Hanged One...Every year the virgins sacrificed a young goat to the image by hanging it, because Aspalis was said to have hanged herself. The sacrifice may have been a substitute for hanging an image or a human representative of Artemis. Again, in Rhodes the fair Helen was worshipped under the title of Helen of the Tree...At Hierapolis also the victims were hung on trees before they were burnt. With these Greek and Scandinavian parallels before us we can hardly dismiss as wholly improbable the conjecture that in Phrygia a man-god may have hung year by year on the sacred but fatal tree - (The Golden Bough, 1922)

Orpheus, one of the main prototypes for the Biblical Jesus, with his "crown of thorns." Like Apollo, Sir Tristan, Krishna, King David, and many other heroes and deities, Orpheus was a lover of music. Perhaps this connotes a Bardic (Druidic) connection.

Another Grecian depiction of the triform tree (representing god) and the primal parents Dionysus and Minerva. Curiously, the word tree and the word three are almost identical. In the New Testament's scene at Calvary, there is no single triform tree, but three separate "trees," or crosses.
Note how the figures point in different directions, not unlike the Templar icon Baphomet. Appropriately, the male god points heavenward while the chthonic female points earthward.

The Babylonian seal below was discovered in the nineteenth century by antiquarian and scholar George Smith. It shows the pre-Christian primal parents, the serpent, and central tree ostensibly representing god. The tree is divided according to the 3-4 ratio and is conspicuously phallic. Indeed, as we have previously shown, the first letters of the names of Jehovah and Yahweh - Yod/Iod/Jod - were alphabetical sigils of the phallus and tree trunk. The serpent sits beside the female because it was a feminine initiation symbol. Symbolically speaking, the tree is the world ash, the sacred cedar, sycamore, and/or yew, the antetype of the Mosaic burning bush.

Assyrian tablet with tree, serpent, and primal couple

Akkadian goddess with her son. Note the tree of life behind her.

Note the similarity between the design of the Babylonian tree of life and the female reproductive organs.

The figure of Eve is based upon much older mythology and may be traced back to the ancient Mother Goddess or World Mother and the serpent cults of the pre-Biblical period. Closer examination of the name ‘Eve’ revealed her serpent origins, for the Hebrew for Eve is havvah, meaning ‘mother of all things,’ but also ‘serpent.’ Likewise, the Arabic words for ‘snake,’ ‘life,’ and ‘teaching,’ are closely related to the word or name “Eve’ – Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn (The Serpent Grail)

The Uraeus is a serpent issuing forth from the forehead of many gods being also an ornament of the royal crowns...The amulet of the serpent head is the symbol of the goddess Isis who is often represented by a serpent – Karel Weinfurter (Man’s Highest Purpose)

Note that the fallopian complex appears like a tree or woman standing, It can be thought of as one "person" inside another. In the minstrel tradition there are many songs that poetically tell of a princess or virginal female turning into a tree. Myrrha, the mother of Adonis, turned into a tree before giving birth to her son. The feet of Botticelli's Venus (see below) are positioned in a manner signifying the labia. The shape of the system is similar to the downward pointing triangle or "Chalice."

One "inside" the other. As the sun is in the sky, the child is within the womb.

The oracle at Delphi, Greece. The word delphi means "womb." In ancient times the oracle was known as Pytho, which was also the name for the seer who gave predictions at the site. She was the living oracle. The name Pytho means python or serpent. Priests dedicated to the god Apollo also frequented Delphi.

The Real Burning Bush

...This Holy Spirit, the Great Mother, is symbolized by a great Tree whose branches spread over the entire world and reach above the heavens. A more beautiful symbol can hardly be conceived. This Tree “has three roots, widely remote from each other. The first is amongst the gods; the second among the Giants (the blessed spirits); the third embraces hell" – E. Valentia Straiton (The Celestial Ship of the North)

Below is a detail from Sandro Botticelli's Primavera. In the center of the canvas the artist depicts the goddess Venus. He is red-haired to distinguish her as the fiery, burning (or burnished) one. Behind her we see many leaves and a few trees. The negative space on either side of the goddess has an interesting shape suggesting the fallopian system. Botticelli is obviously indicating that she is the actual tree of life.

A detail of Primavera, by Sandro Botticelli. (Here for larger version.) Below: The Adoration of Venus. Note the womb-shaped vesica or mandorla, tree of life, and sacred grove of the goddess, and compare the image to the insignia of the Scottish church below.

Now let us once again examine the emblem for the Church of Scotland. We note the "vesica pisces" that contains the living tree of life, and realize that these are both classic symbols of the goddess. We also see how the tree resembles a mushroom, another symbol of the goddess who is without doubt the true blazing or burning tree. (Here for more on the vesica pisces.)



Details of The Birth of Venus, by Sandro Botticelli. Venus or Aphrodite was often referred to as the long fiery-haired goddess. Interestingly, the crucifixion of Jesus took place on a hill sacred to Aphrodite.

The Red-Haired "Girl"

Detail of Primavera, by Sandro Botticelli

Therefore, given these facts, and given that we are in a figurative state of mind, we might muse on the matter and declare the so-called "burning bush" to be a simulacra for a sacerdotal priestess, possibly one with red hair. And why not? As the Tarot shows, the High Priestess sits in front of the sacred tree as its guardian and caretaker. In many ancient legends, such as that pertaining to Ishtar, the tree was a symbol for god, her lover. In other versions, Ishtar was, like Isis and Nuith, herself the living tree.

An exquisite frieze on a government building in the city of Stockholm, Sweden.

When all is said and done, these legendary accounts make a great deal more sense than the Book of Genesis which tells us that God eternally condemned and punished Adam and Eve for disobediently eating of a tree's fruit. We are never told why the act was so forbidden and fatal or why a supposedly loving and good God would be so angry and vengeful. We have few answers until we realize that the Bible does not contain God's words, but man's words.

We are told that the prohibition to eat the fruit was issued to Adam before Eve was released from her imprisonment in Adam’s rib...before she became a woman and a wife; and it is not even implied that it was intended to extend to her. Why, then, in the name of God, should such curses be heaped upon her devoted head for eating the fruit when she had not been forbidden to do so? – Joseph Wheless (Bible of Bibles)

And so, given what we now know about the relationship between the female goddess and sacred tree, we might return to the relevant Biblical passages and question whether the term "burning bush" refers obliquely to the female goddess rather than to the male god.

Diana Lucifera, or Hecate, the Greek version of the illumined or "burning" goddess. She represented resurrection and spiritual understanding. Below: the Lady of Columbia Pictures Company and Lady Liberty, both figures are not a million miles away from that of Diana Lucifera, goddess of light and secret knowledge.

The goddess Hecate was known as "the Savior."

Pope as Diana Lucifera

Syrian goddess Atargatis, the "Lady Goddess of the Sea," is often depicted as a mermaid. She is associated with Canaanite goddesses Anat, Asherah, and Astarte. Here she is seen with her symbol, the serpent.

While we ask this question, we should note what various "informed" artists of the Renaissance and other periods have secretly revealed to us in their canvases. We should also remind ourselves that the name Jehovah is made up of two masculine letters and two feminine letters. Both it, and the term Elohim, are plural words. In fact, the word Jehovah (like Havvah, meaning "Eve") ends with a feminine vowel.

The figure of Eve is based upon much older mythology and may be traced back to the ancient Mother Goddess or World Mother and the serpent cults of the pre-Biblical period. Closer examination of the name ‘Eve’ revealed her serpent origins, for the Hebrew for Eve is havvah, meaning ‘mother of all things,’ but also ‘serpent.’ Likewise, the Arabic words for ‘snake,’ ‘life,’ and ‘teaching,’ are closely related to the word or name “Eve’ – Philip Gardiner and Gary Osborn (The Serpent Grail)

...in the Near East the primordial serpent is described as feminine, and we may suspect that in this region the myth did indeed become a metaphor for the conquest of matriarchy. But its universality suggests that there is yet a deeper, psycho-spiritual meaning behind it - Ariel Guttman and Kenneth Johnson (Mythic Astrology)

The serpent energy is definitely one of the most primeval archetypes and in all ancient cultures was intimately connected with the mysteries of the divine female - Crompton

Then the Female Spiritual Principle came in the Snake Instructor, and it taught them saying..."with death you shall not die" - (The Hypostasis of the Archon)

Mother goddess and solar child protected by the cosmic serpent.

An ancient Etruscan monument was discovered at Rome, the precise model of those pictures of the Madonna and her child so common in Italy and throughout the world - W. Winwood Reade

The goddess Rannut sucking the god Tem. Stellar goddesses such Taurt, Rannut, Mersekert, and Isis represented the protecting serpent Draco and were the antetypes for the Biblical Virgin Mary. Rannut was a version of the primordial goddess Kep and was connected with the harvest.

The twenty first card of the Tarot's Major Arcana shows the eternal female dancing the cosmic dance with her serpent lover. Although the serpent is a symbol for god and spiritual wisdom, and although it symbolizes the spermatozoon (which is snake-like), it is primarily a feminine insignia. The elites within the Church have done their best to conceal the positive connections between the female and the serpent (as in their mutilated Genesis story). However, this only goes to prove that they, and their counterparts within Masonry, know just what the symbolism pertains to. Note how the artist has framed the goddess and serpent in an ovum-like circle representing the circumpolar zone.

As we said earlier, the Bible is full of sabean references, and full of vegetal leitmotifs plagiarized from paganism. One of the best examples of priestly plagiarization and adaption is found in the Gospel of Mark. It is the beautiful account of the anointing of Jesus with priceless spikenard. The anointing, however, was not done by a priest or a disciple, but by a woman, and a "fallen" one at that:

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me - (Mark 14:3-6)

Frederick Sandys' painting of Mary Magdalene, the anointer of Jesus. In Aramaic, Magdala means "Tower." In this context the surname is an oblique reference to Isis and Nephthys, the goddesses of Egypt. (The headdress of Nephthys was a tower.) However, in Sumerian Magdal means "Shepherd." This is a reference to astrology and also to Egyptian royalty. The implication is that Mary was a high-born adept. The term Meri was a pseudonym for many Egyptian queens and princesses, such as Meritaten. It meant "beloved," and is a variant of the word myrrh. The jar, or alabastron, is a symbol of the goddess Ma'at. It is the hieroglyphic for the word "heart," the English variant would be "love."



Mary (Myrtle or Myrrh) anoints Jesus with spikenard (or nard) and sanctifies him. In other words, he becomes the spikenard and becomes one with the natural order represented by the sacerdotal female and/or goddess - the same goddess who appears in Egyptian iconography as the tree.

Mary of Bethany ‘Christ-ened’ Jesus with the Spikenard, an unguent that had very likely, been kept for that occasion, and was an ointment associated with burial rites. Jesus himself remarked of the anointing (Mark 14:8); ‘…she has come a forehand to anoint my body to the burying’. In his mind, at least, it was intended to be a ritual...the ceremony is hardly typical of Judaic practice - Picket and Prince (Templar Revelation)

Spikenard is a potent plant from which an extremely aromatic resin is extracted. In ancient times it was very rare and expensive and was used ritually. It was frequently employed by women during pregnancy, but had many other properties. The term "nard" (spikenard's original name) comes from an ancient city of that name in Syria and is a variation of narthex, the name for a church lobby where holy water and other sacred objects are often kept. The vegetal symbolism should not surprise us because simple observation shows us that the portals, doorways, spires, domes, and interiors of countless churches, cathedrals, mosques, and synagogues, bear floral motifs, not less the chapel of Rosslyn, Scotland. (Here for more on spikenard.)

Again, we see that the mythmongers simply plagiarized the pagan canon to borrow a well known image that relates not only to marriage, pregnancy, and birth, but spiritual awakening. This kind of appropriation is in evidence from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation. The beautiful account in Mark lets the educated reader know that the Jesus story predates the advent of Christianity. Despite the Christian context, the story of Mary anointing Jesus with sacred oil, harkens back to the age when priest-kings were ritually consecrated by women. Mark's account brings the sacred female and sacred plant together in one setting. Whether it is accounts of Mary Magdalene with her costly spikenard or mourning beneath the cross on Calvary, or whether it is Mary the Madonna with lilies, roses, and fleur-de-lis - in each mythograph there is a subtextual reference to trees and plants. As we said, the myths make more sense when we understand that, symbolically speaking, the sacerdotal woman is the tree or plant. To the pagan mind she (Eve, Mary, Isis, or Taurt, etc) was literally the living tree or burning bush.

The Hebrew folkloric collection known as the Haggadah specifically identifies the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge as the fig. The woman’s name became Anglicized as Eve, Hava in Latin, which means “the mother of all”...from the Hebrew Havvah, or "Life," the "Living One...” - Carl A. P. Ruck (Sacred Mushrooms of the Goddess)

The Christians, from the time of the Catacombs, placed two figures on the sides of their principal emblems — not only of the Cross, which is also called "a Tree of Life," but also of the Chrism, the labarum, the rouelle, the Crown, the bunch of Grapes, the Eucharistic Cup, and so forth - Goblet d'Alviella (The Migration of Symbols, 1894)

One of Mary Magdalene's titles is the "Great and Holy Myrrh-Bearer." What is more, the Madonna is associated with numerous plants and flowers. (See relevant links at end of the page.) Jesus himself was not only presented with myrrh on his day or birth, he was also given myrrh wine to drink minutes before expiring on the cross. He was forced to wear a crown of thorns and, on the night before his arrest and crucifixion, he prayed in a garden on the "Mount of Olives."

Above we see Luca Signorelli's red-haired Mary Magdalene. Below we see Johann Godron's red-haired Madonna. Regardless of whether it is the Magdalene or the Virgin Mary, the symbolism is usually consistent. In every case and scenario, she is the living "Tree of Life" or "Burning Bush."

In the form of prayer called Litaniæ Lauritanæ, there are more than forty addresses to the Virgin, invoking her as the star of the sea, as the mystical rose, and by a variety of other heathen epithets - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

In Christian iconography, the lily is closely associated with the Madonna. However, this flower has been the insignia of Upper Egypt for millennia. The papyrus reed symbolized the lands of Lower Egypt. When Horus was born, Isis had to raise him in the swamps in order to hide him from Set who desired his death. This is why we see the lily in close proximity to Mary and Jesus. It symbolizes protection from evil and the care of the mother for her child.
The Amenists who respected the goddesses of earth and sky had their most illustrious temples at Thebes in Upper Egypt. The Atonist Cult were situated primarily in Heliopolis and Amarna and other cities and locales of Lower Egypt and Delta region. Below: We see the apple in the hands of Jesus and his mother. This identifies Mary with Eve of the Genesis story or, more correctly, of the sidereal story.

The Annunciation to Joachim and Anna, by Gaudenzio Ferrari. In this bizarre painting we see the moment when the Holy Spirit comes onto Mary to conceive Jesus. However, Mary's heart appears to be pierced by a tree that bends toward her. Or alternatively, the artist may be suggesting that the tree grows out of her body. Again, as in so many paintings of Mary, we see her in an enclosed garden.

A red-haired Mary Magdalene disguised as a male disciple, sits at the Last Supper beside Jesus in the seat of honor. Her clothes match those worn by Jesus, and the negative space between the two figures makes the V-like "chalice" that indicates feminine mysteries. It is the symbol of the Grail that exoterically denotes the blood of Christ, but esoterically the bloodline, or biological descendants of Jesus. (According to legend, the female child of Jesus and Mary Magdalene was named Sarah, from Sarai, meaning "princess." Thus, a royal lineage is suggested.)
In recent times, these facts have come to public attention because of popular books such as Holy Blood, Holy Grail, and The da Vinci Code, etc. However, some researchers believe it was John the Baptist who was the true messiah, not Jesus. They believe there was factional rivalry between the sects who followed Jesus and John, and they believe that much of the symbolism surrounding Jesus actually belongs to John, the true "Teacher of Righteousness." In any case, we believe the entire Judaic and Christian corpus to be founded on feminine goddess imagery and Irish and Egyptian deities (such as Esus, Horus, Osiris, Isis, and so on). The feminine imagery that crops up in Christianity (as in Leonardo's painting above and in references to the various Marys), obliquely references goddesses of antiquity such as Isis, Ishtar, Sophia, Taurt, Nuith, Danu, Brigit, and the other female deities associated with the moon and night sky. In other words, the iconography of religion is ultimately astrological as well as natural and spiritual. (For more on the controversy between Jesus and John, refer to the books Templar Revelation and Masks of Christ, by Pickett and Prince.)

So there were four categories of missionary proselytizing the Empire: the Jewish version, Paul and those following his “revealed” form, others who also added a Hellenistic twist, and John the Baptist’s followers. It was a busy, chaotic, and heady mix, all inspired by those events that had taken place a few in a short few years in a far-flung corner of the Empire – Pickett and Prince (Masks of Christ)

We find it most appropriate that in the book and film The da Vinci Code, Professor Langdon tells Sophie, in the basement of Rosslyn Chapel, that she... "is the secret." Perhaps that is the most pertinent line in the entire book.

Left: Achilles, the archetypal hero. His name allegedly means "sorrowful nation" or "sorrowful world." However, the word Illes connotes "rulers," "eternals," or "gods." In Sanskrit Illa means "serpent," as in "eel." Right: British Queen Boudica, a warlike red head.

The Greek historian Dio Cassius described Boudica, the famous Celtic Queen of the Iceni, to: "be tall and terrifying in appearance...a great mass of red hair...over her shoulders". Also many mythological characters from Homer's The Iliad, (themselves supposedly Greek) are described as being "red-haired" including Menelaus and Achilles - (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia. Entry on red hair)

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Officially, it is Jesus who was impaled on the cross. However, as we have emphasized above, this grotesque image is a priestly travesty. It is a mutilated version of a profound sidereal mythograph. Before the rise of Christianity it was the female goddess who personified the tree or cross which, in turn, represented the astronomical pole and circumpolar zone. The male figure was deliberately interpolated by paternalistic mythmongers. Through their egregious contrivance, the male hero assumed the place traditionally reserved for the sophic female. He sacrificed and bled as she did, and ascended to heaven as she had ascended to the stars millennia before the first stone of the first Christian church was set in place.

It was Rudolf Bultmann, the German Biblical scholar, who cited certain passages in the Gospels...as interpolations of Sophia herself, put into the mouth of Christ - Caitlin Matthews (Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom)

The incarnate god was probably representative of a god or spirit of earth, growth, or vegetation, represented also by a tree – J. A. MacCulloch (The Religion of the Ancient Celts)

The primal Stellar Cult paradise was the place of one tree. The paradise or garden in Amenta (Solar Cult) is the place of two trees...These two trees appear in the Ritual as the tree of Hathor and the tree of Nut; the tree of the Earth and the tree of Heaven; the tree of the North and the tree of the East. The tree of Hathor was the tree of life - Albert Churchward (The Origins and Evolution of Religion)

...certain cuneiform texts seem to prove that the Assyro-Chaldeans were acquainted with a “Tree of Life.” Whether it was thus styled because it served as a simulacrum of the Goddess of Life, or whether it represented this divinity by reason of its own mythical function, the fact is none the less certain, according to Mr. Sayce, that the “divine Lady of Eden” or Edin, was termed in Northern Babylon, before receiving from the Semites the name Bab Ilu, the “Gate of God”…in the old language of the country, Tintirkel, or Dintir-ra, which most Assyriologists translate as “the place of the Tree (or Grove) of Life” – Count Goblet D’Alviella (The Migration of Symbols, 1894)

Ezekiel complained that Jewish women spent much of their time "making hangings for the groves" (Ezek 16:16) - Ernest Busenbark (Symbols, Sex and the Stars)

In short, the Biblical "Jesus" who was born of a woman named Miriam (Mary), given myrrh at this birth and death, anointed with spikenard by another female named Mary, and hung on a cross, is - as a multiplicity of informed artists have figuratively implied - a compromise between the male god and female goddess. After all, Jesus is depicted as distinctly androgynous by most Christian artists. This makes him the equivalent of many gods of antiquity, such as the Babylonian Bel and Canaanite Baal:

Baal was one of two separate deities, at times represented the dual gender of a single androgynous deity. As twins, Baal and Astarte were two aspects of one god, who personified the reproductive energies of nature. Baal, came to represent the sky god, the god of thunder, who fertilizes the goddess, mother earth, to bring forth life...Baal and Astarte generally being represented by a pillar, known as the Asherah in the Bible, a Hebrew word, also common noun, meaning a sacred tree or pole used in the goddess cult - David Livingstone (The Dying God)

An image below shows blood on the neck of an androgynous Jesus. Symbolically speaking, blood and acts of bloodletting were female iconographs. What is more, the crucifixion of Jesus took place on a hill sacred to the goddess Aphrodite (or Venus) who was often referred to as the fiery-haired goddess.

At the Last Supper, Jesus may have broken and distributed the bread and offered his disciples the red wine, but as we saw above, the wine and bread are symbols that represent the sacerdotal female who in turn represents nature. It is mother nature who brings the vines to fruition and distributes the bread made from and containing flour, seeds, yeast, salt, and water. Again, we see the duplicity and cunning of the Judeo-Christian mythmongers. They interpolated their male hero and skewed the mythic motifs to suit their propagandist schemes.

He that reads ecclesiastical history, reads nothing but roguery and folly of bishops and churchmen - Hugo Grotius (1583-1645. Philosopher)
Had the keys to the hieratic writings and the secret Egyptian and Hindu symbolism been known to the Christian Fathers, they would not have allowed a single monument of old to stand unmutilated - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Isis Unveiled)
It has already been stated in “Isis Unveiled” that so far back as in the days of Aristotle, the great Mysteries had already lost their primitive grandeur and solemnity. Their rites had fallen…and they had to a great degree degenerated into mere priestly speculation and had become religious shams - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Occultism)

The Vatican is the storehouse of an immense number of ancient manuscripts. During the long interval of nearly 1,500 years they have been accumulating, from trial after trial, books and manuscripts confiscated from their sentenced victims, to their own profit. The Catholics may plead that the books were generally committed to the flames; that the treatises of famous sorcerers and enchanters perished with their accursed authors. But the Vatican, if it could speak, could tell a different story. It knows too well of the existence of certain closets and rooms, access to which is had but by the very few. It knows that the entrances to these secret hiding-places are so cleverly concealed from sight in the carved frame-work and under the profuse ornamentation of the library-walls, that there have even been Popes who lived and died within the precincts of the palace without ever suspecting their existence. When one has such treasures at hand - original manuscripts, papyri, and books pillaged from the richest libraries; old treatises an magic and alchemy; and records of all the trials for witchcraft, and sentences for the same to rack, stake, and torture, it is mighty easy to write volumes of accusations against the Devil. We affirm on good grounds that there are hundreds of the most valuable works on the occult sciences, which are sentenced to eternal concealment from the public, but are attentively read and studied by the privileged who have access to the Vatican Library - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (Magic in the Church)

The Chemycal Wedding

A great mind must be androgynous - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The unification of opposites is known in alchemical parlance Coniunctionis, Hieros Gamos or "Chemycal Wedding." It has been symbolized by the cross, the cross or square within a circle, the hexagram, the marriage of a king and queen or prince and princess, the vesica pisces or mandorla, the nucleation of four stars, colors, animals, people, or other units, and by the eclipse of the sun and moon. It has also been symbolized by a single open eye. The attainment of spiritual androgyny was once the sole goal of alchemy, magic, yoga, and religion. As we mentioned above, the very names Jehovah and Elohim connote androgyny and contain feminine suffixes. However, when it comes to gods and religion, androgyny is a very old story:
I am Atum, the creator of the Eldest Gods,
I am he who gave birth to Shu,
I am that great he-she.
I am he who did what seemed good to him,
I took my space in the place of my will.
Mine is the space of those who move along
like those two serpentine circles
(Pyramid Text)

Above we see a painting by the great Renaissance master Rafael (1483-1520 AD). On either side of the crucifix (astrological pole) we see that the sun and moon occupy the sky during the day. We also see the four mysterious letters above the head of Jesus - INRI. This cryptic term does not mean "King of the Jews." It is a reference to the four elements. In Hebrew, Fire, Water, Air, and Earth are named: Iammim, Nour, Ruach, and Ibeshah. The initial letters of which are I, N, R, I. (In Latin the initial letters of the names of the elements are also I, N, R, I.)

The unification of the luminaries represents androgyny, that is, the harmonization of masculine and feminine energies. The actualization of this numinous state was once the supreme goal of yoga, magic, alchemy, and religion.

...if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light - (Matthew 6:22)
When you make the two one, and when you make the inside as the outside, and the outside as the inside, and the upper as the lower, and when you make the male and the female into a single one, so that the male is not male and the female not female, and when you make eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter the kingdom – (Gospel of Thomas)

If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move Away,' and it will move away – ibid

Make a circle of the Man and Woman, In the circle make a square, Within the square, Make a triangle, And you will have the Philosopher’s Stone – Alchemical Adage

The Serpent Priests

Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge (gnosis) and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves" - (Gospel of Thomas)

The Druids spread their traditions and knowledge throughout the world. We find relics of their presence in the Middle and Far East, in Egypt, India, and China. The hallmark of their theology was reverence for nature. To the Arya and Druids, the earth was alive, intelligent, and sacred. One meaning of the word Druid is "Keeper or Servant of Truth." Another is "Door of Gate Keeper." The Gaelic word Doire, refers to the Druids and is the origin of the modern word "door." Of course, we recall the many Megalithic sites and stone monuments, erected at the behest of the Druidic Order, that often resemble portals or doorways.

In Appendix One we showed how Druidic imagery turns up in artwork composed by ostensibly Christian artists. Like in the painting below, by Andres Mantegna, entitled The Adoration of the Shepherds, we see the triform tree, standing stone, sacred mound, tree of life, and portal. These are all leitmotifs associated with Ireland, and with the Celts, Gaels, and Druids.

Mantegna shows Joseph sleeping. Above him is the tree. The image of the sleeping prophet reoccurs in an Old Testament prophesy concerning the birth of Jesus. The passage comes from the Book of Isaiah and is remarkably Druidic in its imagery:

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his root - (Isaiah 11:1)

In the Latin Vulgate, the Druidic imagery is more pronounced. Instead of "shoot" the Vulgate has "green twig." In Latin this is virga, a pun on the word "virgin." Again, we see that the mythmongers were completely aware of the relationship between the female goddess and the sacred tree. Moreover, Jesse is a rendition of Esse or Esus, the Irish-Druidic god of vegetation. (See Appendix One for more on Esus.) When artists depict the passage from the Book of Isaiah, they invariably include a magnificent tree or vine growing near, or even out of, the body of the sleeping Jesse.

Images of the so-called "Tree of Jesse," from chapter eleven of the Book of Isaiah. The passage purportedly predicts the coming of Jesus Christ. The imagery here, as in other areas of the Bible, is purely Druidic and Aryan.

The Druids referred to themselves as the Naddreds or Adders. These terms, like the Hindu Naga, mean "Serpents." The Druids were, therefore, a Serpent Priesthood. This does not mean anything sinister. It merely means that they were astrologers and members of the Stellar Cult. It also means that they were geomancers, familiar with the subtle energy pathways of the Earth. We saw above how the Caduceus of Hermes represented the healing arts. The term for serpent in Hebrew, nahash, also means "those who know." This symbol of the staff and serpent was erected in the Wilderness by Moses, after the exodus. This act not only confirms that Moses was of Pharaonic bloodline, but that he was familiar with Druidic ways. In other words, he and his Israelites, were Arya. The staff and snake appeared earlier in the Old Testament. We saw Aaron and Moses turn their royal staffs into serpents when they came in front of the Pharaoh to negotiate the release of their people:

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent – (Exodus 7:5-7)

The so-called ”Brazen Serpent” was the standard of a sect known as Naassians. In ancient Hebrew, Nasi referred to a spiritual or religious leader. Moses was an Atonist who understood that the sun had passed from the house of Taurus into that of Aries. He wanted his people to honor that sidereal change. The stories of the erecting of the standard in the "Wilderness" and the conflict on Mount Sinai cryptically conceal astrological phenomena. (See Jesus: Last of the Pharaohs, by Ralph Ellis for more on this subject.)

Of course, it is interesting to find out how important the serpent symbol was to the Western Arya and Druids. This is particularly so, given that there are no snakes in Ireland. It is also significant because we see that the Egyptian priest-kings also showed inordinate reverence for the symbol. The Pharaohs donned the Uraeus serpent coronet as a sign of mastery and enlightenment. (The word Pharaoh comes from "pharos nous," meaning "enlightened or fiery mind.") It was, however, not physical snakes or reptiles that interested the adepts and caused them to adopt serpentine iconography. It was the stellar antetype that fascinated these astrologically-minded men. It was the giant constellation of Draco that caught their eyes and imagination. It was the protector of the heavens, of Eden, of paradise. It coiled around the pole and kept watch over the sacred apples or stars. It was the circumpolar dragon, the guardian of the imperishable Khus, or everlasting souls that traversed the many demanding trials of the afterlife to enter Amenta in a morally uncorrupted state.

...the Uraeus...is frequently represented as guarding the sacred cypress groves of the Amenti (Sheol) by breathing out fire to destroy any invading or unjustified soul. Hence the origin of the Grecian myth of the Hesperides garden and the fire-breathing dragons which guarded it - William Ricketts Cooper (The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt)

The great constellation of Draco was seen and revered by most of the civilized cultures and tribes of the Northern hemisphere. The Nordics shaped their great boats in the form of Draco the cosmic dragon. The Native American Indians named their tribes after it, and performed many dances to represent celestial movements. The Irish Druids made good use of the symbol on their monuments.

A symbol of sacred knowledge in antiquity was a tree, ever guarded by a serpent, the serpent or dragon of wisdom. The serpent of Hercules was said to guard the golden apples that hung from the pole, the Tree of Life, in the midst of the garden of Hesperides. The serpent that guarded the golden fruit...and the serpent of the Garden of Eden...are the same – E. Valentia Straiton (The Celestial Ship of the North)

...the nuptial tree, round which coils the serpent, is connected with time and with life as a necessary condition; and with knowledge – the knowledge of a scientific priesthood, inheriting records and traditions hoary, perhaps, with the snows of a glacial epoch – Kennersley Lewis

The term Messiah is not a Jewish term. It is an Egyptian pseudonym for the initiated man. Specifically, it signified an adept and astrologer. This is why the serpent becomes the symbol of the adept. It represents Draco in the sky. He is emblazoned with the emblem of his school, so to speak. He wears the symbol of his college and his level of matriculation. The word itself comes from messe or messeh, which referred to the fat of the crocodile. The modern word Mass (as in a Christian "Mass") comes from the same root. The initiate was anointed in the oil from the Nile crocodile. The crocodile god, Sobek or Sebek, represented the astrological or stellar serpent, Draco. And astrology was what Messiahship was originally all about.

The king was not anointed with oil, but with the fat of the crocodile. This is the original source of the word “Messiah.” Messeh was the word for crocodile, in ancient Egypt. The image of the two crocodiles formed the title of his coronation - Moustafa Gadalla (Historical Deception)

Sobek, Sebek, or Sobek Ra, the friendly and protecting dragon or serpent god. He was the prototype for the Holy Spirit. In this scene he is followed by the goddess Isis. As we have emphasized throughout our work, the serpent and goddess are closely related and represent the same sidereal and metaphysical principles. On the headdresses of both figures, we see the Uraeus serpent.

The anointing of the priest-king or Messiah.

...you have been anointed by the Holy One and have knowledge of all things...the anointing which you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; as his chrism teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him - (I John 2:20 and 27)

The most common Hebrew word for “priest” – kohen — familiar as well-known Jewish surname, comes from a Sumerian title meaning literally, "guardian of semen” - John Marco Allegro

The semen of the fertility god could be seen spurting as rain from heaving during an orgasmic thunderstorm; in concentrated form it appeared in certain powerful plants like the Mandrake, or Holy Plant, identified in many cultures with the sacred fungus, Amanita muscaria, or in the aromatic gums and resins that formed part of the traditional unctions of priests and kings. Such functionaries thus became `holy,' that is separated to the god's service, being smeared, or `anointed' with his divine substance. They were therefore called `the anointed ones,' that is, `messiahs,' or christs, more specifically in the Old Testament, `those anointed with Jehovah/Yahweh' - John Marco Allegro (The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth)

Another name for the polar region was "Meskhen," meaning "womb" or "birthplace." This celestial garden turns up in the Bible as the Garden of Eden. It is the origin of paradise (from para dios or “park of the gods”), and of Zion, which, like the English word zone, signifies a sacred enclosure. It is the antetype upon which Caer Sidi, Arcadia, Aaru, Avalon, Asgard, Emrys, Camelot, Swarga, Elysium, and the Garden of Hesperides were based. The sacred “apples” of Hesperides are the seven everlasting stars of the northern sky. The “apple tree” is the pole.

It is likely that the main cult of the prehistoric people was that of a Mother Goddess who was also the sky - R. T. Rundle Clark (Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt)

The heavenly circumpolar womb or "Meshken" with Taurt (hippo goddess) and Draco (the crocodile god).

In predynastic times, the heavenly protector was not serpentine but feminine in form. She was Taurt, Tawaret, or Tarot. In some medieval tapestries we see the sacred precinct and the animals that represent various circumpolar constellations. We also see the trees representing the polar axis, and the female who represents Taurt, Nuith, Isis, or Astarte, etc.

The pole had been the tree first planted in the astronomical mythology. It was the tree of Nut, or heaven, in the stellar phase, and being astronomical it was naturally the tree of knowledge – Gerald Massey

Taurt (pronounced TA URT), the goddess of the circumpolar zone and pole, suckles the Pharaoh. He partakes of her body, and becomes awakened to higher life. Note the Uraeus serpent that emanates from her body, and the other coiled around the sacred plant or tree, the "Tree of Life." (Note the similarity of the plant's blossoms to the fleur-de-lis, that appear on British and French heraldry. As we can see from this image, the fleur-de-lis is hardly connected to the Christian Virgin Mary, as most historians erroneously allege.) The symbol of the Vulture above Taurt is one of her main totems, and was later converted to the eagle seen on the American seal.

In Palestine, the Bible tells us, they venerated...the simulacra of Ashtaroth, representing this goddess of the fruitful and nourishing earth under the form of a tree - Goblet d'Alviella (The Migration of Symbols, 1894)

Once these facts are fully understood, we have a deeper understanding of the mechanism of deception set into motion by Christian mythmongers. The very idioms and traditions, customs and rites, churchmen instruct their flock to deride and suspiciously avoid, remain in use, but in a manner not observed by the masses under priestly control. Most importantly, the ancient insignias of truth, wisdom, and sanctity have been corrupted and mutilated by the worst breed of deceivers this world has ever had to endure. The present state of the world can be directly traced to this pestilence. Few there are today who know the truth and who take time to uncover and disclose the lies that keep man from understanding his own divinity.

In Eve’s scene at the tree…nothing is said to indicate that the serpent who appeared and spoke to her was a deity in his own right, who had been revered in the Levant for at least seven thousand years before the composition of the Book of Genesis – Joseph Campbell (Occidental Mythology)

...Nut, the lady of heaven, who presents the fruit of the tree to the man in the garden of the earthly paradise (Papyrus of Ani)...has been converted into the woman that tempted Adam to eat of the tree as the cause of the fallacious fall. The biblical rendering of this representation is a blasphemy against the Ritual, against womankind, against nature, and against knowledge. The goddess Nut, who offers the fruit of the tree of knowledge to the kneeling man, is in shape a woman, and the meaning could be only too easily misread, as it has been in the legend of the first woman who tempted the first man to eat of the forbidden fruit and to cause the loss of paradise – Gerald Massey

We are told that the prohibition to eat the fruit was issued to Adam before Eve was released from her imprisonment in Adam’s rib...before she became a woman and a wife; and it is not even implied that it was intended to extend to her. Why, then, in the name of God, should such curses be heaped upon her devoted head for eating the fruit when she had not been forbidden to do so? – Joseph Wheless (Bible of Bibles)

And so, we now know what the so-called "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" was. Given the preposterousness of the Genesis account, we can conclude that the forbidden fruit was certainly not fruit, and that the tree was not a tree. The tree was the celestial tree, the polar axis, or “World Tree” of the universal garden that stretched between heaven and hell. Its fruits (golden apples) were the stars of the circumpolar region. The guarding serpent was Draco. It was the mystery school of the heavens that was not meant to be approached. It was the telestrion of the stars that was off limits. It was astrology that had the power to intellectually and spiritually transform ordinary men and women.

Porphyry holds that the Egyptians know of no other gods "but the Planets and those Stars that fill up the Zodiack..." - Jan Assmann (Moses the Egyptian)

From these stories of the stars originated the angels of the Jews, the genii of the Arabs, the heroes of the Greeks, and the saints of the Romish Church - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

We can now read the following Biblical passage and know for certain what it refers to:

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God – (Revelation 2:7)

The Circle and Serpent

No country in Europe is so associated with the Serpent as Ireland, and none has so many myths and legends connected with the same. As that creature has furnished so many religious stories in the East, and as the ancient faiths of Asia and Egypt abound in references to it, we may reasonably look for some remote similarity in the ideas of worship between Orientals and the sons of Erin – James Bonwick (Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions)

So, the Irish Druids referred to themselves as Naddreds or Adders. Their god Herne holds the serpent and ring, representing Draco and the circumpolar enclosure. Their great Druidic monuments (from the Hebrides to Scotland, from Wales to Cornwall) feature the serpent symbol over and over again. The Egyptians anointed priests of the highest level with the oil of the "serpent," and crowned their kings with the Uraeus or "good serpent," representing the celestial protector. Clearly, the unbiased investigator cannot doubt that serpentine symbols and rites link Western adepts to their Eastern counterparts. It links the Druids to the Amenists.

It is singular to find a white race spoken of in the ancient monuments. Dr. Brugsch, the learned German, notices the word Tam-hou or white men. As it occurs on tablets dated 2,500 years before Christ, it is puzzling to indicate the people. Brugsch traces them to Libya. Champollion recognized in the Tamh’ou a type of European ancestry. M. Deveria remarks upon hieroglyphics recording the fact that Horus, the god, leading and guiding a white race. As there are still many Celtic monuments in the north of Africa, over many hundreds of miles, he contends for the existence of an original Celtic people in Egypt, or, in modern language, that the Welsh and Irish were once in Egypt – James Bonwick (Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, 1878)

Nobody knows just who these blue-eyed, fair-skinned people were, or even where they came from...Anthropologically, they were termed Caucasians…These people, Elliot Smith concluded, were more than intelligent enough to accomplish the amazing building feats that the modern world marvels at on the banks of the Nile – Gerald O’Farrell (The Tutankhamun Deception)

It is stated on a parchment found in a brick wall in the foundations of Denderah at the time of King Pepi: “The Great Pyramid was built by the followers of Horus;” the Stellar Cult people were the followers of Horus in the same sense as the Christians are the followers of Christ...The Architect who drew the plans was Nu-er-nub-ari, “the Keeper of the Secrets” – Albert Churchward (The Origins and Evolution of Religion)

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee: and the birds of the air, and they shall tell thee. Speak to the earth, and it shall answer thee: and the fishes of the sea shall tell - (Job 12:7-8)

Above we see the ancient Irish forest god Herne. Also known as Cernunnos and Nikor, he is the antetype of Hermes, Thoth, and Mercury. This means that the Caduceus of Hermes, Brazen Standard of Moses and the Nassians, and the Uraeus coronets of the Egyptian Pharaohs originate in the Western hemisphere. Herne's was the original "crown of thorns." In his hands he holds the sabean symbols for the constellation Draco and the circumpolar region. In the esoteric traditions and lore of the Druids and Amenists (of the Stellar Cult), this region, in which the star never rise or set, was known by many names, such as Eden, Garden of Hesperides, Paradise, Aaru, Avalon, Camelot, etc. In other words, these terms do not represent an earthy location, but a heavenly one on which earthy gardens, groves, and centers were deliberately based.

In many and far-severed countries, horns became the symbols of sovereign power. The corona or crown, that still encircles the brows of European monarchs, seems remotely to be derived from the emblem of might adopted by Kronos, or Saturn...The first regal crown appears to have been only a band, in which the horns were set. From the idea of power contained in the "horn," even subordinate rulers seem to have worn a circlet adorned with a single horn, in token of their derived authority - Alexander Hislop (The Two Babylons)

The circumpolar region is depicted in the center of the ancient zodiac of Dendera dedicated to Hathor and Isis. Sobek, the crocodile god, prototype for the "good dragon," protects the souls of the good in heaven. The good serpent, or agathodaemon, was the antetype of the so-called "Holy Spirit" now symbolized by a dove. In the predynastic period, however, Draco was identified not with a serpent but with a goddess known as Taurt or Tarot. In other words, the Egyptians saw no difference between the astrological serpent and the goddess. Undoubtedly, the Irish Druids also saw no difference between them, and also used the symbols interchangeably. Taurt is clearly identical with the Irish Tara or Eri. Another of Taurt's primordial symbols - the hippopotamus - can be seen in the very center of the Dendera zodiac. (Here for more information.)

From the Christian myth cycle we know that the Holy Spirit is a pseudonym of the Goddess. Heracleon and Ptolemy tell us that the dove symbolizes “Sophia, the Mother above.” The dove was a widespread symbol of the goddess in the ancient world and was adopted by the Christians as symbol of Mary. Christians of the Ophite school teach that at his baptism “Christ and Sophia, the one enfolding the other, descended upon Jesus and he became Jesus Christ - Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (Jesus and the Lost Goddess)

Had not the ancient creeds been speedily obliterated, it would have been found impossible to preach the Christian religion as a new Dispensation, or the direct Revelation from God the Father, through God the Sun, and under the influence of God the Holy Ghost - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

The male Holy Spirit is a product of Latin grammar - spiritus is masculine - and of early Christian mistrust of female deities...Conception by a male principle is illogical and this is the only instance of its occurrence in all Latin literature - Robert Graves (The White Goddess)

The Circumpolar Lady

The circumpolar region or zone is symbolized by a circle of light, flames, or stars. Some circular megalithic sites represent earthly versions of the zone.

The Irish triskelion, UN and EU logos represent the sacred zone of the Stellar Cult.

The terms Alpha and Omega, implying "first and last," are attributed to Jesus. But we are rarely given an explanation for what these terms truly pertain to. In fact, the terms refer to the uroboric circumpolar zone. They might also refer to other astrological circuits, such as that of Draco, or the sun's passage through the twelve signs, or the larger "Platonic" year lasting 25,920 years. The Greek letters for Alpha and Omega are similar in form to the Blade and Chalice, which represent the masculine and feminine hemispheres of consciousness. (Here for more.)

The stellar mother Taurt in her sacred circular precinct. She is surrounded by animals representing various circumpolar constellations and stars. We also see the trees representing the polar axis. The practice and study of astrology was forbidden by the Church, and so interested parties made oblique and cryptic references to the secrets of the heavens in their artwork, poetry, and literature. In fact, many temples of the world, as well as many cities, have been designed according to a celestial pattern. Below: The Unicorn symbolizes the astrological sign of Cancer, which is the most northerly sign. The fence around the animal has twelve posts representing the signs of the zodiac. The tree within the fence represents the celestial pole or axis. The following tapestry shows the stellar mother Taurt or Nuith (Mary) in her circumpolar enclosure attended by the lion and unicorn, representing the signs of Leo and Cancer. These animals are also seen on royal heraldry. Again, we see that the old sidereal icons of the ancestral cults were appropriated and adapted. (Note the lunar crescents on the pennant. The moon and the unicorn of Cancer represent the mother.)

...the unicorn's single exalted horn represents "the upper pole" which reaches from the king directly up to the zenith, to the hottest point attained by the sun. The unicorn's horn in Egyptian architecture is the obelisk - Robert Graves

In this painting of the Nativity, note the shape of the Madonna's cloak on the ground. She is literally in the center of a zodiacal ring, as is the infant Jesus. We see the two pillars with floral motifs, and how Joseph - in the center of the canvas - is curiously shown peering upward as if contemplating the sky.

A floor mosaic in the Vatican with the term Stella Matutina, referring to the Heavenly Virgin, or, more correctly Stellar Mother, not Mary, but Isis or Taurt. (The term "virgin" simply emphasized independence and autonomy.) The circle inside the Chapel represents the circumpolar zone as well as the zodiac.

...the Holy Virgin is repeatedly invoked in the Romish liturgy as the Queen of Heaven - W. Winwood Reade (The Veil of Isis)

Modern sculpture subliminally representing the circumpolar lady, in the city of Belfast Northern Ireland.

Images or descriptions of a walled or fenced garden or grove are often cryptic references to the circumpolar region, that was the original "garden of Eden."

Michelangelo's version of the temptation in the garden. However, we must bear in mind that the Garden of Eden is neither a Jewish leitmotif or a Christian one. It is a mythic trope that can be found in the creation legends of many more ancient peoples of the world, such as the Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians. It was, however, not a physical location on earth, but a celestial garden in the heavens. Specifically, it was the circumpolar region containing the everlasting stars, known as the "Khus." Jewish and Christian mythmongers simply plagiarized the story of the garden, tree, serpent, and goddess, and adapted these motifs to fit their own propagandist purposes. The key elements of the original unadulterated sidereal story were completely skewed. Instead of preaching reverence for nature, the Book of Genesis has the evil tempter use the forbidden fruit to waylay Adam and Eve. It has the primal parents sin against god who angrily expels them from the paradisiacal garden. Of course, it is not god who has damned man, but the priests who have created this monstrosity and work in his name. They are the ones with a great deal to lose should men and women discover the truth about what has been hidden from them.

...certain cuneiform texts seem to prove that the Assyro-Chaldæans were acquainted with a "Tree of Life." Whether it was thus styled because it served as a simulacrum of the Goddess of Life, or whether it represented this divinity by reason of its own mythical function, the fact is none the less certain, according to Mr. Sayce, that the "divine Lady of Eden," or Edin, was termed in Northern Babylonia "the goddess of the Tree of Life," and Babylon, before receiving from the Semites the name of Bab Ilu, "Gate of God," was called, in the old language of the country, Tin-tir-kî, or Dintir-ra, which most Assyriologists translate as "the place of the Tree (or Grove) of Life" - Goblet d'Alviella (The Migration of Symbols, 1894)

The giant constellation of Draco, the heavenly dragon or serpent, could be seen by people in the northern hemisphere. It was particularly revered by the Druid and Amenist elders. Under the coils of Draco we see the bear, or Ursa Minor, which is, with Ursa Major, one of the most important constellations in the northern sky.

The stars of Ursa Minor were circumpolar. They showed the seven in a group who never could be drowned by the deluge of darkness. The waters did not reach them, nor so the seven in the Greater Bear, the seven that were not circumpolar stars - Gerald Massey

Its annual movement forms a cross or "swastika" in the heavens. This is why the cross and swastika are common symbols throughout the lands of the northern hemisphere.

…The outer darkness is a great serpent, the tail of which is in his mouth, and it is outside the whole world, and surroundeth the whole world: in it there are many places of punishment, and it containeth twelve halls – Egyptian Passage (from E. A. Wallis Budge’s The Gods of the Egyptians, vol. 1)

Draco coils around Polaris, the pole star and polar region, known in ancient times as Eden. Of course, over time the position of the stars change, and this goes for the everlasting stars of the northern sky. Their movement is very gradual. When a new star becomes the pole star, or when another star newly appears over the horizon, the mythos changes. This means that the symbolism associated with a certain star or constellation alters over time. (See our book Astro-Theology and Sidereal Mythology, for more on the symbolism of the circumpolar region.)

What the sun is at the center of the solar system, the pole-star had been at the center of the stellar universe in the most ancient astronomy – Gerald Massey

The serpent coronet or Uraeus. As in Ireland, the serpent was the symbol of royalty and spiritual wisdom. Like the Druids of the West, the Pharaohs were priest-kings. Their various initiatory rites have been sorely misinterpreted and misunderstood to this day.
The word Uraeus comes from ouro meaning "kingly." In other words, the serpent was the king and the king was the "wise serpent." We find the concept of the kingly serpent in Britain under the appellation Pendragon, meaning "Head" or "Chief Dragons." We must remember however, that the winged serpent was the antetype for the so-called Holy Spirit. The princes and kings whose employed the serpent symbol are, therefore, to be considered "enlightened" or "Christed" men.

The worship of the serpent was therefore universal - George Smith (Gentile Nations)

...the serpent was the most ancient of the heathen gods - J. B. Deane (Worship of the Serpent)

Here for more on the symbolism of the royal serpent

Now, finally, we can re-examine the design of the Oval Office and the astrologically-shaped rug therein. Obviously, an oval shape connotes an egg or, analogously, the female and her physical and heavenly womb. The ancient Hindus, for example, symbolized all creation as a cosmic egg or anda.

We can also re-examine the famous seal found on the one dollar note and many state edifices. Above the eagle's head is the symbol for the circumpolar zone. Within the circle of clouds there are thirteen five-pointed stars. These in turn form a fourteenth star made of six sides. It is the so-called "Star of David" or, more correctly, of Aton and his commanders - the "Davids" or "Dividers." The eagle itself represents the constellation Aquila, near Scorpio. In the past, the winged totem of the Federal United States was a Phoenix, an animal that was half bird, half serpent.

As we can see, the symbols of the ancient Arya have been appropriated and adapted by some very cunning, although ultimately unworthy, religious and political despots. Sadly, the symbols, emblems, numbers, colors, and zoomorphic totems, that are sidereal in origin, are now to be found on products, corporate logos, and national decals. Their true sabean meanings and significance is deliberately kept from the masses of mankind who, due to ignorance and identification with their imperious masters, remain spiritually comatose and under complete mental control.

Men have been trained to prefer ignorance to learning, and have chosen to be driven mad and wild by faith, rather than to be instructed, enlightened and improved by reason and philosophy - Rev. Robert Taylor (The Devil's Pulpit)

The Masonic letter "G" represents (among many things) Draco the astrological guardian serpent. The top image appears "Jewish," but is in fact an astrological sigil. The twin arches represent the spring and autumn equinoxes. The arch in turn represents the passage of the sun through the six signs of the northern sky (April to September). Astrologically, the "G" signifies the circumpolar region and protecting serpent. The serpentine attribution is more obvious when the letter is rendered in lower case - as "g."

...the serpent is uraeus is simply the phonetic of the letter g - William Ricketts Cooper (The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt)

On either side of George Washington, note how the coiling serpents around the two pillars/poles/trees have become less conspicuous floral wreaths. We see that the symbols for the serpent, tree, and vine, are interchangeable. The Masonic compass and rule connote the Chalice and Blade, the symbols for the feminine and masculine sexual energies. The emblem is on the Masonic apron covering the genital area, suggesting androgyny. The Templar icon known as Baphomet also represents androgyny. In Washington DC there is a statue of George Washington in the pose of the Templar icon. The fusion of opposites was and is a major esoteric theme in societies such as the Freemasons and Rosicrucians.

Obelisks that stand in plazas and squares such as St. Peter's are phallic pointers to the circumpolar circle in the heavens. This is why, as in the case of Rome, we find the obelisk in the center of a large civic circle, and, in the case of Washington DC, an "Oval Office" near to a tall phallic obelisk.

Felling the Tree of Life

A careful attention to the history of the world for the last eighteen hundred years has shown me, that the priests of all religions have practiced fraud to forward their objects...I cannot forget that the priests of every age have protected, as ours do now protect, impostures, and that in every age numerous examples of pious fraud may be found...Magic is pretty nearly over, but fraud seldom throve better - Godfrey Higgins (Anacalypsis)

The word Nephilim is thought to mean "fallen ones," or "those who fell from heaven to earth." However, a secondary meaning of the strange term is "those who cause a fall." Yes, the so-called "fallen angels" are fellers. They were the mighty men of renown, the Anakim or Titans who lived long but corrupt lives. They caused moral declination and spiritual arrestation and those under their control lost their virtue. Some scholars believe the term Nephilim relates to demonic extraterrestrial "archons" while others believe it refers to earthly princes. In any case, we can take the word to denote a coterie of sorcerers with power to corrupt and pollute.

Rulers of this kind are sure to have a corrupting influence on large groups and even on entire nations. Their infection may contaminate a world, and perhaps they and their descendants are capable of controlling the thoughts and emotions of millions. Although it is not a pleasant possibility to consider, we have to face the fact that beings wielding power of this kind could certainly make a truth seem like a lie. Moreover, we must face the fact that the masters of subterfuge and inversion, the proverbial wolves in sheep's clothing, can expertly conceal their identities.

Look everywhere, look everywhere, and you will see the priests reeking with gore. They have converted popular and happy nations into deserts, and have made our beautiful world into a slaughter house drenched with blood and tears - W. Winwood Reade

With this in mind we pose some important questions. We ask, who rules our world today? Who subtly controls the hearts and minds of millions of men and women, and enjoyed centuries of earthly dominion? Who has robbed man of his sanity and reason and seduced him into murdering his own soul? Who has succeeded in turning man into a guilt-ridden, self-hating, world-denying, god and devil-fearing slave? Who has denigrated women and animals, darkness, silence, and inwardness? Who has filled the world with blustering extroverts, fanatics, ignoramuses, mass murderers, tyrants, and psychopaths? Who has rewarded the bringers of death and disorder and condemned every sane healer, inventor, and peace maker?

The Christian Church has left a legacy, a world view, that permeates every aspect of Western society, both secular and religious. It is a legacy that fosters sexism, racism, the intolerance of difference, and the desecration of the natural environment…Christianity has helped to create a society in which people are alienated not only from each other but also from the divine – Helen Ellerbe (The Dark Side of Christian History)

The story of the Roman Church is quite different and not a pleasant one to dwell upon. She made her advance through the medium of intrigue, war, fire and sword, persecution, torture, confiscations, and death, the exemplification of force and intolerance. By such means she gained control and increase in power and the Irish Church missionaries were gradually forced to withdraw from the continent. It was only by such forcible means that she could make gains against the Irish Church whose representatives surpassed hers in every field of peaceful endeavor...in learning, the sciences, philosophy and spiritual culture – Conor MacDari (The Bible: An Irish Book)

Bearing in mind the catalog of crimes committed by the Christian Church, and other ministers of the world's perverse religions, we pose another important question:

How did this...

...become this?

Well, in previous sections we saw that the sacerdotal female of ancient civilizations and goddess figure of mythology were intimately connected with certain sacred trees and plants. We saw that the sophic female is the veritable burnished or bright one, the burning tree through which the voice of "god" (or more correctly goddess) speaks. We learned that in many cases the tree of life works as a symbol for the poles of the earth and celestial sphere. In short, it can be said that the sacerdotal female, tree of life (or tree of the knowledge of good and evil), and symbol of the serpent, are to all intents and purposes indistinguishable. Sidereally and mythologically, they represent the same phenomena.

We have provided examples to demonstrate how the sidereal motifs of ancient cults were appropriated and adapted to suit the needs of a misogynist and profoundly phallocentric priesthood that has ruled the world for centuries. It goes without saying that the feminine garb worn by Christian priests and clergy, as well as the innumerable goddess symbols employed by the Church, were not incorporated to express adoration or venerate the female spirit and feminine mode of expression. On the contrary, their incorporation represents a wholesale desecration of the female sex and feminine principle. The male priest adorns himself in the garb of the priestess to symbolize conquest over her and her kind, not to represent spiritual androgyny. The priest has pillaged her holy garb and, symbolically speaking, has raped her body in order to assume the power he covets but despises.

Kneeling before the sacred vagina

We have come to accept the catalog of wreck and ruin perpetrated by early Christians on the pagan world's shrines, temples, statuary, and libraries. We are less inclined to contemplate the desecration that occurred to the iconography of pagan traditions. As the nineteenth century author W. Winwood Reade said: "The simplicity of men, and the cunning of their priests has destroyed or corrupted all the religions of the world."

Baron Avro Manhattan also addressed the matter of priestly intrigue and wrote:

Pagan temples were either closed, transformed into Christian shrines or demolished. Their properties were summarily added to the Church’s patrimony. The wealth of sundry religions were mercilessly expropriated, their clergy dismissed or persecuted, when not civilly or even physically obliterated – (Vatican Billions)

Author Helen Ellerbe also commented on the violent and relentless campaign of eradication. In her fine book entitled The Dark Side of Christian History, she wrote:

After Christians had spent years destroying books and libraries, St. John Chrysostom, the pre-eminent Greek Father of the Church, proudly declared, “Every trace of the old philosophy and literature of the ancient world has vanished from the face of the earth”

Ironically, even the destroyers of the ancient elders admitted that their victims were high-minded and deeply knowledgeable about the mysteries of being. As the writings of Julius Caesar reveal, the Druids of Britain and Western Europe were men of the highest spiritual level:

As one of their leading dogmas, they include this: that souls are not annihilated, but pass after death from one body to another, and they hold that by this teaching, men are much encouraged to valor, through disregarding the fear of death. They also discuss and impart to their young many things concerning the heavenly bodies and their movements, the size of the world and our earth, natural sciences, and the influence and power of the immortal gods – (Gallic Wars)

Caesar's words were corroborated by those of historian Ammianus Marscellus who wrote:

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

Of the expertise and intelligence of the Druids, the nineteenth century historian W. Winwood Reade wrote:

It can easily be proved that the science of astronomy was not unknown to the Druids. One of their temples in the island of Lewis in the Hebrides, bears evident signs of their skill in the science. Every stone in the temple is placed astronomically. The circle consists of twelve equidistant obelisks denoting the twelve signs of the zodiac. The four cardinal points of the compass are marked by lines of obelisks running out from the circle, and at each point subdivided into four more. The range of obelisks from north, and exactly facing the south is double, being two parallel rows each consisting of nineteen stones - (The Veil of Isis)

The overt patritism that distinguishes the doctrines of Judaism and Christianity can be discerned far back in history. It was particularly conspicuous during the eighteenth dynasty, during the advent of Akhenaton's brand of monotheism. However, there are patristic expressions in religion before Akhenaton's time. When we see images of Akhenaton and his father Tuthmosis III with distended stomachs to impersonate pregnancy, we are not seeing homage of female sexuality. On the contrary, we are seeing a rejection of it. The hermaphrodite negates the separate presence and role of the female. She has been figuratively and mythologically displaced as wife, mother, priestess, and queen. Akhenaton and Tuthmosis assume for themselves the sexual traits that position the female close to the level of the gods. They assume a form that dispossesses the female and symbolizes their ability to reproduce without her. Symbolically, the Pharaoh becomes a god and a goddess. Ultimately, to the average monotheist there is only the male god. The goddess is marginalized and the symbols of her overthrown suzerainty are flagrantly appropriated and skewed to fit the paternalistic mold and brand of theology.

Akhenaton walks upright in procession with his body bathed in the rays of the sun. He bears the classic ankh and was signs, representing life and governance...What is most striking is that the drawing centers of the person of the Pharaoh in an advanced stage of pregnancy!...A similar interpretation is given to the earlier festival of Akhenaton's father. In a pair of torsos carved from basalt in full relief, Amenhotep III is presented "with his abdomen distended like that of a pregnant woman." An explanatory text clarifies the figure's underlying theology: "The king can create by himself" - Professor Thomas L. Thompson (The Messiah Myth)

The male hermaphrodite concocted by the mythmongers usurped the place of the sacerdotal female. She remains beside the sacred tree in the garden, yes, but as a temptress and servant of evil. A male Jesus was interpolated and placed on the cross, in the Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane. He is entitled the "First and Last." However, the "Alpha and Omega" is not Jesus or for that matter Jehovah. It is the mother of heaven and earth, the matriarch who gives birth to men and women and stands as a symbol of nature's everlasting bounty, who is the true "Alpha and Omega," the beginning and end, first and last.

Clearly, therefore, we see that the entire corpus of the ancients was radically inverted by the mythmongers. The travesty began in earnest during the rise of monotheism and rose to its paternalistic peak in Athens of the fourth century BC and subsequently during and after the rise of Christianity in Rome.

Saints, by Piero Della Francesca. In Gaelic the word for "saint" (niamh) is akin to the word "heavens" (neamh).

John the Baptist, by Leonardo da Vinci

A Detail from The Oberried Altarpiece, by Hans Holbein the Younger

The priests who were illegitimate preservers of the knowledge of the Druids and Arya, knew about the spiritual significance of the goddesses they emasculated and dethroned. They knew women give birth to men and that it is not the other way around. Therefore, sexually speaking, women are inarguably higher up the ontological ladder than men. In other words, woman creates as the gods create. Woman is, therefore, closer to the divine than man is. Over the centuries, men have become infected by subconscious envy towards women, and the priests are for the most part the worst afflicted specimens. They have disfigured the mythographs and denigrated nature and the feminine principle because they regard women as rivals. They have built a world full of ithyphallic towers to permanently imprison her suppressed and conquered spirit.

Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee...But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day – (Jeremiah 44:17)

Ezekiel complained that Jewish women spent much of their time “making hangings for the groves” (Ezek 16:16) – Ernest Busenbark (Symbols, Sex and the Stars)

A worship of the powers of fertility which includes all plant and animal life is broad enough to be sound and healthy but as man's attention centers more and more on his own humanity, such a worship is an obvious source of danger and disease - Jane Ellen Harrison

The earliest societies gave special importance to the mother and thus to woman in general. The Hebraic tradition, in which woman’s status was diminished and god became a solitary male warrior or shepherd, and in the Islamic religion which it inspired, were both conceived by nomads used to the dryness of the desert. And the female divinity undoubtedly sank to her lowest position during the period when Rome forced its empire to accept both its patriarchal regime and its amazingly sterile religious formalism, part of which survived in early Christianity – Jean Markale (The Celts)

According to the Talmud a service can take place in the Synagogue only if ten persons are present, which number ensures the presence of God in the assembly. Drach explains however that these persons must all be men. “If then there were nine men and a million women there could be no assembly, for the reason that women are nothing” – (From Secret Societies and Subversive Movements, by Nesta Webster)

Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life – St. Peter (Gospel of Thomas)

Woman! You are the gateway of the devil…because of you the Son of God had to die – Tertullian (Church Father, 160–220 AD)

The propagandists never admit that before their hegemony women enjoyed prominent social status and considerable spiritual prestige. Certain passages and tropes in the Bible's Song of Solomon, and a few oblique references to Mary Magdalene and the Madonna, allude to this lost power. However, to really know what was what, we must not trust the words of official historians and clergymen. We must dig deeper:

...a Celtic woman had rights and power even Cleopatra might have envied – Philip Freeman (The Philosopher and the Druids)

Up to the last the Babylonian woman, in her own name, could enter into partnership with others, could buy and sell, lend and borrow, could appear as plaintiff and witness in a court of law, could even bequeath her property as she wished – A. H. Sayce (Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs)

The Egyptian women were entrusted with the civilization. The woman (princess), and not the male, was the legal heir to the throne, and the man she chose to marry, would become the ruling Pharaoh - Moustafa Gadalla (Historical Deception)

A man may not become a king without a queen, and a queen must be of the royal blood – A. M. Hocart (Kingship)

Because of their spiritual dementia, the priests have manifested a perverse religion to guide them and a preposterous god to rule them. It was only a matter of time before their god was elevated above all others and made lord of the world. It did not matter that Destruction is their god's middle name.

Pagan temples were either closed, transformed into Christian shrines, or demolished. Their properties were summarily added to the Church’s patrimony. The wealth of sundry religions was mercilessly expropriated, their clergy dismissed or persecuted, when not civilly or even physically obliterated – Avro Manhattan (Vatican Billions)

Mythologist Robert Graves understood the kind of travesty that had occurred in antiquity. He summed up the entire predicament in the following passage from his book The White Goddess:

The curse in Genesis on the woman, that she should be at enmity with the serpent, is obviously misplaced: it must refer to the ancient rivalry decreed between the sacred king Adam and the Serpent for the favors of the Goddess

In his masterly work entitled The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, author Leonard Shlain investigated the reasons for male animosity toward the female and the feminine. Remarking on how old the problem is, he discussed the abnormality of a religion based entirely on exaggerated masculinity:

…the Babylonians elevated to the supreme position a god who had conquered and then mutilated a goddess

Patriarchy is the dominant theme is Hammurabi’s code. Sons are commanded to obey their fathers, not the mothers

…monotheism does not mirror human society. Humans are first and foremost social animals. A deity who was alone, not by choice but because there were no other companions for Him, was a concept without parallel in human society. The god of the Israelites did not have a wife, a son, a daughter, or a mother

His point is echoed by Jan Assmann in his book Moses the Egyptian. Reviewing the theories of the great Sigmund Freud (who pondered on the metaphysical abnormalities of monotheism), Assmann writes:

Freud wanted to discover the roots of anti-Semitism. Strikingly enough, his question was not on how the Gentiles, or the Christians, or the Germans came to hate the Jews, but "how the Jew had become what he is and why he has attracted this undying hatred." Freud traced this religion to the father. Not the Jew but monotheism had attracted this undying hatred...Akhenaton is shown to be a figure both of enlightenment and intolerant despotism, forcing his universal monotheism onto his people with violence and persecution...It is this hatred brought about by Akhenaton's revolution that informs the Judeophobic texts of antiquity

Psychologist Esther Harding linked the rise of pathological religion to the hegemony of the Solar Cults.

The rise of masculine power and of patriarchal society probably started when man began to accumulate personal, against communal, property and found that his personal strength and prowess could increase his personal possessions. This change in secular power coincided with the rise of sun worship under a male priesthood...Sun worship was usually introduced and established by an edict of a military dictator, as happened in Babylon and Egypt, and probably other countries as well - (Woman's Mysteries)

Harding's findings are corroborated by those of scholar and mythologist Joseph Campbell. He wrote:

Toward the close of the Age of Bronze and, more strongly, with the dawn of the Age of Iron...the old cosmology and mythologies of the goddess mother were radically transformed, reinterpreted, and in large measure even suppressed, by those suddenly intrusive patriarchal warrior tribesmen whose traditions have come down to us chiefly in the Old and New Testaments and in the myths of Greece - (Occidental Mythology)

Leonard Shlain agreed and described the problem as follows:

Around 1500 BC there were hundreds of goddess-based sects enveloping the Mediterranean basin. By the fifth century AD they had almost been completely eradicated, by which time women were also prohibited from conducting a single major Western sacrament

In the introduction of Shlain's book Love, Sex and Matriarchy, editor Rainer Funk writes:

Six thousand years ago patriarchy triumphed over women, and society became organized on the basis of male domination. Women became the property of men and were obliged to be grateful to them for every concession

Literary critic and art historian Camille Paglia addressed the vexatious relationship between the male and female and the so-called Apollonian and Dionysian modes of expression. In her definitive work entitled Sexual Peronae, she wrote:

Every fetus becomes female unless steered in male hormone, produced by a signal from the testes. Before birth, therefore, a male is already beyond the female. But to be beyond is to be exiled from the center of life. Men know they are sexual exiles. They wander the earth seeking satisfaction, craving and despising, never content

Apparently the male dementia that Paglia and Shlain allude to started a long time ago. It existed in Babylon, in Egypt during the eighteenth dynasty, in Athens during the Periclean Age, and in Rome after the rise of Christianity. Historian and author Eva C. Keuls explains:

Until the end of the Periclean age, 430 BC, a pronounced phallicism prevailed in classical Athens, which we will take to mean a combination of male supremacy and the cult of power and violence - (Reign of the Phallus)

According to Keuls, Athena (the patron of Athens) was markedly defeminized as a goddess figure:

Athena's birth was as sexless as her mature personality. She was the result of one of Zeus' great feats of male pregnancy and parturition, the other being Dionysus. Athena was born, highly symbolically, from her father's head - that is, out of patriarchal male fantasy. In the most common version of her birth, when Zeus' cerebral pregnancy had come to term, the divine craftsman Hephaestus split Zeus' head open with an ax and out sprang Athena, fully equipped with the armor of militarism

Speaking specifically about male envy, Keuls writes:

The governing principle of a phallocracy is that the human race is essentially male, the female being a mere adjunct, unfortunately required for the purpose of reproduction

The Greek mythological obsession with monstrous women and with gynecocracy (literally "women's rule," but more accurately "women getting out of hand") reflects man's irrational fear of the female and his feelings of guilt...The Jungian psychologist Erich Neumann wrote the most influential book on the worship of the female in the man's prehistoric past, The Great Mother...Neumann sees phallic worship as a reaction in man's development, an attempt to free himself from bondage to the female development, and attempt to free himself from bondage to the female principle and canonize the penis as the fundamental generator of life

According to Keuls, the writings of many Athenian philosophers and playwrights are saturated with animosity toward females. These scholarly works clearly demonstrate the hostile attitudes of men during the so-called Classical Age:

In Aristophanes' Lysistrata, a male fantasy about a women's uprising, the heroine of the play tells a magistrate to be quiet. He answers in indignation, "You accursed creature. Should I be quiet for you, who wears the veil around your head?" - (Reign of the Phallus)

The Greek literary texts constantly reiterate the commandment to women not to be seen or heard, thus reducing them to a state of nonbeing - ibid

Keuls' points are corroborated by Bradley A. T. Paske. In Rape and Ritual, he discusses the problem of male envy:

Depreciation and loathing of woman, her body and by extension the feminine, has been expressed repeatedly by our intellectual and psychological forefathers

The Christian Church continued the policy of suppression and ruthlessly and speedily eradicated the significance of nature and the goddess who represented nature. In the Book of Genesis that was, along with rest of the Judaic Pentateuch, subsequently added to the New Testament, we see Adam's first wife, Lilith, portrayed as a demoness, and we find his second wife, Eve, cast as a disobedient temptress. In the Church's perverse works, male Adam gives birth to female Eve, as Jehovah had given it to him. In a supreme act of illogical inversion, woman is born of man. However, although the customs, rites, and traditions of the goddess were officially and publicly suppressed, the Church deliberately incorporated key elements of the goddess tradition into their own iconography and dogma. Of course, the process of misrepresentation and cannibalization started long before the Christian era. We need only look to the Old Testament to find evidence of it. In the following passages from the Book of Isaiah and Book of Exodus, we have clear examples of theocratic colonization:

The sun will not more be your light by day, nor with the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting Light, and your God will be your glory. Your Sun will never set again, and your moon will set no more; the Lord will be your everlasting Light, and your days of sorrow will end - (Isaiah 60:18-20)

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me - (Exodus 20:1-3)

Historical evidence clearly demonstrates that the role and standing of women in society and in the home radically altered for the worst after the rise of monotheism or, more specifically, after the advent of Solar Cult theology and theocracy. This fact is emphasized by psychologist M. Esther Harding who wrote:

The rise of masculine power and of patriarchal society probably started when man began to accumulate personal, against communal, property and found that his personal strength and prowess could increase his personal possessions. This change in secular power coincided with the rise of sun worship under a male priesthood...Sun worship was usually introduced and established by an edict of a military dictator, as happened in Babylon and Egypt, and probably other countries as well - (Woman's Mysteries)

The matter of conquest by patristic tribes is discussed at length in the works of author Leonard Shlain. In The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, Shlain wrote:

Around 1500 BC there were hundreds of goddess-based sects enveloping the Mediterranean basin. By the fifth century AD they had almost been completely eradicated, by which time women were also prohibited from conducting a single major Western sacrament

Reviewing the discoveries of archeologist Marija Gimbutas, sociologist Theodore Roszak wrote:

In Marija Gimbutas’s influential formulation, it was the Indo-European incursion of warlike Indo-European nomadic tribes, worshippers of masculine sky-gods, that replaced the matricentric cultures of Old Europe with an “androcratic warrior” society and that henceforth claimed all virtues of “civilization” for itself. But before that there had been a “civilization of the goddess” marked by peace and high art. Under the spell of this original version of Gaia, there was even a different kind of “city,” one that honored the Earth and rested lightly upon it - (The Voice of the Earth)

Referring to the discoveries of author Phyllis Chesler, Eva Keuls comments:

Phyllis Chesler cites the myth of Demeter and Kore in the introduction of her well-known book Women and Madness. Considering it a celebration of the mother-daughter relationship, she laments that it ceased with the arrival of monotheism - (Reign of the Phallus)

In short, the god of Jews and Christians, like the gynephobic gods of Babylon, Athens, and Rome, is self-made and self-sustaining. Apparently, he does not require the female to exist or procreate:

It is not the mother who is the parent of the child, although she is so called; she is merely nursemaid to the newly planted fetus. He who mounts is the one who gives birth, she, a stranger to a stranger merely preserves the seed if god does not destroy it…there can be fatherhood without a mother – Aeschylus (Eumenides. Voice of Apollo)

Let a woman not develop her reason, for that would be a terrible thing - Democritus (Greek Philosopher, 460–370 BC)

He who teaches letters to his wife is ill-advised. He's giving additional poison to a horrible snake - (Lines from a play by Meander of Athens)

Above and Below: Co-opted goddess symbolism in plain sight.

The culture of the Western world is based on just this kind of spiritual and intellectual perversion. Every element of the present state of decay is traceable to the demented precepts of Judeo-Christian religion. Truly, the tree of life has long been felled and, as William Blake wrote, in the place of the fragrant gardens and groves of truth, we have religion's blackened and bloodied thorns and briars, strangling the reason, passion, and imagination of man.

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this chapel were shut,
And "Thou shalt not" writ over the door;
So I turn'd to the Garden of Love,
That so many, many sweet flowers bore;

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tombstones where flowers should be;
And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds,
Binding with briars my joys and desires.

Conclusion

...The wave of religious terrorism that swept Egypt for twenty years seemed to some Egyptians to herald the end of the world. "If we are alive," one wrote, "then life itself is dead" - R. A. Gabriel (Jesus the Egyptian)

For two millennia Western man has quiescently and faithfully listened to the chants and hymns, chorals and "Alleluias," and in a perfectly sedated and delusional state has committed atrocities in the name of a religion that arose like a specter from the frenzied flames of war and murder. Bishops have blessed armies as they've trudged off to genocidal conquests and priests have blessed wars that have lasted as long as one hundred years. With their words and deeds, priesthoods of the Western world have confounded man's psyche and turned him into a obsessed, blood crazed savage. Their holy books have denigrated womankind and mutilated the rites and iconography pertaining to sophic mysteries. Their ideology has turned man from the zodiac, the telestrion of night that was his first church and college. From that heavenly altar, man's attention was trained on depraved images of the cruciform tree and nails of pain, the whips and chains and broken tablets, the serpentine devil, guilt and sin. If he sailed to the west he'd fall off the edge of the world. If he questioned the scriptures, his soul would be damned.

In 356 C. E. Constantinus II ordered the Egyptian temples of Isis-Osiris closed and forbade the use of Egyptian hieroglyphics as a religious language. In 380 C. E. Emperor Theodosius declared Christianity to be the official Roman state religion, and all pagan cults were thereafter forbidden. These edicts were devastating to Egyptian culture and religion, both of which had been preserved over millennia through the Egyptian language and the writing systems of Egyptian priests. In 391 C. E. the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus, summoned the monks to arms and turned them against the city of Memphis and the great shrine of Serapis, the Serapeum, the main temple of the Osirian-Isis religion. The attack was akin to ordering the destruction of the Vatican. Egyptian priests were massacred in their shrines and in the streets. The ferocity of the violence consumed priests, followers, and the Egyptian intellectual elite of Alexandria, Memphis, and other cities of Egypt who were murdered and their temples and libraries destroyed. The institutional structure of Egyptian religion, then more than four millennia old, was demolished in less than two decades - R. A. Gabriel (Jesus the Egyptian)

Every science was regarded as an outcast, an enemy. Every fact held the creed of the church in scorn. Investigators were enemies in disguise. Thinkers were traitors, and the church exerted its vast power for centuries to prevent the intellectual progress of man. There was no liberty, no education, no philosophy, no science; nothing but credulity, ignorance, and superstition. The world was really under the control of Satan and his agents. The church, for the purpose of increasing her power, exhausted every means to convince the people of the existence of witches, devils, and fiends. In this way the church had every enemy within her power. She simply had to charge him with being a wizard, of holding communication with devils, and the ignorant mob were ready to tear him to pieces - Robert Green Ingersoll (The Great Infidels, 1881)

…the great library at Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, the repository of some of the ancient world’s oldest records, was put to the torch not just once but three times – by Julius Caesar, by a Christian mob, and by an Islamic caliph. Most of the records are deemed to have been destroyed, although it seems that a few later found their way to Byzantium, and others may well have been stored safely elsewhere…the emperor Diocletian then had yet further esoteric works (again of the Egyptians) burned in AD 296, at both Alexandria and Byzantium – John Gordon (Egypt: Child of Atlantis)

...Christian Literalism, now the only legal religion in the Roman Empire, launched a brutal crusade to completely eradicate its old rivals, Christian Gnosticism and ancient Paganism. In an orgy of violence, armies of fanatical Christian Literalists tore down the architectural wonders of the Pagan world. They built infernal bonfires of books containing the spiritual wisdom and scientific knowledge of the ages. They subjected to grisly torture and a painful death philosophers, priestesses, and scientists - anyone who disagreed. They did not stop until they had cut the head off Western culture, leaving it to wander like an amnesiac in an ignorant stupor. They did not stop until they had cut the heart out of Western spirituality, bleeding it dry of its mystical vitality. The corpse of a religion which remained offered nothing but hope of a better afterlife in return for blind belief in its irrational opinions and unquestioning allegiance to power-crazed popes. This tyrannical empire of the soul extended the arm of the state right into the inner sanctum of every individual, denying the right to spiritual autonomy and compelling all to acquiesce or burn - Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy (Jesus and the Lost Goddess)

Due to the influx of spiritual poison, man's reason has atrophied to such an extent that he now finds it difficult to correctly discern right from wrong, good from bad, and truth from falsehood. A study of the human moral predicament tells us that man is not progressing but regressing. He is not modern, but primitive. He is not a lover of order but of chaos. He does not seek freedom, he's scared to death of it. And his "love," for want of a word, is narcissistic and necrotic. It is the "dark secret love" of the poets, and it has turned him from a intimate relationship with the sky and stars, mountains and trees, animals, birds, and winds.

Spiritual ignorance is the mother of all evil. Ignorance will eventuate in death, because those who come from ignorance neither were, nor are, nor shall be - (Gospel of Philip)

Modern man does not stand upright in kingly fashion in the world made for him by his priests. On the contrary, he hangs upside-down in the world and does not see the real. He sees the image and the chimera. He is not sober, he is drunk. He is not well, he is poisoned and infected by the same psychic pathogens that have corrupted his misleaders. He acts and speaks as they act and speak, and covets whatever they enjoy and covet. He and they are not sane, they are unsane, not rising but falling. Inwardly, man is not satiated, he is starving. Spiritually naked, he craves to make his empty existence better, brighter, faster, freer, healthier, and cleaner. And at that, at least, he has succeeded. His starless, treeless, loveless world sparkles with its own morbid beauty. It is exquisite in its intricacy and sterile efficiency; precious in its obscene complexity.

...the priestly account of Creation is but kindergarten cosmology, yet we have accepted it for two thousand years. This is because Western man is incapable of abstract thought...In his metaphysical incompetency Western man has put the stamp of his own ego on everything, including the Creator - Lloyd Graham (Myths and Deceptions of the Bible)

Man is haunted by the fact that he cannot emulate or rival the power nature has over his body and mind. He covets that power and wants it for himself, but it won't come into his hands. Therefore, he has become obsessed with technological advancement, thinking it will bring him nearer to the stars and the elusive sanctum he believes lies at the end of his fitful search. He is wrong, because nothing he contrives to do in the name of vanity will bring him nearer to the stars and luminaries. It will only drive him closer to the vile perfidious god enthroned at the center of his psychosis. It will only lead him and his world to the unhallowed portals of oblivion.

Loud is the claim of the nineteenth century to preeminence in civilization over the ancients, and still more clamorous that of the churches and their sycophants that Christianity has redeemed the world from barbarism and idolatry. How little both are warranted…The light of Christianity has only served to show how much more hypocrisy and vice its teachings have begotten in the world since its advent, and how immensely superior were the ancients over us in every point of honor – Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Man can't own the stars in heaven, so he makes them here on earth from plastic and stone. He feverishly decimates forests while he blithely marvels at the columns that hold up the Parthenon and Lincoln Memorial. The civilization in ruins around him was created by men who did not think of a leaf as something that merely hung from a branch. They did not think of stars as something outside and far away. They did not consider nature to be their private backyard or as something to be controlled, owned, probed, and pillaged. Their religion did not tell them that man came into the world from elsewhere. It told them that man was a part of nature, not apart from it. It told them that man's existence was similar in kind to that of trees, clouds, and river water, and that if a man peered deeply into nature, into the world around him, he would find his own reflection gazing back at him.

...All the glories of Nature - the imposing silence of the night; the aroma of the flowers; the pale rays of the moon through the green tufts of the trees; the stars, flowers of fire strewn over the sky; the glow-worms, flowers of fire strewn over the grass - all these have been created to render the Adept worthy of NATURE, at that moment when for the first time she exclaims to Man, "I am yours," - words formed of a divine perfume from the soul, which, breathed forth, ascends to heaven together with the perfume of the flowers - the one moment of his life when he is king, when he is God; the moment which he expiates and pays for with a whole life of bitter regrets. That moment - it is the price of all our miseries - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

Man is the world and the world is man. Nature is the self and the self is nature. A natural religion is a human religion. Consciousness, of one sort or another, is shared by everything living here and now in the creation, from the neutron star to the subatomic particle. Nothing is dead. Nothing is inanimate. A thing lives, and has an everlasting relationship with everything else. Man is not alone in the creation and does not require remote invisible voices behind the clouds or in the dark places beneath the earth to instruct or waylay him. Man is his own student and teacher and his prestigious school is nature, the House of Life. Nothing is missing in the life of a man who has nature as his mentor.

The Druids and Shaman knew they were born from the womb of nature, not from somewhere beyond or outside it. They knew their lifeforce came from nature and that death simply meant a return to the sacred bosom of the universal mother. And they knew they must return to her eternal bower pure and unsodden, not corrupted and unsane. They, like Moses, realized that the day will come when the earthy sandals will be removed in the presence of the inextinguishable burning tree.

Moses heard Jehovah describe himself as the god of his "fathers." Yes, but what about the mother? What about the goddess? Why is she nowhere to be found in Judaism and Christianity? Are men born only from men? Are men afraid of the power that can never be theirs? And has that fear turned the world into a hellish vale of iron and tears?

It took an incredible decadence for man to accept materialistic theories such as those of Lamarch and Darwin! All traces of confidence in divine harmony and of legitimate pride must have vanished in our lack of reaction against a science that lowers us to the brute state of so-called prehistoric man or anthropoid. Those who steer humanity toward such stultification are madmen or criminals - R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz (Egyptian Miracle)

Man did not lose his connection with the divine. It was taken from him - stolen in the night by clever, ruthless, and demented men who desired power over man and nature. Both have been victimized, humiliated, and cheated. Nevertheless, nature is going nowhere, because although nature can be abused and altered, it cannot be destroyed. It is humankind that is endangered and in need of constant warning. Human beings are the ones who need to be strictly reminded of the need for moral and spiritual immunity and psychic sovereignty. Man needs to remember that he and nature are one and that a crime against nature is a crime against his own being, his own soul. The violation of a single plant or tree, flower or animal, is a sin against nature - and against the spirit of man - nature's privileged but dreadfully forgetful child.

Here - Gnostic Media Interview on the Trees of Life

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Part Two
Dragons of East and West

The priests of the Mysteries were symbolized as a serpent, sometimes called Hydra...The Serpent Kings reigned over the earth. It was these Serpent Kings who founded the Mystery Schools which later appeared as the Egyptian and Brahmin Mysteries...The serpent was their symbol...They were the true Sons of Light, and from them have descended a long line of adepts and initiates - Manly Palmer Hall (The Secret Teachings of All Ages)

Despite what the historians write and say, the traditions of the Druids were very much in evidence in the Middle East. The Sumerian, Babylonian, Chaldean, Amorite, and Akkadian cultures revered the sacred tree, the sacerdotal female, the serpent, the zodiac, and the polar constellations. Their writings speak of the fair-complexioned men of the West visiting and migrating to their lands. As we showed in Volume One, place names such as Erech and Eridu contain syllables referring to the primordial goddess of Ireland.

Goddesses permeated Ireland. Mountain, rivers, valleys, wells, all testified to her presence. Around the eleventh century, Ireland became known predominately as Eire, a name derived from the Goddess Eriu, one of the triple Goddesses: Eriu, Banba, and Fotla...Eriu makes it clear that anyone wishing to enter Ireland would have to revere the goddesses if they wished to prosper and be fruitful – Mary Condren (The Serpent and the Goddess)

Not much more than one per cent of Ireland's surface now contains broad-leaved trees - Bob Quinn (The Atlantean Irish)

Above we see the so-called "Libation Cup" of Sumerian King Gudea. It was found in the ruins of the ancient city of Lagash. The cup features twin guardian dragons and a caduceus representing the Serpent Priests and their knowledge.

…it was the Serpent of Wisdom that first offered the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge for the Enlightenment of Mankind; whether this be Egyptian, Akkadian, or Gnostic, it is the Good Serpent. And as Guardian of the Tree set in Heaven it was the Good Serpent, or intelligent Dragon, as keeper of the treasures of Astral knowledge. It was the later Theology, Persian and Hebrew, that gave the character of the Evil One to the Serpent of Wisdom, and perverted the original meaning, both of the temptation and the Tempter who protected the Tree; which has been supplemented by the theology of the Vitriol-throwers who have scarified and blasted the face of nature on earth, and defiled and degraded the starry Intelligencers in heaven – Gerald Massey (The Hebrew and Other Creations Fundamentally Explained)

One of the oldest cities in Southern Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) was Lagash. This name also contains the syllable of the ash tree. Lagash (from Lagas) was constructed over three thousand years BC and it served as a capital of the Sumerian (Sum Arya), Akkadian, and Guti (or Gutean) empires. Lagash and the surrounding lands were frequented (from 2150 BC) by a race known to historians as the Guti.

The name Gudea not only derives from the root gut, meaning “goat,” but it is decidedly and suggestively similar to the word Judea. This is not so remarkable when the true meaning of the terms Judea and Jew is contemplated. They did not refer to race but were titles. They referred to the yew tree or, more specifically, to “Men of the Yew,” that is to the Western Arya. A secondary connotation of Judah and Jew was “Judge.”

King Gudea of Sumeria. Sumeria is similar to a Gaelic word meaning "serpent." The names and words Judah, Jude, George, Tudor, Tutor, and Judge derive from the same root as Gudea.

Gudea can certainly be considered the great judge of his people. Additionally, the syllable dea, in his name, might refer to “holy” or even to “god.” The name Gudea, then, could have meant “Holy Goth” or “God of the Goths” or “Goat Men.”

Akkadian King Sargon (or Saru Kin) the Great (2270 BC – 2215 BC) overthrew the Sumerian empire and controlled Mesopotamia for approximately 150 years. His capital city was Agade (from gade meaning “gate” but perhaps also “goat”). He was purported to have been the builder of Babylon (“Gate of the Gods”). His name may mean “Lord Sun,” “Lord God,” or “Lord of the Garden,” because gan meant "enclosed garden," and because one of his main official titles was “Lord Digger of the Earth.” We surmise that gardens and trees were important to Akkadians and Sumerians because the pictograph for their great city of Lagash was, again, a garden.

The name of the ash tree can be discerned in the place name Assyria (Ash Arya). The Assyrian King Ashur may have been given this title because he was considered a “god,” that is a highborn king and priest. Again, we emphasize that the trunks of trees were regarded by patristic cultures as phallic symbols, and worthy emblems of kingship and godhead. This is the reason why important modern state and educational buildings are frequently decorated with pillars and columns.

The ash tree was particularly venerated by the ancients of Nordic countries. Yggdrasil, or “Odin’s Tree,” was conceived of as an great everlasting ash. One of Ireland's earliest gods was known as Aesar or Iesa. The gods of Nordic lands were known as the Aesir, a word very close to Asir (or Wesir), the Egyptian rendering of Osiris, a god very much connected to the trees of life and death. The gods Anshur, Attis, Tammuz, and Adonis, are all connected to trees.

The chief and most holy seat of the gods," say the Eddas, "is by the ash Yggdrasil. There the gods meet in council every day. It is the greatest and best of all trees, its branches spread over all the world and reach above heaven. Three roots sustain the tree and stand wide apart - J. H. Philpot (Trees in Religion and Myth, 1897)

The haven of the Nordics was Asgard, meaning "garden" or "grove of the gods:"

Asgard, the mountain of the gods, was pierced by a mighty tree trunk, the branches of which overshadowed the world and supported the sky, the stars, and the clouds, whilst its roots stretched downwards into the primordial abyss. The apples stored in Valhal, by eating which the gods preserved their youth, closely correspond to the amrita or soma which, as we shall see, was a peculiar feature of the Eastern conception of the world-tree - J. H. Philpot (Trees in Religion and Myth, 1897)

In Norse myths, the tree Yggdrasil is intimately connected to the primal parents and sacerdotal female:

There stands a beautiful hall near the fountain beneath the ash. Out of it come three maids. These maids shape the lives of men and we call them the Norns. On the boughs of the ash sits an eagle, who knows many things - (The Prose or Younger Edda. Translated by G. W. Dasent)

...we read in the Eddas that when heaven and earth had been made, Odin and his brothers walking by the sea -shore came upon two trees. These they changed into human beings, male and female. The first brother gave them soul and life ; the second endowed them with wit and will to move ; the third added face, speech, sight, and hearing. They clothed them also and chose their names, Ask for the man's and Embla for the woman's. And then they sent them forth to be the parents of the human race - J. H. Philpot (Trees in Religion and Myth, 1897)

Osiris as Pharaoh holding the flail and sickle, two symbols associated with cultivation and harvest. As Osiris (Asari) was god of the Earth and of agriculture it makes sense to see him with these two emblems. However, the flail for winnowing and the sickle for harvesting are also associated with the Western Druids. There can be little doubt that Osiris (who was referred to as the god of the West) was originally brought to Egypt in predynastic times by the Arya or Shemsu Hor.

Enough exists to show that the Nordic Gods were the same as the gods of the Levant. The gardens, halls, warfare, altars, sacrifices, marriage and family life were the same - (Priesthood of the Illes)

The Assyrian Tree of Life

In Babylonia the sacred tree was no doubt closely associated with Istar, the divine mother, who was originally not a Semitic, but an Akkadian goddess, and whose cult, together with that of her bridegroom Tammuz, was introduced into Chaldea from Eridu a city which flourished on the shores of the Persian Gulf between 3000 and 4000 B.C. - J. H. Philpot (The Sacred Tree in Religion and Myth)

That the Akkadians were familiar with the worship of the tree may also be inferred from the fact that their chief god, Ea, was closely associated with the sacred cedar, on whose core his name was supposed to be inscribed - ibid

In these early Sumerian/Akkadian myths we meet Etana, the chosen king, later a demigod, who must find the tree which stands at the center of the earth. This tree is the home of an eagle, who has devoured the young of the serpent who guards the tree. The serpent appeals to the Father god, Shamash, for justice, and Shamash shows the tree how to help the serpent capture the eagle. There exists an early Akkadian seal (ca. 2350 BCE) showing the serpent in human form enthroned with the caduceus emblem behind him and guarding him - R. T. Mason (The Serpent in Myth and Legend)

Known as Nion in Gaelic, the ash was one of the most important and revered trees of the ancient Irish elders. It was connected to the Welsh god Llew (the Irish Lugh), perhaps because of the height to which it often grew. In Nordic myth, the god Odin sacrificially hung himself from the great ash in order to discover the meaning of life. The tree is associated with sacrifice and arcana knowledge. As the "World Tree" its roots, trunk, and branches spanned the three worlds - under world, middle world, and upper world. Legend has it that evil serpents would avoid the tree at all costs. Ash wood is extremely hard. Legend has it that the great heroes of European mythology made their spears and axes from ash wood. The Welsh druids made their wands from ash wood, which can be white or yellowish in appearance. The magician Gwydion made his wand from ash wood. The tree is associated with the sea and the lost lands of antiquity. The word root ash or as, can be found in many important names and words, such as ashlar, ashram, Asir (Osiris), Aesir and Asa (meaning "gods"), Asgard, Ascalon, Asshur, Assyria, Astaroth, Astarte, and so on.

The word altar may be a derivation of alder, that appears in the word Alderman. The words mayor and major come from the Irish mayo signifying the yew tree. The word alder was a Germanic word meaning "red." It has the same meaning as elm. The syllable dar, connotes the Druids, who referred to themselves as "Adders." In short, for the Druids, trees were altars of god.

Acorn motifs in an American courtroom.

The regalia the Lord Mayor of London, like that of city aldermen, is Druidic in origin, as is most royal symbolism. The royal-appointed personage known as "Black Rod" is seen here knocking thrice on a court door to gain entrance. This particular rite harkens back to the Druids. (The word bard, signifying a member of the Druidic order, meant "branch.") Black Rod is known as an "Usher" and this term, like alderman and mayor, comes from the name of a tree, namely, the ash. (See also "ashram" and "ashlar," etc.) One of Black Rod's titles is "Keeper of the Door." The word door comes from the same root as Druid. (Here for more)

It is just coincidence of course, that Prince Charles' estate is called Highgrove, that is High Grove. As we showed in Volume One and Two, and in the DVD series, the British and European royals are unworthy inheritors of the Aryan traditions and Druidic leitmotifs. This is why they refer to themselves as the "ARISTOCRACY." (Here for more.)

The residence of the royal family in Scotland is Balmoral Castle, named after the ancient god Bel (the Phoenician Ba'al) head of the Irish trinity. The root bel, meaning "white," can be found in words such as Baltic, Belgrade ("White City"), and Belfast, etc. (Here for more.)



One origin of the word "book" is the Egyptian buka or bukha, which referred to the papyrus plant from which paper was made. In most lands of the northern hemisphere, men write across a page from left to right to simulate the sun's diurnal movement from east to west.

The word book comes from Old English "bōc" which comes from Germanic root "*bōk," cognate to beech. Similarly, in Slavic languages...it is cognate to "beech". It is thus conjectured that the earliest Indo-European writings may have been carved on beech wood. Similarly, the Latin word codex, meaning a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves originally meant "block of wood" - (Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia, entry on Book)

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Part Three
Trees of Mind and Hyperspace

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Important Research Material

Symbolism of the Halo
http://theartofoneness.blogspot.com/2008/10/halo.html

Johannes Bureas (Connections Between Nordic and Hebrew)
http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=244

The Burning Bush
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_bush

John Allegro
http://johnallegro.org/

Allegro's Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
http://johnallegro.org/Allegro-SundayMirror.htm

The Borborites
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borborites

Gnostic Media
http://gnosticmedia.com/

Ambrosia Society
http://www.ambrosiasociety.org/index.html

The Sacred Mushroom (Terence McKenna)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yw2nrHcock

Mary Magdalene in Art
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/davincicode/magdalen-life-art.html

Plant Symbolism in Christian Art
http://arthistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/plant_symbols_in_christian_art

Plant Symbolism and the Virgin Mary
http://www.oldandsold.com/articles22/madonna-2.shtml

The Great and Holy Myrrh-Bearer
http://orthodoxwiki.org/Mary_Magdalene

Spirit of the Trees
http://www.spirit-of-trees.net/

Magnificent Trees
http://www.neatorama.com/2007/03/21/10-most-magnificent-trees-in-the-world/

The Ancient Yew
http://www.ancient-yew.org/

The Yew: A History
http://www.whale.to/a/hageneder_b.html

The Yew Tree
http://www.yewshamanism.com/home.html

The Golden Bough (Frazer)
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/

Bulfinch's Mythology
http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/bulf/

Crown of Thorns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_of_Thorns

Agony in the Garden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agony_in_the_Garden

The Lost Word
http://www.thelostword.dk/index3.htm

Protoevangelium of James
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protoevangelium_of_James

Red Hair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair

Queen Boadicea (Red Haired Queen)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica

The Red-Haired Tocharians (Toc Aryans)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocharians

Teshub of the Hurrians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teshub

Illuyanka the Serpent
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuyanka

The Serpent Vritra
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vritra

Pythia and Delphi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythia

The Aesir
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86sir

Horgalles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horagalles

Masonic Street Geometry (Astana)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc441C-jKd4

Masonic Street Geometry (New York)
http://www.redicecreations.com/article.php?id=7828

Saharasia: The 4000 BCE Origins of Child Abuse, Sex-Repression, Warfare and Social Violence

Interview with James DeMeo

Important Books

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess - Leonard Shlain
Sex, Time and Power - Leonard Shlain
Saharasia - James DeMeo
Trees in Religion and Myth - J. H. Philpot
The Symbolism of Freemasonry - Albert A. Mackey
The Veil of Isis - W. Winwood Reade
Ancient Egypt: Light of the World - Gerald Massey
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross - John Marco Allegro
The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls Revealed - John Marco Allegro
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth - John Marco Allegro
Astrotheology and Shamanism - Jan Irvin
The Holy Mushroom - Jan Irvin
Failed God: Fractured Myth in a Fragile World - J. A. Rush
Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy - Clark Heinrich
The Golden Bough - James George Frazer
Symbols, Sex and the Stars - Ernest Busenbark
The Serpent in Myth and Legend - R. T. Mason
The Serpent Myths of Ancient Egypt - William Ricketts Cooper
Worship of the Serpent - J. B. Deane
Mythological Astronomy - S. A. Mackey
The Symbolism of Freemasonry - Albert A. Mackey
The Dark Side of Christian History - Helen Ellerbe
Thirty Thousand Gods Before Jehovah - Henry Brinkley Stein
Egyptian Mythology and Egyptian Christianity - Samuel Sharpe
The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts - Paul Lonigan
Druidism: The Ancient Faith of Britain - Dudley Wright
The Religion of the Ancient Celts - J. A. McCulloch
Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions - James Bonwick
Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought - James Bonwick
A Highland Parish or the History of Fortingall - Alexander Stewart
The Christ - John E. Remsberg
Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions - H. R. Ellis Davidson
Nineveh and its Remains - Henry Austin Layard
Secret Teachings of All Ages - Manly Palmer Hall
The Secret Doctrine - Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky
Symbolic Mythology - John Martin Woolsey
Greek Religion - Walter Burkert
Reign of the Phallus - Eva C. Keuls
The Celestial Ship of the North - Valentia Straiton
The Origins and Evolution of Religion - Albert Churchward
Pagan Origins of the Christ Myth - John G. Jackson
Love, Sexuality and Matriarchy - Erich Fromm
Das Mutterrecht - J. J. Bacofen
Morals and Dogma - Albert Pike
The Serpent Grail - Gary Osborn and Philip Gardiner
Bible of Bibles - James Wheless
Mythic Astrology - Ariel Guttman and Kenneth Johnson
The Migration of Symbols - Goblet d'Alviella
Sacred Mushrooms of the Goddess - Carl A. P. Ruck
Masks of Christ - Pickett and Prince
Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom - Caitlin Matthews
Historical Deception - Moustafa Gadalla
The Tutankhamun Deception - Gerald O'Farrell
The Two Babylons - Alexander Hislop
Jesus and the Lost Goddess - Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
The White Goddess - Robert Graves
The Gods of the Egyptians - E. A. Wallis Budge
Gentile Nations - George Smith
The Devil's Pulpit - Rev. Robert Taylor
The Bible: An Irish Book - Conor MacDari
Vatican Billions - Baron Avro Manhattan
The Messiah Myth - Prof. Thomas L. Thompson
Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs - A. H. Sayce
The Philosopher and the Druids - Philip Freeman
Woman's Mysteries - Esther Harding
Occidental Mythology - Joseph Campbell
Rape and Ritual - Bradley A. T. Paske
Jesus the Egyptian - R. A. Gabriel
The Great Infidels - Robert Green Ingersoll
Egypt: Child of Atlantis - John Gordon
Myths and Deceptions of the Bible - Lloyd Graham
Egyptian Miracle - R. A. Schwaller de Lubicz
The Prose or Younger Edda - Translated by G. W. Dasent

Additional Research Material

Irish Origins of Civilization DVD Series
www.originsandoracles.com

Michael Tsarion Interviews on Astro-Theology and Irish Origins
http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/regulars/mtsarion.html

More Interviews and Webstreams
http://www.redicecreations.com/mtsarforum/viewtopic.php?t=19

Chapter Forty One (The Scarlet Thread)
http://www.irishoriginsofcivilization.com/irishoriginsexcerpts/book2_chap41.html

Here - Gnostic Media Interview on the Trees of Life