Grail Seekers

Interview with Priory of Sion Ambassador Nicholas Haywood on Night Vision Radio

2011-12-22T08:34:00.000-08:00

Nicholas Haywood

Last night Priory of Sion Ambassador Nicholas Haywood was interviewed on Rene Barnett's Night Vision Radio. Even as cryptic as Haywood is, there are a a few revelations that can be gleaned from the chat. First off, there seems to be a rift between different factions within the Priory. Haywood seems to be quite put out with the fact the Priory isn't releasing information to the public in a timely fashion. Secondly, Haywood admits that political power broker/industrialist Armand Hammer was a member of the Priory. For those interested in the Priory, it is defiantly worth a listen... The interview with Nicholas Haywood can be listened to by clicking this link.

Does Poussin's Ideal Landscape Painting Hold A Templar "Easter Egg"?

2011-12-19T06:20:00.000-08:00

A number of years ago I was lucky enough to catch the Louvre exhibit at Atlanta's High Museum of Art. The High had imported an number of pieces from the Louvre and the centerpiece, for myself, was Poussin's Shepherds of Arcadia painting. (For more about that visit click here) The exhibit also included a number of other paintings by Poussin that I was familiar with, but were not seemingly connected with any of the esoterica that Shepherds of Arcadia had been linked. One of the "secondary" works of Poussin caught my attention that day and for the last few years my observations has been in the "I really should write about..." file.

Poussin's Ideal Landscape (click image to enlarge)

Known as Ideal Landscape, this Poussin circa 1650 painting has virtually escaped the scrutiny of those interested in connecting Poussin to the Rennes-le-Chateau mysteries. On the surface, Ideal Landscape appears to be little more than just that. (If the image that appears here is too small to pick out fine details of this painting, a larger image may be found at this link.) The focal points of the central village and the lonely mountain almost draw one's eye away from the understated activity going on in the painting. At the bottom center, Poussin has included what appears to be two shepherd-like travelers asking directions from a supine figure. Up and to the right of that, are figures watering horses that reinforce the notion that the central village is some sort of way-point. Smaller still are the figures walking towards the buildings on the rise above the stream/river. Once again, there are hints of motion in the minutia of Poussin's work.

There's one of these nearly imperceptible figures that caught my attention when viewing the original. Slightly above the heads of the two shepherd-like travelers asking for directions is a horse with two riders. The two riders on a single horse is of course reminiscent of the seal of the Knights Templar. The symbol was used to exemplify the vow of poverty that each Templar Knight took. The symbol also evokes the notion of sacrifice for one's brother and therefore for the order.

Two Riders on a Single Horse Highlighted (click image to enlarge)

Seal of the Knights Templar

The larger question is why did Poussin include two riders on the same horse in this painting? Is Ideal Landscape yet another Easter egg in the Gordian knot that Rennes-le-Chateau mysteries have become? If Poussin did indeed mean for the riders to be a reference to the Templars, what purpose does that serve? Could the sub-textual traveling theme in this painting give clues to a real geographic location that should be searched for? I personally have little doubt that Poussin was either making a visual reference to the Templars, but what is the deeper message here? As in all things, I will leave that to your own thoughts.

Greeks Claim to Have Found Both the Ark of the Covenant and Alexander's Tomb

2011-11-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

In a very short posting today on the Focus Information Agency website, a claim has been made that both the Ark of the Covenant and the tomb of Alexander the Great have been found on the Greek island of Thasos. (I usually don't post entire articles, but since this one is so short...)

"It is believed that the tomb of Alexander the Great and the Ark of the Covenant have been found on the Greek Island of Thasos, announced Russian Grekomania.ru, which is information partner of the Greek Minister of Culture and Tourism. Head of the research group Pitia Nikolaos Kumardzis announced that the findings emerged during amateur excavations. According to him, some unexpected results were reported during the excavations on Thasos Island. Greek researchers are convinced that the findings really are the tomb of Alexander the Great and the Ark of the Covenant."

Given Greece's financial troubles of late, if they really did have the location of the Ark and the tomb of Alexander, now would be the time to trot them out. We'll see if anything else makes the headlines on this story in the next few days.

Google Map Location of the Island of Thasos

View Larger Map

Viewing Symbols in Context

2010-12-17T11:16:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I saw a post from a noted esoteric author on Facebook. The post was a picture of an Egyptian revival tomb in New York and the author posed the question of if the tomb was a replica of the Scottish Rite Temple in Washington, DC. I didn't see the similarities of the two structures myself, but it make me think of a trap everyone who studies esoterica faces at times. How do we accurately interpret symbols in unlikely places? It's easy to fall into the mindset that there is only one specific answer to the interpretation of that symbol.

Take a look at the photo below and ask yourself what does this particular sign mean and why is the person making it?

After you have your answer in mind, analyze why you responded the way you did. Now take a look at this picture and ask yourself the same question. What does this symbol now mean to you?

The picture was taken from the Wiki article on "hook 'em horns" and the football scene was blacked out in the first one. For those not familiar with college football, University of Texas fans will throw up the "hook 'em horns" sign to show their support for the team. The sign mirrors the longhorn cattle logo of the University of Texas.

The difference in the interpretation of the two pictures is simply the context in which the sign is made. Since there are a number of interpretations of raising the pinky and index finger, it's impossible to definitively tell what the sign means without its proper context. If the sign was made in the context of the below picture, we would assume the person was simply trashing to heavy metal music and not supporting a football team.

The point of this exercise can be extended to any form of symbolism we decide to examine. If the object of our study is a building, one cannot assume that the symbols we see ingrained in the building have a specific meaning. One cannot also assume that a symbol has any meaning at all. The architect might simply have thought the design was visually pleasing and never meant it to have an esoteric significance.

The first question one must ask is not what the symbol means, but who placed the symbol there. What do we know about the person who placed the symbol there? What is their background? What motivation, if any, did they have to place this particular symbol there? Only then can one start to unravel the true meaning of any symbol. The due diligence of contextual interpretation can be applied to paintings, buildings, or anywhere else in the world we find a symbol.

In the world of esoteric studies, there are enough blind alleys one can spent their time on without automatically jumping to erroneous conclusions. There is plenty of hidden meanings out there without one attaching unnecessary symbolic baggage to your analysis. I hope this saves someone out there some time and mental shoe-leather...

The Darker Side of Christmas

2010-12-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

Lurking in the shadows of the neighbor's twinkling Christmas lawn lights is the darker side of the Yule tide. One rarely associates the holiday season with the ghouls and specters that cavort during Halloween, but in many traditions around the world Christmas does have a dark side. Aside from the specters in Dickens's A Christmas Carol, the threat of a lump of coal from Santa, and Chevy Chase's Holiday Vacation; American traditions have been insulated from the horror show of Christmas traditions around the world. Here are just some of stories of Christmas evil that will make you glad that shipping Aunt Tillie's sweater is high on your list of holiday stressors.

A Tender Norwegian Christmas

Santa riding a goat...

Besides eating lye treated cod during the Holiday season, the Norwegians have a number of frightful Christmas traditions. The foremost being that of the Julebukk, or the Christmas goat. Traditions centering around, Julebukk are thought to have come from Thor being depicted as being transported on a sleigh pulled by two goats. In pre-Christian Norway, during winter celebrations someone dressed as Julebukk and carrying a goat head would burst on to the scene. Julebukk would then symbolically die and be reborn later that evening. Another variation in some areas was disguising one's self as a goat and going to their neighbor's homes. The game was to figure out who was behind the scary goat head.

The tradition was Christianized by turning Julebukk in to a demonic figure. The demonizing of Julebukk must have given the children one too many nightmares and the use of Julebukk was forbidden by the Church during the Middle Ages. The ban on Julebukk might have fostered the thought that on Christmas Eve witches and other evil spirits come out of the woodwork and looking for brooms to ride. To thwart the spirit world, brooms are hidden on Christmas Eve and guns or fireworks are shot off to spook the incorporeal from invading one's home. Some forms of the Julebukk tradition exist today as more of a door to door caroling event. Julebukk also makes an appearance on modern Norwegian Christmas trees in the form of straw goats.

Krampus is Comin' to Town

Krampus

The goat motif extends from Scandinavia to Germany, Austria and some Slavic countries. There Santa has something of an evil twin brother by the name of Krampus. Often depicted as a demonic horned goatish creature, Krampus accompanies Santa on his Christmas gift runs. If a child has been on the super naughty list Krampus will beat them with chains or a switch. For the semi-naughty, Krampus will just scare the child into being on the nice list for next year. This particular tradition was born out of the legend that the devil would accompany Santa. Being the embodiment of all that is good, Santa is able to shackle the devil as his slave on Christmas Eve.

Much like Julebukk, the Krampus tradition has morphed into something much different in modern times. Winter celebrations dedicated to the Krampus legends have now turned into a costumed bacchanalia. On Krampusnacht (Night of Krampus usually on 5 or 6 December) boozing Krampi wander the streets looking for naughty women to spank and other such mischief to get into.

Whipping Up Some Christmas Cheer

Le Père Fouettard

The French have yet another evil companion to Saint Nick, Le Père Fouettard (the whipping father). Like our previous examples, Le Père Fouettard has been bound to ride shotgun in Santa's sleigh for his misdeeds. Said to have been an innkeeper, Le Père Fouettard and his wife planned skullduggery for three wealthy young men who spent the night in their inn. The pair drugged the lads, stole their money, and then slit their throats. To cover up their crimes, the boys are cut into pieces and placed into a barrel of stew meat. Luckily for our three lads, Saint Nicholas was led to the inn by a vision. There Saint Nick confronts Le Père Fouettard and raises the young men from the dead.

To punish Le Père Fouettard for his crimes, Santa forced the murdering innkeeper to accompany him on the Christmas gift giving spree. Predictably, our whipping father punishes the wicked as Santa rewards the good children. I'm sure in the back of poor French children's minds, Le Père Fouettard's justice will get out of hand and turn them into stew meat.

The mixing of Halloween and Christmas traditions seemed far-fetched to Americans when Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas was released. Turns out Burton was just following much older traditions than Americans were accustomed to. This Christmas Eve if you hear something rustling around your tree, make sure you're on Santa's good list. If you're not, who knows what spirit of Christmas evil you've conjured up!

Historians Discover Letters and Numbers in Mona Lisa's Eyes

2010-12-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

This news story is bound to keep those da Vinci theorists up for the next few nights. Yahoo News reported early this morning that historians have actually found tiny numbers and symbols painted in the eyes of the Mona Lisa. The article states that the new found aspect of the Mona Lisa cannot be seen by the naked eye, but can be clearly seen with a magnifying glass.

Here are the details from that article:

"In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name Leonardo Da Vinci while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined. It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE or it could be the letter B - you have to remember the picture is almost 500 years old so it is not as sharp and clear as when first painted. While in the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen or it could be an L and the number 2."

The discovery was made after members of Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage magnified high resolution photos of the Mona Lisa. Why this group had undertook magnifying areas of the painting is not made clear in the article. This might also put to rest the theories that the real Mona Lisa wasn't returned to the Louvre after the painting's theft in 1911.

I'll be doing some digging to try and find some high resolution images of the Mona Lisa on line today. It is possible that we might be able to see what's in the Mona Lisa's eyes using the same method as the original researchers. I can guarantee that the image that is posted with this article is no where near the resolution needed for such an analysis.

What else did da Vinci hide in the Mona Lisa and other paintings? I'm sure there will be a lot of folks getting out their magnifying glasses in the next few days.

Glastonbury Thorn Tree Vandalized

2010-12-09T12:50:00.000-08:00

Reports are coming in from England that the Holy Thorn Tree was vandalized sometime during the night of 8-9 Dec 2010. The once vibrant tree was reduced to a man sized stump. Avon and Summerset police have launched an investigation into the crime, but have no leads or motives as of yet.

The Holy Thorn or Glastonbury Thorn Tree has long attracted thousands of pilgrims each Christmas season. Legend holds that the original common Hawthorn tree was planted by Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph is said to have fled Palestine with the Holy Grail after the death of Jesus. Joseph relocated to southern England where he may have had interests in tin mining. On a hill outside of Glastonbury, a travel weary Joseph stuck his walking stick into the ground while taking a rest. The staff immediately took root and blossomed into a thorn tree that stood for over a thousand years.

The longevity of the original Glastonbury Thorn was not its only miraculous property. The tree bloomed twice a year. Hawthorn trees usually bloom in the spring, but the Glastonbury Thorn would bloom in the wintertime around Christmas. As early as the 1500's, there were reports of the tree blooming on the pre-Gregorian calendar celebration of Christmas on January 5th

The story of the Glastonbury Thorn then takes a turn reminiscent of last night's events. The original Glastonbury Thorn tree was chopped down. Legend and history account two ways this might have happened. One is that a Puritan cut the tree down because the tree incited thoughts of magic and superstition. For the Puritan's trouble, as the tree fell a splinter pieced his eyes and blinded him. Another version of the felling of the original thorn tree was that one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers cut the tree down in 1653.

A number of cuttings from the original tree were replanted by Glastonbury residents. Along with a public site for the replanted tree, a number of secret locations were chosen by residents for replanting. The second Glastonbury Thorn did flourish and reports from 1752 indicate it still bloomed at Christmas time. That year, after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the tree bloomed on December 24th. Over the years there have been a number of accounts of the tree blooming during the Christmas season, if not on Christmas Eve or Day itself. That particular tree died of natural causes in 1991 and was replanted using cuttings the year after. The tree that was vandalized last night could be said to have been the grandson/daughter of Joseph's tree.

Over the years, the Glastonbury Thorn has attracted thousands of pilgrims. One of which was author John Steinbeck. In a letter to Thomas Mallory scholar Eugene Vinaver, Steinbeck mentions that he sent a cutting of the thorn tree to Vinaver. In 1901 another cutting of the Glastonbury Thorn was sent to the Bishop of Washington to be planted at the National Cathedral. That tree is also said to bloom at Christmas time as well.

Another long standing tradition surrounding the Glastonbury Thorn is that a small branch of the thorn tree is sent to England's reigning monarch. It was after such a ceremony last night that the Holy Thorn tree was vandalized. Whatever the statement the vandals wished to make by their actions were tied to the timing of the attack.

ABC Houston Covers the Bosnian Pyramid

2010-05-02T12:39:00.001-07:00

Noah's Ark Found in Turkey?

2010-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Here's some video on the report that Noah's Ark has been found in Turkey. It's been said before, so I'll wait for some more proof to come forward.

Skullduggery: 45 True Tales of Disturbing the Dead

2009-12-21T05:15:00.000-08:00

As many of you who regularly check out Grail Seekers, I haven't been posting too much over the last couple of months. That's because I've been working on a book that has finally made it's way into print. Skullduggery: 45 True Tales of Disturbing the Dead is a slight departure from the subject matter I cover here on Grail Seekers, but there is some common ground. The write-up for the book on Amazon is as follows:

One of humanity's greatest unspoken fears is having our mortal remains desecrated in the grave. These fears reach as far back as the ancient Egyptians and are as close at hand as today's headlines. Skullduggery examines 45 real life tales of those who would disturb the dead's eternal slumber. Discover the post-mortem histories of Elvis, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Thomas Paine, Alexander the Great, Eva Peron, Graham Parsons, Che Guevara, Albert Einstein, The Skull and Bones Society, and others who were not allowed to rest in peace. The motivations for these ghoulish crimes range from greed and avarice to pure affection. Once you step into the world of Skullduggery, you will never pass by a cemetery at night without considering what forces are at work in the dark.

You can find out more about Skullduggery and check out samples at the book's web site.

Skull and Bones Video Leaked?

2009-12-16T08:40:00.000-08:00

On paper, it sounds too good to be true. A video from a Yale Freshman was released on You Tube with a caption of a "look inside the courtyard of Yale's oldest secret society". According to the Yale Daily News, the You Tube user name Dauphinish, left Yale in 2007 due to a medical condition and has since transferred to Branford College. Since being at Branford, Dauphinish has been receiving death threats and was involved in a hit and run accident. All of this transpired after Dauphinish bragged to friends that he had broken into the headquarters of the Skull and Bones Society, known as The Tomb, and filmed a video.

At the end of this page is the video supposedly filmed at The Tomb by Dauphinish. There's some creepy scenes of Dauphinish entering a dark passageway. There's a coffin at the end of the passageway and what looks like bones scattered on a dirt floor. Spooky as the You Tube piece is, is it worth death threats and a hit and run?

I've always been of the opinion that all powerful secret societies don't mess around with dime store tactics such as death threats and hit and runs. If you've hacked off the masters of the universe, you're going to pay the price. If the Skull and Bones Society is capable of stealing the skulls of Pancho Villa and Geronimo, placing Presidents on the throne, and any other conspiracy linked to the group; they are capable of successfully knocking off a college Freshman. After viewing the video, judge for yourself what price might be exacted from the uber-secret society for wandering on to their turf.

In my new book Skullduggery: 45 True Tales of Disturbing the Dead, I've included a chapter that looks into some of the alleged skull thefts of the Skull and Bones.

Follow Up On Carrie Kirkpatrick and the Banning of Mystical Legends

2009-11-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

Carrie Kirkpatrick just wanted to make a documentary series. She had filmed a five part series called Mystical Legends for an English speaking Spanish television station. For the paltry sum of £10,000 Carrie had completed the series with local topics ranging from the Knights Templar to Girona/Patrice Chaplin/Rennes-le-Chateau connection to Spanish witchcraft. As the series was getting ready to be aired, the Spanish TV station suddenly went out of business. Carrie was left holding Mystical Legends in the can.

It's bad enough not to make one's money back on a project, but to have an unseen project just won't do. Carrie turned to her friends at Sky Channel 200, "Controversial TV". She had formed a connection with the owners of Controversial TV while doing work for their sister station Psychic and Soul. Along with owning Controversial TV and Psychic and Soul a smattering of soft core porn stations are in the fold. Carrie presented the managers of Controversial TV a unique offer. She would allow the station to air Mystical Legends and pay for the music licensing herself. All the station had to do was add it to their line-up, pop the DVD in and hit the transmit button.

According to Carrie, Controversial TV always operated on a shoestring budget. The office staff consisted of a handful of people and finding programming was always a challenge. The powers that be at Controversial TV jumped at the offer for free programming and agreed to show two of the Mystical Legends series a few times over the next year. Carrie sent, and Controversial TV accepted, a letter of intent that gave the SKY TV station the right to air two of Mystical Legends.

Kirkpatrick wouldn't see a quid from the airing of the series, but at least it was out there. Controversial TV decided to start out with Girona, A City Of Secrets. The special explored the connection between Charlie Chaplin's daughter-in-law Patrice Chaplin and a secret society that operates in Girona. (I was lucky enough to speak to Patrice last year about her book on the topic. For more on my conversation with Patrice, click here) The piece was aired twice and then the hammer dropped.

'Mystical Legends - Girona, A City Of Secrets' from Carrie Kirkpatrick on Vimeo.

On October 20, 2009, Carrie received the following e-mail from one of the staffers at Controversial TV. While she would not disclose the name of the staffer, Carrie did say after the signature there were two kissy lips added. The email below is an exact copy, bad syntax and all...

"Hi Carrie,

Hope you are well? Unfortunately after a few meetings with the people at the top we have been asked to pull your shows of the channel, and unfortunately are hands are tied Carrie. I know you have gone to alot of trouble to get these shows ready for us, and also promoting it to your friends and even going to the extent of paying for the music. But we have been told that Due to circumstances out of control we cannot show them anymore. I understand that you will not be happy with this decision, but i also hope you understand that we have to abide by the people above us and their decisions. I ‘m sorry to have to be the one to deliver the news, and i hope you understand the situation we are in.

Best wishes"
That was it. A quick kiss off from a rank and file staffer carrying out the wishes of those mysterious figures from up above. There was no mention of the documentary's quality not being what Controversial TV was looking for, or a problem with Carrie herself. She still maintains a connection with their sister station Psychic and Soul, even though she has not been available to appear on it for some weeks due to other commitments Carrie has not been sacked and they still use her high profile and reputation as a TV Psychic to advertise their Psychic channel. Representatives from the SKY TV station have never answered my requests for an explanation for pulling the show.

The big question then is why? If you've watched Carrie's work above, there is nothing contained within the half hour special that would raise an eyelash. Was the documentary not controversial enough for Controversial TV? Or does someone not want the information contained within the documentary to be aired on TV? If that's the case who might that be?

My first thought was the e-mail sounded surprisingly like one sent to controversial radio show host Michael Savage in early October. Savage has been ban from entering the United Kingdom, ostensibly for his views on radical Islamic activities across the globe. Savage was invited to perform debate, via video link, at the Cambridge Union. A week before the debate was to take place, Savage received an e-mail from Cambridge including the following:

“We have reconsulted [sic] with our counsel, and been informed that there are numerous legal issues with Dr Savage speaking here and so because of all of the technical, financial and legal problems involved, we have come to the reluctant conclusion that the event cannot proceed.”

While one might not agree with Savage's views, the root of the matter is free speech and a government's control of discrimination of information.

To date, Carrie Kirkpatrick is still in the dark. She's a filmmaker who has gotten the rug pulled beneath her by an unknown hand. Nothing in the world of the underground stream is what it seems, and Carrie might very well be the invisible hand's latest victim.

You can befriend Carrie on Facebook here or join the Group Bring Back Mystical Legends! or her group Divine Productions. Kirkpatrick is also holding a contest for the best conspiracy theory relating to why Mystical Legends was banned from Controversial TV. The winner gets a bottle of Champagne I will hold my thoughts on this for the moment, you can form your own opinions to try and win the bottle for yourself...

Mystical Legends - Girona A City Of Secrets Ban in the UK

2009-11-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

I received a note from Xochi Adams of Quest Books about the following issue earlier today. Please take a moment to read Carrie's e-mail and take a good hard look at censorship in the UK. If you're a UK citizen, I suggest you contact your elected officials and the station that pulled the plug on this piece and voice your opinion. If this piece caused enough controversy to be taken off TV, how long is it before you or I have our free speech rights infringed on?

'Mystical Legends - Girona, A City Of Secrets' . The film they tried to ban from Carrie Kirkpatrick on Vimeo.

I have published below the email that I received from Controversial TV on 20th October 2009.

Read the email, watch the documentary 'Mystical Legends - Girona A City Of Secrets' and solve this mystery.

Hi Carrie,

Hope you are well? Unfortunately after a few meetings with the people at the top we have been asked to pull your shows of the channel, and unfortunately are hands are tied Carrie. I know you have gone to alot of trouble to get these shows ready for us, and also promoting it to your friends and even going to the extent of paying for the music. But we have been told that Due to circumstances out of control we cannot show them anymore. I understand that you will not be happy with this decision, but i also hope you understand that we have to abide by the people above us and their decisions. I ‘m sorry to have to be the one to deliver the news, and i hope you understand the situation we are in.

Best wishes

As a result of receiving this email, I'm running a competition for the best conspiracy theory and there will be a bottle of champagne for the person who can solve this mystery.

Email your answers to info@divinetv.net.

We are screening this documentary at Secret Chiefs, The Devereux , Deverux Court, London WC2 near Temple tube on Wednesday 25th November at 8.00pm. The winner of the competition will be announced at 10.30pm.

I hope to see you there,

Carrie Kirkpatrick

Ethiopian Patriarch to Announce the Ark of the Covenant is in Axum

2009-06-24T21:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Goggle "Translate" and "Alert", I came across an intriguing article in the Italian Adnkronos news site. Adnkronos snagged an exclusive interview with the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia. The Patriarch, Abuna Pauolos, has been in Rome for the last week at something like a G8 summit for religious leaders. During the interview with Adnkronos, the Patriarch announced that the time was right to show the world the truth about the Ark of the Covenant.

The truth being that the Ark does actually rest in Ethiopia.

The Ark has long been thought by some to be resting in Saint Mary of Zion Church in Axum. The legend goes that the son of Sheba and King Solomon came to Jerusalem and stole the Ark from under the noses of the Temple leaders. After some bouncing around Egypt, the Ark was taken to Ethiopia where it has been hidden ever since.

Until now, this has been something of a fairy tale in the legend of the Ark. Graham Hancock did some convincing research in his book, The Sign and the Seal on the theory. The Ethiopians themselves have never quite hidden the fact that the Ark rests in their country either. During the festival of Timkat, mock-ups of the Ark are paraded around Axum.

The Patriarch went on to say that on the 19th of June he would be meeting with Pope Benedict to apprise him of "the situation" in Ethiopia. Patriarch Pauolos is planning to hold a press conference this Friday in Rome where he will announce that Ark will be placed in a museum in Axum for the world to see. The possibilities of the announcement are no less than staggering. One of history's greatest enigmas might come to an end on Friday.

I'm still curious why Patriarch Pauolos would wish to apprise Pope Benedict of his announcement. The Vatican has made no moves at this point to publicly acknowledge meeting between the two Holy Men. There must be some reason Pauolos would inform the Catholic Church of the truth of the Ark. There also must be some reason as to why now? Why after centuries of hiding the Ark away, are there plans on putting the Ark in a museum.

Friday might just prove to be a very interesting day...

Remnants of a Secret Library Been Found in Bulgaria

2009-06-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

Some of the writing I do here at Grail Seekers is speculation. Those of us who fish in the underground stream for the flotsam and jetsam of hidden knowledge will at best collect a few connected puzzle pieces. Those of us who have the integrity of seeking Truth, try not to force the jig saw puzzle together. We are satisfied with a corner piece fitting together here, or making half a recognizable image there. Such is the nature outsider looking into secret societies, cryto-history, and random Fortean weirdness.

Ever so often, the rules of the game change and some tiny bit of information comes along that gives one a WOW moment. We look back on the trail behind us more clearly, because what we had thought all along has the light of validity attached.

Such seems to be the case with my following of the events in Bulgaria over the last year and a half. I won't rehash all of the events leading up to last week's news story, but if you're interested you can check out my articles entitled Templar Dig in Bulgaria and Templar Dig in Bulgaria Continues.

The short and sweet version is that a group of modern day Templars has funded Bulgaria archeologist Nickolay Ovcharov to find evidence of Templar activity in Bulgaria. Given findings last year, I had speculated that Ovcharov was looking for a legendary secret library of the last Bulgarian Tsar, Ivan Shisman. The story goes that Shisman hid his library before the advancing Ottoman's took over the country in the 14th Century.

The possibilities of finding an undisturbed medieval royal library are staggering. Dependant on the level of activity that the Templars might have had in the area, the unblemished records could be astounding. Especially since Bulgaria was a overland route into Constantinople, who knows what clues to the 4th Crusade's sacking of the town could be held in a such a library.

Last Friday, Novite.com ran another find of our friend Ovcharov. In Saint Peter and Paul's church in Veliko Tarnovo, a "silver and gold casing of a medieval book... contains a golden image of Archangel Michael with a scepter in his hand" was found. The article goes on to say that "He [Ovcharov] also announced his team had discovered a bronze hasp at the same spot which confirmed the testimonies that in the 19th century a secret room with hand-written medieval books was discovered at the church."

I haven't been able to track down the source of the 19th Century account as of yet, but it seem pretty clear that Ovcharov is looking for it. Sometimes one's chickens do come home to roost in a positive way...

At the moment, I'm looking into some other seemingly non-connected stories happening in Bulgaria that circle into Ovcharov's professional connections and some European Union politics. If I can make some of the dots connect, I'll go to press in the next week about my findings. Until then think good thoughts that if Ovcharov does find the library, the world will get a look at the documents. It would be very easy for a find like this to get overlooked and hidden away for another 700 years.

Sean Hannity Reports on the Illuminati

2009-05-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

Take what you will from this report from Sean Hannity on the history of the Illuminati. I had been thinking of doing an article about the real history of the Illuminati to separate the fact from the Angels and Demons fiction on the organization, but why reinvent the wheel. The report does give the basics on the historical Illuminati, with the tantalizing "are they still around" hooks.

Shugborough Hall and the Discover of a Paper Cross of Lorraine

2009-05-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, various news sources have reported on the finding at Shugborough Hall. According to the Sunday Mercury on 16 May 09, a Cross of Lorraine fashioned out of a newspaper dated 20 May 1794 was found "this month" in a roof space of the mansion house. The discovery marks yet another chapter in the potentially esoteric links with the Estate.

Those who are delving into the Rennes-le-Chateau / Priory of Sion mysteries will no doubt be familiar with the Staffordshire Estate. A garden in the Estate holds a mirror image reproduction in stone of Poussin's Shepherds at Arcadia painting. What intriguing about this reproduction is a line of letters, "D.O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V.M.", inscribed beneath the carving. Since the statue was commissioned by Thomas Anson in 1748. Since then, the Ansons and the monument were linked to the Priory of Sion by the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

The monument and code has proven so tantalizing over the years, that in 2004 Bletchley Park issued a challenge to code breakers around the world. On 11 May 2004, Bletchley Park held an media event at the "Shepherd's Monument" where the public and media could question these code breakers on how they were going to translate the string of letters. It turned out to be a nice little media event with a German Enigma machine on display to remind the everyone of Bletchley Park cracking that code during the Second World War.

After a couple of months of sifting through the attempts at solving the riddle, Bletchley announced on 21 Nov 2004 that they someone had finally made sense of the cipher. The answer came from an American whose answer was "Jesus (As Deity) Defy" A news release on the Bletchley Park web site promised that in December all the answers and methods used to crack the code would be published. To date, and to my knowledge, this has not happened. It's odd that Bletchley Park didn't finish cashing in on the press they had gotten from the code contest by publishing all the answers.

Flash forward to this weekend's news stories of the Cross of Lorraine. It is unusual that such an object would be found on an Estate linked with RLC and the Priory of Sion. What's even more unusual is the Mercury got it all wrong. The cross was not found "sometime this month", but according to the Shugborough Hall web site's press release it was found "in the early 1990's". (I've found over the years that the British Press is horrible about getting facts right in articles of an occult nature.)

A simple Google news search for news articles pre-1999 with the terms " Shugborough Hall cross" comes up with no news stories about the discovery. This would tend to make me believe that the folks at Shugborough Hall held on to the discovery of the paper cross until now. With the release of Angels and Demons this month, it does seem like a good time to parade a new mystery in the public's eye.

Or is May just been deemed public relations month for Shugborough? After all they put the cross on display almost five years to the date of the Bletchley Park press conference. Oh, and the merry, merry month of May was the month of the newspaper the cross was made on too.

If Shugborough Hall is trying to make the world think there's deeper meaning behind their actions and objects found on the grounds, they're doing a bang up job. What is it about May? If I figure it out, I'll let you know.

Pittsburgh Scottish Rite Talk

2009-05-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

I was invited to speak to the Pittsburgh Scottish Rite on 20 Apr 09 by Brother Tony Gennaccaro. Originally, I had planned on video taping the talk, but there was an issue with pressing the record button I think… The good news is that I took a pocket recorder for back-up and recorded it from there. The audio isn’t the best in the world, and it’s a little hard to hear some of the questions ask by the audience. So I’m not gong to win any Blog awards for this broadcast….

The event was a success and the Brothers in Pittsburgh were quite hospitable. Brother Tony took me around town and showed me the sites before the talk. It was an honor to be chosen as their key note speaker that night. Thanks for inviting me to your event guys. Hope you enjoy.

The Templars and the Shroud of Turin: How the Pieces Fall Into Place

2009-04-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

Suddenly it all makes sense....

Yesterday the Vatican announced that they believe a link has been found between the Knights Templar and the Shroud of Turin. Today's Times Online states that the proof of the link comes from the work of researcher Dr. Barbara Frale. Some of you might remember it was Frale discovered the Chinon Parchment. This document not only included a transcript of the trial of the Templars, but Pope Clement V's admission that the Order was not guilty of heresy.

Frale links the Templars to the Shroud by a 1287 document by Templar initiate Arnaut Sabbatier. In this document, Sabbatier states that the Templars held, in secret, a "long linen cloth on which was impressed the figure of a man” and instructed to venerate the image by kissing its feet three times." Furthermore the Times article goes on to say that, " They had rescued it to ensure that it did not fall into the hands of heretical groups such as the Cathars, who claimed that Christ did not have a true human body, only the appearance of a man, and could therefore not have died on the Cross and been resurrected." Unfortunately, the Times does not give us the benefit of a reference for this claim.

The Easter week claim from the Vatican is nothing short of incredible. The Church claims to have evidence of the Shroud's "missing years" from the fall of Constantinople in 1204 to its reemergence in 1353. Filling in a gap of 150 years of the Shroud's history is a feat, but to admit that the Templars held the Shroud is another matter.

The Times article mentions that Frale's "study of the trial of the Knights Templar had brought to light the document" of Sabbatier that connected the dots. One can only surmise that the Vatican has known of the link between the Templars and the Shroud since shortly after Frale's 2001 discovery of the Chinon Parchments. If this is the case, some moves on the part of the Vatican, and other groups, since 2001 start to fall into place.

A quote from Fred Thompson's character, Admiral Painter, in The Hunt for the Red October comes to mind: "The Russians don't take a dump without a plan"; the same could be said of the Vatican. The control of information, timing of announcements, and actions from the Holy See are as orchestrated as any government's. Let's take a look at the time line of events leading up to this revelation from the Vatican and see what emerges. The links on the dates are to articles supporting the time line. In cases where the links are dead, references are given.

September 2001 - Dr Barbara Frale discovers the Chinon Parchments in the Vatican's Secret Archives. The Parchments have been "misfiled" for the last 700 years and supposedly the contents were unknown by the Vatican. Also of note: the Times article on the Shroud/Templar connection claims that Frale found the Chinon Parchments in 2003. The Italian Magazine Hera ran an article Templars: The Flame of the Innocence in 2002 about Frale's discovery.

18 Mar 2003 - Dan Brown's book the Da Vinci Code is released in the United States. We all know what that did to the mythos and public awareness of the Templars.

29 Nov 2004 - A Hertfordshire group of Templars sends a letter to the Vatican seeking the Church to apologize for the persecution of the Templars. According to the article, one of the members said, "There have been some unofficial responses over the telephone and we have received certain indications from officials within the church that leaves us hopeful that an apology might be forthcoming,"

29 April 2005 - The Hertfordshire Mercury reports that before becoming Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, contacted a Dr Alan Thompson at the University of Hertfordshire about a Templar connection in the town.

23 May 2006 - The Vatican issues a letter in Germany that denounces claims that the Church is reforming the Templars. It is still unknown who was circulating a forged letter that made this claim and why the Church would take any position on this matter.

17 July 2007 - BBC reports that the Vatican has closed its main library until September 2010 for restoration work. Until that time, any of the printed resources of the library will be off limits to the rest of the world.

4 Oct 2007 - The Vatican announces the 25 Oct 2007 release of the Chinon Parchments in Processus contra Templarios. The limited edition book will include information that "clears" the Templars of heresy. The release of the text "just happens" to fall within 12 days of the 700th anniversary of the Templar's arrest in Paris on charges of heresy.

24 Nov 2007 - An archeological survey by the modern day Templar Organization Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH) in Bulgaria is announced. The dig was codenamed “Nisovo Project” and has been headed up by the “Indiana Jones” of Bulgarian archeology Nikolai Ovcharov. The goal of the dig was to find evidence of the Templars in Bulgaria. The region the group is searching in would have been an overland path used by Crusaders returning from the sack of Constantinople in 1204 when the Shroud "disappeared" from history.

21 Aug 2008 - Dr. Frale announces that she's found a prayer written by a Templar while in prison. The prayer appeals to the Virgin Mary to free the order, "despite all the lies that have been thrown at us by liars," and guide the order's enemies toward "truth and charity"

While this has been a long way around the bend, here's my conjecture. The Vatican has known, at least since 2001, of the contents of the Chinon Parchments. With public awareness of the history and pseudo-history of the Templars growing since the release of the Da Vinci Code, the Church has decided to use this to its advantage. While the position of the Church has not "officially" changed on the trial of the Templars, an information campaign has been waged to publically clear them of heresy charges.

Since the Templars were supposedly protecting the Shroud from heretical groups, how could they be a part of their heresies? By extension, we have a set up for casting some doubts of the Templar's involvement in covering up the theory of Jesus being married to Mary Magdalene. The bonus to all of this is the steadfast Templars lend some legitimacy to the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. Not to mention that the connection between the Templars and the Shroud coming before Easter services...

It's interesting that the Church decided to close its main library down till the middle of last year, before making any of these announcements. By releasing the Chinon Parchments and the library being closed, they control the rate and timing of information. There is no chance that someone might wander into some other discovery on the Templars or anything else.

Finally, we have some evidence that the Church has been interested in active neo-Templar groups. I was told a year ago by a senior member of one of these groups (who wished to remain anonymous and I know how that sounds) that they were in contact with the Vatican and that calls for exoneration of the Templars. He mentioned that the time might not be right to upset the apple cart for too many public outcries for justice for the Templars and that "things are forthcoming." Once again, getting the "buy-in" from these organizations lessens them exerting public pressure on the Vatican to do anything except on the Pope's time table.

The big question now is what is next? What other secrets is the Church holding and what is their plan to make the information public? I've got a good feeling we haven't heard the end of this.

Pope Lifts 20 Year Excommunication of Four Priests

2009-01-29T13:59:00.001-08:00

News came through on the wires today that Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the 20 year-old excommunication of four bishops. Normally, actions like this make headlines as big as Governor issuing a low level pardon. However, the Pope's choice of Bishops to bring back into the fold has outraged the Jewish community and will raise questions for Priory of Zion watchers.

The fours Bishops in question were all consecrated by the controversial Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre without papal consent. Lefebrve was an outspoken member of the Church that came into clashes with the Holy See over efforts to modernize the Catholic Church. To marshal likeminded individuals within the Church, Lefebvre created the International Priestly Society of Saint Pius X in 1970. The formation of the Society was a direct response to opposition over changes in the Catholic Church dictated in the Second Vatican Council. In a 17 July 1976 letter to Pope Paul VI, Lefebvre believed that the Church was collaborating with Freemasons to set the Second Council's reforms into place.

Lefebvre created the Society in such a way that it sidestepped normal Vatican protocol. The Society was never officially recognized by the Vatican. Because of his actions in the creation of the Society; Lefebvre was suspended from his duties as a Priest by Pope Paul VI in 1976. This did not stop Lefebvre from conducting ordinations or mass. The four Priests that had their excommunications lifted were all members of the Society of Saint Pius the X and ordained by Lefebvre himself.

The move by Pope Benedict was an effort to reach out to members of the Society to bring them back into the Catholic fold. On the surface this would seem to be something that a Pontiff would want to do. Mending old wounds and being inclusive seem to be high on Benedict's list of things to do.

Such actions come with a political price when one of the Priests you have brought back into the fold has highly questionable theories on the Holocaust. British Bishop Richard Williamson was recently on an interview on Swedish TV as saying, " that historical evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed."

I'm a free speech sort of guy, but such horrid nonsense such as that really has no place in the reality most of us live in. While not wishing to debate those who take Williamson's stance, I can safely say that such statements are unconscionable. Those at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Paris have also denounced Williamson's statements as indefensible. I would have added reckless to that list.

Now for you Priory of Sion watchers out there. You might remember that Lefebvre is thought to have been at least an associate if not a member of the Priory. The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail cite a 1977 pamphlet entitled Le Cercle d'Ulysse written by a Jean Delaude. This work discusses a number of Priory related topics and names Lefebvre as being associated with the Priory. Le Cercle d'Ulysse alludes to a partnership between the Priory to take on the Vatican with Lefebvre's ecumenical clout. This partnership, evidently, was to secure the return of a King to the French throne and make Lefebvre the Pope.

While the validity of any document that surfaces on the Priory is immediately suspect for fraud or misdirection, one thing is not in question. That is Lefebvre's flock in the Society of Saint Pius X was filled with members of the Action Française organization. This counterrevolutionary group espoused the return of the monarchy and abolishment of the French departmental system. Both measures would politically have decentralized the entire French government and returned France into its pre-Revolutionary provinces. The party is also felt that France should be a thoroughly Catholic nation.

Should the Le Cercle d'Ulysse and the political underpinnings of members of Society of Saint Pius X be accurate, is there some hidden reason for bringing those four excommunicated Priests back to the Church? Pope Benedict would have know of the political consequences of Bishop Williamson's stance on the Holocaust. Given the troubles in Gaza as of late, it further seems that it would not be the time to embrace a man with such ideas.

The flip side to this could be the Priory connections in the Society of Saint Pius X and Benedict's steps in reaching back in history to open glimpses into the Knights Templar. Could there be other forces at work here that would outweigh the political fallout for Benedict's actions? You Priory of Sion watchers let me know.

The Power of Faith

2009-01-02T15:01:00.001-08:00

In the last 24 hours I have been contacted by a number of people who had seen an episode of Unsolved Mysteries on the Nanteos Cup. In June of 2006, I had written an article about the history of the Cup and the theory that it could be Holy Grail. Along with the Nanteos Cup's history, healing powers have been ascribed to the vessel. The persons who contacted me all have ailing loved ones and feel that the power of the Nanteos Cup can in some way ease their suffering.

At present, I have never spoken with the present owner of the Cup. From my understanding the Mirylees family has taken the Cup out of the public's eye and have placed it somewhere for safe keeping. Never the less, I would like to assist those who have contacted me about their loved ones.

I generally keep my religious beliefs out of this blog. I do have a faith that there is a Higher Power and that his presence works in and around us every day. In keeping with that thought, for those of you out there that believe in the power of prayer; please ask whatever aspect of your Higher Power to assist these people:

Shannon's mother in Clearwater, FL

Scott's brother in Sacramento, CA

Ti's relative in Riverside, CA

Jessica's family member

Tracy's father

Rose's church member that needs a kidney transplant

Marianna and her husband from Facebook

Justus' father in Moreno Valley, Ca

Chris' sister-in-law in Arizona

I hope that you will focus your energies on offering a request to the Almighty for these folks recovery. Hopefully, in some way this will help these folks out.

Give a little back this Holiday Season

2008-12-17T17:15:00.001-08:00

During this Holiday Season, many of us are looking for ways to give something back. Given the state of the economy and many of our personal situations, the thought of any sort of alms might not be something we think about this year. It is in these lean times that contributing to matters larger than ourselves is of prime importance. Sometimes it doesn't take much to make a rather large impact.

In thinking along these lines, I came across the BOINC project from the University of California, Berkley. BOINC uses a concept born from SETI @ Home project. SETI collects huge amounts of radio wave data from the star systems in search of signals from intelligent extraterrestrial life. All of this data has to be evaluated to see if these signals are created naturally or artificially. With the amounts of data SETI was collecting, the amount of computing power required to analyze this data would take hundreds of years using the resources SETI had on hand.

In 1995, a clever lad by the name of David Gedye proposed getting the public involved by using the public's PC's as a virtual super-computer. Users would be able to download an analysis program that would run in the background of their PC. Crunching numbers while you went about your normal on-line business, the turnaround time for SETI's data sets would be greatly reduced.

Flash forward a few years and the folks at Berkley that helped get the SETI project off the ground created the BOINC resource. Utilizing the same principle as the SETI @ Home project, BOINC supports large calculation experiments on projects ranging from particle physics to predicting malaria transmission vectors. Each project requires more computing power than the institution running the experiment could ever finance.

I decided to give a little of my CPU's time to the Rosetta Project from the University of Washington. Rosetta's goal is to examine how different proteins fold in on each other. This doesn't sound like exciting stuff until you realize that by understanding how proteins fold, you can create new and improved proteins that can help fight diseases. AIDS, cancer, malaria, and Alzheimer's disease are at the top of Rosetta's sights to understand and combat.

So give a helping hand this Holiday season to the research project of your choice. The BOINC site lists all the projects that users can currently plug into and assist. What else is your PC doing while you're not at home? Your calculations might be the one that saves a life one day...

Grail Seekers Hits the Podcast Waves Once Again

2008-12-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

Just a gentle reminder that I will be taking the podcast waves tomorrow night on the Errie Radio show at 6:00pm CST. The show deals with all sorts of normal and paranormal topics. I've been slated to talk about the Grail Seekers blog and web site. In my experience with interviews of this type are concerned, one never quite knows where the conversation will lead to.

I've never been on this show, so I'm not quite clear on how their podcasing format works. I'm assuming that you will be able to listen in to the show live. In past shows I've listened into they've had callers, so that would tend to make me think that there is a live feed to the show.

So listen and call in if you can. I'm sure it will be an experience...

City of Secrets and Beyond, An Interview with Patrice Chaplin

2008-11-18T07:37:00.000-08:00

Residing in a London neighborhood is a remarkable woman who carries with her the burden of a city’s secrets. To pass her on the street one could make the mistake many make of dismissing those approaching their twilight years. Scores of people walk side by side with her and never know there is an author, actress, and chronicler of a Grail story a shoulder width’s away.

The woman I am referring to is Patrice Chaplin, author of City of Secrets. Patrice graciously made herself available for a phone interview with me from her London home this Sunday. Many of you living in the States might not be familiar with Patrice and her story. The potential impact of her work on the mysteries of Rennes-le-Chateau seems to have been glossed over as of yet. However, she is a living historian who has wondered into and out of the lives of those that might have held the very essence of Berenger Sauniere’s secrets.

I hate to give away too much for those of you who will pick up the book. Let’s just say that the Tour Magdala in Rennes-le-Chateau is a near exact replica of a tower in Girona. That is just the beginning of Patrice’s investigations into the connections of all things Rennes-le-Chateau…

Patrice’s story beings as a simple tale of teenage wanderlust. While traveling in 1955 with a friend, Patrice found herself in the Catalonian burg of Girona. As in many stories of teenagers looking for adventure, Patrice found herself involved with a dashing Catalonian named Jose. It is through her connection with Jose, she was introduced to a cast of esoteric and politically underground characters

Patrice and Jose shortly after they met in Girona

Patrice was thrust into the world of Franco Fascism mixed with the ever present undercurrent of the esoteric. Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí and Umberto Eco intermingle in the micro chasm of her association with Jose and his seemingly ordinary friends. Interspersed in their talk of the banal are hints of rituals, guardians, hidden societies, elusive “materials” and how they somehow connect to a Frenchwoman who lived in town.

Over the next fifty years, Patrice stepped into and out of the story of Girona. Each visit to the town or with its denizens brought her a little closer to piecing together their clipped conversations and sub-rosa activity. At the center of this wheel was always Jose. Patrice’s sometimes synchronistic meetings with Jose eventually brought into focus her understanding of how the activities of the “society” in Girona and their guardianship of a ritual that brings the Grail into our realm.

Notably, the “society” in Girona contained a cadre of women sometimes its avowed guardians. In many descriptions and crypto-historical accounts of secret societies, the role of females seems to be relegated to that of support or overlooked entirely. Patrice seemed to think that the veneration of the Magdalene and practical matters made women’s roles in so prevalent. Since many of Girona’s leading families were involved in the society, the men took on “traditionally” high profile social stations. This left their wives free to conduct the business of the society with less notice.

Patrice views her work as more of a journalist than an active participant in esoteric Girona. The people she had met over the years opened up to her because she was not viewed as an outsider. That trust seems to run both ways. Patrice commented that because of her long standing association with those involved, she has confidence in their story. “I’m a writer, I stand behind my work and what was told to me.”, she said.

So what’s next for Patrice? Currently she’s doing research into Salvador Dali’s connection to Girona, Mount Canigou and the Grail ritual. “The ritual changes people”, Patrice said. “Dali opened up a portal on the peak of Mount Canigou and went into another dimension.”

Best of luck with your new project Patrice, the Grail Seekers team will be waiting for it to come out.

Science and the Mystic

2008-11-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

For anyone that has delved into any sort of crypto-history, the world is a wonderfully mysterious place. It seems natural that those interested in delving into underground streams, will eventually come across a litany of Fortean type phenomena. Psychics, ghosts, clairvoyants, mediums, past lives, synchronicity, and all other things mystical seem to float on the edge of many topics outside the “generally accepted”.

Trying to discern the validity of these events that fall outside of our everyday reality is something we all have pondered. What is even more curious to me is that there is a wedge between those that believe these phenomena are real and any talk of science. When one brings up a scientific reason for an unexplained event, the mystic tends to feel marginalized because there is a possible scientific explanation. Much in the same way a creationist gets a sour look on their face when one tries to link the Big Bang with God speaking the universe into existence with “Let there be light”.

I tend to be one that looks for a bridge between the mystical and scientific. Just as the scientist cannot explain the entire “why” for every normally occurring events, the mystic has faith in the unexplained. So why is there an invisible wedge between the two? Both groups are faced with the evidences of the unknown, but there seldom seems to be an attempt to come to a common solution.

Think about the reaction most have when learning that the Vatican operates an observatory. The tendency in most is to question why the world’s largest religious organization would have any interest in astronomy. The answer is as old as the true purposes of the alchemists. The true reason behind turning lead into gold was the search for the base material that God used to create the universe. Thus, the underlying search was for the divine itself. While the Vatican Observatory was created to create an accurate calendar for Easter, the underlying purpose is simply to seek evidences of God in the natural world.

The disconnect runs in the opposite direction as well. At a gathering a couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a friend that does tarot readings. The conversation wrangled its way around to past lives. She fully believed that in some regression sessions she had taken part of, that she could get in touch with those who had made up her past lives. She believed that this was possible because she had been reincarnated from those souls the regression sessions had shown her.

My question was how could she be so sure that these were reincarnated souls and not some form of genetic ancestral memory? One would have thought I had slapped her. I had introduced a possibility of giving a concrete explanation into her mystical experience. Her answer was firmly, “No the window I have is into those who have been reincarnated in me.”

The topic of genetic memory is simply a theory; and one not ascribed by many geneticists. The prevalent argument against memories being passed along ancestral lines is that DNA changes little over a person’s life span. The problem is that science has few clues into how memories are captured and stored within an organism. A recent study has shown that certain memories can be “erased” by blocking a certain protein in mice. If memories are electro-chemical reactions, why couldn’t they be replicated? Furthermore, there has been little work done in with “junk DNA”. These are DNA strands that have no protein-coding functions. This week a study was published that this “junk DNA” could be more important to the evolutionary process than anyone had ever considered. Could a genetic memory lie here?

The question is not if genetic memory is real or if reincarnation is spiritually valid. The finer point is that is there any less wonder attached to a phenomena if there is an explanation? Conversely, is there any reason not to try to explain the mysterious simply because it does not fit into a belief system? If the answer is yes, then we stymie our ability to grow both science and understanding of the mystical.