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Full Circle The Mysteries Uncloaked Globe D

In Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked I learned of the origin and purpose of existence. However, although I traced the development the Root-Races through Egyptian and Mesopotamian history, it was not until the second part of this thesis that I discovered how the Divine plan operated within historical periods.  Click to Read the Intro
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(Thesis-2nd Quarter) FULL CIRCLE THE MYSTERIES UNCLOAKED GLOBE D
— INTRODUCTION — SECTION 4 0 C.E – 500 C.E.

In Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked I learned of the origin and purpose of existence. However, although I traced the development the Root-Races through Egyptian and Mesopotamian history, it was not until the second part of this thesis that I discovered how the Divine plan operated within historical periods. It was my progression throughout history that led to my recognizing the guidance of the spiritual forces for the Human Race’s spiritual evolution. I also uncovered an opposite force that was working to retard that progress. The closer I moved to the modern era, the easier it was to equate the different influence in historical events. However, I realized how important it was for me to start my investigation from the perspective of the Divine Plan, which was hidden in the teachings of Jesus. Consequently, I had to start my investigation with the Scriptures and other sacred writings from the first century; predominantly the Gnostic writings. But first let me summarize what I had learned in the first part of the thesis.

Note: As with Stage Reason, we need to add an important update that we have recently determined through additional evidence. So to ensure that there is no confusion, we are repeating this information throughout our site. To recap: Originally, we thought that as only a supremely advanced people would be able to use genetic manipulation, they could not be human. However, having reconsidered our conclusions, together with additional input, we now know that the genetic manipulators could not have been extraterrestrials. We addressed this fact in our new book FOR THE CHILDREN, which we wrote for Dr. Carol Sue Rosin and so we will use the appropriate extracts to illustrate the reasoning behind this change of heart:

For quite some time we interpreted the Watcher’s Mistake as being responsible for the proverbial Fall, but knowledge is dynamic. Therefore, as we evolve and are able to assimilate deeper understandings our interpretation often changes. In Craig’s and my case, there were two main reasons for reevaluating our conclusions, our discussions with Carol and working with our friend and associate, Dr. Carl Johan Calleman. Having come to know, respect, and work closely with Carol, we discussed our views on the role extraterrestrials have played in history in particular the theory of their role in the Fall. With her absolute conviction that the cosmic cultures did not cause the Fall, we began to wonder about our conclusions.
Throughout our journey, we have found it is essential to pay attention to everything. Often through a new friend like Carol’s perspective, or new information emerging we have made the greatest breakthroughs. Our recent questioning of our interpretation of the Watcher’s Mistake is a perfect example of the need to remain not only open, but also attentive…

In chapter VII’s section Forbidden Fruit, we mentioned our discovery of new evidence about the so-called gods of Sumer and Babylon. Surprisingly, it was not through a new book, but instead one over 100 years old.
In 1905, Julian Morgenstern published The Doctrine of Sin in the Babylonian Religion, in Germany. As the title implies it is a study on the ancient Babylonian religion. The author believes that ancient writings that referred to the gods were recounting actual historical events.
Since the word worship originates from the word work, it is a fair assumption that the Babylonians did not just worship the gods they literally worked for them. Yet, in these tablets, there is no mention of the gods requiring people to mine gold. On the contrary, the only worship/work Morgenstern refers to is the individual’s duty to feed the gods, bread, and wine.
A key point in the tablets pointed out by Morgenstern was the need for purity. The gods required not only the food to be pure, but also the provider. Through this Law, the need for purity came to be associated with performing rituals of purification. Morgenstern observes, “It was first of all his duty to keep himself ritually pure. Any neglect of these duties was sufficient for the food to miss the mark and to cause the anger of the gods.”
The Babylonians interpreted impurity as sin, or more accurately “missing the mark.” Nonetheless, this teaching was far more practical because impurity became associated with sickness. It was akin to the Jewish reaction to lepers. Nevertheless, in these writings we find another level of understanding. Anyone who was impure (sick) was forbidden to participate in any religious rite or service. Instead, their “sin” put them in a kind-of quarantine.
Many of the tablets refer to a person suffering from a sickness as being afflicted with evil spirits. We see this practice in some of the prayers and supplications reported in the book concerning how the populace viewed sickness:

  • Mayest thou be freed from transgression, wickedness, curse, sickness, sighing, witchcraft, spell, charm, evil machinations of men.
  • Uncleanliness has come against me to judge my cause, to decide my decision
  • Tear out the evil sickness of my body
  • Destroy all evil of my flesh and my sinews
  • May the evil in my body, my flesh, and my sinews on this day come forth, and may I see the Light.

Neighbors also viewed sickness and disease as a person being possessed of the evil spirits; sound familiar? You have only to read the New Testament to read how the ancients attributed Jesus’ healing to casting out evil spirits. Compare:

  • They put a woeful fever in his body
  • A bane of evil hath settled in his body
  • An evil disease they have put in his body
  • An evil plague hath settled in his body
  • An evil venom they have put in his body
  • An evil curse hath settled in his body
  • Which have been put in the body of the sick man

With Luke 13:11 “There was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.” In this case, the passage goes on to relate how the Jews castigated Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. His response clearly shows that her infirmity is attributed to evil, although it was not from any fault of her own. Verse 16 has, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
Ancient civilizations had no concept of bacteria or viruses and could only interpret unexplained experiences from their point of reference. So keeping this in mind, we can perhaps see what they were relating to from our frame of reference. Obviously, anything out of the ordinary to them was supernatural and attributed to the power of the gods. Sickness came on suddenly. As a result, superstitious, uneducated people saw this mysterious evil that afflicted people as the god’s punishment. In this way, ancient people saw sickness not only caused by evil spirits, but also attributed it to the gods inflicting individuals with sickness for disobeying them. Morgenstern asserts that for the Babylonians the terms, sin, uncleanliness, sickness, possession by evil spirits, are pure synonyms referring to the condition of a the body resulting from “divine anger.”
To be honest, like most rational people we never considered sickness and disease as caused by evil spirits. However, working with Phil on his investigation into the teachings of The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz introduced me to information that made me rethink this assessment. It concerned the teaching on what happens when we sleep.
Anyone studying metaphysics will know that we have more than one body in our energy field. For those unfamiliar with metaphysical teachings, think of the human aura, whose color reflects an individual’s mood. The human aura is multi-layered. These different layers represent our individual and unique energy field. The two most relevant to our discussion here are the Astral and Etheric bodies. Phil explains:

“...when a person sleeps his or her “I” and Astral body detach from the Physical body that remains with the Etheric body in bed. During this time when the two higher entities of a human being have exited the body, higher beings radiate their energies into the sleeping Physical body, regenerating it. As stated, the Astral body records all that has happened during the day, taking the information into the Astral World at night. Regrettably, this means the influence of the higher beings on the Physical body is often hampered because the individual was not true to his or her spiritual self.
We discussed how harmful lying was in terms of spiritual progress in the previous day; perhaps this is why Shakespeare was inspired to write “Above all, to thine own self be true.” Along with lying, a more obvious infraction would be violence of any kind, in particular murder. In both cases parts of the perpetrator’s Etheric body separate completely from the body. Floating independently through space, these parts of Etheric bodies are of such a fine substance that they cannot be seen. In reality our world is full of such subtle objects acting as a hindrance to our development. All of this may explain why people see ghosts where severe crimes have been committed.
When our actions are so removed from spirituality, such as in war, parts of the Etheric body forced to separate are so dense that they become the smallest molecules; i.e., viruses and bacteria that generate illness, and epidemics.
At such times, pre-incarnate souls determine to take on the illness to transmute and dissipate its effect. An example of this could be seen after WWI with the outbreak of Spanish Flu that claimed 50 million lives, predominantly healthy young adults. This was a supreme sacrifice, even if it was unconscious at the human level.”

Nonetheless, lying and murder are not the only cause for energetic parts of a human being to become germs and viruses. Far more dangerous than either of these is the practice of magic. As stated, the Fall caused magic to enter the world. With the presence of the Shadow, some people were incited to use magic against their neighbors. The direct result was releasing epidemics into the populace, which threatened the survival of our race. It was for this express reason that the ETs came to the Earth 7,000 years ago.
The Babylonian tablets describe how the gods or rather ETs approached the problem. They used holy water. For the gods water was the giver of life, particularly the mouth of the Tigris and Euphrates. In fact, the text according to Morgenstern says, “Marduk is directed by EA to take the water from the mouth of the two streams and with it sprinkle the sick man.” He believes, “This was but natural. The waters of the Euphrates and Tigris were sacred; therefore efficacious in driving out evil spirits.”
Further on Morgenstern relates that the tablets refer to the use of prayers in conjunction with the water. Over time, people sanctified natural springs using them to exorcise evil spirits. Although, Morgenstern believes the first and therefore purest form of treatment was sprinkling water, the use of sound (prayer) makes sense. When we remember the work of Masuru Emoto, then using sound to purify, or alter water is logical.
The Watcher’s task was to observe the Life-Principle as it evolved on Earth. Consequently, when the ETs saw the consequence of the populace altering their consciousness, they came to try to help. First, they came as kind-of doctors helping the population deal with the epidemic. Could this be why, the tablets report the gods giving the doomed man evil spirits? Obviously, if they were inoculating people and or injecting medicine, to the common person, it might appear that the ETs were causing the illness, especially if the patient died. One of the side effects of magic, so to speak was the destroyer of rational thinking—superstition.
Apart from helping the Human Race survive the epidemics, The ETs goal was also to help the people understand their purpose. Therefore, rather than exploiting Humanity, after the spiritual beings caused the Fall by introducing magic to the world, the ETs began visiting Earth in an attempt to try to mitigate the damage…
In the Forbidden Fruit section of Chapter 7, we concluded that the angels gave human beings access to the Astral Plane before they were ready. We also observed how the angels’ actions permitted the lower thoughts and emotions of humans to permeate the higher planes, corrupting the Angelic Realm. I had always found it difficult to understand how angelic beings could be jealous of us and betray their Creator. Even allowing for angels possessing emotions, considering the belief their creation was “a little above” human beings. It is inconceivable that a being of the vibration to exist in the Divine Realm could spontaneously develop emotions of a much lower vibration and frequency. The only explanation was that something must have caused their exposure to these lower vibrations…
In our writings, we speculated that the ETs traveled through the Astral Plane, which is why they can appear and disappear at will. This was the main reason we made the error of deducing that as they moved through the Astral Plane it corrupted some of them, causing them to align with the Shadow. However, having determined their nature is unchanged, we realized that they must have a unique makeup that allowed them to move through the domain of the Shadow and remain untainted. They did. Moving through the Astral Plane did not taint the ETs because of their attunement to the Love Frequency.
By operating, or if you prefer vibrating, at a higher frequency outside, or rather inside the Schumann Resonance cavity they were able to remain wholly unaffected by our thoughts and emotions permeating the Astral Plane. They are advising us to adopt the higher Love Frequency, because the ego and pain-body use the lower frequency of 7.8 Hz. Consequently, by rising to the Love Frequency the ego and pain-body lose control over us.
One of the main reasons the ETs have not landed on the White House lawn is because of their frequency; the Love Frequency makes them powerless to defend themselves. This is not because of an inability to. There is ample evidence of the ETs ability to disarm weapons. It is because their frequency makes them incapable of physical violence. Therefore should they be physically confronted by military personnel attempting to detain them, they would be helpless. We realize that this is in direct contradiction to the consensus of opinion. Most people tend to think that such an extremely advanced species would be able to swat us like a fly. However, because they have evolved past the animalistic nature that the Human Race still struggles with, violence of any kind, even in defense, is an anathema to them.
Evolved beings are pacifists, which is why the ETs offer advice to a select few. Even then, when the Shadow was in play, some of the contactees became a problem. Muddying the waters of the ET agenda, some contactees’ pain-bodies created memories of a truly terrifying experience. Nonetheless, enough people like Carol were able to receive their message of Peace and it has entered the mass consciousness. Carol told us that like the Star Trek Prime Directive, the cosmic cultures would never interfere with the Human Race’s development. This fact did not surprise us, as there is a universal directive never to usurp free will. Then of course, there is the point that the cosmic cultures were tasked with watching us.
For that reason, until we show them we will not respond with violence, they will remain observers. Nevertheless, because the Fall was not the fault of the Human Race, from time to time they have tried to help us. The truth is they care deeply for us and hope when enough people hear the wisdom of their message; the Human Race will adopt the Frequency of Love. Ironically, the cosmic cultures represent our evolution into the Frequency of Love, where we too will be incapable of violence of any kind.
In the Frequency of Love, everyone has evolved past all concept of separateness. Hate, prejudice, envy, jealously, and cruelty are concepts of the past. Compassion and Understanding dominates our consciousness. There is no such thing as selfishness or self-interest because although we understand we are individuals, we also know we are each a part of a whole that is interconnected.
In short, when we correct the Fall by integrating the ego and dissolving the pain-body, we align with the Divine Will. Then as stewards of the Earth, we recognize our role in working together to ensure that we preserve our planet for our children. Joining our brothers and sisters of the universe again, we gain access to all the cosmic culture’s technology amassed over several millennia. As a result, we will restore our beautiful Garden-Water planet to its full glory. For instance, I was recently given that our cosmic brothers and sisters could return our atmosphere to the condition it was before the Industrial Revolution, at the push of a button so to speak. They can also remove all toxic waste and pollution, which would open up many acres of land for cultivation. Is this not what everyone wants?

Again, despite this update we believe the information below, still has validity, because it describes how humanity became corrupted. Therefore, let us review the information in this section from the perspective that our protagonists were not ETs, but rather advanced human scientists driven by their false self, with the support of the Shadow.

As stated, Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked concentrated on discovering the origin and purpose of life on planet earth. I learned that our Solar System was chosen to redeem the Divine sparks that were hidden within the four elements Earth, Water, Air and Fire. These elements consisted of the discarded emotions of Sophia, a Divine consciousness that had created the emotions. Things went wrong when the Life-Principle’s natural progression was affected by outside interference, known as the “Watchers”. The “Watchers” were extraterrestrials that were assigned to watch, but not interfere with the Life-Principle on Earth. It is akin to the sci-fi series Star Trek’s “Prime Directive”, to not contact primitive civilizations as it can affect their natural development. For some reason, the extraterrestrials (watchers) from the Pleiades decided to harvest the minerals of earth, which led to the serious mistake known as the “Watcher’s mistake.” The “Watcher’s mistake” or “the fall” occurred around 40,000 B.C.E, with the genetic manipulation of the 3rd Root-Race. To recap:

Shortly after the 3rd Root-Race evolved, the Pleiadians (Watchers) visited the Earth to mine the planet’s minerals; especially the precious metals, gold and silver. Unwilling to do the labor themselves, the Pleiadians tried to force the natives of Earth into becoming a cooperative work-force.
Zecharia Sitchin reports, the Sumerian tablets relate that the “natives” were far from cooperative, for instance the tablets reported the gods’ (aliens) complained that the “natives” consistently sabotaged their attempts to hunt animals. This was because; as Genesis says the “natives” of Earth were vegetarians and lived in perfect harmony with Nature.
Unable to subdue the native population of hominids, the Pleiadians decided to “create” a work-force scientifically. They selected one of the native species (Cro-Magnons or Homo sapiens) as a genetic blueprint in which to base their “work-force”. At first the Pleiadians spliced the selected human DNA with animal DNA, which resulted in a cross-species that could both be a “beast of burden” and have the dexterity to use mining tools. This failed as the species created were violent and uncontrollable. So the aliens replaced the animal DNA with their own DNA and combined it with the Homo sapiens’s DNA. This is where the “mistake”, which led to the “fall” came in. In order to splice their DNA onto the DNA of the hominids the Pleiadians “Watchers” first cloned a male and a female of the Homo sapiens’s to create the new species; Homo Sapien sapiens, or modern human beings. From a Consciousness and Spiritual perspective this resulted in the separation of the Masculine/Active and Feminine/Passive principles in the new species, which is allegorically recorded in Genesis as Eve being created from Adam’s rib.
On a cosmic or universal level, because it was connected through the Life Principle the whole Soul Plane became contaminated with the lower thoughts and emotions of the new species (human beings). Over time as human beings multiplied and replaced all the former hominids (Cro-Magnons/Homo sapiens and Neanderthals), their thoughts and emotions grew into the World Soul. As the World Soul developed over time “he” eventually became a fully conscious entity. (I say “he”, because the World Soul is wholly active/masculine.) When this occurred it was time for The Christ, Sophia, and the Creator/Demiurge, who was the Logos (Word/Mind) of The Christ to correct the “mistake”. It is important to always keep in mind that I am not speaking of individuals, but rather layers of consciousness. Hence, the Logos could be seen to represent the mental level of The Christ. (Don’t worry if it still isn’t clear, as we progress through this thesis it will make more sense and remember I have condensed over 100 pages of Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked into this brief Introduction)
After ascertaining the cause of the “fall”, I then tracked the energetic and consciousness ramifications through subsequent “upsteppings”, which intensified throughout the 3rd and 4th Root-Races. Up until the emergence of Root-Race 5, the Human Race was pretty much left alone to develop alone. Unfortunately, as the population of the world grew, so did the influence of the World Soul and consequently the presence of “evil” in the world.

Root Race 3: sub-race 7 – Root Race 4: sub-race 4 – Root Race 5: sub-race 1

RRaces3-4-5

Initially The Creator/Demiurge tried to resolve the situation with the instigation of the Law of Karma, but unfortunately that only created a vicious circle of retaliation and revenge; obviously, something else was required. The remedy was in The Christ and Sophia taking on physical form in the Physical or Earth Plane. As both The Christ and Sophia were from above the Soul Plane (Pleroma), their incarnation had to be in stages. When they incarnated as Osiris and Isis they appeared as demigods from the constellation Orion, which is why the Giza Plateau reflects the 3 stars in Orion’s Belt.
During The Christ and Sophia’s incarnation as Osiris and Isis, The Creator, as the Logos did not take physical form. Instead, he became the disincarnate Thoth or Hermes that taught Osiris and Isis The Mysteries. You may wonder if The Christ and Sophia had incarnated into Osiris and Isis as demigods then why would they need to be “taught” The Mysteries. The answer is found in the Greek legend of the River Lethe, which says that all Souls before incarnation have to drink from the waters of the river to wipe all memories of any existence before incarnation. In this reality (the Earth or Physical Plane) a Soul has to integrate it’s consciousness into the physical brain, which has to operate in Linear Time. Nevertheless, the important point is that it takes time for the human consciousness to integrate and re-access the knowledge from before incarnation into actual understanding.
At the time of Osiris and Isis’s incarnation, following the Law of Equality the World Soul also took on physical form as the twin brother and sister of Osiris and Isis, Set and Nephthys. As the legend of Osiris reports, Set succeeded in killing his brother, but was unable to prevent Isis from raising Osiris’ body long enough for her to impregnate herself with their son Horus. Because Horus was conceived in the Earth Plane, he was a little more human than his parents, which directly resulted in the 3rd Root-Race merging and evolving into the 5th Root-Race.
After Isis’ death, when she re-joined her brother/husband in the Soul Plane they completed their re-education with the Logos. At this time, Thoth/Hermes had amalgamated with the consciousness of Enoch, who as the Bible reports did not die, but ascended into the Soul Plane. Because of this “re-education”, The Christ and Sophia became fully conscious in the lower levels of the Soul Plane. Then it was time for the next stage of the rectification of the “Watcher’s mistake”. This stage entailed teaching the emerging 5th Root-Race of their origins. The Christ and Sophia achieved this by descending again into the Physical Plane, through multiple incarnations as the demigods throughout the world who promulgated the Wisdom Religion.
Following The Christ and Sophia’s departure from the Middle-East to become the teachers of the Wisdom Religion elsewhere in the world, the Logos incarnated as Melchizedek, the King of Salem. The World Soul after the death of Set and Nephthys remained in the region as a disincarnate consciousness. “He” influenced the energy and muddied the waters, so to speak by confusing the gods of Egypt with each other, which is why the gods of Egypt are known by several different names. This confusion enabled the World Soul to gain strength from the populace mistakenly worshiping “him” in place of their god. Over time, the conflict “he” created between groups of followers fighting over whose god was the most powerful enhanced “his” power even more. (Remember the World Soul was created from Humanity’s lower thoughts and emotions and therefore is “fed” by them.) The World Soul’s influence was strengthened further and “he” consolidated “his” power exponentially by influencing Egyptian pharaohs to erect obelisks and pylons, which affected, as stated previously the resonant frequency and energy of the area.
Roughly 2000 years later The Christ and Sophia returned to Egypt by incarnating as Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Tutankhamun. I should remind you that The Christ incarnated as both the “father” Akhenaten and the “son” Tutankhamun. (One has to wonder if this is where the concept that Jesus was both the father and son came in.) Although Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Tutankhamun were human beings, they did not possess an ego or counterfeit spirit. Their main purpose was to set the record straight by revealing that the god Amun was not the same god as the Egyptian sun-god Ra. It was essential they stopped the populace worshiping the World Soul.
Although Akhenaten appeared to be unsuccessful, with his son Tutankhamun reverting back to the worship of Amun, he wasn’t. Tutankhamun’s original name was Tutankhaten, which means “living image of Aten”, by changing his name to Tutankhamun “the living image of Amun”, the priests of Amun could hardly attack the pharaoh.
As stated, after the death of Akhenaten, all trace of his reign and the worship of the “Aten” was erased, but because Tutankhamun appeared to comply with the priests of Amun, his son’s memory was preserved and Tutankhamun was buried will full honors as a pharaoh of Egypt. Consequently, when his rich tomb was discovered intact in 1922 by Harold Carter, “King Tut” became world famous and scholars began to investigate everything about the young pharaoh’s life, including his extremely controversial father Akhenaten. In keeping “King Tut’s” tomb in tact, the contents of the tomb could be later compared by Maurice Cotterell to the “lid” of the tomb of the Mayan king Pacal Votan in Palenque, Mexico. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun authenticated the letters of El-Armarna, which had surfaced in 1887, and confirmed the existence of the pharaoh Akhentaten and his “city” Akhentaten/El-Armarna.
Nonetheless, the most successful aspect of Akhenaten’s mission was through the creation of Akhentaten (El-Armarna) free from all contamination. This resulted in the temple at Akhentaten acting as the perfect model for the Temple of Solomon. The followers of Akhenaten that survived the attacks from the priest’s of Amun, resettled near the Dead Sea forming the sect of the Essenes. The priests of Amun had become the agents of the World Soul/Amun, because of the influence of the resonant frequency created by the pylons and obelisks. Akhenaten’s followers, the Essenes preserved the teachings of Akhenaten on scrolls, particularly the Copper Scroll, which contains the name of Akhenaten.
When the number of days in a year changed from 360 to 3651/4, it was time to begin the final phase in correcting the “Watcher’s mistake”. It concerned the separation of Globe D from Globe C.  The separation of Globe D became more pronounced when Julius Caesar corrected the year by making 46 B.C.E. 445 days long. As I said, this facilitated the Door or Stargate being formed, which enabled The Christ, Sophia and Melchizedek to become fully human with the complete consciousness of a human being; including an ego and counterfeit spirit.

And so we reach the beginning of the Common Era on Globe D. As previously stated, the more I progressed through time in my investigation, the easier it was to identify the source of the influence. In other words, the evidence of the two opposing forces is even more pronounced in Globe D. This is evinced with a cursory glance at the history of the last two millennia. Also in Globe D the process of development through the Root-Races is greatly increased. Consequently, all seven Root-Races will complete their evolution in a little over 2000 years. As with part one, I will be tracking the influence of The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek. I will also be tracking the influence of the World Soul, only as you will see, in Globe D there is a drastic change to the situation.
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(Thesis-2nd Quarter) FULL CIRCLE THE MYSTERIES UNCLOAKED GLOBE D —
SECTION 4 0 C.E – 500 C.E.

Root Race 4: sub-race 7 – Root Race 5: sub-race 4 – Root Race 6: sub-race 1

Rootraces 4-5-6

Having recapped, the general goal of Globe D, it is time to get to the specifics. To best demonstrate the intricate movement of consciousness throughout the past two-thousand years, I have broken down Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked Globe D into 10 sections, beginning where we left off in part one with the transfer through the six-pointed star, which is the Door or Stargate. At first, the identification of the opposing influences affecting Humanity’s spiritual evolution was difficult to discover, as this was the period where the parameters for the field of play were being defined. I know that sounds crazy, but it was helpful for me to view the historical events portrayed in this thesis in terms of a contest between the force promoting spiritual progress and the force dedicated to retarding it.
Each section will include the levels of consciousness involved, which is described as Root-Races and sub-races. I must stress the importance of not getting hung up on these terms. Take a moment to examine the diagrams below of the “upstepping” for 0.C.E., particularly the magnified section, which depicts the “upstepping” of the 7th sub-race of Root-Race 4 merging into the 1st subrace of Root-Race 6 through the 4th sub-race of Root-Race 5.

OverLapping Root Races 4-5-6

Although this may seem a complicated system it really is not. Think of it as an advanced school program in which exceptional students can skip a grade by doing well in exams at certain points in the school year. In this way, the more evolved consciousness (student) can advance to the next level Root-Race (higher grade) at the mid-point or sub-race 4 (exams) to the next Root-Race. In this analogy the more evolved consciousness of Root-Race 5 sub-race 4 can skip sub-races 5, 6, and 7 and advance to the higher level of consciousness of Root-Race 6 sub-race 1. However, because of the shift at 0.C.E from Globe C to Globe D, there is a change in the Root-Races.

WFN8-4-4Instead of all of the consciousness of Root-Race 4 evolving into Root-Race 6 through Root-Race 5, at the start of the Common Era 0.C.E., only the most evolved consciousness of Root-Race 4 sub-race 7 transfer to Globe D. The same applies to sub-race 4 of Root-Race 5. Only the consciousness that has evolved to the highest level will transfer to Globe D. As I stated in Spiritual Evolution part two, “…only two thirds of the Human Race left the Three Trees in Malkuth in the Plane of Assiah (Physical plane) and entered the Tree of Reason.” If you look at the center where 0.C.E. is indicated in the magnified diagram (above) of the Root-Races, there are three squares or diamonds stacked diagonally on top of each other. The reason the Root-Races and sub-races are depicted as diamonds rather than as squares are to demonstrate the flow of a lower level of consciousness Root-Race 4 into the higher level of consciousness, Root-Race 6, through the midpoint of the middle consciousness, Root-Race 5. Nonetheless, if the concept is still unclear, do not worry, as I will be referring to the different sub-races and Root-Races in relation to historical eras and events and the correlating level of consciousness. This will help show the respective “Root and sub-race” in a historical context.

Having explained how the transfer of the different levels of consciousness advances through the Root-Races in “upsteppings”, I need to make a qualification. In Globe D there is a shift, because of the transfer of the consciousness from Globe C to Globe D, depicted in the diagram just to the right.

As you can see the transfer of consciousness of the Life Principle that has evolved, transfers through the Door or Stargate, “six-pointed star” which is within the Sphere of Malkuth, in the Tree of Assiah. It was the incarnation of The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek that established this “door” at the beginning of the Common Era or 0.C.E. The diagram below (left) depicts the “Door or Stargate”.

WFN8-4-5WFN8-4-6Because of the shift from Globe C to Globe D, only two thirds of the Human Race’s consciousness was spiritually evolved enough to make the transition to Globe D and into the Tree of Reason. The transition was made possible because of the shift in the consciousness of the Life-Principle. In a nutshell, those that entered Globe D had developed the faculty of reason.
Although this reason was connected to the active/masculine energy, it was used to propel the Life-Principle to bring forth the 1st sub-race of the 6th Root-Race. At this point the only other Root-Race that transfers to Globe D is the 4th sub-race of the 5th Root-Race. This is because within the Stargate, the 7th sub-race of Root-Race 4 transforms into the 4th sub-race of Root-Race 5.

It is the consciousness of the 4th Root-Race that represents the third of the Human Race, which remains in Globe C. I must reiterate that this is not some kind of Divine punishment, but merely that the individuals concerned are not ready to evolve further and need more time and help before they can make the transition. My first goal in this section is to show how The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia introduced the new consciousness of the 6th Root-Race to The Mysteries.
It is important to realize that Spiritual Evolution follows the same form as the advance of civilization. Each new Root-Race incorporates and supplements the previous Root-Races knowledge and understanding. Consequently, when the Life-Principle’s consciousness (the Human Race) reached the mid-point of Root-Race 5, it had incorporated all the knowledge that had been accumulated from the previous Root-Races.

Nonetheless, the start of the Common Era was the pivotal point in Spiritual Evolution, because it is when the Life Principle enters the arena of Globe D to correct the “Watcher’s mistake.” This is allegorically portrayed as the “Battle of Armageddon” in the New Testament. As this was a unique occurrence in Spiritual Evolution, there was a change in the transference of consciousness through the Root-Races from Globe C to Globe D. In Globe C, once any Root-Race reached its 7th sub-race, its consciousness was dissolved so to speak into the next Root-Race. But because of the nature of this “upstepping”, although the 4th Root-Race did not transfer to Globe D, the 6th Root-Race did absorb and transmute the 4th Root-Race’s consciousness through Root-Race 5, as described above. As a result, because the 4th Root Race was the Atlantean Race, the human consciousness incorporated the Atlantean consciousness as well as the consciousness of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th sub-races of the 5th Root-Race. As will be shown this was both an advantage and disadvantage.

Globe-Transition

Again I must stress the importance of not getting caught up in these terms. They are used in order to provide the information at the super-consciousness level. Normal consciousness in general will have difficulty in relating it to every day living because of the ego and counterfeit spirit. Nonetheless, at the spiritual or super-consciousness level the terms are well known to the initiates of The Ancient Mysteries, and the diagrams will assist you in re-accessing the forgotten knowledge. It is the purpose of this thesis to place the information in relation to historical periods, which enables the interpretation of mystical and esoteric information about spiritual evolution in a practical and objective way. This in turn triggers access to dormant memories deep within the subconscious.

WHAT IS MEANT BY THE ANGELIC REBELLION?

In the section “Door or Stargate”, I discussed how the World Soul’s energy was used to counteract the “Watcher’s mistake.” However, because of the shift in time and consciousness, the World Soul’s influence changed in Globe D. Prior to the transfer through the Stargate (six-pointed star) the World Soul influenced Humanity through the universal subconscious. However, after 0.C.E., the influence became personalized and affected the individual subconscious. This is reported in the New Testament when Jesus says, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.”1 Initially, this made we wonder whether the “prince of this world” is the same entity as the World Soul? The need to answer that question led me to an investigation on what society calls the Devil or Satan.
Whenever we hear the term “prince of this world”, most people think of Lucifer or the Devil, but I wasn’t so sure, so I dug a little deeper. At first, I found the reference to Lucifer and a third of the angels being cast out of heaven extremely hard to understand. I could not fathom how “perfect” beings could become so rebellious?

Of course in understanding what happened to the consciousness of the Soul Plane after the “Watcher’s mistake”, it made more sense. Still, I was unclear as to what was meant by the “angelic rebellion” and the “war in heaven.” The solution to my question came with the realization that the “angelic rebellion” and “war in heaven” was referring to the cleansing of the Soul Plane. With the separation of Globe D, the World Soul was able to begin to remove its densest consciousness and cast it out. This consciousness became individuated (became a separate entity) into the “prince of this world.” This is a complex process and will be addressed in detail later. However, I do want to address the so-called “angelic rebellion” here.
At the beginning of the Common Era, the Astral Plane was full of “angels” which were once human beings with free will. Moreover, the Pleiadians, which collaborated with the World Soul to corrupt Humanity, also operated in the Astral Plane. I should reiterate that all extraterrestrials are considered “Watchers”. Their roles are to “watch” and support the Life Principle on the Earth as it developed through the mineral, plant, and animal kingdoms to gain full self awareness in the human kingdom. Like the angels, the “Watchers” were aware what the Life principle’s purpose on Earth is; transmute the “emotions” of Sophia that were transformed into the elements of the Universe, by transmuting those emotions within them. The “reward” of their support for the Divine plan was the success of the Life Principle, because success on Earth meant all life in the Universe would be transformed.
After the Pleiadian “Watchers” caused the corruption of the Soul Plane, all beings in the Soul Plane were given the free will choice to decide where they wanted to go. All the extraterrestrials were asked whether they wanted to remain as “Watchers” or align with the Adversary to corrupt Humanity. The Adversary is the collective term for the World Soul and all conscious beings that did not want God’s plan to succeed.
As for the angels, they were given the choice of remaining in the Soul Plane and working as messengers and tools for God in His plan. Alternatively, the angels like the “Watchers” could also choose to align with the Adversary. However, the angels had a third choice, they could opt to give up their angelic status and return to physical incarnation as human beings. Most of the “Watchers” or extraterrestrials chose to continue “watching” and not interfere with the plan, but The Pleiadians chose to align with the Adversary and continue to manipulate the Human Race. As for the angels, two thirds of them chose to assist with God’s plan. Unfortunately a third of them chose to give up their angelic status and return to the Earth Plane, hence the allegory of a third of the angels being cast down to the Earth.
One other point that needs to be addressed before we proceed is that although in 0.C.E. the Door to Globe D opens, the transfer of all of the two thirds of the Life-Principle represented by the consciousness of Humanity will not be complete until the midpoint of the Root-Race, or the Root-Race 6 sub-race 4, which is also when the 1st sub-race of the 7th Root-Race emerges. Still, as this is sometime away, I will leave that discussion until later.

In part one of this thesis I related how prevalent magic was in the Greco-Roman world and how this was used to link the Human Race to the Astral Plane and the Pleiadians. However, the use of the magical forces is dual and can be used for either positive or negative purposes. This is why absorbing the consciousness of the Atlanteans, could be either an advantage or disadvantage. It could be an advantage because at the beginning of the Common Era with the incarnation of The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek; the consciousness of the Atlanteans made individuals more open to receive The Mysteries. On the other hand, the consciousness of the Root-Race 4 or the Atlanteans was strongly connected to the psychic powers of the Astral Plane and could be influenced by the Pleiadians. This is why only a select few were entrusted with The Mysteries.

THE NUMEROLOGY AND SYMBOLOGY OF GLOBE D

At the end of part one of Full Circle: The Mysteries Uncloaked, I related “all the ancient prophecies point to the number 13 as being a great turning point for Humanity.” I also related that the Age of Pisces began in 0.C.E. and was due to end December 21st 2012. This meant the new age; Aquarius would begin December 22nd in 2012. The normal length of a Precessional Age was 2,160 years. Hence, the chart in part one related that Aquarius would start in 2160. By beginning the Piscean Age at 0.C.E. and ending it in 2012, the Age of Pisces would have 148 less years than the traditional number of years. Obviously, 0.C.E marked the start of a distinctive change, but before I get to that I think it will help to recap the last part of the “Door or Stargate” in the part one of Full Circle:

“…card 18 – The Moon’s note B-Natural is carrying the message that it is during the Age of Pisces on Globe D that the Human Consciousness will expand to become fully awake, by utilizing the “natural” rhythm of the Earth. Furthermore, the number of the card also holds additional information. The number 18 reduces to nine 1+8=9, and 9 is the number of The Hermit or Spirit.”

“At the start of the Common Era the Life-Principle’s goal, through the Human Race on Globe D was to raise each individual’s vibration sufficiently through the dissipation of the counterfeit spirit. This was made possible through the unique incarnation of The Christ in one human being, who is later joined by His partner The Holy Spirit. As I reported, The Christ is Positive Neutral, so what of His partner, The Holy Spirit? Although “She” was the passive side of the partnership, because she was from above the Soul Plane she was also neutral, but Passive Neutral. After the reunion, they as Jesus Christ taught the Human Race about how the kingdom of God was within our hearts. This information would be the key to overcoming “the watcher’s mistake.” Unfortunately, this was not to be a quick fix, but would take multiple incarnations, where human beings gradually overcame selfishness and learned to work together for a common goal…

WFN8-4-7
Another number useful to The Mysteries is the number 6, both singular and multiples. One obvious reason is that The Christ is strongly linked to the six-pointed star. The six-pointed star was the ancient symbol for the heart chakra or heart-gate. Venus or Sophia was also linked to the six-pointed star, but the symbol Venus or Sophia was most strongly associated with is the pentagram or five-pointed star. Nonetheless, it was linking the six-pointed star to the pentagram or five-pointed star that revealed that the location of the Door or Stargate resides within the human heart. Still, like all spiritual information, it is multileveled and as such I will attempt to show as many meanings or levels as possible.

 

An example of the multileveled information carried in numbers and symbols is in the number 6. The ancients believed number six was the number of cooperation and marriage. Even so, a very deep message is archetypally concealed in the symbol of a six-pointed star. That message is relaying that the number 6 is the number of the union of opposites.
I discussed another example of the number 6 concealing important information in the updates to Whence the Origin of Evil in LOVE The Common Denominator: My Journey to the Truth (LCD). “Considering the connection in Revelations with the number of the beast 666 and evil I was surprised to read that Maurice Cotterell connects the number as the number of times light travels around the Earth in a second. Cotterell was a great source for my understanding…he relates even more esoteric information hidden in the number 666 in his book JESUS, KING ARTHUR AND THE JOURNEY OF THE GRAIL:2 The secret information is concealed in the subatomic makeup of the element Carbon.
As we know all life on Earth is carbon based. Mr. Cotterell thinks that one interpretation of the number 666 in Revelation could be relating to the subatomic makeup of the Carbon atom because the carbon atom has 6 electrons, 6 protons, and 6 neutrons. An electron is negatively charged, a proton is positively charged, and a neutron is what is referred to as a “non-charged particle”. Mr. Cotterell believes Revelations is referring to the Carbon atom when as he says, “The number appears in the Bible; ‘here is wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of man; and his number is 666…’ (Revelation XIII, 18)”3
Although agreeing with Mr. Cotterell in his interpretation, I felt that the number 666 and the correlation to the subatomic makeup of a Carbon atom may hold even more esoteric information. In his reference to the negative, positive and neutral I was reminded of the Gnostic doctrine of the Tripartition of Mankind. Although it is unlikely that the writer of Revelation knew the subatomic structure of a Carbon atom, “he” could have been Divinely inspired to include the number 666 in respect to the Tripartition of Mankind. After all, the early Christians were familiar with the Doctrine. In this way the mention of the number 666 related that the highest consciousness of the Life Principle, the Human Race is threefold and has the potential of finding a balance within by uniting all three.
Having set the stage for the energetic elements of Globe D, it is time to get to The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia’s mission to teach us how to correct the “Watcher’s mistake” As I said, it was difficult for me to identify the influences at first, because the parameters for the “field of play” were being set during this “upstepping.”

THE DIVINE MISSION

It is important to always keep in mind that I’m examining all personalities and events from an energetic and consciousness perspective. This was never more relevant than at the start of the Common Era. In order to be as objective and impartial as possible, in this part of the thesis I will not immediately report the conclusion I came to from the information concerning The Mysteries. Instead I’m going to relate the process I went through to discover The Mysteries so you can judge for yourself whether or not you agree with my conclusions. I ask your forgiveness in advance if at times I repeat myself.

The process began when I was researching the information for (LCD). In the chapter Voice in the Wilderness, I reported that I was struck by the similarities between Jesus’ life and other Christ-like teachers. I mentioned earlier that Osiris was the first Christ to take on human form, but he certainly wasn’t the last. I can remember asking as a child, what made so many people in the Roman Empire not only accept Christianity, but be willing to die horrible and gruesome deaths for it? The Church’s answer was, “they knew that they would go to heaven.” Granting that this is true, my studies showed me a more profound reason. The answer as to why people were willing to die for their beliefs lay in Jesus’ life mirroring the God-Man of The Mysteries. Jesus’ connection to the God-Man (Osiris/Horus) of The Mysteries gave his mission and message credibility among the population, which were familiar with the myths and legends.
From a spiritual perspective Jesus finished what Osiris started. In a word, as was related in Craig’s Energetic Perspective on Evolution, The Christ grounded The Mysteries into this plane. How was this possible? Carl Jung put it far more eloquently than I ever could. His words were recorded by the authors of JESUS AND THE LOST GODDESS: The Secret Teachings of The Original Christians Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. They reported Carl Jung as saying, “The drama of the archetypal life of Christ describes in symbolic images the events in the conscious life – as well as in the life that transcends consciousness – of a man who has been transformed by his higher destiny.”4
Accepting that real lives can mirror The Mysteries, I believe this was the real power of the mission of The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia in their incarnations as Jesus of Nazareth, John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Their reflection of the “Pagan Mysteries” of Osiris/Horus and Isis, which were well known, may explain why literally thousands of “pagans” embraced Christianity and were willing to die for their devotion. However, the kind of Christianity the “pagans” embraced wasn’t what we know today as Orthodox or Catholicism it was Gnosticism. To understand this, it is important to understand how Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, and Mary Magdalene came to embody The Mysteries of Isis and Osiris.
In Spiritual Evolution: parts one and two, I discussed the Kabbalistic ten Sephirot. While formulating the Hidden Codes of Life, I’d been shown that Kether (the 1st Sephirot, also known as the Crown) and Malkuth (the 10th Sephirot, also known as the Kingdom) equated to the Alpha and Omega. This means that as The Christ declared he was the Alpha and Omega in Revelations, He represents all levels on the Tree of Life.

THE DOVE OF THE BAPTISM

Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy related, “The role of Jesus is to liberate us from the wheel of suffering by helping us understand that we are Christ, the still center of the turning wheel.”5 I felt that if we replaced the statement “we are Christ,” with “we have the Christ Consciousness within us” then their statement about Jesus’ role is correct. That said, I absolutely agree with the authors assertion that Jesus’ role was to liberate Humanity from the wheel of suffering. It was through the sacrificing of his life that Jesus released Humanity from the Wheel of Necessity, which had devolved into a vicious circle of retaliation. However, Jesus’ mission was so much more than just releasing us from the Wheel of Necessity. It began with his Baptism, which description first caused me to question the Nativity stories. It was at this time The Christ’s partner, The Holy Spirit descends to the Earthly Plane.
I found a note on the descent of the Holy Spirit in Authors Freke and Gandy’s book very interesting. They explain that the “dove was an ancient image of, and sacred to the Goddess.” The goddess most associated with the “dove” surprisingly was the Greek goddess Aphrodite, which was known as Ishtar and Astarte in Mesopotamia. Evidently the heresiologist “Irenaeus tells us that in Greek…dove equals 801 and symbolizes the Alpha (1) + Omega (800)…”6 This appears to state that both The Christ and The Holy Spirit encompass all realms of Divinity.
From the above, it would seem that Irenaeus was saying The Holy Spirit was Aphrodite. In fact, the authors relate that the Gnostics taught that Sophia was The Holy Spirit. However, this presented a problem for me, because I had learned that Sophia incarnated as Mary Magdalene, to facilitate the third level of Sophia’s redemption. Consequently, if The Holy Spirit descended into Jesus at his Baptism and Sophia was in Mary Magdalene, then how could Sophia be The Holy Spirit?
Over the past 15 years, nearly all of my questions were answered by being led to various writings. The answer to the question posed above was no exception. I found the answer in Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy’s next book JESUS AND THE LOST GODDESS: The Secret Teachings of The Original Christians.
Before I discuss the answer to the question above, the aforementioned book also provided an answer to a question I puzzled over for most of my life. That question was “What was meant by the reference to Jesus exorcizing seven demons from Mary Magdalene?” I should reiterate that like The Jesus Mysteries, Authors Freke and Gandy maintain that the gospel stories are mythical; therefore all the characters are also mythical. In reading both of their books objectively, I had to admit that they had raised a very good argument about the lives of Jesus and Mary Magdalene appearing to be mythical, because they mirror The Mysteries so closely.
Leaving the argument of the actual historical presence of the New Testament characters aside for now, what Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy have to say about the exorcizing of Mary Magdalene’s seven demons is thought provoking. They relate that the number 7 “is significant” within “the Gnostic mythical schema”. This is because as they say, “the cosmos has seven levels, represented by the sun, moon and five visible planets.”7 The authors inform us that the Gnostics (they do not say which sect) would interpret the 7 levels as representing “…demonic forces which entrap us in materiality.”8 Later they explain, “The Gnostic journey of awakening from incarnation is sometimes conceived of as mounting a sevenfold ladder to the Ogdoad. Above the 7 lower levels (the 7 Sacred Planets) is the “eighth level” they call “the Ogdoad”. According to the authors, this level is “represented by the starry skies, which is the mythological home of the Goddess.”9 Authors Freke and Gandy think the statement that Mary has been freed from seven demons represents Jesus having helped her to ascend the seven rungs of the ladder to the heavens.10
Despite the plausibility of the above explanation, something didn’t ring true for me. For one thing, the Ogdoad was the Gnostic term for the first 8 members of the Pleroma. Secondly everything concerning above the veil was beyond all duality. So what did it mean? In seeking an answer, I was reminded of the make up of the traditional Tree of Life. The Kabbalists always separated the first 3 Supernals from the rest of the Sephirot. If you remove the first three Supernals then you are left with the seven lower Sephirot. Moreover if we use the lower aspect of Saturn for Malkuth then all the Seven Sacred Planets can equate to the seven lower Sephirot. Could the reference to Mary Magdalene escaping the “seven levels of the cosmos” be referring to the Astrological powers or Archons? Could her climbing to the eighth level be a reference to Sophia/Mary ascending to the Archetypal Plane?
Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy relate that according to Theodotus, a Gnostic of the Valentinian School, “A strange and new star arose doing away with the old astral decree, shining with a new unearthly light, which revealed a new path of salvation. The Lord himself, humanity’s guide, came down to Earth to transfer from fate to his providence those who believed in Christ.”11 Could this mean that Jesus freed Mary Magdalene from the Astrological powers or Archons? Over the past 15 years, I have learned through experience that real life is stranger than fiction. Moreover, just as Art can imitate Life, Life can just as easily imitate Art.

Returning to the time-line of the thesis, a little over 2000 years ago the Earth had just entered the new Age of Pisces. Initially when I began this thesis I thought that The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia incarnated on Globe D. However, because all three were born before the start of the Common Era, they must have incarnated on Globe C. I learned the reason was The Christ needed to create the Door or Stargate out of Globe C. It is also important to remember that none of the three were consciously aware of their mission. In fact it wasn’t until after the age of spiritual decision (21) that they even glimpsed a purpose to their lives. As the Bible reports, it is John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin that is the first to be awakened.

GNOSTIC JOHN?

Around 30 C.E., the Melchizedek line is preparing the way for the Messiah in the form of John the Baptist, who was studying with the Qumran Essenes. The hypothesis in The Good News is that in:

“Alexandria, Jesus’ parents wanted their son to know his Essene heritage before he was married. Because a family member was already studying at an ascetic order, Jesus was sent to Palestine to join his cousin…The Essene Gospel of Peace and The Essene Jesus report that Jesus became an Essene master. Whether John and Jesus were at Qumran together is unclear. Nonetheless, after John left the sect, he was inspired to teach of the repentance of sins and the coming of the Jewish Messiah. He also started baptizing, as a symbol for a new life. At the time of the Baptism, both Jesus and John were unaware that John was the reincarnation of Elijah. Moreover, neither knew that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah, John preached about. The Baptist received a vision of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove alighting and remaining on the Messiah, but he had not seen his face…It wasn’t until after Jesus arose from the water and John saw the dove descending onto him that he knew his cousin was the Messiah...”

As I said in part one of this thesis, Robert Feather appears to support the hypothesis that both John the Baptist and Jesus were if not full members, at least associated with the Qumran Essenes. So working from the premise of the hypothesis in The Good News, we can move to the awakening of The Christ at the Baptism, when The Christ’s Divine partner The Holy Spirit joins The Christ in Jesus. Although not consciously aware, Melchizedek as John the Baptist facilitated the reunion of the Son and Daughter of the Supreme Being or in Gnostic terms the First Father at the Baptism. In Spiritual Evolution terms, this was a major pivotal point in history. Not only was it the change over from one age (Aries) to another (Pisces), but it was also the full development of the 1st sub-race of the 6th Root Race.
Before I discuss what happened at the Baptism, I want to investigate the reunion of Melchizedek through John the Baptist and Osiris through Jesus. To that end, I turn to Gnostic John the Baptizer: Selections from the Mandean John-Book by G. R. S. Mead. In investigating the Mandeans, I got the distinct impression that they were opposed to Christianity. However, as there were several forms of Christianity during the first century, I wondered which sect the Mandeans were opposed to. In the New Testament a curious question attributed to John the Baptist while he was in prison just before his beheading, suggests John may have doubted Jesus was the Messiah. The Scripture says that John the Baptist sends two disciples to ask Jesus “…Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?12
Although the Scriptures state Jesus reassured John’s disciples that he was the one they looked for, it suggests that John wasn’t sure if Jesus was the Messiah. As John the Baptist is beheaded shortly afterwards, could his uncertainty have lingered with his followers? Could this be the origin of the Mandean sect? According to the New Testament Scriptures Jesus first meets up with John at his baptism, but is that a valid assessment?
G. R. S. Mead deals extensively with the baptism in the Gnostic John the Baptizer: An extract from the text on the Baptism of Jesus has John accusing Jesus of lying to the Jews. The text relates; “Thou hast lied to the Jews and deceived the priests. Thou hast cut off their seed from the men and from the women bearing and being pregnant…” Thereon Yeshu Messiah (Jesus) answered Yahyā (John the Baptist) “If I have lied to the Jews, may the blazing fire consume me. If I have deceived the priests, a double death will I die. If I have cut off their seed from the men, may I not cross o’er the End-Sea. If I have cut off from the women birth and being pregnant, then is in sooth a judge raised up before me…”13
Evidently, Yahyā wasn’t satisfied and accuses Yeshu Messiah of being a “desolate house.” Mr. Mead explains in a footnote that this is a term “generally meaning an unmarried man.”14
Anyway, despite the accusations by his cousin, a letter arrives directing John the Baptist to “…baptize the deceiver in Jordan.”15 There follows a curious comment about the Baptism of Jesus, “Then Rūhā made herself like to a dove and threw a cross over the Jordan.”16 Mr. Mead explains Rūhā is “The Lower Spirit, This-World-Mother.”17 Granting that this was what the Mandeans meant by the term, the fact that a dove is mentioned leads me to consider a different interpretation. If Rūhā is associated with a dove, could she also represent the Holy Spirit, the Divine Feminine partner of The Christ?
Another interesting theory that arises from the Mandean text involves the accusation that Jesus (Yeshu Messiah) has “cut off the seed”. In part one of Full Circle, I reported that Maurice Cotterell believes the Christ-like teachers, which he calls “Supergods” main message was to warn of sterility as a side-effect of sun-spot cycles. Could Yahyā’s accusation of Yeshu Messiah’s cutting off the “seed from the men” be supporting Mr. Cotterell’s hypothesis?
In investigating the apparent absence of any mention of Jesus or the early Christians by Josephus, Mr. Mead found “a Slavonic or Old Russian translation of the (Jewish) War. In this version there are no less than eight pieces referring to John the Baptist and a few to Jesus and the first Christians.”18 Mr. Mead conjectures over the general dismissal of the writings as “Christian forgeries.” Although having read the relevant text, I can see why they would be embarrassing to the Church as they make John a lot older than Jesus. Furthermore it contradicts the New Testaments version of the role of Pilate. The extracts also mention “Simon, an Essene by extraction, a scribe...”19
The Pilate extract casts serious doubt on the accepted version of Pilate’s role in the death of Jesus. According to the extract Jesus “healed Pilate’s wife”. However, Pilate does not appear to have been very grateful because when the “Jewish authorities of the temple complained to Pilate about Jesus” he accepted “thirty talents” to “put him to death.”20 If this account is correct, then this is a far cry from Pilate washing his hands of the affair, in reluctant resignation to Jesus’ fate.
As the above extract contradicts the New Testament, it tends to indicate the extracts were not a Christian forgery. Mr. Mead presented a very good case against the Christian forgery theory, but one argument was so compelling that it puts an entirely different light on John the Baptist and Jesus’ relationship. This is because of the extract’s “protracted period assigned to John’s activity.” Mr. Mead relates the extract’s “statement ‘At that time’ means during the ethnarchy of Archelaus.” I knew that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C.E., but I didn’t know Archelaus succeeded Herod as Ethnarch of Judea, and that he was “…deposed in 6 A.D.” Mr. Mead thinks this is evidence that the writing cannot be a Christian forgery, because no “Christian” writer who knew the Gospel stories would write something so provocative as to call into question the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. Mr. Mead reasons, “Surely the last thing an intelligent forger would desire to do would be to give occasion to his readers to call the canonical narrative into question concerning so prominent a feature as John’s almost equal age with Jesus…” From this Mr. Mead concludes that the writer of the extract “ must have been in circles who would see no difficulty in assigning to John a public activity of at least 30 years…; for he tells us that John survived the death of Philip, which took place somewhere between 33 and 36 A.D.”21
I researched the date of the death of Philip and learned that, there is some confusion over Philip’s mention in the New Testament. Still, putting that aside the mention of John the Baptist conducting his ministry during the reign of Archelaus certainly makes him at least 20 years older than Jesus. In summary then, if Mr. Mead was right about the authenticity of the extracts then everything I thought factual concerning John the Baptist may not have been.

ENTER THE HOLY SPIRIT

In the beginning, observing that two of the New Testament gospels begin at Jesus’ Baptism instead of his birth screamed at me that something important occurred at this time. At first I thought the dove descending at the Baptism was The Christ’s entrance into Jesus. This was because; I thought The Christ and The Holy Spirit were the same. Nonetheless, through my studies, I learned that was an error. It is best explained in the hypothesis in The Good News: in which:

“The soul that was in Jesus was destined to be the prophesied Jewish Messiah. The Christ and Sophia had chosen him to be the revealer of the Truth, and like all the other Christs, Jesus was destined to be anointed for the role. At the baptism, Christ’s partner, The Holy Spirit joined The Christ; creating a Divine power that could transform the man Jesus. It was also the unification of the Divine feminine, the Holy Spirit, with the Divine masculine, The Christ...”

This was the hardest to understand, but as usual God patiently led me to the answer. I learnt that in a manner of speaking, both Sophia and the Holy Spirit are the Daughters of God the First Father. It was with this information that I came to understand how Sophia could both be in Mary Magdalene and descend as the Holy Spirit to reunite with her partner The Christ in Jesus. The relationship is explained in Spiritual Evolution: Or From the Fool to the Hermit Part Two.

“…The Holy Spirit becomes The Holy Ghost when we begin to activate the Spark of God within, through the agency of the three levels of the Higher Self. We do this through Divine Wisdom or the purified High Priestess. The Tarot reflects this in its union of The High Priestess with The Empress. In other words, it is the union of the highest aspect of Sophia, The High Priestess with The Holy Spirit, Daath or the highest aspect of The Empress that becomes The Holy Ghost.

“Daphna Moore also equated The High Priestess to the Holy Ghost, and she gave me another way of looking at it. The different perspective I gained was The High Priestess represented an aspect of three beings, Binah, Daath and The Holy Ghost. To recap: I said earlier that I was unclear as to whether The High Priestess or The Empress represented Daath. Ms Moore helped me understand that it all depended on which level or plane of reality we are talking about, because Daath represents both aspects of the sub-conscious, Universal and Individual. The conclusion I was led to was on the higher plane Daath represents The Empress as the Holy Spirit, which is within each heart waiting to be activated. Conversely, on the physical and ethereal plane, Daath represents The High Priestess as the Holy Ghost, which can be experienced in the physical world. Either way, Daath is connected to the Christ, Holy Spirit and Sophia, all of which lay dormant within every human being, with the potential to be activated.”

Ms. Moore’s comment on the perfection of The Magician and the perfection of The Empress gave me an additional insight. She relates, “….  THE MAGICIAN perfected, united with the Higher Self, and THE EMPRESS perfected, united with THE HIGH PRIESTESS, are the two aspects of the superconscious in us.”22 Although this insight gave me the appreciation of what happened at Jesus’ Baptism, the main breakthrough came when I connected Achamoth, as the aspect of Sophia that incarnated as Isis. Moreover, it was remembering that Achamoth/Isis/Sophia was taught The Mysteries by Melchizedek that led me to an even deeper understanding. That understanding came when I examined the figures archetypes in the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
Archetypically, Melchizedek, as the Logos of The Christ can be seen as being represented by card 1 - The Magician (Self-Conscious) and Sophia as The High Priestess (Cosmic Subconscious). Following this logic, as The Magician and The High Priestess unite to become The Empress (Individual Subconscious), the redeemed but unperfected Achamoth would be archetypically represented by card 3 - The Empress. This would say that it was the redeemed Achamoth or Isis aspect of Sophia, which incarnated in Mary Magdalene. Furthermore, card 2 - The High Priestess perfected would be the highest aspect of Sophia joined with the Omega or the Holy Spirit that descended into Jesus at his baptism.
Like me, I suspect many of you are asking if Sophia as Isis/Achamoth had taught the Wisdom Religion to Humanity, then what was the purpose for Mary Magdalene’s redemption? Again, reiterating that it is impossible for the human mind to understand the spiritual workings, we can only relate it to concepts we are familiar with, it was necessary to ground The Mysteries in the physical plane at the human level. In other words, The Christ and Sophia had to become fully human in order to establish The Mysteries, which meant they both incarnated with egos and counterfeit spirits. (The Scriptures in the New Testament demonstrated this by recounting Jesus displaying the lower emotions, of anger, impatience, and frustration.)
The Mysteries, which taught how an individual could transform the ego and counterfeit spirit was handed down from initiate to initiate throughout known history. Jesus grounded The Mysteries, first by applying them to his transformation, represented by the transfiguration and then through teaching them to Mary Magdalene and his disciples. As the New Testament relates Jesus taught the general population The Mysteries in the form of parables. However, he established the authority of his teachings by performing miracles.
I was surprised to learn from authors Freke and Gandy that the “Greek word usually translated ‘miracle’ in the Gospel of John means ‘sign or ‘symbol’. In other words, Jesus’ “miracles are a ‘sign’ of his spiritual power,”23 or put another way, Jesus performed miracles to show (signs) that he was the promised Messiah.

Before I turn to the earthly incarnation of Sophia, namely Mary Magdalene, I need to address the entrance of the Holy Spirit being associated to the influence of the World Soul in Globe D. This presents a difficult paradox, in that we have to answer the question of how a purely positive force (The Holy Spirit) can become associated with a purely negative force. The solution to the enigma is in understanding how the entrance of The Holy Spirit affected the consciousness.
Previously, I said that The Christ is neutral, in that he is both masculine/active and feminine/passive. However, that is only half the story, because The Christ is more precisely active-neutral, which makes his partner The Holy Spirit passive-neutral. In general, neutral consciousness or energy, like magic can be used as black or white. However, although the energy of The Holy Spirit and The Christ is neutral, they are unique as they were both emanated from the Supreme Being. When a Divine Being wants to interact with the physical plane, they have to slow their vibration and change their frequency, which diffuses their energy. When energy or consciousness becomes diffused its neutrality can be misused. To understand this, it is necessary to understand the affect of Divine consciousness in the Earth Plane. I will discuss this important subject a little later, but as Sophia's incarnation in the 1st century of the Common Era is relevant to this discussion, I will now turn to the subject of her incarnation as Mary Magdalene.

MARY MAGDALENE

I found a reference to Jesus carrying the Holy Spirit, by the Church Father Epiphanius writing a scathing condemnation of a Gnostic text called “Great Questions of Mary.” The surprising thing was it was in Dan Burstein’s SECRETS OF THE CODE: THE UNAUTHORISED GUIDE TO THE MYSTERIES BEHIND THE DAVINCI CODE24 As the title portrays, the book is an investigation into The Davinci Code.25

“For in Questions of Mary which are called ‘Great’… they assert that he [Jesus] gave her [Mary] a revelation, taking her aside to the mountain and praying; and he brought forth from his side a woman and began to unite with her, and so, forsooth, taking his effluent, he showed that ‘we must so do, that we may live’; and how when Mary fell to the ground abashed, he raised her up again and said to her: ‘Why didst thou doubt, O thou of little faith?”26

If we discard the literal interpretation, could this be referring to Jesus showing Mary Magdalene, The Holy Spirit within him? The passage above reminded me of the various factions that associate Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s relationship with hieros gamos. In The Good News: we asked if the reference to Jesus exorcising 7 demons from Mary Magdalene could be referring to making her understand that it wasn’t about the physical body? The ritual of hieros gamos was designed to raise the sexual energy through all the lower 6 chakras to the 7th or the crown chakra in the head. If as our hypothesis proposes she was a priestess of Isis and had gone to him in the belief that she and Jesus needed to perform the hieros gamos, then could the above revelation be Jesus’ way of setting her straight? This explanation of the revelation to Mary Magdalene fits into the hypothesis recorded in The Good News:

“In this scenario we accept that both Jesus and Mary Magdalene were initiated into the Isis mystery religion. This means it is possible, if not likely that Jesus was aware of the practice of sex magic. …The purpose of the ritual between an initiated priest and priestess was to raise the Kundalini, which was viewed as a coiled serpent of energy at the base of the spine, from the first or base chakra through all “seven” chakras to the seventh or crown chakra at the top of the head. However, if this ritual was attempted and one or both of the participants was not purified, then instead of raising the wise serpent, the dragon of passion would be raised to dominate the body. We propose that whether or not Mary Magdalene knew Jesus, when she learned of his ministry she hurried to his side believing that, as Isis initiates they needed to perform the ritual. But when she reached Jesus, he taught her that the goal of the enlightened was to connect to God through the heart, not the physical passions…”
Many authors and scholars have speculated that the Magdalene was a priestess of Isis. Our hypothesis has Jesus being initiated into the mystery school of Isis and being trained in alchemy and magic. We ask: if Sophia had incarnated in Mary Magdalene, is it possible that Jesus knew her before his baptism? Could she have joined him shortly after?

Again I found a possible confirmation of this hypothesis in the most unlikely source, namely Dan Burstein’s SECRETS OF THE CODE: In speculating whether Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, Mr. Burnstein relates the author Lynn Picknett’s theory of Mary Magdalene being a priestess of Isis. Connecting Mary’s anointing Jesus with the Sacred marriage, she says, “The sacred marriage was a familiar concept to pagans of Jesus’ day: versions of it were commonly performed by the devotees of various other dying-and-rising god cults…the Egyptian god Osiris, whose consort Isis breathed life into his dead body long enough for her to conceive…Horus…In all versions of the sacred marriage, the representative of the goddess, in the form of her priestess, united sexually with the chosen king…”27 Nonetheless, as fascinating as this was, what was even more surprising was Ms. Picknett’s evidence of Mary Magdalene’s connection to Isis and Egypt, with her discovery that Magdala may be in Egypt. Mr. Burnstein reports that Ms. Picknett conjectures that “…although there was no ‘Magdala’ in Judaea” in the first century, “there was a Magdolum in Egypt-just across the border-which was probably the Migdol mentioned in Ezekiel.” Evidently, “There was a large and flourishing Jewish community in Egypt at that time, which was particularly centred on the great seaport of Alexandria…”28
There has been such confusion over the person of Mary Magdalene. Growing up I was taught she was a reformed prostitute. However, when I began my guided study, I came across multiple theories about this mysterious woman. One such theory equates her with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. We dealt with this question of Mary Magdalene being the sister of Martha and Lazarus in The Good News:

“Because the gospel of John has Mary of Bethany, Lazarus and Martha’s sister anointing Jesus, many have deduced that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene is one and the same person… Only a priest or priestess could officially anoint someone. The fact of this being an official anointing is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew and Mark, with Jesus’ words to the disciples, “Verily I say unto you, where-soever this gospel be preached throughout (in) the whole world, this also that (this woman) she hath done shall be spoken (told) of for a memorial of her,” Matthew 26:13 and Mark 14:9. If we turn to Luke 10:40 Martha, presumably Lazarus’ sister, complained that her sister, Mary, did not help her to prepare the meal. Logically we ask, would anyone expect a priestess to help prepare a meal? We would like to propose that there are two Marys in the story, Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene, the Isis priestess who anointed Jesus.”

I almost despaired of ever finding the truth about Mary Magdalene until I discovered the Gnostic books Pistis Sophia and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Because these are highly controversial writings they are still being hotly debated today, but they give us a glimpse into the time after Jesus’ crucifixion. We wrote in The Good News:

“According to the book of Acts, Jesus remained teaching the disciples for forty days, (Acts 1:3) yet the New Testament only records a handful of sentences of this time. Still there were writings that recorded the teachings of Jesus after the resurrection…Many of the writings depict Mary Magdalene as taking a leadership role…she was known by the early Church fathers as the Apostle to the Apostles. An obscure writing called the Pistis Sophia …contains a discourse between Jesus and his disciples after the resurrection, including Mary Magdalene and other women. The discourse centers on Jesus asking the disciples questions on the repentance and redemption of Sophia. After Mary Magdalene answered Jesus he addressed her in a strange way. “Mary, thou blessed one, whom I will perfect in all mysteries of those of the height, discourse in openness, thou, whose heart is raised to the kingdom of heaven more than thy brethren.” Jesus also refers to Mary Magdalene as “inheritress of the light.”

Ultimately, Jesus teaching Mary Magdalene about the redemption of Sophia fully grounded The Mysteries in the Earth Plane. As was reported in The Good News:

 “…The Gnostics reported that Jesus taught his disciples of the fall of Sophia. If we remember the legend of Sophia incarnating in Mary Magdalene, we can see why he would use the epithet “inheritress of the light” with respect to her, related in Pistis Sophia. Jesus The Christ teaching Mary Magdalene was symbolic of Sophia’s redemption. This is another instance of the axiom “As above, so below, as below, so above,” which is demonstrated through Mary Magdalene’s being the earthly counterpart to Sophia.”

Changing gears, I now want to turn to the night before Jesus’ crucifixion. All four Gospels of the New Testament relate that the Last Supper was the Jewish Passover. However, Robert Feather in THE SECRET INITIATION OF JESUS AT QUMRAN proposes a very compelling argument that challenges that statement. He proposes that the Last Supper took place in the autumn at the Jewish feast of Succoth. He makes this supposition because the traditional menu of the Passover is bitter herbs and lamb29 and bread is forbidden during Passover. Mr. Feather tells us, “This…view does not necessarily contradict the traditional Christian commemoration of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion at Easter (Passover). It is quite possible that he was arrested during Succoth and held in prison until Easter, when there would have been enormous crowds in Jerusalem and a show of Roman authority would have had maximum effect.”30 The most compelling evidence for me was that the waving of palm leaves is customary during Succoth31 which reminded me that Palm Sunday is the start of Easter week.

If we accept that Sophia as Mary Magdalene was redeemed during Jesus’ ministry, what happened to Sophia after his death? “Did she return to her place in the Pleroma?” Both Craig and I had asked pretty much the same question. To understand what happened to Sophia involves her partner “What has Been Willed” or Self-Will and as such we will have to leave that discussion until later.
Meanwhile, in our thesis and linear time, Sophia has completed her repentances and is engaged in redeeming the sparks of God with The Christ who has amalgamated with the Holy Spirit and The Creator/Logos or Demiurge. We explained what we were told in The Good News:

“We understand that sometime after Jesus’ death, The Christ and the Holy Spirit re-entered his body, raising its vibration to the degree that he became pure light. His physical atoms were transmuted so that he could appear anywhere and in any guise.”

JUDAS ISCARIOT

In mentioning Jesus’ death, the figure of Judas Iscariot comes to mind. I said in the updates to Persecution and the Early Church in (LCD) That Christendom has come to vilify Judas Iscariot, saying that the New Testament gives them grounds, but does it? In the Gospel of Mark the earliest accredited gospel, the disciples complain to Jesus about the use of Spikenard to anoint him, but by the last written gospel, John, the writer has Judas Iscariot complaining of the waste of the Spikenard, rather than the disciples. In The Good News we wrote:

 “A recent documentary on the “betrayal” and arrest of Jesus directs us to the fact that Jesus had the opportunity to escape from the Garden of Gethsemane…Jesus knew that in order to fulfill his mission, he had to be arrested. He even stopped Peter from defending him, telling the disciples if it weren’t meant to happen, he would have twelve legions (144,000) of angels to assist him.” (Matthew 26:53)

Taking this into account, The Good News proposes a different scenario:

“What if Jesus approached Judas Iscariot to help him, telling him that in order for him to declare himself the messiah, he needed to be brought before the Jewish authorities? What if he told Judas that no one was to know, including the other disciples? …Many times the foreknowledge of future events can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy…Judas was a zealot and saw the culmination of Jesus’ ministry as an earthly king. He had witnessed Jesus’ ability to elude his captors and probably thought Jesus was going to reveal who he was by supernatural means. What if, after Jesus was arrested, Judas followed him expecting Jesus to save himself? It must have been devastating for Judas to realize that Jesus was going to be crucified…
Despite the disparaging comments the gospel writers make against Judas Iscariot, the fact that he had “the bag” (purse) speaks volumes to us. You don’t give control of your funds to someone you don’t trust. Tradition says that after Jesus was crucified, Judas hung himself… Is it possible that after the disciples shunned him, Judas left the area and traveled to Damascus?”

As I said the above extract is taken from The Good News, which was written between 2003 and 2004. Imagine my surprise to learn of the existence of a Gospel of Judas, from watching a documentary on The National Geographic Channel on April 9, 2006.
Apparently, in 1978 a shepherd found a codex of The Gospel of Judas in a burial cave near Nag Hammadi in Egypt. Tracing the codex’s journey between 1980 and 1999 is problematic at best. Nonetheless, the best guess is that it was sold in Cairo in 1980 and stolen shortly after. Its whereabouts was unknown until around 1983 when it was offered for sale on the black market and viewed by several experts. Unfortunately, as none of the experts were able to meet the asking price, it was pulled from the market and languished in a Hicksville, New York bank vault for the next 16 years. In 1999 it came to the notice of Swiss antiquities dealer Frieda Nussberger-Tchacos, who then purchased the document in September 2000.
The codex consists of 13 pages, which among other things recounts Judas colluding with Jesus to hand him over to the Jewish authorities. Unfortunately the pages have deteriorated to fragments that have needed to be painstakingly put together. In April 2006, a complete translation of the text, with extensive footnotes, was released by The National Geographic Society, which played a large part in the restoration and conservation of the codex.
The codex was radio-carbon dated to around 280 C.E., and the documentary related the content of the codex is found in writings of Saint Irenaeus, the bishop of Lyon, who wrote scathingly of the gospel, denouncing it as heretical in 180 C.E. This means that copies of the gospel were circulating at least a century earlier than the codex. Professor Pagels says the material in the codex is an “Authentic, ancient text that is impossible to date.” She believes it is “meant to be advanced level teaching.”
In 2007 Professor Elaine Pagels and Professor Karen L. King released their interpretation and translation of the Gospel of Judas. Both Craig and I found READING JUDAS: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity32 extremely enlightening and very informative, especially the reference to Jesus teaching The Mysteries to Judas. Like all religious writings, it was essential to spiritually discern the content and I am extremely grateful to the authors for placing the writing in the proper context to the time it was written.
As I said, the most amazing aspect of the Gospel of Judas was its support of the hypothesis in The Good News, which proposes that Jesus asked for Judas’ help to instigate his arrest, trial and crucifixion. Nonetheless, my focus here is in what the writing has to say about Jesus teaching Judas The Mysteries.
Professors’ Pagels and King’s insight into the meaning of the teachings were encouraging. In fact they point out how later translators and copiers of the work may well have added their own opinions to certain aspects. Commenting on an apparent “interruption to the flow” of the narrative, the authors explain, “ …even though the Gospel of Judas was originally written (in Greek) in the second century, the only copy that exists comes from the fourth century (in Coptic translation). We can safely assume that the copyists felt free to alter (i.e., ‘improve’) the text during the centuries in which it was passed on—a very common practice even with regard the New Testament.”33
Initially I thought the Gospel of Judas was a Gnostic work of the same order as the Valentinians. Nevertheless, as we read READING JUDAS: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity, and learned about its author’s concept of divinity, I realized it didn’t rise above the Soul Plane. In fact the overall impression I was left with was one of duality, or polarization. For instance, the author of the Gospel of Judas divides Humanity into two distinct races. Professors Pagels and King explain, “Although the author often uses the plural ‘human races,’ in essence only two races exist: the mortal race (those who worship the false Gods of the lower world and are destined to be destroyed at the end of the age) and the immortal race (those who recognize their own spiritual nature and turn to the true God above.”34
The mention of “false Gods of the lower world” would appear to say that the author of the Gospel of Judas understood the Ogdoad and the Pleroma. So I was interested to learn what the writing said about the Divine Plane. Curiously the writing mentions five divine beings not eight. Still if we dig a little deeper, we can learn that the main crux of the teachings is to go within. Because this is vital to my thesis, I will relate excerpts from the professors’ explanation of the text. They write:

In the Gospel of Judas, Jesus teaches people about the kinship they have with God and about how to live according to the moral order of the universe established by God…He explains this message by telling Judas about the nature of the universe—that another realm exists beyond the material world, and an immortal holy race above the mortal human race. If people can understand this reality, they can fulfill their highest nature and understand how they should live now…By looking within themselves, people can ‘bring forth the perfect human’—they can discover what is divine and immortal within themselves.
But people need to understand too, how it is that they are ignorant of this higher realm and of their own inner spiritual nature. Jesus explains that although people are made according to the divine image and likeness, they are nonetheless created by the lower angels God put in charge of the material world—the realm of chaos and oblivion. Because these angels are themselves subject to error through their own arrogance and ignorance, they have led humanity astray by getting people to worship them. They confuse some people into thinking that human beings are righteous when they perform seemingly pious acts like sacrifice, fasting, prayer, and baptism…35

In the above quote I could see much of what I was shown. The most obvious to me was the reference to human beings being “created” by the “lower angels” that “God put in charge of the material world…” The “lower angels” reminded me of the “Watchers” and I wondered if the writing might be relating to the genetic manipulation of the Human Race by the Pleiadians. The Gospel of Judas seems to state there are two opposing natures in the human being. Evidently the term daimon is used in reference to Judas’s spirit. The professors explain, “…Plato wrote that everyone possesses a daimon…By relating one’s life to cultivating this daimon, one can achieve likeness to God and immortality, which is one’s supreme happiness (eudaimonia—literally, the state of a good daimon). If, on the other hand, a person cultivates the lower parts of the soul, which are devoted to mortal things like wealth and appetite, then that person truly becomes mortal.”36
In other words if we search inside and understand we are not of this earth then we can spiritually evolve and after transforming ourselves, transform the world. On the other hand if all we seek is selfish material or sensual desires then we are subject to “the lower parts of the soul”, namely the counterfeit spirit or ego. This teaching will have a propound affect on the Human Race’s ability to Spiritually evolve. Nonetheless, it is time to leave the Gospel of Judas and discuss the pouring out of The Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It was from this time that the Tree of Reason became fully immersed in the physical plane.

SHADOW VERSUS LIGHT

WFN8-4-8Previously, I said that because of the shift in time and consciousness, the World Soul’s influence changed in Globe D. To recap: I said “Prior to the transfer through the Door or Stargate (six-pointed star) the World Soul influenced Humanity through the universal subconscious, but after 0.C.E., the influence became personalized and affected the individual subconscious. This is reported in the New Testament when Jesus says, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” This became even more relevant with the advent of The Holy Spirit, which brings me back to my earlier question what happened to Sophia after Mary Magdalene was redeemed and Jesus died?
The Pistis Sophia relates that Sophia’s partner Self-Will (AKA What has Been Willed) relentlessly harassed and inflicted multiple punishments on her in the Soul Plane. What the writing does not relate is that Sophia’s partner left the Pleroma and descended into the Soul Plane to assist Sophia in redeeming her lost essence.
Unfortunately, when Self-Will descended into the Soul Plane because he was the “active” half of the partnership, he became influenced by the “active” World Soul and assisted the entity in torturing Sophia for some time. Nonetheless, Sophia’s constant confession and appeal for forgiveness, eventually reached him and he woke up, so to speak. This is where the story reaches a vital turning point.
When Sophia’s partner “woke up” his consciousness and energy was still attached to the World Soul and this facilitated a change in the entity due to the nature of Self-Will. Because of the Spiritual purity of Self-Will, he was able to assist the World Soul in separating from its basest thoughts and emotions. This was facilitated through Self-Will’s attachment to The World Soul creating a filter where the lowest and densest aspects of the World Soul could be removed. These lower aspects were then expelled into the lowest plane and became the “prince of this world”. After the separation, the World Soul joined with Self-Will, who then became the Divine Will. Microcosmically this is mirrored by the transmutation of the ego or lower will.
Following his Ascension, Jesus became the head of the Soul Plane. It was then that Sophia was restored into the Pleroma. Before you leap to your feet to remind me that Mary Magdalene was still alive after Jesus’ Ascension, I would remind you that there is no such thing as Linear Time in the Soul Plane. Consequently, although from our perspective Sophia would not go through her trials until after Mary Magdalene’s death, in the Soul Plane Sophia was restored to the Pleroma immediately after Jesus became the head of the Soul Plane.
Similarly, Self-Will joined with Melchizedek and descended to assist Sophia as Paul of Tarsus. It is best to not try to understand it from a human perspective, because we are forced to operate in Linear Time. Nonetheless, the mission of Mary Magdalene and Paul is the start of the final phase of the plan to correct the “Watcher’s mistake”.
The arena has been set and all the parties involved are in place for the metaphorical Battle of Armageddon to begin. And so begins the epic struggle that would define the last almost two thousand years. Essentially, it is a struggle between Truth and Lies, with Sophia and Melchizedek representing the Truth and the “prince of this world” representing the lies. For anyone who has even superficially studied history, he or she cannot fail to see there has been an almost constant swing from one side (Truth) to the other (lies). This brings me to my main goal in this thesis; namely to track the various influences through our history on this Globe.
For ease of understanding, I will narrow my investigation to identifying two specific influences; one through the consciousness of Sophia and Melchizedek and the other through the consciousness of the “prince of this world.” To simplify it even more, I will refer to the influence of the “prince of this world”, as the “Shadow of Deception” (hereafter known as “Shadow”). This is because the “Shadow’s” influence is geared to spread confusion, fear, grief and ignorance. The other side, represented by The Christ, Sophia (Wisdom) and Melchizedek, I will refer to as the “Light of Truth” (hereafter known as “Light”). The “Light’s” goal is to nurture clarity, hope, love/joy and understanding. As we progress through the years, you will see that the energetic and consciousness influence is often not clearly defined by specific countries or even families. For instance, one of the brightest “Light” periods was under the reign of a member of a family that would come to represent, or almost embody the “Shadow”.

I related earlier that one of the most effective ways for the Divine forces to pass on sacred information was archetypally. We see this in the Archetypal images the “Light” used to relay the struggle between the “Light” and “Shadow”. Without going to deeply into it here, again the epitome of this is the twenty-two Major Arcana of the Tarot.
I related in the “Door or Stargate” that there is a valuable message hidden in the secret value of card 6 The Lovers being 16. This tells us that The Lovers are connected to card 16 The Tower. As the Lovers card is an allegory for the Garden of Eden, the connection to the card that represents the planet Mars is saying there is a connection in the allegory that the two cards represent.
The Lovers in the Garden of Eden in card 6 are the Self-Conscious and the Individual Subconscious or The Magician and The Empress. In card 16 The Tower, which represents the planet Mars, the two Lovers are shown falling headlong from the tower, which is allegorically alluding to the “fall”. Mars Archetypally is the epitome of the active/masculine force or the Adversary. The message the creators of the Tarot wanted to portray with connecting the two cards through the number 16 was that sixteen is connected to the struggle between Light and Darkness.

WFN8-4-9The relevance of the struggle between “Light” and “Shadow” and the number 16 becomes even more apparent with the “invention” of the game of chess, or checkers. This board game is played on a board divided into two sides of 16 black squares and 16 white squares. Moreover, each player uses either 16 white pieces or 16 black pieces. As I said, as “Globe D was isolated from the rest of evolution, it could act as a kind of playing field or checkerboard for both sides to vie for supremacy over the Human Race, and therefore all creation.

Can you think of a more fitting way to portray the struggle between the “Light” (White) and “Shadow” (Black)? As we progress through the “upsteppings” you will see that the historical events, which shift power from one ruler or kingdom to the another, which depending on the participant’s influence either benefits the “Light” or the “Shadow”, is like “two” players playing a game of chess. Each military campaign or strategic alliance “move” is designed to advance the kingdom or ruler closer to his goal of ultimate power. The historical figures involved are the “pieces” on the checkerboard that are moved “played” by the two sides. If you keep this in mind, it will help you to see the big picture.
Talking of the big picture, I said that Globe D was the arena for the metaphorical Battle of Armageddon to be fought, but that is only half the story. All parties involved knew that the real arena for the Battle would culminate at the location of New Jerusalem (America) at the end of the age. (I must reiterate that this is not a literal battle, but a metaphorical one.) As you will see, both sides would endeavor to influence the consciousness long before it would transfer to the North American continent; predominantly by influencing the nations who would provide the American citizens.

One more thing before we move on, in order for you to benefit, it is necessary for you to discard all pre-judgment based on any kind of indoctrination. The Truth “Light” is often found in what we have been conditioned to think of as the darkest avenues; namely the occult. Occult merely means the knowledge was hidden or rather concealed from those that would use the knowledge for nefarious means. When Jesus said to his Disciples that he was teaching them The Mysteries, but that the knowledge was not for the general population and therefore he taught them by parables, he was teaching the Disciples in an occult way. Now we resume our journey at the moment the Holy Spirit is poured out onto Humanity in the form of The Holy Ghost at Pentecost. As before, I will take you on the same journey of discovery that I took.

PENTECOST

I can remember wondering as a child what happened at the Pentecost. Acts reports the incidence in great detail; consequently I think that we should first examine the New Testament account:

 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it set upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”37

Pentecost is seen as the coming of the Holy Spirit, which is sometimes referred to as the coming of the Comforter (Paraclete). Jesus said The Comforter would bring the disciples remembrance of his teaching. The New Testament appears to make this the culmination of Jesus’ ministry. However, after this auspicious event, the Apostles seemed to forget much of what Jesus had taught. For instance, the strange account in Acts, where Peter accuses a couple of lying to the Holy Ghost, is more representative of the “shadow” than the “light”. Again I think it will help to review the passage, before discussing it:

“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being a privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and kept back part of the price of the land?
…And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things…And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to temp the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then she fell down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost... And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”38

Earlier, I mentioned that if the energy and consciousness of the neutral power was diffused it could be misused. The incident with Ananias and Sapphira is evidence of how this can occur. The passage in Acts clearly says that Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths are the result of them lying to the Holy Ghost. This passage has always caused a problem for me, especially as it occurred so soon after Pentecost. The passage became even more problematic after we discovered the role divinity plays in negative acts.
One of the most unambiguous statements God gave us was that, “Anything, and I do mean anything that creates fear, hatred and or division is NEVER of Divine origin.” In reviewing the incident with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts again, I was at a loss as to how to resolve the passage with God’s statement. Seeking guidance, I was told that the key is in the difference between The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost; and the definition of the word “create.” The difference between The Holy Spirit was addressed in The Good News:

“The description of “the third member of the Trinity” has caused a great deal of confusion. We have spent many hours attempting to ascertain the difference between the Holy Spirit and Holy Ghost. The answer, when it came was so simple; it is all to do with the difference between the words spirit and ghost. Most people understand that the “unseen” spirits of departed loved ones are with them, watching over them. Whereas, the haunting of a ghost is described often as a filmy/shadowy specter or ghost that is “seen” by the living. Acts describes Pentecost as flames settling on the disciples’ heads, in other words something that could be seen. This was the Holy Ghost, that tangible force that empowered them to heal and speak to the populace of all lands. The Holy Spirit is the Divine energy that was poured out on all Humanity at Pentecost. The Holy Ghost could be seen as the designation for the Holy Spirit in physical form or when “she” is infused in a person, as occurred with Jesus and Saul/Paul and the disciples at Pentecost. However, we need to remember that after Jesus’ baptism the Holy Spirit reunited with the Christ, consequently, both Jesus and Saul/Paul became infused with the Divine partnership.”
Although this explains the difference in substance between The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost, it does not explain the difference in consciousness and the different affect they have in the Earth Plane. To understand this involves an examination of the origin of the Trinity from an energetic evolution perspective. The Trinity that the church describes is partly right in that the Father (First Father), Son (The Christ), and Holy Spirit (Daughter) are united as one Divine consciousness. The flaw in Christianity’s Trinity is that they place the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit beneath the Veil. If we remember, The Supreme Being (First Father) emanated The Christ and Holy Spirit, this in essence makes the three a Trinity. However, only the Father always remains above the Veil, which meant His essence was and never could be diffused. To try to explain this more clearly, think of the moment of the Big Bang. At that instant the entire universe is no bigger than a grain of sand. All the components that will go to make up the entire universe are concentrated into a single “grain/molecule” complete and whole.
As the universe expands, the elements begin to spread out, becoming diffused. As such, when The Christ and Sophia descended beneath the Veil, their energy and consciousness changed. Even so, there is an aspect that I must clarify; as The Christ was directly emanated from the Supreme Being (First Father) he remained whole. Unfortunately, as Sophia was not emanated from the Supreme Being, but from His projection, when she descended into the lower planes (Earth), her consciousness became less contained and therefore diffused. This is how the creation of the Soul Plane evolved. Although, we have tried to explain this elsewhere, I feel that it is probably advantageous to further clarify this very important teaching.
After Sophia’s emotions (contaminated essence) was expelled from the Pleroma and the Veil (Limit) was set up Sophia and The Christ descended beneath the Veil and transformed her emotions of Fear, Grief, Ignorance, and Confusion into the four elements of Water, Air, Fire, and Earth. These four elements were then used to construct the entire physical universe. The emergence of the Creator/Demiurge and all the Astrological Powers and Archons were the result of The Christs and Sophia’s consciousness and energy. Because these Divine powers were born, so to speak beneath the Veil from the diffused consciousness and energy of Sophia they were of a dual nature.”

I have spoken at length in part one of this thesis of the gradual descent of The Christ and Sophia through the lower planes and into incarnation, so I will not repeat it here. Up until The separation of Globe D, The Holy Spirit remained above the Veil. With the advent of The Christ incarnating as a human being with ego and counterfeit spirit, “She” descended and rejoined The Christ in Jesus at the Baptism. This facilitated Jesus triumphing over the ego and counterfeit spirit before the transfiguration. During the crucifixion both The Christ and The Holy Spirit left Jesus for him to act as the “sacrificial lamb” and free Humanity from the “Wheel of Necessity”. Before the resurrection, they re-entered Jesus and transformed him into a form of Light. This Light could manifest as a physical being at will, and equally easily disappear.

THE HOLY SPIRIT BECOMES THE HOLY GHOST

Because the heart-gate or star-gate was opened in human beings they were prepared to receive The Holy Spirit. At Pentecost on the universal level The Holy Spirit poured herself out over the Earth and entered the hearts of the Human Race. “She” did this in order to work with the Higher Self in fostering Spiritual Evolution from within the heart. In essence “She” became the human being’s conscience. Nonetheless, Jesus had promised his disciples that he would send them a Comforter to remind them of his teachings. This means the coming of the Comforter would occur in two parts.
First though I need to explain how the neutral energy of The Holy Spirit became diffused. Although “She” was a member of the Trinity, The Holy Spirit was and is irrevocably connected to The Christ. The key to what happened to The Holy Spirit is found in the description in the upper room at Pentecost. The decent of the Holy Spirit to be poured out in the Earth meant that “She” had to separate from her partner The Christ who re-ascended into the Soul Plane. Although The Holy Spirit was passive/neutral “She” was still essentially pure energy. While “she” was connected to her partner The Christ “She” remained passive and in a pure state, but when at Pentecost “She” descended in the “upper room” as a “rushing wind”, “She” became diffused into the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit diffused herself into the form of the Holy Ghost to be able to interact in the Earth plane. From the description of the Holy Ghost “settling” on the Apostles heads as “tongues of fire” we know that the Holy Ghost was “active” energy. This is because Fire is active and of the masculine energy, which brings me back to our discussion on the death of Ananias and Sapphira.
The entire episode reported in Acts is about creating fear “Shadow”. As this is in the fifth chapter of Acts, this event, if true, took place relatively shortly after the Apostle Peter had received the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. Considering what Jesus taught about “judge not” I found the episode of Ananias and Sapphira staggering. Obviously, there was something I was missing, it was then I recalled that apart from the key to the episode not only being in the difference between The Holy Spirit and the Holy Ghost, but also in the definition of the word “create.” I learned from this that the Holy Ghost did not “create” or cause the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, however, “Her” energy was used by Peter. As I wrote this, I almost cringed, what did it mean “Peter used the Holy Ghost’s energy?”
First I needed to discover the nature of the Holy Ghost’s “active/masculine” energy. I learned the energy could be seen as the drive/passion or fervor, which can rise as religious zeal, which either helps or hinders Spiritual development. Consequently, because the Holy Ghost was born from neutral/passive consciousness, but became active in the physical plane, the way “Her” energy is used is dependent on the consciousness of the individual utilizing it. Peter was known to be hot-headed, flying into a rage and cutting off a soldier’s ear in one instance. The Apostle Peter could be referred to as a religious zealot, driven to spread Jesus’ message at all costs. To Peter, anyone that appeared to thwart his goal could be seen as the enemy and his fervor would be roused and cause him to act impulsively. I believe this is what the passage in Acts is warning of, not that if an individual “lies” to the Holy Ghost they would be punished. No, the real message of the passage in Acts is a warning to be careful not to “judge” or let your anger make your decisions. It is important to keep in mind that the Apostles still had egos and counterfeit spirits and could be influenced by either their Higher Selves or their egos.

THE COMFORTER

The Gospel of John seems to imply that the Comforter would speak to the disciples. If so then would it be in person or telepathically? The Good News discussed the possibility of the Comforter, mentioned in John being a human being:

 “The Gospel of John reports that Jesus promised the disciples he would ask the Father to send “another comforter.” The Greek word for Comforter is Paraklētos, which literally means, “One called alongside to help.” The Church has interpreted this passage as the coming of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, and they are partly right…Still, if we read Jesus’ description of the Comforter, it is obvious that he was referring to an actual person: “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)
“After St Paul’s’ conversion Acts says that the disciples of Jerusalem were afraid of him and it wasn’t until Barnabas took him to the Apostles and reported Paul’s preaching that he was accepted. (Acts 9: 26-27) If we recall, Jesus appeared to his disciples in such a way that they did not recognize him. Saul/St Paul arriving in Jerusalem repeating Jesus’ words must have given them pause for thought. Could the disciples have wondered if Saul was Jesus returned?”

The above extract is a case of more than one level of the Truth being imparted in Scripture. Although the above explanation is correct on one level, there is a deeper level to be extracted. To do this, it is necessary to stop thinking linearly and spatially as in; because something is written down in one instance does not mean that it applies for “all time, or in all places.” True after Pentecost, all human beings received The Holy Spirit, in such a way as to activate their conscience or Higher Self. Nonetheless, after Pentecost The Christ went to take his place in the Archetypal Plane as the head of the Soul Plane, and his partner, The Holy Spirit was infused into the hearts of Humanity and spread throughout Creation as The Holy Ghost. This is where it is necessary to think outside the box and not spatially or linearly; while The Holy Spirit was poured out as The Holy Ghost, at the same time she remained with The Christ as The Holy Spirit. This is depicted archetypally in the Tarot in the close connection between card 2 – The High Priestess and card 3 – The Empress. To reiterate what was said in Spiritual Evolution: Or From the Fool to the Hermit Part Two:

“…I was unclear as to whether The High Priestess or The Empress represented Daath. (Daath is the non-Sephirot, which lies between the Archetypal and Creative Planes and acts as a door) Ms Moore helped me understand that it all depended on which level or plane of reality we are talking about, because Daath represents both aspects of the sub-conscious, Universal and Individual. The conclusion I was led to was on the higher plane Daath represents The Empress as the Holy Spirit, which is within each heart waiting to be activated. Conversely, on the physical and ethereal plane, Daath represents The High Priestess as the Holy Ghost, which can be experienced in the physical world…” To place this into historical context, The Holy Spirit – The Empress was poured out on Humanity at Pentecost and became The Holy Ghost – The High Priestess.

Remembering that there is no past or future in the Spiritual Realm, there is only now, in the human perspective, this period of time, was when Sophia left Mary Magdalene in order to utilize what Jesus taught her; namely how to redeem herself. Although Mary Magdalene became a Gnostic teacher, Sophia was “repenting” in order to cleanse herself and rejoin Melchizedek to help with the next “upstepping.” Consequently, when Saul/Paul and Ananias (not the same person mentioned earlier) receive their spiritual visions they are from both Jesus The Christ and The Holy Spirit. To understand who taught Saul, we need to return to the Book of Acts. In chapter nine, the passage says that after Ananias heals Saul from blindness, Saul is “filled with the Holy Ghost.”39
Earlier I explained that the Holy Ghost is active and “her” energy could be the impetus or drive for Spiritual benefit or detriment. Individually, when we wrote that both Jesus and Paul “were infused with the Divine partnership” i.e., The Christ and The Holy Spirit, at a certain point in time this is correct. Still, when we understand the different levels of the Soul Plane and incorporate this into the message, we can see that when The Holy Spirit is joined with The Christ, because of their neutrality, the active/masculine and the passive/feminine are perfectly balanced and therefore purified of all negativity. However, when The Holy Spirit was separated from The Christ, she was diffused and became the active Holy Ghost, which was dual and could be used for the benefit or detriment of the individual. As stated, Peter’s tendency to hot-headed-ness could be enhanced to self-righteousness in judging others actions. Peter’s tendency to hot-headed-ness (ignorance) is clearly shown in the New Testament, not only from his impulsive actions, but also through his many disputes with Paul. Having considered Paul was an aspect of the Comforter sent to remind the Disciples of Jesus’ teachings, I now want to discuss who the historical Saint Paul was. In order to determine who Paul was, it was necessary for me to first reexamine his letters.

PAUL

Many objective investigators of the New Testament have observed that many of Paul’s letters seem to be anti-women. Nonetheless, I reported in Gnosis versus Orthodoxy in (LCD) the Professor Elaine Pagels shows in her book The Gnostic Paul: Gnostic Exegesis of the Pauline Letters40 that Paul wrote in code to his followers, and that his reference to men and women were referring to the different levels of believers. Although the intent was to relate the Truth, the misinterpretation of Saint Paul’s letters has led to some of the most severe judgments of certain groups in society. This is a perfect example of how the energy and consciousness of The Holy Spirit as the Holy Ghost could be used for the benefit or detriment of Humanity. As the consciousness of the 6th Root-Race established itself in Globe D, the Holy Ghost’s consciousness diffused a little more. This was because as the aspect of the Comforter, “Her” neutral energy, which could be used for either positive or negative purposes, eventually became available to the “Shadow.” Which “side” used the energy was dependant on the actions and intent of the individual’s intent.

Understanding Paul’s role really helped me decipher one of the puzzling statements in the New Testament, where John the Baptist says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”41 Although I’m not sure John realized it, but he was saying that he, the Logos/Melchizedek and Jesus The Christ were going to switch places. He, (Melchizedek) would continue teaching and inspiring the Human Race, while Jesus ascended to sit at the “right hand”, (metaphorically speaking) of The Creator to rule the Soul Plane. This meant that the Melchizedek line of Globe C became the order of Melchizedek in Globe D and Saul/Paul was the first member of the order. After The Christ contacted Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, and he became infused with Melchizedek, Paul was sent into Arabia to learn from the Holy Ghost of his mission. It was in reading Robert Feather’s THE SECRET INITIATION OF JESUS AT QUMRAN that showed me the nature of Paul’s calling.
Having connected both Jesus and John the Baptist with the Essenes, Craig and I were astounded when Robert Feather also linked Saint Paul with the sect. Mr. Feather asks the question “Who were the community of Christians in Damascus that Saul/Paul was sent to seek out?” It was far too early for Christianity to have spread that far. Relating that the Dead Sea Scrolls report of an Essene community at Damascus42 he proposes that Paul was familiar with the Essene community at Qumran. He points out archeologists recently excavated the Essene Gate43 and discovered an Essene quarter within Jerusalem in the first century C.E. Furthermore, Mr. Feather’s asserts that Paul’s sojourn in “Arabia” was with the Essene community in the Nabataean capital of Petra in modern Jordan.44 I found this fascinating, because on researching Petra on Wikipedia, I learned that the religion in Petra were “the Arab gods and goddesses of the pre-Islamic times …Dushara was the main male god accompanied by his female trinity: Al-‘Uzzá, Allat and Manāt. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses.” As we shall see these deities were worshipped in Saudi Arabia during Mohammed’s time.

Returning to Paul, a contemporary of his was Apollonius of Tyana. I covered this fascinating character in Persecution and the Early Church in (LCD). Maurice Cotterell mentions Apollonius of Tyana as the discoverer of Hermes and the Emerald Tablet. He informs us in THE TUTANKHAMUN PROPHECIES “Legend has it that the corpse of Hermes was found in a cave by the Greek sage Apollonius of Tyana, clutching his Emerald Tablet, which contained the sum total of the knowledge of mankind.” It seems that this “advanced knowledge” was associated with “Chiram (Hiram Abiff)” and compared to that of the great philosopher-priest Hermes.”45 Apollonius was recognized as a great philosopher and I wondered if he employed the knowledge on the Emerald Tablet. Paul obviously, admired and respected Apollonius as he said, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”46 If Paul was the first member of the Order of Melchizedek, his support of Apollonius would indicate that the philosopher was also a member.

Root-race 5-6-7

After Pentecost, the Tree of Reason fully materialized and became accessible to the Life-Principle. In The Door or Stargate, I said I realized that the Christmas carol, “O Holy Night’s” line “then he appeared and the soul felt its worth” was referring to the Spiritual Soul’s activation. Notwithstanding this, after Pentecost, instead of just a trickle of the consciousness of Humanity moving through the six-pointed star or Stargate from the sphere of Malkuth, it became a steady stream. This was possible because the Christ had become fully human, including taking on a counterfeit spirit and ego. After he taught the first members of the 6th Root-Race, because He was fully human, both The Christ and The Holy Spirit became fully linked to the Soul Plane. I have already related how The Holy Ghost’s energy could be utilized for the detriment of an individual, now I’d like to share with you how “She” could be of benefit. To reiterate, the purpose of isolating Globe D, was to correct the “Watcher’s mistake”, and as I said in part one of this thesis “…the Spiritual Soul is unique to the hominids of Earth. It is through the union of all three Souls, together with the emotions and intellect that Humanity co-creates allowing access to the Spirit or Spark of God. Luckily for us, because of the genetic manipulation all of these conditions didn’t come together until much later.” It was on Globe D that all these conditions came together, and so the “Battle of Armageddon” to transmute the lower ego or counterfeit spirit could begin. The World Soul actually facilitated this because the Roman Empire’s consciousness also transferred to Globe D, but as I said on Globe D it changed.

NERO

I reported earlier that the World Soul’s influence became individualized on Globe D. What this meant was instead of being able to only affect the world at a subconscious level, which “he” did on Globe C, on Globe D; the World Soul became the “prince of this world” (Shadow) and was able to actually manipulate an individual into certain acts. (Note: I must stress that any individual targeted by the “prince of this world” (Shadow) had to be willing and consciously choose to follow the urgings, and could never be forced to act against their nature.)
Because the primary secular authority in the first century of Globe D was the Roman Empire, the first individuals targeted by the “prince of this world” (Shadow) were the Romans. As the Roman Empire was founded by the World Soul, the consciousness of the Romans was compliant with the energy. The first most obvious individual affected in this way was the Roman Caesar, Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, who ruled from 37 C.E. to 68 C.E.
Having pointed out that Nero was used by the “prince of this world” (Shadow), I feel it is important to relate that Nero despite history’s condemnation of him was not “evil incarnate.” True, from an energetic perspective his actions did not support Spiritual Evolution, but like nearly all the players involved in The Christ’s mission on Globe D, he was dual. Consequently, I feel in order to understand the consciousness of the energy at the time, it is necessary to represent both sides. Because this thesis often deals in historical facts, I have chosen to use excerpts from entries on the excellent on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia to relay historical facts in the thesis. I have tried to use undisputed entries whenever possible; such as the excerpt concerning the Great Fire of Rome: Evidently, according to Tacitus, a Roman historian:

 “…Nero playing his lyre and singing while the city burned was only rumor…upon hearing news of the fire, Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds. After the fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors…According to Tacitus, the population searched for a scapegoat and rumors held Nero responsible. To diffuse blame, Nero targeted a sect called the Christians. He ordered Christians to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.

In reading Tacitus’ account of the fate of the Christians at Rome, it is easy to see how Nero could have been seen as a cruel despot, especially as the Christian’s torture and murder were used as entertainment. Nonetheless, I was alerted to the portion, which said that “Nero rushed back to Rome to organize a relief effort, which he paid for from his own funds.” In addition, the statement that the emperor “opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors” was of particular note. Both of these accounts of Nero’s actions are hardly the actions of a cruel heartless despot. No if we examine the episode from an energetic perspective, the “prince of this world” (Shadow) played on Nero’s paranoia and fear, and helped him see Christianity as a weird and dangerous cult. It is important to recognize that the Eucharist was seen by outsiders as literal, in that the partakers of the Eucharist participated in cannibalism. This was primarily how the “prince of this world (Shadow)” took out the closest followers of Jesus, before they could write down what Jesus had taught them. Nonetheless, there was one early sect of Christians that didn’t willingly volunteer for martyrdom, because they did not believe that was what Jesus taught.

GNOSTICS

Something that always puzzled me was how Gnosticism arrived in Alexandria. Tradition says that Theudas, a disciple of the Apostle Paul, taught the Gnostic teacher Valentinus in Alexandria. So obviously, either Paul visited Alexandria, or Theudas relocated there. Like so many unanswered questions about the Apostles after Pentecost, we are left to speculate.
Nonetheless, many questions about the Gnostics have been answered, because Gnostic writings have surfaced relating their beliefs and practices. Because the “heresiologists” wrote so prolifically against their opponents, scholars have been able to compare the writings with the heresiologists accounts. Surprisingly, much of what the writings say, correlates to the heresiologists condemnations. As a result, scholars have wanted to take a new look at the Gnostics and their beliefs. I found the perfect description of what the Gnostics believed in Dan Burstein’s SECRETS OF THE CODE: Mr. Burnstein relates, “…to pick a person who best personifies both the spirit and deeds of Gnosticism as it is practiced in the United States today, it would likely be Dr. Stephan A. Hoeller. Formerly a Catholic priest with a decidedly nonorthodox bent, he founded his own parish in 1959 and christened it ‘Ecclesia Gnostica.’ In 1967 a visiting British Gnostic prelate dubbed Hoeller a bishop of the pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church.”47 Below are excerpts Mr. Burnstein took from an essay on “Gnosticism’s key beliefs,” by Bishop Hoeller:

 “First, the Gnostics, along with some other early Christians, looked upon the Old Testament God as an embarrassment. Members of … early Christendom were people of a certain spiritual sophistication. Those conversant with the teachings of Plato, Philo, Plotinus, and similar teachers would have had a difficult time relating to a God expressing vengefulness, wrath, jealousy, tribal xenophobia, and dictatorial pretensions…
Second, as noted earlier, the Gnostics were inclined to interpret the old scriptures symbolically. Modern theologians, like Paul Tillich…say that the story of the Fall was a symbol for the human existential situation, not a recounting of a historical event…
Third, the Gnostic interpretations of Genesis may have been connected with Gnostic visionary experiences. Through their explorations and experiences of divine mysteries, the Gnostics might have come to understand that the deity spoken of in Genesis was not the true and only god, contrary to what the Bible claimed, and that there must be a God above him…
The Gnostics understood the creation story in Genesis as mythic, and myths are necessarily subject to interpretation. Greek philosophers frequently looked upon their myths as allegories, while the common people saw them as a sort of quasi-history….”48

As stated many Gnostics claimed they were practicing Christianity as the Apostle Paul instructed. Earlier, I related Saint Paul was the first member of the order of Melchizedek. It was through Gnosticism that the influence of the Order of Melchizedek (Light) was spread throughout the world. I also said that the message of Paul was multileveled. One of the levels of interpretation is Archetypal. I covered the Archetypes of Osiris, Isis, Horus and Hermes or Thoth before. Bringing the Archetypes into the first century of the Common Era, we find both Osiris and Horus identified with Jesus, and Osiris’ consort and mother of Horus; Isis identified with both the mother Mary and Mary Magdalene. As for Saint Paul, the Archetype he represents is also multileveled. To explain, previously I proposed Saint Paul was the human that The Holy Ghost entered as the Comforter.
In Voice in the Wilderness in (LCD) I related a vision of a pearl necklace I was given to explain why there appeared to be several Christ-like teachers throughout history: “…The necklace was sometimes double-stranded and sometimes single-stranded. Through the vision, I was given to understand that the strand on which the pearls were strung represented the figure of Christ and the pearls the individual personalities He has inhabited throughout history. By that I mean that if The Christ were considered a Spiritual Being, then His Spirit would be the strand the pearls were strung on; whereas the individual pearls were the different physical bodies His Spirit had adopted throughout history.”
I related earlier in this thesis “…there are not one or even two strings of pearls, but three. The first string is masculine or active, and is represented by the figure of Melchizedek. The second string is feminine or passive, and is represented by Wisdom or Sophia. The third string incorporates both the active and passive; consequently is neutral, and is represented by The Christ…” I originally thought it was only The Christ that incarnated in more than one person at the same time, but I was surprised to discover that in Globe D, because the Melchizedek line became an order, the consciousness could work through more than one person at a time. This is demonstrated in Apollonius of Tyana discovering the Hermetic teachings, which identified him as a member of the order of Melchizedek, while Paul was alive.
It is hypothesized in The Good News that Saint Paul traveled with Mary Magdalene, spreading Jesus’ teachings. Again, as nearly all writings that did not agree with Orthodox teaching were destroyed, at this time we can only hypothesize. However as is reasoned in The Good News:

“In the second book Love the Common Denominator, it was reported that the pseudo Clementine Homilies likened Saul/St Paul to Simon Magus. The Homilies accuse Simon Magus of crimes that the Jerusalem disciples later accuse Paul of. What we were surprised to discover was that the woman who traveled with Simon, Helen, was likened to Mary Magdalene. Professor Elaine Pagels, an accredited authority on Gnosticism has said that St Paul used Gnostic terms in his letters, (see 1Corinthinians 3:1). If St Paul did travel with Mary Magdalene it would explain why the Church attacked them under the names of Simon and Helen.

After discovering how the Holy Ghost’s energy was diffused on Earth, I wondered if the same happened to Sophia. The answer I discovered was after Sophia was redeemed, she replaced the Holy Ghost in the Physical Plane. However, as she was now permanently connected to her partner, What has Been Willed (Melchizedek) she remained complete.
Returning to Sophia’s incarnation as Mary Magdalene, I wondered if St. Paul learned of the controversial Gnostic teachings from her. The whole premise of the Gnostics was one of self-responsibility. Gnosticism held that Jesus showed us the way. Salvation is in our hands. At the time of St Paul, the Jerusalem Church was gaining both converts and wealth. If Gnosticism had prevailed there would have been no need for a hierarchical Church.”
In thinking about Saint Paul being attacked under the name of Simon Magus, I was reminded of something he wrote in Romans:

“…Now it is no more I that do it, but the sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”49

The theologians explain this passage as relating to the doctrine of original sin, and they are absolutely right. However, as I said earlier, the doctrine of original sin was taught as a metaphor for the Pleiadians (Watchers) genetically altering the Human Race. To recap: “In contemplating the insertion of the counterfeit spirit, I was reminded of the doctrine of original sin. Suddenly I realized that the doctrine was how the prophets and early church tried to explain that there was something opposed to God that all human beings inherited. Think about it, how else could they explain an inherited trait to people who had absolutely no concept of genetics?”
Seen in this light, Paul’s words in Romans take on a whole new meaning. At first the passage seems to be saying that the law is what caused sin to be in him, but that is an over simplification. I believe, Saint Paul was saying that in order to recognize whether a person was in the control of his or her Spirit, or counterfeit spirit, the Decalogue or Ten Commandments were given as a guide, until The Christ as Jesus led the Life-Principle through the Door or Stargate to Globe D.
In addition, Jesus’ sacrifice as the sacrificial lamb removed the aspect of retaliation from the law, which is why Jesus said, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also…Ye have heard that it hath been said, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you;”50
He wanted us to know that the universal law of karma, which said if you murdered someone you would be killed seven incarnations later, was wrong. This law is euphemistically relayed in Genesis, in saying that anyone who kills Cain “…vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.”51 So that no one accidentally murders Cain, he receives a mark to identify him. Anyway, the point is that Jesus was saying that the practice of retaliation was not justice and could no longer be justified.
Tradition says Paul was beheaded under Nero around 60 C.E. As for Mary Magdalene, apart from mixing her up with Mary of Bethany, who traveled to France with her brother Lazarus and sister Martha, she vanishes from the scene. I wondered if after Sophia left Mary Magdalene to go through her thirteen repentances, did she rejoin Jesus The Christ in the Archetypal Plane or did she reincarnate immediately and remain on the earth.

MIRYAI?

I mentioned in part one that I was unable to find any information on Pharaoh Akhenaten’s high priest, Meryra. Nonetheless, while we were reading G.R.S. Mead’s Gnostic John the Baptizer: we came across a reference to a Miryai being expelled from Jewry. I know this isn’t the same spelling as Meryra, but it was so close that I knew this passage was relevant. First Miryai is a woman of great renown and has a following among the Jewish people. “All the Jews gathered together and followed after Miryai. They went and found that a throne was set up for Miryai on the bank of Euphrates. A white standard was for her unfurled and a book stood upright on her lap. She reads in the Books of Truth and rouses all worlds from their sleep. She holds in her hand the staff of Life’s water; the girdle is bound round her loins. Miryai in humbleness prays and proclaims with wondrous voice. The fishes gather out of the sea, the birds from the mouth of Euphrates. They come to hear Miryai’s voice, and no more long to lie down to sleep. They breathe in the sweet scent around her and forget the world.”52

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA

It seems to me it could be looked at that Miryai represented both the Melchizedek and Sophia consciousness. Nonetheless, as no clear evidence has surfaced we will probably never know if Miryai represented Meryra. Still, I was able to nail one aspect down; the question of whether or not Sophia incarnated immediately after the death of Mary Magdalene. The answer I received is that she remained in the Archetypal Plane for a time. Even when Sophia withdrew, the Melchizedek energy could remain; as such it remained in the Middle East, guiding Humanity through the Gnostic teachers and philosophers, namely Valentinus and Ptolemaeus and the Neoplatonists Plotinus and Porphyry. I should state that as Sophia is passive, her energy could only remain in the active plane when there is a propensity of wisdom.
When I asked how long did Sophia remain in the Archetypal Plane, I was pointed to the mysterious character of Hypatia of Alexandria. Traditionally, she was considered as a Neoplatonist/pagan philosopher who was brutally killed by a mob in 415 C.E., but Manly P Hall said of her under a picture entitled Martyrdom of Hypatia in his An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy – being an interpretation of the Secret Teachings concealed within the Rituals, allegories and Mysteries of All Ages53 “She was the brightest star in the constellation of Neoplatonism and the most touching figure in the Alexandrian epic of philosophy.”54 Quite a ringing salutation, so who was she? According to Wikipedia:

 ”Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was her teacher and the last fellow of the Museum of Alexandria. Hypatia did not teach in the Museum, but received her pupils in her own home. Hypatia became head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in about 400. There she taught on mathematics and philosophy, and counted many prominent Christians among her pupils...
Hypatia, herself a pagan, was respected by many Christians, and was even exalted by a few later Christian authors as a symbol of virtue…
Her contemporary, The Christian historiographer Socrates Scholiasticus in his Ecclesiastical History portrays her as follows: There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, daughter of the philosopher Theon, who made such attainments in literature and science, as to far surpass all the philosophers of her own time. Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Plotinus, she explained the principles of philosophy to her auditors, many of whom came from a distance to receive her instructions…
The Christian populous…hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal, whose ringleader was a reader named Peter, waylaid her returning home, and dragging her from her carriage, they took her to the church called Caesareum, where they completely stripped her, and then murdered her with tiles…This happened in the month of March during Lent, in the fourth year of Cyril’s episcopate, under the tenth consulate of Honorius, and the sixth of Theodosius [AD 415]

I was interested to learn that Christians were among Hypatia’s pupils. Could this mean that as Sophia, Hypatia of Alexandria was attempting to unite Gnostic Christianity and Neoplatonism with the Egyptian mystery schools? Anyway, the unification of Gnostic Christianity and Neoplatonism with the Egyptian mystery schools failed with the eradication of philosophy in the East. This occurred when the school at Athens was closed in the sixth century. But because by the end of the third century, Christianity had deteriorated into little else than dogma Sophia withdrew again.

EARLY CHRISTIANITY

Although “the prince of this world’s” (Shadow) influence is not obvious in the West until the Middle Ages, “his” insidious finger began its influence with the fledgling church. Please understand; I am talking about an energy or consciousness, not a defined individual entity. This energy or consciousness has the sole goal of stopping Spiritual Evolution within Humanity and undermining Jesus’ mission. Unfortunately, this epitomizes the formation of The Christian Church, which was very much influenced by “his” energy. I say “his” because it is the active, masculine energy, which promulgates war, hatred, greed and oppression of the weak by the strong. This was never so evident than in the development of The Christian Church from a group of spiritual brothers and sisters that openly discussed Jesus’ teachings, to an all-powerful organization that declared they were the only authority to interpret Jesus’ teachings.
For many years, I used to ask, why when Humanity appeared to become more spiritual did there appear to be a force that crushed spirituality out of existence. I was always pointed to the scripture in John, where Jesus says, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.” As I said, the energy of the “prince of this world” (Shadow) can affect the Human Race on an individual level, fostering the lower ego and engendering desires for all things material. This of course can lead to greed and selfishness and therefore resentment, hatred and ultimately war.
Although the “Shadow” can influence a specific individual to act in a certain way, just as The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia’s energy, the “Shadow’s” energy can also affect a group of individuals and events. As stated, the influence of the “Shadow” is epitomized in the individuals who systematically eradicated all forms of mysticism from early Christianity. Unfortunately, it was not until much later that people began to see how a “force” seemed to affect the course of history. Alas by then, their vigilance was wrongly directed by fear and superstition, resulting in the accusations of anyone that seemed different. (Things haven’t changed that much, have they?) But how could this happen? Although the answer is multileveled, one level is in the energy of many of the sites in Rome.
I remember in my twenties, how a catholic man I greatly respected explained why the popes were to all intents and purposes God’s representatives on Earth. He told me this was because Jesus had made Saint Peter the head of the church when he said in Matthew “…thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church…”55 To this statement I responded with, “but didn’t Jesus mean that he would build his church on Peter’s faith?” Although conceding that it was Peter’s faith in Jesus that inspired the statement, he insisted that Saint Peter’s in Rome is the church that Jesus intended. At the time, I was convinced that it was the death knell for true Christianity, but as I wasn’t that familiar with church history I didn’t pursue it. However, after reading SECRETS TO ANGELS & DEMONS: THE UNAUTHORISED GUIDE TO THE BESTSELLING NOVEL56 edited by Dan Burnstein and Arne de Kijzer, I understood the reason for my overwhelming feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
I wasn’t really surprised to learn that the Vatican had been built on sacred soil, as most Christian sites were built over ancient pagan temples. Having said that an article by Tom Mueller covering the history of Vatican hill, excerpted in SECRETS TO ANGELS & DEMONS: was very thought provoking. Relaying the conventional thought about the founding of the Vatican, Mr. Mueller inform us that “From 170 to about 210 three authors-Dionysius of Corinth, Irenaeus of Lyons, and Gaius of Rome-state that Peter and Paul founded the Roman Church.”57 However, he says that as Saint Paul’s letters “clearly denies” this assertion, there is doubt to this claim. Still, he thinks Gaius reference to “…a tropaion (‘trophy’ or ‘memorial’) ” standing on the site of the Vatican in his day is referring to the “aedicule at the heart of the Vatican necropolis.”58
I had no idea as to what an “aedicule” was so I looked it up on my favorite resource, the web site Wikipedia. The entry for “aedicule” on Wikipedia has:

An ædicule (“little building”) is a common framing device in both Classical architecture and Gothic architecture. An ædicular frame treats a window or a niche in a section of wall as if it were a building, sometimes with columns…flanking the opening, which support an architrave or a pediment or an arched rib vault. In Christian architecture, a three-dimensional tectonic form of baldachin, surmounting an altar might be termed a “ciborium”, one of several uses of that term.

Anyway, Mr. Mueller deduces that the earliest reference to St. Peter’s tomb being at the site of the Vatican was 170 C.E., 150 years after the death of St. Peter. As fascinating as this was, what really intrigued me was Mr. Mueller’s comments about the site prior to The Christian era. In the article in SECRETS TO ANGELS & DEMONS: he writes that “In ancient times, Roman historians” report that the “ swampy region beyond the Tiber was an eerie borderland of fevers and giant snakes, where the voices of the gods could be heard.”59 Evidently, the name Vatican derives from “Vaticanum,” which originates from the word “wates,” meaning “a holy seer who understood these voices.” According to an account by Pliny (Mr. Mueller doesn’t say which one) there were “…bronze Etruscan letters of religious significance” on “…an ancient oak, still standing…in his day…” It seems that eventually “extravagant temples and sacred compounds were built to Eastern deities.”60 Wikipedia’s entry for Vatican City was also very helpful:

”Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome (the ager vaticanus) had long been considered sacred, or at least not available for habitation. The area was also the site of worship to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis during Roman times. Agrippina the Elder (14 BC – 18 October AD 33) drained the hill and environs and built her gardens there in the early 1st century AD. Emperor Caligula (37-41) started construction of a circus (40) that was later completed by Nero…The Vatican obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant. This area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the great fire of Rome in 64…”

From an energetic perspective Vatican Hill was pretty powerful, however, as the above reports; Caligula/Nero’s circus was also built on the site. Because of this, the energy of the area became a lot darker. Deirdre Good explains in SECRETS TO ANGELS & DEMONS: that the tradition St. Peter’s Basilica is “built on Peter’s tomb endures to this day. This tradition relies on identification of a first-and second century burial site located next to Nero’s circus where Christians were martyred during his reign (AD 54-68)…By mid-second century, a shrine appeared over Peter’s grave and Nero’s circus fell into disuse. Constantine the Great (306-37) built a basilica over the necropolis in which Peter was believed to have been buried.”61
So was Peter buried beneath the Vatican? It appeared that the answer was “yes” when on June 26 1968; Paul VI announced to the world that the remains of St. Peter had been found beneath the Vatican. Nonetheless, according to Ms. Good, the bones “…belonged an older man, a younger man, an older woman, a pig, a chicken, and a horse.”62
Remembering that I am dealing with energy, and forgetting whether or not Saint Peter was ever buried beneath the Vatican, because of the bloodletting from Nero’s circus, Vatican Hill would become an even more powerful site. I said earlier that the pillar about anything that creates fear, hatred and or division is Never of Divine origin, shows that Constantine the Great’s vision/dream before his battle with Maxentius wasn’t inspired by a Divine being; consequently, his building a basilica on Vatican Hill wasn’t Divinely directed either.
The energy of the “Shadow” was extremely strong in Rome and as the new religion of Christianity was emerging throughout the Roman Empire, it became influenced by Mithraism, which totally denied any feminine participation. As the Gnostics were strongly linked to the Feminine Principle of deity, it was relatively easy for the “Shadow” to influence the early church towards the male dominated cult of Mithra. This of course meant that most of Jesus’ teachings about Love and Peace were ignored and the early Christian Church became about dividing the world between those that were saved and those that were damned.
From an energy perspective, despite the denial of the Feminine in fledgling Church, The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia (Light) had anchored The Mysteries into Globe D, and that could not be undone. Previously, I said that although the 6th Root Race began emerging at the start of the Common Era it didn’t really gain prominence until the 4th sub-race, so what was the purpose of it emerging 1400 years earlier? The answer can be summed up in one word, Compassion.
Until The Christ incarnated and removed the law of “an eye for an eye,” Humanity did not know or understand the concept of forgiveness and Compassion. However, his sacrifice didn’t suddenly mean all Humanity became compassionate. After Pentecost, the Holy Spirit entered the hearts of the human beings, and it was then that Compassion and forgiveness began to permeate the hearts of Humanity. As the consciousness of the 6th Root-Race expanded, because of the activation of the Spiritual Soul, more people were able to access the knowledge within them and begin to awaken to their true identity. Consequently, the consciousness of the Life-Principle, which was concentrated in the 6th Root-Race, expanded with the new time and dimension of Globe D and began the “Battle of Armageddon” to correct the “Watcher’s mistake.” Moreover, the pouring out of The Holy Spirit into the hearts of Humanity, individuals could be moved to affect change, even when the group consciousness became stagnant, as in the events that led to the fall of Rome.

THE “SHADOW’S” CIVILIZATION RELOCATES TO THE EAST

I dealt extensively with the Fall and sacking of Rome and the adoption of Christianity by Constantine the Great in the chapters Constantine, Augustine and Plotinus & Byzantium, Mariolatry and the Rise of Islam in (LCD), so I won’t go into that again. However, it is worth examining how Constantine came to adopt Christianity from a consciousness and energetic perspective. As I said, the turning point came in 312 C.E., just before Constantine was to engage in battle with Maxentius: “After securing the support of the legions of Britain and Gaul, Constantine marched to Italy in 312 C.E. It is the day before the battle with Maxentius that changed the course of history.
According to Dean Dudley in his History of the First Council of Nice: A World’s Christian convention A.D. 325with a life of Constantine63 the Church historian Eusebius, who lived around 320 C.E., related how Constantine appealed to his god for help to win the battle. However, Eusebius doesn’t elaborate which god he appealed to, as at the time the would-be emperor was a pagan. Anyway according to Eusebius, Constantine:

“Called on him, with earnest prayer and supplications, that he would reveal to him who He was, and stretch forth His right hand to help him in his present difficulties. And, while he was thus praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared to him from heaven…He said that about midday, when the sun was beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens, above the sun, and bearing the inscription: ‘In Hoc Signo Vinces!’ ‘Under this sign thou shalt conquer’. — And while he continued to ponder and reason on its meaning, night imperceptibly drew on; and in his sleep the Christ of God appeared to him with the same sign which he had seen in the heavens, and commanded him to procure a standard made in the likeness of that sign, and use it as a safeguard in all engagements with his enemies.”
According to tradition Constantine declared that if he won, he would become a Christian. Of course he did win and his enemy Maxentius drowned while trying to escape across the river Tiber. So now at the tender age of 24 Constantine was emperor of the western empire…”64

As I pointed out, Constantine was a pagan and would have been praying to one of the Roman pantheon of gods. As he was appealing for help in battle, my guess is he was praying to Mars, the god of War. Remembering that Rome had been founded under the World Soul, and Mars (the Age of Aries) was the Astrological energy, we can see who was involved in Constantine’s vision. Because the “Shadow” (prince of this world) was expelled from the higher planes, by Constantine appealing to “his god” as the master of deception and lies, the “Shadow” was able to use the vision of a cross to deceive Constantine into thinking that it was The Christ. Furthermore, as the vision was later backed up with a dream, we can see the hand (metaphorically speaking) of the Pleiadians (Watchers). Any form of blood-letting or the lower emotions feeds both the World Soul, who had become the “prince of this world” (“Shadow”) and the Pleiadians. The early Christians cannot be condemned for thinking that Constantine’s “conversion” to Christianity was a blessing to the religion. After all, they had suffered the most terrible persecutions less than a decade earlier in 303 – 304 C.E. Nonetheless, from an energetic standpoint, associating Christianity to the Roman Empire completely infused the fledgling church with the “Shadow’s” consciousness. So how did The Christ, Melchizedek, and Sophia “Light” respond to their message being subverted? I will discuss that in the next section.
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(Thesis-2nd Quarter) FULL CIRCLE THE MYSTERIES UNCLOAKED GLOBE D —
SECTION 5 500 C.E – 900 C.E.

Root Race 5: sub-race 5 - Root Race 6: sub-race 2

SECT5-1

After Constantine made Orthodox or Catholic Christianity the official Religion of the Byzantine Empire, the consciousness of Sophia withdrew again. This was a dark period as the other representative of the “Light” Melchizedek also left, which left the region open to the “Shadow” (prince of this world). When Jesus The Christ left, the “prince of this world” entered the earth plane and as in previous times without the “Light” the energy of the region became unbalanced because there was an overabundance of the masculine/active energy from the “Shadow”. However, in the first few centuries of the Common Era, the withdrawal of the “Light” was not just from the area, but from the earth plane altogether. This was because after the death of St. Paul and Mary Magdalene, Sophia and Melchizedek returned to the Archetypal Plane to regroup, so to speak.
To understand the results of the “Light’s” withdrawal, it may help to relate what was written in The Good News: (Please note, The World/Animal Soul has become individualized into the “prince of this world” or “Shadow”.)

“Both the World/Animal Soul and the Hounds of the Barrier are of the same vibration as the aggressive masculine energy that is connected to the human race through its ego and lower passions. Despite the designation masculine, this energy is not exclusive to men. Women who demonstrate anger, jealousy and ambition or any of the passions connected to the lower ego are exhibiting the same “masculine” energy. Because the World/Animal Soul and Hounds are of the same vibration, they can recognize those individuals that have not transmuted the masculine energy. In addition, this vibrational energy relates to the third or solar plexus chakra.
“As we previously stated, every human being has an Achilles heel or weakness. That weakness is of the same vibration as the World/Animal Soul. The World/Animal Soul could be considered as an envelope of selfishness. It grows stronger by people giving into their lower ego or counterfeit spirit, in other words, anything that is not for the greater good. We have continuously said everything beneath the Veil is vibrating energy. The frequency at which the World/Animal Soul/Hounds vibrate is connected to this round or cycle, so only those individuals that have raised their vibration can pass the guards to the door to the next cycle…”

It is important to remember that the World Soul was produced through all the negative thoughts and emotions of the Human Race and gradually became a conscious entity. When Sophia’s partner, What has been Willed facilitated the purification of the World Soul, the entity’s basest elements were expelled from the higher planes in the Soul Plane into the Physical Plane or the Earth. As these remnants were fully conscious within the Astral Plane, they became a conscious entity in the form of the “prince of this world.”
Like the World Soul “fed” on the negative thoughts and emotions of the Human Race and grew in strength, the “prince of this world” or “Shadow” also grew strong through “feeding” on the lower thoughts and emotions of the Human Race. In Globe C unless the World Soul incarnated (took physical form) “he” could only affect the consciousness through the energy of the area, by manipulating the area with buildings and worship. In Globe C, to undermine the World Soul’s influence, all the “Light” needed to do was to relocate to an uncontaminated area and stop the populace from worshipping the World Soul. An example of this was in Akhenaten relocating to Akhentaten or El-Armarna.
Unfortunately, in the case of the “prince of this world or” “Shadow” in Globe D, because the entity had become individuated it was connected to the counterfeit spirit of each individual and could directly exert “his” influence individually. The consequence of this change was that “he” was able to infiltrate enclaves of the “Light” in a weak minded individual in order to shift the energy.
Fortuitously, because the Universal Laws dictate “Balance” the “Light” could also affect individuals. This was affected, by the “Light” through the Holy Spirit being poured out at Pentecost and The universal Christ, being connected to the individual Christ-consciousness within each person.

THE GAME OF CHESS A REFLECTION OF GLOBE D

In the previous “upstepping”, I likened the events of Globe D to a chess game with each player moving their 16 chess pieces around the checkerboard of two halves of 16 black and white squares. The 16 pieces that each player moves also depicts the Microcosm of the Macrocosm. If we think of the two kings, which are the goal to take as Macrocosmically the “Light” (White) and the “Shadow” (Black) and Microcosmically the individual “Spirit” (White) and the “counterfeit spirit/ego” (Black), then we can see how the “game” was created to reflect this plane of existence. The two queens represent both Macrocosmically and Microcosmically the influence of both sides. The remaining pieces depict the various means the two sides use to succeed. Each side has two rooks, two bishops, two knights and eight pawns. The rooks, which resemble castles, not surprisingly represent the rulers of kingdoms and nations. The bishops, as the name suggests represents the religious factions that surreptitiously influence the actions of the rulers (rooks), which is demonstrated in the bishop only moving diagonally, whereas the rook moves in straight lines.
The movement of the two knights is probably the most bizarre to understand; two spaces forward and one to the side. As the knights obviously represent the military forces, this was a little confusing. That is until Craig reminded me that the “knight” is the only piece on the board that can jump over other pieces. In thinking about this and the fact that “knights” are connected to chivalry and honor, as well as fear and brutality, I realized that the “knights” represent the “Orders of the Quest” (White) and their counterparts; which are “Orders” that are motivated by the pursuit of power and greed (Black). These pieces as their Microcosmic representative worked with both Kings and rulers and the religious leaders. Obviously, the eight pawns represent the general population, which are often sacrificed to advance the agendas of both sides. If you are having trouble in seeing the analogy of a game of chess and its components to the events of the past two-thousand years, all I ask is that you keep an open mind. I think you will see how the constant shift from peaceful enlightened times to wars and fearful times are clearly reflected in a game of chess.
The most important reason for using the analogy of a chess game to represent the events of the last two millennia is to help you to view the events as an objective observer. In doing this you will be less inclined to single out any specific nationality or religion. As you will see, neither the “Light” nor the “Shadow” are respecters of persons; both sides are only interested in finding individuals to forward their agenda. In case I have not made the two agendas clear, let me clearly restate them. The agenda of the “Light” is to further God’s Plan of teaching the Human Race of their true origins, empowering individuals to transform themselves and the world. The agenda of the “Shadow” is to foster fear, hatred and division, which maintains the status quo and keeps all of Creation in bondage. As we examine the events throughout the history of Globe D and keep the two agendas in mind, it will help to identify, which agenda is being furthered by the ruler or religious leader of a specific time or area. Again this is not confined to any religion or nation, because the influence of both sides has affected the course of history through all religions and nations at different times.

EMOTIONS AND THE SHADOW

To get back to the discussion on the “Shadow”, Jesus warned of the danger when he warned his Disciples that the “prince of this world cometh”. The statement in John where Jesus adds “he hath nothing in me”1 was in reference to Jesus transforming his counterfeit spirit and ego. Transformation removes the possibility of the “Shadow’s” influence, which, as I said is how the “Shadow” connects at the Microcosmic level to an individual. The Bible passage in Revelation that says, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea! For The Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”2 is alluding to the cleansing of the Soul Plane of all negative energy and the formation of the “prince of this world” in the Astral Plane. It is essential to remember that the Astral Plane is also the Emotional Plane and that it is the plane adjacent to this physical world. In addition, the Astral Plane represents the element Water and when we remember that 70% of a human being’s makeup is Water, then we can see how the “Shadow” is empowered by negative emotions. The element Water was transformed from Sophia’s Fear and so this is one of the most powerful emotions for the “Shadow”. Nonetheless, although the negative emotions of hatred, anger, and envy are destructive to a person and equally “scrumptious” to the “Shadow”, the most powerful emotion to the “Shadow” is Grief, which became the very Air that we breathe.
The Christ’s mission was to teach Humanity how to overcome the “Shadow” (prince of this world), by giving us the tools to transmute the negative thoughts and emotions. We explained in The Good News, how this is done:

“When a person identifies their weakness and initiates direct two-way communication with God, whatever the Divine is to you, they change their vibration. Moreover, by connecting through the heart they diffuse or dissipate the World/Animal Soul (“Shadow”). Basically, anyone who operates from a place of compassion or selflessness becomes disconnected from it. Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ greatly assisted in the process. Literally millions of people were moved to tears of compassion for Jesus’ suffering, and this is the reason we can change the world. By experiencing compassion, we touch the more painful emotions inside. Then we transmute those feelings by the act of helping and caring for others.”

CONSTANTINE (I)

The first two “upstepping’s” in the Common Era are merged together so completely, as to make them appear as a single “upstepping”. Consequently, the influence of some of the figures that lived in the first “upstepping” extended for several hundred years into the next “upstepping”; case in point, the Roman Emperor Constantine (I). In the previous “upstepping” I mentioned how the conversion of the Constantine (I) was achieved by the “Shadow”. However, because his influence carried forward for almost two thousand years, from a consciousness perspective Constantine (I) was a perfect tool for the “Shadow”; as such I need to fully address his influence on the development of Christianity.
The Christian church has heralded Constantine as a saint that championed the teachings of Jesus; however, I found it interesting to note that, although Constantine became a Christian in his 20’s, he was not baptized until he was 63, just before he died. Dean Dudley in his History of the First Council of Nice relates an appalling report by the historian Gibbon, who was born in 1737 C.E.3 that concerns the instructions Constantine left at his death:

“After his death, the Bishop, to whom his will had been entrusted for Constantius, brought out a document as the will, which represented that the brothers and nephews of the late emperor had attempted to poison him, and directing that his death should be avenged on them. Whereupon the soldiers declared they would have no sovereigns but the sons of Constantine; and, Constantius probably conniving at the crime, his two uncles and several cousins, with some of their friends, were murdered in cold blood.”4

Earlier I said that the “Shadow” looked for “weak-minded” individuals to influence to further “his” agenda. From a secular perspective Constantine would appear to be strong, but the above account reveals just how weak he was. He was so afraid that his brothers would take his kingdom away that he was easily influenced by the “Shadow”.
After the massacre, the only male member of Constantine’s brothers’ family was a 6 year-old nephew called Julian. The massacre clearly reveals the “Shadow’s” consciousness behind Constantine (I). Nonetheless, it was “his” influence in marrying the Christian Church to Constantine that the “Shadow” achieved the most success. In a word, the “Shadow” was successful in shaping the formation of the early church. This was because apart from making Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, Constantine became a great supporter of the Church, both politically and financially.
The above statement is demonstrated when Constantine became heavily involved in what was known as the “Trinitarian” controversy and called for a council of bishops to settle the dispute. This was the famous “First Council of Nicae,” of which “The Nicene Creed,” was born. In other words, instead of God guiding the doctrine of the church, the power to set doctrine had become secular. This is seen in the fact that over the next 50 years,the doctrine of the church depended on who had favor with the emperor. The position swung back and forth until in 381 C.E., a council convened at Constantinople reaffirmed the Nicene Creed. After that anyone who opposed the official position was excommunicated and sent into exile. The switch from spiritual to secular authority was the single most successful result the “Shadow” achieved through Constantine’s vision and dream. However, “he” wasn’t done yet; “his” goal was to completely undermine The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek’s message. Consequently, the emperor Constantine was not the only influential figure of the 4th century chosen to become a tool for the “Shadow”. There was a powerful figure in the early church, who unwittingly also became the “Shadow’s” tool. His name was Augustine of Hippo and he became the famous church father Saint Augustine.

ST. AUGUSTINE and the MANICHEANS

When I first investigated Gnosticism, I was led to the Gnostic sect of the Valentinians. However, by the 4th century C.E. the only form of Gnosticism was Manicheanism. It wasn’t until I read Orders Of The Quest by Manly P. Hall, which I introduced in part one of Full Circle that I learned more about the only form of Gnosticism to survive the Roman Era. Mr. Hall relates that several streams of philosophy; including Mithraism, the Egyptian and Indian mysteries influenced Manes5 (Mani) the founder of Manicheanism. Like Valentinus, his form of Christianity was Pauline, but unlike the Valentinians, Manicheanism was steeped in dualism.

What surprised me was that Saint Augustine had once been a Manichean. I discussed Augustine in the chapter Constantine, Augustine and Plotinus in LCD. Augustine was Born in 354 C.E., in Tagaste, North Africa into a world where Christianity was the official religion of the Roman Empire. My guide to understanding this great church father was Leo. D. Lefebure’s book The Buddha and the Christ: Explorations in Buddhist and Christian Dialogue6 Mr. Lefebure describes Augustine’s quest for the truth as a progressive destruction of his freedom in order to choose the good. Evidently, Augustine is disturbed by the evil he perceives. Lefebure explains that although his preoccupation with evil becomes obsessive, it acts as the very catalyst to propel him on the path back to God.
The road to God was a long one for Augustine. At first he is drawn to philosophy because of the literal meaning of the word philosophy; “love of wisdom.” He pursues this through reading the now lost Cicero’s Hortensius. Lefebure believes that this experience set the structure for the rest of his life. This is because Augustine believed that in searching for the truth, “the soul is led by the thirst for wisdom and truth, which is inseparable from the quest of happiness.”7
Judging by the fact that a religious order, the Augustinians were founded after Saint Augustine, I thought it reasonable to presume that he represented the “Light”. Sadly, as stated I would learn from a consciousness perspective, he came to empower the “Shadow’s” agenda. This was because Saint Augustine is responsible for the doctrine of original sin. The doctrine dealt such a devastating blow to The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek’s message that Christianity would remain tainted by it for nearly 2000 years. I realize that this is a very strong statement to make and that it may sound judgmental, but I am not condemning Saint Augustine personally; I am merely showing the subtlety of the “Shadow” to ensure “his” survival. I covered the ramifications of Augustine’s teachings being adopted in the chapter in LCD mentioned above.
As I related, the doctrine of original sin refers to the insertion of the counterfeit spirit and ego into the Human Race. Of course, every human Soul is born with these handicaps, which the Human Race inherited from the genetic manipulation of a cloned Adam and Eve. But, Augustine made the doctrine about helplessness, in that every human being cannot fail to sin because of Adam and Eve “eating the apple.” To understand how a major figure in Christianity could be duped by the “Shadow”, we need to examine the road Augustine took to the doctrine of original sin.

FROM FREE WILL TO ORIGINAL SIN

According to Leo Lefebure while in Carthage, Augustine studied law and after graduation he moved his family to Rome. Unable to find work there, he moved again to Milan. It is there that Augustine heard the teaching of Ambrose, a Christian preacher. Although impressed with the eloquence of Ambrose, Augustine was not yet ready to convert to Christianity. Next he was drawn to Neo-Platonism, whose teachings of “evil does not exist of itself,”8 appealed to Augustine. He learned from them that evil does not need a creator. It is a “form of nonbeing,” or the “absence of a good that should be present.”9
Lefebure explains that from Platonism, Augustinelearned to consider “spiritual realities,” with the main lesson being that “not everything real is a body.”10 These teachings would profoundly affect Augustine; nonetheless he was unable to completely embrace the Platonicthought. Lefebure writes that “Even though Augustine accepts the Platonic philosophers’ understanding of evil as a privation of the good, he soon discovers that the ethics of Socrates and Plato are impossible for him to practice. Where the Platonists promised that to know the good is to do the good, Augustine learns bitterly that his own experience is rather more like Paul’s…even though he can see the good, he is unable to do the good he wills to do.”11
Shortly after Augustine had moved to Milan, his mother came to live with him. As a Christian, she was displeased that her son was living with a woman out of wedlock. Subsequently she urged him to send her away and become engaged to a young girl, who was too young to marry. Afterwards Augustine found himself in a dilemma, wanting to be chaste, but unable to comply. According to Harry R. Boer in his A Short History of the Early Church12 this was when Augustine pronounced the famous words to God, “Give me chastity, but not yet,”13 after which he took another concubine.
Augustine’s conversion to Christianity is reported to have been in the summer of 386 C.E. At the age of 32, while feeling despair at his sinfulness, he heard a voice say, “Take and read, Take and read.”14 Seeing a Bible laying on a table, he opened it and read the words of the Apostle Paul: “For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of Light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealously. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires”15.
Following this experience, Augustine sent his concubine away and asked Ambrose to prepare him for his baptism. This was accomplished in Milan, when Augustine and his son Adeodatus were baptized in 387 C.E. From a Christian point of view Adeodatus’ baptism was not a moment too soon as within a year both Augustine’s son and mother would be dead. In 389 C.E., after returning to North Africa he was ordained as a presbyter and was appointed as the full Bishop of Hippo in 396 C.E.
As stated, I have identified Saint Augustine as a tool of the “Shadow”, because of his belief in original sin and mankind’s powerlessness to overcome it. Professor Elaine Pagels in her book Adam, Eve and the Serpent16 explains Augustine’s doctrine and thought concerning original sin. She writes; in his Confessions, “Augustine recalls how, ‘In the sixteenth year of the age of my flesh...the madness of raging lust exercised its supreme dominion over me’.” Professor Pagels explains that Augustine felt “powerless” to fight his sexual desire. He laments“My invisible enemy threw me down and seduced me.”17
Evidently Augustine struggledwithhisraging libido for some time as he writes; “I drew my shackles along with me, terrified to have them knocked off.”18 He even admits that his friend is “amazed at my enslavement.”19 Professor Pagels says that, on reflection, Augustine concludes, “What made me a slave to it was the habit (consuetudo) of satisfying an insatiable lust.”20 She observes that should he have sought spiritual advice from someone like John Chrysostom, “He would have been urged to undo the chain that bound him to bad habits and to recover and strengthen, like unused muscles, his own neglected capacity for moral choice.”21 Alas, Augustine did not seek advice and his Confessions explain how he came to account for his weakness.
Unable to accept responsibility for his actions Augustine begins to see that “Free will is only an illusion.”22 Professor Pagels tells us Augustine wrote; “As for continence, I imagined it to be the liberty of our own power, which I, for my part, felt I did not have.”23 Later in life, Augustine was reluctant to accept that his “insatiable lust” had been due to his own weak will, consequently, he attacked those who advocated that there was such a thing as a free will. “What man is there, who, being aware of his own weakness, dares so much as to attribute his chastity and innocence to his own virtue?”24 Augustine’s teachings then turn to the “true” culprit for man’s weakness, Adam. Professor Pagels relates that he says; “I feigned a show of counterfeit liberty,” which he equates to the “sin” of Adam, whose action, brought “…upon himself and his progeny an avalanche of sin and punishment.”25
Augustine’s doctrine of original sin, observes Professor Pagels, left us a legacy that took away personal responsibility. She believes this explains why he would have been drawn to the Manicheans. He no longer had to take responsibility, as he was helpless to resist the evil force operating against God inside him. He admits that his inability to understand the Christian doctrine of free will was what had kept him from converting to Christianity. So what Augustine did was to change a fundamental teaching of both Jesus and Paul, which was that we can all choose the right path. This is the exact antithesis of Jesus’ message and therefore evidence of the influence of the “Shadow.”

JUSTIFICATION FOR THE USE OF VIOLENCE

The denial of free will and acceptance of original sin are two ways that Augustine shaped the Church; however, a third doctrine he instigated was far more dangerous. The third doctrine evolved out of his dealings with the Donatists, a sect of Christians that were in dispute with Rome and the official Church. When Saint Augustine first encountered the Donatists, he tried to reason with them using scripture. When this failed, he lost his patience, forgetting his then main precept, “No one should be forced to believe against his will,” and he now called on the power of the Church. Walter Nigg in his Heretics26 explains the terrible consequences: “The great thinker abandoned this principle and expressly demanded that Theologian laws against heresy be applied to the Donatists. The schismatics were to be fined, their churches closed, and they themselves sent into exile.”27
However, this action troubled his conscience. Like his attitude to his inability to control his sexual urges, Augustine looked for Divine justification for his actions against the Donatists. He believed he found a parallel in his actions, with Jesus using a whip to drive out the moneychangers from the temple. Augustine argued that as Jesus had used force to further God’s purpose, as His representative on earth, the church was duty bound to do the same. Mr. Nigg explains that Augustine searched for scriptural support for his argument. He relates in Augustine’s Letter to Vincentius, what: “the great thinker” used for his argument: “The wounds of a friend are better than kisses of an enemy. To love with sternness is better than to deceive with gentleness. It is better to take bread from the hungry if, sure of his food, he despises justice. God has treated us similarly in Luke 14:23 it is written: ‘Compel people to come in’! By threats of the wrath of God, the Father draws souls to the son. Just as Sarah persecuted Hagar, so may the Church persecute the Donatists. What did Elias do with the priests of Baal? Did not Paul, I Timothy; 1:20 deliver some to Satan? Psalm 2 is a command to the kings to help the Church.”28
This letter from Augustine, justifying the Church’s persecution of the Donatists enforced my belief of the affect of Constantine supporting the Church, in that the truth was now subject to whomever held the biggest stick, i.e., which bishop held favor with the emperor. However, Augustine’s justification by scripture would have far more serious ramifications. Nigg explains “It was one of the darkest hours in the whole history of Christian thought when Augustine…set forth the terrible principle: Cogite intrare—Compel them to enter…”29
With that said, I should state that a good friend who was a linguist informed me that Cogite intrare translates to “think ye” or “enter ye.” Nevertheless, irrespective, of what the words translate to, Augustine took the words Cogite intrare as a license for him and the church, to force the “miscreants” into his way of thinking.
Walter Nigg believes that because Augustine was unable to persuade the Donatists to change their minds, he became angry. However instead of accepting it as a trait of human frailty he searched for justification from Jesus and God for his actions. Prior to this Augustine had always insisted that heretics be treated with gentleness.
Augustine’s doctrine would change the course of Christianity for centuries. Nigg reports another argument Augustine used. It was that “God did not wish the Donatists to perish outside the pale of the Church; that at times it is well to coerce people to accept the truth; that he was interested in the Donatist’s soul, not their money.”30 Mr. Nigg has some very strong comments of this church father. “...In issuing the watchword, ‘Compel them to enter,’ the greatest of the fathers of the Church had almost committed treason against the Gospel. Whatever we may say to excuse Augustine, the sword had been drawn from its sheath. All those instrumental in the ferocious suppression of the heretics in the Middle Ages could call upon the authority of St. Augustine—could and did. The violence and cruelty unleashed by this one man was beyond measure.”31
I do not think there is any dispute that the actions of the Inquisition are in any way considered to be sanctioned by God and therefore we can see how Saint Augustine could unwittingly have become a tool for the “Shadow.” In a way Augustine’s influence was the gift that kept on giving, in that his doctrines succeeded in the subversion of the message of peace and love of The Christ, Sophia, and Melchizedek almost completely. This was never more evident than in the term Christian Soldiers.
During school assembly as a child, I had always felt wrong singing the hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” Up until Augustine’sdoctrine of “Compel them to enter,” Christians were pacifists. His doctrine opened the door for all Christians to take up arms as “warriors of God.” Walter Nigg reports that the Donatists appealed to the fact that “Jesus had sent forth fishermen but no soldiers”32, but it fell on deaf ears as Augustine’s advice was adopted and the Donatists rebellion was forcibly quelled and the rebellion ended, but at what cost?
There is just one more thing to say of Augustine, which encapsulates the effect he and the “Shadow” had on Christianity. Mr. Nigg informs us that an Irish monk, called Pelagius, challenged the doctrine of baptism at infancy, believing Augustine’s argument of original sin to be flawed. Pelagius did not agree that man brought sin into the world because he had been conceived by carnal pleasure; or that the whole human race had lost the ability of free will because of the original sin of Adam. Pelagius argued: “We gainsay the Lord when we say: it is hard, it is difficult, we cannot, we are only men, we are surrounded by weak flesh…We accuse God of a double ignorance: That He appears not to know what He made, and not to know what He commanded, as if He were forgetful of human weakness whose author He Himself is, and had imposed upon man laws beyond his capacity.”33
Augustine answered this with: “Given his present corruptness, man can desire only evil. If he occasionally commits good acts, this is only the work of grace, which is irresistible. From eternity God freely decided to give bliss to a few, the rest of mankind being subject to damnation. For these few alone Christ has come into the world.”34 As the church had accepted Augustine’s doctrines, Pelagius was declared a heretic and excommunicated.

The question I had was “How did the Sophia and Melchizedek consciousness respond to the corruption of The Christ’s teaching?” As stated, after the death of St. Paul and Mary Magdalene, Sophia and Melchizedek returned to the Archetypal Plane to regroup, so to speak. While there was a prevalence of the “Shadow” (masculine/active energy) Sophia remained in the Archetypal Plane. Melchizedek, however, returned to inspire the Gnostic teacher Valentinus and the Neoplatonic teacher Plotinus. After their deaths, Melchizedek remained in the Earth Plane for a time, ensuring that the true teachings of Jesus were written down and preserved for future generations. His work is why the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library would surface in the 20th Century. Still, with the emergence of the 2nd sub-race of the 6th Root-Race, the “Light” could return. This time Sophia and Melchizedek did not return to either the Middle East or Italy, instead they moved to the West, which had been prepared by the Gnostic teachings being spread to the Western Roman Empire.
As stated, the only Gnostic sect existing in the 4th century was the Manicheans, which promoted dualism and believed that the Creator and the material world were evil. Nonetheless, despite the Manicheans dualism perverting the Gnostic message; it was through the Manicheans that The Mysteries spread to the European continent.
Eventually all the Manicheans were driven underground and they would not re-surface again for centuries. However, when Manicheanism reappears, it has a totally different appearance. Manly P. Hall in his Orders Of The Quest cited the author of Secret Societies of All Ages and said that the Templars, Freemasons and Troubadours descended from the Manicheans.35 Another snippet of information Mr. Hall related was that the Albigensian influence “…stretched from Northern Spain across the southern provinces of France from Lombardy to Tuscany.”36 But that is at least 800 years in the future, for now we are discussing influences of the second “upstepping”.
By the end of the 3rd century, the Catholic Church in Rome had been completely contaminated with the energy of the “Shadow,” consequently, after Sophia’s consciousness and energy again rejoined Melchizedek, it was not in the “Shadow’s” lair Rome. At this time, the “Light” found another fertile ground in the western isles of Celtic Ireland.

SACRED GEOMETRY IN IRELAND

Michael Poynder’s The Lost Magic of Christianity, Celtic Essene Connections37 was to be my resource in the investigation of the “Light’s” sojourn in Celtic Ireland. To be honest, neither Craig nor I had understood why we were led to the book, because Mr. Poynder’s theory is that Jesus did not die on the cross, but instead went to India. He makes this assessment chiefly because of the clearly Indian symbols in the early Celtic and Druidic churches in Ireland. However, as stated, The Christ and Sophia as the teachers of the Wisdom Religion had appeared all over the world, with two of The Christ’s incarnations being Krishna and the Buddha, so I was not surprised to learn of Indian symbols appearing in Ireland. Moreover, because there was also a Christ-like teacher in the lands of the Celts, known as the Celtic god of hunting Cernnunos, the knowledge from previous Christ incarnations were more than likely passed on. That said, surprisingly, Mr. Poynder appears to support the theory that Jesus was an Essene. He thinks that when the New Testament says that Jesus went into the desert after his baptism for 40 days and 40 nights38 the writers were most “probably” referring to “Qumran”.
Since Mr. Poynder believes Jesus went to India, because of the symbols from India he found in Celtic churches, he investigated the founding of Christianity by ascetic monks. However, before he addresses Christianity in Roman Britain, Mr. Poynder first examined ancient Druidic/Celtic sites in Ireland. I found his investigation of the 3000 B.C.E. Druid/Celtic ruins of Newgrange in Ireland fascinating. He relates that the ancients engraved marks on the standing stones at Newgrange to show that the North Star was Thuban in the constellation of Draconis in 3000 B.C.E.39
As enthralling as the ancients knowledge of Astrology was, it was Mr. Poynder’s statement, “…the early monks’ years later also aligned their little churches to star risings and settings”40 that most interested me. This was because the astrological connection clearly indicated the presence of the “Light”. It also demonstrates that the Christian monks were familiar with Astrology, a key element of The Mysteries.
According to Mr. Poynder the monks also engaged in the ancient practice of using crystal in relation to energy Earth Stars. He explains that Earth Stars represent energy centers or the planet’s “Life-Force” at certain points on the Earth. “…The Life-Force ‘grid’ can be defined in geometric patterns within concentric circles forming into what is termed an Earth Star.” Evidently, when not affected by human activity, the stars form a network that encompasses the entire “...surface of the Earth.”41

The only Earth Star I was aware of was the electro-magnetic six-pointed star formed by the six mountains that surround Machu Picchu. I knew that the Mayan’s were familiar with the use of crystals and the electro-magnetic grid of the Earth, but it seems that half a world away, an ancient civilization in the Emerald Isle of Ireland were also aware of the hidden energies of Earth.
As Craig and I researched many ancient sites and experienced the energy, we were not that surprised to discover that the ancient Druids/Celts used crystal at certain sites to affect the energy. However, what did surprise us was that this knowledge was carried down the centuries to the new emerging Christian religion. Mr. Poynder explains how emulating the Druidic priest, the Celtic Christian priest also stood at the center of an Earth Star, in front of the altar. If the mention of Christian monks employing the use of crystal and energy grids was not amazing enough, evidently the “monks” may well have been cognizant of how to affect brain waves as well. Mr. Poynder explains that by activating the quartz, both the ancient priest and the crystal would “…be resonating at the Schumann brain level 8-12 Hz…”42 The likelihood of the “monks” learning how to use energy stars, without their application to the brain, in my opinion is extremely remote. If either the ancients or the Monks were aware of the Schumann Resonance, it clearly demonstrates that they were inspired by the “Light”, because up until 1987, the Schumann Resonance remained at 7.8 hertz.
Mr. Poynder explains that the altar in the church was placed, “…deliberately to encapsulate this energy…” Placing a “…piece of rock crystal or quartz” at the center “…of the Earth Star”, changed the pattern “from natural chaos to natural symmetry…” The priest would stand at the center of the Earth Star, raising his hand in blessing. Then “…a violet energy (spiritual light)” would flow “through his hand from his higher chakras.” Mr. Poynder adds that “This can be greatly enhanced if…he is wearing an amethyst and gold ring, with his purple robes.” He reminds us that the purple robe and the gold and amethyst ring is the traditional attire for a Christian bishop. Of course he says that the energetic reason for this is “long forgotten,”43 or is it? Amazingly, Mr. Poynder tells us that the underground water beneath the “altar” was literally altered or “altared44 by the religious ritual.
A diagram in Mr. Poynder’s book showed a stone with a zigzag pattern.45 I was immediately reminded of Sacsayhuaman an ancient ruin of huge blocks of stone placed in a zigzag pattern above the city of Cusco in Peru. This was one of the sites we visited in 2000 before we performed the ceremony at Machu Picchu and at the site both Craig and I had experienced vibrations of energy.
A standing stone cross shows according to Mr. Poynder, “two coiling snakes”, which he interprets as symbolizing “the rising of Kundalini.”46 However, as there are also three faces or heads within the coils, I wondered if it isn’t signifying the triple energy of the active, passive and neutral energy or the makeup of DNA?
I said earlier that Mr. Poynder’ book showed the presence of the “Light” Melchizedek/Sophia’s energy in Ireland. But how did the knowledge of using crystals and Earth stars find its way into the Christian monks of Ireland. After all, this knowledge was indicative of the highest levels of The Mysteries, taught in the Mystery schools, so how did humble monks learn of it?
Apparently, when the first Christian monks arrived in the Celtic Isles, they had no trouble in adapting, as their form of Christianity was in tune with the Druidic tradition. According to Mr. Poynder, these monks arrived in Northwestern Europe during the 4th century or 300 C.E., however the monk’s influence was still being felt as late as the 9th century or 800 C.E. Interestingly, Mr. Poynder informs us that there is an ancient language, which philologists say is a sign language of “25 symbols.” This language was known as Ogham (pronounced Ohm) and he adds, “…The early Christian monks” used it as a “secret written language between themselves.”47
It seemed to me that these monks were more representative of the “Orders of the Quest” that would emerge in the next “upstepping” than Christian missionaries. This is evinced when we learned that the monks were opposed to the doctrine of the Church of Rome. Mr. Poynder relates that to escape the papal authority, “The monks…had traveled…through Spain, Portugal and France, perhaps England…” They sought refuge in western Ireland and Scotland. He tells us, “Here they built their tiny oratories…”48 and adds that “They positioned their oratories to enable them to calculate the phases of the Sun, Moon and the stars…”49
Hearing that the monks traveled through Spain, I wondered if they were influenced by the “Light” in the region. However, I needed to remember that at the time the monks were in Spain it was still a Roman Province. No, I concluded that it was not until they arrived in Ireland that the monks came under the influence of the “Light” and were exposed to the knowledge of The Mysteries. This was an important discovery, because it showed me that the knowledge of The Mysteries does not necessarily need to be handed down from person to person. The information of The Mysteries exists in the consciousness and all it takes is for someone to have an enquiring mind and be open and courageous enough for he or she to be able to access the knowledge. This is strengthened, in the presence of strong electro-magnetic centers of energy, such as Earth Stars. Hence the monks, who were courageous enough to leave Rome were already open and questioning when they became exposed to the energy and the knowledge in Celtic Ireland.
Knowledge never remains stagnant and will continue to expand. We all experience this first hand in the phenomenal advances that were made in the 20th Century. In under a hundred years the Human Race advanced from horse-drawn carriages to rockets that could overcome gravity. Ancient Wisdom is no different; it constantly adapts and expands with the consciousness of human beings. In the first and second “upstepping” in Ireland the knowledge of the ancients, which was centered in the stone circles was updated by the “Light” into a new kind of building; round towers.

SACRED BUILDINGS

According to Michael Poynder, the Irish monks built mysterious round towers, which “replaced the standing stones…” They had conical roofs and appear to have reflected star patterns, predominantly the constellation Draco.50 After he detected the Schumann resonances above the ground at the round towers, he concludes, The round towers are “powerful amplifiers…”51 Further on he relates, “It is fascinating that just above the ground to about 2-4 feet up there is a null of atmosphere frequencies and they get stronger until at 9 to 15 feet above the surface they are extremely strong. The Irish monks were well aware of this for that is where they built their doors!”52
By the close of the 6th century, according to Mr. Poynder, “There were three great Christian centers…”53 in Ireland. Evidently, one of them, Iona was also referred to as “the island of the dove.”54 Unfortunately, whenever the “Light” is seen, the “Shadow” will appear to try to dim its radiance. The setting up of the “Christian centers” marked the first evidence of the dimming of the “Light”. This is because, the ceremonies/rituals that promoted the use of the energy stars for the benefit of all devolved into a “center” for worship. Mr. Poynder informs us that an Irishman called Columcille, who later became known as Columba, when he “converted the Scots to Christianity” set up the Ionian center. As the only Christian denomination at the time was Catholicism, this brought the area under the influence of Rome, which was still controlled by the “Shadow”. Columba became a focus of veneration as is evinced by “his” community becoming “a living shrine.”55
Once the “Shadow” had a “foothold” in Ireland, “he” stepped up his game, so to speak by instigating the invasion of the Vikings. The consciousness of the Vikings was unevolved. This is not a judgment, but rather a statement of fact. Evidence in support of this is found in the Viking’s actions, such as butchering 68 members of the community in 806 C.E. Mr. Poynder relates, “To this day, the strand on which the community were slaughtered is known as the Bay of Martyrs.”56

THE CISTERCIANS INCORPORATE EARTH STAR KNOWLEDGE

Nevertheless, the “Shadow” did not have it all his way. It seems that despite the devastating toll the Vikings took on the Irish Christian community, knowledge of their Earth Star energy patterns was not lost and was passed on to the Cistercians. The Cistercians were an order in Catholicism, which was largely responsible for the construction of Europe’s most magnificent cathedrals. Nonetheless, before the Cistercians built the cathedrals they started with abbeys and churches. Mr. Poynder describes how the Cistercians built the abbeys and churches. “…These structures were built to conform to the underground water lines and the Earth Star patterns. The chambers are of the two-to-one rectangular shape…of the Golden Mean proportion, and it is significant that the cairn topping contains a lot of white quartz blocks.”57 He explains “…The Cistercians held and practiced the ancient secrets of sacred geometry, which they incorporated in the construction of their churches.”58
This was how the “Light” succeeded in shifting the energy of Christianity. By introducing Sacred Geometry into such a powerful order of the Catholic Church, Sophia and Melchizedek seeded The Mysteries into solid structures, which would forever ground The Mysteries into the consciousness. Every time a believer entered a church or cathedral built with Sacred Geometry, they were exposed to the higher vibrations, which would work with their Spirit, but the construction of the cathedrals did not occur until the next “upstepping”.
St. David’s Cathedral in Wales provided another connection in my journey. Mr. Poynder explains that St. David’s is built at the exact location of the “original monastery…” founded by Saint David in the 6th century. He continues, “This puts it in line historically with the little oratories off the west coast of Ireland…”59 Saint David died March 1st 589 C.E., and amazingly, the Saint is connected to one of the most famous royal families in Britain. This is because St. David’s last name “…in Welsh is ‘Tyddeisi’,’60” which would later be changed to “Tudor”. The House of Tudor would rule England and later we will see how a famous member of the House of Tudor, Henry (VIII) would be responsible for the formation of the Church of England.
Nonetheless, Henry (VIII) will not become a factor for several “upsteppings”. However, the mention of the Cistercians, reminded me of the Knights Templars, in respect to their funding the building of the Gothic cathedrals. Another interesting thing that Mr. Poynder relates concerning the eight-pointed star symbol used by the Knights Templars; it represents the 8th chakra and the “…Tibetan wheel of the year and seasons…”61 But before we jump forward to the Crusades, I need to address the presence of Melchizedek in Mexico in the 5th century. By the end of the 6th century, the consciousness of Sophia and Melchizedek had seeded the Celts and Druids with The Mysteries; however as the consciousness of the world shifted so strongly towards the active/masculine energy Sophia was forced to return to the Archetypal Plane for a short time. Fortunately, as Melchizedek was of the active/masculine energy he could remain in the earth plane. This was good the other side of the world in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. This time he would take physical form.because his influence “Light” was needed on

PACAL VOTAN

Looking for similar teaching of the “Light” at this time in history I discovered that Melchizedek reappeared in the personification of the Mayan king Pacal Votan. Wikipedia says of this king:

Pacal II, also known as Pacal the Great 603-683 C.E., was ruler of the Maya polity of Palenque. He ascended the throne at age 12 on 29 July 615, and lived to the age of 80. The name “Pacal” means “shield” in the Maya language…
After his death, Pacal the Great was worshiped as a god, and said to communicate with his descendants. Pacal the Great was buried within the Temple of Inscriptions, one of the only Mayan pyramids known to be used as a tomb…the secret to opening his tomb…was discovered by Mexican archaeologist Alberto ruz Lhuillier in 1948. It took four years to clear the rubble from the stairway leading down to Pacal the Great’s tomb, but was finally uncovered in 1952. His skeletal remains were still lying in his coffin, wearing a jade mask and bead necklaces, surrounded by sculptures and stucco reliefs depicting the King’s transition to divinity and figures from Maya mythology.

Maurice Cotterell connects Pacal Votan with Tutankhamun in his book THE TUTANKHAMUN PROPHECIES, because his tomb also reflects the hidden numbers of the science of the Sun and the cycle of sunspots. Maurice Cotterell also believes that it was Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent and one of the lines of The Christ that reincarnated into Lord Pacal. Again granting the validity that Pacal Votan was teaching the science of the Sun, this influential Mayan king was not The Christ, he was Melchizedek. This is because The Christ, which had become one again with the feminine side, the Holy Spirit had gone to the Archetypal plane, guiding Humanity from there until their return at the Fullness of Time. The New Testament relates this as Jesus saying, “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”62
Mr. Cotterell supplied the evidence that Pacal Votan was of the Melchizedek energy for me when he relates, “The entire inside of his coffin was painted with cinnabar, the powered form of the liquid metal mercury, quicksilver.”63 As stated, the Greek name for the god Mercury is Hermes. Because the Mayans of the Yucatan mysteriously disappeared from the historical record then maybe, Pacal Votan’s warning about the sunspots causing infertility was correct? I covered the teachings of the Mayans extensively in LCD; consequently, I will not repeat what was said here, but in 622 half a world away a 40-year-old man was beginning a journey that would forever change the world.

THE RISE OF ISLAM

In the Updates to the chapter Byzantium, Mariolatry and the Rise of Islam in LCD I mentioned a comment Manly P. Hall relates in his An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy – being an interpretation of the Secret Teachings concealed within the Rituals, allegories and Mysteries of All Ages. The comment Mr. Hall related was made by the Prophet Mohammed concerning philosophy. It showed us that apart from being a highly enlightened individual, Mohammed was also extremely wise. Evidently, According to Hall, Mohammed is reputed to have felt, “The ink of philosophers even more precious than the blood of martyrs.”64 I also related in the Updates to the said chapter that it “was reading the inspired book, No god but God – The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam65 by Reza Aslan that really lifted the veil for me on the founder of Islam. At this time I will recap what I wrote concerning Mr. Aslan’s book from LCD:

“Craig and I cannot recommend this book too much. In fact we think it should be required reading by ALL parties engaged in any dealings with the Islamic community.
First Aslan explains that in pre-Islamic Arabia, Allah was originally an “ancient rain/sky deity” which had evolved into “…the role of the supreme god…” Aslan explains that because of Allah’s “eminent status” the general population could only appeal to him “…in times of great peril…” Instead people prayed to his three daughters, one of which was al-Uzza, or “(the mighty).” The other two according to Aslan were, “Allat (the goddess”) and Manat (the goddess of fate,)” Apart from being worshiped in the Ka’ba, Aslan says “they had their own individual shrines throughout the Arabian Peninsula; Allat in the city of Ta’if; al-Uzza in Nakhlah; and Manat in Qudayd.”66
At the time of Mohammed’s “spiritual awakening,” Christianity had already made Jesus God and was beginning to use force to suppress anyone who dissented from this doctrine. Manly P. Hall related that Mohammed had spent time with the Christian sect of the Nestorians, which was founded by Nestorius, the Archbishop of Constantinople from 428 C.E. to 451 C.E.
Wikipedia reports that there is evidence from within the hadith (traditions relating to the words and deeds of Muhammad) that Muhammad had contact with Nestorian Christians. This is evinced by the similarities between Muslim raka’ah (ritual prayer) and the genuflections performed by Nestorians during Lent.

According to Wikipedia Nestorius was most famous for being the originator of the Christological heresy, which became known as Nestorianism. In brief:

Nestorianism was the opposition to the title Theotokos, which means Mother of God for Mary, the mother of Jesus. He was opposed to the title because he felt it denied Jesus’ humanity, instead he wanted to refer to Mary as Mother of Christ. Nestorius also argued that God could not suffer on the cross, as he is omnipotent. Therefore, the human part of Christ died on the cross, but not the divine. His opponents accused him of dividing Christ into two persons: they claimed that proposing that God the Word did not suffer and die on the cross, while Jesus the man did, or that God the Word was omniscient while Jesus the man had limited knowledge, implied two separate persons with separate experiences.
His main antagonist was Cyril of Alexandria, the Pope/Patriarch of Alexandria. Nestorius was eventually declared a heretic at the Council of Ephesus in 431 C.E., when Cyril argued that Nestorius was actually denying the reality of the Incarnation by making Jesus Christ into two different persons, (one human, one divine), sharing one body.

In his book, No god but God Reza Aslan describes in great detail the calling of Muhammad. He writes that after Muhammad’s status changed from marrying “a remarkable forty-year-old widow named Khadija,” who was a prominent member of Mecca, “Muhammad felt deeply conflicted.” Aslan explains that Muhammad was “renowned for his generosity…” and his fair business practices, yet he was plagued by the inequality and injustice of Meccan society. To deal with the conflict Muhammad would go on “solitary retreats of self-justification…in the mountains and glens surrounding the Meccan Valley.”67
Although I have already covered Muhammad’s calling, Aslan’s account elaborates a deeper spiritual understanding for me. He relates that while Muhammad is “meditating alone in a cave on Mt. Hira…. an invisible presence crushed him in its embrace.” Although Muhammad tried to free himself, the more he resisted the tighter the hold, “until he could no longer breathe.” Surrendering to his fate, Muhammad stopped resisting. It was then that a “light and a terrifying voice washed over him ‘like the break of dawn.’ “Recite!” the voice commanded.

“What shall I recite?” Muhammad gasped.
The invisible presence tightened its embrace. “Recite!”
“What shall I recite?” Muhammad asked again, his chest caving in.

Again Muhammad felt the bands around his chest tighten and “…once more the voice repeated its command.” When Muhammad could stand no more, Aslan reports, “…the pressure in his chest stopped, and in the silence that engulfed the cave, Muhammad felt these words stamped on his heart…”68
The words were from Sura 96 1-5 in the Koran, but Aslan states that the word (iqra) that is translated “recite,” should be translated “read.” However, Aslan recounts that some chroniclers claim that God’s first command (iqra) to Muhammad was neither “recite” nor “read,” but rather “arise and warn.” 69
What really interested Craig and I was Aslan’s account of what happened next. Surprisingly, he relates that “…like all the prophets before him, (Muhammad) wanted nothing to do with God’s calling.” Evidently Muhammad was so unhappy about it that “…his first thought was to kill himself.” Apparently, Muhammad believed that only the despised “kahin,” which Muhammad labeled as “reprehensible charlatans could receive Divine messages.” According to Aslan, Muhammad said that rather than “the Quraysh” say he had become a kahin, he would climb a mountain and “…throw myself down…”70 As if this was not amazing enough, Aslan’s account of how Muhammad’s wife dealt with her husband’s experience absolutely floored us. He relates, “It is safe to say if it were not for Khadija, Muhammad might have gone through with his plan to end it all…” Aslan recounts that Muhammad anxious and shaken by “…the experience in the cave,” returned home to Khadija. Crawling to her, he cried, “Wrap me up! Wrap me up!”71
According to Aslan, Khadija instantly responded by wrapping Muhammad in a cloak and holding him “tightly in her arms until the trembling and convulsions stopped.” When he was calm he began to weep, then through his tears he tried to relate his amazing experience.
“Khadija,” he said, “I think that I have gone mad.” “This cannot be, my dear,” Khadija replied, stroking his hair. “God would not treat you thus since He knows your truthfulness, your great trustworthiness, your fine character, and your kindness.”
Unable to convince her husband of the holiness of the encounter, Khadija decided to ask for help from as Aslan recounts, “…the only person she knew who would understand what had happened to her husband: her Christian cousin, Waraqa…” Waraqa was familiar enough with the Scriptures to recognize Muhammad’s experience for what it was. On hearing Khadija’s story, Waraqa tells Khadija, “He is a prophet of this people…”72
Evidently, like many messengers before him, Muhammad had great difficulty accepting his mission. Nonetheless, the choice had been made and there was no going back. Aslan recounts how it was when Muhammad had hit rock bottom that he received Divine help. Like before it came in, “…same painfully violent manner as the first…” Muhammad was told according to Aslan “…whether he liked it or not, he was now the Messenger of God.” Fatalistically, Aslan states, “Now Muhammad no longer had any choice but to “arise and warn.”73
So when was the Quran compiled? According to the inspired and enlightened Reza Aslan, “…when Muhammad died…, the Quran had neither been written down nor collected, let alone canonized.”74
After Muhammad’s death, the first order of the day was to choose his successor and determine what Muslims believed. This was a problem because as I said the followers strongly disagreed who should lead the Ummah, community; with some believing Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, son-in-law and companion should lead the Ummah. However, many felt that Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s companion and father-in-law should succeed Muhammad. Abu Bakr’s supporters won. Next the Ummah needed to determine an Islamic creed, but as Aslan said, Muhammad hadn’t compiled a cannon of his teachings. So, like the Christian Church arguing over his teachings after Jesus left them, the Ummah squabbled amongst themselves. This resulted as Aslan reports in the formation of “…a new class of scholars called the Ulama, or ‘learned ones,’ who would take upon themselves the responsibility of guiding the Ummah on the straight path.”75
Alas, as the centuries passed, like Christianity lost its purity and innocence, so did Islam. Aslan laments that “…the Muslim scriptural and legal scholars…” dismissed the idea that both followers of Judaism and Christianity “were part of the Ummah…” Rather the scholars labeled them both “…as unbelievers.” What was worse was that like later Christians, these Islamic scholars “…reinterpreted the Revelation to declare that the Quran had superseded, rather than supplanted, the Torah and the Gospels, and called on Muslims to distinguish themselves from the People of the Book.”76
God told me that Spiritual Revelation is like a rose bud. At first we only sense the beauty inside, but gradually as the sun’s rays warm the petals it slowly opens each precious petal, revealing the glory and wonder of the flower. It is then that the rose attracts the butterfly or bee to pollinate it and transform the rose into a new bush. For Islam this is exemplified in the development of Sufism. Aslan relates that the “Patriarch of Sufism”77 is Ibn Junayd; full name Junayd ibn Muhammad Abu al-Qasim al-Khazzaz al-Baghdadi (830-910).”

As Sufism will not surface until the 10th century, I would like to first discuss the spread of Islam and its impact on the region. Whenever, I thought of Muslim warriors in the 7th and 8th centuries, I associated ruthlessness, but after watching a very informative documentary on PBS, I was pleased to discover that at least in one area the spread of Islam would further the “Light’s” agenda rather than the “Shadow’s”.

CITIES OF THE LIGHT

Earlier I said that Sophia and Melchizedek moved to the West during the second “upstepping”. Unfortunately, although this period of history is jam-packed with individuals from both the “Shadow” and the “Light” who profoundly shape Humanity’s development, due to space this thesis has to be limited to addressing a small sample of them. Consequently, I have chosen specific regions to trace the influence that most impacted history. In this thesis I wanted to find the influences that most energetically impacted the world during the “upstepping” and there is none more influential than the next western region where we detect the influence of the “Light”, Spain. Amazingly, during this “upstepping” the region of Spain I am concerned with was named the “Cities of Light”.
The history of Spain is very colorful and I feel that it may help to give a brief review of the region from it being the Roman province of Hispania to being taken over by Muslim forces. Interestingly, it was under Muslim rule that the region shone the brightest, which is reflected in the term “Cities of Light”. There was a documentary of that name, which aired on the PBS station. Nonetheless, long before Spain fell under the influence of Islam; it was conquered by the Visigoths. I knew very little about the Visigoths, other than they were one of the Germanic tribes that sacked Rome in 410 C.E. According to an entry for Visigoths on Wikipedia:

“The Visigothic Kingdom was a Western European power in the 5th to 7th centuries, created in Gaul when the Romans lost their control of their empire…
The Visigoths' second great king, Euric, unified the various quarreling factions among the Visigoths and, in 475, forced the Roman government to grant them full independence. At his death, the Visigoths were the most powerful of the successor states to the Western Roman Empire...
In 554, Granada and southernmost Hispania Baetica were lost to representatives of the Byzantine Empire (to form the province of Spania) who had been invited in to help settle a Visigothic dynastic struggle, but who stayed on, as a hoped-for spearhead to a "Reconquest" of the far west envisaged by emperor Justinian I…
There was a religious gulf between the Visigoths, who had for a long time adhered to Arianism, and their Catholic subjects in Hispania…The Arian Visigoths were also tolerant of Jews…
In 589, King Reccared converted his people to Catholicism. With the Catholicization of the Visigothic kings, the Catholic bishops increased in power, until, at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633, they took upon themselves the nobles' right to select a king from among the royal family. Visigothic persecution of Jews began…in 633 the same synod of Catholic bishops that usurped the Visigothic nobles' right to confirm the election of a king declared that all Jews must be baptised.
In 711 or 712 the Visigoths, including their king and many of their leading men, were killed in the Battle of Guadalete by a force of invading Arabs and Berbers. The kingdom quickly collapsed thereafter…Gothic identity survived the fall of the kingdom, however, especially in the Kingdom of Asturias and the Marca Hispanica, but the "Visigoths" as a people disappeared…

I found an entry for “Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain” on the web site - http://www.pbs.org/citiesoflight/ The article extolled Islamic Spain as “one of its (Europe’s) greatest periods of cultural enlightenment.” The article effuses:

For more than three centuries in Medieval Spain, Muslims, Jews and Christians lived together and prospered in a thriving multicultural civilization. Here, remarkable individuals of different faiths made lasting contributions in such areas as poetry, art, architecture, music, dining etiquette, science, agriculture, medicine, engineering, navigation, textiles, and even hydraulic technology…

Tracing the influence of the “Light”, it appears to have been the strongest during the appropriately named “Golden Caliphate.” The article on the documentary relates:

The legacy of Muslim Spain is rooted in the two hundred fifty year reign of the Umayyad dynasty. This first, long interaction between the Arab Middle East and European Spain laid the basis for a legacy of pluralism—the Spanish term is convivencia. Nowhere in Medieval Europe was central government more lasting, more extensive, or more successful than in Cordoba, Spain’s capital under the Muslims. By the tenth century it was Europe’s largest, richest, and cleanest city, with running water, public hospitals, and lighted streets—(hence the film’s title). The film lingers on the creation and expansion of this stunning capital, where religious and civil institutions were joined in a single governing center with a national tax base.

A review on the PBS web site lays out the premise of the documentary. The review explains that the “opening hour of Cities of Light demonstrates how a culture of pluralism helped fuel an institutionalized love and respect for learning in all its forms, from science and mathematics to philosophy and poetry.” As the period promoted learning and self-improvement, “Light” it is clear that the consciousness of both Sophia and Melchizedek were present in the region at this time. The author of the review describes Islamic Spain as an example of tolerance and cooperation between all faiths:

“Unlike the Romans and Visigoths before them, Muslim rulers seemed to grasp that the Jews and Christians who preceded them to the Iberian Peninsula were necessary partners in a productive society. The fascinating story of a central bureaucracy staffed by elites from all three faiths, with Jews in all but the highest post and Christian scholars outperforming ‘native’ Arabic speakers in their own language and culture, is a fascinating and powerful antidote to our modern stereotypes concerning Christians, Jews, and Muslims.”

I couldn’t agree more, but how did a culture, which we have come to see as violent and “barbaric” become such an example of the “Light?” As stated, this period is linked to the “Golden Caliphate.” I found a copy of an article for the “Golden Caliphate” that appeared on pages 12-16 of the September/October 1976 print edition of Saudi Aramco World. The article was written and photographed by Tor Eigeland:

By 718 the Muslims had taken control of most of Spain. In the north, tough Berber tribesmen still patrolled disputed areas, but in the central highlands Muslim rule was relatively uncontested and in the area today known as Andalusia the Arab military and administrative leaders had chosen the old Roman city of Cordoba as their capital and were settling in for a long stay.
As they had since the beginning of the century of rapid Islamic expansion, the Muslims, although looking on the conquest of Spain as a jihad, or holy war, did not exert pressure on Spanish Christians or Jews to embrace Islam. This policy, which dates back to the lifetime of the Prophet, is summed up in an injunction in the Koran. "Be courteous when you argue with People of the Book, except with those among them that do evil. Say: 'We believe in that which is revealed to us and which was revealed to you. Our God and your God is one. To Him we surrender ourselves.'"
Admittedly, there were also practical reasons for not forcing mass conversions. Muslims were exempt from taxes while Christians and Jews were not. Nevertheless, the approach of the conquerors was definitely based on a real spirit of tolerance…
The policy of tolerance extended to the practice of religion too. The Great Mosque of Cordoba, for example, was built on the site of a Visigothic church, but at first the Muslims shared the church, then bought it—at a good price—so that they could build a proper mosque. And whenever that occurred the Christians were allowed to build new places of worship. Indeed, during the first half century of Moorish rule in Spain, the Muslim conquerors experienced considerably more difficulties with each other than with the Spanish as the' mixed armies—Berbers and North African and Syrian Arabs—broke into factions.
In Damascus, meanwhile, the Umayyads—then the rulers of the Islamic empire—were also facing unrest...In 750; the Abbasids of Baghdad overthrew the Umayyads and replaced them as the ruling dynasty. Only two members of the Umayyad family got away—young Abd al-Rahman and his even younger brother…
Abd al-Rahman…eventually made his way west to al-Andalus. There, only 26 years old, he went triumphantly to Cordoba and claimed his position as surviving head of the Umayyads. His claim did not go unchallenged—either in Cordoba or in Baghdad—and Abd al-Rahman had to quell rebellions and cope with intrigues for more than 20 years before he consolidated his power as leader of the Cordoba emirate…
Cordoba's prosperity, and its era of splendor, began in the reign of Abd al-Rahman II. By then the hospitable climate and fertility of Andalusia had begun to mellow the tough desert warriors and a love of books, poetry and music began to replace their infatuation with intrigue and battle. Ziryab, for example, a musician from Baghdad, founded the Andalusian school of music…
There was also considerable integration with the original non-Muslim populations. As the warriors had come without their women, many married local Christians…
The local populations were also, in increasing numbers, accepting Islam. As the wealth and culture of Andalusia grew, those Christians who did not voluntarily embrace the new faith began to complain that their impressionable young people were being unduly influenced by the splendor of Muslim culture…
In contrast, Spanish Jews, who had been persecuted by the Visigoths, had welcomed, even aided, the Muslim invasion. Though living in close-knit groups they nevertheless played an active and successful role in the life of Muslim al-Andalus, working as tradesmen, scientists, scholars and even as advisors and administrators…

The story of the “Cities of Light” is not over yet and I will return to the region in subsequent “upsteppings”. For now, I want to discuss the aspect of Islam that arose from the influence of the “Light” during the second “upstepping”. To recap: because of the influence of the “Shadow” all other forms of Christianity, such as Gnosticism and Neoplatonic & Hermetic philosophy were driven underground. They were kept alive in the symbols of secret societies until the time was right for it to emerge again. Having seeded the “Light” in Spain, the energy of Sophia and Melchizedek again moved on, returning to the Middle East and resurfacing in the Sufi movement of Islam.

SUFISM

In the 9th century, the consciousness again shifted to the feminine/passive energy and Sophia took physical form again. The region she chose to incarnate into was Mesopotamia. She also chose the religion of Islam, because it was about to make a huge spiritual shift.
Normally to find the purest, most spiritual form of any religion I would need to trace its origins. But in the case of Islam, its purest and most spiritual form developed later in the form of Sufism. This does not mean that Mohammed’s revelation was not spiritual, but because his revelation occurred in a time of great strife, the consciousness was strongly active/masculine and the feminine/passive was not present. Obviously, the “Light” needed to rebalance the new religion and hence the development of Sufism.
Sufism was influenced by the “Light” through the consciousness of both Sophia and Melchizedek. In 713 C.E., Sophia incarnated as Rabiah Al-Adawiyah, the daughter of a poor family living in Basra, Iraq. Like most Christian saints, there are legends of miraculous events surrounding Rabiah’s life, but the most famous, not to mention indicative of the consciousness within her is described in Paul Varo Martinson’s book Islam - An Introduction for Christians.78 In the book, Mr. Martinson informs us that this woman (Rabiah) ran through the streets carrying a lighted torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. As she ran she cried: “I want to catch Paradise on fire and pour water on Hell so the veils disappear and it becomes clear who is praying to God out of love, and not out of fear of Hell or hope for Paradise.”79
Rabiah was seen by many Muslims as a “second Mary.” As an adult she had become a member of the mystical sect known as the Sufis, from the word “suf” (wool), which they wore. The Sufis were recognized for their endeavor to be pure before God. Mohammed’s successors, which had devolved into warring factions, came to base Islam on the fear of God. Rabiah believed “Whoever, truly believes loves God.”80 Martinson tells us that, through Rabiah, Sufism would gain prominence.
As this side of Islam’s main mission was to promote Divine Love, I knew that the rise of Sufism was a crucial time for the “Light”. What surprised me was that Sufism may have also incorporated the Hindu religion. Initially, it was hard to see what Hinduism, which worships many gods with idols could possibly have in common with Islam, a monotheistic religion that abhors all forms of idol worship. Nonetheless, I am tracking the influence of the “Light” and “Shadow”, consequently whenever I came across movements, which unite religions it was indicative of the “Light”.
The greatest assistance to me in understanding the connection between the mystical side of Islam and Hinduism was the book Hindu and Muslim Mysticism81 by R. C. Zaehner. This fascinating book compares the mystical side of both religions and finds some amazing parallels. Explaining the orthodox Muslim position, Mr. Zaehner writes: “The theologians maintained that there could be no love between God and man because there can only be love between like and like, and God is totally unlike any created thing: when the Qur’an speaks of love, then it means no more than obedience.”82
On the other hand, the Sufis fully believed that love between God and Humanity was not only possible, but that all believers already enjoyed that relationship. The Sufi thought was expressed through several teachers. Mr. Zaehner believes that it was one such teacher Abu Yazid, who died around 848 C.E. that introduced Indian Mysticism into Islam.
Although Melchizedek did not incarnate during this time, his influence is found in the teachings of Abu Yazid. However, his brand of teaching came from his teacher Abu’Ali Al-Sindi, who Mr. Zaehner says, “Was a convert from another faith.”83 Apparently Abu Yazid’s teacher, before converting to Islam had been a student of the Vedanta, the Hindu scriptures. Mr. Zaehner deduces from this that Abu Yazid had been “directly influenced by a totally alien stream of mysticism and it was through him that Vedantin ideas became part and parcel of later mysticism.”84
The realization that Sophia had incarnated into Rabiah to bring a more spiritual aspect of Islam to the forefront, made me think that Mohammed was less than mystical in the beginning. However, I was both amazed and pleased to read on the entry for Sufism on Wikipedia:

In its early stages of development Sufism effectively referred to nothing more than the internalization of Islam According to one perspective, it is directly from the Qur’an, constantly recited, meditated, and experienced, that Sufism proceeded, in its origin and its development. Others have held that Sufism is the strict emulation of the way of Muhammad, through which the heart's connection to the Divine is strengthened.
From the traditional Sufi point of view, the esoteric teachings of Sufism were transmitted from Muhammad to those who had the capacity to acquire the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries. Some of this transmission is summarized in texts, but most is not. Important contributions in writing are attributed to Uwais al-Qarni, Harrm bin Hian, Hasan Basri and Sayid ibn al-Mussib, who are regarded as the first Sufis in the earliest generations of Islam. Harith al-Muhasibi was the first one to write about moral psychology. Rabia Basri was a Sufi known for her love and passion for God, expressed through her poetry. Bayazid Bastami was among the first theorists of Sufism; he concerned himself with fanā and baqā, the state of annihilating the self in the presence of the divine, accompanied by clarity concerning worldly phenomena derived from that perspective.

Although the men mentioned in the entry were the main proponents of Sufism, spiritually it was Rabia’s contribution that was the most important. Her entry on Wikipedia also contains some gems of insight:

Rābia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya … (717–801 C.E.) was a female Muslim Sufi saint.
She was born between 95 and 99 Hijri in Basra, Iraq. Much of her early life is narrated by Farid al-Din Attar. Farid al-Din Attar, a later Sufi saint and poet, used earlier sources. Rabia herself did not leave any written works.
She was the fourth daughter of her family and therefore named Rabia, meaning "fourth". She was born free in a poor but respected family.
According to Farid al-Din Attar, Rabia's parents were so poor that there was no oil in house to light a lamp, nor a cloth even to wrap her with. Her mother asked her husband to borrow some oil from a neighbor, but he had resolved in his life never to ask for anything from anyone except the Creator. He pretended to go to the neighbor's door and returned home empty-handed.
In the night Prophet Muhammad appeared to him in a dream and told him, "Your newly born daughter is a favorite of the Lord, and shall lead many Muslims to the right path. You should approach the Amir of Basra and present him with a letter in which should be written this message: 'You offer Durood to the Holy Prophet one hundred times every night and four hundred times every Thursday night. However, since you failed to observe the rule last Thursday, as a penalty you must pay the bearer four hundred dinars '.
Rabia's father got up and went straight to the Amir with tears of joy rolling down his cheeks. The Amir was delighted on receiving the message, knowing that he was in the eyes of Prophet. He distributed 1000 dinars to the poor and joyously paid 400 dinars to Rabia's father. The Amir then asked Rabia's father to come to him whenever he required anything, as the Amir would benefit very much by the visit of such a soul dear to the Lord.
After the death of her father a famine overtook Basra and Rabia parted from her sisters. Legend has it that she was accompanying a caravan, which fell into the hands of robbers. The chief of the robbers took Rabia captive, and sold her in the market as a slave. The new master of Rabia used to take hard service from her.
She would pass the whole night in prayer, after she had finished her household jobs. She spent many of her days observing fast.
Once the master of the house got up in the middle of the night, and was attracted by the pathetic voice in which Rabia was praying to her Lord. She was entreating in these terms:
"Lord! You know well that my keen desire is to carry out Your commandments and to serve Thee with all my heart, O light of my eyes. If I were free I would pass the whole day and night in prayers. But what should I do when you have made me a slave of a human being?"
At once the master felt that it was sacrilegious to keep such a saint in his service. He decided to serve her instead. In the morning he called her and told her his decision; he would serve her and she should dwell there as the mistress of the house. If she insisted on leaving the house he was willing to free her from bondage.
She told him that she was willing to leave the house to carry on her worship in solitude. This the master granted and she left the house.

The presence of a mystical side of Islam, speaking of God’s Love tells me that Sophia’s consciousness was present in the region during the 8th and 9th centuries. Sophia incarnated as Rabiah Al-Adawiyah, which as stated, like Al-Hallaj taught of the Love of God. By the end of the 8th century, Islam had spread throughout the near east and North Africa into Spain. However, the rest of Europe was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, which by then had developed into a formidable organization that dominated the lives of people wherever it arose.

EARLY CHURCH

Remembering that I am dealing with energy and consciousness I want to return to Rome. The founding of Christianity in Rome meant the religion was forever influenced by the energy of the region. Whether or not Saint Peter was ever buried beneath the Vatican, because of the bloodletting from Nero’s circus, Vatican Hill became an even more powerful site. The pillar I was given that anything that creates fear, hatred and or division is Never of Divine origin, shows that Constantine the Great’s vision/dream before his battle with Maxentius wasn’t inspired by a Divine being. This suggested to me that Constantine’s building a basilica on Vatican Hill wasn’t Divinely directed either. An entry on Wikipedia about Nero’s circus confirmed my suspicions:

It was begun by Caligula… and finished by Nero. The circus building’s alignment is the same on the same axis as both new and old St Peter’s to the left as you look at the western front from the piazza…
The circus was the site of the first organized, state-sponsored martyrdoms of Christians in 65…
The site for crucifixions in the Circus would have been along the spina (“spine”), as suggested by early Acts of Peter describing the spot of his martyrdom as inter duas metas (“between the two metae or turning-posts”, which would have been equidistant between the two ends of the circus). This identification is likely to be genuine given the trauma of the event for The Christian community. An obelisk found at the centre of this circus’s spina was re-erected in St Peter’s Square in the 16th century by the architect Domenico Fontana.

Considering that Jesus’ mission was centered in the Middle East, as in the first Christian communities were in Antioch and Damascus, I was surprised that the Christians made Rome their seat of power. However, from the “Shadow’s” perspective, Rome was the perfect place consciously and energetically. This was because of the obelisk that was erected on Vatican Hill. Speaking of the obelisk it is important to keep in mind what was said in part one of Full Circle concerning the World Soul influencing the energy of Egypt through the erection of obelisks and pylons. Although this obelisk was not erected in front of the Vatican until the 16th century, because it was placed in the “circus” where literally hundreds met gruesome deaths, the obelisk’s energy was able to affect the frequency of a much larger area than just the “circus” arena. Nonetheless, the reason the “Shadow” chose Rome as the “seat of power” for the Church is more subtle. This is demonstrated by the entry for Vatican City on Wikipedia:

The Vatican obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis, Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant. This area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the great fire of Rome in 64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside down. Opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Funeral monuments and mausoleums and small tombs as well as altars to pagan gods of all kinds of polytheistic religions were constructed lasting until before the construction of the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter's in the first half of the 4th century…
In 326, the first church, the Constantinian basilica, was built over the site that Roman Catholic apologists as well as noted Italian archaeologists argue was the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in a common cemetery on the spot. From then on the area started to become more populated, but mostly only by dwelling houses connected with the activity of St. Peter's. A palace was constructed near the site of the basilica as early as the 5th century during the pontificate of Pope Symmachus (498-514).

Pope Symmachus was instrumental in consolidating the power of the papacy, when in 502 he decreed that only members from the hierarchy of the Church would be involved in the election of a pope. Until Pope Symmachus members of the general population would vote on the election of a pope.
My earlier statement that Constantine’s vision and dream was instigated by the “Shadow”, on the face of it does not make sense as why would the “Shadow” want to end persecution? But as I said, the answer lay in “his” successful influence of the development of the early church. This influence is demonstrated by how the Church operated after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The entry for the history of the Papacy on Wikipedia explains: “the church adopted the same governmental structure as the Empire: geographical provinces ruled by bishops. These bishops of important cities therefore rose in power over the bishops of lesser cities.”

The power of the Bishop of Rome increased as the imperial power of the Emperor declined. Edicts of the Emperor Theodosius II and of Valentinian III proclaimed the Roman bishop "as Rector of the whole Church." The Emperor Justinian, who was living in the East in Constantinople, in the sixth century, published a similar decree. These proclamations did not create the office of the Pope but from the sixth century onward the Bishop of Rome's power and prestige increased so dramatically that the title of "Pope" began to fit the Bishop of Rome best.

Throughout the centuries, such atrocities on Humanity have been issued from the Vatican, the Albigensian Crusade to name but one that it is hard to see the hand of God acting in The Christian Church at all. But this is evidence of how the energy of the “Shadow” operates. The blood of The Christian martyrs, coupled with the energy of the site, acted like a blood feast for the energy to grow strong, influencing anyone connected to the site. It is like a vicious cycle, the more the Christian Church engaged in nonspiritual activities, the stronger the energy became and in turn the more the “Shadow” could influence the actions of the Church. It did not matter that it was not always the residence of the pope. In fact, I learned that the Bishop of Rome or the pope’s residence from the 4th century was the Palace of Lateran on Piazza San Giovanni. An entry on Wikipedia says:

From the fourth century the Palace of the Lateran on Piazza San Giovanni in south-east Rome was the principal residence of the Popes, and continued so for about a thousand years…
The Domus Laterani fell into the hands of the emperor when Constantine I married his second wife Fausta, sister of Maxentius. Known by that time as the Domus Faustae or “House of Fausta,” the structure was eventually given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine. The actual date of the gift is unknown but scholars believe it had to have been during the pontificate of Pope Miltiades, in time to host a synod of bishops in 313 that was convened to challenge the Donatist schism, declaring Donatism as heresy. The basilica of the domus was converted and extended, eventually becoming the cathedral of Rome, the seat of the popes as patriarchs of Rome.

By making this powerful area in Rome the “seat of power” for the Church, the “Shadow” was able to corrupt the consciousness of the church hierarchy and enable them to override many of Jesus’ injunctions; such as “judge not”. This transition is so clearly seen in the early church’s dealing with “heretics”. I described this development in the chapter Byzantium, Mariolatry, and the rise of Islam in LCD:

“During the sixth century, in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, the balance of power fluctuated between the Persians and the Romans for seven decades. As a result the area knew very little stability. Throughout this time of political chaos, the only power to thrive was the Catholic Church. By the end of the fourth century, “pagan” worship had been eradicated because of the threat of severe punishment. Every pagan temple was destroyed and great works of art, thousands of years old, were defaced by fanatical Christians. The final nail in the coffin of freedom of religion occurred when Justinian, after closing the Platonic Academy in Athens, ordered all pagans to become Christians.”

So now we have tragically come “Full Circle” to where the persecuted were now the persecutors. Mr. Nigg, in his book Heretics, reported of a time in Church history that will forever cast a stain on Christianity. It concerns the first execution of a “heretic” in 385 C.E. After the dastardly deed, he explains, the “emotional backlash was so strong that the perpetrators were compelled to resign their positions.”85
In the original Jerusalem Christian community that Saint James writes about in his book, the members were all equal. Even when the early church adopted the positions mentioned in the pseudo-Pauline books Timothy I and II and Titus, the position of bishop had been little more than a shepherd of his flock. Nonetheless, Christian converts were obligated to give their possessions to the Church and whichever bishop brought in the most “donations”, his position grew proportionately.
During the reign of the Emperor Justinian (527 to 565 C.E.), the bishop of a rich diocese was as wealthy as any high Roman official. If we remember that one of Jesus’ most important lessons was “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”86 then we can see how absolutely successful the “Shadow” was in corrupting the message. Unfortunately, “he” still wasn’t done. The “Shadow’s” next move would have ramifications that would last up until the 20th Century. This concerned the nature of Jesus and the divinity of his mother. Again I covered this in the aforementioned chapter:

“A council held in Chalcedon in 451 C.E., divided the Church/Roman Empire into 5 major or metropolitan dioceses, administered by a patriarch. The 5 areas were Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Constantinople. Even though the 5 patriarchs ruled all the clergy and controlled all property and monies equally, there was still jealousy among them. One result of the jealously was arguments over doctrine. And once again in the 5th century the factions of the Church were divided over the person of Jesus Christ. It centered on the confusion over how Jesus, who being born and suffering death, proving his human nature, could still be united with God, who was believed to be outside of matter. The main question was how Jesus and God were united, i.e., was it by mutual agreement as in a partnership; or was Jesus somehow mixed or fused with God? In determining whether Jesus was God or not brought in the person of his mother Mary.”
“Harold. O. J. Brown’s book Heresies: The Image of Christ in the Mirror of Heresy & Orthodoxy from the Apostles to the present87 explains the controversy. Evidently Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, was at the center of the debate over the term “Theotokos,” which was the designation for the mother of Jesus, or as she was increasingly known the Virgin Mary. Mr. Brown related that the problem was the term meant “God-bearing one,” not “Mother of God.” However, Theotokos had initially described Jesus. Referring to Mary as “God-bearing” brought into question the divinity of Jesus. After all, they reasoned, how could God have a beginning? The dispute about, whether to call Mary “Theotokos” centered upon the proponents argument that people should call the mother of Jesus “the God-bearing one” if he really was God.88
…At this point I was reminded of Isis the wife/sister of Osiris, who was also known as Magna Mater, by the Romans and worshiped before and during the early years of Christianity. After Constantine had declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, for 2 centuries pagan religion existed side by side with Christianity. I had heard from the Jehovah’s Witnesses that the early Church had adopted many pagan festivals and Christianized them. However, I had not found evidence to support this hypothesis until recently. That evidence was surprisingly provided by the Catholic Church itself in The Golden Legend89 by Jacobus de Voraigne and translated by William Granger Ryan.
Jacobus de Voraigne, A Catholic archbishop of Genoa wrote the original book in the Middle Ages. After his death in 1298 C.E., he was beatified (confirmation that the deceased is in heaven) by Pope Pius VII in 1816 C.E. and is venerated as a saint by the Dominican order. Because of this “resume,” I felt that I could consider the archbishop a reliable source on the Catholic Church. The chapter on, The Purification of the Virgin contains 4 reasons for the church’s religious festival called Candlemas.90
In order to assist the Romans who had converted from paganism to Christianity, the archbishop reported how Pope Sergius (687 to 701 C.E.,) “transmuted” the pagan festivals, “decreeing that the faithful should honor the holy mother of the Lord on this day by lighting up the whole world with lamps and candles. Thus the Roman celebration survived, but with an altered meaning.”91
I think …that, in order to keep a harmony, the Church bent the rules to accommodate the pagans. Another example of this is in the official day of worship being called “Sun-day” in the Teutonic lands to encourage “pagans” to worship. However, as the Church and its influence on the emperor grew, the pressure to abolish all other religions increased. This was realized, as already stated, when the Emperor Justinian 527 - 565 C.E., closed all the Philosophical schools, making the Catholic Church the state Church, and outlawing all other religions, including everything they deemed heresy among Christians.

One may wonder where God was when Jesus’ message was being so thoroughly corrupted. Surely, He could not have failed to notice what was happening, so why didn’t He intervene? This question has perplexed philosophers’ and anyone with an ounce of compassion for two millennia, but the answer is found in the purpose for incarnation; namely Spiritual Evolution. Let us take a moment to consider these turn of events from a consciousness and energetic perspective. The Life Principle evolves by transmuting lower consciousness, which consists of Sophia’s discarded emotions of Fear, Grief, Ignorance, and Confusion that were transformed into the four elements. In order to transmute emotion a person has to experience it; consequently, in a way God used the “Shadow” to facilitate Spiritual Evolution. Please understand that in no way am I saying that God causes any form of suffering, just that as the “Supreme Opportunist” He often creates a “silk purse out of a sow’s ear”, so to speak. Nonetheless, the ultimate reason God does not intervene is that free will is sacrosanct. It is each individual’s free will choice in which urging he or she chooses to follow, the Spirit or the ego.
Moreover, there are rules that both sides must adhere to in the field of play of Globe D. Whenever, one side deviates from the rules there is always consequences. Throughout the past 2000 years there have been several deviations, which have had disastrous results; the surprising thing was that it was representatives of the “Light” who broke the rules, not the “Shadow.” Unfortunately, we are still experiencing the consequence of the first deviation today.

THE LIGHT’S AGENT TAKES MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS

Earlier I said that “Normally to find the purest, most spiritual form of any religion I would need to trace its origins. But in the case of Islam, its purest and most spiritual form developed later in the form of Sufism.” Although, the entry on Wikipedia demonstrates that the Prophet Mohammed was familiar with the mystical realities of faith, since Mohammed’s revelation, Islam has become associated with prejudice and intolerance, particularly to women and other faiths. Consequently, I knew from an energetic perspective, the “Shadow” had gained access to it very early on. I learned the reason was its inception was caused by a representative of the “Light” breaking the rules.
From everything I have read about the Prophet Mohammed, I have no doubt in his absolute sincerity to his mission of unification. However, from the beginning of my investigation into Islam, I felt there was something amiss. However, it was not until 2002 while writing the chapter Rennes-le-Château in The True Philosophers’ Stone (TPS) that I gained an insight into the cause for my feeling. During the time TPS was being written we were reading Manly P. Hall’s An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic & Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy: section on the Islamic faith. We wrote of our discovery later in TPS and below are the relevant excerpts from the book:

They had left off reading the book several weeks earlier in order to read other books. The section they restarted with was on the Islamic faith. As Suzzan read aloud about Mohammed’s sincere search for the truth, once again she felt the holiness of the man. However, when she reached the part about the archangel Gabriel appearing to him, chills ran up her spine. “Why am I so uncomfortable with this?” She asked herself. Manly P. Hall dealt with the prophet fairly and objectively, so why did she have such a problem with it? A vision of the Prophecy -- trilogy of films, which centered on the archangel Gabriel working against humanity, flashed through her mind. Suddenly Suzzan understood what she was being shown.”

The Prophecy trilogy’s plot centers on the Archangel Gabriel defying God and plotting to destroy Humanity. Obviously, this was fictional, but by reminding me of the trilogy of films, I was being shown that the Archangel Gabriel actions were relevant. The excerpt from TPS explains our understanding by continuing with:

At the time of Mohammed’s “spiritual awakening,” Christianity had already made Jesus God and was beginning to use force to suppress anyone who dissented from this doctrine. Gabriel had merely been trying to correct a wrong. Hall relates that Mohammed had spent time with the Christian sect of the Nestorians. The Nestorians take their name from their founder Nestorius who was the patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 428 – 431 C.E. According to Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Nestorius promulgated the belief that there were two beings in Jesus, “one human and one divine.” Consequently, Mohammed’s contact with the sect would have exposed him to the teaching and made him the perfect person for the task. The amazing thing that God told Suzzan was that the Archangel Gabriel’s actions had been on his own initiative.”

The question I had was as Islam and the Prophet Mohammed was clearly inspired by the “Light” how did the Archangel Gabriel go wrong? I found the answer in the way the new religion was transmitted to Mohammed. TPS reported “…Hall described how Mohammed received the Koran. He related that the prophet would become unconscious, sweating profusely while reciting the words that close associates either wrote down or “committed to memory.”
I realized that the Archangel Gabriel was transmitting the information to the Prophet Mohammed through the process of channeling. This form of communication involves a subject’s consciousness being taken over by a disincarnate spirit from the Astral Plane. Unfortunately, because this creates a door between the planes, more than one spirit can access the subject. This can lead to wrong information being transmitted or worse, the information being transmitted falling under the influence of the “Shadow” and being misinterpreted.
Earlier, I related that “we are still experiencing the consequence of the first deviation today.” I also said how pleasantly surprised I was to learn that the Prophet Mohammed understood the gnosis aspect of Islam. As was reported above:

“From the traditional Sufi point of view, the esoteric teachings of Sufism were transmitted from Muhammad to those who had the capacity to acquire the direct experiential gnosis of God, which was passed on from teacher to student through the centuries.”

Nonetheless, Gabriel’s action in trying to correct a wrong is the direct cause of Islamic fundamentalism, which is the consequence of a misinterpretation of the knowledge Mohammed received from Gabriel. Because of Mohammed’s understanding, I do not think he misinterpreted the knowledge, but that it was corrupted by later interpreters. Obviously, associating the Divine in any way with violence is a corruption, but it was the later misinterpretation of the Divine Feminine that has led to such an imbalance in Orthodox Islam. Once again it was the inspired Manly P. Hall that provided the insight into the cause of the imbalance in Islam.

“Another thing Hall’s encyclopedia related that interested the couple concerned the Caaba. Hall quoting another investigator, Jennings, writes “This famous ‘stone of Caaba,’ Kaaba, Cabir, or Kebir, at Mecca, which is... kissed by the faithful, is a talisman.” Apparently there was a figure of Venus with a crescent engraved onto it. Hall continues, “This very Caaba was at first an idolatrous temple, where the Arabians worshiped Al-Ussa (God & Issa), that is Venus.”92
This theory could be borne out by the fact that Mohammed destroyed 360 idols that surrounded the Caaba. During their studies Craig and Suzzan had learned that there were originally 360 days in the year until a major cataclysm altered the Earth’s orbit, moving it out further from the Sun and adding five and quarter days to the year.
An accompanying text to a black and white drawing93 of the Caaba in Hall’s encyclopedia also interested the couple. Linking the Caaba with Stonehenge, the caption relates, “Opening onto the courtyard there are 19 gates”94, the exact number of inner stones at Stonehenge. According to Hall this number also ties both sites to the Metonic cycle. Suzzan was unfamiliar with the term so she looked it up in the dictionary, where she discovered that the Metonic cycle is connected to the Moon. Evidently, the term was named after an astronomer called not surprisingly Meton from Athens. He had discovered that every 19 years the phases of the Moon returns to the exact same date. That is how the date Easter falls on each year is determined.
It seems that contrary to the teachings of fundamental Islam, Mohammed believed in the equality of men and women…Hall, like Joseph Campbell pointed out that, ‘The feminine symbolism is repeatedly emphasized in Islamic symbolism... Friday, which is sacred to Venus is the Moslem’s holy day; green is the color of the prophet and being symbolic of verdure is inevitably associated with the World Mother; and both the Islamic Crescent and the scimitar (the Arabian sword) may be interpreted to signify the crescent shape of either the Moon or Venus.’95
Like the early Church’s making the pagan rituals, more Christian, it seems that Hall also saw evidence of the Moslems adopting ancient pagan rituals into the religion with the circling of the Caaba by pilgrims during the hajj. Evidently the pilgrims circle the central Caaba seven times. He asked if this was not representative of the movement of the seven ancient planets?”

All of the above indicates that the Prophet Mohammed was influenced by The Mysteries and intended on incorporating them into Islam. Unfortunately, because of the Archangel Gabriel’s’ well-meaning actions that broke the rules, the “Shadow” gained an advantage in the “game” so to speak. This does not mean that Mohammed’s revelation was any the less spiritual. However, because its impartation was not sanctioned by the “Light” and it occurred in a time of great strife, the consciousness was strongly active/masculine and the feminine/passive was not present. As I said, this meant that the “Light” needed to rebalance the new religion. Still, I must emphatically state that the development of Sufism was the natural development from Mohammed’s original revelation, only it was delayed a few centuries.

In demonstrating the influence of the “Shadow” on the founding of Islam and Christianity, we can see exactly what “he’s” strategy is. Earlier, I said that all the players were aware that the final Battle of Armageddon (metaphorically speaking of course) would be fought in New Jerusalem (America) and that both sides manipulated the consciousness one way or the other. The “Shadow” manipulated the consciousness, as I said to promote fear, grief, ignorance, and confusion, whereas, the “Light” promoted hope, joy, understanding and illumination through unity, tolerance, and wisdom.
The influence of the “Shadow” on the early church is clearly detectable in the actions of the popes in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, which is where I must return to pick up the timeline for the Church.

POPE GREGORY (I) 590 - 604

Our calendar today is courtesy of Pope Gregory who endorsed the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius’ calendar. Nonetheless, we can see the “hand” of the “Shadow” behind Gregory in two specific teachings. The first and I believe the worst was his identification of Mary Magdalene with the sinner in Luke. Wikipedia’s entry for Gregory says:

In a sermon whose text is given in Patrologia Latina, Gregory stated that he believed "that the woman Luke called a sinner and John called Mary was the Mary out of whom Mark declared that seven demons were cast" (Hanc vero quam Lucas peccatricem mulierem, Joannes Mariam nominat, illam esse Mariam credimus de qua Marcus septem damonia ejecta fuisse testatur), thus identifying the sinner of Luke 7:37, the Mary of John 11:2 and 12:3 (the sister of Lazarus and Martha of Bethany), and Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons, related in Mark 16:9…The Eastern Orthodox Church has never accepted Gregory's identification of Mary Magdalene with the sinful woman.

I don’t need to tell you what identifying Mary Magdalene as a reformed prostitute has done to Christianity. It is the main reason the church was able to deny women the right of ordination. If Mary Magdalene was known by her rightful title the Apostle to the Apostles, then the suppression of women would have ended a great deal earlier. The second thing Gregory did, according to his entry on Wikipedia was to “assert” the “primacy of Rome” and lay down “regulations for clerical celibacy.” The entry also informs us:

“He introduced liturgical reforms and is traditionally credited with the popularization of Gregorian chant. He is more widely famed for the impetus he gave to missionary activity among the pagan peoples of northern Europe, especially the initiation of the mission of Saint Augustine of Canterbury to England.”

It is important to note that although celibacy is a means to transform the ego, it cannot be attempted until an individual is thoroughly prepared. Mandatory celibacy among priests has led to all kinds of abuses, which is caused through a type of neurosis. As the consciousness of the Root-Races further developed, this became even more intensified. The evidence of the energy created by forced celibacy is depicted in the scandal of child abuse the Catholic Church faces today. The final nail in the coffin of the church that Jesus fostered occurred during the 8th and 9th centuries, which is reported in the entry for the History of the Papacy on Wikipedia:

In the middle of the eighth century, a fraudulent attempt was made to legitimize the transfer of power and authority from the Emperor Constantine to the Bishop of Rome. The Donation of Constantine was purported to be the legal document in which the Emperor Constantine donated to Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome (314-335), much of his property and invested him with great spiritual power and authority…
In 751, Aistulf took Ravenna and threatened Rome. To respond to this threat, Pope Stephen II made an unusual journey north of the Alps to visit the Frankish king, Pepin III, to seek his help against the Lombards who have recently taken the city of Ravenna and who now pose a similar threat to Rome.
The pope anointed Pepin at the abbey of St Denis, near Paris, together with Pepin's two young sons Charles and Carloman. Pepin duly invaded northern Italy in 754, and again in 756. Pepin was able to drive the Lombards from the territory belonging to Ravenna but he does not restore it to its rightful owner, the Byzantine emperor. Instead, perhaps believing the fiction revealed in the forged Donation of Constantine, he handed over large areas of central Italy to the pope and his successors.
The land given to Pope Stephen in 756, in the so-called Donation of Pepin, made the papacy a temporal power…
After Aistulf's death King Desiderius renewed the attack on Rome. In 772, Pope Adrian I enlisted the support of Charlemagne, Pepin's successor, who intervened, and, after defeating the Lombards, added their kingdom to his own.
After being physically attacked by his enemies in the streets of Rome, Pope Leo III made his way in 799 through the Alps to visit Charlemagne at Paderborn.
It is not known what was agreed between the two, but Charlemagne traveled to Rome in 800 to support the pope. In a ceremony in St Peter's Basilica, on Christmas Day, Leo was supposed to anoint Charlemagne's son as his heir. But unexpectedly (it is maintained), as Charlemagne rose from prayer, the pope placed a crown on his head and acclaimed him emperor. It is reported that Charlemagne expressed displeasure but nevertheless accepted the honour. The displeasure was probably diplomatic, for the legal emperor was supposed to be seated in Constantinople. Nevertheless this public alliance between the pope and the ruler of a confederation of Germanic tribes was a reflection of the reality of political power in the west. This coronation launched the concept of the new Holy Roman Empire which would play an important role throughout the Middle Ages. The Holy Roman Empire only became formally established in the next century. But the concept is implicit in the title adopted by Charlemagne in 800: 'Charles, most serene Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, governing the Roman Empire.'
Leo's action in crowning Charlemagne would serve as precedent for later popes who claimed the right and power to make (and unmake) emperors.

And so we arrive at the end of the second “upstepping” of Globe D. On the face of it, the “Shadow” appears to have succeeded in negating much of Jesus’ message of Love, Compassion, and Understanding in the Roman Empire. Nevertheless, “he” wasn’t able to completely erase it from all forms of Spirituality in Europe. For instance, Islamic Spain and the “Cities of Light” experienced the greatest period of peace during the Caliphate of Cordoba. As for the condition of Christianity, the “Shadow” did not have everything “his” own way, as stated, the Irish monks passed on the ancient knowledge of Earth Stars, which was used to infuse the “Light” into the magnificent cathedrals of Europe in the next “upstepping”. Nonetheless, with all the twists and turns in tracking the consciousness and energy, I feel it may be helpful to encapsulate the key points concerning the moves in the struggle between the “Light” and the “Shadow” in the first two “upsteppings” in Globe D.

Section 5

Ultimately, because the vision and dream of Constantine (I) led to associating Christianity with might, the strange vision was instigated by the “Shadow”. This is shown by the vision leading to a legend that supported an egregious misconception of God, which in turn led to another legend, which furthered the “Shadow’s” agenda even more. That legend concerned a vision of the Archangel Michael sheathing his sword appearing atop the mausoleum, Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome. As the vision coincided with the end of the plague of 590, it was taken that the “appearance” was a sign that “God” had chosen to end the plague “He” sent.
First, an archangel wielding a sword is an oxymoron to the Divine realm. Archangels are from the higher planes of pure Light, Love, and Joy and as such, would appear as a vision of Light emanating said emotions. From this we can deduce that the “apparition” cannot have been a genuine angelic visitation. So who or what was the apparition? The answer can be ascertained in the message the “visitation” sent. The people of Rome were suffering a terrible plague, and the “appearance” being associated with the end of the plague, supported the teachings that everything that happens is God’s Will. In other words, God sent the plague and God removed it. This erroneous teaching takes away free will and has led to individuals perpetrating the most heinous acts in the name of God.
We will see this mentality increasing in the next “upstepping”, where the “Shadow”, puts into practice the teachings of Augustine of “compel them to enter” in the form of brutal crusades. This period is also when both the “Shadow” and the “Light” consolidated their positions. Unfortunately, as this time marks an era of violence and death, the predominant consciousness of the period is active/masculine.
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(Thesis-2nd Quarter) FULL CIRCLE THE MYSTERIES UNCLOAKED GLOBE D —
SECTION 6 900 C.E – 1300 C.E.

Root Race 5: sub-race 6 - Root Race 6: sub-race 3

AWFN-6-1

In the previous “upstepping”, we saw how the “Light” and “Shadow” were both successful in influencing the consciousness of Globe D. The “Shadow’s” most successful move was to unite Christianity to the Roman Empire and instigate a doctrine, which negated Jesus’ message of self-responsibility. On the other hand the “Light” succeeded in seeding the “Light” for posterity, by inspiring the Irish monks to incorporate the ancient teaching of Earth Stars into their buildings, which they passed onto the Cistercian order. The “Light’s” other major success was in the development of Sufism, which modified the violence of jihad and introduced the concept of Divine Love into Islam. If we were keeping score, the previous two “upsteppings” ended in a draw.
Nonetheless, although Sufism gained some adherents and became a recognized sect of Islam, Orthodox Islam still rigidly held sway in the majority of Muslim communities. At the time of the emergence of Sufism, the ruling Islamic family was the Umayyads, whose members seemed to display both the “Light” and “Shadow’s” influence.

THE UMAYYAD DYNASTY

As Sufism first developed in the early Umayyad period, which ran from 661 to 750 C.E., it would indicate that the dynasty was open to a more spiritual aspect of Islam. But as I said, the Dynasty displayed the influence of both the “Light” and the “Shadow.” Consequently, in order to determine, which consciousness predominantly influenced the Umayyad dynasty I needed to dig deeper and so I turned to its entry on Wikipedia:

The Umayyad caliphate was marked both by territorial expansion and by the administrative and cultural problems that such expansion created. Despite some notable exceptions, the Umayyads tended to favor the rights of the old Arab families and in particular their own, over those of newly converted Muslims (mawali). Therefore they held to a less Universalist conception of Islam than did many of their rivals. As G.R. Hawting has written, "Islam was in fact regarded as the property of the conquering aristocracy."
According to one common view, the Umayyads transformed the caliphate from a religious institution…to a dynastic one. However, the Umayyad caliphs do seem to have understood themselves as the representatives of God on earth, and to have been responsible for the "definition and elaboration of God's ordinances, or in other words the definition or elaboration of Islamic law."
During the period of the Umayyads, Arabic became the administrative language. State documents and currency was issued in the language. Mass conversions brought a large influx of Muslims to the caliphate. The Umayyads also constructed famous buildings such as the Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem, and the Umayyad Mosque at Damascus.
The Umayyads have met with a largely negative reception from later Islamic historians, who have accused them of promoting a kingship (mulk, a term with connotations of tyranny) instead of a true caliphate (khilafa). In this respect it is notable that the Umayyad caliphs referred to themselves, not as khalifat rasul Allah ("successor of the messenger of God," the title preferred by the tradition) but rather as khalifat Allah ("deputy of God"). The distinction seems to indicate that the Umayyads "regarded themselves as God's representatives at the head of the community and saw no need to share their religious power with, or delegate it to, the emergent class of religious scholars."

Keeping in mind that I am not concerned with condemning anyone, but pointing out those individuals who were used by the “Shadow” to delay Spiritual Evolution, there are several references in the above excerpt, which demonstrate that the family was under influence of the “Shadow.” They appeared to be an Islamic version of the Catholic Church, declaring that they were the “deputy of God”, which undermined the Prophet Mohammed’s message. Still, the most obvious evidence to me that the family were instruments of the “Shadow” was in their building of the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem. This building has created conflict and still continues to do so, to this day.
However, the Umayyad Dynasty was also a tool for the “Light” in that it was Abd al-Rahman (I) a member of the Umayyad Dynasty that was the first Umayyad Emir of Cordoba, Spain. Although the Umayyad Dynasty was influenced to create the “Cities of Light” and the “Golden Caliphate, which lasted from 716 C.E. until 961, there were signs of both the “Light” and the “Shadow” influencing members of the family even in this illumined time. For instance, although the influence of the “Light” continued on through his son Al-Hakam (II), some of Al-Hakam’s decisions show the “Shadow’s” influence. But as he first furthered the “Light’s” agenda I will start there.
Al-Hakam was obviously acting as a tool of the “Light” when according to his entry on Wikipedia he “secured peace with the Christian kingdoms of northern Iberia, and made use of the stability to develop agriculture through the construction of irrigation works.” The influence of the “Light” is also visible, in Al-Hakam’s encouragement of “Economical development through the widening of streets and the building of markets.” It is also evident in the fact Al-Hakam was “fond of books and learning, and amassed a vast library with 400,000 books…” Moreover, sending “his agents to purchase ‘first edition’ books from the Muslim east…” is also evidence of an elightened ruler. Still, the most telling evidence for me that Al-Hakam was at times a tool of the “Light” was that “during his reign, a massive translation effort was undertaken, and many books were translated from Latin and Greek into Arabic.” This conclusion was strengthened when I learned he “formed a joint committee of Arab Muslims and Iberian Mozarab Christians for this task.”

START OF CATHOLICISM IN SPAIN

Unfortunately, although Muslim forces continued to rule Spain until 1236 C.E., the “Cities of Light” began to dim long before that. The “discovery” in the 8th (700s) century of the remains of “Saint James” in Santiago de Compostela paved the way for the “Shadow” to effectively corrupt “Christian” Spain. As expected after the “discovery” the location became a holy site where pilgrims visited to “atone for their sins”. However, the pilgrimage came to be seen as “a lucrative source of revenue” for the Catholic Church.
Although, the “Way of St. James” did not become a “lucrative source of revenue” until the 12th (1100) century, the “corruption” began a lot earlier. This is because there are many scholars that believe the remains beneath the shrine of Compostela are that of bishop Priscillian. As stated, Priscillian was the first “heretic” to be executed in 385 with the full knowledge of the Catholic Church.
Let us consider for a moment the energetic implications of “worshipping” the shrine of Priscillian as Saint James. From a secular perspective the Church’s motive was to annihilate the memory of bishop Priscillian, whose followers were spreading his teachings into Roman Gaul (France) and Hispania (Spain). From a consciousness perspective, if the remains are those of a “holy” man who was “murdered” then the energy of thousands of “pilgrims” venerating and praying over his remains is effectively “endorsing” the actions of the Church.Therefore, as the execution was the antithesis of the teaching of The Christ the “prayers” strengthened the “Shadow.”
Essentially, this was how the “Shadow” was able to influence the Iberian Peninsula to represent “his” energy. But how did this come about? To trace the answer we will need to take a brief look at the kingdom in Spain that ruled alongside the Umayyad Dynasty, The Kingdom of Asturias, which was founded by Pelayo. To be honest at first I thought I had not heard of the Kingdom of Asturias in Spain until I learned that it came to be known as the Kingdom of León. I was however, not surprised to discover that the history of the area goes back to pre-historical periods. First let’s review the historical facts from its entry on Wikipedia:

Asturias has been occupied by humans since the Lower Paleolithic era, and during the Upper Paleolithic was characterized by cave paintings in the eastern part of the area. In the Mesolithic period, a native culture developed, that of the Asturiense, and later, with the introduction of the Bronze Age, megaliths and tumuli were constructed. In the Iron Age, the territory came under the cultural influence of the Celts; the local Celtic peoples, known as the Astures, were composed of tribes such as the Luggones, the Pesicos, and others, who populated the entire area with…(fortified hill-towns). Today the Astur Celtic influence persists in place names, such as those of rivers and mountains.
With the conquest of Asturias by the Romans under Augustus (29-19 BC), the region entered into the annals of history. After several centuries without foreign presence, the Suebi and Visigoths occupied the land from the 6th century AD to the beginning of the 8th century, ending with the Moorish invasion of Spain. However, as it had been for the Romans and Visigoths, the Moors did not find mountainous territory easy to conquer, and the lands along Spain's northern coast never fully became part of Islamic Spain. Rather, with the beginning of the Moorish conquest in the 8th century, this region became a refuge for Christian nobles, and in 722, a de facto independent kingdom was established…

I found it interesting that the entry did not mention that the Kingdom of Asturias was founded by Pelayo, which in Latin means Pelagius. However, I found a separate entry for the founder of the Kingdom of Asturias:

Pelagius (Spanish: Pelayo, Portuguese: Pelágio; died 737) was the founder of the Kingdom of Asturias, ruling from 718 until his death. He is credited with beginning the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, insofar as he established an independent Christian state in opposition to Moorish hegemony, but there is no strong evidence that he either intended to resuscitate the old Visigothic kingdom or was motivated by any religious desire…

The Kingdom of Asturias struggled for its existence and like so many other “kingdoms” had to find strength through “matrimonial alliances with other powerful families from the north of the Iberian Peninsula.” In this way, the kingdom of Asturias became a dynasty, which “survived for centuries and gradually expanded the kingdom’s boundaries until all of northwest Iberia was included in its borders by roughly 775. The first Catholic ruler of Asturias was the grandson of Pelayo, Alphonse (I), but Asturias is not recognized as a kingdom by Catholicism until King Alphonso (II) was recognized by “Charlemagne and the Pope.” (The entry does not say, which pope, but from the dates it was likely to have been Pope Leo (III) 795-816.) This “endorsement” seemed to embolden Alfonso (II), because he is credited with declaring “the holy bones of St. James the Great…to be found in Galicia, at Santiago de Compostela.”
To reiterate, this was how the “Shadow” corrupted the Kingdom of Asturias or León in Spain. From the entry concerning the history of the kingdom, we know that the Celts were present in the area. The Celts or Druids were familiar with the energetic properties (Earth Stars) of certain areas and in general would site their settlements using the energy to their best advantage. Most often, later civilizations built over these sites, although often not aware of the energetic properties beneath them. Nevertheless, both the “Light” and the “Shadow” always know where the strongest electro-magnetic energies are. It is important to always remember that electro-magnetic energy is always neutral and can be used by either side. Pricillian’s execution was the antithesis of The Christ’s teachings of Peace, Love and Compassion. By burying a martyr whose blood was spilled in the “name of God” over electro-magnetic energies, these energies could be used to alter the consciousness of the area in a negative way that would promote conflict.

EXTINGUISHING THE CITIES OF LIGHT

The “Shadow’s” attack on the Iberian Peninsula was twofold. We have taken a look at the first branch, the introduction of Catholicism into Spain. (Again, I must reiterate that I am not “attacking” Catholicism per say, but rather pointing out the “Shadow’s” influence on Catholic rulers to steer the religion in “his” direction. This will become abundantly clear when we examine the persecutions carried out by the Spanish Inquisition in the next “upstepping”.)
The “second branch” of influence the “Shadow” used to undermine the “Light” in the region is first seen in the decline of the “Cities of Light.” This decline began during Al-Hakam II’s reign (961 to 976) when he abdicated his power to his vizier Al-Mushafi and General Ghalib. Evidently, the reason he abdicated was because Al-Hakam was “preoccupied” with attacks from the Normans. If we remember that wherever war breaks out the consciousness of the “Shadow” gains strength and undermines the consciousness of tolerance and understanding in the area, we can detect “his” influence in the Cities of Light during the 10th century.
Nonetheless, the coup de tat of the “Shadow” in the decline of the Cities of Light was “his” ability to influence Al-Hakam while on his death-bed in 976 to designate “his 14 year old son Hisham (II)” as his heir. The entry for the Caliphate of Cordoba explains the ramifications of this act. Al-Hakam’s advisor Ibn Abi’ Amir took full advantage of the situation by supporting Al-Hakam’s choice and naming the young boy the Caliph. However, he strategically appointed himself the young boy’s guardian and took “the Caliph’s powers” pending Hisham coming of age. The entry explains:

The acting Caliph Ibn Abi’ Amir isolated Hisham in Córdoba while systematically eradicating his opposition. He steadily allowed Berbers from Africa to immigrate to al-Andalus in order to build up his base of support…The decision to name Hisham II Caliph shifted power from the individual to the advisers. The title Caliph became only a symbol; it no longer held power and influence. The Caliphate would be rocked with violence, with different revolutionaries claiming to be the new Caliph. The last Córdoban Caliph was Hisham III (1027–1031). With different factions competing, the Caliphate finally crumbled in 1031 into independent taifa kingdoms.”

The “Golden Caliphate” officially ended with the death of Abd ar-Rahman (IV) Mortada the last member of the Umayyad dynasty to be the Caliph of Cordoba. After succeeding Suleiman (II) in 1018, according to his entry on Wikipedia: Abd ar-Rahman “was murdered at Cadiz while fleeing from a battle in which he had been deserted by the very supporters which had brought him into power.”
I was surprised to discover that there is a period under Islamic rule in Spain, which is referred to as “The Golden Age of Jewish Culture in Spain,” which ran variously from 711-to the mid-1100s. (Depending on different scholars’ opinions) I believe that we can definitely state that the “Golden Age of Jewish Culture” was at its height during the “Golden Caliphate”, although there are some scholars that relate “the position of the Jews became more precarious under the various smaller Kingdoms when the Caliphate began to dissolve in 976.” With that said when we consider how much the Jews and Muslims hate each other today, it seems inconceivable that they lived together in harmony a thousand years ago. Islamic scholars would not be surprised as Mohammed had decreed that the “People of the Book” (Jews and Christians, which used the Torah/Old Testament and honored the same prophets as Islam) were to be treated with respect. The comment on the treatment of non-Muslims in Spain during the Islamic rule in the entry on Wikipedia for Al-Andalus was so indicative of the “Light” that I feel it is a fundamental part of this thesis:

The non-Muslims were given the status of ahl al-dhimma (the people under protection), adults paying a "Jizya" tax, equal to 1 Dinar per year with exemptions for old people, women, children and the disabled…
The treatment of non-Muslims in the Caliphate has been a subject of considerable debate among scholars and commentators, especially those interested in drawing parallels to the coexistence of Muslims and non-Muslims in the modern world. Maria Rosa Menocal, a specialist in Iberian literature, has argued that "tolerance was an inherent aspect of Andalusian society". In her view, the Jewish and Christian dhimmis living under the Caliphate, while allowed fewer rights than Muslims, were much better off than in other parts of Christian Europe.
Jews constituted more than 5% of the population. Jews from other parts of Europe emigrated to Al-Andalus, where they were treated with dignity… Al-Andalus was a key center of Jewish life during the early Middle Ages, producing important scholars and one of the most stable and wealthy Jewish communities…

Although the entry adds that “there is no consensus among scholars that the relationship between Jews and Muslims was indeed a paragon of interfaith relations,” I found it encouraging for world-peace that there were Muslim rulers that adhered to the philosophy of tolerance and understanding. Alas, as history has shown, not all Muslim rulers adhered to the philosophy of tolerance and understanding. This is demonstrated in 1066 under the rule of the Almoravids when the “first major persecution” of Jews occurred on December 30th of 1066. Apparently, “a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada, crucified Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacred most of the Jewish population of the city.” The crucifixion led to a blood feast, where over fifteen-hundred “Jewish families, numbering 4,000 persons, fell in one day.” To understand how such a travesty occurred it will help to investigate what happened after the Caliphate of Cordoba fell. According to the entry on Wikipedia although “The Caliphate was practically disintegrated due to civil war between descendants of the last legitimate Caliph Hisham (II) and the successors of his prime minister Al-Mansur, the shell of the Caliphate existed until 1031 when, after years of infighting, it fractured into a number of independent Taifa kingdoms.”

KINGDOM OF CASTILLE

Like with the breakup of any “kingdom” or “empire” the entire structure becomes weakened and vulnerable to outside attacks. Although the Caliphate of Cordoba was a beacon for the “Light”, in its progressive attitude to tolerance and learning, this was not the case in all of Spain. Two other kingdoms dominated the Iberian Peninsula during the 11th (1000) century, the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of León. I mentioned earlier that the Kingdom of León was established in 924. But how the Kingdom of León became linked to the Kingdom of Castile and the constant changing of power in the Iberian Peninsula is a perfect example of the struggle between the “Light” and the “Shadow”; consequently, it is to these two kingdoms that I now return. Once again, my favorite resource Wikipedia provided the nuts and bolts of my quest. In the entry for the Kingdom of Castile, it states “the first reference to the name "Castile" (Castilla) can be found in a document written during 800 A.D” The entry continues:

The County of Castile was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabri, Astur, Vascon and Visigothic origins. It had its own romance dialect and laws. The first Count of Castile was Rodrigo in 850, under Ordoño I of Asturias and Alfonso III of Asturias. In 931 the County was unified by Count Fernán González, who made his lands subject to a hereditary succession, independent of the kings of León, who previously had the right to create the Counts of Castile.

If you are wondering why I am spending time on the Kingdom’s of Spain, particularly Asturias, it is because in future “upsteppings” the consciousness of the area will lead to influencing individuals that will have a large impact on the spiritual development of the mass consciousness. For instance, an excerpt from the entry for Asturias on Wikipedia has:

The Industrial Revolution came to Asturias after 1830 with the discovery and systematic exploitation of coal and iron resources. At the same time, there was significant migration to the Americas (especially Argentina, Uruguay, Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico); those who succeeded overseas often returned to their native land much wealthier. These entrepreneurs were known collectively as 'Indianos', for having visited and made their fortunes in the West Indies and beyond…

There are far too many Christian rulers of Asturias for me to mention them all; consequently, I have focused on those leaders that most clearly represent either the “Light” or the “Shadow.”
In the 11th century we find Sancho III (the Great) of Navarre, who some historians name as the most influential Christian monarch of the Iberian Peninsula inheriting the region from his brother-in-law, but I pick up the story in 1035 when according to the entry for Castile, “…Sancho (III) handed over the county to his son” who became Ferdinand (I) and “Castile acquired the status of an independent kingdom.” On the death of Ferdinand in 1065, “the kingdoms were divided between his sons and one daughter, but the three “boys” were not satisfied with a fourth of the kingdom and immediately began jockeying for position. First, Sancho (II) made an alliance with his brother Alfonso (VI) of León to conquer their brother’s kingdom of Galicia. However, Sancho (II) did not enjoy his spoils for long, because he was “assassinated …in 1072” leaving the door open, so to speak for Alfonso (VI) to retake León and become, “the king of both Castile and Galicia.” Like many rulers Alfonso (VI) saw the way to grow his empire was through marriage and he was eager to make alliances with the “Europeans kingdoms, including France”, by marrying European princesses. Of course, the instability while the three brothers fought for supremacy left the region open to the “Shadow’s” influence, which “he” took full advantage of in the next century.
Ultimately, there were two main causes of the final extinguishment of “Light” in Islamic Spain, because it was attacked by the “Shadow” on two fronts; from the north by the “Christian” kings and from within, with the corruption of the Muslim rulers. As stated, the kingdoms of Castile and León were united under the rule of Alfonso (VI).
However, before the light went out in the Cities of Light, according to the entry for Castile on Wikipedia in the 12th century “Europe enjoyed a great advance in intellectual achievements provided by the kingdom of Castile.” For instance, Alphonso (I) of Aragon “recovered” The Islamic Empire’s forgotten classic works in Southern Europe…” and established a dialogue with Muslim scientists, which shared their knowledge. However, the most profound action the kingdom took in the name of progress was to develop “a program of translations” known as the “School of Toledo”, which translated “many philosophical and scientific works from classical Greek and Islamic world into Latin.” As in the “Golden Caliphate”, during the 12th century, “Many European scholars…travelled to Spain to gain further education.”
Unfortunately, this brief respite of progress was short lived, because the “Shadow” was only biding his time to raise “his” ugly head, so to speak. “He” did this when he instigated a rivalry between the Kingdoms of Castile and Toledo, and the Kingdom of León, by inspiring Alfonso (VII) to divide his kingdom between his two sons. Fernando (II), (also known as Ferdinand) inherited the kingdoms of Castile and Toledo and Sancho (III) (not of Navarre) inherited León. The rivalry outlasted both brothers until the kingdoms were united under Ferdinand (II).
The kingdoms were united through a marriage alliance between the United kingdoms of Castile and León with the kingdom of Aragon. This led to the most famous Spanish ruler entering the scene, Ferdinand (II). This Spanish king would go on to conquer the Kingdom of Cordoba, which brings me back to the decline of the “Cities of Light.” As I said, the decline began by Hisham II’s rule under his “advisor” General Ghalib and Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (Almansor), which was continued under the rule of the Almoravids.

THE SHADOW AND THE ALMORAVID DYNASTY

The story of how a leader of the Almoravid Dynasty was affected on the way back from a pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) is a textbook example of the subtlety of the influence of the “Shadow.” The explanation on the entry for the Almoravids on Wikipedia is so succinct that I will let it speak for itself:

About the year 1040 (or a little earlier) one of their chiefs, Yahya ibn Ibrahim, made the pilgrimage to Makkah. On his way home, he attended the teachers of the mosque at University of Al-Qayrawan, today's Kairouan in Tunisia; the first Arab-Muslim city in North Africa, who soon learnt from him that his people knew little of the religion they were supposed to profess, and that though his will was good, his own ignorance was great. By the good offices of the theologians of Al Qayrawan, one of whom was from Fez, Yahya was provided with a missionary, Abdallah ibn Yasin, a zealous partisan of the Malikis, one of the four Madhhab, Sunni schools of Islam…
Abd-Allah ibn Yasin imposed a penitential scourging on all converts as purification, and enforced a regular system of discipline for every breach of the law; even on the chiefs…

Again, like the Christian rulers in the Iberian Peninsula, the number of Muslim rulers of Al-Andalus is far too many for me to adequately cover them all. Nonetheless, there are two Muslim dynasties; the The Almoravids and Almohads that I must try to briefly cover. The first dynasty, the Almoravids disseminated their particular brand of Islam throughout the “Berber areas of the Sahara, and to the regions south of the desert.”
An important leader of the Almoravids was Yusuf ibn Tashfin; this Muslim leader’s claim to fame was that he would connect the Almoravids with the Iberian Peninsula. “In 1086” he “was invited by the Muslim princes in the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) to defend them against Alfonso (VI), King of León and Castile.” Like so many “saviors” of kingdoms, Yusuf ibn Tashfin quickly became the aggressor, when a mere four years after he helped the Muslim princes of Al-Andalus fight Alfonso (VI) he “returned to Iberia”, with the “purpose of deposing the Muslim princes, and annexing their states.” He embarked on this drastic enterprise, because he had the support of “the mass of the inhabitants, who had been worn out by the oppressive taxation imposed by their spend-thrift rulers.” In support of Yusuf according to the entry he received a “fatwa—or legal opinion—to the effect that he had good moral and religious right, to dethrone the rulers.”
The Muslim princes Yusuf “dethroned” were what were referred to as the Taifa kingdoms, which had resulted from the disintegration and collapse of the Caliphate of Cordoba. One of the princes Yusuf “dethroned” was the Taifa ruler who invited Yusuf to help repel Alfonso (VI). It seems that the main charge against Abd al-Malik was that he not only sought “help from the Christians”, but had “adopted” many Christian “habits.” Ultimately, by the end of Zaragoza. The entry records Yusuf’s legacy as “he re-united the Muslim power, and gave a check to the reconquest of the country by the Christians.”
I was surprised to learn that “the Muslims of Zaragoza became military regulars within the Aragonese forces” and in 1118 helped them to conquer Castile from the Almoravids and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon. After Alfonso’s death without heirs in 1134, Zaragoza was swiftly occupied by Alfonso (VII) of León-Castile, who vacated it in 1137 only on condition it be held by Ramon Berenguer (IV) of Barcelona as a fief of Castile.

ALMOHAD DYNASTY

As for Al-Andalus, the Almoravid dynasty was replaced by the Almohad dynasty that was also a Berber dynasty. (Bear with me, I’m almost done with the multiple twists and turns between the rulers of this time with names I cannot pronounce.) This radical dynasty was “founded in the 12th century” and “conquered all northern Africa as far as Libya, together with Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia). According to the entry on Wikipedia for the Almohad dynasty:

“The dynasty originated with Ibn Tumart, a member of the Masmuda, a Berber tribe of the Atlas Mountains. Ibn Tumart was the son of a lamplighter in a mosque and had been noted for his piety from his youth; he was small and misshapen and lived the life of a devotee-beggar. As a youth he performed the hajj to Mecca (or "Makkah"), whence he was expelled on account of his severe strictures on the laxity of others, and thence wandered to Baghdad, where he attached himself to the school of the orthodox doctor al-Ash'ari. But he made a system of his own by combining the teaching of his master with parts of the doctrines of others, and with mysticism imbibed from the great teacher Ghazali. His main principle was a strict Unitarianism which denied the independent existence of the attributes of God, as being incompatible with his unity, and therefore a polytheistic idea. Ibn Tumart in fact represented a revolt against what he perceived as anthropomorphism in the Muslim orthodoxy.”

I found it particularly interesting that Ibn Tumart was associated with Al-Ghazzali, because as we will see, Al-Ghazzali was one of the most famous and respected Sufi teachers of Islam. It is hard to see Al-Ghazzali’s influence in the actions of the Almohad dynasty, which in my mind were the antithesis of the Love of God. For instance, the dynasty’s entry relates that “After his return to Magreb at the age of twenty-eight, Ibn Tumart began preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks on wine-shops and on other manifestations of laxity. He even went so far as to assault the sister of the Almoravid (Murabit) amir `Ali III, in the streets of Fez, because she was going about unveiled after the manner of Berber women.”
Clearly, despite following Al-Ghazzali, Ibn Tumart and the Almohad dynasty were not the traditional Sufis’, so what denomination of Islam did they follow? The entry states that the Almohads practiced “Unitarianism”, which “far surpassed” the Almoravids “in fundamentalist outlook.” Unlike the Caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty, the Almohad dynasty was intolerant of other religions. The entry also informs us that the Almohads “treated the dhimmis (non-muslims) harshly” and that “Faced with the choice of either death or conversion, most Jews and Christians emigrated.”
Obviously, the Almohads did not represent the “Light” in the Iberian Peninsula during the 12th century, so was the “Light” completely extinguished during this time in Iberia? The answer is a most definite no, because this period spawned one of the most important teachings of Sophia and Melchizedek, the mystical side of Judaism or the Kabbalah.

THE KABBALAH AND MAIMONIDES

Maimonides, probably the most famous Kabbalist was born during this difficult period under the rule of the Almohads in Cordoba, Spain. This was a difficult period for the Jews of Cordoba as apart from being “forced to accept the Islamic faith” the Almohads “confiscated their property and took their wives and children, many of whom were sold as slaves.” During the Golden Caliphate, the Jews of Cordoba had participated in the nurturing of knowledge and culture. Unfortunately, under the Almohad’s “The most famous Jewish educational institutions were closed, and synagogues everywhere destroyed.” I described the development of mystical Judaism through the Kabbalah and the Zohar in the chapter From the Crusades to World War I in LCD. But before I get to the “promoters” of the books, I want to examine the most famous Kabbalist, Maimonides.
According to his entry on Wikipedia, Maimonides is considered to be “One of the greatest Torah scholars of all time.” As stated, Maimonides was born in Cordoba, Spain and was known as a “rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages.” This “preeminent Jewish philosopher” was an Aristotelian scholar and together with his “contemporary” Islamic philosopher Averroes “he promoted and developed the philosophical tradition of Aristotle.” The collaboration of Maimonides with the Islamic philosopher Averroes points to the two philosophers being tools of the “Light”. This is seen in the result of the collaboration influencing resurgent Aristotelian thought in the West, which “had been suppressed for centuries.”
Like so many great teachers that rarely gain recognition during their lifetime, Maimonides had to wait to be “posthumously acknowledged” for his work on Jewish law and ethics. Today, Maimonides is recognized as “one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history…and his views are considered a cornerstone of Jewish thought and study.
To reiterate, Maimonides was caught in the purging of non-Muslims in Cordoba by the Almohad Dynasty. The entry for Maimonides relates that after the Almohads in 1148 “threatened the Jewish community with the choice of conversion to Islam, death, or exile. Maimonides’s family, along with most other Jews, chose exile.” Maimonides’ family wandered through “southern Spain” until they “eventually settled in Fez in Morocco.” However, they did not remain there and spent a short time in the “Holy Land before settling in Fostat, Egypt around 1168.
In Cordoba and Fez, Maimonides had “trained as a physician”. He was able to use this training when he “became a court physician to the Grand Vizier Alfadil, then to Sultan Saladin, after whose death he remained a physician to the royal family.” The entry explains:

In his writings he described many conditions including asthma, diabetes, hepatitis, and pneumonia, and emphasized moderation and a healthy life style. His treatises became influential for generations of physicians. He was knowledgeable about Greek and Persian medicine, and followed the principles of humorism in the tradition of Galen, however, did not blindly accept authority but used his own observation and experience.

Maimonides died in Fostat, Egypt and “was buried in Tiberius (today in Israel).” Although he and his family were exiled from Spain, “a statue of him was erected in Córdoba…”  Now it is time to turn to the “promoters” of the Jewish writings of the Kabbalah and Zohar, Moses de Leon and Abraham Abulafia.

MYSTICAL JUDAISM

It was the century before the mid-point for Root-Race 6 or the 4th sub-race of Root-Race 6, which was a major “upstepping” for Humanity. This meant the consciousness and energy was perfect for an advance in knowledge. The advancement that occurred in the 13th century was the emergence of the mystical side of Judaism. The development of a deeper understanding of Judaism is exemplified through the Mystical Jewish sages of the Kabbalah (also known as the Cabala or Kabala) and Zohar. I addressed the development of the mystical side of Judaism in the chapter Crusades to World War I in LCD:

Two books, The Zohar and The Kabbalah, became prominent in the late 13th century. Their promoters were Moses de Leon and Abraham Abulafia. Interestingly, neither of these men was born in the Middle East. Both were native Spaniards. Although the authorship of The Zohar is accredited to Moses de Leon, many scholars believe the original writings are much older. Gershom Scholem, the editor of Zohar—The Book of Splendor1 explained that “The Zohar” was deemed “as a work altogether without unity.” In addition, he thought it had expanded “anonymously in the course of time.” Evidently, Mr. Scholem also believed, it was within The Zohar that the “most varied and often contradictory forces of the Cabalistic movement found expression.”2
Believing that Moses de Leon should be considered “as the redactor of ancient writings and fragments,”3 Mr. Scholem also thinks that de Leon may have added his own thoughts to the ancient writings. The general belief today is that The Zohar is a kind of repository of ancient Jewish mystical teachings, previously taught orally. Interestingly, some scholars of other scriptures, namely The Bible and The Talmud have suggested this very description.
The debate over the original authorship of The Zohar and The Kabbalah continues. Will it ever be resolved? Or indeed do we need it to? For my part, it is sufficient to know that they reveal a side of Judaism, that I was heretofore unaware. History teaches that from time to time great masters reveal to the world secret wisdom in the form of writing, where before it was only taught orally. I wondered if this could have been the case with the 13th century Kabbalists.
Daniel. C. Matt, in The Essential Kabbalah—The Heart of Jewish Mysticism4 relates the importance of The Kabbalah. Informing us that “The Hebrew word Kabbalah means ‘receiving’ or ‘that which has been received’,”5 in addition he tells us that The Kabbalah also contains ancient wisdom, like The Zohar. However, the Kabbalists believed that, as Mr. Matt says, “if one is truly receptive, wisdom appears spontaneously, unprecedented, taking you by surprise.”6 He explains that the mystical teaching found in the Jewish writings of The Zohar and The Kabbalah reveal within the Hebrew text “new—ancient words.” For example a rabbinical tenet “The world that is coming” which is thought to be relating to a distant Messianic kingdom, becomes in The Kabbalah “The world that is constantly coming.” Sounding reminiscent of Jesus’ teachings, Matt explains this as meaning the Messianic kingdom long looked for is “constantly flowing, a timeless dimension of reality available right here and now, if one is receptive.”7
Another thing that emerged from the Kabalistic group concerned the Shekinah, or divine Immanence. This “Holy Spirit” becomes, according to Matt, “The feminine half of God.”8 This he believes equalizes the traditional patriarchal structure found within the Bible and the Talmud.
I found Daniel Matt’s description of Kabalistic teachings very enlightening. He encapsulates the thought when he says; “The Kabbalah retains the traditional discipline of Torah and Mitsvot (the Commandments), but now the Mitsvot have cosmic impact.” Explaining the importance of this, he says the Kabbalists believed; “The secret of fulfilling the Mitsvot is the mending of all worlds and drawing forth the emanation from above.”9
Emulating Eastern thought, The Kabbalah teaches the “divine” world is intrinsically linked with the “material” world. As a result, humanity’s actions affect the Holy Spirit, “promoting or hindering” as Matt explains “the union of the Shekinah and her partner—the Holy one, blessed be He.”10
The fundamental message of The Kabbalah is that God reacts to humanity and, above all, that he needs us. Matt clarifies this as “Without human participation, God remains incomplete, unrealized. It is up to us to actualize the divine potential in the world.”11
Despite the Inquisition, the Kabbalists survived, where other mystics perished. Many believe this was mainly due to the way the order taught, because secrecy was the order of the day. As already stated, the teachings had for centuries been handed down orally from master to disciple. When the teachings were written down, they were still protected by recording the messages in cryptic forms. Messages often ended with, as Matt reports, “This is sufficient for one who is enlightened,” or “The enlightened one will understand,” or “I cannot expand on this, for thus have I been commanded.” Another interesting piece of information imparted by Daniel Matt is that the Kabbalists believed their “mystical teachings derived from the Garden of Eden.” He felt that this implied that The Kabbalah bears “our original nature: the unbounded awareness of Adam and Eve.”12
I have discussed Moses de Leon being the supposed author of The Zohar, but what of our other Spaniard, Abraham Abulafia? He is reported to have traveled to Italy, Sicily, Greece and Israel. Some scholars speculate that his travels may have exposed him to Sufism and Yoga. For me, Abulafia’s beliefs and teaching truly exhibited the Kabbalist’s piece of the jigsaw puzzle I was constructing. Matt explains that Abulafia united both the ideologies of the Sepher Yetsirah (a Jewish mystical scripture) and that of Maimonides’ concept of prophecy. Abulafia saw this as achieving inspiration through the ultimate goal of uniting the human intellect with the divine intellect. Apparently, Abulafia saw the human soul as linked to “the stream of cosmic life. Our awareness, though, is limited by sensory perceptions, our minds cluttered with sensible forms. The goal is ‘To untie the knots’ that bind the soul, to free the mind from definitions, to move from constriction to the boundless.”13
Evidently, Abulafia grew to believe that he represented some sort of Messiah. In the Summer of 1280 C.E., after trying to have an audience with Pope Nicholas III, he found himself being sentenced to burn to death at the stake. Fortunately for Abulafia, the Pope died prematurely, and consequently a month later he was set free.

I mentioned earlier that I found it particularly interesting that Ibn Tumart was associated with Al-Ghazzali, because Al-Ghazzali was one of the most famous and respected Sufi teachers of Islam, which brings me back to the Middle East. Although the “Light” of Islam had dimmed in Spain, it was still present in the Middle East, because Sufism had arisen during the early Umayyad Dynasty. However, since its inception Sufism had experienced mixed fortunes.

SUFISM – RISE AND FALL

I discussed Abu Yazid in the previous section as a famous Sufi, but he is not the most famous Sufi Islamic mystic. That designation goes to two other Muslims. The first suffered a horrible death, when he was executed as a heretic and the second was honored as a great Muslim teacher. Capturing this amazing paradox Mr. Martinson in Islam - An Introduction for Christians explains that the Sufis searched for a more esoteric interpretation of the Islamic scripture. With this, Sufism answered a need within the populace to “internalize the apparently external rules for living.”14 Several Sufi teachers offered a new way to understand the Qur’an and as I said, some were received well, while others were persecuted as heretics. One such “heretic” was Al-Hallaj, Husayn Ibn Mansur, who was crucified in 922 C.E., in Baghdad. His death made him, according to Martinson, “A martyr for God’s love.”15
Al-Hallaj’s childhood apparently had been amid the slave rebellions in Iraq. This had created a longing in him to find God. Mr. Martinson informs us that his search led him to understand that “The divine truth ‘hides from discovery and is too holy to be seen with the eye’.” Having said that Al-Hallaj later told us “I saw my lord with my heart’s eye and said, ‘Who are you’? He answered, ‘You’.” To which Al-Hallaj responded “Ana Al-Haqq—I am the truth! ’16
Unsurprisingly, this was not received well by some Muslims, with many of them accusing Al-Hallaj of making himself God. The charge was concocted, according to Martinson, by making his statement “I am the true one” equate to “I am God.”17 However, what really sealed his fate was his call for change, as this threatened the status quo. Consequently he was considered too dangerous to the established institution and eventually executed.
More than a century later, the Sufi teacher Abu Hamid Muhammad Al-Ghazzali 1058-1111 C.E. would surface to champion Sufism. However, this Sufi teacher experienced a completely different reception to his teachings than Al-Hallaj had received. After the life of a scholar, Al-Ghazzali abandoned his comfortable existence for the severity of life as a nomadic Sufi and Dervish. Realizing that logic could only take him so far, he sought the deeper mystical aspects of God.
In his search, though, Al-Ghazzali found a different approach to mysticism than Al-Hallaj. Instead of immersing himself in God, through the love of God he understood that he must surrender his will and discover what God’s will was for him.
Unlike the unfortunate Al-Hallaj, eventually the Muslim populace accepted Al-Ghazzali’s philosophy, which resulted in him becoming known as one of the “greatest teachers” in Islam.
Today, Al-Ghazzali’s “writings” continue to spiritually guide those Muslims seeking God. Extolling the Sufi teachers’ ability to expand his mind, Martinson informs us that this together with “his tolerance toward Jews and Christians,” has caused Al-Ghazzali’s “influence” to make great inroads throughout the world.18
It seems that it depends on how the teachings are described, as to whether they are considered heretical or not. This is evinced by the eventual acceptance of Al-Ghazzali, which Mr. Zaehner’s Hindu and Muslim Mysticism sums up for me when he relates that Al-Ghazzali was one of the most respected philosophers and theologians. He succeeded in forming a set doctrine to explain Sufism, which would affect the path that the Sufi movement would take.
Al-Ghazzali wrote several treatises and Zaehner says that some Muslims saw two of them as controversial. The two were Kimiya-Ya Sa’Adat and the short treatise Mishkat Al-Anwar. Evidently, his critics saw in them teachings contrary to the orthodox teachings because of the propositions he made. The propositions were “(1) That the formula ‘There is no God but God’ was a definition of the divine unity only fit for popular consumption, whereas the ‘privileged,’ the Khawass, preferred the formula ‘There is no He but He,’ (2) That light in its reality is God, (3) That the soul of man is a stranger in this world and originated in the world above.”19
To vindicate himself, Al-Ghazzali wrote the Fada’ Il Al-Anam in which he defends the above propositions. A consummate pragmatist, Al-Ghazzali was under no illusions to the reception he would receive. Concerning this, Zaehner relates Al-Ghazzali wrote; “Nowadays—If anyone (ventures to) speak the truth, the very ramparts will ascend in hostility in opposition to them.”20
Al-Ghazzali was then a Sufi Mystic who, where others had failed, succeeded in having Sufi Mysticism accepted into mainstream Islam. In reading Mr. Zaehner’s book, Hindu and Muslim Mysticism I not only saw Hindu and Buddhist tendencies, but also Gnosticism. I first learned of Al-Ghazzali in reading the Qur’an and so before I leave Al-Ghazzali, I would like to quote from the appendix in the Qur’an that introduced me to this great teacher.
To me, Al-Ghazzali’s doctrine on light and darkness paralleled the Valentinians doctrine of the tripartition of mankind so closely that I wondered if the great teacher had been exposed to Valentinian Gnosticism. Al-Ghazzali wrote:

“What is the meaning of the prophet’s saying that ‘God has seventy thousand veils of light and darkness’? There are three classes of men who are veiled from the ineffably glorious light of God: (1) Those veiled by pure darkness; (2) Those veiled by mixed light and darkness; and (3) Those veiled by pure light. In each class there are numerous sub-divisions. (When we take account of all these, we may well speak of 70,000).”21

Earlier I said I was surprised to learn that Islamic mysticism, of which Sufism derives, dates back to Muhammad and that the presence of a mystical side of Islam, speaking of God’s Love demonstrated that Sophia’s consciousness was present in the region during the 8th and 9th centuries. It is important to state that whenever Sophia was present in the Earth, her masculine counterpart Melchizedek was always also present.
The main result of the presence of their consciousness in the region was that the philosophies of Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism and Hermeticism were united in the Islamic philosophy of Sufism. Sufism was founded in, Basra, Iraq, which is also where the Mandeans of the Gnostic John the Baptist settled. Is it possible that the Mandeans influenced the Sufi philosophy? Leaving that question aside for now, I want to investigate another Islamic sect.

DRUZE

Considering, the world’s concept of Islam through the Taliban and Al-Qeada as a male dominated and violent movement, I was pleased to discover that Sufism was not the only Islamic sect to embrace other philosophies. Another sect of Islam that reflected the “Light” is the Druze. The Druze, according to their entry on Wikipedia: “…began as an offshoot of the Ismaili sect of Islam, but is unique in its incorporation of Gnostic, neo-platonic and other philosophies.”
Evidently, the Druze sect defines itself theologically as “an Islamic Unist, reformatory sect”. Druze adherents refer to themselves as “Ahl al-Tawid”, which translates as “People of Monotheism”. Their entry on Wikipedia states that the Druze sect resides primarily in Syria and Lebanon, with smaller communities in Israel and Jordan…”
I first learned of the Druze through Peter Partner’s book The Knights Templar and their Myth…a rational, terrifying picture of the barbaric times when popes were cruel and kings killed with impunity.22 In his introduction he says that some authors transformed the Templars from “…unlearned and fanatical soldier monks to that of enlightened and wise knightly seers, who had used their sojourn in the East to uncover its profoundest secrets…In this version of the story the Ismaili sect of Assassins ceased to be the murderous enemies of The Christians which crusading sources made them out to be, and became the secret philosopher guides who instructed the Templars in the precept of their House of Wisdom.”23
I had never heard of the Ismaili sect, so I looked them up on the web. It was then I learned they were connected to the Druze. Surprisingly, in the history of the Druze, their spiritual leader Hamza ibn ali was known as the founder of Ismailism. An entry on Wikipedia says of the Druze:

In the 11th century CE, Druze religious thought further developed through the Ismaili sect, a sub group of Shia Islam. The religion did not attempt to change mainstream Islam but to create a whole new religious body influenced by Greek philosophy and Gnosticism, including a form of reincarnation, where Druze reincarnate as future descendents. They keep their theology secretive, although it is known that they believe in one God and seven prophets – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, and Muhammad bin Ismail Nashtakin ad-Darazi. They revere Jethro and make an annual pilgrimage to his tomb at the Horns of Hittin.

In seeing the name Jethro, the father in law of Moses as revered by the Druze, I saw a deeper relevance to the sect. I discussed in LCD how I learned from the Book of Jasher that Jethro was greatly involved in the giving of the Ten Commandments to the Israelites. I wondered if the Druze or Ismailis knew of the Book of Jasher.
I also found an in depth and very interesting article on the Druze, on the web site Newsfinder by Jim Down http://www.newsfinder.org/site/more/the_druze_of_lebanon/ The article suggested to me that the Druze were very strong contenders as the recipients of Melchizedek and Sophia’s teaching. Below are excerpts from the article that best encapsulate the religion. As space does not allow for the entire article, I relate the most relevant excerpts to the thesis. However, I recommend that you read the entire article for yourselves. Please note in this article Hamza is spelt Hamzah:

The Druze religion has elements of many ancient religious – Neo-Platonism, Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Hinduism, besides Jewish and Christian mysticism. It was recognized by the teachings of Hamzah and his successors. Druze missionaries were active for a short while in Syria, Persia and even India.
Hamzah taught …God is beyond comprehension, transcending language and thought, indefinable. This concept of an unknowable, transcendent and remote God (common to most Shi’a and Sufi groups), is coupled with the belief that this ultimate God, in order to bring himself nearer to human understanding, has appeared in a number of manifestations and revelations…
The Druze separated themselves from other religions, but they participate in the veneration of certain saints and prophets whose tombs are places of pilgrimage to other faiths.
The Druze community is divided into two classes: The ‘Uqqal (knowers, sages), and the Juhal (ignorant ones). The ‘Uqqal, who constitute some 20% of the community, are those who have been initiated into the doctrine and practice of the Druze religion. They have studied the Druze scriptures and the writings of Druze sages over the centuries…
In each district one of the Sheikhs, usually a member of a leading family, is chosen as the Ra’is (head), the supreme religious authority.
All ‘Uqqal must behave with decorum, lead a morally blameless life, be peace makers, abstain from stimulants, lying, stealing and revenge… Only the ‘Uqqal are allowed to read the Druze secret books and participate in the secret rituals.
The Juhal, the uninitiated majority of the community, are expected to lead humble and honest lives, loyal and obedient to their spiritual leaders. Any Druze can try to become ‘Uqqal. The majority who don’t succeed can comfort themselves with the hope that they will achieve higher rank in a future rebirth…
Women hold a relatively respected position in Druze society. Women may become ‘Uqqals and be initiated into the mysteries of their religion. Monogamy is the rule, and marriage is permitted only within the community. Divorce is permitted but difficult. Wives have the same rights as their husbands where divorce is concerned and divorce is relatively rare in Druze society…

Having spent nine years in Saudi Arabia, where women are considered as chattel with very little rights, it was surprising and pleasing to find that Saudi isn’t indicative of the Islamic faith. As stated, I first heard of the Druze in reading Peter Partner’s book The Knights Templar and their Myth: however, before we investigate the Knights Templar, I want to return to the activities of the Roman Empire and examine the developments and influences in Europe after 900 C.E.

THE “SHADOW’S” HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE

It is funny how accepted history can influence how we evaluate a certain period. The “Dark Ages” are generally considered to have started after the Fall of Rome in 476 C.E. After Rome fell, the empire gradually lost its provinces in Europe. The void left in Britain by the retreating Romans was filled by the Germanic tribes, known as Anglo-Saxons. Evidently, although the Anglo-Saxons were “pagans”, worshiping the Norse gods, they adopted Christianity in the 7th and 8th centuries.
Interestingly, the Christian religion was introduced to Britain by “Irish monks”. This was how the Cistercians came to use the knowledge of the Earth Stars in the building of abbeys, churches, and cathedrals in Britain. Unfortunately, before the Cistercians could create their magnificent buildings, Anglo-Saxon Britain would fall to the Normans in 1066. At this time the “Light” withdrew from Britain, however, it had made its mark, so to speak in bringing the knowledge of the Earth Stars to Britain, which would be incorporated in the building of the churches, abbeys, and cathedrals in the following centuries.
Meanwhile, back in Rome, a decade before Britain fell to the Normans, an event was orchestrated by the “Shadow” that created great conflict in the Christian Church. This “event” was the split between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. I wrote of the “event” under the sub-heading “Final Split” in Byzantium, Mariolatry, and the Rise of Islam in LCD:

“Some historians record the schism between Rome and Constantinople in 1054 C.E. as politically driven. Nevertheless, I think it is more a case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. There were various rulers who, like their predecessors, the Roman emperors, influenced the church during this time. In spite of this, the main cause of the split was the centuries of antagonism between the two churches. During the fifth century, the church, as already stated, divided the Christian world into five dioceses controlled by five Patriarchs. With the spread of Islam throughout the Fertile Crescent, these five were gradually reduced to two, Constantinople and Rome. Both of the patriarchs shared equal billing (so to speak) with each other, neither having supremacy over the other. That would begin to change with the election of Nicholas I in 858 C.E., to the position of Pope in Rome. Because Nicholas believed Christ conferred the “keys of the kingdom” on Saint Peter, and that Peter had been the first Roman Pope, then the patriarch of Rome should be the supreme spiritual leader. This was the beginning of the reform party that would lead to the final separation of the eastern and western churches.
“The final nail in the coffin of the unified church came when Pope Leo IX (irresistible force) and the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (immovable object) excommunicated each other in 1054 C.E. Although there had been other mutual excommunications, reconciliation had always been achieved. This would not be the case here. Centuries of arguments over doctrine cemented the rift between East and West, which to this day has never been bridged. The split resulted in the eventual forming of the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches, with the two religions, although of the same faith, celebrating Easter at different times.”

Let us take a moment and consider the separation of the eastern and western churches from a consciousness and energetic perspective. The Pillar that “Anything that creates fear, hatred and or division is Never of Divine origin” told me that this event was orchestrated by the “Shadow.” The split would have even more repercussions in the following years, because the entire Western Church was about to be mobilized to fight the “Mohammedans”. At the time of the “split” the world was supposedly emerging from the “Dark Ages”, but from a consciousness and energetic perspective, it would be the three centuries following the end of the “Dark Ages” that would be the most profitable time for the “Shadow.” I say “profitable”, because the “Shadow” thrives on the lower emotions and from 1000 C.E. to 1300 C.E. the entire Middle East was immersed in the lower emotions. So my question was, “is it accurate to refer to the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries as the “Dark Ages?”
To be fair, most scholars’ no longer refer to this period in history by the term “Dark Ages, but nonetheless, it is still considered not to be an enlightened time. However, as I said, from the Spiritual Evolution viewpoint the “Dark Ages” or a period when the “Light’s” influence is at its lowest, occurred in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries. In my opinion this was probably the “darkest” time in the history of the world. I realize that I need to clarify such a strong statement, but remember this thesis is tracking the influence of the “Light” and “Shadow” through history. Technically, this very “dark” period originated from the previous “upstepping’s” time, but I have chosen to discuss it in this “upstepping”, because its affects were most evident at this time. The event orchestrated by the “Shadow” that led to the “darkest” period energetically was the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, which was ruled by a Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne the Great.
When Charlemagne was crowned by the pope as the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 C.E., the “Shadow” consolidated “his” power by infusing the vast Holy Roman Empire, with “his” energy and frequency. To understand how this was achieved I need to remind you that the “Vatican” was infused with “negative” energy because of its association with the thousands of deaths in Caligua’s circus. The entries for the Holy Roman Emperor and Empire on Wikipedia may help to shed a little more light:

The Holy Roman Empire's origins can be traced back to the Carolingian Empire of Charlemagne. Holy Roman Emperors were crowned by the Popes up until the 16th century, and the last Emperor, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empire's final dissolution...
The title of Emperor (Imperator) carried with it an important role as protector of the Catholic Church, and women were ineligible to be crowned. As the papacy's power grew during the Middle Ages, Popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration…
Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors. Elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors…The Electoral council was set at seven princes (three archbishops and four secular princes) by the Golden Bull of 1356…
After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the brief exception of one Wittelsbach, Charles VII. In 1508, and permanently after 1556, the King no longer traveled to Rome for the crowning by the Pope.
The Emperor was crowned in a special ceremony, traditionally performed by the Pope in Rome, using the Imperial Regalia. Without that coronation, no king, despite exercising all powers, could call himself Emperor…

The “Imperial Regalia” that the emperors were crowned with consisted of several items, including the jeweled “Imperial Crown” and the “Imperial Sword”. Even so, it is the “regalia” known as the “Holy Lance”, which carried the most power from an energetic point of view. This is because; it was the believed to be the Spear of Destiny, which the centurion Longinus used to pierce Jesus’ side at the crucifixion. There is considerable doubt as to whether Charlemagne, or any Holy Roman Emperor ever received the actual “Holy Lance”, but it does not matter if it was the genuine article or not. I know that sounds ridiculous, “how could a fake “spear” carry any power?” The answer is again in the power of consciousness. All it took to infuse the “spear” with power was for the holder to be presented with it in a ceremony of power and for the holder to believe it was the actual spear. Because the Holy Roman Emperor was crowned in Rome, any ceremony has the potential to tap into the energy of the area, and remember the “energy” of Rome at the time of Charlemagne’s coronation was entirely of the “Shadow”.
The crowning of Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor would have repercussions that would last for more than a thousand years. This is because it enabled the “Shadow” to fully manifest in the Physical Plane, by not only influencing, but at times “incarnating” in a family/dynasty that consolidated “his” power throughout Europe. Nonetheless, that “family/dynasty” did not appear as a force in the Holy Roman Empire until the next “upstepping”. In this “upstepping” I want to address how the “Shadow” first consolidated “his” power through the instigation of the position of Holy Roman Emperor.
Having said that the family/dynasty that the “Shadow” used to take physical form were not a Frankish (French) or Italian family, they were German. The mention of German kings reminded me that Frederick Barbarossa, a German king fought in the Crusades. Nonetheless, before, Frederick was crowned in 1155; there were twenty other emperors that ruled as Holy Roman Emperors after Charlemagne. Eighteen of the twenty’s actions do not concern us in this thesis, but two of them are worth considering as their actions clearly demonstrate the influence of the “Shadow”.
The first Holy Roman Emperor that I am concerned with was from the Ottonian (Saxon) Dynasty. The Ottonian Dynasty was from a branch of the Carolingian Dynasty, in the Duchy of Saxony, in Northern Germany. The first was Otto (I) also known as the Great who ruled from 962 to 973, however, it was the last member of the Ottonian (Saxon) Dynasty that portrays the “Shadow’s” agenda. He was Henry (II), who had the epithet “the Saint.” Henry (II) was the fourteenth Holy Roman Emperor since Charlemagne. He was crowned emperor in 1014 and ruled until 1024. Henry II’s claim to fame was that he was the only German king to be canonized, hence the title “Saint.”

HENRY II OF GERMANY

I find it curious that Emperor Henry (II) was declared a saint, because he was responsible for doctrines that furthered the “Shadow’s” agenda. Let me explain. According to his entry on Wikipedia:

Henry's most significant contributions as emperor came in the realm of church-state relations and ecclesiastic administration within the Empire…He strongly enforced clerical celibacy in order that the public land and offices he granted the church would not be passed on to heirs. This ensured that the bishops remained loyal to him, from whom they received their power…
Henry and his wife, Cunigunde of Luxemburg, had no children, reportedly because they had taken a mutual vow of chastity.

Previously, I related that celibacy should only be practiced by those individuals that are fully prepared and ready. Moreover, forced celibacy has led to gross abuse by Catholic priests of children in their charge. As these abuses generate the lowest emotions of fear, rage, and hatred from the victims, we know that the instigation of this doctrine was inspired by the “Shadow.” Henry II’s motive for instigating celibacy was to prevent “public land and offices he granted the church” being “passed on to heirs”. He also wanted to “ensure” that his “bishops remained loyal to him, from whom they received their power…” Anyone of the above references shows the influence of the “Shadow” and demonstrates that despite Henry (II) being canonized, he was not influenced by the “Light”.

The other Holy Roman Emperor that demonstrated the “Shadow’s” agenda was the eighteenth emperor to come to the throne after Charlemagne. This emperor was a member of the Salian (Frankish) Dynasty, which was founded by Conrad (II) whose father was related to Otto (I) by marriage. However, it is not Conrad (II) 1027-1039, but his great grandson Henry (V), that was crowned emperor in 1111 that demonstrates the influence of the “Shadow”. Before I get to Henry (V) I want to review his father Henry IV’s reign, because it involved a serious dispute with the Church, which led to the king being forced to abdicate the throne in 1105.
There were twenty-eight years between the death of Henry (III) and the coronation of his son and heir Henry (IV). This was because Henry (IV) was only six years of age when his father died, but when he came of age he was not crowned immediately. The reason for the delay involves the Investiture Controversy within the Catholic Church.
According to the entry on Wikipedia: “The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was an 11th century dispute between Henry (IV), Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory (VII) over who would control appointments of church officials (investiture)…” It seems the “Investiture Controversy” heralds back to the way the popes were elected. Earlier I related that Pope Symmachus in 502 had decreed that only the church hierarchy would elect a pope. Evidently, his decree didn’t stick because the “Investiture Controversy” concerned who appointed church officials. I repeat excerpts from the entry on Wikipedia for the “controversy” below:

After the decline of the Roman Empire…the appointment of church officials…was in practice performed by secular authorities. Since a substantial amount of wealth and land was usually associated with the office of bishop or abbot, the sale of Church offices (a practice known as simony) was an important source of income for secular leaders. Since bishops and abbots were themselves usually part of the secular governments…it was beneficial for a secular ruler to appoint (or sell the office to) someone who would be loyal. In addition, the Holy Roman Emperor had the special ability to appoint the pope, and the pope in turn would appoint and crown the next Emperor…
The crisis began when a group within the church, members of the Gregorian Reform, decided to address the sin of simony by restoring the power of investiture to the Church. The Gregorian reformers knew this would not be possible so long as the emperor maintained the ability to appoint the pope, so their first step was to liberate the papacy from the control of the emperor. An opportunity came in 1056 when Henry IV became German king at six years of age. The reformers seized the opportunity to free the papacy while he was still a child and could not react. In 1059 a church council in Rome declared secular leaders would play no part in the selection of popes and created the College of Cardinals as a body of electors made up entirely of church officials. To this day the College of Cardinals selects the pope…

It seems that the papacy was not just content to stop with reclaiming the power to elect the pope, it wanted to claim sole divine right. According to the entry “In 1075 Pope Gregory (VII) asserted …that as the Roman church was founded by God alone; that the papal power…was the sole universal power…” At the time, only the ruler was known to have the Divine right of kings, which included “…the divinely-appointed monarch's right to invest a prelate with the symbols of power, both secular and spiritual.” The emperor who was now of age responded to Gregory’s declaration by letter, in which he “rescinded his imperial support of Gregory as pope” and calling “for the election of a new pope…”
Unfortunately for Henry (IV), his bravado did not disturb Gregory (VII), as the pope moved to excommunicate Henry and remove him as a German king. Gregory’s actions were supported by the German Aristocracy and because of their support the emperor was forced to seek forgiveness from the pope. After Henry performed the appropriate penance by wearing a hair shirt, Pope Gregory granted Henry forgiveness. However, the German aristocrats were not as forgiving as they were already engaged in a rebellion with Henry. This rebellion was known as the Great Saxon Revolt. Subsequently, the aristocracy elected Rudolf von Rheinfield as their new king. Seeing this as a betrayal by Gregory (VII), Henry (IV) responded to the election of Rudolph by appointing a new pope. The entry explains:

Henry IV then proclaimed Antipope Clement III to be pope. In 1081 Henry IV captured and killed Rudolf, and in the same year he invaded Rome with the intent of forcibly removing Gregory VII and installing a friendlier pope. Gregory VII called on his allies the Normans in southern Italy, and they rescued him from the Germans in 1085. The Normans sacked Rome in the process, and when the citizens of Rome rose up against Gregory he was forced to flee south with the Normans. He died there soon after.

If I may be permitted to digress for a moment, the mention of the Normans reminded me that the Norman king William the Conqueror had “conquered” Britain in 1066. I was interested to learn that there was a similar “Investiture Controversy” in Britain in 1103.

THE NORMANS

The British “Investure Controversy” is included in the Wikipedia’s entry, which relates that William the Conqueror had “…accepted a papal banner and the distant blessing of Pope Alexander (II) upon his invasion…” However, he did not accept the pope’s “invitation” to “pay homage” for his success and his “fief” (a piece of land formerly granted by a feudal lord to somebody in return for service) in Rome “under the general provisions of the ‘Donation of Constantine’…” Note according to an entry on Wikipedia, the “Donation of Constantine” is “a forged Roman imperial decree in which the emperor Constantine (I) transfers authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the pope.”
During the reign of Henry (I) of England, the son of William the Conqueror, who had succeeded his brother William (II) in 1100, the “Investiture Controversy” intensified. Relations between Rome and Britain were further strained after Pope Paschal (II) escalated the “controversy” his predecessor Pope Gregory (VII) had initiated, by excommunicating Henry’s chief advisor, who was a Norman count.
Meanwhile on the continent, Henry (IV) of Germany was succeeded by his son Henry (V) as the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Salian (Frankish) Dynasty. Unlike his father, Henry (V) appeared more tolerant of the papacy. However, this appears to have been a ploy to gain the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. While his father Henry (IV) was alive, he supported the papacy, which in turn supported him against his father.
Historians note that Henry V’s motives were far from altruistic. Evidently, the “Papal Party”, held the hope that as they had supported Henry (V) in his struggle with his father, the son would reciprocate by supporting the papal decrees, which were “renewed by Paschal (II) at the synod of Guastalla in 1106.” However, the king showed his true colors when he “continued to invest the bishops.” Henry (V) expressed a wish for the pope to settle the question of investiture once and for all in a council. To cut a very long story short, the issue remained unresolved until things came to head in 1110 when Pope Paschal (II) “renewed his decrees”, and Henry (V) reciprocated with the invasion of Italy. To rub salt in the wound Henry (V) resorted to blackmail. The entry on Wikipedia for Henry (V) reports:

The strength of his forces helped him to secure general recognition in Lombardy, and at Sutri he concluded an arrangement with Paschal by which he renounced the rite of investiture in return for a promise of coronation, and the restoration to the Empire of all Christendom, which had been in the hands of the German state and church since the time of Charlemagne… Having entered Rome and sworn the usual oaths, the king presented himself at St Peter's Basilica on 12 February 1111 for his coronation and the ratification of the treaty. The words commanding the clergy to restore the fiefs of the crown to Henry were read amid a tumult of indignation, whereupon the pope refused to crown the king, who in return declined to hand over his renunciation of the right of investiture. Paschal, along with sixteen cardinals, was seized by Henry's soldiers…

As Henry (V) held Pope Paschal (II) hostage, he was able to get the pope to agree to grant him the “king’s right of investiture”, with a pledge to crown him Holy Roman Emperor. It is after Henry’s coronation on April 13 of 1111 that we see Henry being influenced by the “Shadow” to spread “his” agenda to Britain. The “Shadow” achieved this by influencing the emperor Henry (V) to marry Matilda, the daughter of Henry (I) the King of England. This strengthened the link between the papacy or the Holy Roman Empire and England and therefore the “Shadow’s” influence in England.
However, the German emperor’s troubles were far from over, because his subjects in Cologne rose up against their king with the help of the Saxons and other factions. After being defeated in an important battle, he learned of yet more problems in Rome. This was that although he had “extorted” a submission from Pope Paschal (II) over the “investiture Controversy”, when Henry left Rome, a council was called to nullify Pope Paschal’s capitulation. The entry on Wikipedia explains:

After the departure of Henry from Rome in 1111 a council had declared the privilege of lay investiture, which had been extorted from Paschal, to be invalid. Guido, Archbishop of Vienne excommunicated the emperor, calling upon the pope to ratify this sentence. Paschal, however, refused to take so extreme a step; and the quarrel entered upon a new stage in 1115 when Matilda of Tuscany, died leaving her vast estates to the papacy. Crossing the Alps in 1116, Henry won the support of town and noble by granting privileges to the one and giving presents to the other…By this time Paschal had withdrawn his consent to lay investiture and the excommunication had been published in Rome; but the pope was compelled to flee from the city. Some of the cardinals withstood the emperor, but by means of bribes he broke down the opposition, and was crowned a second time by Burdinas, Archbishop of Braga.
Meanwhile the defeat …had given heart to Henry's enemies; many of his supporters, especially among the bishops, fell away; the excommunication was published at Cologne, and the pope, with the assistance of the Normans, began to make war. In January 1118, Paschal died and was succeeded by Gelasius II.

The election of a new pope did not deter Emperor Henry (V), as he planned to capture the new pope to sign a treaty in the emperor’s favor. However, hearing of the approach of the emperor, Gelasius (II) left the city, and managed to elude Henry’s forces. Unable to force the legitimate pope into submission, the emperor merely appointed another pope. Historians refer to this appointment as the Antipope Gregory (VIII). As for the “Investiture Controversy” that was resolved in two separate councils, the Concordats of London and Worms. The first, the Concordat of London was held in 1107 where a compromise was suggested in a distinction between the “secular and ecclesiastical powers of the prelates.”

Employing the distinction, Henry gave up his right to invest his bishops and abbots and reserved the custom of requiring them to come and do homage for the "temporalities" (the landed properties tied to the episcopate), directly from his hand…
Henry recognized the dangers of depending on monastic scholars to staff his chancery and turned increasingly to secular scholars (who naturally held minor orders) and rewarded these men of his own making with bishoprics and abbeys. Henry expanded the system of scutage to reduce the monarchy's dependence on knights supplied from church lands. The conclusion of the brief English investiture controversy was to strengthen the secular power of the king.

The increased “secular power of the king”, was a spectacular victory for the “Shadow”, because the increase in power resulted in gross abuses of the throne of England. However, the “Light” succeeded in mitigating the “abuses” through the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. As this event happened between the 4th and 5th Crusade, I will discuss it a little later. Seven years after the Concordat of London was signed, a council in Worms, Germany held a similar council, which was called not surprisingly the Concordat of Worms.

On the Continent, after 50 years of fighting, a similar compromise (but with quite different long-term results) was reached in 1122, signed on September 23 and known as the Concordat of Worms. It was agreed that investiture would be eliminated, while room would be provided for secular leaders to have unofficial but significant influence in the appointment process.
Before the monarchy was embroiled in the dispute with the Church, it declined in power and broke apart. Localized rights of lordship over peasants grew, increasing serfdom and resulting in fewer rights for the population. Local taxes and levies increased while royal coffers declined. Rights of justice became localized and courts did not have to answer to royal authority. In the long term the decline of imperial power would divide Germany until the 19th century.
As for the papacy, it gained strength. During the controversy, both sides had tried to marshal public opinion; as a result, lay people became engaged in religious affairs and lay piety increased, setting the stage for the Crusades and the great religious vitality of the 12th century.
The dispute did not end with the Concordat of Worms. There would be future disputes between popes and Holy Roman Emperors, until northern Italy was lost to the Empire entirely. The Church would turn the weapon of Crusade against the Holy Roman Empire under Frederick II.

I was interested to hear that even before the “controversy” with the church, the “monarchy” in the Holy Roman Empire had began to “decline in power and break apart” and the “papacy…gained strength.” This would be how the “Shadow” was able to really consolidate “his” power by strengthening the role of the pope. Consequently, when the Byzantine Emperor Alexis requested help in repelling the attack on his empire by the Seljuk Turks, the “Shadow” was able to move Pope Urban (II) to mobilize the Christian armies to defend the Byzantines. On the face of it, going to the defense of a fellow Christian does not seem to promote the “Shadow’s” agenda, but it did. This was because Pope Urban (II) decreed that anyone who fought in the Crusade would “immediately receive remission of all of their sins.” This made the motivation of many crusaders selfish, which corrupted the energy and turned a “rescue mission” into a bloodfest of violence, and cruelty. This in turn, generated a torrent of fear, grief and hatred.
There is little argument that the Crusades were the bloodiest period in the Christian Church. At this time, “Christian soldiers” took up arms to recapture the Holy site of Jerusalem and spread Christianity to the Muslim “heathens.” I will not dwell on this very “dark” era; suffice to say that for one hundred and seventy-seven years various Christian kings would launch as many as nine “Crusades” into the Middle East.

With the cruelty unleashed on the world at this time, one would assume that the “Light” was completely absent, but although Sophia was compelled to leave the Earth Plane, through the outbreak of violence. As Melchizedek was of the active/masculine consciousness, he remained in the world inspiring individuals to reveal the “Light”. At this time, Melchizedek focused on an obscure band of nine knights, which were formed after the first Crusade.
Interestingly, as far as historians are concerned the first Crusade was the only really successful “Crusade.” During this “Crusade” Jerusalem was recaptured and the temple mount (the site where the Temple of Solomon had stood) was occupied by nine Christian knights. These nine knights were known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, which thankfully became shortened to the Knights Templar. It is to these famous Knights of the Crusades that I now turn. The Templars were known as warrior or soldier monks in that they were associated with the religious order of Cistercians.

THE CISTERCIANS

I related earlier that the Irish monks, as instruments of the “Light” incorporated the ancient use of Energy Earth Stars into their buildings and that this knowledge was passed onto the order of Cistercians. The Cistercians built some of the most magnificent cathedrals in Britain. However that is not the main reason the Cistercians were instruments of the “Light.” The main reason is through a Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux’s connection and support of the Knights Templar. But first let us take a brief look at the hi-lights of the Cistercian order.
The Cistercian’s grew out of the Benedictine order when according to an entry for the Cistercians on Wikipedia: “In 1098, a Benedictine abbot, Robert of Molesme, left his monastery in Burgundy with around twenty supporters, who felt that the Cluniac communities had abandoned the rigors and simplicity of St Benedict's Rule…” Although the Cistercian Order was well established, it did not become an important Catholic order until after Bernard of Clairvaux joined the order in 1113. Saint Bernard has come to be known as the founder of the Cistercian Order, which in fact it is more accurate to say that he was a reformer of the order. I was interested to learn of Bernard’s association with the Irish Saint Malachy. His entry on Wikipedia relates:

In the spring of 1140, Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, visited Clairvaux, becoming a personal friend of St Bernard and an admirer of the Cistercian rule. He left four of his companions to be trained as Cistercians, and returned to Ireland to introduce Cistercianism there…
St Bernard had established the unique position as mentor of popes and kings, and in 1145, King Louis VII's brother, Henry of France, entered Clairvaux. That same year, Bernard saw one of his monks ascend the papal chair as Pope Eugene III…
By 1152, there were 54 Cistercian monasteries in England, some few of which had been founded directly from the Continent. Overall, there were 333 Cistercian abbeys in Europe – so many that a halt was put to this expansion. Nearly half of these houses had been founded, directly or indirectly, from Clairvaux, so great was St Bernard's influence and prestige. He has come almost to be regarded as the founder of the Cistercians, who have often been called Bernardines. Bernard died in 1153, one month after his pupil Eugene III

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux endorsed the Knights Templar in 1129 C.E. With the endorsement of the Church the Templars grew in stature. Although there is still controversy as to their role in the Crusades, with some historians denouncing them as cruel barbarians, while others cite their support and charitable work for their communities, I am sure that their original role was to further the “Light’s” agenda. I reached this conclusion following our visit to France.

KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

In 2002, Craig and I visited the awe-inspiring Notre Dame cathedral in Paris with our friend David. We were all struck by the energy of the cathedral. Learning that the Cistercians incorporated the use of Energy Stars, by building their buildings over these “stars” caused our experience of the energy in Notre Dame to make sense. Nevertheless, at the time of our trip, we were most interested in the Knights Templars. After our return, we delved a little deeper into the Knights Templar Order. Subsequently we wrote in The True Philosophers’ Stone: that we were:

“…surprised to learn later that the Knights Templar oversaw the building of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe, of which Notre Dame in Paris is a perfect example…The designation Knights Templar first appears when nine Knights spent nine years in Jerusalem, living over the site of the temple of Solomon…Their official function in Jerusalem was to protect pilgrims to the Holy Lands. Only, legends abound that their real purpose was to locate The Ark of the Covenant. Elizabeth van Buren points out in Refuge to the Apocalypse: that it was Saint Bernard who “invented the name Notre Dame.” Hence it was his order, the Knights Templar who oversaw the construction of the Gothic cathedrals, which were dedicated to Notre Dame, “Our Lady.” Interestingly, the majority of the cathedrals were built during four hundred years between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries.”

I knew that the Knights Templar was key to the Melchizedek and Sophia energy returning to the West. However, what I did not learn until much later was the “Order’s” connection to the mysterious “Orders of the Quest”. Earlier, I mentioned that the line of Melchizedek on Globe C became the “Order of Melchizedek” in Globe D and that St. Paul was the first member. The “Order of Melchizedek” is extensively covered in Manly P. Hall’s Orders of the Quest, which I briefly quoted from earlier. Mr. Hall so eloquently describes the purpose of the members that I will let his words speak for themselves:

“There is an incontrovertible mass of evidence indicating the existence of initiated philosophers possessing a superior knowledge of divine and natural laws. There is also sufficient proof that these initiates were the agents of a World Fraternity of Brotherhood of Adepts that existed from the most remote time. This overfraternity has been called the Philosophic Empire, the Great School, the College of the Holy Spirit, and the Invisible Government of the World.
References to this sovereign body of ‘the ancient ones of the earth’ occur in the sacred writings, the philosophical literature, and the mystical traditions of all races and nations of mankind…During enlightened ages, they have appeared as venerated teachers, social reformers, seers, and prophets. In benighted times, their leadership has taken on various appearances, but its substance is unchanging and unchangeable. We have distinguished three important divisions in the European descent of the Mysteries: first, the Orders of the Quest; second the Orders of the Great Work, and third, the Orders of Universal Reformation…These initiates neither required nor desired the aggrandizement of their persons.”24

It is during the third “upstepping” on Globe D that the “Order of Melchizedek” resurfaces in the form of the Knights Templar, which as I said was connected to the mystical Islamic sect of the Druze. But how can we be sure in the identification of the Knights Templar as representatives of the Orders of the Quest? The key to the answer is in their connection with the Cathars or Albigensians of Southern France, who were known as the “Perfect Ones.”

TEMPLAR SYMBOLS

Even when circumstances seem to destroy the thread of The Mysteries or force it underground, it will resurface again at the right time. That time was during the “Crusades” in the form of the Knights Templar and the Cathars or Albigensians of Southern France. I asked above how we could be sure that the Templars were representatives of the Orders of the Quest. One of the means to ascertain the answer can be found in examining their symbols and comparing the Templars symbols with other sects of The Mysteries.
Peter Partner perfectly describes the connection to symbols and identification of the order with The Mysteries. In his book The Knights Templar and their Myth Mr. Partner believes that the symbols of different sects often reemerge later under a different name. He explains “Symbols can root themselves in a culture and remain fixed there for very long periods of time; they can also migrate and transform themselves in a Protean manner, and travel under long tunnels of history to emerge in a changed form in quite different regions of time and space.”25
To be honest I did not know what the word Protean meant, so I looked it up. The dictionary describes protean as “readily taking on varied shapes, forms or meanings.” Although as the title indicates, Mr. Partner is referring to the Knights Templars, I feel this can be applied in tracing any and all the Archetypes through their teaching.
When I first investigated the Knights Templar and the Crusades, I discovered that the Druze also fought in the Crusades. Initially I wondered if any of the Templars had interacted with the Druze other than at the end of a sword. As stated above, it was reading Peter Partner’s The Knights Templar and their Myth that revealed the Templars connection to the Druze. Mr. Partner had related one of the accusations made against the Knights Templars was of learning from “philosopher guides.”26 When I read this I wondered if these guides could have been Druze.
Confirming my suspicion that the Druze or (Druse) were the “philosopher guides” that taught the Templars, Peter Partner cites Gérard de Nerval, a writer of the nineteenth century as connecting the Druze to the Templars. Mr. Partner relates that the writer saw, “…the Templars of crusading times as trying to bridge the gap between their culture and that of the subject oriental populations, by making a synthesis of Catholicism with the wisdom of the Levantine sects…He also claimed that the Druse recognize one for another by showing a ‘black stone’, which is the Bohomet or the Baphomet of the Templar Order.”27

BAPHOMET

It was in Peter Partner’s The Knights Templar and their Myth that I was finally able to separate the gold from the dross, or the Truth from rumor and innuendo about the Templars. Surprisingly, I achieved this through the Templars’ mysterious figure they called Baphomet. In The True Philosophers’ Stone, we related that Dr. Hugh Schonfield had deduced through a secret code that Baphomet was code for Sofia or Wisdom. I later discovered the code was known as the Atbash Cipher. If like me you are unfamiliar with the Atbash Cipher, let me relate what I learned when I looked it up on the web. I found a perfect explanation of the Cipher on the website www.templarhistory.com:

In order to understand the Atbash Cipher theory, as it relates to the Baphomet mythos, it is first important to examine the origins of the code. As early as 500 BC Scribes writing the book of Jeremiah used what we now know to be the ATBASH cipher. This cipher is one of the few used in the Hebrew language. The cipher itself, ATBASH, is very similar to the substitution cipher.
A substitution cipher is one where each letter of the alphabet actually represents another letter. In the case of the Atbash cipher, the first letter of the alphabet is substituted for the last, the second for the second last and so on. The letter A becomes “Z”; the letter “B” becomes “Y” and so on…
Dr. Hugh Schonfield was one of the original researchers working on the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran…While working on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Schonfield used the cipher to translate some words that were undetectable to the scholars. For example applying the Atbash cipher to the word “hagu,” he got the Hebrew word, “tsaraph,” which means, “test…”Latterly; Schonfield became very interested in the charges of heresy leveled against the Knights Templar and particularly the etymology of the Baphomet. It was decided by Schonfield that he would apply the Atbash cipher, which he was convinced the Templars were aware of, to the Baphomet.

History records that in 1126 C.E, Hugh de Payens, the first Grand Master of the Knights Templar suddenly returns to France. While there, he gains the support of Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux and in 1139, is placed directly under Papal control by Pope Innocent II. After this papal endorsement the Templars grew to become, by some standards the most powerful order in Christendom. Why?
Mr. Partner’s book relates some of the theories to what happened during the Crusades. One of the theories was that the “…Grand Masters of the Order had been in possession of special spiritual illumination deriving from the Jewish sect of the Essenes.”28 Derisively, Mr. Partner writes, “The Templar myths supposed that after the execution of the heads of the Templar Order in 1314 the hidden wisdom was carried by some surviving Templars in exile to Scotland.”29 As this is jumping ahead 200 years, I will leave that discussion till later. For now I want to share with you the hypothesis I arrived at of what happened.
I agree with Peter Partner that the Templars when they first joined the Crusades were a religio-military Order of no particular notable importance, but that is where I part company with him. It is obvious to me that something important happened to the knights that caused a change in them. According to Mr. Partner the 3rd Grand Master, “Evrard des Barres (1149-52), returned to France from the Holy Land, left the Order and entered Clairvaux…as a Cistercian monk.”30
Clearly something profound had happened to him to cause such an action. Conspiracy theories abound with superstitions that the Templars discovered evidence that denied Jesus’ divinity, purporting that he was married to Mary Magdalene and had at least one child. Putting that theory aside, I feel that the evidence did not have to deny Jesus’ divinity to have a profound affect on religious pious men.
In respect to the interpretation of Baphomet meaning wisdom, there have been other suggestions such as the head of John the Baptist. What if the Knights Templar found evidence that Jesus was an Essene and that John the Baptist wasn’t six months older than Jesus, but at least twenty years older? Would not that have shaken their faith in the Orthodox version of the New Testament? Or maybe they found some of the Gnostic writings, such as the Gospel of Philip or the Gospel of Truth. In reading Mr. Partner’s book, I was struck by the persistent connection of the Templars to the Gnostics. Of course, this was long before the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Library.
Previously, I related the connection of the Templars with the mystical Islamic sect of the Druze. Coincidentally, while I was outlining this part of the thesis I watched a documentary on the History International Channel about the Knights Templars. The narrator, Leonard Nimoy related that the Templars had been friends of mystic Muslims and learned secret wisdom from them. This again fits in with, as Mr. Partner tells us, Eliphas Levi’s belief that Baphomet was a “…symbol of ultimate wisdom, of Azoth, of the philosopher’s stone…”31
In addition, Leonard Nimoy said that the Templar churches possessed detached heads. Mr. Nimoy connects the “heads” to Jesus, which some say appears on the shroud of Turin. However, I feel there is a far more likely candidate for a detached head, John the Baptist. Could this have been why Baphomet was thought by some to be the severed head of the Baptist?
I learned from David A. Shugarts in his SECRETS OF THE WIDOW’S SON THE MYSTERIES SURROUNDING THE SEQUEL TO THE DA VINCI CODE32 that the Freemasons, who many believe are the descendants of the Knights Templars, venerate John the Baptist. He says, “On June 24, Freemasons celebrated St. John the Baptist’s birthday with fireworks and salutes…”33 Mr. Shugarts informs us that the Catholic Church deliberately “positioned” John the Baptist’s feast day on the 24th of June in order to Christianize the Summer Solstice. Moreover, the Freemasons were also affiliated to an order of knights in Jerusalem during the Crusades. The order of knights the Masons were affiliated with was called the Hospitallers. Officially this order venerated the Apostle St. John and his day December 27th.
Nevertheless, Mr. Shugarts related information about this order of knights that seemed to dispute this. He writes, “…the other great order that arose from the Crusades was known as the Knights Hospitalers, and they inherited certain lands and assets when the Templars were dispersed…Their longer name is the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, and their patron saints were John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.”34 I could understand the knights venerating John the Baptist, but why Mary Magdalene? Could it have been because Mary Magdalene was the beloved disciple?
All of the above demonstrates the influence of the “Light”, but as I said whenever and wherever the “Light” appears, the “Shadow” endeavors to dim its brightness. Because of the multiple “Crusades” the “Shadow” was at “his” height in power and so “he” moved to not just dim the light, but to snuff it out completely and so in this “upstepping” we come to the most blatant evidence of the “Shadow’s” influence.
The Knights Templar as keepers of higher knowledge naturally gravitated to people who also carried the higher knowledge. In the Templar lands in Southern France, these people were the Cathars or Albigensians, which inherited their higher knowledge from their forebears, the Manicheans. As stated, the Manicheans were the last remnants of Christian Gnosticism. Because the Knights Templar owned vast amounts of land in Southern France during the 12th century, it is reasonable to assume the knights were brought into close proximity with the Cathars or Albigensians. In fact, the historians note that many of the knight’s “tenants” were Cathars. Regardless of this, at the time of the Crusades the Templars were considered to be loyal supporters of the Catholic Church.

ALBIGENSIANS

Peter Partner feels it is surprising that an orthodox Catholic Order would openly support a Gnostic sect. During the Crusades the Templars supported the Roman Catholic Church and while they fought in multiple campaigns, they also became financiers for pilgrims visiting the Holy Land. Even before they left the Holy Land, the Templars had developed their order into a successful business enterprise as Europe’s first bankers. For instance, between the 2nd and 3rd crusade, the Templars financed the building of the great Gothic Cathedrals in Europe, such as Notre Dame (1163 C.E.). After the Crusades failed, the Templars returned to France where they fast became the richest and most powerful order in Christendom. However, as stated, the Templars were members of the “Orders of the Quest” and as such, they were in accord with Gnostic teachings.

The Cathars or Albigensians as a sect of the Gnostic Manicheans lived in the Languedoc region of Southern France during the 11th century. The Languedoc was also Templar land and the knights controlled the area. In the Middle-Ages, the “peasants” did not have autonomy, but they were under the control of their respective “land barons” called counts. This clearly said to me that the Cathars operated under the auspices of the Templars. In fact, when the “Shadow’s” influence surfaced in the region and stirred up the papal and secular powers, the Templar “counts” tried to defend their tenants.
Although I addressed the shameful Albigensian Crusade in the chapter Crusades to WWI in LCD, because this is such a good example of the “Shadow’s” attempt to completely blot out the light, I will recap the most relevant excerpts:

“Mr. Nigg describes the Church’s handling of the Cathars in his book Heretics. He tells us that, contrary to their predecessors, the Manicheans, who wore only white to express their purity, the Cathars dressed in black symbolizing for them “the soul’s imprisonment in matter.” Consummate dualists, the Cathars, instead of believing in the “tri-partition” of humanity, divided the human race into two: “the descendants of Abel and the descendants of Cain.”35
Like many sects at odds with the Catholic Church before them, they counter-attacked with accusations of their own. One charge they leveled at the Church was of being “lukewarm” over their dealing with the issue of good and evil. Others were less restrained, with some Cathars going so far as to identify the Church with the “whore of Babylon,” and the Pope with the anti-Christ.
Nigg informs us that, Henry of Toulouse, a forerunner to the Cathars, warned, “Do not believe those deceivers, the clergy—who allege that they consecrate the body of Christ and give it to you for your soul’s salvation. They lie. Only once, at the last supper, was the body of the Lord given to the disciples: since then it has never happened again, and what takes place at the altars of the churches is an empty, vapid spectacle.”36 According to Nigg, the Cathars asserted that the Catholic Mass, “was unknown to the Apostles, and its very name betrayed its non-biblical origin.”37
The Cathars, like earlier Gnostics, were pacifists, against the death sentence and all forms of violence, which they saw as evil. Their main goal for everyone was the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, which they called Consolamentum, or “consolation.”38 To the Cathars, this was essential for salvation, and anyone who died before receiving the Holy Spirit experienced either the damnation of the individual’s soul or its reincarnation into another human body.
Whatever we feel about the Cathars beliefs, their actions, compared to their adversaries, are exemplary. It is hard to see any Christianity in Pope Innocent III’s treatment of the citizens during the Albigensian Wars. Nigg explains that, after the punishment of certain Cathars failed to quell the “heresy,” the Pope appealed for assistance to the Christian rulers. After being ordered to banish the Cathars from their lands, the French counts declared that they had family among the “heretics.” The counts also argued that the Cathars comported themselves with dignity and honor and were blameless…these appeals went unheard by the Church because, as Nigg relates, the counts became the enemy. He explains that things took a tragic turn when Pope Innocent III declared a “Crusade against the Cathars.” This was unprecedented…It was one thing to launch a crusade against non-Christians, but quite another to call for a crusade against fellow Christians. To overcome any reluctance of a crusader toward killing a brother Christian, the Pope granted the same indulgences awarded to the crusaders in the Holy Land. The crusaders were told “However much a sinner a man had been, he could escape hell by taking arms against heretics.” Apparently, the church justified this by declaring that the heretics were “worse than the Saracens.” In addition, Nigg informs us, the promise of “booty” was a great incentive to the crusaders because they were ceded all property owned by the Albigensians.39
Before the Albigensian Wars, the Church’s involvement in warfare had been, to say the least, peripheral. Now the Church’s agents were in the midst of and, according to Mr. Nigg, instigating “a cruelty that made mockery of all Christianity.” The result was carnage, with thousands of people dying. Southern France became a scene reminiscent of the Apocalypse pictured in Revelation, with even women and children being butchered without mercy. He informs us that no distinction was made between the inhabitants, consequently “innocent” people as well as “heretics” fell victim to the lust for blood. Supposedly, the crusaders justified this action by as Mr. Nigg relates, saying “Kill them all, God will know his own.”40

Initially, I thought the Albigensians had been completely destroyed in the Albigensian Crusade in Southern France, however, Manly P. Hall’s book Order Of The Quest provided information that shed doubt on that assessment. Mr. Hall related the Albigensian influence stretched all the way to Tuscany. Evidently, 4,000 members of the sect were still in Europe in 1240 C.E. disguised as “troubadours, peddlers, merchants, and journeymen.”41 Establishing themselves as “artisans and craftsmen” they were the foundation of the printing establishments.

ALBIGENSIAN KNOWLEDGE SURVIVES

Mr. Hall explains these survivors of Manicheanism “were members of a Secret Order…”42 that were front and center in the “publication of books and tracts dealing with alchemy, cabalism, magic, Rosicrucianism, and the projected reformation of the arts and sciences…Most of the books were published anonymously or under pseudonyms.”43 Apart from printing highly controversial material, these printers also included coded information in the publications in the form of “elaborate ciphers…symbolical figures…”44 In addition they would incorporate water marks, such as “the famous ‘jug’ watermark found in the paper on…the first editions of the writings of Lord Bacon…”45
Although conceding the importance of the invention of the printing press, Manly P. Hall says it was the earlier invention of paper making that released the western world from ignorance. Once again, it was the crusaders that brought this innovative science to the west. It seems that the Albigensians were also at the center of paper making. Citing Harold Bayley, Mr. Hall reported, “It is a fact…that the early papermaking districts were precisely those that were strongholds of the…Albigenses.”46 Mr. Hall reminded us “Papermaking opened the way for printing in Europe.”47

We cannot mention the Knights Templar, without their brethren the great builders, the Freemasons. As members of the Orders of the Quest (Order of Melchizedek) both the Knights Templar and the Freemasons descended from Manicheanism, as a result we can trace the “order” and the Melchizedek/Sophia energy through the Albigensians to the printers of Europe. It was through their role as printers that the “order” was able for the first time to promulgate The Mysteries into the physical realm, by putting them into print. The “order” also promulgated The Mysteries through as Mr. Hall said, “…myths, legends, and fables of the Troubadours…”48 who were prevalent in France, Italy and Spain. As a child, I had loved reading fairy tales, which carried a deeper moral lesson. It is comforting to discover that, the Divine realm was making sure that The Mysteries survived. However, we are still in the High Middle Ages and printing will not be widely known until the Renaissance, at least 100 years in the future.
I mentioned earlier that the “Concordat of London” indirectly led to the signing of the Magna Carta. Although at the time the signing did not result in immediate restrictions on the English throne, it was a document that would have far reaching repercussions, particularly during the English Civil War. The excerpt below is taken from the entry for the Magna Carta on Wikipedia:

Magna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum (the Great Charter of Freedoms), is an English legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. It was written in Latin; its name is usually translated into English as Great Charter.
Magna Carta required King John of England to proclaim certain rights (pertaining to nobles and barons), respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether free or fettered — and implicitly supported what became the writ of habeas corpus, allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment.
Magna Carta was arguably the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English speaking world. Magna Carta influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution…
Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects (the barons) in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges. It was preceded by the 1100 Charter of Liberties in which King Henry I voluntarily stated what his own powers were under the law…
Magna Carta is normally understood to refer to a single document, that of 1215. Various amended versions of Magna Carta appeared in subsequent years however, and it is the 1297 version which remains on the statute books of England and Wales.

From the spiritual perspective, the High Middle Ages or the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries or from 1000 to 1300 were an especially active time for the “Shadow”. It was an equally eventful time for the “Light”. Although for this entire period Sophia remained in the Archetypal Plane, the “Shadow” did not have everything “his” own way. Melchizedek as the active/masculine side was able to interact with the consciousness and was instrumental in bringing the “Order of Melchizedek” into full physical manifestation, through the resurrection of the Orders of the Quest.

RooRaces-5,6,7

The reason so many statutes and dictates were enacted in this “upstepping” was because, it is a time for preparation of a very important “upstepping” in evolution. As stated, the “Shadow’s” is especially active just before or during an “upstepping” in evolution. However, because the next “upstepping” was the emergence of the 7th Root-Race it was especially important.
For several hundred years of the first millennia in Globe D, the struggle between the “Light” and the “Shadow” was “waged” in the Iberian Peninsula. As I have shown, for much of this time, the “Light” was represented by the Islamic religion. However, as stated during the 11th and 12th centuries, the region was conquered by the Almoravids and the Almohads, two fundamental Muslim dynasties, which purged all other religions from the region. In the early 13th century the Almohads were “defeated by an alliance of the four Christian princes at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in the Sierra Morena.” These four Christian princes ruled Castile, Aragón, the Kingdom of Navarre and Portugal. The entry for the Almohad dynasty explains: “The battle destroyed Almohad dominance.” After the defeat the only Moor city to survive was Granada…” The city of the “Golden Caliphate” fell to the Christians in 1236.”

In the previous “upstepping”, I likened the struggle between the “Light” and the “Shadow”, archetypally to a game of chess. This was never as clear as the constant shifts between the “two sides” that occurred in the Iberian Peninsula between 716 and 1300. Consequently, to demonstrate what I mean, I will encapsulate this period in the region with a encapsulation of the main points of interest:

“Light” - Abd al-Rahman (I) a member of the Umayyad family was the first Umayyad Emir of Cordoba, Spain instigating the “Golden Caliphate”, which lasted from 716 C.E. until 961
“Light” - Al-Hakam amassed a vast library with 400,000 books
“Light” - Al-Hakam undertook a massive translation of books from Latin and Greek into Arabic, by a joint committee of Arab Muslims and Iberian Mozarab Christians
“Shadow” - The “discovery” in the 8th (700s) century of the remains of “Saint James” paved the way for the “Shadow” to effectively corrupt “Christian” Spain
“Shadow” - The “corruption” of Compostela is because the remains beneath the shrine of Compostela are the bishop Pricillian who was the first “heretic” to be executed in 385 with the full knowledge of the Catholic Church.
“Shadow” - The kingdom of Asturias became a dynasty, which gradually expanded the kingdom's boundaries until all of northwest Iberia was included by roughly 775.
“Shadow” - The first Catholic ruler of Asturias was the grandson of Pelayo, Alphonse (I), but it is not recognized as a kingdom by Catholicism until King Alphonso (II) was recognized by “Charlemagne and the Pope.”
“Shadow” - The coup de tat of the “Shadow” was in 976 influencing Al-Hakam to the extent that he “named his 14 year old son Hisham (II)” as his heir while on his death-bed.
“Light” - There is a period under Islamic rule in Spain, which is referred to as “The Golden Age of Jewish Culture in Spain,” which ran variously from 711-to the mid-1100s.
“Light” - The non-Muslims in Al-Andalus were given the status of ahl al-dhimma (the people under protection)
“Shadow” In 1066 under the rule of the Almoravids a Muslim mob stormed the royal palace in Granada, crucified Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacred 4,000 persons, in one day.
“Shadow” - The Caliphate was practically disintegrated due to civil war between descendants of the last legitimate Caliph Hisham (II) and the successors of his Prime Minister Al-Mansur, the shell of the Caliphate existed until 1031 when, after years of infighting, it fractured into a number of independent Taifa kingdoms.
“Shadow” - Two other kingdoms dominated the Iberian Peninsula during the 11th (1000) century, the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Leon.
“Shadow” - Sancho III (the Great) of Navarre, the most influential Christian monarch of the Iberian Peninsula, “inherited the County of Castile after his brother-in-law’s death.
“Shadow” - On the death of Fernando in 1065, “the kingdoms were divided between his sons and one daughter.
“Shadow” - Sancho (II) after allying with his brother Alfonso VI of León to conquer their brother’s kingdom of Galicia, betrayed Alfonso, by invading León.
“Shadow” - Alfonso (VI) grew his empire through marriage, and alliances with the “Europeans kingdoms, including France.”
“Shadow” - The final extinguishment of the “Light” was twofold, in that it was attacked by the “Shadow” on two fronts; from the north by the “Christian” kings and from within, with the corruption of the Muslim rulers.
“Shadow” – Although the kingdoms of Castile and Leon were united under the rule of Alfonso (VI), the influence of the “Shadow” would be seen in a marriage alliance between the united kingdoms of Castile and Leon and the kingdom of Aragon.
“Light” - Alfonso (I) of Aragon was inspired to recover the Islamic Empire’s forgotten classics and established a dialogue with Muslim scientists, which shared their knowledge.
“Light” - The most profound action the kingdom took in the name of progress was to develop “a program of translations” known as the “School of Toledo”, which translated “many philosophical and scientific works from classical Greek and Islamic world into Latin.”
“Light” - As in the “Golden Caliphate”, during the 12th century, “Many European scholars…travelled to Spain to gain further education.”
“Shadow” - The “Shadow” instigates a rivalry between the Kingdoms of Castile and Toledo, and the Kingdom of Leon, by inspiring Alfonso (VII) to divide his kingdom between his two sons.
“Shadow” – Ferdinand (II) conquered the Kingdom of Cordoba.
“Shadow” – The leader of the Almoravid dynasty, Yahya ibn Ibrahim, on the way back from a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1040 was influenced by the “Shadow” in the form of Muslim zealot, Abdallah ibn Yasin
“Shadow” - Abd-Allah ibn Yasin imposed a penitential scourging on all converts as purification, and enforced a regular system of discipline for every breach of the law; even on the chiefs…
“Shadow” - Yusuf ibn Tashfin connected the Almoravids with the Iberian Peninsula, when in 1086 he was invited by the Muslim princes in the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) to defend them against Alfonso VI, King of León and Castile.”
“Shadow” - Yusuf ibn Tashfin a mere four years “returned to Iberia”, with the “purpose of deposing the Muslim princes, and annexing their states.”
“Shadow” - In 1118 the Aragonese conquered Zaragoza from the Almoravids and made it the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon.
“Shadow” In Al-Andalus, the Almoravid dynasty was replaced by the Almohad dynasty that was also a Berber dynasty “founded in the 12th century” by Ibn Tumart, whose “main principle was a strict Unitarianism...”
“Shadow” - After his return to Magreb at the age of twenty-eight, Ibn Tumart began preaching and agitating, heading riotous attacks and assaulting the sister of the Almoravid (Murabit) amir `Ali III, because she was going about unveiled”
“Shadow” – Under the Almohads, non-Muslims were treated harshly and facing the choice of either death or conversion, most Jews and Christians emigrated.
“Light” - The 12th century spawned one of the most important teachings of Sophia and Melchizedek, the mystical side of Judaism or the Kabbalah.
“Light” - Probably the most famous Kabbalist was born during this difficult period under the rule of the Almohads in Cordoba, Spain.
“Light” - During the Golden Caliphate, the Jews of Cordoba had participated in the nurturing of knowledge and culture.
“Shadow” - Under the Almohad’s “The most famous Jewish educational institutions were closed, and synagogues everywhere destroyed”
“Light” Maimonides born in Cordoba in 1135 is considered to be “One of the greatest Torah scholars of all time.”
“Light” - The collaboration of Maimonides with the Islamic philosopher Averroes points to the two philosophers being tools of the “Light”.
“Light” - Today, Maimonides is recognized as “one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history…and his views are considered a cornerstone of Jewish thought and study.
“Light” - Maimonides had “trained as a physician” and he “became a court physician to the Grand Vizier Alfadil, then to Sultan Saladin, after whose death he remained a physician to the royal family.”
“Light” - Two books, The Zohar and The Kabbalah, became prominent in the late thirteenth (1200) century. Their promoters were Moses de Leon and Abraham Abulafia. Both were native Spaniards.

As you can see, the “Shadow” had the upper hand so to speak in this “upstepping”, in fact in our archetypal game of chess; the (Black) “Shadow” put the (White) “Light” in “check” several times. Nonetheless, this particular phase of the “game” in the Iberian Peninsula was a draw. It was a draw, because of the “Light’s” success in the emergence of Kabbalism and the record of the “Cities of Light” during the Golden Caliphate. This means that no matter how Islam is perceived in the future, for two hundred and fifty years, Islam represented a beacon of hope for the world in the Iberian Peninsula.
In spite of my conditioning of “Christian knights” as heroes that were fighting the “good fight” for “God”, I had learned that Christianity during this “upstepping” had been completely usurped by the energy and consciousness of the “Shadow.” In fact the only instance of the “Light” within Christianity during this “upstepping” was the influence of the nine knights in Jerusalem, which would become the Knights Templar and their “tenants” the Cathars or Albigensians.
Unfortunately, the Knights Templars’ reign as the premier order of knights would be destroyed within a decade of the start of the 14th (1300s) century that delivered a blow to the “Light’s” plan that reverberated for centuries. With the annihilation of both the Albigensians and the Knights Templar, it would seem that the Melchizedek/Sophia energy was overcome by the “Shadow’s” energy, and to some degree that would be correct. However, as I said, before their demise, the Templars had been involved in the building of the massive Gothic cathedrals with the Cistercians, which also involved the mysterious Freemasons. This meant that although the Crusades had led to a deluge of negative emotions, the “Light” was able to infuse their consciousness into areas through the use of Earth Stars. Furthermore, after the “Light” fully manifested into the earth plane through their “Orders of the Quest”, Sophia and Melchizedek were able to counteract the “Shadow’s” energy more effectively.

At the end of the 13th (1200s) century both “sides” were getting ready for a very important “upstepping”, because as stated it was the emergence of the last Root-Race of Globe D. At this time, the “Shadow” was moving to remove all signs of the “Light” from the Iberian Peninsula through the instigation of the Spanish Inquisition. As for the “Light”, Sophia and Melchizedek moved from Spain and France into England and Germany. The tools the “Light” used in the 12th century were the descendents of the Gnostics, the Troubadours who presented The Mysteries in the form of a poetic legend. That legend was the quest for the Holy Grail. And so began the time of the minstrels, minnesingers and of course the Troubadours.
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