Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Gothic Cathedral of Lincoln, England

In 2005 I began an exhaustive investigation into an area of research that hitherto had been completely unknown to me, the wondrous edifice of the Gothic Cathedral of Lincoln, England. To say that the Cathedral is a most splendid building would still be an understatement. Dominating the Lincoln skyline, it can be seen as far away as thirty miles, its 271’ central tower England’s second most tallest. It may even be compared in a fashion with the Tor at Glastonbury, itself visible for miles, for when it enshrouds in mist as it does many times in the year, it will vanish completely, as if wrapped up in the vaporous shroud of Avalon – made all the more appropriate by the fact that its Patron Saint Hugh arrived from the village of Avalon in eastern France. The Cathedral was the tallest building in the world from just after 1300-1549, the first building on the planet to exceed the height of the great pyramid of Giza, until the spire that afforded it this accolade was blown down. My own research led me to the startling and unexpected discovery of the ‘Lincoln Cathedral Code’ involving the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau, Mary Magdalene and the Knights Templar, and I could have been forgiven for thinking that unearthing an occult and mystical side to the Cathedral was a unique find. However, as we are about to see, I am now forced to think again, for the Cathedral at Lincoln has drawn many a strange notion to itself, long before I came on the scene to publicise my own work.
The first mention I came across linking the Minster with the Devil was taken from the ‘Lindsey and Lincolnshire Star’ dated 21st May 1898, possible that the stories were genuine uninfluenced folk tales direct or remotely influenced by books. An article ‘Lincoln Minster and the Devil’ quotes; ‘The connection between the Prince of Evil and Lincoln has long been proverbial.’ The very erudite 1928 publication ‘The Cathedral Church of Lincoln’ by A.F. Kendrick, BA informs us that at the head of the tall central lancet of the gable of the chapel used as the Consistory Court is a grotesque figure – not to be confused with the Lincoln Imp found elsewhere – known as ‘the devil looking over Lincoln’. It quotes; ‘There appears to be no satisfactory solution of the origin of this phrase’ and ‘the most curious legend is that which describes the devil as still inside the Minster and afraid to come out for fear of being blown away!’ How completely and utterly bizarre! Do we know of any other religious building anywhere in the world where it has been said that the devil resides within? And, in our scientific world of 2009, how serious can we take this suggestion? In this day and age, how are we to interpret ‘Devil’? What can it seriously be hinting at or sustaining?
The 13th century legend of the Lincoln Imp, now symbol of the city of Lincoln, (which I have announced is a deliberately placed Masonic carving, key to a concluding location opposite the SE corner of the Cathedral concealing a Templar ‘treasure’ of great significance) tells of how the Devil sent an imp to cause destruction within the building and was eventually turned to stone by an angel – no mention of the Devil himself deigning to put in an appearance! Although there is clearly conflict here in what memory lore is being retained, what we can ask is why do we have this consistent association of Satan with the Cathedral?
In the South East Nottinghamshire village of Kinoulton, we hear of the legend of a stone that once stood in theold churchyard, although now neither stone nor church remain. The stone was told to be a diabolic missile hurled at the church, thrown from Lincoln Cathedral. It is accepted that similar stories throughout Europe simply reflect conflict between the early Christian church and paganism, so why in this instance if the offending rock was considered diabolical was it hurled FROM Lincoln Cathedral? Even the most respected of accounts do the Cathedral no favour when we learn of the title of its beautiful Rose Window, found on the North side of the Cathedral even though thenorm is for Rose Windows to be always to be found on the West of Gothic Cathedrals. Although preferably known as ‘The Dean’s Eye’, it also bears the lesser known title of ‘Lucifer’s Eye’ and has been placed at the North referred to as the darkened region of Lucifer as a kind of look-out to ward off the approach of evil, in contrast to ‘The Bishop’s eye’ round window staring out at the sunny South, the direction favoured by the Holy Spirit.
The mention of Lucifer brings me to the strangest and most fabulous of tales I have come across involving Lincoln Cathedral. Found circulating on the internet, it appears to have emanated originally from an alleged Templar in Rome and speaks of ‘The Ark of Lucifer’, an artefact said to control the lifespan of humans, no less! Placed in the Cathedral,it is alleged to work on a vibratory frequency affecting changes at the molecular level of living tissue, or the key of the DNA. We are asked to believe that during the 1920’s, of 144 people knowing of its existence and issued with a key, only 12 held the real key to opening a vault in the Cathedral where the Ark was and presumably still housed. This occult tale goes on to say that the Ark was originally at St Mary’s church in Lincoln, and that Bishop Alexander’s attempt to retrieve it caused the devastating fire that ravaged the building in 1141, and that after it was rebuilt, another attempt, this time by unknown persons, precipitated the Ark to cause the earthquake that cleaved the edifice in two, this tremor factually recorded in 1185.
The opening of the Ark is a precise and dramatic procedure. If we are to believe it, there is a Master Key held somewhere within the Cathedral, described as a corkscrew with the representation of the Cathedral as a handle. The functioning valid 12 keys are to be inserted into a metallic 4x4 with holes placed at a varying distance to each other. Inserting the 12 keys into the 4x4 allows the head of the corkscrew to protrude on the side of the door of the vault of the Ark. There are a number of rectangular holes from the ground to the ceiling with only one correct spot where the Master Key will open the door. The remaining other keys do serve a purpose but only after the opening of the vault. And so we have just learned of the ‘Ark of Lucifer’ hidden somewhere in a vault within the Cathedral and with no end of occultists seeking the key to open it and unleash its consequences. The pure Indiana Jones aspect of the tale is appealing, but we cannot help but have to accept that here again we have at least a reoccurring theme concerning Lincoln Cathedral, this time wrapped up in a titular Lucifer, and with an already established ‘Eye of Lucifer’ Rose Window we must ponder over what kernel of truth is being contained within this Gothic temple. The name Lucifer, in Latin, means ‘morning star’, and interestingly enough just a few minutes walking distance away from the East of the Cathedral is the public house ‘Morning Star’, dating back to 1781 thevery year that the once standing church containing the crypt with my hidden ‘Cathedral Code’ Templars’ treasure was demolished, additionally in the same year that French noblewoman Marie De Negre, who held the secret of Rennes-le-Chateau, died.
Another mention of Lincoln Cathedral and esotericism caught my eye in the heavily theosophical article ‘A Précis of Albion’ by author Richard Leviton in 1991, where he postulates the lay out of a giant cosmic ‘being’ occupying the land mass of Britain and France and whose second chakra – or energy field – is at Lincoln Cathedral and environs. Intrigued by his placing geographical emphasis on Lincoln Cathedral to do with anything, I contacted Richard, now an editor of a metaphysical magazine in Virginia, USA, to see if he would elucidate, and I found hisreply quite surprising. Richard had written more about the Cathedral since his Albion article, in a book entitled ‘The Emerald Modem’ where he described in detail an event he participated in with a small group to do with a celestial being ‘imprisoned’ under the Cathedral and alluding to the structure of the building as a perpetual black magic ritual intended to keep the being imprisoned, ultimately the Cathedral opposing the positive energy that is there. At this point, having learned of an ‘Ark of Lucifer’ and now an imprisoned spiritual energy within the Cathedral, I can imagine the average person in the street would choose to dismiss these assertions as simply fanciful and of no importance. But I’m not so sure, and cannot dismiss asking the question’ Why Lincoln Cathedral’ and especially as they are drawn from unrelated sources?
The common denominator of a hinted dark force receives a most unexpected recommendation nationally announced in 1995 and from the then Dean of the Cathedral himself, Rev Brandon Jackson. Within my personal files I hold a copy of ‘The Sunday Times’, the crème-de-la-crème of British newspaper journalism and a copy dated 23rd July 1995. The two page headline reads; ‘Where Angels fear to tread’, sub-headed ‘Is the dispute between the Dean of Lincoln cathedral and his Bishop mere human frailty or is it the work of an evil force many believe haunts the Minster?’ The Rev Jackson, acquitted by an ecclesiastical court of accusations of sexual misdeeds, announced that he believed he was caught up in a battle of good and evil that centres on the ancient Minster, and asked to have the Cathedral closed for three months to have it exorcised. Upon his arrival and stay lasting six years, he had first been alerted to this dark aura by a monk working at the Cathedral,’There are currents of conflict, hate and evil that have been swirling around your cathedral for centuries.’ Jackson went on to say to the Times reporter Stuart Wavell that this ‘swirling evil’ theory had been repeated by Deans and Provosts at their annual conference in April of that year. ‘One of them,a Dean of a cathedral, came up to me and said that Lincoln cathedral was one of the most evil places he had ever been in. Another Dean said that he believed the building sat on the junction of ley-lines.’ Mighty strange talk coming from the clergy! Would they dare say such things and risk credibility and reputation if there were no unified belief? The opening paragraph of the Times’ article reads, ‘Is there seething inherently evil lurking in Lincoln Cathedral? Is a malign force in the ancient stonework making the clergy behave like demented marionettes?’ Strong stuff from a quality newspaper not known for its sensationalism! So what can we deduce fromthis mixed bag of inferences, the Devil still being inside the Cathedral, a hidden vault containing an Ark attributed to Lucifer, and a spiritual being held captive within the Minster? My own feelings are that the story of the Lucifer Ark may well be a memory tool to highlight the numbers 12 and 144 and could have a value concerning sacred geometry within the Cathedral, ‘ark’ may actually refer to ‘arc’, part of the circumference of a circle or other curve. Richard Leviton’s thoughts on there being a figure of some importance held captive may well be an unconscious tapping in and offshoot of my own work in which I have announced the stashed and most sought after Templar treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau residing opposite the SE corner of the Cathedral at the St Margaret’s burial grounds, involving the revered figure of Mary Magdalene. Of these stories more than that I cannot say or be sure, but at least I now know I do not stand alone in finding my way to Lincoln Cathedral and into a labyrinth of mystique.
I will end these findings as I started, with that of my own work, and an anecdote that found its way to me in 2000. Circumstances found me in discussion with a lady in her fifties whom I will refer to as ‘Sylvia’. Her maiden name and relations placed her within the family D’Arques and she had relatives living at the chateau of D’Arques at Rennes-le-Chateau. Sylvia introduced the conversation and yet at the same time was reluctant to go into great detail as it clearly bears a scarring, traumatic effect, and so I do not know what year she and a female friend where spending some days at the Bishops Palace, facing Lincoln Cathedral, during a spiritual retreat. Things couldn’t have gotten further desperate and unwelcome when apparently the two were visited at night by an appearance from the Devil himself, bent on destroying their sanity. Sylvia told me how in the midst of this psychic onslaught and the most dreadful stench one could imagine as the prominent feature of the presence, the females resorted to furious and unrelenting prayer throughout the night and into the welcome arrival of morning, their only shield against the intense harrowing and vile assault. The incident succeeded in as much as it destroyed their friendship after such an ordeal with no seeming rationale as to what had brought it on. She refuses to speak further of it even today, as does Brandon Jackson about his troubled days in office. Assuming there is some validity in her story – and I see no reason to disbelieve her account on whatever level it manifested – could it be that it was simply confirmation of what Jackson stated as being the conviction held by many senior clerics in the Church of England – Lincoln Cathedral, for whatever conclusion, IS a battlefield between Good and Evil ?

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