A Journey to the Bottom of a Rabbit Hole (Interlude #3)

Rosslyn Chapel - window on north side. Photo credit ©: Rob Farrow.
(All images in this post can be clicked-on for original size.)

"The building of cathedrals was part of a colossal and cleverly devised plan which permitted the existence of entirely free philosophical and psychological schools in the rude, absurd, cruel, superstitious, bigoted and scholastic Middle Ages. These schools have left us an immense heritage, almost all of which we have already wasted without understanding its meaning and value."

- A quote attributed to P.D. Ouspensky. sourced from Tim Wallace Murphy's Enigma of the Freemasons: Their History and Mystical Connections (2006). Inset right is a column from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, featuring the Kabbalistic Tree of Life symbol.

"The Gothic cathedral, that sanctuary of tradition, science and Art, should not be regarded as a work dedicated solely to the glory of Christianity, but rather as a vast concretion of ideas, of tendencies, of popular beliefs, a perfect whole to which we can refer without fear, whenever we would penetrate the religious, secular, philosophic or social thoughts of our ancestors."

- Another quote sourced from Murphy's book which originated from Le Mystère des Cathédrales (1926) by a mysterious French alchemist known only as "Fulcanelli." Inset left is another - more enigmatic - column from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

From Chartres Cathedral in France: a mechanized astrological clock added in 1528.

***

What's this? A third Interlude?

Alas, yes. As you may have guessed, I've been tottering on the brink of one rabbit hole or another for months now, so, I suppose it was inevitable I'd lose my footing eventually. Originally, I intended to add 2 quotes I found recently (now posted above) to the Chinese Sewing Basket addendum - in which I mention Notre Dame de Paris - and, for all sensible reasons, that's where the operation should've ended.

But, no. Instead, I decided to Google the French alchemist Fulcanelli (who wrote the second quote above)... a man I was unfamiliar with. After all, a writer should know her subject matter, right?

Famous Last Words. For, at that very moment, although unbeknownst to myself, a massive black rabbit hole was silently opening directly beneath my feet like the mouth of a terrestrial Moby Dick.

Maybe it's the topic itself: alchemy - specifically hermeticism - the black hole of the esoteric world. The further you go, the less you know. And, as for Fulcanelli... ah, yes, Fulcanelli, now there's a name to conjure with. And, certainly many have. For some he's the man-who-never-was with an ongoing archive of potential identities (see the Fr. Wiki entry).

But, ultimately, this post isn't about Fulcanelli any more than it's about cathedrals. As it so happened, while ferreting out info about Fulcanelli I discovered his friend, Julien Champagne, also a French alchemist and an artist. It was he who created the frontispiece emblem (inset left) for Fulcanelli's Mystère des Cathédrales.

Champagne is somewhat less of a mystery than Fulcanelli, but, don't be deceived. Some researchers believe he was Fulcanelli. Regardless, a female alchemist by the name of Louise Barbe (sometimes referred to as Marguerite-Louise Barbe) allegedly died in Champagne's laboratory either by drinking the elixir aurum potable (drinkable gold) - which is sometimes referred to as the Philosopher's Stone (as so many things are!) - or in a fire which broke out in the laboratory. Anyway, she was supposed to have died (according to one sentence in a Wiki article devoted to her alleged husband, Dr. Serge Voronoff of "monkey gland" fame) in 1910, the same year Champagne used her services as a model for his painting Le Vaisseau du Grand Oeuvre (Vessel of the Great Work), inset right.

"Of course, the 'Great Work' is Alchemy," one researcher explains, "and the painting is filled with alchemical symbolism.  The nude female figure is a personification of the philosopher's stone; she stands within a glass flask and is surrounded by myriad blazing flames. Off the right shoulder of the young woman is the word 'POTERE' meaning 'power' in English; off of her left shoulder is the word 'AVDERE' meaning 'to dare' in English. The background on the left and right sides of the flask contain the names of certain philosophers and alchemists written in Latin letters."

One other notable symbol in the painting is the large skull she's standing on...  formed by the "blazing flames". So, did she actually die in 1910 as stated in the Voronoff Wiki article? In which case, did Champagne have some presentiment of her death or did the skull represent the first stage of the Great Work: nigredo? (Inset left, is an image of Champagne sourced from this intensive French Julien Champagne site.)

Then again, alchemists had a habit of faking their own deaths and another source tells us that Barbe was The Praemonstratrix (an officer) of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's Paris Temple - Temple Ahathoor - for another 15 years! Go figure. Another key factor in the ongoing narrative is her involvement with writer and filmmaker Irène Hillel-Erlanger who, incidentally, was also New Woman Germaine Dulac's collaborator and business partner from 1915 to 1920, the year of Erlanger's death.

Apparently, Irène Hillel-Erlanger wrote the scripts for many of Dulac's earlier films and was also the author of the "veiled and multi-layered Dadaist work" Voyages en Kaleidescope - which some speculate was an alchemical treatise and one praised by Fulcanelli. Very possibly, the illustrious André Breton - a man who frequently insinuates himself into my blogposts - was a close acquaintance, as a copy of her book (inset right) was found on this Breton page. Her dedication in the book reads: "... to the Great Soul of L.B. I piously offer these pages."

"Piously"? Was "L.B." a reference to Louise Barbe? According to the preface of a recent reprint of Voyages en Kaleidescope (linked to above) both woman died in 1920 within months of each other; Erlanger either having contracted typhus from tainted oysters, or deliberately having been poisoned by an unknown foe. However, in Germaine Dulac: A Cinema of Sensations, Erlanger's death is attributed to tuberculosis.

In any event, after her death most copies of her book mysteriously disappeared. Some speculate that both women were murdered for having divulged too many hermetic top secrets. Having read bits of Erlanger's cryptic book, however, this seems unlikely. Moreover, the mysterious Fulcanetti purportedly had high praise for the book. But, if Erlanger and Barbe were murdered, might it have been due more to what they knew - as women - rather than what they divulged? Some metaphysical ability peculiar to the "fair sex," perhaps. I merely  speculate. Inset right is a Green Person (I swear it looks like a woman I used to work with in a factory back in my early days) from Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. Note the image of the downward dove - generally a symbol of the "Holy Spirit" - incised on the Green Person's forehead.

One passage in Voyages en Kaleidescope describes a woman with a diamond in her forehead which had the power to detonate a thousand bombs and does eventually destroy the magical kaleidoscope and half the neighborhood along with it. (See here.) Then again, this Golden Dawn page informs us: "The erotic nature of the Hermetic alchemy is symbolized not only by the female figure, but also by the fire which burns beneath her. Her wings indicate that, for a man, woman holds the wings to spiritual ascent." There is even a statement in the Wiki article that although it was said that Fulcanelli's Master was medieval alchemist Basil Valentine (who I intuited was female in this post) his actual "initiator" may have been his wife. (Note: Incidentally, throughout all my Fulcaelli research, this is and was the only mention I read of Fulcanelli actually having a wife.) In any case, one gets the impression that there is a great deal more to this story which we will never know till some female investigators start digging around! Inset right is another of the many esoteric symbols carved into the walls of the mysterious Rosslyn Chapel found here.

By the way, Florence Farr (1860-1917) - both a feminist and a Praemonstratrix of the London branch of the Golden Dawn - had these words of wisdom for women: "We must kill the force in us that says we cannot become all we desire, for that force is our evil star that turns all opportunity into grotesque failure..."

So, maybe it all boils down to "evil stars." In any case, when it comes to researching female alchemists, the virtual trail on the internet grows cold quickly. Then again, I'm guessing ferreting out female alchemists would've been a challenge during any period of history. Not that they weren't there... I've found a number of them in recent months*, it's just that male historians - and occultists - tend to both focus on their fellow male's accomplishments and champion those members of their own gender; only recently have women learned to champion their own... (especially on the internet)!

That being said, Louise Barbe's identity remains illusive. Was she even the same Louise Barbe who married Vorloff? It was that question which led me to the very bottom of the rabbit hole where lay (yet) another mystery. As it happened, in an attempt to find an image of Barbe (I've yet to find any), I came across what was purportedly a biographical page about Vorloff in which I found a version of the drawing inset left. A drawing by (none other than) Julien Champagne! Oddly enough, It is a drawing of the Queen Mary sundial found in Holyrood, Scotland.

Now, that Champagne should travel to Scotland - if he actually did - is not altogether unusual. Scotland has some breath-taking scenery. There was also, at one time, the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France. That he might take the time to sketch a unique sundial doesn't necessarily set off any alarms. Queen Mary's sundial (inset left), however, just happens to be one of a number of similarly unique sundials in Scotland that sprouted up during the 16th century and, to this day, no can explain quite why.** They were not particularly fashionable in England nor other parts of Europe at the time, and Scotland isn't exactly the ideal place to rely upon the sun to set your pocket-watch.

Furthermore, the dials aren't just your average, flat sundials; they are complex structures (see here and here, where the photo inset left was found) and, to quote David Stevenson "stone exercises in solid geometry." He goes on to say that "'Dialling' was one of the skills of an architect, as defined by Vitruvius, and he had stated that knowledge of astronomy was essential to the architect so he could construct sundials. Did these remarkable objects develop partly as a means whereby the working mason could demonstrate his mathematical skills and the connection between his craft and the heavens above?"

Ultimately, Stevenson suspects that the sundials are evidence of early Scottish Freemasonry and, from what I've read, he might be right. Queen Mary's sundial was documented as having been built in 1663 by John Mylne, Master Mason to King Charles I. Mylne's name also appears above the door of Mary's Chapel in Edinburgh, which just happens to be the Ancient Lodge of Edinburgh, the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world! (See this BBC article.) Inset left is the Masonic symbol engraved on the front of Mary's Chapel... a symbol which should be familiar to dedicated readers of this blog and is fully investigated in this post.

As for a connection between Scottish and French Freemasonry, we might look to a man named Andrew Michael Ramsey (or "Chevalier Ramsey"), a Scottish writer who spent most of his life in France, where he wrote his famous Discourse pronounced at the reception of Freemasons. In his discourse he made the historic connection between the Crusader Knights and Freemasonry which, while not exactly a direct reference to the Templars, was very possibly an indirect one and was interpreted as such. The darling boy inset right is an 18th century illustration of a French Mason of Scottish persuasion wearing Templar regalia.

Of course, you ask, how does any of this apply to Julien Champagne? Well, according to Tim Wallace Murphy, the Champagne family is considered one of the most important Rex Deus families, and were the original patrons of Chrétien de Troyes, French poet, troubadour and author of the first Arthurian tales, so, if true, it stands to reason that Champagne would have an interest in his family's history.***

Then, too, Champagne (as well as Fulcanelli) allegedly owned a gold "baphometic" ring**** which came from the "Templars of the Commandery of Hennebont" in Brittany. (Note: I can't locate any information about a Templar Commandery at Hennebont.) Lastly, we have this: "Champagne also provided another curious clue when he completed his last emblem in Le Mystère des Cathédrales ... This shows a knight hiding behind a helmet and a heraldic shield surrounded by the phrase: UBER CAMPA AGNA."  (See here and here.)

Anyway, so (kind of) ends the mystery of Champagne's sundial and it appears we have arrived at the bottom of our rabbit hole; a journey I hope you enjoyed. While rabbit holes generally do not lead us to the answer of our original question, they sure do take us on one hell of a ride. In other words, while we haven't exactly learned any absolute truths - overrated, relative, and transient commodities - certainly our "little grey cells" have been invigorated!

BTW, as you may have guessed (or already known), regarding the three cathedrals featured in this post - Rosslyn, Chartres and St. John the Divine - all have alleged Templar and/or Masonic connections. Inset right is the Master Mason column from Rosslyn, and below is a bit of vintage Masonic ephemera regarding the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

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* My interest in female alchemists began while writing the Voynich MS posts on my other blog. Discovering that the Hungarian Empress, Barbara von Celje, was an alchemist was an eye-opener. (See here and here.) But, during my research I found a few others, and, while I haven't yet fallen down that rabbit hole... well, give me time.

** Oddly enough, the sundials aren't the only mysterious, geometric artifacts found almost exclusively in Scotland. There are also numerous, small, carved stone petrospheres dating from the Neolithic period which nobody can explain. The one pictured inset left (circa 3200–2500 BC) is from Aberdeenshire.

*** From the Wiki entry for Hugh, Count of Champagne. "When Hugh became a Knight Templar himself in 1125, the Order comprised few more than a dozen knights, and the first Grand Master of the Templars was a vassal of his, Hugues de Payens, who had been with him at Jerusalem in 1114."

Also see: Knights Templar in Scotland.

**** In regards to the gold "baphometic" rings allegedly belonging to Fulcanelli and Champagne: quite possibly their existence was inspired by Eliphas Levi's 19th century interpretation of Baphomet... the goat-headed Satanic symbol inscribed within an inverted pentagram (contemporary examples of Baphomet rings can be found here). I say this, because what precious little we know about the Templer's Baphomet - if it ever existed - was possibly represented by a cat (Bastet?), John the Baptist's head or a "reliquary in the shape of a woman's head." I refer you to the quotes found below.

"The Baphomet is an imagined pagan deity (i.e., a product of Christian folklore concerning pagans), revived in the 19th century as a figure of occultism and Satanism. Often mistaken for Satan, it represents the duality of male and female, as well as Heaven and Hell or night and day signified by the raising of one arm and the downward gesture of the other. It can be taken in fact, to represent any of the major harmonious dichotomies of the cosmos.

It first appeared in 11th and 12th century Latin and Provenal as a corruption of "Mahomet", the Latinisation of "Muhammad", but later it appeared as a term for a pagan idol in trial transcripts of the Inquisition of the Knights Templar in the early 14th century. The name first came into popular English-speaking consciousness in the 19th century, with debate and speculation on the reasons for the suppression of the Templars.

Since 1855, the name Baphomet has been associated with a "Sabbatic Goat" image drawn by Eliphas Levi. Central to the accusations brought against the Knights Templar, was the accusation that, they worshipped an idol named Baphomet, which is said to have taken the form of a head or sometimes a Black Cat. The truth behind this mythos varies with various scholars."

-Via the Chrystalinks entry for Baphomet.

"We found indisputable evidence for the charge of secret ceremonies involving a head of some kind. Indeed the existence of such a head proved to be one of the dominant themes running through the Inquisition records. Among the confiscated goods of the Paris preceptory a reliquary in the shape of a woman's head was found. It was hinged on top, and contained what appeared to have been relics of a peculiar kind."

- Excerpt from The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln.

"The Baphomet was said by the Templars to be 'the principle of beings created by God Trinity.' It has also been seen as the symbol of divine wisdom and... in the Hebrew Atbashcipher converts to Sophia. One of the few Baphomets ever discovered was the head of a woman."

- From The Cult of the Black Virgin by Ean Begg.

"After a battery of unimaginable torture, many of the Templars invented confessions to end their suffering. Some admitted to worshipping an idol, though inconsistent accounts varied from the severed head of John the Baptist to a cat statue with three faces. There was no reference, however, to a goat-headed icon throughout the trial. After escaping the inquisitors’ torture, most Templars recanted their confessions, and were subsequently burned at the stake."

- Sourced from this UltraCulture article.