Key to the Sacred Pattern

26 May 2007

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Endning 26 May 07

Grail Seekers this week:

This week marks the one year anniversary of the Grail Seekers blog. Thanks for everyone’s support in this last year and for the next year who knows? Maybe I’ll get off my duff and actually do a real web site.

Ok, since the Oreo Cookie exercise was a bust, the T-Shirt has been awarded to Grail Seeker’s logo designer Barry Edwards. Largely in part because he was the only one to post a response. If you like the logo, he’s a heck of a graphic designer and would love to do your freelance work…

Kudos:

I must admit I have been lax in giving out the proper kudos to those that have supported the Grail Seekers site. A special thanks goes out to the following sites/blogs for linking back to my humble efforts here.

Dr. Karen Ralls floated me a nice e-mail this week. Check out her site Ancient Quests, you’ll be glad you did.

Ben Hammot’s Site: Keep up to date with Ben’s discoveries at RLC through his site. His discoveries have been chronicled in the upcoming documentary Bloodlines and might change what we think about RLC.

The Burning Taper: News and commentary of Freemasonry and other areas of interest are the order of the day for the Taper.

Southern Knight: Looking for news on esoterica and other topics. A good site from a guy that lives farther south of the Mason-Dixon line than I do. And people ask me if we have running water in the Southern USA

Last but not least, thanks to the Spectra site for making Grail Seekers a featured blog!

Thanks again!

In the News:

For all of you that have gotten interested in music being made from odd things via the Stuart Mitchell-Rosslyn Cube “discovery”; scientists have made music out of protein sequences. Speaking of, the News for Medievalists blog reprinted an article in the Sunday Mail that questions the veracity of the Mitchell’s Rosslyn Motet. Huh, wonder where we’ve heard that before?

While not a Grail interest directly, the Ancestry.com has put 90 million US military records on line. It could help with someone’s research, but it’s going to cost you.

On Film:

Looks like you fans of the Broken Sword game series will get your chance to see the game looks like on the big screen.

20 May 2007

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 19 May 07

On Audio:

The Hilly Rose show interviews Sesh Hari on Nikola Tesla and secret societies.

In the News:

The Herald thinks that Freemasonry’s lost secrets can be found in the Necropolis in Glasgow. This isn’t a new theory as the article’s author would lead you to believe. I remember at the 1999 Canonbury Masonic Research Institute conference, James Stephen Curl gave a lecture on Masonic graves sites and he included Glasgow. Also, the Google Earth Marker for the Necropolis can be found if you do a search for "Glasgow Necropolis".

NPR reviews the effects of the Da Vinci Code and a revitalization of Freemasonry.

The Scotsman talks to the Grand Librarian of Scottish Freemasonry Bob Cooper. I’ve met Bob and if there’s anyone out there that knows a thing or two about a thing or two, it’s him.

Ronald Hutton was interviewed by the Independent on his unique views on the ancient Druids.

On the Web:

The Biblical Archeological Society blasts The Tomb of Jesus documentary.

Taki’s Top Drawer site takes a look at the history and conspiracy theories involved with Opus Dei.

For those of you that have had questions about the Bloodlines documentary, Andrew Gough’s site has a piece by Ben Hammott himself on his tomb find.

Far Shores reprints an article by Dr. Karen Ralls on Rosslyn Chapel. She should know, she use to be an assistant curator.

Ed McGrath has a rather simple approach to solving the Shughburough Hall Shepherds at Arcadia inscription.

13 May 2007

Rosslyn Chapel Ghost Stories

Since I posted the picture of the “ghost” at Rosslyn Chapel, I’ve been besieged with questions about Rosslyn being haunted. I thought I’d answer all the questions in one fail swoop recapping the ghost stories that have cropped up around the Chapel.

  • In July of 2006, a group of actors rehearsing for a performance at the Chapel claimed to see a “fairy like” entity roaming around the grounds.
  • Rosslyn employee Simon Beattie believes he has heard a child’s voice coming from inside the crypt when no children were present in the Chapel.
  • Rumors of sightings of robed monks in and around the Chapel have persisted for years. Some have sited a gray robed monk surrounded by four knights in the crypt. Others say they have seen gray and black robed monks walking the grounds at night.
  • Sir Walter Scott described a legend in Lay of the Last Minstrel that when a Prince of the Orkneys dies, the Chapel becomes awash with strange lights.
  • Not far away from the Chapel lies Roslin Castle. One legend cites that a knight in black armor rides around the grounds. Other sightings on the Castle grounds include that of a large hound that bays on stormy nights. Both these legends seem to be linked to a battle that happened between English and Scottish forces in the town of Rosslyn in 1302.

Sounds like these are just the standard haunting stories that come with any old structure. One would think there would have been more sightings and haunting legends around the Chapel. If anyone has any other legends about the Chapel that they would like to share, let me know and I’ll update the list.

12 May 2007

Another Point of View on the Rosslyn Motet

I received this letter from Brian Allen regarding the article I wrote on the Inconsistancies in Reports on the Rosslyn Motet. Mr. Allen has agreed to let me publish this letter here on my blog. His claims run counter to some of the news reports that are out about the Motet. I thought it is important to see his point of view based on his research as a counterpoint to the letter I received from Mitchell.

Dear Brian,

With reference to a feature item in the UK Sunday Mail of April 22nd 2007 (and other media outlets) on the alleged discovery of a musical secret hidden in Rosslyn Chapel. This featured the work of Messrs. Thomas and Stuart Mitchell and the creation of a piece of music called ‘The Rosslyn Motet’. I present these observations, not with any taint of ‘sour grapes’, but purely in the interests of both presenting the bigger picture and perhaps giving perhaps more accurate and valid version of events. I am also probably one of the very few people who have also recreated certain specific frequencies within the chapel prior to the Mitchells. Mr Mitchell senior claims that he discovered the concept that the cubes in the so-called ‘Lady Chapel’ at the east end within Rosslyn are in fact graphic representations of ‘Chladni patterns’. I also arrived at this conclusion early in 2004 after conducting a series of investigations in the chapel first begun in 1993. This was with absolutely no knowledge of, or connection with, Mr Stuart Mitchell or his father, Mr Thomas Mitchell.

Based on my findings I conducted a full-scale test of my theories in the chapel in November 2005 using a tone generator, a computer and speakers, this was with the full consent of the then director of the Rosslyn Trust, Mr Stuart Beattie. The test, which involved the creation of tones comprising ‘augmented fourths’ also called ‘The Devils Chord’, produced some remarkable sonic and physiological effects. Those present, apart from my wife and I, included a musician, a psychologist, an acoustic therapist and two psychic mediums. In fact Mentorn TV reported on my theories at some length in a recent Discovery Channel TV programme.

Crucially, my own research was based on much earlier work facilitated by the late hotelier and former MI6 agent, Mr Steven Prior, who in the early 1990’s commissioned a computer programmer and a musicologist to decode the patterns; sadly he did not live to see any results. Mr Prior was of the opinion that the cubes represented what he called ‘healing cadences’. Therefore, although I could be mistaken, as with my own research there must be some doubt that Mr Mitchell’s work is entirely original, the difference is that, in my book, ‘Rosslyn, Between two Worlds’, I freely admit that my conclusions are based on earlier research and also that I tested the results successfully in 2005. Although this is described at length in the book, I also wrote an article on this subject for the magazine, ‘Fortean Times’. It is perhaps interesting to note that the late Mr Prior also intended to recreate the music in the chapel using musical instruments contemporary with the era and also with the services of a vocal group called ‘The Medieval Babes’.

That the cubes are based on Chladni patterns is indeed a valid hypothesis because the builder of Rosslyn, Sir William Sinclair, probably had the knowledge and available materials to recreate them had he chosen to do so. However, although I have been able to produce evidence for similar patterns, literally dozens of them, none have been identical, but I saw enough to conclude that my ideas were valid allowing me to proceed with my own evaluation. On the other hand, Mr Stuart Mitchell allegedly claims that his Rosslyn Motet is scored directly from the patterns on the cubes.

For this to be true it would require that a number of musical notes related to the cube patterns would have to be precisely recreated using the Chladni method (or alternatively a system called Cymatics, although this is less likely) in order to create an entire musical score and I have yet to see any evidence of any kind that this is indeed the case. If that has not been done then Mr Stuart Mitchell would have had no valid musical starting point, and that being the case, what he has produced, pleasant though it is, is therefore guesswork based on several earlier medieval pieces he has created vibrating plate assembly allegedly used by Mr Thomas Mitchell to recreate the patterns on the Rosslyn cubes, from my own experience this shape of plate (square) would not have produced the necessary patterns using the materials available to Sir William Sinclair. Not having any information regarding the exact method used by Mr Thomas Mitchell, I must conclude that it was an oscillator or something similar.

Some time ago I did try to contact the Mitchells directly via their website in order to ‘compare notes’ so to speak, but my approaches were either not received or simply ignored. Ignoring my approaches would be the case if (A) they realised that I knew as much as they did (B) I had arrived at a similar conclusion using a slightly different method, but especially, (C) that in addition I had beaten them to it. As a recognised paranormal researcher, broadcaster and author with four books published so far and another one currently in pre-publication, please feel free to validate my observations via my website, www.p-e-g.co.uk or simply enter ‘Brian Allan paranormal’, or ‘Brian Allan UFO’, using a search engine. If anyone wishes to discuss or pursue the matter further please do not hesitate to contact me on the peg website.

Regards,
Brian J Allan

11 May 2007

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 12 May 07

This week at Grail Seekers:

I know it’s only Friday and the week isn’t over yet, but I couldn’t sleep and had to do something productive. If anything earth shattering happens in the Grail World, I’ll let you know.

In the News:

American Indian DNA is found in the UK. No wonder there is corn depicted on the walls of Rosslyn…

The Rosslyn Enigma film is up for some awards.

Has King Herod’s Tomb been found?

On the Web:

Author Philip Gardiner posted info on a My Space Bulletin about an interview he recently gave on Journeys.

The Vox website has an interview with Brian Allen on podcast. This is the chap that did the Rosslyn Cipher article for Fortean Times. I’ve been in contact with Brian quite a bit over the couple of weeks, he’s an interesting fellow and worth checking out.

Battling Bloodlines:

Andrew Gough interviews Ben Hammott about the upcoming documentary Bloodlines. A video trailer can be found here. If you haven’t heard about Bloodlines or checked out the site, do it. If their claims are true, some things we think about the Rennes-le-Chateau mysteries will change.

In a seemingly unrelated documentary, Tim Wallace-Murphy and Philip Gardiner have put out this clip on You Tube for “The Real Bloodline”. The summary on You Tube says, “In this unique DVD Tim Wallace-Murphy talks about the real bloodline of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, the secret Brotherhoods, the Knights Templar, the Cathars, the Sufi's and reveals the spiritual truths held sacred by these groups for centuries.” It will be interesting to see what these two groups have come up with.

Live and In Person:

On Thursday 7 June, at 8pm, Professor Roland Rotherham will have a lecture on The Da Vinci Code: Righteous or Rubbish

Tip of the Week:

Get your Mom something nice for Mother’s Day on Sunday. If she’s anything like my mom and you forget, whoa be unto you…

10 May 2007

Even More Places to Seek the Grail

Well it’s official, as of today I have become a columnist for the Unexplained Mysteries web site. They published my Hertfordshire Grail Mysteries Reexamined piece that I ran here in January. The folks at Unsolved Mysteries have been kind enough to give me an ongoing column. Don’t worry, I’ll still keep writing here as well.

If you haven’t check out the UM web site, it’s really pretty useful. They look at a number of unexplained phenomena ranging from UFOs to ghosts. The forums are pretty extensive and they have areas where users can post photos. Pretty neat.

So thanks for all the support I have gotten from everyone out there. Some days it just takes that one e-mail from one of you to keep it all going.

Thanks again,
BK

Graham Hancock: Raider of the Lost Ark

For all of you Graham Hancock fans out there, here's a documentary Graham did about his search for the Ark of the Covenant. You can also find out about his work in his book Sign and the Seal


Online Videos by Veoh.com

07 May 2007

Grail Seekers Media Watch for the Week Ending 5 May 07

This week at Grail Seekers:

Well this week was inundated with news stories about the Rosslyn Cubes. It seems most of the world’s media picked up on the story. It even made the news in Iran.

I was also contacted about by Brian Allen, the author of the Fortean Times article the Rosslyn Cipher and the book Rosslyn: Between Two Worlds, about my article on the Cubes. Seems I’m not the only one that was thinking something might be eschewed about the situation… Now to the new and improved scant news of the week!

On the Web:

Andrew Gough’s blog presents an article by Adrian Lodge entitled “Geometry and Artistic Intent in Painting” using Shepherds at Arcadia. Personally, I never could follow articles of this type. It seems one could put points and draw lines anywhere they wished. Then again, I was never that good at Geometry.

Philip Coppens site has an article about St Bertrand de Comminges. He likens it to a French Rosslyn.

Did Someone Say there was a Conference?

The International Gnostic Templars did a press release about the Grail Conference in Glastonbury this summer. Funny thing is that in the release they said Christopher Knight would be representing the Freemasons. I like Knight’s work and all, but I would hesitate to say he represents all Masons. I didn’t give Knight that authority for me… Maybe they meant the Christopher Knight from the Brady Bunch.

An Arthur Machen Celebration is scheduled in the UK for July. Machen was one of the first modern fiction authors to use the Grail as a plot point back in the early 1900’s.

If you’re interested in a serious academic look at medieval subjects, including the Templars, the Western Michigan University Medieval Conference is for you. The bonus is that it’s not a Ren-Fair and it’s in Kalamazoo.

01 May 2007

A Response from Stuart Mitchell Regarding the Rosslyn Chapel Cubes

For those of you that don’t check out the comments section of my blog, I got an interesting one last night. The author claims to be Stuart Mitchell. There is no way to tell because it was posted on a newly activated Blogger account under the name Stuart. The profile has no info at this time.

However, I don’t doubt the validity of the post. The comment states:

Stuart said...

hi there,

I was very interested by your observations and felt I should clear up a couple of your queries.

There are today exactly 213 surviving cubes/rectangles/stone blocks protruding from the arches in the Lady Chapel at Rosslyn. 2 have been lost to antiquity due to theft or accident. It is known that Oliver Cromwell once used Rosslyn Chapel as a stable for his horses and the theory abounds that they were broken off then. But whatever the case is, 2 are missing. We have mapped out the entire ceiling and pattern sequence in a topological diagram and finding the identity of the missing cubes was fiarly easy. For example, one of the missing cubes is in the middle a line of cubes that are repeated 9 times, interestingly belonging to the percussion line of a medieval drum that emits one particular note/cube throughout its part. That one was straight forward. The other was not quite so easy but is part of a recurring phrase that repeats 3 times in the work. By the time we arrived at this missing moment, we already had an understanding of the way the piece was developing and instinctively applied a note that worked with the melodic development of the Motet.

Regarding some of the media discrepancies and inaccurate comments that have occurred over the past few months in the press, the subject of Rosslyn's music and its relationship with Cymatics/Chladni patterns is complexed enough for most news articles to want to shape the story for their readers in an understandable way, however, at the sacrifice of the scientific and aesthetic knowledge one has to absorb in order to arrive at the musical conclusion. Everything is 'boiled down' to suit the reader. It is beyond our control and subject to the viewpoint of the publication(s).

I have heard of Matsushita’s project but do not know what results have developed for him in this area.

I hope this has shed some light for you on some of the inconsistencies you have experienced in the past months regarding our project.

Best regards
Stuart Mitchell

So it would seem that I have been another victim of the mass media mediocrity on a few of the points I brought up. So it goes…

BK

A Picture of a Ghost at Rosslyn Chapel?

Since everything this week seems to be revolving around Rosslyn, why should this be any different? The below photo published here on the Telegraph UK site. All I've done is mark the area in red on the original and blown it up on the right. I think it's probably a motion blur, but one never knows.
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