Glastonbury - Part III

After seeing the majestic Tor and the lush gardens of the Chalice Well, heavy with their esoteric charge; the journey continues not far in the White Spring Temple.


Literally on the opposite side of the road, we find the Victorian building that houses the waters of this sacred spring: unlike the sunny Chalice Well, where the dominant presence of God reigns, the sacred masculine, the rubes; inside this temple we can breath a different atmosphere: rich in mystery, like a comforting uterus in the bowels of Mother Earth. Dark, dimly lit by candlelight, lulled by the perennial bubbling of the waters that flow and flood the floor, it is the reign of the Goddess, the mystery, the albedo.


Click here to read the Tor article.
Click here to read the article on the Chalice Well.

THE WHITE SPRING

THE SPRING

Like the Red Spring, the White Spring also originates from the Tor. Geologists from all over the world wondered for years how it was possible to have two sources, so different in colour and substance, originating from the same aquifer, despite not coming from underground waterways or from thermal springs.

The most probable explanation comes directly from the Jurassic Age. As we saw earlier, Somerset was originally submerged by the ocean; during this phase the sea floor gave shape to the current formation of the ground: the different sediments, over the millennia, shaped the current structure of the Tor. The rains, over the years, brought the minerals from the most superficial layers deep into the soil, forming compact sediments that resisted the erosion of the surrounding soil giving shape to the characteristic hill.

Part of these primordial rains formed the iron-rich aquifer, flowing into the Red Spring of the Chalice Well. The superficial part of the hill, on the other hand, made the upper part of the calcium-rich aquifer, thus forming the White Spring.

Great Britain is known for its rainy Atlantic climate, so the abundant rainfall make the reservoir permanently saturated and feed its constant flow. These sacred waters and the Tor created each other, as a kind of natural alembic (another strongly alchemical symbol) and making this place unique.


THE TEMPLE

Unlike the Chalice Well, the White Spring was left undisturbed until the dawn of the twentieth century. Before the construction of the building in which it still erupts, it flowed in a natural clearing between ivy, moss and ferns. Unfortunately there is no photo or graphic representation, we can only imagine it thanks to the testimony of George Wright (1896) - local inhabitant: "And what was Glastonbury like then? One thing that clings to me was the beautiful Well House Lane of those days, before it had been spoilt by the erection of the reservoir. There was a small copse of bushes on the right hand running up the hill, and through it could be, not seen, but heard, the rush of running water, which made itself visible as it poured into the lane. But the lane itself was beautiful, for the whole bank was a series of fairy dropping wells – little caverns clothed with moss and vedure, and each small twig and leaf was a medium for the water to flow, drop, drop, drop into a small basin below. This water contained lime, and pieces of wood or leaves subject to this dropping became encrusted with a covering of lime. For a long time I attended those pretty caverns with affectionate care, and Well House Lane was an object of interest to all our visitors"In 1872, following a cholera epidemic, the current structure was built in order to provide clean water to the population.


Over time, the well fell into disuse and the water was brought in the village by conduits from outside Glastonbury. It was not until 1980 that it was cleaned out of the layers of calcite and reused to provide drinking water in the adjacent shops and premises; the well itself was reinvented as a bar. In 2004 it was acquired by the foundation Companions of the White Spring and used as a sacred place as we know it: it was stripped of the pipes, plasterboard, paint ... bringing out its fantastic original structure.

In 2009 were added the pools, designed according to principles of sacred geometry, in order to collect the sacred waters and permit to the pilgrims to immerse themselves fully in the sacredness of this place.


THE ALTARS

Once the eyes are accustomed to the darkness of the temple, we can see several altars illuminated by the dancing light of the candles. Enriched by the offers and talismans left by the pilgrims, they are set up seasonally by the volunteers to reflect the inexorable gait of the Wheel of the Year.

Located in secluded niches and lulled by the lapping of the waters, they immediately infuse an arcane sense of sacredness.

On the side of the sacred basins, we can find two altars dedicated to two important figures of the British tradition. The first, framed by a wooden arch, is an altar dedicated to God in his aspect as the Spirit of Nature. 

The beautiful painting exudes pride and strength: adorned with pelts and antlers, the God is depicted here as the King of the Wild Hunt.

The painting rests on a tree stump, which recalls the forest theme again and acts as an altar at the same time - enriched by the offerings of travelers.


The Horned God is an ancient figure, who has been haunting our imagination since the dawn of humanity: the first representations can be found in France on cave paintings dating back to 13th Millennia A.C. Lord of Life, War and Fecundity, he is an archetype common to many cultures - some very distant from each other but with the same matrix. 
From Cernunnos, to Faun to the figure of Pashupati up to the controversial depiction of the Baphomet of Levi.

A little further we can find the altar dedicated to another key figure in British culture: the goddess Brighid, an icon so deeply rooted in the traditions of this land that she originated the name Britain. Goddess of the flame of creation, protectress of blacksmiths and poets, she also protects the water sources and the numerous sacred wells that can be found on these green islands. An altar dedicated to her, in one of England's most sacred places, was a must; where her elements Water and Fire dance with each other.

Click here to read about Brighid and Imbolc.

The third and last altar is in the left wing of the building, under a dome of thickly intertwined branches; as to resemble a secret hidden in the brambles of the forest. You can see a vibrant flame, standing out clearly against the darkness of the niche. It is the altar dedicated to the Goddess in her aspect as a primordial female archetype, an obscure and ancient mother like the Earth. This altar, in particular, was the one that struck me the most the first time I visited Glastonbury: an obscure vision of femininity, including the entirety of the sacred feminine. A powerful vision that, in Christian culture, is amputated only showing the submissive part of the woman. Here the pilgrims are invited to sit in reflection, in the silence interrupted by the sacred flow of the fountain and the tinkle of prayers hanging from the leaves.

The reflection certainly is not missing in this corner of the world cut out from time; a window on the world of the oneiric that projects us on a journey towards our unconscious in contact with ourselves and the divine.

There would be a thousand others things to say about a place like Glastonbury; but our journey ends here. If you want to know more, I warmly invite you to go personally to this place among the most esoteric in Europe and of the entire world.

♃Ludna

Clicca qui per leggere il post in Italiano,

Sources:

White Spring Website

The Red & White Springs of Avalon: A Guide to the Healing Waters at Glastonbury  - by Nicholas Mann and Philippa Glasson.

Glastonbury - Part II

One of the biggest mysteries of Glastonbury are the two different water sources which flow under the Glastonbury Tor, gushing a few meters apart: a red one (due to the high iron content) and a white one (due to the high calcite content); both renowned for centuries for their healing qualities. 

THE CHALICE WELL

The Chalice Well is a place out of time, sacred and eternal, rich of arcane symbolism; a place where you can be influenced by the palpable energy that lingers in the air.
Walking along the path, under the arches of twisted plants, there is a feeling of being out of the ordinary world and entering an enchanted place. This place has been a pilgrimage site for thousands of years, and only by visiting it one will understand why.
Since the dawn of time, water sources were considered sacred: they flow underground like the veins of the human body and become a gift of Mother Earth to us, nourishing our body and soul.

The Chalice Well is in fact a source of natural origin and it never stopped flowing; it is a symbol of eternal force of nature. Archaeological findings have suggested that the well has been in use for at least two thousand years: in the vicinity of the source, numerous spearheads dating back to the Palaeolithic, pottery from the Stone Age and from the Roman era have been found. 
Our ancestors saw the pits as portals to the spiritual world, where the veil between the human existence and the spirit one disappears, where it was possible to communicate with the gods and the spirits of nature.

Adjacent to the well, there is a pentagonal room of irregular shape that most likely dates back to the sixteenth - seventeenth century. Its purpose is still a mystery, its geometric proportions are related to units of measurement used in Ancient Egypt, suggesting that perhaps it was used in some initiation ceremony. 
Nowadays it is not accessible, but its entry can be seen looking inside the cavity of the well.


The lid, made in English oak, is surmounted by a wrought iron structure in the shape of vesica piscis: a symbol of ogival shape, obtained by two circles of the same radius  intersecting in such a way that the centre of each circle lies on the other circumference. 
The name literally means “fish bladder” in Latin. As intersection of two circles, it represents the communication between two worlds, two different dimensions, the union of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, conscious and subconscious, male and female. 
The geometry of this figure form the basis of harmony that is found in balance in the natural world.
The figure is crossed by a spear. Based on a medieval design, it is a gift by the famous archaeologist, Frederick Bligh Bond, in 1919. He was very interested in sacred geometry, which can be seen in many places of spiritual importance in the world. 

The union of two symbols, the lance and the cup (the well itself), again represent the union of male and female. The shaft also represents the Holy Lance, soaked with the blood of Christ. That same blood which, according to legend, was collected in the Holy Grail and then immersed in the Red Spring, donating the healing properties and the its characteristic reddish colour. 

The union of the masculine and feminine is a recurring theme in Glastonbury, as we mentioned before. The same well, a cavity coming from the bowels of Mother Earth and with its scarlet waters, is a representation of the blood and at the yoni. A short distance away from the Tor, which is - with its tower - the sacred masculine par excellence, on the intersection of the lines of St. Michael and St. Mary. 

In addition to the famous Chalice Well, one can see a series of other sacred symbols, full of esoteric meaning, set like jewels in the maze of lush vegetation (here the map). 


The Vesica Pool

The theme of the vesica piscis recurs in Vesica Pool, where the waters of the garden are collected, guarded by two magnificent Yews. These two trees were probably part of an ancient path or a ceremonial grove, being yews sacred trees in the Druidic tradition.

Yews are trees charged with a deep esoteric meaning: influenced by Saturn, they are considered sacred in many Northern and Celtic cults, in Ireland are one of five sacred trees (Ross Tree or Eo Ruis). Guardian of our graveyards also nowadays, it is a tree associated with death and rebirth, divination, astral travel, and anything related to communication between worlds. Its wood is indicated to make Runes, Ogham, scrying mirrors and ouija boards. I take the opportunity to specify that Yew is toxic if ingested, so it should not be used to manufacture chalices, cups etc.


The Healing Pool

Following the path that leads to the Well (the climax of this initiatory path),  the next stop is the Healing Pool: built in the 18th century, one can clearly see the ferrous deposit of the water, pouring in the basin from a waterfall. 

One of the junctions of the two Ley lines is in the proximity of this point of the garden: as suggested by the railings, you can soak in the pool to fully absorb the regenerative properties of the spring or recharge your magical tools.







The Lion's Head  

Continuing along the path, you will come across another fountain: the Lion's Head, the only spot in the garden where the spring water can be drunk. The lion is not a random choice: this feline, sacred to the Egyptians, marked the beginning of a new kemetic year. 

Not only the Leo constellation was showing in the sky the hottest period of the year (which was marking the beginning of summer for some ancient tribes), the lions themselves used to leave the desert to look for a cool place in the shade nearby the Nile - which overflowed, setting a new agricultural cycle. The kemetic people used to carve a lion's head on their bridges, to celebrate the appearance of this sacred animal. A symbol that we still see today on our fountains.

- Click here to read the first part (Glastonbury Tor)

- Click here to read the third part (The White Spring)

.

♃Ludna & ♄Unornya
Clicca qui per leggere questo post in Italiano.

Glastonbury - Part I

Glastonbury, known to most as one of the esoteric destinations for excellence in Europe, is a bucolic little town in the green Somerset (England). A well-deserved reputation, thanks to the many legends that surround it: the Isle of Avalon, King Arthur's tomb, the Holy Grail and the miraculous waters of the White and Red springs.

The hill overlooking Glastonbury (Glastonbury Tor), with its iconic tower, is located on the Michael Ley Line, one of the energy lines that cross the surface of our planet. The same energy that would have worked as a catalyst for the legends and mysteries that permeate the atmosphere of this magical place - by many identified with the Arthurian Avalon. 

In the book The Sun and the Serpent, Hamish Miller and Paul Broadhurst deepen the enigmatic array that correlates hundreds of Neolithic and Celtic archaeological sites to Christian places of worship in Southern England- alignment mentioned in the mid-60s by academician John Michell. Miller and Broadhurst, after years of study, found two distinct lines of energy, both roughly 300 miles long and almost parallel: the line of St. Michael and the line of St. Mary. They were so named because of the many churches dedicated to St. Michael and the Virgin Mary lying respectively on both, although these trails are well older than Christianity itself.

The Archangel Michael is associated with Light, Mysteries and the Other World - qualities also attributed to other gods, prior to Christianity, like Thoth, Mercury and Bel. 

The psychopomp deities were often associated with the spirit of the earth, whose mysterious forces  were represented by serpents and dragons. According to Chinese tradition, the earthquakes are generated by huge dragons that move underground. Along these landlines, places of power were marked by monoliths, temples carved in the rock or shrines up the mountains, where it was believed dragons used to live in them... Places that, thousands of years later, were replaced by shrines dedicated to St. Michael, the angel represented in the act of killing a dragon and then taken as a symbol of Christian suppression of the old religions. 

Not surprisingly, the majority of Christian churches dedicated to St. Michael, especially from the Middle Ages, are located on the highest points of the villages.

During their researches, the authors made a sensational discovery: the energy lines appear to intersect, as in an intimate mating ritual, in three specific points in Glastonbury: the Tor, the Chalice Well and the Abbey ruins . 
In these three places, the energy is balanced and you have an immediate feeling of peace and harmony. 

The line of Mary (the feminine, yin) meets the line of Michael (the masculine, yang) in a cupped shape (Tor) - topped by the phallic figure of St. Michael's Tower. An evocative image, powerful symbol of the universal alchemical fusion of opposites.

The other point where they intersect is the Chalice Well Garden. At the entry of the gardens, there is a bas-relief representing a cross with two vials; according to legend, the golden vial would contain the blood of Christ, whilst the silver one contains the sweat. 
According to the laws of alchemy, blood is the masculine energy, whilst silver is the feminine. 

The two energy lines intersect within  the Glastonbury Abbey, right in the point where today lies the tomb of King Arthur and Guinevere, buried together as if to represent the union between the masculine and the feminine. 


THE AVALON ISLAND AND GLASTONBURY TOR

One can not talk about Glastonbury without mentioning Avalon - the mythical island of Arthurian cycles. 

The Isle of Avalon appeared for the first time in the Historia Regum Britanniae, the manuscript by Geoffrey of Monmouth: written in year 1136, retracing 2,000 years of British history and its various dynasties; including the discussed figure of Arthur. 

Avalon means "Island of the Apples" from the Breton aval and Welsh afal (apple); according to the legends the Tor would be inhabited by Gwyn ap Nudd, the Lord of Annwn; who later became the King of the Fairies and Lord of Avalon - an island full of wild apple trees, vineyards and wheat; an idyllic island where people could live without the need of cultivating the land but simply harvesting its spontaneous fruits.

This magical place would also be the location where Joseph of Arimathea came on a pilgrimage with Jesus when he was still a boy; and then returning, after his crucifixion, to found the first church in Great Britain- where is rumored to be the hiding place of the Holy Grail, buried with the remains of Joseph. 

Once he arrived at Glastonbury; Joseph, exhausted after a long pilgrimage, planted his walking stick to rest, which took root in the ground to flourish into the legendary "Holy Thorn", the Glastonbury thorn; a plant that grows only in the surrounding areas of this town.

Avalon is also the place where Arthur is buried, transported on the island on a boat driven by his sister Morgana. According to the legend, Arthur would rest on the island, waiting to return to the world when his people need him again. 

Since the eleventh century it was said that Arthur was buried in the Glastonbury Tor, which was once surrounded by water: the surrounding plain was a marshy land which was becoming a proper sea, depending on the tide.

During the reign of Henry II, the abbot Henry of Blois commissioned a research, that would bring to light a massive oak coffin with an inscription: " “Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere his second wife, in the Isle of Avalon.”
 The remains were placed in front of the main altar in the abbey of Glastonbury, during a great ceremony which was also attended the royal family. 
The place became a pilgrimage destination until the period of the Protestant Reformation. It was later discovered that the tomb is a fake, concocted by the diocese to raise funds - and it can still be admired in the remains of the abbey, among  the ancient gardens and fruitful apple trees.

What is certain is that the Glastonbury Tor was a point of interest and a sacred place long before the so-called discovery of the tomb, in fact, artifacts were found dating back to the Iron Age and the Roman Empire: a forge for working iron; two tombs from the sixth century, fragments of amphorae, animal bones and a bronze element - probably an ornament that was part of a Saxon spear. These findings suggest that the hill had always been an attractive outpost, perhaps due to the fact that it was surrounded by swamps and therefore unlikely to be reached by enemies. 

The origin of the name "Glastonbury" itself is not clear: apparently it derives from the archaic Glestingaburg, Glestinga (probably a Celtic word) and - Burg (Anglo-Saxon word to define a fortified place); while "Tor" comes from the Old English "torr" (rocky hill). 
Another name for Glastonbury was Ynys-Witrin - The Isle of Glass.

One of the unsolved mysteries of Tor are the seven terraces that line the hill, of uncertain origin: it is unclear whether it is a natural configuration or man-made, it is just known that they date back to the Neolithic Age. Some believe it is an initiatory path, thousands of years old. Following this intricate and winding path, we would tune with the energies of this sacred place; where the sky and the earth meet.

- Click here for the second part (The Chalice Well and the Red Spring).

- Click here for the third part (The White Spring).

♃Ludna & ♄Unornya
Clicca qui per leggere questo post in Italiano.

Quinta Da Regaleira: An Alchemical Mansion.

Quinta da Regaleira is a Portuguese estate, consisting in the main palace, an outdoor garden and a cave system; it’s located in the town of Sintra, in the northwest of Lisbon.

This estate is practically a proper alchemical treatise written in stone. The construction began in 1910 on the project of the Italian architect Luigi Manini and on the commission of António Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, a businessman who made fortune with coffee plantations in Brazil.

In this estate you can find statues, ponds, caves, temples, labyrinths, etc ... all surrounded by a vast garden and all types of vegetation. The garden looks more well-finished on the south side of the estate, and, as you ascend to the north, the vegetation takes over becoming wilder and wilder. Each building contained within the estate is decorated with many hermetic symbols and forms difficult to interpret, a true hidden maze, full of secrets. All the elements are placed on the lot in this way they can thus build a true esoteric initiatory path.

Entrance:

The first thing you can notice by entering this fascinating mansion is a fake door, which is included in the outer wall; this already makes the visitor aware of the existence of an occult message behind these walls. In fact, just above this wall, not far from the "green lion", we can see four animal figures: a turtle, a salamander, a snail and a toad, respectively, representing the four elements: water, fire, earth and air; as well they represent the four primary alchemical qualities: Hot, cold, dry, wet.

The salamander represents the element of fire, the sacred fire of the alchemists, also known as hidden sulfur, as it never manifests itself in the sight of the alchemical operator. The salamander is the reagent between sulphur - earth - toad ♁ and water - turtle ☿ (in Alchemy, it is believed that the purest sulfur combined with the purest mercury can react giving gold as result) , so it acts as a salt element.

The Turtle is in this context a symbol of the water element, and therefore represents the philosophical mercury, being however a very rare symbol in alchemical works and treatise.

The Toad is the symbol of Nigredo, or the Black Work of Alchemy, the moment when matter itself, still in its primordial and chaotic state, dissolves as it rots. The toad connected to the Nigredo phase is very common in medieval alchemical treatieses.

Throughout the whole estate we find direct or indirect references to the snail, from the spiral on the outer wall, to the numerous spiral stairs, directed allusions to the shape of the spiral, a very common symbol in hermetic studies.

In ancient Rome, the snail was a very useful food, especially as an offering during funerals, since the spiral represented the resurrection and the return of the dead to the living world.

The Iron Door:

The three iron gates that separate the mansion from the outside can have various interpretations within an alchemy reading. In the first place, iron is the emblematic metal of the god Vulcan, the same deity is represented in a statue on the path called 'Passeio dos Deuses’ (the path of the Gods), not far from the entrance. The number 3 in reference to the doors can be a reference to Hermes Trismegistus, who possessed the three parts of the universal philosophy (the closest statue to the main building of the estate, placed right in the point where the initiatic journey begins, it’s exactly the Hermes one).

Iron, moreover, is a highly important metal in alchemy; it’s one of the seven major metals; the number seven is also one of the most recurring numbers in the estate.

The Jars of the Garden:

There are numerous decorated jars in Quinta da Regaleira gardens, many of them have Baphomets combined with grapes on their surface. They are probably representing vases for grapes harvesting, although Fulcanelli himself interprets this kind of representations as "pots containing the wine of philosophers, mercury”. An official interpretation presents them as Jupiter’s Horn of Abundance.

We can also observe on these jars some sheep heads, which in alchemy represent the first phase of transformation operations: the calcination.

The Path of the Gods:

Located not far from the main entrance of the Quinta, we find a group of statues representing divinities of Greek-Roman mythology: Hermes, Volcano, Dionysus, Pan, Ceres, Flora, Aphrodite, Orpheus and Fortune.

Hermes: Greek mythological figure of great importance for the alchemical art, which is called as well “the hermetic art". Traditionally, Hermes was a pre-Pharaonic monarch, author of the Emerald Tablet. The legend tells that he met Alexander The Great in the great pyramid of Giza, for this reason, the statue is placed inside the Quinta near the "Egyptian House" (a building in the Quinta, once used as a pool, to symbolize dissolution " SOLVE "), as the beginning of the initiatory journey.

The Hermes statue presents one of the most famous esoteric symbols, the Caduceus; a laurel stick with two snakes twisting around it, which represent solar / masculine and lunar / female strength.

Dionysus: This divinity alludes to the mercury element and knowledge. This god represents the primordial part of the human soul. The myth tells that Dionysus was born from Zeus's love for Semele, daughter of Cadmo, the king of Tebe. Hera, insanely jelous, after provoking the death of Semele with a trick, ordered the Titans to kill him. Of his dismembered body only the heart remained intact, and from that Dionysius could resurrect. All this resumes the essence of alchemical transformation. The one who undertake the sapiential path of self-knowledge must face a transformation that implies the transition from the historical dimension of time (Cronos) to the transcendent dimension of the Aion, the time of the gods.

Pan: A demigod, son of Penelope and Hermes, he is a reference to the fundamental principle of alchemical cosmology, expressed in the Emerald Tablet: "All is One", which in Greek translates as "ἒν τὸ Πᾶν - En to Pàn". Three words, as three are the constituent elements of matter (Sulfur, Mercury and Salt); Seven letters, as seven are the alchemical metals, seven operations, seven planets.

Venus: The goddess of love, is the ultimate symbol of cosmic love, indispensable energy that unites the elements of matter catalyzing the reaction.

Orpheus: Known above all for the legend that narrates his descent into the underworld, Orpheus is also mentioned by Rufinus, a fourth-century author who writes: "According to Orpheus, there was first a confusing mixture of things, which was called chaos. An immense chaos from which everything was born, which is neither cold nor hot, neither humid nor dry, nor darkness nor light, but all mixed eternal and infinite."

It is from this mineral chaos, to which the Orphic mysteries also refer, that the alchemist must extract the active and passive compounds necessary for his work.

Ceres and Flora: These goddesses of vegetation and nature meet different alchemical interpretations in the same way. Flora is the symbol of fertility, of fructification, which the raw material undergoes when enclosed in the glass container called "philosophical egg", of the vegetable development of matter in its purest form, known as a philosopher's stone or universal medicine.

Vulcan: the first alchemist to name Vulcan as the patron of the Hermetic Art was Paracelsus, in reference to the mastery with which this god manipulated metals and forges.

According to the legend, Venus, wife of Vulcan, fell in love with Mars and with him she betrayed her husband in his own bridal chamber. The Sun discovered adultery and immediately revealed it to Vulcan. This, infuriated, took revenge by building an invisible net, to be tied around the bed. In this way the two lovers, caught red-handed during their furtive encounter, are trapped in the net. This net is interpreted as an allusion to fixation, an operation by which unites and fixes the opposites (Mercury - Aphrodite / Venus and Sulfur - Mars). In this context, Vulcan would have been the salt of the philosophers. The Greek myths tell us that the god Vulcan was able to live in the center of the volcanoes (it is said he lived in Etna), enduring great heat, and in fact Paracelsus asserted that one of the properties of Salt is incombustibility.

Fortuna: This goddess is represented, as well as a statue on the path of the Gods, also in the mosaic inside the chapel, like seven Wheels of Fortune. According to Fulcanelli, the wheel started moving as a result of a word (divine revelation), and each rotation had to last as long as a complete human life.

The Terrace of the celestial worlds:

In this large terrace, built together with the entrance of the Guardians, there is a tower built by Carvalho Monteiro, which in its shape resembles a Sumerian or Babylonian Ziggurat.

The tower had as its purpose the observation of the stars, fundamental for the success of the alchemical work.

It is precisely this particular that differentiates the alchemical work from the proudly empirical and parallel chemistry. In reality, the observation of the stars served to realize the time that each operation required, in a historical time when there were no clocks.

There are many references to Heaven / Earth in the Quinta, such as the juxtaposition between Ziggurat and Initiation Well.

Located in front of the tower called Ziggurat, we find a fountain with two dragons, one representing sulfur, hot and dry, the other representing Mercury, cold and humidity.

At the base of this fountain we find small sculptures in the shape of a shell, the symbol par excellence of San Tiago, the patron saint of medieval alchemists.

The fountain of Abundance:

This fountain is decorated with a bas-relief representing two fish interweaving their tails, recalling the stick of Hermes, the Caduceus, and the philosopher's stone in its first state of transformation: in water. Above them we still find a shell representing the path of St. Tiago de Compostela.

At the top of the composition we find the letters CM, the omnipresent monogram of Carvalho Monteiro. In front of this fountain we find a semicircle terrace, set in it we find a kind of throne, placed in front of a marble table, apparently an altar. Finally, at the edge of the terrace we find two large vases and two figures of Baphomet carved on them.

The Baphomet is an allegory to represent nature (the faun, the god Pan) the feminine or lunar principle (represented by the horns of the creature) and the masculine or solar principle (represented by the pointed beard of the creature, like a ray of sunshine).

The presence of numerous decorative Baphomet within the estate is a confirmation of belonging to some esoteric order of Carvalho Monteiro.

The Cave of Leda:

Constructed in such a way as to form an ogival chamber capable of hosting an assembly of people as numerous as in the fountain of abundance, the cave is an allegory of the Alchemical Rebis, the result of an alchemical marriage with the aim of obtaining the philosopher's stone. In order for the Rebis to happen, a dark and humid place is needed, just like the cave of Leda.

From the roof hangs a chandelier, probably working in oil, in the form of a seal of Solomon, the six-pointed star.

At the center of a small lake we find the statue of Leda, with Jupiter at its side in the form of a swan.

Legend has it that Jupiter / Zeus, falling in love with Leda, turned into a swan to mate with her. Leda gave birth to two eggs, from which Castore and Polluce, Elena and Clitennestra were born.

The Dove, present in this statue but absent in the original myth, held in hand by Leda, is a symbolic value attributed to it intentionally by Monteiro. The white dove represents the success of the union between the swan (male, sulfur) and Leda (female, mercury), to give rise to the Rebis, represented by a Dolphin, a decorative element very present in the estate.

The Azulejo of the XIV Station:

This Azulejo represents the fourteenth station of the Via Sacra (The sacred path), which corresponds to the burial place of Jesus Christ. In the representation we see a strange cross, with the inscription INRI placed on it, but Christ is not present. The three nails of the crucifixion are very highlighted, which can refer to the three Works of Ars Magna, being Christ in hermetic art a common metaphor of the alchemical gold. The INRI written moreover, more than the Roman acronym "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", refers to the acronym of the Rosicrucian alchemical tradition "Igne Natura Renovatur Integra", which means "Through fire, nature is completely renewed”.

The Initiation Well:

This well was not built with the intention of collecting water but as the main element of a Masonic ceremony.

The main symbolic element of this well is the descending path into the underground, a sort of path towards the underworld that will then lead to the ascent into the light. The descent into the well is also an allusion to the famous phrase of Basil Valentine 

"Visit Interiora Terrae Rectifying Invenitis Occultum Lapidem (Veram Medicinam)" 

that in English can be translated with "Visit the inside of the earth, and rectifying (with subsequent purifications) you will find the hidden stone (which is the real medicine) ", this sentence forms the acronym V.I.T.R.I.O.L.V.M.

This is a kind of invitation to investigate one's soul and one's spirit to purify oneself which is a parallel process to the production of the philosopher's stone.

The expression indicated the need to descend into the bowels of the earth, as well as into the dark corners of the soul, to achieve initiation, by operating that transmutation of matter into the spirit that would have enabled the alchemist to gain immortality and to bring wisdom to light, going through the different phases of the alchemical Work, that are: nigredo, albedo, rubedo.

For this purpose, it was necessary an acid such as vitriol, the universal dissolving salt, represented as a green lion in the estate, able to dissolve even the hardest stone and cause the most radical transformations, probably the most important liquid of the Great Work.

The well represented the beginning of the initiatory ritual, the neophyte adept descended the spiral staircase, through nine platforms (it is said there is a reference to the nine infernal circles) and the twenty-two arches (22 as the major arcana of the Tarots) while the others adepts observed him in a circle on the bottom of the well. Reached the bottom, on which there is a mosaic representing the cross of the Templars, the neophyte was accompanied through a door that led to an underground gallery. Here there was a vase-shaped sink, to symbolize the first phase of purification from the nigredo. Then the neophyte was led through the dark tunnel, which emerged at the height of the caves and the pond, to represent the rebirth of the soul.

Quinta da Regaleira is a truly unique Alchemic Mansion, its wealth of Masonic / alchemical symbols makes it an obligatory stop for all those who wish to learn the Hermetic Art.

♄Unornya

Per leggere questo articolo in Italiano clicca qui.