So I was perusing my local bookstore, and I found this magazine called A Companion Guide to "The Lost Symbol". Well, between that and the big Square and Compasses on the cover (check out my avatar and you'll know why it caught my attention) I had to get it. Some of you who know me know that I'm a bit of an armchair symbologist myself from prior postings (certainly not in the league of the fictional Robert Langdon, but I can hold my own), and I wanted to get this in particular. While browsing through its pages, I noticed that it covers not only the Masons, but a bunch of other rather esoteric subject matter, conspiracies and secret societies - all in all, a well-rounded read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. Here's the cover (not very subtle, of course):
As I was flipping the pages, I got to some curious dude called "Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim" on page 76. No kidding, this is the guy's name - probably the inspiration for Monty Python's Johan Gambleputty...of Ulm schtick. Anyways, I guess even he thought his name was too long and changed it to simply "Paracelsus". Pic here:
A skilled physician, he delved into the studies of Brahman spiritual healing and other esoteric arts, and also possibly went under the pseudonym "Christian Rosenkreutz", the very founder of the Rosicrucian Order itself. He has another significant contribution to the world of esoteria. He invented the "Alphabet of the Magi", which he used to inscribe the names of the angels on healing talismans. This is not the more well-known "Angelic Script", but something else. The thing that gave me pause and damn near knocked me out of my chair were two characters in particular of this alphabet. Characters which I have outlined in red in the following scan from the magazine:
Look familiar? YEP! Colonial Cubits!
(Final pic scaled down from ByYourCommand.net)
We have been led to believe for the longest time that these cubit designs were made up by the props folks because the symbols look like "G" and "L" for Glen Larson, the show's creator. These symbols may look like G and L, but most certainly are more than just random lines and squiggles thrown together. Somebody did their homework, just as they did for the Blue Squadron patch, which is a representation of an ancient Indian Sri Yantra Mandala:
Just some pretty cool stuff to me - some new takes on old stuff. Enjoy!
