The Cross of the Templars -
History of the True Cross
Today the world is going mad for all things Knights Templar. They have
never been so popular. Everywhere you turn there’s a new book, poster, t-shirt
and even mug with their infamous red cross on a white background. But this
wasn’t their only symbol, and I discovered that there was even greater truth
to be found behind this enigmatic imagery and believe it or not, it had nothing
at all to do with Dan Brown.
We begin our quest with a familiar symbol to many people - the ankh.
Today there are millions of people walking around with this unique and extremely
important symbol on chains around their necks. Even Christians adorn themselves
with the image, thinking it to be a normal cross. And yet the significance of
the symbolism implied by this seemingly unobtrusive little object is very
profound.
This enigmatic symbol of Egypt represents in its simplest interpretation
‘eternal life’ and was often found in the names of Pharaoh’s such as the
infamous Tut-ankh-amun. The symbol is
often depicted being held by a god to a Pharaoh, giving him life, or held by a
Pharaoh to his people, giving them life – this basically set aside the
immortals, from the mortals, for anyone wearing or carrying the Ankh had gained
or hoped to gain immortality. Those holding the ankh were the great magicians,
the ones capable of altering reality - they had the power of the Otherworld
through the device, which symbolised the access to the Otherworld. So what
elements of this ankh give it this special power?
The Ankh is technically known as the Crux Ansata.
It is a simple T-Cross, surmounted by an oval – called the Ru. The Ru
is often seen as the portal or gateway to another dimension such as heaven, in
essence, the Otherworld. The ankh therefore becomes the symbol of transition
from one plain to another. It outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used
by the Christians as their first cross, but in this symbol holds a clue to the
secret of the serpent.
One character intricately linked with the ankh and specifically the Tau
cross is Thoth or Taautus - a character no different to the alchemists and
Greeks Hermes or the biblical Enoch, both of whom were transported to other
worlds in ways similar to modern altered states of consciousness.
Amazingly Thoth was said by Eusebius to be the originator of serpent
worship in Phoenicia and this will prove to be of worth. Sanchoniathon called
him a god and says that he made the first image of Coleus [1] and invented
hieroglyphs. This links him with Hermes who himself is linked with the wisdom
traditions of the alchemists and others. Thoth also consecrated the linked
species of dragons and serpents; and the Phoenicians and Egyptians followed him
in this superstition.
This Thoth, according to some could very well be a memory of the first
group who originated the worship of the serpent after the flood or end of last
ice age approximately 12000 years ago. Thoth was deified after his death (a time
that nobody knows, if indeed he existed) and given the title “the god of
health” or “healing”. He was the proto-type for the serpent-linked healer
Aesculapius and identified with Mercury who bore the serpent entwined caduceus.
All healers, all wise, all teachers, all saviours and all associated with the
serpent for their powers. Indeed, it was as the healing god that Thoth was
symbolised as the serpent - whereas he was normally represented with the head of
an Ibis and Baboon.
The Letter or Symbol ‘Tau’ is the first letter of Taautus, Tammuz
and Thoth and is thought to be the ‘Mark of Cain’, who himself was called
the “son of serpents.” In many respects it is also linked with the ancient
swastika, so well-known to us now from Nazi imagery.
Swastika
The ancient symbol of the swastika is simply a stylised spiral as can be
shown from the many depictions across the world of swastikas made up of spirals
and snakes. It also shows up in the spiral fashions of the labyrinths and mazes.
The word labyrinth comes directly from the ancient Minoan Snake Goddess culture
of Crete, where the swastika was used as a symbol of the labyrinth and is linked
etymologically with the “double headed axe” – which is none other than the
Tau Cross we just spoke about. Similar labyrinthine shaped swastikas have been
found in the ancient city of Harappa from 2000 BC. As the labyrinth is viewed as
a womb of the Mother Goddess, and a symbol of the snake, there is little wonder
that these two symbols became fused. However, labyrinths were also seen as
places of ancient serpent initiation. In ancient Egypt the labyrinth was
synonymous with what was called the Amenti – the snake like path taken by the
dead to journey from death to resurrection. It was Isis, the serpent queen of
heaven, who was to guide the souls through the twists of the Amenti.
The path towards the centre, leads towards treasure, and this "centre"
the Gnostics later defined as the "self."
The snake adorning Athene in ancient Greece is shown with a swastika
skirt. The same is true of Astarte or Asherah and Artemis. There is Samarran
pottery dating from 5000-4000 BC from Mesopotamia showing a female and swastika,
where the females hair swirls with Medusa type serpents. The swastika is also
shown as two serpents crossing each other.
In Norse myth, the hammer of Thor [2], Mjollnir, is closely connected
with the swastika and is found to be a prominent motif in Scandinavian art from
the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. It is found on swords and Anglo-Saxon cremation
urns and on numerous Viking items. It was seen as a protector against thieves,
reminiscent of the fact that serpents were known to guard treasure. As Thor’s
hammer was also seen as a Tau cross it is certainly related to the secrets of
the serpent. It was used by Thor to lop off the head of the sacred ox, which he
used as bait to catch the Midgard Serpent, which encircled the globe in the
symbol of the Ouroboros, eating its own tail. This was Thor offering a head as
sacrifice to the serpent to try and gain immortality in the mead – the drink
of the gods. He was using the serpent, to catch the serpent. It was the
cessation of the constant cycling of the Midgard Serpent that Thor attempted and
in this way, he beat time itself.
Thor’s aim was to gain a cauldron big enough to take the mead for the
immortals and he needed to prove his worth by fishing for the serpent. He had
power over the serpent as the slayer, with the swastika or Tau cross. There is
evidence to prove that the myths of these Scandinavians and the Hindus are
related, as the story of Thor and the Midgard Serpent closely resemble the
battle between Indra and Vritra, showing a common origin. Vritra is the great
serpent, which lies at the source of two rivers (the positive and negative or
male and female), as the Midgard Serpent lies beneath the sea (of the mind).
Indra slits open the belly of the serpent to release the waters and therefore
fertility back to the land, or to release the self in balance. Both gods, Indra
and Thor, are related to the weather, both are warrior gods with a thunderbolt
as a weapon and both slay the dragon. The swastika of the serpent is a common
motif in both cultures. Eventually the Christians steal both pagan myths and
place St. Michael and St. George in their stead – both having the red serpent
cross to replace the swastika.
The cross is also found in the legends of Thoth or Taautus who was said
to have symbolised the four elements with a simple cross, which originated from
the oldest Phoenician alphabet as the curling serpent. Indeed Philo adds that
the Phoenician alphabet “are those
formed by means of serpents . . . and adored them as the supreme gods, the
rulers of the universe.” If Thoth, Hermes and even Enoch are the supposed
inventors of the art of writing then there is little wonder that they are so
closely linked with the serpent.
Bunsen in the 19th century thought, “the forms and movements of serpents were employed in the invention of
the oldest letters, which represent gods.” This symbol of the four
elements was altered slightly and became the Egyptian Taut, the same as the
Greek Tau, which is where we get the name Tau Cross from – a simple T.
The T or Tau cross also gives its name to the Bull in the Astrological
sign of Taurus – note here the two elements of the Tau and the Ru being
brought together. In fact the Druids (or “n'adders” after the snake)
venerated the tree and the snake by scrawling the Tau cross into tree bark.
In the Middle Ages the Tau cross was used in amulets to protect the
wearer against disease.
Amongst the modern Freemasons the Tau has many meanings. Some say that
it stands for Templus Hierosolyma or the Temple of Jerusalem, others that it
signifies hidden treasure or means Clavis ad Thesaurum, ‘A key to treasure‘
or Theca ubi res pretiosa, ‘A place where the precious thing is concealed.’
It is especially important in Royal Arch Masonry where it becomes the
‘Companions Jewel’ with a serpent as a circle above the cross bar in place
of the Ru and forming the Ankh with the Hebrew word for ‘serpent’ engraved
on the upright and also including the Triple Tau – a symbol for hidden
treasure.
It was also the symbol for St. Anthony – later to become the symbol
for the Knights Templar of St. Anthony of Leith in Scotland. St. Anthony lived
in the 4th century AD and is credited with establishing Monasticism
in Egypt, and generally the story goes that he sold all his possessions after
hearing from the Lord and marched off into the wilderness to become a hermit. On
his travels he learned much from various sages in Egypt and grew for himself a
large following. He was sorely tempted by the devil in the form of ‘creeping
things’ and serpents. In one episode he follows a trail of gold to a temple,
which is infested with serpents and takes up residence, needing little food for
sustenance other than bread and water. He is said to have lived 105 years and
due to this longevity he is credited with protective powers.
The Order of the Hospitalers of St. Anthony, who would later take much
of the Templar wealth, brought many of Anthony’s relics to France in the 11th
century. Previously they were said to have been secretly deposited somewhere in
Egypt just after his death and then later to have found their way to Alexandria.
All of this is a symbolic representation of the truth. The truth in fact is that
the secret of these stories found their way to Alexandria, which was a mixing
bowl of the occult, esoteric, Gnostic and mystical world and from there it
spread into Europe via such movements as the Templars, Rosicrucians and later
the Freemasons - hence the reason for finding the symbolism in the ‘Companions
Jewel.’
The Taut or Tau symbolises the creating four elements of the universe.
It is the centre of all this creation, it is the spark in the cycle, the very
centre of all. Next the symbol of the solar-serpent was added, a simple circle
or the oval Ru. This loop above the T cross-created the Ankh, the symbol of
eternity. The snake in a circle eating its own tale is symbolic of the sun and
immortality.
Eventually the symbol of the moon was added to this, turning it into the
sign for Hermes or Mercury and showing the Caduceus/Serpent origin. No wonder
that this, the most perfect and simple of symbolic devices became the symbol of
the early Christians; no wonder that, even though there were no cross-beam
crucifixions, Christ was never the less symbolically crucified on a symbol of
eternal life, a symbol of the serpent.
This symbol became the mark or sign, which would set the believer aside
for saving. In Ezekiel this is the mark that god will know, the mark on the
forehead. As Deane points out the Ezekiel passage (9:4) should read, “set
a Tau upon their foreheads.” or “mark with the letter Tau the foreheads.”
The early Christians baptised with the term “crucis thaumate notare.”
[3] They baptised with the symbol of the snake.
Is this the original mark of Cain, who we have found elsewhere to be of
the serpent tribe?
The idea of this sign or mark is widespread once discovered. In Job
31:35 we read in our modern Bibles “I
sign now my defence – let the Almighty answer me” which should properly
read, “Behold, here is my Tau, let the
Almighty answer me.” He then goes on and says “Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to
me.”
This remarkable idea of wearing the Tau cross on the shoulder as a sign
would later become part and parcel of the crusader Templars markings. Also the
Merovingians (said by some to be descended from Jesus and a sea serpent or fish
god – the Quinotaur or Quino-Tau-r) were supposedly born with a red cross
between their shoulder blades. The Tau cross is also strangely used by those
practising sacred geometry as a “marker” for buried treasure, whether
physical or spiritual.
This buried treasure is truly the centre or heart. It is the point in
our minds and hearts where we find the original self according to the Gnostics,
themselves so closely linked with Templar belief. This original centre (heart
means centre) was seen to be connected to the Universal Mind and only by
accessing this centre of ourselves could we access the Universal Mind or God.
This in turn stops time, we become one with all and we believe we are immortal.
The Tau marks this place, either on the forehead or in the chest (between the
shoulders), revealing to others those who can access the point in time where God
resides. The word Temple from whence Templar derives has another meaning - tempos
simply means time. The true Temple is that place which has power over the
cycling energy of the serpent. The true Temple, like the one on our brow, is
within us.
Notes:
1
Coelus was the Roman personified god of the heavens and is identified
with Uranus of
the Greeks.
2
Labyrinth means double headed axe just like the Hammer of Thor and that
Thor‘s name is linked with that of Thoth.
3
John
Bathurst Dean in Worship of the Serpent
Traced Throughout the World and its Traditions Referred to the Events in Paradise (1830).
Biography:
By Philip Gardiner