Dan Brown's~ Lost Symbol

[giovonni]

Very intriguing~ no caste

The Wheaton Station and its (very long) escalator > would almost seem impossible for a deer to navigate down

The remoteness of the tunnel between Forest Glen and the Wheaton
station makes any logical explanation almost mind boggling as well??

But then again~ maybe~ the deer took the station elevator
Or > maybe it's just another Washington mystery
just waiting to be solved

Let me know if you find out

Note~ I use to live within walking distance of that metro station
in Wheaton, and also worked right next to the White Flint Mall~
May I ask are you a Washingtonian by chance?

[giovonni]

Is there no limits nor end to
Mal`akh's
quest in finding the
magic
verbum significatium?



a senory deprivation tank~



Oxygenated perfluorocarbon~
Total Liquid Ventiltion = Breathable Liquid!

torture is still torture

But since ancient times~ it has been believed, taught, and practiced...
"The greater the sacrifice, the greater the power that is transferred"
(TLS 359).

Does transformation require sacrifice?

[no caste]

Originally Posted by giovonni

May I ask are you a Washingtonian by chance?

giovonni - No, I am a deer-ian who has an interest in propaganda and the formation of men's attitudes.*

Like this sword: 2012 comparative


Southwest~ of the Mall~ between the U.S. Capitol Building and the Washington Monument~ majestically sits the Smithsonian Castle.



I have nothing against the Smithsonian though.

*Author: Jacques Ellul, 1965 (also wrote 'the technological society')

[giovonni]

To bring order from total chaos~














"One of history's best known magic squares is the order-eight published in 1769 by American scientist Benjamin Franklin, and which became famous for its inclusions of never before seen "bent diagonal summations." Franklin's obsession with this mystical art form most likely stemmed from his personal associations with the prominent alchemists and mystics of his day, as well as his own belief in astroogy, which were the underpinnings for the predictions made in his Poor Richard's Almanack
(TLS 388).

[giovonni]

"Robert Langdon's mind floated through the emptiness of space. He peered into the infinite void, searching for any points of reference?
He found nothing.
Total darkness. total silence. Total peace.
There was not even the pull of gravity to tell him which way was up.
His body was gone.
This must be death."

All at once, Robert Langdon began to remember. The image tore through him...vivid and distrubing.
He was staring up at a face that was covered with tattoos....
His captor was chanting something.
Verbum signifiatium...Verbum omnificum... Verbum perdo..."
(TLS 402).











"Light!!
The endless void in which Langdon hovered was suddenly filled by a blinding sun. Rays of white-hot light streamed across the blackness of space, burning into his mind...suddenly within the radiant cloud before him, a beautiful silhouette appeared...two eys staring at him across the void...Langdon wondered if he was looking into the face of God.

Sato stared down into the tank, wondering if Professor Langdon had any idea what had happened...After a handful of rebirths and subsequent drownings, the prisoner became so disoriented that he had no idea if he was alive or dead...and he would tell the interrogator absolutely anything"
(TLS 412-3).

[giovonni]

"Sato's starred down into the tank, wondering if Professor Langdon had any idea what had happened. She doubted it. After all, disorientation was the entire purpose of this technology...Sato's wondered if she should wait for a medical team to extract Langdon, but she knew she didn't have much time. I need to know what he knows. "Turn out the lights," she said. "And find me some blankets."

"The blackness had returned, but Langdon could now hear distant whispers echoing across the light-years of emptiness.
Muffled voices...as if the world were about to shake apart.

Disembodied hands were suddenly reaching for him, grabbing his body, trying to yank out of his world...
He felt like a child being born from a womb.
Then it happened.

No!
No please!
I want to go back.

He was convulsing, coughing up liquid. He felt pain in his chest and neck. Excruciating pain...
Cold air poured into his lungs, and he felt like a newborn taking his first breath on earth. This world was excruciating.



Robert Langdon had no idea how much time had passed. The echos of distant chanting still hung in his mind.
Verbum signicatium...Verbum omnificum...



Profesasor Langdon, someone whispered. Do you know, where you are?
Langdon nodded weakly, still coughing.
More important, he had begun to realize what was going on tonight"

(TLS 414-15).

"Wrapped in blankets, Langdon stood on wobbly legs and stared down at the open tank. His body had returned to him, although he wished it had not... This world felt hard and cruel... Langdon had little doubt that Peter had endured a similar experience.



Sato's motioned for Langdon to follow her, and he did, trudging slowly down a narrow hall, deeper into the bizarre lair that he was now seeing for the first time. They entered a square room with a stone table and errie colored lighting. Katherine was here, and Langdon heaved a sigh of relief. Even so the scene was worrisome.
Katherine was lying on her back on a stone table. Blood- soaked towels lay on the floor.
She was sobbing quietly.

"Katherine?" Langdon croaked, barely able to speak. She turned her head, looking disoriented and confused.
"Robert."..."But I...saw you drown!"
"Thank God," she whispered kissing his cheek.
"I don't understand...how..."

"Robert," she said, Peter's alive."
She described his physical condition ~the wheelchair, the strange knife, the illusion to some kind of "sacrifice..."
"He said he was taking Peter to the sacred mountain"

(TLS 416-17).



A sacred mountain?

[giovonni]

A sacred mountain?

"Professor," Sato pressed, "does that mean anything to you?"
I told him how to solve it.
Sato shook her head. "The pyramid's gone. We've looked. He took it with him."
Langdon remained silent a moment, closing his eyes and trying to recall what he had seen on the base of the pyramid...I may be able to remember enough, but I need you to look up something on the internet..."
"Run a search for "The Order Eight Franklin Square'"

My God.
Is that what he's looking for?
A word?
Is it that simple?

The Lost Word is what he's looking for! that's what he believes is buried here in Washington"
(TLS 417-18).

"I can't remember all the symbols!
Langdon closed his eyes, doing his best to recall the precise locations of the symbols on the bottom of the stone pyramid, but even his edetic memory did not have that degree of recall. He wrote down the few symbols he could remember, placing each one in the location indicated by the Franklin magic square"




Then it came to Langdon



just like~
abba~ cadabra!!



What's this

Looks like~ Greek to me?

Heredom??

"Heredom n. a significant word in "high degree" Freemasonry, from French Rose Croix rituals, where it refers to a mythical mountain in Scotland, the legendary site of the first such Chapter. From the Greek Hepedou originating from Hieros-domos, Greek for Holy House"

"That's it!" Langdon exclaimed, incredulous. "That's where they went!" Sato had been reading over his shoulder and looked lost. "To a mysthical mountain in Scotland?!"
Langdon shook his head. "No, to a building in Washington whose code name is Heredom."
(TLS 421-22).


The House of the Temple~


Known among its breathren as Heredom~
The crown jewel of the Masonic Scottish Rite in America

[giovonni]

Can you locate Heredom (The Washington DC Masonic Lodge)
within the red outlined key > going up the 16th St. NW. corridor.


The site below~ is a wonderful reference source
is much more detailed > for those interested in
DC and this kind symbolism

Note; the first map on the link connects to images
and videos via your cursor>
http://dcsymbols.com/

[giovonni]

"This is the place, he knew.

The Masonic Pyramid had shown the way...

The message could not have been more clear...

The Lost Word is here...somewhere.

Although Mal`akh did not know precisely how to locate it, he was confident that the answer lay in the remaining symbols on the grid. Conveniently, when it came to unlocking the secrets of the Masonic Pyramid and of this building, no one was more qualified to help than Peter Solomon. The Worshipful Master himself...

For Mal`akh, the end felt like it had arrived very suddenly. after all the years of pain and planning, waiting and searching...the moment had now arrived"

(TLS 423).


"He won't find anything." Langdon said, still feeling groggy and disorientated as he followed Sato and the up the ramp out of the basement. "There is no actual Word. It is a metaphor~ a symbol of the Ancient Mysteries...It is said, "Langdon concluded, "that if you can possess and understand the Lost Word...then the Ancient Mysteries will become clear to you...and from Katherine's desription of the untattooed flesh on his head..."I'd say he's hoping to find the Lost Word and inscribe it on his body...Sato moved the group towards the dining room. Outside, the helicopter was warming up, its blades thundering louder and louder"

(TLS 424).




Next stop!
1733 Sixteenth Street NW
Washington D.C.





Down Meridan Hill~



South~ on 16 th Street NW




Towards~ The White House


Sits the House of the Temple

[giovonni]

"Langdom felt his stomach drop as the CIA helicopter leaped off the lawn...Seated besides him, Sato was yelling up to the pilot. "Head for Dupont Circle!" she shouted over the deafening noise. "We'll set down there!" Startled Langdon turned to her. "Dupont?! Thats blocks from the House of the Temple! We can land in the Temple parking lot!" Sato shook her head. "We need to enter the building quietly. If our target hears us coming~" Langdon argued. "This lunatic is about to murder Peter! maybe the sound of the helicopter will scare him and make him stop!"

Sato stared at him with ice-cold eyes. "As I told you, peter Solomon's saftey is not my primary objective..."In fact, it might be wise if I now apprised you fully of the severity of our crisis tonight"

(TLS 432).


Dupont Circle~ a new landing site~
a few blocks West of the House of the Temple




Sato reached under her seat and pulled out a sleek titanium briefcase, which she opened to reveal unusually complicated-looking computer...a CIA logo materialized...As Sato logged in, she asked, "Professor, do you remember that blond hairpiece we found in the man's home?"
"Yes."
"Well hidden within that wig was a tiny fiber-optic camera...concealed in the bangs."
"A hidden camera? I don't understand." Sato looked grim. "You will." She launched a file on the laptop...A video window pooped up filling the entire screen. Langdon recoiled in surprise.
What the hell?!
Langdon stared in disbelief. He had read enough about Masonic rituals to recognize exactly what he was looking at... Muurky and dark, the video was of a blindfolded man...A Masonic initiate...preparing to enter the first degree...He was standing before a full-length mirror videotaping his reflection through the camera concealed in his wig...But ...why?

(TLS 432-3).


"The screen faded to black.
New footage appeared...Langdon felt a sudden apprehension.
Oh my God...
Filming in the erratic style of an amateur home video, the camera now panned up to the periphery of the room to reveal a small group of men observing the initiate...Langdon could not make out their faces, but he had no doubt where this ritual was taking place...The powder blue triangular pediment above the master's chair revealed it as the oldest Masonic Lodge in DC...home of George Washington and the Masonic forefathers who laid the cornerstone for the White House and the Capitol Building. The lodge was still active today...
Langdon stared. Am I really witnessing this?

(TLS 433-4).



But what did Langdon see on the video~
apparently taking place~within this building



House of the Temple~ Washington DC


Through this door...




Down this hall...




Within...




This lodge room?




That would possible create a crisis...so drastic that the Director of the CIA Security Force would be so involved...
that the implications could compromise...


those governing...



and the security of the U S. Government...


itself

satellite image of Washington D.C.

[giovonni]

"Peter Solomon, in addition to overseeing the House of the Temple, was the master of his local lodge. and it was at lodges like this one that a masonic initiate's journey always begins...where he underwent the first three degrees of Freemasonry.
"Brethern," Peter's familiar voice declared, "in the name of the Great Architect of the Universe,
I open this lodge for the practice of Masonry in the first degree!"
(TLS 434).







A gaval rapped loudly.
Langdon watched in utter disbelief as the video progressed through a quick series of dissolves featuring Peter Solomon performing some of the rituals starker moments.

Pressing a shining dagger to the initiates bare chest... threatening impalement should the initate "inappropriately reveal the Mysteries of the Masonary"...describing the black and white floor as representing "the living and the dead"...outlining punishments that included "having one's throat cut across, one's tongue torn out by its roots, and one's body buried in the rough sands of the sea..."
(TLS 434).







"Langdon stared. Am I really witnessing this? Masonic initiation rites had remained shrouded in secrecy for centuries. The only descriptions that had ever been leaked were written by a handful of estranged brothers...

Especially edited this way. Langdon could tell that the video was an unfair piece of propaganda, omitting all the noblest aspects of the initiation and highlighting only the most disconcerting. If this video were released, Langfdon knew it would become an Internet sensation over-night. The anti-Masonic conspiracy theorists would feed on this like sharks...even though the ritual was innocuous and purely symbolic...

Eerly, the video included a biblical reference to human sacrifice..."the submission of Abraham to the Supreme Being by proffering Isaac, his firstborn son"
(TLS 434).







"The video footage shifted now.
Same room. different night. A larger group of masons looking on. Peter Solomon was observing from the master's chair. This was the second degree...More intense now. Kneeling at the alter...vowing to "forever conceal the ennigmas existing within the Freemasonary"...consenting to the penalty of "having one's chest cavity ripped open and plusing heart cast upon the surface of the earth as offal for the ravenous beasts"...

Langdon's own heart was pulsing wildly now as the video shifted yet again. Another night. a much larger crowd. A coffin-shaped "tracing board" on the floor"
(TLS 435).







"The third degree.
This was the death ritual~the most rigorous of all the degrees~ the moment in which the initate was forced "to face the final challenge of personal extinction." This gruling interrogation was in fact the source of the common pharse to give someone the third degree. And although Langdon was very familiar with academic accounts of it, he was in no way prepared for what he know saw.

The murder.

In violent rapid intercuts, the video displayed a chilling, victim's point-of-view account of the initiate's brutal murder. There were simulated blows to the head, including one with the Mason's stone maul...The attack was mimed of course, and yet its effect on camera was bloodcurdling...

After the deathblows, the initiate~ now "dead to his former self~ was lowered into a symbolic coffin, where his eyes were shut and his arms were crossed like those of a corpse. The masonic brothers rose and mournfully cicrled his dead body while a pipe organ played the march of the dead.

The maccabre scene was deeply distrubing.

And it got worse.
As the men gathered around the slain brother, the hidden camera clearly displayed their faces...

Oh God...
The scene changed again"
(TLS 435).







"The House of the Temple...the video kept moving...A powerful pipe organ played in the distance...and a new image materialized.
The Temple Room.

Langdon swallowed hard...Beneath the oculas, the black marble alter shone in the moonlight. Assembled around it, seated on hand tooled pigskin chairs, awaited a somber council of distinguish thirty third degree Masons, present to bear witness. The video now panned across their faces with slow and deliberate intention.
Langdon stared in horror...Sure enough, seated around the alter, adorned in their long silk gloves, Masonic aporns, and glistewning jewels, were some of the country's most powerful men...Langdon wanted only to look away, but he could not. The scene was utterly mesmerizing, alarming even to him. In an instant, he had come to understand the source of Sato's anxiety and concern"
(TLS 436).



The caput mortuum




"Now on screen, the shot dissolved into a single shocking image.
A human skull...filled with dark crimson liquid. The famed caput mortuum was being offered forth to the initiate...
The Fifth Libation...to see it calmly witnessed by America's most powerful men...this was as arresting an image as any Langdon had ever seen.
The initiate took the skull in his hands... "May this wine I now drink become a deadly poison to me "he declared, "should I ever knowingly or willfully violate my oath."

Obviously, the initiate had intended to violate his oath beyond all imagination...Langdon could barely get his mind around what would happen if this video were made public. No one would understand. The government would be thrown into upheaval.
The truth will be twisted, Langdon knew. As it always is with the Masons...
For a brief instant, Langdon felt a glimmer of hope...
I'm dreaming, Langdon knew. This video will create chaos...

God help us...

Without a word, Sato reached over, closed the briefcase, and lifted it off his lap. Langdon turned to her trying to speak, but he could find no words. It didn't matter. Understanding was written all over his face. Sato was right.
Tonight was a national-security crisis...of unimaginable proportions"
(TLS 437-8).

[giovonni]

Mean~while back at the Temple~









"The energy was growing.

Mal'akh could feel it pulsing within him, moving up and down his body as he wheeled Peter Solomon towards the alter...all that remained now was to locate the final ingredient.
"Verbum significatium," he whispered to himself. "Verbum omnificum."

Mal`akh parked Peter's wheelchair besides the alter and then cirle around and unzipped the heavy daybag that sat on Peter's lap. Reaching inside, he lifted out the stone pyramid..."all these years," he taunted, "and you never knew how the pyramid kept her secrets"..."and this tailisman,"he continued, extracting the golden capstone, "did indeed bring order from chaos, exactly as promised...
Behold, your symbolon is complete"
(TLS 427).








"Peter's face contorted, and he tried in vain to speak...Mal`akh roughly yanked out the gag...."Katherine..."
"Please," Peter begged, his voice ragged. "send an ambulance for her..."
"I will do exactly that. But first you must tell me how to access the secret staircase."
Peter's expression turned to one of disbelief.

"What?!"

"The staircase. Masonic legend speaks of stairs that that descends hundreds of feet to the secret location where the Lost Word is buried."
Peter now looked panicked.
"You know the legend," Mal`akh baited.
"a secret staircase hidden beneath a stone..."
(TLS 427-8).


A staircase beneath a stone??



"Obviously, this is the right place. The entrance to the staircase must be hidden on one of the floors beneath us."

"There is no secret staircase in this building!"
Peter shouted...

"Peter, I have all night..."

"Katherine, however, does not. If you want her to live, you will tell me how to access the staircase..."

Mal`akh calmly produced the sheet of paper on which he had reorgainized the grid of symbols from the base of the pyramid.

"This is the masonic Pyramid's final message. Your friend Robert Langdon helped me decipher it."

Mal`akh raised the paper and held it in front of Peter's eyes...
Not only had the sixty four symbols been orgainized into clearly meaningful groups...
but an actual image had materialized out of chaos.

An image of a staircase...beneath a pyramid"
(TLS 428).





"Peter Solomon stared in disbelief at the grid of symbols before him. The Masonic Pyramid had kept its secret for generations.
Now, suddenly, it was being unveiled...he could understand why the tattooed man believed what he believed...

The pyramids final code...

He thinks there is a hidden staircase beneath the pyramid called Heredom.
He misunderstands these symbols.

"Where is it?"

The tattooed man demanded.

"Tell me how to find the staircase, and I will save Katherine."
I wish I could do that...But the staircase is not real. The myth of the staircase was purely symbolic...

The man with the tattoos simply stared at him...
You know how to find it, Mal`akh thought. You know something you're not telling me...

The Lost word is not a metaphor...
it is real...
The Word is capable of bring unfathomable power to anyone who grasps its true meaning...

"Peter," Mal`akh now said, staring into his captives eyes, "when you looked at the grid of symbols...you say something...this grid means something to you.Tell me.

"I will tell you nothing until you send help to Katherine!"
Mal`akh smiled at him...he turned to Langdon's daybag and started removing the items he packed in his basement...

A folded silk cloth. Pure white
A silver censor. Egyptian myrrh.
A vial of Peter's blood. Mixed with ash.
A black crow's fearther. His sacred stylus.
The sacrificial knife.
Forged of the iron from a meteorite in the desert of Canaan.


"You think I am afraid to die?" Peter shouted...

"If Katherine is gone, I have nothing left!

You've murdered my entire family!
You've taken everything from me!"

"Not everything," Mal`akh replied...

He reached into the daybag and pulled out the laptop...
He turned it on and looked over at his captive.

"I'm afraid you have not yet grasped the true nature of your predicament"
(TLS 428-30).

[giovonni]

Another brief interlude

FYI

Back in 2007
The Bush administration removes (hid ) “God” from Washington Monument display-

"Bless America"

Park Service restores 'God'
Inscription declaring praise to Creator

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily.com

In response to public protest sparked by an exclusive WND report, the National Park Service today told WND it is rebuilding the display of the replica of the cap on the Washington Monument so that the Latin inscription "Laus Deo" – meaning "Praise be to God" – is no longer obscured from public view.

As WND reported, Pastor Todd DuBord of Lake Almanor Community Church in California noticed the problem with the current display during a recent visit to Washington and wrote to the Park Service requesting that the problem be fixed.

The actual 100-ounce aluminum cap on the peak of the 555-foot stone monolith includes engravings on its four sides. Since the inscriptions are not legible from the ground, the Park Service displayed a replica inside the monument but placed the side with "Laus Deo" against a wall so it couldn't be seen.

David Barna, director of communications and public affairs for the Park Service in Washington, told WND the original placement of the replica was a mistake and the concealment of the reference to God wasn't intentional.

He said the Park Service got 28,000 e-mails today raising the issue.

"It was stupid," he told WND. "We're going to fix it.

Barna said there is a room available for the display where a bookstore used to be located.

"We have this room everybody goes to," he said. "We'll have the cap in the middle of the room, with access on all four sides, as well as interpretative displays for the quotes. We're going to fix this."

A prepared statement about the issue noted, "In recent days, it has been brought to the National Park Service's attention that a replica aluminum capstone representing the top of the Washington Monument that is on display on the Monument's 490-foot level has not been fully visible to the public.

"As a result, the National Park Service is exploring methods to make the replica capstone visually accessible from all angles so that all visitors may be able to see and read both the replica capstone and any related interpretive material in display cases that would be situated near the replica capstone," the statement said.

The Park Service said the replica is oriented now in the same direction as the original, but in its current display position "is visible on three sides, with the fourth side currently not visible to visitors."

"Additionally, the National Park Service will provide new interpretive information that will feature all of the capstone inscriptions in full, giving visitors the opportunity to fully understand the display," the statement said.

"We appreciate this information being brought to our attention, and we agree that the public should be able to learn as much as possible about the monument," said National Mall & Memorial Parks Superintendent Peggy O'Dell.

"This was clearly an oversight in this exhibit, and we will take measures so all visitors are able to see this exhibit."

"We are very pleased with the National Park Service's commitment to change the capstone replica display so that future generations can learn the complete history of the Washington Monument, including the religious one. The public needs to know that the builders of the Monument 'praised God' (LAUS DEO) for its completion, and that they did not regard its inscription on the capstone as a violation of Church and State," said Pastor DuBord. "From classroom texts to historic sites, it's time we stop tolerating the removal and revisions of our Christian heritage. It's time we accepted the words of Edmund Burke, 'Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.' I thank the NPS for their fast action and rectifying this problem, and I look foward to seeing the new display at the Washington Monument. Let's hope it's detailed and tells us why they would have included such an inclusion, all by itself on one side of the capstone."

It was the second report in recent weeks of officials in Washington removing "God" from the public square. WND reported the architect of the Capitol banned religious references in certificates that accompany flags flown over the Capitol. But that ruling later was rescinded.

DuBord, whose past research shows Thomas Jefferson actually advocated a "gate" between church and state, and uncovered officials at the U.S. Supreme Court lying about the nation's Christian heritage, also uncovered a "reinterpretation" of history at Monticello.

DuBord also lobbied those organizations to restore accuracy in their recounting of the nation's Christian heritage.

At the Washington Monument, he said he even tried to press his head "firmly against the wall above the replica and tried to catch an angle of light, while squinting to see any writing at all."

"I could barely make out some etching looking down from that bird's eye view, but there was simply no way I would have known what it said unless I already knew the saying was there – 'Laus Deo,'" DuBord said.

"Surely, I thought, if the one side of the replica is hidden from public sight, they have certainly written something about it," he continued. However, "There was no description of 'Laus Deo' on the front side of the replica stand. There was also no description of 'Laus Deo' on the large information display on the wall in back of the replica. There was nothing there, absolutely nothing – no way for any visitor to ever know that the words, 'Laus Deo,' ('Praise be to God'), were inscribed on the original cap!"

The pastor said rangers at the monument were unable to help him with an explanation for the display.

After returning home, DuBord investigated and found that not only had the cap replica been repositioned, the description also was edited to remove God.

The 2000 description, he said, was:

APEX OF THE MONUMENT Reproduction The builders searched for an appropriate metal for the apex that would not tarnish and would act as a lightning rod. They chose one of the rarest metals of the time, aluminum. The casting was inscribed with the phrase, Laus Deo, (Praise be to God).
The last sentence was edited out for the 2007 display, he said, which includes only:


CAP OF THE MONUMENT Reproduction The builders searched for appropriate metal for the cap that would not tarnish and would act as a lightning rod. They chose one of the rarest metals of the time – aluminum.

The description of the capstone likewise was changed to remove the reference to God, with the 2000 description on the left, "God-less" description on the right


The three sides of the replica visible to visitors include this information:

North Face: Joint Commission at Setting of Capstone. Chester A. Arthur. W.W. Corcoran, Chairman. M.E. Bell. Edward Clark. John Newton. Act of August 2, 1876.

West Face: Corner Stone laid on bed of foundation July 4, 1848. First stone at height of 152 feet laid August 7, 1990. Capstone set December 6, 1884.

South Face: Chief engineer and architect, Thos. Lincoln Casey, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Assistants: George W. David, Captain, 14th Infantry, Bernard R. Green, Civil Engineer. Master Mechanic, P.H. McLaughlin.

It's the East Face, facing the Capitol, that contains Laus Deo.

DuBord's letter to the Park Service explained that he cares about such historical marks.

"If the creators of the Monument were so grateful for their Heavenly Father (God) that they inscribed a praise specifically to Him alone on one side of the cap, shall we then show disrespect to them and God by covering it up?

"If the National Park Service is seeking to preserve such historic sites with integrity and dignity as their creators intended them to be understood, then it seems only right that a full disclosure and education of the capstone’s inscription be known to the public inside the Monument, just as it is on the NPS website," he said.

original article;
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=44289

[giovonni]

Here's Wikipedia's link
for more info about
The Washington Monument
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument

[Moxie]

Thanks Transcoso for your prompt to go to keyofsolomon.net
..... whew, it's the rest of the story that Dan Brown will most likely include in his next book.
When I have time, I may offer more here. Til then, I
encourage everyone to spend a whole day there, it's fascinating!

[DOMINIC 777]

Originally Posted by Carmen

Like I said previously, I think Dan Brown is very switched on. The Da Vinci Code was about the Sacred Feminine, and it was certainly the time for the feminine, Goddess to be brought forward and acknowledged.

This new book brings forth the ancient knowledge, the integrity, character, nobility and honour of the initiate orders throughout history. Its certainly time to bypass the dark controllers (whose time has passed) and to focus and bring forward the knowledge of the Great Ones. The ones who can teach humanity about their Divine Heritage.

Love and Light

Carmen

Hello Carmen,
Who are the Great Ones ? AND WHERE DO THEY ABIDE?
LOL

[giovonni]

Back to
The Lost Symbol~



"Dressed in his loincloth, Mal`akh padded back and forth in front of Peter Solomon's wheelchair. "Peter," he whispered, enjoying every moment of his captive's horror, "you forgot you have a second family...your Masonic brothers. And I will destroy them, too...
unless you help me."
Solomon looked almost catatonic..."please," he finally stammered...

"If this video gets out..."

"If?"

Mal`akh laughed.

"If it gets out?"

He motioned to the small to the small cellular modem plugged into the side of his laptop.

"I'm connected to the world."

"You wouldn't..."

I will, Mal`akh thought, enjoying Solomon's horror. "You have the power to stop me," he said, "And to save your sister. But first you have to tell me what I want to know. The lost Word is hidden somewhere..."Perhaps this will help inspire you." Mal`akh reached over Peter's shoulders and hit a few keys on the laptop...The screen now displayed a video file addressed to a long list of major media networks...

Mal`akh smiled.

"I think its time we share, don't you?"

"Don't."

Mal`akh reached down and clicked the send button on the program.
Peter jerked aganist his bonds..."





"Relax Peter," Mal`akh whispered.

"Its a massive file. It will take a few minutes to go out."
He pointed to the progress bar:


SENDING MESSAGE: 2% COMPLETE


"If you tell me what I want to know, I'll stop the e-mail, and nobody will ever see this."
Peter was ashen as the task bar inched forward."


SENDIND MESSAGE: 4% COMPLETE


"The legend says the Masonic Pyramid will unveil the Lost Word.
This is the pyramids final code.

"I believe you know how to read it."

Mal`akh glanced over at the laptop."


SENDING MESSAGE: 8% COMPLETE


"Mal`akh returned his eyes to Peter...his gray eyes blazing now with hatred.
Hate me, Mal`akh thought. The greater the emotion, the more potent the energy that will be released when the ritual is completed"


"Peter Solomon was desperately trying to fiquire out what to do. All he could see in his mind were the images of Katherine bleeding in the basement...and of the video he had just witnessed...He turned his head...The progress bar was alkmost a third of the way filled."


SENDING MESSAGE: 29% COMPLETE


The tattooed man was now walking slow circles around the square alter, swinging a lit censor and chanting to himself. Thick puffs of white smoke swirled up toward the skylight...The man's eyes...seemed to be in a demonic trance.
Peter turned his gaze to the ancient knife...on the white silk cloth spread across the alter....Would he find a way to save his sister and his brotherhood...He glanced down at the grid of symbols"
(TLS 439-41).





"Peter Solomon knew exactly what he needed to do. Taking a deep breath...he began to speak.
All great truths are simple.
Mal`akh had learned that a long time ago.
The solution that Peter Solomon was now explaining was so graceful and pure that Mal`akh was sure that it could only be true...the pyramid's final code was... was far simpler than he ever imagined.
The Lost word was right before my eyes.
Soon I am complete"
(TLS 442).



************************************************** *******



Meanway~
Back with our hero~




"Langdon held his breath as the helicopter dropped from the sky toward Dupont Circle..."





"A handful of pedestrians scattered as the aircraft decended through an opening in the trees and landed hard on the lawn just south of the famous two-tierd fountain designed by the same two men who created the Lincoln Memorial..."





"Thirty seconds later, Langdon was riding...in a SUV, tearing up New Hampshire avenue toward the House of the Temple"
(TLS 441).

[Carmen]

Ah! Dominic, The Great Ones! Who be they? and Where be they?

They are the ones who thought outside of the box, outside of the tribe. They came with a mission, a great purpose, to advance mankind. To give to struggling humanity new ideas, a new vision. To inspire, to light the spark of Freedom.

Unfortunately, they were vilified, hunted, shunned, murdered. Their gifts to humanity were usually recognised long after their passing. Humanity's level of consciousness had to advance considerably to understand to any degree, and advance even more to accept the knowledge given. They came from the future to advance the present!

To name some ; Jesus of Nazareth, Budda, Pythagoras, Appolonius of Tyana, Einstein, Neils Bohr, Victor Schauberger, Nicolas Tesla, Peace Pilgrim, Handel, Tolkein, Shakespeare, George Washington, Joan of Arc, etc, etc etc.

I do not know who were Masons but some of them were. And where are they? In the dimensions beyond this one.

Actually, there are two answers to your question. The other Great Ones are Us, only now wiping the sleep from our eyes and questioning the Tribal edicts!!!!!!

Love

Carmen

Ps Thank you Gio, for this wonderful thread. It truly brings Dan Browns book to life and is of great interest to many many people.

[giovonni]

"In Kalorama Heights...
Inside the house Kathereine Solomon was feeling stronger with every passing moment. The infusion of lactated Ringer's solution had successfully raised her blood pressure and quelled her throbbing headache.
She was resting now...Her nerves felt fryed, and she was increasingly anxious for news about her brother...
The CIA forensic team had not arrived, and the agent who stayed behind was still searching the premises...
Unable to sit idly, Katherine pulled herself to her feet...
She found Bellamy in the study.
The Architect was standing at an open drawer, his back to her...
She walked up behind him...The old man lurched and turned, quickly shutting the drawer...
"What's wrong?!" She glanced down at the drawer.
"What's in the drawer?"
Bellamy's tear-filled eyes held hers for a long, sorrowful moment.
Finally he spoke.
"You and I wondered why ...this man seemed to hate your family...
"I just found the answer"
(TLS 443).


************************************************** ********






"In the chamber at the top of the House of the Temple..."






"Mal`akh stood before the great alter and gently massaged the virgin skin atop his head...
The final ingredient had been found at last...
The time had come...
Mal`akh retrieved the vial of Peter's darkened blood and uncorked it. with his captive looking on, he dipped the nib of the crows feather into the crimson tincture and raised it to the sacred circle of flesh atop his head...
His great transformation was finally at hand.
When the Lost Word is written on the mind of man, he is then ready to recieve unimaginable power...
He needed no mirror...only...his minds eye.
Slowly, meticulously, he began inscribing the Lost Word inside the circular ouroboros on his scalp.
Peter Solomon looked on with an expression of horror.
When Mal`akh finished, he closed his eyes...
For the first time in his life, he felt a sensation he had never known...
I am at one...a true masterpiece.

Perfect and complete.

I gave you what you asked for. Peter's voice intruded.
"Send help to Katherine. And stop that file."

Mal`akh...smiled.
"You and I are not quite finished."
He turned to the alter and picked up the sacrificial knife, running his fingers across the sleek blade"
(TLS 444-5).




"This ancient knife was commissioned by God, for use in a human sacrifice"...
The account appears in Holy Scripture...
It was believed to be the exact knife used by Abraham at the Aledah~
the near sacrifice of his son...as depicted in Genesis....
Tonight, the Akedah knife would fulfill its destiny"

"Mal`akh...crouched down... to sever the ropes binding Peter to his wheelchair...Peter whinced...
"why are you doing this to me?
What do you think this will accomplish?"
"You of all people should understand," Mal`akh replied.
"You study the ancient ways...the power of the mysteries relies on the sacrifice...on releasing a human soul from its body.
It has been this way since the beginning."





"You know nothing of sacrifice, Peter said, his voice seething...
Excellent, Mal`akh thought. Feed your hatred. It will only make this easier...
"You consider me a sacred offering?"

Mal`akh now laugh..."you really don't understand yet, do you?"
Peter gave him an odd look.
"Do you know why I have a deprivation tank in my home?"
Mal`akh placed his hands on his hips and flexed his elaborately decorated body...
"I have been practicing...preparing...when I am only mind...
when I am released from this mortal shell...
when I have offered up this beautiful body to the gods in sacrifice....

I am the pure white lamb!"

Peter's mouth fell open but no words came out...
"Don't you see...Peter...I am the gift."

(TLS 445-6).







"Mal`akh reached down and grasped Peter Solomon's left hand, pressing the handle of the Akedah knife into his palm.

The left hand serves the darkness.
This too, had been planned...

Mal`akh could fathom no sacrifice more potent and symbolic...
performed on this alter, by this man, with this knife, plunged into the heart of an offering whose mortal flesh was wrapped...
in a shround of mystical symbols"
(TLS 445-7).

[giovonni]

"The secret is how to die."

"With this offering of self, Mal`akh would establish himself in the hierarchy of demons...
I have served them, and they will receive me as a god.

Peter did not move.

He simply stared down at the ancient knife gripped in his hand"

(TLS 446-7).






"I will you," Mal`akh taunted, "I am a willing sacrifice.
Your final role has been written.
You will transform me.
You will liberate me from my body.
You will do this, or lose your sister and your brotherhood...

Consider this your final punishment."

Peter's eyes rose slowly to meet Mal`akh's.

"Killing you? A punishment?

Do you think I will hesitate?

You murdered my son. My mother. My entire family."

"No!"

Mal`akh exploded...

"You are wrong!

I did not murder your family!

You Did!

It was your choice"...

Peter's knuckles turned white, his fingers clenching the knife in rage...

"You know nothing"...

"I know everything!"

Mal`akh fired back.

"I was there...

What kind of father gives a child the choice between "weath and wisdom'
and expects him to know how to handle it!

What kind of father leaves his own son in a prison instead of flying him home to safety!"

Mal`akh now moved in front of Peter and crouched down,
placing his tattooed face only inches from his face.

"But most important...what kind of father can look his son in the eyes...
even after all these years...and not even recognize him!"

"Yes Father. Its me."

Mal`akh had waited years for this moment...
to take revenge on the man who had abandoned him...
to watch the full weight of his words...
crush Peter Solomon's soul...

Peter's face was now as pale as death...

"My own father made the decision to leave me in prison...

I vowed that he had rejected me for the last time.

I was no longer his son.

Zachary Solomon ceased to exist."

Two glistening teardrops welled suddenly in his father's eyes..."




"All the warden wanted was money," Mal`akh said, but you refused.
It never occured to you, though,
that my money was just as green as yours.

The warden did not care who paid him...
When I offered to pay him handsomely,
he selected a sickly inmate about my size...
and beat him beyond recognition.

The photo you saw...
the sealed casket you buried...
they were not mine.
They belonged to a stranger."

Peter's tear-streaked face contorted now with anguish and disbelief.

"Oh my God...Zachary."

"Not anymore."

When Zachary walked out of prison, he was transformed"

(447-8).

[giovonni]

Sheridan's Circle~ Kalorama~ DC


"At that moment In Kalorama Heights, Katherine Solomon stood over the open desk drawer and gazed down at...
a fetishist's collection of old newspaper articles and photographs.

"I don't understand"...

This lunatic was obviously obsessed with my family, but~"
It was then she saw the photographs...

But that's impossible...

All of the photos were of Zachary Solomon...gradually getting older...
some kind of pictorial auto biography chronicling a slow transformation...
She looked on in horror as Zachary's body began mutating, his muscles bulging...his facial features morphing...from the use of steroids.
His frame seemed to double in mass...
a haunting fierceness crept into his eyes.

I don't even recognize this man!

He looked nothing like Katherine's memories of her young nephew...
Then she saw a photo of his bare body...
adorned with...tattoos.
Her heart almost stopped.

"Oh my God..."

(TLS 449).


************************************************** ********

Just then~
Langdon and a team of agents were arriving at the House of the Temple~



"Right turn! Langdon shouted from the backseat of the commandeered...SUV.
Simkins stared up at the massive structure.
It looked like someone had built a pyramid on top of Rome's Pantheon.

"Dont turn!" Langdon ordered...
Simkins obeyed, driving alongside the east side of the building...

"Look!" Langdon said...

"They're here."

Simkins parked the SUV and killed the engine.
Quietly everyone got out...

Simkins stared up at the monolithic structure.

"You say the Temple Room is at the top?"
Langdon nodded...
"That flat area on top of the pyramid is actually a skylight."

Simkin spun back...

"The temple Room has a skylight?"
Langdon gave him an odd look.

"Of course.
An oculus to heaven...
directly above the alter."


Upper Chamber Skylight




************************************************** ********


Meanwhile....

"The UH60 sat idling at Dupont Circle...

Simkins voice crackled over the radio.
"Director?"

"Sato here." she barked.

"we're entering the building...

I have some additional recon for you."

"Go ahead."

"Mr Langdon just imformed me...
the room in which the target is most likely located has a very large skylight."

Sato considered the information...

"Undestood.
Thank you."

Sato...turned to the pilot.
"Take her up"

(TLS 450-451).


The Temple's~ back entrance~way

[giovonni]

A brief interlude:

A personal observation

Lets shed some light and insight~

too a paradoxical situation~

On the "sins of the fathers"

From The Bible's ~ Old Testaments

"Deut. 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me...

Deut. 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin."

Do these verses reveal a major contradiction in the Bible? Does one teach individual responsibility for sin, while another teaches that one can be punished for the sin of another?

Do these contradict? There are a couple of answers to this one.

"One is to say that Deuteronomy 24:16 refers to punishments meted out for crimes, as does a verse cited in Ezekiel. Verses cited in Isaiah, and others, in contrast, refer to punishments and sufferings that are the natural results of one persons' actions "rolling downhill" on another person. It may also be added that "four generations" in Deut. 5:9 and elsewhere refers to the normal lifespan of a human being, so that essentially, the verse means that punishment will be meted out over the lifetime a person alone."


Sources:
Bloc.Zk121 - Block, Daniel. Ezekiel Chaters 1-21. Eerdmans, 1997.
Chr.SPPS - Christensen, Duane L. A Song of Power and the Power of Song. Eisenbrauns, 1993.
Kam.CPHB - Kaminsky, Joel S. Corporate Punishment in the Hebrew Bible. Sheffield Academic Press, 1995.
Matt.Zk18 - Matties, Gordon H. Ezekiel 18 and the Rhetoric of Moral Discourse. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1990.
VR.Dt - von Rad, Gerhard. Deuteronomy. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1966.
Wein.Dt111 - Weinfeld, Moshe. Deuteronomy 1-11. Doubleday, 1991.

************************************************** ***********************

Back too~ the Lost Symbol



"Like any parent who had lost a child, Peter Solomon had often imagined how how old his boy would be now...
what he would be like...
and what he would have become.
Peter Solomon now had his answers...

The fact that evil could spring from an innocent child in a loving family remained one of the paradoxes of the human soul.
Peter had been forced to accept...
that although his own blood flowed in his son's veins,
the heart pumping that blood was his own.

Unique and singular...
as if ramdonly chosen from the universe.

My son...he killed my mother, my friend...and possibly my sister.

An icy numbness flooded Peter's heart...

The man's eyes...
although like Peter's, were those of a total stranger,
filled with hatred and a vengefulness that was almost other worldly."

"For an instant, Solomon felt like he was floating outside his body.

He no longer recognized himself.

He was missing a hand...totally bald...sitting in a wheelchair...clutching an ancient knife.

"finish it!" the man shouted...

"Killing me is the only way you can save Katherine...
the only way to save your brotherhood!"

Solomon felt his gaze move to the laptop and cellular modem on the pigskin chair."

SENDING MESSAGE: 92% COMPLETE

"There is still time"...

"You know its the only choice.

Release me from my mortal shell."

"Please," Solomon said.
"Don't do this..."

"Which will it be?

Will you kill your son to save your sister?

Will you kill your son to save your brotherhood?

Your country?

Or will you wait until's its too late?"

"Peter's heart ached.

You are not Zachary...

Zachary died long long ago.

Whatever you are...
and wherever you came from...
you are not of me.

And although Peter Solomon did not believe his own words,
he knew he had to make a choice.

He was out of time"

(TLS 452-3).


************************************************** ********


"Find the Grand Staircase!

Robert Langdon dashed through the darkened hallways...
Simkins remained close on his heels...
Langdon turned and ran toward the sweeping marble staircase...

"This leads directly to the Temple Room,"
he whispered as the two men ascended as quickly and quietly as possible"

(TLS- 453).






************************************************** ********



Inside the Temple Room~





"Peter Solomon had risen from his wheelchair...
standing now, facing the alter, gripping the knife...
Mal`akh coaxed, luring him toward the alter...
laying his own body down on the white shroud...

"Do what you need to do."

Mal`akh reclined fully now on his back,
gazing up through the oculus...The secret is how to die.
This moment could not be any more perfect.

Adorned with the Lost word of all the ages,
I offer myself by left hand of my father.

Mal`akh drew a deep breath.
Receive me, demons for this is my body, which is offered for you."

"Standing over Mal`akh, Peter Solomon was trembling...

He looked one last time toward the modem and the laptop...
"Make the choice," Mal`akh whispered.

"Release me from my flesh...

Help me shed the body that clothes my soul."

Peter's tearful eyes seemed to be staring through Mal`akh...

He threw back and screamed in anguish as he raised the knife"

(TLS 455).

************************************************** *********************

"Robert Langdon and Agent Simkins arrived breathless outside the Temple Room doors as a bloodcurdling scream erupted from within.

It was Peter's voice.
Langdon was certain.

Peter's cry was one of absolute agony.

I'm too late!

Langdon seized the handles and yanked open the doors.
The horrific scene before him confirmed his worst fears...

Before Langdon could move, the man was driving the knife down towards the body that lay outstretched on the alter...

Mal`akh had closed his eyes...

his transformation had arrived.
Incredibly, he felt no pain...

A thunderous vibration filled his body, deafening and deep.
The room began shaking, and a brillant white light blinded him from above.
The heavens roared...

Mal`akh knew it had happened.

Exactly as he had planned."





"Langdon did not remember sprinting towards the alter as the helicopter appeared overhead...
Langdon saw a bright light sweep down through the oculus and illuminate the alter...

the helicopter's searchlights blazed down from above.

The chopper thundered in low, its skids practically touching the expansive wall of glass.
On front of the helicopter, a strange looking gun rotated, aiming downward through the glass.

The red beam of its laser scope through the skylight...
directly towards Langdon and Solomon.

No!

But there was no gunfire...an errie ripple of energy...
shimmered through his cells.

Behind his head, on the pigskin chair,
the laptop hissed strangely...
its screen suddenly flashed to black.

Unfortunately, the last visable message had been clear.

SENDING MESSAGE: 100% COMPLETE


Pull up! Damn it! Up!

The UH-60 pilot threw his rotors into overdrive,
trying to keep his skids from touching any part of the large glass skylight...
the six thousand pounds of lift force...
was already straining the glass to its breaking point...





Up Now!

He tipped the nose trying to skim away,
but that was all it took.

The temple Room's massive oculus exploded in a swril of glass and wind...
sending a torrent of jagged shards plummeting into the room below.
Stars falling from heaven"

(TLS 455-6).



As if ~a righteous symbolic glass-knife fell from the Heavens~



"Mal akh stared up into the beautiful white light and saw a veil of shimmering jewels fluttering toward him...
accelerating...
racing to shroud him in their splender.





Suddenly there was pain.

Everywhere...

His blood filled mouth cried out...
the pain ripped him from his trance.
Th white above transformed itself...

suddenly, as if by magic,

a dark helicopter was suspended above him,
its thundering blades driving an icy wind down into the Temple Room,
chilling Mal`akh to the core...

Mal`akh turned his head and saw the Akedah knife lying broken by his side,
smashed upon the granite alter...
covered in a blanket of shattered glass.

Even after everything I did to him...
Peter Solomon averted the knife.
He refused to spill my blood.

With welling horror,

Mal`akh raised his head...
his own body...
was to have been his great offering.
But it lay in tatters...
drenched in blood...
huge shards of glass pertruding from his flesh in all directions.

Weakly, Mal`akh lowered his head...
and stared up throught the open space in the roof.
The helicopter was gone now...

Wid-eyed Mal`akh lay gasping for breath...
all alone on the great alter"

(TLS 456-7).

[giovonni]

"The secret is how to die."






"Mal`akh knew it had all gone wrong.
There was no brillant light.
No wonderous reception.
Only darkness and excruciating pain.

There were voices...
human voices...
one of them...
belonging to Robert Langdon.

How could this be?

"She's okey," Langdon kept repeating
Katherine is fine, Peter.
Your sister is okay."

Mal`akh could no longer see...
Unfamiliar voices...
shouting now,
talking urgently with Langdon about the laptop and video file.

Mal`akh sensed that a lone individual had quietly approached...

"I don't know if you can here me,
Peter Solomon whispered in his ear.

"But I want you to know something."

He touched a finger to the sacred spot atop Mal`akh's skull.

"what you wrote here..."
He paused.

"this is not the Lost Word."

Of course it is, Mal`akh thought...

In the idiom of symbology,
there was one symbol that reigned supreme above all others...

The oldest and most universal,
this symbol fused all the ancient traditions...
a single sollitary image...

The circumpunct.
The symbol of the Source.
The origin of all things."





"Mal`akh had had inscribed the great symbol of the circumpunct on his scalp...
he felt an upwelling of power and satisfaction...

The forces of darkness were waiting for him...
this was to be his moment of glory...

And yet, at the last instant,
everything had gone horribly wrong.

Peter...behind him now,
speaking words that Mal`akh could barely fathom.

"I lied to you,"
he was saying...

"You left me no choice.
If I had revealed to you the true Lost Word,
you would have never believed me,
nor would you have understood."

The Lost word is...not the circumpunct?

"The truth is...
the Lost Word is known to all...
but recognized by very few...

You remain incomplete,"

Peter said gently placing his palm on top of Mal`akh's head.

"Your work is not yet done.
But wherever you are going,
please know this..
you were loved."

For some reason,
the gentle touch of his father's...
felt like it was burning through him...
he felt a rush of blistering energy surging through his physical shell...

every cell in his body...now dissolving.

In an instant, all of his worldly pain evaporated.

Transformation. Its happening.

I am gazing down upon myself...

I feel an upwelling of rage...and confusion.

I am trapped here, hovering...

tethered to my earthly shell.

My father gently runs a soft palm across my face to close my fading eyes.

i feel the tether release."





"A billowing veil materializes around me...
Suddenly time accelerates...

I am plunginging into an abyass...

I hear whispering...

I sense a gathering force...surrounding me.

Ominous and powerful.
Dark and commanding..

This is my triumph...
for some reason, I am filled not ...with joy,
but rather with boundless fear.

The force...swriling around me...
threatening to tear me apart...

I am facing all the dark souls who have gone before me.

I am screaming in infinite terror...

as the darkness swallows me whole"

(TLS 458-60).

[Derek]

notice that the cover is a pyramid

[giovonni]

Originally Posted by Derek

notice that the cover is a pyramid

thanks~ for stopping by Derek

I notice that also