Source: “Rosslyn: The Story Behind Rosslyn Chapel” By Andrew Sinclair, 2005
The Labyrinth and the Bull and Sanctus Clarus.wav
This podcast traces the lineage of the Sinclair family, connecting them to a deep history spanning millennia and continents. It argues that their origins predate Viking times, linking their name, which means "clarity" or "light," to ancient Greek and Roman cults of Apollo and Mithras, and the concept of Gnosis, or direct spiritual insight. The source suggests these ancient beliefs, including bull worship and mystical rites, persisted and merged with early Christianity, particularly Gnostic traditions, before influencing groups like the Knights Templars and ultimately manifesting in the architecture and symbolism of Rosslyn Chapel. It posits that the Sinclairs, through these intertwined traditions, played a significant role in later revolutionary movements and were associated with the enduring legend of the Grail.
Topic 1 This topic concerns the history and significance of Rosslyn church and castle in Scotland, and the St Clair or Sinclair family associated with them. The account traces the family and place through a vast historical span, from ancient conflicts like the Trojan War and King Arthur's time, through the Crusades, Bannockburn, Culloden, and Yorktown. It highlights the clashes of faiths, including paganism (Apollo, Mithras), Christian denominations (Rome vs. Greek Byzantium), and Islam, as well as the concept of heresy involving a direct approach to God outside state or church authority, linking it to movements like the Cathars, Knights Templars, and the Protestant Reformation. The text describes how frontiers, such as the Borders between England and Scotland and the North Sea, were influential. It suggests that these strands are tied together in the building of the Gothic church at Rosslyn. The St Clair lairds are depicted as patrons under whom the Templars merged with medieval crafts and guilds, including gypsies, to create what is called a third Temple of Solomon at Rosslyn. The Sinclairs are described as loyal to the Stewarts, the Catholic creed, and the Jacobites. After their fall and the destruction of their wealth and records, they are said to have taken militant Scots Lodges to America and France, where these groups played roles in revolutions against kings and religion. The lapse of their church and castle into ruin is noted, leaving behind various interpretations of their beliefs and actions.
Topic 2 This topic explores the ancient origins of the St Clair name, suggesting it predates the Viking invasion of France in the 10th century and extends back to Homeric times. Drawing on classical education and ancient myths, the author connects the name to a shrine dedicated to Apollo at Claros in Asia Minor, located north of the Athenian colonies of Colophon and Ephesos. The historian Pausanius is cited as noting that the inhabitants of Claros claimed descent from the Cretans. Minoan culture in Crete, dating back to the 4th millennium BC, is mentioned with its associated labyrinth and bull worship. The ruined temple of Apollo at Claros is described, with sacrificial stone blocks still holding iron rings for tethering victims, and vast, headless statues of Apollo, Artemis, and Leto overlooking the remains. The connection between the name 'Claros' and a method of prophecy using marked twigs is also explored, which was common at both Delphi and Claros and later spread to western Europe among Celtic and Germanic peoples. The name 'Claros' is potentially derived from the Greek word for furrow, relating to divination practices.
Topic 3 This topic focuses on the widespread and enduring nature of bull worship and sacrifice across numerous ancient cultures. It begins with the Minoans of Crete, describing ceremonies where young men leapt over bull horns and the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. The connection to Egyptian culture is made through the Serapeum at Saqqara, near Memphis, where sacred Apis bulls were mummified and buried in massive sarcophagi, representing a persistent bull cult. The text links bull worship to earlier civilizations like the Babylonians and Assyrians and the earth-mother Cybele. Gilgamesh's killing of the vengeful Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Ishtar is mentioned, noting the practice of eating the beast's genitals and bathing in its blood as a pagan precursor to Christian communion. In the original Temple of Solomon, twelve bronze bulls are noted as supporting a basin of water, and live bulls were sacrificed as burnt offerings to Jehovah. This seminal belief is said to persist in the Christian Bible's Book of Revelation with a bull-headed figure and demon. The practice of ritual slaughter by Jewish and Muslim people, involving slitting throats and draining blood, is also noted as a continuation of purifying meat.
Topic 4 This topic details the cult of Apollo, particularly centered around his famous oracle at Claros. The temple at Claros was renowned as an oracle, as noted by the Latin poet Ovid. Inquirers would go underground to a sacred spring where a male priest would drink the water and provide cryptic answers to their questions, possibly aided by substances like opium poppy, hemp, or methane gas. Alexander the Great is mentioned as having consulted the oracle before founding Pagos or Smyrna, receiving a prophecy about the future prosperity of its inhabitants. A blue-marble navel stone, or omphalos, at Claros is also mentioned as representing the origin of the earth. The cult of Apollo at Claros is connected to a method of divination using marked twigs called kleros, which was also used for dividing spoils among warlords and later adopted by Celtic and Germanic peoples.
Topic 5 This topic examines the link between various ancient mystery religions and early Christianity, suggesting that the former served as forerunners in some beliefs and ceremonies. It discusses the dramas and celebrations at Eleusis, involving sacred vessels and a ritual speech by worshippers recounting fasting, drinking a potion, and handling objects in chests and baskets. These sacraments were followed by a procession with items like pomegranates, poppy seeds, cakes, salt, and a live serpent. The final day involved overturning jars of water and wine with phrases related to rain and conception. The Orphic mysteries of Dionysus are also presented as contemporary with fertility rites, featuring a god similar to Egyptian Osiris, Attis, and Phoenician Adonis, who died and were born again as divinities of life and death, offering assurance of immortality. The myth of the child Dionysus being eaten by the Titans in a cannibalistic feast, leading to humanity's birth from ashes, is discussed as containing an element of ancient blood sacrifice that would reach Christianity. Orphic celebrants are noted for eating raw animal flesh and the myth of Orpheus being torn apart, with his sacrifice preceding eating divine flesh and drinking blood in an orgiastic mystery. Orphic followers affirmed a split between the corrupt body and eternal soul, with the spirit liberated through ecstatic vision and ascetic life, sometimes aided by wine and narcotics. Early Orphic ceremonies may have included sacrifices where animal blood was poured, and later Orphics were attracted to Christian communion where wine became holy blood for absolution.
Topic 6 This topic details the cult of Mithras, an important oriental cult figure for the Romans, whose worship derived from India and Persian Mazdaists. Mithras is presented as a sun god (identified with Greek Helios and Latin Sol Invictus, 'The Invincible Sun'), a bringer of light, and a mediator in the cosmic struggle between light/good and darkness/evil. Mithraic chapels were often underground or in caves, decorated with zodiac signs. A key part of the service was a communion with a consecrated cup and loaf, symbolizing a holy supper Mithras took with the sun. The text notes the Christian claim that Mithraists stole their Eucharist, suggesting the reverse might be true. Mithraists also believed in the survival of a divine essence in humanity, and in afterlife rewards and punishments. Mithras was expected to descend for a Last Judgement, awaken the dead, separate virtuous from sinners, and rule a heaven on earth. An example of a Mithras temple found in Bosnia is described, featuring a carving of the god sacrificing a bull, a dog drinking the blood (symbolizing soul immortality), and a serpent (representing resurrection/wisdom) around his arm. Mithras's Dacian helmet is mentioned as confirming the passage of cavalry from the steppes to Roman Britain, where Mithras altars and legionary standards with bull heads are found near Hadrian's Wall, indicating conversion to animal god worship among soldiers stationed there.
Topic 7 This topic explores ancient beliefs and symbols prevalent in pagan and Celtic Britain, particularly the cults of the severed head and the horned god. Along with the serpent and stag, the bull and the ram were important divine symbols. Bulls' heads were sometimes linked with hawks or eagles. The text mentions the legendary Irish bull, the Donn of Cuálnge, over which youths would leap, similar to practices in ancient Crete. The significance of iron weapons in tribal warfare is noted, contrasting them with older bronze weapons. Early Irish groups like the Firbolg, known for mining and using iron, are discussed, as are later invaders like the Tuatha de Damaans and the Picts, who claimed descent from Scythian and Thracian cavalry tribes. These groups were sometimes stationed along Hadrian's Wall by the Romans, joining other units like the Tungri and Batavians, noted for their skill in swimming with weapons and horses. The Picts were described as tattooed or painted with woad, similar to Scythians, and used javelins, broadswords, and heavy spears. They became worshippers of the eastern sun-god Mithras, whose weapons included a gold club, bow/quiver, arrows, and an axe used to slay the sacrificial bull. The dog below the Mithraic altar in northern Britain is linked to the great Irish hero Cu'chulain, seen as the hound of heaven and a guide of souls. The legendary god Lug, associated with a cauldron of wisdom, spear, and sword, is connected to the Mithraic Ogmios, a sea-deity with a sun-like face credited with inventing the Ogham script. Tactical descriptions of Roman soldiers fighting native Britons with blunt swords and round shields on the Borders are also included. The fighting and raiding tendencies of the Picts and Scots with their iron weapons are mentioned, attributing their forays partly to continued bull worship, as seen on carved stones from Burghead.
Topic 8 This topic focuses on the emergence and spread of Gnosticism, an early Christian movement characterized by a focus on personal insight and direct revelation. It highlights the multitude of interpretations of the Gospels in early Christian times, with many Gnostic texts eventually excluded from the final Bible canon. The Epistle to Rheginos is mentioned as starting with the idea that some seek knowledge but are occupied with questions without answers, lacking grounding in the "Word of Truth." The Gnostic view saw the cosmos as an illusion, everything in a process of transformation, aiming to create heaven from a corrupt society. Gnostic authors prioritized insight over traditional sermons for interpreting Gospels and achieving revelation. They were criticized by figures like St Irenaeus for constantly inventing new doctrines. Justin Martyr, a Stoic and Platonist turned Christian philosopher, is mentioned as praising Gnostic ideas and viewing Christ as the Logos mediating between the sinful earth and paradise. Gnosis is defined as personal vision, a direct and individual perception of truth. The Gnostic interpretation of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene after the Crucifixion is presented not as a physical or even spiritual event but as a vision in her mind, which she reported, enabling disciples (and any believer) to also see the risen Christ. This direct approach challenged religious authority. Gnosticism posited two distinct worlds separated by a veil, with flaming walls separating wisdom from matter. The problem of evil was explained by viewing life below as already hell. While initially flourishing among secret Christian sects under Roman persecution, Gnostic cults that declared authority evil had to be suppressed once Christianity became the official faith. More extreme sects like the Orphites (serpent worshippers), Adamites (nude ceremonies), and Cainites (venerating Cain and Judas as carrying out divine will) faced persecution. The concept of Sophia (Wisdom), sometimes identified with the Shekinah in Kabbalah, is central, described as the Divine Mother principle united with God. Sophia is also linked to the serpent in Eden, bringing wisdom and leading to expulsion to a "Satanic earth." The cult of "Holy Light," a concept central to Gnosticism, is said to have spread, paralleling the spread of Grail legends.
Topic 9 This topic explores the legend and cult of Sanctus Clarus (St Clair), highlighting the complexity arising from potentially multiple figures across different times and locations. The name Clarus is linked to the Latin word 'clarity' or 'light,' contrasting with its Greek meaning 'prophecy.' The source connects a "certain Jew named Apollos" mentioned in The Acts of the Apostles to Sanctus Clarus, suggesting Apollos, well-versed in Greek Gnosis from Ephesos and Alexandria, may have changed his pagan name to a Christian one. St Gregory of Tours is cited for the first historical account from the late 6th century, mentioning a St Clair from Ephesos who went to Rome with St Paul and was later sent to western Aquitaine, associated with Gnostic doctrine reaching Gaul. An 11th-century manuscript from Saint Sever describes a Sanctus Clarus from Greece, converted by St Paul, who went to Palestine and then Rome, where Pope Anacletus consecrated him a Bishop and sent him to convert western Aquitaine with six other priests who became martyrs. Their mission landing site is thought to be Mont Saint Clair near Narbonne in the Langue d'Oc, a landmark for sailors, where an oratory chapel was later established. The saint is associated with healing the blind by miracle, and a wild herb, St Clar's wort, recorded by St Hildegarde of Bingen, was used for eye remedies. Pilgrims still wash their eyes at a holy well in Gondrin on his feast day. Sanctus Clar is also seen as a protector of crops and a weather forecaster in some areas. The traditional account describes him and his six disciples proceeding to Albi, where he became the first Bishop, eventually being murdered at Lectoure for refusing to sacrifice in the Temple of Diana, causing the statue to fall. He was beheaded, like St John the Baptist. Relics are preserved in Albi, Bordeaux, and Lectoure. An inscription in Bordeaux attributes the founding of a chapel housing the seven martyrs' bodies to Charlemagne. His sarcophagus at Lectoure is described as bearing symbols interpreted as Gnostic and Masonic. Later accounts mention a historical St Martin founding an abbey and a Gallo-Roman aristocrat named Sanctus Clarus setting up a priory, both accused of Gnosticism in Aquitaine. Further north, a St Clair became the first bishop of Nantes in the 3rd century. Breton legend places another Sanctus Clarus consecrated in the 1st century, linked to a disciple of Joseph of Arimathea who went to Great Britain. This legendary figure was reputed to have died in Brittany, with a trepanned skull and cenotaph preserved and dated to 868, suggesting a duality of personages. This other St Clair was also invoked for eyesight recovery and good harvests, with a custom of immersing his skull in water for eye treatment. Healing wells are consistently associated with the title of St Clair, including one near Rosslyn. The cult of the Holy Light is said to have spread north alongside the vision of the Grail. Norman towns were named St Clair before the Viking invasions, and Viking leaders like Rolf the Ganger took the name from a town on the Epte river. A statue in a town park shows a St Clair holding his severed head, linked to the beheaded Sanctus Clarus from the Pyrenees and associated with a well for eye cures.
Topic 10 This topic explores the concept of heresy within Christianity, particularly the rebellion of various cults and alternative interpretations of faith against the established Church authority, often stemming from Gnostic and similar traditions. It highlights the Gnostic belief in a direct, personal approach to God or revelation, without needing the mediation of the state or church, which was seen as a challenge to religious authority. The struggle over texts and meanings before the Bible Canon was imposed by Emperors Constantine and Justinian is mentioned, noting that deviations from the defined norm might be pursued with force. The Gnostic doctrines of secret knowledge and continuing revolution are identified as motive forces for heresy for two thousand years. The text notes that the cult of Sanctus Clarus or the 'Holy Light' reached Albi, which became a center for the Cathars and Albigensians, against whom a papal crusade was launched. The emigration of members of the House of Levi to Provence, known as 'Sons of Light' and associated with guarding the Ark of the Covenant and Shekinah, is mentioned as raising myths about bloodlines and the Ark reaching Western Europe, further contributing to non-orthodox traditions. The historical figure of St Irenaeus is noted for his sustained attacks on Gnostics in the late 2nd century, showing how far the doctrine of the Holy Light had spread, including to the South of France. The early Christian practice of communion, derived from ancient mystery religions and Jewish faith, became less common for lay people by the 13th century, reserved for priests, reflecting shifts in orthodox practice potentially related to the rejection of earlier, broader sacramental views. The presence of a carved horned bull-god head at Rosslyn is presented as demonstrating the persistence of the Mithras cult and linked to heresy and potentially a labyrinth ritual within the chapel, where the Minotaur was replaced by Lucifer and slain in a specific Mass, pointing back to millennia of alternative beliefs in cattle-owning societies. The fear driving men to extremes due to deviations from faith or norms is also noted.