The Alchemy Key.pdf - Veritas File System

These irreverent symbols of the sacred marriage remind us of
original purpose of the Et in Arcadia Ego theme. Les Bergers d'Arcadie
II shows a goddess with voluminous robes because she is Demeter or
Hecate. This goddess of truth in death, held a sickle beneath her
garments ready to dispatch the sacrificial king, or a surrogate representing
the dark side of his nature, after he had consummated the sacred marriage.
Originally, the spilled blood of the sacrificial king fertilized the land for
the next year of crops. Much later, it became a personal ritual of renewal
where only the hypothetical base nature died.
The earliest Arcadia painting that uses Virgil’s Et in Arcadia Ego
theme is by Il Guercino of Bologna. Il Guercino painted The Arcadian
Shepherds for Cardinal Francesco Barberini in 1618. It shows the smooth
skinned Cain in contemplation about the death of his rough skinned
brother, Abel. 1425 Abel is the hairy, base side of Cain’s nature. The
vegetation god in Les Bergers d'Arcadie II is the same as the ground god
mentioned in Genesis 4:18 as opening its mouth to receive Abel’s blood
from the hands of Cain.
Il Guercino included a watching owl, the bird of death, to imply
both the passing of time and wisdom in the events of the night. In Les
Bergers d'Arcadie I Poussin transformed the owl into Pan, the universal
god, who pours water to show the passing of time.
In Les Bergers d'Arcadie II Poussin further transforms Pan to a
shepherd-god. This new shepherd has no need of sandals like the mortalshepherds
who will shortly be involved in the drama.
The drama that will ensue has always been associated with initiation and
renewal under the auspices of the goddess.
Another Et in Arcadia Ego painting in Frederick the Great’s Sans
Souci palace in Potsdam shows only one shepherd with a group of
goddesses. The three goddesses represent the goddess triplet of marriage,
birth and death.
While these various esoteric layers in Poussin’s painting are
important in their own right, we turn to another level of meaning
represented by the additional ossuary and the perplexing letters engraved
below the bas-relief. These letters are D.O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V.M. The
beginning D and the last M are set on a lower line to the rest of the letters.
Until now, these letters have remained undeciphered.
Julius Caesar’s great saying veni, vidi, vici has always been the
essence of succinctness. It translates as I came, I saw, I conquered. This
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