Secret_History

342 The Secret History of the World
shield that was purported to be modeled on a fabled “shield” that fell from heaven.
In this, we see an early reference to the grail as platter. In their right hand the Salii
carried an object that has been described as a short lance, but it seems that certain
bas-reliefs have shown that these objects actually resemble the Wands of the Tarot
deck. It is suggested that they were drumsticks used to beat on the shields, which
may have been made of skin stretched on a frame. In this case, the shield as a
representation of the feminine being rhythmically struck by the wands as phallic
symbols would have been utilized as a sound accompaniment to the dance. The
suggestion by many is that this is a Tantric reference, but we think that many of
the “sexual” implications do not refer to sex at all, but rather to a far more
fundamental thing about procreation: DNA. And, like everything else, it has been
corrupted.
At the conclusion of their songs the Salii invoked Mamurius Veturius, the fabled
smith who was supposed to have made the copies of the original shield that fell
from heaven. On the 14 th of March, a man dressed in skins, representing the smith,
was led through the streets, beaten by the Salii with rods, and thrust out of the city.
The following day, the 15 th , the Salii celebrated the feast of Anna Perenna.
The most famous form of the Sword Dance that survives today is that of Papa
Stour, on one of the Shetland Islands. The dance is performed at Christmas by
seven dancers who represent the “seven champions of Christendom”. Their leader,
playing the part of St. George, gives a speech, after which he dances solo,
followed by a presentation of each of his companions who each give a
performance, followed by an elaborate dance in unison.
In both the Sword Dance and the Mumming Play, the chief character is St.
George, the dragon slayer. This connects us back to Indra and the Maruts, Perseus
and St. Romain. The English Morris dance has lost the dramatic elements, but has
retained other elements, including the skin-draped clown, that the Sword Dance
and the Mumming Play no longer have.
At the end of some of the Sword Dances, the dancers form a pentagon and cry,
“A Nut! A Nut!”. Jessie Weston notes that this is similar to the game of “Nuts”, or
breast-knots, which are nosegays affixed to the chest at Mayday celebrations. This
naturally reminds us of the head of Medusa with it’s knotted serpent hair that was
affixed to the breastplate of Athene, and its relation to the Head of Bran that was
both oracular as well as the source of endless bounty. The reader might also want
to note the story of the head of John the Baptist on the platter is juxtaposed against
the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and the head of Bran was known to specialize
in loaves and fishes!
In Gawain and the Green Knight, the hero’s badge is the Pentacle, explained
there as the “Endless Knot”. In some Tarot decks, the pentacles replace the dish,
so we find another connection. In one form of the Morris dance, the lead dancer