Secret_History

Afterword
At the present time, when millions of people have read The Da Vinci Code, by
Dan Brown, it seems that the awareness that man’s true history has been hidden is
growing apace with the thirst for the truth. In this book, The Secret History of the
World, I have dealt with many tributaries of the “hidden stream” of knowledge
that have periodically emerged into the world during recorded history. These
traditions include the Eleusinian Mysteries, the Orphic Tradition, Gnosticism,
Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way or “Esoteric Christianity”,Catharism, which went
underground as the stories of the Holy Grail emerged, and Alchemy, linking them
to the most ancient traditions from pre-history, including Siberian Shamanism, the
“Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy”, as Mircea Eliade refers to the matter.
Thus, it is only fair that I warn the reader that this series of remarks will be
comprehensible only to individuals well versed in studies of esoteric history and
comparative religions, including Gnosticism, Sufism, the Holy Grail, Alchemy,
(particularly the mysteries surrounding the French alchemist known as Fulcanelli),
and hermeticism in general. This article plunges directly and immediately into the
great mystery. Those who are immersed in Fourth Way Work and who have
actually begun to “see” may also recognize the deeper implications of Gurdjieff’s
work.
Plate 6 - The Burial of Christ - is from a photograph I made in Auch Cathedral
(Gers – 32). This Cathedral is dedicated to the Black Virgin.
These two words, suggesting initiation, hide a spiritual reality that is very much
alive in the world today. The “Black Virgin” is a hidden presence that can guide
the seeker to rebirth. The inscription of dedication of Auch Cathedral is engraved
in black marble over the central door, and reads, “To Mary, the Virgin who is to
give birth to God”.
Significantly, it reads “who is to…”, not “who did…”.
There are two representations of the Black Virgin in the Cathedral, suggested by
certain details. In chapel 13, as the Sibyl of Samos, (below right) her costume and
her face are brown, she is pregnant, and she holds a cradle in her hands.
The other representation is found in the choir stalls, in the canopies, immediately
after the panel representing Adam and Eve. It is named Charity. There are two
children standing at her feet, waiting and stretching their hands towards her.
A retired priest, Raymond Montané, who has spent his life studying the
remarkable esoteric art in Auch Cathedral has written as follows:
It is above all the windows of Arnaud de Moles that deserve our attention. Produced
between 1507 and 1513, they are esteemed as the finest of the Renaissance. The