The Devil By The Door And SO Very Much more – The Grand Finale

 

Welcome back!! If you have made it through Parts One and Two you will automatically be receiving a gold star!

We are picking up at the connection with Saunière and his Opera diva Emma Calvé and what they may have found in her medieval castle which could have impacted his rather devilish interior decorating style. I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave them in the comment box and I would be happy to answer them.

Opera, Alchemy, And Abraham The Jew

Another odd tidbit is that a famous opera singer of the time, Emma Calvé was said to have been rather chummy with Saunière and there were even rumors that they were an “item.” (GASP!!)  What’s interesting is that she bought a gorgeous medieval chateau in her home town of Decazeville (formerly called “La Sala” in Occitan due to the salt mines) where coincidentally a very old book was said to have been hidden long before. The same book some say Nicholas Flamel, (1340-1418) the famous alchemist of his time used to aid him in this achieving the “Great Work.” The book was called Abraham The Jew which was written in a multitude of languages, (Latin, Arabian, Chaldee, and Syriac) to stop the average “Joe” from gaining access to it immense knowledge. Is it possible that somehow Saunière may have gotten his hands on the copy and achieved some of his own Great Work? Perhaps the path or recipe to immortality itself?  No, that would be yet another of the endless coincidences in this story.

*As a side note, there is a very interesting connection with this town Decazeville and someone very close to a not so nice Comte whom I lovingly refer to as Le Comte de Jurque (jerk) aka Le Comte de Provence. And the information I stumbled upon is rather jaw-dropping, to say the least! I have removed that segment from here and will do a  more in-depth blog as it truly deserves an audience. That one should be next up. Stay tuned!

 

 Is This Mystery Totally BS?!

Also, something to consider, above the statue are the two letters “BS” and I know what you’re thinking but I don’t think the first word was bull, plus, Saunière was French! Some assume this was simply his initials Berenger Sauniere, but that would be far too convenient! Others say the B stands for Henri Boudet, the name of Sauniere’s good friend and fellow priest who was Saunière’s right-hand man during the treasure hunting days and S for Saunière. Still, far too obvious me thinks.

There is also a theory that the B and S stand for two very important little rivers nearby called La Blanque and La Sals which intersect near Rennes-les-Bains, the other Rennes.  Was he pointing us to this particular area for a reason?  I should point out that very close by there is a rather famous rock in the shape of an armchair which is aptly called, you guessed it,

the“Devil’s Arm Chair” or “Fauteuil du Diable, as we say in French!  Yet another reference to the Dark Lord himself! Though some say the older name for it is the Seat of  ISIS.

So, I probed even deeper, much deeper and pondered and something hit me right smack in the third eye! Saunière was French, so I thought for a moment like a Frenchman, a very secretive, slightly sneaky and odd, priestly  Frenchman and a few interesting things came to mind.

King Solomon was said to have possessed a very powerful seal or ring which he claimed was given to him from the heavens or the angels and it was engraved with the words: “Most Great Name of God.” Thus, it contained the greatly sought after true name of God! It is thought that is you knew the true name of God you could have dominion over him. This ring was said to have been made of brass and iron. Upon the brass part, he wrote his commands for the good genii also known as djinn aka angels and on the iron part his demands for the bad djinn, aka demons, which is how he controlled them and got them to do his heavy lifting and dirty work so to speak. It is also said that he received 4 jewels from 4 different angels which he set in the ring which gave him the ability to control the 4 elements as well, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Air. Wait, did I just say 4 angels? We’ll get back to that in a minute.

The legend says that Asmodeus, that little demon, used his magical powers to build the Temple of Solomon and I’m sure many other tasks. Then one day he grew tired of being King Sol’s magical slave and sidekick so he seised the magic ring and tossed it into the sea, thus relinquishing King Solomon’s power over him. But no worries, as luck would have it, King Sol went fishing one day and caught a random fish which just so happened to have his magic ring in the contents of its stomach, no sorcery there, I’m sure it was a total fluke! That’s how one of the legends went. That is reminiscent of another story of a certain masculine part of Osiris, after being murdered and dismembered by his brother SET, being cast into the river Nile and being eaten by a fish. It’s all very fishy indeed!

It’s all BS!

So what does King Solomon’s ring have to with the initials BS you ask? Well, in French, Solomon’s Ring translates to Bague de Solomon, “BS”! Voila! Case closed, mystery solved right? If only it were that easy! No matter how hard you try, the mystery never seems solved! But at least the mystery fish keep on nibbling! And there are also legends of a secret, a subterranean temple dedicated to Solomon in the area, not to mention a great many other temples dedicated to different deities. Isis, Minerva, Ba’al, Apollo etc…

So, back in the church, above Asmodeus and the Holy water vessel, stands the statues of, you guessed it, 4 angels, again relating to the legend of King Solomon’s ring and the 4 gifted stones. Each of them making one sign of the cross and below them is the statement “Par Ce Signe Tu Le Vaincras” meaning “With This Sign You Will Conquer Him. Did he mean the ever popular and Catholic church approved sign of the cross the angels were making with each of their hands being in one of the positions of the sign of the cross? OR, is the trick to conquering said demon in actual fact the sign of the pentagram or Five-pointed star of Solomon’s seal Ring, BS? Seeing as though that is said to be the magical ring which controls and exorcizes demons? And considering how often you see pentagrams in the area in the amazing sacred geometry seemingly built into the natural landscape and the placements of various sacred structures.  Which, our dear friend,  researcher and author Henry Lincoln has written many books about, The Holy Place being a great read!  The sacred geometry in this region alone is if off the charts and off the maps mind-blowing! Another mere “coincidence?” Pictured below, thee Mr. Henry Lincoln and I on a fabulous tour together with the backdrop of the Pontil’s Tomb with its rather famous landscape. And it’s a significant connection to the Nicholas Poussin Painting “Shepherds Of Arcadia” and the Rennes-le-Chateau mystery.

So, almost but not quite,  in conclusion, but working on it…… was Saunière trying to tell us in a rather roundabout, geometrical and encrypted way that there is a strong connection linking this church in Rennes-le-Chateau and the legend of the underground Temple of Solomon? “As above, so below” they keep saying this, thus, is this temple below? Below the church? Below the chateau? Below the cemetery? Below the ruins of an old church in town. No one ever seems to mention the old church dedicated to St. Pierre. (St. Peter) It was used as the chapel for the common pions of the town while the fancier chapel, now dedicated to Mary Magdalene was reserved for the town’s nobility. There are interesting rumours about this church which sadly no longer exists!! Below the beautiful landscape which seems to be etched by a Divine artist who loved pentagrams? Was King Solomon’s magical missing ring, which seemed to disappear from history,  what perhaps Abbé Saunière stumbled upon in his quest for treasure which coincidentally claims to have control over demons and especially one very particular demon, Asmodeus? Did he perhaps discover this and bind the very powerful little demon Asmodeus beneath the church along with the accursed treasure to keep it safe and that’s why the crypt has been inexplicably sealed, doors even walled up with stone, ever since? Or perhaps we’re digging too deep?

The Ancient Spellbook 

There was a mysterious book discovered, years after Saunière’s time, which was discovered in the beautiful and lavish Villa Bethanie, which he, not long after the grand ‘discovery’ commissioned to be built right in near the church. This book was hidden beneath the floorboards or inside a wall….somewhere no one was supposed to find it. It is said to be in Old Arabic, extremely hard to translate even for modern-day Arabic speaking people. The original book was sadly stolen by a charlatan who was supposed to be translating but thank the heavens copies of the pages were saved. I have seen them with my own eyes and seen some of the rough translations and from what I can make out, it is a powerful and very ancient spell book, to guard against and or protect one’s self against the powers of demons. Now, why, in Heaven’s name would “someone” have hidden, so carefully I may add, an ancient spell book in Old Arabic or whatever language it’s in, in the personal Villa of Abbé Saunière? Was it he who put it there after having some demonic issues? Perhaps Marie Darnaud after Saunière had passed? Was it all an elaborate hoax by the person who found it? I really don’t think so after some rather “interesting” stories I have heard….I mean NOT heard! I will leave it off at that before I go getting myself into more trouble!

The Final Resting Place of ….who??

There is another play on words I quite like when I put my French béret on, there are endless legends and rumours about certain mountains in the area being sacred and containing hidden treasures such as the stunning nearby mountain of Cardou (Cardio-heart)  which some say is the final resting place of Jesus Christ himself but that legend opens up a rather awkward can of worms with the Catholic church for obvious reasons!  So, for now, we shall let sleeping demons lie. Then there is the cave which was said to be the final resting place of Mary Magdalene not far from the town also. In fact, if you stand atop La Tour Magdala which Saunière also had built at the time, seemingly to honor Her you can see the cave! Then, there is the mountain of Bugarach which

ominously looms in the not so far distance and is said to have contained or may still contain possibly “The Ark Of the Covenant” of all things! I know, sounds completely insane but wait, there’s more!  An amateur researcher in the late ’80’s by the name of Daniel Bettex was rumoured to have actually found  “something of huge significance” and some say it was, in fact, this holy relic. Yet, oddly, but not surprising, when he was, as he had confessed to a dear friend, just days away from reaching “IT”….. he suddenly and inexplicably died a VERY strange and mysterious death, some say atop or deep inside this foreboding mountain, taking his secrets with him. No one could even seem to get the details of his death right! The entrance he had found via the floor of the ruins of an old nearby chateau…. cemented shut! There is so much more to that story but, I’ll save that for another day, in another blog!

The famous Cathar Castle atop the very mysterious mountain of Montsegur

Also, there is a legend that the sacred mountain of Montségur, a mere 22.2 miles away as the crow flies and the majestic chateau ruins atop her peak is or was rumored to be one of the locations of a mysterious treasure. As I had briefly alluded to.  And some say that the Cathars met their horrific fate because they were the guardians of the Holy Grail itself! Though, none of these rumors have ever been confirmed nor denied, publicly anyway!

Now, if you look at the word “demon”, then you translate it to French, Daemon,  and use your best French accent, it sounds eerily similar to “Des Monts” which translates to “the mountains.” There is a rather long and complicated theory I briefly touched upon, involving sacred geometry within the local landscape spear-headed by the very well known author and respected researcher Henry Lincoln which depicts pentagrams literally everywhere within the landscape. And if you put all that together along with the theory of the checkerboard floor in the entrance being somehow a map of the landscape which Abbé Henri Boudet, (Saunière’s good friend and “partner in crime”) explains in his book “La Vrai Langue Celtique” or “The True Celtic Language” We now have the “Daemon” in the church staring at a certain spot upon the checkerboard floor, along with a statue of Jesus in the church, in the same uncomfortable position, both with holy water on their heads and both staring at the same spot upon the checkerboard floor. Thus, one might let their imagination run wild with wonder that maybe, just maybe our dear friend Sauniere was perhaps trying to tell us of a secret treasure hiding in “Des Monts” or the mountains nearby. That, coupled with the fact that we have that stone in the shape of an armchair affectionately named “The Devil’s Armchair” just in the nearby village of Rennes-le-Bains. In Boudet’s book, he actually has the face of the devil within the landscape on his detailed map of the region, marking out a certain spot of interest, perhaps pinpointing a very key location, somewhere in between the two Rennes. Perhaps in the town of Valdieu aka Valley of God.

And lest we forget, not far from Montségur there is a very remote lake named, you guessed it, Devil’s Lake, high atop a mountain where some say the Cathars tossed their treasure into to protect it from the nasty crusaders and the church. And now you have yourself some rather compelling reasons to run out and buy a metal detector and head for “des monts”, shovel in hand, as many a treasure hunter have done, seemingly in vain for over a century!

The Anti-Romantic

In other news, Asmodeus was also said to be the demon of Lust and greed, two of the seven deadly sins of course. Some say, he is responsible for twisting and contorting human’s sexual desires, the destroyer of love infernal and if you fall for his naughty trickery you may find yourself headed straight to hell in a handbasket! There are many conflicting stories as to who this little demon was and what kind of mischief he got into. It is said in “The Book Of Tobit” that he fell in love, so to speak, with Sara and each time a man tried to marry her, Asmodée killed him right before the wedding, (7 times, 7 dead husbands) out of jealousy. So that’s proof alone that he was a die hard hopeless romantic, in demonic terms anyway! And by the way, it was Angel Gabriel who was said, in The Book Of Tobit to have come down to Earth as in human form (they can do that) and tricked Asmodeus, thus freeing Sara to finally marry lucky husband number 8! I should add another tidbit on the same topic, La Dame Marie de Negre, the noblewoman who’s tombstone Saunière was rather fascinated with, which was rumoured to contained secret clues to this mind blending mystery and perhaps the whereabouts of said treasure, owned a very old copy of The Book Of Tobit  with hand-written notes…..coincidence? Of course….

Asmodée, Who’s Your Daddy?

Another legend from the Talmud says he, this demon about town, married the infamous “Lilith” and she became his evil queen.  And an even more bizarre and conflicting story is that he was said to be the love child of Adam and the angel of prostitution….(is that what we’re calling them now?) “Naamah,” conceived while Adam was still married to “Lilith,”  Oh dear, what a sordid soap opera!! This must have certainly upset the “apple” cart in the Garden Of Eden! Once again this opens another rather awkward can of Catholic worms, doesn’t it? Adam and Eve being the first two people on the planet and all, according to the Bible!! Don’t even get me started!

And then there was the uniquely talented author and researcher Elizabeth Van Buren’s who lived just down the hill from Rennes at Les Labadous and her groundbreaking research which stated that the true “Garden Of Eden” was in fact in the Rennes-le-Chateau area.  Are we seeing a pattern yet?  If you can, do try and find a copy of her book “Refuge Of The Apocalypse” – she did a rather brilliant job!

On a side note: I stayed at on her old stomping ground, (now a hotel) and will be writing a blog entirely on my experiences and sharing some never-before-seen footage of my experiences. Those were some of the strangest nights of my life!!

Though, in truth, Sauniere never confirmed that the devil by the door was, in fact, Asmodeus at all. Was he trying to tell us to beware of the dangers of lustful desires? Something he personally seemed to have some issues with.  Could it,  in fact, be a “terrible place”?  There are some truly bizarre legends which could fill one’s mind with some trepidation and fear no doubt.  Was it just another tool for the Catholic church to scare us into being good little boys and girls or else, the devil will get us? Or, was his message a tad more cryptic in nature? I suppose we will never truly know for sure unless of course one day, the long sought after truth is alas revealed. Like that is ever going to happen anytime soon, publically anyway!

Until then, tourists will continue to pose for silly selfies with our little devil and continue to ponder and speculate. And treasure hunters will continue to search feverishly in vain for that vast pot of gold at the end of the Rennes-le-Chateau rainbow, apparently still safely tucked away far beneath the Occitan soil….  some still say. One must remember, there are treasures in this world far more important than Gold,  knowledge comes to mind, and then there’s LOVE, in my humble opinion the true Holy Grail.  And that comes in many shapes and forms though is rarely in the shape of a gold cup!

In 1996, Asmodeus was brutally attacked, his head and one of his arms severed and stolen. The guilty party was never brought to justice nor were his body parts ever found. He was meticulously put back together though he never really looked exactly like thee Asmodée who Abbé Saunière had originally chosen, but he still looked frightfully ghoulish!

But I will add one little tidbit from personal experience. My first time entering this enchanting chapel, I was giddy with excitement after years of seeing his image in books, videos, films and all over the internet. I went a little overboard with the pictures, feeling as if I had finally come face to face with my own personal demon and I was bravely confronting him at long last!

As I knelt down in front of him to get a better view of his ghastly face and pass on a long-awaited message, something very strange happened which I only discovered later. Upon viewing the footage that was shot of us, I noticed that the audio on my camera went completely haywire with a loud high pitched ringing just as I spoke to him and an overabundant amount of strange sound distortion washed out what I was saying. It reached a fever’s pitch as I stood up and reached out to touch him almost as if he was reacting to my touch.  And, by the way, this only happened upon that very spot, right in front of him and I must have videoed every inch of the place!  And come to think of it, the noises did sound an awful lot like a metal detector going off…… but I’m sure it was a mere “coincidence too!”

During my 2015 trip, I would hear that odd noise again quite often, interestingly in the very same town but that is for a whole new blog… a creepy blog! But here is a short video with myself and a friend at a nearby hotel late at night.

Scardy-Kat Walk – Creepy Nights in Rennes-le-Chateau

I added a little video montage I put together from my first trip in December of 2012, attempting to capture just some of the unmistakable magic of this amazing little town. Certainly, my first meeting with the Dark Prince was a bit eventful, noise wise anyway!

My very first visit and face to face meeting

The Day Which Shocked Us All!

On April 23rd, 2017, a young woman, we now know was born and raised in a small time nearby named Quillan, dressed in a cape and Venetian mask entered the church at Rennes-le-Chateau wielding an ax. And much to the shock of the horrified on-lookers present, she proceeded to savagely attack the statue of Asmodeus, savagely decapitating his head and arms. Though she was not finished her rampage.  She then picked up the decapitated head of Asmodeus, ax still in hand and made her way down the aisle to the altar and proceeded to smashed the beautiful bas-relief of Mary Magdalene, which Abbé Saunière had hand-painted himself, leaving the greatly revered image of Mary Magdalene headless as well.

By this time, a witness had alerted the mayor of the town, Alexandre Painco who, with the aid of another gentleman, managed to subdue this crazed ax-wielding, woman until la gendarmerie (the local police) arrived and took her into custody and begin an investigation.

When she was asked why she had committed such a violent act against such important historical monuments in the church, she was quoted as saying something to the effect that she was protesting the bombing of children in Syria on the day of the French elections. She claimed her husband was in Syria at the time and fighting with ISIS.  She was soon after transferred to the mental facility in the nearby town of Limoux for a week-long evaluation to see if she was mentally fit to stand trial. And was then released. What I found odd was not her name nor her image were ever released to the public. And the judge was rather lenient, she is barred from visiting Rennes-le-Chateau and must continue taking her medication.  Hardly a slap on the wrist for causing thousands of dollars in damages and scaring many residents with her bizarre behaviour.

And finally almost 6 months later, work had commenced restoring both Asmodeus and Mary Magdalene to their original splendour. This news shook the local and global Rennes-le-Chateau community. I happened to be awake very late that night and received the news very soon after it happened and passed it on to our online community. Out of my own shock, anger and odd sense of grief, that an integral part of Rennes-le-chateau’s original history was forever destroyed, even though this was not the first attack on Asmodeus, it was however for the bas-relief of Mary Magdalene painted by the hand of Saunière himself, I took to my computer’s editing program and quickly put together a tribute which I will share with you below.

The Tribute Video After The April 23rd Attack

And this concludes my blog about the devil and a myriad of other topics!! Stay tuned for more Romances With France!  Here are some pictures of Asmodeus with his head and limbs attached and make-up all done, he looks like a combination of the original and the last one, great job by the restoration artist M. Midoux!

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The original and much shorter article was written By Leslie Cottle – October 7th, 2015 and originally published on the rennestimestwo.com website as a guest writer – Revised November 21, 2017. The latest version was completed April 3rd, 2019 to celebrate Asmodeus’s new look! Let’s hope that ax-wielding maniacs pass him by from now on!