666 The Church at Brenac


accross-the-bridge

Brenac is a tiny village, much smaller than even Rennes le Château. It is situated at the top of a narrow valley close to the source of a stream running down to the Aude river. It is one of the points on the Mazerou pentacle. This would have been a one time a route to the south via the Plain du Sault. Since opening of the road through the Gorges Du Pierre de Lyse from Quillian it has become a sleepy backwater.


The Church

brenac-church Despite it’s tiny size there are two churches in Brenac. This church is very old. It has no side chapels and therefore may have originally been a Cathar meeting house. There is an even older church, higher up on the edge of the village, but it did not take me long to establish the the point of David Williams’ Mazerou pentacle lay on the larger not the older church.


inside-brenac-church On entering the church the first impression is that it is “colourful”. The pale blue and white arches attract the eye.


The paintings on the roof


brenac-roof-panels Before long,attention is drawn to the curious paintings on the roof. The highlighted section of the roof shows one location.




brenac-st-jamespng Seen in real life these illustrations are really creepy. All the more so because they are so differet to anything normally seen in a church. A man in a boat? Who? and what is that triangle above?


The Eye Of Providence

dollarnote Could this be the Eye of Providence, the so called all seeing eye, which appears on the American dollar bill? This symbol has its origins in the worship of Horus in Egypt, perhaps 2000BC or even older, and is widely used in Freemasonry. What could it be doing here?




brenac-lamb The Eye of Providence
(If that is what it is) does not appear just once it appears in every one of the paintings. Its identification is probably confirmed by the clouds in this painting in which a hand reaches down to grasp or touch a lamb. Early depictions of the Eye of Providence often included clouds.


Are they part of a code?

brenac-chalice A chalice with a ring above it. This comes very close to the modern symbol for the female gender which could link back to the stories that sangreal, the holy grail was not a chalice at all but in fact the womb of Mary Magdelaine.




brenac-roof-dove-and-skull Then there is the bleeding dove hovering above the skull and crossbones. Both of these were Cathar symbols, the latter showing Cathars disdain for earthly matters and their willingness to give up everything; to die if necessary rather than give up their faith.




brenac-ark I think I am on surer ground in believing that this must be a depiction of the Ark of the Covenant, complete with the Cherubim on top. However something is wrong. The “carrying sticks” are in the background clearly detached from the ark. The Book of Exodus records however, that God instructed Moses never to remove the carrying sticks.

Of course something else is different, The all seeing eye is replaced by a circle or globe.

The Panels


brenac-roof All these paintings create a feeling of being in the presence of a great mystery. Then the decorations around the altar itself become apparent The all seeing eye now dominates, looking down on the whole scene.


brenac-tablets The panels facing each other, at either side of the altar are particularly interesting. To me it was immediately clear that these were a numerological puzzle. I am cheerfully sceptical about numerology but a friend and colleague had become a convert and so I had had to listen to more informal lectures on the subject than I really wanted to hear. Here suddenly, in this church, in Brenac I desperately tried to remember everything I had been told. One of the key facts was that whether or not you find it possible to believe in the special properties of numbers, the principles were utilised in many cyphered messages.

2 thoughts on “666 The Church at Brenac”

    1. I assume you meant how did i realise this was a numerology puzzle. Only because my friend had become a numerology enthusiast and had spent a lot of time explaining it to me. As a result of this i recognised the “set up” inherent in the tablets.

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Extract from The Prisoner of Foix--Chapter 43 -The EntranceNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley-26th April 1355

 

'Looks like we are going to see a bit of excitement, John. The Captain tried to get an agreement from the Prince that if there is surf running across the channel to Arcachon we will turn back to Bordeaux, but the Prince would hear none of it. Instead, he has offered to provide insurance for all three ships. If they are damaged or sunk, the owners will be compensated and every sailor who makes the passage will be given a bounty payment. What none of this seems to take into account is that if we sink in rough, fast-flowing waters we might all drown.'

John raised his eyebrows. 'But that is what we are going to do?'

'Yes, despite the fact that surf running accross the entrance is not uncommon and the deep water channel moves continually. In the end, the Prince attacked their captains on their weakest point, their professional pride! He threw down the gauntlet. He offered to take the Sally first through the channel, and to take control during the passage.' He raised his brow. 'We are going into the Bay of Arcachon, come what may! '

Extract from The Eagle of Carcassone -- Chapter 24-- A Real GoddessNo need to buy a Kindle. Read it on your computer or tablet

John Stanley - 22 July 1355

An hour later John walked with Ximene close to the river along the valley below St Feriole. It was the very essence of a summer’s day. The sun was fierce but in the shadow of the trees, it was cool and fragrant. The trees and shrubs along the riverbank hid their progress, from the Château, from St Feriole.

Eventually they reached a point where John thought it was safe to emerge from cover. To his satisfaction the stream extended into a pool with a sandy beach, shaded by trees. Where the stream entered the pool there was a flat grassy area, almost circular. Behind this, the bulk of two mountain ridges provided a splendid backdrop. He looked around once more ‘Not just a good training ground but a great training ground. If the Greek heroes knew about this they might be tempted to join me, to train with me’

Ximene laughed out loud. He turned to look at her. She had removed her outer clothes and was wearing a white chemise, cut short so that it barely reached her knees. Around her waist, she wore a plaited leather belt, obviously fashioned from the multitude of leather straps to be found in the tackle room.

She ran her hands down over her breasts. ‘When you were unconscious I heard you muttering about gods and goddesses, so  I have decided that from now on, for you, I will be the goddess.’

The Prisoner of FoixVol 1 of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

Aquitaine, an English possession, is in crisis. It is under threat from neighbouring nations and internal dissension.

The Black Prince, King Edward III’s eldest son has been given the task of taking command in Aquitaine.

Suddenly there is an opportunity. Ximene Trencavel is the heiress to the lands of Occitan, to the east of Aquitaine: lands controlled by the Franks. Ximene wants independence, both for herself and for Occitan.

A union between Aquitaine and Occitan would be mutually beneficial. The Black Prince undertakes a secret journey to meet Ximene to negotiate a marriage contract. It is, however, a marriage neither of them really wants.

Meanwhile, the  Franks plot to murder Ximene to prevent ,not just the marriage, but any kind of union between England and Occitan.

The Eagle Of CarcassonneVol II of the series—The Treasure of Trencavel

The loose alliance between Ximene Trencavel and the Black Prince is under threat.

The Prince invades Occitan, to show his support for Ximene but it becomes an invasion which creates more problems than it solves.

The Prince has fallen hopelessly in love with Joan of Kent and Joan is now determined to marry him and become the next Queen of England.

Joan is therefore  determined to convince Ximene that she should not marry the Prince.

Part of her strategy is to encourage Ximene’s relationship with John Stanley—one of the Princes bodyguards—not an easy task as both John and Ximene have doubts about their compatibility.

However, John is grievously injured in a battle and Ximene commits herself to nurse him back to health.