Friday, March 02, 2007

The Magic Door


Above the Magic Door of the Villa Palombara in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, Rome, [belonged to Massimiliano Palombara who was a member of the Rosicrucians] …Built in the 17th century there's a  six-pointed star encircled by the motto… "three are the wonders: God and man, mother and virgin, the one and three". 
CC picture from
it.wikipedia
Porta magica dettaglio




The same hexagram on the cover of an alchemical book 
Aureum Saeculum Redivivum
by  Adrian von Mynsicht (1603-1638) Published 
under the pen name Henricus Madathanus
around 1625



Thursday, March 01, 2007

Meditaion

The inverted triangle is visualized at the lower end of the spine, or more accurately, at the perineum, the base of the torso. While controlling and directing one's breathing, and visualizing specific colors (corresponding with specific mental and bodily functions, musical tones, etc.) one's center of attention gradually shifts upward, being imagined in successively higher locations until it reaches the crown of the head where it joins the other triangle that has its apex pointed upward. This overlapping of triangles forms the emblem of the mysterium conjunctionis, or Seal of Solomon, visualized as settling down into the center of the chest, that part of our physical anatomy we conven-tionally associate with the "heart": in an ancient sense, the "soul."
From: Oscar Ichazo, The Human Process for Enlightenment and Freedom, Arica Institute, New York (1976), p. 78 f., and p. 92. ]
The Arica School was founded in 1968 by Bolivian-born Oscar Ichazo.

Milk Grotto Bethlehem

There's a 5th century Hexagram on the mosaic of the Milk Grotto of the Lady Mary in Bethlehem.
I saw a photo of this mosaic in Bagatti, Bellarmino, Gli antichi edifici sacri di Betlemme :in seguito agli scavi e restauri praticati dalla custodia, Franciscan Printing Press, 1952 Jerusalem---Israel-Museum-Lib.( 1/ 0) fot. 99 Alcuni motivi del musaico costruito sopra la Grotta del Latte. 

Prince Albert memorial Manchester England

In Manchester, in Albert Square, at the front of the Town Hall, is 73 feet high Prince Albert Memorial. Above the statue there's a canopy with four sides, each with a big hexagram. It had been built in 1866 and designed by architect Thomas Worthington (1826 – 1909).
Picture is courtesy of "TE Williams" who published it on Flickr.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Gül Camii, Istanbul


.
I found this photo on Les Eglises de Constantinople , Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913.
Old St Theodosia Church was built in
 Istanbul in the late eleventh or early twelfth century to honour the memory of Virgin Martyr Theodosia. It is said that when the city was captured on May 29, feast of the Saint, the church was decked by roses, hence its Turkish name Gül Camii meaning "Mosque of the Roses". Another theory is that its turkish name comes from the dervish called Gül Baba burried here.
Gül Camii, Istanbul
CC picture from 
 English Wikipedia entry 
Gul Mosque

St. Theodosia Ceiling

I found this picture of 12th century Hexagram from the Rose Mosque of Istanbul on Les Eglises de Constantinople, Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913.

Church of St. Theodosia

I found this twelfth century Hexagram picture on Les Eglises de Constantinople, Jean Ebersolt, Adolphe Thiers. Paris, 1913
Since the byzantine name of this former church has not been established with certainty, we use the turkish name here. It has been identified with the churches of Saint Euphemia, Saint Theodosia and that of the Euergetis Monastery. The church is a construction of the twelfth century which stands elevated on an artificial terrace and appearently does not replace an old predecessor. It lay partly in ruins after the ottoman conquest and had to be restored heavily when it was rebuilt as a mosque