SATOR Square - Rochemaure, France

Le Trésor du Carré Magique de Rochemaure L’étrange grille de Rochemaure.

The Gorge of Galamus

3 miles north of Saint Paul, the awe-inspired site of the Gorges of Galamus is an imposing, protected place. It probably was the first inhabited place in Saint Paul: our ancestors found shelter in the limestone caves that can be seen in the giddy cliffs . The river Agly rushes down a deep break, much to the pleasure of the adepts of canyoning and rafting.

Typical mediterranean plants grow on its steep slopes, such as evergreen oaks, jumper trees while Bonneli eagles soar over the winding narrow road that clings to the cliff. To the South, the impressive Gorges de la Fou, cut through the mountain - the exact replica of galamus - opens to the South and the gallo-Roman bridge. Pyrénées-Orientales Since the seventh century, the natural grottes of Galamus, "the holy mount", have become a refuge for the hermits. They built their humble cells, lived in prayer and abstinence, then died . They placed the site under the protection of Saint Anthony the Great, the patriarch of the monks of the desert . The Franciscans fit out the site in the 15th century. It has become a traditional place of pilgrinage on Easter and Whitsun Mondays. Thanks to the exceptional situation of the Hermitage, hung up half-way up the cliff, the place was the setting of several films: "Chine ma douleur " - Jean Vigo Prize 1989 - and " The 9th Door " by Roman Polanski in 1998.

"Blue Apples" & the RLC Parchment Clues

Mt. Bugarach from the RLC tower and the window from the Mt. Bugarach church. Galamus Gorge is in the Mt. Bugarch area.

"Grapes of the Promised Land" by Nicholas Poussin - the giants of Canaan are seen carrying their huge blue grapes. In the parchments of Rennes le Chateau, the term "blue apples" refers to the blue grapes of the Languedoc region. Galamus Gorge cavern church and its hermitage are sacred to Mary Magdalene and to both St. Anthonys. One was required to make the difficult journey by parish horse and there is the word "PAX" written large underneath a statue of St. Anthony. These are all clues in the mysterious parchments found by Abbe Sauniere at RLC. "Since, the sanctuary is thus also under the protection of Saint Anthony the Great, patron saints of hermits. Legend speaks of his temptations and his victory over the demonic traps that were placed on his road to salvation. As to the original grotto, in which the spring is located, this is under the protection of another sai, Mary Magdalene. Both Mary Magdalene and Saint Anthony are notorious hermits, and hence likely protectors for hermitages. Nothing out of the ordinary, were it not for the fact that both are dragged into the mystery of Rennes-le-Château." - this sounds like the same St. Anthony TCP: "...Europe; Carcassonne, the Cathar castles of Puilaurens, Puivert and Montségur , and we visit the Monastery of St. Anthony of the Desert in the Galamus Gorge, ...." "The Throats of NORTH-SOUTH Galamus directed extend on 2 km on horse on the departments from the Aude and the Pyrenees Orientales on the communes from Cubières on Cinoble and Saint Paul de Fenouillet." This might be called a "horse of God" - a hermitage horse. ‘Shepherdess, no temptation. That Poussin, Tenniers hold the key: peace 681. By the cross and this horse of God. I complete (or destroy) this daemon of the guardian at noon blue apples’ [Trans]. On the other, equally enigmatic parchment was inscribed: ‘A Dagobert II roi et a Sion est tresor et il est la mort’, ‘To Dagobert II King, and to Sion belongs this treasure and he is there dead.’ [Trans].

The SATOR Square

A Magic Square ring in Hebrew. The SATOR Square is a magic square in letters and words that was also found at Pompeii. Used as a talisman, the magic square wards off evil spirits. Was it carved into the cave as a protection because Galamus in ancient times was known as an entrance to the underworld? Here we see it on the back of the "head of Dagobert". On the Galamus sculpture, the head appears to be singing or chanting. PAX or Peace 681 is from the parchments. In numerology PAX = 681, a reference to the Templar/Masonic science of numerology. "PAX" is written in large letters at the Galamus hermitage. "Magic word squares The practical magic of Abramelin (found in both Book III of the French text, and Book IV of the German original) centers around a set of talismans composed of magic word squares. These are similar to traditional magic squares, though the latter are usually composed of numbers, while Abramelin's squares contain letters. Commonly word squares are used as puzzles or as teaching aids."

Galamus Gorge Mystery & RLC Parchments

Galamus Magic Square

The Galamus hermitage from Perillos.com Magic dance Saint Anthony’s chapel is renowned for containing a magic square: SATOR – AREPO – TENET – OPERA – ROTAS. It is beautifully executed. But what is a magic square doing in a structure that is purely Catholic in origin? For sure, as Galamus is not the only location where this “decoration” has been found, some have come up with explanations that make it appear that this has a significance within the Catholic doctrine. But it should fail to impress most, if not all. Indeed, we note that the inscription was already found in the ruins if Pompey, which thus makes it definitely older than Christianity. Here, in Galamus, it may indicate that the site was in use prior to a Christian dedication too – or that at some point, a magical dimension was added to its “pure Catholic” purpose. Perhaps because people resorted to magic, either due to the enigmatic incidents that had occurred, or as part of the miraculous protection the Saint had offered to the village? The word “arepo” is actually Celtic in origin, derived from “Arpennis”, which means “head, end of land” and which resulted in the French word “arpent”: a piece of land. Jean Chevalier and Alain Gueerbrant have argued that this type of symbolism should be traced back to Celtic times, specifically druidism, and argue that the inscription is linked with the Wheel of Fortune. Of course, it was Boudet who spoke of a “True Celtic Tongue”, a book that he published in 1886 and which has become one of the enigmatic ingredients of the mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Furthermore, whereas everyone agrees that Galamus as a word is Celtic in origin, no-one has been able to explain its etymology conclusively.

Mt. Bugarach Church Window

The church wondow of Mt. Bugarach church, note the nautical theme. The helm looks like the

Wheel of Fortune card of the Tarot deck.