The Hiram Key Revisited by Christopher Knight

Author:Christopher Knight
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Metro Books
Published: 2011-07-18T16:00:00+00:00

Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto King Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the Ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.1

The lunar month of Ethanim is now known as Tishri in the Hebrew calendar.2 Although it is the seventh month of the civil year, it is the start of the religious year and therefore a time of significant feasts and holidays. The most important of these is the Feast of Tabernacles, which begins on the 15th day of Tishri. This feast is, in effect, a harvest festival.

For the ancient Jews, and indeed all agrarian-based societies, the autumn equinox marked the great harvest, when nature’s summer flourish gave way to the grains and fruits that would sustain them through the long, dark days of winter. The tall, golden ears of corn, together with the fruits of the trees and bushes, were absolutely essential to their survival. This largesse could be taken away at any time, perhaps as a result of a cold spring, violent summer storms or generally unseasonable conditions. To those who recognized the capricious and unpredictable nature of God’s grace, the right form of worship and the greatest show of gratitude might ensure that the harvest would be brought in safely.

At the heart of the autumn celebration, for most belief systems, was the concept of sacrifice – giving back some of the rewards received. Nature (for which read the Goddess and the Earth) had, with her own body, raised her offspring, which would be ruthlessly cut down by humanity for its own needs. The concept of the growing and sacrificed Corn God (see Chapter 3) is so old it is impossible to know where and when it began. But, like so much else from primitive religion, it was never quite forgotten. We have already shown that even Jesus, either in fact or fable, had deliberately associated himself with the sacrificed Corn God in his speech and actions at the Last Supper (see Mary the God-Bearer). The mystery religions of Demeter and Mithras also had significant celebrations around the autumn equinox that spoke of death and rebirth.

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