The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity by Jerry B. Brown

Author:Jerry B. Brown
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: drugs, religion, spirituality
ISBN: 9781620555026
Publisher: Park Street Press
Published: 2016-09-24T04:00:00+00:00

Fig. 9.2. Nicolas Poussin, L’Automne, 1664, Louvre Museum, Paris (Photo by Julie M. Brown)

“As a student of art history,” Simone answered, “I became very intrigued by their reference to Poussin and his painting Les Bergers de Arcadie, or, as you say, The Shepherds of Arcadia. This painting, which hangs in the Louvre, depicts a group of shepherds exploring a tomb that, according to the inscription, was possibly the burial place of Jesus. They say that Poussin painted this from an actual landscape nearby, that it is a depiction of a real tomb in the nearby village of Arques accurate down to the rendering of the mountains and skyline. Unfortunately, I could not visit the tomb because it was mysteriously demolished sometime during the 1980s, after the BBC documentaries on Rennes attracted hordes of curious visitors. So I turned my attention to other paintings by Poussin, including his interpretation of Autumn, which portrays two peasants carrying a bunch of giant blue grapes and huge golden apples. I thought perhaps that there could be some link to the ‘blue apples’ of the parchment.”

My ears perked up at the mention of “blue apples.” I was about to bring up the topic of entheogens and ask Simone if she had ever noticed the mushroom above the demon in the church. Julie sensed this and gently but firmly put her hand over mine to stop me.

“What were you about to say?” Simone inquired.

“Well,” I said, pausing to gather my thoughts, “you said the parchments were fake, which means so is the reference to Poussin and the blue apples. Why did you pursue this?”

“What can I say?” replied Simone. “After two years I had nothing to show for my efforts, but I was still seduced by the idea of solving ‘the mystery,’ so I kept going and going, until the last path I traveled turned into a dead end.”

“So the entire idea of Jesus and Mary Magdalene coming here is a myth,” Julie declared.

“No, oh no! I did not say that,” Simone shook her head.

“What do you mean? Isn’t that the point of all you’ve just told us, that everything about the mystery of Rennes le Château is a lie?” I asked.

“Well, no,” Simone replied. “What I’ve told you is that nothing about this place has ever been proven. That without the Priory of Sion there is no mystery. But this does not mean they were not here. That’s another story.” Simone sat back in her chair, staring straight at us, awaiting our reactions.

Julie reached across the table and touched her hand. “Please, tell us,” she asked.

Simone glanced around the restaurant to make sure that we were still alone. “If you really want to know the truth about Jesus and Mary Magdalene, you must go to Le Carol,” she said in a whisper.

“What’s that?” Julie inquired. “I’d read a lot about Rennes le Château but never heard of Le Carol before.”

“Only a few people know about Le Carol. It’s an abandoned church, or should I say a grotto, up in the Pyrenees.

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