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1. THE RIPLEY SCROLL
The Ripley Scroll or “Ripley Scrowle” is one
of the most important works (books) of Sir George Ripley an influential
and renowned English alchemist of the 15th century. The life of Ripley
is as mysterious as his legacy of mystical alchemical writings and
illustrations but it is alleged that he studied in Rome and may have
been an agent of the Papacy during this time with connections to The
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem otherwise known as the Knights
Hospitaller. During his latter life he returned to England where he
produced most of his recognised works on alchemy. It is interesting to
note that a Papal Decree of 1317 had forbidden the study into and
publishing of alchemical texts and particularly forbade “clerics” from
pursuing this subject and yet a little over a hundred years later
Ripley, a clear favourite of Pope Innocent VIII seems to have dedicated
his life to the pursuit of this science. The Ripley Scroll has been
interpreted in many ways but still remains a mystery. Most scholars
believe that the Ripley Scroll is the “recipe” for immortality but there
are those that believe researchers have missed some crucial evidence.
This mystery needs to be examined in much more depth in another section
of this website. Perhaps Ripley may have known much much more than seems
obvious.
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FROM THE "SCROWLE" OF SIR GEORGE RIPLEY
A section of the original Ripley Scroll
that refers to the "Serpent of Arabia'. The traditional assumption is
that this is code for "Aqua Fortis" or nitric acid but there may be
another meaning! Very recent advances in modern medicine have begun to
reveal that the alchemists, and Ripley in particular, may have known
something as yet unexplored.
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THE BOOK OF NOSTRADAMUS PROPHECIES
Nonsense or Divine Insight?
The frightening part is that many of
Nostradamus' prophecies do seem to make sense and can be linked to
events that have happened or look likely to happen. Is this a case of
making vague nonsense fit the facts or proof of a divine plan with
unrevealed power – you decide?
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2. THE PROPHECIES NOSTRADAMUS
The
prophecies of M. Michel de Nostradame (Nostradamus) have been
repeatedly published over the centuries from the time when they were
first made public in 1555AD. In brief, they are a collection weird
verses called quatrains that apparently predict events that will occur
in the future. (With a start date of 1556). Nostradamus never claimed to
have personally experience visions or prophetic inspiration and openly
attributed much of his work to earlier sources – a practice that was
typical of the time. Ancient wisdom was already much more respected than
modern discovery ... a practice that still continues 500 years
later. The final edition of his works was published in 1568 and
comprised of 942 quatrains divided into ten Centuries. It is worth
noting that the last Century only has 42 verses indicating that
Nostradamus planned more prophecies in the future. In addition, there is
only one quatrain that does not rhyme and some scholars believe that
this was deliberate and is a “key” to unlocking the others – others
still believe that this is the prophecy for the last engagement or the
final battle between good and evil. Hundreds of people and tens of
thousands of words have tried to explain the mysterious writings of
Michel Nostradamus but the truth is we are no closer to understanding
today than they were in 1555.
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3. THE CODEX SERAPHINIANUS
Written between 1976
and 1978 by Luigi Serafini it is best described as the natural history
book of a parallel Earth where life is similar but at the same time mind
twisting and strange in its alien representation. Approximately 360
pages in length, it is almost entirely written in code or cipher
text. Although the author is still alive in 2009 he has steadfastly
refused to comment whether the language is real or simply an assembly of
symbols collated to produce the illusion of meaning. The book is
broadly separated into 11 sections that include; Flora and Biology,
Fauna and Animals, Bipedal Creatures, Physics and Chemistry, Machines,
Biology and Sexuality, Historical and religious, The Language, Social
Practices, Entertainment, and finally, Architecture. There is no doubt
that the book is a masterpiece of the imagination that challenges the
natural instincts of human perception. The images are vibrant in colour
and while clearly impossible in many cases are also strangely
believable. The writing is based on the Western style with the words
organised from left to right with a clear repetition symbols and a sense
of grammar that is consistent with a written language. It has yet to be
deciphered although there have been claims the pagination system has
been "broken" by Bulgarian linguist Ivan Derzhanski. It is also now
quite rare and if you can get an original edition it can cost well over
$500. Whether it was intended merely as an weird experiment in art or is
a complex code that will one day be deciphered remains to be seen.
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THE CODEX SERAPHINIANUS
Our resident linguist was amused to dissemble the title and play with the words.
“Codex Seraph In I Anus”. For example: Codex can mean Book or Collection
of Writings. A Seraph is also a Seraphim or Angel. The word Angel
originally meant Messenger or Message. The word In can also mean From.
The word I can also refer to My. And Anus is another word for Rectum. So
the title could be constructed to read “A collection of wisdom that is a
message from my rectum. In the colloquial” “I’m talking out of my Ass.”
It’s probably just a coincidence but still a brilliant joke if true.
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PRODIGIORUM AC OSTENTORUMS CHRONICON
(or)
THE BOOK OF PORTENTS AND OMENS
Perhaps a time will come when people living
far in the future will look at the works of the 21st century and laugh
at our own inaccuracies.
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4. PRODIGIORUM AC OSTENTORUM
The
Greco Romano world (500bc – 400ad) had long known that beyond the
borders of their respective empires there were vast unexplored lands
teeming with weird and mysterious animals as well as strange
people. Leopards, cheetahs and other beasts were even brought back to
Rome and displayed to the awed citizens. A thousand years would pass
before Konrad Lykosthenes assembled his Prodigiorum as Ostentorum
Chronicon and published it in Basel in 1557 which described various
beasts and creatures as reported by travellers to distant lands. The
real mystery of this manuscript is not the strange and mythical
creatures depicted but the accuracy of the descriptions and images of
those that are known to be real. Page 17 clearly depicts a Canadian
moose even though the famous mariner and explorer, John Cabot, had only
recently, in 1497, rediscovered the region. (The woodcut is remarkably
accurate.) Page 18 has accurate representations of both an Indian
rhinoceros and elephant. Page 19 reveals a Camel and, more surprisingly,
a good representation of a Chacma Baboon (Papio Ursinus). On leaf 24 is
a collection of sea monsters and at least three of the creatures can be
identified as a giant lobster, a narwhale and an oarfish. Leaf 27 has a
good representation of a crocodile and 29 clearly shows a Pelican.
However, some of the other images are of creatures unknown to modern
science. While there is the temptation to dismiss these as the fantasies
of travellers their does remain the possibility that they did once
exist and are now extinct. Perhaps the most intriguing image in the book
is the picture on page 31 which is clearly a representation of the now
extinct Mauritian Dodo (bird). However, the first recorded Journey to
Mauritius took place in 1598AD - 40 years after Lykosthenes book was
published.
Currently in the library of St John’s College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
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5. EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD
Although this is now
considered just a part of weird ancient history, the Egyptian Book of
the Dead was once considered to be the most powerful collection of
spells and paranormal power to have ever been known to mankind. The
correct name for this collection of writings and incantations is “The
Spells of Going Forth by Day”. In essence, it was a collection of songs,
spells and guides that was placed together with a deceased person to
help them pass through the veils of death to the place of immortality.
The most well known of these funerary scrolls is the Papyrus of Ani, a
document prepared in the 19th dynasty of ancient Egypt during the period
of the New kingdom circa 1240bc. Critical to the efficacy of the scroll
was the accurate depiction of the powerful magical images or drawings
which were often of a high quality. The writing itself was often less
than perfect. This is not surprising as most Egyptians, even many of the
higher classes, could not read but could appreciate the significance of
an illustration. At its most basic, the scroll should be considered a
handbook to survival in the afterlife not a magical or religious object
in itself. The deceased was expected to use it rather than just benefit
from its ethereal power. The most important image that had to be
included was known as “The Weighing of the Heart”. The dead person would
have his heart weighed by Anubis and if it was found to be lighter than
a feather they would be allowed to proceed to the next place of
existence. In general, there were four main variations of the scroll.
This is a very short synopsis of a very complicated concept.
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FROM THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD
The Papyrus of Ani depicting the Weighing of the Heart
What makes "The Scroll of the Dead" so weird and strange?
As far as we know, all religious texts
throughout all time have dealt with how you should live your life while
you are alive in order to be worthy to reach a pleasant afterlife.
The "Scroll of The Dead" is the only
document that provides practical advice and support about what to do
when you reach the other side. Now that should make you pause and think.
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“We write to remember, to be remembered and to be right.”
Paul St. Claire (1964)
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