As we all know, one thing that Bessler's codes has thrown up is the frequent appearance of 5, 55 and 555. I have suggested that it either points to chapter 55 of Johann Bessler's Apologia Poetica - and/or it is a hint that five mechanisms are needed in each direction for the bi-directional wheel. But nothing is certain and I would not wish to become so dogmatic that I miss an alternative meaning.
I would be the first to admit that the evidence that there were five mechanisms is non-existent, and if I'm wrong, then one must assume that the large number of coded number 5s only points to Chapter 55 in Apologia. If it is connected with the presence of a coded message hidden in chapter 55 of Apologia Poetica, the evidence for which is undeniable, why did he choose the number 55? Was it chance? I think the presence of hidden pentagrams, hinting at the same number in all the drawings in other books rules out chance. He left so many other pointers to that Chapter, within the Apologia, not forgetting the strange list of 141 bible references, that the pentagrams seem to be superfluous.
In support of the idea that the chapter number 55 was not the only reason for the presence of the pentagrams, remember that none of the drawings containing the pentagrams appear in Apologia Poetica but rather, in the later publication Das Triumphirende, which came out four years later in a much more professional publication. if they were pointing to the chapter 55 in Apologia Poetica one would think there would have been included, some kind of link to that former publication, or did he think people would remember the earlier one and make the connection themselves? Very doubtful, and probably most people would not have even heard of the Apologia, since Bessler had only just started on his journey when it was published.
So the choice to use chapter 55 was deliberate, not chance; the pentagrams while pointing to the chapter 55 are not necessarily exclusively for that purpose, and the need for five mechanisms is not proven. We are left with the mystery of why 55 and what does it mean?
I did a little surfing on the matter. A random query into google led me to the Washington Monument and its extraordinary measurements. Now there are a considerable amount of spurious facts attached to this structure and it is hard to distil the truth from them but this is what I believe is correct.
Several heights have been specified, in the past, but the consensus seems to be 555 and half feet and one eighth of an inch. Let us suppose that the intended height of the Washington monument was meant to be 555.5 feet above ground - that is equal to exactly 6666 inches. A nice round figure and far more likely to be the right number than some figure plus an 1/8 th of an inch as is suggested. Mind you, there are reports that the aluminium capstone on top of the pillar has been struck so many times by lightning that it has lost just under half an inch in height which, if we include the important eighth of an inch, would give a height of 555.55 feet! And that would give us 6666.6 inches!
At ground level the sides are 55.5 feet (666 inches) long. Ok so there appears to be an obsession with the number 5 (or its inch equivalent, 6) - but why? I'm well aware of the 5's ubiquitous associations with alchemy, hermeticism, the Kabbala and freemasonry, and in particular the frequent association of the Washington Monument with the Freemasons....but not why that particular number! Yes there are numerous references to the number in freemasonry etc, but no one has come up with any good reason as far as I can tell why the number 5 is so important to them. The pentagram is the most obvious geometric figure associated with the number five and that seems to have been in Bessler's mind too. It has links with the planet Venus because the path is (very) roughly pentagonal...so what? The skull, book and jar in Bessler's portrait also have links to Venus in symbolic art....and to Mary Magdalen...and she too has links to Venus! We're going around in circles here (sorry!) and perhaps that was intentional. But why five? What was it that Bessler was hinting at? If we really knew why the freemasons were so captivated by the number 5, 55 or 555 etc, maybe we could get a glimpse of what Bessler was trying to tell us.
These different features of Bessler's books - the skull, jar and book, the hidden pentagrams, the various encoded 5s - all seem to point towards some kind of arcane belief system, but what it is, I don't know.
I have searched and searched for years and there is nothing of practical use for our purposes to be found in the inclusion of the the number 5, so the 5s are hinting at something else. But what?
If anyone has any ideas about why Bessler included the number 5s I'd be pleased to know. I understand, technoguy, your conviction that the design incorporates a pentagram within it - and you may be right, but I don't rule out anything else.
JC
