That ubiquitous number five again, the Freemasons, Alchemy and Hermeticism!

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

The Orffyreus Code - were others aware of it in the 18th Century?

I passed on my copy of Bessler's 'Das Triumphirende' to a fellow Bessler admirer, David, with some regret, but pleased that he also has an interest in this particular copy. Inside the frontispiece is a label which reveals that the book came from the library of Emmy Destinn, a world famous Czech opera singer (1878 - 1930). Destinn's close links with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London are shared by David, a fine violinist with the same company.

Destinn's talents were many and varied - and not only musical. She also wrote plays, novels, short stories, librettos, and poetry; painted on canvas and porcelain; and translated and composed songs. She wrote her first play at the age of 16, and by 18 had followed that with three more. She spoke five languages fluently and wrote her literary work in Czech and German. But David had the same questions as I had - how did she come to own this particular book?

It seems that at the peak of her career she bought the beautiful castle at Stráž nad Nežárkou in Southern Bohemia. Since she moved in, in 1914, Destinn furnished the castle with a great collection of art, antiques and books on all subjects, bought while touring the world. One might be tempted to think that she acquired a copy of Das Tri during her travels, but in my opinion it is more likely to have been collected by the previous owner, Baron Adolf Franz Leonhardi, a man with a keen interest in the occult who held a number of seances at the castle. He accumulated a huge library of esoteric books, many on the subject of hermeticism and alchemy as well as freemasonry.

If the book was acquired by Leonhardi then it may be that he was aware of certain traditions attached to Bessler's books. I have never accepted that I was the first and only person to discover the existence of the pentagrams and hence the other coded items included in the books. If others were aware of secrets within the books and made their own interpretations of the mysterious features of the double portraits, for instance, then they may have recorded their findings somewhere or corresponded with others to share their knowledge. In some archive, museum or private collection there may well be a record of these findings.

It's fun to speculate but I don't want to start down the slippery slope of conjecture - and without evidence there is nothing to base an opinion on. I merely pass on my thoughts for entertainment purposes!

JC

Unable open or edit blog in Internet Explorer thank google - for nothing!

I am unable to read comments in Internet Explorer (IE) because google chrome have made alterations to the blog.  I can still read them through firefox and, of course, chrome - but I don't like chrome because I can't have my norton identity-safe toobar.  I'm not used to firefox although I could do I suppose.

I have opened up another blog at  http://besslerswheel.wordpress.com/ but I'm not sure whether to abandon this one or stay.  I can of course use chrome but I object to the way they've done this, and I am not alone.

Can people still comment here?  Try and let me know, should I stay or should I go?

JC

Remote Viewing, Psychometry and the 'sixth sense', as a way to get more information?

I have always tried to maintain an open mind to everything and yet I remain deeply sceptical of the possibility that one can retrieve information from a previous time by remote viewing (Rv). But there are certain aspects to an episode of Rv which was carried out on my behalf in 2008, which have left my wall of disbelief slightly dented. I can however provide a possible explanation for the particular report which does at least allow the retrieval of information by some as yet unknown mechanism, in real time - the notorious sixth sense?

Six remote viewers were set the task of attempting to 'see' what Bessler was doing on 6th June 1712. All they were required to do was try to retrieve something, anything, relating to Bessler, Gera, etc, but they were not actually given anything other than an eight-numbered file reference - no names, no dates,no places and no object information - no information at all. This was a highly professional set-up which it was hoped might offer some convincing evidence of its usefulness, so the strictest protocols were applied to the process.

The six reports which I read were disappointing to say the least. I saw nothing in them to grab hold of and I regretfully filed them and forgot about them. Recent discussions on the subject prompted me to read them again and I was astonished to discover one report which I had somehow overlooked. I was looking at this particular one and noticed for the first time that a simple drawing of a house looked a bit like one of my photos of Bessler's windmill. Adjacent to the drawing was a handwritten comment which said "somewhat ornate structure? Top is wrong!" My first thought was that Bessler never finished his windmill, but it was finished later as a simple building without the windmill superstructure. Perhaps the remote viewer had sensed the top was unfinished or altered. But the most extraordinary thing about the report was the prostrate figure lying on the ground at the foot of the house, with the words next to it, " trip - fall" and nearbye the word,"surprise!"

Could the R-viewer really have 'seen' Bessler's fall to his death?

Elsewhere there are several references to the letter "W" and words such as "w unbuckled" which could be interpreted as the letter 'w' split into two 'v's.  This, as many, who are aware of my work on the 'Orffyreus Code' know, is one of the most ubiquitous examples of his code.

The problem I have with this is that one cannot really go back in time, in my opinion, but one might be able to retrieve information from someone such as myself in real time. If the latter proposition is possible then we shall find nothing other than that which is in my head or someone else's. This is not to say that it is not an amazing feat and certainly it would prove useful for finding missing persons for instance, but it is doubtful that it will prove of any use to we who seek further information about Bessler.

There is one even remoter possibility that has been suggested to me in the past. Psychometry is the ability or art of divining information about people or events associated with an object solely by touching or being near to it. Wikipedia says that it is a form of extra-sensory perception characterized by the claimed ability to make relevant associations from an object of unknown history by making physical contact with that object. Supporters assert that an object may have an energy field that transfers knowledge regarding that object's history.

It was suggested that my copy of Das Tri might prove a suitable subject for this process, so I sought help in finding a recognised practitioner - I failed to find one who was prepared to do it for nothing other than one elderly gentlemean who unfortunately lived too far away for an appointment to be possible. I have since then passed my copy onto another more careful owner so I can no longer attempt to obtain information this way, but it still seems that if information can adhere to an object and that information be retrieved at a later date then all is not necessarily lost.

I have no opinion about the validity or otherwise of this subject but I can point to a fascinating study carried out in 2007 which appears to support the theory that objects can retain some kind of information which can be read by those with that particular ability. http://psychometry.psican.org/news.html does seem to give a balanced report on a unique experiment which supports the possibility. Given the probability that the mechanism involved in remote viewing and psychometry are probably closely related, I would imagine that the right person might be able to 'read' the information available in my old copy of "Das Tri"- and my other books - without actally being in its presence!

JC

An uncovered working wheel is easier to build.

When Johann Bessler exhibited his wheels, they were of a certain depth or thickness, being covered on both sides of the wheel. I assume that the cross-bars or pivots upon which the levers or weights turned, ran across the internal depth of the wheel and each end was fixed to a piece of timber on each side of the wheel. Witnesses report that the sides of the wheel were covered with oil cloth and others that there were gaps in some thin timber planks that covered it. This suggests that the wheels were built in a skeletal framework with easy access from both sides as well as the circumferential edge, then the interior was hidden by the oil cloth or the thin wood deals - not as in my prototypes which consist of a single wood disc mounted on a removable axle.

Its hard to explain without a drawing but its a simple to understand; I call Bessler's wheel a three dimensional build having depth as well as height and width. For simplicity, my prototypes are built in a two dimensional way having height and width but not really any depth. By that I mean that the same cross-bars or pivots I referred to above are only attached on one end, in my case, to a single side disc, or back-plate, thus dispensing with the need for any kind of structure on each side of the wheel and allowing easy access and adjustment.

From Bessler's perspective his wheel had to built as a framework of pieces of timber rather than two discs because of the increased complexity of fitting the cross-bars and any associated mechanisms, in-between two discs, but I'm sure his experimental models were built in a similar way to mine because at first he only needed to make a proof of principle wheel for his own satisfaction,  and then build something that would keep the internal mechanisms safe from prying eyes.

I had thought that if I was to succeed in making a working version I would need to either rebuild it with two solid discs, one for each side, to mount the mechanisms on, or try to attach to the open, uncovered side, some kind of covering to hide the internal workings. However when I decided that I wasn't going to keep the workings secret it was obvious that I could just go with the first working prototype. But now I'm aware of what a mess the basic disc I use to mount everything on is! Its got more holes in it than a hunk of Swiss cheese! The metal levers are similarly riddled with holes of assorted dimensions. What to do! In the end not much. I might apply a little paint to the disc to make the mechanisms show up against the background of the disc..... but I'm getting ahead of myself - first I have to build that working model!

JC

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

I wish everyone a prosperous and successful 2012, but above all a HAPPY one.!

157 days to go to the 300th anniverary of Bessler's first wheel. Professor Hal Puthoff wrote in an email to me yesterday to say that he was "still standing ready to provide opportunity for globalizing a useful technology. May 2012 be the year!"

When I replied, I mentioned the 300th anniversary coming up and he said, "what a wonderful way to celebrate the 300th anniversary - to announce it had finally been replicated! I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed!"

I believe circumstances are driving us towards this anniversary and a successful replication of Bessler's wheel.  Pollution from fossil fuels, increasing cost of recovering dwindling oil resevoirs, the lack of good alternative energy solutions - and the knowledge that the real solution lies almost with our grasp!

I believe it will happen in 2012 and I hope it will be me, but if anyone else does it I shall still be as happy as a dog with two tails!

JC

Holiday Greetings!

To my small but loyal band of readers and to the much larger number of anons who, according to my blog statistics, drop in, in their hundreds each week, to test the water ....

Have a great holiday and please accept my best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.

As technoguy said in a comment,

 I have a feeling of impending revelation growing stronger within me!

Thanks for that thought, technoguy, I share your anticipation, although I take the meaning of the word 'revelation' as ...the act of revealing or disclosing the internal workings of my finished Bessler's wheel to the whole world!

JC

6th June 2012 - end of the great cycle - beginning of a continuous cycle!

John Worton's comment about Venus transiting the Sun on 6th JUne 2012 got me thinking about the date some more and I googled it.

It seems that there will indeed be a transit of Venus across the Sun on that day, a wednesday. This is when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth. During a transit, Venus can be seen from Earth as a small black disk moving across the face of the Sun. The duration of such transits is usually measured in hours, the most recent one, in 2004,lasted six hours. Six previous such events have occurred since the invention of the telescope (1631, 1639, 1761, 1769, 1874 and 1882).

But there are people who view such events with alarm or excitement, I'm not sure which. There is one group which is gathering people together at well-known sacred sites around the world to celebrate this event. I note Glastonbury is one; another is Belukha Mountain? I'd never heard of it but apparently it is in the Katun Mountains, and is the highest peak of the Altay Mountains in Russia. It is part of the World Heritage Site entitled Golden Mountains of Altai.

Belukha is a twin-peaked mountain massif that rises along the border of Russia and Kazakhstan, just north of the point where these two borders meet those of China and Mongolia. There are several small glaciers on the mountain. Of the two peaks, the eastern peak (4,506 m, 14,784 ft.) is higher than the western peak (4,440 m, 14,567 ft.). I cannot imagine how or why hoards of people plan to gather there! I don't know which peak they plan to meet on but they'll need oxygen and some mighty warm clothing!

According to their blurb, 'in many cultures this Venus Transit is considered a very special occasion. In one of the early Mayan books, the Dresden Codex, the beginning of the Great Cycle in August, 3114 BC is referred to as the "Birth of Venus". The Year 2012 is the end of this Great Cycle. Many American Indians from North and South America call 2012 the Year Zero. The Hopi Indians refer to this time of the coming of the Fifth World, and many prophecies have heralded this time of transition. Also in the ancient Vedic and Egyptian trandition Venus has a major role in the historical events on planet Earth. It's not surprising then that the second Venus transit of this decade falls in June, 2012, just six months from the end of the Mayan calendar in December 2012.'

Apparently....on June 6th 2012; the Sun, Moon, Venus and Earth will stand in one line in the Universe. All prophecies are referring to this specific moment in time. Many people all over the world are aware of that and will decide to go to sacred places to connect with each other, in order to transform the world to a higher level of existence...and many Evangelicals across America are convinced the 'rapture' is coming and the date is June 6th 2012.They say that many were against naming an exact day for fear of looking foolish if nothing happens but Wednesday, 6th June 2012 is becoming the day nominated for cataclysmic events across the globe during which the 40 odd million "saved" in America will literally "rapture " into heaven... leaving the rest of us to burn in hell ... !

I'm more than a little sceptical about all this ancient history prediction stuff but it certainly looks like an extremely apposite time for the second coming of Bessler's wheel! Let's do it!

JC

6th June 1712 to 6th June 2012 300 years or 109,573 days.

Someone has pointed out that the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in Germany in or around Bessler's time and can we accept the date of the 6th June as applicable today?

As we know, the 6th June 2012, will be the 300th anniversary of Bessler's first exhibition of his so-called Perpetual motion machine in Gera, Germany. Some of Bessler's accounts seem to suggest that he first set the wheel in motion on the 6th June 1712,as in his Apologia Poetica, "For, in 1712, during his stay at Gera in the Voigtland, he hit upon the genuine Prepondium, and so it was that on 6th June of that year he set in motion the first model of his Perpetual or self-moving Mobile, three and a half Leipzig Ell in diameter and four inches in thickness, for the very first time."

Whether that was the date of his first exhibition or the day he actually discovered the secret and set the wheel in motion for the first time doesn't really matter as we only have the date of the 6th June 1712 available. What might be important in determining the correct date for our anniverary is to discover whether this date incorporates the so-called 'New Style' dating or the 'Old style' dating. In England, dates in the Julian calendar that occur before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1752 are termed Old Style. The initials 'O.S.' appearing after a date indicate it is in the Julian calendar. The initials 'N.S.' or the phrase 'Stylo novo', indicate the Gregorian calendar.

The Gregorian calendar,  is the internationally accepted civil calendar.It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582. Although it was slow to be taken up even by Catholic countries, it eventually spread across the world, the last European country to adopt it was Greece in 1923.

The motivation for the Gregorian reform was that the Julian calendar assumes that the time between vernal equinoxes is 365.25 days, when in fact it is presently almost exactly 11 minutes shorter.The error between these values accumulated at the rate of about three days every four centuries. This is the basis for the use of the leap year. Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100; the centurial years that are exactly divisible by 400 are still leap years. For example, the year 1900 was not a leap year; the year 2000 was a leap year.

Because of the Protestant Reformation, however, many Western European countries did not initially follow the Gregorian reform, and maintained their old-style systems. Eventually other countries followed the reform for the sake of consistency. So despite the prudence of Pope Gregory's correction, many Protestant countries, including England, ignored the papal bull. In the Protestant states of Germany it was officially adopted in 1700 and the day following 18 February 1700, became 1st March 1700. So despite the factthat Britain did not adopt the new calendar until 1752, it is clear that we can accept the date of 6th June as according with the new style calendar.

I note that there are 172 days left between today and the 6th June next year -  or 5 months and 20 days.

There have been since 6th June 1712, 299 years, 6 months, and 11 days - or 109,401 days.  (thanks to http://www.convertunits.com/dates/)

JC