Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 5, 2019 16:03:06 GMT -5
Pagan (or Satanic) Objects and Altar Found in Scotland’s Holyrood Park
In a secluded area of The Queen’s Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, Scotland, archaeologists have unearthed two mysterious objects, including a metal plaque depicting an upside-down pentagram with a horned beast in the center – possibly the demonic entity Baphomet – and an altar with undisclosed “display objects” around the plinth. While some news outlets are calling the objects pagan, others are associating them with Satanism and devil-worship.
The Scotsman announced the objects were found on Whinny Hill above St. Margaret’s Loch in Holyrood Park. The royal park, also known as The Queen’s Park, is a part of Holyrood Palace, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. Holyrood Park was established in 1128 AD by King David I of Scotland as the royal hunting grounds for Holyrood Abbey. Holyrood Palace, also know as the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse (below), began as a lodging within the Abbey, but was eventually expanded into a substantial castle, which served as the principal residence of the kings and queens of Scots since the 16th century.
Mysterious Find in Queen’s Park. The Edinburgh Evening News reports the metal plaque and altar were found embedded in the ground within a section of turf cut into a triangular shape. A concrete altar was discovered buried beneath the topsoil and apparently surrounded by “display objects,” though what these objects are have not been specified. A number of rune stones were found embedded in the concrete triangle around the metal plaque, along with the depiction of a number of different figures.
The objects were found in May of last year and Historic Environment Scotland, which manages the park, brought in archaeologists to investigate the site. However, the objects had been removed “by persons unknown” at some point before the site was investigated in April, “leaving just the concrete plinth and holes in the turf behind.” It appears no one knows what happened to the “Satanic” objects, nor what the archaeologists concluded from their investigations.
Pagan or Satanic. The Scotsman sought the opinion of the president of the UK Pagan Council, Mark Black, who has described the objects as “pagan,” primarily because of the pentagram – a five-pointed star – which has long been associated with paganism.
The pentagram is an old symbol found in ancient Greece and Babylonia, with the most oldest representation discovered at Ur, a powerful city in Mesopotamia dating back around 5,500 years. However, its use was particularly strong among the Celtic Pagans and Druids, who saw the five points as representing the five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Wate, and Spirit, each bound within the circle of life, death and rebirth.
It is possible the central figure in the object found in Holywood is Cernunnos, the “horned god” of Celtic polytheism. Cernunnos was a Celtic god of fertility, life, animals, wealth and the underworld, and his horns were sometimes depicted as antlers.
However, there are three main factors suggesting the metal pentagram plaque isn’t pagan. The first is that pagan objects are usually made of natural materials and it aren’t likely to have been embedded in concrete. The second is that all evidence suggests the plaque and altar are of recent origin. They were discovered very close to the surface, in top soil, and the plaque, in particular, appears to be of relatively modern creation. Additionally, the orientation of the star is important. When the pentagram is positioned with the single point upwards, it represents the spirit presiding over the four elements of matter. However, when the pentagram is reversed with the two points projecting upwards, like the one found in The Queen’s Holyrood Park, it becomes a symbol of evil, representing the triumph of matter over spirit. The two points of an inverted pentagram also represent horns, like those of the Baphomet.
According to the 19th-century French occultist, Eliphas Levi, the pentacle had dark symbolism when inverted: “A reversed pentagram, with two points projecting upwards, is a symbol of evil and attracts sinister forces because it overturns the proper order of things and demonstrates the triumph of matter over spirit,” he wrote. “It is the goat of lust attacking the heavens with its horns, a sign execrated by initiates.”
Satanists today use an inverted pentagram inside a circle as their symbol, with the head of Baphomet in the center symbolizing personal power, sexuality and pursuit of one’s own will.
The Satanic Baphomet. The metal plaque found in Holyrood Park (above) depicts an upside-down pentagram within a circle, like that adopted by The Church of Satan. Inside the pentagram is a horned beast – Baphomet – which has been used symbolically by occult groups since the 19th century. Famous occultist Aleister Crowley connected Baphomet, the goat-headed idol, with Satan, and linked this icon to the idea of suppressed knowledge and secret worship.
On April 30, 1966, Satanism became a serious religious movement when The Church of Satan was founded by Anton LaVey. The logo adopted by the organization is known as the Sigil of Baphomet, which depicts a goat’s head inside an inverted pentagram within a circle – the same as the plaque found in Holyrood Park. It has become a common sign used by Satanists around the world.
It is unclear how symbols of Satanic worship ended up in Holyrood Park, but it seems The Queen has some cleaning up to do!
Source: John Black, Ancient Origins, June 20, 2019.
