Episode Eight OzOz Jesus said: The Kingdom of the Father is like a certain woman. She took a little leaven, [concealed] it in some dough, and made it into large loaves. Gospel of Thomas: 96 Determined to discover more concerning the relationship that had existed between Gilles and Joan, Olivia hit the books in search of any clue that might link the pair outside the battlefield; in short, she wanted to know if the 15th century comrades-in-arms had also been, for lack of a better term, soul-mates. "I'm gonna go this one alone, Kitty," Miss O divulged while she ran an online search for any unconventional information concerning Gilles de Rais. "Great, he had a swan on his shield," she sighed. "A black swan. Of course. What else? Uh-oh...what's this? A banned lecture by The Beast, Aleister Crowley? Oh gods, not him again...well, I better read what he wrote, just for the record." We know that he was a gentleman of good family, because otherwise he could not have held the offices which he did hold. We know that he was a brave soldier, and a comrade of Joan of Arc. We know that he had a passion for science, for the basis of his reputation was that he frequented the society of learned men. We know finally that he was accused of the same crimes as Joan of Arc by the same people who accused her, and that he was condemned by them to the same penalty. I do not think that I have left out any verifiable fact. I think that all the rest amounts to speculation. The real problem of Gilles de Rais amounts, accordingly, to this. Here we have a person who, in almost every respect, was the male equivalent of Joan of Arc. "What? Crowley wrote that? Why, his view is positively what I believe to be the case! And this lecture was banned...hmm. How interesting. Seems no one wanted Aleister to talk about this subject, did they? Maybe he wasn't so bad after all...some of the time," the Cybersybil chuckled to herself before turning her attention to grimoires of yore - books that purported to contain the secrets of all things infernal - books that a Gilles de Rais should have known something about. "Ooh, this one is very naughty, Kitty. It's called The Red Dragon and The Black Hen. Yeah, right. Must be code back in 1521 for something else. Let's dig." But what O found made even her well-trained eyes bulge a tad. "Whoa...look at this! In Frenchie, Black Hen could be translated as Poulet Noir or, according to this travel guide: Roasted 'poulet noir' is the famous black chicken of Challans. Close to the town centre is a castle once owned by the infamous child-murderer Gilles de Rais. So if the Black Chick is really Gilles, then the Dragon Rouge could be Joan. What does Jung say about red?" The 'Tractatus aureus de lapide' says of the arcane substance: 'That noble whore Venus is clothed and enveloped in abounding color.' This color 'has a reddish appearance.' [Basilius Valentinus] The nobility of this Venus derives from the fact that she is also the queen, the 'chaste bride' of the king. In his 'Practica de lapide' Basilius Valentinus says: 'This tincture is the rose of our Masters, of Tyrian hue, called also the red blood of the dragon, described by many, and the purple cloak...with which the queen is covered.' "Holy merde! Joan is the Queen, and Gilles is the King, insofar as alchemy is concerned. So this heretical book of 'black magic' could really be a little manual about divine union or a chemical wedding planner, now couldn't it? Let me look at it again, because it's too obvious to just say they were getting it on...what did those two know, or better still...who else did they know who knew...follow Kitty? Because this is all about a big old secret and we have to find it," and Olivia began to leaf through the pages, sitting up straight and gasping as a particular sigil came into view.    Text Copyright ) 1999 - ad infinitum cybersybils.com Bovican Books All rights reserved.