*An interview with author Patrice Chaplin http://bit.ly/2D9bV

[Xochi (sōchē) Adamé]

http://bit.ly/2D9bV

An interview with author Patrice Chaplin
by Ani Williams on November 24, 2008

Additional commentary © December 2008
by Ani Williams

“…the Grail is a living force, it will never die; it may indeed sink out of sight, and for centuries even, disappear…but
it will rise to the surface again and become once more a theme of vital
importance…”

‘From Ritual to Romance’ by Jesse Weston.
Background
on Author and Mystic Patrice Chaplin

Patrice Chaplin is an internationally renowned playwright and author who has published more than 25 books, plays and short stories. Her most notable work includes
Albany Park, Siesta, which was made into a film staring Jodi
Foster and Isabella Rossellini, Into the Darkness Laughing, Hidden
Star, Night Fishing, and Death
Trap.

As a Bohemian in Paris during the 50’s and 60’s, she spent time with Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. She was married to Charlie Chaplin’s
son Michael and during her avant garde journeys through occult circles,
her friends included Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau (The last listed Grand
Master or helmsman of the Priory of Sion, the secret society mentioned
in Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code), Lauren Bacall, Miles Davis, author
Umberto Eco and experts on the esoteric practices of the Cabbala in Spain.
City of Secrets is the extraordinary true story of one woman’s
journey to the heart of the Grail legend.

Patrice Chaplin’s book City of Secrets, she traces her
journey through the foothills of the Pyrenees, the land where the wanderings
of the Grail and its Troubadours of the heart have left their indelible
imprint.
In the 1950’s Patrice, then just a teenager, left England to study
languages and taste the life of a true bohemian in France and Spain. She
stumbled upon an ancient mystery in Girona, Spain, a town steeped in medieval
grail secrets, Caballistic documents and a mysterious history. According
to Chaplin, Girona was host to numerous famous European actors, mystics,
priests, alchemists, and artists mentioned earlier and including the 19th
century mysterious priest Berenger Sauniere. This priest and his little
church dedicated to Mary Magdalene in Rennes le Chateau, France became
famous in the many books written in the last century on the grail legends
and the heretical Bloodline stories as posed in Holy Blood Holy Grail
and The Da Vinci Code.

Patrice was enchanted by the magnetism and power that exudes from the region surrounding the Pyrenees’ Mount Canigou. Over her many subsequent journeys to Girona, Patrice was
told of numerous appearances there of a Lady of Light with a cup, thought
to be Mary Magdalene. She was pulled into a strange series of experiences
regarding ancient Cabbalistic grail traditions by her associations with
her Spanish lover, a member of a local secret mystical sect.

It may be helpful to the reader to know some basic history of the region
covered in Chaplin’s book. During the 1st century C.E., surviving
Jews had to flee the devastating Roman persecution in Palestine and some
founded centers of learning and mystery schools in Alexandria and in the
lands far to the West on the Mediterranean coast in France and Spain.

Chaplin states in City of
Secrets that the two Magdalene towers created a magnetic path that
was connected to Egypt, thus energizing the land so that access to other
dimensions was possible. She says that Torre Magdala in Girona was built
in 1851, perhaps to coincide with the date of Bernadette Subiros’
vision of Our Lady at Lourdes just across the Pyrenees. This Magdalene
tower also marked the site of an appearance of the Lady of the Cup in
Girona. One of the major pilgrimage paths to Santiago de Compostela, Le
Chemin de Saint Jacques passed through Girona, and countless pilgrims
through the centuries would have stopped here. The Hebrew scholar Gershom
Sholom believes that the esoteric Hebrew text, the Zohar, or Book of Splendor,
was compiled by a Jewish scribe in Girona in the 12th century.
The other Tour Magdala, dated to 1901, was constructed by the enigmatic
priest Berenger Saunier in Rennes le Chateau. It is located next to the
famous Magdalene Church filled with coded grail imagery. Interestingly,
both the small village of Soubirous (French spelling of the name of Bernadette
Subiros, Our Lady of Lourdes visionary) and the Cave of Magdalene lie directly
to the Southwest of the French Tour Magdala. This southwest alignment appears
to be marked by an anomalous red tile in the floor of the Tour library.
Sauniere
built his home between the Tour and the Magdalene Chapel and called it
Villa Bethania. Bethany was the town in Galilee, home of Mary, her sister
Martha and brother Lazarus. Beth-El, Hebrew words meaning house of God,
is the name given by Jacob in Genesis 28 to the place where he had his
vision of the ladder reaching between heaven and earth.

In the Genesis story Jacob uses a stone for a pillow and falls into a deep sleep. He dreams of a ladder reaching into heaven, upon which angels are constantly ascending and descending. When he awakens, Jacob cries
“Terribilis est locus iste”, how awesome or terrible is this
place!

Over the entry porch of his Magdalene chapel, Sauniere inscribed the words ‘Terribilis est locus iste’. Why would the priest inscribe Jacob’s words
if not to say that Rennes le Chateau is a Gate of Heaven, a place where
the veil between heaven and earth is permeable.

In Jacob’s dream, he has seen the opening between dimensions, normally only accessible to angels and prophets. According to Christian mystics and Gnostics, this Gate is available to all serious initiates. This ladder
between the mundane and the heavenly realms is developed by practicing
the ancient work of inner alchemy. As in Egyptian, Taoist, Vedic, Buddhist
and Christian esoteric knowledge, one extends one’s sphere of possibilities
with conscious breath work, meditation and using sacred sounds to vibrate
and awaken the inner cauldrons of power, or energy centers.

The Djed Pillar or backbone of Osiris is a more ancient version of Jacob’s Ladder. Many of the Christian esoteric traditions are rooted in Sumerian
and Egyptian practices, which included the opening of the five senses
to awaken the sixth and beyond. Ritual anointing with aromas of a high
frequency, such as spikenard, frankincense, myrrh and cedar was practiced
by the Myrrhophores, priestesses of the temple such as Mary Magdalene,
Hathor and Isis. Sacred sounds, chants and incantations were used to open
doorways of perception and raise the djed, or kundalini.

In the Naassene Sermon, a text said to be based on a teaching given by Jesus at the Last Supper, this raising of the Shakti, or Kundalini is called reversing the flow. This process creates the upward-flowing river,
thus relieving the normal gravity and human focus on the mundane. Unlimited
worlds of potentiality open in the initiate who develops the inner balance
of connection between earth and sky. (For more reading on the Naassenes,
see the book ‘Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes, The Initiatory Teachings
of the Last Supper’ by Mark H. Gaffney.)

Sitting equidistant between these two Magdalene towers is the sacred Mount Canigou, dedicated to John the Baptist. This great mountain was an important ceremonial
center for the ancient Celts, the Mithraic Sun cults, early Christians
and medieval pilgrims. Canigou’s high iron content exudes a magnetic
pull to time’s eternal spiritual seekers, similar to Sedona, Mt.
Shasta, Devon, England, Rennes le Chateau, Teotihuacan and other places
with iron-rich red earth. My personal theory is that the iron in our blood
interacts and resonates with the iron in the earth. Many hidden mysteries
permeate the region between these two mysterious towers of Magdalene.

According to Chaplin,
ritual artifacts and secret documents had passed between Rennes le Chateau
and the Girona Jewish enter over the centuries. She also mentioned in
her book that Mary Magdalene had brought relics to this region after landing
on the coast of France. This area of Septimania also has numerous sites
dedicated to Isis from the era of Roman presence, circa 200 B.C.E to 400
C.E.

The following is a phone interview with Patrice Chaplin at her home in London on November 23, 2008:

Patrice, you were one of the first to write about these grail mysteries and Mary Magdalene, years before the recent popular books by Dan Brown and others.

Patrice: Yes, I guess I was.

A: I think it’s wonderful that as a young woman in the 1950’s, you were pioneering in this work
at a time when few others were delving into the grail story. In City
of Secrets you mentioned that in Girona, medieval Cabbalists were experimenting
with ritual journeys into other dimensions. You describe their preparation
for rituals, which included fasting, meditation, and of particular interest
to me, their use of breath and continuous chants to reach a hypnotic
state and open a portal… a Jacob’s ladder to other dimensions
of reality. Do you know of any sources for further information on how
these rituals were conducted?

P: You could look at Umberto Eco’s
books, because he witnessed some of these rituals in Girona. He wrote
a book called Foucault’s Pendulum and he got a lot of information
from Luiz at the Girona bookstore. Umberto certainly witnessed a ritual,
even though he will always deny he did. There’s also a Caballist
book called The Sworn Book; there are only a few copies of it in the
world. Umberto Eco said he had based his ritual on the information in
the Sworn Book. This book was in Girona, but the Caballists have it
now.

A: Is the Sworn Book from the medieval times?

P: Yes.

(Author’s note: The full title is The Sworn Book of Honorius of
Thebes, or Liber Juratus, (Book of the Laws). According to author Joseph
H. Peterson, “…..it is one of the oldest and most influential
texts of medieval magic.” The Sworn Book lists the 100 sacred
names of god and 42 angels, each representing a letter of an alchemical
alphabet. The sacred names and letters constitute the vibrational aspect
of Cabballistic initiation rites. Also listed are specific herbs and
aromas suggested for purifying the archetypes of the twelve zodiac signs.
Regarding the Girona—Cabbalah initiation rites and the use of
sound, the medieval Hebrew esoteric text called The Zohar (The Book
of Splendor, and possibly written in Girona) references numerous times
the use of chants and sacred music to precipitate the prophetic state.
The Zohar sites that musicians would play the harp, lute and cymbal
to prepare the prophet to open to the voice of heaven. One of the Hebrew
words meaning song, Shir (Shin-Yod-Resh), is very closely related to
the word Shur (Shin-Vav-Resh), meaning "to see. This is another
indication that song and mystical vision are related.)

A: What are the titles of your two upcoming books?

P: The second one is called Mr. Lazarus.
Lazarus is a nickname they gave to Sauniere. The other book is called
Make the Next Call to God, which is about the journey through the portal.
Both books are a continuation of all the material which keeps coming.
The second book has a lot about Salvador Dali. I spent time with Dali
at his home in Porlligat on the Mediterranean.

A: Oh I look forward to this book, I love Dali. I visited his museum in Figueras, Spain, and was fascinated by
an entire room dedicated to his study of alchemy. I remember a series
of drawings there that seem to depict the initiate’s journey up
Jacob’s ladder. In the 1980’s I was selling Dali’s
art and he would come to me in dreams and demonstrate his magical abilities
and rituals.

P: Dali was into all these transformation
mysteries and going into other dimensions. He did an amazing painting
of his going into another dimension at Perpignan train station…it’s
in the Figueras Museum.

A: I was interested in the Caballistic sound traditions mentioned in your City of Secrets book, as I have sung
and observed the transforming power of Hebrew, Aramaic and Egyptian
chants for many years.

P: A lot of the work I’m doing now
is on F# sustained, I’ve witnessed transformation with F# sustained.
Some of the physicists know about it. It’s the tone I’ve
been told about. It comes from one of the portals. It certainly transforms
blood and DNA. It’s like in Roslyn Chapel, with the musical instruments
on the ceiling. When they are played together, they form an F# tone.
And if you play an F# sustained on a drum with powder on it, it makes
the maze at Chartres Cathedral. F# does many things. The second book
Mr. Lazarus has a lot about that.
(Author’s note: Patrice refers above to the principle termed Cymatics,
in which grains of sand, powder or liquids form coherent patterns when
specific sounds are generated. Although I am not familiar with the research
in F# that Patrice refers to, in my work with sound, F# corresponds
with the Heart Chakra. Is it a coincidence that the bell in the Magdalene
Chapel in Rennes le Chateau rings in F# every day? Each frequency has
unique correlations and qualities and each individual responds differently
to specific sound frequencies, according to their needs. For more information
on specific tone correlations see www.aniwilliams.com)

A: The suggestion that you mention in City, that Mary Magdalene may have landed south of Narbonne at Leucate, do
you know of any documents that mention this?

P: It’s all heresay. I really don’t
know. The area has amazing waterways and it’s just parallel with
Rennes le Chateau. It’s a wonderful place. It’s worth looking
at. And that’s where Magdalene would have landed if it’s
true. We don’t really know if it’s true. I have no proof.
I get my information from things that come in the back door from the
Vatican or from things that people tell me in Girona and materials that
have been given to me that have been hidden away in people’s cupboards.
They will pull out a paper, and there will be Sauniere’s face
looking up at me.

(Most French legends speak of Mary Magdalene traveling in a rudder-less
boat without oars or sails, arriving at Saintes Maries de la Mer in
Provence, where the gypsies still celebrate in an annual festival in
late May. The stories tell of Magdalene arriving with her sister Martha,
brother Lazarus, Mary Jacobe, Mary Salome, perhaps Joseph of Arimathea,
and a young girl named Sarah. In several ancient traditions, the person
arriving in a rudder-less boat would have been the heir to the throne.
Many believe Sarah was the daughter of Jesus and Magdalene and would
have been the female heir to the Davidic royal line.)

A: You have been on quite a trek. Are you still going back to Girona?

P: Oh, very much so, but I don’t
do any searching anymore, although I have been offered things that are
interesting. Girona has many secrets.

A: I’ll have to explore more in that area. There are many mysteries and legends there. You mention in City
of Secrets that Isis worshippers brought a secret to Spain when they
came ashore at L’Escala 4000 years ago.

P: It was actually at L’Emporius
Brava, which is above L’Escala, which is the more well-known name.
The Phoenicians came there and the Greeks, and we know the Romans came
there. The Phoenicians came in their ships and went to Mount Canigou
to mine the salt.

A: In your book you mention the ancient ritual sun stones. I was shown one near St. Michel de Cuxa, at the foot
of Mount Canigou. There is also a mysterious large rectangular stone
with symbols at Rennes le Chateau. These could be the relics of ritual
traditions in the region more ancient than we know. We do know of Druid
and Mithraic sun worshipping groups that were active in the region of
the Pyrenees.
Regarding Magdalene and the appearances of the Lady of the Cup in Girona,
did you ever meet anyone who witnessed this vision?

P: Oh yes, many. Some experienced perfume,
others perceived her made of smoke or honey colored light and she gave
the feeling of great healing, unlike anything else. The people who witness
the vision are completely changed.

A: Many of the other appearances of Our Lady are experienced with sounds of bells, chimes and birdsong, such
as Maria Guadalupe in 1531 at Tepeyac, Mexico. In your book you mentioned
chimes and a gong being heard when she appeared.

P: Yes, that’s right. In another
appearance of the Lady of the Cup, she came to the well by the barraca
near the French Lady’s garden near the Torre Magdala. It’s
where Charlemagne stayed when he first came to Girona. He also had a
vision of Our Lady there. When she came they said at first that it was
a fallen angel and then it appeared clearly to be the Lady with the
Cup.

The effect of the Lady with the Cup is like a million gurus in one,
so that the divine nature of that apparition or presence, is such that
people feel that everything is alright and always will be. That is what
the people who were there have said. Her appearances have occurred repeatedly
there, but the church won’t accept it. They say that it’s
Jesus and they created a shrine to him where her mark was left at the
site. Those who witnessed the appearances were never allowed to say
much about it. The woman who voiced her experience of the vision of
The Lady was put into a mental home until she agreed to say that it
was really Jesus. All the witnesses there saw the Lady with the Cup
and they were familiar with it. They have images of her in the Catalan
art, even from medieval times…it was the lady with the cup.

A: Is there a message that you would like to leave the readers?

P: The important thing in the story is
that people work with the resonance, the energies to bring about good.
All of the other details are less important. One must be prepared, though
and sufficiently developed on the path of awakening. Also when working
with the strong energies at these sites one should use protection, spinning
golden light from the top of the head downward and around the soles
of the feet.

Patrice’s final recommendation is similar to what the medieval alchemists termed the Great Work, the true journey of transformation
and awakening. For two millennia the French and Spanish foothills of
the Pyrenees have been a place of refuge for displaced groups considered
heretics by the Roman church and kings who were threatened by the spiritual
power of these groups: Cathars, Basques, Jews, Merovingians, Gnostics,
healers and Knights Templar, all persecuted for their dedication to
a path less traveled. And yet these ancient keepers of the grail mysteries
chose the path of love and the original Christian creed — do unto
others as you would have done unto you. Do what you will but harm none.

Ani Williams is a harpist, singer and sound therapist residing in Sedona, Arizona.

More articles and information are available on the following links:
Mary Magdalene: Mistress of the Grail
mysteries,
Songaia Sound Medicine, and May and September,
2009 Grail Pilgrimages in Southern France.

Her May tour includes the annual Gypsy Festival of St. Sarah in Provence.

All photos copyright © Ani Williams unless otherwise noted. Torre Magdala, Girona from City of Secrets, used by permission of
Quest Publishing; Map of Rennes and Girona alignment with Mt. Canigou
by Corjan de Raaf, www.rlcresearch.com;
Map of Jewish Princedom from ‘Holy Blood Holy Grail’,
used by permission of author Henry Lincoln; Chalice of Love by Salvador
Dali; Caballah—SION image from City of Secrets, used by permission
of Quest Publishing.

Songaia Sound Productions
2675 W. Hwy 89A, Suite 1081,
Sedona, AZ 86336
928-204-1124

Copyright 2009 Ani Williams, All Rights Reserved

Web Design and Development by Wisdom and Wings, Avon, MN

According to the groundbreaking book ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ by Baigent, Lincoln and Leigh, there was a curious commingling of renegade groups not in resonance with the church of Rome beginning in the 5th and 6th centuries in the region: A Jewish princedom, Merovingian kings, said to be descended from the lineage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, and Visigoths, who sacked Rome in 410 C.E. and brought Jewish temple relics and treasure to the region. (See Septimania--Jewish Princedom map). Scattered throughout the foothills of the Pyrenees, centers of Jewish mysticism and Cabbala flourished into the medieval era. A loosely knit Grail Community which existed then included The Knights Templar, Cathars, Troubadours, the purveyors of Courtly Love and Cabbalists. This area of Septimania has long been a hotbed for legends of our mistress of the Grail, Mary Magdalene. There are many stories telling of her widespread ministries in this region during the years following the crucifixion. In both Rennes le Chateau, France and Girona, Spain there were matching towers built in her honor.

Patrice writes in City of Secrets about the chemistry of interaction between grail adepts and the energies in specific locations. “Calling up of the Cup could only happen in certain sites depending on the power of the ley lines and the pulse of energies in that precise site. One is Girona, the other is Rennes le Chateau, and the third is St. Sulpice. (The church in Paris) The sites have to be linked and energized so the process of initiation is possible.”