The Michelangelo Code

Before we begin, let us take a look at the Grail legend. The legend portrays the Grail as a cup - a cup in which Joseph of Arimathea collected the blood of Christ on his removal from the cross. Another modern theory is that it is the womb that held the blood of Christ.

Let us accept both these theories as true and take a look at the works of the great Italian artist Michelangelo. It is quite well accepted that if Da Vinci had a rival then it was none other than Michelangelo. A more gifted artist would be hard to find. He was a master sculptor, painter, poet, architect and engineer.  Among his many masterpieces, the one he held closest to his heart was the Pieta or the Pietas (as he made three of them). The first was the only work he signed. The second had his self-portrait and the third he made for his tomb. It is quite unnatural for an artist to repeat a masterpiece, let alone try to make it thrice.

A number of questions come to the mind. What was so important about the Pieta? Why try to make one during your last days? Was it merely a statue or was there a hidden code?

Let us take a look at the second Pieta. The one in Florence. The one with Michelangelo. Michelangelo portrays himself as Joseph of Arimathea, holding the Holy Mother as she carries the bleeding body of her beloved son. Is he referring to the Grail Legend?  Joseph of Arimathea holding the Holy Grail to collect the blood of Christ as the Lord is being removed from the Cross. Stranger still, why is he facing away from Mary Magdalene? Did he deduce Da Vinci’s secret codes in The Last Supper? Was he countering it by the same mechanism?

That also brings us to the second theory. The womb that carried the blood of Christ. Suppose Jesus married Mary Magdalene. At most, she would carry the ‘seed’ of Christ. Whereas Mother Mary carried Jesus (flesh, blood and all) for nine months!

Keeping this in mind, let us look at Michelangelo’s first Pieta. The one in the Vatican.

It shows the Virgin holding her son’s body. Instead of portraying her as an old woman, he made her appear as the Mother who held her son in Bethlehem. A womb carrying the blood of Christ! What is more interesting is the posture. While Christ lies on Mary’s lap in the form of a chalice, the outline of Mary forms a blade. Male and female united by the most powerful force on the universe – a Mother’s Love.

 Add to this the fact that one of the many titles conferred upon Mary is The Mystical Rose – the rose of hidden religious power and importance (which also happens to be the symbol of the Priory of Sion). So the Pieta shows the Rose Line, for a true line extends to infinity on both directions and as Dante pointed out in his Divine Comedy: “Mary, daughter of thy son.” Her line has infinity on both sides.

The Holy Grail 'neath ancient Roslin waits.

The blade and chalice guarding o'er Her gates.

Adorned in masters' loving art, She lies.

She rests at last beneath the starry skies.

And what do we have? A Rose line, a blade and chalice and masters’ love. The only remaining ingredient would be starry skies. And here St. John comes to the rescue. In his Revelation, he describes the Holy Mother as clothed by the sun, with the moon under her feet and stars over her head.

So were the Pietas actually markers to the true location of the Grail? It must be noted that the third Pieta (the one in Milan) was not complete. Did Michelangelo make or intended to make a fourth one? Some attribute the Palestrina Pieta to Michelangelo though it is acknowledged that it was not completed by him. Where does that leave us? With four statues. Three positioned according to the master’s wish. The fourth kept in Florence.

Four points on a map and a treasure to find! Where would you look? The answer is simple. On any treasure map, the cross marks the treasure. But can we draw a ‘X’ on the map of Italy. No. Florence is near the midpoint of Rome and Milan but do not exactly fall on the line. Due to the location of the fourth statue being in Florence, I believe it is reasonable to propose that it was to be placed near Florence. If that is the case, we would have before us another type of cross.

  

In the Book of Revelation, the beloved disciple goes on to describe his vision of how the Devil forced the Mother to go into hiding and how God sent Michael and his angels to banish the devil from heaven. So here is my code (pun intended):

O draconian Devil!

O angel Michel!