“THE MYSTERY OF NOLAN’S CROSS: PLURA LATENT, QUAM PATENT: MORE IS HIDDEN THAN REVEALED”, PART 2

Daniel Spino
Sep 1
11 min read

These are the reasons why John Dee is the perfect suspect for creating Nolan’s Cross. Dee was one of the most learned people of his time and a mathematical genius. In 1570, he wrote the preface to the first English translation of Euclid’s Elements of Geometry. Dee used his vast knowledge of mathematics and applied it to navigation. Dee was colleagues with Gerardus Mercator, Gemma Friscius, and Albert Ortellian, all noted geographers during his time at Louvain University in the Netherlands. Dee did post master’s work there because the constraints in Tudor England limited his educational pursuits due to censoring and harassment. When he returned to England, he brought back terrestrial and celestial globes and other cutting edge navigational tools. He learned triangulation from Gemma Friscius, which used triangles for mapping and cartography. Dee lectured and spoke at length on all of Euclid’s 465 propositions of Geometry at the University of Paris, which was quite a feat. Dee was an expert in navigation and taught the most noted British explorers of the time his techniques, this included Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Martin Frobisher, and many more. He was an advisor, cartographer, astrologist, and court astronomer for Queen Elizabeth I of England.

It’s also believed that Dee was a part of Queen Elizabeth’s Secret Spy Service specializing in cryptography with the use of Gematria, Notaricon and Tzyruph (Temurah). Another influence on Dee was “The Agrippa Code” that was used with English and Latin. It was created by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in his “De Occulta Philosopha”, of which Dee had a copy. Some researchers believe that Agrippa was a Rosicrucian. Dee makes reference to the Agrippa code in his 14th Theorem in his book, “Monas Hieroglyphica”, which we will be looking at further. Dee was multilingual and knew English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and Italian and possibly more. He also was an ordained Catholic priest when he served Queen Mary I and a student of Christian Kabbalah. Dee had the largest library in Britain, with over 4,000 books. Many were ancient texts and consisted of very difficult to obtain copies of the most influential books in history. He had copies of all the classical works of architecture, music, art, religion, politics, literature, poetry, mythology, astrology, cryptology and every other subject imaginable. Dee certainly fits the criteria of possessing the skills and education necessary to be the creator of Nolan’s Cross, but what is the evidence that he would be involved with Oak Island?

Dee was the driving force for British Colonization in the New World. He was the first to propose the idea of a British Royal Navy and a British Empire. Beginning in the mid-1560s, Dee was a navigational tutor for the traders of the Muscovy Company and taught students at his house in Mortlake. Dee wrote, “The Limits of the British Empire” which were four volumes published in 1577. In them, not surprisingly, he hides information in a clever fashion. In doing so, he sets the parameters for three expeditions, one going to Baffin Island, the North American coasts, and a circumnavigation of the world. Dee gave navigational and mathematical instruction to all three navigators of these expeditions. Martin Frobisher led the voyages to Baffin Bay from 1576-1578. This involved the infamous pyrite scandal that was thought to be a gold claim. This sparked Queen Elizabeth’s interest in building a colony at Baffin Bay. There’s a theory that a detachment from this expedition was sent to Oak Island and mined for gold. It’s interesting to note that Oak Island is known for its abundance of pyrite, which if seen on the shore, may have led explorers to believe there was gold at depth on the island. Sir Francis Drake was selected to circumnavigate the globe and completed the journey from 1577-1580. His voyage took him around South America and up the west coast of North America to approximately 50 degrees latitude. He then traveled across the rest of the world before returning to Britain. Drake was a close associate of Dee’s and there are theories of his involvement with Oak Island. David Tobias was a proponent of this theory.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert was a close friend and pupil of Dee's. Gilbert was given a six-year license to colonize North America on its eastern coast. There was an agreement between them that if Gilbert was successful, Dee would be the governor of all lands north of 50 degrees latitude, which includes present day Canada. Dee supposedly chose the site for the first colony in Narragansett Bay but the venture lacked investors after the Frobisher Voyages. The location was near the legendary “Norumbega” as referenced on Verrazano’s map. It wasn’t until 1583 that Gilbert explored Newfoundland and parts of Nova Scotia. It is unclear how far he went but he did not make it to Rhode Island. Some theorists like Scott Clarke, author of Oak Island Odyssey, believe Gilbert may have visited Oak Island. On his way back to Britain, Gilbert died when his ship sank off the Azores. When Gilbert’s ship encountered a storm with devastating waves, he would not abandon his ship. It was reported that Gilbert sat on the deck reading a book. When another one of his ships came close, the crew heard Gilbert cry out, "We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land!" lifting his hand to the sky while holding the book. This appears to be a quote from Sir Thomas More’s “Utopia”, which we will discuss later in our report. Afterwards, the Rhode Island colony was abandoned, and colonization was assigned to Gilbert’s half-brother, Sir Walter Raleigh, who founded the lost colony of Roanoke. Raleigh was another Dee associate and pupil.

Another interesting connection to Norumbega is a story that began in 1567 when a man named David Ingram signed on with Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake on their privateering missions to West Africa and Mexico. During the Battle of San Juan de Ulúa in1568, the British privateers were defeated by the Spanish and Hawkins’s ship was damaged. He apparently was forced to leave his crew on the west coast of Florida. Some of the men, which allegedly included Ingram, attempted to walk thousands of miles to Newfoundland, where they knew fishing vessels might take them back to Britain. The tale that Ingram told described great cities, elephants, penguins, great riches and being in Norumbega. This would be more accurate of Africa, India, or South America and a fairy tale. Could it have been a symbolic reference to an “Elephant” shaped island and Atlantic Puffins, which look very similar to penguins and are indigenous to Nova Scotia? Ingram said that he and two men named Richard Browne and Richard Twide made their way up the east coast of North America all the way to the coast of Nova Scotia, around modern-day Sheet Harbor. There they were taken by a French merchant ship back to France and on to Britain. On November 1, 1582, Ingram traveled to see John Dee. Although Dee kept a diary and recorded the visit he didn’t comment on the conversation. It seems clear that Ingram made up a vast portion of the details of his story. Although it’s not clear why he lied, Ingram joined the crew of Sir Humphrey Gilbert for his voyage in June 1583. Is it possible that these men were working on Oak Island and decided to leave? It’s about 119 miles from Oak Island to Sheet Harbor.

“John Dee’s British Empire was to start at Rode”- Jim Egan

Oak Island is extremely close to 45 degrees latitude. In Dee’s, “The Limits of the British Empire”, he writes that 45 degrees latitude was the same latitude as Venice and is traditionally an important coordinate. Considering Oak Island’s location, it would make sense that the area would be fully investigated by Gilbert or another explorer associated with Dee, as they sailed along the Nova Scotia coast. This would have brought them right into Mahone Bay. When Drake sailed to the west coast of North America, he explored the 45-degree latitude mark in modern day Oregon. In 1580, Dee published a map showing his vision of North America. Upon reviewing the map, in a portion in the upper right section, it looks like there’s a bay with many islands. One in particular is oddly shaped and close to the shore. Could this be Mahone Bay and Oak Island? There are some Portuguese maps that show something very similar to this depiction. The area of interest on the Dee map seems out of place, almost like it is an inset. Would Dee show Oak Island, but hide its exact coordinates? Based on the evidence, it seems that he certainly could have. All of this information has laid the groundwork showing that Dee could have had an involvement with Oak Island. Is there any evidence to show that John Dee designed Nolan’s Cross?

We decided to look at another book of John Dee’s that might shed some light on our investigation. In 1564, Dee published, “Monas Hieroglyphica”. It’s written in Latin and famous for being very difficult to understand . In the beginning of the book, Dee states that he is using Gematria, Notaricon and Tzyruph (Temurah), so readers need to look for these things in his book. Gematria is a cipher where letters stand for numbers. Notaricon is when letters stand for concepts, or the first letters of words form a new word. Tzyruph is rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to make a new one, like an anagram. Why would Dee want to hide so much information instead of just outwardly stating it? The religious and educational climate in Tudor England was very suspicious of activities that involved the relationship between numbers and the stars, thinking it was black magic. It was sometimes called “Calculating” and many mathematical and astrological books were burned, and some were accused of witchcraft. These activities led to people being brought before church officials. This included Dee, who was questioned about his activities during the reign of Queen Mary I. Dee also loved puzzles and wordplay, so it was also a challenging way to use his skills. The book presents itself as a mixture of alchemy, astrology, astronomy, mathematics, Greek philosophy, Hermeticism, Cabala, Christianity, and more. Most of the same elements are employed by the creator of Nolan’s Cross.

The Meaning of the Monas Hieroglyphica- Egan

Monas Hieroglyphica was dedicated to King Maximillian, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire at the time and was presented as a great gift of knowledge. The book contains 24 Theorems that hide some pretty incredible information. After beginning to investigate the material, we immediately began recognizing specific numbers and information that matched the other theories involving who designed Nolan’s Cross. One being from Phillips’ findings of the Y shaped figure being made from Nolan’s Cross. Dee included a very similar depiction in the book. Its architecture is based on the Pythagorean Y, which symbolized the path of vice and virtue. From the onset of his book, it seems clear that John Dee was a Pythagorean. This Y was actually Dee’s way of hiding a Cuboctahedron, which is an Archimedean Solid and found to be demonstrated in the Nolan’s Cross hidden geometry shown by Phillips. Dee puts great emphasis on what he termed as the “The Quaternary rests in the Ternary”. Also known as “AS ABOVE, SO BELOW”.

Digging deeper into the material led the authors to learn that Dee used an offset cross as one of the main features of his symbol, the Monad. Interestingly, this was the term the Pythagoreans used for number 1. The Monad’s purpose, according to Dee, was to gain insight into hidden knowledge about the universe, transcending language barriers and tapping into profound truths combining elements of astrology, alchemy, mysticism, and metaphysics. The authors could not help but notice that Dee’s “Cross of the Elements” looks identical to Nolan’s Cross. It is a key component for Dee in his book and appears very important to him, which could also be explained by his Christian background. Looking closely at Dee’s Monad, you can see four elements combining into one, the Sun, Moon, Cross of the Elements, and the sign for Aries. Considering the similarities, we decided to take this Monad symbol and place it onto Nolan’s Cross to see if it aligned and matched up with the geography of Oak Island. We were quite amazed at what appeared.

As you can see, the Monad aligns extremely well with Nolan’s Cross and the geography of Oak Island. Remarkably, it has not been distorted on the map. The Monad aligns with Nolan’s Cross in a variety of ways that demonstrates that John Dee’s “Cross of the Elements” is the model for Nolan’s Cross. The Monad was designed to have mathematical symmetry as was Nolan’s Cross. For instance, the Monad’s top circle produces measurements of 360 and 720 feet. These are the same sacred number measurements from Nolan’s Cross. From Cone A to the point of the circle is 360 Feet, the same measurement as Cone C to the Headstone. From Cone A to the end of the circle is 720 Feet on the shore, the same measurement as Cone C to Cone B. This could not be a coincidence. The designer purposely chose those specific numbers that repeat over and over to make the construction conform to both the geography of Oak Island and the information concealed within it. We believe this provides clear evidence that the Monad symbol was part of the design process on Oak Island.

When looking closely at the Monad you see that its symbols seem to transform when they are combined to form a new symbol. This is an example of the union of opposites that Dee stresses in Monas Hieroglyphica. The Sun (Circle) and Moon (half circle) when combined form what looks like the symbol for Taurus, the Bull. This carries multiple symbolic meanings which was Dee’s intent. This involves Alchemical, Astrological, and Astronomical symbolism, all by design. Transformation was a major symbol for the Rosicrucians. For instance, Alchemically, the Taurus symbol and the offset cross combine to make the element Mercury. The Aries symbol is associated with burning and purification, the first step in the transformation process. Astrologically, Aries symbolizes fire and Taurus symbolizes earth. Astronomically, Taurus is associated with the summer solstice due to the precession of the equinoxes and signifies summer. Aries has historically been associated with the vernal equinox, signifying spring. Nolan’s Cross is believed to function as an astronomical calendar.

In Theorem 21 of the Monas Hieroglyphica, Dee talks about his Aries symbol of the Monad (left side). He states that it can be seen in different ways. Pointing down, which is its current position, but it also produces a mirrored image when combined. When this is displayed on our Monad on Oak Island it produces what looks like the number “8”. Dee refers to the number “8” and hides it in various ways in the Monas Hieroglyphica. He also does the same thing with the letter “H”. Dee alludes to a missing “H” in his book. Considering that “H” is the 8th letter of the Elizabethan Alphabet, the above is the result when placing it on the cross. Geometrically, this is expressed when two circles have three common tangents. Amazingly, the Monad now produces an image of the H+O Stone inscription.

When reviewing the photo of the H+O Stone and comparing it to the Monad, we notice that the four dots surrounding the cross on the carving are not shown on our schematic. There may be corresponding spots with stones on the island but we would need verification. Although, when looking at the photo in higher resolution we noticed that there appears to be multiple points surrounding the cross. We believe the middle cross symbolizes the Son, or Jesus Christ of the Trinity. The marks would represent points of light emanating around the son of God. The “H” would represent the Holy Spirit. And the Circle with Dot would represent the Father or God. We believe this is the case because Dee alludes to hiding the Trinity within the Monad and the fact he was a Christian. It should also be pointed out that the “H” on the stone has a curved line in the center instead of a straight one. Also, notice the bottom of the “H” with an extended line which suggests a possible circle. Due to the “H” being made with circles from the Monad, the authors believe that these features were added to the stone for this reason. All this information makes quite a compelling case that John Dee built Nolan’s Cross, and the H+O was carved on the boulder as a clue. However, the authors have identified even more clues that suggest who was the real creator of Nolan’s Cross.