“THE MYSTERY OF NOLAN’S CROSS: PLURA LATENT, QUAM PATENT: MORE IS HIDDEN THAN REVEALED”, PART 4
- Daniel Spino
- Sep 3
- 10 min read
In Part III, we mentioned that Dee left a half of a skull in his frontispiece. This of course led us to remember where we’d seen this imagery before. Guercino painted “Et in Arcadia Ego”, meaning “Even in Arcadia, I am”. This depicts two shepherds staring at a tomb with a skull on it in the utopian land of Arcadia. The exact date of the painting is unknown, but it’s thought to be around 1620. The Shakespeare Monument was completed around 1618. This painting appears to be layered with Masonic/Rosicrucian imagery. It is said that the term “Et in Arcadia Ego” was coined by Cosimo II de Medici, who along with Sir Francis Bacon, had the acquaintance of the famous astronomer Galileo.
The famous painting had two other versions by the French painter, Nicolas Poussin. In the first, a shepherd is pointing to “I” in the word Arcadia. In the second the shepherds are pointing to the letter “R” and “C”, presumably suggesting the Rosy Cross. A third example is a sculpture at Shugborough Monument in Great Britain commissioned by the Anson Brothers. The shepherds appear to frame the letters, “OCRAN”, although the “R” looks like the shepherd is covering the bottom which makes it look like a “B”. This would make it “OCBAN”. An anagram for BACON. This suggests to the authors that “Even in Arcadia, I AM” or simply “I AM” was a code name for Oak Island. All of these references seem to suggest that it is referring to Oak Island and there is a tomb/vault located somewhere on the island. But where? We must return to the headstone on the island to determine where this spot could be.
The late Oak Island researcher Chris Donah specialized in the archeoastronomy of the island. He wrote: “As Cygnus sets when looking from the island, it appears to be diving into the horizon. At one point the head of Cygnus reaches the horizon and appears to be a crucifix on the NW horizon.” This effect illustrates a duality between Cygnus and the Crucifix when both figures become one in the night sky over Oak Island, AS ABOVE, SO BELOW. Since the crucifix representation does not give us a location of interest not already explored, perhaps the Cygnus representation will.
The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel
In 2023, Compendium Investigations completed an investigation called, “The Cygnus Connection with Oak Island” for our Oak Island Compendium website. We wrote, “In Rosicrucian symbolism this “Starre of Poets” (PCygni in Cygnus - 1600), along with the 1604 supernova in Ophiuchus, were considered signs that their movement was to come out of the dark and into the light. The star in Cygnus, P Cygni, located near the heart of the swan was not technically a nova, which is widely reported. It is a variable star that illuminates and fades through time. It could still be seen with the naked eye in 1623, but remarkably, it dimmed out of sight in 1626. This is the same year of Francis Bacon’s supposed death. Our colleague, Erin King has discovered that P Cygni is clearly marked on Nolan’s Cross according to her thorough analysis and GIS mapping. Erin has also identified pictures through the decades that show that the P Cygni stone has never been moved. This may be the most important stone that makes up Nolan’s Cross. The stone is quite large as you can see in the picture. It is located on the Nolan Property.” It is important to note that PCygni was not visible to the naked eye before 1600, therefore it could not have been part of the Nolan’s Cross Construction before that date.
The late Chris Donah wrote this about Sir Francis Bacon’s death date and alluded to the fact that he may have faked his death, “April 9th was Easter in 1626. Bacon could’ve chosen this date because, on Good Friday, Jesus Christ was executed by crucifixion. His body was taken down from the cross and buried in a cave. The tomb was guarded, and an enormous stone was put over the entrance so that no one could steal the body.” The authors believe that the sword on the headstone is pointing directly at this boulder, PCygni, which represents the heart of Nolan’s Cross and where you might find a tomb/vault. Most likely this would be fashioned as a Rosicrucian Vault/Tomb. Great care would be needed upon entering. If large amounts of mercury were used for embalming and fueling any lamps, the gas emitted upon entering the tomb could be hazardous. Gas masks would be required upon entering. As soon as air hit the vault, the lamps would go out. One would expect to find a body, most likely Francis Bacon, preserved in mercury, appearing the same way he did the day he died or shortly afterwards. You could expect to find artifacts, books, and manuscripts that are priceless. Although there’s a distinct possibility that there is nothing there. That all of this was some sort of philosophical lesson emphasizing that the knowledge gained through the journey was the real treasure. The authors really hope for a vault and agree that the site should be fully investigated with extreme care and caution.
Why would Francis Bacon go to such lengths to create Nolan’s Cross? It seems clear to us that Bacon had a great deal of admiration for John Dee honoring him in such a way. John Dee died in 1609 a broken and poor man. Once a major influence in Tudor England, his status abruptly changed after Humphrey Gilbert died. He relinquished his land claim in North America to focus on another pursuit, one heavenly in origin. He became involved with a man named Edward Kelley, who claimed he could talk with spirits and had a mythical Philosopher’s stone. Dee became intrigued and started working with Kelley. They traveled to Europe and visited various royalties to receive patronage for their work. Dee, inspired by “Steganographia” by Trithemius, tried to contact angels to gain illuminating knowledge. Kelley was a thief and a charlatan and took advantage of Dee’s thirst for knowledge. Dee was publicly made the fool for falling for Kelley’s claims and he returned to Britain. Queen Elizabeth initially put him in a post at Christ’s College, but after she died the new King, James I, did not like Dee. King James was very wary of witchcraft and thought Dee’s conjuring was related. This put an end to one of the most intelligent and important figures in British History. His legacy is tainted by these events. Dee was a tutor to many of the most influential people, including British nobility. He touched many lives and to see his situation deteriorate in this fashion must have been very sad for those who were closest to him.
History records that Francis Bacon and John Dee had only one official meeting. On the afternoon of August 11, 1582, there was an entry in Dee's journal that they met at his home in Mortlake. Bacon was 21 years old at the time and was accompanied by Thomas Phillipes, a top cryptographer for Sir Francis Walsingham who headed the first British secret service. It is believed that they were there consulting with Dee regarding Hebrew Gematria. To think that this was the only time these two men met is very hard to believe for the following reasons. Dee had the largest library in Britain, even larger than any university. Anyone who was anyone in Britain visited his library. Dee made it open to all the important people related to Tudor England. Nicholas Bacon, William Cecil and John Dee were all close associates on Queen Elizabeth's Court. Cecil oversaw the care and education of royal wards. Some of these royal wards, whose fathers had died, included Edward DeVere, Henry Neville, Robert Devereaux, and Henry Wriothesley. All these men were closely connected and have been suspected of writing the works of Shakespeare and were also big proponents of British colonization. Anthony and Francis Bacon, nephews to Cecil, along with Philip Sidney, Dee’s recorded pupil, were frequent visitors and fit into most of the same categories. It is very apparent that Dee not only had contact with these people but had a lasting influence on their lives.
On the Shakespeare plaque, Bacon identifies himself as a Pythagorean and a Rosicrucian by using the BACON acronym to form a pentagram. This was the way that the Pythagoreans used to identify themselves. Was Dee a Rosicrucian? In the second of the Rosicrucian manifestos, the “Confessio” there’s a section called, “A Brief Consideration of the More Secret Philosophy” that relates John Dee’s first thirteen theorems of the Monas Hieroglyphica verbatim. The third Rosicrucian manifesto, “The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz” has Dee’s Monad depicted in it. This would indicate that Dee was a highly regarded individual among the Rosicrucians. Peter Dawkins has written that Dee in 1570 created the Fraternity of the Rosy Cross in England which was based on another group started by Sir Thomas More and Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in 1510 in London. This is interesting because Dee researcher, Jim Egan, believes that Dee’s Monad has the initials “TM” hidden in it, which stands for “Thomas More”. We mentioned More earlier in regard to Humphrey Gilbert quoting from his book, “Utopia” as his ship sank. “Utopia” takes place on an island with a perfect society. There was also a Utopian alphabet that was published that shared some of the same symbols as the 90ft Stone cipher. Francis Bacon wrote, “New Atlantis”, about a Utopian society of Rosicrucians with a perfect society that lived on an island. It has been suspected that the character of the magician Prospero who was living on an island in the Shakespeare play, “The Tempest” was based on John Dee. This imagery was very important to the Rosicrucians and Freemasons.
According to Peter Dawkins, another story that had great meaning to the Rosicrucians is “The Dream of Poliphilus” published in Venice in 1499. The story centers on the Greek God Pan and the sleeping Goddess Venus with her two children Harmony and Cupid. Pan symbolically pierces or impregnates Venus with light. This symbolism is related to St. George and the Dragon. In “The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz”, the story is continued but with Father RC playing the role of Pan and becoming the gatekeeper of Heaven, like Jesus Christ. Another image shown in “The Dream of Poliphilus” is the Elephant and Obelisk. The elephant is portrayed as carrying and being penetrated at the same time by an obelisk. The elephant symbolizes Venus and the obelisk, the spear that represents a spiritual ray of sun piercing its soul which has a transforming and illuminating effect. Imagine the excitement of any Rosicrucian finding an island, shaped like an elephant ,and believing it was a sign of it being a place of special significance. Once there, witnessing all of the celestial symbols important to them in the sky playing out in a way that must have made them believe that Oak Island was their utopia.
It seems like a perfect fit to this point, but skeptics will still wonder if it’s just all coincidence. Is it really Oak Island being displayed on the plaque or is it another location, or no location at all? The author can demonstrate that this is an accurate map of Oak Island, and this is how. There are two features on Brian Pharoah’s map of Oak Island that correlate with the "Plaque Map". The first is the fact that the Plaque Map is perfectly orientated with Nolan’s Cross on Oak Island. Both sit in exactly in the same position according to the cardinal directions. Notice at the top of the Pythagorean Triangle, it says “N” in red. This represents the N in BACON. But we realized it also represents NORTH. Go down a little further and you see “EAST”. This is running exactly EAST/WEST, just like on Oak Island. Notice in orange the letters “SS”. Pharoah has shown that Nolan’s Cross is aligned with the Summer and Winter Solstices. “SS” is pointing in the direction of the SUMMER SOLSTICE. Going the opposite way, you see in blue “WS”. This is the direction of the WINTER SOLSTICE. Coincidence?
Notice the perimeter cones of the "Plaque Cross", they are labeled A, B, C and O. The “O” seems to be out of place. Why? When studying the "Plaque Map"
it was noticed that further up and to the right you see an “H”. The author believes that this was the general location on Joudrey’s Cove where the boulder that was blown up was located. If you take the H (Boulder) and combine it with the O (Cone C) it becomes a mathematical equation of H + O. There were most likely more instructions on the boulder that would have been used to guide the seeker to “O” which have been lost to time. This H + O equation correlates with the HO that is in green on the "Plaque Map" where the PCygni Boulder resides. This is where the author believes a possible tomb/vault is located. It should be noted that John Dee in his “Monas Hieroglyphica” stated that his “Cross of the Elements” (Nolan’s Cross) had the same value as a “+” and an “X”. We have seen the “Cross of the Elements” and the “+” represented, but what about the “X”?
When looking at the “Plaque Cross” notice what is exactly in the middle. This would be where the Headstone sits on Nolan’s Cross. It is a “P”. What is the significance of the letter “P” here? Where it is placed, it sits directly in the middle of a large “X” thus creating a Chi Rho, the symbol of Jesus Christ. Here is the missing “X” that finishes the three equaling symbols. This indicates that the Headstone is in fact a representation of the Head and Face of Jesus Christ and it is marking a key location in guiding the seeker to the tomb/vault. Considering all of this information that has been demonstrated, it seems highly improbable that all of this could be mere coincidence, but rather a very intelligent, carefully planned symbolic journey for an initiate of the Rosicrucian/Masonic order. When and if the PCygni location is carefully investigated, we would have the answer. This has led the author to dig deeper. I have begun a complete analysis of the “Plaque” to see if there is any more information that can be gleaned regarding Oak Island. This author will share these results with you at a future time. Thank you for reading this investigation and feel free to reach out to me with any questions at theoakislandcompnedium@gmail.com
Good day from the Compendium!
Written by Daniel Spino with contributions from Charlotte Wheatley.
The author would like to thank the following researchers for their contributions in aiding our report: The late Fred Nolan, Petter Amundsen, Peter Dawkins, Brian Pharoah, Stephen Phillips, Jim Egan, Phil Caruso, Renae Cope and the late AT Kempton. Special appreciation goes to our colleagues Christopher Morford, Erin King, and the late Chris Donah for their important work. Without all of these individuals' efforts, this report would not have been possible.
References and Sources
https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DxpHmS3kns4C/page/n4/mode/1up
https://www.theoakislandcompendium.com/post/the-cygnus-connection-with-oak-island-part-5
http://www.newporttowermuseum.com/resources/9-John-Dees-British-Empire-was-to-start-at-RODE.pdf
The Mystery of Oak Island, Part 3: Swan Secrets, Peter Dawkins
https://www.fbrt.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Secrets_of_the_Rosy_Cross.pdf
https://www.oakislandarchives.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/nolan.pdf
Oak Island Gold by William Crooker
Cracking the Shakespeare Code by Petter Amundsen
Oak Island Odyssey by Scott Clarke
The Archeoastronomy of Oak Island by Chris Donah
The Curse of Oak Island – The History Channel
Review of Geotechnical and Archaeological Conditions at the Money Pit (1967 – 2005), Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Les Macphie
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