After sixteen years of intense research and the coming and going of many casual and serious researchers the Kensington Rune Stone inscription is finally solved. For years I was never motivated to go search for the "ten dead men" or the "two skerries" as many have prompted me to do. I certainly didn't know they didn't exist, it just never seemed like a productive use of my time. Now I realize these things were never real. The realization that most of the inscription is simply allegory and code would never have come to me if I had not become initiated as a Freemason. In fact, if I had only reached the level of a Master Mason and not pursued the higher degrees of both the Scottish Rite and the York Rite degrees it wouldn't have happened either.
I know this paper is going to stir lively debate and will likely be confusing to those who are not Freemasons. However, I will do my best to try to clarify those with questions. I'm sure some will try to claim the inscription was created by a York Rite Mason in the mid to late 1800's. This will be an erroneous claim as no one in modern times could fake the many centuries-old weathering of the inscription or the Dotted R, to say nothing about the other previously unknown medieval runic and linguistic features that had not yet been discovered. For me, this is the final nail in the case that beings everything together and answers all the important questions about the inscription. Keep in mind this discovery doesn't change or eliminate the previous discoveries I've made with other researchers such as the "Dating Code," "Grail Code" or the meaning of the Hooked X. In fact, this discovery brings even more clarity to these discoveries and confirms the author of the inscription was a medieval monk who was initiated in the ancient Hebrew and Egyptian mysteries.
This paper was recently submitted to a peer-reviewed Masonic journal and was published in the Rocky Mountain Mason on June 21st. For those interested in a copy of the published article please contact Ben Williams at the following website:
rockymountainmason.com
What follows is the article I submitted that the reviewers may have changed slightly. I had not yet seen the final publication, but was assured the final version was very close to this one. Enjoy!
The Ritual Code on the
Kensington Rune Stone
By Scott F. Wolter,
P.G.
Abstract
This paper presents the detailed description of a recent discovery
by the author he calls the, “Ritual Code on the Kensington Rune Stone.” The existence of another new code embedded within
the inscription was first realized by the author during the lecture portion of
the Select Master Degree, the second of three degrees within the “Cryptic
Degrees” of York Rite Freemasonry. Skeptics
of the artifact’s authenticity will no doubt claim the inscription was the work
of a York Rite Freemason in the late 19th Century. However, the geological weathering study and
microscopic examination conducted by the author, a forensic geologist,
independently replicated the geological findings of Professor Newton H.
Winchell, who in 1909 declared the inscription genuine and not a late 19th
Century hoax. The inscription was found
by both geologists to be many centuries old.
Subsequent historical, epigraphic and linguistic evidence published by
the author reasonably dates the inscription to the 14th
Century. The author will demonstrate how
the “Kensington Rune Stone Ritual Code” reveals that the author of the inscription
was initiated in the Egyptian Mysteries of Isis and Osiris. The author will also argue the artifact was
the creation of a medieval monk, most likely Cistercian, who was formally
educated in Scandinavia. The discovery
of the code provides a new framework for understanding the symbolic,
allegorical, and practical aspects of the inscription.
Background Information
The Kensington Rune Stone was discovered by a Swedish
immigrant farmer named Olof Ohman, who was clearing trees in preparation for
farming on his property in what is now near Kensington, Minnesota, in the fall
of 1898. As the tree fell, it pulled a
202-pound stone out of the ground that was tightly wrapped in its roots. The flat tabular-shaped stone contained a
twelve-line inscription carved in Scandinavian runes thought to chronicle a
journey to the interior of North America in 1362.
The authenticity of the artifact has been hotly debated
since its discovery. Scandinavian
linguists and runologists have generally concluded the artifact is a hoax
citing it was created by a recent Scandinavian immigrant attempting to bolster
their heritage. Factual evidence to
support a late 19th Century origin for the artifact has yet to
materialize.
In 1909, Professor Newton H. Winchell, the first State Geologist
of Minnesota, performed a geological examination of the artifact and concluded
the weathering of the inscription was consistent with 500 years and it was
authentic.
Winchell’s conclusion was independently
replicated by the author who by comparing the weathering with dated slate
tombstones, concluded the weathering of the rune stone inscription was older
than 200 years from the time of the discovery.
Further, the author has provided detailed historical, epigraphic,
linguistic and runological evidence that shows the inscription is consistent
with a late 14th century creation date and the stone likely served as a land
claim.
To aid the reader, a current translation of the Kensington
inscription with the eight numbers (in bold) believed to be part of a “Ritual
Code” is provided for reference:
Face Side
1. 8 Götalanders and 22 Northmen on
2. (this)
acquisition journey/taking up land from
3. Vinland
far to the west. We
4. had a
camp by 2 shelters one
5. day’s
journey north from this stone.
6. We were
fishing one day. After
7. we came
home we found 10 men red
8. from
blood and death. AVM
9. Save from
evil.
Split Side
10. There are 10 men by the inland sea to look
11. after our
ships 14 days journey
12. from this hill.
Year 1362
The author has written about an event that occurred in 1926
where ten businessmen, at least eight of them being Freemasons, held a large
rally near the Ohman Farm in an effort to raise $300,000 to build a 204-foot
tall obelisk to house the Kensington Rune Stone. The reasons why these Brothers felt compelled
to complete such a monumental task was never been made clear. The author will offer some new insights into
their possible motives later in the paper.
Introduction
It appears the first eight numbers chronicled within the Kensington
Rune Stone (KRS) inscription are connected to the Masonic legend of Hiram
Abiff; the Grand Architect who oversaw the construction of King Solomon’s
Temple, and to the Select Master degree of Cryptic Council degree of York Rite
Freemasonry. Prior to my becoming a
Freemason, none of the information presented in this paper would have made much
sense to me and even if it did, I wouldn’t have fully understood it. However, since becoming initiated as a Master
Mason in the “Blue Lodge” on November 21, 2015, which consists of the first
three degrees of Freemasonry, and being initiated as both a Scottish Rite and
York Rite Mason, my Masonic education in the ritual degrees is now quite
extensive. To help the reader better
understand how these two branches work, I’ll try to explain them. The first three degrees of Blue Lodge also
serve as the first three degrees of both York Rite which has a total of 13
degrees, and as substitute for the Scottish Rite, which has a total of
thirty-two degrees.
The basic story told in the first three degrees of the Blue
Lodge concerns the building of King Solomon’s Temple overseen by the Master
Architect, Hiram Abiff. At one point in
the story while at “refreshment” at midday, Hiram is killed by three of his
workers trying to gain secrets from the Master to earn more wages. The three “ruffians” bury the body that is
eventually discovered and reburied with honors.
Later in the story the three murderers are captured and brought to
justice. In the higher degrees of the
Scottish and York Rites, stories of legendary events from Old Testament times
are presented both theatrically and through lectures. Essentially, the same biblical stories are
told in both branches of Freemasonry, but neither presents the stories in
chronological order which creates confusion at times.
What caught my attention were numbers uttered during a
lecture presented after the theatrical part of a degree in the York Rite branch,
called the Select Master degree, which is essentially the 9th of 13
degrees. The story in this degree takes
place shortly before the First Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was completed around
1000 B.C. The main characters in the
degree are the “Supreme Council of Grand
Masters” comprised of King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram
Abiff. Keep in mind it is not clear
whether this story is historically accurate, simply allegorical or contains
elements of both. That debate has raged
within Masonic academic circles for centuries, but for the purpose of this
research it really doesn’t matter.
8 Arches and 22 Men…
The relevant part of the ritual relays the following story
that led to the first two numbers that revealed the code. The three Grand Masters had been entrusted
with the writings of Moses, holy vessels, and sacred treasures which included
the Ark of Covenant. To protect these
treasures from being forever lost or taken by enemies if the children of Israel
ever deviated from the sacred laws, a Secret Vault was constructed that was
divided into “arches or apartments.” The
three Grand Masters constructed the Ninth Arch where the sacred objects were
hidden and where secret rituals would take place. It was during the lecture after the
theatrical performance of the degree when the character of Hiram Abiff said the
following, “There were employed on the
other eight arches, twenty-two men from Gebal, a city of Phoenicia…”
My ears instantly perked up upon hearing the two familiar
numbers, eight and twenty-two. These
were the first two numbers carved on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription “8
Götalanders and 22 Norwegians…” I didn’t hear much of the rest of the
lecture and after the degree was finished I asked my mentor and friend, Bro
John Freeburg, if there was a ritual book that contained the text of the
lecture. He said there was and handed me
his personal copy. As I excitedly read
the lecture more important numbers connected to the Kensington inscription became
apparent, “…together with Ahishar and
Adoniram, all of whom were well skilled in the arts and sciences generally, but
particularly in sculpture.”
It quickly occurred to me that Ahishar and Adoniram are two individuals. The next number to appear in the Kensington
inscription after eight and twenty-two is the number two! “We had a camp by 2 shelters…” The ritual book lecture continues, “One of King Solomon’s particular friends,
whose name was Zerubbabel, discovered that there was secret work going on…” This was one
more person added into the story and if you haven’t already guessed, the next
number in the KRS inscription is one. “…by 2 shelters, one day’s journey from this stone.” So, here we have the first four numbers that
appear in the Kensington inscription that also appear, in the same sequence as
the arches (8) and individuals (22, 2, and 1) as they appear in the York Rite
Select Master ritual, and there’s more.
In the theatrical part of the ritual, one of the two guards,
Ahishar, falls asleep at his post which allowed the overly inquisitive
Zerubbabel, upon seeing the entrance unguarded, to venture down into the Secret
Vault. Upon discovering Zerubbabel
inside the Secret Vault, King Solomon and is angered and orders Ahishar to be
executed leaving only Adoniram as the lone surviving guard of the original
two. Could he be the second number one that is the next number in the
sequence of numbers on the KRS? “We were fishing one day…” While the
story at this point doesn’t specifically say it, what Zerubbabel discovers in
the Secret Vault are “true copies” of the treasures in the Sanctum Santorum in
the Temple above. The most important of
the treasures is the Ark of the Covenant which contains the Ten
Commandments. Could this be what the
next number is referring to that appears in sequence in the KRS inscription? “…when
we came home we found 10 men…”
At this point, the Select Master Degree story turns very
violent. As punishment for falling
asleep at his post, Ahishar is killed by the others guards who slice him to
death with their swords. As punishment
for entering the Secret vault without permission, King Solomon orders Zerubbabel’s
eyes poked out and then paraded in front of the people with a bloody bandage
over his empty eye sockets wearing a blood spattered apron. Could this be yet another coincidence that the
severe violence in the ritual takes place at the same point as the violence in
the KRS inscription story, “…we found 10
men red from blood and death.”
At this point, the story ends on the face side of the Kensington
Rune Stone inscription and the carver appears to offer two prayers. The first appears to invoke the Virgin Mary
with only three Latin letters in the entire inscription, “AVM.” The second prayer comprises the entire ninth line
on the face side and has always appeared to me to have been added as if to
complete some unknown aspect of the inscription, “Save from Evil.”
Nine plus Three
Equals Twelve
There is a short paragraph in the ritual book that describes
when the secret work was performed on the nine arches and the Secret Vault, “Their hours of labor were from nine at
night until twelve, the time when all prying eyes are closed in sleep.” The numbers are nine p.m. to midnight or 12 a.m. This means the laborers worked for a total of
three hours. Suddenly we see the reason
the ninth line of text had to be added to the face side of the
inscription. When the three additional
lines of text on the split side are added to the nine lines on the face side,
we end up with a total number of 12 lines of carved text that coincide exactly
with the times of labor, 9 (plus 3 hours) and 12. Is this still another coincidence? Not if one considers the importance of signs,
codes, symbolism, and allegorical messages so vital in the medieval mind of one
who has been initiated into the ancient mysteries. But the sequence of numbers doesn’t stop with
the first nine lines on the face side.
There are two more numbers on the split side that also figure into this
Old Testament allegorical story; “There
are 10 men by the sea with our
ships, 14 days journey from this
island/hill.”
Ten and Fourteen
Any Freemason who has been through the first three degrees
of the Blue Lodge knows the story takes place at the time the First Temple of
Solomon was being completed. Just after
the three Grand Masters (King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff),
had completed the Secret Vault in the ninth arch below the Sanctum Sanctorum,
three fellow craft workers from the quarries confront and murder the Master
Architect of the temple, Hiram Abiff, for failing to reveal the secrets that would
allow them to receive more wages. The
ruffians bury the body, for the second time, to the west of the temple and
plant a sprig of acacia to mark the grave.
Acacia is a famously hardy plant known for growing its own roots after
being cut. In Egypt, Acacia became a
symbol of resurrection and restored life, and that same symbolism is very
prominent in modern Freemasonry. The second “ten” in the Ritual Code on the
split side refers either the second Ark containing the Ten Commandments in the
Sanctum Sanctorum in the altar of the Temple above the Secret Vault or the ten spheres, called Sefirot, in the
Kabbalah Tree of Life.
As the story continues, King Solomon grew worried about his
missing Master architect and sends a party of twelve men, in groups of three, to
search for Hiram Abiff. The recently
established acacia plant tips off the men on the search and Hiram’s body is
discovered after 14 days. Keep in mind,
Hiram’s murder and subsequent discovery happens after the story of the building
of the nine arches below the Temple.
Based on this, and with the chronology of the Hiram Abiff legend in
proper place, we can now put the numbers in place that incredibly result in the
exact same sequence as they appear on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, 8,
22, 2, 1, 1, 10, 10 and 14! It would be
easier to pick the right lottery numbers in sequence than for this to be a
series of coincidences. When we add in
the numbers 9, 3, and 12 that comprise the number of lines of text that
comprise the inscription (9 on the face side plus 3 on the split side equals
12) we have an incredible consistency within the Master Mason and Select Master
degrees that goes beyond any possibility of coincidence.
Three Grand Masters/Mothers
and Fathers
When considered in context with Masonic symbolism and the
story in the Select Master degree, something jumps out when looking more
closely at the three strange “o” runes within the KRS inscription. Freemasonry puts utmost importance on the
concept of the “Rule of Three.” First and foremost, the equilateral triangle
is a symbol of Deity and in the Select Master degree the three sides of the
equilateral triangle on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant represent the three
Grand Masters; King Solomon, Hiram-King of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff. The Kensington Rune Stone has a total of
twenty “o” runes within the inscription; seventeen of them are of an unusual
type that still puzzles runic scholars.
The typical medieval “o” rune is a vertical line, called a stave, with
two parallel lines angling down and left from the middle of the vertical stave
at a 45 degree angle. Instead, the
symbol has two horizontal lines
extending to the left from the vertical stave.
These horizontal lines are at 90 degrees and when viewed in a Masonic
context, it appears the carver has “squared” the two lines in an apparent
symbolic reference to the principle of “Squaring
our actions by the square of virtue.”
This leaves us with the three remaining strange and ornately
carved “o” runes that have also confounded runic scholars. Scandinavian runes are dominantly comprised
of straight lines that lend themselves for use in stone because they are
relatively easy to carve. These three
symbols require much greater skill to carve being comprised of a vertically
aligned oval or ellipse. To make matters
worse inside the curved lines an “n” rune was carved with two dots added above
the oval. Linguists interpret the twin
dots as umlauts indicating a specific way of pronouncing the “o” sound. From a symbolic perspective, the three most
ornately carved symbols in the entire inscription, along with the two dots,
could also represent the three “Mothers” or “Fathers” on the “Tree of Life” in
the Kabbalah. World-renowned Torah
scholar, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, wrote the following, “The three times in which the expression “God made” appears parallel
the three Mothers.” “The three Mother letters, Shin Mem and Alef,
represent cause, effect and their synthesis between these two opposites. These
three horizontal lines give rise to the three vertical columns in the Tree of
life diagram, headed by Keter, Chakhmah, and Binah. These are represented by “air, water, and
fire.” These three horizontal lines are
the three Mothers. The three columns
define the three Fathers, which are the letter Yud Heh Vav. It was from these letters that space is
defined, as the Sefer Yetzirah state earlier (1:13). Once space is defined, then creation can take
place.”
Confirmation Number
Code and the Torah
In 2013, I published something what I interpreted as a
confirmation code that involved four of the strange symbols Scandinavian
scholars had rarely or never seen before in a runic inscription in my book, Akhenaten to the Founding Fathers: The
Mysteries of the Hooked X. While
researching the angles of the hooks on the Hooked X runes in the KRS
inscription, I decided to count to see how many there were in the
inscription. I was surprised to find
there were twenty-two. This prompted me
to look at the other odd runes and to my surprise three more of the numbers
within the inscription were apparently confirmed. There are seven
of the strange “g” runes, ten
mysterious “w” runes, and fourteen
individual numbers; 8, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 10, 10, 1, 4, 1, 3, 6 and 2. Keep in mind, the carver was almost certainly
a Cistercian monk and the Cistercian order didn’t believe in the concept of
zero. The carver used Pentadic numbers
that include a single symbol for the number ten, and not the two numbers of 1
and 0.
These four numbers appear to be confirmed by the number of
times a rare or totally unique symbol is used is consistent with the same
tradition Qabbalistic scholars maintain is found in the Torah. Quoting Kaplan, “According to the Kabbalists, these 32 paths are alluded to in the
Torah by the 32 times that God’s name Elohim appears in the account of creation
in the first chapter of Genesis. In this
account, the expression “God said” appears ten times, and these are the Ten
Sayings with which the world was created.
These ten sayings parallel the ten Sefirot. The other 22 times that God’s name appears in
this account then parallel the 22 letters in the (Hebrew) alphabet. The three times in which the expression “God
made” appears parallel the three Mothers.
The seven repetitions of “God saw” parallel the seven Doubles. The remaining twelve names parallel the
twelve Elementals.”
Confirmation of four of the important numbers within the
inscription, 8, 10, 14 and 22, using three mysterious symbols, the backwards
“g”, the “w” rune and the Hooked X, and fourteen individual Pentadic numbers
which have never been seen used before in a medieval inscription, provide
additional evidence consistent with a carver who was deeply initiated in Hebrew
mysticism whose roots likely date back to the Mysteries taught in ancient Egypt.
14
So what does all this mean?
It tells us a lot beginning with the fact the 14th Century carver understood
the ancient allegorical resurrection story found in every culture around the
world throughout time. The key evidence
involves the final number in the Kensington Rune Stone Ritual Code which is
prominent in the Isis/Osiris legend of ancient Egypt. One version of the legend has Osiris being
captured by his jealous brother Set who kills him and cuts up his body into 14
pieces. Osiris’ distraught lover Isis
goes searching and finds all but one of the pieces of his body; his penis. She eventually impregnates herself with a reproduced
phallic made of either gold or beeswax, depending on which legend is read, and
gives birth to Horus, who grows to adulthood becoming Osiris and the whole
story begins again. This ancient legend
is an allegorical representation of the annual cycle of life on earth; birth or
new life in the spring, death in the fall, and resurrection of the sun on the
Winter Solstice when the Goddess Isis becomes impregnated beginning the cycle
anew.
The other resurrection legend that is relevant to our story
is the Roman Christian version with Jesus taking on the symbolic role of Hiram
Abiff. In this case, we have what most
believe is a real historical figure from the First Century who was mythologized
by the early Church fathers to create a “Son of God” using the same allegorical
death and resurrection story. In nearly
every Catholic Church around the world the Crucifixion and Resurrection story
of Jesus is told in images called the Stations of the Cross. It isn’t a coincidence the number of Stations
of the Cross is 14.
Kabbalah
A question one must ask is if this Ritual Code is indeed
real, what is the significance of the numbers?
All indications are the Cistercians and Knights Templar were well versed
in the Hebrew mysticism and if they were they would have certainly have
understood and practiced the spiritual concepts associated with the Kabbalah
“Tree of Life” or “The Kabbalistic Tree.”
For a general understanding of the connection of what I believe I’ve
discovered; I should start with a basic explanation of what the “Tree of Life”
is. I’ll use the words of noted author
and Templar historian, Timothy W. Hogan, to give a general description. “In
general, this Tree is composed of 10 spheres called sephiroth, along with 22
paths that connect these spheres; each of which is represented by one of the 22
Hebrew letters, and they rest on three pillars.
Thus there are a total of 32 emanations of Deity, with a possible 33rd
hidden emanation.”
Already, we have an uncanny connection with the Kensington Rune
Stone numbers beyond what we’ve already discovered in their sequence in
relation to the Masonic/Christian/Isis-Osiris “resurrection” story. It appears what we now have is, 8 Götalanders
(Deity) and 22 Northmen (paths that connect the ten spheres); … 2 shelters
(Ahishar and Adoniram), and one day’s journey (Zerubbabel). If we add these numbers up, in sequence, as
they appear on the stone we get, 8 + 22 + 2 = 32 + 1 =33. Those numbers sequentially, follow the
Select Master ritual perfectly, AND that those numbers add up to the same total
of 33 as in the Kabbalah, simply cannot be a coincidence.
A Masonic Brother reminded me about another connection to
the numbers 8 and 22 that I had frankly, forgotten about. At the incredible Santa Maria do Olival Church,
in Tomar, Portugal, where we filmed episodes for both America Unearthed and Pirate
Treasure of the Knights Templar for History
Channel, Christian reminded me that there were twenty-two Grand Masters of
the Portuguese Templars buried inside the Church beginning with the first Grand
Master, Gualdim Pais, who founded the city upon his return from Jerusalem after
fighting in the Second Crusade, in 1161.
One of the major points we made in the episode was how the number eight was symbolically represented
throughout the church. Simply walking
down the eight steps at the west
entrance one can count eight columns,
eight windows, along with the
five-pointed star in the small window high above the altar in the east
end. The pentagram is symbolic of the
planet Venus and is the symbol it creates when viewed astronomically from earth
during its eight-year cycle.
In esoteric circles, the number eight and its association
with the planet Venus have always been symbolic of the Goddess in the
heavens. The Templar’s and their
Cistercian brethren venerated the planet Venus, the sun, and all the planets
and constellations and that veneration is clearly on display in this
church. While standing inside the church
and looking west, the large rose window on display is symbolic of Venus’
consort, the sun. They are the eternal
travelers; Venus leads the sun when it rises first as a morning star in the
east. Conversely, it is the sun that
sets first when Venus is an evening star in the west. Both are symbolically represented in the east
and west windows of this church, but with the number eight dominantly represented in the architecture it appears the
Templars venerated the sacred feminine of the Goddess Venus above the male sun
God. What’s important to take away from
the symbolism of this medieval Portuguese Templar church is it gives us a look
into the minds of the Templar’s and what aspects of their faith and beliefs
were important to them. Many
researchers, most notably British author, Alan Butler, has written extensively
about the Templar’s and Cistercians veneration of the planet Venus and other
symbolic representations of the Goddess.
By understanding the religious ideology of the Templar’s and the
symbolism associated with it, one can also make sense of the sacred numbers
that go along with it and why those numbers appear on the Kensington Rune Stone
since it most likely was created by a 14th Century
Cistercian/Templar monk.
Clearly the number eight was important to the
Templars/Cistercians as it represented the Deity. It’s also been well established within Hebrew
mysticism, and specifically, that the “Tree of Life” in the Kabbalah is an
important aspect of both modern Freemasonry and Templarism. Therefore, as these numbers consistently
appear in association with the medieval Templar/Cistercian ideals and now within
the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, this evidence is consistent with a
connection between them. Having twenty-two
Grand Masters of the Portuguese Templar’s buried inside this church must have consistent
symbolic meaning. It cannot be yet
another coincidence.
As seems to always be the case, when trying to understand
the origins of just about anything connected to the Templar’s/Cistercians and
Freemasonry, one needs to look at Egyptian history. In Rosemary Clark’s book, The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The
Esoteric Wisdom Revealed, she writes, “The
expressions of ten and twelve, in turn, give rise to the number twenty-two, a
figure that plays a prominent role in the cosmological structure of Egypt. Twenty-two is expressed artistically and
architecturally at a number of sacred sites, representing the twenty-two
original nomes, or provinces, of Lower Egypt.
The number also corresponds to the number of encephalographic nodes in
the human brain, and denotes the twelve signs of the Zodiac and the ten planets
as expressed in the Twenty-two images of the Major Arcana of the Tarot. Hence, the number is the expression of a
complete cycle of energetic and material manifestation.”
Here we have the number twenty-two having significance in
not just ancient Egyptian mysticism, but as many scholars believe, these ideals
were passed on into Hebrew mysticism where we find the same numbers being
symbolically important in the Kabbalah.
Keep in mind that scant documentation exists that can be referred as
this esoteric knowledge was passed from master to initiate “mouth to ear”; most
notably prior to medieval times. In
spite of this, the numbers that appear on the Kensington Rune Stone imply the
carver was deeply versed in symbolism, allegory, codes, and specific sacred
numbers that appear to have been passed on as a continuous thread through
mystical sects from ancient Egypt to the Hebrews, to the Cistercian’s/Knight
Templar, and finally into Modern Freemasonry.
Brother Timothy Hogan also brings up the concept of the same
type of confirmation codes we see in the Kensington Rune Stone inscription
using some of the same numbers also being confirmed by various references to
God in the Torah and the Bible. Quoting
Hogan, “Qabbalistic scholars have alluded
to the fact that the 32 paths of are suggested in the Torah by the 32 times
that God’s name “Elohim” appears in the account of creation in the first
chapter of Genesis. In this account, the
expression, “God Said” appears 10 times, and these are the ten sayings with
which the world was created. The ten
sayings seem to have correlation with the ten sephiroth on the quabbalistic
tree diagram, and alluded to by the Sephir Yetzirah, the Sephir Bahir, and the
Zohar.” “The other 22 times that God’s
name appears in this account seem(s) to match the 22 letters of the Hebrew
aleph-beth (alphabet) and by extension the 22 paths.”
It appears we have the ancient Kabbalistic tradition of
using the same numeric confirmation codes using many of the same numbers known
to have been used by the Cistercians/Knights Templar, also being used within
the Kensington Rune Stone inscription.
“…From Vinland far to
the West.”
The realization that imbedded within the
Kensington inscription is the most important allegorical story of the ancient
mysteries; the resurrection of the sun on the winter solstice, was the key that
unlocked the secret messages left by the carver that only one who has been
initiated could recognize. I’ve tried to
flesh out the important elements within the inscription; specifically, what
parts are merely allegories and symbolism and what parts are real information
being relayed by the carver. I never
believed the “10 men red from blood and death” had anything to do with the
long-held belief by many they were killed and scalped by Natives during a
skirmish. The inscription doesn’t say
anything about natives and indeed I’ve always the believed the Cistercians/Knights
Templar shared a similar ideology with N
Native American’s and were strategically aligned. They didn’t fight their way to the center of
the continent; they must have traveled with them.
First and foremost, the land claim thesis I proposed over a
decade ago is still firmly in place.
However, my assumption there were three practical elements to it has now
changed. Originally, I thought the three
practical pieces of the Kensington Rune Stone inscription, “…from Vinland far to the west,” “…14 days journey from this
island/hill,” and “…one day’s journey
from this stone,” were part of what was essentially a land deed pinpointing
the location that is now the Ohman Farm in Kensington, Minnesota. In light of the new discovery it makes more
sense the land claim part of the inscription is dealt with in the first three
lines of the inscription. Taking “From Vinland far to the west” at face
value, it appears the inscription is claiming land starting in Vinland, which
by 1362 would have been known for over 300 years dating from the time of the
Viking Saga’s as the northeast coast of North America, far to the west. Where exactly, ‘far to the west’ was intended
to be is only a guess. However, one
could assume it meant at least to the
west as far as halfway across the continent where the artifact was found. If so, and one includes the land associated
with the Mississippi-Missouri/Red River-Hudson Bay watersheds as I’ve proposed
in the past, then ‘from Vinland far to the west’ would encompass most if not
all of the North American continent!
“…One Day’s Journey from
this Stone” and “…14 Days Journey from this Island/Hill.”
The other thing within the inscription that’s changed in
light of the Ritual Code discovery is my interpretation of these two lines in
the text, “…one day’s Journey from this
Stone,” and “…14 Days Journey from
this island/hill.” I long thought
they were indicators to where the Kensington Rune Stone discovery site location
described similar to language in a land deed.
Upon reflection and consideration of the new evidence in context with
the realization of the Royal Arch legend imbedded within the inscription, it is
very likely these are directions that tell the initiated how to get to a certain
place. That place can only be the hidden
location of the Secret Vault ‘far to the west’ of the Kensington Rune Stone
discovery site. What makes sense to me
is these are two lines of the otherwise confusing narrative that should be
taken literally. A “…day’s journey…” may in fact be the number of days west and north from
the discovery site to a certain location.
However, I don’t believe the words “days” means 24 hours. I suspect it’s a coded reference to latitude
(“…one day’s journey north…”), and longitude (“…14 days journey…”).
Masonic scholar and author, William Mann, published the location
of the Secret Vault as being in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.
If Bill is right, then
“…14 days journey…” can only be west of Rune Stone Hill.
Traveling 14 degrees west and then 1 degree
north, or vice versa, will get you to the same end location so it doesn’t
matter which comes first within the inscription.
As much as I’d like to think it takes you to
the location of the Secret Vault, I don’t believe that is the case.
For one thing, 14 degrees west of Kensington,
Minnesota (45.7781° N, 95.6961° W), puts you a degree and a half east of the
foothills of the Rockies (Example: Townsend, Montana, 46.3203° N, 111.5178°
W).
14 degrees longitude west must put
you in the territory of the Native American tribe that upon receiving the
proper passwords, handshakes, and signs of recognition, will then lead the
worthy party to the Secret Vault.
This theory about a Secret Vault is highly speculative and
will likely be too much for some people.
However, most Freemasons or persons initiated into a Masonic-like order
will understand and appreciate the information presented here and see it as
highly likely if not a certainty.
The
forensic scientist in me is forced to take to notice of the voluminous factual
evidence that already existed that led me to conclude the Kensington Rune Stone
was a genuine fourteenth century land claim.
As a newly initiated Freemason who has witnessed and participated in the
higher degrees of both the Scottish Rite and the York Rite Mysteries, I see the
unmistakable allegorical story of the Old Testament Masonic legend of the Royal
Arch screaming off the rune stone’s text.
When linked with the same Royal Arch symbolism and the allegorical
resurrection story so beautifully on display on the Winter Solstice in the
Newport Tower in Rhode Island, it becomes an undeniable fact the two are
contemporaneous and must have been created by a group of people who embraced
the same ideology and knowledge.
By connecting the two with a long-range
alignment that passes from the center of the Newport Tower, through the two
symbolic keystones, and then to Kensington, Minnesota, the evidence presents what
I believe is a conclusive case.
Jesus and Mary
Magdalene
One would think that if the Kensington Rune Stone was carved
by an initiated Cistercian monk traveling with a party that included knights ideologically
descended from the disbanded Templar order who understood what many believe to
be the historical truth about Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene that somewhere
in the inscription there would be a clue to this knowledge. Here again, the answer to the question
depends on whether the reader has the “eyes to see.” To the initiated, Jesus was known as the
“Fisher King” as he was the first Grand Master of Freemasonry in the Age of
Pisces the Fish. In the Bible, if you
were a follower of Jesus, you were a ‘follower of the fish.’
“We were fishing one
day…” on line six of the inscription never made sense to me. Of course the Kensington party would go
fishing; probably on a daily basis to sustain themselves. However, when viewed in a Masonic light and to
one who knew the “secret”, “fishing” on the Kensington Rune Stone inscription
must surely be a reference to the biblical Jesus.
Not to be excluded, the initiated will also quickly see that
his wife is also acknowledged on line eight with the Latin letters “AVM.” In my Akhenaten
book, I made the same point and perhaps as way of emphasis, the carver made a
punch on the lower right leg of the “M” apparently as a coded acknowledgement
to the sacred feminine goddess they revered.
While standing firmly behind my long-standing thesis the
Kensington Rune Stone is first and foremost a 14
th Century land
claim many people have asked in whose name the land claim is made.
I have always argued that since I believe the
Kensington party were the ideological and likely bloodline descendants of the
Templar’s who were put down by the King of France and the Pope in 1307, the
claim would not have been made in the name of any king, monarch, or the
Pope.
However, in light of this new Ritual
Code evidence, I am forced to admit that I was wrong.
It appears the land claim was indeed made in
the name of a king.
In this case, it was
their ancestral and ideological Grand Master, the Fisher King.
As if to emphasize the point, there are
twenty-two Hooked X’s, as found on the lid of the “Jesus, son of Joseph”
ossuary from the Talpiot tomb, emblazoned throughout the inscription.
Looking back at the ten men from Alexandria, Minnesota, at
least eight of whom were known to be Freemasons, one is compelled to wonder
what motivated them to want to build such a large, and very expensive monument,
to permanently house the Kensington Rune Stone at the discovery site on the
Ohman Farm. They must have seen
something within the inscription that told them it was connected to Templarism/
Freemasonry. In the 1920’s, York Rite Freemasonry
was very popular in the rural areas of Minnesota and I suspect it’s possible at
least one, or maybe all of the men were York Rite Freemasons who recognized the
numbers 8 and 22 as being connected to the Select Master degree. There is no known record this is true or what
it was that specifically motivated them, but I personally believe they likely
saw what I saw and knew the Kensington Rune Stone was somehow connected to
their medieval ideological brethren.
Conclusions
Based on the evidence presented in this paper the following
conclusions are appropriate:
1.
The Ritual Code on the Kensington Rune Stone
completely eliminates the idea a late 19th Century Swedish immigrant
farmer created the inscription to express ethnic pride.
2.
Any and all theories regarding who created the
Kensington Rune Stone inscription now must incorporate the “Ritual Code”
discovery into the thesis.
3.
The “Ritual Code” discovery is consistent with
the idea that many aspects of Masonic ritual are part of a long-standing
symbolic and allegorical tradition that goes back through the Kabbalah and the ancient
Egyptian Mysteries.
4.
The “Ritual Code” discovery eliminates the need
to investigate the allegorical aspects of the inscription that do not represent
what many have believed to have been actual historical events such as searching
for remains of the “10 men red from blood and death.”
5.
The “Ritual Code” discovery does not change the
following previous discoveries made by the author and other researchers and
introduces new conclusions about the artifact:
a.
The KRS was created by a group of post-putdown
(in 1307) Cistercians/Knights Templar.
b.
The KRS was created in 1362.
c.
The “Dating Code” of a second date of 1362 that
was encoded within the inscription using the medieval Easter Table dating
tradition as proposed by the author in 2006, is still valid.
d.
The idea the KRS is a 14th Century
land claim as proposed by the author in 2006, is still valid.
e.
The presence of the word, “Gral” (“Grail”) as
singled out in sequence by the carver using punch marks and short lines after the inscription was carved.
f.
The KRS land claim was the beginning of the
founding of what would become the United States of America. The Cistercians/Knights Templar began the
effort to establish what they called the “New Jerusalem” which was successfully
completed in the late 18th Century by their ideological direct descents;
modern day Freemasonry.
g.
The new discovery explains why Scandinavian
scholars without the knowledge base and understanding of the allegorical and
symbolic aspects of the Hebrew mysticism and the Egyptian mysteries have
struggled for over a century to understand and appreciate these aspects of the
inscription.
h.
This new discovery may shed light on what
motivated the ten men in Alexandria to want to build such a substantial
monument. Perhaps they too saw the
Kensington as the beginning of the founding of the United States by their
ideological medieval brethren.
6. The new discovery
can also be argued provides a direct connection between the Cistercians/Knights
Templar to modern Freemasonry. The exact
path between the two is not yet totally clear.
References
General Grand Council Cryptic Masons:
Under the supervision of the Ritual Committee , Adopted September 24, 1900, As
revised October 10-11, 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana, 24th Edition.
Hogan, W. Timothy, The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in
Freemasonry, ISBN: 978-0-557-04610-2, 2009.
Kaplan, Aryeh, Sefer Yetzirah: The Book of Creation, Weiser Books, Boston, MA/York Beach, ME, 1997.
Mann, William F., Templar Sanctuaries in North America: Sacred Bloodlines and Secret
Treasures, Destiny
Books, Rochester, Vermont, 2016.
Minnesota Historical Society’s Museum
Committee, The Kensington Rune Stone, Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Volume
XV, St. Paul, Minnesota, Pages 221-286, May, 1915.
Winchell, Professor Newton H., Report on the Kensington Rune Stone, by Professor N. H. Winchell of the
Museum Committee, Minnesota Historical Society, April, 1910.
Wolter, Scott F., and Richard
Nielsen, The Kensington Rune Stone: Compelling
New Evidence, Lake
Superior Agate Publishing, Chanhassen, Minnesota, 2006.
Wolter, Scott F., The
Hooked X: Key to the History of North America, North Star Press of St.
Cloud, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 2009.
Wolter, Scott F., Akhenaten
to the Founding Fathers: The Mysteries of the Hooked X, North Star Press of
St. Cloud, St. Cloud, Minnesota, 2013.
The face side of the Kensington Rune
Stone that contains nine lines of text carved in Scandinavian runes. (Wolter,
2013)
The split side of the Kensington Rune
Stone with three lines of text that includes the date 1362 carved using
Pentadic numbers in Arabic placement. (Wolter, 2013)
This graphic shows the thirteen
degrees of York Rite Freemasonry. The first three degrees are called the “Blue
Lodge”, the next four are called the Royal Arch degrees, the next three are
called the Cryptic Council degrees and the final three are the Order of the
Knights Templar degrees. The degree that
tipped me off to the Ritual Code numbers on the Kensington Rune Stone was the
Select Master degree, the second in the Cryptic Council. (Internet)
The typical “o” rune used in medieval
Scandinavian runic inscriptions has two parallel lines angling down roughly
forty-five and left from the main vertical stave. On the Kensington Rune Stone seventeen of the
twenty “o” runes have the two parallel lines squared at ninety degrees left of
the main vertical stave. The initiated
medieval carver likely employed the concept of “squaring our actions by the
square of virtue.” (Wolter, 2004, 2002)
Three of the twenty “O” runes are
ornately carved vertical ovals with “n” runes inside the oval. Two dots above the three symbols represent
umlauts indicating the “ö” sound. The
Masonic concept of the “Rule of Three” appears to have been employed and could
represent the three horizontals and/or three columns in the “Tree of Life” in
the Kabbalah. (Wolter, 2002)
Janet Wolter stands within the original rectangular footprint within the cemetery at Bruton Parish Church in Colonial Williamsburg, On September 29, 2015. One of the tour guides told us recent excavations did not find evidence of a secret vault below the original church.
