The TRUE meaning behind the cubit symbols

[137th Gebirg]

Greetings, all - this one is a keeper!

So I was perusing my local bookstore, and I found this magazine called A Companion Guide to "The Lost Symbol". Well, between that and the big Square and Compasses on the cover (check out my avatar and you'll know why it caught my attention) I had to get it. Some of you who know me know that I'm a bit of an armchair symbologist myself from prior postings (certainly not in the league of the fictional Robert Langdon, but I can hold my own), and I wanted to get this in particular. While browsing through its pages, I noticed that it covers not only the Masons, but a bunch of other rather esoteric subject matter, conspiracies and secret societies - all in all, a well-rounded read and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. Here's the cover (not very subtle, of course):

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/9945/solomonskey.jpg

As I was flipping the pages, I got to some curious dude called "Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim" on page 76. No kidding, this is the guy's name - probably the inspiration for Monty Python's Johan Gambleputty...of Ulm schtick. Anyways, I guess even he thought his name was too long and changed it to simply "Paracelsus". Pic here:

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7750/paracelsus.jpg

A skilled physician, he delved into the studies of Brahman spiritual healing and other esoteric arts, and also possibly went under the pseudonym "Christian Rosenkreutz", the very founder of the Rosicrucian Order itself. He has another significant contribution to the world of esoteria. He invented the "Alphabet of the Magi", which he used to inscribe the names of the angels on healing talismans. This is not the more well-known "Angelic Script", but something else. The thing that gave me pause and damn near knocked me out of my chair were two characters in particular of this alphabet. Characters which I have outlined in red in the following scan from the magazine:

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/1873/alphabet.jpg

Look familiar? YEP! Colonial Cubits!

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7374/cubits.jpg
(Final pic scaled down from ByYourCommand.net)

We have been led to believe for the longest time that these cubit designs were made up by the props folks because the symbols look like "G" and "L" for Glen Larson, the show's creator. These symbols may look like G and L, but most certainly are more than just random lines and squiggles thrown together. Somebody did their homework, just as they did for the Blue Squadron patch, which is a representation of an ancient Indian Sri Yantra Mandala:

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7126/bluesquadronav9.jpg http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/278/sriheader.jpg

Just some pretty cool stuff to me - some new takes on old stuff. Enjoy!

[Prolescum]

So BSG is an illuminati code repository like Tarot and the story of King Arthur?

[orion24]

You Nailed the Cubit Symbols 137th Gebirg, The only question I have and I have been asking around other Forums about this, What are the Denominations of the Cubits? Since they have 2 different symbols on them they must mean 2 different Denominations, On the back of the Cubits is the Galactica symbol, I have speculated that they originally wanted the Galactica symbol to represent the Colonial Seal but changed it over to the Galactica, But they possibly had the Cubits already made before they change their minds and that may be the reason why the Galactica symbol is on the back of the Cubits and not the regular Colonial Seal. :)

Bill

[hellkiller1234]

BSG should somehow related to Da Vincci

[137th Gebirg]

You Nailed the Cubit Symbols 137th Gebirg, The only question I have and I have been asking around other Forums about this, What are the Denominations of the Cubits? Since they have 2 different symbols on them they must mean 2 different Denominations, On the back of the Cubits is the Galactica symbol, I have speculated that they originally wanted the Galactica symbol to represent the Colonial Seal but changed it over to the Galactica, But they possibly had the Cubits already made before they change their minds and that may be the reason why the Galactica symbol is on the back of the Cubits and not the regular Colonial Seal. :)

Bill

I am unsure of what the denominations would be, but that's not to say there's some ancient text out there that may shed light on the subject. Many languages, Hebrew for example, have alphabets where letters also have numeric equivalents. It is possible that these characters may have numeric significance from which we could infer a denomination. A cursory search hasn't dug anything up, but there may be something out there. I'll keep looking.

re: Colonial Seal, yes, that and several other symbols in the show (the 6-pointed star that you see on the LandRam and Pyramid cards) have unfortunately been used interchangeably throughout the life of the show, somewhat muddying what their original meanings might have been. There was a clear intent on the part of the producers to introduce ancient esoteric meaning within the show, but I think general sloppiness and disuse by those whom the symbols were later handed off to and didn't understand their meaning caused some blurring of what we should have seen. I'm always pleasantly surprised and shocked when something totally new is discovered in something that has been around for over 30 years.

[Joe Beaudoin Jr.]

Great stuff! Thanks for sharing! :D

[MAD]

GOOD JOB! Though this is all right on the money, I forgot to tell you that there's no connection between the new series rank pins and the Masonary symbol. Ray Lai who designed those LOVED your article but said that this was just coincidence and he based his on other, diamond shaped rank pins (which in their turn could be based on the Masonary symbol, but it wasn't his idea). His interview will be published within a week.

Marcel

[137th Gebirg]

Hey, Marcel! Thanks for the confirmation. It would admittedly have been cooler if they were based on Masonic symbolism, but it's good that we now finally know definitively. And yes, that was a perfect example for the fact that sometimes there are just coincidences. ;)

Looking forward to that interview for a LONG time! :)

OH! And for all those interested, now that I know what I'm looking for, a font has been made for this alphabet. It's amazing how it's been sitting out there, all this time, waiting to be rediscovered.

http://www.dafont.com/alphabet-of-magi.font