THE VISION OF THE THREE SPRINGS    

    From this point onwards, the verses begin to move away from the historical British framework in time, into a planetary and cosmic set of visions. The first of these is the Vision of the Three Springs, which includes a vision of the Goddess of the Land, and a practical teaching about breath and subtle energies. This is a typical traditional wisdom- carrying vision, reminding us of material in other traditions. It is likely to be the remnant of a wisdom teaching and vision preserve in bardic (Welsh druidic) poetry.

42 Three springs shall break forth in the city of Winchester, whose rivulets shall divide the island into three parts. Whoever shall drink of the first, shall enjoy long life and never be afflicted with sickness. He that shall drink of the second, shall die of hunger and paleness and horror shall sit upon his countenance.

43 He that shall drink of the third, shall be surprised with sudden death, neither shall his body be capable of burial. Those that are willing to escape so voracious a death, will endeavor to bide it with several coverings, but whatever bulk shall be laid upon it, shall receive the form of another body. For earth shall be turned into stones; stones into water; wood into ashes; ashes into water, if cast over it.

    Nature of the Three Springs

    The Three Springs correspond to Life, Desire, and Death. The first is the Clear or White Stream, the second is the Red Stream, the third is the Black Stream.

    The desire to escape death, associated with the third Black Stream, results in a cycle of Elemental transformations: earth/stones/water/wood (burnt by fire)/ashes. This refers to the cycle of manifestation and rebirth of all forms, all energies, all beings.

    When we are newly born, the White Stream is strongest within us. As we mature, the Red Stream becomes the strongest. In maturity and old age, the Black Stream is prevalent. The streams are a model of the vital energies, the blood, and the body (life force, blood stream, form-building and eliminatory systems).

44 A maiden shall be sent from the gathering place in the ancient forest, to administer a cure. Once she has practiced her oracular arts, she shall dry up the poisonous fountains by breathing upon them. After this, she shall refresh herself with the wholesome fountain, and shall bear in her right hand the forests of the North, and in her left hand the buttressed forts of London.

V44: Next comes a vision of the Goddess of the Land. She appears as a virgin (maiden) out of the ancient forest, and breathes upon the two "poisonous" streams, the Red and the Black. She is the source of prophecy, for before breathing, she practices "oracular arts". Such imagery is often associated with wells, springs, and fountains, in Celtic tradition. As they rise from the UnderWorld, they carry within them the visions of potential future patterns.

    After drinking from the wholesome (White) fountain, the Goddess grows to full size, she is the Land: in one hand the forests of Caledon (the North) and in the other the city of the South (London).

45 Wherever she shall go, she shall make sulfurous steps, which shall smoke with a double flame. That smoke shall rouse up the Ruteni, and shall make food for the inhabitants of the deep sea. Tears of compassion will overflow her eyes, and she shall fill the island with dreadful cries.

V45: the smoking footsteps of the Goddess are found in various traditions, where images of deities are shown with flames erupting where they touch the ground. The flames denote the inherent power of the deity. The smoke arouses ancestral memory, symbolized by the old tribal name of the Ruteni. Making food for the inhabitants of the deep sea, and the association with sulfur reminds us that life begins in the ocean depths, where the volcanic fires merge with deep waters, and primal life forms are generated.

The Goddess, now reaching from one end of the Land to the other, from North to South, has one foot on the land and one in the depths of the Sea. Her compassion flows out as tears.

46 She shall be killed by a hart with ten branches, four of which shall bear golden diadems; but the other six shall be turned into the horns of oxen, whose hideous bellowing shall arouse the three islands of Britain.

v46: The next image is of a stag or hart with ten branches (antlers). This is a power emblem. The stag is typically one of the power animals in Celtic tradition, and is closely associated with Merlin (along with the Wolf, the Pig, and the Crow). The upper four branches bear golden crowns (diadems). These are the equivalent of the higher Spheres on the Tree of Life, representing spiritual and solar forces. The lower six are more earthy, appearing as the horns of oxen. The Ox is the traditional creature of the element of Earth: driving or turning the mill of power. The ancient sacred sign of the Swastika (in India, not the reversed emblem of Nazism) is made from the horns of four oxen, turning a grinding mill, as seen from above. They symbolize the Elements and the Directions, the Wheel of Life.

    Though the verses state that the maiden is killed by the Stag, this sequence represents the mediation of elemental forces, from the realm of deity outward into nature: from the Goddess, through the Three Streams, and out into manifestation, form, living creatures, and interaction. As always in the Prophecies, the interaction is dramatically symbolized by conflict, as in the next verses.

47 The Daneian wood shall be stirred up, and breaking forth into a human voice shall cry: 'Come 0 Cambria, bring Cornwall at your side, and say to Winchester, the earth shall swallow you up! Translate the see of your pastor to the place where the ships come to harbor, and the rest of the limbs shall follow the head. For the day approaches when your citizens shall perish on account of the guilt of perjury. The whiteness of wool has been hurtful to you, and the variety of its tinctures. Woe to the perjured nation, for whom the city shall be ruined

49 The ships shall rejoice at such a great augmentation, and one shall be made out of two.

v48-49 Suddenly we are returned to historical events. These verses refer to the conflict between Winchester and London as centers of power in the medieval period. It seems, momentarily, that we are thrown back in time, or that we have begun a new time-sequence. The following verses seem to describe modern day London...

50 It shall be rebuilt by a Hedgehog laden with apples, to the smell of which birds will flock from different woods. He shall add to it a vast palace walled around with six hundred towers. Therefore shall London envy it, and triply increase her walls.

51 The river Thames shall encompass London, and the fame of this work shall pass beyond the Alps The Hedgehog shall bide his apples within it, and shall make subterraneous passages.

51(ii) At that time shall the stones speak, and the area towards the Gallic coast be contracted into a narrow space. 0n each bank shall one man hear another, and the soil of the island shall be enlarged. The secrets of the deep shall be revealed, and Gaul shall tremble for fear.

v50-51 The Hedgehog was a symbol of prosperity in the Middle Ages, supposedly rolling along and gathering apples on her spines. Modern London is permeated by subterraneous passages on a vast scale, including tunnels, the Underground railways, rivers, secret roads and service tunnels, sewers, and so forth. Little of this existed at the time Geoffrey wrote out the Prophecies. The city is also center of world commerce.

    The image of the encompassing Thames reminds us of the present day tidal barrier on that river, which prevents London from flooding. The city would be under water without this complex system, so we can say that the Thames encompasses modern London in a way that was unknown in medieval times.

v51(ii) refers to present day communications technology. Speaking stones are the key feature of our times, with quartz microchips vibrating to generate communication. Men in Britain and France (Gaul) can hear one another instantly. In recent years a tunnel has been opened under the English channel, uniting England and France with a rapid access rail route. So the distance between the shores has been shortened or negated.

NOTE: some verses are omitted at this point from this selection of the Prophecies. The complete text can be found in Merlin, the Prophetic Vision and Mystic Life, cited at the beginning of this edition.

A lengthy sequence of strife, strange encounters, and monstrous creatures follows the verses about modern London.

67 in his days shall the Pachaian mountains tremble, and the provinces be deprived of their woods. For there shall come a worm with a fiery breath, and with the vapor it sends forth shall burn up the trees. Out of it shall proceed seven lions deformed with the heads of goats

68 Then shall come the giant of wickedness, and terrify all with the sharpness of his eyes. Against him shall rise the Dragon of Worcester, and shall endeavor to banish him.

69 But in the engagement the dragon shall be worsted, and oppressed by the wickedness of the conqueror. For he shall mount upon the dragon, and putting off his garment shall sit upon him naked. The dragon shall bear him up on high, and beat his naked rider with his tail erected. Upon this the giant rousing up his whole strength shall break his jaws with his sword. At last the dragon shall fold itself up under its tail, and die of poison.

74 Thus being naked shall he overcome him, whom when clothed he was not able to deal with.

76 The giant of the snow-white color shall shine, and cause the white people to flourish. Pleasures shall effeminate the princes, and they shall suddenly be changed into beasts.

77 A charioteer of York shall appease them, and having banished his lord, shall mount upon the chariot which he shall drive. With his sword unsheathed shall he threaten the East, and fill the tracks of his wheels with blood.

82 One shall come in armor, and shall ride upon a flying serpent. He shall sit upon his back with his naked body, and cast his right hand upon his tail. With his cry shall the seas be moved, and he shall strike terror

86 A man shall embrace a lion in wine, and the dazzling brightness of gold shall blind the eyes of beholders.

87 From them shall the Stars turn away their faces, and confound their usual course. Corn will wither at their malign aspects, and there shall fall no dew from Heaven...

    These remarkable images are quite at odds with the general tone of The History, (the book within which the Prophecies are found) and hardly seems typical of Geoffrey's polished and rather relaxed stretches of imagination expressed throughout his British book. We can only assume that he took them down verbatim, or nearly so, from some hallowed oral source. Despite the apparent chaos of the images, there are recurring motifs which are worth elaboration.

THE NAKED GIANT AND THE DRAGON    

    The repeated image of the naked giant fighting a dragon is something which occurs by implication in the astrology of the concluding phase of The Prophecies: the vision of the end of time. As we shall see in our next chapter, the mythical hunter Orion, a giant stellar figure of importance to the ancients, is said to be in conflict with the constellation of Scorpio. Due to their relative positions in the night sky, Orion appears to be fleeing Scorpio. The images listed above imply a conflict between Orion and Scorpio, for there is no doubt that the Dragon is of a scorpion-like nature. Lewis Thorpe translates this line as 'finally the dragon shall become entangled in its own tail and will die of poison.'

    The Naked Giant battling the Dragon is redolent of primal titanic struggles, expressed in star-lore as the figures of Orion and Scorpio, and in later myths as the hero who slays a monster, or Saint George and the Dragon. We are encountering an early or primal expression of this theme when we meet with it in repeated imagery in the Prophecies."

INVERSION OF NATURAL ORDER,
HERALDING MERLIN'S APOCALYPTIC VISION OF THE GODDESS ARIADNE    

    Inversion is another repeated pattern in the text; the Valley of Galabes (Merlin's personal haunt, containing a magical fountain) becomes a mountain. Many of the creatures exhibit characteristics of inversion: birds flocking together to destroy mankind, multiple beasts with grotesque features, lions that corrupt women into prostitution, the Pachaian mountains tottering, and so forth.

    In many ways this lengthy passage prepares us for the clearly defined Apocalyptic scheme that occurs at the close of the vision: the end of the solar system and the elemental patterns of creation. We might regard this ferment of disturbing imagery as a first boiling up of the inner energies, the purgation, prior to the dissolution that follows.

    Whatever meaning we may put upon these lines, there can be no doubt that they lead to the awesome final vision, and that their dramatic effect is to build tension and prepare us for the moment when 'root and branch change places', for the Apocalyptic Vision which follows.   

88a: Root and branch shall change places, and the newness of the thing shall pass as a miracle.

88b:The brightness of the Sun shall fade at the amber of Mercury, and horror shall seize the beholders. Stilbon of Arcadia shall change his shield; the Helmet of Mars shall call Venus.

v88a: The inversion of root and branch is a potent image , and is similar to those found in various spiritual traditions that work with the Tree of Life, the World Tree, and the powers of the UnderWorld. Hidden depths come the surface, that which was below becomes above, that which was above becomes below. In the UnderWorld traditions this type of imagery refers, at its most profound level, to an exchange between the spiritual powers deep within our planet, and those of the Solar System and other stars.

v88b: In August of 1999 there was a long and powerful Mercury retrograde, followed by an eclipse of the Sun. These astrological/astronomical patterns marked the opening phase of a series that occurs during the transition between the 20th and 21st centuries (CE). The Christian calendar Millennium synchronizes with these transitional patterns, but the changes themselves are not defined by a Christian calendar, for they are cosmic in nature.

89 The Helmet of Mars shall make a shadow; and the rage of Mercury shall exceed its orbit. Iron Orion shall unsheathe his sword; the marine Phoebus shall torment the clouds . Jupiter shall go out of his lawful paths; and Venus forsake her appointed circuits.

v89 Refers to planetary and stellar forces of change, and their impact upon our planet. Orion is traditionally associated with storms, and "the marine Phoebus" is a poetic phrase describing Orion. Profound weather changes and increasing storms, such as the El Nino effect, are hallmarks of the close of the 20th century, and will continue to grow in the 21st.

90 The malignity of the star Saturn shall fall down in rain, and slay mankind with a crooked sickle. The Twelve Houses of the Stars shall lament the irregular excursions of their inmates.

v90 Poisonous rain is another feature of the 20th century, due to industrial and nuclear pollution. Saturn is a force of long term change, slow and deep. Lead, the metal of Saturn, is associated with the poisons typical to 20th century pollution, especially lead and arsenic from internal combustion engines (cars).

    The lament of the Twelve Houses of the Stars marks the beginning of a cosmic and terrestrial shift. The stars and planets no longer follow their regular patterns in the sky. This can only occur if the relative position of our planet earth changes: the observed patterns are a relativistic effect as seen from Earth. If the planet changes its position in orbit, the old patterns will no longer show in the night sky. This theme is developed in the following verses.

91 The Gemini shall omit their usual embrace, and will call the Urn (Aquarius) to the fountains. The Scales of Libra shall hang awry, till Aries puts his crooked horns under them. The tail of Scorpio shall produce lightning, and Cancer quarrel with the Sun. Virgo shall mount upon the back of Sagittarius, and darken her Virgin flowers.

v91 The Signs are described as breaking away from their customary functions, creating disruption and chaos.

92 The Chariot of the Moon shall disorder the Zodiac, and the Pleiades break forth into weeping. No offices of Janus shall return hereafter, but his gate being shut shall lie hid in the chinks of Ariadne. (Giles)

92 The Chariot of the Moon shall disturb the Zodiac, and the Pleiades shall burst into tears and lamentations None hereafter shall return to his wonted duty, but Ariadne shall lie hidden within the closed gateways of her sea-girt headland. (Evans)

v 92 With this verse we come to the heart of the Apocalyptic vision. The Chariot of the Moon refers to the cycle of the Lunar Nodes, which were considered of major importance in early astrology. The pattern of the Lunar Nodes forms a serpentine shape when mapped through the Signs and Houses. Nowadays the Dragon’s Head and Tail are still used in modern astrology.

The Pleiades are the celestial markers of the Seasons: the seasonal movement of this constellation was, and still is, observed in both northern and southern hemispheres. In May, the Pleiades mark the beginning of summer, in November, they mark the beginning of winter. They are also associated with birth and death: the May fertility festivals and the early November death festivals (Halloween). In the southern hemisphere the seasons, and the festivals, are reversed.

Janus (the god of crossroads and the Gatekeeper) is the power of transition, of choices at times of change. The month of January is named after this classical deity, who has either two faces (looking to the past and the future) or sometimes four faces (one for each of the Four Directions). Suddenly the Gate is closed, and the Goddess Ariadne withdraws her creation.

Ariadne is the spider or Weaver goddess. Geoffrey of Monmouth may have heard, or had before him as text, the Welsh goddess-name Arianrhod (Great Queen of the Wheel, sometimes translated as "silver-wheel"). In either case, classical or Welsh, the goddess is the same. She is the Weaver goddess who creates the Wheel of the Stars, and so the Wheel of Life. In Plato (Republic) this goddess is called Arete, which means necessity or virtue. She is described as twirling a distaff, from which the orbits of our solar system spin upon her colored threads.

Note: we can add here a quote from Lewis Thorpe, the most recent translator of Geoffrey’s History of the British Kings (Penguin Classics series) 92 'None of these shall return to the duty expected of it. (referring to the planets and Signs) Ariadne will shut its door and be hidden within the enclosing cloud banks.' Thorpe

93 The seas shall rise up in the twinkling of an eye, and the dust of the Ancients be restored. The winds shall fight together with a dreadful blast, and their Sound shall reach to the Stars.

v93 Is the final act of Apocalypse. The seas rising up may be interpreted as planetary seas, at first, flooding the lands as a result of the planetary shift of position. But they are also the seas of time, space, and stars: the arousal of the Ancestors is the pagan version of a theme later adapted by the early Christians. At the Last Judgement, the souls are summoned by the Archangel Gabriel, who is Regent of the West, the Moon, and the seas.

    The sound of the winds coming together reaches to the Stars. This image derives from the tradition of the Four Winds of the World, the Four Directions. These are mundane reflections or manifestations of the Four Primary Powers, the phases of the Divine Word of Being. This verse should remind us that, with our technology, we "hear" the energies of distant stars, even those that no longer exist.

    We may think of this vision as working at different levels. It can be interpreted as a physical planetary event, of major proportions, such as has happened in the past more than once. Many of the preliminary signs, such as weather changes, specific astrological patterns, and events in human culture, have already occurred. Like the Mayan and Hopi prophecies, the Prophecies of Merlin predict major changes, and the end of a cycle, sometime in the 21st century.

    The Apocalypse also refers to an inner or spiritual revolution, freeing the individual from the habitual patterns of the Wheel of Life. The Wheel (of the Goddess Ariadne/Arianrhod) is manifest through each of us in our natal chart, the birth chart found by astrological calculation.

    There is a further collective implication, for humanity as a race of beings, as part of the planetary collective and the Planetary Being. The 21st century CE is the time period in which major changes will become apparent, and the world will be transformed.

(©) R J Stewart, 1986, 1999, 2000. Worldwide copyright.