Merrick - The Venus blueprint: uncovering the ancient science of sacred spaces

Copyright 2012 by Richard Merrick. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout written permission of the publisher. For information contact Evolver Editions c/o North Atlantic Books.

Images of Rosslyn chapel in courtesy of Nenad Djurdjevic.

The Venus Blueprint: Uncovering the Ancient Science of Sacred Spaces is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com or call 800-733-3000.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Merrick, Richard, 1955
The Venus blueprint : uncovering the ancient science of sacred spaces / by Richard Merrick.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references ().
eISBN: 978-1-58394-539-1
1. Sacred space. I. Title.
BL580.M455 2012
203.5dc23

2012003593

v3.1

For my own Venusian goddesses
Sherolyn, Adrienne, and Doris

B eginning as a collaborative research project with famed Scottish composer Stuart Mitchell, this book chronicles our path of research and discovery concerning enigmatic Rosslyn chapel, near Edinburgh, Scotland. Digging through countless books, websites, and articles together, we sought to understand the chapels connection to the planet Venusin particular, its rare conjunction with the Sun and Earth, known as the Venus transit.

Thanks to Stuarts creative spirit, curiosity, and encouragement, I was driven to dig further, eventually discovering the untold history of religion as it had been encoded in Rosslyns symbolism and architectural design. I simply could not have written this book without him, and I am deeply grateful for his help and friendship throughout the process.

Thanks also to Stuarts father, Tommy Mitchell, who so inspired me with his wonderful poems, writings, and philosophical chats over tea and biscuits. In addition to the joy of his friendship, Tommy was something of a guru for me along the way. His ideas helped place me in a frame of mind in which I could see things as they might have been understood in a world that existed long before the rise of Christianity and Western materialism.

During this project, I was recruited to write a number of essays for Caduceus magazine; TokenRock.com; and a book entitled The View Beyond, about Sir Francis Bacon. Each of these projects contributed in different ways to the direction of this study. For these opportunities, my thanks and gratitude go out to Simon Best, Scott Leuthold, Carrie-Anne DAngelo, Dave Patrick, and Colum Hayward.

My thanks also go to Shannon Novak, a New Zealand artist whose work in music visualization pushed me toward a deeper understanding of tone and color. For additional helpful comments and suggestions, my thanks go to archeomusicologist Leon Crickmore, who sent me his excellent research on Babylonian harmonic theory; Chris Jordan, who offered his research concerning ancient solar collectors; Doug Pritchard, with the Centre for Digital Design Documentation, a collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art and Historic Scotland, for permission to use his wonderful laser-scanned and 3D images of Rosslyn; Nenad Djurdjevic, who graciously gave me special access to research on the Bosnian pyramids; Ian Robertson, for sharing his detailed knowledge of Rosslyn chapel; Mary Hubbard for her detailed notes on Bramantes design of the Vatican; Scott Olsen, for sending me his beautiful study of the golden section; Dwight Marcus, for inspiring me with his multiaesthetic writing style; longtime friend Dan Reed, who has remained a steadfast supporter and advocate of my work in the Dallas community; and Daniel Pinchbeck for publishing this study through Evolver Editions.

Thanks finally to all the others who have graciously offered their own perspectives and research along the way. This information has proven to be extremely helpful in verifying my findings and opening up new avenues of inquiry, contributing in no small part to the conclusions of this work.