The Shaft, The Subway
& The Causeway
Part 4
One of the most interesting points about
"The Symbolic Prophecy Of The Great Pyramid" by H. Spencer Lewis is
the way in
which it connects Dr Selim Hassan’s discoveries at Giza in 1934/35
with diagrams of an underground network of passages and chambers. In
Lewis’s own words,
"They verify in part at least the things
indicated on the two diagrams shown in this book and undoubtedly the
passing of time will verify other parts of these diagrams."
Similar
diagrams were also published by H. C. Randall-Stevens, a
professional singer-turned-mystic who claimed that he channelled the
information from an "initiate of Ancient Egypt". The Lewis and
Randall-Stevens diagrams have already appeared on various internet
sites and in several recent books but I believe this to be the first
time that the actual publication chronology has been revealed. A
confusing picture emerges...
Contents
-
The Mystery Of The Diagrams
-
Some Questions To Be Answered
-
Published Views - What The Authors
Think
A
note on the diagrams reproduced below
Please note that figures 1 to 6 may be clicked
to show the full diagram for each figure.
Diagrams are reproduced from the first edition
of "A Voice Out Of Egypt" published in 1935 and
the first edition of "The Symbolic Prophecy of
the Great Pyramid" published in 1936.
I am
indebted to Mr. John Legon for providing details
about the highly elusive third edition of
"Atlantis To The Latter Days" published in 1966.
Figures 5 and 6 are reproduced from the 3rd
Special Members’ Edition published in 1981, the
diagrams being almost identical to those in the
third edition |
Return to Main Index
page 1│ page 2│ page 3│ page 4│ page 5│
page 6│
page 7│
page 8│
page 9
.
The Mystery Of The Diagrams...
Some time ago, the
now-defunct "CNI News" website reported on its Sphinxwatch page that,
"CNI News recently uncovered a copy of a
book by H.C. Randall-Stevens, also known as El Eros, entitled
’Atlantis to the Latter Days’. Randall-Stevens channelled the
material in the 1925-27 period, and the first publication of
this information was in 1928."
This statement was followed by chapter
ten of the book interspersed with diagrams which looked very similar
to those reproduced by Lewis in his book, "The Symbolic Prophecy Of
The Great Pyramid". The captioning of the diagrams was different but
structurally, they were almost identical. My own interpretation of
the report as written was that the diagrams were first published by
Randall-Stevens in 1928. The fact that Lewis’s book was first
published in 1936 suggested that he may well have based his diagrams
on Randall-Stevens’ work. Subsequent research has shown that it is
very difficult to say who borrowed from whom if indeed this was the
case, or if they both borrowed from a third party, or even from each
other.
Randall-Stevens states in the foreword to "Atlantis To The Latter
Days", that he channelled the material from two communicators named
Adolemy and Oneferu.
Adolemy had been incarnate under the
name Osiraes in the reigns of Amenhotep III and IV, and
Oneferu had
been incarnate under the name MenAton during the reign of Akhnaton.
He says that,
"... a whole series of details was
given to me twenty seven years ago concerning the nature and the
building of the Great Pyramid of Gizeh, also the Sphinx under
which is the entrance into the initiation chambers and passages
leading to the Grand Hall, which is below the base of the Great
Pyramid. I was given detailed plans of this Masonic Centre which
are reproduced later in this book."
The first edition of "Atlantis To The
Latter Days" was published in 1954 so Randall-Stevens is clearly
saying that he received the detailed plans in 1927.
I had not seen any of Randall-Stevens’ books when I decided to
investigate the similarity in the diagrams reproduced from "Atlantis
To The Latter Days" by CNI Sphinxwatch and those reproduced by H.
Spencer Lewis in his book. The approach taken was to check out all
books written by Randall-Stevens and published in the period up to
1936 to establish when and where the diagrams first made an
appearance. Randall-Stevens wrote three books in the 1920s, namely:
-
The Book Of Truth
-
The Teachings Of Osiris
-
The Chronicles Of Osiris
The British Library has copies of the 2nd editions of
The
Book Of Truth and The Chronicles Of Osiris, both published in 1927.
I was able to obtain a 2nd edition of The Teachings Of Osiris, also
published in 1927. None of these books contain any diagrams giving a
ground plan at Giza or chambers under the Sphinx. It is clear from
the introductory notes to the 2nd editions that the 1st editions did
not contain any diagrams either. Subsequent editions of these
volumes were published in the 1950s and later, i.e. outside the
timeframe of interest.
fig 1 -
Sphinx section diagram from "Voice Out Of Egypt"
.
. |
fig 2 -
Ground Plan of Masonic Centre from "Voice Out Of Egypt"
and "Atlantis To The Latter Days" 1st, 2nd ed. |
In 1935, Randall-Stevens
published "A Voice Out Of Egypt" which was a compilation
of material selected from the earlier books. This first
edition contained a simplified section diagram of
chambers under the Sphinx (fig.1) and a Giza ground-plan
diagram (fig.2). |
fig 3 -
Sphinx section diagram from "Symbolic Prophecy" |
fig 4 -
Ground Plan from "Symbolic Prophecy" |
In 1936, Lewis claimed that
the diagrams shown here in figures 3 and 4 were taken
from secret manuscripts. He states, "These unusual
drawings were made from secret manuscripts possessed by
archivists of the mystery schools of Egypt and the
Orient and are part of secret manuscripts telling of the
ancient forms of initiations held in the Sphinx and the
Great Pyramid." |
The first edition of "Atlantis To The Latter Days" was published in
1954. The book is in two parts, the first of which is an updated
"Voice Out Of Egypt". The second part consists of a number of
"Cosmic Essays" consisting of (then) new channelled material. It
contains the same Giza ground-plan as in "A Voice Out Of Egypt"
(fig.2) but the section diagram showing chambers under the Sphinx is
missing. The second edition published in 1957 also omits the Sphinx
diagram.
fig 5 -
Sphinx section diagram from "Atlantis To The Latter
Days" 3rd ed. |
fig 6 -
Ground Plan from "Atlantis To The Latter Days" 3rd ed
. |
The Sphinx section diagram
(fig.5) makes its first appearance in the third edition
published in 1966, but now it’s similar in structure to
Lewis’s diagram from 1936 (fig.3) rather than
Randall-Stevens’ own diagram (fig.1) published in "A
Voice Out Of Egypt." We also see the first appearance of
the "Plan of Pyramids and Sphinx as originally built"
(fig.6). |
The page depicting the "Plan of Pyramids and Sphinx as originally
built" also includes a further diagram entitled "Elevation Looking
West". The caption states that the plan is "from an original sketch
by El Eros", this most likely being the "Ground Plan of Masonic
Centre Of Egypt" (fig.2) from "A Voice Out Of Egypt". It is
Interesting to note that fig.6 also includes details visible on
Lewis’s "Ground Plan" diagram (fig.4) which are not present on
Randall Stevens’ original "Ground Plan" diagram (fig.2). There is no
equivalent diagram to the "Elevation Looking West" in Lewis’s book.
Go Back
And It Makes Me Wonder...
I am again indebted to John Legon for pointing out to me that on
pages 123 and 124 of Lewis’s book, he states,
"According to the
traditions and to some of the mystical manuscripts that have been
released in a limited manner in recent years (italics mine), the
Great Pyramid is but the central point or feature of a magnificent
symbolical plot or section of Egypt that contains a mystery in each
square yard of its surface."
Could this reference to "mystical
manuscripts" actually be a reference to Randall-Stevens’ work which
had indeed been released in a limited manner in (then) recent years?
Robert Bauval in his book "Secret Chamber" mentions that
Randall-Stevens was considered to be a mystic, more on which follows
below.
The "Plan of Pyramids as originally built" and "Ground Plan of
Masonic Centre" diagrams do not show the temple located directly in
front of the Sphinx. This temple was excavated by Baraize in 1925-32
with further excavations being completed by Dr Selim Hassan in
1935-36, i.e. the work was completed after the first publication of
"A Voice Out Of Egypt" and "The Symbolic Prophecy of the Great
Pyramid". A series of platforms and steps did exist at one time,
having been built over the top of the pre-existing Sphinx temple
when it was buried under the desert sands. The steps led down to the
pavement in front of the Sphinx rather than beneath it as shown by
Lewis and Randall-Stevens. It seems likely that the diagrams were
based at least to some extent on the surface information available
at the time.
Some questions spring to mind:
-
Did Lewis initially base his
diagrams on Randall-Stevens’ diagrams from "A Voice Out Of
Egypt?"
-
Why did Randall-Stevens drop his own
Sphinx diagram in the first and second editions of "Atlantis To
The Latter Days"?
-
Why are the "Sphinx" and "Plan of
Sphinx and Pyramids as originally built" diagrams in the third
and subsequent editions of "Atlantis..." so similar to the
Lewis’s diagrams?
Go Back
Published Views - What The Authors Think
At least three recently published books have discussed the
Randall-Stevens and Lewis diagrams. This section takes a look at
what some of them have to say.
Giza The Truth by Ian Lawton &
Chris Ogilvie-Herald
In the first hardback edition of "Giza The Truth", the
authors reproduced the diagrams from "Atlantis To The Latter
Days" (see figs 5 & 6). It is clear they thought that Lewis
copied the diagrams from Randall-Stevens. On page 236 we read
"In 1936, the then "Grand
Imperiator of the Rosicrucian Order, H. Spencer Lewis, wrote
in "The Symbolic Prophecy Of The Great Pyramid" that the Giza plateau was riddled with underground chambers...
Lewis’s diagrams of this network of supposed chambers and
passages were an almost exact copy of diagrams drawn up
between 1925 and 1927 by H C Randall-Stevens - whose work
will be considered later because it was supposedly channelled to him via the
’spirit voices’ of ancient
Egyptian initiates. We have no predisposition to suggest
that information gleaned in this way is necessarily wrong,
but we do believe that to then copy and misrepresent it as
fact is.
To their credit, once the authors
were made aware of the sequence of events described above, the
first paperback edition was amended to give a more neutral
viewpoint so that on page 237 we read,
"Lewis’s diagrams of this
network of supposed chambers and passages were an almost
exact copy of diagrams drawn up between 1925 and 1927 by H C
Randall-Stevens - whose work will be considered later
because it was supposedly channelled to him via the ’spirit
voices’ of ancient Egyptian initiates. Although it is
suggested that the latter (RS) drew his versions some time
between 1925 and 1927, they were not published until long
after Lewis’s. Accordingly, it is unclear from whom they
originated, but that one of these two men is a plagiarist is
clear."
Secret Chamber - The Quest For The Hall Of Records by Robert
Bauval
Robert mentions the diagrams on page 155 of the first
hardback edition in connection with the Rosicrucians, better
known today as AMORC. He says,
"Our interest in the Rosicrucians... is in their fervent belief in the existence
of a Hall of Records at Giza. Indeed, the
organization
claims to be in possession of ancient maps which show the
underground network of tunnels and chambers under the
Sphinx, as revealed by their founder, H. Lewis Spence. These
alleged ’ancient maps’ which are often reproduced in
simplistic childlike drawings by many psychics and
clairvoyants such as the well-known mystic H.C.
Randall-Stevens...",
which implies that Randall-Stevens
copied Lewis. Unfortunately, as can be seen above, Robert
confuses H. Spencer Lewis, the founder of the current
cycle of the Rosicrucian Order with Lewis Spence, another
prolific author on Atlantis, Egypt and many other subjects. Figures 2, 5 and 6
from the Randall-Stevens books are reproduced on pages 299, 301
and 302 and referred to on page 300 as "...the weird AMORC (i.e.
Rosicrucian Order) maps...", again seeming to suggest that
Randall-Stevens copied Lewis.
As can be seen from the above, there do
not appear to be any clear answers - unless you know differently...
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