The Legacy of Kircher’s Obelisk: A Continuation of the Oedipus Aegyptiacus

This study continues the work of the Jesuit priest Athanasius Kircher, specifically Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Kircher’s monumental treatise sought to decode the mysteries of Egyptian wisdom; the hieroglyphs, symbols, and the sacred geometry embodied in the ancient obelisks of Egypt; as they were reinterpreted in "Christian" Rome. His work is not merely antiquarian but deeply theological: he reads the obelisk as a stone scripture, a bridge between the divine and material worlds.

But why were these Egyptian monuments transplanted to Rome? According to Kircher, they stood not as pagan relics, but as reclaimed vessels of truth — purged of idolatry and rededicated to the glory of the Christian empire. He writes, dedicating his translation of the Lateran Obelisk:

“To the Most Powerful and Invincible FERDINAND III, Emperor of the Romans, ever August, Just, Pious, Fortunate. Of all obelisks, none with greater right than this should be inscribed to you, most wise Caesar, greatest of kings. For I have judged that this monument — the greatest of all obelisks — ought to be dedicated to you.”

Kircher then justifies its placement in the heart of Rome:

“Let it be erected in Rome, as a perpetual symbol of the union of the Roman and Egyptian empires, and of the glory of the Christian Caesar.”

Here lies the paradox of Kircher’s vision. The "Christian Caesar", heir of the very empire that crucified Christ and martyred his apostles, now claims unity with the mystic empire of Egypt to sustain his dominion. The obelisk, once a solar emblem of divine kingship, is reinterpreted as a Christianized axis mundi, linking heaven and earth, papacy and empire, Rome and Thebes.

Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus thus reveals more than philological zeal; it exposes the enduring hunger of empires to sanctify their power through symbols of eternity. Whether read as theology, alchemy, or propaganda, the obelisk in "Christian" Rome becomes a monument not only to divine wisdom but to imperial survival.

And yet; as we continue his translation and interpretation; it is best to read Kircher in his own words.

Before we turn to Kircher’s Latin itself, let us look first to the highest authority for true Christians; Scripture, which speaks plainly about the spiritual powers he sought to reconcile; those very forces Christ came to overthrow.

From the beginning, God warned His people not to join themselves to Egypt ; neither politically, nor spiritually. In Ezekiel 16 and 23, Jerusalem and Samaria are portrayed as unfaithful women who sell themselves to foreign gods and nations:

“You also played the whore with the Egyptians, your lustful neighbours, multiplying your whoring, to provoke me to anger.” (Ezekiel 16:26)

“They committed whoredoms in Egypt … she doted upon their paramours … whose flesh is like the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.” (Ezekiel 23:3, 8, 19–21)

These words are not about lust in the flesh, but lust in the spirit — a desire to lean upon the powers of the world rather than the Spirit of God. The prophets Hosea and Jeremiah repeat the same warning:

“Why do you gad about so much to change your way? You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.” (Jeremiah 2:36–37)

“Ephraim is like a silly dove without sense; they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.” (Hosea 7:11)

To seek wisdom or safety from Egypt was, in God’s eyes, spiritual adultery; the worship of elemental forces masquerading as divine light.

When we reach the New Testament, this imagery comes to its fulfillment. Christ identifies Jerusalem; the religious system that had become entwined with worldly empire; as the city “that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her” (Matthew 23). In Revelation 11:8, John speaks of the “great city … spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.” The name “Egypt” becomes a symbol for the world’s spiritual bondage, the worship of power and wisdom apart from God.

The Apostle Paul explains this mystery most clearly. Humanity once lived under the “elemental spirits of the world” — enslaved to the cosmic rulers that men mistook for gods:

“We were in slavery under the elemental spirits of the world.” (Galatians 4:3)

“How can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits, whose slaves you want to be once more?” (Galatians 4:9)

Paul describes these same forces in his letter to the Colossians:

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)

And he declares Christ’s victory over them:

“He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross.” (Colossians 2:15)

This is the contrast we must keep before us as we read Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus. For the Jesuit priest’s attempt to unite Christian Rome with the wisdom of Egypt is, whether knowingly or not, a revival of that ancient bondage; the worship of the very powers Christ came to defeat.

The obelisks of Rome, which Kircher interprets as symbols of divine knowledge and imperial harmony, stand as monuments of a deeper tension: between the light of Christ and the counterfeit illumination of the elemental spirits.

Before delving into Kircher’s full exposition, let us turn to his own words in the section “On the Theurgic or Magical Sense”; where he explains how the Egyptian priests, in the Isiac Table, arranged their rites and ceremonies, and through hidden symbols sought to express the secret causes and meanings of each figure

The ancient Egyptians thought that the highest and most holy sacrifices could not be celebrated except by priests who were themselves purified; hence they used the word Magia for divine wisdom, and the priests themselves, by sacred labor, were called Magi or Lamblichi, from Iamblichus.

For magic among them did not signify impious or superstitious arts, but the divine science of purifications, lustrations, and expiations. For since every sacrifice was made to render divine honors and purifications through sacred rites…

"…by chains of dependence and connection they believed they could grasp the knowledge of divine things; indeed, by rational order of vows and sacrifices they composed their rites, so that by sacred figures they might represent divine exemplars and imitate celestial actions.

They knew well that the first Hierogrammatists had by certain divine inspiration adapted this same order of mysteries and tables to sacred use, and that the first men of the earth had exhibited under mystical symbolology the connection of divine things with visible, so that the wise might know them.

For all things on the Isiac Table the Egyptians placed in their sacred sacrifices, so that from the figures of the gods they might understand the distinct reasons of sacrifices and the actions proper to each deity. Since every order of gods was expressed by symbols, garments, habits, and ornaments, by which the properties and powers of divine natures were manifested and expressed, it was therefore easy to judge, from analogy, the whole series of things; and when one compared divine works with visible things, one might ascend by symbolic apparatus to higher contemplation.

For they believed that nothing was more powerful, nothing more efficacious, than to be united to the gods themselves by such attraction, and to be partakers of divine operations; delighting in the superior influences, and being ruled by their causes; rejoicing in the lower, as depending upon the higher, whose influences they received and absorbed.

Thus the priests entered the adyta (the sacred inner places) of the temples, which were dark and enclosed, as being images of the world; for, as the world was covered by the heavens, so these were closed temples, made to represent the same nature.

The first priests taught that these holy recesses signified the mystery of the whole universe, and that the symbols of the heavenly world were contained in them, so that from every mineral, stone, or plant the correspondences of divine things might be drawn forth.

Therefore, upon the walls of these adyta, the celestial reason was depicted by hieroglyphic figures and emblems of the sidereal world, in which, as in mirrors, the descent of divine powers into the world below was shown, and their return to the heavens again.

Hence they taught that nothing living among mortals was acceptable to the gods unless it bore within itself the resemblance of the celestial; and therefore all things used in sacrifices, purifications, and offerings were believed to be pleasing to the gods, as bearing the image of the divine.

Thus, clothed with sacred symbols, the priests approached the altars, wearing upon their heads images of celestial animals, birds, flames, and stars, signifying the presence of the gods; and when they prayed, they imitated the gestures and motions proper to the divine beings whom they invoked.

Therefore, every priest, according to his order, was to contemplate himself as a mirror of the divine; and in sacrificing, to become in mind that which he adored in image".

continuation of De significatione minimi characteris hieroglyphici...:

"The letter Q, inscribed on the sacred tablet, marks the amulet included therein, by which the favor of the divine powers was sought.The second inscription, marked with the letter R, shows certain characters belonging to the ancient worship of Osiris, under the figure of a Goat; the third, marked S, contains a Vase (or Urn) and Serpents, symbols of invocation in the vessel of Nilotic rites, signifying the sacred mysteries of Isis.

The Arcanes Pentammonis Solis or Lunae, and the Mysteries of the Egyptians, were likewise depicted—those things by which the soul is dedicated to the divine harmony of celestial beings and by which the Genius Niloticus was called forth and honored.

Upon these symbols, the priests of Ammon and Osiris sacrificed according to certain mystical rites, pronouncing in an unknown tongue these words":

Per tenuitas Osiridis caelestis penetrantes causas, per Orphicum vinum, per sacrum Niloticum, per Aethiopicum sacrum, te invocamus, ut per illud nobis adsis coelestis Deus!

Which means:

“Through the purity of celestial Osiris, through the causes that penetrate heaven, through the Orphic wine, through the sacred Nile, through the Ethiopian mystery, we invoke thee, that by this thou mayest be present to us, O celestial God!”

"Afterward, on the same stones and tablets, they inscribed other amuletic symbols according to the nature of the deity to whom they were dedicated, as for instance, to idols of the sun, or to some particular genius.

Hence the Dæmonian images, so called, which were made for amuletic purposes, were believed to have magical virtue.

When Orpheus, who was held by the Egyptians as one of their disciples, introduced these rites among the Greeks, he adapted them to his own mysteries, invoking the divine virtues in long hymns and sacred prayers, as is seen in the hymn":

Διὸς καὶ Σελήνης, Ἥλιε καὶ Ἀηρὸς μεγάλου Δυνάμεως, ἄκουσον, Ζεῦ, ἄκουσον, Ἥλιε!(“O Zeus and Moon, O Sun and mighty Power of Air, hear us, O Zeus, hear us, O Sun!”)

"From these hymns of Orpheus, taken from ancient Egyptian rites, the Greeks derived their Theurgic symbols and sacred characters.

Thus, the figures in this Table were arranged in the same fashion as the hieroglyphs of the priests, to signify that the divine powers, when duly invoked, would descend through these sacred forms.

Nor is it surprising that the multitude of such hieroglyphs seems so great, for they all converge toward one purpose — to indicate through these signs the celestial influx by which the "gods" are invoked and made present through the powers of nature.

Therefore, having treated this matter sufficiently, let us conclude the present argument, and, returning to the variety of the figures themselves, consider the different regions of this Table, whose meaning and celestial order we will now proceed to explain, beginning from the middle part, where the floral and bestial forms are set forth, and extending outward to the circular bands marked M and H, which repeat the celestial signs.

Thus the entire world, visible and invisible, is contained in these hieroglyphs, according to the divine wisdom of the Egyptians".

As we now go on to uncover the deeper truths surrounding the obelisks — their origin, purpose, and re-interpretation in "Christian Rome" — we come to the opening of Syntagma II of Athanasius Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus, dedicated to Emperor Ferdinand III, which begins with the work titled Obeliscus Ramessæus, sive Lateranensis

SYNTAGMA II.

OBELISCUS RAMESSÆUS, SIVE LATERANENSIS.**

To the Most Powerful and Invincible

"FERDINAND III, Emperor of the Romans, ever August,Just, Pious, Fortunate.

Of all obelisks, none with greater right than this should be inscribed to you, most wise Caesar, greatest of kings.

For I have judged that this monument;the greatest of all obelisks; ought to be dedicated to you.

Others indeed have raised this stone trophy before you, O Monarch, as a certain emblem of royal magnificence; but you alone, after so many ages, have made this rough stone of the barbarians human again — eloquent, though once mute.

You have restored it to life after death; through your munificence, what was hidden in it you have revealed; what was before inaccessible you have opened; what was wrapped in darkness you have made shine forth.

Therefore, with supreme merit above all others, this new Obelisk is raised in your honor, as a perpetual example — to you, and to your never-ending and august name, for honor and glory everlasting".

Question:

Why does a Jesuit priest in 1653 greet a mortal ruler as “Caesar” and lift an Egyptian sun-pillar in his honor? The title is not a slip of antiquarian romance; “Caesar” is the name of dominion, the word Rome speaks when it wants eternity. To place that word upon a Christian emperor and crown him with a monument of Osiris is to announce, without apology, that empire has learned how to be baptized.

Kircher tells Ferdinand III that he has made the barbarian stone “human again—eloquent, though once mute.” But whose eloquence is this? One can almost hear the old archons; those “elemental spirits” Paul warned of; smiling at the sophistication of it all.

“Christian Caesar?” The phrase is either blasphemy or confession. Either the empire that killed the Lord now kneels to the Crucified; or the empire has learned to crucify with cleaner hands, gilding its ambitions with hieroglyphs and hymns. The obelisk becomes a sacrament of continuity: Pharaoh’s sign naturalized in Peter’s city, a promise that Rome’s sun will never set so long as it can rename the light.

As we pass from reflection into the text itself, we arrive at the threshold of Kircher’s grand interpretation; Obeliscus Ramessæus, sive Lateranensis.

This portion opens with the Preface and the First Chapter, “Historical Account of the Obelisk of Rameses (Lateran Obelisk)”. In these pages Kircher sets the stage for all that follows: he traces the journey of the obelisk from the sands of Thebes to the heart of "Christian" Rome, recounting how it was carved in honor of Pharaoh Rameses, transported by Roman emperors, buried in ruin, and finally raised again beside the Lateran under papal command.

Here the voice of the Jesuit antiquarian becomes almost prophetic. He treats the stone not merely as an artifact, but as a living witness to the continuity of divine order through time; a relic of Egypt reborn as the axis of Rome. It is in this preface that the full scope of Kircher’s vision begins to emerge: that in the obelisk’s ascent he sees both the resurrection of knowledge and the consecration of empire.

Let us now turn to his own words — the opening of Obeliscus Ramessæus, sive Lateranensis, beginning with the Preface.

"Since in the Obeliscus Pamphilius we treated of the figures, mysteries, proportions, measures, and arcane significations of the obelisks themselves, it now remains — for the sake of completeness — to speak of those that follow, and to explain briefly the hidden mysteries and sacred meanings contained therein.

May Almighty God grant success to our endeavors and make our efforts fruitful!"

CHAPTER I

Historical Account of the Obelisk of Rameses, or Lateranensis.

"In the year of the Flood 1097, or of the salvation of mankind 1297, there arose in Egypt King Rameses, the son of Sothis, who, following the example of his forefathers, raised many obelisks, and among them this one, worthy of such a mighty king, consecrated to the solar divinity, and dedicated with remarkable diligence and industry to the immortal gods; as being a work most eminent among all, full of mystical meaning, surpassing in beauty and magnitude every other that had ever been built in Egypt.

In its erection, such diligence and labor were employed that nothing greater in any age could be imagined.

And because it was feared that in its erection some accident might befall the king’s own brother who supervised the work, the utmost care was taken to ensure its success.

The reverence of the Egyptians for these works was so great that the priests themselves, in their most solemn ceremonies, made offerings around the obelisk, performing sacred rites with hymns and invocations.

All of this is specifically recorded by ancient authors and by Athanasius Kircher himself, based on the accounts of Egyptian and Greek historians, and is briefly set forth in Book I, Chapter 6 and 8 of the Obeliscus Pamphilius.

This, indeed, was the first of the obelisks of Rameses, erected at Thebes in honor of the Sun, in the same place where Constantine the Great afterward shone with his glory.

In the year of our Lord 334, Constantine the Great, Emperor of the Romans, being impelled by his vast power and zeal for magnificence, determined to transport one of these obelisks to Byzantium, his new city; but afterward, at the persuasion of his son Constantius, it was brought instead to Rome.

There it was placed in the Circus Maximus, in the middle of that great arena, as the ornament and marvel of the Roman people.

This was performed under the direction of Egyptian architects, the same who, by the emperor’s command, had been brought from Alexandria, skilled in the science of obelisk construction and hieroglyphic inscription".

Kircher goes onto say:

"Constantius brought the Obelisk to Constantinople, his new Roman city. But his predecessors — Caesar, Augustus, Gaius Caligula, and Caracalla — although they had transferred many other obelisks to Rome, left this one untouched, whether because of its immense weight, or because of its enormous height, or perhaps because, as being the most ancient of all and held in highest reverence by the Egyptians, they thought it best to leave it undisturbed in its place.

For it stood in Thebes, the most ancient city of Egypt, and had been erected in the temple of the Sun, in the place most sacred to the Egyptians.

When Cambyses invaded Egypt, many of the sacred buildings were overthrown and burned, and the obelisks themselves thrown down and covered by the ruins of the temples.

Yet this obelisk, whether by the favor of the gods or by chance, escaped the fire and remained unharmed for many ages.

At length Constantius, inspired by divine zeal, and desirous of extirpating the remains of Egyptian superstition and of consecrating to Christian use whatever had belonged to profane religion, ordered that the obelisk be transported from its ancient site near Alexandria — a fitting opportunity presenting itself for such a glorious monument to be erected in the New Rome, Constantinople.

However, many obstacles and difficulties intervened, so that Constantius, occupied with the business of government and other affairs, could not carry out his plan at that time.

Meanwhile, after dividing his empire among his sons — Constantine II, Constans, and Constantius — he gave to Constantius Italy, Illyricum, and Africa; to Constans, Gaul, Spain, Britain; to Constantine II, Asia, Thrace, and Egypt.

Constantius reigned until the twenty-first year of his empire, when he died at Aquileia in Italy, leaving his kingdom to his son Constantius II.

Then Constantius II, crossing the Magnesian and Pyrenean mountains, engaged Magnentius in battle, avenging his father’s death. After conquering and killing him with all his forces, he was raised to absolute sovereignty.

Constantius, now triumphant, having subdued his enemies and extended his empire over the whole Roman world, resolved, moved by his father’s intention and imperial grandeur, to adorn Rome itself with a new monument worthy of the empire.

For he saw that the city abounded in temples, theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, and forums of magnificent splendor; yet it lacked one great monument of this kind, to surpass all others in height and ornament — an obelisk.

And since it had been his father’s intention to raise one in Constantinople, he determined to erect it instead in Rome, as a perpetual symbol of the union of the Roman and Egyptian empires and the glory of the Christian Caesar.

Thus he resolved to bring forth that same obelisk of Rameses from Thebes in Egypt, which, having been preserved entire from ancient times, was believed to be the largest and most venerable of all"

Question;

When Constantius claimed divine zeal in seizing Egypt’s holiest pillar, did heaven truly inspire him; or was it the same ancient thirst for dominion clothed again in piety? The obelisk that once drank the light of Osiris/Zeus (that old serpent) now rose beneath the shadow of the cross; yet what spirit was being exalted? Was this the triumph of Christ over Egypt, or Egypt’s quiet triumph within Christendom?

If the “Christian Caesar” could raise the very stone that once mirrored the sun-god’s flame and call it a monument to faith, then what had changed; the gods, or their names? And when Rome crowned itself anew with the symbol of the world it claimed to have conquered, did it sanctify the stone, or did the stone, patient and ancient, convert Rome to its silence?

Kircher continues

"When the design was agreed upon with the architects, it was resolved to convey it to Rome with all possible diligence.

Four ships of enormous size were built for that purpose, each of them expressly designed to carry the immense weight. Three hundred workmen were assigned to the construction, and the ships were directed to sail from Thebes down the Nile to Alexandria, and thence to the port of Ostia, near the mouth of the Tiber, with the happiest success.

Having ascended the river as far as the vicinity of Alexandria, they were drawn onward by innumerable multitudes of people to Rome; where, amid the astonishment of the crowd, the obelisk was brought into the Circus Maximus.

There, at the command of Augustus, another obelisk had already been erected in the middle of the circus, in the line between the two metae (turning posts). Constantius, therefore, erected this new obelisk beside it, as the companion of the Augustan one, so that together they might bear witness to the grandeur of the Caesars.

That this was so is confirmed by the testimony of Ammianus Marcellinus, Book XVII, who gives an extended account of the work and its human labor.

Part of this description of the obelisk we have cited in the Obeliscus Pamphilius, Book IV, Chapter 84.

In the Circus Maximus both obelisks were raised in symmetrical order, according to the same dimensions. Michaelis Mercatus notes that the one which Sixtus V later transferred to the Lateran Basilica is precisely this obelisk of Constantius.

The Circus Maximus itself, according to Mercatus, was founded 1,830 feet in length, and at the top of the spina (central ridge) two obelisks were placed.

Upon the upper spina was laid the pavement of marble slabs, richly variegated and ornamented with bronze, from which the height of the obelisks was measured.

Their total height was 133 palms, and their breadth 9 palms; their base was formed of six steps, with the plinth in proportion, all of massive granite, and their shafts of a single stone of red granite, one of the rarest and most enduring kinds.

The total height of the obelisk was exactly measured as 148 palms, including the base and plinth. When completed, the whole mass, though immense, was raised without fracture or injury.

The foundation was laid upon the firmest earth, so that even the storms of time and the wear of ages could not shake it.

At last, however, after the lapse of many centuries, the obelisk fell, broken by earthquakes and the ruin of the surrounding buildings.

It lay buried under the accumulated ruins until the time of Pope Sixtus V, who, by his zeal for restoring the ancient monuments of Rome, caused it to be rediscovered and raised again in its present site before the Lateran Basilica.

The inscriptions found upon it, of which there were several in the Egyptian tongue, are described at length by the same Pontiff’s commissioners, who left detailed records of their discovery and interpretation.

Thus was revived the Obelisk of Constantius, which for so many centuries had lain hidden under the weight of its own fall, until the piety and power of Sixtus V brought it once more into the light of day, restored as a monument both of Egyptian art and of Roman greatness".

My thoughts:

The empire that once pierced the body of Christ with iron now pierces the sky with the stone of Osiris, and calls it holy. The same power that ground the apostles into dust now enthrones itself upon their bones, setting up the monuments of the gods it once pretended to destroy. What began as mockery at Calvary has become liturgy in marble; the blood of the saints buried beneath the bootprints of Caesars baptized in Latin.

Four ships bore the pillar from Thebes to the Tiber, but it was not the monument that travelled; it was the spirit of empire itself. The priests of the Sun are rebranded, and the obelisk, born in the temple of Osiris, now guards the gates of the basilica.

Is this what Christ died for; that the city which crucified Him might steal Egypt’s idols and dress them in His name? That the faith of fishermen should become the faith of emperors, gilding their power with piety? The popes speak of restoration, of bringing light from the ruins, but the light they lift is not the light of Golgotha; it is the old fire of Osiris, burning again beneath the banner of the Cross.

Kircher continues to unveil what many have long discerned but few dared to name.

"Thus Sixtus V, Pontiff of incredible spirit, endowed also with greatness of mind, raised up his soul with innate divine genius to great works, that he might restore to Rome its ancient splendor, and renew that most magnificent monument of antiquity which for so many ages had lain hidden beneath the ruins of the city.

Therefore he added to the number of the obelisks already erected this one also, the greatest of all; and he began to search diligently among the ruins of the Circus Maximus for its remains.

At length, he found it lying broken and half-buried, half sunk into the earth, covered with rubbish.

Then, after clearing away all the rubbish and earth that oppressed it, he ordered it to be raised by means of machines constructed with admirable art, and by the labor of a great multitude of men, so that, suspended by ropes and chains, the obelisk might be lifted upright.

At length, after great diligence and the skill of the workmen, the obelisk, borne by machines and the power of so many men, was happily raised and placed upon its base.

Its parts were joined together with such accuracy that no trace of the fracture remained visible, and the obelisk stood again entire.

The whole work was accomplished in the year of our salvation 1587, on the 10th day of August.

The height of the obelisk itself, as measured by exact rule, was 148 palms; the base of the obelisk, 12 palms high; the pyramidion, 13; the entire obelisk, therefore, together with its base and pyramidion, 173 palms in height.

The whole monument, from the ground to the summit, including the basement, rises to 182 palms".

Ironically, Rome calls it the year of our salvation — the day it raised from the dust not the cross of Christ, but the pillar of Osiris, and crowned it as proof of its redemption.

Continuation:

"On the northern face, which looks toward Santa Maria Maggiore, is written:

SIXTVS V. PONT. MAX.OBELISCVM HVNCSPECIE EXIMIA,TEMPORVM CALAMITATEFRACTVM, CIRCI MAX.RVINIS HVMO LIMOVEALTE DEMERSVM, MVLTOIMPENSV EXTRAXIT,HVNC IN LOCVM MAGNO LABORETRANSTVLIT,FORMAEQVE PRISTINAERESTITVTVMCRVCI INVICTISSIMAEDICAVIT,A. MDLXXXVIII. PONT. IV.

Sixtus V, Supreme Pontiff,this obelisk of surpassing beauty, broken by the calamity of time, buried deep beneath the ruins, earth, and slimeof the Circus Maximus, at great cost caused to be raised up again,and with great labor transferred to this place,restored to its pristine form,and dedicated to the Most Invincible Cross,in the year 1588, the fourth of his pontificate.

On the western face, which looks toward the Hospital of St. John, is read:

FL. CONSTANTINVSMAXIMVS AVG.CHRISTIANAE FIDEIVINDEX ET ASSERTOR,OBELISCVM AB AEGYPTIO REGEIMPVRO VOTOSOLI DEDICATVM,SEDIBVS AVVLSVM SVIS,PER NILVM TRANSFERRIALEXANDRIAM IVSSIT,VT NOVAM ROMAMAB SE TVNC CONDITAMEO DECORARETMONVMENTO.

Flavius Constantine, the greatest Augustus, defender and championof the Christian faith, the obelisk which by an impure vowhad been dedicated by the Egyptian king to the Sun,commanded to be torn from its ancient seatand conveyed by the Nile to Alexandria,that he might adornthe New Rome, which he had then founded, with that monument.

My thoughts...

Flavius Constantine; styled “defender of the faith”; rips a monument from the temple of the Sun and calls it a triumph of Christ; the emperor who baptized empire itself drags Egypt’s idol into his “New Rome,” mistaking conquest for conversion and blasphemy for glory.

Kircher then proceeds to the heart of his project; the Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Syntagma II, Caput II, titled “Obelisci Lateranensis Interpretatio”; where he undertakes to “interpret” the Lateran Obelisk itself, line by line, claiming to unveil the divine mysteries hidden within its hieroglyphs.

Argumentum Obelisci Lateranensis

"These Triangular Columns, which among the Egyptians are called Obelisks, were not only profane monuments but sacred to the worship of the gods, to doctrine, and to instruction in royal wisdom.

For the Kings of Egypt, when they first began to take hold of the government of affairs, thought it most useful that all things pertaining to sacred law, to civil institutions, and to common life should be contained together in one body of discipline, so that religion and the kingdom might be connected by one and the same bond.

For no kingdom could stand or be rightly established unless it were held together by religion, which bound the people to piety and contained within itself the abundance of divine things and the conditions of moral life.

Since therefore the Egyptians were the first to direct the formation of civil society according to divine and celestial models, they could not frame any law or rule of justice unless they referred it to divine truth and the harmony of the universe.

Hence this law, derived from the wisdom of Mercury Trismegistus, they engraved on the Obelisks as perpetual signs, so that religion and divine worship might be joined to human affairs, and the mysteries of divine things might never perish from memory.

Therefore the Obelisk was called the Sacred Monument of the Sun, as being dedicated to Osiris, that is, to the solar deity, whose sacred mysteries the Egyptian priests taught through these same obelisks adorned with hieroglyphic characters.

Among all, the most learned of the Egyptians, Clemens of Alexandria, teaches that in these monuments was comprehended the universal wisdom both of politics and philosophy, and that the Egyptians ordered all things according to a sacred and astronomical ratio.

For since they held that the government of the world was founded upon the harmony of the heavens, they wished that the same should be expressed in their sacred writings and hieroglyphs.

Thus, the priests, who succeeded each other in perpetual succession, were not only philosophers and theologians, but also men experienced in the practical management of affairs, who presided over the College of Kings and over the laws and disciplines of the realm.

These Colleges, distributed by classes, were divided into five orders corresponding to the five degrees of the Egyptian priesthood, by which all knowledge, sacred and civil, was maintained and transmitted.

Hence every Obelisk was both a theological and political monument, bearing the symbols of divine wisdom joined to the laws of royal governance.

And thus this Obelisk of the Lateran, the work of Rameses, son of Sothis, King of Egypt, was constructed and dedicated in the same spirit, to signify both divine and royal power — as is proved by its hieroglyphic inscriptions, which treat at once of religion, kingship, and universal wisdom.

"…since no kingdom or empire could stand unless founded upon religion, as Mercury also in his writings teaches, that the gods in their office and government are the eternal rulers of Egypt.

Furthermore, among the archetypal ideas of the world, they believed that the laws were unchangeable, and that all parts of justice were free from error; that the immutable reason of divine things was communicated to human laws, as the first law was communicated from divine truth to the world; and they believed that the changeable effects of things below were fixed by immutable causes above.

They called the Supreme God Numenius, who disposed all things with divine providence, joined with the highest love and benevolence; and they said that among men the image of divine perfection was most clearly represented in monarchy.

For what other thing, they said, could more truly exemplify divine unity than the monarchy of one ruler?

What else could the Angelic and Celestial Worlds, distributed into diverse orders and ministries, represent, except the harmony and agreement of all powers under one law?

For though they seemed to be divided by grades and degrees, yet all were united by will and consent, as in the harmony of the universe.

What else could the absolute Aristocracy of the stars signify, whose felicity arises from concord and order?

What else the harmony of all things in the world-machine, so that even corruptible things are bound together by an unbroken concord,than that all things, in their own degree, are united by a divine law and reason into one kingdom, ruled by one supreme mind?

Thus the Egyptians, considering these things attentively, introduced into their polity a monarchy similar to the archetype of the divine kingdom,and subjected to one ruler all inferior ministers,in imitation of the celestial order —in which the Angelic Spirits, under one God as Monarch, rule the world and create all individual forms in the sensible world,each according to the measure of its own perfection and dominion.

Hence the Egyptian Monarchy was, as it were, a mirror of divine government, a visible example of that harmony which reigns in the heavenly monarchy, by which the divine order of the universe is moderated by the wisdom of the supreme King.

The Priests, as the chosen interpreters of this divine monarchy,served as hierophants, astrologers, philosophers, prophets,and expounders of divine things;and the people were divided into various orders and degrees,as the Obelisk itself exhibits —this being the entire order of the Egyptian realm,in which the happiness of the nation was preserved in perfect harmony of religion and government.

The Obelisk, therefore, exhibits this universal concord:it shows the Egyptian realm in its peace and divine felicity;it exhibits the same harmony of divine and human laws,the same order of wisdom,the same distribution of classes and officeswhich the writings of Mercury and the sacred canons of the priests contained.

"…that they might establish the laws of the kingdom;and they understood why Osiris and Isis were said to have been destroyed by the tyrannical rage of Typhon, and why Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, was recalled from death to life.

For by Osiris they understood the divine intellect, by Typhon the perturbation of the world,and by Horus the restoration of the disturbed harmony of the universe.

Hence they taught that the Republic itself, when it departs from the felicity of peace and the concord of its citizens, falls into Typhonic confusion; as when good men perish through the treachery of the wicked,and those who resemble Typhon seize dominion that should belong to the sons of light.

Therefore, whenever the kingdom fell into disorder, the Obelisk signified that the divine intellect was obscured, and that the harmony of the world was violated by disobedience and impiety.

When, however, the divine Numen again poured itself out through the manifold spirits of the gods upon all parts of the world-machine, then peace returned, discord vanished, languor was driven away,and the fertility of all things was restored; for the King, the representative of divine Providence,was said to distribute life and motion to all things.

Hence, over each region of the kingdom of Egypt was appointed a Genius,to whose care and oversight the disposition of its affairs was committed,so that the whole kingdom might be governed in harmony and concord.

Thus, when envy and treachery arose through Typhonic conspiracies,and when human perversity disturbed the order of things,they referred this to the fall and confusion of the kingdom.

For they held that just as the divine mind presides over the world,so the royal mind presides over the kingdom, and that the princes of divine order — the gods and genii — preside over the provinces of the world,each according to the divine law.

Therefore, the Priests, instructed in this wisdom of Egypt,celebrated solemn rites and sacrifices, purging the people from their faults, and invoking the favor of the gods,to restore harmony to the commonwealth.

They knew well the reason of these divine institutions —for they held that all religion, all law, and all political ordermust proceed from the providence of God, since nothing can be rightly commanded unless it be according to divine reason,and that the human mind cannot be well formed except by imitation of the divine mind.

Hence they inscribed on their obelisks,in sacred characters,that divine providence was the source of the monarchy’s law,and that the order of human life should conform itself to the eternal order of divine wisdom.

We now come to the next stage of Kircher’s exposition; the translation of Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Syntagma II, pages 171–172; which brings us to the conclusion of Caput II and the opening of Caput III, where Kircher passes from the historical account of the obelisk to its deeper symbolic and mystical interpretation.

"…each element, plant, and living creature he provided with the members and organs necessary for its uses;and by a most diligent providence, he allowed the human species, partaking of divinity, to ascend by sacred laws to the highest degrees of blessedness, so far as mortal nature permits.

For Plato rightly said:

“When divine law governs the universe by equal measures, it is necessary that human laws, formed after its image, should also preserve order.”

"Therefore God, the Best and Greatest, through hidden inspirations of his spirit and marvelous manifestations of his wisdom, demands this necessity; that he may bring forth mysteries of laws and sacred institutions, as the fountains of light and the sources of life, through which human societies may be rightly ordered, lest they fall into chaos and ruin.

Therefore we also, in the present Obelisk, with the same zeal and pious study of divine wisdom, desire to interpret these symbols which, in their ancient form, contained the doctrine of divine law and worship of God.

And although the matter is of the highest difficulty, we shall attempt it as best we can, aided by divine grace and good will.

Nothing remains, though very difficult, which may not be overcome, with the favor of good God assisting us".

Notes to the Reader concerning the method to be observed in the interpretation.

"At length, with the help of the good God, let us begin the interpretation of the Obelisks, for whose completion his grace has made us equal to the labor.

And that we may proceed rightly and in due method, though the undertaking be immense and the beginning obscure, we shall follow the way marked out by the ancients.

For the Lateran Obelisk, as being the first in merit and dignity, is to be interpreted according to the method that the ancient priests followed; that is, from the upper parts downward; for, as they said, all things descend from above, and the divine influence proceeds from the head through all the members.

We must also remember that not all things in the obelisk are to be taken literally, nor are all symbols to be understood in one sense; for the ancients hid under one figure many meanings, both natural and divine.

Let the Reader therefore know that, though the things are obscure and difficult, they are not to be condemned as vain or superstitious;for the Author (that is, the ancient hierophant) did not intend anything impious or profane, but through these figures wished to express the deep mysteries of divine truth.

Although the volumes are vast and the labor immense, we shall pursue this interpretation with reverence, committing the success to God.

And if the Reader will approach this work with piety and attention, we trust that he will reap the fruit of our labor, and that what once lay hidden will now be made manifest to the understanding".

In these words, Kircher pulls back the veil on the very soul of Rome’s sacred tradition ; a faith that claims divine light while building its mysteries upon the foundations of pagan philosophy. Here, the Jesuit priest does not so much abandon Egypt as baptize it, invoking Almighty God to bless the same “ancient traditions” that once served the temples of Isis and Osiris. The result is revelation turned ritual; a Christianity draped in hieroglyphs, where the old gods live on beneath the language of grace.

"… the same things occur, which it is better first to explain at the beginning,and since the authority and agreement of the ancients are to be followed,it will not be out of place to repeat here what was before established in the Obeliscus Pamphilius concerning the interpretation of the symbols.

Therefore, wherever the places and authorities of that former work apply, I will repeat them briefly here, together with the reasons of each symbol.

And if in this obelisk other symbols appear, we shall refer them to the same principles of sacred philosophy and to the agreement of ancient tradition.

This we do, invoking the help of Almighty God,that through His divine light our labor in these obscurities may succeed,and that whatever we here undertake for the glory of His holy namemay bear fruit before Him".

We now enter the Praelusio; the prelude to Kircher’s interpretation; in which he lays out the principles he deems essential for understanding the hidden meanings of the obelisk, preparing the reader to receive the mysteries he is about to unveil.

"It often happens in the present Obelisk that the figure of the oval occurs; for which reason, before we proceed further, we must first explain what this figure means.

It is called by the Egyptians the Sacred Oval, and it was a form used in nearly all their hieroglyphic monuments, of great efficacy and virtue,because it signified the Divine Essence,as being the most perfect of all figures,neither having beginning nor end, and therefore representing eternity.

Hence the oval was called the Symbol of Divine Providence, and in sacred tablets, as well as in many obelisks, it is found enclosing the sacred names of the gods,that they might be preserved from corruption and profanation.

The first origin of this form, according to the ancient priests, was taken from the solar gnomon, for the Sun itself, by its circular motion, describes a perfect oval,the image of eternal motion,and hence it was adopted as the figure of the Divine Monad.

In this symbol they enclosed the names of their gods, especially those of Hermes, Mercury, and Adadmon, as being the interpreters of divine mysteries.

Therefore, the Oval among the Egyptians signified Eternity, the Divine Essence, and the perfect unity of all things,and in their writings it was always held to be a most sacred and inviolable form.

Thoughts...

In reading Kircher’s invocation of “sacred philosophy” and “ancient tradition,” one cannot help but hear the echo of John’s vision — the woman clothed in splendor, holding a golden cup of abominations. The fusion of empire, idolatry, and piety that Revelation condemned as Mystery Babylon finds its mirror in the monuments Rome crowns as sacred.

“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:5

We now proceed to the translation of Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Syntagma II, page 173 — the continuation of Caput III (Praelusio) — where Kircher begins to unravel the meaning of the sacred oval and the gnomon figure carved upon the Lateran Obelisk, symbols through which he claims the Egyptians concealed the deepest principles of divine order and cosmic time.

"…for the oval figure holds the first place among the hieratic characters, since, as in the whole of writing, letters begin from a point,so likewise in the divine alphabet the oval marks the first and most perfect principle of all.

Hermes, the thrice-great, was the inventor of this form; and Mercury, as the third, added the gnomonic and geometric instrument,by which the true and precise division of angles was distributed; as Harchas teaches; that is, the art of measuring the solar shadow.

The gnomon, or instrument of mechanics, projecting from stones or extended columns, was also used by the ancient Telchines, the inventors of the mechanical arts;and therefore Hermes is rightly called by the Egyptians the Mechanical Hero Byanites.

You see here, then, the sacred scheme of the gnomon,which, among the Egyptians, Hermes himself invented and placed among their symbols.

Hermes, too, is often represented in their figures holding the ibis (bird sacred to Thoth), with the gnomon-like staff in his hand, as was shown in the preceding tables.

This figure is called by the Egyptians Namus, that is, “the measure” or “the rod of law,” as Theophrastus teaches —a certain kind of reed or measuring staff,which by its shadow or elevation could mark the length of the day in sacred works.

And so this hieroglyphic symbol frequently occurs on obelisks and sacred tablets, signifying the rule and order of the sun’s movement, and the harmony of its revolutions,by which the inferior world is governed and preserved.

Thus in the present obelisk we see the same symbol —a staff with bifurcated branches, ending in three buds or blossoms,which resembles the calamus Hermetis or reed of Hermes.

This is the symbol of universal harmony,and by its triple form signifies the threefold government of the world; divine, celestial, and terrestrial; connected and bound together by one principle of motion.

Below this symbol we see also another figure, like a staff ending in leaves,which signifies the flourishing and fructifying power of nature.

This is joined with another similar to the lotus of Osiris,which denotes the fertility of the earth under the influence of the Sun and Moon.

All these, when combined, express the harmony of the universe —that divine law by which all things above and below are linked together in one eternal order.

"…all things are joined together; and also with Mercury, who is the reason directing all things to their end. Hence the perfect figure of the tongue and of fruit belongs to him, for the wisdom of Mercury directs both the laws of nature and the ordinances of the political world.

This division and order of things, Diodorus affirms, was first taught by Hermes.

Therefore this symbol is placed to signify the alternation of natural and human affairs —the revolutions of seasons and of time, in which the sublunar world, through the course of the stars and the whole of nature, is ruled,as the state is ruled in its appointed order.

Reason therefore requires that, according to the Author’s design,the figure should signify continual revolutions,and the perpetual bringing forth of new fruits, and the continual renewal of life.

The same symbol we have already treated in the Obeliscus Pamphilius, fol. 363,as referring to the measure of the earth’s time, and the triple division of time into past, present, and future, which are ruled by the laws of the inferior world,as by those of the superior the threefold laws of the divine world are governed.

Hence the Egyptians called the columns or boundaries by the name of Nomoi or Laws, for nothing among them was made without due limitation and ordinance;and this reason for the boundaries was ascribed to Mercury,since he first divided the lands of Egypt among the people,and set up the limits of every province according to the law of Osiris and Horus.

For Hermeias, that is, Mercury, was always represented carrying the staff of law (caduceus) and the serpent, to signify peace and concord —and so also in the sacred figures of Osiris and Horus the same emblem is often seen.

From this it clearly appears that the ancient Egyptians,in honoring Hermes, wished to signify his beneficence and the orderly government of the world,which by his wisdom he preserved in harmony with the celestial spheres.

Therefore this symbol, being found also in the present obelisk,denotes the divine law and providence of the world,which directs and rules all things in eternal order and balance.

After this symbol comes another figure; the Scarab,which in the hieroglyphic writings always signifies the power of divine generation,for the Egyptians believed that the scarab,rolling its ball of earth, infused life into it,and thus became the image of the self-generating sun, the demiurgic principle of all life.

Hence the scarab is placed immediately under the lotus,as the image of the creative and generative force of the universe,joined to the celestial influences.

It is placed also near the solar disk,for the same reason, as the symbol of the divine fecundity of nature.

"…this figure, placed in the tablet, signifies Heliocentric power, by which the dominion of the seven planets and of the upper world is governed.

But another figure, Tetragonum,indicates the reign of the four elements.

Hence, by these three principal figures — the Heliocentric, the Sidereal, and the Elemental —the Egyptians expressed the whole machine of the universe, born and governed from the triple principle of the divine, celestial, and terrestrial worlds.

Thus they symbolized the Supreme Numen first in the twelve powers of the Sidereal world,which they called the Virtues and Powers of the Zodiac,since in these the seven planetary spheres revolve and the four elemental worlds are balanced,and by the perpetual influx of mutual communicationthe whole structure of the world-machine is preserved.

And that the Egyptians, in expressing their kingdom,formed a figure of twelve parts,or four times three, by which the number twelve was made sacred,is confirmed also by the frequent occurrence of this same division in the obelisk itself.

For the walls of heaven, that is, the Zodiac and the fixed stars,consist of twelve mansions;and so also the human world,as a reflection of the celestial,was divided by them into twelve regions,each governed by its own power or genius.

Therefore, as the Zodiacal world is ruled by twelve signs and as each sign has its own distinct mansion, so the Egyptians divided the political kingdom likewise into twelve provinces,according to the analogy of the heavens —and to each province they assigned its own particular Genius,in imitation of the celestial governors.

Hence, just as the heavens consist of seven planetary spheres and four elemental regions,so they attributed to the human world a corresponding order,uniting the celestial and terrestrial by the same ratio and number.

Thus all things among the Egyptians were disposed according to reason and number,as Plato also teaches in his Timaeus:

“God formed the soul of the world according to number,distributing it into harmonic intervals,that all things might subsist in proportion and order.”

"The same doctrine was applied to their sacred monuments,especially the obelisks,wherein by figures, numbers, and symbols they represented the universal harmony of the cosmos —divine, celestial, and terrestrial —and the continual circulation of life proceeding from the Supreme One through all".

"…Thus, therefore, in the upper part of the obelisk these divisions are represented,so that, as the whole universe is composed of distinct parts,the order and harmony of their mutual relations might be preserved.

The number twelve, therefore, was considered sacred and divine,being attributed to the gods and powers that govern the world.

From the number twelve arise also the twelve tribes,the twelve regions of the heavens,and the twelve divisions of the earth;each region having its proper inhabitants and its particular rulers,according to the harmony and order of the heavens.

Hence each city and region of Egypt had its proper gods and symbols,according to this celestial and numerical law,which Plato himself followed when he founded his Republic upon the division into twelve parts,as being the number most perfect and harmonious.

But, since man is divided into the twelve parts of the zodiac and needs divine aid in his labors,it was ordained that each city or kingdom of the earth should be governed in imitation of the celestial order,and that to each region should be assigned one of the celestial gods.

The Greeks, in like manner, derived this same order from the Egyptians,dividing their divine government into twelve gods,which, following the Egyptians, they arranged as follows:

Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Ceres, Diana, Venus,Mars, Hermes, Neptune, Vulcan, Jupiter, Apollo.

To each of these twelve gods were assigned their proper signs, figures, and celestial powers, by which each city or kingdom was ruled.

Thus the universe itself, and all the human race within it,were understood as the body of the world, animated and governed by divine powers,the male powers signifying intellect and reason,the female powers signifying nature and generation,and all things subject to the rule of the higher gods.

Of these, Vesta was considered the first source of divine fire and living fountain;Pallas (Minerva), the second, of wisdom and the arts.

Hence the Egyptians and Greeks alike dedicated to these goddesses their first temples and altars.

They also held that Vesta, Isis, Horus, and Osiris were to be worshipped together as the divine family of universal creation.

Therefore, from this trinity they derived three circles —celestial, terrestrial, and infernal —signifying the powers by which the whole of nature is governed:

the celestial by the divine spirit,the terrestrial by the fecundity of nature,and the infernal by the descent of souls and by generation.

Next follows the Scarab, symbol of the Sun,and sign of the royal dignity of the world’s governor,which Diodorus also mentions when he says that the Egyptians revered the scarab as a sacred image of the solar deity".

Not once does this Jesuit priest utter the name of Christ — the entire work drips with devotion to symbols, stars, and serpents, yet the Savior is nowhere to be found.

We now enter Chapter IV — “On the Inscriptions and Division of the Obelisk”, introduced by a Preliminary Explanation, in which Kircher outlines how the hieroglyphs are arranged upon the stone and prepares to justify each symbol as part of what he calls the sacred order of Egyptian theology.

"The present obelisk has four broad sides,corresponding to the four parts of the world, and, as it were, dividing the universe into four regions,each illuminated by the threefold light of the divine.

This threefold division is expressed in three separate hieroglyphic inscriptions,of which two (A and B) are placed upon the pyramidion,and the third (C) runs down the middle of the shaft.

By this structure the Authors of the Obelisk intended to signify thatthe divine providence, diffused through all parts of the world,returns again to its source,and that all creation, having proceeded from God, is ruled by His eternal law and brought back to Him.

The first inscription begins at the top of the pyramidion with a figure like a gnomon,that is, an oblong form composed of lines intersecting one another,joined with a triple base and terminating in three rays,to which are annexed certain small symbols of sacred things.

By these figures, as by letters, the ancients expressed the dominion of Mercury,who, as the interpreter of divine reason,was believed to rule over speech, writing, and the motion of the heavens.

Hence he is called Thoth by the Egyptians,the inventor of letters and hieroglyphic doctrine,and by the Greeks Hermes Trismegistus.

From his books, the sacred columns such as this obelisk were said to have been originally composed.

This symbol of Mercury occurs in countless places throughout the work,as in the Obeliscus Pamphilius,where he is shown holding the ibis and the staff of reason,and signifying the divine intellect that orders all things by measure and number.

Mercury therefore stands at the summit of the obelisk,as the governor of the world’s harmony and the minister of divine providence, by whose art all motions are measured,and all created things proportioned according to their laws.

Hence Plato, in the Protagoras, said that Mercury was sent from heavento bring to mankind the arts and the order of laws,that they might live by justice.

So also Horapollo (Book I, chapter 10) says:

“When the Egyptians wish to write ‘a prudent and rational man,’they depict Mercury, because reason and speech are his attributes.”

And Plutarch, in De Iside et Osiride, writes that the Egyptians painted Mercury standing beside Osiris, holding a reed (calamus) and stylus,to signify that divine reason, ruling by law and proportion,is the measure of all things.

Therefore, at the summit of this obelisk, the Egyptians placed Mercury as the sign of divine wisdom and rational order —the gnomon of the world, as it were,marking the eternal course of the sun and the harmony of the universe.

"Alpha indeed is the first letter of the alphabet;and by the letter A they signified the Agathodaimon, that is, the Good Spirit,in the mystical alphabet, which among all the Egyptians was held most sacred.

In the form of the gnomon they adapted this symbol,to express both the sensible and the intellectual Sun, calling it by the same name.

And they transferred this form to the political order of administration,since no empire or government can subsist without proportion and harmony.

Therefore, since by natural power and divine vigor all things are ordered,it was proper that the supreme intellect — the archetype of Mercury —should be placed at the head of the universe,ruling all things in number, measure, and weight.

For this reason, immediately beneath the gnomon they added the Scarab figure,by which they indicated the same archetypal intellect that,like the Sun in the physical world,moves and vivifies all things —the solar intellect, as they called it,which in the archetypal sense signifies Divine Mind,and in the political sense, Royal Reason,which governs the people according to the laws of justice.

For the Egyptians never separated theology from politics;and thus the Scarab, being sacred to the Sun,was made also the symbol of royal authority.

Hence Horapollo (Book I, chapter 10) says:

“When they wish to signify the world, or the generation of the Sun, or the royal power,they draw a Scarab.”

"And the reason is that, as the Scarab continually rolls its sphere,so the Sun, by its daily revolution,makes the world fruitful and produces all life.

Therefore, both the Scarab and the Sun were among the Egyptians called Kheper,that is, “the Form of Becoming,” since by them all things in nature are generated and perfected.

Thus the Scarab placed beneath the solar gnomonsignifies the Intellect of the World, universally diffused through the heavens and the elements,by whose power all things are preserved and governed.

Below this figure they engraved the ibis of Mercury,signifying divine wisdom,the legislator and interpreter of sacred things,and the holy scribe of the gods.

Hence it was that the Egyptians represented Mercury and Agathodaimon together,and placed their figures upon sacred columns,as witnesses of divine law and justice.

This same figure and inscription appear in the present obelisk,for which reason the ancients dedicated it to Mercury Trismegistus,adoring in him the divine wisdom and mind of the universe.

Next follows another symbol of the serpent,twined about itself in circular coils,which the Egyptians called Thermuthis,signifying divine prudence and the providence of the eternal mind.

For as the serpent renews its skin each year, so the divine nature perpetually renews the world through its wisdom and goodness.

Hence Eucherius, in his commentary on Genesis,says that the serpent is the symbol of divine wisdom,because it moves with secret turns,and governs all things invisibly by its hidden power".

"…they took the serpent in this sense,as beneficent to the earth,since it first warmed and quickened the soil with its creeping motion.

And immediately after this symbol of the serpent,they placed the lotus flower, called by the Greeks lyrion,which opens with the rising sun and closes with its setting.

This they prepared of blue color,to signify the celestial and pure nature of divine wisdom.

Hence the priests, according to Plutarch and Porphyry,always wore the lotus upon their sacred garments,as a sign of eternal purity and of perpetual service to the gods.

For by the lotus they signified the birth of the sun out of the celestial waters,and the continual regeneration of divine light.

The priests also, as Herodotus relates,were accustomed every morning to offer to the gods a lotus flower newly opened,in token of the renewal of the day and the world.

Thus the flower signified the perpetual motion of divine providence,by which all things are continually renewed.

Below these symbols were placed the figures of Sothis (the Dog-star)and Rameses, son of the Sun,representing the priesthood and royalty of Egypt united together.

For by Sothis, they understood the celestial principle;by Rameses, the earthly rule of the kingdom.

The Egyptian priests were accustomed to express both together,as Moses, the leader of the Hebrews,learned when he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

For when the kings of Egypt succeeded each other every four hundred years,the priests at the same time renewed their hierarchy and sacred colleges,according to the revolution of the Dog-star.

Thus, as Herodotus says,the Egyptian kingdom was restored to new splendor and magnificenceevery four hundred years.

This succession of priests and kings they attributed to Hermes,the author of their sacred institutions,and, after Hermes, to the Rex et Sacerdos Sothis,the King and Priest of the Dog-star.

Hence Plato, in the Laws, says:

“Among the Egyptians, priests and kings were joined together;for wisdom and government belong to the same power.”

"Pliny also attests the same,saying that the great works of the kings of Egypt were achieved by their priests,and that they were always chosen from among the wise men.

Thus Rameses, son of Sothis,by whom the obelisk was raised,was both king and priest,and through him the whole of Egyptian wisdom was made manifest.

The same division and order are seen in this obelisk,where the doctrines of the priests are joined to the royal authority,and the celestial hierarchy to the political.

For this reason, the ancients called such obelisks “Books of Wisdom”,and engraved upon them the mysteries of divine and human things,so that in one column the entire philosophy of heaven and earth might be read".

"The sacred hieroglyphic doctrine of the Egyptians, joined with the consent of the most ancient priests,plainly confirms what we have said above.

For truly Rameses, consecrated to eternal memory,and the paternal lineage from which he descended,in this present obelisk wished to perpetuate the religious discipline of Egypt,lest the memory of their piety should perish or fade.

After this inscription in the first section of the obelisk,follows the square compartment,marked by the letter C, in which is carved a group of figures,some standing, others kneeling,and before them a man with extended arm holding a table of offerings; beneath whom is inscribed the symbol of adoration,by which they signified the sacred tables of the godsand the ceremonies of divine propitiation.

You may see the same disposition also in other obelisks:for nothing here is accidental;all proceeds according to sacred order —first, the World of the Genii,and its divine prototype;second, the adytum (holy chamber) of the Egyptians,in which the priests, by their rites and sacrifices,inaugurated the divine mysteries;and so in the same manner here we shall expound it.

The first sacred figure that appears is a priest wearing the tiara with the solar symbol,whose hands are raised toward heaven,adoring the Numen,and pouring libation from a vessel;in whose gesture is shown the adoration of the divine powers.

For they believed that all creation was dependent upon the divine influx,and that the upper powers ruled all things,the inferior being moved by their command.

Thus in the Egyptian temples it was customary for the priests,before approaching the altar,to raise their hands and eyes toward the sun,acknowledging their dependence upon divine grace.

To this ceremony belongs also the Genial World,which stands between the celestial and terrestrial worlds,and receives the influences of both.

For the priests, being mediators between gods and men,participated in the intellectual world aboveand in the political world below —their actions and rites being formed after the image of divine things,that the grace and efficacy of the superior gods might flow down through them.

Therefore, by these symbolic acts,the Egyptians showed that the world is governed by divine reason,and that nothing in it is independent of the higher power.

And thus, in all their figures and hieroglyphs,they expressed one and the same doctrine —that the universe is sustained by divine order,and that man’s wisdom is but a reflection of the celestial intellect.

Having thus spoken of the general meaning of these symbols,we will now proceed to the particular interpretation of the obelisk itself,imploring the aid of Almighty God,that we may worthily explain its mysteries"

Kircher’s so-called theology here lays its soul bare. Not a whisper of the Gospel; only the endless exaltation of Mercury, Osiris, the scarab, the serpent, and the Dog-star. He writes as if salvation itself were encoded in the mathematics of idols, as if Christ’s cross could be replaced with the geometry of the Sun. This Jesuit priest baptizes every pagan emblem he can name, sewing together astrology, philosophy, and empire, and dares to call it divine wisdom. The obelisk becomes his scripture, Egypt his church, and the gods of the dead his saints. If this is the wisdom Rome crowns with blessing, then its altar is not the hill of Calvary but the shadow of Thebes.

We now arrive at the word-for-word literal translation of Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Syntagma II, page 182 — the opening of Section I of Caput IV — where Kircher begins his meticulous line-by-line interpretation of the hieroglyphic inscriptions carved upon the north face of the Lateran Obelisk, believing each symbol to unveil a fragment of the divine architecture of the universe.

"Now therefore, taking each face of this obelisk in turn,let us divide it into three columns,and, separating each into its proper divisions,let us interpret them in order.

Each of these columns denotes one of the three worlds:the Celestial, the Terrestrial, and the Infernal.

The first column shows the Serpent issuing from the globe —that is, from the created world ;and signifies the Archetypal Numen of the Universe,the divine power which vivifies all things, animating every class of beings,whether celestial or earthly.

The second column designates the Eagle,which signifies the Sidereal World, because the eagle, flying highest, is ruled by the Sun,and in him the whole harmony of the elements is contained.

Hence it denotes the Virtue and Mind of the Archetypal Divinity,exerting dominion over all.

The third column presents the figure of the Priests, through whom the Mundane World is indicated —for the priests, standing beneath the archetype of the gods, order all human and political affairs according to divine law.

Thus, in these three columns,are represented the Archetypal, the Sidereal, and the Elemental Worlds, and in them the whole universe is shown in its triple nature.

Each side of the obelisk, likewise, has its own meaning,according to the threefold division of the worlds,and to each side belongs its proper inscription and hierarchy of symbols.

Now, before we pass to the multitude of figures,we must distinguish each column by its capital letter.

The northern side, marked with the letter A,consists of three vertical columns,each beginning with the sacred emblem of the Serpent ; the same that we mentioned before as signifying the divine intellect emerging from the globe.

"The first figure in the column on the northern side,in the upper part,is the Asp or Serpent,emerging from the globe and ascending toward the cross that surmounts it.

This represents the supreme Numen proceeding from the world,and by its own power rising again to its source.

The globe signifies the universe,and the serpent, divine providence,which moves all things and directs them to their proper end.

So Virgil, in the Aeneid (Book V), when describing the sacred serpent, says:

“From the high altar’s base a serpent slid, bright with sevenfold color;between the altars it wound its way, gentle and harmless;soon it glided back beneath the altars, and vanished from sight.”

"The same image, say the Egyptians,represents the Divine Spirit,which, by secret motion, pervades all nature,descends into matter,and again returns to the celestial source from which it flowed".

My thoughts....

The same serpent that Kircher reveres as the “divine spirit” is the very image that slithers through the veins of empire. Virgil’s lines, quoted here from the Aeneid, are not harmless poetry — they are prophecy recast as politics. The “serpent bright with sevenfold color” becomes the symbol of a hidden wisdom that winds its way through altars, nations, and ages, vanishing only when it chooses to.

From that same Roman imagination came the Fourth Eclogue; the poem of the coming child, the golden age reborn; whose echo appears on the back of the American dollar bill. Novus Ordo Seclorum, “the new order of the ages,” lifted straight from Virgil’s pagan vision, now crowns the Great Seal beneath the all-seeing eye. The dream of empire never died; it only learned to speak a holier language.

And the obelisks — those pillars of Osiris and sun-fire — rise now not only in Rome but across the world: in Paris, London, New York, Washington, and even the Vatican square itself. The Christian world inherited not merely the ruins of Egypt but its symbols, its geometry, its gods in disguise. What we thought was Christendom has been built on the architecture of empire; what we took for the cross’s triumph may, in truth, be the serpent’s endurance; the old worship of light masquerading as divine revelation. The Holy Roman Empire, it seems, had no wish to destroy the mysteries of the nations, but to enthrone them.

Kircher goes on

"…penetrating all things, as Horapollo expressly teaches (Hierogl. I, c. 2).

When they wished to express the World, they depicted a serpent,because, by its winding coils,it typifies the circular nature of time,by which years, seasons, and ages return upon themselves.

For certain living creatures are said to have a greater share in the divine essence,such as serpents and fishes,because they are most at home in water, the first matter of all things.

Hence the serpent signifies both motion and eternity;for, turning back upon itself, it forms a circle,the image of the world revolving in perpetual motion,ever returning into itself,and, by its own revolution, renewing all things.

This, then, is what that ancient Egyptian emblem signifies:that Divine Providence moves the world perpetually,ruling it through itself,as the sun rules the world below,and as the soul governs the body.

Thus they meant by it the world animated by divine intelligence,the archetype,and the intellect of the Genii,sidereal and elemental,each according to the analogy of its own operation.

The circle of divine minds descends from the higher world to the lower,and ascends again to the higher,through a threefold order:the archetypal, the intellectual, and the sensible.

In the archetypal world dwell the first forms and perfections;in the intellectual world, the blessed minds of the divine intelligences are exercised;and in the sidereal world,as in a mirror,their virtues and influences are displayed.

Finally, in the elemental world,these influences are distributed into various inferior operations,so that the same divine providence, which governs the higher,rules also the lower.

This is what the whole hieroglyphic composition of the obelisk expresses.

Next to the Asp and the Globe,is the Ibis-headed figure of Thoth (Hermes),the sacred scribe of the gods,bearing a papyrus scroll,the Pantamorphos or universal tablet,on which is inscribed the wisdom of the divine mind.

This signifies the divine intellect informing all things,and the eternal word of creation proceeding from it.

The Egyptians, as Plato also witnesses (Timaeus),called the soul of the world Agathodaemon —the good and generative spirit —as being the first cause and perfect measure of all things.

Hence they often represented Agathodaemonas a serpent,and placed it between the two hemispheres of the world,that is, between the higher and lower spheres,as the mediator between the divine and the natural.

Therefore, in the present hieroglyph,the serpent issuing from the globeand ascending toward the solar cross,denotes Agathodaemon,the divine intelligence of the world,which, by its motion,connects all things —heavenly, earthly, and infernal —in one continuous harmony.

"…so that the entire composition may be rightly and perfectly ordered,as we shall more fully describe in the following Syntagma,when treating of the Canopic hieroglyphs.

For now it will suffice to note,that the Greeks, though they made their Labradas,their images of the gods,in imitation of the Egyptians,did so ignorantly and imperfectly,as Pausanias confesses,and Labra themselves show,being without the deep wisdom of the Egyptians,and therefore vainly called Censers (or Mystic Altars).

Then follows the figure of the Winged Genius,holding the Globe in his hand,and expressing Harmony or Concord,who, as Horapollo says (I.8),signifies the universal harmony of the world.

He stands upon the Sphere,and between two Serpents,which indicate the World of Soulsand the mutual commerce of heaven and earth.

For without concord and union,no felicity can exist;and therefore the Egyptians placed this Genius of Harmonynext to the Agathodaemon,to signify that divine providence acts through perpetual concord.

Following this stands the figure of the Memphitic Numen,a simulacrum of the supreme divinity,placed beside the globe,with its head encircled by a serpentand crowned with a solar disk.

This denotes the Mind of the World,vigilant, eternal,the logos or word proceeding from the divine intellect,by whose virtue the world is governed.

Around it are depicted the Genii of the three worlds —the archetypal, the sidereal, and the elemental —each shown by appropriate emblems:the first, by the Serpent of Eternity;the second, by the Winged Lion of the Sun;the third, by the Bull of the Earth.

These, as Kircher explains,express the threefold power of the divine mind,acting in the heavens, in the stars, and in the elements.

Next follows the figure of the Bary and the Ram,standing upon the globe,and showing the descending virtue of the divine power into matter.

For the Bary, being an aquatic bird,signifies the soul descending into generation,while the Ram, sacred to Ammon,denotes the fecundity and vivifying power of nature.

Thus, beneath the heavenly region,are placed figures that signifythe descent of the divine influx into the elemental world.

The Armenian Genius, crowned with the rays of the Sun,and holding the scepter of dominion,follows next,representing the rule of the celestial spiritsover the lower and terrestrial realms.

For nothing in the universe is without law,and even the inferior spiritsobey the order of the superior intelligences.

Lastly, in the lower part,are depicted various scarabaei (sacred beetles),the symbols of generation and renewal,placed within circular bands —to show the cyclical movement of divine powerthrough all orders of beings.

These things are represented in the first columnof the northern face of the obelisk,the sense of which is that the divine mind, through harmony,creates, sustains, and renews all thingsin the circle of the world".

How dare he — a priest who claims the name of Christ — equate the Word made flesh with the serpent of the pit. Here Kircher commits the oldest blasphemy in a scholar’s robe: he takes the creature that tempted Eve and crowns it as the Logos. He calls the serpent the “divine intelligence,” the “good spirit,” the mediator between heaven and earth — titles that belong to Christ alone. The same being whom Scripture names the deceiver of the whole world he venerates as Agathodaemon, the beneficent spirit. And he dares to place this serpent beside the cross, as though the crawling god of Egypt and the crucified Lord were kin.

What gospel is this? It is not the gospel of Golgotha but of Thebes. In Kircher’s mouth, the serpent does not bruise the heel — it writes the law; it becomes the word that governs the cosmos. This is not theology; it is treason. The Jesuit calls it divine harmony, but what harmony is there between the Light and the darkness, between the Son of God and the serpent who mocked Him from the garden? To name the devil “logos” is to spit upon the cross, to enthrone rebellion in the place of redemption. Kircher’s obelisk is not a monument to wisdom — it is a tomb for truth, carved by hands that have forgotten the difference between the Creator and the creature.

We now come to the translation of Oedipus Aegyptiacus, Syntagma II, page 185 — the continuation of Caput IV, § I — in which Kircher turns to the second column of the north face of the Lateran Obelisk, offering his interpretation of its symbols and claiming to uncover the celestial mysteries hidden within its hieroglyphic order.

"…and at the top is a Horus-headed figure,holding a quadriform globe,and the hydroschema — that is, the symbol of water —together with the serpent, the scepter, the circle, the eye, and the wings.

These symbols, arranged in a sacred order, denote that all divine things are ruled by number,and that the governance of the worldis distributed according to the quadriform nature of things —the Archetypal, Intellectual, Sidereal, and Elemental.

By these signs,the divine vigilance that presides over the administration of all worlds is shown, both celestial and terrestrial;and the entire system of the universeis represented under the watch of the archetypal intelligence.

The symbols of Noëth (the Intellect),placed in the space marked by the letter L,comprise a globe, a quadriform figure,a circle surrounded by three bands,and the serpent encompassing the whole.

Above it appears a figure of Horus,with the vulture’s head,the hydroschema,and the serpent entwined.

This signifies nothing elsethan the divine providence descending from the archetypal worldinto the lower realms,and the care of the godswatching over the administration of all things.

The same emblems are found in both the superior and inferior worlds,for the order of divine things is one and indivisible.

Thus the seven spheres are governed by the seven principles,called by the ancients the Archons of the World,each corresponding to one of the seven planets.

From these arises the septenary order of the heavens,which the Egyptians expressed by the image of Osiris enthroned,with seven rays proceeding from his crown —to denote the sevenfold influenceby which the divine archetype governs the whole world.

The figure of the Vulture, therefore,which is joined to the hydroschema and serpent,signifies the celestial nature penetrating the lower world;for, as the vulture conceives without male seed,so the heavens generate all things without corruption,imparting life and form to the humid matter of the earth.

Thus, in the symbols marked O and P,we find included the entire philosophy of the Egyptiansconcerning the descent of divine virtue into matter.

The Eye, signifying divine Providence;the Serpent, eternal Wisdom;the Vulture, celestial generation;the Hydroschema, the moist element;and the Globe, the universal harmony —all of these signify one truth:that the whole world is filled with the Spirit of God,which vivifies all things.

Accordingly, these symbols express the law of divine influx,descending through the orders of the intelligences,from the archetypal world into the sidereal and thence into the elemental.

Thus the Egyptians said that the soul of the world flows continually from the divine source,as light from the sun,never ceasing, but eternally sustaining all beings".

It is impossible to read such passages and not feel the weight of betrayal. Christ came to lay down His life — not to build an empire of gold and stone, not to enthrone men in marble halls, but to redeem souls from the tyranny of sin and death. Yet the same Roman Empire that scourged and crucified Him now dares to crown itself “holy,” wrapping the word of life in the vestments of the dead. The Jesuits, sworn to defend the throne of a man nowhere found in Scripture, have confused the Son of God with the serpent of old — and call it theology.

How obscene that those who claim the name of Christ kneel before the relics of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, rebranding Egyptian sorcery as Christian wisdom. The serpent that Scripture calls the deceiver of the whole world is here renamed “eternal wisdom.” The same Rome that murdered the apostles now sanctifies the idols of Egypt, all while whispering prayers to their memory beneath Latin hymns. What kind of salvation is this — that trades the blood of the Lamb for the geometry of the sun, that replaces the Word made flesh with the symbols of beasts and birds?

And still, through the centuries, multitudes bow — not to the risen Christ, but to the empire that learned to speak in His name. Beneath the cross stands the obelisk, and beneath the obelisk, the bones of men who died rather than worship such things. The tragedy of Rome is not that she once killed Christ — it is that she still builds her altars on the ruins of His sacrifice, calling darkness light and empire holiness. What Kircher reveals is not divine mystery but the oldest deceit on earth: the serpent clothed in priestly robes, preaching salvation through the wisdom of Egypt while the true Redeemer still bears His scars.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”

— 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4

“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit…

Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

— Revelation 18:2, 4