Research Background
The New Jerusalem
Armed Freedom on the Capitol in Washington DC
We did not come to the starting point of our co-operative investigations as novices. On the contrary, two very important strings of previous research fuelled our efforts. Janet and her husband Scott had already been investigating the past of the United States and also that of Europe on their side of the pond, whilst Alan had been doing the same over in Britain. It was a combination of our previous efforts, cooperation with other researchers, and earlier published books that first set us on the path we were to follow.
We knew that there had been for countless generations and still was a hidden imperative that lay below the surface of both European and American society. Some years ago we started to refer to the people concerned as the 'Venus Families', though what these people call themselves remains for the moment a mystery.
To belong to the Venus Families infers much more than a common view of life and the way society should be run. It has its genesis in the earliest religious practices known to have been followed by humanity. For many thousands of years humans from all parts of the world held sacred the form and memory of a Great Goddess, whose worship, once spanned continents.
Around 2,000 BCE changes in the structure of society and the incursion of warlike tribes into Europe brought about a change in prevailing belief systems. Instead of the former Goddess, people now started to elevate the masculine within religion, whilst at the same time divorcing their beliefs from previous systems. Goddess worship was gradually driven underground, together with the social incentives that had been a part of Goddess veneration. But to particular groups of people the Goddess was not forgotten. Memory of her survived and was passed down through specific clans and families, though in the face of persecution it was often necessary for these people to act in secret. Gradually they developed a common strategy designed to bring the Goddess back to a central position. It was an uphill struggle, undertaken in secret but maintained by people who gained power in subtle ways to infuse societies with their beliefs and their ancient motivation.
We knew that there had been for countless generations and still was a hidden imperative that lay below the surface of both European and American society. Some years ago we started to refer to the people concerned as the 'Venus Families', though what these people call themselves remains for the moment a mystery.
To belong to the Venus Families infers much more than a common view of life and the way society should be run. It has its genesis in the earliest religious practices known to have been followed by humanity. For many thousands of years humans from all parts of the world held sacred the form and memory of a Great Goddess, whose worship, once spanned continents.
Around 2,000 BCE changes in the structure of society and the incursion of warlike tribes into Europe brought about a change in prevailing belief systems. Instead of the former Goddess, people now started to elevate the masculine within religion, whilst at the same time divorcing their beliefs from previous systems. Goddess worship was gradually driven underground, together with the social incentives that had been a part of Goddess veneration. But to particular groups of people the Goddess was not forgotten. Memory of her survived and was passed down through specific clans and families, though in the face of persecution it was often necessary for these people to act in secret. Gradually they developed a common strategy designed to bring the Goddess back to a central position. It was an uphill struggle, undertaken in secret but maintained by people who gained power in subtle ways to infuse societies with their beliefs and their ancient motivation.
The Temple of Solomon
a representation of the Temple of Solomon
Throughout the ages and in various places the beliefs and strategies of the Venus Families differed but eventually one overriding theme began to develop. This was based on the Old Testament Bible stories of a great temple that was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem. This temple had been created on a site that had already been revered for thousands of years. It has been the site of a 'Threshing Floor', which had always been sacred to the Great Goddess. In the minds of the Venus Families the whole idea of Jerusalem with the temple at its heart became a symbol of an idealized society, in which fairness and equality would be evident. When Jerusalem fell to the Romans at the start of the modern era, it remained as a symbol of freedom and equality. From that point on people began to talk about a 'New Jerusalem', a place where not only would people be free from tyranny but in which the original 'balance' between the Great Goddess, who represented the Earth and her consort the God, usually thought of as representing the Sun would once again be established. Slowly but surely this concept began to crystalize into actions on the part of the Venus Families.
The Venus Families begin to Act
Old map of Troyes, Capital of Champagne
By the end of the 11th century the Venus Families had found themselves a center of operations in Western Europe. This was the region of France known to this day as Champagne. It was in Troyes, the capital of Champagne that plans began to be laid to take a whole series of actions that would ultimately result in the creation of the New Jerusalem. Before this could take place the treasures of the original Jerusalem had to be rescued because by now the city and region was no longer readily accessible to outsiders. A multi pronged plan was devised that involved the creation of a brand new monastic order, called the Cistercians, the establishing of a Venus Family member as Pope in Rome and also the creation of a fighting brotherhood of monks who became known as the Knights Templar.
For some time the Venus Families of Champagne 'controlled' the Catholic Church and set the seal on a great series of strategies designed to achieve their objectives. It is from this point on we can recognize some of the true imperatives that lay behind Venus Family beliefs. In particular we can be sure that one form of the Great Goddess they revered was Mary Magdalene, a character who appears in the New Testament of the Bible in association with Jesus. It is clear that the Venus Families considered Mary Magdalene to have been the wife of Jesus and that they also 'knew' that the couple had shared a family, which carried the bloodline of Jesus and Mary on. This idea was and is deeply offensive to the established Christian Church and so everything undertaken during the Champagne adventure had to be carried out in strict secrecy. Where the Venus families originally intended their New Jerusalem to be located remains something of a puzzle. It could be that as a result of transatlantic journeys that had taken place since at least Bronze Age times, it was already the intention of the Venus families to occupy some or all of North America - intent on building their New Jerusalem and their new society far from the shores of Europe. Whether this is the case or not, the treasures from Jerusalem were eventually taken to America. It took a long time to free the new colonies of North America from the restraining hand of Europeans but after many bitter struggles, in the late 18th century, the United States of America came into existence and the patient plans of many generations of the Venus families could at last be put into action.
For some time the Venus Families of Champagne 'controlled' the Catholic Church and set the seal on a great series of strategies designed to achieve their objectives. It is from this point on we can recognize some of the true imperatives that lay behind Venus Family beliefs. In particular we can be sure that one form of the Great Goddess they revered was Mary Magdalene, a character who appears in the New Testament of the Bible in association with Jesus. It is clear that the Venus Families considered Mary Magdalene to have been the wife of Jesus and that they also 'knew' that the couple had shared a family, which carried the bloodline of Jesus and Mary on. This idea was and is deeply offensive to the established Christian Church and so everything undertaken during the Champagne adventure had to be carried out in strict secrecy. Where the Venus families originally intended their New Jerusalem to be located remains something of a puzzle. It could be that as a result of transatlantic journeys that had taken place since at least Bronze Age times, it was already the intention of the Venus families to occupy some or all of North America - intent on building their New Jerusalem and their new society far from the shores of Europe. Whether this is the case or not, the treasures from Jerusalem were eventually taken to America. It took a long time to free the new colonies of North America from the restraining hand of Europeans but after many bitter struggles, in the late 18th century, the United States of America came into existence and the patient plans of many generations of the Venus families could at last be put into action.
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