On this last night of the year, when we are all remembering the past and making plans as well as resolutions for this new year that will be here in a few hours, I'd like to share my vow to the Knights Templar. I will renew this vow and hope that many of you make it with me... as a life-long resolution, as the Knights Templar once did, for truth and justice, and for a better world.
They inspired this vow during my stay at Maryculter Knights Templar Preceptory in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is part of my Travel & Research Vlog, Episode 2, an excerpt of which is included below, written as I walked through what was once the old graveyard of this Templar site:
"Inhaling the scent of fresh grass and flowers in bloom, I was reminded of Maryculter’s herb garden from which the Templars prepared their medicines. Its walls still rise to the east of the Knights’ old graveyard and like the memory of the Templars, are eternal. Among the many plants that once upon a time grew here was St. John’s wort, believed to have infinite healing powers derived from the saint himself (the red juice of its leaves representing his blood). Curiously, the controversial wild arum lily (arum maculatum) was also grown here. Popularly known as cuckoo pint, it contradicts the Knights’ celibacy rule. Offering many homeopathic remedies and forms of starch or soap, this plant’s most popular and ancient use was actually as an aphrodisiac or love-philtre.
Long after the Templars were gone, plants here would continue growing until the old psychic garden was dug up in 1936, and they were thrown out. But below the walls, wild arum lily still blooms in defiance even today, making Maryculter one of the few sites of the North East where it grows. The fragrant Arum Lily, was also known as the Fleur de Lys (the Flower of Light) and is strongly connected to Mary Magdalene, the Cathars, Templars, and the holy bloodline. Its three petals embody the trinity but also the number of the divine feminine goddess and represent faith, wisdom, and chivalry. Saying a final goodbye as I walk among Templars' graves, filled with sadness but also hope, I make a solemn vow for myself but wishing for it to be embraced by all those who cross my path:
May we learn from our mistakes and human arrogance
May we wear humility’s white mantle of untainted purity
May we always lead with our hearts, kindness and generosity
May we fight, live and die with compassion, valour and honour
May we never stop seeking the immortality and truth of eternal wisdom
Vowing to take up the cross and inheritance of the Knights Templar,
who as the wild arum lily, forever live on…
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Excerpt and preview to my upcoming Research & Travel Vlog on the Knights Templar Preceptory of Maryculter House, Aberdeen, Scotland.
In memory of the Knights Templar...Veritas vos liberabit. You are always with me...
My deepest gratitude to manager Peter Walker of Maryculter House and his lovely staff, who walked me through its secrets, ensuring I had an unforgettable stay. Also to Michael Benson for his friendship, support, and filming moments of my lifelong crusade for truth and justice for the Templars, including parts of this video.
And, of course, I am deeply grateful to the Knights Templar; you are my heartbeat, the immortal inspiration that runs through my veins as I bleed on the page.
