By Edward O’Toole | phenomena.cinescape.com

This then, is a very likely candidate for the Mark of the Beast
the occult symbol for the true adverse to the Divine Trinity.

“Charagma: (it) is an engraved, etched, branded or inscribed "mark" or "sign". Closest to (its) original sense.. is the earliest example in Soph. Phil., 267, where (it) denotes the bite of a snake. Elsewhere the term means "inscription"... or anything written..., and especially the impressed or branded "stamp" eg a brand to mark camels.” (Ulrich Witkins, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Wikipedia)

“ ...If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand.”(Revelations 14:9)

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.” (Revelations 15:2)

The Bible expressly forbids the use of imagery to represent either the Godhead or the Trinity. Whereas Islam is in keeping with this taboo (pictures of Allah are forbidden), Christians have always relied on a certain amount of symbolism to both represent and express their beliefs.

"Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.“ (Acts 17:29)

Observe the Ten Commandments:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth." (Exodus 20:4)

It is interesting that the choice of recognized symbol of greatest contrariety to the Christian faith, that of Satanists, is almost universally seen as the inverted cross; the upturned symbol of the Saviour’s crucifixion. The Church of Satan, Anton LaVey’s organization, actually prefers the inverted pentagram with the superimposed image of the face of Eliphas Levi’s Baphomet, which represents the more primal aspects of Man rather than any reference to the mythical Palestinian Deity. One only has to look at Leonardo Da Vinci’s Study of Proportions (Vitruvian Man) to see this imagery.

Taking the inverted Crucifix, a bastardized version of the Ankh - again the symbol of Man, made popular by Hammer movies and by Hollywood in films such as The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, as the basis for opposition to the Divine is surely restrictive in its potential. After all, what does the crucifix symbolize? It represents the self-sacrifice of the Son of God in mortal form to save Man from his sins; to wash away Original Sin in order that Man can one day enter Heaven. So what would be the counter-point of this? In some ways, the inversion of the crucifix is little more than a flippant comment that Christ’s sacrifice was a waste of time, and that this symbol historically was most often used by Catholic Priests to show their secret heretical dislike for the Church – not as a sign of syzygy to the Messiah’s means of death per se.

How then can we symbolize, satisfactorily, a total opposition to the belief that ultimately there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the Divine Trinity? What symbol could best represent absolute contraposition to this belief? Strangely, the occult symbol that suits these parameters most closely is the well known Triquetra, in all of its varied forms, as this since Culdee times has represented the Divine Trinity.

The Triquetra
Basically, a stylized trefoil knot, sometimes confused with a triskele (3-limbed symbol, e.g. of Isle of Man), a shamrock or a Mobius strip.

The Triquetra symbol above is actually composed of three Vesica Piscii, the holy symbol of the Pythagorean Christos.

The Triquetra symbol right is actually composed of three Vesica Piscii, the holy symbol of the Pythagorean Christos. It is composed of three ‘almond-shaped’ icthyi, each with a height to width ratio of 1.73205, which is the square root of three. This ratio gave rise to the Divine number 153 (the complete mathematical ratio being 265:153, the ratio of whole numbers under 1000, which approximated the square root of 3.) 153 is the number of fish Jesus caught in the Gospel of John 21:11. When one considers that there are three Vesica Piscii in the Triquetra, the following calculation has surprising results:

153 x 3 = 459
4 + 5 + 9 = 18
1 + 8 = 9

The number 9 is only divisible by 3, 1 and itself. One can understand just why the Triquetra is of such symbolic importance to Trinity-believing Christians, even though its origins are Neolithic. However, the number 9 is sacred to Satanism as it is the number of Satan himself and represents the ego, epochs and ages (The Table of Nine, Satanic Numerolgy, Draconis Blackthorne).

"What does the trinity symbol mean?The Triquetra represents the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The unbroken circle represents eternity. The interwoven nature of the symbol denotes the indivisibility and equality of the Holy Trinity. It symbolizes that the Holy Spirit is three beings of power, honor, and glory but is indivisibly one God." (www.thesouthtown.com)

It is ironic that many Christians, especially Evangelicals, claim that the Triquetra is an occult symbol, rather than a representation of the Divine Trinity. As this piece of knot work clearly predates Christianity, beloved of the Celts and Norse, it is unclear just how it could be classed as occult or, especially, Satanic (difficult to be adversarial without an opponent…). While the symbol may be used now as a means of expressing anathemic belief, it most certainly was not originally designed as such, refuting such quackery as:

“Marilyn Ferguson, a New Ager, used the symbol of the triquetra (another name for the triskele) on her book The Aquarian Conspiracy. This is a variation for the number 666. Other books and material have a similar design printed on them, such as books from David Spangler, the person who lauds Lucifer, and The Witch's Grimoire. As most people know, the number 666 is the number of the beast (see Revelation 13:18) and is evil, yet the occultists and New Agers love this number and consider it to be sacred.

As stated earlier, many organizations, such as the World Future Society and the Trilateral Commission, incorporate this symbol into their logo. I think it is quite interesting to see that this same symbol appears on the cover of the New King James Bible as well!” (Dr. Cathy Burns, Masonic and Occult Symbols Illustrated, pp. 242-243)

Traditionally, the number 666 as dictated in the King James Version of the Bible has been identified with The Beast – the man that Satan will send as the second Messiah.

The Triquetra symbolizing the three 6s of the Number of the Beast, 666 [symmetrical but incorrect – this number will be discussed in greater detail later in the work].

As for the assumption that the symbol represents God (upper leaf), the Son (lower left leaf) and the Holy Ghost (lower right leaf), I think it may be correct to question these positions as the Holy Ghost is traditionally seen to be the link between the Son and the Father, and that in the Bible it is stated that Jesus sits on God’s right hand side:

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. (Luke 22:69)

[Christ] Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. (1 Peter 3:22)

And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7:56)

...Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

Also, Ephesians 1:20, Hebrews 1:3 and others. In this case, either the Holy Ghost should be represented by the left leaf or, as I would suspect, the upper leaf seeing as though it joins the two lower ones. The use of the Triquetra as it stands by ‘Satanists’ and ‘witches’ is again illogical as it represents the Holy Trinity; for the Mark of the Beast, the Triquetra will be repositioned so that it a) faces downwards and b) represents the Holy Ghost in a more verifiable position.

In this position there is also a slight likeness to the Baphomet image.

The simple inversion of this figure warrants the spiritual reputing (through physical symbolism) and deliberate turning away from accepting the Divine Trinity as the Holiest of Holies. It is not the inverted pentacle or inverted crucifix which is the most satanic symbol, but the simple, common trefoil upturned.

When combined with the Pythagorean Icthyi, it is especially clear the extent of sacrilege formed when the Triquetra is inversed. However, to secure its place in the realms of true satanic belief, direct reference must be made to The Great Beast himself replacing the figure of God, Jesus or the entire Divine Trinity with that of Satan or his archetype.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (Revelation 13:18)

Traditionally, the number 666 as dictated in the King James Version of the Bible has been identified with The Beast – the man that Satan will send as the second Messiah, thus instigating the beginning of the end; the precursor to Judgement Day. If we are to believe occultists such as Aleister Crowley, who recognized himself as To Mega Therion (The Great Beast) and attributed the number 666 to his own person, and to believe Christian Fundamentalists who recognize this number as evil, then we may adorn our Triquetra Inversed thus.

This then, is a very likely candidate for the Mark of the Beast – the occult symbol for the true adverse to the Divine Trinity.

However, for those who take historical documentation seriously, this traditional view is wrong. Both the people who worship The Great Beast as 666, and those who oppose it are incorrect. To finalize our occult symbol of utter opposition to the Divine Trinity, we shall use the more up-to-date number, as deciphered from the third century Oxyrhynchus papyri – that of chi, iota, stigma or, 616. We shall also apply the colours representing God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit – blue, purple and red, with white as the Divine Infinite whole.

This then, is a very likely candidate for the Mark of the Beast – the occult symbol for the true adverse to the Divine Trinity.

Edward O’Toole, Slovakia, February 2006. Non serviam.

A preview of Edward O'Toole's upcoming book, Clavis, can be found here. The Aestheteka discussion forum can be found at aestheteka.forumwise.com.

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