The head of the Saviour

 

One head

For the more seasoned researchers, the “tête du sauveur”, or “Head of the Saviour”, will be known as being in the wall of the presbytery of Rennes-les-Bains. That was not its original location. In fact, it was worked into the building by none other than Henri Boudet, the local village priest, and one of the key players in the mystery.
In his enigmatic book, “La vraie langue celtique”, on page 234, he refers to this stone as such: “A menhir [standing stone] was preserved on this site [a hill above Rennes-les-Bains] and one carved, on high, a relief, a magnificent head of the Lord Jesus, the Saviour of Mankind. This sculpture, which has seen approximately 18 centuries, has given its name to this part of the plateau, Cap de l’Homme, the Head of Man, referring to the man par excellence, filius hominis.
It is deplorable that we were obliged, in December 1884, to remove this beautiful sculpture from the location it occupied, to remove it from the ravages of a pick-axe of an unfortunate young man, who was far removed from being able to understand the significance and its value.”
Though it was removed from its original location to the presbytery, after the inundations of 1992 that ravaged the town, the head was removed from the presbytery, to the local museum.

Rumours and legends

There is a rumour that behind this head, there was also a magic square. Alas, this statement is not confirmed by any text from that era, but simply because there is no written evidence, doesn’t mean it cannot be true.
A note, at the bottom of page 234 of Boudet’s book, adds: “this sculpted head of the Saviour is in the hands of Mr. Cailhol of Alet.” As such, we know that he was a potential witness as to whether or not such a magic square was present or not, but it appears that no further information is available. It also appears that before it was worked into the wall of the presbyerty, the head was therefore in the possession of Mr. Cailhol.
At the end of his book, Boudet returns to this standing stone, stating it was part of a pagan temple, which was converted into a Christian church, and which was later destroyed by a fire. He adds how the head looked out over the valley, “and dominated all of these Celtic monuments that have lost their teachings”. No doubt, if Boudet was correct, the head was thus carved to underline that Rennes-les-Bains was now “watched over” by Jesus, and no longer by the pagan gods once worshipped there.

A Tarot Card

The location of the Cap de l’Homme also plays an important role in the later works of the Priory of Sion, especially in a brochure by Jean-Pierre Deloux and Jacques Brétigny. The authors claim that a drawing once decorated the church in Rennes-les-Bains. There is, however, no evidence it ever did. Still, the painting allegedly once inside the church, shows a pope, and it is clear that the painting has been inspired by a well-known deck of Tarot cards.
However, certain key modifications have been made to the ordinary motif. For example, behind the Pope is the church of Rennes-les-Bains, seen from the cemetery, with the rock of Cap de l’Homme in the distance. Unlike some “matching” of landscapes with Poussin’s The Shepherds of Arcadia, there can be no doubt that this is indeed the landscape of Rennes-les-Bains.

The Pope in the Tarot

It might come as a surprise to find a Pope in the Tarot deck, seeing the deck is rather alchemical in nature. But in origin, there was indeed such a card. It was only as recent as 1725 that the Church insisted that the Pope and Papess was removed from the deck; the Pope was replaced by the Hierophant card.
The pope card was meant to signify religious leadership. The new word “hierophant” was intended to evoke the image of the Greek mystery religions, with the hierophant as initiator. Still, despite these changes, the trappings of the papacy are usually still present in the card, and the card remains associated with conventional religion and dogma, rather than the private, magical experiences of the mystery religions.
However, it was but one variation on the removal of the card from the deck. Earlier, the Florentine Tarot and Minchiate, had already replaced him with an Eastern Emperor. Indeed, the image allegedly from Rennes-les-Bains is quite Eastern in appearance too. Other decks, however, substituted the Pope with the god Bacchus. He was shown naked, straddling a wine barrel, and gulping wine from a bottle. Finally, in Besançon in eastern France, the Pope was replaced by Jupiter, king of the gods.

The tree and the forest

Alas, with so many variations at work, it is difficult to see which direction the “Priory” – as the publication of Brétigny is seen to be another attempt to create intrigue by these people – was trying to move the reader into. Perhaps the very fact that it was not clear, was of course precisely the intention.
However, it should be noted that it is not the only time the Tarot deck has been brought into the enigma; even Kate Mosse’s “Sepulchre” brings this dimension into the mystery and, though a novel, even argued that if one type of code was used, and was in common usage, at the time, the Tarot code would have been the easiest, while at the same time reserving the knowledge to those who were allowed to see it. Another important card could of course be that of the Tower.

Significance of the Pope

We quote from a modern guide on the Tarot: “The pope, or high priest tarot card sits at number 5. The High Priest symbolises our ability to listen when spoken to and to talk to the heart of others so that they by return listen to us. For the individual it is their ability to connect to their highest consciousness, especially during quiet times or meditation. Through the High Priest, and stillness of mind, we connect to the High Priestess and her abundant storehouse of knowledge. The Pope is the bridge between the causal/subtle realms and the physical world. In daily life it is our ability to listen to not only the words of others but also to the intonation in their voice so that we connect with them at a deeper level.”

Losing one’s head

The Head of the Saviour is an element in the mystery of Rennes-le-Château like so many others. From its location on what was indeed likely a pagan temple, it was transformed into a Christian relic, which was saved by Boudet, but by him already worked into his theory on the cromlech, and from there, by the Priory, into a Tarot deck card, and made the subject of even further intrigue. It is a primary example of how an unimportant item, in essence nothing to do with the mystery at all, was nevertheless worked into a tree, so that a forest of speculation could be created, whereby the very sequence of events that befell the piece itself, could become subject of debate, controversy, as well as errors or misunderstandings, so that in the end no-one can see the forest. But if the head was indeed important, it is clear that Boudet would never have worked it into the wall of the presbytery.

Filip Coppens