The Fazer Rooster

At the city center of Helsinki stands a Björn Weckström statue called The Fazer Rooster. Helsinki art museum introduction:

"The Fazer Group donated 'The Fazer Rooster' to the City of Helsinki as a part of its 100th anniversary celebrations. The work belongs to the collections of the Helsinki Art Museum. 'The Rooster' is located in front of Fazer's famous café on Kluuvikatu. It was unveiled on September 17, 1991. The bronze sculpture is a stylized Fazer symbol, a rooster. In fact, it is so stylized that it invites the viewer to see other forms - someone has suggested that Weckström used a cervical vertebra of an elk as a model."

See how there's yet another obelisk?

Mr. Karl Fazer, the founder of Fazer company, was a Freemason. Are you surprised to hear that the rooster is a masonic symbol?

Karl Fazer and the masonic "hidden hand"

Rooster was one of the symbols of the Greek god Hermes. In Rome, this god was known as Mercury.

Hermes/Mercury and the rooster

In masonic context, Hermes/Mercury is an embodiment of masonry. The symbolism of freemasonry is considered as hermetic.

"Mercury, as known to the Romans and as Thoth by the Egyptians, the god Hermes, is considered by Pike to represent the Master of the Lodge." - Russell R. Boedeker, 32nd degree Freemason

"Manly P. Hall in his work, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, states, “…he [Hermes] was the author of the Masonic initiatory rituals…Nearly all of the Masonic symbols are Hermetic in character" - ibid

"In all the old manuscript records which contain the Legend of the Craft, mention is made of Hermes as one of the founders of Freemasonry." (masonicdictionary.com)

Another famous symbol of Hermes is the caduceus. He inherited it from his Egyptian counterpart Thoth. Thoth, the god of wisdom, was depicted with a head of an ibis bird. There is an interesting passage in the Bible about rooster and ibis.

"Who gives the ibis wisdom or gives the rooster understanding?" - Job 38:36 (New International Version)

Funny how easy it is to find blatant paganism from the Bible.

Hermes holding the caduceus

Thoth holding two caduceuses

Hermeticism is an integral part of freemasonry ("Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn", "Hermetic Degrees",  "Hermetic Rites" etc.) and the esoteric arts of "the Elite". The father of hermeticism is the mythical Egyptian high priest and mage called Hermes Trismegistus. For Freemasons he is the so called forefather of masonry. 

"Hermes Trismegistus, "thrice-great Hermes," emerged from the amalgamation of the wisdom gods Hermes and Thoth and is one of the most enigmatic figures of intellectual history. Since antiquity, the legendary "wise Egyptian" has been considered the creator of several mystical and magical writings on such topics as alchemy, astrology, medicine, and the transcendence of God. Philosophers of the Renaissance celebrated Hermes Trismegistus as the founder of philosophy, Freemasons called him their forefather, and Enlightenment thinkers championed religious tolerance in his name. To this day, Hermes Trismegistus is one of the central figures of the occult — his name is synonymous with the esoteric." - Florian Ebeling

Hermes Trismegistus

Hermes symbolism is widely used by "the Elite":

Hermes and the UBS bank

Hermes statue, Rochester, USA

Hermes, Grand Central Terminal, New York, USA

Golden boy (Hermes), Manitoba legislative building, Winnipeg, Canada

Hermes, Budapest, Hungary

Freddie Mercury statue, Switzerland

Hermes logo

Hermes statue in the first James Bond movie Dr. No (upper right corner)

Going back to The Fazer Rooster. The obvious Hermes symbolism is not the only layer of symbolism in this statue. There is another layer, not too surprising for the readers of this blog.

First we have to look at the satellite image of Helsinki. The statue forms a straight line on the map with the tarot statues of Lönnrot memorial and Alexander II statue.

From left to right: Lönnrot memorial, The Fazer Rooster, Alexander II

And another line:

From left to right: Lasipalatsi clock tower, The Fazer Rooster, The Stone of the Empress  

And another:

From left to right: Fact and Fable, The Fazer Rooster, The Law

And another:

From left to right: Aleksis Kivi statue, The Fazer Rooster, The Shipwrecked 

See the pattern? Always in the middle.

Let's take a closer look on the two last lines. The Fazer Rooster is in the middle and the four other statues around it are all tarot statues. Fact and Fable depicts the tarot card Star, which is ruled by the sign of Aquarius.

On the opposite side is The Law, which depicts the tarot card Strength, which is ruled by the sign of Leo.

Aleksis Kivi statue represents the card The Hierophant, which is ruled by the sign of Taurus.

On the opposite side is The Shipwrecked, which represents the card Death, which is ruled by the sign of Scorpio.

The four tarot statues around The Fazer Rooster

The four signs, Aquarius, Leo, Taurus and Scorpio are the four Fixed signs of the zodiac, forming a cross on the zodiac wheel.

Fixed signs

There are two tarot cards, that have these signs on the corners of the card: Wheel of Fortune and The World. In the most well known tarot deck, Rider-Waite, The World has Sophia the goddess of wisdom in the middle.

(The card is somewhat confusing, because the symbol of the sign of Scorpio used to be and eagle.)

From the upper left corner: Aquarius, Scorpio (used to be an eagle), Leo and Taurus

But if you look at some other older decks, instead of Sophia there is someone else as the main character of the card. Can you guess who?

The World and Hermes

The World and Hermes

Statue of Alexander II

The most elaborate piece of public art with hidden in plain sight symbolism in my home-country's capital, Helsinki, is the Statue of Alexander II.

The statue is located right in the middle of Helsinki center, very close to the Stone of the Empress and Havis Amanda. It was designed by a Freemason Walter Runeberg (see also the J.L. Runeberg statue) and Johannes Takanen.

Helsinki Art Museum introduction:

"Alexander II, Tsar of Russia and Grand Duke of Finland, inspired confidence in his Finnish subjects. Following his assassination in 1881, the estates organized a competition for a memorial in 1884. Every respected sculptor in Finland at the time participated. Johannes Takanen won the competition by a narrow margin with Walter Runeberg taking second place. Since the jury considered both entries extremely good, the work was given to both artists - as a joint commission.

However, Johannes Takanen died in 1885 leaving the work to Walter Runeberg. The competition jury had given especial praise to Takanen's treatment of Alexander's figure. On the other hand, the jury had from the very beginning been fascinated by the images Walter Runeberg had included in the pedestal in his entry.

Runeberg made the monarch's figure according to Takanen's proposal and added it's pedestal symbolic figures representing Law, Light (Science and Art), Peace and Work (Lex, Lux, Pax and Labor). The figure symbolizing law was the maiden of Finland wearing a bearskin. The same maiden can be seen in the pedestal of Runeberg's memorial to Finland's national poet J. L. Runeberg, located in the Esplanadi park.

The memorial was unveiled on April 29, 1894. Alexander II is depicted wearing a guards uniform, speaking at the Porvoo Diet in 1863. The uniform was Runeberg's idea; in Takanen's entry the monarch was dressed in civilian clothes without the symbols of power."

The most obvious part of hidden in plain sight symbolism is on one of the pedestal statues. If you look closely, you can see the masonic square and compass motif hidden close to the feet of the winged boy figure.

Masonic square and compass with a hammer

A better view of it can be seen in another version of this boy figure, called Art's genius. (Located in the Runeberg museum in Porvoo.)

Masonic logo on Art's genius

Masonic symbolism: square, compass and a hammer

Another masonic motif of the monument is the obelisk. The pedestal Alexander stands on, is actually and obelisk - surrounded by four other obelisks, masked as lamp stands. More about the obelisk symbolism in the article The Stone of the Empress.

The masonic symbolism of this monument is only a side track. The main focus of the symbolism in on tarot.

The statue of Alexander, and the four surrounding pedestal statues Peace, Law, Work and Light, are all representations of tarot cards.

Peace represents the card The Empress. If you know anything about Greek mythology, you can clearly see this statue is the mother goddess Demeter. The Empress of the tarot is the mother goddess.

"The Empress is the archetypal Earth Mother, the Anima, the Feminine Principle, Demeter, Freyja and the Goddess of Fertility. Ruled by Venus, the planet of love, creativity, fertility, art, harmony, luxury, beauty and grace." (biddytarot.com)

Peace and The Empress

Demeter

In tarot, The Empress represents things like productivity, growth and business. The pedestal statue Peace is located on the north side of the monument. When you look at it, you can see behind her the old city block of the most wealthy Finnish merchant families during the 1800's.

Senate Square's south side: city block of the old merchant families

Law represents the tarot card Strength with the goddess and the lion motif.

Law and Strength

It's a very, very old motif. Examples:

The goddess and the lion: Ishtar

The goddess an the lion: Inanna

The goddess and the lion: Cybele

Egyptian lion goddess Sekhmet

In tarot, Strength represents things like mental discipline and control of thought. The pedestal statue Law is located on the south side of the monument. When you look at it, you can see the Helsinki Cathedral behind it.

Perhaps you can see the connection between the church and "control of thought"?

The Helsinki Cathedral

Light represents the tarot card The World.

Light and The World

Just look at the details of the card:

1. Name: The World
2. A bare chested goddess
3. Two wands in the hands of the goddess
4. A wreath around the goddess
5. A bull's head in the bottom left corner representing Taurus
6. A boy's head in the top left corner (in many decks a winged boy) representing Aquarius
7. An eagle in the top right corner representing Scorpio (older symbol for the zodiac sign)
8. A lion in the bottom right corner representing Leo

Now compare that list on the details of the statue:

1. A globe
2. A bare chested goddess
3. A spectrometer with two tubes in the hand of the goddess
4. A wreath around the head of the goddess
5. A harp made of an animal with horns, on the left side of the goddess
6. A winged boy on the left side of the goddess
7. On the right side, cherubs (details of the stand of the globe) with the head of a man, wings of an eagle and...
8. ... the body of a lion

The cherubs and the globe

In tarot, The World represents things like wisdom and knowledge. The pedestal statue Light is located on the east side of the monument. When you look at it, you can see the main building of the Helsinki University behind it.

Helsinki University

Work represents the tarot card The Devil.

Work and The Devil

Look at the details of the card:

1. A man representing the masculine
2. A woman representing the feminine
3. Both attached to the pedestal...
4. ... by chains
5. Above them their ruler 

Compare the list to the details of the statue:

1. A man holding an ax (phallic symbol)
2. A woman holding a sickle (a feminine symbol)
3. Both attached to the pedestal...
4. ... and "chained" to their labor and hard work
5. Above them their ruler Alexander II

In tarot, The Devil represents things like laws and rules, order, authority and submission to external power. The pedestal statue Work is located on the west side of the monument. When you look at it, you can see the the Government Palace (Prime Minister's office) behind it.

Government Palace

Finally, at the top of the monument stands Alexander II - the Emperor of Russia.

Alexander II and The Emperor

Nice work, Mr. Runeberg.

Walter Runeberg and the masonic "lion's paw"

More examples of tarot symbolism in statues on page Esoteric statues.

The Stone of the Empress

In the middle of Helsinki center is the oldest memorial of the city, called The Stone of the Empress. It was made by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1835.

The stone of the Empress

Helsinki Art Museum introduction:

'The Stone of the Empress' is the oldest public memorial in Helsinki. It was erected in the Market Square to commemorate the Empress Alexandra's (the German-born wife of Nicholas I), first visit to Helsinki. She visited the City in 1833 with her husband, who came to inspect the construction of Helsinki's new centre. The memorial is an obelisk cut in red granite. A bronze globe is set on top of the obelisk, and the two-headed eagle of Russia. 

The obelisk form, already a basic memorial type for glorifying sculptures depicting historical events and in memorial stones during Antiquity in Europe was adopted for 'The Stone of the Empress'. This work is typical of the early 19th century obelisks which followed the traditions of the Antique forms.

The stone includes the following, explanatory texts in Finnish and Latin: "Keisarinna Alexandralle Suomen pääkaupungissa ensikerran käyneelle XXIX.p:Touko X.p: Kesä MDCCCXXXIII. Imperatrici Alexandrae Metropolin Finlandiae Primum Adventati die XXIX Maji X Juni MDCCCXXXIII." The English translation reads: "To Empress Alexandra on her first visit to the capital of Finland May 29 - June 10, 1833."

The Memorial is placed where Alexandra and Nicholas stepped ashore from the Ischora, the steamship that brought them to Helsinki. 'The Stone of the Empress' was unveiled on December 18, 1835 on Nicholas's nameday. Russian sailors removed the bronze globe and two-headed eagle on April 17, 1917. However, in 1971, they were returned.                     

The obelisk is one of the most common symbol freemasonry and the Cult of Aton. "The Elite" and it's secret societies have their origins in ancient Egypt, so obviously there are lots Egyptian motifs in their symbolism - obelisk being one of them. It is not very uncommon to see obelisks all around the world in the power centers of "the Elite". Many of these symbols of sun worship have been stolen from Egypt.

"In Egypt the obelisk stood for the very presence of the Sun God himself" - Carl Claudy (Introduction to Freemasonry)

Luxor obelisk in Paris (stolen from Egypt)

Cleopatra's needle in London (stolen from Egypt)

Obelisk on Saint Peter's square, Vatican (stolen from Egypt)

Obelisk in Central Park, New York (stolen from Egypt)

On the top of the Stone of the Empress is another very common symbol of freemasonry - the double-headed eagle. Of course the official exoteric explanation claims that it's there because it's the double-headed eagle of Russia - honoring the visiting empress. (Finland was part of Russia that time.) It's a clever cover-up story to hide the fact that this monument is as masonic as it can get.

"They erected it to honor the empress." Yeah, right.

The stone of the Empress

Masonic double-headed eagle

There is another very interesting aspect to this monument too. It stands on a very precise location. One of the esoteric arts "the Elite" is interested of is the use of lay-lines and the manipulation of Earth's natural energy grid. The Stone of the Empress forms a straight line on the map with three other masonic monuments: Susisaari obelisk, statue of Alexander (on top of an obelisk) and the statue Eagles.

Susisaari obelisk

Statue of Alexander - an obelisk in the middle of four smaller obelisks

Eagles (read more here)

From left to right: Eagles, the statue of Alexander, the Stone of the Empress, Susisaari obelisk