Shakespeare's Holy Grail:

Access to the Tree of Life Was Cut Off and Then Reopened

Without wishing to sound facetious, I recently realised that to understand what the entire Bible is really about, all you need are the following two key verses — one from Genesis, the other from Revelation. These two verses give great insight into what humanity actually lost in the beginning, and what was finally found in the end: access to the Tree of Life.

 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Genesis 3:24

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

Revelation 22:14

In the very beginning, as above, in Genesis, the Bible says mankind was banished from Eden (meaning ‘heart of God’) and lost access to the Tree of Life. In Revelation, at the very end, it says access to the Tree of Life was restored. In between is an account of how this reopening came to be. In other words, the entire scripture is devoted to telling us this one saga, and I am going to show you how to shift your viewing point so you can see that Shakespeare encapsulates that same entire saga in the subtext (the poetic symbols and imagery) of every single one of his plays.

What Is the Tree of Life?

Clearly, the Tree of Life is an important metaphor. It’s no more a tree than the Garden of Eden is a garden. It is an aspect of consciousness — and a crucial one at that. Think about the symbology: Tree of Life. The source of everything. In John 1, he says the Word was the source of everything. In the beginning was the Word. In the beginning, the Tree of Life, the Word, the voice, the sound, the name of God, was ‘planted’ in the Garden, in the heart of God, in the soul of man.

Could it be that the symbol of the Holy Grail is simply another symbol for the Tree of Life? It neatly answers our question: What of priceless value was lost? If so, why? Why would a whole new legend and mythology have arisen to preserve and camouflage something that is mentioned so specifically and  already has its own vast tomes of deep study? No, there’s more to it. Something else of priceless value that we cannot yet fathom must also have been lost. A clay cup transformed into a golden chalice? Hardly! But what about what that cup symbolises? Could it be simply a metaphor for the priceless lost inner treasure that transforms our consciousness from something rotten — a fear, guilt and depression machine — into a fully aware, abundant self? Is this the native hue of resolution that was sicklied o’er by the pale caste of thought?

That’s what I’m hunting.