A Key Device

(The following was inspired by recent comments)

During the Maranatha Puzzle, two opportunities were given to readers in which they were able to ask direct questions about the Time Monk Project to one of its authors.  Using the name, Sacred Prize, spokesperson Duncan Burden answered inquiries as best he could without revealing the ultimate answer.

Included in a previous post, Highlights of the Key, the following was one of those questions which were asked during the October 2006 open chat session.  Username, PWS111, wondered:

“Is the Key used in a similar fashion to the way it is used in a real lock?”

Sacred Prize’s response was:

“Yes, the key is used in a similar philosophical method as a real key and lock.”

Considering these remarks, it is interesting to take notice of a ‘key mechanism’.  As was commented in a following the post, The Time Monk Project Article, a Key could be said to mirror a ‘lock’.  This is seen in the image of the device shown above where the contour of the ‘key grooves’ mirror the ‘spring pins’ which create the ‘lock.’  If the contours are not balanced, then the cylinder(yellow) is prevented from moving. Those who are familiar with the puzzle (now cancelled) realize the first book encouraged readers to discover a ‘Key’; while the second book of the series (unreleased) was said to have dealt with the ‘Lock.’

Also, following another post The Symbol of the Maranatha Cover, a comment by Madmonk mentioned how a figure of a ‘key’ was created by placing together the Shugborough hall and the Maranatha symbol at the bottom of the parchment.  In order to create this key, a person had to fold the parchment so the two halves would meet in center.

This method also revealed a hidden message in the parchment’s heart or central main paragraph.  The message was made up of opposites, the first and last word, with the last being first.

This would seem to suggest messages could be revealed by the combining of two halves. Along with how a key works, the process could then be looked at, that once the key is in correct position; one only has to ‘turn’ it.  This even seems similar to how the TimeMonk Dial worked.  The correct key or input needed placed, before the ‘hidden pages’ were revealed.

The condition, of the successful use of a key, is intriguing when considering the Caduceus section in the Maranatha Companion book.  On page 62, the following paragraph is written: “In order to be able to ascend or descend through these worlds, Hermes had to find the point where the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are in perfect balance.”   All must be balanced or aligned in order to ‘travel through the three worlds.’  The ‘doors’ cannot be opened up; much like what is found in a key mechanism.

As the PDF’s demonstrated how the alchemical symbols of the book combined to form the Tree of Life with three worlds, and with the decoded pigpen text mentioning three worlds, it could be supposed a balance must be found.  Like suggested by commenter, NateBeck, since Duncan Burden provided the ‘Key’, it should open some doors for us once understood.