São Martinho

》As seen on Oak Island

》This 88-foot-deep well is located on the land of Quinta da Regaleira, near the town of Sintra, Portugal. The well was never used as a well and, in fact, was never built to serve as a water resource at all. It was actually built for secret ceremonial purposes.

The owner of Quinta da Regaleira, the wealthy Portuguese businessman Antonio Augusto Carvalho Monteiro, was a well-known Freemason. With the assistance of the Italian architect Luigi Manini, he designed and constructed the four-hectare property with enigmatic buildings, mysterious parks, and underground tunnels.

All of the structures erected in Quinta da Regaleira are filled with many symbols, which are linked to masonry, alchemy, the Rosicrucian and Hermetic legacy, the Knights Templar and Tarot mysticism.

The Initiation Well, in some way, is an entrance to the underground labyrinth too. It is connected to other entrances via a series of underground walkways. The Initiation Well has a striking spiral staircase supported by carved columns, that lead down to the bottom of the well through its nine landings. It is believed that the spacing of these landings, as well as the number of steps in between, are linked to Tarot mysticism and Masonic principles. At the bottom of the Initiation Well is a compass over a Knights Templar cross, which is said to have been the coat of arms of Carvalho Monteiro, pointing to his association with Rosicrucianism.

The nine small round landings, separated by fifteen steps, also evoke references to Dante’s Divine Comedy and may represent the ‘Nine Circles of Hell’, the ‘Nine Sections of Purgatory’ and the ‘Nine Skies of Paradise’.

It is believed that Templar initiations at Quinta da Regaleira began with candidates entering one of the Initiation Wells blindfolded. Holding a sword close to their heart, they would descend nine flights of stairs – a number that represents the nine founders of the Templar order. Once reaching the bottom of the well, the candidate would walk into a dark labyrinth where they would symbolically and literally find their way up towards the light. If they were able to make back through the well tower and into the sunlight, initiates would walk across stones in water to reach the chapel, where they would then be welcomed into the brotherhood.

The Initiation Well looks like an inverted tower and depending on the direction the adept choose to walk, it represents a journey into the depths of Mother Earth or a rise up into the light. Symbolically, the well represents the death/rebirth allegory, typical within many mystical traditions. The journey through the well is like a rebirth through Mother Earth’s womb.Read more