The Vine

One of the most important themes I considered throughout the chapel was that of a growing vegetation. Issuing from a ‘monsters’ mouth it entangles everything. There are depiction's of it growing and progressively engulfing a mans head until the head is smothered.

Considering the number of depictions of the Green Man, a fertility and vegetation deity, this theme seems logical. However it also reminded me of the Catharian attitude towards the tree of knowledge of good and evil and one interpretation of the name of the supposed Templar deity Baphomet - absorption into wisdom. Did this represent a spiritual engulfment?

Is the ‘vine’ imitative yet opposite of the Christian representation of growing faith, the mustard seed or the true vine? Notice also that in most cases it entwines a straight rod. This could be a reference to the second coming when Christ would rule the world with a rod of iron.

Or perhaps the rod represents a straight and narrow path and the ‘vine’ represents temptation from the same. If this were correct it becomes more ominous because the ‘vine’ is everywhere in the chapel. In addition, since the ‘vine’ has burst forth from the apprentice pillar over straight rods, being twisted by the serpents, it would then support the premise that it represented evil over good. Conversely, the master pillar contains the ‘vine’ behind a straight construction.