The secret history of Lucifer: The ancient path to knowledge and the real Da Vinci Code - Lynn Picknett

Revealing the secrets of Leonardo's Luciferan symbols – the real Da Vinci code

In her revelatory account of an old religion, Lynn Picknett explains that Lucifer literally means "the light bringer" and that ancient Luciferan cults believed in the enlightenment of humankind and the deepening of human knowledge.

Lucifer was a personification of the Morning Star, the planet Venus and its goddess. "He" was therefore originally "she" – a representation of love, light and human warmth. Indeed, many ancient goddesses were known as Lucifera – an honour extended to Mary Magdalene in her true role as goddess-worshipping priestess and Christ's successor. The early Christian Church appropriated the name Lucifer to give to the archangel who was banished from heaven, and it later became synonymous with darkness and the Devil. Yet through history many great thinkers have covertly followed the old Luciferan way, and most famous of them all was Leonardo da Vinci. He encrypted the symbols of his heretical beliefs in his work, visible only to those who have the key.