Where oh where is the Holy Grail? The question, (or quest rather), may be newly raised in many of our minds with the popularity of the book and movie, "The Da Vinci Code", but it's nothing new. Yes, it's being asked all over the place with more intensity than perhaps we've yet seen in our lifetimes. Keep in mind, it's also been asked for over a thousand years.

Were King Arthurs' knights real? History seems to place them in the 900s if they were. Did they find the Grail? Did the Templars bring it back from the Crusades in the 1100s? Was it a cup? A spear? A bloodline? Did Pierpoint Morgan have it at one point? Did DaVinci know where it was? Is there a map? Is there a code?

There is no complete, irrefutable evidence for any of these, but there are enough clues to make each idea seem plausible. Therefore, the answer to the questions is that there is no answer. To devite into the philosophical for a moment here, (though it may be a bit of a let down for earthly treasure hunters, as philosophical answers often are), the truth of the Grail may lie in the fact that the answer is there is no answer.

Explain? I can't. It's something like what Socrates meant when he said he was the wisest man in Athens because he knew he knew nothing. Like the Gordonian Knot, a puzzle it's up to the enquirer to untangle.

I will tell you what I think the core truth of the Grail is and has always been. Tangible objects like the Grail derive their power from intangible mysteries. Of course, a cup Jesus drank from or a sword that pierced his side, or the Ark of the Covenant, would be the holiest of Christian holy relics. But a cup is still a cup.

What did Jesus tell us? That we have eyes but don't see, ears but don't hear. And what followed? That the Kingdom of Heaven is within. The same applies, I think, to the Grail. We can look and look for it and listen and listen to theory after theory to help us find it, but if we don't listen with our inner eyes and ears we never will. Perhaps there is, or was, a real Grail Castle, but we are also the Grail Castle. If we don't look for it within ourselves, our own labyrinth, even if we were to find the object itself, we wouldn't find it's power, it's truth.

How can we do this? Can we follow Da Vinci to the Grail within as well as without? Mark McElroy offers one way in his companion book to Lo Scarabo's beautiful "Da Vinci Tarot". Tarot and the Grail? Oh my! You may exclaim, isn't Tarot some witchy-anti-Biblical thing? No, in fact, there are a number of decks that center on Christian symbols. But that's another story.

For now, suffice to say that tarot decks are used for a number of purposes and one of these is self-discovery. At least on one level, (and myths always operate on more than one level), the Grail is the truth within. If we wish to follow the proposed Da Vinci path to it, the Da Vinci Tarot may well be the best way. You don't have to know how to use Tarot, or about Da Vinci or the Grail to use it. The deck and book are designed to be accessible to everyone.

Mr. McElroy has a fresh, practical, unique approach to tarot, (as Da Vinci had to the world). He presents the deck as a meditation tool, a brainstorming tool, a puzzle, a game, and more. Through his companion book to the deck, we learn about DaVinci's life, his innovation and his art. It helps us think something like he may have, to unlock the puzzles within ourselves, in part by unlocking new ones based on his work.

Artists Iassen Ghiuselev and Atanas Atanassov have illustrated the deck with Da Vinci's symbols. This serves as a wonderful introduction to his paintings and ideas and to Tarot itself. The companion text presents a clear, accurate view of the artist and of tarot. The sources of the Da Vinci images are explored card-by card. Ways that these can be used as self-discovery tools are explored. Mr. McElroy even poses questions for us, card by card.

Perhaps the neatest thing is the deck itself is something of a puzzle, a mystery or code for us to solve if we choose to use it that way. The answers are sometimes clear, sometimes clouded. Just like questions grail knights, and other seekers, encounter in their search for the holy relic. Just like the answers inside ourselves

What is the main question, both in Grail legend and in our own quests? "Who does the Grail serve?" The answer? It remains unknown, unrecorded, of course; but I think the answer is it serves the seeker, and thereby all mankind. Explain, you're probably asking. No, I won't. That would spoil your fun. But I will tell you, the Da Vinci Tarot is a great way to start figuring out what I'm talking about.

To see and explore the Da Vinci Tarot further, visit Llewellyn:

http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/book.php?pn=J409

More books by Mark McElroy: http://www.llewellyn.com/bookstore/search.php