Initiation Well

"It is an underground gallery with a spiral staircase, supported by carved columns, through which you descend to the bottom of the well. The staircase consists of nine levels separated by flights of 15 steps each, invoking references to Dante's Divine Comedy and which may represent the 9 circles of Hell, Paradise, or Purgatory. According to the renowned occultists Albert Pike, René Guénon and Manly Palmer Hall, it is in the work The Divine Comedy that the Rosicrucian Order is first exposed. At the bottom of the well is embedded, in marble, a wind rose (eight-pointed star: 4 major or cardinal, 4 minor or collateral) on a templar cross, which is Carvalho Monteiro's heraldic emblem and, at the same time, indicative of the Rosicrucian Order. The well is called initiatory because it is believed that it was used in initiation rituals into Freemasonry and the explanation of the symbolism of the same nine levels is said to be found in the work Rosicrucian Concept of the Cosmos. The symbolism of the place is related to the belief that the earth is the mother's womb from which life comes, but also the grave to which it will return. Many initiation rites allude to earth-bound aspects of birth and death, or rebirth. The existence of 23 niches located beneath the steps of the initiation well represented one of the many mysteries of that construction. On December 29, 2010, professor Gabriel Fernández Calvo from the Higher Technical School of Paths, Canals and Ports Engineers at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real, when visiting the well accompanied by other professors from UCLM, observed that the 23 niches are not placed by chance, as they are grouped into three sets of 17, 1 and 5 niches separated from each other as you descend to the bottom of the well. This organization is not random and probably refers to the year 1715 in which Francisco Albertino Guimarães de Castro purchased the property (known as Quinta da Torre or do Castro) at public auction. The well is connected by several galleries or tunnels to other parts of the Quinta, the Gate of the Guardiães, the Lago da Cascata and the Poço Imperfeito. These tunnels, once inhabited by bats driven away by the many tourists who visit the site, are covered with stone imported from the seafront in the Peniche region, a stone that gives the suggestion of a submerged world."

"The Initiation Well is a spiral staircase that descends into the ground rather than ascending. The staircase has a circular, inverted tower structure that leads deep into the earth. This well is believed to symbolize a journey into the underworld or subconscious. It's thought to have been used for initiation rites or ceremonial purposes, possibly connected to secret societies or esoteric practices. "

"Suggestion from Kayla Ketner"