Da Vinci Code!

I read the novel "Da Vinci Code" the second time last week. I found cryptology and language of symbols catching an interest in me. I never knew symbols had so much of covert connotation to them. The cryptic texts and the symbols that lead the main characters in the story to the place where the holy grail is buried is so well written that anyone would want to learn more about symbols, veiled messages in paintings , breaking cryptic codes , using devices like cryptexes etc.
I decided to blog elements that made me gaze, from the novel, and they are:

Priory of Sion:
The Priory of Sion is a secret society which held the secrets of the Holy Grail.

The knights Templar:
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were among the most famous of the Christian military orders.

Opus Dei:
Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is a personal prelature of the Catholic church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The Opus Dei prelature is made up of ordinary lay people and secular priests governed by a prelate. Opus Dei is Latin for "Work of God", and the organization is sometimes known simply as "the Work".

Secret of the Holy Grail, by the Priory of Sion:

The painting depicts as if Leonardo knew that Mary Magdalene(Jesus's wife) was actually the Holy Grail. This is said to be reinforced by the letter "V" that is created with the bodily positions of Jesus and Mary, whic is supposedly the symbol of the sacred feminine.Mary Magdalene carried the bloodline of Christ when Jesus was crucified. The secret was hidden by the priory in a secret crypt beneath Rosslyn Chapel.

Anagrams:
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce other words, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., Eleven plus two=Twelve plus one, A Decimal Point=I'm a Dot in Place, Astronomers=Moon Starers. There are four anagrams used in the book, one is the Fibonacci sequence out of order, second and third are "O, Draconian devil!" and "Oh, lame saint!" for "Leonardo da Vinci" and "The Mona Lisa". The fourth "So dark the con of Man" being an anagram for "Madonna of the Rocks".

Cryptex:

The cryptex is a combination of two words "Cryptology" and "Codex" , an apt word for the device. The cryptex works "much like a bicycle's combination lock", and if one arranges the disks to spell out the correct password, "the tumblers inside align, and the entire cylinder slides apart" . In the inner compartment of the cryptex, secret information can be hidden, written on a scroll of thin papyrus wrapped around a fragile vial of vinegar as a security measure: if one does not know the password but tries to pry the cryptex open by force, the vial will break and the vinegar will dissolve the papyrus before it can be read.In the story two cryptexes had to be opened. It is claimed the original design came from the secret diaries of Leonardo Da Vinci.

The characters in the novel had to open two cryptexes and the passwords had to be broken from two riddles.

Riddle #1 (White Cryptex)
Clue:
An ancient word of wisdom

frees this scrolland help us keep her scatter'd family whole

a headstone praised by templars is the key

and Atbash will reveal the truth to thee.
Answer: S-O-F-I-A

A headstone by templars is the key: Baphomet. In Atbash, BPVMT. Changing the letters in the code, ShVPYA; Sophia. Previously, "Sofia" (Wisdom).

Riddle #2 (Black Cryptex)
Clue:
In London lies a knight a Pope interred.

His labor's fruit a Holy wrath incurred.

You seek the orb that ought be on his tomb.

It speaks of Rosy flesh and seeded womb.
Answer: A-P-P-L-E

An apple fell on Sir Isaac Newton (knight that Alexander Pope interred). An apple has red (Rosy) flesh and seeds in its core (seeded womb), and is also a member of the rose family.

The Star of David:

The two interlocking triangles are the "blade" and "chalice", i.e., male and female symbols.The grail was once buried below The Star of David.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_vinci_code#Secret_of_the_Holy_Grail