Interview With Brother Rick Wakeman

Temple Building Part Three

If your wondering why I've decided to include the symbols found in Freemasonry, an old fraternal organization, its because they are by far the most visible Temple Builders in the western world and much misunderstood by most, it is my hope that by introducing the reader to many of the symbols of the tradition they may understand the true purpose of Freemasonry beyond the simplistic “making a good man a better man” motto bantered about by the majority of the brethren.
The symbol of the pyramid has always been linked to Freemasonry, and for good reason. “To all members of the Masonic fraternity the Great Pyramid is a structure of profound significance, as it establishes “ the true principles of all that is plumb, level and square." Masonic lodges are planned after it, and it symbolizes some of the most important esoteric truths of the Order. The lesser lights of the Blue Lodge are arranged in triangular form about the altar, and in Royal Arch Masonry the triangle is the symbol of " I Am that I Am," and in the communication of the “Ineffable Name," a royal arch or pyramid is raised.”...Brother Harry Evans
By looking carefully at the design of the Masonic lodge room we should be able to expand the our understanding of the symbolism of the pyramid.
Allow me to introduce you to the pyramidal structure of the Masonic Temple. Just like the pyramid we have been discussing to this point we need to change our perspective to see the pyramid symbolized as the Masonic Temple. We need to view the lodge room of the temple from above.
When viewed from above the Masonic lodge room is in fact a mandala, a fact I realized the very first moment I entered through what is called the western gate. For those unfamiliar with the mandala, pronounced mahn-DAH-la, meaning 'house' or 'palace', the mandala represents a divine place of residence.
As I am writing this all over the world are traveling Buddhist monks creating and sharing these wonderful two dimensional sand mandalas as a way to hopefully bring more compassion into the world by sharing the wisdom of the mandala.
What may appear as a type of colorful blueprint too most esoterically the mandala serves as a tool for guiding individuals along the path to enlightenment, just as the Masonic lodge room if understood correctly does.
In the case of Buddhism monks meditate upon the mandala, imagining it as a three-dimensional palace. Just like looking at a blueprint, where you envision a three dimensional structure, the case of Buddhism it may be a palace, and in Freemasonry it may be the cosmos, or what you may see is a seven story pyramid, or even yourself.
As you will see the mandala's and the Masonic lodge room's symbolic purpose if understood correctly is to help transform ordinary minds into enlightened ones.
Look carefully at this definition of the mandala and picture the layout of the Masonic lodge room;
Maṇḍala: (मण्डल) is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point.
If we were able to look down upon the Masonic lodge room from above we would ideally see an oblong floor; its length from east to west, at least one third greater than its breadth from north to south, for symbolic reasons.
I believe the reason may be found in one of the symbols bored by the Masonic tradition, the 47th Problem of Euclid, 3 squared plus 4 squared equals 5 squared. The oblong square, which is two 3, 4, 5 triangles sharing a common diagonal, may express a reflective relationship between the celestial and the earthly, such as that embodied in the Hermetic theosophy that the earthly plane is a reflection of the Divine. "That which is above is like to that which is below, and that which is below is like to that which is above." is a extremely popular phrase in early Freemasonry, and if understood correctly a perfect teaching of the mandala.
In many Masonic Temples the lodge room floor is also black and white checkered, some in the center in the form of a square, and others the whole floor. Sadly today many of the lodge room are not, a removable of a very important symbol.
The black and white symbolism is easily seen as representative as Spirit and Matter, a seeming dualistic principle that states that over and beyond the physical reality there is a psychic or spiritual reality, and that our beings are not limited to the body alone. But before you rush off to judgment an think we're heading down the road of Descartes, I assure you the mandala of Freemasonry may just be heading in the opposite.

Now that we have discussed the floor of the Masonic Temple, and some of its symbolic significance lets go back to a little more of comparison to the mandala, a sacred circle or circular diagram, also occasionally oblong as in Japan, having mystical significance. Although we have started with the oblong shaped floor, symbolic of Matter, after all it the earth we stand on, most eastern mandalas begin with the circle, symbolic of Spirit. Yet if we look towards the western book we find in Isaiah 40:22 ”He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,”...some might say the “square circle”.
“When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth”...Proverbs 8:27
If you have a hard time looking at the bible for references to the circle, think heavenly canopy. If you were to stand upon the highest point you could access and look skyward, what would you see stretching out as far as you could see all around you 360 degrees? The circle of heaven, a boundless circle reaching out to what we call infinity. Here we find the symbolic Spirit now respresented as the circle. The circle of Spirit above, the square of Matter below, a common theme you'll see played over and over again in the symbols of Freemasonry. So important the most widely recognised combined symbol of the order, the compass and square, if understood correctly the compass is symbolic of Spirit and and the square symbolic of Matter.

"He took the golden compasses prepared,

In God's eternal stores, to circumscribe

This universe and all created things."...Milton

**The photo above is of King Khufu's actual burial chamber in the Great Pyramid, and oblong square.

The form of a Lodge is an oblong square, or a rectangle. It extends from East to West (horizon to horizon) and between North and South. The covering of the Lodge is the canopy of heaven. It is not a coincidence that the two major patrons of the Masonic Lodge have their birthdays near the Summer and Winter Solstices where the sun reaches its most northern and southern limits. Although the floor of the lodge is not divided in two as I have illustrated it, I have done this to show how the 47^th Problem x 2 could also refer to the solstices amongst other allusions .White signifies pure Light, or Spirit, black is symbolic of darkness of Matter. In Freemasonry the Entered Apprentice begins his journey in the northeast corner, and ends it as a Master Mason in the southeast, the solstices.

Temple Building Part Two

Know ye that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”...Corinthians 3:16

I have now quoted the bible twice, do not think because I have used verses from a book, a very symbolic book, that I am pontificating or putting forth a certain belief system that many attribute to this book, that would be wrong. I am old enough and wise enough to see the highly symbolic nature of what is written in this book is the story of a Temple built historically, allegorically, and symbolically. To take this book literally would be a mistake, a mistake that has already caused way to much suffering.

The Temple builders of old spoke in a language that resonated with other builders, architects that thought outside the collective, the language of symbols.

Temple building symbols could and would be spoken and interpreted universally, culturally, and personally, and sometimes veiled from the ignorant for the obvious reasons, ignorance and superstition.

“Freely” these Temple Builders would consider the work, blueprints, designs, and temples of others, while ever so thoughtfully constructing their own.It should always be remembered that no two Temples occupy the same space nor face the sun at the same longitude and latitude.

In the history of temple building many looked towards the heavens, the Grand Design and attempted to copy the order and harmony here on earth. Just as there are many vistas to look above at the Grand Design, the creator has been given many names, the Temple I belong to happens to use “The Great Architect of the Universe”, the perfect title for a Temple Builder.

"God, Who is the first principle of all things, may be compared to things created as the architect is to things designed (ut artifex ad artificiata)." ...Saint Thomas Aquinas

“God the Father, the supreme Architect, had already built this cosmic home we behold, the most sacred temple of His Godhead, by the laws of His mysterious wisdom.”... Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

Temple Builders have their own vocabulary, created to protect much of their wisdom from the ears and the eyes of the ignorant, Matthew summed it up when he said “cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

I assure you there are many types of Temples. The first I would like to discuss is the physical, and in doing so I hope to introduce you to the vocabulary and symbolism often used by the Temple Builder.

I pray the symbols I am about to introduce you to will open up your mind to new levels of understanding and thus allow you to become a Temple Builder yourself.

There are many physical temples that have been the subject of great debates, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the massive temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the gigantic complex of Borobudur in the jungle of Java, and the mysterious Mayan temple ruins deep within the Yucatan, to name a few.

All geometrically designed, all highly symbolic, much of their meaning found in the heavens above.

As a Temple Builder of a certain school of thought, known by some as “Solomon's Builders”, I have been privy to the cipher of the often veiled language of the Temple Builder.

Allow me to share some facts; Temple Builders speak in a language that is veiled in symbols, symbols that can and usually do have many levels of interpretation. Each and every symbol must be looked at universally, culturally, and personally, and all the various possible combinations, not an easy task if your unfamiliar with the symbols, but not impossible.

Consider a map, a reduced representation of the real world, where map symbols are used to represent real objects. Without symbols, we wouldn't have maps.

Both shapes and colors can be used for symbols on maps. A small circle may mean a point of interest, with a brown circle meaning recreation, red circle meaning services, and green circle meaning rest stop. Colors may cover larger areas of a map, such as green representing forested land and blue representing waterways. To ensure that a person can correctly read a map, a Map Legend is a key to all the symbols used on a map. It is like a dictionary so you can understand the meaning of what the map represents. The Temple I belong to uses the “Map Legend”, or symbolic language attributed to Pythagoras, an old Greek philosopher that taught numbers had a numerical and symbolic meaning, and taught what is now call “Sacred Geometry”, a metaphysical science he is rumored to have studied in Egypt.

Allow me to share with you a break down of the symbolism of a Temple I am very sure you are familiar with, The Great Pyramid of Giza, a highly symbolic Temple that can and has been interpreted on many levels.

As a Temple Builder we have been taught not to necessarily take things at face value, we tend to look behind the veil. Now lets try a mental experiment; each and every American is familiar with the pyramid pictured on the dollar bill of Masonic origin, and all its nonsensical allusions. On the top of the 13 story pyramid is the “Eye of Providence”, similar to the Eye of Horus. Now picture this symbol in your mind from above, what do you see?

What you should be imagining is a square, made up of four triangles with their apexes meeting in the center where the eye would now be. Now we come to a how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go moment, since we are entering the world of symbolism here we go!

The square in Temple building is universally symbolic of Matter, or form. Without getting to cryptic, each side of the square is representative of earth, fire, water, and air, or spring, summer, fall and winter, all things that can only be experienced when one is present in the world of matter. The floor of most temples is square, Matter, but not all, take for instance the circular Templar Churches, which we will approach in due time.

Returning to the pyramid as viewed from above, the square made up of four triangles, as we have seen “four” is symbolic of Matter, the four directions, the four elements, the four rivers of Eden, etc. Temple builders of old themselves wore a square apron symbolizing the medium they worked with, Matter. If you refer to the illustration below you can see that if the pyramid is unfolded so that the four triangular faces are swung outward, round the apex as a pivot, a Maltese Cross is formed, and when the cube, consisting of six squares, is opened up along its edges and unfolded, a Latin Cross is formed. The Maltese Cross is the expression of the Higher World, the Latin Cross of the Lower World. The intuitive Temple Builder, especially those initiated in the Masonic Tradition should be able to see these symbols alluded to in the aprons worn by the temple workmen, the triangle symbolic of Spirit, the square symbolic of Matter.

In Freemasonry the Temple Builders wear their aprons, known as lambskins, three different ways. These aprons consist of a square, and a triangle flap at the top. In the level of the Entered Apprentice the initiate wears his apron with the triangle of Spirit up, symbolically separate from Matter. Here we have a Temple Builder identifying with the world of Matter, Spirit and Matter are separate.
In the level of the Fellowcrarft, the second degree of Freemasonry, the initiate still wears his triangle of Spirit up, still symbolic of Spirit separate of Matter, but now at this level the initiate is to wear his apron with one corner of the square of Matter with one corner tucked up, symbolic of Matter looking towards Spirit, the journey has seriously begun.
The Master Mason wears his apron symbolic of his level, the triangle of Spirit drops into the square of Matter, symbolic of “Spiritualized Matter”. If you look closely at the apron of the Master Mason you'll notice the same amount of points as the pyramid, five, the true meaning to the five points of fellowship in which all Master Masons are raised.

Build A Temple

I am a “Temple Builder”, as are you. The only difference between me and you is I know I'm a Temple Builder but sadly you don't, no judgment intended.

In fact I live in a Temple, much my own creation, much not. Most live in a Temple created by others, of poor design, and built on a foundation that won't hold.

I socialize at a Temple with others I call brothers, labeled a Lodge, other Temple builders in their own right.

This so called Lodge, the group of brothers, that meet in a Temple are the builders of the Temple in which they meet, an on going process.

It is not my purpose to come off cryptic, if truth be told I'd love to shake you gently and tell you the truth but I fear your probably stuck in the Temple of another's creation, a Temple of nonsense.

I have a truth I would like to share, as a Temple Builder I have taken an oath, an oath that not all Temple Builders take, and that is to protect a certain group of Temple Builders from others that would choose to bring harm to those that see the teachings of a certain architect as the cornerstone of their Temples, a sad situation that is usually caused by ignorance, hatred, and delusion, the three poisons.

“In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” ...John 14:2

If you think for a minute that your Temple, or your way, is the only way, you might just want to look around. Just like our physical appearances not all Temples are the same, that's the beauty of it, if you think we should all look like you we might have an ego problem in the making.

Burning Down The House

Are you ready, now that I assume you've been baptized by water, and possibly given your your blood, are you now ready for your Baptism of Fire?

If by any chance you hold the position that Baptism by Water is the only requirement for one's entrance into mythical heaven, you just might want to stop reading now.

If your going to continue on what you are going to encounter here is a symbolic study, albeit a minor one, into the symbolism of the Baptism of Fire, a symbolically necessary state of mind in order to understand John, one of the patron saints of Freemasonry, when he says; 'I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”

Gold refined by “fire”?

Two distinct questions arrive, what is the “Gold”, and what of the fire?

Lets look to another great teacher and see of the “fire” he talks about and see if there is a connection and may just aid us in understanding Baptism of Fire, probably a phrase he wouldn't use, but you'd never know.

Since I'm a big believer in the merging philosophies of East and West, her's one of my favorite teachers; Then said the Exalted One to his disciples: 'Everything, O disciples, is in flames. And what Everything, O disciples, is in flames? The eye, O disciples, is in flames, the visible is in flames, the knowledge of the visible is in flames, the contact with the visible is in flames, the feeling which arises from contact with the visible is in flames, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it neither pleasure nor pain, this also is in flames. By what fire is it kindled? By the fire of desire, by the fire of hate, by the fire of fascination, it is kindled; by birth, old age, death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is kindled: thus I say. The ear is in flames, the audible is in flames, the knowledge of the audible is in flames, the contact with the audible is in flames, the feeling which arises from contact with the audible is in flames, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it neither pleasure nor pain, this also is in flames. By what fire is it kindled? By the fire of desire, by the fire of hate, by the fire of fascination, it is kindled; by birth, old age, death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is kindled; thus I say. The sense of smell is in flames, and then follows for the third time the same series of propositions; the tongue is in flames; the body is in flames; the mind is in flames.

Knowing this, O disciples, a wise, noble, hearer of the word becomes wearied of the eye, he becomes wearied of the visible, he becomes wearied of the knowledge of the visible, he becomes wearied of contact with the visible, he becomes wearied of the feeling which arises from contact with the visible, be it pleasure, be it pain, be it neither pleasure nor pain. He becomes wearied of the ear', and then follows one after the other the whole series of ideas as above.

While he becomes wearied thereof, he becomes free from desire; free from desire, he becomes delivered; in the delivered arises the knowledge: I am delivered; rebirth is at an end, perfected is holiness, duty done; there is no more returning to this world; he knows this."...The Buddha

In case you had a hard time following the Buddha, and what he is talking about when he says “Everything, O disciples, is in flames”, ego. In away he is describing “Baptism of Fire”, the divine spark within fueled by “ the fire of desire, by the fire of hate, by the fire of fascination, it is kindled; by birth, old age, death, pain, lamentation, sorrow, grief, despair, it is kindled”. In the philosophy of the Buddha craving, hatred, and ignorance, caused by the illusion of separateness, ego, were the hub of cyclical existence, he also realized the first Noble Truth; birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering. Once one realizes the truth of the three poisons of craving, hatred, and ignorance and begins to look at the first Noble Truth, and if one then applies themselves to the path towards realization, “Baptism of Fire” should be the end result, death of the ego and its separateness.

I'll leave it up to the reader. if interested, to look into the philosophies of the Buddha and the other three Noble Truths, they might just ring a bell.

Now let us look at a little Christianity, here we find the famous clergyman William Dell discussing the Baptism of Fire (also known as Baptism of Spirit), the comparison to Buddhist philosophy is uncanny: “Now the other baptism I am to speak of is Christ's which is Spirit or Fire Baptism, and this is the one and only baptism of the New Testament, as we find Paul affirming, Eph. iv. (i, where he saith that in Christ's kingdom, where is but one body, and one Spirit, and one hope of our calling, and one Lord, and one faith, there is also but one baptism; and this is the Baptism of the Spirit, as the apostle elsewhere shows, saying, "For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, . . . and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. xii. 13).

When the ego, or illusionary separateness is burned up, only then will we experience the interconnectedness of reality, one body or reality, in Christianity we could call this Christ Consciousness.

“The true baptism is the Baptism of Fire, the growth into the spirit of wisdom, the victory of the spirit over the animal nature of man."...Franz Hartmann, Freemason and Theosophist

“This Fire is the true Spirit of life, the living Word, which inflames the soul of man, and gives it that force by which it can conquer the kingdoms of the lower world, and, crossing the ocean of births and deaths, can finally land itself on the further shore, a holy, purified " Son of God," a Saviour of Worlds to come. Thus runs the Legend of the Holy Grail.”...,Traces of a Hidden Tradition in Masonry and Mediæval Mysticism, Isabel Cooper-Oakley

I remember hearing this wonderful Gnostic creation myth many years, in the story the Demiurge, think lesser God, decides to create humans from mud and water (matter), but the Demiurge can't give his creation life, for this he needed the big guy.

The big guy, because of his all encompassing love, agrees, he breaths the divine spark into the Demiurge's creation, knowing full well creation will eventually seek the divine spark within them and hopefully fan the flame (until creation finally unites in with the divine, Baptism of Fire).

Personal opinion: The Demiurge, the lesser God created good and evil, duality, the Big Guy, although surely not a dude, is beyond duality. Not until the subject object dichotomy, ego, is totally burnt out will “enlightenment” occur. Eradiction of ego does not come by the simple laying on of hands!

One last paragraph of thought, from a Roscrucian perspective: “Degrees of soul-force depend on the rapidity of the vibrations of the flame uniting the three powers which constitute the human ego. This trinity of Intelligence, Will, and Love is a manifestation of the Divine Trinity in Unity, making of man a microcosmic God.

The soul is a glowing spark in an Infinite Flame.

The vibrations of these triune forces develop heat, which is generally diffused throughout the body as a gentle warmth. This heat may be powerfully increased and drawn to a center in the breast, where it burns with a pure and conscious flame.

This is the Baptism with Fire with fire and the Holy Ghost (Geist, Spirit) and is typified by the fire kept burning on the altars of the ancient temples. It is also the transmuting fire of the Rosicrucians, which certain of the old alchemists misunderstood and materialized to mean the transmutation of the baser metals into Gold.

Referring to this flame the great Persian sage, Zoroaster, says, "When you see the fire, listen for the voice of the fire.”

Chapter ONE...Freemasons Only

I’ll call this chapter one..

If you don't get it...climb.......

“The ordinary natural consciousness is directed outwards; perceives only outward objects; thinks only of an outward Deity separate and away from us. It can accordingly cognize only shadows, images and illusions. The science of the Mysteries directs that that process must be reversed. It says: "Just as you have symbolically shut and close-tyled the door of your Lodge against all outsiders, so you must shut out all perception of outward images, all desire for external things and material welfare, and turn your consciousness and aspirations wholly inward. For the Vital and Immortal Principle—the Kingdom of Heaven—is within you; it is not to be found outside you. Like the prodigal son in the parable you have wandered away from it into a far country and lost all consciousness of it. You have come down and down, as by a spiral motion or a winding staircase, into this lower world and imperfect form of existence; coiling around you as you came increasingly thickening vestures, culminating in your outermost dense body of flesh; whilst your mentality has woven about you veil after veil of illusory notions.” ...Walter Leslie Wilmshurst; The Meaning of Masonry

“Only with a complete study of consciousness will the initiate in Freemasonry understand the symbolism, meaning, philosophy, and purpose of Freemasonry.”...Arthur L. Hendrickson, 32°, KT

No truer aphorism was ever spoken than “Know Thyself”, a common maxim found in many Masonic Temples worldwide.

What is this “Thyself”, which was inscribed in the pronaos (forecourt) of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi referring to?

To simply define the “self”; we are talking about the”I” as experienced by an individual. In modern psychology the notion of the self has replaced earlier conceptions of the soul. The “I” we are talking about is not necessarily the reflection one sees in the mirror, the self we are talking about is person's nature, character: his better self, or sometimes worse.

In the philosophical sense we are examining the ego; that which knows, remembers, desires, etc, and in the esoteric sense we are examining the uniting principle, as a soul, underlying all subjective experience.

As one can clearly see, “Knowing Thyself” is no easy task, examining our essence our inner being is the mystical aspect of the two-sided coin we call Freemasonry, one side the moral aspect heavily put forth and embraced by the majority of Freemasons, and the other side the highly symbolic esoteric philosophy that explores self and it's many levels of consciousness, a side unfamiliar with the majority of the Tradition.

In my travels I have been very fortunate to be exposed a variety of traditions of symbolic thought, Catholicism with its highly ritualistic transmission, Buddhism and it's in depth of examination of mind, and Freemasonry and its sacred geometry, alchemy, and stellar theology. Many would consider each of the traditions named philosophically different with each other; I think not, I only see complementary symbolic thought. I also see traditions, dogma aside, that seek levels of consciousness above the accepted mundane level of materialism that has trapped those that have not examined “Thyself”.

Before we delve into the ancient teachings and its highly symbolic language allow me to explain consciousness and its many levels from a modern perspective.

In the book Power v. Force by David R. Hawkins, Dr. Hawkins puts forth a hierarchy of levels of human consciousness, something you will discover is not foreign to Freemasonry, according to Hawkins from low to high, the levels of consciousness are: shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace, enlightenment, and although at various times we move from one level to another there usually is a predominant state we reside in. Hawkins defines this as a logarithmic scale, where there are far fewer people at the higher levels than at the lower ones.

Before we explore the different levels of consciousness from the Masonic perspective let's take a look at Dr. Hawkins and his levels starting from the bottom, it will serve as a good primer for what is to follow.

Symbolically it would help too envision a ladder, each and every rung symbolizing a different level of consciousness, and our goal, to reach the top.

according to Hawkins is one step above death. At this level, the primary emotion one feels is humiliation. It’s not surprising that this level, being so close to death, is where most thoughts of suicide are found. Those who suffer from sexual abuse are often found here, and without therapy they tend to remain here. Think of this level as self-directed hatred, his or her view of life at this state is.

Not too far from shame is the level of Guilt, our second rung. When one is stuck in this level, feelings of worthlessness and an inability to forgive oneself are common. On this level you may think of yourself as a sinner, unable to forgive yourself for past transgressions.

The level of hopelessness and despair; this is the common consciousness found among those who are homeless or living in poverty. At this level, one has abdicated themselves to their current situation and feels numb to life around them. Think of this level as a state of learned helplessness.

One level above apathy is that of state of perpetual sadness and loss. You might drop down here after losing a loved one. Depression. Still higher than apathy, since you’re beginning to escape the numbness.

Desire is a major motivator for much of our society. Although desire can be an impetus for change, the downside is that it leads to enslavement to ones appetites. This is the level of addiction to such things as sex, money, prestige, or power. I also consider this the level of Materialism, and Greed.

As one rises above the rung of Apathy to Grief and then out of Fear, they begin to want. Desire which is not fulfilled leads to frustration which brings us to the rung or level of Anger. Anger is the level of frustration, often from not having your desires met at the lower levels. This level can spur you to action at higher levels, or it can keep you stuck in Hatred. In an abusive relationship, you’ll often see an anger person coupled with a fear person.

Our next rung heading up our imaginary ladder is that of Pride. According to Hawkins, since the majority of people are below this point, this is the level that most people aspire to. In comparison to Shame and Guilt, one begins to feel positive here. However, it’s a false positive. It’s dependent upon external conditions such as wealth, position or power. It is also the source of racism, nationalism, and religious fanaticism. Religious fundamentalism is also stuck at this level. You become so closely enmeshed in your beliefs that you see an attack on your beliefs as an attack on you.

Before we continue on with our journey upward allow me to share an observation, a comparison of sort.

In Buddhism we find what is called the three poisons, Ignorance, Hatred, and Greed, the three symbolic fires that burn within us, levels of consciousness that prohibit us from progressing to higher levels of consciousness.

Up to now I have presented you with eight different levels of consciousness, yet if you look closely you will see the three poisons of Ignorance, Hatred, and Greed are within these first eight rungs, levels we must ascend.

Here we come to a crossroad so to speak, a “Know Thyself” moment; only when and if we recognize the three poisons within us can we step up to the next rung of the ladder assisted by Courage, the level of empowerment. Courage is where you see that you don’t need to be tossed to and fro by your external conditions. This empowerment leads you to the realization that you are a steward unto yourself, and that you alone are in charge of your own growth and success. This is what makes you inherently human: the realization that there is a gap between stimulus and response and that you have the potential to choose how to respond. The first level of true strength, Courage is the Gateway. On this rung you start to see your future as an improvement upon your past, rather than a continuation of the same.

Those that have a firm footing on the rung of Courage and still advancing upon the ladder will next discover the rung of Neutrality, the level of flexibility. To be neutral, you are, for the most part, unattached to outcomes. At this level, you are satisfied with your current life situation and tend not to have a lot of motivation towards self improvement or excellence in your career, realizing that inflating the ego is no longer necessary, in fact may be be a hindrance in advancement to the next rung,

Those people around you that are perpetual optimists – this is their level of consciousness. Seeing life as one big possibility is the cornerstone of those operating here. No longer are you satisfied with complacency – you strive to do your best at whatever task you’ve undertaken. You begin to develop self-discipline and willpower and learn the importance of sticking to a task till the end. Think of this level as the development of willpower and self-discipline. These people are the “troopers” of society; they get things done well and don’t complain much. This is the point where your consciousness becomes more organized and disciplined.

If Courage is the realization that you are the source of your life’s experiences, then it is here where you become the creator of them. Combined with the skills learned in the Willingness phase, you begin to awaken your potential through action. Here’s where you begin to set and achieve goals and to actively push yourself beyond your previous limitations. Up to this point you’ve been generally reactive to what life throws at you. Here’s where you turn that around, take control, and become proactive.

The next rung of the ladder should resonate deeply with those of the Masonic Tradition, Reason. This is the level of science, medicine, and a desire for knowledge, I would consider this the level comparable to that of the Fellowcraft, the 2nd degree of Freemasonry. At this level your thirst for knowledge becomes insatiable. You don’t waste time in activities that do not provide educational value. You begin to categorize all of life and its experiences into proofs, postulates, and theories.

Only if, in the level of Reason you start to see yourself as a potential for the greater good of mankind, will you have enough power to ascend to the next level, Love. Here is where you start applying what was learned in your reasoning and you let the heart take over rather than the mind, you live by intuition (symbolized in Freemasonry by the Moon). This is the level of Charity, an all too familiar concept in Freemasonry, a selfless love that has no desire except for the welfare of those around them. Gandhi and Mother Theresa are examples of people who were living at this level. At this level you also begin to be guided by a force greater than yourself. It’s a feeling of letting go. Your intuition becomes extremely strong. Hawkins claims this level is reached only by 1 in 250 people during their entire lifetimes.

the level of saints and advanced spiritual people. As Love becomes more unconditional, there follows a constant accompaniment of true happiness. No personal tragedy or world event could ever shake someone living at this level of consciousness. They seem to inspire and lift all those who come in contact with them. Your life is now in complete harmony with the Will of Divinity and the fruits of that Harmony are expressed in your Joy.

For many the next rung is an unfamiliar concept, yet I assure you this level is found in the teachings of the Buddha, Krishna, and Esoteric Christianity. It is also a level I believe many of the symbols in Freemasonry point to, Peace.

Peace is achieved after a life of complete surrender to the Creator. It is where you have transcended all and have entered that place that Hawkins calls illumination, or transcendence. Here, a stillness and silence of mind is achieved, allowing for constant revelation. Only 1 in 10 million (that’s .00001 percent) people will arrive at this level.

the highest level of human consciousness where one has become like God. Many see this as Christ, Buddha, or Krishna. These are those who have influenced all of mankind.

Although the levels of consciousness as discussed by Dr. Hawkins vary compared to those as eluded to in the esoteric aspect of Freemasonry, of which will shortly be revealed, they should provide a little light to those that have never explored “Know Thyself” and the different levels of consciousness one may encounter when exploring “self”. Exploring “Thyself” was never about the reflection in the mirror, it’s about mind, its various levels, its origin, reason, and destination.

One of the reasons I used an imaginary ladder to illustrate Dr. Hawkins hierarchy of consciousness is because the ladder itself is a common symbol of assent, as is the mountain, and the all so familiar pyramid. Freemasons love to speak in a language unfamiliar to most, not necessarily for reasons you may assume, a beautiful language that is meant to resonate at a level above the mundane.

Each and every Freemason, Christian, and student of biblical studies has read the story of Jacob and his ladder to heaven. According to the bible Jacob left Bathsheba, and went toward Haran. He came to the place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. With reason, logic, and intuition we can pretty much figure out the story of Jacob and his imaginary ladder is symbolic in nature, after all, no disrespect intended, would you lay your head on a rock to sleep? And why are the angels ascending and descending?

The answer has to do with levels of consciousness, something that was only spoken of in symbolism in a time before the actual use of the word “conscious” and consciousness which was not spoken until the 1500's. Each and every rung in which the symbolic angels (us) ascended and descended represented levels of consciousness, symbolic of our precarious path up and down the various levels.

“The seven steps—the Ladder of Jacob—denote the evolution of man. He gradually ascends from the physical plane, where he only perceives Divine Truth "as in a glass dimly," unto the higher planes of consciousness, on which he enjoys clear perception of Deity.”...

is the symbol of the Master of Compassion.

"They did drink of the spiritual rock that followed them (the level of compassion) and the rock was Christ (the Master of Compassion)." I Cor. 10.

Here we see even the stone is representative of a level of consciousness, compassion. Jacob lies down with his head upon a stone, he rests in a state of compassion with his head resting, or reflecting, upon the possibilities of his becoming a Master, for that, he knows, is the purpose of his special instruction, and he has a vision. He sees what seems to be a long ladder reaching up to heaven, and angels ascending and descending upon it. He was evidently given a view of the evolution of man, the descent of the ego into incarnation, and its evolution back to God.

"At its base this ladder touches the earth, and the angels on it denote Souls descending into incarnation, even as the Kabbalah says, to the lowest degree of the Universe, or matter at its nethermost point—and ascending again to heaven. At the foot of the ladder at night Jacob (the pilgrim Soul), lies asleep, having for pillow a stone, symbol of matter at the lowest point. As the place of the greatest darkness and division from God the spot is called Luza, or separation. When Jacob awakes, however, the Soul knows that even in the lowest abyss of matter there is no real separation from the Divine presence and life, hence his exclamation on awaking, 'Indeed the Lord is in this place.' And he called its name Bethel (House of God), which before was Luza (separation)." —From a Lecture by Dr. A. Kingsford, President of the Hermetic Society.

One final note before we delve into the ladder of consciousness and its symbolic levels as alluded to in Freemasonry, allow me to share a fact, words such as ego, unconscious, collective unconscious, id, and the many various labels we use to describe mind and consciousness when discussed today did not exist in the vocabulary of many of the teachers of the past, symbolism was actually their mode of instruction. Most historians trace the beginnings of psychology as a discipline to the work of Wilhelm Wundt, a German psychologist, who began his research in psychology in December of 1879 at the University of Leipzig. At the same time, here in America, we had William James writing influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, all subjects that were receiving a new vocabulary to explain it’s often hard to verbalize philosophies.

Symbols, allegories, parables, and myth were for many centuries the means of transmission of such abstract ideas. Freemasonry itself makes no bones about it; the teachings of Freemasonry are purposely veiled with the symbols and rituals. Purposely because it requires the initiate to delve into the veil and allow you to see what rung of the ladder you are on. Then it becomes your choice if you want to advance or not.

If you have never visited a Masonic Temple, allow me to share a symbol you will find in clear view but often overlooked, the seven steps that rise above the Lodge Room floor to the seat of the Master of the Lodge.

Esoterically each and every step is symbolic of a different level of consciousness, often symbolized by a planet.

In Freemasonry a common phrase contained within one of the rituals is “We upon the and we upon the , we are told the meaning of this phrase is a type of conduct where all masons treat each other on the level, kings and serfs become equal. Allow me to share an observation; Freemasons love labels, ranks, degrees, and all sort of other titles that make meeting on the level nearly impossible. As far as departing on the square, when we leave the Temple we are taught to square our actions in the affairs of men.

All that sounds nice, but when we delve into the history of the ritual and its origins we find that the original ritual in the Prestonian lectures it was said that Masons “met on the square and hoped to part on the level”. In the American system of Thomas Smith Webb a change was made, and we were instructed that they meet on the level and part on the square.

Now you may not think this little shift in symbols means much, but in my opinion it’s a huge change. If we look closely at the square we find a symbol that is emblematic of Matter. In the original ritual we meet on Matter, the square. Now when look at the seven stairs to the Master as being symbolic of levels of consciousness, it is hoped we depart on the same Level of Consciousness. As you can plainly see just a little misunderstanding of the symbols can change the meaning totally.

A little note: The Square in Freemasonry is symbolic of Matter. “The Square, therefore, is a natural and appropriate Symbol of this Earth and the things that belong to it, are of it, or concern it.”...Albert Pike

No if's about it Freemasonry is an old tradition, arriving on the scene during the Age of Enlightenment. According to Kant, The Enlightenment was "Mankind's final coming of age, the emancipation of the human consciousness from an immature state of ignorance and error."

No longer allowing the ignorance of the church to suppress knowledge philosophers, theologians, scientists, and alchemists were beginning explore consciousness and the many traditions that had blazed the trails before them.

The 18th century would be different than the 17th, which was torn by witch-hunts and wars of religion and imperial conquest. Protestants and Catholics denounced each other as followers of Satan, and people could be imprisoned for attending the wrong church, or for not attending any. The Age of Reason would begin the journey away from ignorance towards enlightenment. During a time when all publications, whether pamphlets or scholarly volumes, were subject to prior censorship by both church and state, often working hand in hand the Age of the Enlightenment would bring the welcome exchange of knowledge. The organizations which tried to challenge the twin authorities of church and state that were banned still met in secrecy but soon would out themselves purposely, Freemasonry being one of these organizations.

Although I am not a Masonic Historian, I do not buy into most of the fanciful histories that have written about the origins of the Order. Although enjoyable to read most I fear are just fictions, sensational histories that can lead back to Solomon, Egypt, or even Seth. Take your pick, what I can tell you absolutely is that Freemasonry outs itself and arrives on the scene in the early seventeen hundreds. A few entries in a few manuscripts before 1717 may show that Freemasonry may have existed before its outing, but that doesn't necessarily mean it’s the highly symbolic and ritualistic Freemasonry we have today. We adopted the tools and some of the vocabulary of the operative masons as symbolic representations of esoteric teachings, that's all.

As for the original Freemasons that outed themselves in the early seventeen hundreds, a little research into the names will quickly eliminate “the purpose of Freemasonry is to make good men better men”, many of the names you will encounter were men of standing, some geniuses of their time, these gentlemen didn't need a men's club to make them better men, they were already giants, many participants in Isaac Newton's inner circle, many original members of the Invisible College, the Royal Academy, and the elusive Rosicrucian’s. Almost all had advanced educations, studying natural philosophy, theology, alchemy, and sciences of every type.

I believe we could rightly call the original outed Freemasons of 1717 Christian, but I'm pretty sure their form of Christianity differs remarkably from the way most interpret Christianity today. These highly educated individuals knew the words of Christ, and the bible itself could be interpreted on many different levels. The Sacred Volume of Law, the bible, contained allegories, parables, and symbolism that many would find confusing and sadly taken literally would demean the message. Yet many of these original Freemasons explored the depth of the symbolism, and found a beautiful philosophy that if understood, integrated, and followed would allow the individual to experience Union with the Divine.

In review we have seen the hierarchy of consciousness according to Dr. Hawkins, shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality, willingness, acceptance, reason, love, joy, peace and enlightenment, seventeen different levels of rungs of a ladder.

Now allow me to share the seven rungs of the Masonic ladder, the seven levels of consciousness as symbolized by the seven ancient planets. In the Lodge Room of the Masonic Temple these seven levels are the seven steps from the floor of the Lodge Room floor to the seat of the Master.

Although I respect Dr. Hawkins levels, I personally find the seven levels found in Freemasonry a bit more concise and not so emotion based.

The seat of the Master is representative of the symbolic Sun, the goal of the journey. Where Hawkins uses the word Enlightenment the Freemason may substitute Union with the Divine, other traditions may use the Self Realization, Samadhi, or even Nirvana to describe this level of consciousness. In the esoteric world of alchemy this is the level of “Gold”, symbolized by the point within the circle.

One step down from the symbolic Sun is that of the level of spiritual intuition, symbolized by the Moon. In the world of alchemy, which deeply influenced early Freemasonry, its symbols and rituals, the Moon is symbolic of silver.

The next step down from the Moon, or Intuition, is that of Mercury, symbolic of Wisdom, not to be confused by knowledge which can often be an impediment to those that must harmonize Intuition and Wisdom to advance to Divine Union.

A note to readers: Freemasons love triads or triangles for reasons that will soon become apparent.

Some would call the Sun, Moon, and Mercury the highest triad for due reasons, as you shall see as we continue on. For now picture a triangle with the apex up, the apex symbolic of the Sun, the two bottom angles representative of the Moon and Mercury respectively. Assent to the apex can only be by harmonizing Wisdom and Intuition.

If your an Entered Apprentice and you happen to be reading this, the triangular flap of your apron is up, symbolic of your level of consciousness or understanding, Spirit (the triangle) and Matter (the square) are separate, you are not yet Spiritualized Matter. If this seems confusing give it time you'll get it. For now the points of the triangle are the Sun, Moon, and Mercury...Spirit.

“The three lights represent the Sun, the' Moon, and Mercury; Osiris, Isis, and Horus; the Father, the Mother, and the Child; Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty” ...Albert Pike, Morals and Dogma

The Sun. Moon and Mercury represent the three highest levels of consciousness. Enlightenment consciousness is symbolized by the Sun, Intuition consciousness is symbolized by the Moon, and Wisdom consciousness is symbolized by Mercury, as we step down from this triad of Spirit to the world of Matter we find the step of Venus, symbolic Love consciousness.

Before we continue down the levels from the seat of the Master to the Lodge Room floor, allow me to assist you in understanding the symbolic signs attributed to the seven ancient or classic planets. There seems to be about three factors in the signs that make up the planets. There is a circle which means Spirit, and the half circle which we may take as a symbol of the Soul, and the cross which we take as a symbol of Matter. If we apply that key, we have in the Sun symbol a circle which stands as a symbol of Spirit. If we look at Mars, which is composed of the circle and the cross above the Spirit is under the cross, which we may take to mean that the Spirit is in bondage to Matter and to the body; thus we find individuals at this level of consciousness very materialist, they usually do not believe in anything supernatural as they call it, nothing but what they can see, and might is right with them, the higher, finer and nobler feelings are held in abeyance; there is mainly the physical side expressed, everything is for self. Mars always asks: what can I get for myself and how much pleasure can I get, what is the best I can do for myself and how can I oust everybody else.

Venus is just the reverse, Mars will fight, but Venus doesn't fight for there the Spirit is above the cross of Matter, the Spirit has got the balance of power and therefore she is the planet of love; she says, how much can I do for somebody else, I want to help somebody, I want to attract everybody to myself that I may do them some good.

Although we haven't discussed the lowest level of consciousness symbolized by the planet Saturn if one looks carefully at its symbol you can pretty much see why Saturn is considered the lowest state of mind. We have the Soul, or instinctual mind, symbolized by the half circle, under the dominance of Matter, represented by a cross, and therefore the Saturn people are materialistic in the extreme; they are very selfish also in every way, they are grasping everything for self, the heart and better nature are put underneath. One level up from Saturn consciousness you find the opposite combination, the symbol of Jupiter has the Soul above the cross of Matter. The Jupiter level of consciousness is much more likely to assist others, and exhibit a philanthropic side.

As we can see, at the level of Venus Spirit is above Matter, in fact above Venus is the higher triad of Spirit, consisting of Mercury, Moon, and Sun, and below Venus we have the lower triad of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

As stated Venus consciousness is Love, not the type of simplistic love usually bantered about, love of country, love of nature, etc… This type of Love, with a capital “L', is an all consuming compassion that drives an individual such as the late Mother Theresa to spent most her life living with the poorest of the poor, often suffering various deadly disease that would stop most, only to continue to serve. And with all due respect to the story of the Christ, a teacher of compassion that gives his life for the benefit of humankind.

If you broke down the teachings of the Buddha you would find “Know your mind!” and “Practice compassion!”

Symbolically we find in Western esoteric traditions three distinct baptisms, Water, Blood, and Fire (or Spirit). Venus consciousness is related to “blood”, it’s at this level we give of our-self totally.

The triad of Sun, Moon, and Mercury, the triangle with the apex pointing up, also the symbol of Fire, is the level involved in the baptism of fire. At these levels the Ego is consumed, as some mystics would say, by the fire within.

The next triad we will look at, below Venus, is the triad of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Symbolized by the triangle with the apex pointing down, also the symbol of Water. Its at these levels we begin the purification, and eventual eradication of our Ego, our symbolic baptism of Water.

The level below Mars, two steps above Saturn the lowest level of consciousness, and fifth step from the seat or level of the Master.

Symbolically Mars represents drive, inner drive, physical energy, self-manifestation and initiative, as well as issues connected with sexuality, power and aggression. The planet is named for the God of War, but Mars energy only becomes a negative force when it serves the Ego, and not a higher cause.

On a social level, it is a consciousness of primal force that can become destructive when its collective power is harnessed for questionable purposes. It's pretty easy to see how the feminine Venus consciousness harmonizes well the masculine energy of Mars.

On the next level down, six down from the Master, one above Saturn the base, we find Jupiter, the level of optimism consciousness. At this level we begin to see optimistically that change is possible, materialism no longer works and we begin to look closely at the illusionary Ego and begin the journey.

On the lowest level from the Master, we find the step symbolized by Saturn, the world and consciousness of Materialism, the consciousness we find in most before the journey is begun.

Here's a question for those initiates in Freemasonry that have had the pleasure to step up to the seat of the Master and receive instruction, the Entered Apprentice, only to back-down the steps after you were taught the moral symbolism of the working tools, have you ever wondered why you back down?

If you contemplate the levels of consciousness, where each and every step brings you closer to “Light”, by symbolically backing down you acknowledge you are about to begin the “Great Work” and must start at the bottom.

Do not think for a minute that those that sit in the seat of the Master are “enlightened”, there may have been a few here or there, but the odds on reaching the type of level of consciousness we are discussing is astronomical.

In essence the ascending of the levels is our path from egocentric consciousness to that which could be called “Unity” consciousness.

In reverse of what I just shared, I would like to take you from the floor of the Lodge Room to the seat of the Master.

When enter Freemasonry we come from the level of Materialism, this is the world of islands where each one us believe ourselves to be an island, the subject and all else outside ourselves to be objects. You identify yourself as your body and your mind, As the Buddha says; “We are all that our minds create.” But what if this consciousness, ego centered, is actually an illusion created by the illusionary self that keeps us cut off from what is real?

Here's are a few byproducts of ego consciousness, arrogance, selfishness, greed, and a sense of entitlement to whatever one wants. Individuals on this level may suffer from what we could call intellectual arrogance, being too sure that one is right in what one believes. This tends to lead one to feel justified in doing whatever it takes to achieve one's goals. It elbows out any humility that might lead one to ask whether it was right to harm people for one's goals. Watch the news channels at any given time you'll see stories of egotistical individuals run amok, people stuck in this level of consciousness.

Stepping up one level from Materialism, we find a level that provides a push toward social integration; here the initiate enters something bigger then themselves, the tradition. Certainly your ego is still intact but now we can begin a period of introspection concerning educational, philosophical, cultural and religious interests, mystical thought in religion and philosophy. A time to gain wisdom and knowledge. We hear this alluded to in the lecture of second degree of Freemasonry, the Fellowcraft, where the initiate is introduced to the importance of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, which were formulated hundreds of years ago in order to develop and perfect the mental nature. The intention was to prepare the mind for spiritual truths.

Our next step up in consciousness, previously identified as Mars, is usually associated with maleness the Mars symbol embodies the yang principle.

On this level one has the ability to confront life-and-death issues. This level of consciousness is incredibly influential in illuminating our vision as to what is no longer serving us. Here we begin to seriously look at all our held beliefs, hidden secrets, and all the assorted illusions that helped us create the illusionary ego. This is the level of New Beginnings, Birth and Initiation, all components of the ritual of the third degree, Master Mason.

This makes the Mars level relevant to cycles, and the natural rhythms of life and death. On the one hand we have the driving force of new beginnings followed by a period of thoughtful retreat and a symbolic death to the things which no longer serve.

These first three levels from the floor of the Lodge Room floor compose the triad of Matter. Although our next level, symbolic of Venus, or love, is usually associated with the level of Matter, I tend to see it as a level on its own, one that draws Matter towards the Spiritual, and pulls the Spiritual down to Matter.

We could dedicate a whole book to the symbolic uses of Venus, the “Light-bearer”, but for now let us focus on the level of consciousness this step represents.

As stated before this is the level of Love, a love and compassion beyond the normal egotistical emotional attachment that has the ability to turn from “love” to hate, jealousy, or despair, your normal everyday love. This is the Love and Compassion taught of by the Christ and the Buddha, a love and compassion that can only manifest after the ego is acknowledged and no longer binds us to the illusion of separateness. Self-referential motives, self-centeredness, attachment, expectation of something in return, grasping, setting of conditions, none of these have any place in love and, in practice, completely block the action of love. Placing ourselves first and at the center forecloses the possibility of love.

We have just completed a walk up four out of seven steps. In the western esoteric tradition these four steps or levels of consciousness exist within the world of Matter. Symbolized in Freemasonry by the Square, and of course on the planetary symbols themselves as the cross. In Freemasonry we as Masons meet on the Square, Matter. Our apron is composed of two distinct shapes, the Triangle flap, and the Square base, the Square symbolic of Matter. The Square consists of four angles, four points, each of these points symbolic of the first four levels of consciousness from the floor of the Lodge Room, Matter.

Remember how I told you earlier that the ritual had been changed from “met on the square and hoped to part on the level”, to “meet on the level and part on the square,”, hopefully now you can see how that little change turns out to be a big one. We meet here on Matter and hopefully depart on the same level of consciousness.

Now we have seen that the upper triad, made up of the Sun, Moon, and Mercury represents Spiritual levels of consciousness, the lower triad made up of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn represents levels of consciousness available to those still locked in the levels of Matter, or ego, with Venus sitting in the middle attracting and harmonizing the often aggressive Matter triad, and because of it's ego-less love it draws the Spiritual towards it.

Origin of the Skull & Crossbones - As told by the Inquisition

I came upon this while researching the Templars, of which I belong. Although I'm sure many of my readers are not Templars themselves I still hope you'll find this little passage from histroy enjoyable. It came from a title named; A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages.

Many of you I am sure have never seen a Templar apron, which you will find pictured to the left, and if you have you may have wondered the origins of the skull and crossbones you may consider this story, or you may not, either way its a fun little story.

“Among the few outside witnesses who appeared before the papal commission in 1310-11, was Antonio Sicci of Vercelli, imperial and apostolic notary, who forty years before had served the Templar's in Syria in that capacity, and had recently been employed in the case by the Inquisition of Paris.

Among his Eastern experiences he gravely related a story current in Sidon that a lord of that city once loved desperately but fruitlessly a noble maiden of Armenia; she died, and, like Periander of Corinth, on the night of her burial he opened her tomb and gratified his passion. A mysterious voice said," Return in nine months and you will find a head, your son!" In due time he came back and found a human head in the tomb, when the voice said, " Guard this head, for all your good fortune will Come from it!"

At the time the witness heard this, Matthieu le Sauvage of Picardy was Preceptor of Sidon, who had established brotherhood with the Soldan of Babylon by each drinking the others blood. Then a certain Julian, who had succeeded to Sidon and to the possession of the head, entered the Order and gave to it the town and all his wealth. He was subsequently expelled and entered the Hospitallers, whom he finally abandoned for the Premonstratensians (Proces, I. 645-6).

This somewhat irrelevant and disconnected story so impressed the commissioners that they made Antonio reduce it to writing himself, and lost no subsequent opportunity of inquiring about the head of Sidon from all other witnesses who had been in Syria. Shortly afterward Jean Senandi, who had lived in Sidon for five years, informed them that the Templar's purchased the city, and that Julian, who had been one of its lords, entered the Order but apostatized and died in poverty. One of his ancestors was said to have loved a maiden and abused her corpse, but he had heard nothing of the head (lb. II. 140). Pierre de Nobiliac had been for many years beyond seas, but had likewise never heard of it (lb. 215). At length their curiosity was gratified by Hugues de Faure, who confirmed the fact that Sidon had been purchased by the Grand Master, Thomas Berard (1257-1273), and added that after the fall of Acre he had heard in Cyprus that the heiress of Maraclea, in Tripoli, had been loved by a noble who had exhumed her body and violated it, and cut off her head, a voice telling him to guard it well, for it would destroy all who looked upon it. He wrapped it up and kept it in a coffer, and in Cyprus, when he wished to destroy a town or the Greeks, he would uncover it and accomplish his purpose. Desiring to destroy Constantinople he sailed thither with it, but his old nurse, curious to know what was in the coffer so carefully preserved, opened it, when a sudden storm burst over the ship and sank it with all on board, except a few sailors who escaped to tell the tale. Since then no fish have been found in that part of the sea (lb. 223-4). Guillaume Avril had been seven years beyond seas without hearing of the head, but bad been told that in the whirlpool of Setalias a head sometimes appeared, and then all the vessels there were lost (lb. 238). All this rubbish was sent to the Council of Vienne as part of the evidence against the Order.”

Is the Boundless Infinite Circle God?

Is the boundless infinite circle God?

Science tells us that the universe is expanding, a fact that has been verified; one could say the architect is at still at work, growing.
In the esoteric world the void, the nothingness can be seen as potential, or my favorite the womb. The boundless circle is the womb in which the Monad exists, the point within the circle. If your one of those that find sexuality important to defining God as a him or her then you have to solve the chicken and egg conundrum, if the Monad arrives on the scene from the womb, or void, and the Monad is phallus, the one, who is really first? This may seem a foolish question but the esoterist would seek the answer, especially the inquiring Freemason that wears the symbol of the circle so proudly and prominently upon there being.
Without getting to deep in western esoteric thought the “circle” is symbolic of Spirit, a noun that may actually be a verb. In Freemasonry the name Pythagoras is alluded to for a fairly obvious reason, its his esoteric numerical system we use to explain how the Spirit arrives on the scene, Spirits evolution into Matter, and Matter returning to Spirit. One could easily call Pythagoras the map maker of Freemasonry, without a minimum amount of insight into Pythagorean numerical philosophy much of the depths of Freemasonry can not be understood.
Here's something Pythagoras did not discuss, the zero. He started his number system with the One, the Monad. According to Pythagoras the “One” is the natural generator of all other Number, regarded by the Pythagoreans as the origin from where the “geometry of the universe emerges”. As the number of reason and essence, the Monad was the perfect circle of general harmony, encompassing all greater development in the unit-dining sense. A question inquiring Freemasons should ask does the “G” symbolize God or geometry, or both.
Let’s take a look at the Pythagorean Monad symbolized as the “point within the circle”:

Look familiar? It should, the more one looks closely at the simple “point within the circle” the more one sees a symbol so simply illustrated yet so deep in meaning, a symbol used by many traditions.
The circle with out the point, as discussed before, could represent the womb, the garden, Add the point we now have the seed within, the point, potential. If we modernize the symbol in the world of psychology we could see the point as the conscious mind, the tip of the iceberg, and the circle as the unconscious, the expanding depths, including the collective unconsciousness.
In the world of quantum physics the point becomes the particle, the collapsed wave, the circle the non-local reality, something the Buddha realized twenty five hundred years ago.

There is a Circle You Must Know

Undoubtedly one of the most important symbols in all esoteric thought is the “circle”. So important to Freemasonry, the circle, we borrowed the compass of the architect as our symbolic representation of it.

The “circle” as a symbol is a beautiful paradox, because the circle we are talking about esoterically is boundless, extending infinitely in all directions, just by drawing the circle with our compass we are in fact creating a symbol that has a boundary, although the true circle we are talking about has no boundary. See the paradox?

Esoteric symbolists found a way around this paradox, which we will approach in due time, but for now we should consider what this boundless infinite circle symbolizes.

Many are fortunate if at least once in their lifetime they get the chance to stand atop a high mountain, or a flat desert, and look towards the starlit heavens unencumbered by the ambient light of civilization, spread out as far as the eye can see, the whiteness of stars, the blackness of space, what we call the heavens.

If you’re fortunate enough to not have your view blocked in any direction you could spin 360 degrees and see a circle of the heavens in all its majestic order and beauty, but only as far as your eyes allow you to perceive.

With the aid of the telescope we have been able to expand our perception of the circle, and with the aids of satellites and Voyager we have expanded our view even more.

No matter our advancement of perception of the circle of the realities of the heavens spread faster. We are but a speck in a white star black space mosaic circle of light and dark, similar to the Lodge Room floor of the Masonic Temple.

Without an understanding of the boundless circle I fear much of the western esoteric traditions will fall flat compared to the eastern who studied and embraced the void, the nothing, the Ain Soph, the Parabrahman, something I believe our ancient and accepted brothers realized when they choose the compass as a symbolic representation of this infinite circle, also the snake eating its own tail, Ouroboros.

To the left is a wonderful representation of how out of the absolute un-manifested, the zero, the creation begins, symbolized by the Monad, the “point within the circle”, to the relative reality of dualism, and then harmony returning to infinity. Without attempting to confuse the reader, one could say the circle is nothing, but then the circle is everything.

As one who is well tried in the western esoteric tradition of Freemasonry I would like to address my brothers at this time. As you see it is very hard to create a symbol of the infinite, no matter how you try your creating a boundary, your trying to lock something in that can't be. Although you may look around the Masonic Temple and see squares the circles are there, sometimes you have to listen with an attentive ear, watch the way you walk in ritual, and imagine you are the “point within a circle” of heaven above.

Is the boundless infinite circle God?

Introduction to Old School Freemasonry - Part One

First I would like to apologize, it may seem I have been behind on my “Purposely Hoodwinked” blog, but I assure you I have writing away.

To date, the current post you have in front of you is already 7228 words long, and still going, not all of which I will present today.

As one who does not always understand the decreasing sentence structure, tweets, and mini abbreviated Facebook entries, I do realize that the fact is no one will read a blog entree that is over twenty pages long, to date, so I’ve decided to divide it into chapters, thereby satisfying those that can only stand small, quick, and hopefully concise blog entrees.

It has never been my desire to be an author, and it still isn’t, I began this blog to share insight into what many would call “esoteric” Freemasonry, a subject I have found few within the fraternity was even familiar with.

Although Freemasonry is not a business allow me to share a little insight as a business owner.

Many fear Freemasonry is slowly becoming a historical memory, membership is down, and some would say dying day by day. If this decline was occurring in my business, or in any business that desires to succeed, the business itself would have to take a critical look situation, just having “Open Houses” hoping for new members is not the answer unless we clearly have an idea of business is. We still haven’t looked deep into the decline.

I can hear certain brothers blaming the television, the computer, the downfall of fraternal organizations, and the lack of community; all those could be valid, to a point.

Much of what I am going to present may seem critical at times to the Fraternity, to which I so proudly belong, but this respectful criticism should not be taken to be demeaning, it’s meant to be enlightening. Only by looking at ourselves, deeply, are we able to “Know thyself”, the same follows with Freemasonry.

The approach I am taking is to allow the deeper aspects of Masonic symbolism to open up the purpose, intent, and goal of Masonic thought. To prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Freemasonry is much more than a fraternal organization, which it seems to have found itself?

With that said I offer here a sort of introduction to what will follow:

Over and over as I search the web for enlightened symbolic thought and all I find is confusion and often times down right ignorance, a common malady of those stuck in what I call the “lowest common denominator’ of symbolic interpretation.

What I would like to do, for the benefit of those that have a serious interest in esoteric symbolism, is show you a different view, a way of seeing above the norm.

As an initiate of what is labeled a western ancient mystery school Freemasonry, I will be using some of the symbols of my tradition to aid you in unlocking that “lowest common denominator” mindset, thus allowing you to see at a level above the rarely discussed levels in the western esoteric traditions.

Don’t think for a moment you need to belong to one of the mystery traditions to understand what I am about to put forth, if truth be told once you consider the material presented you’ll probably know more then most initiated into many of the various mystery schools, including Freemasonry.

Although mystery schools have been around for centuries you would be surprised just how few even know of there existence, or function, including sadly some within the mysteries themselves.

If one looks carefully at the definition in context to the ancient mystery school the term "Mystery" derives from Latin mysterium, from Greek mysterion (usually as the plural mysteria μυστήρια), in this context meaning "secret rite or doctrine." An individual who followed such a "Mystery" was a mystes (a mystic) "one who has been initiated," from myein "to close, shut," a reference to secrecy (closure of "the eyes and mouth") or that only initiates were allowed to observe and participate in rituals. The fact is there is nothing nefarious about the mystery school path, in fact if one was to look close at the many spiritual traditions I’m sure you’ll find initiate, ritual, and symbolism in the forefront of progression in that tradition.

Take for instance the Kalachakra Mandala of Buddhism, once a very secret initiation performed by chosen monks is now performed openly for the benefit of all sentient beings and world peace. Many spiritual aspirants are now familiar with the traveling monks who perform the Kalachakra Initiation generally given over 12 days. First, there are eight days of preparation rituals, during which the monks make the mandala. Then the students are initiated, after which they are allowed to see the completed sand mandala. The ceremony ends when the monks release the positive energy of the mandala into the everyday world through a final ritual. Once this centuries old initiation was performed only under the most secret conditions, not seen by those outside the order, but is now performed openly for our benefit.

For those unfamiliar with the mandala I assure you as you continue on a surprise awaits one that should be of serious interest to those especially initiated in the Masonic tradition and interested in Unity.

What I will present here is some of the teachings of the mystery school.

For those that have not been initiated and wonder of the importance of initiation and what initiation has to offer, in a simplified way of explaining the psychological process that takes place during initiation or ritual it is that on a personal level the initiation or ritual it is becoming part of you, it enters your subconscious where hopefully an unfolding takes place. Take for instance, in many Christian traditions the Ritual of the Eucharist, a ritual where the participants are told they are partaking symbolically of the body of Christ. They are actually becoming one symbolically with their savior. If they believe their savior to be symbolic of love, they should now be love personified.

Rituals contain a tremendous amount of power if understood correctly to alter consciousness.

Although as an initiate I am writing of concepts usually associated with initiates I assure you that the material presented can be understood by those outside the various initiate traditions.

Because of my affiliation with Freemasonry, as I have stated from the get go, much of what I will be discussing is derived from Freemasonry, and is addressed to my interested Masonic brothers, but not all, much of what you will be exposed to is not the property of any tradition, wisdom serves no master.

It is my intent to make this information available to all that have a desire to understand symbolism and its ability to unlock the ‘lowest common denominator” mindset that seems so prevalent in so many traditions, including Freemasonry.

For and foremost for those amongst you that may be an initiate in Freemasonry and believe that our tradition is just a fraternal group that gets together to perform rituals that often make no sense, or leads oneself to believe the rituals are a mild form of hazing required in order to belong, what follows is written especially for you.

The symbolism of our order should if understood correctly lead the initiate to new levels of awareness. As brothers we should be able to explain the symbolism above and beyond the “lowest common denominator”.

One other observation before we begin, although I know that Freemasonry is not a religion, I do believe it to be an aid to the spiritual path if understood correctly. Freemasonry if understood correctly can and will give you keys to unlocking many of the symbols you are going to find on your own path, and many of the symbols universally and esoterically used by many of the wisdom traditions.

This is one of the reasons over the centuries why Freemasonry has received so many different in labels, Christian, Druidical, Egyptian, Cabbalistic, and on and on I could go into traditions which most have no knowledge of or have been lost to antiquity, one could say Freemasonry by its nature offers the keys to unlocking many of the universal esoteric symbols found amongst the various wisdom traditions. Philosophically Freemasonry seeks Unity, not division, which is the reason one’s religious path is respected as his own.

Most of what I am about to share will be probably unfamiliar to those within Freemasonry, and other western esoteric traditions, but not all.

What I am about to share is much more commonly discussed within the eastern traditions, but does not necessarily means what I will be discussing belongs solely to those traditions as you will soon see.

I promise to share with you and underlying Unity which is the real goal of all esoteric traditions.

Much of what I’m about to share with you is spoken word, facts I’m putting to paper as a means of transmission. You may read and understand what I’m putting forth here, or you may not.

But what if I give you a symbol and this symbol was unfamiliar, and why would I do that?

Unfamiliar symbols, which initiates commonly bump into when entering n ancient mystery school actually become a kind of inkblot or Rorschach test for the initiate.

All initiates will approach the interpretation of allegories, rituals, and symbols through analysis and projection.

Here is an example of the sequence of analysis you the initiate may follow; first you look to see if the symbol may have a universal meaning in your experience or knowledge. Next your analysis may take you to a different level, a cultural interpretation that may contain a depth of meaning different from the universal as it pertains to a certain segment or the population culturally. Last but not least interpretation of a symbol may take on a personal interpretation, at this level the projection comes from you, some would say from your collective unconscious.

No matter which way you interpret the symbol universal, cultural, or personal we still have to think contextually, in the case of Freemasonry and the underlying esoteric tradition its design and purpose, something each and every mason will have to research for themselves. A word of warning for those that tend to flights of fantasy, Freemasonry has more than its share of legend, speculation, and flights of fantasy when it comes to the origin and purpose. Although I rather enjoy reading the various stories and sorted histories, when we look at what we know speculative Freemasonry arrives on the scene in the late sixteen hundreds and early seventeen hundreds. Many of the first outed members were well known scientists, theologians, architects, alchemists, and a who’s who of cerebral and spiritual minded individuals. Many of these individuals members of the Royal Society (eventually known as the Royal Society of Sciences and the Arts), before that the Invisible College, and many known to be part of Isaac Newton’s inner circle. At the time many of these individuals were giants in their respective field. I assure you these individuals did not need to join or create a fraternal order to “make good men better men”, no offense. At the time of the creation of speculative Freemasonry alchemy, natural philosophy, geometry were major fields of study, as were the arts, mythology, and enlightening thought and philosophy.

The suffocation of knowledge, including that of free religious thought was coming to an end, and God could now be looked at differently. Many of the early Freemasons, including Grant Masters were Doctors of Divinity; the writer of the Constitutions of Freemasonry was a minister. It was a time when science and theology could share the same stage by the highly educated, something the fundamentalist believers feared and was causing the “my way or the highway” church to loss its power.

Many of these individuals saw God’s presence within science, and others saw science proving God, yet the kicker was neither was what was the perpetuated doctrine of fear, a mindset that controlled the mind of the masses. Even today, hundreds of years since those first speculative Freemasons made their presence known ignorant religious leaders still attack that which they haven’t really taken the time to understand, even though a great number of theologians are members themselves.

Imagine a path that harmonizes science and theology, assumed opposites, I assure you Freemasonry seeks it, if not teaches it.

As for the rest, I’ll leave the history up to the historians, which I am not. Suffice to say, taken in context Freemasonry has by its inception natural philosophy, alchemy, sacred geometry, and mythical theology imbedded deep within its structure.

Contextually speculative Freemasonry is a science, a science I believe you will see that attempts to break the strangle hold of ignorance and reveals an evolution or unfolding of Spirit to Matter through symbolism, and then an involution from Matter to Spirit through ritual. A science that allows you to understand the divinity which is not necessarily up there in some far away abode.