The Mystical Triad

What I want to address in this paper is 'similarities', something occasionally discussed in context with Freemasonry.

For many some of these similarities will seem strange and foreign, and for others they may seem basic, either way I hope you find something that peaks your interest.  

What we are going to look at is the triad, a very important symbol associated with Freemasonry, one you could say is the basic esoteric symbol in which the whole esoteric system revolves around.

Early on in our journey through the three degrees of craft masonry we were introduced to an old philosopher named Pythagoras, a symbolic brother. His triad was any three numbers a, b, c which satisfy the Pythagorean equation A2 + B2 = C2. In Freemasonry we see this equation illustrated with Euclid's 47th theorem 3, 4, 5.

The question then becomes what does the symbolize?

To Pythagoras numbers had to values, one numerical the other symbolic. The symbolic idea here, is that the vertical side represents one aspect (3), often symbolized by the triangle, the horizontal side (4), often represented as the square, and another aspect, the hypotenuse (5) the offspring of the combining sides. The combination of one and another produces a new form of being altogether, a progeny.

In the Pythagorean symbolic system the 3 is the first true male number, the number of harmony (emphasize on harmony). 

In the Pythagorean symbolic system the Pythagoreans called the number 4 the "Key-bearer of Nature." 

Masons of old believed that vertical upright 3 squared symbolized Osiris, the horizontal position, 4 squared symbolized Isis, and the hypotenuse, 5 squared, symbolized Horus.

Much of what I have presented to this point has been written about extensively by many brothers of old, and a few modern writers. I recommend any new brother seeking Masonic light research the symbolic number system of Pythagoras, it will explain many of the questions you may have about the design of the lodge room.

Returning now to the triad, and some similarities.

A triad, in simplest terms, is defined as a "group of three". In Freemasonry your going to see this alluded to over and over, three major seats, three degrees, three burning tapers, I promise you the more you look the more you'll find, some are cleverly hidden awaiting your discovery.

Now let's look towards other traditions and see if we can find similarities, some of them may have actually found their way in Freemasonry.

First stop, the Jewish alphabet.

For those who have read my previous articles they understand my fascination with the Kabbalah and Freemasonry, believing that much of the underlying symbolism in Freemasonry is actually drawn from the Kabbalah itself.

Without going to deep let is start with the very basics, the Hebrew alphabet. 

The alphabet itself is made up of twenty two letters, three of which are called the 'mother letters', Mem, Aleph, and Shin. 

Just like the number system of Pythagoras the Hebrew alphabet has numbers associated with the letters and a symbolic allusion.

Mem is the thirteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has numerical value of 40 and is symbolic of water. 

The letter Aleph is considered the "father" of the Aleph-Bet, whose original pictograph represents an ox, meaning strength and leader. It's numerical value is one (and also 1,000) and it is a silent letter. Aleph therefore is preeminent in its order and alludes to the ineffable mysteries of the oneness of God. 

In his book "Mind into Matter", Fred Alan Wolf writes: "Aleph represents the supreme energy - subtle, alive, but not existing as itself in the space-time world we know, because it is imaginal. It is the primal energy in all; and all that we know is in aleph. 

Aleph is beyond definition, incapable of being defined or limited. It

moves at infinite speed and thus evades time. It is primal consciousness unknown to its self."

In the Kabbalah the letter aleph is king over breath, formed air in the universe, temperate in the year, and the chest in the soul. Simplified, symbolic of element air.

To this point we have learned that the letter Mem symbolized water and the letter Aleph symbolizes air. Can you guess what's next?

Of course, Shin symbolic of fire. 

The letter Shin is the dynamic movement of the element fire, the active, expansive and vivifying forces in the universe. It is also the symbol of the vivifying spirit. 

If you want to know where these elements are hidden, look towards your penalties, look in the penalty of the E.A. and see if you can find water alluded to, look to the penalty of the F.C. and see if you can find air alluded to, and finally look at the penalty of the M.M. and see if you can find fire alluded to.

Before we move on here's something of interest. The body part associated with Shin is the throat, Aleph the chest, and Mem the bowels, now think of your penal signs. 

It should be noted the penal signs appear opposite of the of the degree, except for Aleph, this has a deeper allusion. Example, in the E.A. degree, water, we find the penal alluding to Shin, spirit, and the M.M. degree, fire, we find the penal sign referring to Mem, water. When we put the three signs together we find the penal signs are actually alluding to spirit descending into matter. On the other hand our Masonic journey itself is symbolic of matter ascending into spirit. When we put together the penal signs of spirit descending into matter, and then matter ascending in spirit we see a continuous cycle, transmigration of the soul.

Now let's move on to another triad commonly associated with Freemasonry, one that is resurfacing after many years exclusion, the triad of Salt, Mercury, and Sulfur.

Although its been years since Freemasonry has been associated with alchemy at the present time various writings have looked carefully into the possible connection, and they're finding it.

For those unfamiliar with alchemy allow me to share a few points, if you would like to learn more the web now has many good modern interpretations of this often arcane science. 

Alchemy, very much like Freemasonry, has an exoteric practical application, the precursor to chemistry, and an esoteric inner application, psychological transformation. It should come at know surprise that Freemasonry seems to borrow heavily from esoteric alchemy, Kabbalah and alchemy have a lot in common.

Not surprisingly Salt, Mercury, and Sulfur have almost the same allusions as Mem, Aleph, and Shin.

When one pursues an understanding of alchemy often times the student will come upon conflicting opinion, Salt, Sulfur, and Mercury are alluded to differently by different authors. I believe the proper sequence would be:

                           Salt                Mercury                      Sulfur

                           Mem               Aleph                          Shin

                           Water               Air                              Fire

                           Body               Mind                           Spirit

                           E.A.                 F.C.                            M.M.

I make note of this because I have read a lot of authors that actually attribute sulfur to air, and mercury to spirit. I know that some will find this far fetched but upon reflection if we look to the god Mercury we find a god that has the ability to travel from the heavenly realms spirit to the world of matter. Remember that F.C. penalty, beasts of the field, fouls of the air? Beasts of the field symbolize the world of matter, fouls of the air symbolize spirit, hence Mercury.

Right about now observant brothers should be asking about the element earth, where does it play out in the elements considering most are familiar with four, earth, air, water and fire?

Most esoteric symbolists combine water and earth to create one category, matter.

The reader should be reminded that Freemasonry is very old, at a minimum of three centuries, two centuries ago we find a phrase rarely heard today 'spiritualized matter'. The Neo-Platonists taught that there were two principles at play in man, his soul, and the material which enveloped it. According to the prevailing dogma of the church before the fall, man’s- soul was enclosed in an ethereal body, i. e. was surrounded by matter which was, as it were spiritualized. After the fall, the soul and the ethereal body were, limited and constrained in their activities. Instead of spiritualized matter, the soul was now imprisoned in a body gross and earthly. It was dominated by the basest inclinations, especially by the concupiscence of the flesh. It's here we find the purpose of many esoteric sciences, to re-spiritualize matter, ourselves. 

Few realize that before the 'New Age' writers and enthusiasts borrowed the triad of Freemasonry other esoteric sciences were already discussing the triad of Body, Soul, and Spirit, which would eventually morph into Body, Mind, and Spirit. In fact in the early nineteen hundreds the Scottish Rite published a magazine named 'New Age'.

While researching this paper I found this interesting paragraph in an old Masonic text, talk about insight into three of the most important symbols in Freemasonry, the triangle, square, and circle.

Q. What signifies the triangle with its three points; the circle and square?

A. The triangle represents the triplicity of nature; the mineral kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, and the animal kingdom; past, present, future; birth, life, death; body, soul, spirit. The square symbolises Nature and the four elements. The circle the eternal succession of life.

As you can see in the above answer to the question we see three different triads. As for the square and circle, I agree with the writer on the square, Nature (or matter), but on the circle I tend to interpret it as the boundless endless spirit, and least we forget the sequence of the penal signs and the sequence of the penalties, a succession.

Now let's look at another Masonic writer, J.M. Ward, a see how he ties in the Body, Soul, Spirit;

"In the Craft Lodge the W.M. represents the Spirit, the S.W. the Soul, and the J .W. the Body. Hence the significance of the fact that one and the same person invests the brother in each degree by command of the W.M. The Soul must raise itself from its crude and material condition to greater heights of spirituality. It will be encouraged and guided by the Spirit, but it is the Soul, not the Spirit, that needs to progress towards God. Each upward step in mortal life is made by the struggling Soul, which drags with it its Body, and is guided by the glimmering light in the east, which is the emblem of the Spirit."

Some would say we are physical beings (Body) embodied with consciousness (Mind) and divine (Spiritual), others may disagree, I don't.

Returning to alchemy, a different kind of alchemy, we find in  China a very old alchemy named Neidan, or internal alchemy. 

In the Chinese tradition the human body becomes a cauldron of sorts in which the triad known as the 'Three Treasures' Jing ("Essence"), Qi ("Breath") and Shen ("Spirit") are cultivated for the purpose of improving physical, emotional and mental health, and ultimately returning to the primordial unity of the Tao, i.e., becoming an Immortal. 

Although Taoist is rarely spoken of in the more Western tradition of Freemasonry I find some of the esoteric similarities uncanny. Take for instance the black and white floor of the lodge room.

The first time I was exposed to the mosaic pavement of the lodge room my mind instantly thought of the 'yin and yang', the Taoist symbol light and dark circling in a never ending harmony, remember the penal signs spirit descending into matter followed by the path of the rituals matter as ascending into spirit.Here we see

If we compare the Three Treasures of Chinese internal alchemy, Jing, Chi (or Qi), and Shen, to the Body Soul Spirit triad the similarities become easily apparent.

Internal alchemy focuses on the body and how you are able to use the Three Treasures, Jing, Chi, and Shen, to bring this balance to your life. 

                    Jing                    Chi                    Shen

                    Body                  Soul                  Spirit

                    Salt                    Sulfur                Mercury 

  

According to Chinese alchemy Jing is the energy of the body, without it you will simply die. The conserving of Jing in the body is heavily focused on internal alchemy. Taoists believed that preserving Jing allowed people to live longer, if not to achieve immortality. The idea of immortality came about because Taoists believed that if Jing in the body could be preserved the energies in the body could be saved, which allowed you to live. In order improve the possibility immortality the Taoists proposed an immortal formula: first, use the Chi to nourish the Jing, and then transform the Jing into refined Chi. Afterward, use this refined Chi to build up the Shen. Then reunite the Shen with the Tao, the whole.

As to what this Chi is, it is defined as the "natural energy of the universe" and can be found in everything, including each individual person. The intent of the alchemist is to obtain a positive flow of Chi which flows through the body moving to each individual organ. Taoists map out the body according to these paths. If a path is blocked, the Chi does not flow properly; this blockage disrupts the balance of yin and yang. Taoists developed methods to help get rid of these harmful blockages so that the body's balance can be restored.

As for Shen, this is said to be the 'original' spirit of the body. Taoists try to become conscious of Shen through meditation. Shen is the energy that each organ in the body possesses.

When the "three treasures" are maintained in the body along with a balance of yin and yang it is possible to achieve a healthy body, and longevity; which are the main goals of internal alchemy.

Allow me to share a secret you probably already know. Although most only see the two pillars of Freemasonry, Boaz and Jachin, in the lodge room there are actually three, the third being you. You were symbolically told this when you walked between them in the F.C. degree.

                    Black                    White

                    Boaz                    Jachin

                    Yin                       Yang

                    Matter                  Spirit

Just as when you walked between the pillars of Freemasonry you symbolized harmony the same holds true when you walk on the black and white mosaic pavement you, you once again becomes the tie that binds.

'' But in my heart, alas! two souls reside. 

  Each from the other tries to separate. 

  One clings to earth with passions and desires 

  And fond embrace; the other breaks his bonds, 

  And rising upward, spurns the dust of earth."...Brother Goethe 

"There are three intelligible worlds which correspond one with another by hierarchic analogy; the natural or physical, the spiritual or metaphysical, and the divine or religious worlds. Prom this principle follows the hierarchy of spirits, divided into three orders, and again subdivided by the triad in each of these three orders."...

Reuben Swinburne Clymer, Alchemy and the Alchemists: Giving the Secret of the Philosopher's 

If we return to alchemy we'll find another triad that just may have its place in the layout of the lodge room, the triad of salt, sulphur, and quicksilver, also known as the triad of Sun, Moon, and Mercury.

                    Moon                      Mercury                    Sun

                    Salt                         Quicksilver               Sulfur

Would you be surprised if I told you that they just may be symbolized on the steps up to the Master of the lodge? 

Remember the 47th theorem, 3 squared plus 4 squared equals 5 squared? In a properly symbolized lodge room we find seven stairs leading to the Master. Divide that seven into two geometrical shapes and you get a triangle and a square, seven points. In the Pythagorean number system seven is the number of perfection.

If we once again consider the 47th theorem and the steps up to the Master, we find the four in the first four steps, symbolizing earth, the last three representing heavenly, and the Master symbolic of five the number of what the Pythagoreans called “hieros gamos”, the marriage between heaven and earth.

To this point I have hopefully explained the basic esoteric symbolism of the triad and how it may relate to Freemasonry, now I shall attempt to go a little deeper down the rabbit hole.

The triad of Body, Mind, and Spirit has become a reference for just about every alternative health practice, New Age topic, or psycho-pomp but sadly the message has been sorely watered down.

First of all although the triad Body, Mind, and Spirit appear to be three separate subjects they are intact one, seen from three different perspectives. In fact in sacred geometry the triangle is the first complete geometrical figure, harmony, the symbol of unity, one. 

I find it interesting that the majority of writers call the Pythagorean Monad (the number one) god when the truth may be its actually the triad.

"The number three is the first number, because one and two are creators of numbers and not numbers themselves. Therefore the number one is potentially both an odd and even number, and called "hermaphroditic", or male-female by Pythagoreans."..Clifford A. Pickover,The Loom of God: Tapestries of Mathematics and Mysticism

We see this symbolized in the Kabbalah where the triad of Binah, Chokmah and Kether are a Kabbalistic representation of the manifest God. This 'Supernal Triad' is symbolic of the “3 mothers” discussed earlier, Shin (spirit/fire), Aleph (air), and Mem (water).

For those unfamiliar with the Kabbalah I highly recommend you research its symbolism it will certainly provide any seeking brother 'light'. 

As for the triad of the Kether, Chokmah, and Binah, Kether is known as the 'crown', the sheer of pure spiritual being, the point of absolute unity. The Kether is said to be the dwelling place of the Divine, the source of all, it's Divine name is Eheieh, I am.

The Chokmah, meaning wisdom, is an extension of Kether. It is the overflowing of the Divine, a reflection of the first. Chokmah is the first male expression, where the Kether was androgynous.

Chokmah's Divine name is Yah, meaning Lord. 

Binah, understanding, is the female counterpart to Chokmah. Just like Chokmah receiving overflow from Kether, Binah receives an overflow of energy from Chokmah. The Divine name being Elohim, The Lord God.

                    Binah                    Kether                      Chokmah

                    Body                     Mind                         Spirit

                    Water                   Air                             Fire

"To-day there is a wide measure of agreement, which on the physical side of science approaches almost to unanimity, that the stream of knowledge is heading towards a non-mechanical reality. The universe begins to look more like a great thought than a great machine. Mind no longer appears as an accidental intruder into the realm of matter" . . .Sir James Jeans, The Mysterious Universe (p. 137)

The reason I included the quote above is because it is my belief that Freemasonry on a very deep level is meant to cause the brother to challenge his philosophical beliefs, a level few will travel. 

If we take the basic Body, Mind, Spirit triad many would assume that we are talking about three separate entities, the Body, and then a Mind, and separate Spirit, when in fact we just may be talking about one and its three aspects. 

With all that I have provided for you it becomes your quest to unlock why this triad is so prominently displayed within Freemasonry. 

I found this paragraph online that may off a little insight. 

"Physical reality becomes psychic and psyche becomes real. It "matters." The difference between soul and external things no longer matters. Inner and Outer worlds are real. They are One World. Image, metaphor and symbol bridge the abyss between matter and spirit. They are integrated with feeling, mind, and imagination. We can see soul in all natural objects. We can notice our fantasies constantly conditioning our experience of reality.

We need to learn how to be in our souls, just as we had to learn to reinhabit the body. Being-in-soul implies that you are being suffused with spirit. Knowledge of spirit doesn't come from ideas, even revelations, but through a reflective process. Their conjunction, or marriage, means spirit is reborn whenever you are in touch with soul. They are opposites, so the interplay is eternal. Just observe without attachment the interaction of soul and spirit, distinct yet conjoined. Hold the tension of the opposites.

When spirit as energy and matter as form are in balance, the body becomes the living "Temple of the Spirit." The notion of a soul's immortality comes to mean direct experience of non-spatial, non-temporal, four-dimensional reality--the realm of relativity."...The Relativity of Body and Soul

For those interested in the Kabbalah I have posted Chapter three of THE SEPHER YETZIRAH, THE BOOK OF FORMATION, it should be of immense to those seeking more light in Freemasonry.

Chapter Three 

1. The first three elements (the Mother letters, א מ ש) resemble a balance, in one scale virtue and in the other vice, placed in equilibrium by the tongue.

2. The three Mothers, א מ ש, enclose a great, wonderful, and unknown mystery, and are sealed by six wings (or elementary circles), namely, air, water, fire--each divided into an active and a passive power. The Mothers, א מ ש, gave birth to the Fathers (the progenitors), and these gave birth to the generations.

3. God appointed and established three Mothers, א מ ש, combined, weighed, and exchanged them, forming by them three Mothers, in the universe, in the year, and in man (male and female).

4. The three Mothers, א מ ש, in the universe are: air, water, and fire. Heaven was created from the elementary fire (or ether) ש, the earth, comprising sea and land, from the elementary water, מ, and the atmospheric air from the elementary air, or spirit, א, which establishes the balance among them. Thus were all things produced.

5. The three Mothers, א מ ש, produce in the year heat, coldness, and the temperate state. Heat was created from fire, coldness from water, and the temperate state from air, which equilibrates them.

6. The three Mothers, א מ ש, produce in man (male and female) breast, abdomen, and head. The head was formed from the fire, ש; the abdomen from the water, מ; and the breast (thorax) from air, א, which places them in equilibrium.

7. God let the letter א (A) predominate in primordial air, crowned it, combined it with the other two, and sealed the air in the universe, the temperate state in the year, and the breast in man (male and female).

8. He let the letter מ (M) predominate in primordial water, crowned it, combined it with the other two, and sealed the earth in the universe (including land and sea), coldness in the year, and the abdomen in man (male and female).

9. He let the letter ש (Sh) predominate in primordial fire, crowned it, combined it with the other two, and sealed heaven in the universe, heat in the year, and the head of man (male and female).

Note To That Enlightening Magazine That Forgot Freemasonry

Osiris fills the material world with happiness, purity and order, by which the harmony of Nature is maintained. It was said that he died at the autumnal equinox, when the Pleiades rose in the evening, and that he rose to life again in the spring, when vegetation was inspired with new activity.

“Enough is enough,” was the thought that ran through my mind as I read the newest edition of a very popular cerebral minded esoteric philosophical magazine, available only high end bookstores at a ridiculous price, “when am I going to find an article written about my path?”

Even though this enlightening (hint hint) magazine is published in the West, most of the writers teach an Eastern path, often using confusing and mystical Sanskrit words and unsolvable Zen koans as references. Not that I have anything against the great teachings of the East, I just wonder why one of the greatest spiritual paths of the West has been sadly ignored?

Before I re-introduce you to a Western path which parallels the paths of the East, please allow me explain why I think this path is often ignored.

First and foremost it is sadly misunderstood, first by those outside the tradition and sadly to most of those within.

What makes the tradition I have chosen misunderstood by the public is the ancient code of secrecy, a fact of most initiate paths, a secrecy that serves different purposes, none nefarious. Centuries ago in ancient Greece, and later also in Rome, solemn religious celebrations were held in honor of certain gods or goddesses, to which no one was admitted except those initiated and under the vow of secrecy. Violation of the vow meant death. Their purpose was not only to render worship, but to instruct the people in religious observances and by mystic dramas to preserve the traditions connected with the divinity.

In many ways the tradition I follow today mimics the ancient mysteries school, in fact many believe a continuous chain links us to these very same ancient mysteries, a fact I claim no knowledge of. Suffice to say the path of the initiate is usually secretive for protection from the forces of ignorance which I assure you do exist.

I myself prefer to think the tradition I follow is esoteric, a term comes from the Greek "esoteros" or inner, interior. It was applied in the ancient mysteries to those doctrines that were designed for the initiated, in contradiction to those that were imparted to the uninitiated and termed exoteric. The term Esoteric consequently stood for the mysteries and secrets of the Temple that could be known through preparation and timely initiations only. One expression of the motive for secrecy is found in the sayings of Jesus "that men do not cast their pearls before swine.” No offense intended.

Esoteric in the sense in which we employ it, does not imply any purposely concealed truth. All truth is esoteric until one is unfolded to comprehend it.

It is not my intent to justify this code of secrecy, it may be outdated, yet let the reader know that intolerance still exists.

As far as the crux of this blog, the Western esoteric path is still alive and well and yet few realize it. Why? Firstly I believe it has become unfashionable because it is misunderstood, and secondly seeking enlightenment from some mysterious monk has become vogue. After all for many Western seekers the religions of their youth has let them down and assume anything associated with Western esoteric traditions are more of the same, a premise that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Let me state from the beginning, and as clear as possible, I am NOT seeking converts.

It is not my intent to show you another mountain to climb, finish your assent on the path you have already chosen. Attempting to climb two mountains at once is but a fool’s game.

If you haven’t chosen a path, choose one, the world could certainly use a few more enlightened individuals.

My purpose is to reintroduce the path I have chosen in a universal manner to my brothers and others, a path of the heart, not the only path but one that deserves recognition, Freemasonry.

Newtonianism & Freemasonry - A Note to my Brother Fellow Crafts

Newtonianism & Freemasonry

So you have just been passed to the degree Fellow Craft and now can't wait to be raised to the degree of Master Mason. Instead of looking forward I suggest to stop, take a breath, and enjoy your introduction to Newtonianism, and the tradition that may have influenced its creation, Kabbalah, peppered with a bit of alchemy (of course this is just the authors personal opinion, and not necessarily that of Freemasonry).
For those brothers unfamiliar with the definition of Newtonianism, and the mystical tradition of Kabbalah, allow me to share a little light.
Newtonianism is a synthesis of natural philosophy and natural theology as put forth by Sir Isaac Newton with a little help from the Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal and mysterious Ein Sof, the infinite, and the mortal and finite universe, his creation.
Right about now you might be questioning what this has to do with the Freemasonry, after all not once in the first two degrees of Freemasonry did you hear the name Newton or the word Kabbalah? The answer may be everything.

Newton's copy of the Zohar

Time to do a little traveling brother, back to a time known as the Revival of Freemasonry, the time where we find Freemasonry shifting from operative to a speculative tradition. This was a time before television, computers, and cell phones, a time when events of the day were discussed over a beer in a tavern with a circle of peers, and as history informs us many of these early ale drinking brothers were academics that had one thing in common their pursuit of knowledge.
Allow me to apologize now, we are about to discuss a subject most avoid in high school and only take when forced too in college, a subject that was very much on the mind of our early brothers, philosophy.
We do know for fact Freemasonry outed itself in the very early seventeen hundreds, a time when the most discussed philosophy of the time was called Cartesian, the name given to the philosophical doctrine of a Frenchman named René Descartes, mathematician, scientist and philosopher.
The defining idea of Cartesian philosophy is what has come to be called "mind-body dualism." Descartes insisted there was a clear distinction between mind and matter. Mind, or soul, and matter, or body, are according to Descartes, two essentially and radically different kinds of substance. Mind is unexpended, indivisible, simple thinking. Its modes or properties are particular ideas or thoughts including beliefs, volitions, sensations, and emotions. While matter, on the other hand, is nothing but extension or dimensional space and is therefore divisible, its modes being shape, size, and mobility. In this philosophy there is nothing materialistic about the mind and nothing mental or spiritual about the body.
I'm pretty sure Descartes would of been lost if he had bumped into today's quantum physicists where we learn "If thoughts equal energy and energy equals matter, than thoughts become matter."
Descartes also expounded the view that an animal was an automaton lacking both sensation and self-awareness, and that only man was endowed with a soul. I'm not sure PETA would have cared for Descartes.
Descartes believed that God created the universe as a perfect clockwork mechanism of vortical motion that functioned deterministically thereafter without intervention. During the sixteen hundreds this could easily be seen as dangerous thinking, the idea that God creates the universe and steps aside, no intervention, no miracles, no sin.
Even though Descartes avoided theological debate and aligned himself with Catholicism, knowing he would probably be suspected of atheism he covered his butt by living in Protestant Holland rather than in Catholic France.
As of late many have attempted to associate Descartes with Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry even though there is no factual proof. Even if the remotest possibility did exist, which I believe doesn’t, he died over fifty years before the first two degrees of Freemasonry were even created, a time when Isaac Newton arrives on the scene challenging much of his Cartesian philosophy.
Descartes’ separation of mind and matter was a crucial step in the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century, and laid the metaphysical foundations for the mechanical philosophy that dominated the period, that is until the arrival of Sir Isaac Newton, his inner circle, and possibly the Freemasons to follow.
Newton disagreed with Descartes as he believed that Descartes described the world as comprised totally of matter and thereby eliminated God from the equation. Newton, devoutly religious, believed that God did intervene from time to time to keep the great clock running, otherwise it would run down. He wrote several manuscripts on religious doctrine in which he seemed to indicate that science and religion were not necessarily inconsistent with one another. Tell that to today's scientists!
Newton sees God through a much bigger lens;
"He is not eternity and infinity, but eternal and infinite; he is not duration or space, but he endures and is present. He endures forever, and is everywhere present; and, by existing always and everywhere, he constitutes duration and space. Since every particle of space is always, and every indivisible moment of duration is everywhere, certainly the Maker and Lord of all things cannot be never and nowhere."...Isaac Newton, Principia
Now enter Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the more often than not foe of Newton, who presented the view of the that universe is entirely nonphysical, immaterial simple substances with the properties only of mind, one of points within points, each point being of the same substance but of a different quality. Within the human, the dominant monad was the soul.
Leibniz conceived God to be the supreme monad, controlling all monads within, these being hierarchical in terms of intelligence or reason. His alliance was much closer to Cartesian than Newtonianism, yet we also find him, like Newton, familiar with the Kabbalah.
"Sir Isaac Newton and his followers have also a very odd opinion concerning the work of God. According to their doctrine, God Almighty wants to wind up his watch from time to time: otherwise it would cease to move. He had not, it seems, sufficient foresight to make it a perpetual motion.”...Leibniz in a letter to his friend Caroline of Ansbach
I wonder where Leibniz would of took his philosophy if he had known of the cyclic theory briefly considered by Albert Einstein that theorized a universe following an eternal series of oscillations, each beginning with a big bang and ending with a big crunch; in the interim, the universe would expand for a period of time before the gravitational attraction of matter causes it to collapse back in and undergo a bounce. Maybe Isaac had it right, God intervened periodically.
I particularly like the theory of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology, a general relativity based theory due to Roger Penrose in which the universe expands until all the matter decays and is turned to light, so there is nothing in the universe that has any time or distance scale associated with it. This permits it to become identical with the Big Bang, so starting the next cycle. If only Isaac was alive today what fun he would have with today's expansion of knowledge.
What I have presented to this point is rarely spoken off in Freemasonry today, yet during the inception of modern Freemasonry you can be sure the names Descartes, Newton, Leibniz, and their philosophies were discussed openly amongst academic circles and in the taverns frequented by our early brothers.
Now if we consider the three prevailing philosophies of Descartes, Newton, and Leibniz as openly discussed ideas during the inception of Freemasonry, what could the hidden philosophy in Freemasonry have in store for us, is it derived from any of these schools of thought, and why hide it?
For answers to this we need to look to Rev. Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers, philosopher, priest in the Church of England, and experimental assistant of Sir Isaac Newton, and considered to be the "Father of Speculative of Freemasonry".

Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers

In 1719 Desaguliers was elected Grand Master, it was during this time we find the first two rituals of Freemasonry arriving on the scene, incorporating what I believe Newtonianism and Kabbalah, and a unique experimental philosophy inspired from his mentor Newton. (The third degree, the Master Mason, would not arrive on the scene until 1730.)
Desaguliers was known to promote Newtonianism when ever possible, and what better way to promote it than incorporating it into a recently formed member’s only society. Here in this newly formed organization we find Desaguliers creating an allegorical play of sorts with a hidden philosophy where the perspective members embark on a journey through a mysterious world of symbolism, created to "enlighten" brothers on universal truths that have been hidden for centuries, including a particular one that his mentor Newton immersed himself into, Kabbalah.
Think of the rituals created by Desaguliers as a unique experiment where the initiates are given cryptic clues requiring the individual himself to unlock their meaning and thus revealing a philosophy that has the ability to alter one's perception, or to use the vernacular of today's mind science, consciousness.
In 1882 a very observant brother wrote a title named Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy: Or, The Origin and Meaning of Ancient and Modern Mysteries Explained, his name was Robert Hewitt Brown. In this rather small title Brother Brown puts forth the idea that the Lodge Room of the Masonic Temple and its many officers are actually symbolic various aspects of the zodiac, the planets, and the sun. In this now underground classic he successfully connects today's modern day religions to those of the Sun centered ancients. As to how this author ties into Newtonianism with out even realizing it, Brother Desaguliers, Newton's right hand man is credited with the creation of the planetarium; Brother Brown unknowingly was witnessing the work of Desaguliers hidden in the world of symbols.
I found it interesting when reading the story of Brother Brown, when he became convinced that Freemasonry at its core was a type of "Stellar Theology" he chose to remain silent, only after a period of serious contemplation did he publish his insightful observations, thus assisting numerous brothers on their journey to light.
"Philosophy is written in this grand book — I mean the universe — which stands continually open to our gaze, but it cannot be understood unless one first learns to comprehend the language in which it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word of it; without these, one is wandering about in a dark labyrinth."…Galileo
It is a known fact that Newton kept his religious beliefs to himself, preferring silence over outspoken ignorance. It should be remembered that during the inception of early Freemasonry the separation of church and state was a future fancy, it was wiser to appear to go with the flow than to speak out in opposition. The mystical Kabbalah could be seen as an affront to a church and state that often lived and breathed the literal interpretation of a personified god, not something Newton would have approved of.
One of the reasons this paper is addressed to the Fellow Craft and not to the Master Mason is because for over a decade the Master Mason degree did not exist in early Freemasonry, which means all the cryptic clues of the hidden philosophy of Freemasonry would have been presented upon completion of the Fellow Craft degree.
Aside from all the grandeur of the Master Mason degree, upon close inspection you'll find it a different story which at the same time seasons the first two degrees. You can be sure that in order to create continuity some of the Fellow Craft symbolism would find its way into the Master Mason degree.
Returning to the first two degrees, the Entered Apprentice and the Fellow Craft, to whom this article is addressed, we find the candidate exposed to an incredible amount of symbolism, with each degree concluded with a lecture.
Within the lectures we find various symbols explained aloud in a fashion that would appeal to the moral aspect of Freemasonry, yet in what wasn't presented aloud is a deeper allusion, an interpretation you would have to seek out yourself, and here's a little hint to where to look, Newton and his Kabbalah.

Freemasonry Does Have Secrets - You Just Don’t Know Them

What follows is intended for the brother who after finishing his Master Mason Degree finds himself sitting on the sideline silently wondering what the hoopla was all about?
Here you are a Master Mason, you asked for light, you were told of the importance of the lost word, and by now, you should be asking what is next?
Allow me to share a secret; ahead of you lies a fork in the road, a fork we have all faced, which direction you take will determine the outcome of your search for light. However, before we discuss this fork and its pitfalls allow me to share a little of my story and observations in sincerest hope you will also choose right direction.
Genius is the only adjective I can find to describe the brother, or brothers, that created the science of Freemasonry. Who or whom they were I have no clue, yet I do have my suspicions.
It is my belief that even though Freemasonry has morphed from its original intent, by retaining intact much its highly symbolic initiation ceremonies its message remains clear to those willing to look beyond the obvious, behind the veil.
Yet I have to admit I have not always felt that way. I like many other brothers experienced a profound letdown after the Master Mason Degree, a let down you may be experiencing your self. What were those deeply symbolic initiations about, boring business meetings, bad food? I didn't get it, and I like many other brothers before me sat quietly and questioned what the rituals had to do with what I was experiencing after being made a Master Mason.
Each brother enters Freemasonry through the same door for different reasons, mine was to explore the mystery I suspected, and rumor had it, Freemasonry contained.
As to how I assumed it contained a mystery came to my attention long before entering Freemasonry, at a time when I was working as a book scout.
For those unfamiliar with the book scout, think of an entrepreneur of sorts who buys and sells used books, picking up a title for near nothing only to turn around and sell it, hopefully making a substantial profit, a fairly lucrative business if you know your titles, and buyers.
I had learned early on the secret of book scouting success was specialization, choose just one genre, get to know the material, the authors, the demand, how many copies of the title were published and by who, what edition and how many runs to follow, leather or paper board bindings, I could go on and on, suffice to say specializing in more than one genre would greatly increases the odds of a bad deal, which means the book scout could get stuck with a title of little or no value, a loss you would have a hard time explaining to Uncle Sam.
I specialized in the occult, a surprisingly misunderstood genre with a discrete market of seekers.
Note to reader: If your interested in the occult genre, which means hidden knowledge, allow me to share with you a personal observation, most titles written in last fifty years are pretty much trash, offering little insight into to the hidden sciences of old. Most are just dumb downed knockoffs packaged under a generalized genre known as New Age.
So here I was spending my weekends traveling from used bookstore to used bookstore searching the shelves for overlooked treasures, only to return home, books in hand, to begin the research needed for the sale.
It was during this time I began to notice an odd coincidence, as I researched the bios of the authors I found many of them had the same thing in common, Freemasonry.
Even though the occult genre contains a multitude of sub-genres, astrology, magick, tarot, Kabbalah, divination, Tantra, etc., many of the authors themselves in these varying sub-genres I found to be Freemasons, and if that wasn't strange enough if it happened to be a female author with a little research I would often find a Masonic husband or collaborator behind the scenes. These early brothers were true seekers in the unknown.
It was not long before my curiosity got the best of me, I began seeking out and exploring various Masonic texts. Who were these gentlemen, and what was the driving force that caused them to explore what few understood?
It didn't take long before I noticed a strange shift in the substance enclosed within the titles, the meat and potatoes, the older titles from the eighteen hundreds through the very early nineteen hundreds definitely made for interesting reading, often focusing on the arcane, philosophy, mythology, and comparative religious thought, where the titles published in the mid-twentieth century, especially after WWII focused more on moral behavior, charity, and brotherhood, all laudable in their own right, yet a marked departure from the occult, philosophical, and mythically interested brothers of the past.
Even though I had sensed this shift, and yet still hoping to discover the past, I knocked on the door of Freemasonry.

"Not everything turns out the way we believe it should, but if we persevere it just might"...me

The degrees were beautiful, what they meant at the time I had no idea, and no one attempted to explain them to my inquisitive mind.
The evening of my Master Mason dinner and Degree I felt a pride I had never experienced before, each and every brother graciously shook my hand, called me brother, congratulated me, and welcomed me to the lodge, a great night. I knew I was about to enter the mystery.
It did not happen.
Instead, I experienced a huge letdown. The monthly meetings I had so looked forward to attending were as boring as watching paint dry. Where were those gentlemen who wrote, spoke, and even practiced the hidden traditions? All I heard discussed was the cost of stamps, the problems printing the trestle board, and the status of our investments, which we rarely spent. Where was the education, the mystery, had anybody found the lost word?
Eventually there comes a time in Freemasonry when all brothers are confronted with the fork in the road moment, what I feel are the three choices
One: you do not get it, possibly feel let down, do not understand what the rituals have to do with the monthly meetings, pay your dues and with out asking questions slowly disappear from the sidelines. Often the next time we hear your name is years later when we drape the alter.
Two: you take a chair, become a very good ritualist, in many cases without ever realizing the ritual's underlying message, receive a bunch of titles, and embrace the fraternal aspects, become a good man, and keep your unanswered questions to a minimum, a journey half traveled.
Or three: you begin to sense that there's something bigger going on, you begin to question, if the whole purpose of Freemasonry is a monthly business meeting, an occasional dinner, and male bonding, what were the purpose of the rituals? It is here, at this juncture, without an answer you either slip to the first choice and disappear from the sidelines, settle for two, or with intuition in hand you begin internally questioning everything.
I choose the path of inquiry, I questioned everything, and I mean everything.
Choosing the later is where the possibility of our true journey begins.
Allow me to share with you the most misunderstood paragraph written by Brother Albert Pike, a favorite paragraph of the paranoid and conspiratorially challenged:
"The Blue Degrees are but the outer court or portico of the Temple. Part of the symbols are displayed there to the Initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them."
Not that I know the mind of Brother Pike but I think I know what he is referring too.
My realizations did not come over night, nor do I believe I now know everything there is to be known, but I do know Freemasonry purposely hides what I would call its "science of realization". When Brother Pike makes the statement that the initiate is intentionally misled he's referring to the way this science is purposely veiled, in allegory, where we find a fictional story of Hiram Abiff played out in the open, yet inside the ritual another story is being told, one that was carefully encoded in cryptic manner, not created to deceive, but purposely hidden awaiting your discovery.
Here is a little observation, maybe the reason we encrypt our ritual books is a hint, a cleaver way of telling you the ritual itself encrypted.
Brother Pike was not in any way suggesting a nefarious intent as the foolishly paranoid seem to think, he was hinting that the initiate had to look beyond the obvious. When he says "It is not intended that he shall understand them; but it is intended that he shall imagine he understands them." this separates the wheat from the chaff, the wheat will dig deep into the hidden, and the chaff will go through the motions without really getting it.
Brother Pike states it like it is: "Their true explication is reserved for the Adepts, the Princes of Masonry." Rarely today in Freemasonry do we hear the word Adept referred to, according to the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Adept comes from the Latin word Adeptus, meaning having obtained, the Adept claims to be in the possession of all the secrets of his peculiar mystery, Brother Pike is referring to those secrets hidden within the allegory. You become the true adept when you peer behind the veil.
In the last section of Brother Pike's often-misunderstood paragraph we find him revealing what he believed the essence of what is hidden in the allegory and language of the degrees:
"The whole body of the Royal and Sacerdotal Art was hidden so carefully, centuries since, in the High Degrees, as that it is even yet impossible to solve many of the enigmas which they contain."
I believe the Royal and Sacerdotal Arts Brother Pike refers to, the Royal Art, or Ars Regia, is none other than a type of alchemy, a symbolic journey of our transformation from the dark leaden physicality of earth bound consciousness to the refined gold of the spiritually illuminated being, and Sacerdotal in the sense our goal is salvation of the soul.
Brother Pike was certainly a lifelong student and scholar of comparative religion, thought, and myth. His "Morals and Dogma" is filled with ancient belief systems and philosophies rarely spoken of today. Even with his wealth of arcane knowledge he realized there were always questions to be had, with many unanswerable, the pursuit of wisdom is truly endless.
Now for a couple personal observations, although they may sound like I am criticizing I assure you I am not, by sharing these observations it is my hope that we may save one brother from choice number one, disappearing from the lodge, or two, prevent a brother from becoming a parrot mason.
A Gallup poll taken not so long ago found that 49% of all respondents with a High School education and below believed the bible to be a "literal" fact, compared with no more than 22% of respondents with at least some college education. By the time the college educated graduated the number drops to 15%. The numbers in no way imply that the belief in deity drops the more educated one becomes, I believe what is happening is the more one expands his or her awareness the more we begin to see and understand the symbolic, metaphoric, and allegorical, one of the reasons on one level we are directed to the seven liberal arts and sciences, to break the grip of ignorance.
Freemasonry may not be religious but I assure you at its root it spiritual, and with that in mind, I think the numbers above could easily be applied to Freemasonry.
Now if we look closely at today's Freemasonry and compare it with the late sixteen hundreds and early seventeen hundreds, when the rituals were created, we find the greater majority of early brothers were well educated, most with roots in the Royal Society and Invisible College, giants of their time, gentleman who intimately aware of symbolism and allegory. Today we are Joe the plumber, and all too often taking things literal.
I am not in any way implying that we don't have the ability to perceive or understand the symbolic, that which is veiled in Freemasonry, we might just have to work a little harder, and lets not forget we are not encumbered by elitism and inflation our early brothers often suffered from.
We all begin the journey on the same level. Our road may be a little tougher, few enter Freemasonry with a familiarity of alchemy, Hermeticism, philosophy, ancient myth, Rosicrucianism, and Kabbalah, all subjects that you might just find contained with the veiled truth of Freemasonry, but if you really want to get it you have no choice but to go there.
Here's a bit of advice for the new Master Mason, never believe those so called lodge spokesmen that tell you "the only secret about Freemasonry is there is no secret", what that really means is they don't know what they're talking about, clearly they weren't paying attention, in every single degree the word secret is present, there is even a degree in the Scottish Rite named the Secret Master and the Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret.
Not long ago I was involved in an investigation of a new brother, and during our conversation one of the other investigating brothers made the statement "there are no secrets here", referring to the temple and Freemasonry itself. It literally broke my heart. What are the odds that this new perspective brother will begin to look behind the veil after being told there is no veil? The simple answer is slim to none.
Why is it certain lodge spokesman issuing press releases announcing open houses make those statements that the "only secret is there is no secret" as if the idea of secret carries a stigma that hurts our reputation? The mystery has been the draw of Freemasonry for centuries, our numbers are not down because of secrets, our numbers are down because of changing society, television, the Internet, and assorted distractions that have captured the attention of a public that once found brotherhood in the fraternal organizations a rite of passage. The paradigm is shifting, and on a very positive note, fortunately the tide ebbs and flows, today many inquiring brothers are beginning to take a closer look at the sciences and traditions of the past for clues as to the underlying philosophy hidden within the ritual, allegory, and symbolism of Freemasonry. For the first time in a very long time Masonic authors are researching, discussing, and even publishing works on the very subjects that brothers of old spoke about behind closed doors. What I thought at one time was lost has now been found.
Many of these brothers are drawing brothers to the craft that want to look behind the veil, to unlock the mystery that I assure you is there, you just have to know where to look.

Allow me to off this prayer for all sentiment beings; May they attain full wisdom and enlightenment. May they be liberated from all suffering. In addition, may we all exit through the Gate of the Gods by the way of the Seven Spheres