Freemasonry - Why the Wrong Individuals Seek Entrance

A couple years ago I was listening to a Masonic podcast when the guest made a statement I thought preposterous at the time, in essence he believed Freemasonry was not attracting the right individuals, as it did in the past.
Now before you get your hackles up, at the time I thought our brother was wrong (and out of place), how arrogant!
Well that was a couple of years ago, and guess what, I get it.

Allow me to make my case...

As I see it (and many may not), Freemasonry is a philosophical tradition, which only reveals itself to those that are willing to spend the time unlocking its veiled symbolism (a task few will do).
I would love to share tales of knights and wandering masons, but the fact is (as I see it) modern Freemasonry arrives at the party in the mid to late sixteen hundreds when a philosopher named Descartes rocks the world, Cartesian philosophy is born.
It's important you grasp this, Cartesians view the mind (the stuff in your head) as being wholly separate from the corporeal body. Sensation and the perception of reality are thought to be the source of untruth and illusions, with the only reliable truths to be had in the existence of a metaphysical mind. 

Such a mind can perhaps interact with a physical body, but it does not exist in the body, nor even in the same physical plane as the body. In general, Cartesian thought divides the world into three areas of existence: that inhabited by the physical body (matter), that inhabited by the mind, and that inhabited by God (see the triad).
Why is Cartesian philosophy, something rarely discussed in your local Masonic Temple important?
When you begin to unlock the veiled symbolism of Freemasonry you begin to see a philosophy that may be a reaction to a mode of thought (your mind is separate than your body, and the world is outside your head) that still to this day defines the way many see reality.

Many reading this blog have never heard the name Descartes, or even heard of Cartesian philosophy, but this wasn't always the case when it comes to Freemasonry. During the inception of modern Freemasonry (late 1700's) this was a hotly debated issue, so hot that if you went too far out on a limb repercussions could come from all fronts, church, state, and universities.
Now to the crux of what this blog was meant to address, most (if not all) of the founders of modern Freemasonry were men of science, philosophy, and theology, many being giants of their time. Today we have become Joe the plumber.
I now get it.

(I apologize, I'm not picking on plumbers, after all I just cut hair!)

The Divine Feminine & How It May be Symbolized in Freemasonry

"There was a boundless darkness in the abyss, and water and a subtle intelligent spirit, abiding by divine power in Chaos; then a holy light sprang forth, and the elements were compacted of sand from the humid substance, and all the gods distributed the seminal principles of nature."...Hermes Trismegistis

Fig. I.—Heaven and Earth, separated by Air (the god Shu). (Egyptian original in the Museum at Turin.)

Nut, the great mother goddess of the ancient Egyptians, is a personification of the heavens, and there are many pictures of her extant. She is commonly represented as star-spangled and bending over in such a way that both her hands and her feet touch the ground. Under her lies Seb, her husband, the god of earth. His body is painted over with plumes. Nut and Seb were once united in close embrace, but Shu interfered and separated the two, producing a space between them and thus dividing the watery mass above the firmament from the dry land below.

As I pointed out in previous blogs, most of the titles addressing Masonic symbolism pre-WW2 tended to look at the esoteric aspects of Freemasonry, where after WW2 most appealed to the fraternal aspect "we make good men better men". This particular blog entry would appeal to another time, a time prior to today's Freemasonry, pre-WW2.

In many of the older titles it was not uncommon to find esoteric Masonic authors attempting to date the inception of Freemasonry in Ancient Egypt, a mistake which can understood when we consider how symbolism is actually interpreted. 

Each symbol contained within Freemasonry can be interpreted from three perspectives, personally, culturally, or universally, and some times more than one.

We also know, as we are told Freemasonry is veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, which means Freemasonry is an exoteric as well as an esoteric science, one which is clearly articulated to the candidates through the oral interpretations of the working tools which reveals a moral science, but at the same time a veiled side that few candidates will ever endeavor to uncover.

I showed my few readers a good example of this in my blog entry "Talk About Time Off - My Evolution", where I attempted to show that the United Grand Lodge of England jumped the gun when they removed the penalties attached to the degrees (for the disclosure of the secrets they have defined as modes of recognition, another mistake). By removing the penalties may have appeased the exoteric brothers, but sadly the esoteric brothers are missing very important keys that lead to the inner sanctum.

Now as to why many of our esoteric brothers assumed the origins of Freemasonry to be   Ancient Egypt, I believe they were intuitively seeing the symbols universally, and were beginning to connect the dots.  

If we look at the illustration above, Fig. I.—Heaven and Earth, separated by Air, we see a trinity much older than that of the Christian era, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Interestedly in the older illustration, and unlike that of the Christian era where the trinity becomes a male dominated trinity, we find great mother goddess Nut, the divine feminine displayed prominently.    

How does this relate to Freemasonry you may (or not be) asking? 

What is the most common symbol used to illustrate water?

The downward pointing triangle, the ancient symbol of femininity, symbolizing the downward flow of the divine.

Now where do we find this inverted triangle symbolized in Freemasonry?

Now as to why many of our esoteric brothers assumed the origins of Freemasonry to be   Ancient Egypt, I believe they were intuitively seeing the symbols universally, and were beginning to connect the dots.  

If we look at the illustration above, Fig. I.—Heaven and Earth, separated by Air, we see a trinity much older than that of the Christian era, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Interestedly in the older illustration, and unlike that of the Christian era where the trinity becomes a male dominated trinity, we find great mother goddess Nut, the divine feminine displayed prominently.    

How does this relate to Freemasonry you may (or not be) asking? 

What is the most common symbol used to illustrate water?

The downward pointing triangle, the ancient symbol of femininity, symbolizing the downward flow of the divine.

Now where do we find this inverted triangle symbolized in Freemasonry?

On the flap of the Masonic apron.

The question than becomes, if the square represents earth (or possibly Seb in this case), and the inverted triangle represents the downward flow of the divine feminine (Nut), who is wearing the apron?

As we saw in the illustration, Shu can be seen supporting the sky goddess and daughter Nut (or Nuit) above his head while the earth god Seb (or Geb) resides below his feet. It has been said that if Shu were to ever be removed from his place, chaos would come to the universe and all life would cease.

What could this mean today?

As physicist Heinz Pagels puts it, "Human intention influences the structure of the physical world," which is not a picture of the real, but a creation deriving from our interactions with it.

According to another popular physicist and writer Fred Wolf, "the whole universe comes into existence whenever we observe it" and therefore "we are the artists in the game of the universe."

Could this Shu that holds the firmament up over the earth actually be ourselves? (and the Egyptians and early Freemasons knew it)

I Know A Secret (and you don't)

If your one of the two readers that view my blog, thank you, your on your way to a Masonic education that only your great great great great grandfather would understand (hope I said enough greats).
Now to the crux of this enlightening blog entry, the real reason Freemasonry probably chose a secretive path (in my opinion).

Time to go back the fall of 1670, forty years before Freemasonry would out itself. Many of the cast and characters your about to meet were not Freemasons themselves, but I bet they may have had more influence in the hidden symbolism of Freemasonry than most would think.

In October (1670) Henry More (philosopher, theologian) was visited at Cambridge (England) by Francis Mercury van Helmont (Kabbalist), son of the famous alchemist Jan Baptista van Helmont. (you gotta love an alchemist that names his son Mercury)
More asked van Helmont, who was also a physician, if we would visit his friend and fellow philosopher Anne Conway, to treat the incessant debilitating headache which had troubled her for many years (and which had defeated every other medical practitioner).
It was during this time, and under the tutelage professor More, a German scholar named Christian Knorr von Rosenroth (and friend of van Helmont) undertook the task of translating the Zohar into Latin.
The western world was about to learn the secrets of the Kabbalah (Jewish Mysticism), but it would come with a cost.
Within the intellectual association of More and Conway were many of Enlightenment giants that I believed influenced the origins of modern Freemasonry, including Robert Boyle (Royal Society), John Locke (Royal Society, philosopher), and Isaac Newton (Royal Society, the real deal), all of which took a particular interest in the Kabbalah, an interest that would soon turn into secrecy.
Viscountess Conway's landmark treatise of the time, "Principles of the Most Ancient and Modern Philosophy", is saturated with Kabbalist ideas, ideas apparently ruffled the wrong feathers. It should be noted that the separation of church and state had not occurred yet.
Newton himself was so strongly influenced by the Kabbalah that his theory of the mutual property of gravitation is rumored to have been derived from Zohar. He spent the last three decades of his life in relative seclusion in order to try to solve hidden codes and messages in the Bible, suggested by his reading of von Rosenroth's translation.
The Enlightenment's attempt to bring the Kabbalah out of its primarily Jewish domain ended with disaster. Conway's treatise was branded heresy by the college that “claimed” her, Cambridge, and effectively condemned her work, Indexed as Prohibited.
In the 1690s. Newton and Locke were both brought before Parliament and charged with heresy, largely because they refused to take Christian vows, but also because of their known association with Viscountess Conway, who's heretical Kabbalist treatise was published in London the previous year.
Locke escaped punishment by penning "On the Correctness of Being Christian" 1694. Newton was embarrassed by the charges on him, abdicated his Lucasian Chair at Cambridge as well as resigning his position as accountant to Parliament, also in 1694, in order to protect his reputation among scholars.
The heresy charges on Newton were dropped about the time of Conway's formal prohibition, which made one of the key pieces of evidence against him inadmissible in court.

I do understand that most would like to date the inception of Freemasonry to the time of Pythagoras, Seth, or even Osiris, I think (personally) you might want to look a little closer at the cast and characters above (and maybe look at the six degrees to Bacon, not Kevin, Francis). Some things are better discussed behind closed doors, our founding brothers learnt the hard way!

Talk About Time Off- My Evolution

Talk about going dark, I can't believe it's been a year since my last posting in Purposely Hoodwinked.
For those two individuals that really read it, I apologize.
Just a little update. I've been working tirelessly on a title that delves into the secrets of Freemasonry.
Oh, I forgot, according to many the only secret is we have no secrets.
If you really believe that..I got a bridge I'd love to sell you.

So why back to blogging my two readers may ask?
In my research into the secrets of Freemasonry (which don't exist) I learnt the United Grand Lodge of England discontinued the penalty portion of the degrees (in 1986).
Really?
I offer my apology to all my brothers on the other side of the pond (England), because of that rather foolish move your journey towards light may take even longer.
Allow me to share a little of what my English brothers are missing.
The penalties of our obligation are meant to inform, not warn!
Call it a wheat and chaff moment, the wheat will become curious and delve into the symbolism, the chaff will believe it, even going so far as fearing the beach.
The information they share when understood correctly can assist the inquiring brother in moving aside the veil (oops, forgot again, no secrets, no veil).
For those brothers across the pond I'll elaborate on one, you'll have to figure out the other two.
In the penalty portion of the Entered Apprentice when when have your ****** cut from ear to ear, you are Matter separate from Spirit. Without a good understanding of Spirit and Matter your journey through Freemasonry will just be a Rotarian experience.
"Where the tides ebbs and flows, twice in twenty four hours", this should be very easy for all you esoteric brothers.
Only the ocean ebbs and flows twice in 24 hours, salt water (one of the three cardinal principles of alchemy, a favorite subject of early Freemasonry).
Now what causes the tide to ebb and flow?
The moon! (which just so happens to be one of the lesser lights of Freemasonry)
I just gave you a little symbolism that can be found in the penalties that were meant to inform, not warn, now let me give you a clue to the next three.
In the first water (Matter) was alluded to, in the second you'll find a possible transition from Matter to Spirit beasts of the field (matter) fowls of the air. Notice how we now have a second element alluded to, air.
In the penalty of the third degree your going to burn baby, fire!
Three very important elements, symbolized by the Three Mothers of the Hebrew alphabet.
I know, I hear you, fire, water, air, the Hebrew alphabet?
Yup, all this and more is hidden within the penalties my English brothers know nothing of.

For those interested in the Three Mothers, allow me to share.
The Three Mother letters of the Hebrew alphabet are Mem (water) Aleph (air), and Shin (fire).
This section is for Masons only:
The Three Mothers Mem, Aleph, and Shin have corresponding body parts, Mem the bowels, Aleph the heart, and Shin the throat. I mention this because any Mason should be able to see the importance of these areas, yet you may know them in reverse?
In the Entered Apprentice (throat) fire (or Spirit) is descending into Matter, in the Fellow Craft; Matter is looking to Spirit (heart), and Master Mason Spirit has descended into Matter.
I learned all that (and more) from penalties our English brothers know nothing of.

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.