Mediocrity in Freemasonry

How long have we been talking about boring business meetings, poor food, and lousy fellowship and run down Masonic buildings? We don’t seem to learn from our mistakes nor do we seem capable of doing what the ancient mystery schools were most adept at doing, namely providing knowledge that lead to wisdom leading to actually making a better man. We don’t teach Masonic philosophy anymore and for that reason many Masons don’t know that we are a very special and unique society.

One of the questions that occasionally eats at me when I am driving home from a Masonic event that has been woefully mediocre is how our members can sit through such Masonic happenings month after month and still believe our fraternity is relevant and meaningful to men’s lives? How honest are we in claiming we make good men better while persistently repeating practices and behaviors which are so distinctively average, or worse?

Continue reading Mediocrity in Freemasonry

L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Parte Terza

Prima Parte; Seconda Parte; Quarta Parte; Ultima Parte

L’INIZIAZIONE

Il profano è divenuto ora pietra grezza.

E’ pietra grezza colui che supera , in confronto,  la pietra informe che rappresenta la condizione in cui si trova l’uomo comune, l’uomo schiavo  dei sensi, incolto e immaturo.

Per giungere alla conquista di una vita nuova o sacra vi è,  nel simbolismo della iniziazione , un motivo centrale che nelle future iniziazioni ad altri gradi ricorre piu’ chiaro. Questo motivo è quello di una morte e di una resurrezione poichè  per giungere  alla rigenerazione o rinascita spirituale dell’uomo, occorre la morte della vita profana,  quale è quella che l’iniziazione conferisce.

L’iniziazione è la coscienza di aver potuto ottenere questa rigenerazione che compie la meravigliosa metamorfosi dell’uomo bruto la cui mente riceve  la Luce eterna della Verità.

initiationL’Iniziazione Massonica, così come viene svolta ora, racchiude forse in sè tutte le antiche iniziazioni, tutti i miti, tutti i riti dell’antichità. Il suo simbolismo ci parla  da secoli con la stessa lingua, con gli stessi  atti coi quali i Sacerdoti di Iside venivano consacrati, con le stesse parole con le quali venivano unti i Re ed i Sacerdoti di Israele.

Gli atti, le parole che nelle varie leggende ci sono stati tramandati con le stesse formule, sono nella sostanza sempre uguali fra loro e sanno ancora dare alla nostra mente il senso sublime di un contatto con l’eternità.

I SIMBOLI

La base e lo scopo della Camera dell’ Apprendista, riflette il fondamento dell’Istituzione Massonica che è lo studio del Simbolo. Continue reading L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Parte Terza

L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Seconda Parte

Prima Parte; Terza Parte; Quarta Parte; Ultima Parte

I METALLI

La prima cura del Maestro Esperto quando un Iniziando viene a meditare nel Gabinetto delle Riflessioni e’ quella di toglierli tutto cio’ che in termine generici  viene espresso col termine ” Metalli”, che non sono, come si potrebbe credere,  tutte le cose materiali e pesanti come l’oro, l’argento, il denaro, ovvero  oggetti che il profano porta indosso con un attaccamento quasi fanatico di possesso. Sono invece tutte le cose che lo legano a questo mondo da cui egli tenta di evadere; sono i rapporti coi suoi simili, gli interessi venali ed affettivi, tutte le immagini di cui fino ad allora ha fatto culto. Gli vengono tolti oltre ai denari, anche le chiavi che lo fanno padrone di una casa, di un ufficio,di un segreto ripostiglio di cose intime e gli vengono tolti lacci, la cinghia, i legami che ne vincolino il corpo in una limitazione di libertà materiale di movimento e di espansione. ‘

Il gesto di vuotarsi le tasche di ogni avere e’ sia simbolico che iniziatico.

Con i “Metalli”  il Fratello Esperto porta via all’iniziando ogni falso preconcetto che questi ha  acquisito nella vita profana. Gli toglie ogni dubbio sulla possibilità  di ottenere la Luce solo per mezzo della ricerca; distrugge i dogmi, i vizi, le passioni, ogni attaccamento egoistico e materiale alla vita profana. L’iniziando impara fin dal suo ingresso nel Gabinetto delle Riflessioni a considerare caduco e vile ogni bene materiale;  impara che le ricchezze materiali e spirituali fino ad ora acquisite, sono nulla in confronto a quelle dello spirito.

Continue reading L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Seconda Parte

L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Prima Parte

Seconda Parte; Terza Parte; Quarta Parte; Ultima Parte

Il compito della Massoneria non e’ quello di distruggere ed assorbire tutte le opinioni e tutti i culti, ma bensi’ di rigenerarli e dirigerli, dando cosi’ alle masse cieche, dei conduttori savi e chiaroveggenti. Percio’ il Massone Iniziato e’ quello che deve ammettere ed abbracciare tutto e non escludere nulla. L’Addetto alla Scienza Esoterica deve saper elevarsi ad un piano tale dal quale puo’ contemplare serenamente l’azione dei diversi fattori , apparentemente opposti, che formano l’esistenza, dirigendoli e maneggiandoli in tal forma che realizzino ulteriormente gli obiettivi dell’Evoluzione.  Egli e’ giocatore e non una pedina della scacchiera. Non puo’ essere assolutamente fanatico poiche’ la Scienza spirituale implica la suprema comprensione di tutte le cose.

Ora, carissimi Fratelli,  mi accingero’ a darvi la mia interpretazione  dei vari concetti  del Verbo Massonico , che ho elaborato in tanti anni di studio e di riflessione.  Essi sono:

  1. – La camera oscura o il gabinetto delle riflessioni
  2. – I metalli
  3. – Il Testamento
  4. – La preparazione
  5. – Il Tempio
  6. – L’Iniziazione nelle sua varie fasi
  7. – I Simboli
  8. – Il Giuramento
  9. – L’Investitura
  10. – Il Catechismo

La trattazione di tali argomenti  tuttavia,  per necessità didattiche, e’ stata  divisa in vari capitoli che si susseguono in ordine cronologico al cammino del neofita il quale dal mondo profano, fa i primi passi per divenire Iniziato. Come ultimo capitolo o ultima tappa del lento procedere verso la Luce, verrà trattato e commentato il Catechismo Massonico di cui l’Iniziato si è reso consapevole e fatto esperto, prima di iniziare il suo lavoro.

1.- LA CAMERA OSCURA OVVERO IL GABINETTO DI RIFLESSIONE

gabinetto_riflessioneLa Massoneria è un legame che unisce fraternamente. In effetti, nessuna Istituzione è così decisamente tesa all’unione universale, perché essa si sforza soprattutto di porre in evidenza i punti di concordia di tutte le opinioni – specie quelle religiose –  e di superarne i contrasti. Fare del bene al prossimo, combattere i pregiudizi e lavorare per la propria perfezione, deve essere l’opera del Massone. Fare del bene ai propri simili significa impiegare tutte le facoltà che abbiamo per essere a loro utili, sempre rispettando il principio della giustizia. I pregiudizi che la Massoneria si sforza di combattere sono soprattutto quelli che tendono a separare gli uomini con divisioni sorte dalla diversità delle loro fedi religiose e dalle loro tendenze politiche che la Libera Muratoria rispetta quando siano professate in buona fede. Infine lavorare alla nostra perfezione interiore significa illuminare il nostro cuore alla luce della Verità  e delle Scienze e fortificarci contro le lusinghe delle passioni.

E’ per effettuare una disamina introspettiva della coscienza individuale, un lavacro di onestà e di purezza, oltre che per offrire una garanzia a coloro che sono stati  già  iniziati, che il profano – il quale ha liberamente e spontaneamente chiesto di far parte della comunità – viene temporaneamente chiuso, isolato, nella camera o gabinetto delle riflessioni.

Egli e’ la’ solo, a tu per tu col proprio Io. Nessun rumore esterno lo distrae. Un barlume di luce filtrante illumina delle ossa sparse , un teschio e  delle scritte bianche sui muri tappezzati di nero. Un solo sgabello è il suo sostegno. Su di un tavolo egli poggia i gomiti tenendosi la testa fra le mani in segno di contrizione, riflessione, ed esamina la sua coscienza, considera la responsabilità del passo che  sta per compiere. Egli è a tu per tu col proprio Io, con la propria ombra, con il suo spirito, con la sua coscienza.

Pensa? Ríflette? Forse no.

Egli si trova nel vuoto, in un baratro dove è volontariamente disceso; egli si smarrisce, non sa’ piu’ cosa sia bene e  cosa sia male, non sa’ che fare, se reagire allo sconforto o lasciarsi perdere; e si perde, annienta se stesso.

Lo richiamano alla realtà le bianche ossa e le scritte murali che lo invitano ad abbandonare le vane ambizioni, che affermano l’uguaglianza fra gli uomini, che, ricchi o poveri, umili o potenti  abbandoneranno  un giorno le spoglie terrene di cui sono gloriati.

Lucianus [1] ne «I Dialoghi ››, fa scendere agli Inferi due mortali che, vedendo il  terreno cosparso di scheletri domandano a chi  fossero appartenute quelle scarne ossa nella vita terrena, . “ Quella è Elena”  vien loro risposto.  “Come” dicono i mortali “quel teschio dalle orbite vuote, così orrido a vedersi è di colei per cui tante vite umane son state sacrificate nella guerra di Troia e della cui bellezza tutto il mondo rimaneva in ammirazíone, gli Dei compresi?” Vane e fatue ricchezze delle umane ambizioni!

Oh profano, medita sulla caducità di ciò che oggi è motivo di orgoglio!

///// //////

Guardiamo ora alla Camera Oscura o Gabinetto di Riflessione , al suo arredamento  e che significato hanno le scritte sui suoi muri.

Continue reading L’Apprendista e il Catechismo Massonico – Prima Parte

The Knights Hospitallers and the fall of Malta

It is common opinion that Speculative Freemasonry descends from the Crusaders. Such an argument was initially put forward by the Scottish Freemason Chevalier Ramsey in his Paris speech of 1736. But if we are to believe in this theory, how do we explain that Speculative Freemasonry  presence on Malta, the very last bastion of those Christian soldiers, was only established around two hundred years ago? The answer lies in the events that history has recorded and in the corrupted nature of man that induced them.

This is the story of the Knights Hospitallers, later known as the Knights of St John of Rhodes and Malta, who belonged to the last surviving Order of  the Crusaders.   

THE RELIGIOUS WARS

By the end of the first millennium the Arabs presence in the Mediterranean was considerable.  With their Caliphate the Moors controlled southern Spain, ruled the North African territories and coastline and were preparing to invade Sicily and Southern Italy.  By 1091, they had conquered all of Anatolia – now part of Turkey – and were at the gates of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire that was once part of Rome.   In 1094 the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, increasingly threatened by the raising Islamic forces found it necessary to ask for help from the most powerful man in Western Europe of the time, the Pope. Continue reading The Knights Hospitallers and the fall of Malta

What makes a successful Lodge?

This subject comes up time and time again. It is almost as if Freemasonry is trying to find an identity that fits our modern times. So, even if  we may have touched this topic in the past I feel it is in the interest of all of us Freemasons to keep seeking for ways that will bring into the Craft,  Freemasons who do not ever regret having joined the Brotherhood.

The Reverend Maxell-Ware ‘s article is only partially shared by me so I have resumed it and taken away those parts I disagree with. But it is, nevertheless,  an interesting paper.
Have a good read!

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Firstly, it is important to ascertain what the definition of a successful lodge is. Has a successful lodge a large number of members, a healthy contribution to charity, excellent ritual or longevity ?

Continue reading What makes a successful Lodge?

Pythagoras’s Theorem – The Operative Mason’s secret

Some of the most architectonically beautiful  buildings that man ever designed were erected by our ancestors, the Operative Freemasons.  They built them using unsophisticated technology and with rough working tools, yet even now we are filled with a great sense of admiration whenever we look at them!  How did the Operatives accomplish it? They did it by applying a mathematical postulation to their building method that the Greek-born mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras[1]  had rediscovered ; although the mathematical formula was known to both the Babylonians and the Egyptians well before his time. Pythagoras’s Theorem is of such importance that, centuries later, the Speculative Freemasons adopted its allegorical mystical significance and even showed it on one of the Craft’s jewel.

In Freemasonry, every passing Worshipful Master,  at the end of his year in the Chair  is invested  with a collar from which hangs a jewel that symbolises  the completion of  his mandate and  in a way of his “journey”.  That regalia represent the highest honour that an Officer may receive from his Lodge, higher even to that of the presiding Master whose jewel – some Freemasons may say – instead of being a triangle is only a square without the hypotenuse!  The ornament is a demonstration of Pythagoras’s theorem in terms of the 3 4 5 application method;it is a very significant symbol of the Craft and also the most emphatic tool of every Operative an1902-Masonic-Masons-Huge-Occult-Pendant-full-1A-700 10.10-58-fd Speculative Mason.  Its importance lies further in the fact that the motif shown on the jewel is also a representation of the Square, the Level and Plumb Rule, which are tools used to prepare the ashlars[2]. It is a well known fact that unless the ashlars are pythagoreantheorem_1000perfect the stability of a structure – be that physical or allegorical – is inevitably compromised. But many Past Masters do not know of the existence of Pythagoras’s theorem nor its meaning and just as I was,  they are ignorant of the fact that it is represented on the regalia they wear in the Lodge.

 

THE POSTULATION OF PYTHAGORAS’ THEOREM AND ITS PRACTICAL USE

The most important principles that are applied when erecting every new building are:

  • the foundations must be perfectly upright
  • the structure must be level
  • its corners must have a perfect 90 degrees angles

These principles were valid and binding in ancient times as much as they are nowadays. Whether an Operative Freemason was paid to build a castle, a cathedral or a chateau, it was inconceivable of him to foul up the first step in the construction process because the alternative would have entailed his wages being withdrawn and his privileges being forfeited.  One such privilege was that of the freedom to practice his trade wherever the Freemason chose to. A sort of lifelong Green Card and a right that the Freemason would have earned after seven years or more of apprenticeship in his respective craft.

Ensuring  that a wall is level may be a relatively easy task  to accomplish  with the aid of the Plumb Rule – a piece of string at the end of which hangs  a weight – but the process  known even today as  “squaring the room”  is not that simple.

Plumrule-800x600
The Plumb Rule

On the practical side we can assume that to minimise time and effort required to build the perfect 90 degrees corners of a structure, the Operatives Masons would have used an easy-to-assemble or perhaps even a pre-assembled wooden frame constructed by applying the theorem[3].   Pythagoras’ postulation  – which later became better known as the Euclid’s 47th  [4] proposition – states that : “In every right-angled triangle, the square  of the Hypotenuse [5] ,  equals  the sum of the squares of the other two shorter sides” which for the record are called  Perpendicular and Base and are both shorter than the Hypotenuse.     The triangle built with such criteria will be called a right triangle and have a 90 degrees angle which represents a perfect corner for any structure!

There are two ways to illustrate this; one is graphically and the other is with a mathematical formula.

Pythagoras-theorempita

Let’s now take a look at how this works in practice. Say we have a triangle where the two short sides are 9 and 12. We don’t know what the long side is but we want to ensure that we obtain a right triangle. To find the long side, we can just plug the side lengths into the Pythagorean theorem.   Thus 9 squared plus 12 squared equals C squared. That is to say: 81+144=225 and √225 = 15; so the Hypotenuse length must be 15 in order to return a triangle with a 90 degrees angle.

But there is a problem:  the theorem only works for certain numbers.  Those numbers are called Pythagorean Sequences Triplets and the smallest is 3 4 5; a sequence that makes the theorem both easy to comprehend and uncomplicated to put into practice.

Some of the other triplets are: 5 12 13, 6 8 10, 9 12 15, 8 15 17, 12 16 20, 15 20 25, and 7 24 25 and thousands more. They can be scaled up or down by multiplyingtriplets

or dividing the length of each side of the triangle by the same number. For example, a 6-8-10 triangle is just a 3-4-5 triangle with all the sides multiplied by 2.

On the other hand, you cannot add or subtract the same number to all sides: there is no such thing as a 4-5-6 triangle!

To prove to you that only certain triplets will return a perfect 90 degrees angle in our chosen geometrical shape, let us look at what a triangle with a Base of 3 and a Perpendicular of 8 would return:

3 ×3 + 8×8 = 9+64 = 73

But 73 is a number that represents a huge practical problem because its square root does not return a whole number, or integer, but 8.5440037453 and so on to the infinitesimal.  In other words the result of the Theorem is a number that was impossible to exactly measure with the tools then available to the Operatives.

A Pythagorean Triplet gives a triangle where all sides are integers and that explains why the triplet 3 4 5 is so popular.
In conclusion, the Operative Mason  could have cut have cut a  length of timber respectively  into 3 4 and 5 units[6] – or scaled them up  by using the criteria revealed earlier – laid them on the ground in the shape of a triangle and obtained a  corner of 90 degrees onto which to lay the foundations of the building.  Watch the video available at YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69cslx6ER7k  to realise how our ancestors went about achieving a perfect 90 degrees corner.

There are of course many other ways of arriving at a right angle. One technique, which could have been used in antiquity, is that of drawing a circle on the ground and divide it in four exact parts, like in the picture below.

Arab 47 Euclid

The triangle within each of those four parts will have a 90 degree angle. But such method would have required getting the alignment of the two axes absolutely right to north/south and west/east. This was achievable by looking at the night sky and the position of the stars but as a method it must have been time consuming and certainly less practical for checking the square angles of large buildings.

SquareinCircle

The circle, however,   is just what is referred to in the second degree ritual of the Craft. When the Worshipful Masterforthpartofacircle asks the Junior Warden the question “what is a square?” the Officer replies: “It is an angle of 90 degrees or the forth part of a circle”.  A statement that would sound meaningless if you do not know a bit of Geometry and never heard of the Pythagoras’s Theorem!

THE 3 4 5 TRIANGLE: AN ALLEGORICAL AND NUMEROLOGICAL INTERPRETATION.

Let me now quote you the reasons why the triangle constructed with a 90° angle has so much importance for the Craft as to be described “The Foundation of Freemasonry”.

The traditional esoteric doctrine claims that the sides of a right triangle represent

  • God
  • Man’s free will
  • Destiny

Freewill Triangleand suggests that balancing the relation between them allows man to advance in his spiritual journey.  The longer man applies his “libero arbitrio” – or free will – the longer it will take him to join as one with God. 

Numerology was a method employed by both the Pythagoreans and the Jews because it was believed that all numbers have mystical properties. Even in Freemasonry the   presence of that science is noteworthy and important, although this aspect is rarely disclosed to the Brethren if at all.

For example, in Masonic Rituals the candidate is symbolically led to square the Lodge by being escorted around it 3 times during the EA Ritual, 4 times during a Fellow Craft Ritual and 5 times in a Master Mason  Ritual. In the Fellow Craft  degree,  the explanation of the tracing board abounds with numbers : there is  the “winding staircase”  consisting of  3, 5 ,7 or more steps;  the detailed description and dimensions of  three pillars – Wisdom, Strength and Beauty – and  chapters, the reference made to  the five orders of Architecture [7] and to the seven Liberal Arts [8] . And it does not end there, though I have to stop myself from quoting them because the whole ritual book and every Masonic degree contain a multitude of sacred numbers.

A triangle is called rectangular because it contains an angle of 90 degrees. The number 90 is the product of 9 multiplied by 10, where 9 is a symbol of regeneration and Justice and the number 10 is the symbol of Perfection.  The 90 degree angle can be interpreted as representing rectitude, a virtue that man needs to regenerate himself and return to the state of innocence that predated his original sin.

The  Egyptians – whom earlier in the paper  were referred to as  people already in  possession of  the knowledge of Euclid’s  47th Proposition thousands of years before Pythagoras – identified the vertical line of the triangle  measuring 3 units  with their God Osiris . Egyptian Isishorizontal line of 4 units, was attributed to Isis and the Hypotenuse (5 units) to Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis [9]. Even the prominent American Freemason and author Albert Pyke, in his “Morals and Dogma” suggests that the triangle represents:  the Spirit (Osiris), the Matter (Isis) and the union of the two (Horus). This is the same ancient principle of the Divine Trinity, where we have, according to Plutarch[10], the Perpendicular representing the Masculine, the Baseline representing the Feminine and the Hypotenuse of the sacred triangle representing the Offspring.

Even the units of the triangle’s side are significant!

The 3 units of the Osiris/vertical line have been attributed to the three Alchemical principles to which all things are a manifestation of, i.e.:   Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury.

The 4 units of the horizontal line of Isis relate to the so-called four Elements that surround us: Earth, Air, Water and Fire. Finally, the ascending Horus line with its five units represents the five kingdoms:  Mineral, Plant, Animal, Human and the 5th Kingdom identifiable with the Adept consciously reuniting with the Source of all things aka TGAOTU.

*******

In future I will endeavour to write about other similar secrets that it is claimed the Operative Freemasons kept close to their chest, but for now I would like to send a message of exhortation to all the Brethren and to the Candidates in particular to read deeper into the ritual book and the Volume of the Sacred Law.  It will be worth your effort. Putting off or slowing down your Lodge Office progression  until you will have assimilated the teaching of every degree  will feel most rewarding.

To quote the philosopher Thomas Carlyle [11]: “In a symbol there is concealment and yet revelation”. So mote it be.

 THE ANECDOTE

After the creation of the Grand Lodge of England the Old Charges of the London Company of Masons, dating back to the 14th century, were replaced with the “Constitutions”, written by the Rev. Dr James Anderson and printed in January 1723, with a second edition released in 1738.

The Frontispiece of the original volume of those “Constitutions” depicts   a classical arcade with two individuals in its foreground. constitutionsfreemasonry1Eureka imageThe one on the left is possibly the Grand Master the Duke of Montagu and he can be seen passing the scroll of the Constitutions to the other Grand Master, Philip, Duke of Wharton. Both Grand Masters have attendants and the one in the left is shown carrying an apron and a pair of gloves. In between the principal figures,  is a diagram of Pythagoras’s Theorem with the Greek word “Eureka” – which in Ancient Greek means “I have found it” – written beneath it.

Anderson must have thought that it was Pythagoras who exclaimed “Eureka!” when in truth the expression belongs to Archimedes [12] , an inventor and mathematician from Syracuse, Sicily who lived centuries after Pythagoras. The story goes that one day, on a visit to Syracuse’s public baths, Archimedes realized that the more his body sunk into the water the more water it displaced, making the expelled liquid an exact measure of his body volume. This sudden discovery of the relation between density and volume [11]  made the naked Archimedes run out of the baths and onto the city streets shouting “Eureka! Eureka!”

Anderson believed Euclid’s 47th proposition to be the “Foundation of all Masonry, sacred, civil and military!” and yes, confusing Pythagoras with Archimedes is an unforgivable inaccuracy but it takes little away from the work that our esteemed Grand Warden Rev. Brother James Anderson did for the Craft!

By W.Bro Leonardo Monno Anglisani 

The author forbids any reproduction or publication of this article, in full or in part, without his explicit authorization. 

[1] Born c.570BC, Samos, Greece, Pythagoras settled in Crotone, Calabria , Italy and died c. 490-500 BC at Metapontum, Lucania, Italy

[2] The Ashlar is a cubic stone

[3] Pythagoras proved the theorem, Euclid  published it in his Book One, two centuries later.

[4] Because it was the 47th problem out of 465 that Euclid proved in his book.

[5] Hypotenuse: the name with which the longest side of a triangle is known

[6] Where the  units could have been any of those in usage at the time , like for example :  cubits , palms, feet  or thumbs.

[7] The Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Composite

[8] Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry , Music and Architecture

[9] It is bizarre that in the myth of Osiris and Isis, Osiris is killed thus making Horus : the Son of a Widow and links him to Hiram !

[10] Plutarch of Chaeronea in Boeotia (ca. 45–120 CE) was a Platonist philosopher. He wrote extensively about ancient Greek and Roman culture

[11] A philosopher and poet , was born 4 December 1795 at Ecclefechan a small village in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway,  died 5 February 1881 in  London

[12] Born 288BC in Syracuse, Sicily, Italy and  died 212/211BC in Syracuse.

[13] A body immersed in fluid loses weight equal to the weight of the amount of fluid it displaces.


Sources:

 “Euclid  on the square” by Craig Gavin – The Square magazine, Vol. 30,Mmarch 2004

“The 47th Problem of Euclid” by H.Maij, August 2009

https://study.com/academy/lesson/properties-of-3-4-5-triangles-definition-and-uses.html

 “Trigonometry Concepts” by Albano Martín De La Scala

“The 47th problem of Euclid – the veil lifted” - By Bro. Wm Steve Burkle  – Scioto Lodge 6, Chillichote, Ohio, published in Pietre &Stones

“Geometry and Masonry” By W.Bro. Harvey Lovell (Lodge Millaa Millaa 351 – UGL of Queensland, AU,  Pietre &Stones

THE TWO PILLARS – THEIR SYMBOLOGY AND INTERPRETATION

At the threshold of some modern Lodges you will notice two pillars  standing there as they are said to have stood  in the porch-way or entrance of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.  But of course the columns in the Lodge have no practical use; they only share  a symbolic value.   Traditionally one of the pillars is  black and the other is white , thus matching the checkered floor of the Lodge.

Twopillars

One pillar is associated with the left hand , the other with the right  and what they are trying to tell us is that the whole Universe is a duality of the opposites joined into one. There is the Negative and the Positive, the Spirit and the Matter, the Male and the Female and so on. Everything in Nature, including man, has two sides: an active and a passive one, a good and a bad one and Humanity itself is divided into two sexes,  each with the opposite characteristics and functions.

Nothing could exist without opposite forces because it is their union and balance that holds things together and makes them “stand firm”. The active and positive energy is represented by one pillar called “Boaz” in Freemasonry , whilst the other is called “Jachin” and represents the negative and passive in nature.

In the Masonic ritual Boaz is said to define “strength” or “force” whilst Jachin means “to establish” and it denotes the passive force or “inertia” which is that resistance necessary to check the positive force.  Together the two columns  establish “stability”.

In those Lodges were the two replica pillars are absent from the floor , they instead appear , in a much smaller scale, on each Wardens’ pedestal and are kept in opposite positions.  One of them stands erect, the other lies horizontally and their position – or meaning – changes according to whether the Lodge is at labour (“active state”) or at refreshment (“passive state”).wardenpedestal1

wardenpedestal2

Like the columns and as in nature, man has two opposite aspects : an outward/active nature , and an inward/passive one. Even man’s physical body presents a similar dualism ! Indeed many of the organs in our body are duplicated;  man has two arms and legs, two lungs, two eyes, two sides of the brain, two kidneys and so forth.

The purpose of the symbolic columns Boaz and Jachin is therefore to emphasise the dualism of our constitution and the need to establish a  balance in the two opposite sides of our nature.

Why are the columns absent from  the Master’s pedestal ?

Because he is deemed to have transcended the Wardens and combined their two forces into himself.  If they were to be exhibited , therefore, the columns would have to be shown in their combined form which is that of the Cross or the Plus symbol. As a matter of fact , that symbol is actually displayed  on the Master’s apron  as the Level or TAU (the Hebrew form of the Cross).

WMApron

TaoApron

Let us now have a brief look at the aspect of the great antiquity of the symbolism of the two pillars. In ancient Greece , Homer mentioned them in the “Iliad” as two jars standing at the gate of Heaven, one filled with good and one with evil, a blend of which is poured into each man’s life at birth. The ancient zodiacal sign of Gemini represents  the two sons of Jupiter, one being immortal and the other mortal.  According to mythology at his death, the mortal twin became all one with the other and together they were translated into Heaven. Often Gemini is also represented by two pillars joined at the base and at the top,  like  twins seated side by side  with their arms embraced.  GeminiGemini2

This principle of the “balancing dual forces” has been known and acted upon by Initiates from the most ancient times ;  even theyin Chinese philosophy has the concept of dualism and the opposites are called YIN and YANG.

In conclusion, the two columns represent the metaphysical principles, the opposite forces of Nature but also “Man” himself  in whom those principles are embodied.

By Anon

 

 

 

 

Historia de la Gran Logia de Inglaterra

La Gran Logia de Inglaterra se formó, como la primera Gran Logia en el mundo, por la reunión de cuatro Logias de Londres en la Taberna el Ganzo y la Parrilla, St. Paul’s Churchyard, el 24 de iunio de 1717. Eligieron a Anthony Saver, Caballero como el primer Gran Maestro y resolvió reunirse anualmente en una Gran Fiesta. Las logias comenzaron a atraer a hombres de intelecto, especial-

mente el Dr. Iohn Theophilus Desaguliers (Gran Maestro 1719) y otros miembros

desaguillier

de la Royal Society y la aristocracia, (John 2nd Duke of Montagu, el primer Gran Maestro noble 1721) que cambió la Gran Logia de un simple banquete a un cuerpo regulador.

En 1730, la Gran Logia habia publicado sus Constituciones (1723); comenzó a mantener Minutas oficiales (1723); publicó una lista anual de alojamientos grabados (1723); establecer un Comité de Caridad y un Fondo Central de Caridad (1727); tenia autoridad sobre setenta y cuatro logias en Inglaterra y Gales, y habia comenzado a exportar la artesanía al extraniero mediante la emisión de delegaciones para formar logias en Gibraltar y la India. El desarrollo en el hogar fue ayudado por el nombramiento por patente de Grandes Maestros Provinciales para representar al Gran Maestre en los condados. El éxito de la primera Gran Logia fue Coronado en 1782 por la instalación de Su Alteza Real Henry Frederick, Duque de Cumberland como Gran Maestro.

Una Gran Logia rival surgió en Londres en 1751. Formada por irlandeses masones que no habian podido ingresar a las logias inglesas, se la conoció como la Gran Logia de los Antiguos por el alegato de sus primeros miembros de que la Gran Logia habia partido de ‘los puntos de referencia mientras que ellos practicaban la Masonería  de acuerdo con las Constituciones Antiguas ‘. Al garantizar las Logias itinerantes en los Regimientos del Eiército Británico y las Grandes Logias Provinciales en las Colonias, con la autoridad de constituir nuevas Logias a nivel local, los Antiguos hicieron mucho para difundir la Francmasonería Inglesa en el exterior. También hicieron mucho para fomentar el Arco Real y varias Órdenes Masónicas adicionales.

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Allegory and Symbolism in Freemasonry – A little inkling

One of the first things that we are taught in Freemasonry  is that it is “a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols”. One can therefore only understand the real meaning of Freemasonry by investigating its allegorical meaning.

A most obvious example of an allegory in Freemasonry is the question of “Age” made to the candidate by the Worshipful Master with the following words:  “Are you a free man of the full age of twenty-one?”. To which the candidate  is prompted  by the Junior Deacon  to reply: “I am”.

In Hebrew language  “I am” translates “Eheieh” , which according to the numeration of the Hebrew letters of the alphabet , adds up to twenty one.

Such method of interpretation can be applied  not just to the Masonic Rituals – Craft , Royal Arch, MM etc –  but also to the Sacred Scriptures.  It is a method that computes the numerical value of words  based on their constituent letter. This method  is called  Gematria or Geometria and is used in the Kabbalah.

WHAT IS THE KABBALAH

The Kabbalah is described as  an esoteric theosophy based on the Hebrew Scriptures and the mysterious doctrine  even influenced Freemasonry in the XVII century.kabbalah

In Hebrew the meaning of the word Kabbalah is “to receive”. There is a curious myth  that claims God himself taught this doctrine  to a selected company of angels who , after the fall of man, communicated it to men so that they could learn how to return to the original state of happiness and communion with God.   The great prophets Noah, Abraham and Moses  received  it and passed it on to their successors, among who was of course King Salomon.

The contents of the Kabbalah are believed to have derived  from a mixture of ancient superior cultures like  the Greek, the Egyptian and the Oriental. Even the Christianity adopted it , initially believing that it was  Hebrew  rather than Pagan.

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