Having covered several important aspects of masonic history and development from The 14th Century to the present day question is now to be put before us what was it that was incorporated into and elaborated out of the rituals of masonry in those early days for this we must meet masonry on its own terms
Remembering that it is an organization comprised of twin threads intricately spun and intertwined weaving history and Legend into one cord as all truly ancient histories have done I’m Ike Baker and this is [Applause] [Applause] Arcanum In consideration of masonic history and lineage as a whole and to extract the marrow of meaning from its core we must also bring symbolic and philosophical considerations to Bear Upon Our examination and not merely limit ourselves solely to what a trail of paper can demonstrate for this we Circle
Back to a definition of masonry which we will Source from the craft itself from the North Carolina Masonic ritual which is in accord as far as I am aware with the ritual of many other jurisdictions of regular masonry quote Freemasonry is a beautiful system of morality veiled in allegory and
Illustrated by symbols end quote though at the earliest stages of a Mason’s career this sentence is uttered to them at a significant point Point many of us are apt to either not fully understand the significance of this definitive Masonic sentence or ignore its import all together if masonry itself claims to be
A system of morality veiled in allegory illustrated by symbols then we would do well to examine this aspect of its expression through the ritual degrees with a heavy measure of due scrutiny and serious contemplation however it is not meant that we should Heap or graft any symbolic interpretation of Our Own fancy
Upon it but rather let us continue as we have in examining and interpreting masonry in the light or context of its own time for this the serious student must acquire a formidable yet necessary level of historic and philosophical context at the outset several things stand out speculative masonry which is
What modern Freemasonry is in its entirety having no formal affiliations with trade organizations is chiefly concerned at least in so far as its ritual and teachings the philosophical applications of the ancient Builder art as allegorical or symbolic of certain truths perhaps most especially in three respects one in the allegory of masonry
And its tools of trade as symbolic of the process of moral perfection of the individual two in the study and application of geometry as a method of understanding and mathematical proof of the deeper truths inherent to the greater Cosmos and humankind three in the metaphysical implication or capital
M Mysteries which are of a distinctly spiritual nature we see in this three-fold successive progression from most immediate control and right application of the personal sphere to an intellectual broadening and understanding by way of the pursuit of Natural Sciences and the Seven Liberal Arts liberal is here used in its
Original eological connotation from the Latin libera as into make free these Arts were thought to be a training of the individual to be able to adequately think for themselves truly not merely as some societal platitude pursuing and acquiring the knowledge of the world and processing it by way of a systematic
Logical and critical method finally in attaining the summit of all intellectual and physical knowledge then passing on to perhaps a different species of knowledge a knowing that transcends the objective and theoretical or mathematical and enters into the hinderland of the metaphysical subjective and experiential a knowledge of the metaphysical by direct experience
Or perhaps a revelation which some might compare to the concept of nosis first let us consider a few things concerning Preston and a few other formative figures mentioned earlier namely the antiquarian Elias Ash Mo and the third Grandmaster of the Premier Lodge of England John theiles desager by way of
His association with the Jacoby poet John Byam we’ll also mention Sir Robert Mor founder of the Royal Society whose members figure prominently throughout early British masonry and esoteric Circles of interest at that time what all these men have in common besides a membership in early Freemasonry is a
Deep connection to and or familiarity with the variant of Hebrew mysticism the cabala which was popular among intellectuals and esotericists of their day we also include hermeticism in this we covered introductions to cabala and her I ISM in two separate two-part series and I’ve included links to those in the section below this
Video William Preston’s early lectures were characterized by emphasis on a strong moral Foundation however his later works as pointed out by Colin Dyer quoting brother Percy James from an issue of arsat coronatum the oldest Masonic research journal in the world tended toward quote a series of discussions upon factual matters which
Become more and more technical abstract and mystical it is based on metaphysical notion of King Solomon’s Temple which is looked upon as a sort of masonic University with excursions into platonic Theory and cabalism end quote it is also known that daguer third Grandmaster of the Premier Lodge was involved in John
Byram’s cabala Club an exceedingly interesting moment in the development of Freemasonry as well as the Royal Society the fact of these members of Freemasonry the cabala club and the Royal Society including other members such as Isaac new and Thomas vaugh to name but a few moving in intersecting
Circles and having the same enthusiastic interests in alchemy hermeticism Rie christianism in cabala simply cannot be completely discounted further brother Kirk mcnalty writes in his work on cabala and Freemasonry quote the first speculative Masons that we can identify positively are Sir Robert Moray and Elias s Mo they were initiated into the
Order in 1641 and 1646 respectively both in the North of England both were closely involved with the Hermetic cabalistic tradition ashol was a significant contributor to the literature of that tradition and Moray was the patron of The Alchemist Thomas vaugh in the publication letter from the grand Mistress of the female Freemasons
Penned anonymously in the 1700s though later attributed to Jonathan Swift We read the following quote the branch of the lodge of Solomon’s Temple afterwards called The Lodge of St John of Jerusalem is as I can easily prove the ancient and purest now on Earth the famous old Scottish
Lodge of kill winning of which all Kings of Scotland have been from time to time Grandmasters without interruption down from the days of Fergus who was carefully instructed in all the Arts and Sciences especially in the natural magic and the cabalistic philosophy afterwards called the rosicrucian speaking of the
Cabala as masonry was called in those days end quote now the imprint of its first publication dates this to 1725 and if this date is an embellishment we know it to have been in publication at least during Swift’s LIF time which places it no later than
1745 some Scholars have noted it may be a comical response to an original expose of freemasonic Secrets published the previous year however it at least reveals the sentiment however embellished that Freemasonry was considered among what we now refer to as the Western esoteric traditions this is unequivocally confirmed by the assoc
Iations interests and interpretations of many of the earliest and most prominent Masons let us not take for granted the significance of a cabalistic interpretation as the central Mythos of The Craft Lodge and further is the building of King Solomon’s Temple which is a specifically Hebrew history finally we find mention made of
Early Greek mathematical philosophers particularly uid being an early and key figure in Masonic legendary history via the old charges he is Meed mentioned unanimously among the three oldest of these the 16th century Elizabethan mathematician and prototype of the western megus John D wrote an extremely influential and widely circulated
Mathematical preface to uet’s elements of geometry which doubtless would have been familiar to Masons and intellectual and esoteric Circles of the day there are even some claims as to minutes of London lodges recording lectures and presentations on D Alchemy and other esoteric topics however as of this
Record rep in I could not obtain access to these to verify them masonry has from its earliest developments which we have seen by way of the old charges and their references to biblical figures Egyptians Hermes Tris mistas and the ancient Greek mathematicians and philosophers to this very day maintained a strong internal
Tradition as belonging to an ancient chain of transmission of certain moral physical and metaphysical knowledge let us begin to analyze the symbolic elements of masonic ritual in accordance with the philosophies of those ancient figures and peoples mentioned in the old charges and so frequently referenced in the Preston web Masonic ritual the most
Immediately pertinent is that of the ancient Greek particularly the Pythagorean and platonic to understand the linear trajectory of the platonic Corpus from Antiquity to the Renaissance I refer you to the episodes I’ve done on neoplatonism and hermeticism which are all linked below by the 16 and 1700s the platonic
Tradition was part and parcel of the classical education not merely just by way of Plato but also significant in the works of Aristotle perhaps his most famous student while Aristotle developed platonic thought in his own Direction it is still a significant contribution to the overarching platonic tradition which
Molded the Western World in fact the Seven Liberal Arts of the classical education which we understand to be of significance in masonry come directly from Plato’s Republic where he elaborated the Trivium and quadrivium as a course of study which must be undertaken by the perfect Regent which he called the philosopher king while
Briefly delineated in the dialogue this was formalized as a course or curriculum during the Middle Ages by the clerical institutions of the time this would have undoubtedly been the dominant educational and intellectual Paradigm in the 18th century as well particularly in the Realms which brother William Preston
Found himself in his construction of the Masonic ritual lectures we find explicit imprint of these ideas indeed it was educated Masons such as those early formative Founders and many others by which the platonic philosophical traditions which are themselves the source of West nesso terorism at large would have entered into Masonic ritual
And speculative masonry suffice it to say that Plato understood the significance of communicating by way of symbols in fact to Plato and as he alludes in his dialogue the timeus to the Pythagorean philosophers those ancient geometers and Mystic mathematicians it was the only way to speak of metaphysical truths which of
Essence transcend strictly discursive intellectual thought each word is a symbol attempting to express further symbol and therefore he speaks at some length in several of his dialogues on the necessity of Mythic images or symbolic narratives in order to treat of these super essential realities which by their very nature are incapable of being
Transmitted in their truest form by words that said Plato endeavored in his dialogues to form what is now considered the first Western philosophy of Ethics yet his ethics were not based on py nor exclusively upon social or religious Moors his ethics were an ethics of salvation of total renovation and enlivening of
The individual to their truest potential and which had massive metaphysical consequences on one’s being we’ve covered these philosophies in detail in the episode Plato the magician which again is linked below Plato believed that the soul of a person the part of a human which is deathless enters into a
Kind of amnesiac state upon incarnating and must remember its Divine Heritage not merely as speculative or theoretical knowledge but as a remembering this he called anamnesis not forgetting in other words remembering Plato by way of Socrates considers learning itself to be a form of remembering this trajectory of Education
Or remembering of the Soul he called Pia underlying this theory is the idea of the immortality of the Soul he states in the Republic that the education of the Soul can only be affected by contemplating and coming to know to agathon the capital G good in the allegory of the cave Plato delineates
His concept of achieving Freedom From The Bondage of ignorance as becoming aware of the good his symbolic or Mythic image for the good comes in the form of that which gives light an extremely important word and concept in masonry this of course being the sun indeed the
Trajectory of the allegory of the cave is a providential turning away from the Shadows away from darkness and bondage of the lower levels of the cave and turning toward the light of the sun we see intimations of this in the ritual format of the several degrees of masonry in candidates for initiation being
Admitted in the west the place of the Setting Sun and being in a state of blind Darkness being Hoodwinked seeking the light in Plato’s conception the sun was the most fitting emblem of the good the beneficent that which is the source of life and Order also symbolic of
Knowledge itself and of understanding in Masonic ritual the lodge is divided into quarters east south west and north and this division corresponds to the officers of the lodge the worshipful master is in the East the junior Warden is in the South the senior Warden is in
The west and there is no officer in the north because it is the place of Darkness as we see in the northern hemisphere the sun moves through the southern Skies it’s furthest departure North Marks the winter solstice the positions of the officers of the lodge can therefore be considered as the
Stations of the Sun in fact they are explicitly so there are then the Junior and senior deacons acting symbolically as the Moon and Sun respectively this is indicated by their staffs they guide the candidate in clockwise circumambulations this is also called sunwise from east to west by South in
All this the candidate is being ritually meaning symbolically educated in the Mysteries and attributes of the Sun the cont cont templation and imitation of the capital G good yet this contemplation of the good would in Plato’s conception of necessity lead to a behavioral trajectory a particular
Lifestyle a way of being in the world as thought ultimately influences action in this Plato conceived the first Western philosophy of Ethics or virtue to Plato virtue is founded on two concepts a and udonia which are excellence and well-being in order for one to achieve well-being they must engage in the the
Pursuit of excellence in Plato’s opinion a moral Excellence we find this Exposition again in the Republic and this pursuit of Excellence or virtue is dependent upon knowledge of the capital G good Plato writes quote goodness has a salvific effect upon human life end quote also from the time as we find
Another symbol of the creative agency of the good in the figure of the Demi oros meaning Craftsman whom is also referred to and portrayed as a grand architect of the visible Cosmos this corresponds directly to the great architect of the universe a term frequently used to refer to creative deity without having to
Point to a specific name for God Among the various religions any individual Mason may practice in their personal faith the grand architect of the universe is an all-encompassing yet specifically Masonic and at the same time platonic term picture of God as an architect is also present in the Hebrew
Psalms whose dating according to most modern Scholars is more or less contemporaneous with the writings of Plato I’d like to turn back to the allegory of the cave and recall how it can be viewed as a manual of initiation in the lower portions of the cave there is Darkness corresponding to
The west gate and a candidate’s place of preparation there is a providential light this first reception of the sun which encourages us to seek further there is an entrance reception and trajectory towards the east moving towards the light being taught to move towards and as the sun there is a
Beholding of the sun which is the candidate’s reception of the light there is then a return a coming back to the lower portions to bring light in masonry this may take the form of a candidate being prepared to confer initiation to bring the light as well as being a boon
To their local communities now let us return to a term mentioned earlier the philosopher king where do we find this described and what does this mean according to Plato we find in Plato’s Republic Socrates or Plato’s answer to the question upon which the entire discourse is founded what is the best
Form of government in the symbolic or Mythic image of the philosopher king we find here exemplified spiritual jurisdiction self-government by way of the pursuit of knowledge one who has dominated the unphilosophical inclinations of their lower nature in a way they become an image of that Supreme Craftsman in whom
And from whom the ordered universe is instructed who else do we know to be a philosopher king but King Solomon I want to discuss one final Concept in platonism or in the following case neoplatonism this is called the latter of Virtues in the days of the late platonic or neoplatonic
Philosophers particularly poery and amus this was a trajectory of study and discipline which led one in an Ascent toward the good the light we can group this latter of Virtues into three groups mundane virtues philosophic virtues and hieratic the first group of mundane virtues is comprised of the first three
Virtues namely the natural ethical and Civic virtues the natural virtues concern things such as physical bodily health strength and well-being Temperance stability in one’s material life the ethical virtues are ways of being in the world which are honorable upright exhibit a respect for oneself Family Friends Community and environment
The political or Civic virtues concern the relationship to one’s larger Community being of beneficial character and influence on the people and institutions around you next we move to the philosophical virtues these being purificator contemplative and paradigmatic the purificatory virtues in the neoplatonic sense serve to separate one from Mere bodily Association and or
Reorient One towards Divine Association not associating too deeply any longer with worldly mundane concerns this has been referred to as a period of Reason in reversion upon the self this was followed by the contemplative virtue and largely embodied the intellectual realm of philosophical contemplation finally in this grouping there is the
Paradigmatic and this is a little more abstract this had to do with the linking of the soul to the paradig or the archetype of the demiurge the master Craftsman embodying the virtues of the platonic ideals these were the platonic virtues until amamus who added the hieratic or theurgic virtue these were
The rights of ascent or elevation and served as a seventh virtue added to the pr ceeding ones this is when one could truly begin to practice spiritual rights having mastered the subsequent two groupings the theurgic or hieratic virtues were the capital M mystery rights pertaining to the Perfection of the immortal Soul
Moving from the known to the unknown to the Discerning Mason I believe we find a three-fold grade or degree structure in our platonic ladder here yet Plato Pythagoras and many others of the Greek philosophical tradition were attested to have received knowledge and training in the Arts and Sciences in ancient Egypt yamus writes
In his biography of Pythagoras he did not fail to visit any place where he thought he might discover something worthwhile that is how he visited all of the Egyptian priests acquiring the wisdom each possessed he thus passed 22 years in the sanctuaries of the temples studying astronomy and geometry and
Being initiated in no casual or superficial manner in all the mysteries of the Gods end quote it is also a test Ed that Plato studied in Egypt for 13 years under the horite priest seui Plato States in his dialogue the fedis that the Egyptian scribe God thought quote
Invented numbers and arithmetic and most importantly of all letters end quote indeed Egypt has a rich history of initiation in fact it might be considered the grandmother of initiatic traditions in the west among sunry correlations between ancient Egyptian religion and its broader civilization which its religion completely informed Egypt had several particular affinities
Which are of perhaps Prime significance to the craft indeed to examine the most basic tenants of Egyptian cosmology and religious tradition is to behold the ancient bones of Western esotericism take the city of Thieves it was for 500 years the capital city of Egypt and its pharaohs took up residence there it was
Also a city divided by the River Nile the city straddles the river and is comprised of east and west Banks to the ancient Egyptians whose Chief myths were of a distinctly solar nature the East was the place of the Rising Sun The Light Dawning in darkness the West was
The place of the sun set where each night Amun ra would descend into the underworld on his solar bark with his retinue of gods and goddesses bringing darkness and blindness to the world yet only to rise again victoriously each morning bringing light and life to the Earth the ancient Egyptians had no
Distinct word for death they called it traveling to amenti the Westlands or simply Westing upon taking up power the Pharaoh had remain building projects which began immediately the construction of the embomb temple their burial Temple and a contribution to the Amun ra Temple complex at carach there was no part of
The pharaoh’s life that allowed them even momentary freedom from the awareness of their mortality yet their immortality was something to be secured by various purificatory rights and ritual formula the Mesopotamians wrote in Kuna form the precursors to the ancient Greeks the Minoans wrote in similar Styles which we academically
Refer to as linear a but the Egyptians chose to symbolize everything by certain appropriate images these were considered to be a sacred language known only to the initiated priestcraft hence the term hyro Priestly or holy glyphics pictures from ancient Egypt we receive our first conception in the west of initiation
That is several stages of symbolic drama wherein a cosmic formula is enacted and wherein the Pharaoh would be the physical representation of the solar God yet ritual even played a significant role in The Craft Guilds of Egypt in order to erect these monuments which the Pharaohs prized so highly and which they
Very correctly were aware would be their Testaments for generations to come as they indeed are today skilled workmen were needed to accomplish this to make the vision a reality these workmen had their own burial temples near the sites of the Pharaohs they had their own lodges or perank House of life these
Lodges or Guild temples had their own amenities and religious rights specifically for men of the craft builders and Architects these men were indispensible and their Trade Secrets of mathematics measure physics and sheer Ingenuity were prized as Chief among the necessities of a civilization in the truest sense of the word the priest
Class of ancient Egypt were the sacerdotal elite intermediaries on behalf of humankind with the gods they were effectively stratified into different roles or duties forming a micro Society in the themselves however they were at the very Forefront of nearly all Endeavors which were investigations of nature the
Egyptian word for a god or goddess is ner this may have an eological root for our word nature this means that there were classes of priests such as healing or physician priests scribe priests and even priests investigating Nature by means of working and smelting minerals and metals some of the very
First metallurgists truly cunning workers it is now thought that it is from this tradition that the Arts of alchemy and its attended hermetic philosophy sprung particularly in the dying of metals for religious statuary regarding the architectural works of the ancient Egyptians there are many theories some more plausible than others
As to how these monolithic monuments and Incredibly designed buildings and temples were erected take the pyramids for instance the stones Hune so perfectly fit together so seamlessly almost impossibly so to the degree that one could hardly slip a sheet of paper between the block now some have suggested these structures
Could only have been constructed at such an early and therefore quote unquote primitive age by some sort of unforeseen technology or even extraterrestrial help however to the Discerning mind something of masonry both operative and speculative is communicated by their mere existence the seemingly impossible Feats that human beings can and have
Indeed accomplished when they work together no matter how great an architect skill he cannot accomplish such Feats without others well trained well ordered and working in harmony these two civilizations the ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek had a high degree of intersection in the ancient world however they would become
Synthesized by the alexandrian conquest of Persia themselves conquerors of Egypt for around 200 years this synthesis of Greek and Egyptian culture and religion now referred to as the helenistic period generated the beginnings of modern astrology Alchemy and Magic Alexandria named after Alexander the Great was seedbed of the neop platonic and
Hermetic philosophies and movements as well as the early Christian movements most particularly of Interest the gnostics these form the basis of the great initiatic mystery traditions of the West I quote from Brother Jamie Paul Lamb’s seminal work myth magic and masonry quote the mystical or numinous quality of masonic ritual represents the
Vestigal remnants of the mystery traditions of the Western World which served as the ancient storehouses of colle Ed wisdom and Magic it seems that perhaps since the end of the 19th century ult Revival the regular blue Lodge Freemason has not been adequately instructed to perceive the often cryptic
Occult motifs present in Masonic ritual this is likely because he has not been mentored from the perspective of the Hermetic Arts nor has he been given the impetus to independently develop the necessary reference points allowing him to distinguish the Hallmarks of ceremonial magic similarly the modern ceremonial magic practitioner often
Fails to observe that the Lion Share of their ritual and grade system is patterned on long-established Masonic ritualism and Rosy crucian inherited fraternal structure not to mention the fact the very idea of ceremonial Magic by and large comes to us in its modern form almost solely due to Masonic
Scholarship and restoration end quote we find particularly appropo to Freemasonry the work of the 4th Century Egyptian prescribe and father of modern alchemical tradition zosimus of panoply Sury impactful references and symbols which abound in freemasonic ritual and imagery it is from the writings of zosimus that we find the earliest mention of the
Philosopher stone he refers to it as quote the stone which is not a stone and elaborates that it is formed of diverse metals and fused under a particular astrological condition it is no secret that Masonic allegory is concerned with the cultivation of a perfect Stone the
Mason himself with the aid of deity the divine Master Craftsman is both Craftsman and material in this work zosimus is known for a series of texts which Scholars have entitled his Visions in which he describes in Vivid and surreal imagery a series of Visions or dreams pertaining to the processes of
Alchemy there are certain physical quote unquote punishments which personages in his dreams undergo these being symbolic of the various processes of alchemical transmutation such as punctures at various parts of the physical body such as the neck as well as physical imulation he speaks of a staircase of 15
Stairs leading to an altar as well as significant references in certain of his letters to The Acacia plant brother PD Newman has pursued a highly interesting line of research regarding this and an ancient entheogenic aspect to ancient Alchemy and the Mystery traditions in regards to Freemasonry to break here for
A moment I’d like to address of course the lingering insinuation of a Templar connection which seems to be a confirmed by the night Templar order within the York ride body this was popularized by researchers and novelists such as Michael badget Richard leay Clive Prince and Lyn picnet and most famously Dan
Brown there are well documented sites of Templar establishment in Scotland even before the infamous dissolution trials execution and Exile of the Knights Templar from France Scotland was indeed documented as a place to which Templars fled after this persecution as were the Alps Portugal and the then ununified
Germanic lands certain of Dan certain of Dan Brown’s creative Liberties in citing Rosland Chapel in Rosland Scotland as a place where Templars and Freemasons are linked cannot likely be true since Rosland Chapel was built long after the Templar dissolution and Exile by William Sinclair as a place for his deceased
Family although the mother Lodge of kilwinning founded in the Chapter House of the kilwinning Abbey was standing at the time of Templar establishment and refuge in Scotland as it was built in 1144 most interesting point concerning the Templars is twofold one that their history and early Legend is intimately
Tied to the Temple of Solomon their name in fact being a short and formed of the poor Knights of Christ in the temple of Solomon much like the Masons and two the potential of their coming into contact with hermetic neoplatonic alchemical and magical texts during the Crusades is a
Distinct historic possibility and as it is verified by historical record that Crusaders were some of the first westerners since late Antiquity to set hands upon these manuscripts after their migration to the perso Arabic Islamic empire It Is by way of the Crusaders that some of these books slowly leaked
Back into Europe to be closely guarded in secret collections even before their translation by marcelio ficino Templar Legends abound in Freemasonry Albert Mackey writes of a Templar origin in his celebrated Encyclopedia of Freemasonry Albert Pike wrote of the intermingling of the vestages of the Templars and Rosy crucian adepts over time Arthur Edward
Weight wrote regarding the intersection of masonry and templari in later medieval sharc orders it is long since been a suspicion or intuition if not an accepted Masonic tradition throughout the ages that the Templars and Freemasonry were in some profound way related coming to the home stretch of this particular examination of of
Freemasonry the next obvious question is within what Nexus did hermeticism the Hermetic art of alchemy neoplatonism cabala and ritual magic which we have here specifically referred to as the spiritually regenerative magic of theurgy as opposed to what figures such as ashm and others regard as the vulgar magic of demonic evocation known as
Gotia enter into masonry the most likely answer is Rosie christianism we will be investigating Rosie christianism in detail in further episodes on this channel which will be recommended viewing in tandem with this series on Freemasonry therefore for the sake of time I’ll be summarizing major common points between the rosy crucians and
Freemasonry as well as certain influential personages within Freemasonry who had themselves a deep interest and were influenced by the rosie crucian movement the time period of early modern Masonic development in England and Scotland coincides with two major events firstly the Renaissance which was a product of the re
Importation and translation of the lost neoplatonic and hermetic texts by kasimo diedi and his translator marcelio ficino as well as the Christian cabalistic exegesis and scholarship undertaken by luminaries such as Giovani Pico de mirandela yanus roin and athanasius ker a significant point is the spread of
These to Germany by way of trmus a Christian Abbot and known Magician of his day who served as teacher to Hinrich Cornelius Agrippa and the great paracelsus secondly the release of the rosi chrisian manifestos the trilogy of anonymous pamphlets of which the first two were perhaps the most influential
Upon the collective consciousness of Europe of their time published in 1614 1615 and 1616 which made the claim of there being a secret and invisible fraternity of Mystics and Scholars in Europe whose aim was a quote Universal Reformation of mankind their admonishment was the preparation of oneself in Morality and piety and that
They could not be sought but when the candidate for admission were ready the Brotherhood would find them despite claims abounding in casual scholarship there is no scholarly consensus as to the authorship of these Johan Valentine Andre claimed to have authored the third pamphlet the chemical wedding of Christian Rosen Cruz which was markedly
Different in tone and style highly abstract and Parable likee perhaps a precursor to the absurdist or surrealist fairy tale works in the vein of Lewis Carol authorship of the antient manifestos the F fraternitatis and confessio fraternitatis remains unverifiable however Andre was connected to a group of Scholars in Germany called
The tubingen circle which as in the early formative Circles of masonry demonstrates a tapestry of exchange and cooperation in literary spiritual and intellectual subcultures the rosicrucian manifestos ignited the enthusiasm and Imagination of the European Literati and Men of letters scrambled to find the fraternity and petition them for
Admission there is an extent record of ashol having written one such petition for admission to the invisible fraternity the rosie crucians were the first quote unquote secret society as we conceive of it today a defuse network of anonymous initiates holding some secret and special knowledge with an intention
To mold or change the world yet theirs was an explicitly benevolent Mission while deeply tied to protestantism and Enlightenment era ideals the rosans were also Al Mystics Alchemists magicians and sort of Proto occultists in an era of burgeoning global interconnectivity the manifestos are an interesting snapshot of the period a
Document concretizing a sentiment of humanism Christian piety and scientific investigation of the natural world all of which was a product of the reintroduction of hermetic and platonic literature and philosophy to the West during the Renaissance it is likely by way of this Rosy crucian influence and its prominence among early Masons the list
Of influential early Brethren with an explicit interest and or tie to Rosie crucian movement and teachings is massive that these same elements came to characterize masonry particularly in the lectures called from the investigations of brother Preston with the broader and Elder Masonic community in Europe in this relatively contemporaneous time
Further attributed rosi chrisan literature assiduously preserved the teachings of alchemy in collections of alchemical diagrams much of Rosy christianism consists of these alchemical and cabalistic symbols indeed the early Rosy Christians were preeminently influenced by The Works of the Swiss physician and Alchemist paracelsus further in Tobias Chon’s groundbreaking work the golden
Builders Alchemists Rosie Christians and the first Freemasons Chon recalls an explanation put to him by Dr Carlos Gilly as follows quote the rosie chrisian movement was undoubtedly a gnostic movement however if any of the authors of the rosicrucian manifestos had been asked if he considered himself
A gnostic he’d have answered that he did not at that time the image that people had of gnostics was practically handed to them by the writings of the opposing side the one-sided writings of the fathers of the church who had fought gnostics from the first centuries of Christianity however within the
Rosicrucian manifestos can be found many elements of traditional nosis so that the manifestos can be seen as a kind of ring in the chain which goes from Valen Ian nosis the nosis of the 2 and third centuries after Christ passing through the cathers passing through the Alchemists of the Middle Ages the
Neoplatonic and Renaissance movement and above all passing through paracelsus end quote The Rosy crucian Masonic connection has insinuated itself for centuries we find in a poem written in 1638 by Henry Adamson quote for what we do prage is not engross for we be Brethren of the rosy cre cross we have
The Mason word and Second Sight things for to come we can foretell are right end quote for the time period the roscrans appeared as the next phase of transmission of the western esoteric Traditions which included gnosticism as we mentioned in our episode on gnosticism the term nosis and nostico
Gnostics anti dates Christianity but grew to even greater prominence during the helenistic Christian Movement particularly near Alexandria Egypt of the first few centuries CE as the rosic crucian fur in Europe began to die down Freemasonry entered a Rosy crucian period or as researcher Christopher mckintosh has called it thus began the
Quote Masonic phase of Rosy chrisian history we see vestages of this connection in groups formed by Masonic Brethren such as the SRI sost Rosie crana in Anglia however unique and prestigious for the time it was itself derived from a rather curious movement in Continental European esoteric
Terorism in 1750 to be exact when German Alchemist and Freemason Herman fold created the ordin golden rosenut the order of the gold and Rosie Cross membership to this order required one be a Master Mason in good standing and its aims and teachings were specifically alchemical it is from this order and the
Subsequent derivative of the SRI which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn grade structure entitles was imported also it is from these EXP itly rosac crucian bodies which the Golden Dawn derived its rosicrucian inner order it is absolutely impossible to talk about Freemasonry and occultism in any meaningful way without also
Discussing Rosicrucianism as this was and continues to be a motive and animating Force the rosie crucian being an invisible fraternity brings us to the point of secrecy there have been many valid reasons for secrecy throughout the ages though Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism is anything but Secret nowadays their private texts are free PDFs their
Symbols are broadcast on t-shirts and Handbags Freemasons wear rings and use their bumper stickers as a form of signaling or identification to and from other Masons the square encompasses as a Masonic symbol has undoubtedly entered the mainstream Consciousness it has been said that Freemasonry is not a secret
Society but a society which has Secrets these earnestly being the tokens signs and Words which Masons use to identify one another if there are any other Secrets they remain so to some Masons themselves as we have shown the meaning and purposes of the fraternity and its rituals are a subject of debate perhaps
Most fervently among Masons however secrecy was necessary in an age of oppressive clerical Authority it was also perfectly in line with the secrecy of ritual that had been characteristic since time immemorial of the mystery traditions of the West public rituals such as the opet ritual in Egypt served
As a sociopolitical iCal right a festival and a statement of Egyptian religious identity these were not the capital M Mysteries however the Temple of dendera in Egypt the rights of elus the rights of mithus in Rome these were the mystery traditions and traditions of the initiates and these were never
Performed in public or even in front of the uninitiated there is a certain species of privacy which acts as the instrument of the alchemical almic let’s say which must remain hermetically sealed if the operation is to be successful these are profound Mysteries whose protocols masonry does indeed attempt to preserve
This also helps to prevent the appropriation modification and obfuscation of the central elements of masonic ritual so do you have any thoughts on Freemasonry were there any eminent Freemasons or terrifying conspiracies you’re upset I left out do you think I’m Shilling for the globalist elite Cabell leave your thoughts in the comments
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Again in the next episode where we’ll dive deeper into the history theory and practice of this and many other related topics thanks for watching in Lukees
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