The Secrets of Masonry

I saw this video earlier today. It was posted to ATS.



I'm curious as to why throughout Freemasonry a Bible is used but when a master mason steps up to a Shriner, they swear an oath on a Koran.

reply to post by IndieA


Oooooh... Spooky music!

First, Jim Shaw's description of the 33rd degree ritual has been debunked. There's even a link on the previous page of this thread. Shaw never got the 33rd degree. He dropped out of Masonry before he could have received that award.

Second, it's no longer the case that only Knights Templar or 32° Scottish Rite members are allowed to join the Shrine. Any 3° Master Mason may join.

Third, funny how he didn't cite where he got the Shriner's oath.

Finally, there's supposedly an Albert Pike quote that claims to be from Ch. 25 of Morals & Dogma. But the word "Islam" doesn't appear anywhere in that chapter. Check for yourself.. In fact, the word Islam doesn't appear in the book at all! Nor could I find any signs of that quote anywhere else in the entire book. Looks like whoever made the video made that up entirely.

So all of his cited sources have been discredited, and all that's left is an uncited supposed oath. I leave it to you to decide if you still want to believe him.

reply to post by JoshNorton


Thank you for the insight. I was actually debating the poster of that video in another thread; much of what was posted seemed deceitful. I couldn't find any mention of Islam in chapter 25 either but there is a bunch of other stuff that reaffirms that Freemasonry is not for me.

I haven’t read the info debunking that book but one thing the guy said I found interesting was, how the temple said, "ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE OF FREEMASONRY."
And the guy say’s

"It isn't ancient, it isn't Scottish, it isn't free, and it isn't right!"

reply to post by network dude




I found and purchased a copy of Morals and Dogma at a used book store. I've read quite a lot of it and have seen nothing that I did not understand. It all seems very straightforward. If there are any secrets they aren't in that book.

Have any Freemasons ever seen crimes or conspiracies in the news and noticed Freemason symbolism incorperated that was either a sign from actual Freemasons or meant to implicate Freemasons?

I'll give you an exmple.. when you see these constructuion details and the possible conspiracy of 9-11... especially the tuniing fork trident motif.. the Pyramid foot print - Orion built into the Twin towers.. and the new WTC design

pearlsofwar.blogspot.com...

The Eye of horus in the subway station under the WTC..

www.rumormillnews.com...

And then say the assassination and possible conspiracy against the president.. and then note the same trident motif where Kennedy was assassinated...

upload.wikimedia.org...


Do you see any Freemason symbolism? Does it concern you Feemasons could be involved?

Are you aware of the trident relating to "enforcement" of freemason rules? Or is this occult symbolism?

Originally posted by trailertrash
reply to post by network dude

 

I found and purchased a copy of Morals and Dogma at a used book store. I've read quite a lot of it and have seen nothing that I did not understand. It all seems very straightforward. If there are any secrets they aren't in that book.

Morals and Dogma is Pike's thoughts on the 29 degrees of the Scottish Rite. His work was adopted in part by the Southern Jurisdiction, but then changed over the years. The degrees that he wrote about are displayed in play format to the initiates. The Book explains his thoughts on them and his opinions, some of which are beautiful and very correct, and a few that he was wrong about. I have not read the entire book yet, but what I have explains the detail and gives an insight into the degrees I learned. No secrets there. The book is available free for anyone. Even the first three degrees are available free for anyone.

Not being a York Rite mason, I cannot say what things they learned. But knowing several, I think it's the same as in being available elsewhere to view. I hope that answers your question. I have not found any secrets that you cannot find with Google, and I went looking for them.

reply to post by Imhotepsol


thank you for your thoughts. I have much respect for you because you know what masonry means and you know it doesn't fit without God. I am sad that you don't have that belief anymore, but I am not going to beat you with a Bible. A persons belief should be in their heart and true, or it is meaningless, and if you come to the conclusion that you don't believe, then at least you did that in your heart. I only hope that changes for you but either way, I wish you well.

I think I see why you feel like you do about masonry, and again, I don't disagree with most of what you said. I just have some different feelings about it. It has brought me closer to God, and made me happy to associate with the friends I have made. I know what a cult is, and I don't feel masonry resembles one at all. I can see how from the outside it may look that way. But it's different for each person as I am sure you know. What you put in, you get out. Again, thanks for speaking from the heart.

the reason I started this thread was not to claim that I know anything or everything about masonry. It was not to be arrogant or to claim superiority. It was simply to explain that in order to find anything you have to ask. Nothing is hidden, you just haven't looked for it yet. Either inside the craft or outside. It's just an opinion.

reply to post by IndieA

That video has outdated information on it BTW.

reply to post by IndieA

Freemasonry isn't for everyone.

I live next door to a 32nd degree Mason, One of the nicest people I have ever met.
When I was sick last year I came out to find a pile of firewood ..... A gift from my neighbour

Look in your own backyards I'm sure theres lots of little secrets in some closets ...

If anyone wants to read about the first three degrees of Freemasonry, a very good book is Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry.

www.amazon.com...=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Duncan%27s+Ritual&x=13&y=25

This book is very close to most of the states degrees and is exact for others. It holds nothing back and gives the so called "secrets".

Also, for men who would like to become Freemasons or the curious, another good book is the Ahiman Rezon

www.amazon.com...=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=ahiman+rezon&x=10&y=20

This book rudimentarily explains the rhyme and purpose for certain rituals performed in Freemasonry.

reply to post by network dude


I have no issue with any one being a part of something that makes them a better person. As I said it just wasn't for me. But again I wish you thanks for your kind words and wish you well in your continuing search for light.

reply to post by NightFlight

See i preferred the surprise.

didn't original freemasonry came from the builders of king Solomon's temple?

GM

No secrets?Then,why not say what symbol really stands for?I know, a compass,or a square and triangle.That's Shock-Proof.Wouldn't that be too easy? How about how it relates to The Mayans and the Otter Pipe?(100 Objects,The BM.) I should be scared to talk,but I've already met the man in the Jade mask and his friends.They've been hanging around,bad influences on my poor little brother.I'm not happy about that or knowing how this is all going to end. I'm sure on the full view,(t's not going to be pretty,) I'll end it with a red dot front.
P.S. What are you doing on Colombus Day?I'm going to Disney,Cinderella's Godmother is getting her new Zylcrest rims for her pumpkin coach,and a new Hairstyle,(getting rid of) 3 Pointed Lumps above Headband.

reply to post by Grey Magic


that was Operative masons. We are speculative masons. Operative masons had to work with stone and got paid in corn, wine and oil. We don't have to work with stone, and we don't get paid. The original builders kept the secrets of Geometry and the tools they used to protect their craft. They operated like a close nit union. You had to work you way into the guild and prove yourself worthy of knowing the secrets. We use a lot of the tools and methods as ways to covey lessons using allegory and symbolism.

Originally posted by network dude
reply to post by Grey Magic

 

that was Operative masons. We are speculative masons. Operative masons had to work with stone and got paid in corn, wine and oil. We don't have to work with stone, and we don't get paid. The original builders kept the secrets of Geometry and the tools they used to protect their craft. They operated like a close nit union. You had to work you way into the guild and prove yourself worthy of knowing the secrets. We use a lot of the tools and methods as ways to covey lessons using allegory and symbolism.

Is it possible physicists and the creators of super technologies like antigravity and the REAL space program took this same approach? Keeping all this secret to protect civilization from these technolgoies being abused or used against civilization?

Originally posted by sierragoose
No secrets?Then,why not say what symbol really stands for?.

All you have to do is ask , there is nothing about the symbols that are secret . So ,What symbol do you want to know about ?

The only problem with your request is that some symbols may have a "standard" definition , but the beauty of symbolism is that each individual takes what he wants from it . A person sees in a symbol what they want to see . Some see good , some see evil and some without any imagination see nothing at all .

So I will ask again , what symbol do want to know about ?

Originally posted by whenandwhere

Originally posted by sierragoose
No secrets?Then,why not say what symbol really stands for?.

All you have to do is ask , there is nothing about the symbols that are secret . So ,What symbol do you want to know about ?

The only problem with your request is that some symbols may have a "standard" definition , but the beauty of symbolism is that each individual takes what he wants from it . A person sees in a symbol what they want to see . Some see good , some see evil and some without any imagination see nothing at all .

So I will ask again , what symbol do want to know about ?

What does the trident symbolize - or three prongs connected? What does Orion or the Orion constellation symbolize? What does a pyramid symbolize?

Originally posted by 8311-XHT
What does the trident symbolize - or three prongs connected? What does Orion or the Orion constellation symbolize? What does a pyramid symbolize?

To my knowledge, none of those are specifically Masonic symbols.

Pike mentions "An ancient pagoda at Deogur was surmounted by a tower, sustaining the mystic egg and a trident." But that's his only use of the word in Morals & Dogma. (p234 for context.)

The number 3 is important to Masons, as are triangles and the Pythagorean theorem.

The pyramid could be interpreted as a symbol of immortality. Not literal "man who's never going to die", but the idea that something built thousands of years ago and is still around certainly leaves an impact on the philosophic mind. One of the reasons I believe the unfinished pyramid is part of the Great Seal of the US is that the founding fathers wanted American civilization to be as long-lasting as the artifacts left behind by the egyptians.

In Joseph Fort Newton's The Builders he writes

Man has been always a builder, and nowhere has he shown himself more significantly than in the buildings he has erected. When we stand before them—whether it be a mud hut, the house of a cliff-dweller stuck like the nest of a swallow on the side of a cañon, a Pyramid, a Parthenon, or a Pantheon—we seem to read into his soul. The builder may have gone, perhaps ages before, but here he has left something of himself, his hopes, his fears, his ideas, his dreams. Even in the remote recesses of the Andes, amidst the riot of nature, and where man is now a mere savage, we come upon the remains of vast, vanished civilizations, where art and science and religion reached unknown heights. Wherever humanity has lived and wrought, we find the crumbling ruins of towers, temples, and tombs, monuments of its industry and its aspiration. Also, whatever else man may have been—cruel, tyrannous, vindictive—his buildings always have reference to religion. They bespeak a vivid sense of the Unseen and his awareness of his relation to it. Of a truth, the story of the Tower of Babel is more than a myth. Man has ever been trying to build to heaven, embodying his prayer and his dream in brick and stone.

The Ancient Astronomers saw all the great Symbols of Masonry in the Stars. Sirius still glitters in our Lodges as the Blazing Star, (l’Etoile Flamboyante). The Sun is still symbolized by the point within a Circle; and, with the Moon and Mercury or Anubis, in the three Great Lights of the Lodge. Not only to these, but to the figures and numbers exhibited by the Stars, were ascribed peculiar and divine powers. The veneration paid to numbers had its source there. The three Kings in Orion are in a straight line, and equidistant from each other, the two extreme Stars being 3° apart, and each of the three distant from the one nearest it 1° 30'. And as the number three is peculiar to apprentices, so the straight line is the first principle of Geometry, having length but no breadth, and being but the extension of a point, and an emblem of Unity, and thus of Good, as the divided or broken line is of Duality or Evil. Near these Stars are the Hyades, five in number, appropriate to the Fellow-Craft; and close to them the Pleiades, of the master's number, seven; and thus these three sacred numbers, consecrated in Masonry as they were in the Pythagorean philosophy, always appear together in the Heavens, when the Bull, emblem of fertility and production, glitters among the Stars, and Aldebarán leads the Hosts of Heaven (Tsbauth).

Morals & Dogma, pp 486-487 There's a lot of astronomy in that chapter