Beltane

By Heather Shaw

23 April 2001

Spring is here! For many of us, this means a relief from the cold, dark days and snows of winter. As the days lengthen and get warmer, we are greeted by the rebirth of the earth itself: bulbs come up and bloom, filling the air with their heady, tempting fragrance; birds chirp and sing as they return from their winter migrations to build their nests; cats yowl out their urgent readiness for motherhood. All around us are symbols of fertility, growth, warmth and light. It is the perfect time to throw a May Day party or Beltane Festival, to celebrate the end of winter hibernation and to reconnect with your friends and loved ones.

Historic Beltane

Beltane is an old Celtic Fire Ritual which celebrates, at the most fundamental level, the end of winter and the beginning of the warmer, lighter half of the year. It is the counterpart to Samhain, which marks the Pagan New Year and celebrates ancestors and the death of the crops (harvest). Beltane celebrates life. For the Celts, it was a festival that insured fertility and growth.

Beltane is one of the four major Sabbats in the Celtic tradition, the other three being Lammas, Samhain and Imbolc. Beltane's traditional date, May 1st, was chosen as the midway point between the vernal equinox and summer solstice (two of the four minor Sabbats). Due to the change in the earth's axis of rotation over time, this point is now closer to May 5th, and some pagans observe May 5th as "Old Beltane," but the traditional date is still favored.

Beltane, much like Samhain, has changed over the years. Some traditions existed only in a single village, while others were found throughout the culture. It is believed that Beltane is a Celtic reinvention of an even older Roman festival, Floralia, which celebrated the goddess Flora and the flowering of spring. Most major religions have a holiday that marks the coming of spring. The Christian religion celebrates rebirth (or resurrection) on Easter; Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, chicks, and lilies are all pagan symbols of fertility associated with spring, adapted to the Christian tradition. The Hindu religion celebrates Holi, a carnival-like spring festival, dedicated to Krishna or Kama, the God of Pleasure. This festival resembles Beltane, with bonfires being a main focus of the holiday.

A maiden gathers wood for the Beltane fire.

Traditionally, Beltane festivities began days before May 1st or "May Day," when villagers traveled into the woods to gather the nine sacred woods needed to build the Beltane bonfires. The tradition of "May Boughing" or "May Birching" involved young men fastening garlands of greens and flowers on the windows and doors of their prospective ladyloves before the fires are lit Beltane night. As with many Celtic customs, the type of flowers or branches used carried symbolic meaning, and much negotiating and courting could be worked out ahead of time.

Many communities elected a virgin as their "May Queen" to lead marches or songs. To the Celts, she represented the virgin goddess on the eve of her transition from Maiden to Mother. Depending on the time and place, the consort might be named "Jack-in-the-Green" or "Green Man," "May Groom" or "May King." The union of the Queen and her consort symbolized the fertility and rebirth of the world.

The tradition of choosing a symbolic goddess and god as official participants in the Beltane ritual captured Marion Zimmer Bradley's imagination in her novel The Mists of Avalon. In Bradley's retelling of the King Arthur legend, the Beltane celebration is a sacred ritual involving a high-ranking male and female virgin to represent the God and Goddess. The god in this case is called the "King Stag"; he must run through the woods with a pack of deer, followed by his own huntsmen, and only after he has successfully locked antlers with and killed a stag that he can return to the festival and claim his right as consort to the Goddess. Other couples also celebrate in this way, but it is only these two who become the God and Goddess incarnate.

Because the Celtic day started and ended at sundown, the Beltane celebration would begin at sundown on April 30th. After extinguishing all hearth fires in the village, two Beltane fires were lit on hilltops. The villagers would drive their livestock between the fires three times, to cleanse them and insure their fertility in the coming summer, and then put them to summer pasture. Then the human part of the fertility ritual would begin.

As dancing around the bonfires continued through the night, customary standards of social behavior were relaxed. It was expected that young couples would sneak off into a ditch, the woods or, better yet, a recently plowed field for a little testing of the fertility waters. Even after hand-fasting was replaced by the Christian tradition of monogamous marriage, the Beltane ritual continued with a new tradition: all marriage vows were temporarily suspended for the festival of Beltane. Many a priest would lament the number of virgins despoiled on this one night, but the tradition persevered. Babies born from a Beltane union were thought to be blessed by the Goddess herself.

Another use of the Beltane fires was for a purification ritual using a scapegoat or Fool. Special cakes made out of egg, milk and oatmeal, called bannocks, were passed around in a bonnet. One piece of bannock was charred, and whoever chose this piece was the Fool for that year's Beltane; it was believed that any misfortune would fall on the Fool, sparing the rest of the people. It is now generally believed to be a myth that the Fool was ever burned as a human sacrifice; this seems to have stemmed from Christian priests and their attempts to condemn Beltane festivities. Later customs called for the Fool to leap three times through the Beltane fire, and according to earlier customs the Fool was banned from all Beltane activity.

Beltane, like Samhain, is a time when the veil between the worlds is thought to be thin, a time when magic is possible. Whereas Samhain revelers must look out for wandering souls of the dead, Beltane merrymakers must watch for Fairies. Beltane is the night when the queen of the fairies will ride out on her white steed to entice humans away to Faeryland. If you hear the bells of the Fairy Queen's horse, you are advised to look away, so she will pass you by; look at the Queen and your sense alone will not hold you back! Bannocks were also sometimes left for the Fairies, in hopes of winning their favor on this night.

The maypole, which was either a permanent feature or cut in a ceremony during the gathering of the nine sacred woods, was a symbolic union of the God and Goddess. The maypole itself represented the male, a phallus thrust into mother earth, while the ribbons that were wound around it represent the enveloping nature of the woman and her womb. The maypole was usually danced after sunrise, when disheveled men and women would stagger back into town carrying flowers they picked in the forests or fields. The area around the maypole was decorated with the flowers, and then the winding of the ribbons would begin. Sometimes the flowers were put into baskets and left on the doorsteps of people who were too ill or old to attend the Beltane celebrations. In this way, the entire town could participate in the joys of the coming spring.

Beltane Today

Neopagans already are well familiar with Beltane and its accompanying rituals. Some pagan groups have land on which they can host huge Beltane fires, with all-night dancing and frolicking outdoors. A quick look at the current events on Witches Voice around April or May will show many Beltane celebrations throughout the country. Among the offerings this year are Beltaine 2001: A Pagan Odyssey in Oxford, CT; the Mid-Atlantic Beltane Festival in Stanardsville, VA; Edinburgh Beltane in Edinburgh, Scotland; and FPG -- The Rites Of Spring (St. Petersburg, FL). All of these festivals includes a bonfire and a maypole. Most of them are multi-day events, with camping and workshops and general merriment and fun. The outdoor setting of these events makes nature and her flowering in springtime a more central focus to the May Day celebration.

Beltane Morn: Heather and Holly Shaw in Thunder Dome at Lothlorien in Needmore, Indiana

One such festival I attended several years ago at Lothlorien in Southern Indiana began with the rattle of chainsaws several days in advance, as the fire-tender prepared his surprises. Many of us were annoyed by this disruption in the lovely woods that covered the land on which we were camped. It was too modern, too technological for our tastes.

When we saw the reason for the chainsaws, most of us forgave the noise. The festival began with the usual smudging at the door of the dome (where each participant is circled by a burning sage stick to cleanse them before they enter the ritual space). On one side of the fire pit was a wide log with a yoni cut out of its middle; the other side held a delicately carved phallus. The fire was struck from flint, and once the kindling had caught more yoni-shaped logs were brought in. We danced around the fire as yoni was stacked upon yoni. Soon a long, narrow piece of wood was brought in, and when it was thrust into the stack of yonis, our dancing reached a fevered pitch. The night went on like this, stack and thrust, and the fire became huge, with towers and castles created out of burning embers. Some chemicals were thrown on the fire, and different colors would streak up from the flames, hovering near the top of the dome. We danced (with some sneaking off to use their own yonis and phalluses) until dawn. As the sun came up, the fire tender picked up the finely carved phallus and lit the spinning firework on the tip. The fire tender held the phallus to his hips as sparks flew off of it and the drums pounded out an irresistible rhythm. As the sparks died down he thrust the carving into the yoni on the fire. Daylight broke over the dome, and the dancers collapsed in spent heaps around the dome, cuddling together for warmth in the morning dew.

Speaking of morning dew, it is traditional to wash your face in the dew of Beltane morning. It is thought that it brings health and luck, and, in the case of young women, guarantees against fading beauty.

Celebrating Beltane

Maypole dancing at Mary Anne Mohanraj's house in Oakland, California.

You don't have to be a Neopagan or have large acres of land to frolic in to celebrate Beltane. In fact, you may have already been a part of a Beltane celebration if you've ever attended a May Day party. Throwing your own Beltane or May Day party is a great way to celebrate the coming spring. These days, a celebration of fertility does not necessarily mean your goals are human reproduction. Perhaps you have a garden that you would like to grow well this season; if you have a private enough yard (and a lover), making love in the garden is a way of honoring and insuring the fertility of the seeds you have planted. Make a wreath of flowers or fragrant herbs -- rosemary is a nice smelling one that tends to grow in abundance -- and weave a wreath for someone you'd like to know better. Or maybe there are projects you'd like to complete, goals you need to reach for, dreams you'd like to see realized. All of these things can benefit from the Beltane celebration of growth and fertility.

Any Beltane party should have as many flowers as you can afford. If you have a garden, or a deck or porch with container gardens, you should include this as part of the party space and make sure you've planted your spring flowers in time for May 1st. Six-packs of spring flowers at your local garden store should run you no more than several dollars (and often less than two), and can add color and life to your Beltane atmosphere. You can even freeze flowers in the ice cubes for your punch. Edible flowers can add a fairy-like feel to your food table at a Beltane party. This site not only lists the types and tastes of edible flowers, but includes a delicious-sounding recipe for a Day-Lily Sorbet.

Any fruit is appropriate for a Beltane spread, especially cherries, figs, mangos, peaches, pomegranates, and apricots, which have all been long associated with sensuality and/or fertility. Spring greens are another healthy way to imply fertility and celebrate springtime. Chocolate and other sweets are always a good means of tempting your guests at any Beltane party.

Temple of Nine Wells-ATC's Maypole at Derby Wharf, Salem Massachusetts

Dancing a maypole is the most traditional way of celebrating May Day. Go to your local hardware store and buy a 20-foot wood pole (more rural folk can cut it themselves, but be sure to take a moment to honor the tree that gives the sacrifice). Ask your guests to bring their own ribbons, 20 feet in length and about two inches wide, in any color (and be sure to have several extras on hand anyway). At the party, tie all the ribbons to the top of the pole (you may want to buy an eye hook to make this easier) and plant the other end of the pole several feet into the ground. Have everyone form a circle, and count off in twos; have the "ones" face clockwise and the "twos" face counterclockwise. Have everyone grasp their partner's right hand, then pass them by on the right. Now, grasp left hands and pass by on the left. Then right, then left, and so on. Once you've made it once around the circle, pick up your ribbons and begin again, this time weaving your ribbons as you go.

You'll want to have music once you start the actual weaving of the maypole. If you have talented friends who don't mind sitting out the maypole dancing itself (and certainly that's an option, especially if you're superstitious about pregnancy at this time of year), live music is the nicest way to go. This website has some songs that might be appropriate. Singing is good, too; if you choose to sing, you might want to consider sending out lyrics with the invitations, and sing the tune to your friends over the phone. This might be a good way to find out how much you can count on singing to carry the music 'round the maypole, too.

Even if you don't have live music, the technological age makes sure nobody has to sing or miss out in order to have some music. A CD or tape of any Celtic music will do, but I also suggest searching out bands with specific May songs. You can sing along, or just listen and enjoy as you skip around the maypole. "Welcome in the May," by Annwn, is a fun, bouncy song that would be appropriate. It describes a typical old Beltane night:

We were there last night when the dark drew down:
we set the bonfires leaping.
Then we vanished in the heather
and we couldn't be found until the dawn came creeping.

Seduction in the meadows; "The Hireling Shepherd" by William Holman Hunt.

If you have the space and the zoning, have a Beltane fire after sundown. It should be lit from flint or friction, but matches can count as friction too. Again, drumming or singing around the Beltane fire is a traditional way to celebrate Beltane. Go around and talk about things in your life that you want to have grow in the following season. It might be your life's dream of becoming a painter, or your physical activity, or your relationship with a loved one. It might even be a baby you're trying to have; there's no better time than Beltane to ask the gods for fertility!

Later, if people sneak off, make sure that the fire is not left unattended. If this is likely to happen at your party, you may think about researching different ways to handle that kind of party. Or, perhaps, you can wait until after the party, when you can frolic naked with your loved one(s) in private. This is certainly my favorite, and probably the most appropriate, way to end Beltane. And you may find, with the leaping fire and the well-wrapped maypole urging you on, it is inevitable; as the Annwn chorus goes:

Did it get a little warm around the fire last night?
Were the flames a little higher than they had the right?
Was your breath a little heavy and your dress a little tight
and the moon too bright for sleeping?

As the Sun went down in Los Angeles (or Simi Valley), the Sun was seen rising on the horizon somewhere - more or less the opposite side of the earth. Then I remembered a comment posted by an Etemenanki reader 'Alfredo', pointing out that the Olympic torch currently going around the world was at Giza/Cairo on June 11, i.e. the same date as Reagan's funeral. I found this intriguing because of its relevance to Schwarzenegger. As noted in Part 1, the 'rise of Arnold' cannot be separated from Giza/Cairo, the notion of fire, and the Olympics:

• Schwarzenegger's dramatic election announcement on Aug. 6, 2003 was apparently designed to coincide with the heliacal rising of the star Sirius as seen from Giza/Cairo - a celestial event that signaled for ancient Egyptians the beginning of the annual life-giving flood of the Nile, signifying the resurrection of Osiris/birth of Horus.
• The term 'Sirius' is linked to the notion of 'scorching' (thus also with fire); the term 'pyramid' is also etymologically linked to fire.

Novus Ordo Seclorum

The other motto on the reverse, 'Novus Ordo Seclorum', seems to have a solar connotation. Valued at 1742, it falls between Χρυσομαλλος - Chrysomallos - at 1741 and Γνωμων - Gnomon - at 1743. The first is the name of the ram that bore the golden fleece - this was a solar symbol and pointed to Aries, the first sign of the zodiac and the start of the sun's annual journey. The latter is the upright member of a sundial (or a builder's square). The pyramid and obelisk are both types of sundial and both may represent the upright member of the god Seb.

 

The Number of Fusion
1746 is an extremely important symbol of harmony for esoteric initiates, as it represents the fusion of the solar number 666 and the lunar number 1080 (5). On the Great Seal we find both components of this number united, because 'E Pluribus' has a value of 666 and 'Novus' 1080.

A Coincidence
'Ordo Seclorum' has a value of 1369. This is suspicious as it is also the value of the letters giving the date MDCCLXXVI (1776 when counted as Roman numerals). 1369 is an important number for it represents 37 squared - and 37 is the keystone of sacred geometry in the Bible (and elsewhere). The fact that we have a square number at the base of the pyramid seems very fitting - a solid foundation. The number 37 may also signify the Hebrew words 'AVL' and 'GDL'. 'AVL' means strength, or a powerful person. 'GDL' means power or majesty. Both of these words aptly describe the potent god Seb.

In Hebrew the number 1369 very importantly denotes the phrase VRVCh ALHIM MRChPhTh AaL PhNI HMIM - 'And the spirit of God moved on the face of the waters' (Gen. 1,2). This maintains the theme of divine creation.

1776 - Date
The overtly intended date of 1776 would certainly have been chosen for numerological reasons. It, too, is factored by 37, being the product of 37 and 48. It may be intended to represent 'Jesus of Nazerus' - who has this value in English gematria (and as 888 x 2 also signifies the doubling of his first name in Greek) and Jesus is an important figure to the Freemasons. In Greek we find that the phrase Ιησους εστι λογος - Jesus is the Logos - also has this value. We notice that in Ephesians 2,20 Jesus is described as the chief corner stone in the foundation of the temple of God. (6)

The Roman numerals of the date MDCCLXXVI also generate the solar number 666. This comes about through a pattern of three pairs: MDCCLXXVI - the first red pair giving 600, the second 60 and the last 6. The intentionality of this is further indicated by the fact that the remaining numbers - MCX - give us, in a regular pattern, 1110. This is a particularly important number in gematria and signifies harmony and completion. We can also see that 666 and 1110 lie in a 3:5 ratio and therefore can signify two sides of a 3-4-5 right-angled triangle. What is the length of the missing side? It is 888 - the number of the Gnostic Ιησοθς - the stone which the builders disallowed (i Peter 2, 7).

Christian enthusiasts, ignorant of cabalistic numerology, invariably interpret the number 666 to signify the devil. This is a mistaken assumption in many respects and shows a disregard of St John's injunction that the 'number of the beast' was counted only 'for him that hath understanding'. The cabalist with understanding knows that 666 refers as much to the 'Beast' as it does to Jesus Christ. The reason for this is that the words John used were, Και ο αριθμος αυτου Χξς΄ - 'And the number of his name is 666'. These critical words have a value of 2368: this number is unambiguous to the cabalist as the value of Ιησοθς Χριστος - Jesus Christ. Was St John predicting that the great Beast might usurp the name of Jesus Christ?

It is also true that 666, as an emblem of the creative solar power in the cosmos, only becomes destructive when it is not balanced by its feminine counterpart - in this case it leads to authoritarianism and tyranny.

The Lightbringer
The combined value of 'Annuit Coeptis' and 'Novus Ordo Seclorum' is 707 + 1742 = 2449. This is the precise value of the phrase Ιησοθς Χριστος Νικα - Jesus Christ Conquers. In addition, it is almost certainly intended to signify Ο Φωσφορος (2448) - The Lightbringer / The Morning Star. Pictorially, this is represented by the blazing triangle holding the eye in the pyramid. In scriptural terms it is highly unlikely that 'Lucifer' can be entirely evil for the Bible ends with these words of Jesus (Rev. 21,16):

I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

Here too, we come across an original piece of Biblical gematria, because the Greek words for former part of the phrase, Η ριζα και το γενος του Δαβιδ are exactly equated (at a value of 1646) with an alternative name for the bright and morning star Φαεσφορος. (7)

 

E Pluribus Unum

When the expression is broken into its two components of 666 and 470, some very interesting symbolism emerges. For a start, the two numbers lie in the ratio of the square root of two - 666 divided by 470 is 1.417. More importantly, they signify the interplay of light and darkness.

666 is the number of the sun and points, for example, to to the Hebrew expressions ShMSh IHVH - Sun of God, or SVRTh - The spirit of the sun. 470 has the opposite symbolism because it denotes KMRIR - an eclipse. However, it also signifies light coming out of darkness because it is the value of the creative words of God, IHI AVR VIHI AVR - 'Let there be light, and there was light' (Gen 1,3). Therefore the complete phrase adds dramatic significance to the image it accompanies, because, according to the official guide, it shows 'a glory breaking through a cloud over the head of the eagle'. This means a burst of sunlight piercing the dark cloud. In Masonic terms we have the familiar motto 'Lux ex Tenebris'.

The fact that the eagle holds an olive branch in one claw and the arrows of war in the other further reinforces the idea of opposites reconciled. Out of the opposites of light and darkness, spirit and matter, male and female, comes life. Therefore it is appropriate that 470 and 666 generate 815, the number of Ζωη - Life, when set at right-angles to produce a hypotenuse with this length. The perimeter of the ensuing triangle is 470 + 666 + 815 = 1951. This number unites the Cabalistic man with the Cabalistic bride: ADM QDMVN (Adam Kadmon) and MLKVTh (Malkuth) - 1455 + 496 = 1951.

 

The Grand Total

The addition of all three mottos on the Seal gives us 3585. This measures a pentacle of side 717, enclosed in a 2368 circumference circle. 717 gives, 'BN IH' - 'Son of God'. 2368 gives Ιησοθς Χριστος - Jesus Christ. The Great Seal thus pays homage to the Gnostic and numerological Jesus Christ, secretly worshipped in Freemasonry.

 

All This And Shakespeare Too?

The Masonic symbolism of the Great Seal finds an interesting parallel in the esoteric symbolism underpinning the verse structure of Shakespeare's Sonnets. There are grounds for identifying a direct connection and thinking that Shakespeare may have been involved in the founding of the United States of America.

 http://www.masoncode.com/The%20Great%20Seal.htm

Esoteric Notes

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Philadelphia

This page presents a condensed history of Philadelphia, and is provided only as background information.

From a Short History of Philadelphia (http://www.chillyphilly.com/PhilaHist.html)

• In 1681 the Quaker William Penn receives a charter from the crown for a colony on the Delaware River. The original city was laid out like a grid, from the Delaware to the Schuylkill Rivers, and from Cedar Street (now South Street) to Vine Street. Penn sells 40,000 acres to Welsh Quakers, which eventually form the townships of Radnor, Haverford, and Lower Merion.

• In 1700 Philadelphia had about 2,000 residents.

• In the 1680's many early Philadelphians, including Thomas Wynne, the City's First doctor, live in caves. Within fifty years, the city becomes predominantly brick.

• Between 1682 and 1684 Penn offers Delawares (Leni Lenapi) wampum and other gifts (totalling about 1000 pounds) to extinguish their claim to the land in Bucks, Chester, and Philadelphia Counties. Contrary to the Benjamin West painting, there was no single treaty at Shackamaxon (an English corruption of Sachemexon, or "Place of the chiefs").

• In 1701 Penn's Frame of Government gives full legislative power to an Assembly, becoming a model for the future U.S. Constitution.

  • February 1717 is a landmark for Freemasonry. The Grand Lodge of England is formed by the four Lodges existing in London. Anthony Sayre is elected Grand Master during a general meeting held on the next feast day of St. John the Baptist. These events mark the beginning of the modern Masonic fraternity (The Miter and the Trowel).

  • Six years later, 1723, sees the formalization of the foundations of Freemasonry; the Old Charges are published. This event finalizes the movement of the Craft from its earlier status of an exclusively Catholic body to its present character as a common meeting ground for all who believe in a Supreme Being, however they wish to worship. It also completes the transition from Masonry's Operative beginnings to its present Speculative workings.

• Between 1701 and 1751 William Penn's secretary, James Logan, administers the colonies while Penn, and later his sons, are Proprietors. In addition to the skill with which he performs his duties, he is the first of the Renaissance type men who live and work in Philadelphia. He is a polyglot, a scientist, and a mathematician. He becomes rich through the trade of fur, British securities, and real estate. This latter source of wealth is at times obtained through unscrupulous activities (see the Walking Purchase). His Stenton estate in Germantown has the largest library in America at that time.

• From 1723 to 1788: 17 year old Benjamin Franklin comes to Philadelphia. He enters the printing trade, but during the next 67 years, he makes major contributions in literature, the natural and social sciences, music, politics, and civic welfare.

• In 1755 the state government resided in Philadelphia.

• In 1775 delegates of the Second Continental Congress meet in Philadelphia. Congress drafts the "Olive Branch Petition" declaring loyalty to the Crown, which the king refuses to read. Congress then turns its work to independence of the colonies from the crown.

• In 1776 the Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America, which is adopted by the convention, marks the formal declaration of independence of the colonies and the beginning of war with England.

• In 1787 the Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia to adopt a common Federal law for the United States of America.

• In 1790 The Federal Capital moves to Philadelphia from New York.

• In 1800 the Federal Government moves to Washington.

Some of the oldest maps of Philadelphia go back to Jacques N. Bellin. "Plan De Philadelphie et Environs." From Le Petit Atlas Maritime. Paris, 1764. By 1840 Philadelphia had taken on its basic "bauplan", which has changed little to this day. A detailed and precisely drawn map of Philadelphia by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) can be found for sale at Antique Maps of Philadelphia & Environs.

Much of how the city took shape after 1723 when Benjamin Franklin, later a prominent Mason, moved to the city can be attributed to anonymous Masonic engineers and architects.

What is not commonly known is that the architects included esoteric symbols and geometric patterns that reflect ancient Egyptian mythology.  Most of these symbols have gone unnoticed or forgotten.

In 1888 Temple University, intended as a "Workingman's University," is chartered by Russell Conwell, the minister of the Grace Baptist Church.  The naming of this university "Temple University" was in the mythological traditon of the name Philadelphia, which refers to the Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae, Egypt (relocated to Island of Agilkia in 1972-1980).  Philae refers to the birthplace.  The Island of Philae was the Mammisi or Birth House of Isis.  It therefore represents the symbolic or mythological "womb."  Delphia is another name for the Egyptian goddess Isis.  Consequently, Philadelphia can be translated as the "Womb of Isis."  The significance of this name will unfold in the following sections.

 

 

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Temple of Isis from Island of Philae, 13th Dynasty to Roman period, c.380 B.C.-2nd century.; now at Agilkia, Egypt. Images borrowed from History of Egyptian Architecture.

The Workings of Freemasonry

 

The fact of the matter is that, if there are Emblems with Symbolic Significance embedded in the DC Map layout and US Great Seal, AND if you want to be able to understand the nature of that significance to the designer(s) THEN you need to learn to understand the concepts implied in the design from the point of view of the designers- and you can't do that 'from the outside', that is, at the same time as you are attacking the moral rectitude of the symbolisms involved there in.

This means that really understanding the symbology involved in the DC planning map necessarily requires an understanding of the workings of Freemasonry (especially the Scottish Rites) and the Kaballah (embraced by the Scottish Rites), as the symbols in the map and seal are both Masonic and Kaballistic; but so is Bible symbolism. Remember that Jesus is portrayed as a builder (carpenter) who traveled to Egypt and lived 33 years. David reigned as King of a united Israel for 33 years in Jerusalem, after reigning his first 7 years in Hebron.

Any study of the DC map and the Great Seal needs to look at Masonry and its symbols, and some of what is written online about symbols by Masons is quite good.

* Masonic Symbols - "Any graphical representation of Freemasonry should be viewed within the context of what Masonic ritual actually says about such a symbol rather than what others have personally attributed to it!" He contrasts personal and Masonic symbolism, while some raise the spectre of 'officially recognized' Masonic symbols vs. rogues. This, of course, just depends on who is in charge in the area at that time.

 

. . .

Presuming that most readers are not versed in Masonic symbolism, I will review for the shortest time. While most Masons don't realize it, the Masonic ritual is derived from the Mysteries, which grew out of Greek tragedy, which began as festival dances which imitated the movements of the sun, moon and planets in the sky. These early circle dances were the origin of both social dancing and magical and religous ceremonial.

Note that this cannot be rightly called sun or star worship, because what is being imitated in the dances is the Divine Order of which the planetary movements are only one representation; Geometry is another. The goal of these imitative, sympathetic magic ceremonies is the invocation of Harmony via the imitation of the harmonious motions of the planetary spheres, and they were 'institutions truly designed to be a continuing benefit to the human race'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a short page called We're All Dancing in a Ring Around the Sun I compare the structure of the Masonic floor work to the Sufi Sema ceremony and ancient Greek Tragedy. The Masonic ceremony imitates the movements of the sun as seen from the earth, north of the equator in the first degree, where the sun moves from left to right; south of the equator in the second degree, where the sun moves from right to left; and between the tropics in the third degree. The sufi dancers moves from right to left in imitation of orbiting bodies, a helicentric image. Early Greek tragedies centered around a sacrificial ode, built around the same dialectic triad as Masonry.

"The dance consisted of three sections: strophe, antistrophe and epode. The strophe consisted of a turn, the antistrophe a counterturn, with matching rhythms and metres. Circumambulation was reversed: the movement from right to left was called the strophe and that from left to right the antistrophe. The epode was a fixed position."

 

 

In a set of pages that I am calling The Masonic Lodge Floor Explained, I intend to show how the symbolic lodge floor reflects the astronomical lines of the earth. All of that is explained in HPH Bromwell's book about Masonic Geometry. The first degree pertains to the June Solstice, the Tropic of Cancer, the northeast and the left (looking east into the sunrise.) The second to the December Solstice, the Tropic of Capricorn, the southeast and the right. The third degree pertains to the Equinoxes, the Equator, east and the center. [The cornerstone for the White House was laid in the northeast and that of the Capitol Building was laid in the southeast.]

 

 

 

The Master's Square - compares the Tabernacle, the Temple, and the New Jerusalem to the Masonic Temple, and investigates the universal, astronomically based, geometric method for Temple design and construction. This relates the patterns in the Masonic Floor to all the sacred objects in the Bible, as well as temples around the world.

 

Closely related is a page where I show how to derive the Sri Yantra from the template that is introduced in the pages above. Here is an animation that shows the first six triangles of the yantra drawn on lines on the globe. I suggest that the horizontal lines in the sri yantra are 15, 30, 45 and 60 degrees.

 

 

* My Thesis *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We notice that the fit would have been better had the Capitol Building been a little bit further to the south. See how projecting the (red) line that connects the right side points of the pentagram passes south of the CB location. Penn Ave is bent on both sides of the Capitol because it was located so far north. You can see just how afar north when you project Penn Ave from Georgetown to the White House then straight to the East Branch. The point where the right side of the triangle crosses this straight line is the 'ideal' location of the CB.

Maryland Ave., which helps locate the Jefferson Memorial, also crosses at the CB and is bent. This means that the memorial is north of its ideal location as well. Projecting Mass Ave as a straight (red) line, shows that it is bent too. Note how the SE segment of Mass Ave is anchored on Lincoln Square, as the SE section of PA is anchored on the CB. While straightening PA would entail moving the CB south, straightening Mass Ave would entail moving Linc Sq east.

Note that the diagonal grid formed by connecting the corners of the pentagram features 23 degree angles like the tropics. [At the latitude of DC, the cross quarter days occur 22 degrees from due east and west, close to the same angle.] But this only works north of the WH, due to the displacement of the Capitol Building. The section of the map surrounding the pentagram is clearly the correct part. Everything south and east of there is displaced with the CB.

Below is an image of the current map configuration. We see how extending New Hampshire (left side of triangle) helps locate Arlington Cemetery and Memorial Drive, which is directed to the Ellipse from there, by way of the Lincoln Memorial. Notice that the bearing of Mem Dr is the same as that of NY and Rhode Island Aves. That is, Memorial Drive has been aligned with the diagonal grid north of the WH.

 

Here we show that a (blue) circle centered on the Ellipse (south of the WH) and extended to the apex of the triangle, also crosses the triangle at the ideal CB location. Looking at a 1792 topogrphic recreation, we see that the planned location for the CB fell on the steep side of Jenkins Heights. Note that each topographic line represents a rise of elevation of 10 feet. The compromise location yields an angle of 19.5 degrees between the CB and WH. The sine of 19.5 is .333.

On top of that, you can see that the front of the Pentagon Building (1, 2) is directed at that point where the right side of the triangle crosses the straightened PA, and that this line is on the same bearing as above (is aligned with the pentagram diagonal gird). Where that line crosses the 16th St axis (red dot) is the ideal location of the Jeff Mml. A (red) circle centered on the WH shows that point to be the same distance from there as the apex of the triangle is. That is the triangle formed by connecting the dots on the pentagram that Robert doesn't see. There are also those who suggest that the pentagram in the map is coincidental.