23RD JUNE, 2017 IN HISTORY, SOCIETY & CULTURE

Freemasonry: The first Masonic Grand Lodge

Over 300 years ago the Premier Grand Lodge of England, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England), was founded in London to govern Freemasonry.

What is Freemasonry?

Dogged by conspiracy theories, implicated in countless political intrigues and long seen as a secretive, shadowy international society dominated by ancient rituals, there are very few people who can accurately or confidently describe who the Freemasons are or what they do. Yet Freemasonry is ‘one of the world’s oldest and largest non-religious, non-political, fraternal and charitable organisations’, according to the United Grand Lodge of England, the governing body of Freemasonry in England, which teaches ‘self-knowledge through participation in a progression of ceremonies’ and is ‘a society of men concerned with moral and spiritual values’. Working to make ‘good men better’, Masons call each other brothers because they believe they are all equal. Through charitable work they climb up the hierarchy, wearing traditional regalia to indicate their rank within the organisation. Generally, to be accepted for initiation as a regular Freemason a candidate must be male; aged over 21; come of his own free will; be of good morals, reputation and financial standing and believe in some kind of Supreme Being. 

The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge, usually supervised and governed by a sovereign Grand Lodge, who meet regularly to conduct organisational business, elect new members, have dinners and perform ceremonies to confer Masonic degrees. The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies, through which candidates are progressively initiated in to Freemasonry. There are three basic degree levels: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason.

A Grand Lodge

The first Grand Lodge was founded only a few years after George I, the first Hanoverian king of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ascended to the throne in August 1714 and the end of the first Jacobite rising of 1715. Officially, the Grand Lodge was founded on 24 June 1717, St. John the Baptist’s day, when four existing Lodges gathered at the Goose and Gridiron alehouse in St Paul’s churchyard, London and constituted themselves as a Grand Lodge. It is this date which is often cited as the ‘founding’ day of Freemasonry in its modern sense.

The four Lodges, which had existed for some time, had previously met together in 1716 at the Apple Tree Tavern and resolved to hold an annual assembly and feast and choose a Grand Master from amongst themselves. All four Lodges were simply named after the public houses in which they met: the Goose and Gridiron alehouse (now called Lodge of Antiquity No.2); the Crown alehouse in Parker’s Lane, off Drury Lane; the Apple Tree Tavern in Charles Street, Covent Garden (now called Lodge of Fortitude and Old Cumberland No.12); and the Rummer and Grapes tavern in Channel Row, Westminster (now called Royal Somerset House and Inverness Lodge No. IV). The new body became known as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later calling itself the Grand Lodge of England (although convention calls it the Premier Grand Lodge of England to distinguish it from its rival the Ancient Grand Lodge of England). Anthony Sayer, believed to be the oldest of the existing Master Masons, was elected the first Grand Master, although little is known about him. The next, George Payne, was the last commoner to serve as Grand Master – he rose to a high position within the Commissioners of Taxes and served as Grand Master twice in 1718-19 and 1720-21. The year in between was taken by John Theophilus Desaguliers, an eminent scientist, clergyman, Fellow of the Royal Society and pupil of Sir Isaac Newton. Thereafter, in what might be regarded as a deliberate attempt to raise the profile of the organisation, every Grand Master has been a member of the nobility. 

The Constitutions of the Free-Masons

Since no records were taken until 1723, the early history of the Grand Lodge is uncertain. However, in 1720 Payne took it upon himself to write the General Regulations of a Free Mason, which were later incorporated into Revd. Dr. James Anderson’s The Constitutions of the Free-Masons, which was published in 1723 and contained the history, charges, regulations of ‘that most ancient and right worshipful fraternity’ to be used in Lodges in London and Westminster. According to Anderson, he was commissioned to digest the old ‘Gothic Constitutions’ in palatable, modern form and, for the first time, all of freemasonry, except for the ritual, was available in a printed book. Anderson’s Constitutions claim that the history of Freemasonry is ancient, tracing the fraternity back to biblical roots. Whilst it is generally accepted that much of this is based on myth and legend and therefore unreliable, the work remains a milestone in masonic history and the claim that Freemasonry dates back to ancient times continues to be repeated to this day. So important was Anderson’s work, it was reprinted in 1734 by one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, who in that year was elected Grand Master of the Masons in Philadelphia.

By the time Anderson’s rule book was published in 1723, the Grand Lodge was meeting quarterly and had extended its authority outside London. By 1725 there were lodges at Bath, Bristol, Norwich, Chichester, Chester, Reading, Gosport, Camarthen, Salford, Warwick and embryonic Provincial Grand Lodges in Cheshire and South Wales. The first Grand Lodge of Ireland was also established that year.

History of Freemasonry

The history of Freemasonry is generally separated into two time periods: before and after the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717. The facts and origins of Freemasonry before the Grand Lodge existed are not absolutely known and are still subject to intense speculation. Most Masonic scholars believe that it descends from the emergence of organised lodges of operative stone masons who built the cathedrals and castles of the Middle Ages, but in its ritual context Freemasonry employs an allegorical myth – that the fraternity was founded by the builders of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Other popular theories as to the origins of Freemasonry include: it is a direct descendant of the Knights Templar; the construction of the Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland being the interface between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry; it was created by Francis Bacon, Oliver Cromwell or Stuart pretenders to the British Crown; it was a result of Sir Christopher Wren and the rebuilding of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

‘Antients’ and ‘Moderns’

Throughout the early years of the new Grand Lodge many Lodges never affiliated with it. These independent Masons and Lodges were referred to as ‘Old Masons’, ‘St. John Masons’ or St. John Lodges’. In 1725 a lodge in York founded the rival Grand Lodge of All England in protest against the growing influence of the Grand Lodge of England and in the 1730s and 1740s antipathy between the two Grand Lodges, and those of Scotland and Ireland, increased when some Masons considered the Grand Lodge of England to have deviated considerably from the ancient practices of the Craft. 

Things rose to a head, when, in 1751, representatives from a group of mostly Irish unaffiliated Lodges met at the Turk’s Head Tavern in Greek Street, Soho – to form the Grand Committee of a new, rival Grand Lodge, which they call The Most Antient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons. This society – ‘The Antients’ – practiced a more ancient form of Masonry, which they considered to be purer and more authentic and grew rapidly under the influence of Laurence Dermott, who was Grand Secretary from 1752 to 1771 and Grand Master intermittently after. The Antients referred to those affiliated to the Grand Lodge of England using the derogatory epithet ‘The Moderns’.

Union 

In the 1790s relations between these two major English Freemasonry bodies thawed, and on 27 December 1813 (the day of Saint John the Evangelist), after four years of negotiations the Grand Lodge of England and Antient Grand Lodge of England came together to form the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) with the Duke of Sussex as Grand Master. 

Century II - 41
The great star will burn for seven days,
The cloud will make two suns appear:
The large mastiff will howl all night
When the great pontiff changed territory.

  

It would most certainly be Sirius on New Year's Eve/Day as a magical celestial moment arrives every year when the brightest star in the night sky "culminates" due south reaching its highest point right around midnight on New Year's Eve/Day.

But as I said, it's extra special around 2016. I'm quite aware of this, and it seems so was Nostradamus. Let me introduce you to quatrain II-41, or as I like to call it the "Sirius quatrain":

Century II - 41
La grand' estoille par sept jours bruslera,
Nuee fera deux soleils apparoir:
Le gros mastin toute nuit hurlera,
Quand grand pontife changera de terroir.

The great star will burn for seven days,
The cloud will make two suns appear:
The large mastiff will howl all night
When the great pontiff changed territory.

- Nostradamus

Right now it is highly relevant and timely as shown below:

Line 1: The great star will burn for seven days

Being the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius certainly qualifies as a "great star". It "burns" in the sense that the name "Sirius" means "scorcher" plus the phrase "Dog Days of summer" derives from Sirius's nickname "Dog Star". Even the "seven days" (sept jours) part relates to Sirius in that ancient Egyptians called the star Spd, Spdt, or Sept, resonating with the French sept meaning "seven. ("Seven days" can also allude to the 7-day festival Saturnalia, Dec 17-23.)

Line 2: The cloud will make two suns appear

In esoteric tradition Sirius has been considered the "second sun".

Line 3: The large mastiff will howl all night

Sirius is the "Dog Star" ("mastiff") and it "howls all night" on New Year's Eve/Day by being visible all night long. (Culminating around midnight implies being visible from dusk to dawn.)

Line 4: When the great pontiff changed territory

The last time there was a change in the papacy was back in 2013 when Pope Benedict XVI stepped down and Pope Francis took over. Unbeknownst to most, it managed to multicontextually encode an arrow pointing ahead to the year 2016:

• Pope Benedict XVI is "16" (XVI), numerically resonating with 2016 and the Tower card (XVI)

  

• Pope Francis's first foreign trip ("changing territory") as head of the Catholic Church was to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2013, where the Summer Olympics would take place in 2016

Jul 22, 2013 Pope Francis arrives in Rio de Janeiro

Aug 05, 2016 Rio Olympic Games begin

• A geo-alignment pinpointing Rio was implied via Pope Benedict XVI's resignation announcement taking place concurrently with a major meteor impact event in Russia

Feb 11, 2013: Pope Benedict XVI announces resignation
Feb 15, 2013: Major meteor impact in Chelyabinsk, Russia

In the context of the "Sirius quatrain" II-41, it makes a lot of sense for Rio to be highlighted in this manner. It has to do with the real, hidden reason behind the name "Rio de Janeiro" or "River of January" which I'm revealing here for the first time anywhere (aside from STRUG/members section which is always ahead)...

Firstly, the term "January" (Janeiro) derives from Janus the god of beginnings, endings, time, and doorways. Basically a perfect set of descriptions for New Year's Eve/Day (= beginning of January).

And it just so happens it's right around New Year's Day, when Sirius "howls all night", that Rio and the Sun are aligned in terms of latitude & declination. In other words, the Sun is directly overhead at noon in Rio right around New Year's Day. Rio in this way indeed is a "city of Janus/January"!

News Links:
Dec 09 Obama, GOP senators call for probe into Russia interference
Dec 09 Russia tried to meddle in elections, favored Trump over Clinton
Dec 09 Russia 'intervened to promote Trump' - US intelligence
Dec 10 Donald Trump takes aim at US Intelligence on Russia
Dec 11 Bipartisan group of senators calls for probe of Russian role
Dec 11 Trump rejects CIA Russia hacking report
Dec 12 CIA has high confidence Russians tried to help Trump
Dec 12 Republicans Ryan and McConnell back Russia vote hack probe
Dec 12 Russian hacking and the 2016 election, explained
Dec 12 Trump to name Exxon CEO with Russia ties as secretary of state
Dec 14 The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded U.S.
Dec 14 US Officials: Putin Personally Involved in US Election Hack
Dec 15 Obama vows action against Russia for hacks
Dec 16 FBI backs CIA view that Russia intervened to help Trump win
Dec 16 Obama: The U.S. Will Send 'Clear Message' to Russia on Hacks

Just so you know that I'm not discussing all this relying only on hindsight, I did quickly give a heads-up regarding this developing pattern via Twitter back in mid December...

My tweets from Dec 18:

 

 

My tweet from Dec 22:

 

Sure enough, the "next phase" got underway right on time late December just days before New Year's Day.

(I've consistently pointed to the significance of the Russian cyberwar situation since the very beginning. See: Jul 26 tweet, Jul 27 tweet, Jul 30 tweet, Aug 30 update. Here we are, it's like the Cold War has returned.)

Saturnalia (Dec 17-23) was another important window we were watching very closely... (Saturnalia starts on Pope Francis's birthday, by the way.) My tweet from Nov 24:

 

And it was intense indeed...

Dec 19 Truck plows through crowd at Christmas Market in Berlin

Dec 19 Russian ambassador to Turkey shot dead in Ankara
Dec 19 Donald Trump clinches Electoral College majority
Dec 20 At least 29 killed in blast at Mexico fireworks market

...and contained some New Year's Day "signals". The exploding fireworks in Mexico City for example naturally bring to mind New Year's celebrations.

Plus, Mexico City's latitude, 19.43 deg. North, most recently aligned with the Sun (declination) around July 25th, precisely coinciding with the start of the Russian cyberwar situation playing out in the public, via Wikileaks releasing DNC emails, etc. So that's very coherent pattern-wise. (There were also Sirius allusions in the Saturnalia events but we won't go into those here.)

Jul 24, 2016 DNC Chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz Stepping
Aside in Wake of Leaked Email Scandal
Jul 25 How Putin Weaponized Wikileaks to Influence the
Election of an American President
Jul 25 As Democrats Gather, a Russian Subplot Raises Intrigue
Jul 25 The DNC hack and dump is what cyberwar looks like
Jul 26 Why Experts Are Sure Russia Hacked the DNC Emails

Jul 27 Trump Calls on Russia to 'Find' Missing Clinton Emails

"Market" was another theme...

Dec 19 Truck plows through crowd at Christmas Market in Berlin
Dec 20 At least 29 killed in blast at Mexico fireworks market

Dec 31, 2015 Fire engulfs skyscraper near Dubai's New Year's
fireworks display 

Makes us wonder if these constitute an omen foreshadowing a major market/financial event coming in the New Year.

I'm going to end this article here, but really we've just scratched the surface. Just the tip of the iceberg for what's unfolding... because 2016 was a tipping point, the point of no return. We didn't even touch on the earth changes and the sixth mass extinction already being discussed on STRUG...

If interested, you are invited to enter the Underground...