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Post by paul on Dec 13, 2011 19:50:13 GMT 9.5
Certainly Masonry derives from several forms of the ancient mysteries, plus several groups have found it useful to conceal themselves in Masonry. Later exoteric brethren had a significant hand in regularising Masonry and its rituals.
There may also have been adverse influences.
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Post by paul on Feb 9, 2012 8:54:31 GMT 9.5
So what is the purpose of Masonry?
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Post by LorrB on Feb 9, 2012 9:28:09 GMT 9.5
Having just posted about the 2 Sts John and Jesus... I am thinking that the purpose of Masonry might be along the lines of Jesus' role in changing the way humankind think about things.... being the middle pillar between Law (eye for an eye) and Love (mercy and real justice). Jesus' words I am the Way ... might refer to His way of doing/handling things.
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Post by LorrB on Feb 9, 2012 9:42:51 GMT 9.5
Can we even imagine a world where we know all business people would give good service for a fair price?
Can we imagine a world where each and every Freemason cared enough for another that all opinions could be accepted without judgement, ridicule or aggression?
Can we see a world where all Masonic Orders speak to each other (at least)?
I think Masons are charged to walk the straight and narrow road and lead by example.
And that is just an outer purpose.
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Post by paul on Feb 9, 2012 11:22:47 GMT 9.5
It is not too hard to demonstrate that Masonic ritual and practice includes much from the ancient mysteries - particularly Isaic and Mithraic - both of which have strong stellar influences.
So is the purpose of Masonry related in some way to the stars?
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Post by paul on Feb 10, 2012 9:44:15 GMT 9.5
On another thread I noted that in some rituals that the eagle's claw is used instead of the lion's paw. Here is the Eagle
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Post by sekhmet on Feb 10, 2012 13:18:39 GMT 9.5
I have already told you: the manifesto of Freemasonry is that of ensuring the fulfillment of an ancient Obligation: that of maintaining the terms of that ancient pact of the "36 Righteous Men.'
A man has no obligation to heed this legend,(free will, after all) but his chances for spiritual advancement are much greater if he does.
After all, the point of spiritual advancement is to advance one's "understanding"; and if such advancement is not being made, then Existence Itself decides that It is better off without that karmic burden, and will take whatever steps are necessary to end one current of existence and begin another.
In our case, that will be signalled by the "breaking of the contract"- that is to say, it is detemined to say that if it should come about that there are actually fewer than "36 Righteous Men" in the world(this conclusion evidently determined by a certain standard " "Maat"Ttruth envisioned, remember?- as a winged woman with a feather in her hair.) then the destruction of humanity will follw swiftly upon the heels of this reality.
The origins of the legend of Osiris predates that of the falcon, Horus (I am wondering if " Horus" might well be some sort of variant of "Oromasis" as well
Thus the dynamic of Osiris-the God-Father" was handed down through the ages-there is excellent reason to believe Freemasonry's roots lie in the spiritual activities of one Sufi Master "Dhul-Nun"; who, not surprisingly, was from Egypt.
Tines and beliefs may have changed but that, of course, would not absolve us one whit of our responsibilty towards the ongoing fulfillment of the terms of this ancient pact, that of the "36 Righteous." i.e 36 "Living Images of Osiris".
36 is a number of the Sun, thus Osiris's title of 'Black Sun" suddenly takes on a new significance. Also Black is the colour of Binah, whose planetary representative is Saturn, the Lord of Karma, and thus of 'binding obligations".
And women have their role in this pact as well; after all, it is we who are the representatives of Isis/Binah the God-Mother, wife of Osiris, who raised him (and later, his magickally-conceived son) from the dead; the Feminine Aspect of the Divine Androgyne that is the Magickal Vision of Hod, the Sephirah whose Magickal Weapon is the Apron., and it will come as no surprise that we too must also provide 36 candidates although the standards differ.
This is because women's karma is very much different from a man's; starting with basic biology: men don't undergo the major biological changes that occur with pregnancy, for one thing.
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Post by paul on Feb 10, 2012 13:33:39 GMT 9.5
"based on a Talmudic statement to the effect that in every generation 36 righteous "greet the Shechinah," the Divine Presence " en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzadikim_NistarimWould the production of 36 righteous brethren to greet the arriving representative of a stellar Grand Lodge really be the summit of the human contribution to Masonry? What if there is work to do here - work that is a keystone for the solar system?
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Post by sekhmet on Feb 10, 2012 14:02:37 GMT 9.5
Of course it is; Planet Earth represents the 'stage" on which the 'Play of God takens place, i.e Malkuth.
Think about it: "Sheqinah" is Binah/Isis, and 36 manifestations of a Deity means that 'Osiris "comes to meet" Isis"...you should also know that a prophet is sent out in every generation to find the 36 Righteous Men.
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Post by paul on Feb 10, 2012 14:06:44 GMT 9.5
Perhaps humans are not really the centre of the drama.
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Post by sekhmet on Feb 11, 2012 13:35:08 GMT 9.5
They would surely like to think so, but it is my feeling that the balance of power is about to shift. It certaily wouldn't take much to throw everyone into a state of malaise; if the Internet were to vanish from our lives, you can be sure that THAT EVENT, when it comes, in the years to come , be remembered as the single most commonly-remembered moment that signaled "the beginning of apocalypse".
It's either that, or an asteroid strike.
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Post by paul on Feb 11, 2012 15:28:36 GMT 9.5
I would argue that the balance of power shifted perhaps 10 years ago in the Solar System and the Earth some years later started to reflect the change.
As far as I could see at the time the Master in the local Temple in the Heavens was rotated into the chair of the nearest Cosmic Temple. "He" became much more august at that time. Earth and eventually humans were drawn along in His wake.
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Post by stewartedwards on Feb 12, 2012 2:43:30 GMT 9.5
Paul
Funnily enough that is pretty much a reflection of what has happened in my own personal life.
At the dawn of the millennium I was eagerly awaiting to see the Great Pyramid being recapped only to find that the Egyptian Government had canceled the ceremony. Then I began to make progress in knowing myself, and on to where we are today.
Which in the masonic aspect of my life is quite an interesting position. Some masons as you know quite like me, while others have been very vocal in their desire to keep me as far away from masonry as possible/character assassinate me etc. And some in the conspiracy world have publicly stated in effect that they think that I am this fabled massonic messiah, which would have me laughing my head off if it were not for the fact that some masons, in ugle of all places, not where you may expect, told me in the early years of this millennium that I would be doing what I have done in the masonic world long before I knew what I was doing it myself.
Pity that I am not of Royal blood, for that would really put the cats amongst the pigeons as I would get HRH The DoK (bearing in mind that we would be related) to recommend me as his replacement.
Tis a funny old world, but even now as I have left ugle amity masonry behind (happened when I completely lost faith in too many members due to their behaviour at the end of 2009) and am moving towards global politics in the future, how you describe events does reflect well into how my own life has developed in all sorts of different ways.
Mind you I can feel, at least some of, the energy flows, so perhaps it is unsurprising.
I may not understand everything you say Paul, but by reflecting really hard on your words over so many years, trying to make sense of them, you have directly helped me pull myself up, so thank you.
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Post by sekhmet on Feb 12, 2012 13:59:11 GMT 9.5
I would argue that the balance of power shifted perhaps 10 years ago in the Solar System and the Earth some years later started to reflect the change. As far as I could see at the time the Master in the local Temple in the Heavens was rotated into the chair of the nearest Cosmic Temple. "He" became much more august at that time. Earth and eventually humans were drawn along in His wake. I think you will find it was from the year 2000; when the sun was eclipsing over my natal Moon, the "Hiram Key" and the Square and Compass was put into my hands and my experience with Freemasonry went from 0 to 180. And I really mean that. I remeber it was at that time I wondered aloud to the Square and Compass (while making the mudra) how it was that this strange thing should happen to me. And I had a weird vision: Now that I was fully initiated, I was told, I was 'of the lineage' and had been made an honourary MM . I was told that my apron was on the way to me, and should arrive within the week. When I asked for a sign that this wasn't all a figment of my imagination arising from indica-fueled memories of having read "The Hiram Key" (the book that inspired [sic] the da Vinci Code, remember?) they told me to "ask my mother about it". I had been thinking of calling her to ask her what she knew about my father's Masonic connection; now that I thought of it, I had in fact been under the aegis all along: the Square and Compass all through my childhood, had arrived at the house on envelopes. I was in charge of the mail and had many pen pals; I inherited a love of words and written correspondence from my father's father). so I called her the next night. She told me she still had my paternal grandfather's aprons and his Past Master's jewel, and would send them on to me if I wanted them. The parcel containing the apron (apronS, actually) and the jewel arrived within 3 1/2 days of that inner vision. After that I was satisfied I was "in contact" with the real thing. Further to the "Master of the Temple" dynamic: This was the same period when the mantle about meeting up with the "Master of the Temple" descended upon my shoulders: I was told I would meet him inside the month (this was mid-to late September2000) and as I have related, the meeting took place the weekend of Friday, October 13. 2000. it was that Saturday (the 693'rd anniversary of the black day when Jacques de Molay and any number of knights Templar were being cruelly tortured) that I met the Magister Templi "in the form of a king" and if ever any man could be described as "kingly" it was (and still is) the Magister Templi. There was near-universal agreement on this one.
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Post by brandt on Feb 12, 2012 14:16:17 GMT 9.5
Women naturally understand the nature of Masonry because their unique biology and experience has prepared them to accept the unity of the universe.
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Post by paul on Feb 12, 2012 16:01:27 GMT 9.5
Women naturally understand the nature of Masonry because their unique biology and experience has prepared them to accept the unity of the universe. And here we have a genuine revelation for those able to perceive it. I have been told that women never left the Grail Castle.
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Post by paul on Feb 12, 2012 16:07:12 GMT 9.5
.. When I asked for a sign .....they told me to "ask my mother about it"....... I find this a great technique - asking for evidence. Sometimes quite surprising evidence is offered. Was this an actual experience of a mantle descending upon your shoulders?
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Post by Henka on Feb 14, 2012 2:13:50 GMT 9.5
I would argue that the balance of power shifted perhaps 10 years ago in the Solar System and the Earth some years later started to reflect the change. As far as I could see at the time the Master in the local Temple in the Heavens was rotated into the chair of the nearest Cosmic Temple. "He" became much more august at that time. Earth and eventually humans were drawn along in His wake. I think you will find it was from the year 2000; when the sun was eclipsing over my natal Moon, the "Hiram Key" and the Square and Compass was put into my hands and my experience with Freemasonry went from 0 to 180. And I really mean that. I remeber it was at that time I wondered aloud to the Square and Compass (while making the mudra) how it was that this strange thing should happen to me. And I had a weird vision: Now that I was fully initiated, I was told, I was 'of the lineage' and had been made an honourary MM . I was told that my apron was on the way to me, and should arrive within the week. When I asked for a sign that this wasn't all a figment of my imagination arising from indica-fueled memories of having read "The Hiram Key" (the book that inspired [sic] the da Vinci Code, remember?) they told me to "ask my mother about it". I had been thinking of calling her to ask her what she knew about my father's Masonic connection; now that I thought of it, I had in fact been under the aegis all along: the Square and Compass all through my childhood, had arrived at the house on envelopes. I was in charge of the mail and had many pen pals; I inherited a love of words and written correspondence from my father's father). so I called her the next night. She told me she still had my paternal grandfather's aprons and his Past Master's jewel, and would send them on to me if I wanted them. The parcel containing the apron (apronS, actually) and the jewel arrived within 3 1/2 days of that inner vision. After that I was satisfied I was "in contact" with the real thing. Further to the "Master of the Temple" dynamic: This was the same period when the mantle about meeting up with the "Master of the Temple" descended upon my shoulders: I was told I would meet him inside the month (this was mid-to late September2000) and as I have related, the meeting took place the weekend of Friday, October 13. 2000. it was that Saturday (the 693'rd anniversary of the black day when Jacques de Molay and any number of knights Templar were being cruelly tortured) that I met the Magister Templi "in the form of a king" and if ever any man could be described as "kingly" it was (and still is) the Magister Templi. There was near-universal agreement on this one. You read a book. You have no real experience with Freemasonry. You are not a Master Mason.
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Post by paul on Feb 14, 2012 6:12:42 GMT 9.5
You read a book. You have no real experience with Freemasonry. You are not a Master Mason. Many initiated Masons are not true and faithful brethren. Equally there are true and faithful brethren who have not been initiated in a lodge - hence the tradition of a GM making Mason on sight.
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Post by LorrB on Feb 14, 2012 7:07:16 GMT 9.5
Interesting that a GM can make a Mason on sight ... I understand that a 'true' GM would have the sight to recognise 'a builder' when he sees one.. but I rather suspect that most GM's lack that special sense and therefore the event becomes a symbolic 'keys to the city' sort of affair.
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