‘Keystone State dates’

    

The Pennsylvania brethren have announced upcoming events you may want to attend.

The research lodge will meet Saturday the 18th in Jim Thorpe. That’ll be one o’clock at Carbon Lodge 242.

Two presenters: Bro. Jerome Phillips on “The Five Orders of Architecture from Antiquity and Their Masonic Relevance,” and Bro. Aaron White’s “The Tyranny of Memory.”

I don’t know where Aaron is headed with that, but I’m certain it’ll be interesting. For your calendar, the lodge will meet next on December 10 at a site to be determined.

The Pennsylvania Academy of Masonic Knowledge will convene its Fall Symposium on Saturday, October 22. The scheduled speakers are Bro. Tom Worrel and Bro. Dave Hosler, and you can read about them here.

In the meantime, the Masonic Library and Museum’s lecture series continues. On Saturday, July 16, Bro. Michael Ernst will present “Raising the Nile: Ethnicity and Politics in the UGLE Masonic Lodges of British Egypt, 1860-1956.” That will be both in person and online. Click here to read more about that.

     

‘Assorted Saturday stuff’

     
Here are a few things worth reading, if you’re not outdoors enjoying this beautiful spring day.

Courtesy GLNY

Ms. Catherine Walker, curator of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library of the Grand Lodge of New York, has a featured page on Grand Lodge’s website where artifacts and other treasures are highlighted. A few days ago, she shared the Benjamin Franklin Miniature Gold-and-Ivory Trowel.

Read all about it here.


Yesterday was the fiftieth anniversary of the U.S. government’s decision to provide the Temple of Dendur to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A gift from Egypt to the United States, this sandstone temple is on display in the Sackler Wing, just outside the Egyptian Art room. (Actually, Sackler is closed at the moment, but will reopen May 4.)

It was built in the first century BCE, about 900 years after KST, and it features architecture, décor, and other characteristics that would interest a Freemason. Go check it out, and you can read more here.

Courtesy The Met

And speaking of ancient Egypt, what do you suppose is the world’s oldest language?

Archaeologist Douglas Petrovich says it’s Hebrew.

In his first book, The World’s Oldest Alphabet: Hebrew as the Language of the Proto-Consonantal Script, Dr. Petrovich shows Israelites in Egypt took 22 ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to create the Hebrew alphabet more than 3,800 years ago.


RW Bill Maurer, a historian of some renown in Masonic and local circles, posted on his Facebook page several days ago something cool he found in the February 1786 edition of The Country magazine, namely a list of “New Masonic Toasts.” (Even Shawn Eyer was impressed!) They are:

1. May universal Masonry be the only universal Monarchy, and reign triumphant in the hearts of the worthy.
2. May the Members of Administration be all Masons, that they may act on the square with the people, and keep the tones within compass.
3. May nothing but the charms of beauty bring down the perpendicular uprightness of a Mason.
4. May the tongue of every Mason be the key of his heart; may it ever hang in just equilibrium, and never be suffered to lie to injure a brother.
5. May every Mason’s heart have the ardency of charcoal and the freedom of chalk, but not the coldness or hardness of marble when the distresses of a brother claim assistance.
6. The square in conduct, the level in condition, the plumb-line in rectitude, and the compost in prudence, to all Masons.
7. The glorious memory of the three Grand Masters, and may every Mason imitate the wisdom of the first, the friendship of the second, and the fidelity and skill of the third.
8. The splendor of the East, the repose of the South, and the solidity of the West, to every regular Lodge of free and accepted Masons.
9. May the fragrance of a good report, like a sprig of cassia, bloom over the head of every departed brother.
10. Our Sisters — May they have as much reason to admire our wisdom, as the Queen of Sheba did that of our Grand Master Solomon.
11. May we be entered apprentices to beauty, and fellow crafts in love, but still masters of our passions.
12. May wisdom contrive our happiness, strength support our virtuous resolutions, and beauty adorn our beds.
13. May the rays of celestial light pierce through the veil of ignorance, and perseverance remove the key-stone that covers truth.
14. May the Royal Arch cover every honest Mason’s heart, and the glory of the first temple overshadow all, who act up to the true principles of Masonry.


And, in closing, while I’m definitely thankful for you reading The Magpie Mason, there is great wisdom in digital detox. Read “Are You a Digital Hoarder?” from headspace.
     

‘His soul is with the saints, I trust’

     

The Knight’s Tomb
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Where is the grave of Sir Arthur O’Kellyn?
Where may the grave of that good man be?—
By the side of a spring, on the breast of Helvellyn,
Under the twigs of a young birch tree!
The oak that in summer was sweet to hear,
And rustled its leaves in the fall of the year,
And whistled and roared in the winter alone,
Is gone,—and the birch in its stead is grown.—
The Knight’s bones are dust,
And his good sword rust;—
His soul is with the saints, I trust.

You never want to associate a trip to the Philadelphia Masonic Temple with a sad memory, but it was there last evening, in historic Lodge No. 2, meeting in Egyptian Hall, where we said our goodbyes to our friend and brother. The Pennsylvania Masonic ritual, unsurprisingly, is very effective in this regard.

This panel, on the southeast wall of Egyptian Hall, of course is highly appropriate for the funerary service. Here we see Anubis embalming Osiris. The ankh, symbolizing eternal life, would be pressed to the lips of the deceased to impart the Breath of Life needed in the afterlife.

     

‘Rosicrucian perspectives of the Egyptian myths’

     
The Rosicrucian Order will host a series of lectures on Rosicrucian perspectives of ancient Egyptian mythology in the coming weeks at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center (2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard) in New York City. From the publicity:

Discuss the Mythology

of Osiris and the Underworld

April 25 through April 29

May 16 through May 19

nightly at 6:30

Each soul confronts the 42 Confessions of Maat. Anubis weighs the heart against the feather of Maat, and Osiris judges. The Rosicrucian mystical perspective of this myth is examined. Question and answer session will be followed by a meditation.

Discuss Isis and Osiris

from a Rosicrucian Perspective

May 2 through May 6

nightly at 6:30

We will explore the archetypes of Isis and Osiris from a Rosicrucian perspective.

Discuss the Metamorphosis

of Apuleius from a Rosicrucian Perspective

May 9 through May 13

nightly at 6:30

A young man named Lucius becomes fascinated with witchcraft and is transformed into a donkey. Passed from owner to owner, his ordeal exposes him to many trials until the magic spell is broken by the goddess Isis, and Lucius is initiated into her cult. This story of transformation has many mystical implications which are discussed from a Rosicrucian perspective. There will be a discussion period and meditation.


The facilitator of these discussions will be E. Bernard West, who serves the Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis as Grand Councilor for Georgia and Louisiana, and the Traditional Martinist Order as Provincial Master in Georgia. He is known for his expertise in Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythologies. He also serves in various Masonic capacities, including as Master of a Prince Hall Affiliated Blue Lodge, Patron of an Eastern Star Chapter, a Noble of the Mystic Shrine and Grand Inspector General 33º of the United Supreme Council. Bernard has a Master’s Degree in Political Science and a Ph.D. in American Studies, and is a published author and retired Army officer.
     

‘Words and wishes of the gods’

     
Morbid Anatomy will continue its Death and the Occult in the Ancient World lecture series next month with another illustrated presentation. This one will be in Manhattan, rather than Observatory’s Brooklyn location. From the publicity:

Possession and Prophets

Illustrated Lecture

with Ava Forte Vitali

of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Thursday, June 12 at 8 p.m.

Morbid Anatomy Museum

424A Third Avenue (at Seventh Street)

$8 per person—click here

The new year festival of Opet.

On the ancient Mediterranean, the words and wishes of the gods were handed down through a number of different conduits – some human and some not. What were the vehicles for prophecy and how were they interpreted in ancient Egyptian society? From omens to offerings to the ancient equivalent of ‘phone a friend,’ the manner in which the living communicated with their deities varied, across economic levels and with the development of time. We often see instances of both godly and demonic possession, and will discuss the different vehicles through which the gods could speak, including statues, smells, wind, light, and humans and animals, briefly expanding our dialogue to include neighboring Greece and Rome.

Ava Forte Vitali

Ava Forte Vitali completed her Master’s Degree in Art History and Archaeology, with a specialization in the Egyptian and Classical World, at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Her research interests include the interaction of the physical and spirit world in Ancient Egypt, archaeology of the household, and Ancient Egyptian domestic and ancestor cults, on which her Master’s focused. She has excavated at sites in Egypt and Turkey, and is a Collections Manager for Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum. She is currently writing a contribution on the Arts and Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, for an upcoming textbook on the introduction to Art History.

Death and the Occult

in the Ancient World Series

Death and the Occult in the Ancient World is a new series of monthly lectures, workshops, and tours that aim to examine the way people along the ancient Mediterranean interacted with the unseen forces in the world. While many basic ancient myths and mortuary traditions are known to most people with a casual interest, often this barely scrapes the top of a rich wealth of information and long history of interesting, engaging, and surprisingly weird traditions and beliefs. Through illustrated lectures, guided tours, and occasional workshops, we will strive to understand the different approaches that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had to explain the world around them and challenge popular misconceptions held by the public today.

Through this series we hope to bridge the gap that often exists between academic disciplines and the public audience, bringing the two together in an approachable forum. Led by a trained archaeologist and art historian Ava Forte Vitali of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this series will expand on topics including religion, art, archaeology, and texts, to further our understanding of both our world and theirs.
     

‘Journey to the Source of Ancient Wisdom’

     
More news from the aptly dubbed Golden State. Again, far outside my flight plan but must be shared here. From the Rosicrucian Order’s publicity:

Join practicing alchemist Dennis William Hauck

in a Journey to the Source of Ancient Wisdom

All proceeds go to benefit the Alchemy Museum

being built at Rosicrucian Park.

May 24-26

Rosicrucian Park

San Jose, California

Alchemy is based on ancient Hermetic teachings that were meant to be experienced directly in an initiatory environment. True alchemy is neither an intellectual pursuit nor a measure of knowledge, but is a secret fire that ignites passion and inspiration in all those who possess it. That fire can be passed only in living concepts grasped by both heart and mind to create a new state of consciousness Egyptians called “Intelligence of the Heart.” This process is part of the Underground Stream of perennial wisdom that still flows into our modern era.

The most powerful rendering of the ancient wisdom is in the intuitive writings, coded ciphers, and symbolic imagery of the alchemists. Their practical approach to esoteric energies created a powerful spiritual technology that combined introspection, meditation, and prayer with laboratory demonstrations. Their tireless efforts to unite soul and spirit – the inner and outer worlds – exposed the deep connection between mind and matter that science is just beginning to explore.

This three-day intensive, multimedia workshop focuses on the advanced teachings of alchemy. Using the operations of alchemy, secret Hermetic techniques, activated symbology, and guided meditations; participants will journey through the stages of purification and empowerment that lead to the transpersonal source that is the Philosopher’s Stone.

Tools include a full-color bound textbook of meditative drawings, process handouts and charts, and audio recordings. Selected eBooks will be sent to participants to help them prepare for the workshop. Everyone will also receive personalized graphs showing the relative power of the metals (planetary archetypes) in their astrological signatures. This information will guide their work to transmute the inner metals into a more resilient golden temperament.

Dennis William Hauck is known for his ability to present these teachings in a way that comes alive in people. While studying for his doctorate in mathematics at the University of Vienna, he completed a three-year apprenticeship in alchemy and was later initiated into a variety of Hermetic traditions in Europe, Egypt, and the United States. He has since translated several old manuscripts and authored a number of bestselling books on alchemy, including The Emerald Tablet: Alchemy for Personal Transformation, The Secret of the Emerald Tablet, Sorcerer’s Stone: A Beginner’s Guide to Alchemy, and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Alchemy.

The sessions will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a break from noon to 2 for Council of Solace and lunch each day.

The cost is $300 per person for AMORC members, and $350 per person for non-member guests. Click here to register.

All proceeds will go toward the Alchemy Museum being built at Rosicrucian Park.

Logistics: Many visitors to Rosicrucian Park enjoy staying at the Arena Hotel on The Alameda, which is within walking distance of the Park and right across the street from the train station where both Amtrak and Caltrain make stops. The best airport to fly into is San Jose International Airport, about 10 to 15 minutes from Rosicrucian Park and the recommended hotel.
     

‘Rites of death, afterlife and beer in ancient Egypt’

     
Two more great events coming to Observatory on two Thursdays next month that I can’t resist. On March 13 and March 27, Ms. Ava Forte Vitali, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will present illustrated lectures discussing the ancient Egyptians’ myths and rituals built around death, the afterlife—and beer. These are part of Morbid Anatomy’s Death and the Occult in the Ancient World Series.

From the publicity:

The Ancient Egyptian End of the World

and the Mythology of Beer

Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali

with free beer provided

by sponsor Brooklyn Brewery

Thursday, March 13 at 8 p.m.

Admission: $12

Observatory

543 Union Street

Brooklyn

Join us for a pre-St. Patrick’s Day celebration of one of the world’s oldest and most beloved drinks—beer! Ava Forte Vitali, from our Death and the Occult in the Ancient World Series, will give us a quick glimpse into a few of the gods, goddesses, myths, and ancient festivals associated with the drink, paying close attention to the “Ancient Egyptian Legend of the End of the World,” celebrated March 12.

Then stay and mingle with other like-minded enthusiasts and enjoy a few bottles on us, provided by our sponsor Brooklyn Brewery!

The ‘After’ Life: Death in Ancient Egypt

Illustrated lecture with Ava Forte Vitali

Thursday, March 27
at 8 p.m.

(Rescheduled from February 13)

Admission: $8

Observatory

543 Union Street

Brooklyn

When one considers “Death and the Occult in the Ancient World,” often the first culture that comes to mind is that of the ancient Egyptians. Known for their elaborate tombs, complicated religious texts, and captivating mummies, the ancient Egyptians’ fascination with death has captivated public interest for centuries. This lecture in our monthly series will introduce the mortuary beliefs, traditions, and archaeology of the ancient Egyptians, and will examine whether they were as morbidly focused as they traditionally have been portrayed.

Ava Forte Vitali completed her Master’s Degree in Art History and Archaeology, with a specialization in the Egyptian and Classical World, at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Her research interests include the interaction of the physical and spirit worlds in ancient Egypt, archaeology of the household, and ancient Egyptian domestic and ancestor cults, on which her Master’s focused. She has excavated at sites in Egypt and Turkey, and is a Collections Manager for Greek and Roman Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She is currently writing a contribution on the arts and archaeology of ancient Egypt for an upcoming introduction to art history textbook.

Death and the Occult

in the Ancient World Series

This is a new series of monthly lectures, workshops, and tours that aim to examine the way people along the ancient Mediterranean interacted with the unseen forces in the world. Many basic ancient myths and mortuary traditions are known, but often this barely scrapes the top of a rich wealth of information and long history of interesting, engaging, and surprisingly weird traditions and beliefs. Through illustrated lectures, guided tours, and occasional workshops, we will strive to understand the different approaches that the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans employed to explain the world around them, and to challenge popular misconceptions held by the public today.

Through this series we hope to bridge the gap that often exists between academic disciplines and the public audience, bringing the two together in an approachable forum. Led by Vitali, this series will expand on topics including religion, art, archaeology, and texts, to further our understanding of both our world and theirs.
     

‘Cleopatra’s Needle in the news’

    

“I have a duty to protect all Egyptian monuments whether they are inside or outside of Egypt. If the Central Park Conservancy and the City of New York cannot properly care for this obelisk, I will take the necessary steps to bring this precious artifact home and save it from ruin.”

Zahi Hawass

 Oh, Dr. Hawass? It is said to weigh 220 tons!

▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ ▲▼ 

An official in the government of Egypt, who has a history of making headlines with his public comments, is in the news again, having rebuked New York City this week for neglecting to care for the landmark known as Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a letter that he is “dismayed at the lack of care and attention” given to the obelisk.


“Recent photographs that I have received show the severe damage that has been done to the obelisk, particularly to the hieroglyphic text, which in places has been completely worn away,” his letter also says. “I have a duty to protect all Egyptian monuments whether they are inside or outside of Egypt. If the Central Park Conservancy and the City of New York cannot properly care for this obelisk, I will take the necessary steps to bring this precious artifact home and save it from ruin.”


“I strongly urge you to focus your efforts on saving this obelisk and preserving it for future generations,” the letter concludes. “I am confident that you can find the resources in New York City to conserve this monument properly and pay this treasure the respect that it deserves. I eagerly await your prompt reply.”


Read the entire letter here.


I have no photos of my own to share, but have a look at the obelisk here.


Volume 6 of the Proceedings of Supreme Council, AASR-NMJ, which spans the years 1880-82, features a facsimile of the program published October 9, 1880 by the New York World in commemoration of the cornerstone-laying ceremony when Cleopatra’s Needle was erected in Central Park. It runs a few thousand words, so I cannot share it all with you, but it contains essays explaining what the obelisk is, how it came to New York City, why it is significant to Freemasonry, and how the Masons in the city would receive it.

THE STORY OF THE OBELISK

ITS ORIGIN AND STORY IN EGYPT

Of all the monuments of Egypt, the most striking and the most characteristic are the Obelisk and the Pyramid – both of them solar emblems – the one significant of the rising, the other of the setting sun; and both alike dating from that prehistoric period of civilization which was in perfection ere the Father of the Faithful had descended from Ur of the Chaldees, or the Turanian races of India were oppressed by their Aryan brethren.

For so long a succession of centuries has the Obelisk been admired and copied in the various cities of Africa, Asia, and Europe. Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome, that the original peculiarities of the structure itself have been occasionally lost sight of, and any single vertical monument that could not be exactly described as a column has been set down as an Obelisk. Hence, there is still in popular acceptance some inaccuracy as to the exact form that an Obelisk should assume; and it becomes necessary to define what an Obelisk is. An Obelisk, or tekhen, to give it its Egyptian name, then, is a monument composed of a single quadrangular upright stone, having its four faces inclined toward each other, and in section, all its angles, right angles, and all its sides parallel to each other; its height is not less than that of ten diameters, taken at the base, and its apex is abruptly terminated by a small pyramidion, whose faces are inclined at about an angle of sixty degrees. The Obelisk is generally supported upon a quadrangular base, the height of which is approximately that of a cube and a half, and which is also, like the Obelisk, composed of a single stone; this base is further supported by two broad and deep steps. It is not necessary that the four sides of either Obelisk or base have in section the same width, provided that each opposite side is exactly equal; but it is necessary that all the lines of the monument be right lines, and that it should have no more than four sides.

The dimensions of Obelisks vary greatly, those of the earlier period being generally the largest and the simplest in execution. The loftiest now in existence is that which adorns the Court of the Church of St. John Lateran, at Rome, where it stands a monument, first of the Majesty of Thothmes III, by whom it was designed....

The Obelisk of which the corner-stone is laid to-day was erected by the famous Thothmes III, whose legend is engraved in the central column of each side. During a period of no less than three centuries, the monument existed with this legend only, till Ramses II appropriated it to himself through the addition of two lateral columns, which were carved when the monolith was upon its base in the place first chosen by Thothmes III. This Pharaoh dedicated it to Horemakhou, a form of the God Ra, or Phra (the sun), to which was also consecrated the great Sphinx at Ghizeh. The pyramidion represents a square vignette in which is figured the King seated upon a throne before the Sphinx of Horemakou upon a pedestal....

A SKETCH OF THE NEGOTIATIONS

WHICH RESULTED IN BRINGING

IT TO AMERICA

It was early in the month of October, 1877 that the first practical steps were taken toward bringing to New York this great historic Obelisk of Alexandria, incorrectly known for ages as “Cleopatra’s Needle.” Mr. John Dixon of London, was then transporting to London the prostrate Obelisk of Alexandria, which now stands on the new Thames Embankment in that city. Through his friend, Mr. Louis Sterne, an accomplished American engineer, long resident in England, then on a visit to this country, and present to-day as a Mason at this ceremony, Mr. Dixon, about the end of September, 1877, informed the editor of The World that the then Khedive of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, had intimated to Mr. Dixon his wish to present to the United States the standing Obelisk of Alexandria, and Mr. Sterne requested an inquiry whether the authorities of New York would defray the necessary expense of conveying it to America. That expense Mr. Dixon had roughly estimated at about $100,000. It chanced that the editor of The World, being in Egypt some years before, had been assured by the Khedive in person of the lively interest he took in the formation throughout the civilized world of museums and collections of Egyptian art, and of the particular gratification which it gave him to know that a beginning at least had been made in the formation of such museums and collection in America. The Khedive took at once an enlightened and a practical view of the subject... On the 7th of October, 1877, The World announced the fact that upon proper application the Obelisk could doubtless be secured for New York, and stated the probable expense of securing it. The announcement was received with general gratification by the public and the press. Many enthusiastic persons suggested that the whole cost of transportation would be subscribed in a week.

This was not the opinion of the editor of The World, who thought the project too important to be left at the mercy of a protracted financial negotiation through the press with the public in general; and the editor of The World, therefore, after communicating by cable with Mr. Dixon, laid the subject before a citizen of wealth, who promptly agreed to defray the estimated expense of taking the Obelisk down and bringing it to the New World. After some further negotiations, the sum of $75,000 was finally fixed upon as adequate....

The publication goes on to explain some behind-the-scenes obstacles that could have prevented this transaction from taking place, including the intervention of Britain and France, which were busy attempting to subjugate Egypt and trying to prevent the giving of this gift to America. In fact, Europeans in residence in Egypt in 1879-80, except the Russian and Greek authorities, interfered with the Americans charged with preparing the monument for removal and transfer to New York City. The World continues:

This operation was finally completed on the 6th of September, and on the 16th of September the monolith was safely transferred ... to Manhattan Island, at the foot of Ninety-sixth Street. Thence it is now moving with great care and skill to its destined site in the Park. To this site the pedestal, which was found by Lieutenant-Commander H.H. Gorringe in excellent condition when he took the Obelisk down, and was brought by him at his own risk and cost to America, had been previously removed, and here, on this 9th day of October, 1880, the foundation stone on which this great historic monument is, we trust, for many ages to rest, is to be laid with grand Masonic ceremonies by the Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, under the direction of the Grand Master of that Order.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MASONIC EMBLEMS

In the removal of the foundations of the Obelisk there was made what is considered a very important historical discovery relating to the Order of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and confirming its claim of ancient origin. When Lieutenant-Commander Gorringe removed the Obelisk and pedestal it was found that the latter stood on nine large blocks; six of these formed the upper and middle steps – the middle steps being cut out of the face of the block – while the other three were in the space enclosed in the six. All of these blocks are of hard limestone, with the exception of one, which is of syenite granite and is placed in the east angle of the enclosed space. The corners of the foundation, like the corners of the Obelisk, were laid towards the cardinal points of the compass. The block of granite already mentioned is exactly two royal Egyptian cubits square, and two Nahud, or builder’s cubits, high; it has evidently been carefully dressed, and probably polished, while the other two blocks in the enclosed space are rough hewn and of irregular shape. After the upper tier had been removed, it was found that the lower step was formed of a tier of eighteen pieces. All of these are of hard limestone except three, two of which are of syenite, and one of a different kind of limestone. One of the pieces of syenite is an oblong block, having the upper half hewn to the form of a mechanic’s square. Its long section is 8 feet 6 inches by 1 foot 5 ½ inches, and its short section 4 feet 3 inches by 1 foot 7 ¾ inches, measuring the length in each case from the outer angle of the square. It is 21½ inches thick, and would seem to have been originally a parallelogram 8 feet 6 inches long by 4 feet 3 inches broad, and the form of a Mason’s square given to its upper surface by cutting out and lowering to the depth of 9 inches that part of the stone included between the two inner lines of the square and the continuations of the transverse lines of its two ends. The lower part of the stone still has its original form of a parallelogram. The space cut out of its upper part was filled with the ordinary limestone of the foundations, so that on its first discovery only the upper surface in the form of the Mason’s square could be seen. The thinner part of the stone has been broken, perhaps by the unequal pressure that came upon it, but the part forming the square is still perfect. The other piece of syenite is of irregular form, and differs from all the other pieces of the foundation in having the upper surface rough. Any one who examines it must be convinced that this roughness is not natural, and close examination will disclose tool marks on it, showing that pieces had been gouged out of this upper surface to make the roughness more apparent. The perfect block of syenite stood on the east end of the long arm of the square, and the piece of white limestone was in the space between the perfect block and the lower part of the block out of which the square is cut alongside the long arm. The rough block of syenite stood in the west angle of the space enclosed by the eighteen pieces forming the lower step, touching the short arm of the square and on a level with it.

When the square was discovered, it was thought to be the lid of a sarcophagus, and several gentlemen were invited to witness its removal, among them a distinguished archaeologist. Great was the disappointment when it had been raised that nothing was found under it. Every one present was struck with its peculiar form, the difference in the cement and its relative position to the perfect block. A large number of Masons of almost every nationality and creed have since examined the pieces and have had their positions explained, and every one of them fully confirms the opinion that these three pieces of syenite were intended to represent the three Masonic emblems: the perfect ashlar, the square, and the rough ashlar.

The piece of white limestone referred to as having been found sandwiched in between the perfect block and the recess of the square was broken by the workmen in their eagerness to get at the supposed sarcophagus. This accident revealed its remarkable purity and exceptional whiteness. Break it where you may, not a spot could be found in the fracture. This peculiarity coupled with its position convinced the experts that this also is a Masonic emblem – the lambskin apron. The arms of the square are not of the same width; this unusual circumstance is at once explained by measuring them, when we find that the long arm corresponds with an Egyptian royal cubit, and the short arm to an Egyptian Nahud cubit. The architect was either bent on perpetuating these measurements, or the square was removed form its original foundation just as it is being removed now. The short arm is exactly half as long as the long arm, which is exactly five Egyptian royal cubits in length. Another noticeable feature of the square is a bead that is cut at the junction of the inner edge with the lower part of the block. There are three divisions, and the middle one is much broader than the other two.

The block that lay alongside of the long arm of the square was found to have on its upper surface a piece of iron which was at once recognized as having the form of a Mason’s trowel. On examination, it was found to have been laid on the cement so as to make it adhere to the stone, which fact disposes of the presumption that it had been accidentally left there by one of the workmen.

The block next to the one forming the east angle of the lower step has a diamond-shaped recess in the side adjacent to the east angle. There was nothing in the hole, nor could it have been cut for the purpose of fastening the piece, as there was no corresponding aperture or dowel on the face of the adjacent block. Indeed this carefully cut diamond-shaped hole has no explanation, except that it was designed to represent another Masonic emblem: the Master’s jewel. All of the stones forming the tier next below the lower step were rough-hewn and without marks, except three. One of these was the keystone, and stood exactly in the center of the structure under the axis of the Obelisk and pedestal, in which position it was discovered by Mr. Zola, the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Egypt. Several figures and lines cut in relief are distinctly traceable on one of the faces of this stone. Two of the sides are cut away so as to form a right angular notch, and another face has the arc of a circle inscribed on it.

One of the figures represents a square, another a semicircle, and another the sides of a spherical triangle. The group of lines may be resolved into three figures. One is in the form of the ancient cubit measure, another is a scale, and the other one three columns in perspective. This group of lines and the figures were evidently designed to represent the trestle-board; and what more fitting position for such a design could be found than the center of the structure – the axis of the Obelisk, the keystone of the foundation? Another of the stones of this tier has on one of its faces diagonal lines running parallel to each other, others forming an angle of forty-five degrees with these. On close examination, it was found that each of these lines is not a simple scratch, but a carefully cut mark, having two indents, with a raised bead between.

Well informed Masons capable of appreciating their meaning say that they are intended to represent the ‘Master’s Mark,’ and this is certainly borne out by the position of this stone, which was alongside of the keystone, and locked into the notch above referred to.

The third stone of this tier having marks stood in the east angle of the tier, directly under that piece of the lower step that has the diamond-shaped aperture cut into the side. Its upper and lower surfaces and two of its dies are rough hewn, while two of the sides have been most carefully cut. The angle formed by these two sides has a marked similarity to the capital of an Ionic column with its spirals and beads. This is believed to have been designed to represent Wisdom – the Master.

Last of all was found in the debris removed from the foundation a piece of lead, which on examination was found to be a plummet. So the Obelisk was surrounded by a Mosaic pavement; it was approached by three steps, of which the middle one was very much narrower than the other two and united to the upper; it stood on a single block; under this block, within the steps, were a perfect ashlar in the east, a rough ashlar in the west, a square, a trowel, and an apron between them; in the axis of the structure there was a keystone, with figures cut on one of its faces to represent a trestle-board; alongside of it a stone having the ‘Master’s Mark,’ and on the same level in the east another, the emblem of Wisdom, and immediately above this a diamond-shaped aperture, representing the Master’s jewel.

The remainder of this publication shares details of logistical arrangements concerning VIPs, and how the Masons and Templars of New York City and Brooklyn (at this time, Brooklyn was not a borough of NYC, but was a city itself), would organize and proceed into Central Park. This information, plus coverage of the day itself, can be read in the New York Times here.