‘This week at the Rosicrucian Center’

     

Great events coming this week at the Rosicrucian Cultural Center in New York City (2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard). From the publicity:

Pythagoras

and the Pythagorean School

Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Pythagoras is one of the most important philosophers in the history of the Western world. He deeply influenced astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy—especially the Rosicrucian tradition.

Join Grand Master Julie Scott in this exploration of Pythagoras and the inspiring school he founded.

Rosicrucian Alchemy Museum

Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.

Join Grand Master Julie Scott to hear the latest plans for the Rosicrucian Alchemy Museum, opening in 2020, which will be the largest Alchemy Museum in the world and the first in the United States.

The museum will offer an interactive introduction to the fascinating history of Alchemy (with its origins in Egypt), as well hands-on demonstrations involving the seven steps of the alchemical process, lab workstations for up to twelve students, and Alchemical meditation chambers.

Be a part of creating the Rosicrucian Alchemy Museum! Click here.

Mystical Music

Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Join Grand Master Julie Scott in experiencing mystical music, including Rosicrucian music.

In this experiential workshop, we will explore music from prehistoric times to today, including the music of the Pythagoreans, Troubadours, Alchemists, and Rosicrucians from 1617 to today.
     

‘Pythagoras and the Pythagorean School’

     
Come Saturday, I’ll be in the middle of Masonic Week pleasures, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying a stimulating talk on one of the ancient world’s eminent philosophers, central to Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism. From the publicity:

Pythagoras and the Pythagorean School

Saturday, February 13

1 to 3 p.m.

Rosicrucian Cultural Center

2303 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd.

New York City

Pythagoras (ca. 570 to 490 BCE) is one of the most important philosophers in the history of the Western world. He deeply influenced astronomy, cosmology, mathematics, and philosophy—especially the Rosicrucian Tradition. Join Grand Master Julie Scott in this exploration of Pythagoras and the inspiring school that he founded.
     

‘The Masonic Society begins its eighth year’

     
If it’s May, it is another anniversary for The Masonic Society. This is the seventh anniversary of our launch, and what has been accomplished is kind of amazing. With ethical, thoughtful, and professional leadership, great things are possible.

Members of The Masonic Society have been receiving issue number 27 of The Journal—the quarterly periodical that just happened to have revived the Masonic publishing business in the United States. No. 27. Meaning twenty-six issues preceded it. I am reminded of now otherwise forgotten critics who said the Society’s business model was flawed, and that it wouldn’t get more than four issues to its members before folding. (They were championing something called Freemasons Press, which folded before getting four issues to its subscribers, but that’s old news too.) The Society begins its eighth year in service to the Craft. We have a fortune in the bank, so we’ll be around, publishing The Journal and hosting great Masonic events, for a long time.

Names in the news: Bro. Ken Davis of Albuquerque is our new First Vice President, following the departure from that post of Bro. Chip Borne in March. Ken was the obvious choice to fill that vacancy. A retired English professor and former chair of the English Department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, he is an author of several books. Ken is a Past Master of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, and is active these days in several Masonic groups in Albuquerque, including New Mexico Lodge of Research.

Ken has distinguished himself as a Director of The Masonic Society by serving as the Book Review Editor for The Journal, and was instrumental in creating and writing The Quarry Project Style Guide. (I return to the Board of Directors, taking Ken’s place. My thanks to President Jim Dillman and the other officers and Board members.)

Wanna hear something cool? That style guide has been adopted by the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction)’s bimonthly periodical Scottish Rite Journal; the Scottish Rite Research Society’s annual book of transactions Heredom; Grand Encampment’s monthly Knight Templar magazine; and Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research in Indianapolis.

But back to The Journal.

This issue highlights several familiar elements of Masonic ritual and symbol in ways that even longtime Freemasons could find fresh. The Four Cardinal Virtues are a subject I find vital to Freemasonry—I even used to present a popular lecture of my own devising on the topic—so I’ll start by sharing a bit of “The Masonic Relevance of the Four Cardinal Virtues” by Christian M. Christensen. Here, the full member of Texas Lodge of Research reminds us of the meanings of Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice, and then takes us from Plato to Cicero to St. Ambrose to Thomas Aquinas and, finally, to the Jachin and Boaz exposure of 1797 for the Virtues’ arrival into Masonic tenets.

“Taking the Cardinal Virtues to heart and living them day by day requires work, just as becoming a better man is hard. Instead it is easier to continue the quest for light, blinding ourselves to the fact that the most important understandings are in front of us already. The Cardinal Virtues are cornerstone of the Craft, easily explained to us and are available for all to live by—if we are ready and willing to pick up our working tools and apply them.”

In his “We Have a Problem with the 47th Problem,” Brian C. Thomas of Washington ponders why Freemasonry prefers Euclid over Pythagoras. I remember one of the first flaws I discerned in Masonic ritual was its attribution of “Eureka!” to Pythagoras, actually exclaimed by Archimedes, which Thomas notes before guiding us through the chronology of the Pythagorean Theorem and its appearance in Masonic thought. His is a reasoned study, and what I appreciate most is Thomas’ inclusion of Benedict Spinoza in his analysis. The well read Freemason must be aware of the Dutch-born philosopher (and Jewish heretic)’s Ethics, which “mimics Euclid and systematically proves that God is the universe, the single substance in which all natural phenomena exists.”

“Such a concept of God could be universally accepted in all religions,” Thomas continues. “Spinoza is clear that we can know God without intersession of the church, and that a spark of the divine is within us to be discovered.” Read all about it on Page 18.

Patrick C. Carr, Grand Senior Warden of Arkansas, reminds his reader that two of the Great Lights of Masonry are tools for moral building. “Only by learning and understanding how [the Square and Compasses] work together can we hope to begin to tame our earthly passions and begin to focus on our spiritual development in the Craft,” he advises. “Only then will we start to become true Master Masons with the ability to travel and to seek the eternal.” SMIB.

Isaiah Akin, Historian of historic Naval Lodge No. 4 in Washington, DC, presents “Gavels and Contagious Magic,” a photo spread of that most handy of working tools, the gavel. But these have illustrious origins. Gavels made of wood, stone, and ivory connected to highly notable human events. Check out these unforgettable artifacts.

And of course there are the regular features of The Journal. In the President’s Message, Jim Dillman updates us on the recent amazing developments in The Masonic Society, including a hint of things to come that take Masonic education beyond the printed word. Journal editor Michael Halleran, freshly outstalled as Grand Master of Kansas, polishes the shine of Dwight Smith. Smith, as you know from your Knights of the North reading, Laudable Pursuit, was Grand Master of Indiana in 1945. His writings were amazingly prescient for their bold foretelling of the demographic and structural ailments in American Freemasonry we see today. When the size of Masonic membership was at its unimaginable apex and the future seemed so blessed, Smith cautioned “that men judge Freemasonry by what they see walking down the street wearing Masonic emblems, and if what they see does not command their respect, then we need not expect them to seek our fellowship.”

“If we have grown so prosperous and fat and lazy,” Halleran quotes Smith, “there is nothing further to do except revel in our status symbols and create more status symbols [because] we have ceased to possess anything that is vital.” A prophet.

Yasha Berensiner’s “Masonic Collectibles” recalls eighteenth century Masonic newspapers. The good, the bad, and the inaccurate are shown in the yellowed fragile pages of long ago.

The book reviews pages share insights into half a dozen authors’ current offerings, from academic and popular approaches. “Masonic Treasures” depicts an odd ballot box of unknown origin that you have to see to believe, courtesy of Isaiah Akin.

And there is a lot more in the pages of this issue of The Journal. Membership in The Masonic Society, as boasted by many—not just me—is the best $39 you’ll spend in Freemasonry. It is a Masonic fraternity on the move. Never content to rest, TMS continues to grow because it improves the condition of the Masonic Order. Enjoy.
     

‘On the Magic Square’

    
Last night was the long-awaited appearance of Bro. Steve Burkle at Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge, where he spoke on “The 47th Problem of Euclid and the Magic Squares,” an exploration of historic and esoteric aspects of the Pythagorean Theorem. Steve is a prolific writer and presenter of research work, keeping busy in a variety of venues, including the AMD. His lecture was the last in the lodge’s “Enlightening the Temple” series, that brought to the podium seven guest speakers during the year, including Rashied Bey, Trevor Stewart, and Tim Wallace-Murphy.

On the historical side, Steve explained the known origins – mathematical and historical – of the Theorem, and explained away the clumsy manner in which it is explained in the lecture of the Third Degree. In the process, he told us about John Dee and a curiosity named Plimpton 322. The former, of course, was the 16th century English esotericist and mathematician. The latter is an ancient Babylonian cuneiform, numbered 322 among the G.A. Plimpton Collection at Columbia University, and might be the best known artifact to show mathematics in archeological history. It dates to 1900-1600 BCE, and it reveals the most advanced mathematics known previous to ancient Greece because it teaches how to form right triangles akin to the Pythagorean way.

The 47th Problem of Euclid is key to Freemasonry because it is elemental to the design of the universe. In short:

In any right triangle, the area of the square whose side is the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares whose sides are the two legs (the two sides that meet at a right angle).

Often written as the equation:

a² + b² = c²

With the number 3 being a common denominator of deity, there are many ways the triad speaks to divinity. Plato’s three-fold principle has Thought (father/generative power), Primitive Matter (mother/passive principle), and Kosmos (offspring/product). Plutarch, writing of Isis and Osiris, continues along this thinking and explains that within this right triangle the perpendicular is the masculine; the base is the feminine; and their offspring (Horus) is the hypotenuse. (Read the Master Mason chapter in Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma for a smarter rendering of this. Regardless of how much or how little one might meditate on geometrical theorems, this particular one can be appreciated as part of the “DNA” of the universe.)

Bro. Steve later explored numerology and gematria, linking the Pythagorean Theorem to what is called the Magic Square. A Magic Square is a matrix of rows and columns containing numbers that all agree on the same sum, no matter which direction is taken to add those numbers. To wit:

I think what I like most about Powerpoint presentations is how I can
photograph the images, instead of frantically taking notes!

Then, combining the geometry of the Pythagorean triangle with the numerology of the Magic Square and the cosmic implications of Kaballah, Steve illustrated his theory of a kind of code that defines the universe.

Read more about Steve’s presentation here. He explains Masonic symbolism very poetically and cogently, especially regarding the place occupied by the initiate upon taking his oath and obligation.

The Worshipful Master thanks Bro. Steve for the lecture.

Worshipful Master Mohamad Yatim deserves hearty praise for his work this year, a term during which he not only successfully governed the lodge’s traditional operations while setting attendance records with his lecture series, but also remained on top of the ever increasing mandates of the grand lodge. I am proud to know him, and am very excited to be working with him in 2011 at the Valley of Northern New Jersey, where we will be part of a group that revives a long-dormant Masonic education program. More on that later this fall.
  

‘At Atlas-Pythagoras’

‘The Lessons of Atlas,

and the Teachings of Pythagoras’

Having visited Atlas-Pythagoras Lodge No. 10 numerous times over the years and always enjoying myself there, it was a great pleasure to be the guest speaker this evening. The name itself interests me; this lodge is an amalgamation of a number of other lodges – some near, some not so near – so I’ve always been impressed that the names Atlas and Pythagoras were the last ones standing after the repeated acts of combustion inherent in lodge mergers and consolidations. So two names vital to Greek culture comprise this lodge’s hyphenated handle. It could have gone very differently, and in a variety of permutations and combinations. The lodge could have become Atlas-Franklin, or Century-Pythagoras, or Vailsburg-Century, or Atlas-Century-Franklin-Pythagoras-Vailsburg-Merrill-Lynch-Sacco-Vanzetti Lodge. You get the idea.

Actually it was several years ago that Bro. Mohamad first asked me to come to the lodge to speak. He was planning ahead for his term as Worshipful Master. “Sure, I’d love to!” I told him, figuring he’d forget by now and I’d still get to be a good guy for agreeing to do it. But he didn’t forget, and while I absolutely dread public speaking – the Magpie Mason is more of a writer than a lecturer – things went pretty well tonight. Lots of friendly faces out there too: Franklin, John L., Don M., Josè, Don S., Greg, Henry, David D! and others in addition to the actual lodge brothers, like Thurman, Vincent (on his 90th birthday!), Moises, Pete, and the many young Masons who know “A-P 10” is the place to be.

Tonight’s topic? Ah, yes. Getting back to my appreciation for the name, and the incalculable, statistical unlikelihood that two Greek mytho-historical figures would jointly become namesakes of a Masonic lodge in central Jersey, I spoke on “The Lessons of Atlas, and the Teachings of Pythagoras.” (I was very much hoping to add a humorous third segment titled “The Legend of Atmas-Pymagoras,” but the brother who could best tell this amazing true story was not in attendance.)

I find it interesting that a lodge would choose the name Atlas for itself. Unlike Pythagoras, the Atlas of Greek mythology plays no direct role in Craft ritual or symbol. I found nothing in either traditional or contemporary AASR degrees. Didn’t see anything in any of the many Egyptian-oriented rites documented in the past decade by the Grand College of Rites. I mean it’s not unthinkable that a lodge would want to be named Atlas. New Jersey has had Apollo Lodge No. 156, Orpheus 137, Orion 56, and Diogenes 22. But the choice of Atlas (No. 125, chartered in 1872) for a lodge is interesting. But then it may have been named for some guy named Jimmy Atlas. I’ll defer to the lodge historian!

So my goal, as I saw it, was to explain the mythology of Atlas, and direct the brethren’s attention to whatever commonality there may be with Masonic thought.

It’s easiest to just list the items:

His name: Means “very enduring” or “one who endures” or “one who suffers.” A fitting name for most Worshipful Masters, and probably all secretaries.

His family:

• He is a son of Iapetus, who is the same character as Japhet, a son of Noah in the Book of Genesis, who is known to Royal Arch Masons.
• He is the father of the Pleiades, seven daughters placed in the heavens as a constellation, which is the cluster of seven stars seen in Master Mason Degree tracing boards, slides, aprons, and other illustrations.
• Atlas also is the brother of Prometheus (who deserves a lodge of his own). He also is the father of Calypso, the Hyades, and the Hesperides.

Above: In traditional illustrations of Masonic symbols, the seven-star cluster called Pleiades often is seen in the vicinity of the All Seeing Eye and/or the Sun and Moon, as this close-up shot of this classic 19th century print shows. Below: Close-up shot of the Moon and Pleiades.

Atlas was one of the Titans, the generation of proto-gods who ruled earth before being overthrown by Zeus. In his victory, Zeus banished Atlas to an existence of servitude in which he, depending on the story you hear, used his great strength to uphold the earth, or uphold the heavens, or uphold the two pillars that support heaven and earth. From the first version, we get our name for a book of maps. From the second comes the name of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa. And the third? If you will cast your eyes to the West, you will behold two pillars, one supporting the earth, and one supporting the heavens. (Again, I’m not alleging causality, but simply noting some commonality.)

He also is the namesake of Atlantis, the legendary island defined by Plato as a wonderland, but that went missing in the Atlantic, the ocean named for it.

So where is the Lesson of Atlas?

Atlas is also frequently associated with Heracles (Hercules), and in the Heraclean legends the hero is given 12 labors to execute as punishment for murdering his family. Labor No. 11 is a mission to seize the Golden Apples of the Hesperides, which were wedding gifts given by Mother Earth to Hera that were guarded by Atlas’ daughters. I will let Bro. Robert Graves, the renowned scholar and author, conclude the story:

Nereus had advised Heracles not to pluck the apples himself, but to employ Atlas as his agent, meanwhile relieving him of his fantastic burden; therefore, on arriving at the garden of the Hesperides, he asked Atlas to do him this favor. Atlas would have undertaken almost any task for the sake of an hour’s respite, but he feared Ladon, whom Heracles thereupon killed with an arrow shot over the garden wall. Heracles now bent his back to receive the weight of the celestial globe, and Atlas walked away, returning presently with three apples plucked by his daughters. He found the sense of freedom delicious. ‘I will take these apples to Eurystheus myself without fail,’ he said, ‘if you hold up the heavens for a few months longer.’ Heracles pretended to agree, but having been warned by Nereus not to accept any such offer, begged Atlas to support the globe for only one moment more, while he put a pad on his head. Atlas, easily deceived, laid the apples on the ground and resumed his burden, whereupon Heracles picked them up and went away with an ironical farewell. (Source: The Greek Myths.)

The lesson? If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is! (Sorry. I promised the Worshipful Master I’d be serious tonight.)

For his part, Pythagoras has much more to say to Freemasons of course. Being not at all qualified to discuss Pythagorean mathematics and geometry, I instead read to the brethren The Golden Verses of Pythagoras. These 71 lines of philosophical monologue – none of that Socratic stuff here – are timeless pieces of advice conducive to mankind living in brotherhood, under the fatherhood of deity. (And again, I do not allege any connection between the Pythagorean mystery school and Freemasonry, but there are undeniable similarities between the universal truths in these verses and our Masonic teachings.) And I should point out that the 71 verses are not necessarily 71 distinct sayings, but they are numbered as are biblical verses, meaning one concept may be expressed in multiple lines.

The Golden Verses are understood in two denominations: the Practical Virtues, and the Divine Virtues. The former are 47 in number, and are intended to make a good man better. The latter complete the body of 71, and are intended to perfect good men, so as to render them worthy of the Grand Architect’s use.

It’s getting late, so I will list only a few good examples:

5. Of all the rest of mankind, make him a friend who distinguishes himself by his virtue.
6. Always give ear to his mild exhortations, and take example from his virtuous and useful actions.
7. Avoid as much as possible hating a friend for a slight fault.
8. (And understand that) power is a near neighbor to necessity.

In 5 and 6, we are reminded of some of the standards to maintain when considering a petitioner for initiation. Nos. 7 and 8 hint at the Closing Charge.

9. Know that all these things are as I have told you; and accustom yourself to overcome and vanquish these passions:
10. First gluttony, sloth, sensuality, and anger.
11. Do nothing evil, neither in the presence of others, nor privately.
12. But above all things respect thyself.

This quatrain recalls the first goal of the Apprentice: to learn to subdue the passions and improve oneself in Masonry.

13. In the next place, observe justice in your actions and in your words.
14. And accustom not yourself to behave in any thing without rule, and without reason.

These two verses neatly summarize the virtues of circumspection, right thinking, and right action.

24. Observe well, on every occasion, what I am going to tell you:
25. Let no man either by his words, or by his deeds, ever seduce you.
26. Nor entice you to say or to do what is not profitable for yourself.
27. Consult and deliberate before you act, that you may not commit foolish actions.
28. For it is the part of a miserable man to speak and to act without reflection.
29. But do that which will not afflict you afterwards, nor oblige you to repentance.
30. Never do anything which you do not understand.
31. But learn all you ought to know, and by that means you will lead a very pleasant life.

So mote it be.

48. But never begin to set the hand to any work, till you have first prayed to the gods to accomplish what you are going to begin.

Just as Masons never undertake any labor without first invoking the blessing of Deity.

54. You will likewise know that men draw upon themselves their own misfortunes voluntarily, and of their own free choice.
55. Unhappy that they are! They neither see nor understand that their good is near them.
56. Few know how to deliver themselves out of their misfortunes.
57. Such is the fate that blinds mankind, and takes away his senses.
58. Like huge cylinders they roll to and fro, and always oppressed with ills innumerable.
59. For fatal strife, innate, pursues them everywhere, tossing them up and down; nor do they perceive it.
60. Instead of provoking and stirring it up, they ought, by yielding, to avoid it.
61. Oh! Jupiter, our Father! if You would deliver men from all the evils that oppress them,
62. Show them of what dæmon they make use.
63. But take courage; the race of man is divine.
64. Sacred nature reveals to them the most hidden mysteries.
65. If she impart to you her secrets, you will easily perform all the things which I have ordained.
66. And by the healing of your soul, you will deliver it from all evils, from all afflictions.
69. Leaving yourself always to be guided and directed by the understanding that comes from above, and that ought to hold the reins.
70. And when, after having divested yourself of your mortal body, you arrive at the most pure Æther,
71. You shalt be a god, immortal, incorruptible, and death shall have no more dominion over you.

To which I can only add Ecclesiastes 12:

1. Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2. While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low;
5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Thanks for the hospitality brethren. I will see you soon.