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Article RENEWAL OF HOSTILITIES. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MAGIC SYMBOLS IN MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article MAGIC SYMBOLS IN MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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Renewal Of Hostilities.
that , henceforth , there would be perfect harmony among the Provinces . Now—at the moment of writing—there are thoso who think harmony a complete mistake . In tho profane world , people are all the better when they agree to
sink their differences and live on . But the conduct of the outside world , though regulated by the dictates of common sense , seems unworthy for us to follow—at least in the estimation of Bro . Tew ' s partisans .
Is it a great thing to ask that this miserable opposition be stamped out , once and for ever ? Are we not bound to further the interests of the School as far as we can , and always beyond all else ? It seems to us the School and others are being called upon to sacrifice everything to the
cause of a pamphleteer . We say , emphatically , this must not be . A factious opposition is utterly contemptible . We admire a man who has the courage of his opinions , who has a policy and is eager to have it adopted . When , however , it is settled that such policy is not generally
appreciated , we have a right to expect that it shall not be thrust upon us . It is , no doubt , very lamentable that all the world does not hold the same belief as Bro . Tew as to what he considers the folly and extravagance of the Governing Body of the Boys' School . But Bro . Tew and his
partisans , as well in North and East as in West Yorkshire , being unable to convince the world of their error , must bow to the inevitable . Their ideas can only be made to prevail at the cost of the School , and this is too costly a price to pay for
the privilege . We call upon West Yorkshire to stamp out this opposition . We invite its neighbour of the North and East Ridings to suppress all partiality for disputes . Such partiality is both un-Masonic and unmanly .
Magic Symbols In Masonry.
MAGIC SYMBOLS IN MASONRY .
( Continued from page 260 , Vol . III . )
EESTJMLNG Eliphas Levi ' s cabbalistical exposition , we read , " On providing a place for man and a first sanctuary for his alliance with the Divine , Moses mentions
a garden , where , from a single source , four rivers divide ( the Jod and the Tetragram ) ; then the two trees of life and death . There man and woman , the active and the passive , aro placed . The woman is attracted towards
death and draws down Adam in her fall , they are then driven from the sanctuary of Truth , a cherub being stationed at its gate to guard the tree of life from
profanation . Here we see that a dogma of mystery , with its allegories and horrors , has replaced the simple Truth . An idol has taken the place of God , and fallen humanity is ripe for the worship of the golden calf . "
I hereupon is indicated the necessary and successive reactions of the two principles one upon the other , in the story of Cain and Abel . Force revenges itself by oppression , for the superior charms of weakness , which dies
martyred and pleads against the consequences of crime , disgrace and remorse . Thus is revealed the equilibrium of the moral world , thus the basis of all prophecy and the fulcrum oi all intelligent policy are laid . To abandon a force to its own excesses is to condemn it to suicide . "
' This is what was wanting to enable Dupuis to comprehend the universal religious dogma of the Kabbala : the knowledge of that splendid hypothesis , partly shown , and realised more and more each clay by scientific discovery , — universal analogy : deprived of this key of transcendental
dogma , he saw only in the Gods—the sun , the seven planets , and the twelve signs ; he could not perceive in the sun , the image of Plato ' s Logos , in the planets the seven notes of the celestial gamma , aud in the zodiac the quadrature of the ternary cycle of all initiations . "
Levi sums up the metaphysical application of the preceding doctrine in the celebrated axiom : " A thing is not just because God wills it ; God wills it because it is just . " He then describes the degeneracy of cabbalistic interpretations into superstition , by a process of reasoning
which explains the process of degradation to which many another doctrine has submitted , thus—1 . Tho symbol expresses the thino \ 2 . The thing is the virtue of the symbol .
3 . There is an analogical correspondence between the symbol and the thing signified : the more perfect the symbol the greater the correspondence . 4 . To speak a word is to evoke a thought and to render
Magic Symbols In Masonry.
it present . To name God , for example , is to make God manifest . 5 . Tho word acts on the soul , and the soul reacts npon the body ; therefore , one may terrify , console , afflict , heal , even kill and resuscitate by words .
6 . To give a name is to create or to call up a being . 7 . In the name the verbal or spiritual doctrine of the being itself is contained . 8 . When the sonl evokes a thought , the symbol of that thought is written in the light ( astral light ) .
9 . To invoke is to adjure ; i . e . to swear by a name is to do an act of faith in that name , and to commune with the virtue which it represents . 10 . Words are therefore good or evil , poisonous or salutary , of themselves .
11 . The most dangerous words are words vainly and lightly proffered , because they are voluntary abortions of thoughts . 12 . A useless word is a crime against the spirit of intelligence , an intellectual infanticide .
13 . Things are for each of ns , what we make of them in naming them . The word of each one of us is an habitual prayer or imprecation . 14 . To speak well , is to live well . 15 . A good style is an aureole of sanctity .
Hence , resulted amongst superstitious cabbahsts an absolute faith in enchantments , evocations , conjurations and mystic prayers . And as FAITH ( concentrated in willpower ) can accomplish prodigies ; so apparitions , oracles , marvellous cures and sudden maladies have not been
wanting to confirm them in their delusion . Concerning a personage whose existence has of late been disputed . Cabbalists say that the occult or true name of the devil is that of Jehovah written backwards . This is like a revelation to the initiate in the mysteries of the
totragram . For in fact , the order of the letters in the Grand Name indicates the predominance of the idea over the form , the active over the passive , the cause over th effect . By reversing the order , we obtain the contrary , Jehovah is He who dominates nature like a rider his horse ,
Chavajoh ( the devil ) is the unbridled steed , which , like those of the Egyptians in sacred song , overturns its rider and p l unges him into the abyss . The devil then really
exists for the eabbalist , but neither as a person nor as a force distinct from the forces of nature herself . Ho is Intellect in delirium or in trance , he is Folly and Falsehood .
A sound recipe for the perpetuation of youth is given by Levi : " Prevent the soul from ageing by sedulously preserving that original freshness of sentiment and thought Avhich a corrupt world calls illusion , and which I should call the primal reflection from eternal truth . " Believe in
goodness , in friendship , in love , in a Providence which numbers our steps and will recompense onr tears . Like an utter dupe , the world would say ; not perceiving that ! he dupe is he who imagines himself strengthened by shearing his soul of its attributes of strength . To believe
in moral good is , spiritually speaking , to possess it . The kingdom of heaven has been promised to those who would make themselves like little children . What , then , is childhood ? It is the age of Faith ; the child knows nothing of
life , and rejoices accordingly in confidence of immortality , Can it doubt the love and care of Providence whilst it nestles in its mother ' s arms ? It is a type of happiness that may well be envied .
Abstract happiness , from its nature , can only be conceived of as infinite , Godlike ; this leads ns to enquire as to the cabbalistic definition of God , which is given thus : Man can only conceive of Him as an infinite or rather indefinite man ; for the terms of comparison for any other conception
are wanting . It follows that all which tends to personify Him , inevitably leads to anthropomorphism or idolatry . For this reason cabbalists distinguished between the essence-God and man ' s idea of Him , to the latter only do they give a name , Jehovah or Adonai . Apprehending
divine things by their shadow projected in the human soul , they consider that it presents to us all divine notions in an inverse sense , which in order to conceive of the truth in essential harmony we must invert again , and deduce " the analogy of contraries . "
This judgment of ordinary things , by antithesis , is represented , as we have said before , by the two triangles , one upright and the other inverted , which form the six-pointed star of the mysterious seal of Solomon , our B > oyal Arch Jewel . Each triangle , separate , represents an incomplete
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Renewal Of Hostilities.
that , henceforth , there would be perfect harmony among the Provinces . Now—at the moment of writing—there are thoso who think harmony a complete mistake . In tho profane world , people are all the better when they agree to
sink their differences and live on . But the conduct of the outside world , though regulated by the dictates of common sense , seems unworthy for us to follow—at least in the estimation of Bro . Tew ' s partisans .
Is it a great thing to ask that this miserable opposition be stamped out , once and for ever ? Are we not bound to further the interests of the School as far as we can , and always beyond all else ? It seems to us the School and others are being called upon to sacrifice everything to the
cause of a pamphleteer . We say , emphatically , this must not be . A factious opposition is utterly contemptible . We admire a man who has the courage of his opinions , who has a policy and is eager to have it adopted . When , however , it is settled that such policy is not generally
appreciated , we have a right to expect that it shall not be thrust upon us . It is , no doubt , very lamentable that all the world does not hold the same belief as Bro . Tew as to what he considers the folly and extravagance of the Governing Body of the Boys' School . But Bro . Tew and his
partisans , as well in North and East as in West Yorkshire , being unable to convince the world of their error , must bow to the inevitable . Their ideas can only be made to prevail at the cost of the School , and this is too costly a price to pay for
the privilege . We call upon West Yorkshire to stamp out this opposition . We invite its neighbour of the North and East Ridings to suppress all partiality for disputes . Such partiality is both un-Masonic and unmanly .
Magic Symbols In Masonry.
MAGIC SYMBOLS IN MASONRY .
( Continued from page 260 , Vol . III . )
EESTJMLNG Eliphas Levi ' s cabbalistical exposition , we read , " On providing a place for man and a first sanctuary for his alliance with the Divine , Moses mentions
a garden , where , from a single source , four rivers divide ( the Jod and the Tetragram ) ; then the two trees of life and death . There man and woman , the active and the passive , aro placed . The woman is attracted towards
death and draws down Adam in her fall , they are then driven from the sanctuary of Truth , a cherub being stationed at its gate to guard the tree of life from
profanation . Here we see that a dogma of mystery , with its allegories and horrors , has replaced the simple Truth . An idol has taken the place of God , and fallen humanity is ripe for the worship of the golden calf . "
I hereupon is indicated the necessary and successive reactions of the two principles one upon the other , in the story of Cain and Abel . Force revenges itself by oppression , for the superior charms of weakness , which dies
martyred and pleads against the consequences of crime , disgrace and remorse . Thus is revealed the equilibrium of the moral world , thus the basis of all prophecy and the fulcrum oi all intelligent policy are laid . To abandon a force to its own excesses is to condemn it to suicide . "
' This is what was wanting to enable Dupuis to comprehend the universal religious dogma of the Kabbala : the knowledge of that splendid hypothesis , partly shown , and realised more and more each clay by scientific discovery , — universal analogy : deprived of this key of transcendental
dogma , he saw only in the Gods—the sun , the seven planets , and the twelve signs ; he could not perceive in the sun , the image of Plato ' s Logos , in the planets the seven notes of the celestial gamma , aud in the zodiac the quadrature of the ternary cycle of all initiations . "
Levi sums up the metaphysical application of the preceding doctrine in the celebrated axiom : " A thing is not just because God wills it ; God wills it because it is just . " He then describes the degeneracy of cabbalistic interpretations into superstition , by a process of reasoning
which explains the process of degradation to which many another doctrine has submitted , thus—1 . Tho symbol expresses the thino \ 2 . The thing is the virtue of the symbol .
3 . There is an analogical correspondence between the symbol and the thing signified : the more perfect the symbol the greater the correspondence . 4 . To speak a word is to evoke a thought and to render
Magic Symbols In Masonry.
it present . To name God , for example , is to make God manifest . 5 . Tho word acts on the soul , and the soul reacts npon the body ; therefore , one may terrify , console , afflict , heal , even kill and resuscitate by words .
6 . To give a name is to create or to call up a being . 7 . In the name the verbal or spiritual doctrine of the being itself is contained . 8 . When the sonl evokes a thought , the symbol of that thought is written in the light ( astral light ) .
9 . To invoke is to adjure ; i . e . to swear by a name is to do an act of faith in that name , and to commune with the virtue which it represents . 10 . Words are therefore good or evil , poisonous or salutary , of themselves .
11 . The most dangerous words are words vainly and lightly proffered , because they are voluntary abortions of thoughts . 12 . A useless word is a crime against the spirit of intelligence , an intellectual infanticide .
13 . Things are for each of ns , what we make of them in naming them . The word of each one of us is an habitual prayer or imprecation . 14 . To speak well , is to live well . 15 . A good style is an aureole of sanctity .
Hence , resulted amongst superstitious cabbahsts an absolute faith in enchantments , evocations , conjurations and mystic prayers . And as FAITH ( concentrated in willpower ) can accomplish prodigies ; so apparitions , oracles , marvellous cures and sudden maladies have not been
wanting to confirm them in their delusion . Concerning a personage whose existence has of late been disputed . Cabbalists say that the occult or true name of the devil is that of Jehovah written backwards . This is like a revelation to the initiate in the mysteries of the
totragram . For in fact , the order of the letters in the Grand Name indicates the predominance of the idea over the form , the active over the passive , the cause over th effect . By reversing the order , we obtain the contrary , Jehovah is He who dominates nature like a rider his horse ,
Chavajoh ( the devil ) is the unbridled steed , which , like those of the Egyptians in sacred song , overturns its rider and p l unges him into the abyss . The devil then really
exists for the eabbalist , but neither as a person nor as a force distinct from the forces of nature herself . Ho is Intellect in delirium or in trance , he is Folly and Falsehood .
A sound recipe for the perpetuation of youth is given by Levi : " Prevent the soul from ageing by sedulously preserving that original freshness of sentiment and thought Avhich a corrupt world calls illusion , and which I should call the primal reflection from eternal truth . " Believe in
goodness , in friendship , in love , in a Providence which numbers our steps and will recompense onr tears . Like an utter dupe , the world would say ; not perceiving that ! he dupe is he who imagines himself strengthened by shearing his soul of its attributes of strength . To believe
in moral good is , spiritually speaking , to possess it . The kingdom of heaven has been promised to those who would make themselves like little children . What , then , is childhood ? It is the age of Faith ; the child knows nothing of
life , and rejoices accordingly in confidence of immortality , Can it doubt the love and care of Providence whilst it nestles in its mother ' s arms ? It is a type of happiness that may well be envied .
Abstract happiness , from its nature , can only be conceived of as infinite , Godlike ; this leads ns to enquire as to the cabbalistic definition of God , which is given thus : Man can only conceive of Him as an infinite or rather indefinite man ; for the terms of comparison for any other conception
are wanting . It follows that all which tends to personify Him , inevitably leads to anthropomorphism or idolatry . For this reason cabbalists distinguished between the essence-God and man ' s idea of Him , to the latter only do they give a name , Jehovah or Adonai . Apprehending
divine things by their shadow projected in the human soul , they consider that it presents to us all divine notions in an inverse sense , which in order to conceive of the truth in essential harmony we must invert again , and deduce " the analogy of contraries . "
This judgment of ordinary things , by antithesis , is represented , as we have said before , by the two triangles , one upright and the other inverted , which form the six-pointed star of the mysterious seal of Solomon , our B > oyal Arch Jewel . Each triangle , separate , represents an incomplete