Just had to break out of my year-end rush to send out happy 200th birthday greetings for Albert Pike (1809-1891), formerly the seventh Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite in the Southern Jurisdiction.
Yes, I know he looks a bit scary. The fellow had more than a slightly rough life, upon the details of which I shall not dwell here. However, looking beyond his stern appearance, I am in awe of his sheer scholarly output, a great deal of which is worth our while today. A few cases in point:
- His revision of the Scottish Rite rituals. Sure, the rituals have been revised a bit here and there since his time, but by far most of what one sees in the Scottish Rite rituals in the Southern Jurisdiction today is Pike's work--and it is magnificent. (For a taste of it in print, take a look at Rex R. Hutchens' A Bridge to Light: The Revised Standard Pike Ritual (3rd ed., 2006, ed. by Arturo de Hoyos).
- His major commentary on that ritual, Morals and Dogma. Yes, the language is a bit outdated. However, if you take it in bite-sized chunks, you'll find that there are depths of interesting thinking here. I don't agree with everything Commander Pike had to say, but I'm grateful for him raising the issues he raised. (I look forward to the forthcoming new edition of Morals and Dogma, also edited by Arturo de Hoyos, which I hope will be out in the new year.)
- His other commentary on that ritual, which can be found in the Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide (second edition, 2009, also edited by Arturo de Hoyos). Where else does a modern man make intelligent remarks on Pythagoras, the Kabbalah, and the meaning of Freemasonry?
- His thoughts on the symbolism of the Blue Lodge, found in Albert Pike's Esoterika (2nd ed., 2008, edited by the indefatigable Arturo de Hoyos). When some leading intellectuals in the United Grand Lodge of England got a hold of a manuscript copy, they declared this the most profound work they'd seen on the Blue Lodge degrees.
- Tolerance of different religions, and championing of the cause of religious freedom, and respect for religious diversity.
- Commitment to ongoing learning.
- Championing the cause of those not in power. Commitment to fight political repression.
- Commitment to seeing the truth and value that is there to be found in philosophies and religions from across the many cultures of humanity, throughout the ages.
So happy birthday to you, Commander Pike--with thanks for a job well done.
Dear Brother Mark, great seeing you Saturday. I enjoyed our conversation and I am taking up your offer to expand on the idea we discussed. My thesis is why do masons have a tyler at the lodge door with a sword? As stone masons they would most likely guard the door with hammer or tool of their craft. Swords were for knights and prohibited to the common man and as operative masons would have no need for a sword in addition a sword would have been expensive to acquire.
ReplyDeleteAnother contention is the magnificent edifices built by the Knights Templar in Holy Lands. The range of fortifications and castles and the amount of building was extensive. Stone masons held the secrets of science and geometry. They must have worked closely with the knights and there may well have developed between the Knights Templar and stone masons and admiration for their ability. Not only were they the engineers for the Templars they were need for repairs and upkeep of the fortifications. A long term relationship had to develop between them that would well have lasted until the Templar's arrest in 1307. Escaping Templars who arrived in Scotland would have lost all of their wealth and property therefor where would they turn for work and a livelihood? It may have been the Templars that introduced the sword to the stone masons lodge and even a former knight may have sat outside the lodge door with that sword, as he knew how to wield it, and secrecy of there presence was crucial. It is plausible that their christian teaching and secret signs may have added to the early ritual of the masons.
Well that is where my thinking on the subject is.
Kindest regards, John Mullin 32º, KT
jesus loves us all
ReplyDeleteHey, a couple of quick questions about ol' Al, much of which I'm sure you've probably heard before/been asked:
ReplyDelete·what are your thoughts on the legitimacy of the Palladium Rite and that order's role in the emergence/development of internationalism/globalism?
·in regards to the above, do you believe Pike was truly in "cahoots", or at least correspondence with Gisueppe Mazzini, Lord Henry Palmerston, and Otto Von Bismarck?
·do you believe the allegation that he was a co-founder/Chief Judiciary Officer of the Ku Klux Klan (K is the 11th letter, and K+K+K = 33, which could be a code that the knights are a smokescreen for the Scottish Rite . . . lol)
·do you believe the Leo Taxil hoax was truly a work of authentic anti-masonry or that it was used to obfuscate Pike's involvement in Palladium and the engineering of a social cataclysm/Luciferian One-World Religion Government?