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Post by corab on Jun 14, 2005 18:59:33 GMT
Or should that be Freemasonry IS the Widow?
I can't help but noticing that Masonry is often referred to in the feminine, and as Carl Claudy puts it (http://www.mastermason.com/BrotherGene/masonic/why_men_love_freemasonry_by_bro.htm)
Is there a link here? Is Freemasonry representative of the Widow? What does the symbol of the Widow mean, and is it in any way related to the Shekhinah?
As usual - many questions!
Cheers,
Cora
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Post by hollandr on Jun 15, 2005 0:04:03 GMT
Cora The esoteric version is that craft Masonry is established using Sirian Masonry as a model. The Widow Isis was and is our Grand Lodge representative. We are the sons of the Widow because earth Masonry was set up to look after the descendants of Isis and her kind and to lead those descendents to understanding their role in the greater plan. Shekinah is the consort of the god Jehovah - and a nasty piece of work he is - "vengeance is mine". Shekinah has been transmuted as symbol to be an access point for the higher female energies in a similar way to the christian Holy Spirit - Father, Son and - surely a female presence. Cheers Russell
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Post by corab on Jun 15, 2005 10:22:18 GMT
Hi Russell, The esoteric version is that craft Masonry is established using Sirian Masonry as a model. The Widow Isis was and is our Grand Lodge representative. We are the sons of the Widow because earth Masonry was set up to look after the descendants of Isis and her kind and to lead those descendents to understanding their role in the greater plan. That's very interesting - is that where the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye comes from, then; the Eye of Horus? I've read somewhere that it isn't a Masonic symbol per se, or maybe even not Masonic at all - just implied by films like National Treasure ..? It's a thought provoking heritage, though, considering Isis' husband Osiris, his life, death and resurrection. He was struck down and trampled by his brother Seth, or drowned in the Nile - a double death was probably thought necessary to kill a god. His body was torn apart and scattered across Egypt, but Isis and her family manage to retrieve the body (some translations tell one crucial bit was missing, but she remade it) and with the help of Thoth and Anubis the body was remade to become the first mummy. The body being remade, Isis took Osiris' seed and conceived Horus, after which Osiris sinks back into an inert state. Isis, Thoth and Horus then have to argue the case of an unjust death before the Divine Tribunal, where Osiris is vindicated as a "possessor of maat[/]" (truth, justice). Because his death was unust, the Tribunal allows Osiris to leave his mummy and rule the kingdom of the dead. The actual raising of Osiris appears to have been accomplished by Horus presenting the power of his Eye to Osiris. In the darkest hour of the night ("The Dark Night of the Soul"?) the soul of the sun god Ra would reach the cave where Osiris' body lay and became one with his soul. This allowed Osiris and all the dead to awake and live again - resurrection by Light. Osiris, of course, is also known as a god of fertility; his symbole being barley or corn. A Middle Kingdome royal ritual equate the body of Osiris with barley and Set with the donkeys who thresh the grain by trampling on it. According to Geraldine Pinch, author of the Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, this is the earliest definite example of the death and resurrection of Osiris being linked to the annual cycle of the reaping and sowing of crops. Ithyphallic corn mummies were made and buried during the festivals of Osiris, the purpose of which was to give new life to the dead, just as the seed corn grew into new plants - which seems reminiscent of the ear of corn in the 2nd Degree tracing board.
There's an awful lot of familiar symbolism in the myths of Isis, Osiris and Horus!
That's not how I know her - I was taught she was the consort of the Messiah, and that part of the Great Work was to rejoin her with the Messiah. I have always interpreted this in terms of the Chymical Wedding - merging the complementary opposites of Conscious and Unconscious, Above and Below into One, Balanced state of Wholeness.
The role you're describing I recognise that of Binah - the Mother, not the Shekhinah -- maybe we've learnt of the Qabalah in different schools of thought. And even in Christian thought there is a Quaternity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Mother; Jung writes about it quite extensively in Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, if I remember correctly. Four is symbolic of the material plain, whereas three symbolises the trinity of life; the substance, intellect and force which drives it. The inclusion of the feminine aspect expresses the materialisation of the spirit/divine. In Christian terms: God became Man. In Qabalistic terms from Kether (Crown) emanated first Chockmah (Wisdom), then Binah (Understanding), and the combination of the latter two resulted in Tifareth (Beauty) - Father (Chockmah), Son (Tifareth), Holy Spirit (Kether) and Mother (Binah).
Some interesting stuff to ponder!
Cheers,
Cora
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Post by a on Jun 15, 2005 10:34:38 GMT
Cora
Excellent post.
Balance (from the merging of opposites that you mentioned) is indeed ever so important. Many of the problems in our world today can be traced to imbalance. One way or another balance will return. For that is the way of things. The only real question is whether rebalancing is imposed or evolved.
Balance, harmony, Ma'at.
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bod
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Posts: 1,296
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Post by bod on Jun 15, 2005 10:48:06 GMT
Well, thats one esoteric version - but I'm sure there are lots more....
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Post by corab on Jun 15, 2005 11:09:19 GMT
Hi Stewart, Cora Balance (from the merging of opposites that you mentioned) is indeed ever so important. Many of the problems in our world today can be traced to imbalance. One way or another balance will return. For that is the way of things. The only real question is whether rebalancing is imposed or evolved. True, but let me play advocate of the Devil for a moment - imbalance has a role to play, as well. It may just be one of those stimuli causing change, and change, in one way or another, is growth. I've got a slightly odd take of this whole "Battle between Good and Evil" - however literally you wish to take it. The "Battle" is necessary; it's the impetus to life. The moment it is resolved, everything will grind to a halt, because it's lost its impetus! So yeah - Balance is good, but Imbalance has a role to play as well. If we didn't feel tired, we wouldn't know to sleep. If we didn't feel pain, we wouldn't know something's amiss. It's necessary. Cora
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Post by a on Jun 15, 2005 11:38:39 GMT
Cora
I agree, completely.
My only point is to do with the level of imbalance in our world today. It is not sustainable. And hence the level of correction is likely to be rather severe as our global ecosystem rebalances itself. The severity of the rebalancing would be less if we could take a step forward in our own evolution, instead of repeating past mistakes. Assuming that we haven't passed a critical point of no return that is. In which case it would be academic.
Everything in our world is cyclical, and we are approaching, a point on the circle where Ma'at will restablish itself, ready for the next cycle.
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Post by corab on Jun 15, 2005 18:18:15 GMT
Hi Stewart, My only point is to do with the level of imbalance in our world today. It is not sustainable. And hence the level of correction is likely to be rather severe as our global ecosystem rebalances itself. The severity of the rebalancing would be less if we could take a step forward in our own evolution, instead of repeating past mistakes. Assuming that we haven't passed a critical point of no return that is. In which case it would be academic. Everything in our world is cyclical, and we are approaching, a point on the circle where Ma'at will restablish itself, ready for the next cycle. Very true, and I feel the learning and that "step forward" you mention are a very slow process indeed. The way I see it, there have always been mass-destructive events, be they floods, vulcanic eruptions or meteor impacts. Global warming is probably something that would've happened without our heavily industrialised society - we've just sped it up. There are cycles to life, and they're unavoidable - the trick is to learn from them. Cora
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ruffashlar
Member
Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
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Post by ruffashlar on Jun 15, 2005 22:12:54 GMT
Blimey. When do the aliens get here?
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Post by hollandr on Jun 15, 2005 22:42:39 GMT
Cora
>is that where the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye comes from
Actually I think you will find the physical version of the all seeing eye in the Epic of Gilgamesh where one of the gods (Enlil or Enki) has "an uplifted eye above his house searching all the lands". This is preserved in HRA where the second principal holds an wand with an all seeing eye at the top. These days we would think in terms of satellites.
The all seeing eye can also be found to exist on higher planes.
>Isis took Osiris' seed and conceived Horus
So if anyone is the son of a widow it is Horus who was born of a mother with a dead husband
>The actual raising of Osiris appears to have been accomplished by Horus presenting the power of his Eye to Osiris.
From memory in the Epic of Gilgamesh it talks about a dead god being treated 60 times with the Water of Life before he was resuscitated.
> In the darkest hour of the night ("The Dark Night of the Soul"?) the soul of the sun god Ra would reach the cave where Osiris' body lay and became one with his soul.
Traditionally the dark night of the soul occurs after the 3rd initiation when the initiate has learned to control the soul and now needs to control the heart and intuition. At this time the easy and immediate access to higher intelligences is withdrawn. There is no guidance and the initiate is left alone to discern truth and reality without any assistance. Some initiates feeling the isolation approaching get in first and publicly deny the higher forces.
>A Middle Kingdome royal ritual equate the body of Osiris with barley and Set with the donkeys who thresh the grain by trampling on it.
I think this is the origin in our 3rd degree of trampling the King of Terrors who is likely a disguised Set
>I was taught she was the consort of the Messiah
A search of Google for "shekhina consort" will show some sources including:
"While the Bible does not mention the name Shekhina, she is nevertheless bound to extremely old traditions, and closely relates to the ancient goddesses. Particularly significant is the Canaanite goddess Ashera who, at the beginning of the Israelites' settlement in the land of Canaan, was often referred to as Yahweh's Consort. The literature also calls her the "Holy Spirit" "
>The role you're describing I recognise that of Binah - the Mother, not the Shekhinah
Yes I think that Shekhina has been transformed, not on the physical historical level of course, into an image through which it is possible to contact the Great Mother. Binah is another such image to contact the Great Mother. You can find the Great Mother directly through the following imagery. While meditating, consider the Pleiades as being a window. Open the window and look through. What is flying around her head? This may explain the question in the Book of Job :"Who can resist the sweetness of the Pleiades"
My suspicion is that Qabalah is presented in new clothes to meet new times.
While there are many profound things in the Qabalah I am not sure that it is any longer at the cutting edge. My only use for it at present is mapping energy structures of land masses.
Cheers
Russell
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giovanni
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odi profanum vulgus, et arceo
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Post by giovanni on Jun 16, 2005 9:18:53 GMT
...Shekinah has been transmuted as symbol to be an access point for the higher female energies in a similar way to the Christian Holy Spirit - Father, Son and - surely a female presence... l By reading The Symbol of the Cross, by Rene' Gue'non, I knew that the Shekinah is the central point of the cross. It is a symbol of balance of energies, in every respect (sexual included)
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Post by corab on Jun 16, 2005 11:09:06 GMT
Blimey. When do the aliens get here? Dunno. But if they send their schedule, I'll let you know. ;D Cora
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ruffashlar
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Lodge Milncroft No. 1515 (GLoS), Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (S.G.R.A.C.S.)
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Post by ruffashlar on Jun 16, 2005 14:28:54 GMT
CoraB,
It goes without saying to take everything Russell says with potentially lethal quantities of salt.
The legendary founder of Freemasonry, its Grand Master Hiram Abiff, is said to have been the son of a widow. As we are called upon to identify with him, and the plight of all destitute and desperate persons, fatherless sons, the unburied dead, and all who have fallen victim to poverty, we should cast ourselves in that role and ever think of ourselves Sons, Daughters and Children of the Widow.
Being orphaned from the outer world, as would have happened in olden times, the Lodge becomes our Mother: hence that one into which we were Initiated, regardless where we end up, will stay forever our Mother Lodge.
Thus, as you can see from my short resumé, I was Initiated into Lodge Milncroft No 1515 (Grand Lodge of Scotland) and have Affiliated to Govanhill Royal Arch Chapter 523 (Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland), but Milncroft remains my Mother Lodge and, unless it should (God forbid!) dissolve in future years, so will it always be.
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Post by corab on Jun 17, 2005 11:21:51 GMT
Hi Ruff, Being orphaned from the outer world, as would have happened in olden times, the Lodge becomes our Mother: hence that one into which we were Initiated, regardless where we end up, will stay forever our Mother Lodge. That feels close to what I thought when I started the thread - the Mother Lodge is the first experience of Masonry, and as such is perhaps representative of that experience; it is, if you will, symbolic of Masonry. Yep - that makes sense for me; thanks. Cora
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