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Post by leonardo on Apr 9, 2008 21:20:14 GMT
Indeed you have, Bill. Plus you also have other wonderful publications, as well. I have to say, though, Ward's EA Hand book is a must, and makes excellent reading for all new EAs.
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Post by adaml on Apr 9, 2008 22:51:57 GMT
Excellent! I'll have to take a look at these books tomorrow when I have a little more time. Are there any other "must read"books I should be keeping my eye out for?
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 0:04:27 GMT
;D First of all, I recommend you carefully avoid any books of a higher degree. I'm sure you already know that but I've come to think of that as a necessary disclaimer. Next, there are plenty of books you could read that would not spoil things for you later. With a little Internet mining, you find out a goodly number of them are available online for free. A number of them also can be inexpensively had thru online used book sellers and even at EBay. Here's the list I recommend: - The By-Laws of your Mother Lodge - The Rules and Regulations of your jurisdiction - "Masonic Initiation" by W.L. Wilmshurst- "Ceremony of Initiation" by W.L. Wilmshurst - please note, this second book by Wilmshurst is not the same at the first one. This one is rather difficult to find, in hard copy, and is expensive when it can be found but is utterly amazing. - "The Entered Apprentice's Handbook" by J.S.M. Ward - Yup, we already talked about this one but this link works, too. - "Introduction to Freemasonry - Entered Apprentice" by C.H. Claudy- The Egyptian Book of the Dead- The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary - I've never found this one online but I obtained my copy thru a used book seller. It is worth having :-) - Various VsOSL, such as the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita and the Zend-Avesta. And, as I sooooooo love to point out, I recommend viewing the movie "The Matrix" three times; after initiation, passing and raising. I truly feel the beginning until Neo says "I know Kung Fu" is very relevant to the first degree.
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Tamrin
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Post by Tamrin on Apr 10, 2008 0:42:06 GMT
The Metaphysical Bible Dictionary - I've never found this one online but I obtained my copy thru a used book seller. It is worth having :-) Have you looked-up, 'Asher,' 'Asherah' and 'Sheba?'
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 1:30:19 GMT
i will as soon as I finish my soup ;D
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Post by maximus on Apr 10, 2008 1:47:28 GMT
i will as soon as I finish my soup ;D Any Animal Crackers in your soup? Monkeys and tigers loop the loop? ;D
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 2:13:05 GMT
K, there are some accent marks and stuff I can't key in. But I'll do my best Also, "Meta" means "metaphysical meaning 'Asher' - (A.V., Luke 2:36, Aser), ash-er (Heb.) straight; straightforward; prosperous; happiness; blessedness. Jacob's second son by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 35:26; Josh. 19:24). "And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy|: and she called his name Asher" (Gen. 30:12, 13). In blessing his sons, Jacob said of Asher: "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties." (Gen. 49:20). Moses said, in blessing the tribes of Israel (Deut. 33|:24): "Blessed be Asher with children: (above sons, margin) Let him be acceptable unto his brethren. And let him dip his foot in oil." Meta. The meaning of the name and the blessings given to Asher point both to understanding and to substance, which are attendant upon the uprightness of character. In Proverbs 3:13-18 we are told of the happiness that comes to one who gains wisdom and understanding, and the priceless value of these qualities. "Out of Aher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties," bespeaks the substance of true ideas - true spiritual bread, the word of Truth. Both Jacob and Moses, in blessing Asher, were surely prophesyng of the time when man should learn that all his faculties and powers are spiritual and not carnal and material. "Blessed be Asher above sons," refers to bringing forth spiritual ideas, for this is the fruitfulness that is above physical generation. Wisdom and true understanding, with the oil of Spirit (love), make the various states of consciousness in man harmonize: "Let him be acceptable unto his brethren, And let him dip his foot in oil" means that Spirit should be taken into all one's understanding, even into the consideration of outer conditions (understanding is represented by the foot). It is not true that spiritual understanding is for religion only and is impractical n one's everyday outer affairs and business relations. When man takes spiritual understanding conscientiously into into all the affairs of life, he does far better than he ever has done theretofore. The fact that Leah said at the birth of Asher, "the daughters will call me happy," shows that the quality that is signified by Asher is established first in the soul.
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 4:19:46 GMT
"Asherah" a-she-rah (Heb.) - straight; upright; a pillar; fortune; happiness.Ahserah is thought to be the same as Ashtoreth. In many places in the Bible, Asherah seems to relate directly to the groves wherein Ashtoreth was worshiped, and to the images themselves. Asherah and Ashtoreth are usually mentioned in connection with Baal (deut. 16:21; Judge. 6:25-28; II Kings 21:7). Meta. Asherah suggests merely an outer form or show of hornor, uprightness and stability; it also suggests outer worldly pleasures and possessions as constituting true happiness and prosperity. * * * Bro. Philip, you didn't ask for them but I also looked up the following. * * * " Asherim", a-she-rim (Heb.) - Asherahs; pillars; columns; groves; symbols of the goddess Asherah.Heathen, idolatrous goddesses or worship (Exod. 34:13; I Kings 14:23). Meta. Human love with its animalpropensiteis. Through Jehoshaphat's allegiance to Jehovah, the inner forces (Judah) are purified. "He took away . . . the Asherim out of Judah" (II Chron. 17:6). "Asheroth", a-she-roth (Heb.) - Asherahs; pillars; columns; groves; groves (a shrine of the goddess Asherah). The temples and groves of Asheroth were the sacred shrines where worship of the Phoenician Venus was practiced in licentious ways (Juge. 3:7; II Chron. 33:3). Eadie's Biblical Cyclopedia syas: "Originally she was an Arcadian goddess, the mother and bride of Adonis. In Canaan, however, she became the mere reflection of the sun god, and was as such identified with the moon, the symbol in this case being the cow, whose horns resemble the crescent moon lying on its side." Meta. Human love, with its animal propensities. It requires fine discrimination to distinguish between human love and divine love. In its origin all love is divine, but in passing through the lens of man's mind it is apparently broken into many colors. Yet, like the ray of white light, it ever remains pure. Man's province is to make love's manifestations in his life as pure as its origin. This requires painstaking discrimination and good judgment.
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 4:30:54 GMT
Uh, the entry for Sheba is loooooooong. I love you, Bro. Philip. But I ain't keying that in I went over to Abebooks and you can score a used copy for less than $6 US.
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imakegarb
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Post by imakegarb on Apr 10, 2008 4:43:52 GMT
i will as soon as I finish my soup ;D Any Animal Crackers in your soup? Monkeys and tigers loop the loop? ;D Oh, you know it! ;D
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Tamrin
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Post by Tamrin on Apr 10, 2008 4:45:29 GMT
Many thanks Bro. Karen. I am very grateful for all the work you have done. I seem to recall that this dictionary has a couple of entries under "Sheba," with one giving "stability" as a meaning, suggesting a link with "Asher" and "Asherah." Perhaps /with the "A" having been dropped, as if it had been an emphatic prefix, (as in "O'Lord") and the suffixes being regional variants of similar syllables (well within the range of common etymological developments).
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Post by cemab4y on Apr 10, 2008 9:22:19 GMT
May I add my congratulations to the rest! I am an honorary member of Macedonian Lodge in Quincy Mass. The EA degree is the first time you are in a tyled lodge, and I think it is one of the most parts of the masonic experience.
I wish you every possible success in your Masonic journey. May the Great Architect of the Universe, guide your steps.
Charles E. Martin Taji, Iraq
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Post by adaml on Apr 10, 2008 10:08:59 GMT
Small world, I actually live in Quincy. The Braintree lodge was the closer one though so it was the one I initially visited when I started becoming interested in Freemasonry.
I see your military also. Former soldier here as well. I didn't get to go to Iraq until after I was out of the military working as a government contractor though. When you get back to the Quincy area the drinks are on me ;D
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