More mangled Hebrew

I just found a perfect example of the type of Pseudo-Hebrew writing I wrote about a while ago. This was in the form of the Past High Priest's jewel (in York Rite).

First, here's how it's supposed to look:



And, here is the version that I found. Remember, all three words are supposed to say the same thing!

Geometry

I discovered this while doodling deliriously late at night. I was trying to come up with a system that used shapes instead of numbers. Let's go through the steps together.

What would a no sided polygon be? A dot is the closest thing that we can come to.

Now what shape has only one side? A circle, of course.

Next comes two sides. This would necessarily be two points with lines between them in a curve. This could be a football shape, or a crescent moon. We will go with the football shape, as it is symmetrical.

Next, a three sided polygon - a triangle, of course.

If you don't see where I'm going with this yet, hang on. What if we draw these together one at a time?
the point:

within a circle,

bordered by two lines (although turned from their usual position)

placed in a triangle,

thus creating the eye of God through Geometry.

Woman Fellowcrafts

Renaissance Adventures recently posed a question about the gender of a couple fellowcrafts [here]. I answered it, and it was reposted on the said blog.

Check it out!

A Broken Ashlar

One of the symbols of freemasonry is that of the rough and perfect ashlar. These represent the unfinished state of both stone and man. After smoothing out rough edges, the stone becomes square and usable for building the temple..

When building the temple, what should be done with stones, whether rough or perfect that crack? They have been broken, they cannot be used for the temple. With operative masonry, that stone would either be thrown to the slag-pile (along with any funny-shaped stones they might find) or be cut into two separate stones, salvaging what may be salvaged.

In the lodge, there is no slag-heap for masons who were admitted, appearing to be suitable stones, and yet crack under pressure, or over time. Yet, what should be done with these men? How do you tell them that they cannot join the line-up because they are bordering on insane, and no one had noticed when they were brought into the fraternity (possibly because everyone had been so excited to finally get a candidate).

This is a very real question, and one that doesn't have a good answer. Of course, candidates should be checked thoroughly before being admitted! The investigative committee should do their job, and the other members should ALL try and meet the incoming member before they are initiated, otherwise, on what grounds are you voting?

But, once that mistake is made (and, it may be made even but the most scrutinizing of committees), what is the course to take? I have seen the problem ignored - the offending brother shuttled from one unimportant position to another to keep him from advancing to a point where he would have been voted on. This brother caused many of the new apprentices to think twice before returning, and drove others away with threats and gossip among other things. Something should have been done, and eventually was in a very messy manner which alienated many more members of this particular lodge.

Unfortunately, I am only pointing out a problem, rather than offering a solution to the problem. But, I feel that once it is recognized that a brother can break, it is possible to address the issue, rather than side-step it.

As I was looking for a good picture for this post, I found these photographs of the process of working with large stones, enjoy!

Acquiring and cutting of the stone
Rough Cutting of the Sculpture
Filling in the details

The Problem of Euclid

What is it about about Euclid's 47th Problem that has made it such a venerated symbol in Freemasonry?

This is a question that many masons have asked over the years. There are many answers to this question, all of them with some sort of merit (even if it just shows us the folly of looking too closely in the wrong direction). Let's start with the enigmas.

Euclid's 47th problem (or more properly, proposition) is merely a proof for the theorem first put forth by Pythagoras. Most of us learned about it in school by the name of the Pythagorean Theorem. There are actually more proofs for the Pythagorean Theorem than any other geometrical problem! Euclid was not the first to discover a proof for the theory, and so has no special claim to the theorem than many other mathematicians (including President Garfield). Why this specific answer to the theorem was chosen, is perhaps a clue to its inclusion in the degree.

Pythagoras is reported (by masons) to have exclaimed 'Eureka!' when he discovered the answer to the problem, and then to have sacrificed a hecatomb (or a 100 oxen) in gratitude. This is certainly excessive! The phrase Eureka is most famously attributed to Archimedes, exclaimed when he was bathing and 'discovered' the correspondence between volume and weight, i.e. mass. But, as Pythagoras was also a Grecian, this is permissible, although slightly confusing.

The most simple and straightforward solution is that the 47th problem was widely used by masons to figure perfect squares. Without this utilitarian theorem, their buildings would have ended up in a more trapezoidal form rather than having squared corners. This is certainly a reasonable meaning: a way to test your Square (one of the prime symbols of masonry for other reasons) would be crucial to success as an operative mason.

Allegorically, the 47th problem could be compared to any number of different symbolic triads in and out of the lodge. I personally find it interesting to compare the problem to the three pillars, Wisdom, Strength and Beauty as represented in the Kabbalistic tree of life. I was going to draw you all a cool little picture showing how the typical triangle of 3x5x7 fits over the tree and shows it pointing to Hokhmah (wisdom), Gevurah (severity, judgment or strength) and Tiferet (beauty or harmony... but it looks out of proportion when actually held up the the square. This phenomena ends up being true of most of the allegories applied to the problem, they don't hold up under investigation. When looking for an allegorical solution to Euclid's Proposition, make sure there is something more to it than that they both happen to have three sides or attributes.

A very popular idea that has been running around for about 2000 years (since Plutarch wrote about it) is that, to the Egyptians, the sides of the right triangle represented the Gods Osiris, Horus and Isis. Albert Pike refuted it by scoffing, and we are left wondering about the likelihood of both of them.

Another fascinating explanation, is put forth in this blog post. It gives a whole new slant to the question.

If we are looking for a mystical meaning behind the 47th proposition of Euclid, there are many avenues that we can explore. Albert Pike will take you to visit the Hindus, and expound upon the numbers 3, 5 and 7. Others will tell you how they relate to the Hermetic traditions, or Alchemy or a hundred other traditions. But, behind each of these complexities lies a more simple style of truth, teaching us how to apply their teachings and ideas to the way we live our lives. The 47th problem of Euclid won't actually turn lead into gold, or give you the ability to fly, but it just might give you the secret to living a fuller life if you look at it just the right way. If you happen to find one of its secrets, make sure to yell Eureka! when you do.