Oriental Masonry

Secret Societies that protected Truth arose from the natural and insuperable difficulty of communicating the great truths of astronomy to the ignorant, and of preserving records of the great phenomena of nature. Without universal relations no ethic, but only expediency, is possible. All the mystery and allegory grew upon the necessity of using symbols and characters by which the skilled might communicate with each other, but which the ignorant ran away with. And as they were infinitely in the majority, the learned found their symbols taken out of their own hands, and they were not allowed to rectify the errors of general ignorance, nor explain their own meaning. * Parsons, “New Light from the Great Pyramid.”

The Secret Societies “never” had any intention of being as secret as they are. Priests of the Religion were only too willing to teach the people, but the people “were no more willing to receive the truth then than they are now.” The ”accusation by religious” systems that the secret Orders are of the devil because they do not admit all, Initiated and uninitiated , is utterly false. It is not the Men of these Orders that exclude the people from them. It is the people themselves through their ignorance, that exclude them. The Elders of the “genuine” Orders have learned long ago as Christ taught: “Cast not pearls before swine, lest they trample upon them.” All Orders are open to the people if they are willing to learn. Freemasonry opens it door to Supreme Initiation, but it cannot take the ignorant on the same footing as the learned, for he who knows not the A.B.C. of Education cannot become the teacher of Latin, nor can the ignorant of Religion and Philosophy become the teacher of these systems. The “Secret Orders” are open to those “who are willing to learn and obey until such time as they are able to take care of themselves.”

All Masonry deals largely with ethics and symbolism of the Ancient Mysteries. The writer believes that through the well-timed efforts of Masons today the grandest achievements in knowledge ever gained by man, which originally concealed in the Greater Mysteries of Antiquity, and in time became lost to the world, may again be recovered. In the strictest sense this knowledge has never really been lost, as there have always existed those who were possessed of the great secret. It was originally veiled in order to conceal it from the profane, and written in a universal language of Symbolism that the wise among all nations and throughout all time might read it, as it were, in their own language. It is also written in parable and allegory, so that the unlettered and common people might not be deprived of its wise precepts, and of its force in shaping character, dissipation ignorance, and inspiring hope. This Ancient Wisdom is the foundation from which (all) Masonry takes its rise(accept American/English Masonry). The true Science of Symbolism in time became lost; the Temples of Initiation fell into decay, or were destroyed by priests and potentates, jealous of their influence. For many weary centuries men have been trying to recover the lost key and to restore the ancient wisdom from the parables and allegories in which it had been concealed. But progress in this inverse order is not only necessarily slow and uncertain, but all such attempts have, more or less, given rise to fantastic flights of the imagination, and resulted in confusion, rather than in enlightenment. The result has been to bring the whole subject under contempt, and to make the name “mysticism” mean something vague and uncertain, if not altogether foolish, to those ignorant of its true meaning.
Dr. R. Swinburne Clymer, M.D.

Why Is There So Much Evil In The World?

Why is there so much of the commonplace in the world? So much of the base and cruel? So much of the viscious and dishonorable? In reverse, so little of the beautiful and spiritual; of inner spiritual humility and native graciousness; so little of lovely kindliness and true fineness of human nature?

This question can be reversed and continued: Why are there so few really "wanted" children born into this world? Children, during gestation, should have all of the human warmth and the heart's love poured constantly over the deveolping embryo, like, if you will permit the homely comparison, "The Really Good Cook Bastes The Roasts In Her Oven And Proves By The Results Achieved, That She IS a Good Cook".

It is not stretching the truth to say that "hardly one out of every ten thousand children is conceived with 'plan and desire aforethought'". The others, that vast army of the unwanted are an "accident", each the result of a moment of seeking satisfaction of physical passion, often induced by an inflamed overy or congested prostate. An ugly statement, but truth with which all physicians are familiar. How can such a conception result in physical, mental and moral soundness and spritual greatness?

Unfortunately, for Humanity as a whole--and this deeply concerns each and every one almost as much as though it Were In Our Own Househould---the remaining nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety and nine are accursed with the gross acculumations of the sins weakness and vices of the parents, who, themselves, because of Ignorance Of The Right Way Out, are weighted down to earth, wholly earthly, and who recoil with a sense of dissatisfaction, if not with downright antipathy, at the very thought of being plagued with an unwanted child. Thus, the coming of one of God's little ones to all too many households is looked forward to with dread and doleful apprehension instead of what might be: THE ANTICIPATION OF A TRULY BLESSED EVENT; THE OPPORTUNITY OF GIVING TO MANKIND AND THE WORLD A TALENTED SOUL TO HELP AND GUIDE HUMANITY TO A GREATER DESTINY.

With this certainity of acualities in mind, is it any wonder that we find so much weakness, sickness, suffering, visciousness, drunkeness, licentiousness, murder and rape among all classes? Is it to be wondered at that we find so little of actual purity, chastity, manhood and womanhood, honor--- and that little understood but much-wanted generosity and craciousness of heart and Soul?


This treatise is prepared for those who up to now, have not believed in Prenatal preparation, or the influence of heredity and who possibly have little faith in God or an "absolute governing law". It is hoped that all these will be reminded rather pointedly of the ever-increasing number of institutions for either the training or imprisonment of the children who cannot be controlled in the home.


Most of these children were born "with"--as part of their make up--the propensity to lie, steal or kill; or lean toward degrading practices and visciousness, all ready to manifest themselves at the slightest provocation. These, now numbering into the millions, are "naturally" criminal. They have not learned of the world of evil by contact. Many of them have never been away from the farm, have lived in small communities, or remote places before being incarcerated in these institutions.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS CHANCE

It is necessary TO BE POSITIVE, "and to realize that there is no such thing as chance in the life of man from cradle to the grave." GOD'S LAW "is". IT IS EVER PRESENT AND CONTINUALLY OPERATING. IT IS AS CHANGLESS AS IS THE COURSE OF THE SUN. Were this not true, "then there would be neither God nor Law." This Law is active from the birth of the lowest to the highest form of life, as implied in the creation of "EVERYTHING AFTER ITS KIND."

Another way of saying this is to positively assert: "Everything according to its nature." The fig tree does not produce acorns; nor the apple tree plums. Everywhere there is Law; but man in his blindness either does not recognize its operation, or fools himself by believing that the Law can be circumvented or set aside.

The non-observance of Law, whether as a result of ignorance or defiance, enforces upon its violators the penalty of weakness and sickness; as well as mediocre or even criminal offspring. Observance of Law, not merely in letter, BUT IN THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW and with LOVING OBEDIENCE FOUNDED ON THE HEART'S DESIRE, clothes the newborn with the cloak of near perfection of form, feature, mentality and the possibility of achievement.


At present, the Divine Command "to multiply," the conception of children, with rare exception, IS NOT FULFILLED UNDER THE LAW--is mostly without the observance of a single principle of the Law. There is first, and most regrettable, neither desire nor plan for a child. There is not even a thought of preparation for the body, mind and Soul by either parent. All is left to chance, and, as is often the case with games of chance, "the dice are loaded."

The birth of a truly "loved-child" is, indeed, rare. More often than not, the term is applied in derision to the child born out of wedlock--the so called illegitimate child; but deny it as men will, these children are usually the superior children both in mind and body and, as history proves, have achieved the greatest success. This is not a plea for the birth of illegitimate children, but IS a slur on the millions of legally wedded fathers and mothers whose progeny are inferior. At this point we may well ask mothers, the world over, the question: "How many of "your" children were conceived in affection and brought forth into the world with rejoicing?"


We need not wait for the answer to this question. The answer is all too plainly manifested in the ever-increasing number of the lame, the halt, the blind, the dumb, the idiotic, the drunken, the degenerate and vicious; all of them suffering because, "in most instances", their parents made them what they are through disregard or ignorance of the CREATIVE LAW.

By R. Swinburne Clymer, M.D.
1902

This is a couple of chapters out of the book "Prenantal Culture Creating the Perfect Baby", and within its philosophy about an attempt to teach mankind potential elements that can effect the disposition and constitution of a new being. This similar concept is an underlying theme in CC Zain's "Ancient Masonry". The idea that the "Ancients"(not Antients/Moderns) taught a type of birth control. The symbols of Freemasonry today, could have originally been used to teach this.

Controlling of one's passions?
creating a Temple for a Soul to Inhabit and Grow in?

When at a time when Churches and Monarchy wanted their "subjects" to have as many chilren as possible, so one had more slaves/servants and both more tax payers. This planet was filled with beings created just to create. The mindset of the people living within despotism and tyrannical authorities, created in an environment of "original" sin, guilt and unworthiness. There is a mindset that believes the "entity" which inhabits the body, has existed since time immemorial within the Creative Force/Being. As the VSL tells us, G-d created non physical entities, both good and bad, and could these be looking to inhabit a physical form to act out and divert mankind from their true progress towards Light. Random reproduction "could" set up an environment ripe for non harmonious/beautiful creations of G-d to flourish!?

I believe there is merit behind this concept which goes much deeper. I just touched the surface of this, but do believe it was the teaching of the Village Elders, the Keepers of the Secrets, etc......Our forefathers, if one does not believe the Spirit of Freemasonry strictly was spawned from the Operative Guilds, could find deep meaning behind the idea of Guided Birth Control and limiting the use of G-d's Creative Force, randomly and wantonly. Is there a deeper, more sublime meaning behind our working tools and symbols? Was the "Operative Theory" laid over the Original Spirit and Moral Teachings of an/the Ancient Craft?

I ask, would the world be a different place if only beings were created out of Love and Compassion? Could we take an obligation before inhabiting the Flesh and Blood, to control the Reproductive Forces, but when we FALL from TGAOTU, into the shell of a body, does the flesh create a veil from our Knowledge and Awareness of the Obligation we took before Human Consciousness took precedence? Is that the Blindness masonry speaks of? Maybe Humanity is a "Fraternity", and we DO take an Obligation of the Control of our Reproductive Forces, but "forget" because the Flesh/Material/Senses/Genitals are so dominant here in this plane?

Adam and Eve? An inability to control our Passions once within the Prison of the Flesh? Can the Spirit of Freemasonry be traced back to Adam and the Inability to Control their Physical Passions? Are Cain and Abel the allegorical symbols of the repercussions of different Intent behind reproduction? Cain came from Lust, where Abel came from Love? The fig leaf and apron for the control of the Gerative Forces? Could the Symbols and Spirit of Freemasonry be traced back to Adam, and it being G-d's Law, Illustrated by Symbols for the Men who could not see through the Veil of the Physical Passions? To be taught to the ones who do not exist/live/progress outside the 5 senses of the physical reality for Evolution of the Soul?

This is something I ponder on and wonder what kind of Society we would have if these Laws were ultimatley followed and taught?

The Martinist Doctrine: Could It Have Been Apart of Freemasonry of the 1700's?

Like all other esoteric doctrine, that of Martinism, as it was defined by Martinez Pasquales in his Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings uses exoteric means in order to make understandable the more subtle and refined esoteric points which are incomprehensible to the uninitiated when explained in themselves. The legend or myth upon which the Martinist doctrine is based is the reason why it is so intrinsically attached to the Western tradition and more particularly the Christian current.


Concerning the First Cause or God, Martinism is in agreement with the conclusions arrived at by the Christian theologians as well as the Hebrew Kabalists such as the Divine Ternary, or persons; emanations etc...but as far as the rest of the doctrine is concerned, it is more Gnostic since it affirms the equal necessity of faith and knowledge and postulates that divine grace, in order to be effective, must be followed by action, free and intelligent in Man. His is why Martinez Pasquales presented the Doctrine of his school under the Judeo-Christian aspect.


THE DOCTRINE

According to the Martinist Doctrine, the world, considered as a material domain which is subjected to our senses, as well as the spiritual regions above, are not the works of God as considered in His absolute form.


The Gospel of Saint John says: "In the beginning (which refers to the beginning of time, a period when relative beings began to manifest) was the Word" (the Logos, the Divine Word).


"The Word was near to God (and not with God). ...and the Word was God" (not the God but an Elohim or sons of God. The word Elohim is a Hebrew word meaning "Him-the-Gods").


"All things were made by Him, and nothing was made without Him."


The Logos is the one the Kabala calls Adam Kadmon; the one who created the inferior beings by His word "by calling" (bringing) them into manifested life. These beings are inferior only in relation to Adam Kadmon, the archetypal Man, by they inhabit the spiritual realms.



During this creation God used an intermediary. In Genesis chapters 1-3 it is said that the earth (which there means the primordial matter or chaos) was empty and without form, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters (the Egyptian Nous is comparable to this matter). The term "Spirit of God" is referring to a spirit distinct from God in the sense that it wasn't God Himself since God is necessarily His own spirit.


Later we are told that God placed man in the "Garden of Eden" to watch and cultivate it. This "Garden" is a symbol referring to divine knowledge accessible only to relative beings.


The Man which Genesis refers to in its pure symbolic form is not a being of flesh but a spirit emanated from God and is made of a body (which is sometimes called the glorious body) created by God who infused it with a Divine spark which was, according to Genesis, the "very breath of God". According to this analysis, we see that archetypal man is semi-divine. He came from primordial matter (from chaos, made of symbolic earth and water) from where he got his form, and from the breath which animates him and makes him part of God.


Adam and the creative logos are the same thing. However, Adam and the Redemptory Logos are two different beings.


Parallel to Adam Kadmon, there were other beings from a previous creation. These beings were of a different nature and plane. These were the "Angels" of which it is said that "some were good and others evil". They got those qualities according to their fulfillment of the plan for which they were emanated from God. The "good" Angels were the ones who reintegrated after their mission was over and the evil ones were the ones who refused to reintegrate, choosing the self instead of the All-in-God. The "evil" Angels are the ones who withdrew themselves from God by an act of free will. They are the ones referred to by Pasquales as the "perverse beings".


Since anything that is corrupt tends by its very nature to corrupt other things, especially in the spiritual realms, these perverse beings of which the collectivity becomes an egregore of evil, symbolized by the serpent, was jealous of this being (Adam) who was superior to them and an image of God from whom they pretended to have withdrawn. These beings acted telepathically on Adam and incited him to go beyond the limits of his natural possibilities.


Being mixed by nature, half corporeal and half spiritual, as well as androgynous, Archetypal Man was to maintain a certain harmony, a necessary equilibrium in the domain where God put him. He was to be the Architect of the Universe more subtle than our own, the "kingdom" which was not of this world as mentioned in the Gospels.


Under the impulse of the perverse beings, Archetypal Man made himself an independent demiurge, thereby breaking the very laws he was ordained to observe. He dared to make himself a creator in turn and to be equal to God by his deeds. By attempting this feat, Archetypal Man only modified his original destiny. It is from this tradition that comes the custom of dedicating to the Gods or God the first fruits of the harvest or the first-born of a flock. And since God alone in his infinite possibilities can create or extract something out of nothingness, Archetypal man could only modify what already existed.


Archetypal Man, by wanting to create spiritual beings, only objectified his own concepts. By wanting to give them a body he only integrated them into grosser matter. By wanting to animate chaos, he only trapped himself.


In effect, God being the "I am that I am" rejects the possibility that any oblivion could exist. In order to create primitive matter, God only removed part of His infinite perfections from a part of His infinite essence. This partial retraction of His spiritual perfection resulted in the creation of a relative material imperfection. This is why in this world the creation of whatever it may be can never be perfect since it is not of God.


By imitating the absolute, Adam Kadmon tried to create the first matter. Being an inexperienced alchemist, to attempt such an endeavor only precipitated his fall.


Archetypal Man is an androgynous being: both male and female, positive and negative. It is the negative, feminine element that Adam is going to objectify outside himself. It is the left, feminine, passive, lunary, material side that he is going to separate from the right, masculine, active, solar, spiritual side. This is what gave birth to Eva, the Archetypal Woman.


It is this new matter, the Eva or Archetypal Woman, that Adam penetrated in order to create life. The Archetypal Man thus degraded himself by trying to be like God. This new domain is what the Gnostics called the "hylic" world, which is our material universe filled with pain and imperfections. The little good that exists here comes from the virtues of Archetypal Man. Since being split into two beings, the sum of these imperfections cannot be in its totality with those two beings apart...thus we have the fall.


This is why the old cults deified nature. She was the mother of all that "was under the heavens". Isis, Eva, Demeter, Rea, Cybele, Erzulie, are the symbols of the material nature which is emanated from Adam Kadmon, personified under the aspects of the "Black Virgins" who are symbols of the prima materia.


The superior essence of Adam Kadmon thus integrated in the new matter to become the new SULPHUR, which is the alchemical expression referring to the soul of the world. The second essence which is the plastic mediator, that which constituted the "form" of Adam, his superior double became the MERCURY of the alchemists, referring to what the occultists call the astral world or intermediary world.


The matter which is from the second chaos, which is the SALT of the alchemists, is what became the support, receptacle or prison.


ADAM=SULPHUR
EVA=SALT
CAIN=MERCURY


This is why universal matter is alive and, also, why it can be more or less conscious and intelligent in its manifestations. Through the four kingdoms of nature; mineral, vegetable, animal and human, it is the Archetypal man, the Adam Kadmon, the demiurgic intelligence who is in action dispersed and imprisoned. This new universe also became the refuge of the fallen angels. They came into it in order to be further away from the Absolute.


The perverse beings thus have a primordial interest to see that man, dispersed but everywhere present in matter which constitutes the visible universe, continues to organize and animate this domain which they have claimed.


Just as the soul of Archetypal Man is prisoner of Universal matter, so the soul of individual man is prisoner of the physical body. Physical death and the reincarnations which follow are the means through which the fallen entities exercise their control over man.


The Wisdom, Strength and Beauty that are still manifesting in this material universe are the efforts of Archetypal Man to regain his position which he occupied before the fall. The opposite qualities are being manifested by the fallen entities so as to maintain the climate that they made him create in order to exist as they wanted when they refused to re-enter Omneity.


Archetypal man will not regain his first splendor and freedom unless he separates himself from this matter which binds him everywhere. For this to occur, all his individual cells (individual human beings) will have, after their natural death, to reconstitute the archetype by REINTEGRATING, thus escaping the cycles of reincarnation.


Only then will the Microcosm remake the Macrocosm. The individual human beings, who are but the reflection of the Archetype, will equally be the reflection of the divine as the Archetype himself is the reflection of God, of the Word or Logos, of the "Spirit of God" mentioned in Genesis.


This is why he is the "Great Architect of the Universe"; and all cults of adoration to this latter are ipso facto "satanic" because this adoration is offered to Man and not to the Absolute. In Freemasonry he is invoked but never adored.


But, since Man has to descend into the demoniacal atmosphere of this material world where he is constantly breathing the fruits of his malefic intellect, as Pasquales tells us, he is thus in a bad position to resist the constant temptations to which he is subjected. The CREATOR re-established the equilibrium by detaching from His Spiritual Divine Circle a Major Spirit to be the guide, counselor and companion of the Minor who descends from the celestial immensity to be incorporated in the material world; to work, according to his free will, on the earth plane.


But the counsel of a Superior Spirit is not enough, Fallen Man still needs the help of a "Minor Elect". The help that this "Minor Elect" will bring to him in order that he may achieve the "reconciliation" is of a two fold nature. He transmits to Man directly the instructions of the CREATOR on the theurgic practice which must be rendered; he also communicates to the Man of Desire to whom he is sent, the gift he has received himself by giving him the mystical seal without which no Minor can be reconciled.


This mysterious ordination is the essential condition of man's reconciliation, because without it, no matter how great the personal merits of the Minor, he remains in privation; that is, without any communication with God.


To escape the cycles of reincarnation in this infernal world, man must detach himself from everything that attracts him to matter as well as disengage himself from the slavery of material sensations. He also has to elevate himself morally. The fallen entities, however, constantly fight man's tendency towards perfection by tempting him constantly so as to make him stay in this world where they can maintain their rulership over him.


Individual man must constantly fight against these entities by unmasking and rejecting them from his domain. He will achieve this partly through initiation, which attaches him to the elements of the Archetypes already reunited and which constitute the exoteric "communion of Saints"-and secondly by the liberating knowledge which teaches him the faster means of helping the rest of blind humanity as well as enhancing his personal work.

THE HIGHER DEGREES AND THE SECRET TRADITION

Rectified Scottish Rite
THE HIGHER DEGREES AND THE SECRET TRADITION

By AE Waite



As soon as he had been raised, Waite began his quest for higher degrees in earnest. On 10 April 1902 he and Blackden were admitted to the grade of Zelator in the S.R.I.A., having been proposed by Palmer-Thomas and seconded by Westcott - both of whom were keen to have Waite as a member. The two new Rosicrucians then proceeded to the Holy Royal Arch, being exalted in Metropolitan Chapter No. 1507 on 1 May 1902, following this one week later with their Installation as Knights Templar at the Consecration of the King Edward VII Preceptory. Here they rested, and Waite prepared for a journey to Switzerland and for reception into the one Rite he craved the most: the Regime Ecossais et Rectifie and its grade of Chevalier Bienfaisant de la Cite Sainte (C.B.C.S.).

As a result of his earlier correspondence with Blitz, Waite had come to see the Rigime Ecossais et Rectifie as maintaining more than any other rite the essence in ritual form of that secret tradition that 'tells us not alone that the Soul "cometh from afar" and that the Soul returns whence it came, but it delineates the Path of Ascent'[62]. The theory that all esoteric practices and traditions, whether alchemy, the Hebrew Kabbalah, the legends of the Holy Grail, Rosicrucianism, Christian mysticism or Freemasonry, were secret paths to a direct experience of God had been developed by Waite over many years. He was convinced that the symbolism in each of these traditions had a common root and a common end, and that their correct interpretation would lead to a revelation of concealed ways to spiritual illumination. In his published works it is difficult to find this theory of the secret tradition clearly expressed, but it is put quite succinctly in The Secret Tradition in Freemasonry:[63] 'The Secret Tradition contains, firstly, the memorials of a loss which has befallen humanity; and, secondly, the records of a restitution in respect of that which was lost ... the keepers of the tradition perpetuated it in secret by means of Instituted Mysteries and cryptic literature' (vol. I, p. ix).

In itself 'The Secret Tradition is the immemorial knowledge concerning man's way of return whence he came by a method of the inward life' (vol. 11, p. 379). Common to all its forms is the evidence that 'testifies to (a) the aeonian nature of the loss; (b) the certitude of an ultimate restoration; (c) in respect of that which was lost, the perpetuity of its existence somewhere in time and the world, although interned deeply; (d) and more rarely its substantial presence under veils close to the hands of all' (vol. 1, p. xi). For Freemasonry 'that loss and restoration are essential . . . the middle term is absence, out of which quest arises. When one of the triad is wanting, whether implicitly or explicitly, the grade is not masonic' (vol. 11, p. 379). He further believed that a proper understanding of the tradition in Freemasonry would enable him to construct rituals of his own devising, the working of which would lead all those who took part to a spiritual enlightenment of their own.

It was thus of crucial importance for Waite to gain access to the Rectified Rite which represented, par excellence, the secret tradition in practice but, while he prepared the ground for his visit to Geneva, he was also collecting other rites and planning the moves that would lead him in 1903 to gain control of the faction-ridden Golden Dawn[64]. Contrary to appearances, he was not driven by a desire for power; all his eager gathering of masonic rites was for the dual purpose of bringing together the various lines of what he saw as a type of 'Masonic Apostolic Succession' and the subsequent quarrying of their rituals for the benefit of his own projected Order.

WIATE


So, here is a little more on this subject which is all new to me.
I love the different rites and their teachings.

"Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, born in Lyons, France on 10th July 1730, was 20 years old when he became a Freemason. In 1752, he was appointed Worshipful Master of his Lodge. In 1753, he founded the Lodge “La Parfaite Amitié”, of which he was elected Master on the feast day of St. John, 24 June 24 1753. In 1756, this Lodge joined the Mother Lodge of Lyons - its charter from the Grand Lodge of France is dated 21 November 1756. On 4 May 1760, with the approval of the Grand Lodge of France, a Provincial Mother Lodge called “Grand Loge des Maîtres Réguliers de Lyon” was founded and Willermoz was its Provincial Grand Master from 1762 to 1763 afterwards becoming the Archivist and Keeper of the Seals. In 1763, he founded the “Souverain Chapitre des Chevaliers de L”Aigle Noir - Rose-Croix”.

In May of 1767, Willermoz went to Paris, where he met Bacon de la Chevalerie, Deputy Grand Master of the Elus Cohen. He was initiated by Martinez de Pasqually himself in Verailles, France. In 1772, Willermoz learned of the existence of a German Masonic Order called the “Strict Templar Observance” and on 14 December 1772, Willermoz applied by letter for affiliation. He received an answer dated 18 March 1773 from Count Weiler. The Duke of Brunswick replaced Baron von Hund as the head of the Strict Observance. From the 11th through the 14th of August 1772, Count Weiler was in Lyons where he had come to personally establish a Strict Observance Lodge called “Loge Ecossaise Rectifiée ‘La Bienfaisance’”. In December 1777, three years after the death of Martinez de Pasqually, Rudolphe Saltzmann, “Master of the Novices of the Directoire of Strasbourg” arrived in Lyons, where he was received as an Elu-Cohen. We know that at the time, the Order of Elus-Cohen was suffering from internal dissentions and from a lack of leadership. Like many other sincere members, Willermoz saw that the Order was doomed and was anxious to preserve all that could be saved. With the help of Saltzmann, and with the approval of Bacon de la Chevalerie, Willermoz conceived a plan to implement the Secret Doctrine of the Elus-Cohen in the Rite of the Strict Observance. This he planned to do by adding to the degrees of the Strict Observance, a higher degree, called “La Profession”, called such because its members would be “professed”, i.e. under chivalric vows. It contained two secret degrees in which the doctrine of the Elus-Cohen would be transmitted, thus alleviating the disparition of the Réau-Croix but not implanting the theurgic operations of the Elus-Cohen into the Strict Observance.

A general meeting called the Convent of Gaul was held in Lyons from 25 November to 10 December 1778 at the instigation of Willermoz. It was decided to reform the Auvergne Province of the Strict Observance, the French Templars taking the name of “Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cité Sainte” or “Knights Beneficent of the Holy City”, commonly referred to as “C.B.C.S.”. It was absorbed into the “Rectified Scottish Rite” as follows:
1st Degree - Apprentice
2nd Degree - Fellowcraft
3rd Degree - Master
4th Degree - Maître Ecossais/Scottish Master
5th Degree - Ecuyer Novice/Squire Novice
6th Degree - C.B.C.S.
7th Degree - Chevalier-Profès/Professed Knight
8th Degree - Chevalier-Grand Profès/Grand Professed Knight

After this reformation, Willermoz decided that it would be right to expand this revision into the bosom of the Mother branch of the German Strict Observance. It was with this initiative in mind, that he went to the Convent of Wilhemsbad in 1782. He found supporters of his plan in the Princes Ferdinand of Brunswick and Charles of Hesse, but found stiff opposition on the part of the Illuminati of Bavaria (founded by Adam Weishaupt) and met hostility in the character of Francois de Chefdebien de Saint-Amand, representative of the Order of the Pilalethes, as well as resistance from Savalette de Lange. After heated arguments, Willermoz and his supporters won the day, and succeeded in having the title of C.B.C.S. adopted by all members of the Inner Order. A committee was formed under Willermoz to prepare the high degree rituals and those of the secret degrees of the Profession. This work was well advanced when the French Revolution interrupted Willermoz’ task. The “Rectified” temples of the C.B.C.S. and the temples of the Elus-Cohen which were still active had to suspend their works, the brethren being dispersed by the events of the period. After the Revolution, in 1806, the C.B.C.S. became active again in France and they soon joined the Grand Orient with which the Strict Observance had friendly relations. The Elus-cohen had not 'officially' resumed their Work. Their last Grand Master, Sebastian de las Casaa, had the archives of the Order handed over to the Philalethes. In 1806 moreover, Bacon de la Chevalerie, “Deputy Grand Master of the Northern Hemisphere”, sat in this capacity in the Grand College of Rites of the Grand Orient of France. He tried to obtain the authorization to re-organize the Order of Elus-Cohen within the Grand Orient, but was refused. The Rite of Knights Beneficent passed into Switzerland when the Directoire of Burgandy transmitted its powers to the Directoire of Helvetia. It is from this Swiss Jurisdiction, now headed by the Grand Priory of Helvetia, that the C.B.C.S. would be re-activated in France after World War II. On 5 May 1824, Jean-Baptist Willermoz died in Lyons.

For the famous occultist A.E. Waite, the Rectified Scottish Rite was the one Rite he craved the most. He "had come to see the Régime Ecossais et Rectifié as maintaining, more than any other rite, the essence in ritual form of that secret tradition that 'tells us not alone that the Soul "cometh from afar" and that the Soul returns whence it came, but it delineates the Path of Ascent'." It was, for him, truly the secret tradition in practice.

There are, at present, officially recognized bodies working the R.E.R. in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy and Spain, and now the U.S.A. There is much interest in the Rite being practiced elsewhere which has been duly noted."

Excellent stuff Brothers!

Tolerance: How Freemasonry has Helped Me

I have to relate an incident that happened at work yesterday that put me in a situation that had me have to deal with a weakness of mine. TOLERANCE. Lately I have been having problems verbally controlling myself when confronted with either hypocrisy or ignorance. I own and operate retail food establishments, and being open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we experience all types of customers. Good, neutral and bad.

As a local business, we put out various coupons for patrons to use. Written on each coupon are the stipulations in which these offers may be used. We always get individuals who want to change the rules of use to meet their individual needs. They always have some story about their personal situation or have some analytical deduced action that can circumvent the stipulations, so instead of having to go through this clever circumvention of the rules, just break the rules for me now and we will be good. Insanity!

Written in bold print on these coupons are the words: “One coupon per person per item per day.” I also accept competitor’s coupons for similar items, and on their coupons it states the same thing. One could say it is pretty straight forward, right?

Yesterday, a woman dressed in a $250.00+ matching sweat suit, with a $400.00+ purse, was giving my manager a hard time about not being able to use three coupons on three items. After many attempts at my manager to explain the policy and our procedures, she demanded to see the owner( ME), well that does not have me in the most pleasant mood having to be called out about something of this nature, but duty called.

This woman, early 40’s or late 30’s, begins to complement me on my employees and how she is from the community and is patronizing me instead of my competitor down the street (a national franchise) and how I could be a big benefactor to help her out with her daughters school birthday party by allowing her to use all of these coupons. She explained how I should want to help out on this special day. I first thanked her for her support and the positive remarks about my employees. I then explained the stores policy which has been in existence for about 30+ years, and I would be more tolerant if the individual questioning the practice could not read the coupon to understand its usage. She exclaimed that she had a Master’s Degree. I replied “ And you are standing here arguing something in print?”

I explained that it was nothing personal, but her event is not special. Every day someone comes in to my establishment with a “story” about some “special” event in which the rules should be bent for them. I also stated that if I bent the rules for her, I would have to do it for it for others and allowing this would practically be giving the product away, and in the end, one could go out of business if they never charged full price for things. I explained there are ways to receive discounts and ways to use coupons, and that we would be happy to accommodate her in the future if she so wishes.

After trying to do more than one end around to get her way, and fully letting me know the error of my ways, I sent her off with this, “Mam, when you leave and go back into the community, make sure you tell everyone that you were treated EQUAL to everyone else.” That she did not get special treatment at the moment she wanted it. I felt good that I did not loose my temper and tell her to “Bug Off”, which in the past I could be pushed to that. I felt proud to be able to control myself and passions within the presence of the public. My food establishment is Kosher, so I had an orthodox Jewish Man comment to me on how I handled that situation. He claimed he probably would have lost it. Not having been exposed to the Masonic teachings and having some of it imprinted onto my core being, I would have handled it a lot different.

I give to charities and food shelters daily. A Prince Hall Brother and his wife come by every Wednesday to pick up product to feed the poor. If someone is destitute or in real need, we take of people and organizations. But an educated well to do suburban house wife trying to con me into “giving” her product for free virtually is enough to incite me. The young Orthodox Jewish man said he was embarrassed for her! He and I then had a discussion on the Torah, God, Christianity, Astrology and History. I have ex convict employees, illiterate employees, black, white, young and old working for me. I do not discriminate and allow peoples pasts to remain in the past and give second and third chances to individuals. That is why I had to laugh when Manny Blanco called me an Anti-Semite for referencing Mainstream Masonry and Pork Dinners in the same sentence with a derogatory undertone. I deal with Rabbi’s on a daily basis. I donate and get involved with private Jewish Academies within Cleveland. Cleveland has one of the biggest Jewish populations in America for being a smaller big city. Orthodox men call me brother, and some guy in California, Manny Blanco, is going to call me an Anti-Semite! In do not know what ritual they use in California, but I do not know where in the three degree lessons it is allowable to call one that? I am glad I am not a California mason if that is acceptable……………….

I had to pass on this story about what test’s get thrown at us. The Cosmos knows what ones weakness’s are and continually tests you to see if you have learned and evolved up the staircase or down it…. Which way are you evolving?