freemasonry presentation to light may 2011 v2

8/13/2019 Freemasonry Presentation to LIGHT May 2011 V2

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Freemasonry- its Symbols & Hidden Mysteries

By Victor G. Popow

What wisdom is, and how she came into being, i will relate:I will conceal no mysteries from you, but will track her from

her first beginnings and bring the knowledge of her into the open.

The Wisdom of Solomon 6:22

I wish to thank Doug Staley and the LIGHT organization for the opportunity to speak about a subject that is near

and dear to my heart. This subject which i am sharing with you tonight is not an easy one to speak to, its rather

like an onion with many, many layers that one peels back to reveal a core. I have been in the Craft for

approximately 20 years and my original intention in joining this ancient and honourable organization was to look

for the actual historical and philosophical secrets of Freemasonry and after that time i still remain awestruck at the

enormous breadth and depth of the topic. I think that what i have studied, probed and discovered has shown me

that i am, we are all, part of something truly profound.

Most Freemasons today involve themselves in the Craft for purely exoteric or benevolent reasons, as an example

the raising of funds for Shriners hospitals (all Shriners are also Freemasons) equate to approximately $1B in North

America alone as charity forms one of the cornerstones ofthe organization. However Freemasonry was never

originally or is a philanthropic organization such as the Rotary or Kiwanis club, its not a club, not a service

organization, Freemasonrys original purpose never was exoteric but rather esoteric-that is eso, Greek for inner

evolution or development, but more on this later. The stated purpose of Freemasonry is to support improvement

in good people and that in turn would have a beneficial effect on humanity and the community. It is the worlds

oldest and largest fraternal organization composed of groups that bring together young men and women, exclusive

womens and mens groupsas well as co-Masonic lodges catering to men and women who wish to meet together.

Freemasonry is not a religion nor a replacement for a persons religion and is not a secret society but rather a

society with some secrets. Its basic three degree system is fairly uniform throughout the world with slight

variations and every Freemason is allowed to visit a Lodge anywhere in the world. The requirements for joining

the Craft is that the prospective candidate must ask the question to join, Freemasons dont actively promote or

otherwise force people to join, rather a candidate must voluntarily come to the Craft of their own choice and

volition. The person must be 21 years of age, can be of any religious denomination or background, must believe in

some form of a Supreme Being1and not have a criminal record. Any facist state or dictatorship forbids

Freemasonry within its borders as Freemasonry has always believed and supported freedom, education and

human rights, and it remains banned or operates underground in Iran, Iraq, Libya, China and Venezuela.

Historically Freemasonry was banned by, among others, Hitler, Stalin and Franco. Many religious fundamentalist

organizations remain biased towards Freemasonry as they believe, mistakenly, that it constitutes a global Zionist

anti-Christian devil-worshipping conspiracy or a British Zionist global conspiracy bent on the establishment of a

global government and a big brother 1984ish styled global culture. I have even heard such accusations coupled

1The term Supreme Being is widely used in Freemasonry along with other terms such as Great Architect of the

Universe (or abbreviated G.A.O.T.U), Glorious Architect of Heaven and Earth all are appropriate and

interchangeable terms that are used to denote the Masonic idea for God.


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Let the emblems of mortality which

lie before you lead you to

contemplate your inevitable destiny,

and guide your reflections to that

most important of all human studies,the knowledge of yourself.

Third Degree Freemasons Ritual

to outrageous claims that Freemasonry and the one world secret cabal is tied to sinister Black Ops, MI6, CIA, secret

clandestine governments, alien life forms occupying underground bases throughout the world who are

experimenting with human evolution, population and mind control. It gets really fanciful. Freemasonry has been

popularized by modern media loosely illustrated in the animated sitcom TheSimpsonswhich featured its main

character Homer joining a Stonecutters society. The Stonecutters had as members the most important leaders

of the community, privileges were afforded because of membership and even drew attention to alien members.

Some of the more positive and intelligent representations of Freemasonry has been featured in the National

Treasuremovie series and been given an even more transcendental depiction through the book The Lost Symbolby

author Dan Brown. The reason why i draw attention to Mr. Browns book is the ending, which i dont wish to give

away, but he otherwise alludes to what i believe is a central or important intent behind the Craft that many people

and even Freemasons themselves dont commit enough attention to, namely the search for interior meaning.

While much attention is paid to the exoteric aspects of the Craft very little attention is paid to the esoteric

elements- it rituals and symbols, history and philosophy. The majourity of us who live in the secular world are

constantly distracted by materialism and the latest consumer

offeringsa new style, fashion or product. We are enamoured

with the latest film, DVD, CD, music or gaming file. The

majority of those in modern western culture are fixed on

constantly elevating their material position, seeking more and

reaching for more. Freemasons themselves too are distracted

by committee work, administration, dues collection,

maintenance of buildings, membership, and it seems that no

one has any time to investigate or discuss the REAL truth or

intention of things. Freemasons keep busy with business. We

all see the trees but not the forest. However, the real intention

of Freemasonry like any true spiritual path is meant to direct a

person to the larger questions and motives- why am i here? Where do i come from? What is my purpose here and

where do i ultimately go? Far more attention was paid to this primary study centuries ago but as it now seems

people hardly make the time for important contemplation and reflection. We all remain distracted without

realizing what we are really doing and why we do it. As the famous psychologist Carl Jung stated humanity fails

when we lose touch with the numinous. The challenge of this age is to balance our scientific and materialist

advances with spiritual contemplation and soul development.

The reality of Freemasonry is that its far less sinister, more benign and far deeper than most people can imagine.

It doesnt afford any privilegesother than those of being able to be welcomed as an equal, sit among people of all

walks of life, status, religious persuasion and being able to visit any Freemasons Lodge in the world. It isnt a

Satanic, Zionistor British monarchist founded conspiracist organizationas Freemasonry consistently

employs Old and New Testament parables to convey moral standards and has existed long before those empires

and or political organizations and there is no conspiracy or one or more leaders directing the affairs of humanity.

Freemasons are volunteers who rotate through Officer and Executive positions. Each Grand Lodge exists and


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operates autonomously within a province, state or country and recognizes one anothers jurisdiction and

responsibility to operate in their particular region. The United Kingdoms United Grand Lodge of England (in

London) is generally recognized as the mother Grand Lodge but its official genesis only extends to 1717 CE when

four English Lodges came together to form a Grand Lodge. However Lodges existed far earlier than this in

Scotland and Continental Europe, as an example, Dunblane Lodge in Scotland was founded 1695. I am myself one

of two Canadians who may call themselves affiliated members of Mother Lodge Kilwinning #0 in AyershireScotland whose history extends to the 12

thcentury and was founded by the Tyronesian French Monastic order

from the famous neo-Platonic school of Chartres. We find evidence of a 12th

century Freemasons Lodge in Bologna

which had both architects, builders or operative Freemasons in Lodge sitting alongside magistrates and

merchants or speculative Freemasons. Generally speaking historians and even modern Freemasons will say that

the operative Freemasons evolved into nothing but speculative Freemasons but this is isnt exactly the truth as it

seems contemporary research reveals that the operative builders of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the

Enlightenment periods were also speculating or imbuing their designs with numerical, geometrical, astrologic,

astronomic, kabbalistic, biblical and mythological representations. Not only was this practice found among

builders of the Middle Ages but we can find the same employment of architectural and mythological symbolism

impregnated in principle buildings found in Paris and Washington DC2and our own local Manitoba Legislature

designed and supervised by British Architect and Freemason Frank Simon.

A Freemasons Lodge has always been a place of business- a necessary aspect of any organization- but also of

harmony, brotherhood and ideas. A place historically where people of all ages, faiths, political views and ideas

may meet and share. Personal sectarian religious and political views are forbidden in Lodge as this may cause

dispute while discussion of philosophical ideas and political philosophy is an entirely different matter. It is

important to note that the central ideas of the European Enlightenment -equality, liberty, brotherhood and or

political freedom from the Monarchies and authoritarian Catholic Church was hatched in Freemasonic Lodges and

that despite myriad sectarian factions and wars throughout the world Freemasons meet quietly and peacefully as

illustrated by for example Freemasons lodges in Israel that contain Moslem, Christian and Jewish members. Such

organizations can and do provide an important platform for sanity, reason and understanding to exist in an

otherwise chaotic world.

Seen right: Mozarts 18th

century Freemasons Lodge in Vienna

seen with the sun and moon depicted upon the east wall of

the Lodge and a statue of Hermes the mythological god of

light and fire on the right side of the painting. Hermes

defined boundaries, science and the arts who brought sacred

knowledge to the earth. Among the Greek Hellenes, the

related word Herma means a boundary stone, crossing

point which suggests that Hermes is the spirit of crossing-

over. As such he was seen to be manifest in any kind of

interchange, transfer, transgressions, transcendence, transition, transit or traversal, all of which activities involve

some form of crossing in some sense. Hermes was also the trickster god (as found in many Aboriginal and

Shamanic cultures) who otherwise would trick or prod sedate humans (who typically desire status quo) towards

change and self development. Each culture has a unique and corresponding name for Hermes Trismegistus or

Thrice Greatest. In Egypt the equivalent is Thoth or Dejwty, to Moslems he was Idris, to the Jews he was the

Patriarch Enoch who is central in associated degrees of the Royal Arc or Cryptic Rite Freemasonic ritual, he was

2See Secret Zodiacs of Washington DC- was the city of the stars build by Freemasonsby David Ovason


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Mercury to the Romans, Apollo to the Greeks and Agastyar to the East Indians and was symbolically presented as

a turtle or a goat, often referred to in Freemasonry.

Time prevents me from talking of the various aspects of Freemasonry such as the importance of geometry, the

employment of sacred geometry and sacred geography and using human intention to create sacred space in

structures. Golden Proportion and Fibonacci sequence mathematics are fundamental natural truthsfound in

galaxies and plants and the ancient builders understood these principles well and built temples, churches,

mosques with these things in mind. The sacred builders understood that nature wastes nothing, operates

economically, in purposeful harmonious balance and any human endeavour should also reflect these principles.

This is reinforced in the primordial adage from the mystical Emerald Tablet of Hermes which states: As above so

below which denotes in nature that the microscopic is reflected in the macroscopic and vice-versa and that

anything in human civilization should also parallel this rule in our constructive undertakings so that harmony may

always prevail. This notion may seem rather simplistic to rational engineers and architects who since the

commencement of the Scientific Revolution pay attention to utilitarian function, work with defined budgets and

aesthetics imply utilizing the right materials rather than recognizing fanciful philosophical or occult

considerations3. I would like to talk but dont have the time to expound upon the various building societies

sponsored by the Knights Templar who we know came into contact with superior Arabic building techniques,

knowledge of projective geometry and algebra and also ancient mystic Sufi, Hebrew Kabbalistic and Persian

mysticism that the Templars dispersed throughout Europe through their architecture and building guilds. Time

prevents us from exploring common themes found in sacred architecture around the world in China, Japan,

Cambodia, Mexico, Egypt, Greece, Libya and elsewhere and it would take several lifetimes to fully study the

subjects related to or connected with Freemasonry.

Some of the more common symbols id like to draw your attention to is for example the Freemasons apron, a

commonly worn signification of a Freemasons attitude which should

always remain innocent and untarnished by the rude immoral

attractions of the world. The colour blue signifies royalty, white

reminds Masons to be innocent, the pillars uprightness, rosettes

signify love, Its very four-square design with a downward triangle

is suggestive of the combination of the spiritual (3 sided triangle)

coming down into the terrestrial or physical realm (the four sided

square). Three and four equal seven, a sacred number reflecting the

seven principle days of the week, the seven chakras of Indian

spirituality, the seven principle notes of the musical scale, seven

primary colours, the seven primary astrological planets.

Seen above right is the Freemasonic apron of and first American President George Washington. The all seeing eye

of God may be seen signifying that nothing in the universe is unseen, no act and no thought is lost, everything is

captured, known and recorded. The Masonic pillars symbolize uprightness, civilization and learning. The black and

white mosaic pavement illustrates the duality of human existence- that all human beings tread daily and must

choose between light and dark, good and evil and must walk the middle path between the opposites- a decidedly

Buddhist and even Kabbalistic concept that one must balance their actions between the opposites. The sun and

the moon-both symbolic of male and feminine, the day sun and the night sun both providing illumination. And a

3Though it is interesting to see how some architects have employed the ancient Chinese practice of Feng Shui in

their designs. British Airways new Corporate headquarters was entirely designed to comply with this ancient

methodology. The new Getty Museum in Los Angeles was built employing sacred architectural principles.


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most interesting feature the coffin, symbol of mortality which i will draw your attention to and speak about further

on.

Seen left is a Tracing Board, symbolic tool employed by Freemasons which is a

pictogram utilized in the First Masonic degree to explain certain moral lessons,

historical and philosophical concepts. Seen illustrated are pillars representing

wisdom, strength and beauty, the sun and moon along with a ladder relating to the

Biblical parable of Jacob who fell asleep and had a vision of the structure and

hierarchy of heaven and earth and the angelic messengers who operated within and

beyond these planes. If one looks at this symbol of the ladder one sees a common

archtypical device used in many cultures around the world. The Hebrew mysticism of

the Kabbalah relates that when God wanted to know itself it had split from its

singularity into two and at that moment the physical universe came into being. God

created a central axis or `tele` upon which everything revolved. We find this ladder,

or tele as the axis mundi or geometric centre of the universe, the point of connection

between heaven and earth and the symbolic higher and lower realms. The axis mundi or axis of the world is also

the north star4around which the heavens revolve, it is the omphalos stone (the naval of the world) of the ancient

Greeks, it has been depicted as a rope, a vine, serpent, twisted stairway, maypole, tree, totem, pillar or the sacred

altar found at the central axis of ancient temples. The axis mundi is the central altar of a Freemasons Lodge upon

which all solemn obligations are taken with hands placed upon a Volume of Sacred Law, a Torah, a Bible or

otherwise book of a persons faith. The altar of a Freemasons Lodge is also the symbolic Arc of the Covenent

found in the inner sanctum sanctorum of Holy of Holies found in Kings Solomons Temple, the ark may be

considered the holy centre of a Lodge and the connecting device, the axis mundi forming a link between earth and

God.

The rough and perfect ashlar (stones) are both found in every Freemasonic Lodge as symbols which implore that

every Freemason must transform themselves from a crude imperfect unhewn rock to a perfectly fitted, squared,

smoothed and refined personality. The Freemason learns in the First and Second Degrees

morality and the importance of the classical seven liberal arts and sciences and that it is

important to make a daily advancement in the pursuit of knowledge. For centuries the

world faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam believed the oneness of God could be

expressed architecturally by means of the perfect ashlar or cube. The cube symbolically

expresses the perfection of nature and God through its ratios of 1:1:1. The perfect cube

formed the Holy of Holies of King Solomons Temple, the Holy Kabba (or cube) of the

Moslems or the double square which properly represents the Freemasonic Lodge interior.

The perfect cube unfolded becomes the crossanother ancient symbol much older than

the sacrificial cross of the Christ figure but of two intersected axis of the horizontal (the

terrestrial plane) and that of the vertical (the spiritual plane) and the central meeting

point of the two axis is the point found at the symbolic centre. The point within the circle

is the Egyptian symbol of Ra, the god of the Sun and illumination who was also the male

god-King Osiris, the god of light and resurrection.

4In Shamanic cosmology the north celestial pole is the axis through which the cosmos turns and the spiritual portal

through which the gods or shaman descend and ascend to earth. The three regions of Sky, Earth, Underworld are

connected along this axis.


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The central symbol that i would like to focus on represents a host of important ideas that i would like to direct your

attention to. The symbol of the squaring of the circle is composed of a square, a circle and again, the point

within the centre of the circle. The square representing the natural or physical world, the four cardinal directions

while the circle with the point in the centre symbolizes infinity, God, the all -seeing eye and most important is a

transcendental device that is used to show that the point of God our Creator is co-existent at the centre of all

human beings. The Vitruvian man is a symbol expressed by Leonardo da Vinci.

Of note Freemasons conduct their rituals and circumambulate around their Lodge interiors in a formal clockwise

fashion from south to west to north to East. If we consider the ancients their view of time was not linear as in

modern culture but rather celebrated, understood and paid particular attention to the cycles of nature and that all

things are born, mature, die and are reborn. This idea is also respected in Freemasonic Lodges as for examplecandidates through the degrees are conducted from the south (the place of youth, the summer season, we will

recall Hermes in the Vienna Lodge situated in the south) to the west (the place of maturity, the fall season) to the

north (place of death, the place of the feminine underworld,

darkness winter season) and to the east (place of renewal,

resurrection and light). Life, death and regeneration or

resurrection is celebrated in myths throughout different

cultures, we have the Attis, Adonis, Osiris, the Green Man of

the Irish, the Mayan warrior of the ball courts who sacrifice

themselves and are regenerated after death. This model of

square/circle and point in centre associated with the seasons

and the cycle of human life has further importance in forexample in the 12

thcentury Royal Portal of Chartres Cathedral

in Chartres, France. We find the figure of the Christ symbol,

the triumphant Son of Man (or symbolic not only of a saviour

figure but of every human being) at the centre, much like the Vitruvian man at the centre of the sacred symbolic

geometric pattern the vesica piscis (early Christian sign of the fish symbolic of singular circle, god, or the divine

splitting into two worlds- the spiritual and the terrestrial). Surrounding the spiritual Son of Man Christ at the

centre of mortal existence are four figures: the eagle, the bull, the lion and the man/angel. These four figures

contain multiple symbolic meanings: the four principal disciples of Christ- Mark, Matthew, John and Luke; the four

alchemical elements- earth, air, fire, water; the four fixed astrologic signs- Leo, Taurus, Aquarius and Virgo. These

also have principal numerical values which add to 26 or the Holy Kabbalistic Tetragrammatron- the holy name of

God. Thus the triumphant mortal and divine human rises through the centre balancing all four elements as thefifth element.

So lets get to the root of all of this. Just why all this mystic symbolism steeped in architectural motifs? What is

esoteric Freemasonry really all about? What are the true secrets? Is it the Freemasonic rituals which contain

secret words, signs and grips? While Masonic ritual is central and important and provides the common

experiential platform that all Freemasons partake most any of the Masonic rituals are published on the internet for

all to see. What could be so important that architects of past centuries sought to imbue their designs on temples

East/Lion/Mark/Leo/Fire

South/Man/Matthew/Aquarius/Air North/Eagle/John/Scorpio/Water

West/Bull/Luke/Taurus/Earth


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The practice of

philosophy is the

practice of dying.

Plato, Phaedro

and churches? How is it that so much ancient mythology is so similar around the world and convey the same basic

themes of life, death and regeneration? I will convey a secret that you already knowand is deep inside you. It

has been shared, explained and displayed openly in art, literature and architecture for millennia. The realsecret of

Freemasonry as explainedin the fictional book The Lost Symbol, the symbolism of the Masonic Apron, the ancient

cathedrals and buildings of the distant past is transcendental in nature. It is a truth that lies inside each human

being, and all around us in nature, in the plants and in the animals that we are one and same, the unity of all thingsis everywhere. There is no separation between you and i, no death, no beginning and no end, this is the ultimate

mystery of the Shamans, Sufis, Medieval Alchemists and the Freemasons. A particular key to the secrets of

Freemasonryits raison detre connects to profound mystic rites of the ancient worldsLesser and Greater

Mysteries5. The Mysteries were widespread and taught to spiritually mature men and women in China, India,

Persia, Egypt, Greece, Rome and in ancient Britain and France. The initiatory Mysteries taught spiritual liberation

from ignorance and at their core the trials of death were introduced and rebirth. Clement of Alexandria stated

what was taught in the Mysteries concerned the universe and was the completion and perfection of all

instruction; wherein things were seen as they were, and nature and her works were made known. We find the

same parallel in Shamanism, Gnosticism, the philosophies of Platonism, Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism and esoteric

traditions such as Rosicrucianism, Alchemy and Freemasonry. For everyone to experience voluntary or initiatory

death during life one ensures spiritual rebirth and the celestial destiny of the soul is ensured.

We find ancient writers and philosophers such as Herodotus,

Plutarch, Imblichus and Plato referring a great deal to the Mysteries

and describing initiation and the mystical experience. In the

coronation texts of the Egyptian King Thutmosis III (often seen

mistakenly as strictly funerary texts) the king claims to have risen up

in the form of a falcon and actually beheld the secret image of Ra and

beheld the secret ways of heaven. According to ancient Egyptian

Greek, Roman and Gnostic sources the Egyptian, Eleusinian and

Gnostic priesthood are spiritual practitioners who had firsthand or

direct knowledge of realties beyond the physical realm. This knowledge was seen as less speculative, academic or

philosophical reasoning but rather the result of direct experience. This is directly

correspondent to Shamanic, advanced Buddhist and Aboriginal spiritual practices.

For the ancient Greeks initiation and death were intimately intertwined. It is

implicit in their language: telos means the end, perfection and completion. Its

plural form, telea, was the standard word for initiatory rites-which offer fullness

and completion, but at the same time involve a termination or death. The word in

many variations is found all through the rites of initiation: telein is to initiate; a

telesterion is a hall in which initiations take place; the telestes is the initiation priest; the telete is the

initiation ceremony itself; and finally, the teloumenoi are those who have been initiated.Phaedro the book by

Plato has been described as basic text of mysticism describes the ascent of the human being to the divine world.

In this dialogue he writes Ordinary people seem not to realize that those who really apply themselves in the rightway to philosophy are directly and of their own accord preparing themselves for death and dying. At the ancient

Greek Temple of Delphi is written the inscription Man know thyself, Delphi itself (seen below) the site of the

ancient Greek Mysteries. Plato writing of the death of Socrates posits that those who are involved in following

5For a larger understanding of the ancient Mysteries see The Pagan Christby Tom Harpur or The Jesus

Mysteries was the original Christ a pagan god? by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy. As well the mystical Egyptian

Mysteries and symbolic king making ceremonies are covered in detail by Jeremy Narby PhD in Shamanic Wisdom

in the Pyramid Texts.


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philosophy (not the academic kind but the ancient form of investigating the

various aspects of life and death) are practising nothing other than dying and

being dead.6 Plato writing of Socrates states that the true vocation of the

philosopher is to allow the soul to run free of the body, truly then those

who practice philosophy aright is cultivating dying.7 The word for

resurrection in Greek is anastasiswhich means awakenedit is this messagethat is central to understanding to undergo a living conscious death and to

be reborn. The Greek Eleusinian Mysteries were thought to have been

celebrated from at least the 15th

century BCE at Eleusis near Athens and that

their origins were likely Egyptian is accepted among a wide variety of

scholars who understand the ritual was broken down into several parts

consisting of lesser mysteries delivered in spring which were more concerned

with purification and instruction and then a fall nine day greater mysteries play or drama re-enactment of a

candidate descending into Hades or the underworld of the goddess Persephone who was mythically abducted by

Hades and is released where the birth of a new principle or divine child is heralded. A full year later the candidate

is given a fuller initiation where vision is beheld and some form of transformational experience took place.

Aristotle writes of the Eleusinian Mysteries that initiates were not expected to learn something but to experienceemotions and *have+ a change in the state of mind.

8 We learn that in the Mysteries the rituals helped to change

their attitudes towards death. Pindar, Sophocles, Isocrates all speak of people who no longer feared death and

looked forward to a new life. Plutarch stated that: The soul at the point of death has the same experience as

those who are being initiated into the great mysteries. For Plato death involved the separation of the soul from

experiential world of the senses. For the people involved with the sacred Mysteries it was understood that it was

possible for people, while yet alive, to enter a state of consciousness to become separated from the body and

while in this nether region people could have profound experiences that they would not otherwise have until

death. The most important realization was that there is an element in their own nature that is immortal.

The early Christian Gnostics (80 CE- 300 CE ) insisted that self knowledge was also knowledge of God; the self and

the divine are identical. Early Christian Gnostics, prior to the establishment of what later came to be known as

Catholic Church, insisted the traditions and knowledge they possessed were hidden teachings and not for the

general masses (the same idea as the priest philosophers who practised the ancient Mysteries). Christian Gnostics,

from the Greek gnosistranslates as knowledge or one who knows. Gnosis is not rational knowledge but rather

observation and experience; it is an intuitive process of knowing oneself. The Gnostic teacher Theodotus (c.140-

160) wrote that the Gnostic has come to understand: who we were, and what we have become; where we

were..wither we are hastening; from what we are being released; what birth is, and what is rebirth. The Nag

Hammadi Scrollsfound in the Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945 reveals a wholly different and more mystical

Christianity than what later developed, various treatise, 52 in all, such as the Gospels of Thomas, Phillip, Mary

Magdelane, the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Secret Book of Jamesand more were buried to keep them safely away

from the orthodox Christians who considered these sacred documents heretical for their own political reasons.

Modern Christianity based on repentance and associated to guilt is far different from the early esoteric Christianityidea of repentance which is again rooted in the Greek metanoia, which means change of mind. This is what it

means to be truly born again of water and spirit. To enter into the Kingdom of God is to reach the point of

oneness with God, the body or the ego is not at the centre but rather rebirth occurs at the level of the psyche and

also spiritually. We find ample examples of Jesus teaching a secret knowledge that he keeps from outsiders for we

6Phaedro, 64a, p.9.

7Phaedro, 67e, p.14

8Ancient Mystery Cults, p. 73.


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find in the Gospel of Mark Jesus preaching to his disciples: ..To you has been given the secret of the Kingdom of

God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed

hear but not understand...Matthew also reveals that when Jesus spoke in public, he spoke only in parables, when

his disciples asked the reason, he replied:To you it has been given to know the secrets [mysteria; literally

mysteries+ of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it was not given. According to the Gnostics Jesus only taught

his esoteric teachings in private to people who had proven spiritually mature and ready to be qualified forinitiation into the gnosis- the secret knowledge. The Gospel of Thomas(still considered heretical by the Catholic

Church today) reveals a transformative spirituality taught by Jesus:

Jesus said: I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have

become drunk from the bubbling stream which i have measured

out..He who will drink from my mouth will become as i am: i myself

shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to

him. As in the sacred Mysteries Christian Gnosticism reveals that the

initiate becomes the anointed King or the Christ themselves.

Seen left is the ancient underground Initiatory Temple of Osiris, dated

1250 BCE and found at Abydos.

Ancient Egypt is generally recognized as the root of the ancient Mysteries that existed in Greece and the king-

makingceremonies conducted by the Egyptian priest hood. According to the oldest religious texts in the world-

the texts found within the Pyramid of Unas (approximately 4,350 years old) wisdom or sai and knowledge of

insight sia are attained in the nether regions beyond the earth just the same as Plato speaks of wisdom being

found within the realm of the dead thus true philosophers should dedicate themselves to learning to die before

they die so too in the Pyramid Texts of Unas insight into the true nature of things is dependent on the celestial

rebirth of the soul. The Egyptian Texts reveal that human beings are not just terrestrial in nature but that we also

belong to the celestial kingdom that is inside each of us and invisible and it is this celestial and interior clothing

that we put on when we die and when we ascend back to where we come from9. Egyptologist Edward Wente in

his paper Mysticism in Pharonic Egyptargues that certain New Kingdom texts were not funerary texts but rather

to bring the future into the present so the realities of death and movement into the netherworld with

attendant rebirth could have been genuinely experienced in this life now.10

Recently Alison Roberts spoke of the

New Kingdom texts, The Book of the Night, as being not funerary texts for a dead but rather Pharonic texts

describing a journey through the body of sky goddess Nut and which describe the mysteries of return to primal

origins and cosmic rebirth. Roberts contends the corpus of the books of the New kingdom underworld including

chapters of The Book of the Deadare mystical texts used in ritual for use by the living. Ancient Egyptian

ceremonies indeed their science, as many academic and Egyptologists are beginning to perceive, were not rooted

in the material as for example modern science but rather dealt with the immaterial veiled world of spiritual causes

and powers. To the Egyptians not unlike the Aboriginals or Shamans all knowledge was spiritual and there was

nothing in the world that wasnt spiritual.

When one considers all of these practices of living death and renewal in rituals throughout the ages and couples

this with the symbol of the empty tomb found in for example the great Kings Chamber of the Giza Pyramid in Egypt

or the empty tomb of Jesus, or the empty coffin of the Freemasons Third Degree then one must really begin to ask

the power of these symbols that carry across millennia and the enlightened who acknowledged that death is not

final and that it is critical for all of us to experience these kinds of rituals before we die. The Third Degree of

9To see more read Shamanic Wisdom in the Pyramid Textsby Jeremy Naydler Phd.

10Journal for Near Eastern Studies, 1982, Mysticism in Pharonic Egypt,E. Wente.


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Freemasonry describes the death of the mythical architect of King Solomons Temple Hiram Abiff who is murdered

by three conspirators wishing to extract the secrets or the Masters Word. Architect Freemason, writer and

mystic W. L. Wilmshirst points out: Where brethren do you imagine the grave to be?...Probably you have never

thought of the matter as other than an ordinary burial outside of the walls of a geographical Jerusalem. But the

grave of Hiram is ourselves...We are the grave of the Master. The lost guiding light is buried at the centre of

ourselves.

11

Wilmshirst describes Freemasonry as a Royal Art that helps us to find where we have come fromand whither we may return and its purpose is to show that humanity has fallen away from a high and holy centre

to an externalized condition (to the circumference of the circle) and the means by which the transcendental centre

of the circle may be found within ourselves.

Seen above- from left, the empty sarcophagus of the Kings Chamber in Giza, the symbolic empty tomb of Jesus and

the Freemasons Third Degree Tracong Board of Freemasonry. In every case empty tombs, graves and coffins

symbolically indicate the triumph of the human soul or consciousness over death.

Freemasonry is not THEway but simply one of manyways to self-understanding, growth, truth and transcendence.

To think that earthly salvation may be sought through any one person, god, religion and tradition would be

inaccurate or perhaps naive. This is the issue with religious fundamentalism- people claim there is only theirway

to salvation and that simply isnt true. True spirituality like science is integrative and not exclusionary. The Ancient

Mystery schools and early Christian Gnosticism were demonized and obliterated by the early Roman Catholic

Church because the Gnostics claimed that people didnt need intermediaries to find truth and enlightenment. The

ancient Mystery schools as much as the Egyptian Pharonic king-making traditions were driven underground.

Aboriginal or Shamanic spirituality which also allows accesses the world of spirit directly was judged as barbaric

and demonic and nearly completely destroyed by an intolerant priest class. The transcendental philosophy of

Alchemy, Sufisim and even Freemasonry were attacked for being anti-religious and viewed as celebrating the

pagan notions of nature as if it was somehow satanic. As the ancients practiced, as the shamans or indigenous

cultures tell us, or as Freemasons practice their rituals ..each of us has to follow a personal path to recover the

numinous for ourselves, shedding our self-limiting beliefs and narcissistic complexes in the process.12

Such

practices allow us to learn more and become self-actualized through our own efforts. I am reminded of the Gospel

of Thomas where Thomas asks Jesus when the Kingdom of God will come down to earth. Jesus responds what he

asks for is already here but men do not see it. The Kingdom of God is not going to come at some later time,

nor by trying to precipitate some end time, it is here and now and inside of us and all around us. This is the

greatest and most simple of secrets. There as many ways to seeking the truth, many ways to the light of the

Supreme Being as there are people on our planet. The true seeker will find the divine through study and

contemplation and through initiation whether it be Freemasonic, Rosicrucian, spiritual Alchemy or Magic, Arabic

11The Meaning of Masonryby W.L. Wilmshirst, p.73.

12Notes from the Edge Times by Daniel Pinchbeck, p.34.


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Sufisim, Jewish Kabbalism, Buddhist or Aboriginal and Shamanic13

spirituality which is likely 40,000 years old and

gave birth to all the known traditions and religions. All of the ancient traditions as much as Freemasonry honours

the cycles of life and passes on an authentic wisdom that tells us we are unique, special and destined for greater

things. Like the anointed Royal Kings of Egypt the true initiated, in whatever capacity among their Lodge, tribe or

respective community becomes an intermediary between the physical and spiritual worlds, a Shaman, or Gnostic,

indeed one who knows. This is the symbol of the cross, not originally Christian but far older that exemplifies theintersection of the horizontal (physical realm) and the vertical (spiritual realm), the true initiated person is the

point at the centre of that cross, the example for others to follow. We all sacrifice our gross physical self to

transcend ourselves and journey to the cosmic. The secrets of Freemasonry are an open secret and can be

known by everyone if they simply make the effort to know and has in common with what the ancients and

indigenous spiritual leaders have always known, learn the truth of who you really are and you will discover the

secrets of nature and your Creator.

These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke.. and he said, whoever finds

the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death...

Take heed of the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see Him and

be unable to do so

Gospel of Thomas,Nag Hammadi Scrolls

Originally presented by Victor G. Popow, in a public lecture to LIGHT http://www.lightwinnipeg.org/at Charisma

Restaurant, Winnipeg, MB on Tuesday, May 2. Victor Popow has been involved as a high ranking Officer of

Freemasonry as a Past Grand Lodge Officer (Grand Librarian and District Deputy Grand Master), nationally

recognized lecturer, a member of numerous other bodies, of note the CEO of the national SRIC or Societas

Rosicruciana in Canada and a middle management executive in the aerospace industry, a global traveller, writer

and visual artist with many abstract pieces having been in the Winnipeg Art Gallery and

various galleries in Winnipeg. His work may be found in private and corporate

collections. He is the founder of Winnipegs newest Freemasons Lodge Templum Sion

Lodge of Freemasons. Contact Victor [email protected]

Victor will host his spiritual abstract art at an exhibition As Above So Below at the

cre8ery gallery, 125 Adelaide St. in the old market district in Winnipeg, Thursday June 9th

(Gala Opening-free admission) 7:30 PM to 11 PM and is free to the public and will close

June 22. All are welcome. His website may be found atwww.victorgpopow.comand is

still under construction.

13See Supernatural-Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of MankindBy Graham Hancock
http://www.lightwinnipeg.org/http://www.lightwinnipeg.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.victorgpopow.com/http://www.victorgpopow.com/http://www.victorgpopow.com/http://www.victorgpopow.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.lightwinnipeg.org/


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This paper may not be electronically reproduced, altered, or printed without the permission of the author

Further Suggested Reading:

Intelligence in Natureby Jeremy Narby

Notes from the End Timesby Daniel Pinchbeck

2012-The Return of Quetzalcoatl by Daniel Pinchbeck

Plant Spirit Shamanismby Ross Heaven & Howard G. Charing

The Cosmic Serpent-DNA and the Origins of Knowledgeby Jeremy Narby

The Gnostic Gospelsby Elaine Pagels

Secret Zodiacs of Washington DC- was the city of the stars build by Freemasonsby David Ovason

Shamanic Wisdom of the Pyramid Texts- the Mystical Tradition of Ancient Egypt by Jeremy Naydler

Supernatural-Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankindby Graham Hancock

Talisman-Sacred Cities, Secret Faith by Graham Hancock and Robert Bauvel

The Pagan Christby Tom Harpur

The Jesus Mysteries was the original Christ a pagan god?by Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy


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freemasonry presentation to light may 2011 v2

Documents