T H E B O O K OF

FREEMASONRY, VENUS, A N D
THE SECRET KEY T O THE LIFE OF JESUS
Also by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas

The Hiram Key

The Second Messiah
Uriel's Machine

By Robert Lomas

The Invisible College

The Man who Invented the Twentieth Century

By Robert Lomas and G. A. Lancaster

Forecasting for Sales and Material Management

For more information visit these websites:

www.knight-lomas.com
www.robertlomas.com
www.bradford.ac.uk/webofhiram
THE BOOK OF HIRAM
F R E E M A S O N R Y , VENUS, A N D T H E S E C R E T K E Y
T O T H E LIFE O F JESUS

Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas

 Element
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First published in the UK in 2 0 0 3 by Century

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Christoper Knight and Robert Lomas 2003

Christoper Knight and Robert Lomas assert the moral right to

be identified as the author of this work

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is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 00 720088 9

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 For Caroline - CK

To my wife and children in

thanks for their continual support - RL
 Acknowledgements
This book could not have been written without the help and assistance of
the many Masons, and family members of long-dead Masons, who have
made available copies of forgotten ritual books. There are too many of you
to thank individually but we are extremely grateful for all the material you
have provided to enable us to create The Masonic Testament.

We would also like to thank:

The Brethren and staff of the Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted
Masons of Scotland for their advice and assistance.

Jenny Finder and her library staff at the Bradford University School of
Management for their continuing good-natured support, and ability to pro-
cure long-lost books.

Tim Bentley and Stan Houghton of Bradford University Computer Centre

for their help in setting up the Web of Hiram.

Geraint Lomas and Josh Gourlay for their tireless efforts in scanning and
proof-reading vast tracts of ritual for the Web of Hiram.

Niven and Ian Sinclair, of the Niven Sinclair Library and Study Centre at
Noss Head, Wick, for sharing their knowledge and introducing us to Ashley
Cowie.

Ashley Cowie for sharing his discovery of the Rosslyn Lozenge Pattern.

Professor Philip Davies of Sheffield University for his expert and on-going
Biblical advice.

Professor Jim Charlesworth of Princeton University for his support in pro-

posing an excavation at Rosslyn.
Dr Jack Millar of Cambridge University for his insightful comments about
the structure of Rosslyn.

Robin Heath for his helpful discussions on deciphering the travels of Enoch.

Corin Wilson for his encouragement to investigate astrology with an open

mind.

Alan Butler for his assistance with matters astronomical and megalithic.

Tony Batters for his expertise and enthusiasm.

Our agent Bill Hamilton of A. M. Heath Ltd, whose enthusiasm and focus
helped keep us on track during the conception and protracted birth of this
book.

Our editor Mark Booth, whose guidance on how to present a very com-
plex story has been invaluable.

All the folk at Random House who did all the tedious production tasks
which are so necessary to turn a manuscript into a finished book. In par-
ticular we would like to single out for special thanks Hannah Black who
organised the team, Steve Cox who slugged away copy-editing and Carolyn
McAndrew who proof-read it all.

Vlll
 Contents

Introduction 1
Part One 9
1 The Death of the Builders 11
The Oldest Mysteries of Nature and Science 11
A Matter of Death and Life 12
The Darkness of the Third Degree 15
Weaving the Web of Hiram 20
Conclusions 25
2 The Grooved Ware People 27
The First Stonemasons 27
The Riddle of the Megalithic Yard 31
The Crystal Palace 36
Venus and Resurrection 44
Conclusions 47
3 The Light of Secret Knowledge 49
The Knights of Solomon's Temple 49
The Secrets of Rosslyn : 57
Proving the Masonic Connections 62
Conclusions 64
4 The Norse Connection 66
The Holy Shining Light 66
f The Norse Queen of Heavep 69
Freemasonry's First Temple 78
Conclusions 79
5 The Temple of Solomon 80
The Enochian Artefacts 80
The Venus Alignment of Solomon's Temple 84
Hiram the Master Builder 88
Hiram, the Son of Venus 93
Conclusions 99
6 The Maritime Connections.. 101
Whatever Happened to the Grooved Ware People? 101
The Beginnings of Egypt 107
The Phoenicians 109
The Priest-kings of the Phoenicians 117
Conclusions 134
7 The Twin Cults of Judaism 136
The New Nation 136
Rich Man, Poor Man 146
Conclusions 1-50
8 Real Kings, Human Sacrifice and Rainmaking 152
The Failure of the Final Instalment 152
Suffer Little Children 164
Abraham and Child Sacrifice 167
Child Sacrifice and Yahweh 169
The Rainmakers 179
Conclusions 185
9 The Sons of Dawn 186
The Dial of Ahaz 186
Return from Exile 189
Astrology and Sun Worship 193
Conclusions 205
10 The Holy Shekinah 206
The Venus Cycle in Judaism 206
Metatron, Shekinah and the Kabbalah 218
The Star of Bethlehem 223
The Pattern of the Shekinah 227
Conclusions 230
11 The Coming of the Messiah 232
The Rising of the Star 232
Forty Days in the Wilderness 238
The Man Who Would Be King 241
The Great Failure 245
The Enochian Jesus 249
The Cult of Paul 251
Astrology the Big Secret? 258
Dates of the Venus Cycles 259
Conclusions 264
12 The Return of the Shekinah 266
The Underground Millennium 266
Breaking the Code of Rosslyn 271
The Secret Tunnel 279
The Problem of Rosslyn 283
Conclusions 28.5
13 Neither Harmless nor Fun 286
The Great Secret of the Astral Religion 286
Is It in Our Stars? 292
A Star-Strewn History 294
Looking for Patterns 304
Conclusions 311
14 The Star Achievers 312
Learning and Striving 312
Riding the Cycles of Success 318
The End of the Journey 329
What is Freemasonry? 335
Part Two: The Masonic Testament 339
To the Reader 341
1 God Makes Mankind 345
2 Enoch Meets God and Engraves His True Name 348
3 Noah Builds the Ark to Survive the Flood 351
4 The Tower of Babel destroyed by God 355
5 Melchizedek, King of Salem, makes Abram a Grand High Priest...357
6 The Secrets of Moses 1 362
7 The Building of Solomon's Temple 369
8 The Assassination of Hiram Abif 379
9 The Completion of the First Temple of Jerusalem 390
10 The Return from the Babylonian Captivity 394
11 The Rediscovered Secrets of King Solomon's Temple 403
12 The Honouring of Zerubbabel 411
13 The Great Architect of the Church 421
14 Early Christian Degrees 426
15 The Knights Templar and the Knights of St John of Jerusalem 433
16 Evolved Freemasonry 440
Time-Line 449
Appendix 1 The Mystery of the Megalithic Yard Revealed 452
Appendix 2 The Statistical Evaluation of the Rosslyn Lozenges 457
Appendix 3 The Names for Venus in Various Traditions 459
Bibliography 461
Index 467
 INTRODUCTION

It is now thirteen years since we joined forces to research the origins and
meaning of the weird rituals used by Freemasons. For the first five years
we had no intention of sharing our findings with anyone - inside or out-
side of Freemasonry. But because what we found appeared to be of great
importance we decided to write a book about our voyage of discovery, and
much to our surprise The Hiram Key became an immediate bestseller that
went on to be translated into well over thirty languages.
The rituals of Freemasonry form the most ancient oral tradition of the
Western world. Our quest was far from over with the publication of our
first book, and we went on to write two further books that led us through
history right back to the astronomy-based culture of prehistoric Britain.
We found that the Freemasonic rituals formed an almost forgotten pathway
through the past, linking together people and events that had previously
been assumed to be unconnected. Many of our findings have challenged
old ideas, but we have been pleased to receive the support of many leading
scholars in various aspects of our work.
We have been fortunate to receive a great deal of help over the years,
and our quest has made startling progress. However, there are two areas
where we have found unexpected opposition. The first stems from the
Roman Catholic Church. The second concerns our attempts to facilitate
an archaeological investigation of a medieval building in Scotland that has
become central to our investigation.

1
I III BOOK 01 H I R A M

We became aware of hostility from the Catholic establishment from an

early stage. Shortly after The Hiram Key hit the shops a small piece appeared
in the Catholic Herald which was both balanced and open-minded. We
were initially impressed by the paper's ability to be objective about a book
that took an innovative approach to interpreting the history of Jesus Christ.
But in the next edition a second review appeared that spanned two pages,
complete with photographs copied from our book and a banner headline
proclaiming 'Chris and Bob's Bogus Adventure'. This time the article was
far from balanced, full of venom for our book, for us as individuals and
anyone else who was a 'drunken' Freemason. The aim was not to debate
or even mention our findings, but to ridicule us and our views from start
to finish.
Our next book received the same treatment in a double-page spread
filled with aggression that avoided any comment on the key issues we had
raised. Again it was clear that the reviewer had read the book with little
care, because the rare references made, even to insignificant parts of the
content, were completely wrong.
When our third book came out we were waiting with interest to read
the next attack from this corner of the Roman Catholic establishment. We
were not disappointed. The producers of the Catholic Herald published a
substantial review of Uriel's Machine with a bold headline that shouted
'Bogus Archaeology'. This article told its readers at length that our work
was complete nonsense, without ever mentioning our claims or even
attempting to refute any evidence.
We find it strange that a British Roman Catholic newspaper chose to
run extensive reviews on three successive books, solely in order to label
them utterly bogus. Surely if a book is complete rubbish you ignore it,
rather than waste time telling your readers how awful it is.
Uriel's Machine had received favourable reviews from many newspapers,
but then one appeared that was as aggressive and disingenuous as the
Catholic Herald piece. Shortly after the book came out we were interviewed
by someone else who used exactly the same theme for an article later car-
ried in the Daily Telegraph. Perhaps the strikingly similar approach was
simply chance, but we later found that one-time religious correspondent
Damian Thompson was no stranger to the Catholic Herald.
After spending the first quarter of an hour demonstrating his compre-
hensive inability to operate a minidisc recorder, Thompson spent the rest
of the two-hour interview repeatedly shouting: 'But you can't do science

2
 INTRODUCTION

like that.' He admitted his ignorance of astronomy and mathematics; but

being quite unable to understand the calculation methodology we employed
did not deter him from dismissing our findings as wrong - simply because
he said they were. When his article appeared it made no reference to our
core thesis but juxtaposed weird claims from other people's books with ref-
erences to us, thus creating the false impression that we had said these
things, or supported them in some way. The lengthy headline read:

Minoans built Stonehenge, Atlantis is based in Antarctica, Jesus

was buried in France. Welcome to the best selling world of bogus
archaeology.

Strange claims indeed; none of which we would accept. Thompson went

on to try and discredit our work by stating that The Hiram Key had been
'rubbished by historians and critics alike'. He evidenced this claimed uni-
versal rebuttal of our earlier work by quoting a headline from just one
publication. That headline was 'Chris and Bob's Bogus Adventure'. Of
course the quotation, with the now familiar 'bogus' theme, came from none
other than The Catholic Herald.
Could we be on to something so important that some people believed
we must be discredited?
In April 1998 Chris was speaking at a Masonic symposium in Perugia,
Italy. One evening before the event the organiser, Professor Giancarlo Seri,
received a phone call from Rome. On the line was a senior figure from the
Roman Catholic Church asking if it was true that one of the authors of
The Hiram Key was to address Italian Freemasons. Professor Seri told him
it was, asked the caller if he had read the book and, if so, what he thought
of it. The clergyman's reply was frank: 'Yes, I have read it. It is an excel-
lent book but there are certain things which should not be said.' He did
not say it was inaccurate (let alone bogus), indeed his only objection to
our work appeared to be that we were telling people about it.
We have great respect for the Roman Catholic Church, but we also
believe that nobody has the right to prohibit the investigation of alterna-
tive explanations of the past. In its dark period the Church tolerated no
deviation from its account of the way the world is, murdering whole pop-
ulations if it suspected them of harbouring ideas different to those it
preached. From Galileo onwards it has been fighting a losing battle, but
today it reluctantly accepts concepts such as Darwinian evolution.
I III BOOK Ol IIIIIAM

So what is it about our humble research into the origins of Masonic

ritual that seems to have touched such a very delicate nerve? We decided
to find out, and this book describes our search.
The second issue that we have to contend with is the resistance to a
proper archaeological examination of the fifteenth-century Rosslyn Chapel
that lies in the Lothian Hills just a little south of Edinburgh. In The Hiram
Key, our quest ended at this late medieval building in Scotland that we rea-
soned might well contain documents originally buried under the Jerusalem
Temple at the time when the earliest of the Gospels of the New Testament
were being written down. We put forward an argument that Rosslyn Chapel,
as it is now called, is the repository of the most important Dead Sea Scrolls,
which are likely to contain direct references to a messianic individual who
is now remembered under his Greek designation of 'Jesus Christ'.
We appreciate that this is, at first view, a strange claim but it is very
well supported by evidence. The key points are:

1 The Copper Scroll found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran lists
the scrolls and Temple treasures that were buried beneath the Jerusalem
Temple in, or immediately prior to, 68 CE.

2 It is known that the nine Crusader founders of the Order of the Knights
Templar continuously excavated under the ruins of that Temple between
1118 and 1128 CE.

3 A nineteenth-century British army expedition that excavated under the

Temple found nothing but the workings of the Knights Templar and
some artefacts left by them.

4 The older rituals of Freemasonry state that these knights found docu-
ments under the ruins of the Temple in Jerusalem and brought them to
the St Clair estates in Kilwinning, Scotland, in 1140 CE.

5 Rosslyn was built by a member of the St Clair family, between 1441

and 1490 CE.

6 The same family later became the most senior Freemasons in the world
as hereditary Grand Master Masons.
 INTRODUCTION

7 The ground plan of Rosslyn is a carefully designed copy of the layout

of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem.

8 Dr Jack Miller, head of studies in geology from Cambridge University,

confirmed that Rosslyn is built from exactly the same stone as the
Jerusalem Temple.

9 The west wall of the 'chapel' is a copy of the west wall of the Jerusalem
Temple, rather than an abandoned attempt to build a great collegiate
church. Dr Miller also demonstrated that this oversized west wall was
a copy of a ruin, and that it could not possibly be a part of any intended
building.

10 Professor the Reverend James Charlesworth of Princeton University,

Dead Sea Scroll expert and Albright Professor of Archaeology in
Jerusalem, subsequently pointed out that the west wall exhibits delib-
erate design features to make it look like the architecture of the Jerusalem
Temple.

11 Other experts, such as biblical scholar Professor Philip Davies, have

pointed out that the building is clearly not Christian and that most of
the hundreds of carved figures inside are holding either books or scrolls.

12 The only original inscription in the whole building is a single passage

from the Book of Esdras which refers to the rebuilding of the Jerusalem
Temple by Zerubbabel.

13 The foundations are recorded to have taken four years to lay out, and
it is also known that the builder kept four large chests of documents
in the nearby castle. These documents were more important to him than
the women of his family, because when a fire broke out he insisted that
these chests were rescued before his womenfolk.

14 A carving on the south wall proves a connection with Freemasonry. The

layout of the pillars inside corresponds to the rituals of Freemasonry
and is associated with ritual that states this is 'the key to finding the
precious thing'.
I III BOOK OF H I R A M

When The Hiram Key was published one of the trustees of Rosslyn pub-
licly stated that they would support an archaeological dig at the site if a
team of world-class scholars, including leading Scottish academics, was
assembled. After we took Professor Charlesworth to Rosslyn, he did exactly
that and put a detailed proposal for an investigation to the trustees in early
1999. To the best of our knowledge no response has been received.
We have come to the conclusion that a proper archaeological investiga-
tion of Rosslyn is not going to happen in the near future, and hence we
are not going to be able to recover the concealed documents and the secret
teachings we believe they contain. The challenge we face is to get around
this problem.
Our starting point is the vast amount of old Masonic ritual that has
been given to us over the years by supportive Freemasons. We set about
the huge task of sorting and organising as much early Masonic material as
we could, and then Robert proceeded to create a major website to allow
this material to be viewed in a number of different sequences. The website
has proved to be an invaluable research tool for investigating the complex,
convoluted and mainly discarded myths of Freemasonry.
Once all of this old Freemasonic ritual was assembled into a form where
it could be scanned and searched simply, the underlying story emerged with
a new clarity. A strange historical tale had been recorded in an almost
random fashion across many Masonic degrees, often with considerable rep-
etition. The historical content enabled the material to be sorted into chrono-
logical sequence to create a book, similar to a Testament of the Bible, with
much that mirrors the two existing Testaments but also containing addi-
tional information only recorded in other contemporary Jewish documents
such as the works of the first-century historian, Josephus. But there was
also a third layer of information that does not appear anywhere else at all.
This, therefore, has to be either simple invention or some lost strand of
knowledge that can shed a great deal of light on both the Old and the New
Testament. We have become convinced that it is the latter of these two
options.
As we started to plan The Book of Hiram we decided to restructure this
material into a document that we called The Masonic Testament. This forms
Part Two of this book and it is made up of passages from Freemasonic ritual
assembled in chronological order. The original ritual words are used as far
as possible with only linking words added to allow the underlying story to
be revealed. We see it as something akin to a missing book of the Bible.

6
 INTRODUCTION

We have used The Masonic Testament as a source document in Part One

of this book and footnoted it with the abbreviation MT followed by the
chapter and verse concerned, (e.g. M T 16:38 for Chapter 16 Verse 38).
Readers can check the validity of The Masonic Testament by looking
up the precise words of each paragraph at a publicly accessible website
Robert has created at the University of Bradford. It can be found at
http://www.bradford.ac.uk/webofhiram.
This academic resource that we have called The Web of Hiram has now
been taken on to be maintained by the University of Bradford as a research
tool available to everyone.
The website provides the supporting evidence for our claims, and for
the first time allows any reader with access to the Net to see the detail
behind the story we tell. Now that readers can judge our claims for them-
selves, it is no longer necessary to rely on the opinions of third parties.
Our findings to date have led us to believe that there is a knowledge of
ancient science at the heart of the almost lost rituals of Freemasonry. In
this, the final phase of our quest, we set out to find this missing science
that appears to worry the Roman Catholic Church so much.
Part One
 C h a p t e r One

T H E DEATH OF T H E
BUILDERS

THE OLDEST MYSTERIES OF NATURE AND SCIENCE

Freemasonry is dying.
For most people life is far more complicated than it was just a genera-
tion ago. We work harder and we have more disposable income. Long-
term commitments are usually avoided at all costs. In an age when
employment comes packaged as a series of renewable contracts and even
marriage is out of vogue, it is not surprising that men no longer queue up
to sign on for a lifetime of acting out odd-ball rituals in a local hall with
no windows. Candidates for the Craft are expected to enter into a lifelong
relationship with a lodge before learning what Freemasonry is. They are
given no advance warning of what they will be expected to do, or what
benefit it will be to them. It is little wonder that the Grand Lodges who
govern Freemasonry around the world are having difficulty in selling a
proposition that does not meet any of the normal criteria of a marketable
product.
An obvious question is 'Does the demise of this secretive Order really
matter?' Maybe it should be allowed to quietly wither away. But, as we
will demonstrate in this book, Freemasonry is a major untapped source of
information about our past that is in grave danger of being lost for ever.
To lose the information buried within its rituals before it is properly under-
stood would be throwing away one of the true treasures of the Western
world.

11
r H E BOOK Ol 111 HAM

Wc both joined Freemasonry for the same reason: curiosity. We wanted

to know what was going on inside this secretive gentlemen's club and the
only way to find out was to join. We independently reasoned that becoming
part of something so unknown was not too great a risk, as we could leave
if we found it distasteful or simply boring. The rituals were every bit as
strange as we imagined, but slowly it became evident that nobody, no matter
how senior, could give us any clue what Masonry was really about. The
charitable work the Order espoused was impressive, and the morality taught
within the rituals was of the highest order, but that did not begin to explain
why Freemasons practise such bizarre rituals, which claim to be extremely
ancient and to contain unusual lessons, referred to as mysteries.
When we joined Freemasonry the first mystery imparted to us was that
the technology of building in stone is a sacred act that serves as a metaphor
to aid spiritual understanding. Indeed, during the most important section
of our First Degree we were explicitly told that our initiation into
Freemasonry was identical to the laying of the foundation stone of a spir-
itual building. The ritual says:

It is customary at the erection of all stately and superb edifices, to

lay the first or foundation stone in the North-East corner of the
building. You, being newly initiated into Masonry are placed in the
North-East part of the lodge, figuratively to represent that stone;
and from the foundation laid this evening may you raise a super-
structure, perfect in all parts and honourable to the builder.

Back in 1989, when we joined forces to investigate the origins of Masonic

ritual, our initial belief was that the whole thing was probably developed
from bits and bats of esoteric tradition by a stream of romantic thinkers
between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was not many months
before we started to suspect that this casual assumption was way off course.

A MATTER OF DEATH AND LIFE

Despite the widely held view that Freemasonry is an international broth-

erhood wielding unseen power and influence for the benefit of its mem-
bers, the reality is that it is not a single organisation any more than the
Christian Church or the communist movement. It is a loose idea, based on
hundreds of esoteric rituals that claim varying amounts of antiquity. By

12
 fHE DEATH OF THE BUILDERS

general consensus the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the senior
Masonic authority in the world, and yet it recognises only four of the many
degrees in existence as being 'true Freemasonry'.
The term organisation seems inappropriate to a worldwide body that is
so disparate and under-structured. Even the UGLE has no record of the
membership of the thousands of lodges it directly controls in England and
Wales, let alone the various Grand Lodges around the world that are affil-
iated to it. This absence of any information on members of the Craft (as
it is known within the brotherhood) resembles the classical cell structure
adopted by many secret organisations. Terrorist groups for instance operate
on a tiered, need-to-know basis where each member is given the identity
only of the few individuals with whom he has to have direct contact. This
protects the organisation from suffering serial damage should any outsider
infiltrate its ranks.
Modern Freemasonry is often described as a 'secret society', but it has
sometimes preferred to describe itself as 'a society with secrets'. These are
portrayed by UGLE as being only a handful of unimportant ceremonial
niceties such as passwords and grips (distinctive handshakes) which are
supposedly intended to prevent non-Freemasons gaining admittance to a
lodge.
There are traditional penalties in each of the principal degrees of
Freemasonry whereby the candidate swears to keep the secrets about to be
imparted to him away from anyone who is not a member of that partic-
ular degree. These penalties were dropped from the UGLE-approved rit-
uals a few years ago, but they remain in many other Grand Lodges, including
that of Scotland. The obligations entered into are not insignificant, as they
include having one's tongue or heart torn out, the throat cut and the body
dismembered in a variety of imaginative ways.
According to the officially approved history of Masonry nothing is known
for sure about the brotherhood prior to the installation of Anthony Sayer
as Grand Master on Midsummer's day 1717, when a group of London-
based Freemasons established a Grand Lodge. However there was nothing
particularly 'Grand' about a handful of men from four pubs agreeing to
get together as a formal unit, especially as Freemasonry was alive and well
in many other towns and cities, especially in Scotland.
The self-inflicted amnesia about early Freemasonry that struck this little
band of Londoners was entirely understandable. Just three years earlier the
German-speaking George of Hanover had become king of Great Britain,

13
T H E BOOK OF H I R A M

displacing the rulers of the Catholic House of Stuart. The supporters of

the deposed Stuarts (the Jacobites) hatched a number of plots to overthrow
the new Protestant dynasty. In 1715 a group of Jacobite nobles led an
uprising in Scotland and marched into England in support of James II's
son, James Francis Edward Stuart, later known as the Old Pretender. After
an indecisive battle with the government forces, the Jacobites surrendered
at Preston in Lancashire.
Freemasonry was known to be closely associated with the Stuarts, and
with Scotland in general, so to admit to being a member of the Order was
tantamount to admitting support for a terrorist organisation dedicated to
the overthrow of the king. In the same year as the Grand Lodge of London
was formed the so-called Triple Alliance was negotiated between Great
Britain, France and the Netherlands to guarantee the succession of the
reigning inonarchs in their respective countries. With the Jacobite struggle
apparently lost, this was not a good time to be branded an enemy of the
state. What better time to make sure you kept no central records of mem-
bership? The famous architect and founder member of the Royal Society,
Sir Christopher Wren, was Grand Master of Freemasonry prior to 1717,
but he, and many others like him, simply walked away from the Order
rather than risk social exclusion or even arrest.1 For some reason, the records
of UGLE were amended, at the outbreak of the First World War, to remove
the identification of Wren's Grand Mastership. Today it is officially denied.
Once English Freemasonry disowned its Jacobite heritage the need for
secrecy was gone, and the lack of a central membership list today surely
reflects an absence of need rather than deliberate policy. When the UGLE
wishes to communicate with its rank and file it speaks to the various Provincial
Grand Lodges, who write to the individual lodge secretaries, who in turn
pass the correspondence on to the humble Masons convened in their lodges.
Being Freemasons ourselves, we are bound by our obligations to keep
the secrets of Freemasonry. Some fellow Freemasons criticised us for
revealing details of rituals when we published The Hiram Key. Indeed we
described parts of several rituals, particularly key elements of the all-
important third degree of the Order. However, we were extremely careful
to obey the precise ruling of our own Grand Lodge here in England and
Wales, and did not reveal any of the grips and passwords that constitute
the present-day 'secrets' of the Order.

1 Anderson, James: The Book of Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of London, 1738

14
 fHE DEATH OF THE BUILDERS

Whilst most Freemasons are happy to admit their membership, some

prefer to keep the whole subject private and, in the face of prejudice in the
workplace, others find it necessary to sometimes deny that they are mem-
bers. In our view the impression of secrecy that surrounds individual
Freemasons is brought about by their embarrassment in talking about the
nature of the rituals that, in the cold light of day, sound odd in the extreme.
If asked what such strange rituals are all about, they have to confess that
they do not know. 7* U C ifiTf
In other words we believe the compelling reason for silence amongst
Masons is not so much a compulsion to adhere to their sacred vows or a
fear of macabre retribution from their fellows; it is more the fact that they
do not understand a word of the ceremonies they participate in, and their
main fear is that people will laugh at the bizarre rituals they continue to
perform.
It seems certain that Freemasonry once espoused some high purpose, but
today it is a rapidly shrinking social club for elderly gentlemen. In the
United Kingdom it provides an opportunity to indulge in some amateur
theatricals, followed by a meal and plenty of beer, although in the United
States of America alcohol is not permitted at Masonic meetings. The com-
plex and obscure ritual has to be memorised through years of word-perfect
repetition, but only small parts of the ceremony can be understood as simple
allegorical messages concerning uprightness of moral character. The rest is
a strange mixture of meaningless words and painstakingly detailed re-enact-
ments of events that occurred in the distant past.
The three principal degrees consist of the Entered Apprentice (the initi-
ation), Fellowcraft (known as the passing degree), and Master Mason
(known as the raising degree). Within these degrees the 'true secrets' of the
order are said to have been lost, and substituted secrets introduced in their
place until such time as the real secrets are rediscovered.

THE DARKNESS OF THE THIRD DEGREE

In the first degree of Freemasonry the candidate is brought into the Craft
in what is referred to as a state of 'naked indigence' at the lowest level of
existence like a newborn baby. The details of the ritual may vary but its
message remains constant. Here we talk about the tradition we both know.
The Candidate is dressed in a rough white smock and properly prepared,
complete with noose and blindfold, before being taken into the temple to

15
T H E BOOK OE H I R A M

be made an Entered Apprentice Freemason. Here he will kneel in front of

the leader of the lodge for that year (the Worshipful Master), with the twin
pillars of King Solomon's Temple to either side of him. At a key point in
the ceremony, after receiving his new rank, he is placed in the northeast of
the temple to be given instruction. This position marks the path of light
from the rising Sun on the day of the summer solstice, which is known to
Freemasons as the Feast of St John, one of the two most important days
in the Masonic calendar. The St John referred to here is John the Baptist,
who was said to have been conceived on the autumn equinox and born on
midsummer's day.
Some months later the candidate is put through his second degree. At
the appropriate moment he is placed at the southeast of the temple to
receive the next level of instruction, which is said to mark the progress he
has made in the science. Standing at this position the candidate is on the
line of the first light from the winter solstice sunrise. This day in late
December is the other great day in Freemasonry, and it too is called the
Feast of St John, but this time it belongs to St John the Divine, the author
of the Book of Revelation.
Once the candidate has symbolically received instruction at dawn on
both the summer and winter solstices he is ready to be made a Master
Mason by being put through the third degree. This is a different experi-
ence right from the outset.
The candidate is once again dressed in the rough white smock, with both
of his trouser legs rolled up and both sides of his chest exposed. He is not
blindfolded, but as the temple door swings open to admit him he can see
that the room is in total darkness except for a small shielded candle burning
on the Worshipful Master's pedestal in the east. At first the change from
light outside to darkness inside leaves the candidate blinded, and he has to
rely on the two deacons to steer his path across the temple floor.
In this degree the most important section takes place in the east,
between the two pillars of Boaz and Jachin that once marked the extrem-
ities of the Sun's passage north and south at the solstices in front of the
Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem. Here the candidate is told the story of
the murder of Hiram Abif, who, it is revealed, was the architect of King
Solomon's Temple some three thousand years ago. Strangely, the
Worshipful Master makes reference to this otherwise unknown individual
as though the average person should be aware of him when he says to
the candidate:

16
 fHE DEATH OF T H E BUILDERS

. . . the annals of Freemasonry afford a glorious example in the

unshaken fidelity and untimely death of our Grand Master Hiram
Ahif, who lost his life just before the completion of King Solomon's
Temple, at the construction of which as you are doubtless aware,
he was the principal architect.

When we first heard this assumption we found it strange, and in The

Hiram Key we said that the character of Hiram Abif does not seem to exist
outside of the rituals of Freemasonry. This observation caused a number
of people to write to us to tell us we were mistaken, so let us here look
more closely at what evidence there is in the Old Testament about the archi-
tect of Solomon's Temple. First we are told that the Phoenician king of
Tyre named Hiram supplied the design, workers and many materials for
Solomon's building works. This king's name is variously spelt as Hiram,
Hirom and Huram, and was probably originally 'Ahi-ram'. Josephus says
that letters between Solomon and this king were preserved in the Tyrian
archives.^ He also quotes the historians Dius and Menander of Ephesus,
who say that Hiram was the son of King Abi-baal.
There was also another Hiram involved in the creation of the Temple.
This Hiram was a worker in metals who set up a foundry in the Jordan
valley between Succoth and Zferedatha, where he cast the two great pillars
of Boaz and Jachin as well as other great ornaments of the Temple, including
the huge vessel known as the 'molten sea'. This character is referred to in
2 Chr. 2: 11-14, where Hiram, king of Tyre, writes to Solomon to tell him
that this Hiram is a son of the daughters of the tribe of Dan, but in 1 Kgs
7: 14 we are told that he was a t widow's son of a different tribe,7 that of
Naphtali.
Could this artisan in metals be considered the architect of the Temple?
An architect is the designer of the overall building, not the manufacturer
of its ornamentation, but in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible this
builder is referred to as Huram-abi, which is indeed close to the name
Hiram Abif.
A further piece of information emerged in March 1999 when visiting
the library of Scottish Grand Lodge with the famous biblical scholar,
Professor Philip Davies. On this occasion we were looking at an uncata-
logued volume written almost two hundred years ago by Dr Anderson

2 Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, ch. viii

17
H I E BOOK OF H I R A M

(writer of the first book of Constitutions of UGLE and a member of the

Lodge of Aberdeen) in which this Masonic historian explained the name
of Hiram Abif, which was given in a Hebrew version of 2 Chr. 4: 16 as
follows:

Shelomoh lammelecb Abbif Cbiiram gbafab

As Philip studied the words his lips puckered in concentration before he

stated that this appeared to suggest that this Hiram was father- to King
Solomon. But as everyone knows, David was Solomon's father, so Philip's
only thought to make sense of what he saw was to suggest that perhaps it
might mean that Hiram was the king's father-in-law.
On the balance of probabilities we now accept that the character referred
to in Masonic ritual as Hiram Abif could be the worker in metals supplied
to work on Solomon's Temple by Hiram, King of Tyre. However, this poten-
tial identification does nothing to explain his relationship to King Solomon
or to illuminate why this legend is so important within Freemasonic lore.
In the Third Degree the candidate is told how a group of fifteen stone-
masons wanted to extract the genuine secrets of a master mason from their
master, Hiram Abif, so they planned to ambush him when he paused from
his labours to give praise to a god referred to as the 'Most High'. The
words of the ritual state:

On the eve of carrying their conspiracy into execution, twelve of

the fifteen recanted, but three of a more determined and atrocious
character than the rest persisted in their impious designs, for which
purpose they placed themselves respectively at the south, west and
east gates of the Temple, whither our Master Hiram Abif had
retired to pay his adoration to the Most High, as was his wonton
custom, it being the hour of high twelve.
N / _
Whilst this is taken to be a reference to the deity Yahweh, who is now ele-
vated to the point that we call him simply 'God', it is far more likely that
this Canaanite artisan was worshipping the Sun god at his zenith in the
sky; hence the description 'Most High'. Whilst the proposed Temple was
to house the 'new' god of the Jews, who was temporarily living in a tent,
He was not seen as particularly important even to Solomon, who later
stopped worshipping Him altogether.

18
 THE DEATH OF T H E BUILDERS

However, Hiram's choice of deity will undoubtedly not trouble the can-
didate too much, because at this point of the ritual he suddenly realises
that he is about to become a murder victim. As the Worshipful Master tells
how Hiram was struck a blow to the forehead at the south gate a blow is
tapped to the side of the candidate's head, and the process repeated at the
west gate. Then at the east gate the coup de grace is delivered and the can-
didate is struck a 'fatal' blow to the centre of the head. This can be done
gently or vigorously. Scottish Freemasons are particularly famous for
entering into the full spirit of the occasion, and many a poor candidate has
been hurled to the floor in fear of his life.
The candidate is held straight so that he hinges backwards onto a funeral
shroud previously placed on the floor that is immediately draped around
him so only his eyes are uncovered. At this point the Masons of the lodge
walk around the edge of the 'grave', and finally three attempts are made
to retrieve the brother from the arms of death. The first two fail because
they use methods from the previous degrees, but the third technique, pecu-
liar to the third degree, succeeds.
With the assistance of the deacons the 'cadaver' is 'resurrected' from his
tomb with a special grip applied by the Worshipful Master. Still in near-
total darkness, the body swings upwards to be held in a complicated cer-
emonial position, an embrace where the Master and Candidate touch each
other at five distinct points. The ritual name for this embrace is the 'Five
Points of Fellowship'. Whilst in this position an incantation is spoken into
the ear of the candidate, who is then shown the black grave just behind
and to the west of him, which has a real human skull and crossed thigh
bones placed upon it to represent the candidate's own mortal remains. Next,
the Worshipful Master directs the candidate's gaze towards the east, where
he can see a five-pointed star shining in the darkness between the twin pil-
lars of Boaz and Jachin. This star, he is told, is 'the bright star of the
morning' - which is the planet Venus rising some minutes ahead of the Sun
at dawn...
From this moment onwards, the man raised from the darkness of his
figurative tomb will be a Master Mason for the rest of his life. It is impor-
tant to note that whilst the candidate represented the character of Hiram
Abif up to the point of the ritual slaying, there is no suggestion that Hiram
was ever resurrected. The most important information given to the newly
'raised' Mason is that the genuine secrets of a Master Mason were lost
'with the death of our Grand Master Hiram Abif'. The currently worked
 I III; BOOK Ol HIRAM

rituals of the Three Degrees of the Craft do not shed any light on this
matter, and for quite a while we believed that the original rituals which
had discussed these matters must have been completely destroyed during
the period of censorship that followed the creation of the United Grand
Lodge of England, in 1813. (These events are described in The Second
Messiah 3 and The Invisible College.*)

WEAVING THE WEB OF HIRAM

When we wrote The Hiram Key we had only the vaguest notion of the
content of many of the so-called 'Higher Degrees' of Freemasonry, bur after
the publication of this book we were contacted by hundreds of people with
new information. Some would arrive by post, and sometimes when we were
speaking at lodge meetings we would be given old documents of ritual that
had been kept in dusty drawers for generations. Whilst researching The
Second Messiah we came across a particularly significant source of mate-
rial that pushed our researches forward in a lecture entitled 'Freemasonry
and Catholicism' written by a Balkan scholar from Bosnia-Herzegovina by
the name of Dimitrije Mitrinovic.
Mitrinovic came to live in London around the time of the First World
War and he went on to become a leading figure in the 'Bloomsbury Group',
a collective of intellectuals who took their name from the district near the
British Museum in central London where most of the members lived. The
statement which had attracted our attention was this:

Christ betrayed the secret word of Masonry . . . to the people, and

he proclaimed it in Jerusalem, but in saying the Senate word to
folk, he was before his time . . . Let Masons receive Christ back
into Masonry . . . Masonry has been the expression of Christianity
for the last 2000 years.5

Mitrinovic was not a Freemason and it had taken us seven years of wide-
ranging research, using our specialist Masonic knowledge, to come to this
view, so we wondered how he had reached the same conclusion. In due
course we discovered that it was from extensive study of a considerable
3 Knight, C & Lomas, R: The Second Messiah, Arrow, 1998
4 Lomas, Robert: The Invisible College, Headline, 2 0 0 2
5 Mitrinovic, D: Freemasonry and Catholicism in the New Order. Lectures 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 5 0 , J B
Priestley Library, University of Bradford, 1995

20
 1Mb U t A i n Uh I I-l t DUILU t Ko

personal library he had built up, and we set out to find his books. We
eventually tracked the collection down and found that they had been stacked
in boxes after Mitrinovic died and stored in the back of his niece's garage
for over forty years. When eventually the time came to clear out his old
books, wanting to give Mitrinovic's library a good home she decided to
donate them to a university. Fortunately the university that offered to house
them was Bradford, where Robert teaches.
Back in 1997, when we first became interested in Mitrinovic's books,
they were not on public display because the new extension to the JB Priestley
Library had not then been completed. Like many other more obscure books
they were temporarily stored in the basement of the library in an area
known as 'the stack'. This consisted of a large windowless storeroom with
a series of racked bookshelves set on rails in the floor. To access the inner
shelves the outer bookcases, which were ten feet high and thirty feet long,
had to be cranked aside, using a large handle. When Robert requested
access to the collection it took him nearly half an hour just to trundle aside
the eight outer bookcases which had to be moved to reach the volumes
assembled by Mitrinovic.
In I he Second Messiah we discussed the implications of some of the
Masonic commentaries that Mitrinovic had saved, but it was later, once
his collection was properly shelved and catalogued, making it accessible
without having to squirm into a narrow steel tunnel to reach them, that
other Masonic treasures came to light. Among the more general tomes
were early copies of Masonic rituals which are no longer in use. One
ritual book dated from the early nineteenth century and contained full
details, illustrated with beautiful woodcuts, of all the degrees of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. It was written by EA
McClenachan, who was the father of the famous late nineteenth-century
Masonic scholar Charles T McClenachan. This book alone was a won-
derful find, as it contained accounts of rituals which had not been sub-
jected to the hugely damaging modifications conducted at the behest of
the Duke of Sussex, the First Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge
of England in 1813.
Browsing through the rituals in this fascinating book we noticed a sec-
tion on the Royal Arch of Enoch. Now we knew that the book of the
prophet Enoch was lost in the early Christian period and not rediscovered
until 1774. Yet the preface of this book claimed that the rituals it con-
tained dated back to at least 1740, and we could see that they went into

21
I l i e l)WWI\ u r I I I K/MVI

great detail about the importance of Enoch and his role in foretelling the
coming of the Flood. These themes were not widely accepted until the dis-
covery of multiple copies of the Book of Enoch during the twentieth cen-
tury, a point we will discuss more fully later. How did these old myths
come to hold such pride of place amongst these discarded rituals unless
they were a survival of an ancient verbal tradition?
Whilst researching Uriel's Machine we had become aware that a Masonic
ritual relating to Enoch existed, but it had not been worked for over two
hundred years, since the time of the Duke of Sussex. Now as we read the
original workings we found a description of a strange triangular pedestal,
with sides of exactly the same length and angles of 60 degrees, making it
equilateral. This shape was described as the 'Delta of Enoch' and was
explained as the symbol by which the Mighty Architect of the Universe
chose to reveal Himself to Enoch. The pedestal was said to have been an
important part of the furniture of the original Temple which Enoch built
on the site which is now known as Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The ritual
explained how Solomon's workers found this threefold altar in a buried
vault beneath the abandoned ruins of an earlier temple which Solomon at
first attributed to 'pagans' who occupied the site before his father David
seized it.
At the time this meant little to us, but we were later to discover that
the symbol of the equilateral triangle was of immense significance within
the early Canaanite religion of the Jebusites, who built Jerusalem. What
did strike us, as we read this two-hundred-year-old printed ritual book,
was that it seemed to be extremely familiar with early Jewish traditions
and legends that were only recovered and confirmed in detail during archae-
ological excavations carried out within the last fifty years. This printed ver-
sion of an older verbal ritual seemed to be preserving the story of a tradition
of Canaanite temple building which was not recorded either in the Bible
or in other early sources we were familiar with.
When we read it we did not know of any earlier temples in Jerusalem
that pre-dated Solomon's, but we were soon to find that there is very good
archaeological evidence for just such a Canaanite tradition. We wondered
what other lost traditions these old rituals might contain, and just how we
could systemise our investigation of the various themes of early ritual.
Over recent years we have built up a considerable collection of old rit-
uals and lectures, but in paper form. Now books, although often very beau-
tiful objects, are not simple to search or sequence for their information

22
 f H E DEATH OF T H E BUILDERS

content, so we decided that we needed to create an electronic version of

the material. Robert set about the task of scanning the oldest versions of
each degree to incorporate them into the website we called The Web of
Hiram. As his work of digitising the ritual proceeded, it was clear both
that there was a complex story being told throughout the sequence of
degrees, and that it was not being told in chronological order. This reali-
sation led us to try to reconstruct the complete story which had once been
told by Masonic ritual. It took a long time to complete the task but, as we
will show, we have reconstructed an alternative account of history as told
in the discarded and censored rituals of Freemasonry. It is told in the
Masonic Testament to be found in Part Two of the book. The website that
Robert created has now been adopted by Bradford University and is freely
available for anyone interested in the, arguably, more authentic rituals of
Freemasonry.
Another of our early discoveries was that the ritual of the Ancient and
Accepted rite mentioned a question which had been bothering us. What
happened after the death of Hiram Abif, when the true secrets of Masonry
were lost?
Our reconstruction of the alternative account of history contained in
Freemasonic ritual that we were now calling The Masonic Testament makes
this comment about the two men who retained the true secrets of the ritual:
[Masonic Testament 7:5]

Each Mason will apply our symbols and ceremonies according to

his faith. In no other way could Masonry possess its universality -
that character which has ever been peculiar to it from its origin,
and which enabled two kings, worshippers of different Deities, to
sit together as Grand Masters while the walls of the first Temple
arose; and the men of Gebal, who bowed down to the Phoenician
gods, to work by the side of the Hebrews, to whom those gods
were an abomination.

From this comment we began to suspect that there must have been a tra-
dition of some tension between the religions of Solomon and the king of
Tyre which might be reflected in the ritual. According to Masonic tradi-
tion both of them accepted the Third Degree ritual as a suitable substitu-
tion for the lost secrets, 'until time should again reveal the real ones'. We
were convinced that tne implication of this ritual statement is that both

23
II I I d U U K . U l I 11 K A M

surviving Grand Masters approved of the words and actions of the ritual.
We were beginning to suspect that a key point of this degree is the fact
that the death and resurrection of the man takes place on a line with his
feet in the east and head in the west. When the candidate is 'raised1 from
his tomb his head rises in a curve towards the east to meet Venus, which
is also rising above the horizon. The east-west line marks the equinox, the
point of equilibrium between the two solstices when there are twelve hours
of day and twelve of darkness.
The three degrees of Craft Freemasonry could therefore be seen as entirely
astronomical. First the total novice is given information on the line of the
Sun at dawn on the summer solstice, then he is advanced to the second
degree on the line of the winter solstice, and finally he is made a Master
Mason on the line that precisely bisects the previous two: the equinoctial
line that occurs once in spring and once in the autumn. As we were to dis-
cover, this is entirely consistent with the purpose of King Solomon's Temple
and of Phoenician structures that long pre-dated it.
The Master of the lodge sits in the east between the two free-standing
pillars called Boaz and Jachin in the Bible. He marks the rising Sun, and
the planet Venus rises behind him just before dawn when a candidate is
'raised from his tomb'. The Senior Warden sits in the west to mark the set-
ting Sun and the Junior Warden is in the south representing the Sun at
noon. In English lodges there is normally a blazing Sun in the centre of the
ceiling with a five-pointed star around it and the letter 'G' inside it, signi-
fying God. This association between the Sun and God is evident throughout
Masonic ritual, when He is sometimes referred to as the 'Most High' - lit-
erally the most high in the heavens.
There are two officers known as deacons who move around the Masonic
Temple with the candidate but are officially stationed in the northeast and
the southwest along the line of the summer solstice sunrise. They each
carry with them a long rod, usually known as a 'wand', which we believe
was once used to mark the angle of the sunrise and sunset by the shadow
it cast. It is recorded that the deacons of the earliest Scottish lodges were
sent for to align churches. In our book, Uriel's Machine, we said that we
believed that churches were once aligned eastwards where the break of
day at the location was deemed to be 'east'. The first shadow cast from
the deacon's wand would be taken as the line of the north wall. We fur-
ther speculated that it should be possible to work out the name of an old
church by considering the local topography and then calculating the two

24
 I III: U t A T H UK T H E BUILDERS

days of the year that corresponds to the angle of the north wall. The
church would have been named after one of the saints whose day it was.
For example, a church aligned to either solstice is very likely to be called
St John's Church. 6
The picture we have formed is that the rituals of Craft Masonry are
based upon astronomy and they have a heritage that is well over five thou-
sand years old. We have found a chain of belief that has survived being
passed through several different cultures to end up in modern Masonic
Temples, where it is now faithfully recited without any understanding.

CONCLUSIONS

It is over six years since we published The Hiram Key, and over the course
of researching two further books together we have accumulated a consid-
erable amount of extra material which throws a great deal of light on ques-
tions we were originally forced to leave unanswered.
To try and deduce what might really be hidden under Rosslyn we have
collected as many early Masonic rituals as we can, and Robert created an
interlinked website to allow us to view the material in a variety of different
sequences. We intend to use this invaluable research tool to investigate the
complex, convoluted and mainly discarded myths of Freemasonry in a
degree of detail never before attempted.
When we distil Freemasonry down to its key components we are left
with the following ideas:

The technology of building in stone is viewed as a spiritual act.

The layout of the Masonic temple and the rituals are based upon
astronomy.

God is associated with the Sun.

The helical rising of the planet Venus at the equinox marks restored

6 The University of Hong Kong, Department of Earth Sciences, cited our research in this area.
See Ali, J R & Cunih, P: 'The Orientation of Churches: Some New Evidence', The Antiquaries
Journal, 81 (2001), pp. 1 5 5 - 9 3 .

25
i i i L nwwiv v^r 111 i\n IVI

The summer and winter solstices are important.

The study of nature and science is important.

These are not common ideas today, but there was a culture in prehistory
that appears to have been built on exactly these notions. They are known
as the Grooved Ware People.

26
 C h a p t e r Two

T H E G R O O V E D WARE
PEOPLE

THE FIRST STONEMASONS

Neolithic people first arrived in the British islands, around the northern
coast of Scotland, about 9,000 years ago, before the North Sea plain was
flooded and while it was still possible to walk overland from Norway.
These people arrived soon after the glaciers of the last ice age retreated,
uncovering ice-free land. When the sea level rose the lands became sepa-
rate, but the Neolithic Scandinavians and the early Scottish population
share a common ancestry.1
The Neolithic period marked the end of the Stone Age. In the western
fringes of Europe these people are better remembered as being megalithic
builders - the word means 'massive stones'. These early stonemasons inhab-
ited what is now Wales, Scotland, Ireland, England, France, parts of southern
Scandinavia and northern Spain as well as Malta. Today, people go about
their daily business in these countries without a thought for the unknown
people who once owned the land. England alone still has over 4 0 , 0 0 0
known megalithic sites that have survived for more than five thousand
years. We can appreciate how impressive this is if we ask ourselves what
will remain of our own civilisation in 5,000 years' time when flimsy, modern
buildings are so often demolished within a single generation.
The climate in the British Isles at the time was far warmer than today,

1 Wickham-Jones, CR: Scotland's First Settlers, Historic Scotland, 1994

27
MIL UUWIN Wl III IV/AIVI

and the land became covered in dense forests, making overland travel very
difficult. The megalithic people, however, were both boat-builders and
sailors, making great use of the sea as their highway. They colonised the
many islands off the coast of Scotland, and there is plenty of evidence that
they were trading widely. For example, quarried stone found only on the
island of Rum was used in buildings on the mainland and on other islands'
of the Inner Hebrides. This maritime trading link appears to have extended
to Scandinavia from the time of the earliest settlements.2
We know surprisingly little about the megalithic people of the British
Isles, because they had no system of writing that we can still read. So we
have no formal information about their culture, such as we find with later
groups such as the Sumerians and the ancient Egyptians. Archaeologists
call them simply the 'Grooved Ware People' after the grooved designs that
they etched into their clay pots. However, they did leave behind them a
system of symbols that amounts to proto-writing, some of which can be
understood because of its astronomical references.
Most people are aware of the splendid stone circles that they erected,
but they also constructed the earliest surviving stone buildings in the world,
structures typically a thousand years older than the cities of Sumer. The
perceived quality of the stonework varied considerably from apparently
unworked upright slabs to beautifully engineered vaulted chambers such as
Maes Howe in Orkney, whose standard of construction has been described
as 'one of the supreme achievements of Neolithic Europe'. 3 Until relatively
recently these buildings were thought to be younger than Middle Eastern
structures, but a new chronology has now been established based on cali-
brated radio-carbon dating.4 This has raised questions about the people
who built the structures. As archaeologist Dr Euan Mackie comments:

If the European megaliths, and even the Maltese temples, are older
than the oldest towns then it is difficult to see how urban societies
could have played any significant part in the great social processes
which were under way in Atlantic Europe between 4500 and 2500
BC . . . there must have been specialised, proto-urban or urban
stratified societies in existence before the earliest megaliths appeared.5
2 Wickham-Jones, CR: Scotland's First Settlers
3 Henshall, AS: 'The Chambered Cairns', in The Prehistory of Orkney, Edinburgh University
Press, 1993
4 Renfrew, C: Before Civilisation, Jonathan Cape, 1973
5 Mackie, E: The Megalithic Builders, Phaidon Press, 1977

28
 I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

The structures these people built included standing stones in various for-
mations, tunnel mounds, earth mounds and ditches. They extend all the
way along the coasts of Europe from southern Spain up as far as
Scandinavia, also appearing on the northern Mediterranean coast as well
as in southern Italy and in Malta. There is even evidence that these types
of stone structure were built in parts of North Africa, including Egypt and
in Israel. The whole of the British Isles is covered with them.
Tunnel graves are an early type of structure whose contents often lend
themselves to carbon dating, and we know that the megalithic mounds of
Brittany pre-date 4000 BCE. 6 There have always been stories about the
effects of light in these tunnel mounds, but only recently has a new branch
of archaeology appeared known as archaeoastronomy, which studies their
astronomical alignments.
In 1901 Sir Norman Lockyer, who was at that time the editor of the
prestigious scientific publication Nature, studied the temples of ancient
Egypt and noticed that many were built so as to allow the Sun to shine on
important parts of the interior on special days of the year. He surveyed a
number of sites in Britain including Stonehenge and arrived at the conclu-
sion that some of the alignments he observed formed part of a calendar
which was based on the solstices and the equinoxes.7 After some consid-
erable time spent studying British monuments Lockyer published his sug-
gestion that megalithic tombs were built primarily as observatories or even
as houses for astronomer priests, and burials were later inserted by new
immigrants who imitated them and built round barrows for the dead,
without living chambers for the priests.8 As always with new ideas that
open up existing conventions, Lockyer was dismissed as making a 'wild
assertion' by fellow scientists of the time.
An important megalithic settlement had been discovered half a century
before Lockyer put forward his theory, when a severe storm washed away
part of a sand dune on Orkney Mainland, and revealed ancient stone
dwellings. The site, known as Skara Brae, was not properly excavated until
archaeologist Professor Gordon Childe started a dig in 1920. What he found
is generally accepted as the best-preserved prehistoric village in northern
Europe. Skara Brae had been continuously occupied for approximately 600

6 Renfrew, C: Before Civilisation

7 Lockyer, N: Stonehenge and other British Stone Monuments Astronomically Considered,
Macmillan, 1909
s Lockyer N: 'Some Questions for Archaeologists', Nature, vol. 73, 1906, p. 280

29
I I IE BOOK OF 111 RAM

years from around 3100 to 2500 BCE, and appears to be quarters for trainee
astronomer-priests - just as Lockyer had predicted.9
Most of the household furniture, as well as the houses, was made of
stone rather than wood, which means that a great deal of material has sur-
vived. The built-in fireplaces, dressers, tables and stone beds have been pre-
served. The site consists of seven near-identical apartments and what may
have been a workshop, or a brewery,10 and it is thought likely that there
were more apartments that have been eroded into the sea.
It is known that there was no supply of wood to burn, so firewood had
to be brought in by boat from the Scottish mainland. It is also evident from
the study of bones that meat was shipped in, pre-butchered, which indi-
cates that the inhabitants were considered to be important people who
deserved to be carefully looked after."
Euan Mackie believes that a class of magi must have developed out of
this Orcadian society established by the Grooved Ware People:

A quite different kind of stratified Neolithic society can be

postulated . . . in which a small elite class of professional priests,
wise men and rulers were supported with tribute and taxes by a
predominantly rural peasant population. Such a society could have
achieved all that Thom has suggested it did because the members
of the elite would have been free from the need to obtain their
own food and build their own dwellings and could have devoted
their entire time to religious, scientific or other intellectual pursuits
. . . the process of transforming primitive Neolithic peasant
communities into more advanced, stratified societies with skilled
leaders and wise men as well as other specialists, may well have
begun much earlier. If our hypothesis of a Religious Revolution is
approximately correct it began with the progressively wider
establishment of professional priesthoods in early Neolithic times,
from about 4500 BC.n

This vision implies the existence of some type of formal training for these
specialists. It is impossible to prove but, given the concentration of

9 Mackie, E: The Megalithic Builders

10 Dinely, M, 'The First Orkney Brewery', Orkney Science Festival, 2001
11 Mackie, E: The Megalithic Builders
12 Mackie, E: The Megalithic Builders.

30
 I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

Megalithic structures across Orkney, it seems reasonable to suppose that

Skara Brae might have been a kind of Neolithic university.

T H E RIDDLE OF THE MEGALITHIC YARD

No archaeologist would today deny that many megalithic sites are built
with alignments to the solstices and equinoxes as well as towards key rising
and setting points of the Moon and other heavenly bodies. The man who,
almost single-handedly, founded archaeoastronomy as a true science was
Alexander Thom, a distinguished professor of engineering at Oxford
University. Thom, who spent fifty years of his life surveying and studying
megalithic sites, made one of the most astounding breakthroughs in the
field of archaeology.
Thom first become interested in megalithic structures as a young man
in his native Scotland. He began his surveying work because he suspected
that the sites did have astronomical alignments. His painstaking measure-
ment of site after site slowly produced data that indicated that these pre-
historic builders, from the islands off northern Scotland right down to
Brittany in France, had shared a standard unit of measurement. It was sur-
prising enough that they were so well organised as to agree an interna-
tional standard unit, but the sheer precision with which the unit had been
applied was truly amazing. The Megalithic Yard, as Thom called it, was
clarified over the years he spent surveying, and eventually he defined it as
being equal to 0.82966 metres.13
The belief amongst archaeologists at the time was that the inhabitants
of the British Isles in the Neolithic period were a backward people, and
the idea that they might have used mathematics or had a precise stan-
dard unit of measurement was thought to be ridiculous. Thorn's work
was initially ignored by the archaeological establishment, but thanks to
an objective study by statisticians it became accepted among numerate
scientists that a system of measurement was in use over large expanses
of prehistoric Europe. However, it is still ignored by some less well
informed archaeologists, who proffer ludicrous notions such as the idea
that this highly respected professor of engineering had fooled himself by
identifying nothing more than the average pace of a megalithic builder.
Had these critics taken the time to check their supposed counter-

13 Thom, A: Megalithic Sites in Britain, Oxford University Press, 1967

31
T H E BOOK OF H I R A M

explanation by experiment they would have realised that they were talking
nonsense.
The existence of an ancient standard unit of length demonstrates that a
shared mathematics was in use over a remarkably large geographical range.
Professor Thom was convinced that he had found a genuine mathematical
artefact in the Megalithic Yard, but he died without ever understanding
how on earth these people had been able to reproduce such a precise meas-
urement. We have been able to solve this riddle because we came to it from
a very unexpected direction. Our interest was a 2,200-year-old Jewish text
found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls in the ancient settlement known as
Qumran, and we could never have guessed how this would lead us to the
origin of the Megalithic Yard.
The Book of Enoch, popular in the first couple of centuries of the
Christian era, soon became completely lost and was not found again until
Scottish Freemason James Bruce went in search of it during the eighteenth
century. He found what he was looking for, hidden away in Ethiopia, and
when he translated it people were sure that this must be a heavily cor-
rupted version, as it contained very strange material, including a whole sec-
tion on incomprehensible astronomy.
The finding of several copies of this ancient text among the Dead Sea
Scrolls demonstrated that Bruce had found an entirely authentic version.
In the section entitled 'The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries' the reader
is told how the early biblical hero Enoch was taken on a journey north-
wards to be shown the secrets of astronomy. From the dates of the year
given and the length of daylight seen, it is possible to reconstruct the lat-
itude at which the observer must have been standing. In Uriel's Machine
we explained how this information led us to believe that the descriptions
attributed to Enoch refer to a journey to the megalithic structures at
Stonehenge in England and Newgrange in Ireland.
We also knew that Jewish tradition places Enoch over five thousand
years ago, when these megalithic sites were active. This analysis sounded
strange to some people because they view history as discreet units, sepa-
rated by time and geography. The Catholic Herald informed its readers in
very colourful language that this was 'bogus' research. Its correspondent
Damian Thompson told us we were wrong. When we asked him why, he
had to admit that he did not understand the calculations - but we had to
be wrong because our conclusions sounded strange.
But we were not alone. We were later to find out that someone else,

32
 I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

working independently of us, had also arrived at a broadly similar con-

clusion about the travels of Enoch. Robin Heath, a scientist, academic and
writer, had been interested in tracing the development of civilisation from
western Europe to the so-called first civilisations of the Middle East. His
research, conducted over many years, led him to conclude that the mega-
lithic culture of western Europe was an important influence on the devel-
opment of civilisation in the Middle East. In his own words:

Despite the research of many people indicating that the megalith

builders were practising high astronomy and geometry before 3000
BC, it still remains true that this culture is wholly undervalued as a
vital component of our history.14

Robin Heath is the son of the late Professor AE Heath of Oxford University.
Prof. Heath helped set up the Rationalist Press Association, which encour-
aged research into the origins of scientific thought. As a child Robin Heath
met Prof. Alexander Thom, who also worked at Oxford University and was
a friend of his father. Robin became fascinated by Thorn's work on megalithic
measurement systems, and when he retired as Head of Department at a South
Wales Technical Institute he decided to look more closely at the megalithic
culture which Alexander Thom had discussed with him so many years before.
In particular Heath was interested in investigating if there were common
links to be found between the measurement systems of ancient cultures. As
he said:

The megalithic culture was until quite recently never considered to

be other than an isolated phenomenon, a cultural oddity, and any
possible links with other cultures were vehemently denied.15

In particular he looked at the units of length used by the Egyptian and

Sumerian cultures and used statistical tests to see if they were related to
the Megalithic Yard. Making use of Thorn's highly accurate survey of
Stonehenge, he noticed overlaps between Egyptian units of measurement -
the royal cubit and the pharaonic inch - the Sumerian foot and the
Megalithic Yard, a unit used throughout Western Europe. He comments
on what he found:

1 4 Heath, R: Sun, Moon and Stonehenge. Proof of High Culture in Ancient Britain, Bluestone
Press, 1998
1 5 Heath, R: Sun, Moon and Stonehenge. Proof of High Culture in Ancient Britain

33
T H E BOOK OE H I R A M

What we had no right to expect was that the /pharaonic] inch and
the Megalithic yard are connected, through the [Sumerian] foot one
might say, thus apparently linking Egyptian culture with the
Stonehenge 'Wessex' culture.

This observation led him to further observe that the geometry of the henge
platform at Stonehenge, a structure known to have been built by the
Grooved Ware People, used area measurement systems, based on an ancient
Egyptian unit of area called the aroura and the modern acre, which had
also been used in building the Great Pyramids at Giza. He said of this:

Here we have a physical artefact representing historically validated

measurement techniques, which are taken to be Egyptian in origin.

He went on to add that this interpretation had to be called into question,

as the ditch and henge at Stonehenge pre-dated the Great Pyramids by hun-
dreds of years.16
As Health hunted for a viable alternative explanation for this overlap
of measurement systems he had noticed the length-of-day remarks in the
Book of Enoch and also Enoch's comments about being taken to the far
north. In Heath's own words:

Who says that there are no accounts of the European megalithic

culture and its astronomy in the Middle East cultural record?17

Analysing the data on length of day he concluded:

It appears that Enoch's observations were taken at or very near the

latitude of Stonehenge. The day/night ratio gradient is the same as
for Stonehenge, and if the definition of 'night' was taken to be half
hour different from sunrise/set, such as the time the first stars
became visible, then the graph for Enoch's observations and for
Stonehenge would exactly coincide. Enoch's writings, long assumed
to contain only Jewish and/or Middle Eastern wisdom, suggest an
influence from 'a great and glorious device' found at a latitude near
to that of Stonehenge}*
16 Heath, R: Sun, Moon and Stonehenge. Proof of High Culture in Ancient Britain
17 Heath, R: Sun, Moon and Stonehenge. Proof of High Culture in Ancient Britain
18 Heath, R: Sun, Moon and Stonehenge. Proof of High Culture in Ancient Britain

34
I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

Robert e-mailed Robin Heath and asked him his views on the possibility
of Enoch visiting Newgrange as well as Stonehenge. He wrote back saying:

my interest with Enoch was astronomy vis a vis the calendar.

During some interminable and unutterably boring maths lecture,
whilst my lads were doing an examination, I sketched out a BASIC
program to 'do' the latitude from his data. Enoch kindly gives us
four repeats of each quarter of the sine wave19 that he is fumbling
with, and I thought that this was reasonably good proof that the
data would fit accurately to the original.
There are problems with the data. When is 'night' defined? It
seemed a little post modern to ascribe 20 minutes after lighting up
times, a la Highway Code, and being a bit of a dab hand at
astronomy, I decided to plumb for half an hour after sunset and
before dawn as a definition of 'night'. I ran the program that night
at home, sometime in 1988, debugged it for about an hour and
came up with the revelation that Enoch wasn't in the Middle East.
I later ran the problem to my Navigation III students and they
concluded that Enoch was observing through portals somewhere
between 50 and 55 degrees, presumably north because the days
lengthen in the spring time, he describes, and the Sun, of course,
'mounts up' at midsummer: 20

In Uriel's Machine we had concluded that the Book of Enoch was

describing a location that fitted the range of latitudes occupied by the
Grooved Ware People, who had built astronomically aligned megalithic
structures such as the rings of Brodgar and Stenness, Maes Howe and
Callanish in the north of Scotland, Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth in the
Boyne Valley of Ireland, Barcliod yr Grawes and Bryn Celli Ddu in north-
west Wales, and Stonehenge, Avebury, Silbury Hill and Durrington Walls
in the south of England. We had concluded that it was more than just a
coincidence that the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries is a dissertation on

1 9 The length of daylight at any particular latitude varies in a predictable pattern because of

the way the Earth's axis is tilted relative to the Sun's rays. The way in which the day lengthens
and shortens can be written down in a mathematical formula called a Sine wave. This knowl-
edge and the formula which can be deduced from measurements of the time of daylight
underlay Heath's calculations.
2 0 Robin Heath: private communication, 2 0 0 1

35
I lit B U U K . Ut I 11 R A M

ancient astronomy and the latitudes that Enoch inadvertently describes

within it coincide with the world's earliest known astronomical observa-
tories. 21
But how do our investigations into the ancient Jewish document known
as the Book of Enoch lead us to solve the riddle of the Megalithic Yard?
In the end we found that the unit was derived from observing three fac-
tors: the spin of the Earth on its axis, the orbit of the Earth around the
Sun, and the mass of the planet. Whilst these are obviously complex mat-
ters, we found that anyone can reproduce a Megalithic Yard in one day
using astronomical observation, a length of rope, two rods, a piece of twine
and a stone with a hole in its centre. A full description of the technique
for making your own Megalithic Yard can be found in Appendix 1.
When we announced that we had rediscovered the method of creating
the Megalithic Yard some people thought we were mad. Indeed, one highly-
respected professor of astronomy who was there when we presented our
findings at the Orkney Science Festival admitted that he put us down as
being mad - until he checked our findings. Then Professor Archie Roy
described our results on the origins of the Megalithic Yard as 'true science',
adding that the discovery 'opened up a new chapter in our understanding
of Megalithic Man'.

THE CRYSTAL PALACE

There are many impressive megalithic structures in the Boyne Valley of

Ireland, but one is particularly large. Newgrange is a 280,000-ton struc-
ture that started to be built around 3 5 0 0 BCE - more than a thousand years
before the Egyptians cleared the sands of the Giza Plateau for the Great
Pyramid of Kufu and over two and a half thousand years before Hiram's
team of builders laid the foundation stone of King Solomon's Temple. The
mound is made of river-rolled granite stones and the east-facing wall is
faced with gleaming white quartz. The design of this building is unique,
and yet it perfectly fits the building described in the Book of Enoch and is
at a location that corresponds with the day and night data recorded in the
book.
When we first visited Newgrange together, we missed a turning and
ended up stopping by the roadside to look across the bright curve of the

21 Knight, C & Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, Arrow, 1999

36
 l i l t UKUUVfcD WAKE I'tUI'Lt

River Boyne, towards the sparkling white sunlit frontage. The effect was
nothing less than stunning. Had we not known what we were looking at
it could have been taken as an ultra-modern building, having all the scale
and dramatic presence of a Le Corbusier creation. The Book of Enoch
describes a night visit to a large, impressive structure at this latitude which
was lit by a string of burning torches:

And I ivent in till I drew nigh to a wall ivhich is built of crystals

and surrounded by tongues of fire: and it began to affrighten me.
And I went into the tongues of fire and drew nigh to a large house
which was built of crystals: and the walls of the house were like a
tessellated floor of crystals.

Plan of Newgrange showing how it was designed to allow the light o

Venus'1'to enter the inner chamber at the winter solstice.

In plan view the structure is made up of a series of sections of parabolas

which make it almost circular, with a diameter of around a hundred metres.
There are a number of carefully worked stones along a tunnel nineteen
metres long leading from the entrance in the middle of the white wall to
a chamber deep inside the mound. In front of the entrance stands an enor-
mous stone which is carved with interlacing spirals, jagged V-shaped series
of lines and nests of diamond lozenge figures. These are typical Grooved
Ware symbols, but interestingly they can also be found in pre-dynastic
Egyptian artefacts.
As we reported in Uriel's Machine we came to the conclusion that the
spiral symbol represents a quarter of a year, it represents the path of the
Sun over a transition from one solstice to the next equinox. The double
spiral is the shape you get if you set up a vertical marker and put a dot

37
inc o v ^ w i v v-T rni\Alvi

on the point of the shadow at midday from June to December. Join the
dots together and you get the double spiral, the symbol carved into the
middle of the entrance stone at Newgrange, a symbol that occurs on many
Grooved Ware sites in western Europe.
We knew that the symbol was widely used both on marker stones and
on pottery, but we were fascinated to think that whereas we could find
examples of pre-dynastic Egyptian pottery using Grooved Ware symbols,
nobody has found any Egyptian artefacts in Britain. The indication is that
ideas developed by the Grooved Ware People in and around the British
Isles may have been introduced into Egypt before the establishment of the
first dynasty and the beginnings of recorded history.
We also realised that the use of spiral symbols at Newgrange makes
sense, because the structure is a tunnel mound that has a central chamber
accessed via an entrance tunnel aligned to a special sunrise. On the
morning of the winter solstice, when the sun rises as far south as it ever
goes, its light penetrates the narrow tunnel with its rising double curve,
to emerge as a tight beam that spills an intense glow as it strikes the rear
wall of the inner chamber. That has to be a deliberate design feature of
the building, because a special slot was cut above the entrance to let the
light in.
The narrow tunnel into the mound is lined with enormous slabs of solid
rock. There were twenty-two stones on the left-hand side of the tunnel as
we walked in, and twenty-one stones on the other side of the passage for
us to count as we came back out. The chamber is in the form of a cross,
and in each of the arms is a beautifully worked stone basin, except that
the right-hand alcove also has an extra smaller basin standing inside the
larger one. There are two depressions in this small basin.
Newgrange was built by a group of people who were good enough
farmers to be able to feed the specialist group of builders who engineered
this massive structure. Indeed, when the mound was tidied up some of the
turf was tested and it was discovered that it came from fields that once
grew spelt (an early type of grain crop) but were then left to revert to a
wild state, suggesting early use of crop rotation. 22
The builders of Newgrange organised a significant workforce to create
this structure, which is a mound 250 feet in diameter. The workers showed
sufficient skill to construct a corbelled roof chamber and align an

22 O'Kelly, Michael J : Newgrange, Archaeology, Art and Legend, Thames and Hudson, 1982

38
 nit UKUUVtu wakl rtori.t

eighty-foot-long passage in such a way that it lies exactly along the line of
the rising Sun at the winter solstice. This construction alone is a splendid
achievement, but there are two other mounds of similar size and magnifi-
cence from the same period and in the same part of the Boyne Valley, all
within sight of each other. The mound at Knowth has now been excavated
by Professor George Eogan, and is partially open to the public, but the
other passage mound at Dowth has yet to be excavated.
We calculated that the people who built these structures on the banks
of the river Boyne invested a staggering two million man-hours in con-
struction time, demonstrating that more than five and a half thousand years
ago they must have lived in a complex society nearly a thousand years
before the city states of Sumer and Egypt began.21 However, there is an
important aspect of Newgrange that had been missed by the experts involved
with the excavations. It was designed to capture the light of Venus once
every eight years.
During a visit to Newgrange the guide switched on a spotlight erected
in the tunnel to imitate the Sun's rays as they enter at dawn on the winter
solstice. We noticed at once that the beam was about three feet off centre
to the right, and we asked the guide why these expert megalithic builders
had caused it to happen that way. The answer was not satisfactory. It stated
that the inaccuracy was the result of the 'precession of the equinoxes', and
that it would have been straight five and a half thousand years ago when
the small long-term tilt of the Earth was some 70 different. We pointed
out that the precession of the equinoxes was a wobble of the planet on its
axis which caused the stars to appear to rotate in a cycle that takes more
than twenty-five millennia. This could have no effect on the angle of the
Sun's rays entering this chamber at dawn. The movement of the Sun's dec-
lination is only likely to be affected by the much slower precession of the
ecliptic, the plane of the Earth's orbit about the Sun. The period of this
movement is three times longer than the precession of the equinoxes, and
it has not moved significantly since Newgrange was built. We conclude that
the alignment was deliberate rather than the result of a change in the Earth's
relationship with the Sun. Either the misalignment was a design fault, or
the angle of the solstice sunbeam was not their primary concern.
It might never have occurred to us to think about Venus if not for the
fact that Robert spent several years investigating a megalithic site called

23 Knight, C 8c Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science

39
i n c nuuN ^ r niKAivi

Bryn Celli Ddu, some fifty miles from the mouth of the river Boyne across
the Irish sea on Anglesey. His prolonged study revealed that this small struc-
ture, dating from the same period as Newgrange, provided a large number
of astronomical alignments which were clearly intentional. These included:

1 Sight Lines which have been chosen to maximise Moon observations

and which yield sufficient information to predict eclipses.

2 The alignment of the passage and its cup marking sequences which high-
light the equinoxes and the summer solstice.

3 A shadow gauge which indicates where you are in the solar year at any
time.

4 An internal pillar and an aligned lightbox (a slot in the wall of the

chamber which allows light to enter) which are positioned to accurately
measure the Venus cycle and mark the winter solstice.

The pillar and lightbox had been aligned before the chamber was built.
The base of the lightbox, the part which throws the dagger of light onto
the pillar, was formed by the upper edge of the large slab which makes up
the southerly wall of the chamber. First the pillar was erected and then the
stone positioned to the south of it. A notch was cut in the top right-hand
side of the slab and the stone's position was adjusted until the shadow of
this notch fell onto the pillar when the Sun was in the southwest.
Now the height of the Sun in the sky varies with the seasons. In summer
the Sun is high in the sky whilst during the winter it is much lower. This
means that the higher the Sun is in the sky, the lower down the pillar its
shadow would fall. The position of the pillar and slab were adjusted until
the shadow of the notch just reached the top of the pillar when the Sun
was at its lower position in the sky. This occurs at midwinter, at the time
of the winter solstice. This could easily have been set up so that the shadow
fell on the pillar at 12 noon when the Sun was at its highest point, but the
ancient designers of this structure had something else in mind. The slab
and pillar are set so the light of the Sun falls on the pillar when the Sun
is three hours passed its highest point.

40
 I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

Equinox

/
Winter Solstice

The 'light slot' at the Megalithic observatory now known as Bryn Celli Ddu
on Anglesey which shows how it was designed to give a calendar reading.
The slot is positioned to allow a narrow, horizontal beam of sunlight to
enter and strike a pillar inside the chamber. This pillar was marked to show
the range of the sun's maximum daily height in the sky between the winter
solstice and the equinox so that the priest concerned just had to read the
position of the bar of light to know the date.

Once the positions of the pillar and south slab were set, the chamber
was constructed around the pillar. The existing position was chosen so that
two hours after sunset Venus is in the same part of the sky that the set-
ting winter Sun has vacated, and so the light of Venus could now also cast
a shadow on the pillar. The positions of first the Sun and then the Venus
shadow make it possible to measure the exact position of Venus in the
evening sky. Now this was an important measurement for these ancient
astronomers, because when viewed from Earth, the planet Venus is the most
accurate indicator of the time of year available In the solar system. Every
eight years it marks a point when the solar calendar, the lunar calendar
and the sidereal calendar all coincide to within a few minutes. After exactly
forty years, when Venus completes five of its eight-year cycles, it synchro-
nises to within fractions of a second, providing a calendar and clock that
was used to set the time of day until the 1950s when even more accurate
atomic clocks were invented. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmrn^.
Put simply: Venus is the metronome of our world. Understand its

41
1Mb bUUK. Ul- III RAM

movements and you can understand such vital functions as the seasons and
the tides. It makes you master of your environment both in terms of farming
and seamanship, and thereby ensures that you eat well and trade efficiently.
In many ways it is the centrepiece of civilisation.
Against the background of the zodiac Venus completes a five-pointed
star shape
J.
everyj eight years and returns to its xprecise starting>~> place
1
after
forty years. Whilst studying this Anglesey observatory Robert developed
an analytical procedure to predict the times Venus should appear on the
pillar of Bryn Celli Ddu. His predictions were accurate when tested by
observation, so he next applied the same methodology to Newgrange. His
calculations matched closely the physical measurements recorded by Dr
Tom Ray, who first studied the alignment of the light box to the rising sol-
stice Sun, and when Ray's temperature and pressure adjustments were taken
into consideration they matched exactly. 24
Venus appears as a morning star around the time of winter solstice four
years out of every eight (the other four years it appears as an evening star"
following the setting Sun down). Some years it is brighter than others, and
its closeness to the Sun varies throughout the cycle. Here is the pattern of
Venus at the time of the winter solstice.

Year Position Brightness Rising time before Declination

Sun
1 morning 99.5% 24 min. -23:16
2 morning 36% 2 5 4 min. -13:02
3 evening 86%
4 morning 91% 126 min. -20:07
5 evening 17.5%
6 evening 97.5%
7 morning 72.3% 2 2 4 min. -15:11
8 evening 63.2%

This table shows the basic eight-year cycle of Venus. The first column shows
the year of the cycle. The next column shows whether Venus is appearing
as the morning or the evening star. In years one, two, four and seven, Venus

2 4 Ray, TH: An Investigation of the Solar Alignment of Newgrange, Nature, vol. 337, no.
2 6 , 3 4 5 - 3 4 6 , Jan. 1989

42
 I I1E G R O O V E D WARE PEOPLE

is a morning star rising before the Sun. On the other four years of the cycle
it is an evening star, following the Sun down. Column three describes the
brightness of Venus - how bright it appears in the sky depends on where
it is relative to the Sun, the angle of reflection controlling how much light
it can reflect towards the Earth. Its brightness is shown as a percentage of
the maximum possible brightness it can ever achieve. Column four gives
the time before sunrise that Venus appears in the eastern sky. Column five
gives the declination of Venus at those times when it is a morning star at
the winter solstice. This cycle repeats closely every eight years and repeats
exactly every forty years. A new cycle started in the year I CE and another
will begin in the year 2009 CE.
We knew that there were four possible occasions throughout the eight-
year cycle when the light of Venus rose before the Sun during the winter
solstice at Newgrange. However, it is not at the same distance from the
Sun in each of the morning star phases, as the table of brightness and dec-
lination shows. Only on one of these occasions does Venus pass across the
aperture of the Newgrange dormer slot, and it turns out that on this occa-
sion it is at its brightest. On this morning, exactly 24 minutes before sun-
light enters the chamber, the light of the Sun bounces off the surface of the
planet Venus and enters the chamber at Newgrange as a collimated beam
through the dormer. For about fifteen minutes the chamber will be brightly
illuminated by the light of a full Venus, the third brightest object in the
sky, and the light of Venus will be in the centre of the chamber. As Venus
first appears its light will be red, as the bright light of the planet will be
refracted by its low position on the horizon. This light will then turn steely
blue-white as the planet rises.
On all the other occasions Venus is rising too far to the north for its
light to enter the carefully designed dormer slot at Newgrange. However,
when it does enter the slot and travel up the long collimated tunnel it will
appear like the beam of a searchlight. Even in the open countryside the
light from Venus is so strong that it will cast a discernible shadow on a
moonless night, and it can often be seen in broad daylight, even when it
is close to the Sun, which blinds out the light from the stars and other
planets.
The effect at those prehistoric winter solstices must have been dramatic.
The chamber is pitch-black, then as the brilliance of Venus makes one of
its eight-year penetrations the light creates an unearthly glow, slowly
turning from fiery red to become almost as bright as daylight but without

43
mi; nook or 111ram

colour. Then as the Sun rises some quarter of an hour later the cold, mono-
chrome light dissolves into golden sunlight before returning to near total
darkness again. Anyone in that chamber before dawn on every eighth winter
solstice would have every reason to believe that they were communing with
the gods.
Once we realised that the rising Venus was fundamental to Newgrange
we noticed that the lintel over the lightbox has eight symbols carved into
it. Each of these is a rectangle with a times cross within it, which has gen-
erally been identified as signifying 'one year' by representing the solstice
rising and setting points. These eight one-year symbols could only have
been carved here to announce to those ancient magi capable of reading this
proto-writing that a special event happened inside the chamber once every
eight years. If only we could understand more of the inscriptions used by
the Grooved Ware People we strongly suspect that they would tell us that
a god enters through this slot.

VENUS AND RESURRECTION

There were two further aspects of these megalithic structures of the Boyne
Valley that were relevant to our current investigation. First, there is a strong
sexual content to the artefacts found here, including beautifully carved stone
phalluses. It is known from later writing, by Tacitus and other Roman
authors, that sexual festivals were held in public by the much later Celtic
people who are likely to have inherited their ancient traditions from the
Grooved Ware People. The other, more speculative thought that we had
considered in relation to Newgrange is the idea that the chambers may
have been used for a ritual that was believed to have powers of reincar-
nation.
Chris had been struck by just how much the tunnel and the three-
part chamber in the centre of this domed mount is reminiscent of the
reproductive organs of a human female. We knew that many ancient
people thought of the cycle of the seasons as the gods in heaven fertil-
ising the Earth to give birth to cattle and plants. Could the shaft of light
entering the uppermost of the double entrance have been viewed as a
god's phallus penetrating this spectacular pudenda of the Earth, the life-
bringing seed of heaven spilling down into this womb-chamber and all
within it? We thought this seemed entirely likely for a number of rea-
sons, particularly the fact that Tacitus reported that the Celts enjoyed a

44
 l i l t U K U U V t U WAKl; I'tUI'LI.

spring sexual festival, and then their women gave birth at the winter
solstice.
We then considered how several cultures, including the Jews, believed
that people from their own prehistory used to live for periods way beyond
normal lifespans. It is almost certain that the character known as Enoch
is a composite made up of distant cultural memories that belong to the
groups of people who long pre-dated the emergence of the Hebrew people.
As such his life cannot be dated in an historical way, but it is the dates
ascribed to such mythical figures that we think are important. We found
that there is indeed an accepted dating for Enoch's time on Earth in Jewish
lore. A leading biblical scholar of the early twentieth century calls him
'A son of Jared, and father of Methuselah. He was born, by ordinary
Hebrew computation, about B.C. 3382'. 2 5 The Old Testament is known
to have been woven together from at least three separate traditions, and
this one comes from the 'priestly tradition' usually known simply as 'P'.
Enoch is said to have lived on Earth for 365 years before being 'trans-
lated' to heaven in 3 0 1 7 BCE as a living man. Such a dating is surprisingly
early, being nearly one and a half millennia before Abraham and two thou-
sand years before Moses. However, it is all the more interesting to us
because it places Enoch on Earth at exactly the time that Newgrange was
designed and built.
At first view, this dating does not correspond with the fact that the Old
Testament places Enoch before the Flood - he was Noah's great-grand-
father. Whilst our own investigations have shown that there was a global
flood in the S'h millennium BCE,26 the authors of the books of the Old
Testament considered that Noah's flood had occurred around 2 4 0 0 BCE, so
the chronology of Enoch is consistent within Hebrew myth.
A further interesting point regarding Enoch is the meaning of his name.
Enoch is said to translate into English as 'initiated' - suggesting that he
had undergone some ritual that gave him secret information. 27 This is exactly
what appears to be described in the Book of Enoch, when Uriel explains
the workings of astronomy to the confused man from the Middle East.
From all of the available evidence we could imagine a belief that when
a king or other major dignitary died their remains were kept in whole, or
in part, and taken into the chamber on the day before the winter solstice.

25 Hunter, RH: Cassell's Concise Bible Dictionary, Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1996
26 Knight, C &C Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine. The Ancient Origins of Science
27 Hunter, RH: CasselVs Concise Bible Dictionary

45
 II I I Wl' III KAIVl

Alongside this a woman, previously inseminated at the festival held at the

vernal equinox and now heavily pregnant, was also taken into the chamber
with the remains of the deceased to await the coming of the light of Venus.
The ghostly light in the chamber would have been deemed to reincarnate
the spirits of the dead within the birthing infant. Minutes later the warm
glow of the life-giving Sun would celebrate the resurrection of the deceased
person in their new form as a child.
Maybe the bowls found in the alcoves of the chamber were to contain
the ashes, bones or other remnants of the dead as they awaited the light
of resurrection.
Such a ritual process would have been believed to provide the commu-
nity with a flow of reincarnated souls, allowing them to accept that their
leaders were transcending the power of death over their brutally short lives.
Certain key individuals could have been thought to be immortal through
this ability to return with their knowledge of science to lead their people
through adversity. They could have taken the name of the dead person and
inherited their worldly goods. Their lives could have been structured as a
continuation of the previous person's existence.
From our own experiences we know that as a child grows to adulthood,
and on into middle age, accounts of events that are told to us as small chil-
dren become impossible to separate from our first-hand experiences. We
often become convinced that the memory we have comes from experiencing
an event, rather than being told about it. We can imagine how, through
repeated instruction from the priest and at their mother's knee, a 'reincar-
nated' individual could come to believe that they could remember their pre-
vious existence. Remember too that it is what Professor Robert Thouless
described as a standard technique of religious indoctrination to bring a
young person 'to believe in a prescribed religion and the otherwise pre-
posterous myths that go with it'. 18
We discovered a further ground for belief in our theory of reincarna-
tion when we inspected the carvings within the chamber. There is a large
triple spiral motif cut into the great stone at the entrance to Newgrange
and another at a hidden part of the inner chamber where only the reflected
light of Venus can strike. There is no other symbol near to it. We already
knew that a single spiral is drawn by the Sun's movement every three

28Thouless, Robert H: An Introduction to the Psychology of Religion, Cambridge Univ. Press,

Cambridge, 1971

46
 I I II U K U U V t U WAKI I'tUI'Ll

months, so we reasoned that a symbol made up of three spirals must

equal nine months. And nine months is the human gestation period. So
the triple spiral symbol placed at such a key place within the chamber
could well be written evidence that it was a birthing chamber, and its
Venus alignment suggested to us that our resurrection theory might well
be right.
It is certainly true that virtually every civilisation after the Grooved Ware
People has associated Venus with love, sex and reproduction. But Venus is
much more than a symbol of birth and rebirth.

CONCLUSIONS

Robin Heath, working independently of us, arrived at a similar conclusion,

that the megalithic culture of western Europe was an important influence
on the development of civilisation in the Middle East.
The central themes of the Grooved Ware People are as follows:

They were the first people to develop a technology for building in

stone.

They measured and recorded the movements of the Sun.

They knew of the importance of the rising and setting of the planet
Venus.

They celebrated the equinoxes and the summer and winter

solstices.

They are the first people known to have studied the science of
astronomy.

They probably held a belief in the resurrection of the dead,

associated with Venus.

The rising Venus was fundamental to the Grooved Ware People who
lived around the Irish Sea 5,500 years ago. And these people developed a
proto-writing to record the special dawn-rising Venus event that happened
inside the chamber once every eight years. We have come to believe that

47
1111 IHJUN Ul III HAM

the Grooved Ware People associated Venus with love, sex and reproduc-
tion. They also developed a standard unit of measure, so demonstrating
the use of a shared mathematics over a large geographical area extending
from the islands off northern Scotland to the Breton coast of western France.
 Chapter Three

THE L I G H T OF SECRET
KNOWLEDGE

T H E KNIGHTS OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

The ideas we had uncovered about the Grooved Ware People are such a close
fit to the ideas that are central to Freemasonry that it would not be unrea-
sonable to anticipate some kind of link between the two. However, we had
only come to consider the Grooved Ware People because we had originally
worked backwards to them. Now we set ourselves the task to reverse-engineer
our original work and see if the case stands up to heavier scrutiny.
Our original investigations had established a route backwards from
Freemasonry through the medieval order of the Knights Templar, back to
Jerusalem at the time of Christ and back again to the formation of Judaism.
At first view it might seem improbable that the early Jews were influenced
by the Neolithic peoples of Western Europe who pre-dated them by around
two thousand years, but we were to find some intriguing potential con-
nections. We have found that there is a connection between the ancient
Jewish text known as the Book of Enoch and the astronomically aligned
sites of Neolithic Britain. And this conclusion has been independently arrived
at by scientist Dr Robin Heath.
Then we came across a statement on the website (http://www.geo
cities.com/hiberi/yair.html) of an Israeli historical investigator, Yair Davidy,
which we found totally riveting:

Megalithic monuments and dolmens were once found throughout

49
IRIC U U U N UI- HIKAM

the Land of Israel although many have been destroyed and most of
those remaining are in the Golan and east of the Jordan where
they are known to the Arabs as -Kubur Beni Israil-, i.e. 'Graves of
the Children of Israel'. Certain features of these monuments, such
as the existence of cupholes, are also found on similar structures in
Britain. The remains thus described are nearly identical in character
with those which are in England and Scotland.

It appears that there are very good reasons to suspect that the strange rit-
uals of Freemasonry have an origin back in prehistory at the megalithic
sites of the British Isles and that the method of transmission was via the
people of Israel.
The Jewish nation is said to have come into existence when Moses led
'his people' out of Egypt in search of the promised land. That promised
land was Canaan and the traditional Jewish dating of the Exodus is 1447
BCE, which is long after the Grooved Ware People had disappeared from
the British Isles. So if there is a connection between these two peoples, any
beliefs and rituals would have had to be transmitted via an intermediary
group. The two main candidates for such a linkage would be the ancient
Egyptians or the Cannanites themselves, which includes the Jebusites who
founded Jerusalem and the Phoenicians who occupied the coastal region.
We could see a chain forming. The Grooved Ware People appear to have
founded these ideas centred on Venus, these ideas then moved to the eastern
Mediterranean and were later taken up by the Jews before being recovered
and 'resurrected' by the Knights Templar. The Templars were destroyed as
an order at the beginning of the fourteenth century and Freemasonry for-
mally emerged in the late sixteenth century, although there is good reason
to believe that it was secretly functioning long before that date.
In The Hiram Key we established that the medieval warrior monks
known as the 'The Poor Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon'
were almost certainly the source of the rituals that became the basis of
Freemasonry. The Knights Templar, to give them their shortened name, had
been the richest and most powerful group in the known world from their
formal establishment in 1128 until they were destroyed by the joint efforts
of King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V in 1307. Their demise
came when the entire order was arrested on charges of heresy that included
the accusation that they conducted strange rituals that were not Christian.
The order had been established by nine French knights who had been

50
 iiii i Kill i ui' at^Ki-. i M N i . m i i i Aii

involved with the taking of Jerusalem during the First Crusade. Led by
Hugues de Payen, the team set about secretly digging a network of tunnels
beneath the ruins of the Jerusalem Temple that had been flattened over a
thousand years earlier. The Muslims had built the magnificent 'Dome of
the Rock' on the platform that once supported the Temple of the Jews, and
the Knights Templar worked from the side in a section that was called
Solomon's Stables.
In The Hiram Key we had speculated that there were links between the
Knights Templar and the Freemasons, but at that time we did not have
access to any early rituals which described this link. In 1999 we gave a
talk about the origins of Freemasonry at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh.
After the talk we were approached by an old gentleman, who introduced
himself as a Mason. He carried with him an old, well polished, leather
briefcase which he handled with great care.
'How much do you know about the early Masonic Templar rituals?' he
asked.
We admitted we did not know very much, beyond the comments con-
tained in the Masonic commentaries that we had found in the Mitrinovic
Collection.
The old gentleman carefully opened his briefcase and took out two old
and battered red-bound ritual books which he told us he had inherited
from his grandfather, who had also been a Freemason.
'These are the rituals once worked by the Grand Mother Encampment
of the High Knight Templars of Scotland' he said. 'They were once accepted
by the Grand Council of Rites and the Sovereign Sanctuary of Scotland,
but they've not been worked since the early nineteenth century. I've never
worked them,' he added, with a tone of regret clear in his voice.
We were very interested to study the contents of these rituals and so we
explained to this Brother how we were trying to reconstruct the whole story
told by Masonic ritual in the form we have called The Masonic Testament.
Once he knew what we were trying to do he allowed us to photocopy his
treasured ritual books, and Robert immediately set about adding them to the
Web of Hiram. We were interested to note that these books had been pri-
vately published by Hugh Murray, a printer whose shop was situated on the
High Street of the town of Kilwinning in Ayrshire. This town we already knew
was the home of one of the oldest lodges in Scotland, Lodge Mother Kilwinning.
As our database of rituals was growing, so was the detail in the story
that we were reassembling.

51
I I I C D U U N Ul" I I I K/\ M

It may be coincidence, but we found in the new sections of the Masonic

Testament details that seemed to relate to the significance of the nine knights
who founded the Templars. The ritual tells us that: [Masonic Testament
8:38]

King Solomon established the grade of Master Elect of Nine, and

conferred it upon the nine companions.

Did these nine Crusaders consider themselves to be the new 'Masters Elect
of Nine'?
For nine years they lived in poverty, their only source of income the sup-
port they received from the new king of Jerusalem, Baldwin II. But as soon
as their excavation ended they were suddenly massively rich, and very
quickly the rumours of strange rituals started to circulate. We needed to
find out what it was that they had found.
The answer came from one of the documents found at Qumran on the
banks of the Dead Sea in 1947. The Copper Scroll is a long sheet of metal
with stamped characters that was written some thirty years after the death
of Jesus Christ. It lists sixty-one locations where precious items were buried
at the outset of the Jewish war against the Romans. Dead Sea Scroll scholar
John Allegro said of it:

The Copper Scroll and its copy (or copies) were intended to tell the
Jewish survivors of the war then raging where this sacred material
lay buried, so that if any should be found, it would never be dese-
crated by profane use. It would also act as a guide to the recovery
of the treasure, should it be needed to carry on the war. 1

This scroll is a virtual treasure map and states that a second copy, with
more details, was buried under the Jerusalem Temple. The passage con-
cerned reads:

In the Pit (Shith) adjoining on the north, in a hole opening north-

wards, and buried at its mouth: a copy of this document, with an
explanation and their measurements, and an inventory of each
thing, and other things.

1 Allegro, J M : The Treasure of the Copper Scroll, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1960

52
 I lll: L I G H T OF SECRET K N O W L E D G E

It then goes on to list huge amounts of gold, silver, precious objects and
at least twenty-four other scrolls hidden below the Temple. Directions such
as the following are provided to each cache:

In the inner chamber of the twin pillars supporting the arch of the
double gate, facing east, in the entrance, buried at three cubits,
hidden there is a pitcher, in it, one scroll, under it forty-two talents.

In the cistern which is nineteen cubits in front of the eastern

gateway, in it are vessels, and in the hollow that is in it: ten
talents.

In the mouth of the spring of the Temple: vessels of silver and

vessels of gold for the tithe and money, the whole being six
hundred talents.

When a British army team excavated under the temple in the 1860s,
with shafts that descended eighty feet down, all they found were artefacts
left by the Knights Templar. It seems extremely probable that the wealth
of the Templar order can be explained by the recovery of these huge amounts
of treasure, and the rituals they practised may well have been recorded on
the scrolls they also found.
We also found evidence that the founding members of the Knights
Templar came from families descended from the Jewish priests who escaped
to Europe after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. When we started to
assemble the material that makes up The Masonic Testament we found that
the higher rituals of Freemasonry confirm that these knights believed they
could trace their lineage back to the time of the building of King Solomon's
Temple two thousand years earlier and back again to the time of Moses.
[Masonic Testament 6: 10-11]

Moses created Princes of the Tabernacle. The especial duties of a

Prince of the Tabernacle were to labour incessantly for the glory of
God, the honour of his country, and the happiness of his brethren;
and to offer up thanks and prayers to the Deity in lieu of sacrifices
of flesh and blood.

It goes on to say that the High Priests were Eleazar and Isthamar, tlu-

53
 I Hi: BOOK OF H I R A M

sons of Aaron, and thereafter all Princes of the Tabernacle were Levites,
the most senior form of Jewish priesthood. The Masonic Testament also
tells us when the initiations took place: \Masonic Testament 6:12|

When the Pentagramf or Blazing star was to be seen in the east

Moses called the Court together to initiate new Princes.

^
A^ blazing
m m m
star
m
that
m a
is mreferred
m m
to mas ma pentagram
m m ^ ^ ^
can
^ ^
only
^ ^
be^ a ^reference
^ ^

to Venus, which has long been associated with the pentagram because of
the planet's apparent movement around the Sun when observed from Earth.
We were also interested to read the Masonic material stating that Moses'
brother Aaron died on the vernal equinox during the fortieth year of the
wandering of the children of Israel. We doubt that any modern Freemason
will be aware that Moses is claimed to have created his initiates when Venus
was in the east, exactly as every Masonic Master Mason is raised today.
Early in the twentieth century, Masonic researcher JSM Ward noted
that ritual records how these 'Princes of Jerusalem' were involved with
building the next two temples in Jerusalem, and when the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 CE a number of them managed
to escape to locations across Europe. It was from these families that the
men who founded the Knights Templar came. 2 This was a period we needed
to know more about, and fortunately more clues had come our way.
Towards the end of 1999 we gave a talk at Liverpool Masonic Hall and
afterwards stayed for a meal, known as a 'Festive Board'. As we were
leaving one brother came over to us, caught hold of Robert's arm, and
drew him to one side.
'Here,' he said, 'take this. I think you'll find it useful.' He passed over
a plain brown envelope which Robert could see contained a wad of pho-
tocopied sheets.
'What are these?' Robert asked.
'The rituals which were once used by a Masonic organisation known as
the Royal and Select Masters of the Rite of Perfection,' came the reply. 'A
group of us are trying to keep the traditions going, and we thought you
would be interested in seeing the originals of the rituals you may have
heard referred to as The Cryptic Rite.'
Robert thanked him, and afterwards in the car we looked through the

2 Ward, JSM: Freemasonry and the Ancient Gods, Cassell 8c Co., 1928

54
 I lll: L I G H T OF SECRET K N O W L E D G E

papers we had been given. The rituals were said to have been worked at
the Grand Lodge of Charleston, Virginia, in the eighteenth century. Rituals
such as these were interesting to us for two reasons. First, as far as we
know they are no longer in use, so the stories they tell are in danger of
being lost; second, coming from an eighteenth-century American source,
and one which is famous for its links with George Washington, the rituals
could not have been censored by the Masons of contemporary London,
who founded the United Grand Lodge of England. The rituals were soon
scanned, and their stories fed into our fast-growing Web of Hiram and
abstracted to add to The Masonic Testament.
The Masonic Testament now confirms that an order was formed by a
Masonic group called the 'Princes of Jerusalem' in that city in the year
1118, and then tells us that at a later stage they took the name 'Princes of
Jerusalem and Knights of the East and West' because their doctrines came
from both directions.
In chapter 14 of The Masonic Testament, there is a ritual description
that describes hereditary Mason-priests who were knights who marched
into battle alongside the 'Christian princes' on the First Crusade: [Masonic
Testament 15:3]

Finally, when the time arrived that the Christian Princes entered
into a league to free the Holy Land from the oppression of the
infidels, the good and virtuous Masons, anxious for so pious an
undertaking, offered their services to the confederates, upon condi-
tion that they should have a chief of their own election, and whose
name was only made known in the hour of battle; which being
granted, they accepted their standard and departed.

1'he fact that they allegedly had their own leader, whose identity would be
secret until he was in the midst of battle, suggests that they were formed
from the start as a self-contained group - an order. [Masonic Testament
15:61

The valour and fortitude of these Elected Knights were such, that
they were admired by, and took the lead of, all the Princes of
Jerusalem, who, believing that their mysteries inspired them with
courage and fidelity to the cause of virtue and religion, became
desirous of being initiated. Upon being found worthy, their desires

55
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

were complied with, and thus the Royal Art, meeting the approba-
tion of great and good men, became popular and honourable, and
was diffused to the worthy throughout these dominions, and thus
continued to spread, far and wide, through a succession of ages to
the present day.

The ritual here states that this previously unknown group of knights became
leaders of men, inspiring others to join them with their fighting ability and
their religion. This would certainly fit the description of the Knights Templar
who, from small beginnings as a band of nine middle-aged knights, became
an order of warrior monks who went on to become a living legend as the
mightiest, most influential and affluent group of their time.
JSM Ward also recorded how old Masonic rituals he had studied said
that certain documents were taken to Scotland by this group in 1140.
Because he lacked the advantage of knowing about the Dead Sea Scrolls,
he wrote:

One group came to Scotland and established a lodge at Kilwinning,

and there deposited the records of the Order in an abbey they built
there. At this point the first historical difficulty arose, for the abbey
was not built until about 1140, and the legend does not state
where they were during the period between AD 70 and AD 1140.

Ward knew that the scrolls concerned were supposed to have been held by
this Jewish Order prior to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, but he
could not tell what happened to them between that time and their arrival
in Scotland. Because of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls we now know
that they were placed under the Temple in circa 68 CE and remained there
until they were removed again by the Order (now calling themselves the
Knights Templar) between 1118 and 1128 CE. That left a gap of just twelve
years when these ancient documents would have had to be stored before
they were shipped to the purpose-built abbey in western Scotland. The place
they were taken to was land that belonged to the St Clair family; the same
family who were to build Rosslyn almost exactly three hundred years later,
and who later still became the hereditary Grand Master Masons of Scotland.
We now needed to focus more attention on the artefact that we believe
is the link between the Templars and early Freemasonry. That link is the
building now called Rosslyn Chapel.

56
 I lll: L I G H T OF SECRET K N O W L E D G E

T H E SECRETS OF ROSSLYN

Rosslyn Chapel is a tiny, heavily carved stone 'chapel' that lies in the Lothian
11 ills just a few miles south of Edinburgh. It sits just above Roslin Castle
and overlooks the river valley where William Wallace's troops hid in a cave
whilst resisting the English in the thirteenth century. Whilst the castle and
die village are spelled 'Roslin', the name of the little chapel has been changed
relatively recently to Rosslyn, because someone, quite erroneously, thought
it sounded more Gaelic.
Our initial trawl of Rosslyn was not encouraging. The imagery we saw
carved into every available bit of stonework was interesting but it was not
particularly Masonic, although it was immediately evident that it was not
.1 normal Christian church. However, as we looked further and absorbed
the entire design rather than just studying points of decorative detail, we
realised that this was a supremely important structure. We found that the
whole idea of Rosslyn was to reconstruct the Temple of Jerusalem in
Scotland right down to the only sentence inscribed onto the stonework,
which was the riddle that the Persian king set the Jewish leader Zerubbabel
before allowing him to rebuild the Temple in the sixth century BCE. The
i-ni ire layout of the structure copied the ground plan of the Herodian Temple
that had been destroyed in Jerusalem in 70 CE, and the western wall was
of special interest.
The west side of Rosslyn is a large wall built on a different scale to the
rest of the building. The ends of the wall are ragged and unfinished, as
I hough the builders had suddenly stopped in their tracks. Indeed the assump
Hon made in the guidebooks is that the main building was constructed as
.i 'lady chapel' and that the unfinished west wall was the start of a huge
collegiate church that was never built. There is no record of any intention
to build a great church, and there was no population for it to serve. The
current village of Roslin only came into existence to house the many stone-
masons brought from Europe to build the little chapel.
We came to the conclusion that the builders had completed their task
exactly as intended, and that the west wall was a copy of the ruin of the
Jerusalem Temple just as the crusading Knights Templar had found it at
the beginning of the twelfth century. We were able to show that the Rosslyn
ground plan was an accurate scaled-down copy of the last Jerusalem Temple,
right down to the position of the pillars of Boaz and Jachin that stood at
the entrance. The Knights Templar could not have known what the

57
THE BOOK OF H I R A M

destroyed Temple had looked like above the ground but, thanks to their
excavations, they had become experts on its subterranean layout.
The general arrangement of the remaining pillars formed a device known
in Freemasonry as a Triple Tau, which is three 'T' shapes interlocked. Tau
is the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. According to the ritual of the
Holy Royal Arch degree this signifies the following four things, which the
ritual gives in Latin and then English:

Templum Hierosolyma The Temple of Jerusalem

Clavis ad Thesaurum A key to a treasure

Theca ubi res pretiosa A place where a precious thing is

deponitur concealed

Res ipsa pretiosa The precious thing itself

This was an extremely exciting discovery, because the Masonic ritual

that contained this otherwise meaningless definition had come from the
keeping of the St Clair family when they were the Grand Master Masons.
The keys to understanding the building appeared to be hidden in Masonic
ritual.
We then realised that the design of the building was centred on a large
six-sided star known as the Seal of Solomon. In the centre of this star shape
is a huge engrailed cross on the roof which points down to the floor at the
spot that corresponds to the place where the Ark of the Covenant was sup-
posedly kept in King Solomon's Temple. The enigmatic words in the Holy
Royal Arch degree associated with this symbol are:

Nil nisi clavis deest Nothing is wanted but the key

Si talia jungere possis If thou canst comprehend these things,

sit tibi scire posse thou knowest enough

At this point we felt sure that Rosslyn had been built as a repository for
the scrolls of the Princes of Jerusalem, and that it was considered by its
builder, William St Clair, to be a 'New Jerusalem' built in Scotland's green
and pleasant land.
 T H E LICJII I U h 5 t < ~ K t l MNUVVLBUUI:

At the launch of The Hiram Key, which took place inside Rosslyn, Baron
St Clair Bonde, one of the Trustees of Rosslyn, stated that the Trust would
support an archaeological excavation of the building on the condition that
a world-class team of experts (including Scottish scholars) was put together
to conduct it. Historic Scotland, the body responsible for all ancient mon-
uments in the country, later stated that they too would be highly sympa-
thetic to an application to investigate beneath the building.
The launch at Rosslyn was attended by biblical scholars Professor Philip
Davies of Sheffield University and Professor Graham Auld from Edinburgh
University. Both experts said how they were struck by the Herodian style
of the west wall, which looked to them as though it was indeed based on
the architecture of the Jerusalem Temple. Philip remarked how he could
not believe it was designed as a church, saying that it seemed more likely
that it was created to conceal some great medieval secret.
In August 1996 we met Dr Jack Miller and his colleague Edgar
Harborne at Edinburgh airport and drove them to Rosslyn, where we
all spent the weekend. Jack, who is a geologist and a Head of Studies
at Cambridge University, was fascinated by the little building. He spent
the Saturday examining the structure both inside and out. Over break
fast the next morning he told us that he had spotted some aspects of
the building that would be very interesting to us, but he would not
explain until we returned to Rosslyn. We ate quickly and then walked
down the short lane from the Roslin Glen Hotel and entered the grounds
of Rosslyn, where we looked expectantly at the distinguished geologist.
Jack smiled and took us to the spot in the north where the main building
met the oversized west wall. He pointed a finger at the meeting stonework
as he spoke:
'This debate about whether the west wall is a replica of a ruin or an
unfinished section of an intended bigger building. Well, there is only one
possibility . . . and I can tell you are correct. That west wall is a folly.'
We were riveted to his every word as he continued:
'There are two reasons why I can be sure it is a folly. Firstly, whilst those
buttresses have visual integrity, they have no structural integrity; the stonework
is not tied into the main central section at all. Any attempt to build furthei
would have resulted in a collapse . . . and the people who built this "chapel"
were no fools. They simply never intended to go any further.'
Looking up, even our untrained eyes could see what he meant.
'Furthermore, come around here and look at the end stones.'

59
THE BOOK OF 111 RAM

We followed him to the large stones at the end of the wall.

'If the builders had stopped work because they had run out of money
or just got fed up, they would have left nice square-edged stonework, but
these stones have been deliberately worked to appear damaged - like a
ruin. These stones haven't weathered like that . . . they were cut to look
like a ruined wall.'
Some months later we asked permission for Jack Miller to conduct a
non-invasive ground scan outside the walls of Rosslyn. This was agreed
and Jack arranged to hire the necessary equipment and for Dr Fernando
Neeves to fly in from the Colorado School of Mines, the world's most
famous institution for analysing below-ground structures. With just days
to go we received a letter from the Trustees of Rosslyn telling us that per-
mission had been withdrawn.
In late 1997 we saw a television programme about an American pro-
fessor from Princeton University who was searching Israel for what he con-
sidered were missing documents that were contemporary with the Dead
Sea Scrolls. We immediately thought that James Charlesworth should be
made aware of Rosslyn and what we believed it contained. By amazing
good fortune we found two direct routes to make contact.
A good friend of ours, a retired police officer called Tony Batters, worked
at the time as security adviser to Xerox, a company which we knew was
providing high-technology equipment to examine the multiple layers of
ancient scrolls found by Professor Charlesworth. Tony was quickly able to
make contact with him. At the same time Chris was at a Friday lunch
meeting with Professor Philip Davies and he mentioned our desire to tell
Professor Charlesworth about our case for ancient Jewish scrolls being
hidden beneath Rosslyn. Much to Chris's surprise Philip responded by
saying: 'Guess where I am for lunch on Sunday?' The answer came almost
immediately: 'At Jim Charlesworth's house.'
Philip agreed to form a second line of attack on the scroll-hunting pro-
fessor. The extremely encouraging reply came back through Tony Batters
in the form of a fax:

From Prof. James H Charlesworth to Tony Batters - Feb 9th 1998

Dear Tony,
Let me state how enthusiastic and supportive I am of the need
to and opportunity to explore what may be in Rosslyn.

60
 I lll: LIGHT OF SECRET K N O W L E D G E

The Copper Scroll clearly refers to scrolls hidden under the

Temple, and we must be open to the possibility that these were
found during the First Crusade and taken back to Great Britain.
Two reasons why this is more than just a guess: 1) the record that
nine knights excavated under the Temple, and 2) the observation in
1895 that crusade relics were found under the Temple.
I am eager to work closely with you and your associates in
seeking permission from Rosslyn to explore ways that we can
discern, discover, recover and translate arid publish what might
be there.
Please forgive the delay in responding. I have been in
confidential dialogue with several distinguished people about
this enterprise. One of them is Mr Joe Peaples, president of the
Jerusalem Historical Society. I understand he called and talked
with you.
It might be possible to come and see you in early March.
Again, forgive my delay: I have been simply overwhelmed
teaching classes, finalising work with the BBC on the film,
directing the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the discovery
of the Dead Sea Scrolls, excavating Zion (where Jesus' family is
supposed to have lived after the crucifixion), and preparing my
sabbatical plans to go to Germany as an Alexander von
Humboldt scholar at the Utiiversity of Tubingen, and then to go
to Jerusalem in September to become Annual Professor of the
Albright Institute (the archaeological research center).
Yours sincerely,
James Hamilton Charlesworth

We met up with Jim Charlesworth, Joe Peaples and Tony Batters in

Manchester and drove northwards to Rosslyn the next day.
Jim, who is a clergyman as well as a professor, was fascinated by what
lie saw at Rosslyn. His immediate reaction was that the west wall was very
I lerodian and had been carefully modelled on stonework that can still be
seen in Jerusalem. He pointed out the use of imitation 'robbed stones',
where the stones built in to walled-up doorways will often have design fca
lures that belong to a previous usage. Because the Temple had been laid
waste the local builders could find used stones in the rubble to meet their
needs.

61
T H E BOOK OE El I RAM

The poor condition of the building concerned Jim, who told us that an
excavation should happen without delay, because anything that was under-
ground would be suffering even more than the parts we could see. He was
also sure in his own mind that Rosslyn is not a Christian building, and he
cancelled his intention to attend the Sunday service on the basis that he
felt it was an inappropriate venue.
We arranged a meeting with some of the Trustees and, over dinner, Jim
suggested that he could put together a world-class team of scroll scholars
and archaeologists. The requirement for this to include leading Scottish
academics was no problem, because Jim had taken his PhD in Scotland
and knew the people concerned. A full proposal was drawn up by Professor
Charlesworth but, to the best of our knowledge, he has never received a
response.
Currently there is a huge steel structure, like a Dutch barn, erected over
Rosslyn to help the stonework dry out slowly, after mistakes by earlier
restorers resulted in many years where the stonework absorbed too much
water. The team of engineers involved with this ongoing restoration work
cannot have failed to notice that the structure could not sustain further
building and they must have reported the impossibility of the 'collegiate
church' theory to the trustees. Yet at the time of writing this incorrect infor-
mation is still fed to unsuspecting visitors.

PROVING T H E MASONIC CONNECTIONS

We have recently been able to present new evidence that demonstrates a

Masonic connection that cannot be reasonably denied by even the most
doubting person.
On the south wall of the building, to the side of a window, is a small
carving depicting two figures that have undergone amazingly rapid deteri-
oration. When we first noticed the imagery in this piece of stonework back
in 1997, it was in relatively good condition with defined features, but now
some of the sandstone has crumbled across the surface. That a carving should
last for more than five centuries and then start to return to sand in less than
five years is worrying for the chapel as a whole. However, a stone carving
showing a horned figure lifting a wrapped object from the ground, just
inches away, has gone completely. It seems to us that the more that modern
restorers interfere with this carefully constructed monument, the more it
suffers.

67
 T H E U G H I OF SECRE'I KNOWLEDGE

Thankfully, all of the stonework was photographed some years ago and
the imagery is recorded for posterity. The small sandstone scene that trans-
fixed us when we first saw it contains a kneeling male figure with another
man standing behind and slightly to the right of him. The circumstances
shown demonstrate that the builders of this Jerusalem Temple in Scotland
were acquainted with a ritual that Freemasons recognise as the degree of
,111 Entered Apprentice, the rite that makes a man into a Freemason. Here
for the first time we have evidence, carved in a tablet of stone, that
Freemasonry started in fifteenth-century Scotland.
Today, when a candidate is initiated into the Craft he is prepared by
being hoodwinked (blindfolded) and dressed in loose-fitting white
trousers and top. One foot is in a simple slipper (so called slipshod), the
l ight leg is exposed to the knee, and the left breast of the tunic is drawn
aside so that the chest is bared on that side. He is also relieved of all
metal objects, especially coins, before he is led into the temple with a
noose called a 'cable tow' around his neck. There he will kneel in the
east in front of the two pillars of Boaz and Jachin that once stood at
the entrance to the Jerusalem Temple. As he kneels his feet are placed
in the form of a square.
The front figure in the tableau on the south wall of Rosslyn appears as
lollows:

He is young and unbearded with short hair.

Fie is kneeling.
There are two pillars, one to each side of him.
Fie is wearing a blindfold.
I le has a noose around his neck.
His feet are in the form of a square.
In his left hand he is holding a book-like object with a Cross engraved
on it, which appears to be a Bible.

The man behind has shoulder-length hair, a full beard, and is holding
I lie end of the noose. Looking closely at the statue in 1997 the faint out
line of what appeared to be a cross was still visible on his chest. His pres
cntation corresponds to that of a Knight Templar.
But our first concern was to investigate the apparent connection between
litis mid-fifteenth-century carving and modern Freemasonry. To do this we
used statistical analysis, a subject that Robert teaches at Bradford University

63
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

School of Management, to test the suggestion that the appearance of this

little statue was nothing more than coincidence.'
Robert's calculations showed that it is unscientific to accept a theory
that assumes no connection between Rosslyn and modern Freemasonry,
such as the view adopted by certain historians connected with the United
Grand Lodge of England. Equally it has to be concluded that any theory
that finds a connection between the two is at least entirely reasonable in
this aspect. What this statistical calculation does not tell us, however, is
what that connection might be.

CONCLUSIONS

Rosslyn Chapel lies a few miles to the south of Edinburgh. It was built
between 1440 and 1490 by William St Clair of Roslin as a copy of the
ruined Jerusalem Temple built by King Herod, using stone identical to the
original Temple. The west wall is Herodian in its architectural style and its
end stones are carved to look like broken parts of a ruin.
Our explanation of the purpose of the west wall is still being ignored,
we believe because of a fear to publicly accept that our analysis of the
building is correct, and hence to give credence to our further claim that
the so-called chapel is a sanctuary for vitally important scrolls from
Jerusalem at the time of Christ.
In 1997 we arranged for specialists in the field of non-invasive under-
ground investigations to come to Rosslyn from Cambridge University and
the Colorado School of Mines. With just a week to go to the agreed date
the trustees cancelled the investigation and access was not allowed.

3 The technique we used attempts to prove a null hypothesis, which means trying to demon-
strate that there cannot be any link between the two subjects in question, which are this
carving and the first degree ritual of modern Freemasonry.
We gave a weighting to all of the factors involved and assumed, in every case, the highest
possible probability against any connection. For instance a probability needed to be placed
on the likelihood of any statue of a person from this period including a blindfold. Cases of
blindfolded figures in statues of the period are very rare indeed, and a figure of one in a thou-
sand would have been reasonable. However, to give the maximum weight to the non-connection
we gave this a rating of 5 0 % . This is equivalent to assuming that every second medieval stone
carving of a human being should show the person blindfolded. AH of the other factors were
given the maximum benefit of any doubt - i.e. this assumes that one in two statues have
kneeling figures, nooses around their necks, twin pillars either side of them, and so on. In
this way the null hypothesis, that there is no connection between the features of modern
Freemasonic ritual and the statue at Rosslyn, is given the best possible chance of succeeding.
The results are conclusive. Even when we give the highest possible chance to the negative
view, the calculation shows there is a 0 . 0 0 7 8 % chance that this carving at Rosslyn and the
initiation degree of modern Freemasonry are unconnected. That is less than one chance in a
thousand. The null hypothesis can be rejected with 9 9 . 9 % confidence and so does not stand.

64
 I I I I I IGI IT OF SECRET K N O W I liDCI

On the south wall of the building is a small carving which demonstrates

that the builders of this 'Jerusalem Temple' in Scotland knew a ritual that
modern Freemasons recognise as the rite that makes a man a Freemason.
Rosslyn and Freemasonry are also linked via the heads of the St Clair family
who became the hereditary Grand iVlaster Masons of Scotland.
With proof of a Masonic connection we decided that our next task
should be a more detailed investigation into the imagery in Rosslyn and
the background of the family that created it - the St Clairs.
 Chapter Four

THE NORSE
CONNECTION

T H E HOLY SHINING LIGHT

The building now known as Rosslyn 'Chapel' was begun in 1441 and
finished around 1490. The inspiration behind it was a powerful nobleman
by the name of William St Clair of Roslin, whose family later became the
hereditary Grand Master Masons of Scotland. The importance of William
St Clair and his family is shown by the fact that even King James VI failed
in his attempt in the year 1601 to take this title for himself.1
The building itself is covered with carvings which are a curious mixture
of Old Testament, Celtic and Norse imagery. J h e 'g r e en man' believed to
be from Celtic tradition is manifested as a face, spouting vegetation from
his open mouth, who peers out of the winding foliage that snakes around
the interior. Moses appears holding the tablets of stone and sporting a won-
derful pair of horns on his head. In the central section of the building, in
the east there is a fantastically carved area with a ceiling that depicts
medieval people playing instruments. Leading to each of these musicians is
an arched string of individually designed cubes, which many people sus-
pect are some kind of unknown musical notation. It seems that if only we
could read them, we would be able to play the music of Rosslyn.
We had put forward the argument that the families that founded the
order of the Knights Templar were themselves descendants of the high

' Stevenson, David: The Origins of Freemasonry, Cambridge University Press, 1988

66
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

priesthood of the Jews who left for Europe after the destruction of Jerusalem
and its Temple in 70 CE. Indeed, as we have already mentioned, we were
subsequently able to confirm that Masonic ritual states that the Knights
l emplar were descended from the builder-priests who constructed Solomon's
Temple.
So we understood the motivation for Jewish imagery, but why, we won
dered, did the builder also merge Celtic and Norse traditions with the
(ewish, whilst virtually ignoring the Christian tradition which was the sole
inspiration for all similar structures across Europe at the time? The answer
was not far away.
We looked at the history of the family that produced William St Clair
of Roslin and found that they appear to have merged the Jewish blood
lines with Norse bloodlines. On the male side they were descended from
the Norse line of Rognvald, Earl of More (pronounced Moray), and from
hereditary priests of the Jewish Temple via Gizelle, the daughter of the king
of France, a matter we will return to.
Karl Rognvald ruled More, the part of Norway around the present city
ol Trondheim. The family was given Orkney and Shetland by King Harold,
uitl Rognvald's brother Sigurd the Powerful ruled the Islands as Rognvald's
regent. 2 Rognvald's son Hrolf invaded France and took control of
Normandy early in the eighth century.3 In 912 CE, at a village on the River
I ptc, he signed a peace treaty with King Charles the Simple of France that
was later known as the Treaty of St-Clair-sur-Epte. It was at this time that
II roll More and his cousins decided to take the name St Clair and estab
lished themselves as dukes of Normandy. To seal the bargain Hrolf mar
i led Gizelle, the daughter of King Charles.4 The name St Clair can he
M,ned back to a family member who called himself Guillermus de Santa
( lair - which translated into English means 'William of the Holy Shining
Eight'/
A member of this newly established French branch of the More family,
William 'the Seemly' St Clair, left Normandy in 1057 to join the Fmglish
< ourt of Princess Margaret, granddaughter of Edmund Ironsides and a first
i niisitt to Edward the Confessor. When his cousin, William of Normandy,
conquered England in 1066 William the Seemly St Clair escorted Princess

I' ll, nil, II 8c Edwards, P (ed): The Orkneyinga Saga, Penguin Classics, 1981
1 I hompson, WPL: History of Orkney, The Mercat Press, 1987
' Willlicr-Murphy, T 8c Hopkins, M: Rosslyn, Element, 1999
I >i Si Clair, I.: Histoire Genealogique de la Famille de Saint Clair, Paris, 1905

67
I HE BOOK OF El I RAM

Margaret to exile in Hungary, where King Stephen of Hungary gave her a

fragment of the 'True Cross' as part of her dowry for her marriage to King
Malcolm Canmore of Scotland. When the bridal party finally arrived in
Scotland King Malcolm gave William lands where the castle of Roslin now
stands.
It was King Malcolm who later made William's son Henri the first Earl
of Roslin when the younger St Clair returned from Jerusalem after taking
part in the First Crusade with the nine knights who went on to found the
Order of the Knights Templar.6
In The Second Messiah we pointed out that the name Roslin means in
Scots Gaelic 'ancient knowledge passed down the generations'. This trans-
lation was kindly confirmed for us by Gaelic speakers from the Scottish
Poetry Library. It follows that the full title of Henri de St Clair of Roslin
would translate into English as:

Henry of the Holy Shining Light of Ancient Knowledge passed

down the Generations.

At the time this seemed a very peculiar designation for anyone to choose,
but it was soon to make perfect sense.
We recalled our meetings with one of the trustees of the Rosslyn Chapel
Trust, Baron St Clair Bonde, who was a direct descendant of William
Sinclair and a Scandinavian aristocrat. We had visited his beautiful stately-
home in Fife with Professor Philip Davies to discuss various aspects of our
research around the time we published our first two books. Baron Bonde
had shown us his family tree tracing his mother's line back to William,
who built Rosslyn, and then he told us that through his father's line he
was a descendant of the Norse god Thor. At first we did not think he was
serious, but he insisted that that was genuinely what the ancient tradition
said.
So our friend Sinclair Bonde was living confirmation of the merging of
the Jewish and Norse traditions, both of which had been so elegantly woven
together into the design of Rosslyn Chapel. Upon checking we found that
it was traditional for Norse nobles to consider themselves descended from
one or other of the main gods when they became Jarls (Norwegian lords).
As rulers they were considered to be married to the goddess Freyja. A little

6 De St Clair, L: Histoire Genealogique de la Famille de Saint Clair

6S
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

digging into the history of the More region of Norway and its key city of
Trondheim told us that there was a temple to Freyja in the city until around
1000 CE, when it was destroyed by Olaf Tryggvason as part of the series
ill battles that resulted in Rognvald becoming Jarl of Orkney.
This was of great interest because, according to Norse mythology, Freyja
i was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility, who was represented by the
I planet Venus. She was also closely associated with death and birth as well
as gold and the rose flower. As we pointed out in Uriel's Machine, the five-
petailed rose is an ancient symbol of Venus, as is the five-pointed star.
The possible connections to Grooved Ware belief and to Freemasonry
were intriguing. Our next task was clear: we needed to check out Norse
religious beliefs and see what, if anything, we could discover about the
beliefs of Sir William's Norse ancestors in the late 900s CE.

T H E NORSE QUEEN OF HEAVEN

An insight into the religion and culture of the Norsemen comes from the
establishment of Iceland. The Vikings did not found many permanent set-
tlements, but modern scholarship has learned a great deal thanks to the
creation of an independent colony on the uninhabited island of Iceland,
which lasted until the island came under direct Norwegian rule in the thir-
teenth century. When writing came in with Christianity in the eleventh cen-
tury the Icelanders immediately recorded all they could about their
.el i lenient and early history. Those who set up the government and law
system of Iceland were whole-hearted supporters of the old religion of the
northern gods, and this has provided a unique opportunity to observe how
i hey went about it and where their priorities lay.7
In 1178 CE a literary genius was born in Iceland. His name is Snorri
Smrluson and he became concerned that the Christian innovation of writing
Wii'l destroying the verbal poetic traditions of Iceland's Viking past. The
Vikings loved puns and riddles, which they used in various formal forms
ul poetry, in particular in Eddie and Skaldic poetic forms and in a com-
I >li' x system of allegory known as kennings, which are metaphors that
demand a great deal of background knowledge from the reader if they are
f In be understood. Many Viking poems seem to be in the form of a riddle
I puzzle statement which the writers set, for the reader to solve. Snorri

* I'lllk Davidson, HE: The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe, Routledge, 1993

69
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

Sturluson wrote a handbook on how to use these Viking poetic structures

and he called it The Prose Edda}
Professor Hilda Ellis Davidson drew attention to one very important fea-
ture of Eddie poetry:

Eddie poems are not always narrative poems, since a number

consist of questions and answers exchanged between two supernatural
beings; such compositions must have been popular in the Viking
Age among those skilled in lore about the gods and their
world . . . The mythological poems of the Edda of the question
and answer type name many places out of this world where cosmic
events have taken place or will take place at the end of time, as
well as obscure characters who may be minor gods or giants or
supernatural animals who have played some part in these events or
will do in the future.9

This use of a catechism style of ritual was very familiar to us from the ear-
liest Scottish rituals of Freemasonry (which can be seen on the Web of
Hiram). It seemed to us that the source of inspiration when constructing
his Masonic ritual could well be the poetic traditions of the Norse ances-
tors of the St Clair family who were the Jarls (or Earls) of Orkney. The
very last Jarl of Orkney was William St Clair, the builder of Rosslyn.
Skaldic poems use syllibies, (a form of internally rhyming couplet or
phrase), alliteration, internal rhyme and consonance, making it impossible
to translate their complex form into other languages. The translator's choice
is between keeping the sense or keeping the beauty of the original spoken
language. Scholars have long recognised the difficulty of translating any
poetic material with religious connotations, as Professor Evans-Pritchard,
Professor of Social Anthropology at Oxford University, points out:

Statements about a people's religious beliefs must always be treated

with the greatest caution, for we are dealing with what neither
participant can directly observe, with conceptions, images, words
which require for understanding a thorough knowledge of people's
language and also an awareness of the entire system of ideas of

s Sturluson, Snorri: The Prose Edda, translated Jean L Young, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1954
9 Ellis Davidson, HE: The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe

70
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

which any particular belief is part, for it may be meaningless when

divorced from the set of beliefs and practices to which it belongs.10

Language was an additional problem, as neither of us speaks Norse, so

we could not hope to read the originals, but we were fortunate to find
good translations, by Edward Turville-Petre.11
The use of kennings within the poems, hiding their meaning in a con-
text of deep Norse myth, often made the writings obscure, until we gained
sufficient background knowledge to grasp their use of allegory. Kevin
Crossley-Holland, another translator of these myths into modern English,
said this about his approach to kennings:

The greatest pertinence of the scaldic poems lies in the countless

kennings, or condensed metaphors, that comprise part of their
diction. Many of the kennings are rooted in myths with which the
poem's original audience was clearly familiar. So, for instance, three
of the kennings for gold are 'Freyja's tears', 'Sif's hair' and 'Aegir's
fire'. This is because Freyja wept tears of gold; because when the
goddess Sif's hair was cropped by Loki, it was replaced by spun
gold; and because the sea god Aegir's hall was illuminated only by
gold that shone like fire. Many of the kennings, then, endorse those
that have survived and give us tantalising glimpses of those that
have not.n

We already knew, from research carried out for Uriel's Machine, that
the Roman historian Tacitus had written in the Germania that the tribes
of north Scandinavia chose their leaders for their valour and noble birth,
and added that any man who could claim divine descent made a powerful
contender. Armed with this knowledge, Hyndla's Poem made sense when
we read it.
In this story the goddess Freyja disguises Ottar, her human lover, as a
golden boar and takes him to meet the giantess Hyndla, who has drunk
the 'beer of memory' and so can remember the parentage of everyone in
the world. Hyndla recognises the boar as Ottar, son of Instein, and makes
sexual puns at Freyja's expense, accusing her of 'riding her lover on the
'* ,W||,IW. Ifcf"V1" I

, 1 0 Evans-Pritchard EE: Theories of Primitive Religion, Oxford University Press, 1965

11 Turville-Petre, EOG: Scaldic Poetry, Oxford University Press, 1976
1 2 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling, Andre Deutsch, 1980

71
THE BOOK OF HIRAM ^ ( X ^ ^ V v

road to Valhalla'. Freyja denies that 'she has had her lover, beneath her on
the road', but Hyndla later taunts her again about her disguised lover,
saying that 'many another has wormed his way under your apron. My
noble goddess, you leap around at night like a she-goat cavorting with a
herd of billy-goats.' 13
The point of this story is_ that Ottar is in contention with another war-
rior, Angantyr, for leadership of his people. Freyja persuades Hyndla to
recite Ottar's lineage, during which the giantess passes a comment about
the child sacrifice, saying that long, long ago the young sons of Jormunrek
were given to the gods in sacrifice.
Freyja tricks Hyndla into proving that Ottar is descended from the gods,
by playing on the giantess's love of gossip and desire to show off her exten-
sive knowledge of who has had children by whom. Once Hyndla has pro-
vided the information which shows Ottar is descended from the gods, Freyja .
admits that Ottar set out to become her lover as part of his quest to become
leader of his people. She says that 'Ottar raised an altar to me. He built
up stones and reddened the altar again and again with the blood of oxen.'
She ends her speech by proudly asserting that Ottar, who has just been
proved worthy of kingship because of his divine descent, always puts his
faith in goddesses. The chief of the Norse gods is Odin, who is often called
the Allfather. He lives in Asgard, the home of the gods. Sturluson says of
him that he is the highest and oldest of the gods. He rules all things, and
no matter how mighty the other gods may be they serve him as children
do their father. He created heaven and earth and sky and all that is in
them. 14
Odin has but a single eye, and wears a wide-brimmed hat with a blue
cloak to avoid being recognised, a description that seems to associate him
with the characteristics of the Sun. He rules over the hall of Valhalla, where
heroes, after a valiant death in battle, go to feast for ever and ever. Odin
has children by various goddesses, but it is his coupling with the goddess
who rules Earth that gave birth to the god Thor, from whom Baron St
Clair Bonde claims symbolic descent as a Swedish noble. Excluding Odin,
the Allfather, there are twelve other gods, who form a council beneath
Odin, and each is paired at various times with one of thirteen goddesses,
making sure that there is always a goddess left over to satisfy Odin. Odin

13Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling

14Sturluson, Snorri: Helmskringla, Parts 1 & 2 translated by Samuel Laing, Everyman Library,
1961-4

72
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

with his single eye, blue cloak, and the cloud-like wide-brimmed hat he
can pull down to hide his eye, is represented by the Sun.
One of Odin's other names is the Lord of the Gallows, a name he derives
from his decision to experience death and learn the secrets of the grave.
He has himself nailed to the great tree of Yggdrasil, saying:

I hung from the windswept tree, hung there nine long nights; I was.
pierced with a spear; I was an offering to Odin, myself to myself}5

The tale ends with this explanation:

These are the word of Odin before there were men. These were his
words, after his death, when he rose again.16

We were struck by the obvious parallels to the myth of Jesus Christ

Crossley-Holland says of this story:

Odin learns from wise giants, he learns from seeresses whom he

raises from the dead and from hanged men; and in this myth Odin
makes the supreme sacrifice. He dies so as to win the occult
wisdom possessed only by the dead, and rises again to use that
wisdom in the world of the living . . . It is known that worship
of Odin and other related gods involved human sacrifice. The
eleventh-century historian Adam of Bremen records that he saw
many human bodies hanging in the sacrificial grove at Uppsala
near the temple that housed idols of Odin, Thor and Treyja . . .
The parallels between Odin's death and Christ's crucifixion are
striking: both die voluntarily; Odin is pierced with a spear and so
is Christ; Odin alludes to the lack of a reviving drink, and Christ is
given vinegar; Odin screeches or shrieks before he dies, and Christ
cries out 'in a loud voice'} 7

The obvious question is whether the Norse story of Odin was influenced
by the Christian story. After much consideration Crossley-Holland dismisses
the possibility of Christian influence. He points out that the Norse did not

15 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling

16 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling
17 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling

73
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

convert to Christianity until 1000 CE and every element of the Norse myth
can be explained as part of a pagan tradition that long pre-dates any pos-
sible Christian influence.
The mother of Thor is also known by other names, such as Freyja and
Frigg. We were interested to see that Professor Ellis Davidson likened these
aspects of the goddess to names we already recognised as representing
Venus.

The two main goddesses of Asgard indeed suggest two aspects of

the same divinity; and this is paralleled by the two-fold aspect of
the fertility goddess in the Near East, appearing as mother and as
lover. Sometimes both roles may be combined in the person of one
goddess, but it is more usual for the different aspects to be personified
under different names. It is even possible to recognise a triad of
goddesses such as Asherah, Astarte and Anat.n

We knew these three names to be different aspects of the planet Venus from
our study of Phoenician gods, which will be discussed in more detail later.
Ellis Davidson goes even further in this linking, when she says:

The literary sources also tend to give the impression of one

supreme and powerful goddess who might be regarded as wife or
mistress of her worshipper. If he were king, her cult would become
part of the state religion, and she would receive official worship as
part of the state religion along with the leading gods. In
Scandinavian tradition the main goddess appears to be Freyja . . .
but there is also Frigg, wife of Odin and therefore known as the
Queen of Heaven . . . although sometimes it is Freyja who is
paired off with Odin.19

So now we knew that the Norse worshipped a Queen of Heaven, who

is linked with goddesses we also knew to be thought of as the planet Venus.
We searched further to see if there were any more details about this Queen
of Heaven and quickly found that there were. A kenning is included in
Hyndla's Poem which gave a clear connection to the Venus goddess of the
Phoenicians, Baalat-Gerbal. This goddess was often depicted wearing a
18 Ellis Davidson, H: The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe
19 Ellis Davidson, H: The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe

74
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

headdress of two horns, like those of a cow or sometimes as a stag. There

is a very good reason for this, because the shape that the planet Venus
sketches out in the sky around the rising and setting Sun, when plotted
against the backdrop of the zodiac, is the shape of a pair of horns.20

i The Horns of Venus. The that Venus traces around the rising Sun when it is
a morning star. When it moves to an evening star it traces the mirror image
of this eastern path, in the west. It is this pattern which encouraged many
ancient peoples to link Venus with horns.
W A R M
Returning to Hyndla's Poem, as Freyja approaches the gate of Odin's
hall she startles a horned stag which is grazing in the gateway. As the
horned path of Venus disappears with the rising of the Sun, so does the
horned stag flee from the place where Odin is to be found by the goddess.
This is interesting but, as most kennings do, it leaves as much scope for
misinterpretation as a broadsheet crossword puzzle clue. Then we found a
very early myth that was much clearer.
Early in the history of the world, Odin fought a war with another group
of gods and the walls of Asgard were destroyed. The story begins when a
travelling mason arrives at Asgard and offers to rebuild its shattered walls,
if the gods will give him three things in return. These are the Sun, the Moon
and the goddess Freyja. Freyja is described as being clothed in raiment so
bright that only Odin can look directly at her. The gods agree to the deal,
but insist the work must be started on the day of the winter solstice and be

20 Schultz, J : Movements and Rhythms of the Stars, Floris Books, 1987

75
I III! BOOK OF H I R A M

complete by the day of the summer solstice (the two feast days of St John
celebrated by Masonry and preserved in its ritual as the symbolic days for
the initiation degree and the second degree of 'passing'). Three days before
the summer solstice the mason has almost completed the circle of 'well cut
and well laid stone, a sturdy wall high and strong enough to keep any unwel-
come visitor at bay'. The gods despair that there will be no light left in the
sky with the Sun, the Moon and {he goddess Freyja, the three brightest objects
in the heavens, all taken. But the day is saved when the god Loki tricks the
mason into revealing that he is really a giant in disguise. Thor kills him with
his hammer as the giant mason shouts 'Tricked by a gang of gods and a
brothel of goddess!'21 We well knew which are the three brightest objects in
the heavens. In order of brightness they are the Sun, the Moon and the planet
Venus, or the goddess Freyja as the planet was known to the Norse.
Next we found that the temples to Freyja were considered so important
| | | J w ,_, , M

to the Jarls who built them that their political power could be destroyed
by sacking these buildings. When Olaf Tryggvason wanted to overthrow
Jarl Haakon of Heligoland, who was for a while the de facto king of
Norway in the late tenth century CE, he did it by breaking down the image
of Freyja from the temple, built by the More family to honour the god-
dess, where Haakon worshipped. This temple was near Trondheim, in the
lands of the Jarls of More. And as we knew, Sir William's ancestors, from
whom he inherited his Jarldom of Orkney, were Jarls of More.
We found one further detail about the Norse temples that struck us as
very Masonic: they incorporated pillars. This was recorded in the excavation
report of the eighth-century temple of Freyja, in Trondheim, when it was dis-
covered under the floor of a medieval church dedicated to the virgin Mary.22
A typical use of these temple pillars is described in the Eyrbyggja Saga, which
tells how the Viking Thorolf decides to migrate to Iceland and needs to choose
a landing place to come ashore. Kevin Crossley-Holland translates:

Thorolf threw over board the high-seat pillars from the temple -
the figure of Thor was carved on one of them - and declared that
he'd settle at any spot in Iceland where Thor chose to send the
pillars ashore.23

21 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling

22 Liden, K: 'From Pagan Sanctuary to Christian Church: the Excavation of Maere Church,
Trondelag', Norwegian Archeological Review, 2, 2 3 - 3 2 , Oslo, 1969
2 3 Crossley-Holland, K: The Norse Myths, a Retelling
 THE NORSE C O N N E C ! I O N

Could it be that the beliefs of the Grooved Ware People had survived
in northwestern Europe through the periods ascribed to the Celts and on
to the Norse people who have never lost their contact with northern
Scotland? If we can sustain our belief that the Jews were also recipients of
the same traditions, we were now looking at a reunification of two arms
of the same original Venus cult that had broken apart more than four antf
remerged some three and a half thousand
vears later under the guidance of the St Clairs - the family who called
themselves The Holy Shining Light. Could this title be a reference to the
planet Venus which was so important to both groups?
We were later to find that we were only partly right. The 'Holy Shining
Light' was something even more remarkable.
Our investigation into the beliefs of William St Clair's Norse ancestors
had uncovered several basic Norse beliefs. Here are the most important
ones:

1 The sons of their kings claimed to be the sons of their gods.

2 When a man became king he also became the consort of the goddess.

3 There was a council of twelve god/goddess pairs who assisted an

Allfather god/goddess to rule.

4 The three brightest objects in the sky, the Sun, the Moon and Venus,
represented the three most important gods.

5 They believed in the power of sacred rocks and sacred trees.

6 They had a set of apocalyptic beliefs.

7 Their Venus goddess preserved youth.

8 Their Venus goddess encouraged sexual licence at her festivals.

9 They worshipped a promiscuous male god, famed for the size and power
of his penis * v * t r * f t p V | Y o d i

10 They had a father god who hung on a tree for eight days in order to

77
I I I I: 15UUK. U l ' I 11 R A M

die so that he might know what death was like for ordinary mortals.
Eight days after his death the Allfather resurrected himself.

As we will show, Norse theology has remarkable similarities to that of

the Phoenicians, and the wearing of horns, long attributed to the Vikings,
appears to have been derived from a symbol of a common backdrop of
Venus worship to the Norse and to Old Testament prophets prior to the
involvement of the Church. Only after the Middle Ages did horns become
associated with evil in general and the Devil in particular.

FREEMASONRY'S FIRST TEMPLE

We have shown that the carving of the candidate at Rosslyn indicates a

direct connection with modern Freemasonry. Sir William St Clair, the builder
of Rosslyn, and his family had been aware of ancient rituals and, either
immediately or over time, they must have begun to form the structure for
the organisation we know as Freemasonry.
The year 1736 is important to Scottish Freemasonry because it was then
that the Scottish lodges decided to elect a Grand Lodge to administer them.
They decided that they would have to go back to their traditional loyalty,
recorded in the St Clair charters of 1601 and 1628 which stated that the
heads of the St Clair family were hereditary Grand Master Masons of
Scotland from time immemorial.24 The then head of the family was another
Sir William Sinclair of Roslin who was automatically their Grand Master
because he was a direct male-line descendant of the Sir William St Clair
who had built Rosslyn Chapel.
The only snag with this plan of forming a Grand Lodge of Scotland
under the hereditary mastership of this Sir William Sinclair was that he
was not a Freemason. Before he could become Grand Master Mason of
Scotland he had to be initiated and progressed through the minimum five
degrees which are part of the Craft in Scotland. Once appointed, his very
first act was to renounce and resign in writing his hereditary rights of
patronage and institute the system of election of officers of the new Grand
Lodge, which still protects the rights and privileges of Scottish Freemasons
to this day.25 The author of Gould's History of Freemasonry observed:

24 Lomas, R: The Invisible College

25 Knight, C &C Lomas, R: The Second Messiah

78
 Tl ll: NORSE C O N N E C T I O N

the opportune resignation of William St Clair was calculated to

give the whole affair a sort of legality which was wanting in the
institution of the Grand Lodge of England.16

In building up our picture of the St Clair family and early Freemasonry

we have drawn on the earliest Masonic rituals of Scotland, collected over
a number of years spent visiting Scottish lodges and speaking to old Masons
who, as we have mentioned, often gave us copies of very early rituals
which are no longer in use. Using this knowledge of the whole sweep of
Freemasonic ritual, which we have incorporated into the document we call
The Masonic Testament, we were beginning to uncover a comprehensive
myth underlying the rituals. It tells a great sweeping story, which in many
places seems to be parallel to that told in the Bible, but doesn't stop at
the time of Jesus, continuing almost to the present day. It tells how Masons
were selected by God to share the knowledge of science and use it for
human good, how they were told the secrets of building a good society,
and how they used these secrets to create great Temples and Orders of
men devoted to the understanding of God, Tolerance and Science.
We now knew that the moral stories of the battles fought by the Masons
to promote Love, Charity and Truth despite persecution and hostility con-
tinue until the eighteenth century, when they culminate in the destruction
of the Order of the Knights of St John of Malta, under the Grand Mastership
of Ferdinand von Hompesch, by Napoleon, at which point the story ceases.
One of the key motifs of this story is the building of Solomon's Temple,
and it is this pivotal event we decided to look at next.

CONCLUSIONS

The founding of the St Clair family in France during the first half of the
eleventh century combined Jewish and Norse bloodlines. It is for this reason
that William St Clair later built Rosslyn with the imagery and motifs from
both traditions, which share a belief in the central importance of Venus.
We already suspected that Sir William St Clair had founded the organ-
isation we now call Freemasonry using rituals that had come to him through
his family and from the scrolls found under the Jerusalem Temple. It now
seems that the Norse religion was an entirely complementary component
to the concepts that came from the Jewish sources.

16 Gould's History of Freemasonry, Caxton, 1902

79
 C h a p t e r Five

T H E T E M P L E OF
SOLOMON

THE ENOCHIAN ARTEFACTS

There is no known archaeological evidence of King Solomon's Temple,

which legend says was built in Jerusalem nearly three thousand years ago.
Despite this, it remains a major icon in the minds of men, as it was the
first stone temple built to the storm god Yahweh, who later became the
one and only true God (with a capital 'G') for millions of people across
the globe.
Both the Old Testament and the Masonic Testament tell us that Solomon
was king of Israel in the tenth century BCE, born the second son of David
to his wife Bathsheba. Jewish and Muslim literature later describe Solomon
as the wisest of all sages, gifted with the power to control the spirits of
the invisible world.1 I le is also traditionally regarded as a great author with
a prodigious output, having many works ascribed to him. These are the
biblical Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Wisdom of
Solomon, and the later Psalms of Solomon and Odes of Solomon. However,
scholars now believe that several were written many centuries later, and
the Odes are possibly over a thousand years more recent than the great
king.
The Bible tells us that Solomon succeeded David (despite the claims of
Adonijah, his older half-brother) and then divided Israel into twelve

1 Rappoport, AS: Myths and Legends of Ancient Israel, Senate, 1995

80
 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

districts for purposes of taxation and extended his territory from the river
Euphrates to the land of the Philistines and on to the border of Egypt. He
is said to have enslaved the Canaanites who remained in the land and
formed an alliance with Hiram, king of Tyre, who effectively designed and
built the Temple for Solomon. However, these alliances provoked discon
tent, since they led to the establishment of foreign religious cults in
Jerusalem.
According to the biblical legend Solomon was forced to levy punitive
taxes to pay Hiram's regular annual charges, and Israel's productivity was
only just enough to pay for the king's ambitious building programme, which
included a large palace and harem quarters as well as the much smaller
Temple. According to Josephus, Hiram paid out over three tons of his own
gold in advance for the building work but eventually wrote the debt off as
unrecoverable.2
The Masonic Testament tells us a great deal more about the subject of
Solomon and his Temple than the Bible. We are told that Hiram king of
Tyre sent Hiram Abif as the chief architect of the Temple, and the main
theme of the ritual is connected with the assassination of this master builder
and the subsequent loss of secrets of initiation that he apparently possessed
and died to protect. These secrets appear to have been something akin to
a magical incantation, and their loss prevented some great process from
ever happening again. In their place are substituted secrets which, pre-
sumably, would not have the occult effect of the originals.
The ritual states that Solomon first selected a place near Jerusalem for
the proposed temple, but as the workmen cleared the ground they found
the ruins of an ancient temple that Solomon assumed must have been to
some unwanted god. Not wishing to use a desecrated spot, he changed the
location of his new temple to Mount Moriah. Later he realised the site he
had rejected was that of Enoch's temple.
Next we are told that Solomon king of Israel, Hiram king of Tyre and
Hiram Abif were the three Grand Masters who understood that if Israel
deviated from the laws of Moses and the Prophets their enemies would
sack their cities and all of the sacred treasures contained in the Sanctum
Sanctorum (or Holy of Holies) would be taken. To prevent this potential
disaster they built a secret underground passageway that led from King
Solomon's private apartment to a vault directly below the Sanctum

2 Whiston, W (ed. and trans.): The Works of flavins Josephus, William P Nimmo, 1895

81
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

Sanctorum. This Secret Vault was divided into nine arches or crypts, the
last of which was used to hold all the holy vessels and sacred treasures
that would eventually be placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum. This chamber
was also used by the three Grand Masters to meet in secret and was the
place where the ritual of the Degree of Master Mason was originally con-
ducted. The passage concerned begins: [Masonic Testament: 7:4]

King Solomon builded a secret vault, the approach to which was

through eight other vaults, all under ground, and to which a long
and narrow passage led from the palace. The ninth arch or vault
was immediately under the Holy of Holies of the Temple. In that
apartment King Solomon held his private conferences with King
Hiram and Hiram Abif.

The murder of Hiram Abif must have been a major blow, because we
are next told that the two kings stopped using the secret vault after the
architect's death: [Masonic Testament 7:15]

After the death of Hiram Abif the two kings ceased to visit it,
resolving not to do so until they should select one to fill his place;
and that, until that time, they would make known the sacred name
to no one.

This was changed following a major discovery by three workmen.

Solomon had decided to erect a Temple of Justice on the site where the
ruins of Enoch's temple stood, the spot he previously rejected for the Temple
of Yahweh. After the workmen removed the fallen columns and cleared
away the rubbish, a survey of the ground was conducted prior to laying
the foundations of the courthouse. At this point they discovered a hollow
sound from a stone, and upon lifting it they could see a secret subterranean
vault, which the ritual says was built by Enoch. When the men lowered
themselves into the chamber they found treasures consisting of a golden
delta inlaid in a cube of agate, a mysterious name and the fragments of a
pillar containing the secrets of the arts and science of the world. These
were taken to Solomon, who decided that they should be placed in the
sacred vault of the ninth apartment of the secret chamber in his new Temple:
[Masonic Testament 7:17]

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 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

After Adoniram, Joabert and Stolkin had discovered the cube of

agate and the mysterious name, and had delivered it to King
Solomon, the two kings determined to deposit it in the secret vault,
permit the three Masters who discovered it to be present, make
known to them the true pronunciation of the ineffable word,
constitute the last degree of Ancient Craft Masonry, and term it
Grand Elect Mason.

To us this sounds like a story that was invented in early Jewish history
to post-rationalise how the Jews had become holders of secrets from extreme
antiquity. They found the information that had once belonged to another
people symbolised by the Enochian temple, and transferred it to the hub
of their own culture - directly beneath the chamber containing their new
God.
It is now widely accepted that the Old Testament was created around
the sixth century BCE, when wise men and scribes combed through the vast
amount of oral traditions to form a single story-line back to the Creation.
This myth tells of a great transition from a period dominated by rural
nomads through to a time of great cities and warrior princes. It seems to
be trying to make sense of what folk memory preserved of the shift from
the Old Stone Age culture of hunting and herding wanderers to the Bronze
and Iron Ages when more powerful weapons of warfare became available.
But could this story be an attempt to explain how the secrets of building
and astronomy had been transmitted from the Grooved Ware People to
their own culture? We knew from the evidence of the Book of Enoch that
Enoch was believed to have travelled north to be trained in these subjects,
and the secret knowledge he brought back was written down in that book
around 250 BCE.
Freemasonic ritual claims that there was a secret and select group that
maintained a secret knowledge of building and astronomy based on the
knowledge of the movements of the bright morning star of Venus over the
millennia. If the story was a complete fiction why should it fit the facts so
well? How could the St Clairs, or anyone else, have dreamed up rituals
that nobody understands but yet perfectly describe circumstances thousands
of years ago?
The Book of Enoch was lost, and not recovered until the late eighteenth
century - after these Masonic rituals were in circulation. So the ancient
figure of Enoch is associated with the transmission of secret information

83
Till; BOOK OF H I R A M

from some time before history began to the new world being constructed
in the Middle East. We were also interested to find out that the Arab people
also remember Enoch in the Koran as a holder of great knowledge, calling
him Idris, meaning teacher (from the root drs). They identify his last place
on Earth as a village near Baghdad called 'Sayyid Idris', and today Muslims
still pay homage to him on Sundays and particularly Easter Sunday.

THE VENUS ALIGNMENT OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

The earliest traces of human settlement of the city of Jerusalem, where

Solomon built his Temple, are ascribed to the late Chalcolithic Period (when
copper was first used) and the Early Bronze Age - which puts them at
around 3000 BCE. The first known form of name for the city was Urushalim
- 'uru', meaning 'founded by', and the suffix 'salem' or 'Shalem', which is
the name of the Canaanite god of Venus in its evening setting. This evi-
dence has been confirmed by archaeology, as tablets found in Elba, Syria,
dating back to 3000 BCE make reference to the god Shalem, who was ven-
erated in a city called Urushalim. ,
' So the very name of Jerusalem effectively means the place dedicated to
Venus in its evening setting - but Solomon's Temple was facing in the oppo-
site direction, towards Venus rising in its role as Morning Star. Our
researches had told us that the Grooved Ware People had viewed Venus at
both ends of the day, and the association with horns appears to be a com-
bination of the observation of both events. The Canaanite goddess Asherah
(the Lady of the Sea) had twin sons: Shalim, who was Venus at dusk, and
Shachar, who was Venus at dawn. \
The original inhabitants of Jerusalem were Canaanites called Jebusites,
and their city was tiny at the time even two thousand years after its earli-
est inhabitation. The Bible tells us how David seized it as his new capital,
and archaeological evidence from that period suggests that it covered an
area just 550 yards from north to south and 70 yards from east to west
(see map). This small settlement was located outside and to the south of
the present 'Old City Wall' on the western side of the Kidron Valley, and
excavations have revealed a substantial town wall just above the Gihon
Spring. The site that Solomon chose for the Temple was, at that time, some
three hundred yards north of the city on a high point facing east across to
the Mount of Olives.
According to Masonic ritual the finished temple has three special

84
 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

elements: a Porch, a Dormer, and a Square pavement. We were told that

the Porch was the entrance to the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Holy of Holies
where the Ark of the Covenant was kept; the dormer, or overhead window,
allowed light to enter; and a square, or checkerboard pavement, was for
the High Priest to walk upon.
What particularly caught our attention was the reference to a dormer,
which we have also seen itemised in reconstructions of the building pro-
duced by scholars. In the strict sense of the word a dormer is a roof-light
or other opening to allow light to enter a room where somebody sleeps.
As only the high priest was ever allowed into the Holy of Holies, and then
only once a year, the dormer in the eastern facing wall of King Solomons

W-
VQ
f M
Temple could have had only one objective: letting light into God, the only
resident of the building.
In The Hiram Key we had reasoned that Jesus Christ had taken his fol
lowers to the Garden of Gethsemane
11,11 1 for very good reason immediately
' "
before his arrest by the Romans:
I C O

. . . this was no arbitary choice - Gethsemane was a deliberate and

b preordained
Gethsemane
place to change the course of history. The Garden
is just three hundred and fifty yards away from,
directly in front of, the eastern gate of the Temple - the
of
and
'righteous'
gateway. As Jesus prayed he may have been high enough to see
across the valley the two physical pillars that he represented in the
building of the new Jerusalem and the coming 'kingdom of God'}

We had come to the view that Jesus had selected this particular spot oppo -
site the Gate of Righteousness, which was the main gate, to launch his mis-
sion to establish himself as King of the Jews. And Venus was rising just
before dawn on that day. We knew that the Book of Ezekiel (43:4) said of
this location:

And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the
gate whose prospect is toward the east . . .

\ Was the light of Venus considered to be the 'glory of God'? ?

But there was a problem of alignment. The Garden of Gethsemane is

3 Knight, C 8c Lomas, R: The Hiram Key, Arrow, 1997

85
I HE BOOK OE H I R A M

east of this gate on the Mount of Olives, but the Dome of the Rock, the
Muslim building that now stands on what is thought to be the site of
the Jewish Temple, is offset to the south. The alignment of the gate
and the assumed position of the dormer window are not quite correct -
unless the Temple was a little further north.
Because the Romans did such a good job of flattening the building,
nothing is known about the exact location of Solomon's Temple and its
two subsequent rebuilds under Zerubbabel and Herod. The third incarna-
tion (which is often confusingly referred to as the Second Temple), built
by Herod the Great two thousand years ago, totally reconstructed the site,
although some of the underground cisterns may have been re-used. The
ambitious King Herod more than doubled the size of Temple Mount to
approximately thirty-six acres.
The only surviving part of the Temple complex from Herod's period
which experts claim to be certain about is the partial line of the enclosure
wall which is reasonably preserved on the south, west and east sides,
although the eastern wall appears to have survived holding its original line.
Most people assume that the 'Dome of the Rock' was built over the exact
site of the 'holy of holies' in the seventh century CE. Jews and Christians
alike take it that the centre of Solomon's Temple is beneath that dome. But
as we revisited what we knew about Solomon's Temple we found that there
are three different theories about where the Temple stood on Jerusalem's
Temple Mount. And one of these theories particularly excited us.
Dr Asher Kaufman, a Hebrew University physicist, who has spent years
studying Temple Mount, places the Temple site some 280 feet northwest
of the generally assumed position. He first published his theory in the early
1970s after studying every scrap of the available evidence, including the
records of the British army team, under Lieutenant Warren, who conducted
extensive excavations in the 1860s. Kaufman concluded that the site of the
Temple was at the northwest corner of the Mount. For reasons totally
unconnected to our thesis he determined that the east-west line aligned the
Mount of Olives with the Eastern Gate and the Temple!
This line exactly bisects at the site of a small cupola which has bedrock
inside. This is the only bedrock to break the surface on the entire Temple
Mount, and the rest of the area around the Dome of the Rock is paved.
He believes that this ignored lump of rock jutting out of the flat surface
is none other than the foundation stone of the world, called by the Jews
'Even Shetiyyah'. This famous stone was said to protrude inside the

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 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

ancient Holy of Holies, the most sacred place on Earth for Jews.
The Mishneh Torah by Maimonides quotes Jewish Talmudic writings
from the times before the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. Eyewitnesses
declare that 'the Temple Courtyard was not situated directly in the centre
of the Mount. Rather, it was set off farther from the southern wall of the
Temple Mount than from the wall of any other direction. The reason for
this was said to give worshippers room to gather after they entered from
the southern gate. Maimonides continues to quote sources insisting
that the Temple was situated directly opposite the Eastern Gate, placing it
in the northern part of the Mount:

'These five gates were placed in a straight line' from the Eastern
Gate into the entrance hall of the Holy of Holies. These gates were
as follows 'the Eastern gate, the gate of Chayl, the gate of the
Women's Courtyard, the gate of Nicanor and the gate of the
entrance hall. So if the temple was built on flat ground, one would
have been able to see through all the gates at once'}

If you were to stand on the hillside across the valley to the east (placing
you in the Garden of Gethsemane lower down or on the Mount of Olives
if higher up), your view as you look due west gives a straight line over the
Eastern Gate into the area north of the Dome of the Rock. If you pro-
jected a laser beam forward it would cut right through the Eastern Gate
(if it was not now walled up) and travel on through the centre of the cupola
known as the 'Dome of the Spirits' or the 'Dome of the Tablets'. Arabic-
titles often preserve original place names, and we thought these titles seem
highly reminiscent of the Divine Presence that accompanied the Ark and
the tablets of the law stored within it which once rested inside the Holy
of Holies. We felt that the presence of this line makes a compelling argu-
ment to confirm the importance of an astronomical alignment for the siting
of all three Temples. As we will show, this insight turned out to be of vital
importance later in our quest.
We only recently became aware of Dr Kaufman's work and, as far as
we know, he is unaware of our claim that the orientation of the Temple
was directly linked to the rising of Venus in the east.
In Uriel's Machine we showed how the modern Masonic temple is

4 Mishneh Torah, Commentary Halachah 5 and 6

87
I H E BOOK OF H I R A M

designed along the same astronomical lines as the Jerusalem Temple, with
the free-standing eastward pillars of Boaz and Jachin marking the extrem-
ities of the rising Sun at the summer solstice in the north and the winter
solstice in the south. On the equinoxes the Sun rose between the two in a
position due east, and on certain dates the planet Venus rose as a bright
star ahead of the Sun to shine directly through the dormer of the Temple.
The layout of every Masonic Temple is said to be a model of Solomon's
Temple, and today every Master Mason is raised from his temporary 'death'
by the pre-dawn light of the rising Venus at a symbolic equinox.
We also noted that the New Testament places Jesus' arrest, crucifixion
and claimed resurrection around the Jewish festival of the Passover, which
commemorates Moses leading the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and
their safe flight across the Red Sea. The celebration of the feast begins after
sunset on the 14th day of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish ecclesias-
tical year, which is the time of the vernal equinox. So, according to tradi-
tion, Jesus was conceived and resurrected at the equinox that falls in spring.
The tradition of this Jewish festival has been carried on in the dating of
the Christian moveable feast of Easter, whose date is defined as the first
Sunday following the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
The dormer in Solomon's Temple appeared to us to operate exactly like
the lightbox at Newgrange. It allows the Sun in, but actually its more
important role was to admit the light of Venus.
To try to understand the Solomonic tradition better we decided to inves-
tigate the Phoenicians.

HIRAM THE MASTER BUILDER

The so-called 'promised land' that Moses and Joshua led the Hebrews into
was the land of Canaan, which means the stretch of land some three hun-
dred miles long and fifty miles wide that spans from south of the Dead Sea
up to the southern parts of the country that is now Lebanon. The inhab-
itants of this region were generically known as Canaanites, but their land
was made up of a whole series of city states. Their cities were somewhat
similar in organisation to the later Greek city states whose citizens con-
sidered themselves to be Athenians, Trojans, Spartans or Corinthians.
The people of the more prosperous Canaanite seafaring city states on the
more northerly Mediterranean coast became known to the outside world as
Phoenicians. The word is Greek and alludes to the Tyrian purple dye that

88
 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

these Eastern Canaanites extracted from molluscs and supplied for use in
the manufacture of regal robes. These Phoenicians, literally meaning 'purple
people', came to see themselves as different, and superior to other Canaanites.
But they had the same early influences and held broadly similar theological
beliefs to the people of the inland city states such as the Jebusites (the orig
inal inhabitants of Jerusalem). All of the population of this land were there-
fore Canaanites, but other terms such as Jebusite or Phoenician described
more clearly which part of Canaan the individual was from.
The Phoenician locality of Canaan was a narrow strip of territory about
two hundred miles long that reached inland between five to fifteen miles
and was bounded to the east by the Lebanon Mountains. Although they
considered themselves a single nation the Phoenicians were not a unified
state but a group of city-kingdoms where one usually dominated the others.
The principal cities were Simyra, Zarephath (Sarafand), Byblos, Jubeil,
Arwad (Rouad), Acco (Akko), Sidon (3ayda), Tripolis (Tripoli), Tyre ("ur),
and Berytus (Beirut). The cities of Tyre and Sidon tended to alternate as
the ruling power. From about 1800 BCE, when Egypt was beginning to build
an empire in the Middle East, the Egyptians invaded and took control of
Phoenicia for around four hundred years. The raids of the Hittites against
Egypt gave the Phoenician cities an opportunity to rebel, and by 1100 BCE
they became free once more.
Like all Canaanites, each Phoenician city worshipped a favourite deity,
usually known as Baal (meaning 'lord'). But the most important Phoenician
deity was Astarte or Ashtar, the goddess associated directly with Venus.
According to both the Old Testament and Freemasonic ritual, Solomon
was unable to build his Temple with his own designers and so enlisted the
help of Hiram, the Phoenician king of Tyre, and his master builder, also
called Hiram. The ritual says that the arches leading under the 'Holy of
Holies' were constructed by twenty-two men, skilled in the arts and sci-
ences, who came from the northern Phoenician city of Byblos. So we can
be certain that King Solomon's Temple was built by Canaanites who were
known to worship Venus.
We decided we needed to find out more about this Phoenician king and
the cities his people lived in.
The Book of Samuel (2 Sam. 5: 11) explains how Hiram, king of Tyre,
offered to supply Solomon's father, King David, with cedar wood, carpen-
ters and stonemasons, and even built him a house as a sample of the type
of workmanship the Phoenicians could offer for hire. David must have been

89
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

grateful for the help, as he was hoping to turn his small, newly conquered
Jebusite town into a fit home for Yahweh, his new God. But he never got
around to building the Temple, leaving the task to Solomon.
According to 1 Kings 5:2-6, the first thing Solomon did after he became
king was to write to King Hiram requesting that the Phoenician should
prepare a workforce. The next verse suggests that Hiram was an astute
businessman who knew how to make his customers feel good about placing
an order with him. The Phoenician responded by saying: ^Blessed is the
Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son.' He thanked the
Jewish Baaj (Yahweh) and flattered Solomon for having the wisdom to give
Hiram the business, for the entire planned building programme was a seri-
ously sizeable contract.
In an unusual way of handling a major contract, Solomon seems to have
given Hiram an open cheque and no upper limit on price. Hiram wrote
back by return messenger, asking for large quantities of wheat and olive
oil for each year the contract was to run, apparently omitting to mention
a completion date.
Archaeological work at Gebal shows that the Phoenicians built large
stone houses in the Bronze Age and later developed a model for public
buildings, in a style known as Bit-hileni. A characteristic of this type of
building is a large outer courtyard surrounded on three sides by rooms
which are entered through a central audience hall. But if the style was used
to build a temple the outer courtyard would have a purely decorative func-
tion. It did, however, lead to a single central door that opened into a holy-
place. As one expert comments:

'There was another detail of the great building [Solomon's Templej

which, like the division of the rooms, was typical of Phoenician
architecture: the pillars of Boaz and Jachin, which towered skywards
in the outer courtyard on the left and right of the entrance to
the temple. Similar designs were found in Canaanitish temples.
Herodotus tells us, for instance, that the temple of Melqart at Tyre
also had two pillars of the same kind, 'one of pure gold, the other
of emerald which shone brilliantly at night'. Besides which, bases of
similar pillars have been found in a temple of Baal in Cyprus and in
various Palestinian towns such as Samaria, Megiddo and Hazor.5

5 Herm, Gerhard: The Phoenicians, Victor Gollancz, 1975

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 11ItT E M P L E OL SOLOMON

The Phoenicians were famous businessmen, exporting and trading in

anything that would make them a profit, and they had a colony for mining
copper on Cyprus, where a two-pillared temple of Baal was excavated. The
Bible is full of praise for Hiram's builders, who prepared timber and stones
in advance before assembling Solomon's building on site without using any
iron tool. 6 The implication is that the Phoenicians were skilled at making
precise measurements and prefabricating large elements of buildings. The
first-century historian Josephus was obviously aware of a tradition of
impressive standards of workmanship, as he wrote that slabs had been cut
so smoothly that 'the onlooker could see no trace of hammer or other
tools'.
We were surprised when we learned more about the achievements of
Hiram of Tyre. The Masonic ritual tells us very little about him, and to
most modern Masons Hiram king of Tyre is only thought of as a sup-
porting player in the ritual performances. But as we researched the archae-
ological literature about Phoenicia we began to realise that Hiram was a
builder of huge historical importance.
It was a Roman Catholic priest, Father Antoine Poidebard, who first
located the now sunken remains of Hiram's amazing harbour when he car-
ried out an aerial survey of Lebanon by hot air balloon in 1925. 7 Hiram's
brilliant idea was to transfer the core of his city from the coast out into
the sea, which was an immense and inspired undertaking, using all the
experience of his engineers.
At the beginning of Hiram's reign the main port of Tyre stood on the
mainland, but this builder king realised that an island lying six hundred
metres from the shore would form a highly defensible stronghold and also
provide a fully integrated docking system for his fleet. The site he chose
was composed of two flat, partly submerged rocky ledges. According to
historian Gerhard Herrn, construction must have kept thousands of men
busy for years, since the rubble and boulders used as filling material were
brought over from the mainland. Herm describes the structure further:

The whole enterprise was based on an extensive, carefully worked

out plan. To the north of the man-made island the so-called inner
or Sidonian harbour was made, by filling in and excavation, and to
the south the outer or Egyptian harbour, by building quays and
6 1 Kings 5 and 6
7 Renfrew, Colin: Archaeology: Theories, Methods and Practice, Thames and Hudson, 1996

91
T H E BOOK OF 111 RAM

jetties. Over the smaller, neu/ly won island - it lay to the east of
the larger reef and therefore nearer to the coast - Hiram had a vast
and handsome civic building erected, which was later called by the
Greek name Eugehoros. The determined ruler seems to have pulled
down most of the older buildings and re-used the material for this.
The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus says: 'He [Hiram] also went
and felled timber in the mountains which are called Lebanon for
the roofs of the temple, and tore down the old temples and erected
new ones to Heracles [Melqart] and Astarte [Venus].'
Tyre's reputation for being not only one of the strongest but also
one of the most beautiful metropolises of the ancient world dated
back to this time. It was hardly surprising, since Hiram employed
descendants of the architects who had once built Mycenaean royal
castles and the Cretan villa palaces. The then inhabitants of Tyre
called their town Sor, which means 'rocks' in the Phoenician
language. The present-day inhabitants also call it by the same name
in Arabic: Sur. Both are right: Tyre was a town on the cliff, an
artificially made stronghold in the sea.
If one is looking for a symbol of what Phoenicia would be from
now on, one might well choose the town built by Hiram.s

The problem of supplying the man-made island with water was also
solved with breathtaking ingenuity. There were no springs to spurt fresh
water from the rock that Hiram chose for his foundations, and when the
site was excavated the archaeologists assumed that the city must have
depended on rainwater cisterns to supply drinking water for the city, if ever
it was under siege. But they were wrong: Hiram was a far more sophisti-
cated engineer than that. Using breath-holding divers, the Phoenicians
located freshwater springs gushing out of the seabed and affixed funnels
where they entered the salt water. The drinking water was driven upwards
by the pressure of the outflowing spring and the water fed through a net-
work of leather pipes to where it was needed. Amazingly, the Greek geog-
rapher Strabo recorded how the system continued to work almost nine
hundred years later. Hiram's civil engineering projects were built to last.
So now we knew that Hiram, king of Tyre, was a serious builder and
a superb engineer. We felt that his important place in Masonic ritual is well

8 Herm, Gerhard: The Phoenicians

92
 11 It TEMPLE OL S O L O M O N

earned. But what could we discover about the religious beliefs he held,
beliefs that Masonic ritual told us persuaded him to worship a different

c Sfclnfc, Dif MAIAt)

' irii^ni m i im lBimimiBi- i i._

v COM /
HIRAM, THE SON OF VENUS

The finding of inscriptions on the coffins of King Ahiram of Byblos and

his royal descendants opened a new window into the nature of kingship in
the Phoenician sea towns of 3,000 years ago. The royal tombs, excavated
by Pierre Montet, all contained detailed inscriptions, written in the
Canaanite linear alphabet.9 These finds prompted further searches, and in
1923 a French expedition discovered the stone coffin of Hiram, king of
Tyre. The huge sarcophagus contained a Phoenician inscription around the
edge of the lid written in a linear alphabet, revealing another line of devel-
opment from the earlier Canaanite Semitic alphabet used at Ras Shamra. 10
When the Phoenician royal tomb inscriptions were deciphered they told
the story, previously unknown, of a line of kings who regarded themselves
as the earthly representatives of gods. These kings took names which
reflected their relationship to the gods. Ithobaal, Abibaal, Yehimilk, Elibaal
and Shipitbaal all left their last messages to posterity couched in pharaoh
like terms. The inscriptions also tell of their close relationship with jfcalat
Gebal, who, as we now knew, was the goddess who manifested as the>
planet Venus.

This is the temple wall which Shipitbaal, King of Byblos, son of

Abibaal, King of Byblos, son of Yehimilk, King of Byblos, had
built for Baalat-Gebal, his lady.

This is typical of the tone of the inscriptions which describe the king as
the consort of Baalat-Gebal (Venus). The Phoenicians of Tyre, Sidon,
Aradus, Byblos and Ugarit worshipped a trinity of gods consisting of EL
the father god, his wife Baalat (also known as Asherat and Astarte [or
Venus]) and their son Baal^ the Lord (also known as Adon, Adoni -
Graecized as Adonis - Melqart or Eshmun).
El was the mightiest of the three gods, and he was represented by the

9 Montet, P: Byblos et VEgypte, Paris, 1928

10Hackwell, W John: Signs, Letters, Words. Archaeology Discovers Writing, Charles Scribner's
Sons, New York, 1987

93
I III IK)UK OF H I R A M

Sun and its light. He would see and punish all evil deeds. His only human
attribute was his infidelity to his wife, Venus. He was fond of impregnating
any human female who took his fancy, and to do so he would disguise
himself as a passing stranger. In order to make sure he was able to satisfy
his desires El imposed a religious duty on all Phoenician woman to make
themselves sexually available to passing strangers at his wife's temples during
certain periods of the year, particularly around the spring and autumn
equinoxes. This aspect of Phoenician belief was no doubt a boost for their
tourist trade, but it has always troubled judgmental Christian theologians,
as the following quote shows:

There is a still graver charge to be brought against the religion of

ancient Palestine. It was not merely indifferent to the claims of
simple ethics, it even condoned and authorised direct violations of
the moral law. Sexual irregularity was condemned by the common
feeling of the western Semites, but sacramental fornication was a
regular feature of the religious life, clearly appearing at other times
as well as the spring and autumn festivals. Indeed, it may well have
been that this vice was practically confined to the 'high places'.
And the great festivals, especially that of the autumn, seem to have
been times of riotous licence, when free rein was given to human
passions.11

This was an ongoing tradition. The Greek satirist Lucian, writing in

around 120 BCE, tells how the women of Byblos carried out 'secret rites'
in the Temple of Baalat:

The women of Byblos beat their breasts, cried and wailed, and
then when they have finished wailing and weeping, sacrifice to^
Adonis, as to one who has departed this life. Then they announce
that he lives again, set up his image in the open air. They then
begin to shave their heads, like the Egyptians when they mourned
the death of Apis. Those women, however, who refuse to have their
heads shaved have to undergo the following punishment: for a
whole day they have to be prepared to sell their bodies. Only

11 Oesterley, W O E & Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origin and Development, SPCK,
1952

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 11 I t TEMPLE OL S O L O M O N

strangers are allowed access to the place where this takes place. An
offering to Baalat is bought with the money derived from the
traffic with these women. 12

Baalat was the long-suffering wife of El and the mother of Baal. 11

I lerodotus, writing in 460 BCE, also tells of a similar practice carried out
in the Temple of Astarte in Babylon:

The following is the most shameful practice in Babylon. Every

woman born in the country must sit in the temple of Astarte and
associate once in her life with a strange man . . . They sit with a
wreath of braids round their head in the holy precinct. There are
many women, some coming, some going away. Straight paths are
made between them in every direction, along which the strangers
can walk to make their choice. When a woman sits there, she may
not go home until one of the strangers has thrown money in her
lap and associated with her outside the holy place . . . But when
she has given herself, she has fulfilled her holy duty to the godless
and returns home, and however much she is offered thereafter, she
is not to be won. All those who are beautiful and well-made
quickly return home, but the ugly ones have to wait a long time,
until they can satisfy the custom, many having to wait for three to
four years.14

These temple prostitutes were called Hierodules, meaning the holy ser
vants who worked in the temples. Gerhard Herm says of these practices:

We have no way to conceive of liturgies which pertained to sex;

which saw the working of godly powers in generation and
conception. We know too much about the pure mechanics of sexual
intercourse to be able to see the process of copulation as a mystery.
Yet the ancients seem to have been in complete control of this act.
'If it has such importance in the life of individuals, why should it
not be declared a sacred public institutioni' they may have argued.

12 Lucian: Dialogues of the Gods, Penguin Classics, 1960

13 When Lucian uses the term Adonis, a Greek word meaning 'Lord', he is referring to the
Phoenician word adon which means Baal.
1 4 Herodotus: Histories, Wordsworth Classics of World Literature, 1996

95
 THE BOOK OF 111 RAM

And in so doing they must have avoided and forestalled much

difficulty and misplaced prudery and spared themselves at any rate
the elaborate uncertainty which can give rise, as in our case, to a
whole literature. "
It remains to say that temple prostitution and the public offering
of virginity occurred in all eastern temples between the
Mediterranean and the Indus valley. Hierodules even worked in
the older Jewish churches, where they were called Kedeshim, \

It seems honour was satisfied all around. El indulged his wicked ways
with all the women of the lands he ruled, so he got to know all his wom-
enfolk, but they charged him for his pleasure, donating the money earned
to placate his deceived wife. The symbol of the phallus certainly figured
large in the Phoenician religion, as this poem to El tells:

El's penis grew as long as the sea,

Yea, El's penis as the ocean.
El took the two inflamed ones.
And lo, the two wives cried out
'O husband! Husband! Lowered is your staff,
Drooping the rod in your hand!'
He stooped: their lips he kissed.
Oh, how sweet were their lips,
As sweet as pomegranate;
From kissing came conception,
From embracing, impregnation.

We couldn't help remembering the Norse god Odin, who was also promis-
cuous and famed for the potency of his penis. There seemed to be many
similarities with the Norse belief that the son of a king was born a descen-
dant of the goddess and when he became king he also became the consort
of the goddess. Could these two concepts of kingship have a common
origin? How much similarity was there between the Phoenician and Norse
pantheons? We made a mental note to return to this question when we had
researched the Phoenician gods more fully.

15 Herm, Gerhard: The Phoenicians

96
 IHI: TEMPLE OF S O L O M O N

The poem that prompted this thought was found as part of the Phoenician
literature discovered at the ancient city of Ugarit.16 Of particular interest
to us were the references to the two wives of El, referring to the morning
and evening appearances of Venus, and also the allusions to pomegranates
We knew that these fruits were closely associated with lovemaking at iIn- 1
time, and we were beginning to suspect that it is no coincidence that
Solomons Temple was liberally decorated with images of this sexual fruit.
El's wife Baalat, the 'Queen of Heaven' and 'Queen of the Sea', was an
adviser at the council of the gods. Like her husband El, she could only be
approached via lesser gods, and the most suitable lesser god was the king,
the earthly consort of Baalat. As her consort he was able to intercede with
her on behalf of his people and through her gain the ear of the Almighty
El. People would pray to Baalat, who was referred to as 'our dear lady',
to ensure good harvests, the safe birth of children and long life for them-
selves. She was the mother of the heavens and also the earth-mother who
could satisfy people's need for security and warmth.
Baalat had a son, Baal-Adon-Eshmun-Melqart, who is perhaps the most
interesting figure in ancient Phoenician mythology, because he alone
amongst the gods is not immortal. Once every year at the autumn equinox
he dies and is resurrected at the following vernal equinox. This is obvi-
ously a manifestation of the yearly fertility cycle celebrated by many early
cultures, yet there was an added strangeness about his destiny. In the late
summer, when the harvest was collected, the young god died so that he
could return to life on Earth with the new sprouting seeds the following
spring. But although this idea started with something primitive and earthy,
Baal's story led to a rich development and later to abstraction, which finally
left nothing but the idea of a god who suffered death as a sacrifice for
mankind. Gerhard observes:

It was probably the most influential of all non-Jewish mythological

concepts in the east and doubtless also prepared the ground for the
later flowering of the story of Christ's death and resurrection.

To follow this analogy through, we can see how great the similarity is
between the Venus goddess, Baalat, and the virgin Mary, as both are bailee
as the mother of a resurrected saviour god.

16 Man, John: Alpha Beta, How Our Alphabet Shaped the Western World, Headline, 2 0 0 0

97
I llli BOOK. Oh H I R A M

By the time the Phoenician city states flowered again after their period
of Egyptian dominance, Baal was their special favourite. His image was
developed with the most fantastic features, including the physical endow-
ments of a great and potent lover, and he came to be represented in
many other guises. Indeed, he finally almost entirely superseded his father
El - who is sometimes fused into one being with him. 17 He was wor-
shipped as Baal-Shamim, the lord of the heavens, Baal-Lebanon, the lord
of the mountain, Cul Baal-Rosh, the lord of the promontory, and as
Melqart in Tyre, where he also gradually took on the status of a Sun
god.
This mortal son of Venus was represented on Earth by the Phoenician
kings. And when a king was made he was promoted from 'Son of Venus'
to earthly 'consort of our lad^'. Inscriptions in the royal tombs of Byblos
and Tyre speak of this sacred relationship:

This is the statue which Abibaal, King of Byblos, son of Yehimilk,

King of Byblos, had brought from Egypt for Baalat, his lady.

This is the temple, which Yehimilk, King of Byblos, built for his
lady. May Baalat-Gebal and may the whole council of gods
prolong his life.

Hiram was a strong king of Tyre, and like every other Canaanite king,
he was a living but mortal god. But this knowledge made us pose another
question. How did Solomon hope to become a king/god without the estab-
lished theological structure of Temples and High Priests/Priestesses that the
Canaanite kings enjoyed? After a detailed discussion we were forced to the
conclusion that Solomon was probably not just buying buildings from
Hiram, king of Tyre, when he commissioned the Temple of Yahweh, hut
he was also trying to buy the means of making himself a king of great
standing who would match in stature the Canaanite rulers with their link
to their gods. We believe he wanted to become the divinely appointed
earthly representative of his new God, Yahweh.
We can understand that Solomon had no tradition of his own to give
him the knowledge of how to build a temple that was properly constructed

1 7 This is highly reminiscent of the way Christians fuse the resurrected Jesus with God, and

dissolve the two into a single entity, presumably to maintain the deification of the man who
was Jesus Christ whilst still satisfying the later Jewish tradition that there is only one god.

98
 11 It TEMPLE OL S O L O M O N

to interface with the heavens and the gods therein. However, .we were
perplexed that these Venus-worshipping Phoenicians were allowed to build
God's house when we knew that only priests of Yahweh were ever allowed
to even touch the stones that were destined for the Temple. According to
Jewish tradition the priests of Yahweh had existed from the time of Moses,
several hundred years earlier. Why, we wondered, were they not the
builders?
Perhaps, we thought, the official history of the Jews as recorded in the
Old Testament has been constructed to inflate the role of Yahweh and post-
rationalise the idea of their monotheism. Could it be that Solomon was
himself involved in rituals concerning Venus, and his relationship with the
cult of Yahweh was not as strong as we are led to believe?

CONCLUSIONS

Our database of Freemasonic ritual describes in detail a series of tunnels

and chambers secretly constructed under King Solomon's Temple which
have no counterpart in the Bible. The ritual claims to know a great deal
about the subterranean layout of the Jerusalem Temple which may be mean-
ingless invention, but some of these inventions we found to be remarkably
accurate.
Masonic tradition credits important sacred knowledge to the Jews, as
their property, inherited from the Patriarch Enoch rather than simply bought
from the Jebusites or the Phoenicians. All this ancient lost knowledge is
stored directly under the chamber where God resides, making Yahweh the
guardian of the knowledge of the ancients. We believe this idea to have an
authentic ancient Judaic feel to it.
Archaeology tells us that the City of Jerusalem, its Jebusite name meaning
'Foundation of Venus in its evening setting', was established circa 3000
BCE, which is contemporary with the Hebrew dating of Enoch. The ritual
claims that Solomon discovered the ruins of an Enochian temple dating
from the foundation of Jerusalem.
We discovered that Hiram, king of Tyre, was far better suited than King
Solomon to be an early Grand iMaster of Freemasonry, and his engineering
and building skills earned him his key place in Masonic ritual.
Hiram, like previous kings of Tyre, practised a form of Venus worship,
which involved sexual rituals at solstices and equinoxes, particularly when
Venus rose before the Sun. As king he was considered to be a living but

99
T i l t KOUK Ul IIIKAM

mortal god. We concluded that Solomon was not just buying buildings from
the king of Tyre, but really buying the secrets and apparatus for making
himself a king in the manner of the Phoenicians.

100
 C h a p t e r Six

THE MARITIME
CONNECTIONS

WHATEVER HAPPENED T O T H E GROOVED WARE

PEOPLE?

All of the evidence we had was pointing to some kind of connection between
the beliefs of the early Canaanites (the forerunners of the Phoenicians ami
the Jebusites) three thousand years ago and the Grooved Ware People some
five thousand years ago. These Solar- and Venusian-based beliefs were then
passed onto the Jews. We decided that we needed to investigate the possi-
bility in more detail by studying what is known of the origins of the
Canaanites and of their seafaring coastal-dwelling cities whose inhabitants
history has named the Phoenicians. But first we needed to consider the rel
atively sudden ending of the Grooved Ware culture in and around the British
Isles.
The people who built the megalithic structures of the British Isles sud-
denly abandoned their sacred places and just seemed to disappear during
the first half of the third millennium BCE. The archaeology of their sites
shows periods of hundreds of years before the then derelict sites were reoc-
cupied by a culture known as the Beaker Folk, again because of their dis-
tinctive pottery.1
Unless the Grooved Ware People were completely wiped out by some
disaster or disease, we have to assume that they took their culture to some
other location where it could have continued to develop. There are no

1 Eogan, G: Knoivth and the Passage Tombs of Ireland, Thames and Hudson, 1986

101
1 III bUUK. Ul IIIKAM

remains of their sailing vessels, but from the wide extent of their trading
of distinctive stone tools and pottery which has survived in the archaeo-
logical record, many prehistorians have commented on their obvious skills
as sailors. We can be confident that they travelled large distances, prob-
ably by sticking close to the coastline. 2 The thought that they might be
connected to other civilisations who possessed building skills caused us to
reconsider the Sumerian people who are said to have suddenly appeared
as a fully formed civilisation in what is now Iraq at a similar time to the
building of Newgrange and Enoch's visit.
Sir Leonard Woolley, the archaeologist who excavated the site of the city
of Ur, where according to biblical legend Abraham was born, wrote a book
detailing his findings entitled Ur of the Chaldees, Seven Years of Excavation,
in which he said:

The history of Ur goes hack far beyond the Flood into those dim
days when the Euphrates Valley, at least at its lower end, was still
a great marsh through which the waters of the two rivers made
their sluggish way to the sea. Gradually, as the streams brought
down more and more silt from the north, the marsh land began to
shrink, 'the waters were gathered together into one place, and the
dry land appeared,' and from the uplands of Arabia or from the
higher reaches of the middle Euphrates settlers drifted down to
occupy such islands as gave a chance for men to live and cultivate
the earth, that rich alluvial soil which as soon as it was free from
the ivater would 'bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the
fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself}

Woolley was the first archaeologist to comment on the abrupt changes

that occurred in Mesopotamia during the fourth millennium BCE. He wrote
about excavating layers of crude and frail mud huts which comprised the
solid mud mound, but he goes on to talk about the new people that arrived:

People of a new race made their way into the valley, coming
whence we do not know, and settled down side by side with the
old inhabitants. These were the Sumerians.

2 Wickham-Jones, CR: Scotland's First Settlers

3 Woolley, Sir Leonard: Ur of the Chaldees, Pelican, 1929

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 lilt M A K l 1 1 M b U U N N I : t . I IUIN.S

The Sumerians believed that they came into the country with their
civilisation already formed, bringing with them the knowledge of
agriculture, of working in metal, of the art of writing - 'since
then,' said they, 'no new inventions have been made' - and if, as
our excavations seem to show, there is a good deal of truth in that
tradition, then it was not in the Euphrates valley that the arts were
born, and though it is not likely to have been the Indus valley
either, later research may well discover some site where the ancestors
of our Sumerians developed the first real civilisation of which we
have any knowledge.4

It is accepted by mainstream archaeology that the Sumerians arrived as

a fully formed civilisation from somewhere distant. The question is from
where did they come?
Lord Renfrew, the distinguished professor of archaeology from
Cambridge, has dated their arrival as occurring between 3500 and 3000
BCE. 5 This is precisely the time when the Grooved Ware culture was at its
height and major sites such as Newgrange and Maes Howe were being con
strutted. It has often been the case throughout history that cultures that
are at their zenith travel, trade and colonise new lands. Could that have
happened here?
As we have already mentioned, the Grooved Ware civilisation developed
a wide-ranging trade in stone tools. They had at least three major facto-
ries involved in the mass production of stone axes which were then traded
over most of the British Isles and the coastal areas of nearby Europe. The
factories were at Mount's Bay, Cornwall, Penmaenmawr, North Wales, and
Great Langdale in Cumbria. The woodcutter's axes that these people mass-
manufactured, which have survived in large enough quantities for their dis-
tribution to be plotted in the archaeological record, were an essential tool
which made possible the spread of farming and a resultant increase in food
surpluses and economic wealth.6
This wealth in turn led to a vast building programme of ritual and astro-
nomically aligned buildings around the coasts of Britain, involving such
magnificent structures as Maes Howe in Orkney, Newgrange in Ireland,
and Bryn Celli Ddu in North Wales.

4 Woolley, Sir Leonard: Ur of the Chaldees

5 Renfrew, Colin: Before Civilisation
6 Dyer, J: Ancient Britain, Routledge, 1997

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I I11 HOOK OF H I R A M

Archaeologist Dr Euan Mackie considered what was happening in this

society and talked in terms of applying an evolutionary understanding of
how this society developed. He said:

Not least of the advantages of this Darwinian approach to

prehistoric cultural revolution is that it specifies what is likely to
have happened in terms familiar to students of living societies.
Instead of undefined cultural processes or influences, or open-ended
assumptions about local inventiveness or capacities for exchanging
ideas, we have a picture of an evolution of a specific institution -
professional priesthood in this case - and of the physical movement
of some of its members to new territories together with their
special knowledge and skills. These energetic newcomers and their
hybrid descendants would create out of local resources and
imported ideas a vigorous new theocratical culture, which in
favourable circumstances, would develop from small beginnings
to something quite elaborate.7

In Uriel's Machine we drew attention to the construction of an early

megalithic stone circle at Nabta, in southern Egypt, at a latitude where the
sun stands directly overhead at the summer solstice, a location which could
have been religiously significant for this 'professional priesthood'.8 The
timing of this does not only coincide with the establishment of a small
Mediterranean-side trading village at Byblos, on the Canaan coast; it also
occurred when the manufacture and trade of stone tools on the west coasts
of Europe was growing rapidly, suggesting it was a period when trading
was seen as a very useful and desirable activity.
A later influx of newcomers, whom we will discuss more fully later in
the book, came from the North Sea coast, to the area which would even-
tually become Canaan. This wave of trading influence coincided with a
surge in copper production, based around one of the old axe factories in
North Wales. Between 2400 and 500 BCE the copper mine at Great Orme
Head, Llandudno, produced many thousands of tonnes of copper, making
it one of the major sources of copper metal, throughout the British Bronze
Age.9 The copper produced was widely traded.

7 Mackie, E: The Megalithic Builders

8 Knight, C & Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science
9 O'Brien, W: Bronze Age Copper Mining in Britain and Ireland, Shire Archaeology, 1996

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The people who dug the copper were trading over great distances, and
on long voyages they would set up temporary sites in order to grow crops
and replenish their supplies. These settlements sometimes grew into villages
and ports in their own right. In this way we suspected they had come to
influence the developing cultures of the Middle East. We do not think that
vast numbers of people migrated from western Europe to the Middle East,
but to create influences would have only required relatively small numbers
of skilled traders and their astronomer priests. After all, a lot of the British
cultural heritage of the United States grew from the ideas of the Pilgrim
Fathers, who sailed on the Mayflower. They formed a small part of the
population of Britain, but their influence on US culture has been immense
over time. We envisaged a similar type of trading process, setting up small
trading villages and promoting Grooved Ware ideas as a mechanism for
seeding some of the changes that occurred in Sumer and Egypt.
The Norwegian historian and explorer Thor Heyerdahl was fascinated
by the possible origins for an influx of innovative people who came from
a mysterious land they called 'Dilmun' to sail up the Persian Gulf and found
the Sumerian civilisation. In The Ra Expeditions he said about the event:

The Sumerians do not have to come back to give witness to their

origins. Their words are still with us. They left their written
testimony. Their tablets record how they came and from where. It
was not by spacecraft. They came by ship. They came sailing in
through the gulf, and in their earliest works of art they illustrated
the kind of water-craft that brought them. They came as mariners
to the coast of the twin river valley where they founded the
civilisation which during the ensuing millennia was to affect in
one way or another every corner of our world. The real puzzle
was that human history has no known beginning. As it stands it
begins with civilised mariners coming in by sea. This is no real
beginning. This is the continuation of something lost somewhere
in the mist.
If we are to believe the Sumerians, who ought to know, their
merchant mariners returned to Dilmun many times. In their own
days, at least, their ancestral land was neither sunk in the sea nor
buried by volcanic ash. It was within reach of Sumerian ships from
Sumerian ports. One little piece missing from the big puzzle is that
nobody knows the range of a Sumerian ship. Their seagoing qualities

105
I I IF BOOK OF 111 RAM

were forgotten with the men who built them and sailed them, their
range lost with their wakes.
The sea roads between them were in use before the Sumerians
came to settle in Sumer. Their tablets speak of navigating kings and
merchant mariners coming from or going to lands overseas, and
they give long lists of cargo imported from or exported to foreign
ports. A few even speak of shipwrecks and maritime disasters. Such
records reflect the hazards always involved in a marine enterprise
even when the vessel is built with the experience of a whole nation
and manned by a crew at home with the craft. In reading the
tablets such dramas come to life.

Sir Leonard Woolley, who excavated the city of Ur, says that Sumerian
civilisation arrived fully developed with the influx of a new race, Lord
Renfrew tells us it happened between 3500 and 3 0 0 0 BCE, and Thor
Heyerdahl refers to Sumerian records saying that they sailed to the mouth
of the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, from a land that was already
civilised. Once again we knew of only one contemporary civilisation with
the skills and the ability to navigate long distances: the Grooved Ware
People of Western Europe. But to arrive at the valley of the two rivers by
sea they must have sailed to the Persian Gulf from the Atlantic, and a coast-
hugging voyage from the British Isles to modern Kuwait involves no less
than a staggering thirty thousand miles of sea. Could such a journey be
possible, on a repeated basis, over five thousand years ago?
In Uriel's Machine we argued that they reached an isolated spot on the
Tropic of Cancer called Nabta in southern Egypt, where there is the remains
of a stone circle, by sailing down the Nile. This in itself would have been
a major expedition, but to sail the length of the Atlantic and round the
infamous Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean does seem incredible.
However, we have to remember that the late Thor Heyerdahl repeatedly
crossed open ocean in his rudely made balsa and reed craft to bravely, and
successfully, demonstrate that our estimation of ancient people is limited
only by our unfounded conviction that we must be smarter than they were.
In Uriel's Machine we have already drawn attention to the similarity
between the early Elamite script of the Sumerians and the symbolic inscrip-
tions of the Grooved Ware People. We also drew attention to the mean-
ings of some of the Grooved Ware symbols. A single spiral represented a
quarter of a year, and a triple spiral the gestation period of a woman. The

106
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Saltair cross, used above die light-box at Newgrange, represented a full

year, whilst the diamond or lozenge shape could be used as a sort of post
code to show the latitude of a place, by encoding the angles between the
summer and winter solstice sunrises.10
This similarity in proto-writing symbols seemed to be more than simple
coincidence. We wondered if the influx of newcomers who brought civili
sation to Sumer could have been Grooved Ware traders who settled in an
environment they found attractive, whilst still keeping links with other
groups, possibly in places like Gebal in Lebanon or the newly founded
cities of Egypt. To check out this idea we decided to look more closely at
the start of the Egyptian civilisation.

T H E BEGINNINGS O F E G Y P T

The official history of civilised Egypt starts with the reign of Menes in 2920
BCE, and the time before the arrival of the pyramid builders is known to
historians as the pre-dynastic period. So once more we noticed that there
was an historical discontinuity in Egypt, resulting in a sudden upsurge in
technology, building and astronomy. The basis of this framework is the
work of an Egyptian priest of circa 250 BCE by the name of Manetho. I le
recorded a list of the kings of Egypt, starting with Menes and ending with
the Meroitic kingdom. In all Manetho listed the details of 30 dynasties in
his king lists. Mark Lehner, writing in 1997, said of him:

Our framework for ancient Egyptian history is still based on

Manetho's king list, grouped into 30 dynasties, and he is the first
source to organise the kings from Menes to Unas into five
dynasties.11

The reason Manetho is still used is that he proves to be consistently

accurate when cross-checked against other sources. Egyptologist Michael
Hoffman says of him:

Archaeologists and Egyptologists have discovered five other king

lists, which despite some discrepancies, support Manetho in general.*2

10 Knight, C & Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science

11 Lehner, Mark: The Complete Pyramids, Thames and Hudson, 1997
12 Hoffman, Michael A: Egypt before the Pharaohs, Michael O'Mara Books, 1991

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n i l ! BOOK OF H I R A M

But Manetho makes claims for the pre-dynastic period which are not so
widely accepted. He splits the history of Egypt into three eras. In the first
era, Egypt was ruled by the gods; in the second era the 'Followers of Horus'
arrived in Egypt and established the conditions which eventually led to the
third era, that of the dynastic kings, starting with Menes.
Professor Frankfort of the University of London wrote about this aspect
of Manetho's work:

It appears that 'Followers of Horns' is a vague designation for the

kings of a distant past, but it would be unwise to treat the term
primarily as being of an historical nature. For each king became
at death one of the corporation of 'transfigured spirits' and merged
with that nebulous spiritual form which had supported the living
ruler and descendants of the Throne of Horus since time
immemorial.13

Plato wisely said that 'we Greeks are children compared with these people
with traditions ten times older than ourselves'. He also noted that the walls
of the Egyptian temples were covered with inscriptions which recorded their
early history. One of the most complete 'building texts' of the type Plato
refers to was found at the temple of Edfu. According to Professor Raymond
of Manchester University, who has transcribed and translated the Edfu
Texts, said the story they tell concerns:

the foundation, building a?id bringing to life of the historical

temple during a mythical age. The historical temple is interpreted
as the work of the gods themselves, and as an entity of a mythical
natureJ 4

In Raymond's interpretation of these Edfu Texts the builders of the Temple

came originally from an island known as the 'Homeland of the Primeval
Ones', from which they fled when it was threatened by destruction. These
incomers who arrived in Egypt became 'the Builder Gods', who were also
known as the 'Lords of Light'. These primeval ones were not immortal:
after they completed their tasks they died, and their roles were taken over
by their children.
13Frankfort, Henri: Kingship and the Gods, University of Chicago Press, 1978
14Raymond, EAE: The Mythical Origin of the Egyptian Temple, Manchester Univ. Press,
1969

108
 Till: MARITIME CONNECHONS

So Egyptian texts all seem to be telling of a sudden influx of skilled indi-

viduals that led to the founding of the united kingdom of Egypt in around
3150 ISCE. This is exactly the time that we believe Enoch was in Britain
receiving instruction, and we also believe it is the time that the Grooved
Ware People were expecting a disastrous comet impact, which actually
missed their land but hit the Mediterranean, causing considerable damage.1''
Whoever arrived in Egypt at this time brought with them the skills of
building, navigation and astronomy that kick-started one of the greatest
civilisations of all time. It is interesting to note that the main feature of
Newgrange is its spectacular white quartz wall that dominates the valley
of the river Boyne. It may be coincidence, but the first city of ancient Egypt
was called Memphis, which means 'White Wall'.
We also knew of another thread that supports our Grooved Ware theory.
Analysis of DNA of the indigenous people of the British Isles shows a close
relationship to the people of North Africa. This has led some of" the
researchers concerned to assume that North Africans (once thought to be
the older civilisation) travelled to Britain. 16 Perhaps they have the direction

M Of)

THE PHOENICIANS

The people we remember as the Phoenicians lived on the coastal areas of

the eastern Mediterranean Sea between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the
headland of Carmel. They called their homeland Kinahna, and that is the
root of the name Canaan, which extends over a far greater area than the
thirty-mile coastal strip associated with the Phoenicians.17
It is to the insecurity of the emperor of France, Napoleon III, that we
owe the beginnings of our understanding of ancient Canaan. The younger
Napoleon lived in the shadow of the exploits of his more famous uncle,
Napoleon Bonaparte, but when an Islamic sect called the Druze massacred
30,000 Christians in Syria he saw an opportunity to follow in the foot
steps of his famous predecessor.
Napoleon Bonaparte had invaded Egypt in 1796. As well as an army
and a fleet (which Nelson destroyed at the Battle of the Nile in 1803), he
also sent an enormous entourage of scholars to study ancient Egypt, and

15 Knight, C 6c Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science

16 Sykes, B: The Seven Daughters of Eve, Corgi, 2001
17 Gray, ]: 'Israel's Neighbours', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

109
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so effectively founded the academic discipline of Egyptology. Keen to estab-

lish his own credentials as a leader in the heroic mould, in 1860 Napoleon
III sent an expeditionary force to assist the sultan of Constantinople, who
was already engaged in trying to suppress the religiously inspired killings.
With his battalions of French troops, Napoleon III sent a lapsed Roman
Catholic priest, Father Ernest Renan, with instructions to study the history
of Phoenicia.
Father Renan, an expert on Semitic languages, was working on a his-
tory of early Christianity when he was given the opportunity to investigate
the site of the Phoenician town of Byblos. It is from Byblos that the Greeks
take their name for papyrus, or writing material, and from this comes the
later word Biblion, meaning book, which gives the word 'Bible'. What
better place to study for a biblical scholar than the town that gave its name
to the Bible?
Renan also knew the site by its Semitic name of Gebal, and was aware
from his biblical studies that the town was a centre for seafaring traders.
The prophet Ezekiel said that 'the ancients of Gebal possessed great skill
in shipbuilding and carried much of the volume of trade goods of Tyre in
the ships they built'. 18
When Renan travelled the forty kilometres from Beirut to Gebal in the
mid-nineteenth century, he described the town as a 'wretched Arab dump'.
Here amongst the squalor he saw a ruined Crusader's castle brooding
over the remains of a once fine oval harbour. 19 He did not carry out any
excavations, but within the Crusaders' castle he found granite columns
carved by the Phoenicians, which were re-used to build the fortress.
Searching further he discovered that many of the houses of the town
incorporated stone panels carved with Egyptian hieroglyphs in their con-
struction. His most important find was a bas-relief, which he took back
to France.
The carving shows a goddess with curved horns and a Sun disk behind
her head. Renan assumed this was Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of the
sky, who was the daughter of Ra and the wife of Horus. But he was wrong.
Later research discovered that the goddess, whose image is still on display
in the Louvre, is Baalat-Gebal, the Phoenician queen of heaven, and the
local Baalat or patron goddess of Gebal. The heavenly luminary which
represented this goddess would later be known by the Roman name of
18 Ezekiel 2 7
19 Renan, E: Mission de Phenicie, Paris, 1864

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Venus, and her horns, as we have already mentioned, are the shape that
the planet Venus traces out in the sky around the rising and setting Sun.
Renan did not manage to discover much more about ancient Gebal, as
the building materials of the Phoenician town had been recycled and buried
beneath modern Gebeil. It was more than fifty years before any scholar
followed up his pioneering work. Just after the end of the First World War,
the French Egyptologist Pierre Montet travelled to Gebeil in search of the
hieroglyphic inscriptions Renan had recorded. He found most of them still
in situ, and became so interested in what he translated that two years later,
in 1921, he led an expedition to dig in search of Byblos. Montet and his
assistants spent the next three years digging trenches through all the open
ground around the houses of Gebeil, where they found the seals of pharaohs
from various Egyptian dynasties, showing that this really was the site of
an ancient trading centre. As Montet records in the account of this expe-
dition that he gave in his book Byblos et I'Egypte, published in 1928, he
then experienced an enormous stroke of luck.
The spring of 1922 was a particularly wet one in the Lebanon, and the-
heavy rain caused a landslip of part of the cliffs to the south of Gebeil. A
large chunk of the cliff face dropped some twelve metres and revealed a
tunnel leading into a man-made cave, a burial chamber which had lain
untouched since the reign of Ithobaal, king of Byblos, during the eleventh
century BCE. Ithobaal dug the tomb to house the sarcophagus of his father
Ahiram. The inscriptions in the tomb tell us that Ithobaal was not only
'beloved of Baal' but also a highly confident ruler. His warning to would
be tomb raiders was spelt out clearly in the alphabet the Phoenicians
invented:

This coffin was made by Ithobaal, the son of Ahiram, King of

Byblos, as the eternal resting place for his father. If any ruler or
governor or general attacks Byblos and touches this coffin, his
sceptre will be broken, his throne overthrown, and peace will
forsake Byblos. And as for himself: may vandals look upon his
epigraph.10

Of course, these finds encouraged the French colonial government to sup-

port further excavations. In 1930 the French placed compulsory purchase

20 Montet, P: Byblos et I'Egypte, Paris, 1928

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orders on the houses which impeded the progress of the archaeologists,

demolished them and so cleared the ground for more extensive investiga-
tions. This major dig revealed that the site of Gebeil dated right back to the
Old Stone Age, which at the time made it one of the oldest known perma-
nently occupied settlements in the world.
The earliest habitations showed that around 4500 BCE a large village was
established consisting of circular huts with wood, pebble and mud walls and
floors of limestone grit.21 By 2900 BCE Gebal/Byblos became a much larger
complex of stone buildings. Archaeologist Michel Dunand, who excavated
the site, wrote that by this time 'Byblos had become a town'. 22 It was a sig-
nificant site protected by a wall with only two entrances: one to the land
and the other to the sea. At its centre stood a temple dedicated to Baalat-
Gebal, the 'Queen of 1 leaven'. The streets of the town were laid out in con-
centric circles about the temple and a canal system carried rain and drainage
water away. Dunand comments that the level of amenity and the rich funerary
offerings showed that the inhabitants of the town were prosperous and well
prepared to defend their wealth if they needed to.
We reminded ourselves that this temple in Byblos was two millennia
older than Solomon's Temple, and whilst there is considerable archaeolog-
ical evidence for the existence of this Phoenician structure, no remains on
the site of the Temple in Jerusalem have ever been identified as being from
Solomon's Temple. Every part of the ruin that is now still standing dates
from the Temple built by King Herod at the time of Christ, almost 1,000
years after Solomon. So our knowledge of the layout of Solomon's Temple
relies on the descriptions in the Bible.
But around 2300 BCE the six-hundred-year-old temple of Baalat-Gebal
was destroyed by fire, which Dunand suggests was due to the city being
ransacked by nomad hordes who descended on the coastal plain from the
desert of the Sinai. These Semitic Amorite Bedouins merged with the people
who established and developed Gebal in the previous thousand years, and
formed a new tribal group, which would eventually develop into the people
known as the Phoenicians.23
But who were the people who had developed Gebal into such a major
port? Dunand calls them Giblites, and in the absence of any evidence he
assumes that they must have 'fashioned their own culture from fragments

21 Dunand, M: De I'Amanus and Sinai, Beirut, 1953

22 Dunand, M: De I'Amanus and Sinai
23 Dunand, M: De I'Amanus and Sinai

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of the civilisations of other ancient races.' 24 We knew the Giblites became

seafarers and traders who were extremely successful in their navigating
and trading, and that at some early date they had dedicated their town
to the worship of the goddess who manifested herself as the planet Venus.
( >III ne xt task was to see what else we could find out about Byblos, and
in particular its fame as a world centre of shipping and international
trade.
One clue to this tradition was found in 1954, when archaeologist Ahmed
Youssef excavated two complete cedarwood boats from diggings just to the
south of the Great Pyramid of Khufu, near Cairo. The boats were buried
in sections as a kit of parts, but when they were reassembled the larger
one was 142 feet long and of a design capable of ocean-going.25
Thor Heyerdahl investigated the origins of Egyptian shipbuilding skills
whilst preparing for his Ra Expeditions, and he said of these boats:

There are only two possibilities. Either this sea-going, streamlined

shape had been developed by Egyptian seafarers of the same
brilliant generations which had already evolved writing and
pyramid building, mummies, brain surgery and astronomy; or the
pharaoh's shipwrights had been trained abroad. There are facts
which point to the latter. No cedars grow in Egypt; the material of
which Cheops's ship was built came from the cedar forests of
Lebanon. The Lebanon was the home of the Phoenicians,
experienced shipbuilders who sailed the whole of the Mediterranean,
and part of the Atlantic with their ships. Their principal port,
Byblos, the oldest known city in the world, imported papyrus from
Egypt because Byblos was a centre of book production in ancient
times, hence the word Byblos or Bible, which means book. There
were lively trade relations between Egypt and Byblos at the time
when the Pyramid of Cheops was built, so Cheops' shipbuilders
might have copied their specialised design here. 16

He went on to add some fascinating detail about megalithic structures

at an ancient city called Maqom Semes, 'the City of the Sun' that once
stood on the Atlantic coast of North Africa, close to present-day Larache:

24 Dunand, M: De I'Amanus and Sinai

25 Lehner, Mark: The Complete Pyramids
16 Heyerdahl, Thor: The Ra Expeditions, George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1971

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I II L HOOK OF H I R A M

On a desolate beach just south of our starting place, an angled

mole [an ancient type of jetty] made of thousands of tons of
megalithic stone blocks still projects towards the reefs and provides
a magnificent harbour. Fantastic quantities of gigantic quarried
stones have been dragged out into the sea by experienced marine
architects. Who built such a lasting bulwark that the Atlantic
waves have not succeeded in washing it away after thousands of
years? Who needed such a big harbour on that desolate sandy
point before the Arabs and Portuguese bad begun to sail down the
Atlantic coast of Africa?

On a height where the broad Lucus River flows into the Atlantic
on the north-west coast of Morocco stand the gigantic ruins of one
of the mightiest towns of antiquity, with a past disappearing into
the darkness of pre-history. Huge megalithic blocks weighing many
tons were transported up the cliffs and lifted on top of one another
in giant walls several metres high which can be seen from the sea.
The blocks are cut and polished, the joints accurate to a millimetre.
The oldest known name of the megalithic town is Maqom Setmes,
'City of the Sun'. When the Romans found it they wrote that
fantastic legends ivere associated with its earliest history. They
called the town Lixus, the Eternal City, and built their own temples
on top of the ancient ruins.

At this point Heyerdahl considers who might have made these mega-
lithic structures at this ocean seaport:

The very few archaeologists who have embarked on small test digs
have found that the Phoenicians used 'Sun City' long before the
Romans. But who founded it? Perhaps the Phoenicians. If so,
Phoenician stonemasonry was equal to the best on both sides of
the Atlantic. The Phoenicians' home was in the distant eastern
Mediterranean, the present Lebanon. 'Sun City' was no
Mediterranean port, but a true Atlantic harbour established at the
very edge of the powerful current which swings westward through
the Canary Islands and ends in Mexico. How old are the walls?
No one knows. They are covered to a depth of fifteen feet by the
detritus of Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers and Arabs. The Romans

114
 Till: MARITIME CONNECHONS

believed in Hercules and Neptune, but nut in the Sun-god, and the
Roman ruins lying uppermost are therefore not solar-oriented. But
recent test digs down to the very bottom have shown that the
lowest and largest of the giant blocks, those which ivere already
covered with detritus when the Romans came, and which the
Romans therefore failed to demolish or rebuild into their temples,
provide the foundations for extensive buildings which were
carefully oriented according to the Sun.17

This solar-oriented city was certainly used by the Phoenicians as an

Atlantic trading base for dealing with Spain and Britain, but the magnifi
cent stonework was already there when they made use of it. We knew of
a civilisation much older than the Phoenicians who were capable of this
standard of stoneworking, who were expert navigators, traders and
astronomers, and whose civilisation established outposts in the
Mediterranean. We wondered if Lixus, the city of the Sun, was built by
the same group of megalithic craftsmen who constructed structures such
as Newgrange and Maes Howe.
As the Phoenician civilisation developed it drew on the expertise of what
Dr Dimitri Baramki, curator of the Museum of the American College in
Beirut, described as the 'North Sea Peoples' - people who came from the
lands that the Norse seafarers had inherited from the Grooved Ware cul-
ture. As we read Dr Baramki's work we were reminded of Thor Heyerdahl's
description of the people from 'Dilmun' who established Sumer, which we
discussed earlier in this chapter. Could these expert seafarers be the source
of the legend of the mysterious Sumerians? Baramki wrote about how these
intruders from the northwestern Atlantic coast of Europe migrated into the
Lebanon bringing with them absolute supremacy at sea, superb naviga-
tional skills and traditions of shipbuilding in both war and trading vessels.
Although the Canaanite Proto-Phoenicians were a people who possessed
all the qualities necessary to open up the Mediterranean to navigation and
trade, they did not show much evidence of a developing tradition of nau-
tical and technical knowledge. This knowledge came from the invasion of
the group known as the 'Sea Peoples' or Thekel. What the Canaanites added
to the strength of the Phoenician culture was a long-established 'astral based
religion which involved a knowledge of astronomy and astral navigation'.28
27 Heyerdahl, Thor: The Ra Expeditions
28 Baramki, D: Phoenicia and the Phoenicians, American College Press, Beirut, 1961

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Till HOOK OF H I R A M

Baramki's hypothesis suggested to us a simple explanation for the pre-

viously puzzling origins of the Phoenicians. The original Canaanite settle-
ment, with its ancient traditions of astronomically aligned temple building,
developed from a group of coastal sailors into international navigators
when they fused with a new wave of proto-Norse invaders from the area
we knew as the homelands of the Grooved Ware People. From what we
already knew about the Grooved Ware People we believe it might have
been they who set up the original settlement and then lost touch with it.
Some people may find it hard to believe that people could sail large dis-
tances so far back in time, but history is littered with examples of early
people travelling great distance. Among these there are records of
Phoenicians travelling right around the continent of Africa on a number of
occasions - perhaps regularly using Lixus as a major staging post to the
Gulf of Aqaba at the northeastern tip of the Red Sea. The Greek historian
Herodotus tells how King Necho II of Egypt ordered 'Phoenician men to
sail home through the Pillars of Hercules [the Strait of Gibraltar] into the
northern sea [the Mediterranean] to get to Egypt'. This can only mean he
instructed them to sail around Africa.
The Phoenicians carried out his orders, as Herodotus adds that they

Sunrise over Africa. To see the sunrise over land these ancient sailors must
have been circumnavigating the entire continent from the Red Sea to the
Mediterranean.

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 lilt. MAKIIIMt CUININ t t ^ I I U N >

sailed from 'the Red Sea and sailed across the southern sea'. When autumn
came round, they landed and sowed their crops, finding themselves in Libya
each time, and there they waited for the harvest. After harvesting the grain,
they sailed on, so that in the third year they came through the Pillars of
Hercules and back to Egypt again. They said, so Herodotus doubtingly
reports, that on the voyage around Libya they had the rising Sun over the
land as they sailed along the coast. It is this simple fact of astral navigation
which confirms the truth of the story. To have observed this accurately the
Phoenicians must have sailed down one side of Africa and back up the other.2
If we are right when we suggest that both the Sumerians and the
Phoenicians were a subset of the Grooved Ware People, then these two
groups should show some similarities above and beyond a Venus-based the-
ology. But we found that others have already linked these two groups.
Nearly two and a half thousand years ago Herodotus said that the
Phoenicians came from Sumer:

The Phoenicians, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the

Persian Gulf, having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in
the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to
adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares
of Egypt and Assyria.30

If a substantial group of people from the British Isles and Brittany had
arrived in the Persian Gulf with their pre-existent civilisation and sailing
skills - calling themselves 'Sumerians' - it would make sense for them to
eventually move northwest to the Mediterranean coast to afford themselves
a short-cut route back to the old land that their forebears had abandoned.

T H E PRIEST-KINGS OF THE PHOENICIANS

We decided that we now needed to construct as good a picture as we could

of the rituals used by the Phoenician people, particularly their kings.
The earliest Canaanite to rate a full description in the Bible is Melchizedek.
Fie is a figure closely associated with Abraham, the father of the Jewish
nation. The New Testament tells us that Jesus was a priest of the Order of
Melchizedek,31 and we were aware of a Masonic organisation based upon
29 Herodotus, The History, trans. George Rawlinson, New York, Dutton & Co., 1862
30 Herodotus, The History, trans. George Rawlinson
31 Hebrews 5: 6

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M I L IJUUN u r n I HAM

this ancient priesthood called The Holy Order of the Grand High Priest.
Abraham is often taken as being the first person mentioned in the
Bible who just might have been an actual person rather than a symbolic
character from ancient myth.-'2 The preceding figures referred to in the
Book of Genesis, such as Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah and Enoch, are
often considered to be types rather than historical individuals. Abraham
is usually dated between 1800 and 1 6 0 0 i$CE, but some sources put him
as far back as the twentieth century BCE. We think it is almost certain
that Abraham is entirely mythical and was invented, possibly based on
some inspiration from old oral traditions, to explain how the new Jewish
religion carried the weight of some far older authority. Our researches
and conversations with biblical scholars have convinced us that it is
extremely likely that the stories of Abraham, Moses and David are mainly
composite inventions. Nevertheless, in our own discussions we found it
simpler to speak about them as if they were real people, so in this vein,
as we tell his story we will continue to treat Abraham as a single indi-
vidual.
In Genesis 14 the story is told of how four kings from the north of the
land of Canaan raided the five kings of the cities of the Dead Sea plain,
which is the lowest land on Earth. The kingdoms were taken, and among
the captives from the city of Sodom was Abraham's nephew, Lot. When
Abraham heard of this he led his clan of 318 men along with his Hittite
and Amorite allies to attack the invaders and free Lot. As was the usual
custom of the time, Abraham plundered his defeated enemies.
On his return from battle Abraham met with Melchizedek, the
Jebusite/Canaanite king of Salem, who was also the high priest of a god
called El Elyon, which meant 'the Most High'. The place called Salem is
synonymous with Jerusalem, as Psalm 76: 2 makes clear. What happened
next has not just puzzled us but is a rich source of debate for many bib-
lical scholars, because the story is not what anybody would expect the
scribes of the Bible to say.
Despite the high authority attributed to Abraham the writers of the Old
Testament are not shy of reporting his open subservience to both this priest-
king of ancient Jerusalem, and the god he represented. Abraham paid tithes
to Melchizedek, which meant that he handed over a tenth of his war spoils.
In return Melchizedek then blessed Abraham in the name of the god El

32 Hook, SH: Genesis - Peakes Commentary on the Bible

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 I n c IVIAM I I M C ^ U I N IN CV^ I IUIM.^i

Elyon and conducted a ritual whereby Abraham received bread and wine;
an act that several biblical experts see as a direct precursor to the Christian
Eucharist.
This suggests that Abraham was showing great respect to the Cannanitc
god, and the entire episode of preparing to sacrifice his son Isaac may have
been an attempt to gain favour with this new god. It is recorded that in
early biblical times travelling people considered that their own gods were
left behind in their own city and they came under the power of new deities
once they were in a new country.
I'salm I 10 also describes King David as a priest of the Order of
Melchizedek, in a manner which certainly was adopted for Jesus Christ:

The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until 1
make thine enemies thy footstool.

The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule
thou in the midst of thine enemies.

Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties
of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of
thy youth.

The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of
his ivrath.

He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the
dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.

He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore shall he lift up

the head.

Whilst this passage relates Yahweh to the priesthood of Melchizedek, it

is widely accepted that this order was a Canaanite cult that long pre-dated
the arrival of the Israelites and El Shaddaj (the mountain god), who latef

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i nc n L A jiv u r n i KAIVI

became 'Yahweh', the God of the Jews. 33 The term Zion is a reference to
Jerusalem, which was said to be captured by David. The ' r o d of strength''
or power held by a king or a leader such as Moses developed from the
Asherah, the fundamental astronomical instrument used as a marking pole
to measure movements of the Sun's shadow.
Like many passages in the Old Testament this one appears to indicate
the absorption of some truly ancient Canaanite ritual into early Judaism.
Biblical scholars have long been aware that such rituals must have existed,
and one leading scholar said of this psalm:

The reference to Melchizedek implies an appropriation of the

pre-Davidic religious traditions of the city; and there seem to be
allusions to a wider background of myth and ritual . . . The
priestly functions of the king are here associated with Melchizedek.
This doubtless indicates a fusion of Hebraic usage with ancient
cultic traditions of Jerusalem,34

The exact content of the ritual of the Order of Melchizedek may not have
ever been written down. There are other ancient concepts whose meaning
has been lost, such as the nature and purpose of the Urim and the
Thummim 35 which were carried in the priest's breastplate. All that is now
known of these objects is that they were used for guidance in decision-
making by casting a sacred lot.
When something is not written down it tends to be for one of two rea-
sons: either it is of no particular importance or it is secret. The Order of
Melchizedek was certainly important, so we tend to consider that its adher-
ents conducted their rituals in private and kept the entire procedure
restricted to an oral tradition. Certainly the Masonic Order that follows
Melchizedek states that it is a secret Order. As the ritual tells the candi-
dates for priesthood, they are required to 'take a solemn Obligation to keep
inviolate the secrets of this Holy Order'.
We thought it reasonable to speculate that anyone who is King and the
High Priest of Israel might be made Master of the Order automatically at
their coronation, just as the king or queen of England also becomes head
of the Church of England at the moment of enthronement. We also found

33 Oesterley, W O E 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origin and Development

34 Anderson, GW: Psalms - Peakes Commentary on the Bible
35 Exodus 28: 30

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 I I II. MAKI I 1Mb C U N N b C I IONS

evidence, in the research of the Reverend Professor SH Hooke, which

showed that the enthronement was renewed every autumn equinox during
a new year ritual.
Twentieth-century archaeological discoveries such as the Ras Sharma
tablets36 mean that there is now much more known about ancient Canaanite
rituals, and we noted interesting parallels with the central, third degree of
Freemasonry that causes the candidate to be symbolically killed before being
resurrected. Professor Hooke put Melchizedek into a context that we recog-
nised as having definite Masonic resonances:

At the beginning of the second millennium B.C. we find that the

king, representing both the god and the people, is the centre of
great emotional religious activities whose object is to secure for
the community those material benefits upon whose continuance
the well-being of the community depends. These activities had
assumed what we might almost call a stereotyped form, and
involved the existence of an organised body of people possessing
the knowledge of the right way in which the ritual must be
performed and of the myth which embodied the situation enacted
in the ritual.
It is possible that in the beginning a single individual possessed
the knowledge and the magical powers in virtue of which he
became the focus of the religious activities of the community, and
that with the increasing complexity of urban life a devolution took
place. The god became the embodiment of the mysterious powers
whose control had been the original purpose of the ritual while the
priest became the depository of the sacred knowledge necessary for
the right performance of the ritual; while the king, still representing
the god in the great annual rituals, came to be the centre of the
secular activities of the communities, the head of the state for the
purposes of war, politics, and justice, and, as representing the god,
the owner of the land.
Early Mesopotamian sources point to the existence of 'priest-
kings', of whom the mysterious figure of Melchizedek may have
been a representative surviving in Canaan in the time of Abraham.

36The Ras Shamra tablets, found on the site of the ancient seaport of Ugarit, contain a large
number of poems of ritual and religious importance from the second millennium BC. They
have enormously enlarged our understanding of early beliefs and practices in Canaan.

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LILT B U U N UL- I I I KAIVI

The general pattern of the annual ritual . . . consisted of the

preparation of the sacred buildings by purificatory rites, some of
them symbolic of elements in the myth. Then the king went
through a ceremony in which he divested himself of his regalia at
the door of the shrine, made a confession to the priest, who struck
him on both cheeks and then restored to him the emblems of his
kingship. This part of the ritual probably represents an earlier
ritual killing of the king when his strength showed signs of waning.
Then came the central and probably secret part of the ritual, the
dramatic representation of the death of the god, followed by his
resurrection . . . A memory of this element of the ritual survives in
Hebrew poetry in the myth of the fight between Jahweh and the
dragon}7

We decided to summarise the main points of this description of the early

Canaanite priest-king (Melchizedek) ritual:

1 There was an organised body of people possessing the knowledge of

the right way in which the ritual must be performed.

2 There was a myth enacted in the ritual which embodied the message.

3 Originally a single priest-king alone possessed the knowledge and the

magical powers.

4 Only later did the priest become the depository of the sacred knowl-
edge necessary for the right performance of the ritual and the king rep-
resented the god in the great annual ritual.

5 The annual ritual included the preparation of the sacred buildings.

6 The king divests himself of his regalia at the door of the shrine.

7 The king is struck on both cheeks before being restored, perhaps in imi-
tation of an earlier ritual when the king is killed.

37 A Companion to the Bible, published by T &C T Clark, Edinburgh, 1939. Quote from sec-
tion three, T h e Early Background of Hebrew Religion', by SH Hooke.

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 1 NC M A K I I I M t IN IN TL; I LUIN,")

8 Then came the secret ritual concerning a dramatic representation of the

death of the god followed by his resurrection.

9 This ritual was conducted at the autumn equinox.

Next we listed the attributes of the third degree of Freemasonry:

1 The third degree ritual was originally secret and known only to Master
Masons.

2 The myth of the killing of Hiram Abif is enacted in the modern ritual.

3 In the story only Hiram Abif knew the secret words.

4 Only later did more people learn the substituted secrets.

5 The setting of the ritual is the making of the sacred temple.

6 The candidate for the ritual is divested of his regalia at the door of the
lodge.

7 The candidate is struck a blow to each side of the head before being
'killed' in imitation of the original victim by a final blow in the centre
of the forehead.

8 The candidate is then figuratively resurrected.

9 The ritual is symbolically enacted at the equinox (when Venus is rising

in the east).

We already
'
knew that the rising .,of
,
Venus was central to Canaanite the
MMMMWOTPNJIP

ology and was associated with resurrection, as it is in Freemasonry. The

parallels were truly impressive.
If the priest-king Melchizedek of Salem is a historical figure, we can be
reasonably sure that this type of annual ritual would have been conducted
by him, perhaps with all the central secrets known to him alone. There arc
major similarities to the ritual of the Masonic Third Degree, despite the
fact that no one knew anything about the Canaanite practices until about

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 MM. 11V l<U IV. u r I I I IVA/Vl

seventy years ago. The number of points of correspondence is consider-

able, and we thought it extremely likely that there is some connection
between the two.
We decided to look at what is known of Melchizedek himself before
looking further into the ancient Canaanite practices.
As we have seen, the Old Testament tells us that even Abraham was
subordinate to Melchizedek, the priest/king of Jerusalem. Abraham, the
progenitor of all Jews, was happy to pay tribute to the Canaanite creator
deity El Elyon (the Most High). Hundreds of years later, the Bible says that
the Hebrews arrived from Egypt and seized most of the land of Canaan.
Eventually King David took the city of Jerusalem by force and effectively
installed himself as the successor of Melchizedek.
The name Melchizedek is said by the Masonic Order to mean 'King of
righteousness', and Salem, of which he was King, means 'peace'. These
translations may be correct in their later use, but they originally held much
more specific meaning. The Hebrew word 'zedek' or 'tsedeq' which makes
up the final part of Melchizedek's name is indeed normally translated into
English as 'righteousness', but it carried deeper overtones than simply 'not
doing wrong'. It stood for the founding principle underlying the divinely
appointed order of the universe and derived its origin from an ancient god.
But just as few people today think about the Norse god Woden when they
speak about Wednesday (Woden's-day) or the Venus goddess Freyja when
they say Friday, most Jews at the time of Christ would be unaware that
zedek was once the divine essence of a Canaanite god.
Zedek for the Canaanites was the beneficent manifestation of the Sun
god, its bright light revealing hidden crimes and righting wrongs done to
the innocent. When the Canaanite gods were eventually merged into
Yahweh, 'zedek' became his attribute. ,!i In reality the single God concept
has come into existence, not because there necessarily is only one super-
entity, but because all positive attributes of the old gods have been trans-
ferred into one deity and all negative attributes to a second entity we call
'the Devil',
The first half of the priest-king's name is universally accepted as meaning
'king' or 'the king is', which is based on the Canaanite root word 'malak'
- meaning councillor,39 or more specifically 'member of God's council'. So

38Cohn, Norman: Cosmos, Chaos and the World to Come, Yale University Press, 1993
39Hook SH: in Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See section
'Hebrew Conceptions of Kingship' by AR Johnson.

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the Masonic translation of Melchizedek as 'king of righteousness' certainly

holds good for its usage in the first and second centuries BCE, but its orig-
inal usage in the first half of the second millennium BCE was much more
specific, and must have carried an import something like this:

The living man ivho is a member of God's council representing his

people in heaven and carrying responsibility on Earth for the
upholding of the cosmic order defined arid delivered by the Sun.

This suggests that Melchizedek, the civil and religious head of Jerusalem,
was so mighty that he sat on God's council. We soon found that this def-
inition made even more sense when we looked deeper into Masonic ritual.
Melchizedek is recorded as being a priest of the Canaanite god El.Elyon^
who was associated with the city of Jerusalem. The association of the Sun
with El Elyon is consistent with the name, which means 'Most High' - it
could simply be a literal description of the Sun's perceived position in rela
tion to the world. And, of course, the city itself was named after Venug, a
planet that never moves far from the Sun in our skies. With such high
flying authority supporting Melchizedek, it is little wonder that Abraham
was in awe of him.
The Masonic organisation known as The Holy Order of the Grand High
Priest makes reference to the unique circumstances of Melchizedek:40

The tradition of his priesthood must therefore have continued for

nearly nine hundred years, until the reign of David. His importance
is that, unlike the other local kings ivho had warred and carried off
Abram's nephew, he was also a priest. Nevertheless it is surprising
that Abram, the Mesopotamian, recognised by the payment of
tithes the authenticity and authority of a Canaanite Priest-King.

It further describes aspects of ritual associated with the degree:

In former times it was customary for some of the companions to

form two sides of an equilateral triangle and to kneel during prayer
in the Opening and Closing of a Convention. In most Councils this
is no longer practised.

40 Web of Hiram http://www.brad.ac.uk/webofbiram

125
1Mb NUUK Ul HIRAM

We note that the term 'council' is used here to describe the gathering.

. . . the ritual makes reference to the presence of the 'indispensable

number of three'. Should nine Anointed High Priests be present,
then traditionally it is said that the Ceremony is performed in 'due
and ample form'.
. . . A Tabernacle of the Order represents the encampment of
Melchizedek in the valley of Shaveh (the King's dale). The room
is divided by curtains which must be capable of being opened
and closed. The Eastern part represents the royal tent of
Melchizedek. These curtains are open during the Opening of the
Convention: they are closed for Part I of the Ceremony of
Reception and for the first portion of Part II, until the
Candidate is invited to enter the Tent: thereafter they remain
open. During Part II, if there is room, all the companions move
inside the Tent and stand in the North and South in order to
partake of bread and wine.
. . . an equilateral Triangle is placed in the centre of the floor
outside the Tent: three candles on tall candlesticks form a further
equilateral Triangle outside the former: the apex of each Triangle
points towards the East.
During Part 1 there is a pedestal in the centre of the inner
Triangle on which is placed a Volume of the Sacred Law, [the
name Volume of the Sacred Law used by Masons to refer to the
Scriptures accepted by the Masons present. In an English lodge it
will be the Christian Bible but in addition there could also be open
the Torah, the Koran, the Book of Mormon, or Hindu writings]
opened at Genesis, chapter 14. For Part II both pedestal and
Volume of the Sacred Law are moved inside the Tent and placed in
front of the President's chair: a small kneeling stool or cushion is
then placed in the centre of the inner Triangle.
. . . The President wears a white robe, with a breastplate over it,
and a mitre. The Vice-President wears a scarlet robe and the
Chaplain a light blue robe.

The manner of the investing of candidates into the Order is described

on the assumption that there will be more than one being anointed at the
same time:

126
 I HE M A R I T I M E C O N N E C T I O N S

When the Representative Candidate is invited to enter the Tent, he

will he placed on the extreme right of the opening formed by the
curtains: the other candidates will then be led up to stand in line
with him, in order that they may all partake of bread and wine
which must be offered to each candidate in the traditional manner
by the President.
During the partaking of wine, the sword may be passed along
the line, handed from one candidate to the next, for each in turn
to hold horizontally in front of him: alternatively the M. of C.
from behind may hold the sword horizontally in front of each
candidate in turn.
When the Conductor is directed to place the Representative
Candidate in the centre of anointing, the other candidates will be
formed behind him in the West. After the Representative Candidate
has been anointed and raised, he will be temporarily led aside:
each other candidate in turn will then kneel in the centre of the
Triangle, be anointed, raised and conducted back to his place. After
all anointing has been completed, the Representative Candidate
alone will be entrusted and invested in the centre of the Triangle by
the President.
A candidate in this Orde,r is said to be 'admitted and anointed,
consecrated and set apart to the Holy Office of Grand High
Priest'.
The Regalia traditionally worn in this Order consists only of a
Jewel in the form of a mitre on an equilateral triangle, both in
gold, suspended by a red ribbon: the apex of the triangle points
upwards.

A prayer is said before opening the ceremony:

May the Supreme High Priest of Heaven and Earth enlighten us

with the knowledge of His truth, and grant that the members of
this Convention may be endued with wisdom to understand and
explain the mysteries of our Holy Order. May He be with us in all
our assemblies, guide us in the paths of rectitude, enable us to keep
all His statutes while life shall last, and finally bring us to the
perfect knowledge of His holy Name.

127
I I lli BOOK OF H I R A M

The candidate is then advanced to the pedestal in the east and addressed
by the President:

Companion you have duly presented yourself to be Anointed,

Consecrated and Set Apart to the Holy Office of High Priest. The
members of this Convention, yielding a ready response to your
wishes, are now prepared to confer on you that exalted honour.

The ritual then tells the story of Abraham and Melchizedek. Before con-
tinuing, the pedestal is moved from the centre of the triangle and placed
within the tent in front of the president's chair. All the companions then
move inside the tent and stand to form the two sides of an equilateral tri-
angle to the north and south in order to partake of bread and wine. Outside
the door the candidate is armed with a sword unsheathed, which he holds
at the carry, and he is instructed how to parry a blow with his sword by
sinking on one knee and holding the sword horizontally above his head by
the hilt in his right hand and by the point in his left hand.
The candidate is then advanced slowly via the north towards the east,
when suddenly the President appears through the curtains with a sword
raised in his right hand which he brings down in a sweeping blow towards
the candidate's head. The candidate drops to one knee and parries the blow
in the manner he has just been taught.
The ceremony continues until the president places a piece of bread on
the blade of his sword, breaks off a small piece and eats it. He then takes
the sword in his right hand and presents it vertically to each Companion
in turn within the tent, who breaks off a small piece of bread from the
point of the sword using his own right hand and eats it.
Then Psalm 133, which the Bible tells us is 'a song of degrees of David,'
is read aloud:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell

together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went
down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as
the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the
Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

This is an interesting choice of passage from the Old Testament. It has a

128
 Till: MARITIME CONNECHONS

distinctly Masonic character to it, referring to 'degrees of David' and using

the phrase about 'brethren' dwelling together in unity, but it is not these
that most interested us. The precious ointment upon the head is a refer-
ence to the messiah, as the word 'messiah' means 'anointed one' or more
specifically 'the one smeared with holy oil'.
It is considered likely that this psalm was once a song used for cultic
purposes by a covenant community at a Canaanite sanctuary (possibly the
one later used by the priesthood of Dan) in celebration of one of the great
festivals of the pre-Hebrew period.41 So once again we see Canaanite priestly
traditions associated with the Order.
We believe that there has been no one who has used this degree over
the last few hundred years who understands what it all means. The use of
an equilateral triangle facing east is important to this degree although it is
an apparently meaningless device, but because of the astronomical focus
of Freemasonry we suspect that it is likely to have its origin in the astral
religion of the Canaanites. In Craft Freemasonry we can be certain that
the rods (also called wands) carried by the two deacons are Asherah, the
marker poles for gauging the movements of the Sun. 42 These took, their A
name from the Canaanite goddess who was mother of the twins of Venus
dawn and dusk. Such an Asherah placed in the ground in front of a tent
(remembering that gods including Yahweh and his ark were originally kept
in a tent) would cast a shadow at daybreak towards the southwest at the *
summer solstice and the northwest at the winter solstice, thereby creating
a delta shape against a baseline running north to south.
The angle of these shadows created by the maximum seasonal excur-
sions of the Sun varies considerably according to latitude. We have already
mentioned how this fact was used by the Grooved Ware People to create
diamond shapes which encoded the latitude of the site they were drawn
at, forming a sort of Neolithic symbolic postcode. At the Equator the angle-
is extremely narrow and at the Arctic Circle it is incredibly wide. In southern
Scotland, where modern Freemasonry first developed, the solstice angle is
a perfect 90 degrees, producing a square lozenge when mirrored with the
sunset shadows.
The inner angles of the equilateral triangle used in this Melchizedek
degree are all 60 degrees, which, if we are right about the meaning of this

41 Anderson. GW: Psalms - Peakes Commentary on the Bible

42 Knight, C 8c Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science

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lilt liUUIV U f I I I KAM

geometric shape used throughout the ritual of The Holy Order of the Grand
High Priest, should correspond with a latitude in the northern hemisphere.
And it does:
Jerusalem!

West

A stick placed in the ground at Jerusalem will cast a shadow that moves
through sixty degrees between the winter and summer solstices.

An Asherah placed in the ground in the ancient city that Melchizedek

knew as Salem produces an equilateral triangle when the shadows of the
solstices are marked out. In this way the shadows from the free-standing
pillars of Boaz and Jachin that stood in the porchway of King Solomon's
Temple would have pointed into the.J^Joly of Holies at exactly 60 degrees.
At no other latitude in either hemisphere does this happen. However, every-
where on the planet at this exact latitude, either north or south, will
produce this result. For example Shanghai in China fits, as does Marrakech
in Morocco and Wollongong in Australia; but these sites did seem signifi-
cant in the story of Melchizedek.
The chances of the angles occurring in the ritual by coincidence are van-
ishingly small given the way we now know the Canaanite mind worked.
It seems likely that this ritual is ancient but that the meaning was lost long,
long before Freemasonry came into existence. This is yet another example
of how ancient oral traditions and ritual postures can carry information
over a huge period of time without the people involved in the transmis-
sion having a clue about the meaning of the content.

130
 Till: M A R I T I M E CONNECHONS

The members of the Order stand along the two edges of the triangle
that was formed by the solstice shadows. The candidate is made to kneel
in the centre of the Triangle, where he is anointed, then raised before being
conducted back to his place. As the outer edges of the triangle or delta
represent the solstices then the centre represents the equinoxes, so, sym-
bolically, every candidate is anointed with oil and taken into the Order at
the equinox.
The Psalms of the Old Testament contain ancient Canaanite material,
I
and Psalm X I X is known to have been based on a morning hymn cou
cerning the marriage of the Sun. 4 ' It describes the transit of the sunrise
*

across the year from solstice to solstice and back again, which at Jerusalem
forms the equilateral triangle. The last line alludes to the original concept
of 'zedek', where there is no hiding of untruth from the righteous eye of
the Sun god:

In them hath he set a tabernacle for the Sun,

Which is as a Mmwimea
bridegroom coming out of his chamber . . .

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto
the ends of it; and there is nothing hid frorn the heat thereof.

The experts tell that the Sun god is getting married in this pre-Hebrew
myth, married tc \nat (also known as Astart), which we know as the planet
Venus.44
The old legend behind Psalm X I X is that the bridegroom is the Sun and ,
the bright morning star of Venus his bride.45 Biblical scholars have noted
from passages such as 1 Kings 11:5 that Venus was worshipped by Solomon
in her special form as the deity of the Phoenicians.4'' The official worship
of Venus as 'Vhe Queen of Heaven' (Astart) continued in the kingdom of
Judah until circa 600 BCE.47

43 Hooke, SH: Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early
Hebrew Myths and Their Interpretation'.
44 Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.
4 5 Engnell, J: Studies in Divine Kingship, SPCK, 1962
4 6 Mauchline, J: l + l l Kings - Peakes Commentary on the Bible.

47 Myth Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.

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 i'l II BOOK OF HI RAM

So here, described in the Psalms of the Bible, we have a marriage of the

two principal astral deities, the Sun and its partner who dances around
the god of zedek with delicate precision over forty years - and around the
zodiac in 1440 years. These attributes were continued in the name of
' Yahweh, the God of the Jews . . . and therefore of Christians. The story
becomes even more interesting as we look at the outcome of this marriage.
Here is one expert's view:

That the sacred marriage should bring as its fruit the birth of the
Saviour-King is in accordance with the general myth and ritual
pattern . . . Here the pre-natal history of Isaac comes to the fore.
The traditions in question are now scattered over the chapters
Genesis xvii-xviii . . . In the Isaac-oracles we assume a Canaanite
mystical motif and it can easily be demonstrated that the very
literary category of the oracle about the birth of the divine-royal
child goes back to a Canaanite pattern.

With Yahweh now the only God, in Genesis 21: 1-3 He is said to have
'visited' the wife of Abraham, who was at this stage an old man:

And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto
Sarah as he had spoken.

For Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the
set time, of which God had spoken to him.

And Abraham called the name of his son, that was born to him,
whom Sarah bare him, Isaac.

But the verb used for visit is paqad, which means to visit a woman in a
sexual sense of having intercourse, rather than just going innocently to say
hello.49 So Sarah appears to be a much earlier Mary - the mother of a
divinely conceived child of God. Abraham was of a remarkably old age for
procreation: according to Archbishop Ussher's calculations he was exactly

48 Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.
49 Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.

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 1111'. M A M I I (VI T LA J IN IN I'.L. 1 KMN.V

one hundred when Isaac was born, so the visitation of a god to Sarah w:is
much more likely to produce offspring.
Given that the Sun or any other astral deity is unlikely to produce preg-
nancy in a young woman, we can start to suspect that the man-god
Melchizedek might have been somehow involved. So it seems that whilst
the aged Abraham was paying tithes to the priest-king his host was 'vis-
iting' his wife.
We marvelled at the ancient nature of the eternal (if not equilateral) tri-

Sarah means 'queen' or 'princess' and it has been established that the '
name Isaac (Yishaq) is derived from the Canaanite word for 'he laughs' -
which appears to be a play on the statement in Genesis that Sarah 'laughed
within herself when God gave her a child. Furthermore, 'he laughs' is a
trait closely associated with the god El in Ugaritic mythical literature. It is
also highly relevant that the child suckled on the breasts of the virgin, Anat
(Venus).50 So we can conclude that this story of Abraham, Sarah and God
is an adaptation of an ancient Canaanite tradition of the 'visit' of a deity
to the queen to enter into a sacred marriage leading to the birth of the
J royal and divine child. J * ,, ******
In studying what is known about the influence of Canaanite ritual on
Judaism we were intrigued to find that many scholars find a great deal
more of the feminine side of God than is obvious in the Bible. One such
scholar summed up the situation as follows:

From the Old Testament alone we should never have guessed that
Israel associated a goddess with Yabwejp, even popularly, but the
conclusion is irresistible, and we are justified in assuming that she
played her part in the mythology and ritual of Israel. It is difficult
to avoid the conclusion that rites, similar to those found else-
where, were observed in pre-exilic Israel, and that these included a
recital or a representation of the annual marriage of Yahweh and
Anath.5I

50 Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.
51 Myth, Ritual and Kingship, Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1958. See 'Early Hebrew Myths
and Their Interpretation'.

133
 LILT I I U U N UL' MIK/MVL

CONCLUSIONS

We began to believe that the influx of newcomers who brought civilisation

to Sumer might have been Grooved Ware traders who settled in an envi-
ronment they found attractive, whilst still keeping links with other groups,
possibly in places like Gebal in Lebanon.
We believe that the Sumerians and the 'incomers' to the Levant were
Grooved Ware migrants, and both groups show similarities beyond their
Venus-based theology.
Sun worship is central to many ancient religions, but Venus is also impor-
tant to the cultures that we believe are connected to the Grooved Ware
muMMlM*
People. Venus was highly important to megalithic Britons, and it is the light
of the rising Venus that illuminates 'the darkness of death' for a third degree
Masonic candidate. We discovered Venus associations amongst the
Sumerians, the Canaanites, the Egyptians and the Jews.
The founders of Egypt at this time also brought with them the skills of
building, navigation and astronomy that kick-started one of the greatest
civilisations of all time. We noted that the main feature of Newgrange is
its spectacular white quartz wall; and the first city of ancient Egypt was
called Memphis, meaning White Wall.
We now believe that there is a strong case to be made that the disper-
sion of the Grooved Ware People seeded the later civilisations of the Middle
East.
The Ras Shamra tablets tell much about ancient Canaanite rituals, and
these have parallels with The Third Degree of Freemasonry when the can-
didate is symbolically killed and resurrected. Recent Old Testament studies
put Melchizedek, the Canaanite astral priest-king, into a context with def-
inite Masonic connotations.
An Asherah or shadow rod placed in the ground at the latitude of
Jerusalem creates an equilateral triangle when the shadows of the solstices
are plotted out. This ancient ritual is still alluded to in modern Freemasonic
ritual, but the meaning has been lost. The members of the Masonic Order
of The Grand High Priest stand along two edges of the triangle that forms
from the solstice shadows. The candidate kneels in the centre of the
Triangle, where he is anointed and raised. As the outer edges of the tri-
angle or delta represent the solstices, then the centre is the equinox. This
means that every candidate is anointed with oil and taken into the Order
at the equinox.

134
 1H t M A K I I I M l ; LI U N l\l t C I I U N 5

There was a continuation of the Canaanite priesthood after David took

the kingship for himself. So King David carried on the tradition which
Abraham started with Melchizedek, of recognising the validity of the
Canaanite High-Priest and King of Jerusalem. This began the Jewish belief
in distinct kingly and priestly messiahs.

135
 C h a p t e r Seven

T H E T W I N CULTS OF
JUDAISM

THE NEW NATION

The Old Testament claims that the Israelites gradually subjugated the
Canaanite cities during the latter half of the second millennium BCE, when
the Hebrews had left Egypt under Moses and Joshua intent upon taking
the land of Canaan for themselves. Nobody knows exactly when this hap-
pened, but Jewish tradition puts Moses' Red Sea crossing in the year 1447
BCE and the King James Bible dates it just a few years earlier in 1491 BCE.
By the end of Solomon's reign, over five hundred years later, it appears
that the eastern Canaanites had been assimilated into the Jewish nation
and the western Canaanites had become Phoenicians, and were thereafter
viewed as a separate people. However, it would seem that the Hebrews and
the Canaanites were not as different as the Old Testament would suggest.
Biblical scholars now believe that the Hebrew language was derived from
Canaanite sources and that the Phoenician language itself was the same as
early forms of Hebrew.1
The Jewish scribes who first recorded the Bible painted a picture of a
long chain of events, from the time Adam was thrown out of the Garden
of Eden, via the Covenant of Abraham and the Exodus of Moses, down
to King David's conquest of Jerusalem, that was predestined to establish
the Creator God's seat of power administered by His Chosen People. But

1 'Canaanites', Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. 1993-2000 Microsoft

Corporation. All rights reserved.

136
 T H E T W I N CULTS OF J U D A I S M

that, we believe, is simple post-rationalisation to justify their world-view.

The historical evidence says that during the period when the Hebrews
were supposedly taking the land of Canaan at the close of the late Bronze
Age, the entire area was in disarray. The whole region in the twelfth cen-
tury BCE experienced a sudden cultural collapse and widespread population
shifts.2 This was due, claims Professor William Stiebling, to a marked cli-
matic shift that a wide variety of evidence shows to have occurred at that
time. It began with a global warming from around 1300 BCE that lasted
over two hundred years, resulting in the desert areas of the land of Canaan
going into rapid decline because of lack of rain. According to the wide-
ranging evidence put forward by Stiebling, most villages in inland Canaan
were abandoned, and occupation only resumed after 1000 BCE.
This later date coincides with David's taking of Jerusalem, and this whole
period of arid conditions coincides with the general settlement of the Hebrew
people in Canaan. The question this raised for us is, did the Hebrews occupy
abandoned land because others were driven out by lack of water and food?
Stiebling explains how, at this time, there are records of internal rebel
lions in Babylon coinciding with a population drop of up to 75 per cent.
In Egypt there were major grain shortages, and constant trouble with
marauding tribes looting and killing as they pillaged the remaining food
stocks. The facts support a thesis of a Hebrew migration into vacated lands.
Putting aside the scientific argument, such as tree-ring analysis and the
changes that occurred in water tables and native flora, we can see how the
pattern of human settlement did indeed change. Whilst the coastal-living
Canaanites (i.e. those who became the Phoenicians) coped well with the
heat problem, the people to the east, living in higher and more remote
areas, suffered badly.
A survey of settlement sites in the area of Israel supposedly allotted to
the Jewish tribe of Manasseh shows there was a pattern that fits the effects
we would expect if a climatic problem arose. Manasseh is hill country with
desert fringes that covers an area some ten or fifteen miles inland of the
coast, stretching to the River Jordan, and is centrally placed between the
Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The author of this analysis, Dr Adant
Zertal, is an agricultural economist turned archaeologist, which makes him
splendidly qualified to undertake such a study- He has shown how the
number of sites of occupation varied over the period we are interested in.
2 Stiebling, WH: 'Did the Weather Make Israel's Emergence Possible?', Biblical Review, vol.
X , no. 4, August 1994

137
 iiii: DUUN. u r IIIK/\M

In the Middle Bronze Age (1750-1550 BCK) there were 116 settlements,
but by the Late Bronze Age (1550-1200 BCE) this dropped to just 39. This
is the sort of decline we would expect during Stiebling's claimed period of
dry, inhospitable climatic conditions. Then in Iron Age 1 (1200-1000 BCE)
the number of settlements jumps past the original level to 136. Zertal com-
ments:

This dramatic increase in settlements suggests the entry of a new

population into the area during Iron Age 1. This correlates with
the Biblical account of Israel's entry into Canaan during the same
period.3

In addition, Zertal's team noted that whereas the previous population were
more likely to have settled in valleys rather than on hills (at a ratio of three
to one), the population that arrived later settled on mountains in prefer-
ence (at a measured ratio of two to one). These data tend to suggest that
the new population were indeed different people with fresh ideas of where
to site their settlements.
We found that there are three principal theories about the Hebrews
arriving in Canaan. The first, William Albright's 'conquest model',4 accepts
the battles described in the Old Testament as an historical reality. The
second, Albrecht Alt's, is a 'peaceful infiltration' model. The third is George
Mendenhall's 'peasant revolt or social revolution' model.
Albright appears to have been looking for evidence to support the story
told in the Bible, but archaeological discoveries since he first published his
theory have not supported him. Our view, arrived at after checking sub-
stantial amounts of information, is that Mendenhall's theory (particularly
as developed by Norman Gottwald) is likely to be closer to historical
reality.
Mendenhall, and later Gottwald, drew on modern anthropological and
sociological concepts to propose that most of the early Israelites were not
outsiders who arrived in the land, but were Canaanite renegades who
revolted against their feudal urban oppressors. This Canaanite underclass
fled east and south to the central hills, abandoning the western part of the
country. Put simply, Israel emerged from within Canaan rather than invading

3 Zertal, A: 'Israel Enters Canaan', Biblical Archaeology Review, vol: XVII, no: 5, Sept./Oct.
1991
4 Albright, WF: From the Stone Age to Christianity, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1940

138
 [TIE T W I N CULTS OF J U D A I S M

it from outside. If this model is accepted, and we do accept it, then the
Hebrews are simply Canaanite peasant stock.
This explanation fits with the Old Testament 'Period of the Judges',
which occurred at the time of Iron Age 1 with its influx of population
into the hill country. Before the introduction of Hebrew kingship, the var-
ious tribes were led by chiefs who are remembered in the Bible as 'the
Judges'. The later writers of the Book of Deuteronomy tried to list these
men as though they held power sequentially, but modern biblical studies
suggests that many might have been contemporary competitors with each
other.
Gideon, one of the later judges who changed his name from the Canaanite
Jerubbaal, seems to have surpassed the standing of other judges. He kept
and serviced a harem, having seventy sons. In his spare time he established
a religious centre at Ophrah, where he created a cult object called an ephod.
This was a divination instrument which was comparable in religious sig-
nificance to Moses' Ark of the Covenant (not to be confused with the upper
part of a priest's clothing of the same name). At Ophrah he formally named
one of his sons Abimelech, a name which honoured God as Father and
King, and by doing so took the first steps towards the development of
Jewish kingship.
The peasant Canaanites became known as Hebrews from the word
'Apiru.5 More than three hundred cuneiform tablets have been found at
Tell el-Amarna, capital of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten (1353-1335
BCE). Many contain correspondence between Akhenaten and his vassal kings
in Canaan which reveals that Egypt was losing control of its subject states,
including those in Canaan, itself beset by problems inflicted by these mys-
terious 'Apiru. From the descriptions given it is clear that the 'Apiru came
from outside the ranks of normal Canaanite society and acted as hired agri
cultural workers, mercenaries or even outlaws. One letter tells how a group
of 'Apiru, led by someone called Lab'ayyu, took control of the city of
Shechem in the central hill country of Canaan.
We felt we could see a clear picture emerging.
The aristocracy and middle classes of coastal Canaan became too suc-
cessful. They controlled virtually all international trade, becoming rich and
prosperous merchants. The well-to-do of the coastal cities no longer needed
a large labour force because they made their money abroad and imported

5 Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1962

139
I rl t bUUK, ut- I I I KAM

all of the exotic foods and goods they could consume. They progressively
lost contact with their own, almost unemployable, peasant stock and these
disenfranchised and demoralised 'Apiru became an unwanted underclass
who took to travelling the countryside desperately searching for employ-
ment and food.
No doubt some went down to Egypt to act as agricultural workers,
labourers and mercenaries - perhaps the story of Moses being a Hebrew
('Apiru) is based on the memory of a highly successful mercenary who held
the rank of general in the Egyptian army. Under this scenario the account
of the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt makes sense, as they escaped eastwards
and northwards in search of their promised land - their own land prom-
ised to them by birthright. When they arrived back in the Canaan that their
ancestors had abandoned generations earlier, they discovered they were now
just one group amongst many almost stateless 'Apiru.
Perhaps these refugees from Egypt were more sophisticated than the run-
of-the-mill peasants they found living in their promised land. They started
to organise them into a new kind of social order - led by the men who,
the Bible tells us, called themselves 'the Judges'. The Canaanite city kings
must have been worried when they saw the country dwellers motivated to
demand a better lot for themselves, and perhaps there were battles, with
peasant uprisings led by ex-mercenaries with sufficient military skills to
topple a minor city or two. But we found that our studies kept bringing
us back to the stories of King David.
The earliest stories of the creation of a true Jewish state concern King
David, from whose line Jesus claimed descent. The Old Testament says that
as soon as David took Jerusalem the process of centralising the priesthood
in the city began, creating an increasingly elaborate organisation with prac-
tices that separated it from the religious rites of the surrounding country.
In the rural areas the priests at local shrines known as 'the high places'
carried on a form of Yahwistic cult which was more or less the same as
the old Canaanite practices, but now authorised by the name of a new god.
Biblical scholar Professor Samuel Hook has said:

The next change from the introduction of (Hebrew) kingship was

the separation betiveen the religious practice of the capital and that
of the country. From the evidence of the Deuteronomic editors of
the book of Kings and from the Prophets we know that in the
country the local shrines, 'the high places', with their local priests

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 I III: l VV I IN LIJ J W L-//AI OIVI

carried on a form of Yahwistic cult which was strongly influenced

hy Canaanite practice. Hosea shows to what extent Yahweh and
liaal had become confused in the minds of Israelite worshippers.
This state of things persisted, in spite of prophetic denunciations
and the efforts of reforming kings, until the fall of Jerusalem in
S86 B.C.6

The Jews, however, introduced a concept of kingship with a special

quality into the lands they controlled. Their first king, Saul, is portrayed
as being a type of the old judge who receives a divine appointment for
mainly military purposes. King David's authority is different: it is based on
a covenant. This is a mutual agreement between three parties: the king, the
people, and Yahweh. David's right to kingship was supported by his spe-
cial relationship with God.
David was considered to be the first messiah, and his claim was based
on his special relationship to Yahweh, through this convenant. 7 The agree-
ment included terms and conditions on two sides: the monarch's and the
nation's. Yahweh's role was that of an enforcer, to ensure that the bargain
was duly kept by both sides. This set-up was a remarkably democratic con-
cept that was original and unique. It was effectively a charter and a coro-
nation oath with inbuilt limitations to the royal prerogative, and a divine
guarantee of extensive rights and liberties for the subject.
In every other surrounding country at that time the king was an absolute
autocrat whose subjects had no rights whatsoever. Whilst previously the
court language of Israel had sometimes adopted a terminology whereby the
ordinary citizen was called the 'slave' of the king, under David's regime a
new conception of social organisation was put in place where the subject
was considered to be a 'brother' (Deuteronomy 17: 20) or a 'neighbour'
(Jeremiah 22:13) of the king. This was a revolutionary theory of the rela-
tionship between the government and the governed - but it was to be short-
lived.
As time went on, more and more territory fell under the control of the
rural people - even southern ports such as Ashkelon were taken - but the
northern coastal cities of the Phoenicians remained unassailable. The Jews
took Jerusalem late in the day, and it may well have be.fjn a political vic-
tory rather than a bloody military one.

6 Hooke, SH: 'The Religious Institutions of Israel', Peake's Commentary on the Bible, 1962
7 Hertzberg, Arthur: Judaism, George Braziller, New York, 1962

141
 According to the Old Testament, King Solomon's Temple for Yahweh
was eventually built on land that David bought for six hundred shekels
of gold from a Jebusite 8 called Araunah (also known as Oman). He had
previously used it as a place for threshing wheat.9 Six hundred shekels
was a substantial sum of money, and the inclusion of this payment in the
story is probably meant to indicate that David was behaving in a proper
manner towards the indigenous population. The Book of Samuel tells how
David bought this high place on the advice of the prophet Gad. He saw
a need to placate God, who was annoyed because David had conducted
a census within his new kingdom to assist in the collection of taxes. The
Book of Samuel says God sent an angel to slaughter a large number of
David's subjects, but the king was given the choice of the means of destruc-
tion. On behalf of Yahweh, Gad offered David three options of different
calamities as punishment. These were famine for seven years, disastrous
war for three months, or pestilence for three days. Not surprisingly, David
opted for the last. Accordingly, at the time of the wheat harvest a plague
began among the people, killing seventy thousand people. Then, just as
this virulence was about to reach Jerusalem, David prayed to Yahweh and
the plague was stayed.10 The story seems improbable for several reasons,
not least the number of people allegedly killed by disease in just three
days.
Given that the Old Testament was written down several hundred years
after the events described, was David a living, historical figure or just a
composite myth? Some people claim he was real because the 'House of
David' seems to be referred to in the ninth-century Tel Dan stela and the
stela of a Moabite king called Mesha who reigned circa 8 4 9 - 8 2 0 BCE. But
even this claimed evidence is from two hundred years after the supposed
event.
We asked our friend Professor Philip Davies for an authoritative opinion.
Philip replied:

The Tel Dan stela does have one word that can be translated as
'House of David' but can also mean other things. Even if it means
'House of David' it would not mean that the 'David' is the char-
acter depicted in the Bible. Even the most enthusiastic of experts
8 The Jebusites were the Canaanite inhabitants of Jerusalem prior to the arrival of the Hebrew
people.
9 1 Chronicles 2 1 : 1 5 - 2 6
10 2 Samuel 24: 1 3 - 1 6

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 I I I L IVVIIN C U LI J KJI |U U A I J IVl

admit that there never was a big Davidic empire, that Jerusalem
was a piddly little village and that the legends about David are
probably huge exaggerations. At best we are talking about a historical
core to a legend, and even that I'm not too sure about. I'll stick
with an analogy of King Arthur; possibly some historical core but
not the man of the legends.

So we probably are dealing with a Jewish myth, constructed much later,

to explain why certain beliefs exist and certain places are venerated. When
the later Old Testament writers were trying to prove that the nation of
Jews had a history, it would never have been acceptable to say their beliefs
were simply aspects of Canaanite theology. So they personified a process
in the legendary person of King David. To simplify our discussions, how-
ever, we accepted their convention and continued to refer to David as a
single person.
Young King Hiram had not been long on the throne of Tyre when the
'Apiru warlord David took control of Jerusalem from the Jebusites, turning
the city of the Venus-priesthood of Melchizedek into a city of David. The
Old Testament states that David, the ambitious king of the 'Apiru, per-
suaded the Jebusite aristocracy of Jerusalem to hand over control to him.
Josephus tells us that the leaders of the city insulted David by using all the
maimed, the lame and the beggars of Jerusalem to bar his way, saying that
even the lame were enough to stop him taking the city.11 David promptly
besieged the city until its leaders were forced to deal with him. H e took
the city but retained the services of the priesthood of Melchizedek,
appointing Zadok as his high priest.
Hiram, realising that his vulnerable and wealthy port of Tyre, complete
with a full set of king-making temples, might be next on David's list of
cities to acquire, decided to win himself some time. He made friends with
David; offered him support and technical skills; built him a palace in
Jerusalem to consolidate his power; and kept the Jewish warlord in
Jerusalem and away from Tyre. Josephus said of these events:

Hiram, also king of the Tyrians, sent ambassadors to him [David]

and made a league of mutual friendship and assistance with him.
He also sent him presents, cedar trees, and mechanics, and men

11 Whiston, W (ed. and trans.): Josephus, Antiquities, vii, iii, 1

143
I III. I J W I X v/I I I I I \ / \ IV I

skilful in architecture, that they might build him a Royal Palace in

Jerusalem.12

This ploy worked and won Hiram enough time to rebuild his city of
Tyre on the artificial rocky island he constructed out to sea. Hiram was
careful to make sure that all his sources of Royal power were removed to
his new island fortress. He built new Temples to his gods, who guaranteed
his Royal power, and then demolished the older, more vulnerable, onshore
ones.
The requirement for David to be recorded as establishing a new line of
kings was, in our opinion, the reason the 'Apiru are described as taking
Jerusalem at a given point in time, and why later scribes made so much of
the fact that David was anointed. Anointing was a part of the process of
Phoenician king-making in a special ritual carried out in an east-facing
Temple with two pillars at its entrance.
The claim that Samuel anointed first Saul and then David appears to be
an attempt to copy the Canaanite rituals, but the scribes knew that more
was needed in order to claim to have a 'real' king. The Jebusites knew that
real Canaanite kingsa were consorts of Venus: the name of their city,i
Jerusalem, reflected this. To match a Canaanite king's level of Divine
authority David needed an east-facing Temple of his own, preferably ded-
icated to his new Ark-dwelling God, Yahweh, where he could carry out
king-making rituals and marry the goddess Venus in the cold glow of early
dawn.
Josephus tells of the decision but not the motive:

Now when the king [Davidj saw that his affairs grew better almost
every day, by the will of God, he thought he should offend Him, if
while he himself continued in houses made of cedar, such as were
of a great height, and had the most curious works of architecture
in them, he should overlook the ark while it was laid in the
tabernacle and was desirous to build a temple to God, as Moses
had predicted such a temple should be built.13

The house with the most curious works of architecture was the gift of
Hiram, king of Tyre. The claim that Moses predicted the building of a

12 Josephus, Antiquities, vii, iii, 2

13 Josephus, Antiquities, vii, iii, 4

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 i n c ivviin l u l i j u r j u u n o i v i

Temple to Yahweh is not to he found in any present versions of the

Pentateuch, but we knew it was included in The Masonic Testament, where
[Closes says that the Tabernacle is the model for the Temple, which will
one day be built of stone, when he instructs Bezaleel to make it. |Masonic-
Testament 6:7] We found it interesting that Josephus adds a detail which
is in the Masonic record and nowhere else.
We found support for this view of what was happening from Professor
Jagersma, who holds the chair of Hebrew and Old Testament Studies at
Brussels University. He observes about the Bible stories of David and the Ark:

In the stories which follow his anointing by Samuel, David is

constantly referred to as a mighty warrior and an able general . . .
IDavid's] capture of Jerusalem put paid to the key position which
the Philistines had occupied in this area for some time . . . Another
important fact which favoured this change of power was the weak-
ening of the power of the [Phoenician] old city states. This is clearly
connected to the economic sphere. Whereas earlier the economic
focus was to be found principally in the coastal plain, there was an
increasing shift eastwards, towards the hill country . . . the incorpo-
ration of the inhabitants of Jerusalem and other Canaanite cities
into the kingdom of David had far-reaching consequences not only
for religious but also social and economic affairs. David probably
understood all too well that Jerusalem could only function properly
as a political centre if it also attained the status of a religious centre
in his kingdom . . . for David the Ark was clearly of great signifi-
cance . . . The result of bringing the Ark to Jerusalem was that the
city increasingly became the focal point of the cult [of Yahwehf14

The city of Jerusalem was tiny but well fortified, and taking it must have
been the ultimate victory for David, the peasant king of myth and legend.
The Bible tells us that he immediately took an army of thirty thousand
picked men to bring the Ark of the Covenant from Kiriath-jearim^Baalah^
to his new capital - dancing in front of it as it went. On route, the driver
of the cart carrying the Ark was struck dead for accidentally touching the
home of Yahweh, so to avoid further problems David sacrificed an ox and
a buffalo every six paces.
It must have been a slow and bloody journey.
14 Jagersma, H: A History of Israel to Bar Kochba, SCM Press, 198S

145
 ill. uvyv/l\ W I 1 I I l\/\IVI

The City of David was a tiny settlement with the later temple being
built on the high ground to the north.

RICH MAN, POOR MAN

In our researches so far we had identified two different strata of Canaanite

society: the wealthy and sophisticated city dwellers, personified by the inhab-
itants of Byblos and Tyre, and the peasants who occupied the outer rural
areas. The urban people not only differed in the quality of their clothes
and their food, they were also better educated in matters of science, phi-
losophy and theology. They enjoyed culture and tradition based around
their temples, whilst the 'Apiru could boast only a jumble of old myths
identified with sacred sanctuaries marked with stones.
However, the 'Apiru set about organising their myths and developing a
new heritage with such determination and vigour that they eventually
eclipsed all the rest. Their success is today's religious heritage of monotheism
- a feat that must be greatly admired. But this legitimising process was not
easy. We were finding more and more evidence to confirm the hints we
had found in Masonic ritual, that conflicts surfaced as two different reli-
gions were welded, unhappily and temporally, together.

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 MIC I VV I IN L U L U L^r JULV/WJIVl

As the 'Apiru began to organise they gave themselves a first semblance

of heritage by dividing into four tribes named after the wives of Jacob and
his maidservants: Leah, Zilpah, Rachael and Bilhah. Once the population
stabilised each person became associated with a tribe by virtue of the region
they lived in, rather than their ancestry.15
The priest-kings of the great cities, such as Melchizedek in early Jerusalem
and Hiram in contemporary Tyre, worshipped the Sun and Venus, under
stood astronomy and practised secret rituals for king-making. The com-
moners of the surrounding countryside followed a typical peasant religion
based on the age-old simple theme of the god or his son dying each season
and being resurrected the following spring. We have come to this view after
considering the views of many leading biblical scholars and archaeologists.
Whilst both the urban and rural peoples had similar beliefs involving the
ancient concepts of death and resurrection, and both had an astrological
content, the differences are very significant.
The kings and their aristocratic followers considered the resurrection to
be for themselves, and Venus, in its role as the Brigjit Morning Star, appears
to have been central to this concept. The country folk saw the death and
resurrection concept as an event that happened yearly to a king, or to a
god, one that marked the seasons in order to ensure that they had the food
stocks that they needed. For these commoners, it was usually the Sun that
drove the resurrection of the land.
One biblical scholar, the Rev. Professor William Irwin, says of this simple
resurrection imagery:

The cultis of the dying god must be recognised as nothing less than
the profound sacrament of the ancient world: a god laid down his
life that through death life might be triumphant, and suffering and
sorrow give place to joy. 16

This theme continued across thousands of years - for instance the god
Mithra was said to have been born in a stable on the winter solstice some
six hundred years before Christ, and his resurrection was celebrated at
Easter. But none of these cults had an obvious Venus component. This, it
seems, was reserved for the rites and rituals of kings and senior members
of their mighty city states.

15 Fohrer, G: History of Israelite Religion, S.P.C.K., London, 1973

16 Irwin, WA: 'Job', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

147
i iii: i r i i rv/Mvi

The key differentiation between these two aspects of Canaanite/Jewish the-

ology that we wish to stress here is one of time-frame. The king-making
Venus ritual associated with the aristocratic groups is concerned with long-
term issues - the belief that individuals can be personally resurrected from
one lifetime to a series of others. Biblical heroes such as Enoch (and appar-
ently Melchizedek) lived for hundreds of years, and when kings did move on
to the life beyond, they joined the gods in heaven because of their belief that
they were at one with the workings of the stars and planets. The commoners,
on the other hand, had a short-term view that caused them to think season
to season. Their primary concern was that their crops did not fail and they
could feed themselves for another year. 'The dying god has risen' was their
cry each Easter. What might happen at the next Venus cycle forty years later
was wildly beyond the limits of their theology and even their imagination.
The term 'Canaanites' appears to us to generally refer to the city dwellers
of places such as Hiram's Tyre and Melchizedek's Jerusalem. The 'Apiru
were originally the peasant stock who were, by necessity of survival, a wan-
dering people who moved according to climatic conditions and the avail-
ability of work as labourers or as mercenaries. It is known, for example,
that the ancient Egyptians would freely allow these nomadic people to camp
on the Nile when drought drove them south in a desperate search for water.
The Egyptians also gave them work, and many fought in the Egyptian army.
This may explain why an 'Apiru like Moses became a general in the Egyptian
army before he was accused of committing a murder and had to escape
northwards back to Canaan. Another expert explains how, over time, the
'Apiru or Israelites came to settle in fixed locations:

At first most of the Israelites were peasants living in closed

communities; a portion of them finally arrived at a truly urban
economy. This is one of the reasons for the later enmity between
city and countryside, to this extent that it was not rooted, like the
antipathy of the rural population of Judah towards Jerusalem, in
the fact that the majority of the city-dwellers were Canaanites . . .
Israelites gained admittance to some Canaanite sanctuaries. The
clan gods were soon linked to these sanctuaries rather than to the
clan, which now settled permanently; deities of the road became
deities of specific places.17

17 Fohrer, G: History of Israelite Religion

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 I I IE T W I N CULTS OF J U D A I S M

From a very early date there had been a linkage between Venus wor-
ship and the concept of a dying and rising nature god, and it is possible
that such an association goes back deep into prehistory. The Phoenicians
knew Venus in the form of Ashtoreth, whose consort was Tammuz, the
god of plant and animal fertility. In public rituals these deities would In-
represented by the king and high priestess.
This theme of a god dying for the good of the world and being subse-
quently resurrected must have been very easy for the common people to buy
into. It has a primordial charm and is an obvious reflection of the patterns
of the seasons. But the king-making rituals, which remained so secret, were
clearly very different. This was part of a personal resurrection plan similar
to that used by the ancient kings of Egypt, whereby the Horus travelled to
the 'Duat' - the land of the dead - to be crowned by the gods themselves v
By the time that the 'Apiru had become the Jewish nation and the Greek
civilisation was in full swing, the astral cult appears to have declined and
Venus had become solely a feature of dying and rising vegetation cults. The
king-making Venus cult died away with the broadening of city states into
something more nationalistic and inclusive of people at all levels of society.
But the early Jewish kings must have known that they really needed to
have access to the higher aspects of Venus ritual if they were to become
divine themselves, and therefore qualified to lead the vegetation aspects of
their nation's needs.
Saul was made the first king of these wandering 'Apiru when they started
to become urbanised. But he was advanced to the rank of king, not by
divine right, but by three steps:

First, he was elected king by an assembly of tribesmen at the town

of Mizpah.

Next he was anointed by the prophet Samuel at Ephraim.

Finally he was acclaimed king at Gilgal.

Gilgal (meaning 'stone circle' 18 ) held an important place in the devel-
oping Jewish myth as the place where the 'Apiru army were circumcised
en masse after they first carried their Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan

18 Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1962

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 IIIT: DUUIS. u r niKAivt

into the promised land. As we talked through this material we asked the
question: How did these peasants know the accepted method of turning a
commoner into a king?
It seemed to us that they would not have access to the rituals that the
city dwellers believed could make a man into a king. These rituals were
closely guarded secrets that the Jebusite kings of Jerusalem and their high
priests had used from the time of Abraham and Melchizedek, which explains
why the 'Apiru were so keen to take Jerusalem, known later as 'the city of
the great King'. But it seems unlikely that any Jebusite king would step
down and simply hand over the secrets of political power.
As we have already noted, David's rule, for all its unpleasantness, was
totally unlike any other before it in that it treated citizens as equals, not
possessions. Perhaps the equality that he extended to his subjects was due
to the fact that he was still only a 'super-judge - he did not have the divine
status that only the ritual of true, sacred kingship could confer. Here, we
believed was a possible explanation for Solomon's need to establish himself
as a sacred king, after the manner of the ancient Canaanites.
Solomon was born in the latter part of David's life, when Jerusalem was
a well organised city, and by the time he became king he believed that he
was definitely superior to his subjects. He demonstrated no sympathy with
the conceptions of society introduced by his father, and his very accession
has been described as a triumph of the principles of autocracy over those
of democracy. 19 King David is portrayed as an ordinary person who was
chosen to lead his people - like a modern president. But King Solomon
was something quite different. His behaviour does not denote equality with
his people, it belongs to a man with a divine right to rule. How did he
acquire this divine right?

CONCLUSIONS

The aristocracy and middle classes of coastal Canaan controlled a prof-

itable international trade. These well-to-do seaside cities didn't need a large
labour force; they made their money abroad and imported all the goods
they needed. They lost contact with their unemployable peasant stock, and
these demoralised 'Apiru became an underclass who travelled the country-
side looking for employment and food. Some must have gone to Egypt to

19 Robinson, TH: The History of Israel (A Companion to the Bible), T & T Clark, 1939

150
 THE T W I N CULTS OE J U D A I S M

work, so the story of Moses being a Hebrew ('Apiru) could be based on

the actions of a successful mercenary general in the Egyptian army. The
account of the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt now makes sense, as they
escaped eastwards and northwards in search of their own land promised
to them by birth.
On their return these 'Apiru organised the underclass into a new social
order led by the Judges. The Canaanite city kings became worried when
they saw the country dwellers demanding a better lot for themselves, and
there were uprisings by ex-mercenaries having enough military skill to win
a city or two. More cities fell to the rural people - even Ashkelon suc-
cumbed - but the northern coastal cities of the Phoenicians remained secure.
By now two different strata of Canaanite society had developed: the city
dwellers, typically Byblos and Tyre, and the rural unwashed. The urban
people were better educated in science, philosophy and theology. They
enjoyed culture and tradition, whilst the 'Apiru could boast only a jumble
of old myths, but the 'Apiru organised their myths into our religious her-
itage of monotheism.
The Canaanite city dwellers ruled by Melchizedek in Jerusalem and
Hiram in Tyre worshipped the Sun and Venus, understood astronomy and
practised secret rituals for king-making. The 'Apiru followed a less com-
plex peasant religion where the,god or his son died each season to be reborn
next spring.
This Canaanite astral religion grew from a race of extremely successful
seafarers and traders who worshipped a goddess who manifested herself as
the planet Venus. The original Canaanite settlements with their traditions
of astronomically aligned temple building fused with a new wave of invaders
who sailed in from the homelands of the Grooved Ware People.
David, an ambitious leader of the 'Apiru, persuaded the Jebusite aris-
tocracy of Jerusalem to hand over control of the city to him, but they did
so only after insulting David's kingly credentials. David immediately set
about creating a shrine to the God he had inherited from Moses, and
brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Hiram of Tyre was wor-
ried by these developments and instituted a two-pronged political solution.
He made friends with David by building him a palace in Jerusalem, whilst
also moving his city and its king-making temples to safety on an artificial
island he built in the sea.

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 C h a p t e r Eight

REAL K I N G S , H U M A N
SACRIFICE AND
RAINMAKING

THE FAILURE OF T H E FINAL INSTALMENT

In the minds of many, Solomon's rule was the moment of triumph for the
Jewish people, but the reality was different. His building work was impres-
sive but it was also extravagant and wasteful, way beyond any realistic
financial means of his fledgling nation. The Bible tells us that even the
treasures accumulated by David were not enough to pay the costs of
Solomon's desire to prove himself a king amongst kings. Because of his
buildings, including the Jerusalem Temple, he ended up subjecting his people
to forced labour to grow the crops to pay Hiram, King of Tyre. For this
purpose Solomon divided the country into twelve districts that shared out
his labour demands. These included everyone in the kingdom except those
from Judah, which understandably aggravated the growing discontent felt
over the rest of the land. Revolts ensued both in Edom and among the
Aramaean tribes to the northeast, leading to a loss of labour and revenue
and putting more strain on the rest of Solomon's suffering subjects.
We believe that Solomon wanted to be a real king in the Canaanite tra-
dition. The only person willing and able to sell the rituals of king-making
to him was Hiram, King of Tyre. But if we are right and Hiram did indeed
do a trading deal to sell Solomon suitable apparatus and rituals for king-
making, what might the deliverables of this contract have been? We knew
about the hardware - the detail of the Temple in the Bible and The Masonic
Testament is comprehensive - but what of the software? What rituals

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

married a son of El (Baal) to the goddess Baalat and so made him a member
of the council of God? *

Applying what we knew about Sir William St Clair's riddling Viking her-
itage, we decided to look again at Masonic ritual. As we have seen, Viking
poetry abounds in a device known as a kenning, a form of allegorical re!
erence which can only be understood by applying a lot of background
knowledge of the subject. We asked ourselves, might the method of Jewish
king-making that Hiram sold to Solomon be hidden in a Masonic 'ken .
ning'? We decided to piece together what we now knew into a sensible
hypothesis, to assemble a picture from our jigsaw of evidence.
We saw in Chapter 5 how from earliest times the Phoenician king was
the earthly representative of El, the great Sun-god, and husband of the
queen of the heavens (Baalat). The vernal equinox festivals of fertility, held
at the Temple of Baalat, involved ritual prostitution as a religious duty,
imposed on all the fertile women of the kingdom. They must give them-
selves in uninhibited sexual congress to any passing stranger who wishes
to take them. It was believed that El would come in disguise as a stranger,
and so the women must give themselves to all strangers in case one of them
might be El, To appease El's wife, Baalat, they donated the fee they took
from their 'customers' to her Temple as a charge for providing the neces-
sary brothel facilities.
Perhaps the king, in his role as earthly representative of El, opened the
proceedings by a public copulation with the High Priestess of Baalat. Nine"
months later, the fruit of such unions would be born around the winter
solstice. Sometimes the Goddess would smile on these births. She would
appear close to her husband in the morning sky and her pleasure would
be evident from the brightness of her glory, clearly visible in the lightening
sky of the dawn. Who could doubt her pleasure as they watched her dance
around the bright glory of her husband, following the ritual path which
traces out the symbolic horns of the headdress of Venus around the Sun's
risings and settings?
Such favoured births, sired by the king in his role as earthly represen-
tative of El, and birthed by the High Priestess of Baalat as the earthly rep-
resentative of the goddess, at a moment when her bright stai; could be seen
embracing the Sun during his morning rising, must have truly been regarded
as favoured Sons of Venus.^
We reconstructed the chronology of the reigns of the kings of Tyre from
the information in Josephus and found that King Hiram was born at a part

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I n t bUUK. Uh M I KAM

of the eight-year Venus cycle when the planet was close to the Sun in a
morning star rising. So he fulfils all necessary conditions to be seen as the
son of Venus (Baalat) and the Sun (El). This son is normally known as
Baal, the god who dies in the autumn and is reborn in the spring.
But what of the tomb inscriptions which describe kings of Tyre as mar-
ried to the Goddess Baalat?
This seems to be the key to a ritual which takes a Son of Venus and
turns him into a Royal consort of the Goddess and the earthly embodi-
ment of the Most High (El). We cannot be sure how this ritual was car-
ried out, but the archaeological remains of the Phoenician temples have all
suggested that it involved an east-facing Temple with two pillars at the
entrance; a dormer about the doorway to let in the pre-dawn light of Venus,
and a pavement for the High Priest to walk on and carry out his rituals.
But we had an additional clue to help our understanding of this cere-
mony from Masonic ritual.
When Chris was giving a public talk in Dallas he was given a small
package by a woman who had been in the audience but had left when the
talk ended and questions began. When he opened the brown envelope he
found a handwritten note which read:

Thank you both so much for all of your good work, may God
bless you. I have some old papers for you that belonged to my
father who was a life-long Freemason. I hope they are of use to
your endeavors.

The enclosures were typed sheets of Masonic ritual which did indeed prove
to be helpful, as they covered a set of degrees known as the Rite of Perfection,
whose details concerned just what was supposed to have happened when
Masons carried out the very first raising ceremony for the body of Hiram
Abif.
These rituals were reported to have been taken to America by travelling
Scottish military lodges in the seventeenth century and eventually adopted
by the Grand Lodge of Charleston, Virginia, from where this set of degrees
came. As they pre-dated the censorship which followed the formation of
the United Grand Lodge of England, we looked at them with great interest.
The detail of their contents can be found in The Masonic Testament
[8:11-13], which says what happened when a travelling lodge of Masons
found the body of Hiram Abif in a shallow grave. It was this ritual which

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 RLAL KINUS, H U M A N i A C R I H L f c A N D RAI N M AK.I N C i

eventually helped us understand the Phoenician king-making ceremony and

see how a son of Venus could become the earthly consort of the mother
"Goddess. Although the significance of the ritual was not immediately clear
to us.

11. They performed their task with the utmost fidelity, and on
reopening the ground one of the Brethren looking round observed
some of his companions in a position expressive of the horror of
the afflicting sight, and others viewing the ghastly wounds still
visible on his forehead smote their own in sympathy with his
sufferings: two of the Brethren then descended the grave; one of
them endeavoured to raise our Master by the Entered Apprentice
grip, which proved a slip; the other tried the Fellow Craft's grip,
ivhicb proved a slip likewise; having both failed in their attempts, a
more zealous and expert Brother descended, and, using the strong
or lion grip of a Master Mason, with their assistance raised him on
the Five Points of Fellowship, ivhile others, still more animated,
exclaimed words having a nearly similar import; King Solomon
ordered that these casual signs, tokens, and ivords should designate
all Master Masons throughout the Universe, until time or
circumstances should restore the genuine ones.

12. The body of our Master was ordered to be re-interred as near

to the Sanctum Sanctorum as the Israelitish laws would permit.
There in a grave from the centre three feet East, three feet West,
three feet between North and South and five feet or more
perpendicular.

13. He was not buried in the Sanctum Sanctorum, because nothing

common or unclean was allowed to enter there, not even the High
Priest except once a year and not even then until after many
washings and purifications, against the great day of expiations of
sins, for by the Israelitish law all dead bodies are deemed unclean.

The key factor in this passage is that Hiram Abif (whose name, as we
noted in The Hiram Key, means the lord or Baal who has been lost) is
raised on the Five Points of Fellowship. This is a strange five-point embrace
which takes place in the centre of the Temple, between the Candidate and

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I I I I : BOOK. Oh H I R A M

the Worshipful Master, who is in charge of the ritual for the ceremony. Just
before this ceremony is carried out this prayer is recited in the Freemasonic
Temple:

Almighty and Eternal God, Architect and Ruler of the Universe, at

whose creative fiat all things first were made, we, the frail creatures
of Thy providence, humbly impldre Thee to pour down on this
convocation assembled in Thy Holy Name the continual dew of
Thy blessing. Especially we beseech Thee to impart Thy grace to
this Thy servant, who offers himself a candidate to partake with us
the mysterious Secrets of a Master Mason. Endue him ivith such
fortitude that in the hour of trial he fail not, but that passing safely
under Thy protection, through the valley of the shadow of death,
he may finally rise from the tomb of transgression, to shine ivith
the stars for ever and ever.

Now, with our increased knowledge of the basic principles underlying

Phoenician kingship, and knowing that Solomon bought these secrets to
add to the existing traditions of Abraham and Moses that David capitalised
on when he established Jerusalem as the home of Moses' Ark of the
Covenant, a possible interpretation of this strange embrace came to us.
At the moment of raising, whilst the candidate is still embraced at five
points of contact, this is said to him by the Master who has just raised
him:

Let me now beg you to observe, that the light of a Master Mason
is darkness visible, serving only to express that gloom which rests

A
on the prospect of futurity; it is that mysterious veil which the eye
of human reason cannot penetrate, unless assisted by that light
which is from above; yet, even by this glimmering ray, you may
perceive that you stand on the very brink of the grave into which
you have just figuratively descended, and which, when this transi-
tory life shall have passed away, will again receive you into its cold
bosom. Let the emblems of mortality which lie before you, lead
you to contemplate on your inevitable destiny, and guide your
reflections to that most interesting of all human studies, the knowl-
edge of yourself. Be careful to perform your allotted task while it is
yet day; continue to listen to the voice of nature, which bears

156
 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

witness, that even in this perishable frame, resides a vital and _

immortal principle, which inspires a holy confidence that the Ijjrd
of life will enable us to trample the king of terrors beneath our
feet, and lift our eyes to that bright morning star, whose rising
brings peace and salvation to the faithful and obedient of the
human race.

We now knew that our Grand Master Hiram, King of Tyre, held the fol
lowing religious belief. Every year Baal, the son of Baalat and El, dies at
the autumn equinox and is reborn at the vernal equinox. Checking out the
dates given by Josephus, we know that Hiram of Tyre was conceived at
the vernal equinox and born at the winter solstice, when Venus rose close
before the Sun. This made him a son of Venus. When his father died, Hiram
had to change from being the Son of the Goddess to embracing her in mar
riage, This raised him from a Prince to a King.
As Baal, he entered the Temple of Venus on the eve of the autumnal
equinox and ritually but only symbolically died, acting out his role as Baal.
He was laid to rest, his feet pointing East and his head West. Could this
be connected to a five-pointed embrace of resurrection under the light of
Venus at dawn?
The planet Venus, as she moves around the sky, touches the path of the
Sun (the zodiac) in just five places. So the High Priestess of Baalat per-
sonifies the Goddess as she comes to her husband at dawn, just as he rises
from the grave of the dark earth. First she reaches down to take his hand,
then she places her right foot against his. Two priests of El, who celebrate
the Sun at his zenith and setting, assist her to pivot the king forward out
of the cold embrace of his grave into the warm embrace of the Goddess.
As Hiram is lifted by the priests of El the High Priestess presses her right
knee against his, pulls him tightly to her breast and completely embraces
him, throwing her arm across his shoulders to reach down his back as she
breathes the secret words of kingship into his ear.
It seems to us that the whole ancient precept that underpins the concept
of the Divine right to rule is that the candidate for kingship must die to
attend the council of the gods in heaven and return to life as one accepted
by the spirits of his forebears. We have already mentioned that Melchizedek
was considered to be a member of the council of the gods, and the inscrip-
tions on the tombs of the Phoenician kings also assigned them a role as
mediators or Meleks on El's council. We had also formed a similar opinion

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lilt liUUR I I I KAM

when we wrote about the ritual in Ancient Egypt of turning the Horus, the
son of the Goddess Isis, into the King, and now we feel very confident we
were right. The light of Venus is considered to be the light of the returning
soul of the resurrected or reincarnated king - the councillor who repre-
sents his people at the council of the gods.
'
So the new king embraces the Goddess in the five-pointed embrace,
which can be seen each generation in the higher reaches of heaven, and his'
power is established. This is the secret knowledge that Solomon attempted
to buy from Hiram, King of Tyre, and the detail has been preserved in the
weird and ancient rituals of Freemasonry.
But did Hiram sell all his secrets to Solomon? The Masonic Testament
says not. Chapter 8 verse 10 says this about what happened when the grave
of Hiram Abif was discovered by one of the searching Masons:

On a closer examination he found that the earth had been recently

disturbed; he therefore hailed his Brethren, and, with their united
efforts, succeeded in reopening it and there found the body of our
Master Hiram very indecently interred. They covered it again with
all respect and reverence, and in order to distinguish the spot stuck
a sprig of Acacia at the head of the Grave; they then hastened to
Jerusalem, to impart the afflicting intelligence to King Solomon,
who, when the first emotions of his grief had subsided, ordered
them to return and raise the body of our Master to such a sepul-
chre as became his rank and exalted talents; at the same time
informing them that by his untimely death the genuine Secrets of a
Master Mason were lost; he therefore charged them to be particu-
larly careful in observing whatever casual signs, tokens or words
that might occur among them while paying this last sad tribute of
respect to departed merit.

At the present time all candidates are told that the secrets of a Master
Mason are substituted secrets, the real word has been lost and another one
has to be whispered. The substituted word, as we suggested in The Hiram
Key, is Egyptian, which came from the traditions of Moses. But the pos-
tures, embraces and temple ritual appear to be pure Phoenician, suggesting
that Freemasonry does well to remember Hiram, King of Tyre, as one of
the two living holders of the true secrets.
The Masonic ritual says this about the nature of the secret word,

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apparently assuming, as we do, that the Master Mason has been raised to
the role of the Phoenician Sun god, El. During the ceremony the newly
made Master Mason is resurrected from his grave, which is along the line
of the equinox, and once he has been restored to life, under the rays of
the Bright Morning Star he is told that he is now authorised to travel along
the path of the Sun. The ritual says:

Q: As a Master Mason whence come you?

A: The East.

Q: Whither directing your course?

A: The West.

Q: What inducement have you to leave the East and go to the

West?

A: To seek for that which was lost, which, by your instruction

and our own industry, we hope to find.

Q: What is that which was lost?

A: The genuine secrets of a M. M.

Q: How came they lost?

A: By the untimely death of our Master Hiram Abif.

The ritual goes on to add more information about who knows what:

Our Master /Hiram Abif], true to his Obligation, answered that

those secrets were knoivn to but three in the world, and that,
without the consent and co-operation of the other two he neither
could, nor would, divulge them.

Those other two were Hiram, King of Tyre, and Solomon, King of Israel.
And it seems most likely that the reason Solomon was forced to substitute

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an Egyptian secret word was because JHir^m, the husband of Venus, was
not prepared to compromise the Goddess by repeating the pillow talk she
used on the morning of her wedding to him. The five-pointed nature of
the embrace was not a secret between king and Goddess, as it could be
observed by the witnesses in the Temple and also be seen happening in the
sky. Hiram, it would seem, gave Solomon as little as he could get away
with, as long as Solomon continued to pay his contractual charges. Perhaps
if Solomon had paid for the extra palace he ordered, then we might have
had a different Mason's Word.
Down to the present day, candidates for Freemasonry are raised in this
same secret five-pointed embrace, known as the Five Points of Fellowship.
The two wardens, whose role in the lodge is to mark the Sun at its zenith
and at its setting, assist the Master, whose role is to mark the rising Sun,
and during the raising ceremony to sit under the helical rising star of Venus.
(See Plate 3 of The Hiram Key, which shows the five-pointed star illumi-
nated above the Master's chair.)
The ritual describes the duties which become incumbent on the candi-
date once he has been embraced at the five points of contact between the
Goddess and her Consort.

Q: Name the Five Points of Fellowship.

A: Hand
to Hand, Foot to Foot, Knee to Knee, Breast to Breast,
and Hand over Back.
Q: Explain them briefly.

A: Hand to hand, I greet you as a Brother. Foot to foot, I will

support you in all your laudable undertakings. Knee to knee,
the posture of my daily supplications shall remind me of your
wants. Breast to breast, your lawful secrets, when intrusted to
me as such, I will keep as my own. And Hand over back, I will
support your character in your absence as in your presence.

Q: Explain them at length.

A: Hand to hand, when the necessities of a Brother call for aid, we

should not be backward in stretching forth the hand, to render

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the assistance which might save him from sinking, knowing him
to be worthy, and that not being detrimental to ourselves or
connections. Foot to foot, indolence should not cause our feet to
halt, nor wrath turn our steps aside, but forgetting every selfish
consideration, and remembering that man was not born for his
own enjoyment alone, but for the assistance of bis generation,
we should be swift of foot to help, aid, and execute benevolence
to a fellow-creature, particularly a Brother Mason. Knee to
knee, when we offer up our ejaculations to the Most High a
Brother's welfare we should remember as our own, for as the
voice of babes and sucklings are heard at the throne of grace, so
most assuredly will the breathings of a fervent and contrite
heart reach the dominions of bliss; our prayers being recipro-
cally required for each other's welfare. Breast to breast, a
Brother's lawful secrets, when intrusted to us as such, we should
keep as our own; for to betray the trust which one Brother
reposes in another, might be to do him the greatest injury he
could possibly receive in this life; nay, it would be like the
villainy of the assassin ivho, lurking in darkness, stabs his
adversary to the heart when unarmed and in all probability least
suspicious of danger. Hand over back, a Brother's character we
should support absent or present; we should not revile him
ourselves, or knowingly suffer it to be done by others. Thus,
Brethren by the Five Points of Fellowship ought we to be united
in one sincere bond of fraternal affection, which will sufficiently
serve to distinguish us from those who are strangers to our
Masonic Order and may demonstrate to the world, in general,
that the word Brother among Masons is something more than
a name.

The story of the building of Solomon's Temple, told in The Masonic

Testament, is a story of failure, not success. Everything is going to plan,
and the Temple is almost complete, when somebody tries to extract the
secret incantation used for king-making from the Phoenician, Hiram.
Unfortunately they kill him, and the magic words are lost to the Jews, not
to be found again until the restoration of the Temple by Zerubbabel.
If this myth has some basis in reality it would mean that Solomon never
did get to be made a 'real' king in Canaanite fashion in his new temple.

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I II t b U U K Uh 111 K A M

To put it in modern terms, he had the hardware for kingmaking in the

Temple itself, but he never got the software to run the program. We know
that Solomon failed to make his payments to Hiram, King of Tyre. So, we
speculated, did the Phoenician ruler recall his high priest and architect,
refusing to give Solomon the required software because he had not kept
up the instalments? Masonic ritual insists that the two kings remained the
very best of friends, but might this be an attempt to show Solomon in the
best possible historic light?
The Old Testament and The Masonic Testament both tell us that Solomon
suddenly turned away from his new god Yahweh towards strange gods and
child sacrifice. Does this mean that he did not have the ritual to cement a
relationship with his own, new God and was trying to make himself a 'true'
king by relating to the old gods?
Solomon seized the throne during a palace revolution, and once he had
control he appears to have been bound by no restrictions whatever. His
reign was that of the typical Eastern despot. His death, however, gave a
new opportunity for the revival of the national claims already emphasised
from the critical point of view of the prophets of Yahweh.
Solomon's son, Rehoboam, was asked to grant a new charter and to
enter into a new covenant, whereby the freedom of the subjects from oppres-
sive forced labour would be assured. This, with his father's example before
him, he refused to do. The tribes at Shechem repudiated him and decided
to make Jeroboam their new king. Judah, with less ground for dissatisfac-
tion and probably more easily overawed by the royal bodyguard, cut the
nation politically in two by staying loyal to Rehoboam. According to 1
Kings, Rehoboam was restrained from making any immediate attack on
Jeroboam by a message from the prophet Shemaiah, but we hear of con-
tinual war between the two kingdoms.
Rehoboam met with much success, and left to himself he might have
recovered the whole kingdom, but we gather that Jeroboam appealed to
his former protector, Pharaoh Sheshonk, and the latter was only too glad
of an opportunity to assert once more the ancient claim of the pharaohs
to an empire in Palestine. Certainly the Egyptian king invaded the country
in or about 928 BCE, and left us a record of his triumphs. The places he
mentions include cities as far north as the plain of Esdraelon, which leads
us to suspect that by this time they were in the hands of Rehoboam.
Neither the Israelite nor the Egyptian records state that Sheshonk actu-
ally captured Jerusalem, though both mention an enormous spoil taken

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from the city. We must suppose that Rehoboam, finding his situation hope-
less, consented to hand over his treasures, and that Sheshonk accepted his
submission rather than undertake the difficult task of taking Jerusalem by
force.
The political separation of the two kingdoms was now complete, and
was emphasised by Jeroboam's religious policy. In the north of Israel there
were many ancient Canaanite sanctuaries that still followed a fertility cult
based around a pagan bull fertility-cult. Jeroboam took over these sanctu-
aries, and whilst continuing the sexual practices of the bull-cult renamed
them to honour the God of the Jews, Yahweh - a matter we will return to
later. Two of the old sanctuaries, those of Bethel and Dan, were raised to
special eminence.
Dynastically there is a striking difference between the twin countries of
Israel and Judah which split away after Solomon's death. Except for a
short period in the latter half of the ninth century, Judah maintained its
unbroken fidelity to the house of David; Israel did not, and the first fifty
years after the disruption saw no fewer than three families of kings on
the throne.
King Ahab, who succeeded Jeroboam, married Jezebel, a High Priestess
of Baalat and daughter of King Ithobaal of Tyre, formerly the high
priest of Baalat. She brought with her the religious and sexual practices of
the Phoenicians, which caused trouble with the prophets of Yahweh because
she persuaded her husband to build a temple to Baalat. She and her astral,
priests of Venus were destroyed by the efforts of the nature-worshipping -
Yahwehists, in the form of Elijah and his successor Elisha. We will return
to them later.
Jezebel's daughter, Athaliah, followed in her mother's footsteps but failed
in her attempt to wipe out the line of David and replace it with the line
of Ithobaal when she provoked a revolution from the rural Israelites, who
saw her favouring the seafaring city states of the coast. They revolted against
her and caused a complete break between the Israelites and the Phoenicians.
During this period of frequent outbreaks of petty local struggles, border
warfare and plundering raids the wonderful dream of creating a powerful
new state under David and Solomon apparently disappeared for ever. Why,
we asked ourselves, did it all go so wrong? Was it Solomon's expensive
attempts to turn himself into a real king and a Divine representative of
God that lay behind his destructive legacy?

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I Iit bUUK. Uh 1-ilKAM

SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN

Anyone who watches the heavens closely for a long period will appreciate
that the Sun and Venus have a special relationship and the mythical mar-
riage of the two makes sense astronomically. The question that we now con-
fronted was, why is there not more astronomical-based myth in Jewish
theology?
Our core hypothesis is that the Grooved Ware beliefs survive in
Freemasonry today because they were inherited from the Jews, so we need
to understand what Grooved Ware rituals were passed from the Canaanites
to the Jews, and how they were transmitted through the thousand years
between Solomon and the turbulent period that surrounded the death of
Jesus Christ. We looked at several possible entry points to tackling this
issue, and soon found that the 'wise king' - Solomon himself - offered a
surprising starting point.
In Masonic ritual there is a passage in the fourteenth degree of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite that almost certainly goes unconsid-
ered by the few people who are even aware of its existence. It says about
King Solomon:

. . . much intoxicated with his great power, he plunged into all

manner of licentiousness and debauchery, and profaned the Temple
by offering incense to the idol Moloch . . .
. y
The ritual confirms the biblical account that King Solomon turned away
from Yahweh to favour older gods. But who or what was Moloch?
We were interested to know what sort of idol had turned Solomon's
head away from the new god of the Jews, which for Jews, Christians and
Muslims today is God Himself.
We found that Moloch was more than an idol. Many scholars believe
that he was a Canaanite god of the Sun whose name came to represent the
practice of 'child sacrifice' amongst the Jewish people. His name derives
from, and is synonymous with, the word Malak, 1 meaning 'king', as we
knew from the name 'Melchizedek'. Moloch began in the distant past as
a Canaanite Sun god; a king who reigned from the heavens through his
'son' - the king on earth. However, we discovered that the writers of the
Old Testament used the term Moloch to describe a form of sacrifice rather
1 Cassell's Concise Bible Dictionary, Cassell and Company Limited, 1998

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D KAI N MAK.I N U

than the name of a god. The sacrifice in question was the burning alive of
the king's own children, to persuade the gods to be kind.
Surely, this could not be true of King Solomon?
Then we recalled how ancient kings such as David and particularly
Solomon had huge harems and therefore probably countless children - so
they could afford to lose a few that were born to less favoured wives or
concubines. They may not have even known the children that they offered
up as a 'sacrifice'.
Early depictions of Moloch show him as a man with a bull's head. The
central feature of his worship was the ritual burning of children in 'the fire
of Moloch' (Milton described this ancient god in Paradise Lost as 'Moloch,
horried king'). This practice of committing living children to scream slowly
to death in the remorseless heat of the god's fire began at an early period
and retained such power over parental compassion that Mosaic law stated
that if any man made or permitted his children to 'pass through the fire
of Moloch' he was to be put to death.1 The Bible calls this child sacrifice
'the abomination of the Ammonites', but we have to accept that this hor-
rific ritual was still being conducted at the time the Jewish Law was written
down, else why was it necessary to have rules against it?
Encyclopedia Mythica claims that a statue of Moloch acted as a hor-
rific child incinerator:

Moloch was represented as a huge bronze statue with the head of a

bull. The statue was hollow, and inside there burned a fire which
coloured the Moloch a glowing red. Children were placed on the
hands of the statue. Through an ingenious system the hands were
raised to the mouth (as if Moloch were eating) and the children fell
into the fire where they were consumed by the flames. The people
gathered before the Moloch were dancing to the sounds of flutes
and tambourines to drown out the screams of the victims.

This is a fanciful account, to be found at www.pantheon.org/

articles/m/moloch.html, which possibly owes far more to later French nov-
elistic invention than biblical authority, but we think it captures the horror
of child sacrifice.

We could not help but notice that the story of Moloch seems to have
2 Lev. 18: 21 and 20: 1 - 5

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 I 111: B O O K . O l HIRAM

similarities with the myth of the Minotaur, the creature with his hull's head
and man's body that lived in the labyrinth of Minos on the island of Crete.
The Minotaur (in Greek the name simply means 'bull of Minos') was the
offspring of Pasiphae, wife of Minos, and a snow-white bull that the god
Poseidon sent to the king. The bull was so handsome that Minos refused
to sacrifice it, as Poseidon intended. When Minos disobeyed him, Poseidon
became angry at this show of disrespect. He took revenge on Minos by
using his divine powers to make Minos's wife Pasiphae fall in love with
the bull. Her infatuation was so intense that she was impregnated by the
handsome white bull.
We decided not to enquire too closely into the exact mechanics of this
liaison, feeling the detail must be a divine mystery beyond the understanding
of all except the most innovative pornographers.
When Pasiphae gave birth to the bull-headed half-man, Minos did not
rush to embrace his new stepson. Instead he ordered the architect and
inventor Daedalus to build a labyrinth so intricate that escape from it,
without assistance, would be impossible. In the centre of this intricate maze
the king hid the evidence of his wife's beastly liaison.
Minos did not dare kill Poseidon's contrived bastard, for fear of even
worse reprisals, and he couldn't just leave the monster to starve, so he
needed to feed the brute. The Minotaur liked children, so much he could
eat up to fourteen whole ones at a sitting. Fortunately he only dined once
a year.
Confined to the labyrinth, the Minotaur was fed with seven young girls
and seven young boys every year. Minos exacted a supply of suitable chil-
dren as an annual tribute from Athens.
There is every reason to suspect a link between this Minoan legend and
the Canaanite Moloch because the Philistines, who were a subgroup of the
Canaanites, originally came from Crete. This is an accepted fact for most
authorities. Professor Philip Hyatt of Vanderbilt University in Nashville,
Tennessee says of the Philistines: 'These people lived in south-western
Palestine, originally in a confederation of five cities.' 3 He goes on to observe
that the ancient historian Herodotus visited the temple of Venus at Ashkelon,
one of these five Philistine cities, before saying: 'The Philistines came from
the Aegean region, including the Island of Crete.' 4

3 Hyatt, JP: 'Zephaniah', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

4 Hyatt, JP: 'Zephaniah'

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 K t A L M I N < u i , n U (VIA IN i A L . K l t l l ^ C A I N U K A I IN I V I A M INVJ

The story of the Minotaur is probably based on a memory of a time

when child sacrifice existed on Crete, which was interesting to us because
it does suggest that this murderous procedure may have had a connection
with the Grooved Ware People. The reason we suspect this is because ancient
Crete has a provable link with the Megalithic Yard, the unit of measure-
ment used by the Grooved Ware People. The palaces of the Minoan cul
ture on Crete were surveyed in the 1960s by architect and stonemason
Professor J. Walter Graham, who found that they used a standard measure-
ment that he called the Minoan Foot. The unit he detected was equal to
30.36 cm, which has been accepted as a reality by most archaeologists. The
length of this unit had no special significance to him, although it was
obvious that it only deviated from the modern foot by 1.2 mm (0.4%).
However, the writer Alan Butler recognised the length of 30.36 cm as
derived from the Megalithic system of measurement, being exactly 1,000 t h
of a Megalithic second of arc at the Equator (366 Megalithic Yards).5
The fact that the people of Crete were using a 'Megalithicly' derived
unit of measurement four thousand years ago strongly suggests a link to
the Grooved Ware People, and it is a reasonable extension to believe that
they would have also inherited ritual practices as well. The Phoenicians are
known to have had strong links with the Minoan culture, and a connec-
tion between their belief systems is not an unreasonable thing to expect.

ABRAHAM AND CHILD SACRIFICE

The Canaanite shrine that became the location for Solomon's Temple pre-
dates even the mythical David by the best part of a thousand years. In the
Masonic material we have already referred to, Solomon is reported to have
first chosen the site of a ruined Enochian temple and then changed his mind
and selected Mount Moriah to the north of the early city.
Now, according to the tradition recorded in chapter 2 2 of Genesis, Mount
Moriah was the spot where Abraham began preparations for the sacrifice
of Isaac, his eldest child. 6 It was on this spot that the remote founding
father of Judaism built a wooden pyre to destroy his first-born in the searing
flames of Moloch. The story in Genesis 22: 4 - 1 0 tells how Abraham was
to set fire to young Isaac before drawing on all the strength of his religious

5 Butler, A: The Bronze Age Computer Disc, \V Fulsham & Co. 1999
6 Hooke, SH: 'Genesis', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

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superstition to ignore his son's tortured cries while he slowly roasted towards
the release of death, in order to ensure his father's good fortune:

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the
place afar o f f .

And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the
ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again
to you.

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it
upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife;
and they went both of them together.

And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and
he said, Here am I, my son. And be said, Behold the fire and the
wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham
said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:
so they went both of them together.

And they came to the place which God had told him of; and
Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and
bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

Of course, the writers of the Old Testament have to show how Abraham
did not carry out the 'Moloching' of his first-born son. They explain that
God let him off - but only after Abraham demonstrated his committed
intent to murder his son in honour of the Sun god El Elyon, 'the Most
High'.
We are told that Abraham saw the site of the proposed sacrifice in the
distance, which fits with the view one would get of this high ground north
of the Jebusite city at that time. He was clearly travelling with other people
and he did not want them, or his son, to guess what he was about to do
in the name of El Elyon, for the god he was sacrificing his son to was cer-
tainly not Yahweh^at such an early date (generally held to be circa 1900
BCE, but never considered to be more recent than 1700 BCE.
It is widely accepted that the location was Melchizedek's kingdom of
Jerusalem, and that the site of the intended immolation was the same place

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that would become the location of Solomon's Temple many centuries later.7
Professor Hooke has observed:

From the anthropological point of view it may be regarded as

evidence for the existence of child sacrifice amongst the
Hebrews . . ,s

Once this episode is complete the Old Testament tells us that Abraham and
his party travelled to Beersheba, only fifty miles south of Jerusalem, again
confirming the location.

CHILD SACRIFICE AND Y A H W E H

Somehow it seemed imaginable that the Grooved Ware People, the Minoans,
the Canaanites and even Solomon might well have sacrificed children, but
surely such practices must have died out as Israel and Judah developed
their relationship with their God during the first millennium before Christ?
The idea that such barbaric practices could have continued into the estab-
lished period of Yahweh's rule over his Chosen People struck us as quite
alarming, and alien to the modern concept of the Jewish-Christian God of
love and forgiveness.
Startlingly, chapter 16 of the Second Book of Kings, verses 1 - 5 , gives
us information that demonstrates that Ahaz, king of Judah, 9 worshipped
Moloch well over two hundred years after the reign of Solomon and his
temple of Yahweh.

In the seventeenth year of Pekab the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the

son of Jotham king of Judab began to reign.

Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned
sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the
sight of the Lord his God, like David his father.

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, yea, and made his
son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the
7 Hooke, SH: 'Genesis'
11Hooke, SH: 'Genesis'
9 The Annals of the Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser 111 yield an accurate date for Ahaz's (Ia-u-

ha-zi) reign as 7 4 0 - 7 2 5 BC.

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heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of
Israel.

And he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places, and on the
hills, and under every green tree.

Then Rezin king of Syria and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel
came up to Jerusalem to war: and they besieged Ahaz, but could
not overcome him.

Here we are told how this king caused his son to 'pass throught the fire',
which may well mean that the child died in 'the fire of Moloch'.
Furthermore, we are told that this is the 'way of the kings of Israel', the
Northern Kingdom of the two Jewish states. So the practice of burning
children alive was customary even at this late date.
Ahaz caused worship to take place at the old Canaanite sanctuaries on
the high places and under sacred trees around Judah (the Southern
Kingdom). If anyone is in doubt about the meaning of the previous pas-
sage, 2 Chronicles 28: 2 - 3 explicitly states that King Ahaz did indeed sac-
rifice his children and worship old gods:

For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also
molten images for Baalim [other gods]. Moreover he burnt incense
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the
fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the Lord had cast
out before the children of Israel.

The valley of Hinnom, to the southwest of Jerusalem's city wall, is where

the child sacrifices to Moloch took place. Later, the city's rubbish was
burned there. This association with consuming children in flames gave
this valley its name of Gehenna, the place of torment for the wicked
that was the original inspiration for the concept of the eternal fires of
'hell'.
We knew from our previous research that discussions about heaven and
hell are particularly characteristic of Enochian literature, which is filled with
the idea of heavenly abodes for the righteous after death and places where
the wicked are held until the Judgement comes and they are punished in
Gehenna.1" The abode of the righteous is known as Paradise, a Persian word

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for a park or garden, and the picture of heaven is filled out by descriptions
of a restored Eden. The opposite of Paradise is Gehenna - defined as the
Valley of Hinnom for its association with Moloch sacrifices."
Further investigation into child sacrifice showed that it was connected
with sacred oak trees, ritual sex and a cult of the dead - all strange ideas
that seem a long way from what most people associate with the Jews and
their chosen God. Drs Oesterley and Robinson in their definitive study of
the origins of the Hebrew religion discuss the influence of these three con-
cepts, and we decided to review their main findings.
Trees were thought to be sacred because they were regarded as living
beings or the homes of gods. They swayed and murmured in the wind and
so were thought to be inhabited by minor gods.

Cause and effect, as we understand them, not being recognised, the

idea that the branches of a tree moved through the force of the
wind did not occur. It was a spirit which occasioned this; but here
it must he remembered that the distinction between matter and
spirit which is so obvious to us was unknown to man in
undeveloped stages of culture}2

The Roman historian Pliny the Elder mentioned this practice in Palestine
in Roman times saying:

With ancient ritual the simple country folk dedicate a lofty tree to
a god. Not more do we adore images that shine with gold and
ivory than they do groves and the very silence in them.

In the early Hebrew religion Oesterley and Robinson also point out that
standing stones were believed to represent sexual functions of local gods:

The Semitic mazzeboth (pillars or standing stones) are regarded as

males and the flat tablestones as females} 3

The standing stones formed the basis of sanctuaries and were very common

10 1 Enoch 27: 61
11 Black, M: 'The Development of Judaism in the Greek and Roman Periods', Peake's
Commentary on the Bible
12 Oesterley, WOE 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development
1 3 Oesterley, WOE & Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development

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1 HE BOOK Ol : H I R A M

in northern Canaan. Oesterley and Robinson go on to comment on how

the cult of Yahweh was incorporated into later sexual practices of these
sanctuaries, saying:

In the eight century [BCE] we hear of complaints made by Amos

and suggested by Hosea, of inequities associated with the northern
sanctuaries. Yahweh was worshipped as a fertility God under the
form of a bull, and this in itself would seem to imply a sexual
element in the cult. '4

Bull worship among the Hebrews is first mentioned in Exodus 22, which
tells how the people grew anxious at the prolonged absence of Moses on
the mountain and so they melted down their golden jewels and made a
golden calf to worship. Oesterley and Robinson comment that this story
was used to justify the continuation of ritual sex carried out at bull-cult
sanctuaries in places like Bethel and Dan:

Possibly we have a relic of the bull cult connected with Horeb and
transferred to northern Israel. It is significant that Elijah, for whom
Yah web's dwelling was in Horeb, made no protest, as far as we
know, against the cult of the bull.15

Also there is clear evidence for an early Hebrew belief in the power of
some holy men to speak with the dead and learn their secrets. Again
Oesterley and Robinson observe:

Elisha is also represented as being able to raise the dead by means

of a somewhat elaborate ritual (2 Kings 4: 32-35). This should
perhaps come under the bead of imitative magic; this at any rate is
suggested by the ritual; for Elisha, the living, lays himself upon the
dead boy and puts mouth on mouth, eyes on eyes, and bands on
hands; just as Elisha is alive, so the" dead boy must become
living.u

Most of the references in the Old Testament consist of prohibitions on the

14 Oesterley, WOE 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development
15 Oesterley, WOE 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development
16 Oesterley, W O E 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D RAINMAKING

practice of consulting the dead. But why prohibit something unless it is

being carried out?
There is a very early reference to asking the dead for advice to be
found in I Samuel 28: 3 - 2 5 . This story occurs after the death of Samuel,
when King Saul is worried that he will not be able to defeat the Philistines.
Saul decides to ask advice from Samuel, and to do this goes to the witch
of Endor in order to speak, through her magical intervention, with the
dead prophet. Oesterley and Robinson comment on the significance of
this story:

Nobody will deny that this narrative is an important illustration

of the belief of the early Israelites concerning the departed. They
continue to live, they remember, they foresee; they can leave
whatever place it is in which they abide; and they can return to the
world, in a certain sense.17

These traits, which are not often mentioned about the early Israelities,
were, however, well known to the Celts, the inheritors of Grooved Ware-
thinking in the British Isles. They too used oak groves in their worship,
had involvement with their dead ancestors and practised ritual sex.
There is a poem in Isaiah 57: 3 - 1 3 , written after the Exile and around
the time of the second Jerusalem Temple, which complains about these
practices. It has been translated from the Hebrew by Susan Ackerman, a pro
fessor of Far Eastern and Judaic studies, who has highlighted the clever use
of puns in the text which appear to have been lost in earlier translations:18

But you, draw near, you sons of a sorceress, seed of an adulterer

jgnd of her who plays the harlot, at whom do you jeer, at whom do
you open your mouth, do you stick out your tonguef

Are you not children of transgression, offspring of deceit, who burn

with lust among the terebinths [sacred oak trees], under every green
tree, who slaughter children in the wadis, among the clefts of thefi
rocks?

17Oesterley, WOE 8c Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origins and Development
lsAckerman, Susan: 'Sacred Sex, Sacrifice and Death', Bible Review, vol. vi, no. 1, February
1990

173
THE IK)OK OF HIRAM

With the perished of the wadi is your portion, they, they are your
lot.

Even to them you have poured out a libation, you have offered up
an offering,

Shall I be appeased for these things.

On a mountain high and lofty, you have set your bed.

There you went up to offer sacrifice, and behind the door and the
doorpost you set up your symbol.

For a hundred times you stripped and you mounted and spread
upon your bed.

You . . . yourself from them the love of their bedding, the phallus
which you envisioned.

You anointed the mulk-sacrifice with oil, you multiplied your

perfume oils.

You sent them down even to Sheol.

In the length of the way you wearied, but you did not say, 'There
is no hope'.

You found revivification for your strength, therefore you did not
weaken.

Whom did you dread and fear that you lied, that you did not
remember me, that you did not give me a thought?

Have I not kept silent even from old?

But me you did not fear.

I, I will declare you righteous, and also your deeds, but they will

174
 K L A l . M I N U 3 , r i U (VIA IN J A L M r i L C A I N U K A 1 IN IVl A M I N U

not help you when you cry out, they will not save you those
deceased spirits of yours.

The wind will carry all of them o f f , a breath will take them away.
r r

But whoever takes refuge in me will possess the land, and will
inherit my holy mountain.

Here Professor Ackerman finds references to sexual intercourse being

performed under terebinth (oak) trees as well as on the Temple Mount in
Jerusalem. This corresponds to everything we know of the Grooved Ware
People and the later Celts of the British Isles.
Ackerman confirms that this poem is explicit about where sexual activity
is taking place: 'On a mountain high and lofty, you have set your bed.'
The terminology 'high and lofty mountain' in the Hebrew Bible, she com-
ments, only ever refers to Mount Zion, the mount on which the Jerusalem
Temple stands.19
Thus the sacred sexual activity described in certain verses of this pas-
sage must have occurred on Temple Mount itself. This she confirms by ref-
erence to a clever wordplay, using the Hebrew word for bed, 'mishkab',
which deviates by only one letter from the word for shrine, which is
'mishkan'. Ackerman believes that the description of offering sacrifice at
the 'bed' confirms that the bed/shrine pun is intentional.
She goes on to list the long line of Jewish kings who killed their own
children as ritual sacrifices right down to the sixth century BCE:

Child sacrifice to appease some deity was well known in Israel

before the Exile. The Book of Judges describes the sacrifice of
Jephthah's daughter as payment for Jephthah's rash and irrespon-
sible vow to sacrifice to God the first thing he saw on his return
home from battle (Judges 11: 29-40). King Ahaz of Judah
(734-715 C.E.) burned his own son as an offering (2 Kings 16: 3).
Ahaz's contemporary in Israel, King Hoshea (732-722 B.C.E.),
allowed the cult of child sacrifice to flourish among his subjects (2
Kings 17: 16-17). In seventh-century Judah, after the destruction of
the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E., child sacrifice

19 See Isaiah 2: 2, 40: 9; Ezekiel 17: 22, 40: 2; Micah 4: 1.

175
I III-: B O O K OF HIIIAM

continued; King Manasseh (687-642 B.C.E.), like Ahaz before him,

sacrificed his own son (2 Chronicles 33: 6). Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:
30-32, 19: 5, 32: 35) and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 16: 21, 20: 31, 23: 39)
both condemn the practice of child sacrifice in the early sixth
century B.C.E. Our poem indicates child sacrifice continued even
after the Israelites returned from Exile. In verse 5, the prophet
asks if these are not the people 'who slaughter children in the
wadis, among the clefts of the rocks.'

According to the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible, the first
half of Isaiah 57: 9 reads 'You journeyed to Moloch with oil and multi-
plied your perfumes.' Ackerman says that this is a description of the
ritualistic preparation of a child ready for immolation in the flames.
We found this idea that the Jews might have sacrificed children to Yahweh
- to God - to be strange indeed, and something that is not discussed in
polite company today. We asked our good friend Professor Philip Davies
for his expert opinion on this issue, and he replied: 'I see no reason why
child sacrifice would be absent even from among the Israelites.'
Ackerman's article shows a photograph of the ashes of a child, sacrificed

The ashes of a sacrificed child rest in an urn beneath a stone bearing a

depiction of the goddess Tanit.

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

to appease a god.20 They are in the urn below the large stone that depicts
the goddess Tanit standing in the portal of a temple with a tambourine in
her hand. Could there be, we wondered, similar items buried deep below
Temple Mount in Jerusalem from the time when Solomon embraced the
principle of Moloch worship?
In our researches for The Hiram Key we found strong links in early
Jewish belief to those found in Egypt. This seemed entirely reasonable, as
the Old Testament legend of Moses tells us that he was an adopted member
of the Egyptian royal family and a general in their army. If he was going
to lead a group of immigrant workers out of that country in search of a
'promised land', then he, and they, would have spoken Egyptian and thought
like Egyptians. As this was the first time that any of Moses' followers would
have left the country, it seems hard to imagine how any new religion could
be more than a variation on their existing belief system.
We had read the stories of how Moses and Joshua murdered and plun-
dered their way across the land of Canaan at the behest of their new-found
god, Yahweh. According to the biblical account city after city was destroyed
and their populations massacred. However, we now knew that such archae-
ological evidence as there is suggests that most of these events did not
happen, and the story of the Hebrews' invasion, like the story of King
David, is almost entirely fictitious.
If it were not for the fact that the Christian Bible concerns itself with
the history of the Jewish people and their adopted God, the archaeology
of this insignificant desert region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean
would be the preserve of a few obscure scholars. As it is, most people know
something about the so-called 'Holy Land' and its inhabitants two and
three thousand years ago. The biblical tradition, repeatedly taught in the
Western world, says the Jewish people are an ancient race with a clear-cut
religion that also provided the God of Christianity and Islam. However, in
relative terms the Jews are not particularly ancient, they are not racially
different to other groups in the region, and we now knew that they cer-'

tainly did not embrace monotheism for hundreds of years after the time of
David and Solomon.
From the time of Moses through to the almost total destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 CE the religion of the Jews was a melting pot for ideas
absorbed from everywhere around them. Their struggle to make sense of
20Ackerman, S: 'Sacred Sex, Sacrifice and Death', Biblical Review, vol. vi, no. 1, February
1990 - Photograph Asor Punic Project/ James Whitred

177
f H E BOOK. OE H I R A M

colliding oral traditions whilst adopting new concepts led to a wide range
of interpretations of what Judaism stood for.
The standard Christian interpretation of the Old Testament creates a
picture of a people founded by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and brought to
Israel by Moses and Joshua before being led to an expected greatness by
a line of priests and kings. The impression is that the law of God was given
directly by Him to the Jews and that their beliefs therefore stand apart as
authentic and unique against a backdrop of pagan idolatry practised by
the superstitious peoples of other countries. For Christianity the usefulness
of the Jews ends abruptly with the birth and subsequent murder of the
promised Messiah who, as their version of the timeless concept of 'the son
of God', brought everlasting redemption to all mankind.
When one examines what is now known about the Old Testament the
most surprising aspect is how relatively recent these 'ancient' books are in
relation to the events they describe. Even the account of the Creation, the
description of the beginning of time, in the first chapter of Genesis is believed
to have been written down in the sixth century BCE. 2 1 At first view such a
date does sound pretty ancient, but to put it in perspective we reminded
ourselves that it was four hundred years after the time of King Solomon
and almost three thousand years after the building of some of the great
megalithic structures in the British Isles. To put this fact into perspective,
the writers of the book of Genesis are as close to us, in the twenty-first
century, as they were to the men who built advanced astronomical struc-
tures such as Newgrange in Ireland, Maes Howe in Scotland or Bryn Celli
Ddu in Wales.
We also could not help observing that the ritual sacrifice of the children
of Jewish kings was still happening when the Bible was being written.
Although the Bible is a great deal younger than most people imagine,
many of the stories contained within it are ancient, having been passed
down the generations as oral traditions before scribes first put pen to
papyrus. It seems highly likely that it was during the Babylonian Captivity
that the Old Testament was put together as an attempt to meld jumbled
traditions into a coherent story. Whilst the scribes had the intention of put-
ting Yahweh at the centre of their belief system, they cannot help but reveal
the popularity of the astral cult.

21 Cohn, Norman: Cosmic Chaos and the World to Come

178
 KtAL KINGS, HUMAN SACRIMCt AN D RAINMAK1NG

T H E RAINMAKERS

There is a story in the Old Testament (1 Kings 18: 17^40) that tells of the
point in history when the astral Venus cult, inherited from the Canaanites,
was first subjugated to the Yahweh cult. The prophet Elijah had a con
versation with the king about a dispute amongst the people as to which
religion they should follow.
King Ahab, king of Judah and husband of Jezebel, priestess of Baalat,
was more concerned with matters of state than religion and obviously
thought Elijah and his fanatical support for Yahweh was the real problem,
particularly when it manifested itself as hatred for his queen Jezebel. But
the prophet was certain that it was the king who was backing the wrong,
gods (Baalim) and suspected him of being too strongly influenced by the
religious and sexual practices of his wife Jezebel the Phoenician princess,
who is remembered elsewhere in the Bible as the whore of Tyre. The scribes
of the Book of Kings tell the story:

And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto
him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?

And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy
father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the
LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.

Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount

Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the
prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.

So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the
prophets together unto mount Carmel.

Next Elijah admitted that the country was split, and showed how the
Yahweh party was on its knees when he claimed to be the only prophet of
Yahweh left to face the eight hundred and fifty yelling, screaming priests
of Baal and of Asherah, the Venus cult.

22 The King James Bible refers only to these prophets belonging to Baal, whereas up-to-date
translations such as the New English Bible connect them to Asherah too.

179
 I*HE BOOK OF H I R A M

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye
between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if
Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet
of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

To decide the issue of whose god was the best, Elijah engineered a com-
petition at the sacred Canaanite site of Mount Carmel. Two altars were
set up, each containing sacrifices for burning, and he challenged the
opposing horde of prophets to ignite Baal's pyre through their prayers.
Then this anti-Canaanite prophet employed the megalithic principles of the
Venus cult to undermine them.
The Old Testament describes how Elijah goes to an old broken-down
sanctuary and erects twelve stones and then digs a trench around them
which he then proceeds to fill witli water.

And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the

tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD
M
came, saying, Israel shall be thy name:

And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD:
and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain
two measures of seed.

And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and
laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and
pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second
time. And be said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third
time.

And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench
also with water.13

23 1 Kings 18: 3 1 - 3 5

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

This description is typical of a Canaanite sanctuary, and corresponds to

the stone circle at Gilgal where the Israelite army was circumcised after
Joshua had first led his people into the promised land. As we have already
mentioned, the word Gilgal means 'stone circle', it was a common form of
structure for the Canaanites and early Jews, and they were all known as
Gilgal. Professor Fohrer says of the first Gilgal taken as the people of the
Exodus first arrived:

Gilga . . . was likewise a pre-lsraelite sanctuary . . . The name of

the cultic site derives from the 'circle' of stones that delimited it.u

We can be confident that Elijah's twelve stones were also in a circle and
the trench around them was also circular - to fill it with water from the
pyre in the centre it had to be a continuous ring around the site.
Circles of standing stone with trenches around them were a standard
feature of the Grooved Ware culture of the British Isles three thousand
years before Elijah's time. So was he deliberately constructing a megalithic-
style stone structure complete with a surrounding henge according to an
ancient tradition?
Elijah then has the henge filled with 'water', which is known to have
happened at Grooved Ware sites in the British Isles, especially Ireland. But
Elijah had a different motive for surrounding his altar with liquid. His
'water' proved to be highly inflammable. This description of the construc-
tion of a traditional Canaanite structure built by a prophet of Yahweh
demonstrates how confused everything was at this time. It seems that no
one really understood where these ideas came from, but they did not lies
itate to use the most powerful 'magic' and the most potent public symbols
to promote their god.
The plan worked. When the Canaanite prophets could not persuade their
deity to ignite their pyre Elijah teased them, suggesting that their god might
be talking, or perhaps he was out for the day, or maybe asleep. Naturally,
they failed to draw down heavenly fire, but somehow Elijah succeeded. He
/
then took full advantage of the situation by telling the assembled crowd
to seize his opponents and drag them to a nearby stream. There he stood,
so the Bible tells us, and personally dispatched his unarmed religious rivals
as the crowd forced the defeated prophets of Venus, one by one, onto his
sword blade:
7 \

V
24 Fohrer, G: History of Israelite Religion
I 111: BOOK OF H I R A M

And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one
of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them
down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.

And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is
a sound of abundance of rain.

Elijah proved himself to be important because he delivered an 'abun-

dance of rain'. The exchange between Elijah and Ahab took place after a
long drought, and the idea of the coming of rain was a symbol of God's
goodness falling upon the Earth.
Rainmaking appears to have been an ancient Canaanite practice which
was adopted from the earliest times of the development of the Jewish nation.
The Bible tells how Joshua, the leader of the 'Apiru people, first led his
army into the Promised Land by crossing the river Jordan from the east to
the west bank. This story tells how the 'Apiru troops are taken to the
Canaanite sanctuary at Gilgal (about five miles north of Qumran), and here
amongst the circle of megalithic standing stones they conducted an ancient
ritual. This involved every man being circumcised with a flint blade. There
is no explanation as to why they used flint and not metal knives.
Here we have an army of men being led into a circle of standing stones
to have their foreskins cut off with a piece of stone. It is hard to imagine
that this was anything else but a ritualistic throwback to the Neolithic Age.
There is no explanation either for the fact that these Hebrew men had
not been circumcised at birth in the manner supposedly adopted since the
time of Abraham. The whole story is odd, and whilst we were discussing
what this mass circumcision ritual may have been about we remembered
a comment made by Professor Richard Dawkins linking Australian
Aboriginal rituals for rainmaking to foreskins:

As an added precaution, the Great Council of the Dieri would also

keep a stockpile of boys' foreskins in continual readiness, because
of their homeopathic power to produce rain (do penises not 'rain'
urine - surely eloquent evidence of their power?).15

Dawkins, R: Unweaving the Rainbow, Penguin, 1998

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 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

Here was the first time we had seen an anthropological reason advanced
to explain the Covenant of Abraham, and as we discussed it we soon
realised that this explanation also made sense of a story which had puz-
zled us for a long time. The promised land that the 'Apiru had just entered
was arid from the long drought, and rain was essential if they were to settle
in their new homeland. The circumcision ceremony just had to be part of
an ancient method of making rain, but there is a further reason to believe
that this entire episode is about rainmaking.
More than a thousand years after the Gilgal ritual,John the Baptist was
considered by many to be the new Elijah. Professor John Marsh says of
this:

The description of John is in terms which once had been sufficient

for Ahaziah to recognise as a description of the prophet Elijah.26

Professor Robert Eisenman also comments:

John the Baptist plays a role in the Transfiguration scene too, since
in all the Synoptics (the first three Gospels), he is identified with
Elijah.27

This connection between Elijah and John the Baptist is important because
it shows how a theme of circle construction and rainmaking continued right
to the time of Christ. Eisenman believes that the Dead Sea Scrolls have
opened up our understanding of the role of such ideas in connection to
leading figures in the New Testament:

Themes develop, when pursued, that provide new clues for ideas
and motifs hitherto unsuspected or previously unknown. One of
these themes is 'rain' and eschatological 'rain' imagery . . . There
are in the literature of this period several such primordial rain-
makers. The first immediately recognizable is Elijah, which links
the rain-maker concept to redivivus notions centering about his
person, thereby tying the tradition to activities related to John the
Baptist. 28

26 Marsh, J: 'The Theology of the New Testament', Peake's Commentary on the Bible
27 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus, Faber and Faber, 1997
28 Eisenman, R: The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians, Element, 1996

183
 I*HEBOOK OF H I R A M

In his footnotes Eisenman confirms the role of constructing circles:

'Circle-drawing' is the mechanism for rainmaking.

John the Baptist was a second cousin to Jesus, and this ability to create
rain from a Joshua/ Elijah style circle appears to have been a family tra-
dition. Eisenman believes that Jesus' brother James also performed these
feats, which were associated with Messiahship and the Star Prophecy. Before
the time of John there came a man who was possibly a member of Jesus
and John's family and who was a particularly famous rainmaker. He was
known as 'Honi the Circle Drawer', but was also called Onias, which is a
derivative of the title Oblias, meaning stone pillar29 - a term that also
became associated with James. Furthermore, Eisenman believes that this
Honi was the grandfather of John, James and Jesus. He states:

That James, too, functioned as a rain-maker is confirmed by

Epiphanius in 'Haeres'.

'Circle-drawing' and 'rainmaking' skills are directly associated with the Star
Prophecy that foretells the coming messiah. They are also linked directly
to the family of Jesus and to the practices of the Essenes who created the
Dead Sea Scrolls. Professor Eisenman says on this subject:

We hear about similar circles being drawn by (in the writings of)
Josephus' and Hippolytus' 'Essenes', who in their observation of
the Sabbath would not step out of a certain radius even to relieve
themselves.30

This whole area of circle-drawing and rainmaking is associated with a

hidden tradition that centres on the coming of the promised messiah. Elijah
is the role model and the early influences are clearly Enoch and Noah. The
family of Jesus, John and James are, it seems, the last known practitioners
in a rite that must be of extreme antiquity. The subject is fascinating but
highly complex, too complex for us to do justice to the emerging thesis in
this book. For readers who wish to know more we strongly recommend
the writings of Robert Eisenman and also those of Michael Wise.

29 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

30 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

184
 REAL KINGS, H U M A N SACRIFICE A N D R A I N M A K I N G

CONCLUSIONS

Our investigations into Jewish child sacrifice shows that it was connected
with sacred sex, sacred oak trees, bull worship and a cult of the dead.
These ideas are very different from what people usually associate with the
Jews and Yahweh, their God. But we concluded that it is very likely thai
the Jews once sacrificed children to Yahweh.
We believe that child sacrifice originated with Sun worship and that I I
Elyon, the Sun-god, was worshipped at Jerusalem for at least a thousand
years before the time of Solomon. Sun worship amongst the Jewish people
did not disappear as quickly as the Bible would like us to believe.
David, the first Jewish messiah, established his kingship on the basis <>l
a covenant with Yahweh, but Solomon, his son, was a typical Eastern despot
and wanted a more absolute form of control. This, we believe, is why
Solomon approached Hiram, king of Tyre, to buy the secrets of astral king-
ship and the absolute power this conferred. His extravagance and oppres-
sion split the kingdoms of Israel and Judah after his death.
The beliefs seemed to be connected with circumcision, the building of
stone circlps and rainmaking, with clear evidence emerging that the ruling
classes kept these ideas alive.
The picture that was emerging was that the Jewish kings either had a
religion of their own or some very different version of the Yahweh cult
than the one that the Old Testament principally engages with. We .\vet"e
seeing a two-tier belief system, with early Canaanite solar and Venus ideas
attached to the concept of kingship whilst something much more ordinary
was believed by the peasant population.

185
 C h a p t e r Nine

THE SONS OF DAWN

THE DIAL OF AHAZ

A few years ago a 'bulla', or clay impression seal, that once belonged to
King Ahaz of Judah was found.1 On its back the impression of the strings
that tied the roll and of the fabric of the papyrus are still visible. The seal,
inscribed in Old Hebrew letters, reads simply: I'hz y hwtm mlk yhdh, which
translates to 'Belonging to Ahaz (son of) Yehotam, King of Judah'. Whilst
confirming the existence of this contemporary of the prophet Elijah, there
was nothing particularly surprising about finding a 2,800-year-old relic of
this ancient king of Judah.
Recently, however, another far more astonishing bulla came to light.
This seal had been used by Ahaz's son, Hezekiah, who lived circa 715 to
687 BCE. The bulla of Hezekiah is tiny, measuring only about 0.4 inches
in diameter and a little less than 0.08 inches in thickness. Its inscription
reads: Ibzqyhw 'bdz mlk yhdh, 'Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz,
king of Judah'. But what amazed us is the emblem etched into it. It shows
a two-winged beetle pushing a circular ball of dung, a symbol of the rising
Sun.2
The meaning of the symbol is clear from Malachi 4: 2:

1 Deutsch, R: 'First Impression - What We Learn from King Ahaz's Seal'. Biblical Archaeology
Review, May/June 1998
2 Bonnet, H: 'Skarabaeus', in Reallexikon der agyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Berlin,
DeGruyter, 1952

186
 I'HE SONS OE DAWN

For you who revere my Name, the Sun of righteousness [tsedeql

shall rise with healing in its wings.

Such imagery would hardly be surprising if found amongst any of the coun-
tries surrounding Israel, but until recently it was thought that Yahweh wor-
ship was not linked to the Sun. In the context of our investigation of the
solar aspects of post-Solomon Judaism, it becomes clear that the use of this
symbol has nothing to do with Yahweh. But it has everything to do with
the old Canaanite Sun-god, possibly even the child-hungry Moloch.
Two- and four-winged Sun discs appear on other artefacts belonging to
Hezekiah, for example on the handles of a I'melekh he once owned, so the
two-winged scarab with the Sun disc is not the only occurrence of solar
symbolism on the king's property. This evidence suggested to us that there
was an intent to make Yahweh a solar deity in Judah. It seems that Sun
worship with its solar deity was a strong contender to unseat Yahweh as

In 2 Kings 20: 8 we noticed a statement saying that the shadow viewed

on something called the 'dial of Ahaz' should go forward ten steps or
degrees, meaning that the shade of the declining Sun would be lengthened
unnaturally quickly, or that it should go back that amount, a phenomenon
reversing the order of nature. Sundials were known at this time in Babylonia,
but the description used in this biblical quote refers to a series of aligned
steps which Ahaz constructed so that the shadow cast by the Sun would
read out the time of day.

And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the
Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the
Lord the third day?

And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the
Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go
forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go

down ten degrees: nay, hut let the shadow return backward ten
degrees.

And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the Lord: and he brought the

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shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the

dial of Ahaz.

In Isaiah 38:8 we are told specifically that the device is a sundial:

Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone
down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun
returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.

This whole idea of a supreme god being connected to the Sun was so
deep-seated that hundreds of years later the Sun became the distinguishing
mark of the new deity - whom Christians now call God. We note that the
Christian Sabbath is now Sun-day, and all heavenly beings have a Sun
shining behind their head. The concept of 'God on high' appears to be a
memory of the Sun-god El Elyon - meaning the 'Most High' - the shining
light of goodness above our heads. The whole idea of holiness is rooted in
the Jewish concept of 'righteousness' known as Zedek, which, as we have
shown, had its origins in Canaanite Sun worship, where the Sun's rays seek
out evil and corruption. The concepts of light and darkness, good and evil,
are wrapped up in a primordial awareness that the benign energy radiated
from the Sun brings warmth and succour to the Earth. And what could be
more natural? Nothing in the human experience can possibly have a more
central and visible role than the giant star that rises each morning to chase
away the fears of the darkness of night. This god leaves us but always
returns, he brings the promise of a new day and nourishes the crops that
provide our daily bread. The evildoers that hide in the shadows of night
have to run for cover to hide their shame from the inescapable light of
goodness.
For many later Israelites God had become a concept apart from the Sun,
but the available evidence strongly suggests that these astral worshippers
continued their practices and beliefs right through to the time when the
Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in 596 BCE, the time when
the city's leading figures were taken into exile. As late as the beginning of
the Babylonian Captivity the prophet Ezekiel refers to a vision that reveals
his horror of those who continue to worship the dawn:

And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house,

and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the

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porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their
backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the
east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. 3

In this verse Ezekiel berates the Enochian Jews for turning their backs to
God and worshipping the Sun. He goes on to blame their astral activities
for the fall of Jerusalem.
We now knew that Jewish kings had followed in Solomon's footsteps
for hundreds of years, worshipping Sun-gods and conducting ritualistic
destruction of their own children in their pursuit of divine power. This
kingly cult appears to have had a low level of connection to the God of
the Jews originally, but we suspect that after the return from the Babylonian
Captivity, the child sacrifice disappeared and Yahweh gained predominance.
Our next question was to unravel how the royal line protected their
ancient astral beliefs whilst coexisting with the peasant theology.

RETURN FROM EXILE

The Jews who were seized and taken into the cities of the Babylonians had
mourned the loss of their city and its temple, but they quickly acclimatised
to their new circumstances in various cities, and they prospered as part of
a successful empire. They must have identified with their new masters,
because they too aspired to understand the heavens and their meaning for
mortal man.
It has always struck us as strange that after three generations the
Babylonians suddenly let the Jews return to their home city.
There was a lot of political turbulence after the death of Cyrus the Great
and only when Darius came to the throne were 42,462 people sent back
to Jerusalem.
Writing of this event six hundred years later, Josephus felt that he under-
stood Darius' motivation. He describes it as follows:

Now he, while he was a private man, had made a vow to God,
that if he came to be king, he would send all the vessels of God
that ivere in Babylon to the temple at Jerusalem.

3 Ezekiel 8: 16

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II 11 15UUK. Uh H1KAM

Darius was a Zoroastrian, and his God was Ahura Mazda (the Sun-god
and Lord of Wisdom), not Yahweh, the local god of Jerusalem.
Josephus is a wonderful, if occasionally biased historian, but his view
here has been moulded by his own belief in a single God. It is certain that
the Jews who were taken into captivity believed that many gods existed,
and that Yahweh was in control in Israel but not in other places such as
Babylon. When they were in other lands the Jews would pay their respects
to the local god. By the time they were released they had acquired the idea
of a single, all-powerful God from the Zoroastrians who were themselves
monotheists, believing in a cosmic dualism of Truth (Asha) being opposed
by the Lie across the entire universe.
According to the record left by Josephus, Darius set a riddle, the cor-
rect answer to which would permit the rebuilding of the holy Temple of
the Jews. The question was about the relative strengths of four possible
contenders; kings, truth, women and wine. The correct answer was given
and, interestingly, those few words are the only written inscription in the
entire structure of Rosslyn, built by William St Clair as a final manifesta-
tion of the Jerusalem Temple. They appear on a cross lintel in the south
of the building in medieval Latin:

WINE IS STRONG, A KING IS STRONGER, WOMEN ARE

EVEN STRONGER BUT TRUTH CONQUERS ALL

This classic Zoroastrian sentiment gave new life to the Jerusalem Temple.
As the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylonia, only a few of
the most elderly would have ever set sight on the city of Jerusalem before.
Even the people taken in the second-wave exile were forty-eight years older
than when they left. A new generation of city rulers must have welcomed
them with caution and, no doubt, distrust. Were these sons and grandsons
of the old power base seeking to resume life where their forebears had left
off? Did they want their family land returning from its new owners, and,
most importantly, did they want to try and take high office in the running
of the city and its ruined Temple?
Josephus tells us that no fewer than 42,462 people followed Zerubbabel
back to Jerusalem, expecting to continue where their forebears had left off.
We have concluded that it was at this point that the divide between 'nature'
and the 'astral' became a polarised issue. The followers of the peasant
'nature' principles were focused on the tradition associated with Moses,

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while the returning elite astral cult was dedicated to the astral teachings
laid down by Enoch.
For the royal Enochian line the astral aspects were central to achieving
the greatness of their nation through their long-term plans, which would
be fulfilled by the leadership of their promised messiah who would arise
at a preordained moment in the future. And they knew that the moment
would be marked by the appearance of the Divine Shekinah, the light that
shows the presence of^God.
Zerubbabel is said to have built his new Temple on top of the ruins of
the old one, and life in Jerusalem returned to normal. The Bible does not
tell us as much about the next period, during which the astral ideas were
being merged into the cult of Yahweh. However, whilst this was happening
another great influence appeared, and that was the culture of the Greeks.
The serious intrusions of Greek culture (Hellenism) begin with the con-
quests of Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, which put the Jews on the defen-
sive. A civil war broke out in Israel in 165 BCE between Jewish Hellenisers
and resistant Israelites. The Maccabean revolt began as a civil war; it ended
as a successful war for Judaean political independence from Syrian occu-
pying forces led by Antiochus Epiphanes.
Members of the Hasmonaean priestly family who led the revolt pro-
claimed themselves hereditary, kings and high priests despite the fact that
they were not of the ancient high priestly lineage. This caused outrage
amongst the true priesthood, who set up their own community at Qumran
at the lowest place on the surface of the Earth in an attempt to maintain
the purity of their own traditions. The Qumran community was originally
a difficult alliance of Zadokite and Enochian priests formed in the after-
math of a shared disillusion with the Maccabean authority in Jerusalem.4
One clear implication of our findings is that a previously unidentified
Enochian group also continued in its pure form, as well as the hybrid form
centred on Qumran.
Pliny, the Roman historian, wrote of the people of the Qumran com-
munity:

On the west coast of Lake Asphaltitis [the Dead Seaj are settled [a
number of] the Essenes, at some distance from the noisome odours
that are experienced on the shore itself. They are a lonely people,

4 Boccaccini, G: Beyond the Essenes, Eerdmans (Grand Rapids), 1998

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 l i l t BOOK Oh hi I RAM

the most extraordinary in the world, ivho live without women,

without love, without money, with the palm trees for their only
companions.5.

Like the Order of the Knights Templar, these priests of Qumran held ritual
initiations, wore only white linen and held all things in common. And like
original Freemasonry the initiation period for membership took three years
to become a full member of the sect. We also recalled how we were both
clothed in white linen for each of the three rituals of Craft Masonry and
how we were asked to hand over our money during the First Degree,
although we were prompted to reply 'Nothing have I, or freely would I
give.'
It is known that the Essenes retained elements of Sun worship, as they
sang hymns at dawn in praise of the 'Sun of Righteousness'. They too
would have been subject to the wrath of Ezekiel, who had criticised their
practice of turning 'their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their
faces toward the east; as they worshipped the sun toward the east'.6 The
Jerusalem authorities did not like their traditions either, because they even-
tually passed a law forbidding the Essene practice of kneeling towards the
rising Sun at dawn, on pain of death.7
Biblical scholar Morton Smith has interpreted a golden staircase described
in one of the Dead Sea Scrolls as a device built to worship the Sun,
'beseeching him to rise'. That the Sun, Moon and stars were revered as
angels is evident from the text of Psalm 148: 1-4:

Praise the Lord out of heaven; praise him in the heights. Praise
him, all his angels; praise him, all his host. Praise him, sun and
moon; praise him, all you shining stars; praise him, heaven of
heavens.

But that staircase, Morton Smith mentions, may well have really existed,
as the remains of a spiral staircase were found during the excavation of
the Qumran site. 8 Is it just coincidence that the Second Degree of
Freemasonry describes just such a staircase as the route to follow in order
to discover the hidden mysteries of nature and science?
5 Pliny, Natural History, 5:73
6 Ezekiel 8: 16
7 Graves, R: The White Goddess, Faber and Faber, 1948
8 Vermes, G: The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Penguin, 1995

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ASTROLOGY AND SUN WORSHIP

Many Christians today vehemently detest astrology, believing it to be a

pagan abomination, a superstition that courts the Devil and opposes the
teachings of Jesus. But we were finding that knowledge of the movements
of the heavens and a belief in the effect of helically rising stars on the affairs
of mankind was central to the beliefs of the Jewish group that gave rise to
Christianity.
Historically, astrology was a problem for early rabbinic Jews, who also
denied its role in their religion. The Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 156b)
records a debate about the validity of astrology where Rabbi Hanina, a
Babylonian who came to Palestine around AD 200 to study with Judah ha-
Nasi, a compiler of the Mishnah, said:

The planetary influence gives, wisdom, the planetary influence gives

wealth and Israel stands under planetary influence.

However, the influence of astrology had been fiercely opposed by Rabbi

Johanan, who stated:

There are no constellations for Israel.

Surprisingly, in the light of his statement in support of planetary influ-

ence, Judah ha-Nasi's Mishnah (a book which codifies the Jewish law)
spoke against some aspects of astrology, stating that anyone who finds an
object with representations of the Sun, the Moon or a serpent must cast it
into the Dead Sea. This instruction indicates that such images must Have
been common and that there was a major tension between those who sup-
ported the Sun and astral imagery and those who did not.
The fascination with Sun worship amongst the Jewish people did not go
away as quickly as the Bible would like us to believe. A mosaic recently
uncovered at a synagogue in ancient Sepphoris shows a zodiac with an
abstract depiction of a Sun-god riding in his quadriga - a four-horse chariot.
Other synagogues show the Sun-god in human form, rather than as simply
an abstract Sun disc.
We had noticed that many Masonic lodges are decorated with the signs
of the zodiac, but we also found that there was a much stronger astrolog-
ical influence in Freemasonry, once we started to look for it. On a visit to

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the library of the Grand Lodge of Scotland with biblical scholar Professor
Philip Davies, whilst inspecting the uncatalogued Morrison collection of
Masonic works that date from before the French Revolution, this influence
became very clear.
Philip was attracted by a large leather-bound volume. Taking it down
from the shelf he placed it on the desk and opened it. The book was hand-
written in a precise but faded copperplate. As he leafed carefully through
the rustling pages he came to a folded pull-out section in the centre of the
book. He carefully teased it open to reveal a wheel-like diagram showing
the tribes of Israel and indicating which sign of the zodiac and which gem-
stone was associated with each. The early Freemason who wrote this book
was clearly concerned to record a close link he had identified between
astrology and Jewish beliefs.
The twelve signs of the zodiac in a radial arrangement around the Sun
chariot of Helios can be found in at least seven ancient synagogues in Israel,
but such images were not seen in early Christian buildings, and only in
three synagogues outside Israel. A poem found in the genizah (a store of
worn-out documents) of a synagogue in Cairo states that:

There arose a dispute among the months, when the August one
sent to the land of Egypt. Come let us cast lots on the zodiac, that
we might know in which of us Israel is to be redeemed.

As we searched for more information about Sun worship in early Israel

we found a reference to an object found amongst the stones from the ruins
of Herod's Temple that had no explanation. But to us it looked exactly like
a device for monitoring the position of the Sun as it rises each morning on
its constant swing across the horizon from solstice to solstice. As we pored
over the picture of the strange object we realised that if a gnomon was
placed at the back of the central groove it would cast a shadow down the
curved section of the stone in the same manner as the marked lines.
Our hypothesis was borne out when we checked the angles formed by
the outer lines. These we found to correspond with the angles of the
extreme solstice sunrise shadows (60 degrees) as they would be cast at the
latitude of Jerusalem. The variations in the spacing of the lines would be
due to the hills across the valley from the Temple, which have a dip in
them that would affect the elevation of the Sun at first light. The line that
runs left to right could have been used to mark the Sun's elevation at a

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This strange stone was found in the ruins of Herod's Temple. No explana-
tion for it exists but we believe it is likely to have been a sunrise marker
used by the priests from Qumran who seized the Temple shortly before the
entire city was destroyed by Titus in 70 CE. It is known that the Essenes
ivould bow to the rising sun at the Temple and it seems that the hurriedly
cut lines may have been created over approximately nine months to mark
the angle of the sunrise.

given time shortly after sunrise - perhaps the limitation of time when the
official period of 'dawn' is deemed to be over. The shadow of the gnomon
would be at its longest when first light broke and it would shorten as the
Sun rose. When the shadow no longer crossed the horizontal line, dawn
would be over. The shadow would be at the centre during the equinoxes
and at the outer edges for the solstices. The right-hand side of the object
would be the summer solstice, when the Sun would gain elevation quickly,
whilst at the opposite side the Sun would rise slowly and move more hor-
izontally. This means that we should expect to see a sunrise marker stone
having its horizontal line higher on the right than the left if it was to indi-
cate a constant period of dawn throughout the year.
That is just what we could see on this stone.
The cut-out curve of the device compensates for the speed of the Sun's
apparent movement along the horizon. There are six segments between the
lines, and each of these represents a two-week period. The workmanship

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of this important hut puzzling relic is poor, suggesting that it was not part
of the officially constructed temple.
We discussed the importance of finding a crudely made dawn timer in
the stones which had once made up Herod's Temple. We felt that our theory
of the function of this device makes especial sense for a number of rea-
sons. As we knew, it is said that the Essenes were in the habit of wor-
shipping at the Jerusalem Temple by kneeling towards the rising Sun at
dawn. 9 We also knew that the priests of Qumran are considered to have
been Essenes, and at some point between the start of the Jewish War in 66
CE and the destruction of the Temple, four years later, they gained control
of the Temple.
This group called themselves 'The Sons of Dawn', and as such, we argue,
they would surely have reintroduced their practice of bowing to the rising
Sun. The Temple was still not complete, but Herod's architects had no
reason to incorporate a dawn-measuring device in the stonework, so the
Sons of Dawn would have needed to create a new 'sunrise stone' for them-
selves.
A magi priest needed nine months to calibrate this stone, which there-
after gave anyone the ability to tell the faithful when dawn was officially
over and the period of bowing could end.
We also came across another strange artefact from this period which
makes no sense to archaeologists but does to us. It was unearthed at Qumran
and was first reported as a sundial, which it simply cannot be. We believe
it measures solar movements across the year. This 'sundial' was found some
forty-five years ago by Father Roland de Vaux at Qumran. Father de Vaux
described the three concentric circles within the disc as a unique system for
telling time: the inner circle measured daylight hours during winter, the
middle circle during spring and autumn, and the outer circle during summer.
In antiquity the period from sunrise to sunset was usually divided into
twelve equal hours, and since the period between sunrise and sunset varies
from season to season, the length of each of the twelve hourly subdivisions
also varied. The length of daylight varies with location, as well as season,
so the length of an hour is location-specific. This means that we can be sure
that this object found at Qumran cannot be a sundial. The lines on it are
not equally spaced all the way around, and there is no way that the unequally
spaced lines within each circle on this roundel can measure seasonally

9 Graves, R: The White Goddess

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 I'HE SONS OE D A W N

adjusted hours. Additionally, shadows are shortest in summer and longest

in winter, so the inner and outer circle seasonal designations which are
claimed to identify it as a sundial cannot be correct.
Several real sundials have been found in Jerusalem as well as at other
sites around Israel.10 An important small white limestone sundial was dis-
covered in Jerusalem in 1972 during a massive excavation south of the
Temple Mount. It is a mere 2 inches wide and 2 inches tall, but the hour
and seasonal lines on the dial are carefully computed for use in Jerusalem.
It was found in the debris from the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple
and it belonged to the Temple priests, as a seven-branched menorah is
engraved on its back (before the destruction of the Temple, the menorah
as a symbol was restricted exclusively to the Temple priests).11
Father Vaux's 'sundial' has been likened to an ancient board game called
Mehen, which means 'to coil' or 'Coiled One' - because the board resem-
bles a coiled serpent.12 This game is known in Egypt from as early as the
Pre-dynastic period (fourth millennium BCE), and is also found in Lebanon,
Syria, Cyprus, Crete and on other Aegean islands.13 We came to the con-
clusion that this is no game, and we doubt that the early similar artefacts
were games either. Maybe they were used as games in more recent times,
but originally we think these items were Sun trackers, devices to measure
the seasons of the year, similar but slightly different in operation to the
sunrise stone already mentioned.
Whilst the sunrise stone marked the movements of the rising Sun across
the horizon from solstice to solstice, the Mehen coil measures the Sun at
midday between the solstices and equinoxes. We were aware of the shape
the Sun's shadow casts over seasonal periods, and we described this spi-
ralling effect of the Sun's movement in Uriel's Machine, based on work
done by American artist Charles Ross.
Ross showed how tracking the shadow of the midday Sun over the sea-
sons produced a spiral for each quadrant between solstices and equinoxes.
The spiral he produced shows the coiling line of the shadow in towards the
summer solstice from the spring equinox and a second one out again towards
the autumn equinox. In each case there are four coils to this particular ser-
pent, corresponding with the structure of the disc found at Qumran.
10 Layish, Dov Ben: A Survey of Sundials in Israel, 1969
11 Levy, A: 'Bad Timing', Biblical Archaeological Review, July/August 1998
1 2 Levy, A: Bad Timing

1 3 Bellesort, Marie-Noel: 'Le Jeu de Serpent: Jeux et Jouets dans I'Antiquite et le Moyen Age',

Dossiers d'Archeologie, 1992

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We believe that it is the four grooves that are important in the disc,
rather than the three raised sections. A bead could have been placed in the
slot corresponding to the top edge of the shadow from the gnomon when
the Sun was at its zenith each day which would mark the Sun's spiralling
path through the year. Once calibrated it would give warning, for instance,
that the next day was a feast day - information given directly by the infal-
lible Sun rather than by the 'spurious' calendar calculations used by all
other Jews.
It is well known that the people of the Qumran community used a solar
calendar, not a lunar one like other Jews. It was based entirely on the move-
ments of the Sun, in contrast to the Pharisees' calendar which was highly
lunar-oriented. According to the solar calendar of Qumran there were 364
days to a year consisting of twelve months, each with thirty days plus an
additional day which was inserted after each three months between each
quarter.
The device found at Qumran would have given the people of this solar
cult a date reminder delivered daily by the finger of the Sun; a fool-proof
method of ensuring that they were celebrating exactly the right festival on
precisely the right day.
The Qumranians considered that other Jews had gone astray from the
calendar of the Sun and were consequently celebrating their festivals on
the wrong days. The Dead Sea Scrolls tell how their authors railed against
the other sects of Jews for their inability to understand when holy days
should be observed, because their calendars were hopelessly wrong. So dif-
ferent was the outlook of the people of Qumran that one leading present-
day scholar posed the question: 'Can we call them Jews at all?' 14
Where evidence of Sun worship exists after the time of David and
Solomon it tends to be dismissed as an influence of the Egyptians, Greeks
or Persians, or seen as assimilated aspects of Sun-gods like Ra, Helios or
Mithra. We cannot deny that these factors must have been influences,
because no religion is entirely self-contained, but such thinking distorts the
true nature of the solar beliefs of the Jews. It certainly has to be said that
Sun worship is an obvious concept that was invented in cultures across the
globe. But we have become sure in our own minds that the Canaanite con-
cept of the Sun deity was the principal inspiration of this recurring and
somehow 'underground' version of Judaism that was interesting us. And it

14 Davies, Professor Philip: private communication

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seemed to us that the beliefs of the Essenes were key to understanding this
philosophy.
Josephus explained how extraordinary these Essenes were - a group with
a single-minded focus who were a powder keg waiting its moment to
explode:

. . . They have an inviolable attachment to liberty; and say that

God is their only Rider and Lord. They also do not value dying
any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their
relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any
man Lord.15

They also spread their beliefs by taking in children to teach them:

. . . They neglect wedlock, but choose out other persons' children,

while they are pliable, and fit for learning; and they esteem them
to be of their kindred, and form them according to their own
manners,16

Hippolytus in the Refutation of all Heresies, tells us more specifically

what these children were taught:

. . . And they lead [these adopted children] into observance of their

own peculiar customs, and in this way bring them up and impel
them to learn science.

We were reminded of what a candidate for Freemasonry is told on the com-

pletion of the Second Degree:

. . . you are permitted to extend your researches into the more

hidden mysteries of nature and science.

We have already shown that the study of science in Freemasonry refers

mainly to the science of astronomy. Could this also have been a principal
science of the Essenes; particularly an understanding of the movements of
the Sun and Venus?

^ J o s e p h u s : Antiquities, 18:1:6
1 6 Josephus: Jewish War, 2:8:2

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Josephus recorded the Essenes' worship of the Sun at dawn - an action

that he, as a Jew, found hard to understand:

. . . And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary;

for before sunrise they speak not a word about profane matters,
but put up certain prayers which they have received from their
forefathers, as if they make a supplication for its rising. 17

If they regularly observed the sunrise, they couldn't avoid seeing the pat-
tern of the appearances of the Morning Star.
Josephus records how the Essenes owned no personal possessions and
lived a totally austere life, owning just a simple white garment and one
pair of sandals that they wore to destruction. They were also known as
people having an ancient knowledge of healing:

. . . They also take great pains in studying the writings of the

ancients, and choose out of them what is most for the advantage of
their soul and body; and they inquire after such roots and medical
stones as may cure their distempers.18

Their curative skills were linked to the usage of stones. Hippolytus

referred to the Essenes as 'busying themselves as regards the operative
powers of these [stones]'. If the record left by Josephus is accurate they
must have possessed some tremendous knowledge affecting the preserva-
tion of health, for he states:

They are long-lived also; insomuch that many of them live above a
hundred years.19

There would seem to be little reason not to believe Josephus on this matter,
and such a lifespan must have been truly remarkable two thousand years
ago for any one individual, let alone 'many' of these Essenes.
Also, according to Josephus, gaining membership of this order was no
simple matter. First the candidate was given a loin girdle, a white tunic and
a small hatchet, and he was required to live in the style of an Essene for
one year, although not permitted to live with the Order. If he passed this
17 Josephus: Jewish War, 2:8:5
18 Josephus: Jewish War, 2:8:6
19 Josephus: Jewish War, 2:8:10

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stage he was kept as a novice for two more years, after which time, if he
proved worthy, he was admitted into the society. This same term, 'worthy',
is used in the ritual of the first degree of Freemasonry as the new candi-
date is about to be admitted a member of the Order:

It is my duty to inform you that Masonry is free and requires a

perfect freedom of inclination on the part of every candidate for its
mysteries. It is founded upon the purest principles of morality and
virtue. It possesses many and invaluable privileges to worthy men,
and I trust to worthy men alone.

The similarity to Freemasonry is more than superficial, because the can-

didate for the Essene order undertook an obligation to help his fellow man.
Josephus describes it:

And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he is

obliged to take tremendous oaths; that, in the first place, he will
exercise piety towards God; and then, he will observe justice
towards men; and that he will do no barm to any one, either of his
own accord, or by the command of others; that he will always hate
the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; that he will ever
show fidelity to all men, and especially to those in authority,
because no one obtains the government without God's assistance;
and that he be in authority, he will at no time whatever abuse his
authority, nor endeavour to outshine his subjects, either in gar-
ments, or any other finery; that he will be perpetually a lover of
truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; that he
will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful
gains; and that he will neither conceal anything from those of his
own sect, nor reveal any of their doctrines to others, no, not
though any one should compel him so to do at the hazard of his
life. Moreover, he swears to communicate their doctrines to no one
any otherwise than as he received them himself; that he will equally
preserve the books belonging to the sect, and the means of the
messengers /the names of the angels].

This obligation strongly resembles that taken by a new Freemason just

before he is admitted to share his first meal with the brethren. Whilst

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I III: IJUUR Uh Ml R A M

Josephus could not have known the exact words used by the Essenes, he
knew the general content. Anyone would draw similar conclusions from
Freemasonry today if they heard the ritual.
We decided to draw up a list of the comparisons between the two Orders:

Essene: And before he is allowed to touch their common food, he

is obliged to take tremendous oaths.

Masonic: . . . keep me steadfast and firm in this my first, great and

solemn oath.

Essene: . . . he will exercise piety towards God.

Masonic: To God, by never mentioning His Name but with that

awe and reverence which are due from the creature to his Creator;
by imploring His aid on all your lawful undertakings and by
looking up to Him, in every emergency, for comfort and support.

Essene: he will observe justice towards men . . . will ever show

fidelity to all men.

Masonic: To your neighbour, by acting with him upon the square;

by rendering him every kind of office, which justice or mercy may
require; by relieving his distresses and soothing his afflictions, and
by doing to him as, in similar cases, you would wish he should do
to you.

Essene: he will ever show fidelity to all men, and especially to

those in authority.

Masonic: . . . you are always to recommend kindness and

condescension to inferiors, courtesy and affability to equals;
obedience and submission; to superiors.

Essene: . . . he will be perpetually a lover of truth.

Masonic: . . . imprint indelibly on your mind the sacred dictates of

Truth, of Honour, and of Virtue.

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 l i l t SONS OF DAWN

Essene: . . . nor reveal any of their doctrines to others.

Masonic: . . . do hereby and hereon, of my own free will and

accord, most solemnly promise, vow and swear that I will forever
hele, keep, conceal, and never reveal, any point or points, secret or
secrets, mystery or mysteries of, or at all belonging to this the 1st
degree in Freemasonry.

The Essenes were centre stage when the Jewish War broke out against
the Romans. Their bravery, even in defeat, was remarkable. Josephus, who
started the war as a Jewish officer and (rather wisely) ended it as a Roman
one, said of the Essenes:

And as for death, if it will be for their glory, they esteem it better
than living always; and indeed our war with the Romans gave
abundant evidence what great souls they had in their trials, wherein,
although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and torn to pieces,
and went through all kinds of instruments of torment, that they
might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or to eat what
was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either of
them, no, nor even once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a
tear; but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn
who inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their souls
with great alacrity, as expecting to receive themselves again.

The Essenes who left us their documents at Qumran show us how they
sometimes used cryptic devices when copying their sacred books. Dead Sea
Scrolls scholar J T Milik refers to the use of two different alphabets with
arbitrarily chosen signs which replace the normal Hebrew characters, or to
documents where the writing even runs from left to right, instead of the
normal right to left. Occasionally, Greek or Phoenician letters appear in
place of their Hebrew equivalents. These sacred documents were prepared
in readiness for the day when Yahweh would arise in the last times.
The Enochian tradition is at the heart of these secret texts not only in
the Book of Enoch but also in the Book of Jubilees, which is widely thought
to be just part of a far bigger collection of texts that existed at the time.2"
20Russell, DS: The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic 200 lie - ADlOO, SCM Press
Ltd, 1960

203
II I I BOOK Ol hll RAM

In Jubilees Enoch is depicted as a mystery figure conversant with both eso-

teric and scientific knowledge, the latter being the ability to measure the
movements of the heavenly bodies and understand their meaning. The Book
of Jubilees also lays out the solar calendar system used by the Qumran
group. It has been said by Christian scholars that Jesus Christ may well
have followed this Enochian calendar himself - suggesting that he was
indeed associated with this group of hereditary priests that shunned the
'misguided' Jerusalem establishment. The Reverend Professor Harold
Rowley has said of the solar calendar described in the book:

We need not ascribe the authorship of Jubilees to a member of the

[Qumran] sect, and this calendar, which was older than the book of
Jubilees, may have been followed by others besides the sectaries,
including our Lord, who then would celebrate Passover on the
Tuesday night. This date is not contradicted by synoptic evidence.21

There were secret Enochian traditions connected to Moses and Ezra, to

Enoch and Noah, and to Daniel. There is little doubt that these traditions
are the oldest in which Enoch represents the survival of Divine Secrets from
extreme antiquity which are passed on to subsequent generations.
The Book of Jubilees, so important to the people of Qumran, says of
Enoch:

He was the first among men that are born on earth to learn
writing and knowledge and wisdom and who wrote down the signs
of heaven according to the number of their months in a book.22

The legends of Noah and Enoch appear to be essentially similar, and it is

believed by biblical scholars that the Noah legend is older than that of
Enoch, and that the latter reconstructs the remnants of the former.23
We now needed to understand how the Venus worship had survived
along with Sun worship. If we are right in our belief that the idea of Venus
ritual came from the Grooved Ware People through the Canaanites and
early Jews, it must have existed right through to the time of Christ and the

21 Rowley, HH (ed.): Apocalyptic Literature, Peake's Commentary on the Bible, Thomas

Nelson and Sons, 1962
2 2 Book of Jubilees 4: 17

2 3 Charles, RH: The Book of jubilees, OUP, 1902

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 I'HE SONS OE D A W N

fall of the Temple. Our task now was to find hard evidence of its exis-
tence. Without this vital link our hypothesis could never be proven.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that Canaanite ideas about a Sun-god and a religion based on

the appearance and movement of the stars persisted in Israel until the time
of the Babylonian Captivity (circa 596 BCE) and have been carried through
into modern Christianity in the image of the halo.
During the period of the rebuilding of the Temple under Zerubbabel the
newly emerging Greek culture began to influence Israel. Certain groups did
not approve of adopting Greek ideas, and a set of Zadokite and Enochian
priests formed the Qumran community in the aftermath of a shared disil
lusionment with the Maccabean authority in Jerusalem. This group used
ancient astronomical techniques to create their own solar calendar, distinct
from the lunar calendar used by the Maccabean priesthood, who controlled
the Temple at Jerusalem.

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 C h a p t e r Ten

THE HOLY SHEKINAH

THE VENUS CYCLE IN JUDAISM

The meaning of the ancient name of Jerusalem tells us unequivocally that

it was founded with Venus in mind. According to tradition its high sanc-
tuary was the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, and where
Solomon built the Temple that is aligned to the pre-dawn rising of that
planet. We also knew from our study of Grooved Ware structures of the
British* Isles that the period of the Venus cycle is forty years - a number
which we now noticed seemed to be of great importance in the Bible.
To check out if our assessment of the biblical use of forty was more
than wishful thinking, we pulled out as many references as we could find
to forty-day or forty-year periods in the Bible. Here are just a sample of
forty mentions of forty we extracted from the Old and the New Testaments:

1 The Flood was associated with rains that fell for 4 0 days and nights.
(Gen. 7: 4)

2 The Flood was on the earth for 4 0 days. (Gen. 7: 17)

3 Isaac was 40 years old when he took his wife. (Gen. 25: 20)

4 Esau was 4 0 years old when he took his wife. {Gen. 26: 34)

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 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A H

5 Israel ate manna for 4 0 years. (Exodus 16: 35)

God said that at the end of 4 0 years He would end the captivity of the
6
Jews amongst the Egyptians. (Ezekiel 29: 13)

Moses was with God on the mount for 40 days and nights. (Ex. 24:
7
18)

Moses was again with God for a further 40 days and 40 nights. (Ex.
8
34: 28)

Moses led Israel out of Egypt aged 80 (2 x 40), and after 40 years in
9
the wilderness he died aged 120 (3 x 40). (Deut. 34: 7)

Spies searched in the land of Canaan for 40 days. (Num. 13: 25)
10

God made Israel wander for 4 0 years. (Num. 14: 3 3 - 3 4 )

11

40 stripes was the maximum whipping penalty. (Deut. 25: 3)

12
God allowed the land to rest for 4 0 years. (Judges 3: 11)
13

God again allowed the land to rest for 40 years. (Judges 5: 31)
14

God again allowed the land to rest for 40 years. (Judges 8: 28)
15

Abdon (one of the Judges in Israel) had 40 sons. (Judges 12: 14)
16

Israel did evil and God gave them to an enemy for 4 0 years. (Judges
17
13: 1)

18 Eli judged Israel for 40 years. (1 Samuel 4: 18)

19 Goliath presented himself to Israel for 40 days. (1 Sam. 17: 16)

IB

20 Saul, the first Jewish king, reigned for 4 0 years. (Acts 13: 21)

21 Saul was 40 years old when he became king. (Acts 13: 21)

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 I*HE BOOK OF H I R A M

22 Ishbosheth (Saul's son) was 40 when his reign began. (2 Sam. 2: 10)

23 David reigned for 40 years. (2 Sam. 5: 4, 1 Kings 2: 11)

24 Solomon reigned for 40 years. (1 Kings 11: 42)

25 The holy place of the Temple was 40 cubits long. (1 Kings 6: 17)

26 40 baths (measurement) was the size of lavers in the Temple. (1 Kings

7: 38)

27 The sockets of silver were in groups of 40. (Ex. 26: 19 & 21)

28 King Ahaz arose, and did eat and drink with an angel, and went in the
strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount
of God. (I Kings 19: 8)

29 Elijah had one meal that gave him strength for 40 days. (1 Kings 19:
8)

30 Ezekiel bore the iniquity of the house of Judah for 40 days. (Ezekiel 4:
6)

31 Jehoash reigned for 40 years in Jerusalem. (2 Kings 12: 1)

32 Egypt was to be laid desolate for 40 years. (Ezek. 29: 11-12)

33 Ezekiel's vision of the new Temple is 40 cubits long. (Ezek. 4 1 : 2 )

34 The courts in Ezekiel's temple were 40 cubits long. (Ez. 46: 22)

35 God gave Nineveh 40 days to repent. (Jonah 3: 4)

36 Forty years God grieved for generation of people. (Psalms 95: 10)

37 Jesus fasted 40 days and nights. (Matthew 4: 2)

38 Jesus was tempted for 40 days. (Luke 4: 2)

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 THE HOLY S H E K I N A I I

39 Jesus was ministered to by angels in the wilderness for 40 days. (Mark

1: 13)

40 Jesus remained on Earth for 40 days after his resurrection. (Acts 1: 3)

Having found 101 examples, we went along to ask Professor Philip

Davies if there was any standard explanation for the biblical fascination
with this particular number. Philip replied that the only suggestion that he
knew was the idea that forty years represented a generation, but he felt
that this was unlikely, as it is closer to two generations.
Clearly, forty years is more than a human generation but less than a
lifespan in a healthy society (a biblical lifespan being described as three
score years and ten). So why does the Bible discuss periods of length forty
so much? Could it be because of the length of the Venus cycle, given the
planet's fundamental role in Canaanite theology and the establishment of
Jerusalem itself?
We found it particularly interesting that the first three kings of Israel,
Saul, David and Solomon, all reigned for exactly forty years. Were they
allotted precisely one Venus period or was this a post-rationalisation of
later scribes who believed in the importance of the Venus cycle as some
divine period? The chances of it being coincidence are very low indeed.
We detected two much longer periods that were also of significance,
both of which are multiples of forty years. No biblical scholar has ever
been able to explain satisfactorily the forty-year cycle that is used throughout
the Old and New Testaments - the span of a human generation is the only
attempt. Additionally, several of the experts of the last century also men-
tion two, much longer, periods almost in passing. They describe them as
rather inexplicable and unimportant; however, once the significance of the
Venus cycle is known the pattern is striking and, we think, of pivotal impor-
tance.
With careful scrutiny we found that these two longer periods had been
carefully described but never explained. We have named the periods found
in the Old Testament as follows:

Venusian Generation = 40 years (one Venus cycle)

Venusian Epoch - 480 years (12 x one Venus cycle)

\
209
I HE BOOK OF 111 RAM

Venusian Aeon = 1,440 years (12 x 3 x one Venus cycle).

We called the forty-year period a 'Venusian generation' because it was

a period of rule for the early kings rather than because of any connection
to parent/ child relationships of time. In the dictionary the word is defined
as 'any of a number of stages, levels or series'.1
The term 'Venusian epoch' seemed entirely suitable because an epoch is
defined as 'a point in time fixed or made remarkable by some great event
from which dates are reckoned - a precise date from which a new state of
things dates'.2
Finally we selected 'Venusian aeon' for the longest period because an
aeon is defined as 'a vast age. It is also known that in Gnosticism it was
considered to be a power emanating from the supreme deity associated
with the government of the universe'.3 This sounds like a very good way
of describing long-term Venus cycles - and we recalled that Gnosticism was
directly connected to Judaism at the time of Christ.
The periods we found are directly connected to major events. In the First
Book of Kings 6: 1 we read about an important Venusian epoch of 480
years:,

And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after
the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the
fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif,
which is the second month, that he began to build the house of
the Lord.

So the building of the great Temple of Jerusalem is said to have commenced

exactly twelve Venus cycles after Moses and his 'Apiru band travelled across
the parted Red Sea. The 'Apiru or Hebrew group wandered in the wilder-
ness for exactly the duration of the first of these cycles, and then at the
end of that cycle Moses died.
The question here is whether the period of 480 years claimed in 1 Kings
is an attempt at recording a true date for this event or whether it was a
'sacred' period of time allocated to the gap between the two important
events by some later writers. If the Exodus had happened at that time the

1 Chambers Dictionary
2 Chambers Dictionary
3 Chambers Dictionary

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 THE HOLY S H E K I N A H

pharaoh concerned in the Moses story would have been Thutmose III
(1479-1425), which brings two problems. First, Thutmose 111 was a great
builder but his construction work was in upper Egypt, not the Nile delta
from where the Hebrew workers are said to have escaped. Second, this
pharaoh conducted many successful military campaigns all across the land
of Canaan and his troops would have quickly overrun the band of plague-
bringing renegades led by Moses and Joshua.
Many biblical scholars believe that the 480-year gap is an artificial con-
struct and that a more probable dating for the Exodus (if it happened at
all) is circa 1250 BCE.4 So, the next question is - why did someone feel the
need to attribute this precise gap?
It is fully accepted that the Old Testament was a careful working of sev-
eral oral traditions, and this element appears to belong to a strand that
generally faded from view. The sacred 480-year period remained, but the
reason for its existence became forgotten. Our feeling is that this number
may well be from an older Enochian tradition that was adopted to the
Moses tradition to give authority to the much newer story of the Exodus.
The 480-year period was also applied to the second arrival of the Hebrews
in their Promised Land - the return from Babylonian Captivity. This has
been identified by the Reverend Frederick Foakes-Jackson, a professor of
Christian Studies who believes that the same timespan could have also been
intended between Solomon's Temple and the ending of the Babylonian
(Captivity. I le says:

The foundations of the Temple were laid in the four hundred and
eightieth year after the Exodus . . . a similar period might be said
to intervene between Solomon and the Captivity (430 years to the
time of the last king, Zedekiah, and 50 years for the captivity).5

This is not an invention, as the dating of these events falls within recorded
history, but it seems that the people concerned would have appreciated the
importance of the 480-year period even if they did not understand its
meaning.
The forty-year cycles are often associated with an individual's life and
the two longer periods are said to separate major events in Jewish history.

4 Stalker, DMG: 'Exodus', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

5 Foakes-Jackson, FJ: Peake's Commentary on the Bible, T.C. & E.C. Jack Ltd, London, 1920

21 1
 I*HEBOOK OF H I R A M

These points in time may not he historically accurate, but what matters is
that the ancient priests imposed this pattern believing it to be true.
The longest period, which we have called a Venusian aeon, is described
by Josephus, the first-century historian of the Jews:

Solomon began to build his temple . . . afer the deluge one

thousand four hundred and forty years. 6

Josephus recorded this as a fact that he had come across, but it meant
nothing to him. He does not tell us which tradition gave this information
but, as we will see later, there had been a resurgence of Enochian thinking
prior to the time of Josephus' writings in the second half of the first
century.
For us, a big picture was forming in front of our eyes. Solomon's Temple
was started exactly 480 years after Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt (to
wander for 40 years in the wilderness) and 1,440 years after the Flood
(which lasted 40 days). There is a clear belief that God works to a mech-
anism that can lead to prediction. Biblical scholars have repeatedly noted
the existence of this number sequence but they have never suggested any
reason for it. We were fast becoming convinced that it relates to the appear-
ances of Venus in the dawn sky.
We had definitely found a usage of the Venus cycle by the Jews that cor-
responded to our findings at Grooved Ware sites in the British Isles - but
we still needed to find reference to the appearance of Venus at propitious
moments. We were quickly amazed by what we found both in our assem-
bled Masonic Testament and in the Bible itself.
The Old Testament tells us that something called 'the Divine Shekinah'
shone at the time of Moses' birth, and as we already knew that Moses was
supposed to have been born at the start of a Venus cycle it seemed that
this must be the term used for Venus rising at its forty-year return point.
But then we also read that the innermost sanctuary of King Solomon's
Temple was considered to be the dwelling place of this Shekinah, which
the Bible describes as 'the Divine Presence Himself'.
nMBMWHBHMMMMMMMHmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmammmmmmmmmmrnmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmim
This seemed to suggest that the light from Venus, which we knew entered
the megalithic building at Newgrange, was considered to be a manifesta-
tion of God. We remembered the dormer window in Solomon's Temple and

6 Josephus, Antiquities 8:3:1

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 THE HOLY S H E K I N A I I

how the Holy of Holies could be entered only by the High Priest and only
on the Jewish New Year's Day.
When scanning through Masonic rituals we found that one of the old
historical lectures of the Royal Arch said the following:

The First or Holy Masonic Lodge was opened after the Exodus of
the Israelites from the Egyptian bondage, by Moses, Aholiab, and
Bezaleel, on consecrated ground at the foot of Mount Horeb) in the
Wilderness of Sinai. Here the host of Israel bad assembled and
pitched their tents to offer up prayers and thanks-givings for their
signal deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians. In this place
the Almighty had thought fit to reveal Himself to his faithful ser-
vant Moses. Here the Most High delivered the forms of those mys-
terious prototypes, the Tabernacle, and the Ark of the Covenant;
here was delivered the Sacred Law, engraven by the hand of the
Most High, with those sublime and comprehensive precepts of civil
and religious policy which by separating His favoured people from
all other nations he consecrated them a chosen vessel to His
service. For these reasons this is denominated the First or Holy
Lodge.

There is nothing too startling here, but the ritual ges on to connect the
Shekinah both to Moses' experiences in the wilderness of Sinai and to

Bezaleel was the inspired workman of the Holy Tabernacle which

he built to house the Ark of the Covenant and to allow the light of

the Divine Shekinah to shine upon it. His design afterwards became
the model of King Solomon's Temple, and conforms to a pattern
delivered on Mount Horeb by God to Moses, who afterwards
became the Grand Master of the Lodge of Israel.

This passage specifically states that King Solomon's Temple was designed
to allow this external light to enter. But the ritual continues to give even
more detail about where the Shekinah appeared and when:

This favour was signalled to the brethren by the appearance in the_

East of the Divine Shekinah which represents the Glory of God

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 I*HEBOOK OF H I R A M

appearing on Mount Sinai at the deliverance of the Sacred Law.

So we had a clue that the Shekinah is an external light which is in some

way a facet of God, and it appears in the East and shines onto the Ark at
special times. We also knew that it was distinct and different from the light
of the rising Sun, which has always been important to Freemasonry. Later
in the same lecture mention is made of the fact that the shining of the
Shekinah is not necessarily a regular or predictable event. The ritual warns
that God can remove this sign of His favour, if He chooses:

At the consecreation of the Holy Tabernacle, and afterwards at the

dedication of the Temple of the Lord by King Solomon, the Divine
Shekinah descended so its light shone upon the Ark or Mercy seat
as it stood in the Holy of Holies, covered by the wings of the
Cherubim, where it appeared for several generations, until the
Israelites proved unfaithful to the Most High. And so may the light
of Masonry be removed from all who prove unfaithful to their
God!

This statement that the appearances of the Shekinah were irregular was
unexpected. We knew that the whole point of studying the movements of
Venus is the regularity of the cycle - the very predictability of its reap-
pearance. Unless this was an error of some kind the Shekinah could not
be Venus, despite the description of the Shekinah light entering through
the dormer of the Jerusalem Temple. This was certainly an unanticipated
item of information, but the conclusion to this puzzle was not far away.
Next we found a reference, in the ritual of the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite, which describes the scene as the seven candidates for the
degree of Secret Master assemble outside Solomon's Temple in preparation
for their Initiation. As they enter the inner chamber of the Temple, before
the rising of the Sun, they are exposed to a sacred light that is beautifully
described:

In the grey dawn of morning, even before the Sun rising over
Mount Olivet flushed with crimson the walls of the Temple, the
chosen few, awe-stricken and grave, had assembled. The light from
the seven-branch candlestick in the East was reflected back from
the golden floor, from the brazen laver of water, with hyssop and

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 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

napkins, but fell sombrely on the heavy drapings of the sack-cloth

on the walls. Amidst the prayers and exhortations, and the solemn
chanting of the Levites, the seven entered into a mystic bond, and
the duty of secrecy and silence was laid upon them. And then the
doors of cedar and olivewood heavily carved and gilded were
opened, the veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and richly
embroidered white linen were drawn aside, and the mysteries of the
Holy of Holies revealed to them.
None but the Priests and Levites had entered the Sanctum
Sanctorum since the Sacred Ark bad been brought thither, and now
as the Seven Secret Sentinels put off their shoes and washed their
feet, and stepped over the golden threshold, they stood in silence
blinded with the light that burst upon them. The spreading wings
of the Cherubim covered the Ark of the Covenant, but from all
sides the walls glittered with gold and precious stones.

Here we had found a description of how, in the pre-dawn darkness of

the inner sanctum of Solomon's Temple, a light burst in that blinded them.
The first lecture of the Craft degrees confirms that Moses' tent was orien-
tated in the same easterly direction and became the model for the Temple
of Solomon, to allow the Shekinah to enter:

And for the better solemnisation of Divine worship, as well as a

receptacle for the Books and Tables of the Law, Moses caused a
Tent or Tabernacle to be erected in the wilderness, which by God's
especial command was situated due East and West, for Moses did
everything according to a pattern shown him by the Lord on
Mount Sinai. This Tent or Tabernacle proved afterwards to be the
ground-plan, in respect to situation, of that most magnificent
Temple built at Jerusalem by that wise and mighty Prince, King
Solomon, whose regal splendour and unparalleled lustre far tran-
scend our ideas. This is the third, last, and grand reason I as a
Freemason give, why all places of Divine worship, as well as
Masons' regular, well-formed, constituted Lodges are or ought to
be so situated.

In the summing-up of this lecture, when a series of questions is put to

the candidate for Secret Master, the situation starts to become clearer.

215
 I*HE BOOK OF H I R A M

What is the hour?

The morning star has driven away the shades of night, and the
great light begins to gladden our Lodge.

As the morning star is the forerunner of the great light which

begins to shine on our Lodge, and we are all Secret Masters, it is
time to commence our labours.

The 'morning star' is Venus, so the question remained, was the Shekinah
something different?
The Royal Order of Scotland is a Jacobite invention, but it claims within
its ritual to have been established originally 'on the holy Mount Moriah
in the Kingdom of Judea' and later re-established, 'at Icolmkill, and after-
wards at Kilwinning, where the King of Scotland first sat as Grand Master'.
The reason for this re-establishment by the Jacobite Kings of Scotland is
given as 'to correct the errors and reform the abuses which had crept in
among the three degrees of St John's Masonry' - a reference to English
Freemasonry. The Royal Order makes a specific reference to the Shekinah
and links it to the First or Holy Lodge held by Moses on Mount Horeb.
The ritual asks and answers the following two questions:

[What does the Blazing Star representfj- Answer: The Glory of

God appearing on Mount Sinai at the deliverance of the Law.

Why do the Star and circling G appear? - Answer: The Star and
circling G declare, The Shekinah, wherever it appear. Whether on
Sinai, Salem or the place where the Eastern Magi saw the blessed
face.

They are mentioned again when the ritual says:

Whom did you meet in the Middle Chamber? - Answer: Three

wise men.

How did they dispose of you? - Answer: They led me to the

Cabinet of Wisdom.

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 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

How were you conducted? - Answer: By a Blazing Star appearing

in the East.
The ritual obviously considers the appearance of the Shekinah to be
extremely important in the history of Freemasonry, as this spectacular event
is described in detail:

I desire to know what was the first and highest honour ever con-
ferred on Freemasons.

The descent of the Divine Shekinah, first at the consecration of

the Holy Tabernacle, and afterwards at the dedication of the
Temple of the Lord by King Solomon, placing itself on the Ark or
Mercy-seat of the Holy of Holies, covered by the wings of the
Cherubim, where it continued to deliver its oracular responses for
several generations.

How many?

Fourteen.

Was the Shekinah ever removed?

It was.

Why so?

Because the Israelites proved unfaithful to their God. And so may

the light of Masonry be removed from all who prove unfaithful to
their God.

So again we read that the Shekinah failed to appear which was con-
sidered to be due to the poor behaviour of the Jews. We were still quite
puzzled about the way that the Shekinah sometimes fits the Venus pattern
and yet it has periods when it goes away. We decided to look for any fur-
ther information on the subject, and then we came across some interesting
work produced by the early twentieth-century Masonic researcher, AF
Waite.

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T H E BOOK OE HI RAM

M E T A T R O N , SHEKINAH A N D T H E K A B B A L A H

Waite, writing about the Kabbalah, refers to the celestial nature of the
Shekinah as a recurrent theme and describes a sexual dimension associated
with it where God in heaven directly has a relationship with Mother Earth.
But the genders are not fixed and the Godhead and the world are both f
male and female, interacting in a supreme love-play of melded sexual

The Kabbalah tells us a great deal about the subject of the female aspects
of God, which is claimed to be a system of belief based on a secret tra-
dition of astral Judaism that was unknown to the outside world before
the first century CE. The following quotations from AE Waite's famous
book, The Holy Kabbalah, deal with the Shekinah as described in the
Kabbalah:

Now, it is in this manner that I open the high conference respecting

the Mystery of Shekinah, which is a Mystery of man and God, of
man in the likeness of the Elohim [gods], of the relation between
things above and things below, of intercourse for union upon earth
performed in the spirit of celestial union, and the transmutation of
one by the other for the work of God in the world.

Immediately the tradition in the lore of the Kabbalah appears to agree with
our deduction from the Grooved Ware site.s of the British Isles, that the
light of Venus was directly connected with sexual intercourse, birthing and
resurrectioq - linking heaven to Earth.
Waite continues:

She is now the Daughter of the King; she is now the Betrothed, the
Bride and the Mother, and again she is sister in relation to the
world of man at large. There is a sense also in jyhich this Daughter
of God is - or becomes - the Mother of man. In respect of the
manifest universe, she is the architect of worlds.
WUHBJCW
Wi'i IWBM
lIi W
j UB

She is Matrona who unites with the King, for

"mmt^^mmtmmm^mm^m 1
the
iwi n
perfection of the
iwm
Divine Male is in the Divine Female.

The picture was building of an ancient belief in the absolute importance

218
 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

of the female on her own terms and as an essential ingredient in fulfilled

man.

She is that Divine Presence which walked in the Garden of Eden in

the cool of the evening.

This strongly suggests Venus in its role as evening star.

Of her it is said: 'Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee

in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have pre-
pared.' But it is stated that this Liberating Angel manifests as male
and female, being male when it dispenses the celestial benedictions
on the world below, because it then resembles a male nourishing
the female; but when charged with offices of judgment it is called
female, as a woman who carries her child in the womb of her.

In her office as architect of the world, the Word was uttered to her,
was by her conceived and brought or begotten into execution. We j
have seen that Shekinah below concurred with the architect above
and was also a builder.

Though it is forbidden to separatji jhe Heavenly Bride and

Bridegroom, even in thought, it is this which has come to pass by
reason of the sufferings of Israel, with whom Shekinah was des-
tined as we have seen to endure even from the beginning. 'When
Israel is in exile the Shekinah is also in exile. It is for this reason
that the Holy One will remember Israel, meaning that He remem-
bers His covenant, which is Shekinah.'

Here the Shekinah is absolutely associated with the central role of king-
ship - the successful protecting of the country from its enemies. When the
country is unworthy Shekinah goes away, and its return has to mark a
change in fortunes just as expected within the Messianic expectation.

. . . in respect of all other lights of creation is that which soul is to

body, though in relation to the Holy One she is as the body to the
soul, notwithstanding that she and God are one. She is the Mistress
of the Celestial School, called the Abode of the Shepherds, and this

219
I*HE BOOK OF H I R A M

is a school of METATRON, understood as a vesture or form

assumed by Shekinah.

Here we have more associations with astral events and a combining of

genders within the godhead. Again we see Metatron being described as
having responsibility for the running of the heavens under the higher
authority of the Shekinah. Next Waite detects how the Kabbalah makes
direct reference to Abraham:

It was after his circumcision that the letter HE was added to the
name of Abram and it was also thereafter that he was united with
Shekinah. Most of the divine visions beheld by Abraham were
visions and manifestations of Shekinah, who dwelt constantly in
the tent of Sarah . . .

The all-important covenant of circumcision that defines male Judaism

stems from Abraham and Isaac - this is here directly connected to the
Shekinah. We can only assume that God in the form of the Shekinah was
in its male mode when it lingered in the tent with Abraham's young and
beautiful wife.

. . . on leaving his house, Abraham beheld Shekinah lighting the

way before him and encompassed by many celestial legions.
was present when Isaac 'blessed' Jacob; it was she who conferred
upon Jacob the name of Israel, and she was with him when he set
up the mystic stone as a pillar. When seeking a wife it was with
Shekinah that Jacob uttered bis intention that when he married
Rachel he united heaven and earth. Shekinah, however, did not
ignore or forget Leah but - as the Holy Spirit - inspired her, so
that she knew respecting her part in the bearing of the twelve
tribes.

Here we have a description of the Shekinah as a bright object in the

night sky. As we have seen, only the Moon and Venus can produce enough
light to cast a shadow on the ground, and it is evidently not the Moon
that is being described here. We find it of great importance that this ancient
Jewish legend says that the Shekinah was present when the mystic stone'
pillar was erected. (The name Jacob means 'pillar'.)

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 I l i t HOLY S H E K I N A H

The exodus brought about by Moses occasioned, moreover, the

manifestation of Shekinah before the people of Israel, she being the
pillar of fire by night, as Jehovah was that of cloud by day.

This confirms what we already know, that Venus was said to be rising
in the east at the moment in time attributed to the Exodus. She was indeed
a bright pillar at night.

Moses caused Shekinah to manifest in the Ark of the Covenant

over the Mercy-Seat, between the figures of the Kerubim. The
Tabernacle was erected to serve as her residence; and at the
moment when it was set up by Moses, there was another erected in
the world above. What seems to have happened, however, was that
the Mosaic Tabernacle became the residence of METATRON, who
connects so curiously with Shekinah.
The male principle or jehovah is said further to have spoken
from the Tabernacle by the intermediation of Shekinah, who is the
female principle . . . She is described as resident throughout the
Holy of Holies, yet is connected in an especial manner with the
western wall of the temple. The Holy of Holies was guarded
moreover by METATRON.

The original tabernacle was a double tent established by Moses, and the
Temple in Jerusalem was a stone version of the same. The downfall of
the Second Temple is attributed to the failure of the light of the Shekinah;
the divine radiance was withheld. However, it is here directly related to
Venus:

. . . it is Shekinah who presides over birth, seeming to be in

analogy with the chaste and conjugal Venus.

Here we have a confirmation drawn from the Kabbalah of our view that
the Shekinah is connected to Venus and to important births, such as Moses
himself. Whatever the source of the information within the Kabbalah, its
parallel associations of the Shekinah to our own separate investigations tell
us that our investigation might be heading in the right direction.
Waite also mentions a character already familiar to us from Jewish legend:

221
 I*HEBOOK OF H I R A M

So also METATRON, who is an aspect of Shekinah, is indifferently

male and female, changing incessantly according to the vibrations
of the union. Now, it is said that Shekinah is to METATRON
what the Sabbath is to the weekdays. In other words, she is rest
and the rapture of rest, yet it is that rest in which there is the
intercourse of spiritual union.

Suddenly, and fascinatingly, we found Metatron closely connected to the

Shekinah. Metatron is the name given to Enoch after God 'translated' him
into heaven without experiencing death. In the Book of Enoch (first written
down from oral tradition at Qumran) he is the man who was given instruc-
tions by Uriel on how to build a megalithic circle by recording the move-
ments of the Sun at dawn and dusk throughout the year.7
The name 'Metatron' appears to be Greek and, if so, 'meta' has a meaning
that implies change and 'tron' is an agent or instrument. Put together we
could reasonably say that the name carries an import something like 'meas-
urer of change'. This really seems to imply that the man who was Enoch
took his astral knowledge to heaven when he took on his new name, just
as the Book of Jubilees states.
The analogy of the week to the Sabbath could be taken as meaning that
Metatron is the measurer of normal times but it is the Shekinah that defines
special moments. In other words Metatron is responsible for the mecha-
nisms of the the Sun through its daily and annual cycles, but the Shekinah
is concerned with the divine, long-term Venus cycle.
Interestingly, it seems that the Kabbalah itself was based on remnants
of Enochian Judaism that were in circulation in the first century CE.
Whilst the Kabbalah - meaning 'received tradition' - only surfaced to
the world in general during the medieval period it is undoubtedly much
older. It dates from the first centuries AD, and is the earliest known form
of Jewish mysticism in which the adept, through meditation and the use
of magic formulae, journeys ecstatically through and beyond the seven
astral spheres.8 The fact that Enochian literature was lost to the public
world from early in the second century CE shows how this secret tradi-
tion must have been known to some select people, or just possibly it
was discovered amongst the scrolls that we believe the Knights Templar

7 Knight, C & Lomas, R: Uriel's Machine, The Ancient Origins of Science

8'Kabbalah', Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. 1 9 9 3 - 2 0 0 0 Microsoft Corporation.
All rights reserved.

222
 I 111. HOLY S HfcK I N A11

recovered from deep beneath the ruins of the Jerusalem Temple in the
twelfth century.

T H E STAR O F B E T H L E H E M

One evening we were reviewing biblical sources to see if we had missed

some further clue to the meaning of the Shekinah patterns. Then the fol-
lowing comment by Professor Foakes-Jackson triggered an interesting
thought:

The numerical date of the Exodus, 480 (12 x 40) years before the
foundation of the Temple in the fourth year of Solomon's reign in
967, is obviously the artificial reconstruction of some pious antiquary.

The date 967 BCE suddenly jumped off the page - because it is so remark-
ably close to being two Venusian epochs (480 x 2 years = 960 years). The
foundation stone of Solomon's Temple was said to be laid as the Shekinah
rose in 967 BCE - so two Venusian epochs later leads to the very interesting
date of 7 BCE. The modern calendar system is based on the number of years
since the birth of Christ, which is represented as the year 1 CE. But we
were well aware that modern scholarship recognises that the assumed year
of the Christian messiah's birth is wrong. A quick look at the Encarta DVD
Encyclopedia confirmed this:

Jesus Christ (between 8 and 4 BC-c. AD 29), the central figure of

Christianity, born in Bethlehem in Judaea. The chronology of the
Christian era is reckoned from a 6th-century dating of the year of
bis birth, which is now recognized as being from four to eight
years in error.9

If Jesus was born in 7 BCE it is entirely possible that he, the acclaimed
messiah, could have been born under the shining Shekinah exactly two
Venusian epochs after the consecration of Solomon's Temple. Whatever the
Shekinah was, it should have returned in that year according to the 480-
year rule. Another thought struck us - the first-century historian of the
Jews, Josephus, recorded that Solomon's Temple was begun exactly one

9 'Jesus Christ', Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2001. 1993-2000 Microsoft

Corporation.

223
l i l t NOOK. O l III RAM

thousand four hundred and forty years after the Flood, and now there was
the tantalising possibility that Jesus might have been born exactly one thou-
sand four hundred and forty years after the time the scribes had deter-
mined to be that moment when Moses had led his people through the Red
Sea.
Could there be something in this? The pattern of dates of 480 years and
its multiples for major events described in the Bible is fully accepted by
biblical scholars, but because they are not explained they are almost entirely
ignored. We concluded that these periods must have been sacred to a very
early tradition, almost certainly Enochian, and they continued to be used
for one of two reasons: either the meaning had become forgotten and their
use was purely ritualistic, or there was a priesthood in the background who
did understand it, but who chose to not reveal its meaning to the world
in general.
We needed to understand more ourselves before we could resolve this
problem.
The so-called Shekinah was a mystery. It came and went, so the Bible
told us, at the whim of God. But we knew that the beautiful megalithic
observatory at Newgrange in Ireland allowed the pre-dawn light of Venus
to its inner chamber on the winter solstice once every eight years, and there-
fore five times per forty-year Venus cycle. We had previously calculated the
Venus pattern at Newgrange and, remembering that Venus was sometimes
bright enough to cast a shadow at night, we wondered if something sim-
ilar might have been happening at the time of Christ's birth.
According to tradition, Jesus' birth is celebrated on 25 December, which
is the first day on which it is clearly possible to see, by measuring the move-
ment of shadows cast by Asherah, that the Sun has begun to move north-
wards again, after the winter solstice. Could it be that Jesus really was
born under the helically rising Venus on 'Christmas Day'?
The modern celebration of Christ's birth is usually taken as a symbolic
date borrowed from a Yuletide pagan festival that originally marked mid-
winter. All ancient peoples appreciated that the winter solstice is the day
on which the sunrise reaches its maximum excursion southwards on the
horizon. For three months they had witnessed the sunrise move from its
easterly, equinoctial position, slowing its daily rate of movement across the
horizon, until it seemed to stand still before swinging backwards again in
a northerly direction.
Although it is taken as entirely symbolic by biblical scholars, Christian

224
 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

tradition tells us that Jesus was conceived at the vernal equinox and born
at the winter solstice, to the light of a brilliant star in the east. But could
it be a literal truth? Could the Star of Bethlehem be Venus? We decided to
check out what was in the sky that morning, so Robert moved to the com-
puter keyboard and opened an astronomical simulation program.
The program took a few minutes before it was ready to go.
'I'm ready now,' Robert called across. 'Give me the time and place details
slowly.'
'Twenty-fifth of December, 7 BCE, shortly before dawn, looking around
east-southeast,' Chris said, adding the latitude and longitude of Jerusalem
from the atlas he held on lap.
Robert entered the data and fiddled with the mouse.
'Do you see anything interesting?'
'Hang on, hang on, nearly there,' replied Robert.
He went quiet for a minute or so, then, 'Wow!' he exclaimed, before
pausing for several more seconds. 'There's a really massive object blazing,
like really blazing, in the east but it's far too big and bright, even for Venus
at maximum magnitude.'
Chris moved over to look at the screen. Robert continued. 'Yes, it's Venus
all right, but it's in conjunction with something else. Mercury I think.' 1 le
manipulated the program to identify the components of the bright object.
'Yes it's definitely Mercury. Both it and Venus are at a high magnitude and
the effect before dawn must have been unbelievable, truly dazzling.'
'A blazing star in the east on what is possibly the original Christmas
Day! Is this the answer to the myth of the Star of Bethlehem?' asked Chris.
'It certainly looks that way. Astronomical programs are pretty reliable
these days. And I agree with you that 7 BCE is certainly a top contender
for the true year of Christ's birth,' said Robert as he rechecked all of his
coordinates.
The impact of this find was quite stunning. Many people in the past
have tried to explain the myth of the Star of Bethlehem, by thinking of all
kinds of potential bright objects that might have been in the sky - but we
know of no one before us who has tried to deduce what should be there
using the expectations of early Jewish theology.
'Can you wind your program back and check the same early morning
sky on that date of 967 BCE whilst we're at it please?' Chris asked.
'OK. Give me a moment or two. It would be a massive coincidence if
there was another conjunction at the dedication of Solomon's Temple too.'

225
I*HE BOOK OF H I R A M

Some minutes later Robert had the new time entered into the program.
He gave a low whistle.
'Just look at that - it's the same again. A brilliant blaze in the East. The
myth of the Shekinah looks like it's describing a real? genuine historical
event.'
We seemed to have found an explanation of why the Shekinah came and
went. Whilst Venus moves with the precision of a metronome, its con-
junctions with Mercury or other planets happen at complex and irregular
intervals, but we could clearly see that they appeared to resynchronise every
480 years.
We now had a tentative explanation for the Jewish Shekinah and the
Christian Star of Bethlehem, and the more we looked again at descriptions
of both of these biblical phenomena the better the solution seemed.
Masonic ritual clearly states that the Shekinah and the Star of Bethlehem
are the same thing:

Reflecting but a faint and glimmering ray, the star and circling
glory declare the Shekinah, wherever it appear. Whether on Sinai,
Salem or the place where the Eastern Magi saw the blessed face of
the Redeemer in the Ox's stall.

Biblical scholars have also linked the two, as the following quotation (taken
from his commentary on Luke in Peakes), by the Reverend AJ Grieve, one-
time Professor of Systematic Theology at Edinburgh, says:

. . . the shepherds in the district are startled by seeing an angel and

IMIUthe Shekinah
MA'&VUV. .1} 'y.-radiance,
WftBtr/ CVtUfW * but are reassured and told the Messiah has
been born in the village.

What we had found is an ancient Jewish belief that major events happen
within a preordained pattern that we now knew was linked not only to
Venus, but to that planet's conjunctions with Mercury. Not only that, but
we now had the intriguing possibility that Jesus himself was a part of some
grand plan based on astronomical calculations.
We just had to have a closer look to see whether there was an equiva-
lent of the Star of Bethlehem reported at other major events, and we soon
found that there was.

226
 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

THE PATTERN OF THE SHEKINAH

We could find no references within our ritual database of Freemasonry

which specifically named the periods of forty, four hundred and eighty, or
one thousand four hundred and forty years, but a search of the Bible had
thrown up plenty, so we could confirm the importance of the time periods.
The Masonic rituals suggest that the Shekinah was a periodic arrival of .1
bright light that would appear a number of times at important occasions
and then disappear for many years. These periods without the Shekinah
were attributed to God's displeasure due to a failure
H a m s m m t m m m a m m m m i J u ..1 ^^^mtmmnmrnjtmimmAtaBiiituim^nmirmatmmimmmtMimiri
mmil
of his Chosen
mum
People
"*"'

to be worthy of His presence.

We now knew that Venus appeared in conjunction with Mercury at dawn
around the winter solstice in 7 BCE to produce a blazing red glow that
would have quickly turned a steely white as the object rose higher in the
pre-dawn sky. We needed to understand whether this was a coincidence or
part of a pattern that would begin to explain the Shekinah and the fasci
nation with the periods we were now calling Venusian generations, Venusian
epochs and Venusian aeons.
Robert set about the task of calculating what was on the eastern horizon
prior to dawn in Jerusalem at a variety of dates, and he found that the
Shekinah conjunction happened in 'packets'. Around the four-hundred-and
eighty-year reappearance there would be other conjunctions because the
planets were suitably aligned, but they would pop up repeatedly for some
time and then go away for many generations.
We found that there were many interesting and spectacular astral events
occurring every 4 8 0 years, just before and just after the historical events
described in the Bible. In all these conjunctions planets were close to each
other (within a degree or so), so causing them to appear as single, incred
ibly bright stars.

7 BCE 25 December. Mercury/Venus. Venus phase 99.3% - Mercury

phase 97.8%. Eight degrees away from the Sun and rising 22 minutes
before the Sun.

8 BCE 18 May. Mercury/Venus. Venus phase 99.2% - Mercury phase 95.2.

Eight degrees away from the Sun and rising 25 minutes before the Sun.

8 BCE 26 January. Jupiter/Venus. Venus phase 81.9% - Jupiter phase

227
I H E NOOK OH H I R A M

99.7. Thirty-five degrees away from the Sun and rising almost two hours
before the Sun. This would have been easy to see even in daylight.

487 BCE 30 December. Venus/Saturn. Venus phase 7 5 . 1 % - Saturn phase

99.9%. Thirty-eight degrees away from the Sun and rising about two
and half hours before the Sun in a dark sky, making it a bright red
rising event that would have been easy to see in daylight as a bright
white point in the blue sky.

488 BCE 15 August. Venus/Jupiter/Mercury. Venus phase 9 4 . 2 % -

Mercury phase 5 9 . 6 % - Jupiter phase 99.9%. Eighteen degrees away
from the the Sun and rising about 1 hour 40 mins before the Sun.

489 BCE 4 February. Venus/Mercury. Venus phase 90.3% - Mercury

phase 90.3%. Fifteen degrees away from the Sun and rising 27 minutes
before the Sun.

966 BCE 13 May. Jupiter/Venus. Venus phase 7 1 % - Jupiter phase 99.6%.

Forty degrees away from the Sun and rising just about an hour before
the Sun. Easy to see in daylight.

967 BCE 22 February. Jupiter/Venus. Venus phase 9 8 . 7 % - Jupiter 100%.

Ten degrees away from the Sun and rising 10 minutes before the Sun.

967 BCE 3 March. Venus/Mercury. Venus 99.2% - Mercury 2 1 % . Eight

degrees away from the Sun and rising 15 minutes before the Sun.

1447 BCE 21 March. Venus/Mercury. Venus phase 8 0 % - Mercury phase

5 0 % . Twenty-eight degrees away from the Sun and rising about one
and half hours before it.

1447 BCE 3 May. Venus/Saturn. Venus phase 9 0 % - Saturn phase 9 9 % .

Twenty-seven degrees away from the Sun and rising an hour before it.
This would be visible in daylight.

1447 BCE 8 July. Venus/Mercury. Venus phase 9 8 . 7 % - Mercury phase

5 0 % . Ten degrees away from the Sun and rising 45 minutes before it.

228
 T H E HOLY S H E K I N A I I

There were many conjunctions of these bright planets around the dates
we were interested in, but otherwise they are rather rare.
Having found this interesting pattern we decided to share it with Alan
Butler, the expert in megalithic mathematics who had worked with us unrav-
elling the mystery of the Megalithic Yard. Alan is an amateur astronomer
and it seemed sensible to ask him to check the results independently. He
came back with great excitement having also calculated Venus/Mercury
conjunctions that corresponded with the sequence Robert had found. These
'Shekinah' conjunctions occurred in packets every forty years after 1447
BCE for four more visits, but it had then failed to appear in 1207 BCE and
had not arrived in the dawn sky again until 967 BCE.
Now we were certain that the Shekinah appears every Venusian epoch
and for some time around it, but then it seems to go away. This seems to
explain why the Jews considered the Shekinah to be a regular event at
Venusian epochs but not predictable in between. The conjunction might
have been predictable to skilled astrologers, like the magi, who were better
at maths and astronomy, but the Jews might not have had many people
who understood how to do the calculations.
Alan had been amazed at the pattern of conjunctions we asked him to
check out. He commented that whilst Venus was always easily predictable,
Mercury was not, and conjunctions of the two planets would occur regu-
larly for a period of time and then stop happening until the next 480-year
cycle began. Alan felt that the best way to calculate the Venus/Mercury
conjunction repetition cycle, using the integer mathematics of the Grooved
Ware People, was to use a megalithic year of 366 days and multiply by
forty, then subtract forty days. He also added that as the megalithic people
and the Jews seemed to hold the Sun and Venus in great esteem, as respec-
tively the male and female aspects of God, and Mercury was adopted by_
the Greeks as 'the messenger', he could imagine that they would have con-
sidered these events especially meaningful.
So it appeared that the Jews knew that the Venus cycle, the 'Venusian
generation', was a completely predictable cycle of forty years, but they also
expected that the Shekinah would appear in the same position on a clutch
of occasions that were spaced out a Venusian epoch (480 years) apart.
Could they not calculate exactly when Venus would rise as the blazing
Shekinah - the glory of God that entered the dormer window of the Temple,
creating an all-enveloping red glow in the incense-filled chamber around
the Ark of the Covenant?

229
IIIL ur niivmvi

This implied that the conjunction of Venus and Mercury that rose shortly
before the dawn in the star-spangled sky that Moses saw above the Sinai
as he led his people towards the Promised Land was the same heavenly
event that Solomon saw as he laid the foundation stone of his Temple and
that the magi witnessed as they were led to the promised messiah. History
was repeating itself in heaven and upon Earth. But did this mean that the
builder of the Temple expected the Shekinah to appear?
Our generation learned the words of the Lord's prayer so thoroughly at
school that we can say it almost without hearing the meaning of the words,
but as we sat discussing the previous paragraph, we both suddenly found
ourselves repeating the familiar words:

Our Father, which art in heaven, halloived be thy name. Thy

kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Most people are vaguely aware that the Christian tradition places heaven
in the sky and hell somewhere underground. We still refer to the night sky
as 'the heavens', and the Lord's prayer tells us in the first words that God
resides there - amongst the stars. The priests who wrote down the Old
Testament were driven by a belief that the heavens ruled events upon Earth.
Past events were post-rationalised as having occurred at these astronomi-
cally auspicious moments, and expected great events of the future would
be anticipated to conform to the same pattern system.
Whilst we can be sure that the authors of the Old Testament believed
that the great events of their history happened in Venusian epochs and
Venusian aeons, they could have known nothing of future events. Of course,
some Christians claim that various passages from the Old Testament were
prophetic references to Jesus, but it seems much more likely that Jesus and
his followers did their best to ensure that he appeared to conform to mes-
sianic expectation.

CONCLUSIONS

No biblical scholar satisfactorily explains the forty-year cycle used

throughout the Old and New Testaments, but once the significance of
the Venus cycle is known the pattern becomes strikingly important.
We have rediscovered an ancient Jewish belief that major astral events

230
 n i t nuLv sntMNAn

happen within a pattern linked not only to Venus, but to that planet's more
random conjunctions with Mercury. These extremely bright but irregular
astral events were called the Shekinah and were taken as a sign of God's
favour. The pattern we found underlying these conjunctions fitted perfectly
the Jewish chronology of key events in their history.
The writers of the Old Testament were driven by a belief that events in
the heavens ruled the Earth. Previous events were post-rationalised as occur-
ring at astronomically auspicious times and great events of the future were
expected to fit the pattern. We believe that the authors of the Old Testament
thought the great events of their history occurred in Venusian epochs and
Venusian aeons, but they had no way to foretell the future. J t is claimed
that some passages from the Old Testament are prophecies of Jesus, but it
seems more likely that Jesus and his followers were trying to conform to
the Jews' messianic expectancy that these passages had aroused.

231
 C h a p t e r Eleven

THE C O M I N G OF THE
MESSIAH

THE RISING OF THE STAR

The Christmas myth holds that the magi followed the star in the east and
were led to a stable in the town of Bethlehem, the town where King David
was born a millennium earlier. However, it would take a low-flying heli-
copter with a powerful searchlight to spotlight an individual building. It
was obviously impossible for the magi to literally follow a star to any-
where, because starlight is non-directional. However, 'following' the star
could mean that they were seeking the messiah because they were 'fol-
lowing' the rules that allowed them to understand the star's meaning.
The words of Matthew's Gospel have the magi saying 'we have seen his
star in the east', and modern techniques of coordinate geometry show that
a Venus/Mercury conjunction rose in the east on the morning of 25
December that year. So we asked ourselves, is there any evidence that a
prophecy had been in existence at that time - a prophecy that a king of
the Jews would be born when a special star appeared in the pre-dawn sky?
We soon found that there was. The so-called Star Prophecy is recorded
in Numbers 24: 17, where it states:

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh:
there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of
Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the
children of Sheth.

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 I MI: L U M I IN ( J Ol I HE MESSIAH

Here we see an ancient prediction by the prophet Balaam which he says

was revealed to him by God. He concludes his oracle by foreseeing the
future glory of Israel. His prophecy claims that at some point in the future
a kingly messiah will arise whose birth will be marked by a star. The sceptre
he mentions is a well established symbol of kingship, referred to many
times in the Bible - for example Hebrews 1: 8 says:

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness

is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Our study of Jewish texts has established that their writers believed that
cycles of 40, 480 and 1,440 years were of fundamental importance. We
have calculated that this is because these were the patterns that Venus pro
vided for them as the bright planet danced its horn-shaped pattern in and
out of the Sun.
We also knew that the magi, seeking out the messiah, believed that
exactly 1,440 years (3 x 480) had elapsed since Moses led the Hebrew
people out of Egypt, that 2,400 years (5 x 480) had passed since the Flood,
and that it was 960 years (2 x 480) since the foundation of Solomons
Temple.
So around that winter solstice of 25 December 7 BCE these astrononu i
priests waited for the Shekinah to rise in the east, exactly as they believed
it had done at the moment the Red Sea parted and the Hebrew people
walked to a new-found freedom. As prophesied centuries before, the bright
morning star did arrive and it rose in red brilliance a few minutes before
dawn. They then believed that this was a sign from God of the arrival of
the messiah of Israel, and their task was to find him. This methodology
seems remarkably similar to the way that Tibetan priests still find a new
leader when their old one dies. They cover the country in a mission to seek
out the newborn infant Dalai Lama using their knowledge of specific signs
to identify the true reincarnation of their spiritual leader.
Remarkably, we found that there are contemporary documents, from the
time of Christ, that state that the first part of the Star Prophecy was ful
filled. And the source of those records is none other than the Dead Sea
Scrolls. The War Scroll of Qumran unambiguously records that when this
long-predicted star appeared in the pre-dawn sky the kingly messiah arrived
- but his work of defeating Israel's enemies was yet to be done. The words
speak for themselves when compared to the Star Prophecy:

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INC IIUUN u r NITVAIW

A star has marched forth from Jacob, A sceptre has arisen from
Israel, And he will shatter the temples of Moab, And destroy the
sons of Seth. 1

The use of the past tense in the first two lines proclaims that the expected
kingly messiah has arrived because the star appeared - but another of the
Dead Sea Scrolls, the Damascus Document, states:

And the star is the Seeker of the Law who is coming to Damascus;
as is written. 'A star has marched forth from Jacob and a sceptre
has arisen from Israel.'

The sceptre is the Prince of all the Congregations and when he

arises he will destroy all of the sons of Seth.1

The words recorded by the people of the Qumran community could not
be clearer. The messiah had arrived and he was expected to come to
Damascus. (There was a large Essene group in Damascus and 'Damascus'
is also thought to have been a term used to describe Qumran itself.) They
believed that after his arrival at 'Damascus' the messiah would rise up and
destroy their enemies. These brief descriptions of the messiah's role show
how he is going to be a king who will lead his army in a war to result in
the victory of the Jewish nation.
We also checked what the historian Josephus had to say about the Star
Prophecy. We found that he says it was the motivating force behind the
uprising against Rome. He describes a star that looked like a sword, with
a light so great that it shone round the altar in the temple, making it appear
to be as bright as daytime for a full half an hour.3 The description of looking
like a sword is consistent with the elongation of the conjunction which
would be seen in the sky as Venus and Mercury overlapped.
So, we asked ourselves, was Jesus the Christ, who the Bible says was
born at the time of the appearance of the 'Bethlehem' star, the person
spoken of in these Qumran scrolls?
As far as his birth is concerned it seems likely that either Jesus or his
followers would have claimed this Divine moment of genesis whether it
was true or not. It is impossible to know for sure who the Qumran scrolls
1 IQM 11: 16
2 CD 7: 18-21
3 Josephus: Jewish War, 6: 290

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 lint LUMIMU Ul' lilt M t i S lAli

were referring to, especially as there were many people suspected of being
the messiah - including John the Baptist. But we can reasonably conclude
that both Jesus and the person described in the Qumran scrolls were
attempting to fulfil the same role through adherence to the ritualistic
demands of ancient prophecy.
Our next question had to be, could the Qumran community have been
writing about the same Jewish champion as the one described in the Gospels
of the New Testament?
First we needed to consider the idea that Jesus was born to high sta-
tion, as described by the magi in the Gospel of Matthew when it says:

. . . where is he that is born King of the Jews?

The Bible claims that Jesus' paternal lineage goes back to Abraham, the
founding father of the Jewish people. He is also described in chapters 5
and 6 of Hebrews as 'a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedck' an
Order more ancient and with more authority than the Levites. We found
this highly significant when we considered that only a Levite was consid-
ered holy enough to enter the Holy of Holies in the presence of God on
one day each year.
The ancient prophet Isaiah wrote of the future messiah in terms that
appear to be based upon the Shekinah, and he introduced the gifts that
should be given to this newly arrived king:

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has
risen upon you . . . And nations shall come to your light and kings
to the brightness of your rising . . . For they shall bring gold and
frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.4

The fact that the developing myth of Jesus incorporated the presenta-
tion of such gifts shows how early Christians were seeking to make their
Messiah conform to the prophecies within Judaism.
A Qumran text (4Q521) describes a messiah that is more usually found
in Jewish texts of this period but that also appears to connect directly with
the ideology attributed to Jesus Christ:

4 Isaiah 60: 1,3, 6

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I M t I1UUK u r n I K/\M

[. . . The heal vens and the earth will hearken to His Messiah, [The
sea and all thj at is in them. He will not turn aside from the com-
mandment of Holy Ones.

Take courage all of you, all you who seek the Lord and his work.

Will you not thus find the Lord, all you who bear hope in your
hearts? Surely the Lord will seek out the pious, and will call the
righteous by name. Over the poor will His spirit hover; faithful
ones will He restore by His might. He will honour pious ones on
the throne of the eternal kingdom,

Release the captives, make the blind to see, raise up th[ose bent
low]. For/evjer will I cling [to Him agajinst the [pojwerful, and
[trust] in His loving kindness,

A[nd His] go[odness (will be) forever. His] holy [Messiah] will not
be slow [in coming.]

As for the wonders that have not (henceforth) been, the Lord will
do (them), when he [i.e., the Messiah] [come]s; then will he heal
the sick and resurrect the dead; to the oppressed will he announce
glad tidings,

. . . he will lead the [ho]ly ones, he will shepherd [th] em . . .

Even the few Qumran texts that we have quoted in this section show that
the expected messiah would be known by his ability to perform various
tasks. The messiah expected by the priests at Qumran would be known
because he would do the following:

1 He will have his birth marked by the appearance of a star.

2 He will be a 'son of God'.

3 He will command heaven and Earth as his eternal kingdom.

4 His spirit will be over the poor.

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 Il-lt L U M I N U Uh I lit', MESSIAH

5 He will restore those with faith.

6 He will restore sight to the blind.

7 He will raise up those bent low (by lowly station in life).

8 He will show loving kindness.

9 He will heal the sick.

10 He will resurrect the dead.

11 He will bring 'glad tidings' to the oppressed.

12 He will be 'a shepherd' to his flock of holy followers.

These are also the claimed hallmarks of the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Could it be that the person who is remembered as the Christ was not
trying to satisfy the Sadducees or even the Pharisees, he was specifically
presenting himself as the 'promised one' expected by the priesthood of
Qumran?
When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 the Roman Catholic
scholars who were in charge of the excavations played down any similar-
ities to the New Testament. They chose to emphasise the differences. There
was a clear intent to put as much space as possible between the existing
myth of Jesus and any potential new evidence that might emerge from these
unwelcome Jewish documents. But the parallels have now become impos-
sible to deny.
One scroll section from Qumran (4Q246) is actually known as 'The Son
of God' text. It is written in Aramaic and it is highly messianic, referring
to someone it calls 'the Son of God' and 'the Son of the Most High' who
is going to establish an eternal kingdom that will make previous kingdoms
seem like 'shooting stars'. 5
Throughout the Qumran texts 'the Righteous' are described as 'the sons
of God'. They are also in line with Christian thinking because they are highly
eschatological in nature, with an emphasis on 'judging' or 'the Last Judgement'.

5 Eisenman, R &c Wise, M : The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered, Element, 1992

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 ILL, WR ILL I\/\IVI

Prior to the publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the idea of the messiah
as God's son was not known in pre-Christian Jewish texts. Expert opinion
was that this idea arose exclusively within Christianity and could not be
Jewish. The announcement of the content of one particular scroll changed
everything, as it provided a Jewish antecedent to the concept of a messiah
who commands 'heaven and earth'. As Professor Norman Golb put it, 'a
far more exalted picture of an idea once thought to be a Hellenistic-Christian
innovation'. 6
As we discussed in chapter 9, the community at Qumran was originally
an alliance of Zadokite and Enochian priests. We also believe that a pre-
viously unidentified Enochian group continued to exist in a pure form as
well as the hybrid survival at Qumran.
Could it be that Jesus was a representative of this entirely Enochian
group, and that Christianity itself has picked up elements of this antedilu-
vian cult?
We also note that the curious figure of Melchizedek appears in both
Christian and Qumranic texts. A scroll fragment from Cave 11, known as
the 'Melchizedek text', tells how the ancient priest-king of Jerusalem was
then viewed as a heavenly spirit responsible for the judgement of the angels.
He is expected to exact vengeance for the people of God in the great battle
that will be fought against Satan and the spirits under his command. 7 And
we must remember that the Bible describes Jesus as a priest of the Order
of Melchizedek.

FORTY DAYS IN THE WILDERNESS

We have detected the Venus cycle of forty years throughout the Bible, but
there are also many mentions of a period of forty days. These range from
the length of the Flood to the time of Jesus' stay in the wilderness. We
believe we can now explain these periods, which are also directly linked
to Venus.
Cyclical appearances of the planet Venus, in a pre-dawn rising against
a particular part of the sky, were clearly of great importance in the early
period of Jewish kings, as the Bible tells us. For example the Judge Eli ruled
for exactly forty years, as did the kings Saul, David and Solomon. It seems
probable that the allotted period for an elected individual to reign was one
6 Golb, N: Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? BCA, 1995
7 Golb, N: Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrollsf

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 I lit LUMIINU Ur iric IVIE^IAI I

Venus cycle, and preparation for new kingship required an interregnum of

forty days to carefully select the new king.
This makes perfect sense if the people concerned were using the year of
366 days that we have already described as being the basis of calculations
used at megalithic sites in the British Isles. The technique of predicting the
next Venus arrival in its forty cycle was to count forty years of 366 days
and then subtract forty days. This is far more logical than it first sounds,
because it is actually the precise difference between two kinds of year: first,
the solar year of 365 days; second, the stellar year of 366 days, which is
the actual number of revolutions of the planet Earth in a year. The differ-
ence arises because the Earth's orbit around the Sun causes sunrise each
day to be late by 236 seconds, which adds up to exactly one day over a
year. Tracking Venus through one cycle involved forty solar years followed
by a 'fallow' forty days to wait for the stellar year.
There is one passage in the Old Testament that tells us that this was the
method of calculation used. In Numbers 14: 3 3 - 3 4 it says:

And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years,

and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the
wilderness.

After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even
forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even
forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

This clearly states that the forty days exists because it is 'each day for a
_ year" over forty years. We also knew that the Essenes bowed towards the
rising Sun, which strongly suggests they understood the dawn Sun's role in
defining the mechanism for kingly rule.
Our next questions were unavoidable and extremely interesting.
Did Jesus spend forty days in the wilderness because a new Venus cycle
was about to commence?
And, if so, did he do this because he believed the moment of his own
kingship was about to begin?
There can be no doubt that Jesus would have been aware of the impor-
tance of playing out the Divinely ordered plan, and the import of Numbers
14: 33-34 would not have been lost upon him. Jesus would have needed to
prepare for his next forty years by reflecting on the iniquities of the last, and

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I I I I . U \ J U I \ U L I I I L \ / \ 1VI

by facing temptation like the Hebrews led by Moses though the wilderness.
In this forty-day period at the beginning of his active phase (his min-
istry) he tested himself with Old Testament quotations, starting with Exodus
34: 38 - 'And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he
did neither eat bread, nor drink water.' We can imagine how Jesus faced
out the Devil in his forty days in the wilderness and psychologically pre-
pared himself for the 'mother of all battles' that lay ahead of him.
These thoughts raised another important issue. Jesus was born when the
Shekinah was in the heavens; if he waited a full Venus cycle to fulfil the
prophecy of leadership that means he must have been over forty when he was
crucified. Tradition, however, tells us that he was in his early thirties when he
was crucified. So if we were to accept this explanation of Jesus' actions we
realised that we would have to look more closely at evidence about his age.
Is there any shred of substantiation that points to Jesus' age at his death?
As we looked at the small amount of information regarding Jesus' age
we quickly discovered that there are good reasons to believe that he was
over forty years old at the time he was crucified. In verse 57 of chapter 8
of the Gospel of John the following words are spoken to Jesus:

Thou are not yet fifty years old.

Surely this would be a very strange expression to choose if the person con-
cerned was still in his early thirties. It strongly suggests that Jesus was by
then in his fifth decade.
And then we read that the early Church Father Irenaeus firmly believed
that Jesus was in his forties at the time of his crucifixion.
The Romans kept good records, and we know that Pilate, the man who
sentenced Jesus to death, was Procurator of Judea for the ten years between
26 and 36 CE. Given that Jesus was born in 7 BCE and that there was no
year zero, he must have turned forty at the end of the year 34 CE. We cal-
culated that the maximum age that Jesus could have reached was forty-
two; which would certainly fit with the comment that he was not yet fifty.
Another strand of evidence comes from the dating of the death of John
the Baptist. John was murdered just before Jesus started what is described
in Christian circles as 'his ministry'. Professor Robert Eisenman believes
that the date of the death of John is clear from Josephus.8

8 Josephus Antiquities, 18:5:2

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 iiic ivi I IN UR MIL ivi L J O I M I

Josephus' reference to John the Baptist is perhaps the most

complete and provides valuable new data that helps place John in a
real historical framework, as opposed to the quasi-mythological one
encountered in the Gospels. One of the things the notice clears up
is the year of John's death, approximately 35-36 CE, which is, of
course, totally at odds with how it is presented in the Gospels

If John died in 3 5 - 3 6 CE that means that Jesus must have died later in
36 E, just as our research suggested to us. This would confirm that Jesus'
death occurred when he was past the age of forty, probably only months
after he began his mission, in support of his own messianic claims.
We could find no counter-evidence
i i,,
to support the traditional idea
>likiiIIWMIM^,,,. H
that
Jesus d^ed aged thirty-three, and we conclude from our own findings and
documentary support that he was forty-two.
As we have seen, the time period of forty years is of huge importance
to a would-be king of the Jews. Moses lived a life that was made up of
, three forty-year phases, David and Solomon ruled for forty years, and any
thing that Jesus did would carry greater weight if it followed the same pat
tgffL Indeed, Jesus would have believed that God would require these holy
patterns to be kept to, and his whole mission would have to be constructed
around the demands of God's holy cycle.
Having passed his test in the wilderness he was now into his second 40-
year period, readv* to assume the role of King of the Jews and to lead God's
Chosen People against the Roman occupiers.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING

John the Baptist, Jesus and his brother James all came from the agri-
cultural region of Lower Galilee around Lake Gennesaret; otherwise
known as the Sea of Galilee. The people of Galilee had a clear sense of
their own identity and were intensely proud of their Jewishness, but they
were considered country bumpkins by the Judeans, although their rep-
utation for being brave and tough is made clear by Josephus, who
describes them as 'from infancy inured to war'. 10 They spent most of the
hundred years before the Jewish War in an almost permanent state of
rebellion against anyone who tried to rule them, whether Hasmonean,

9 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

10 Josephus: Jewish War, 3:41

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i i i i: u w v ^ ix KJ r i i i IV/AIVI

Herodian or Roman. In rabbinic parlance they were known as 'Gelili

shoteh', which means 'stupid Galilean', for they were considered to be
religiously uneducated.
It seems strange, therefore, that John, Jesus and James should have made
such an impact when they arrived in Judea. According to the Gospels Jesus
became a famous healer and exorcist throughout his native Galilee. At that
time, and for hundreds of years afterwards, sickness and sin were directly
related, and healing was believed to come as a result of God's forgiveness
of sins, rather than of any physical treatment. The healing gifts claimed for
Jesus are never attributed to the study of disease or any acquired knowl-
edge of treatments such as the Essenes possessed. Whether or not Jesus also
used the plants and stones of the Essenes,Jie is described in the Gospels
as having the power to cure by touch or by command alone.
There are mixed messages in the New Testament as to whether Jesus
was a peaceful man or the leader of a group intent upon armed revolt. His
'loving' message is in line with Essene thinking, hut there are passages that
paint a rather different picture, more in line with the warlike content of
the Dead Sea Scrolls. He appointed five principal 'minders': two Simons,
a Judas, and James and John, whom he described as 'sons of thunder'. One
of the Simons is called a Zealot, which is the name given to a member of
a revolutionary movement founded in Galilee, whilst Judas was described
as a Sicarius, meaning 'knifeman'. In Luke 22: 3 5 - 3 8 we read how Jesus
tells his followers to sell their clothes to buy weapons.
In the medieval Hebrew document known as The Josippon there are sev-
eral important references to the revolutionary activity of the followers of
Jesus. Slavonic scholar Dr Eisler believed that this is a Latin translation of
Josephus made about 370 CE by Gaudentius, and then some centuries later
someone unknown made a Hebrew translation. In the ninth century this
Hebrew translation was 'improved' by some Jews in the interests of Judaism.
In this revision they used the Greek version of Josephus, which escaped the
reworkings conducted by Christian censorship; thus The Josippon is far
nearer the unexpurgated original. However, the various medieval versions
of this revised Josippon were sought out by the ecclesiastical censors and
their offending passages deleted to varying degrees. But all censors fail to
be absolutely thorough, and the survival of three different manuscripts has
permitted the reconstruction of original passages, including the one in which
the followers of Jesus are described by Josephus as 'robbers of our people'
and as fighting against the Pharisees during the time of the Emperor Caligula.

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Dead Sea Scroll experts Professor Robert Eisenman and Dr Michael Wise
have pointed to the similarity of the warlike nature of the Qumran and
Christian mindsets, where the expected king creates peace on earth - but
only through the terrible destruction of enemies. They quote some key
examples:

That the concepts incorporated in words of this kind have gone

directly into Christian presentations of its Messiah and his activities
is hardly to be doubted. See, for instance, Line 4 in Column 2 and
Matt. 10: 34: 7 came not to send peace, but a sword.' This kind of
'sword' allusion is also found in Column xix of the War Scroll, 'the
sword of God', used in the war against 'the Kittim'. . .
One point, however, should be emphasised: the Messianic figure
envisaged in texts like the Son of God, War Scroll, etc., whether
taken figuratively or otherwise, is extremely war-like. This is in line
with the general uncompromising, militant and nationalist ethos of
the Qumran corpus; the Messianic figure was to be a triumphant,
quasi-nationalist king figure. One should also note that the peace
envisaged in this text will only come after the cataclysmic
Messianic ivar. As in the War Scroll, God will assist in this enter-
prise with His Heavenly Host. For the War Scroll, this is the point
of the extreme purity.11

We believe that this is a crucial point. If Jesus was acting out a role-
play with himself as the promised messiah, he will have truly believed thai
he was the King of the Jews whose destiny was to wage war on Israels
enemies and destroy them. God would ensure success. All he had to do
was follow the preordained requirements and he would sweep to an
inevitable victory, even over the unimaginable might of the Roman Empire.
The evidence suggests that Jesus believed in his mission yet still had moments
of fear, because he fully understood the scale of the war that was about to
take place. Was he concerned that the right moment, astrologically speaking,
was chosen?
Further information about the actions of the would-be messiah have
been found in another early version of Josephus, known as The Slavonic
Halosis, of which specialist scholar Dr SGF Brandon said:

11 Eisenman, R & Wise, M: The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered

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Jesus is referred to as 'a man' and 'a wonder-worker'; he uses his

miraculous power to perform many healings, and is briefly con-
demned for breaking the Law and violating the Sabbath, but it is
expressly stated that he did nothing shameful. His influence stirs
many Jews to hope that he might be instrumental in freeing them
from the Roman domination.
He is consequently invited to lead an insurrection in Jerusalem
to exterminate the Romans there. What was the nature of his
response is not clearly stated; however, before any effective action
is attempted, the Jewish (sacerdotal) leaders take alarm and warn
Pilate, who takes strong repressive action, as a result of which the
wonder-worker is captured and finally condemned by the procu-
rator as a rebel, desirous of kingship.12

If Jesus' followers were indeed pressing him to murder the Roman gar-
rison at Jerusalem it would not take long for such an idea to filter through
to the authorities. The concern of the Jewish leaders that this would-be
king was a threat to the stability of the whole nation is described in an
account given in John 11: 4 7 - 5 1 , where a council of Pharisees is worried
about this 'wonder-worker'. They had sympathy for the nationalist cause,
but their concern was that if they left him to continue, his following would
increase and the Romans would inevitably move against the entire country
when they suspected serious insurrection. The council therefore decided
that Jesus would have to die rather than put the whole nation at risk of a
heavy-handed Roman response to terrorist attack. The outcome was that
Pilate was alerted and he ordered the arrest of this 'terrorist', who was
subsequently put to death on a charge of insurrection.
There is little doubt that nobody thought that Jesus was a god or some
earthly aspect of Yahweh Himself prior to his crucifixion. To some Jews
he was the expected messiah, who would be their king to rule on Earth as
a regent for Yahweh, and who, with God's help, would drive the Kittim
(all invaders) out of the Jewish homeland; to other Jews he was a threat
to national stability; and to the Romans he was simply a troublemaker they
needed to remove before he did anything seriously damaging.
Early Christian writers were looking for quite a different person. They
wanted a man who was God Incarnate and would suffer to save all of

12 Brandon, SGF: The Fall of Jerusalem and the Christian Church, SPCK, London, 1951

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mankind (even the Romans) from the consequences of their own sins. They
needed to deal with information that collided with their preferred account,
and many of them changed written texts to 'correct' the obvious errors of
earlier writers.
A few enlightened scholars, such as Origen, were too honest for this
type of behaviour and tried to make sense of the evidence they found.
Origen states that the versions of Josephus' Antiquities that he possessed
say that Josephus definitely repudiates the messiahship of Jesus. He goes
on to say that the historian states that the overthrow and virtual annihi
lation of the Jewish nation by the Romans between 66 and 70 CE is God's
vengeance for the murder of James, Jesus' younger brother. Furthermore,
Origen adds that the first-century Jewish writer praised James and recog
nised him as righteous whilst dismissing the importance of Jesus to the
point of condemnation. 13
The consequences of this denial are important: if the original works of
Josephus did specifically deny that Jesus was the messiah, it necessarily fol-
lows that Josephus was aware that Jesus was a claimant to messiahship (in
its normal political meaning rather than in the later Christian sense of .1
'deity' that was created around the alien Greek concept of 'Christos').
In his work The Jewish War Josephus says that the Jews were led to
their fatal resistance against Rome by a belief in an ambiguous oracle taken
from their sacred scriptures which foretold that at a specific time a man
from Palestine would become ruler of the world. He went on to say that
the Jews interpreted this prophecy as meaning that a member of their own
race would gain this supreme position, and many of their wise men were
deceived by this oracle. The paper trail we were uncovering in dusty aca-
demic texts, archaeological reports and computer simulations of the morning
sky was telling us that this 'oracle' is a reference to the Star Prophecy and
the anticipated return of the Shekinah to herald the new messiah.

THE GREAT FAILURE

We cannot be sure if the Jesus of Christian myth is the individual referred

to in the Dead Sea Scrolls as the expected messiah who arrived. However,
we feel sure that Jesus and his followers were doing their best to ensure
that his life and actions conformed to the expectations associated with this
messiah.
13 Brandon SGF: The Fall of Jerusalem and the Christian Church

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I I I Li UV/WI\ V/l I I 1 l\./\IVI

The Jesus who was the elder brother of James the Just and whom Josephus
described as 'a rebel desirous of kingship' certainly existed and had a high
profile. He was invited to become king, and it seems to us that he got the
support of the Essenes of Qumran. On the balance of probabilities we
would put our money on the Jesus of the New Testament being the same
person as the one described in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
In our view Jesus believed he was working his 'grand plan' around the
guidance of Yahweh and His Spirit, as exemplified by the light of the Shekinah.
Jesus' ministry, or period of political activity, could not begin until a full
Venus cycle was complete and he reached his fortieth year. At first he would
have been able to pass himself off as nothing more than a harmless 'wonder-
worker', but as he gained followers they expected to hear of the delivery of
the 'kingdom of heaven'. And they expected actions, not just words.
Jesus gave them action when, with his minders, he entered the Temple
in Jerusalem to smash up the trading that was the norm there. All Essenes
despised trade, and to trade inside the bounds of God's house was, to them,
an abomination. His action took place right in the face of the Sadducees
and just in front of the Roman fortress of Antonia, so any pretence of
peacefulness was now gone for ever.
Jesus went public in a big way. He started by making a dramatic entry
into Jerusalem to the sound of an apparently spontaneous outburst of
acclaim. This applause can only have been the response to a statement of
messiahship, whereby Jesus, by his choice of transport, said: 'I am the one
who has been prophesied . . . I am your king.' He was acting in fulfilment
of the prophecy in Zechariah 9: 9:

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of,Zion; shout, O daughter of

Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and
having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt
the foal of an ass.

This was just the beginning of his launch programme for full messiahship,
as the Bible tells us that most people did not know who Jesus was when
he made this triumphant entry into the city. Matthew 21: 10 admits as
much when it says:

And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, Who is this?

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 l i l t L U M I I N U Uh I l i t M t S S I A I I

So here was a man, unknown to the people of Jerusalem, claiming to

be their messiah - their king. In making this claim he publicly affirmed his
intent to remove the Romans from the Jewish land and build a powerful
kingdom to dominate the world. His actions left the authorities no option
but to arrest him. Smashing up the stalls in the Temple was a crime, but
the threat to overthrow Roman rule was serious enough to warrant this
rebel's death. Jesus and his team beat a fast retreat before the Roman guard
could turn out. They headed five miles exactly due east to the village of
Bethany, but returned the next day.
Jesus must have known that he needed speed and overwhelming public
support to achieve his mission to be installed as the messiah king. He knew
what could happen to failed claimants because, all too recently, John the
Baptist had died when Herod became suspicious that John was the mes
siah.
In Luke 3 : 1 5 we read how there was a general expectation of the
Messiah's arrival and John the Baptist was the likely candidate:

And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their
hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;

As we know that Jesus only became active after the death of John, it appears
he was reticent to take the lead role. The words of the Gospel of John (6:
15) now take on a clearer meaning:

When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him
by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain
himself alone.

The end was getting nearer. There was no groundswell of support to

overthrow the Romans and Jesus' small group of immediate supporters
were not strong enough to launch an attack on the enemy. It was only a
matter of time before they would be arrested, and even his disciples were
looking for ways out. According to the Gospel of Mark the whole drama
that began with his supposedly triumphant entry into Jerusalem, continued
with the crowds calling against him at his trial, and ended with his subse-
quent crucifixion, all took place in a single week. The betrayal of Jesus is
key to understanding these events.

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MIL U W 1 \ V/I I I I IV/AIVI

Mark 14: 16 - 1 8 tells us:

And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as
he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in
the evening he cometh with the twelve. And as they sat and did
eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, One of you which eateth
with me shall betray me.

This can be read two ways. The first option is to take the traditional inter-
pretation that it was preordained that Jesus would fail and be horribly tor-
tured and die. He would do so in order that this suffering would transfer the
responsibility for the sins of believers - past, present and future - back onto
his own, i.e. God's shoulders. If this interpretation is true then if follows that
if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, there would have been no suffering, no death,
no resurrection and no salvation. So if we accept this reading we have to con-
clude that Judas must be considered the greatest hero in the history of mankind.
Alternatively, it could be that Jesus knew that his entire plan was failing
and thought it extremely likely that one or more of his followers would
try to save their own skins by turning him in to the authorities.
The words spoken by Jesus on the cross suggest that the second inter-
pretation is more likely to be correct. This failed revolutionary hangs dying,
nailed beneath a titulus that reads 'Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews',
and he pushes down against the agony of his nailed feet trying to take in
enough breath to speak. The physical effort and pain involved in strug-
gling to force enough air into his cramped lungs to be able to shout is
unimaginable. But according to the Gospels he did manage it, and what
did he choose to say after this agonising struggle?
Mark tells us he cries out in a loud voice:

'Eloi eloi lama sabachthani?' My God, my God, why hast thou

forsaken me f" 4

Now if Jesus is God, why did he talk to himself and so undermine his J
own credibility at this critical juncture? These seem to be the despairing words
of a man who fervently believed he was carefully acting out actions proph-
esied long ago that would give him the power to overthrow the Romans. He
feels utterly betrayed - not so much by Judas as by Yahweh Himself.
14 Mark 15: 34

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 lilt L A J M I INU U t lilt MI:JiMAI I

THE ENOCH1AN JESUS

All of the evidence was pointing towards Jesus being associated with the
messianic expectations of the Qumran community and the continuing
Enochian priesthood. The claim that Jesus was a priest of the Order * >I
Melchizedek is a direct statement of his association with an early
Canaanite belief that long pre-dates Moses and his new god, Yah well.
We have already noted that rainmaking was a sacred art that was still
practised at the time of Jesus, but it is also given an additional layer of
symbolism in the War Scroll at Qumran, where heavy rain is equated to
the pouring down of eschatological Judgement and the final Judgement
Day.
We have already mentioned, in chapter 8, that Jesus' cousin, John the
Baptist, was considered by many to be the new Elijah and John also cre-
ated stone circles. Likewise another member of Jesus and John's family was
the second rainmaker, 'Honi the Circle Drawer', 15 who Professor Robert
, Eisenman suspects is really James, the brother of Jesus.
We have already discussed many references around the time of Jesus'
birth to this hidden tradition, including that the first 'Honi the Circle
Drawer' fathered a son called 'Hanan the Hidden', who was also a sacred
rainmaker and was close to John the Baptist. We believe this practice of
stone circle making was thriving at the time of Jesus but its associated
'magic' practices were known only to the select few - all of whom appear
to be connected to the family of Jesus.
Now we found additional evidence that a magical belief had been passed
down from the time that the original Star Prophecy was made, all the way
to Jesus and his family. It was the Canaanite magic of 'lachash', which
translates to 'whisper' or to 'mutter'. The technique is a form of incanta-
tion used to resurrect the dead, a magical practice biblical experts have
already identified:

In Isa. Hi. 3 the rendering 'skilful enchanter' means in Hebrew

literally, 'experienced (in composing) an incantation,' i.e. in writing
magical formulas.
This term is used only in connection with magic, and when, as
we shall see, the idea of raising the dead by means of magic was
not unknoivn to the ancient Hebrews, it is possible there is in
15 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

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 MIC D U U \ u r niKAivi

reality a reference to an attempt to resuscitate David's child by

means of a whispered incantation.16

So the old Canaanite blend of magic and religion still seemed to continue
when the Star Prophecy was made. _
We found this idea of muttering secret words as a way to resurrect an
individual highly reminiscent of the third degree ritual of Freemasonry. In
this ritual the 'magic' words are whispered into the candidate's ear at the
instant he is hinged out of his grave under the pre-dawn light of Venus
shining from its helical rising in the east. This form of magic is also closely
connected to Jesus, as the Bible claims he resurrected the dead before ulti-
mately being resurrected himself. *"
The subject of necromancy (the magic of foretelling future events by
consulting the dead, which we have noted was part of Norse belief) also
appears to have been a hidden tradition amongst a section of the Jewish
people. It is referred to in Isaiah 8: 19 in a passage which is strangely out
of context with the rest of this book:

And when they shall say unto you, seek unto them that have
familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter:
should not a people seek unto their God? For the living to the
dead?

In this verse Isaiah appears to be telling people that anyone who uses the
dead in this way will have 'no dawn' themselves. When viewed with another
verse from the same book, it would seem to be a reference to resurrection
under the light of the Shekinah. The illuminating verse from Isaiah is pop-
ular in churches today and is extensively quoted during Christmas carol
services. It deals with the expected coming of the Jewish Messiah, and is
often mistaken for some divinely inspired reference to the Christian Messiah.
The key verses are 9: 2 and 9: 6 - 7 :

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they
that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined . . . For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall

16 Oesterley, W O E & Robinson, TH: Hebrew Religion, Its Origin and Development

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 M i l . V-UIVUINU ui- l i l t MESSIAH

be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting

Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,

upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and
to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even
for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Christians believe this section of Isaiah to be the beginning of an under

standing of messianic hope in Israel when, as one theological scholar put
it, 'a bright light shines in the darkness and the oppressor's yoke is broken
as in Gideon's day'. 17 To us, however, it seems to be a reference to the
promise of the returning light of the Shekinah and the political domi
nance this return will herald for Israel when the new king leads the way.
A Shekinah made an appearance at the vernal equinox in the year 740
BCE, which is exactly the time that Isaiah began to prophesy the coming
' of the messiah. How could such a dramatic heavenly event fail to inspire
Isaiah?
For Christians this passage is interpreted as a prophecy of their strange
interpretation of the word 'messiah' as the figure of the mythical Christ.
But this cannot be so, because Jesus did not succeed in becoming the king
of the Jews and his appearance marked the beginning of the most ilis.is
trous period of Jewish history ever. None of the Jewish messianic promises
were met, although subsequently every attempt was made to suggest that
they were.
But Christianity was about to take a totally different track when the
rural nature myth of the dying and resurrecting god almost totally ousted
the Canaanite astral secrets of Jesus and his family.

THE CULT OF PAUL

A radically new, and phenomenally successful, version of the story of Jesus

was about to arise. A man from Tarsus, the son of Jewish converts, became
a Roman citizen and changed his name from the Hebrew 'Saul' to tin-
Roman equivalent 'Paul'. This Jewish citizen of the Roman Empire from
Turkey set himself up as the scourge of the rebellious group of Jews in and

17 Bright, J: 'Isaiah 1', Peake's Commentary on the Bible

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M i l ; U U U N U I ' I I I KA/V1

around Jerusalem. It is said that Saul persecuted Christians, but this was
impossible as there were no such people. The followers of Jesus and, after
his death, of his brother James the Just remained Jews and did not become
members of Paul's new Christian religion. Christianity was a later cult devel-
oped by Saul of Tarsus exclusively to attract pagan converts throughout
the broader Roman Empire - people who were already inclined towards
the nature-based dying and rising god theme.
According to the New Testament, Paul underwent a trauma after which
he claimed that he alone was given special insight into the meaning of Jesus'
mission directly from God. Paul claimed:

But when it pleased God . . . to reveal his son in me, that I might
preach it to the gentiles.18

The word 'gentiles' has become respectable in Christian thinking because

it is taken as being a Jewish description of Christians, but it meant no such
thing at the time that Paul was preaching his bizarre creed. It was a word
used by the followers of Jesus and James to describe the pagans who did
not believe in the God of the Jews.
Paul quickly found himself at total odds with James because the story
he was telling about James's brother Jesus was so outrageous. It is evident
that Paul was prepared to do anything to get his way; he^even admits that
he is happy to lie if that is what is required:

And unto the Jews I became as a Jew} that I might gain the Jews;
to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain
them that are under the law;

To them that are without law, as without law, that I might gain
them that are without law.

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am

made all things to all men . . .

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize?

18 Galatians 1: 15, 16

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 I ri t L U M I I M l j Uh It-it MtSSIAII

So run, that ye may obtain . . .

I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that

beateth the air}9

Professor Eisenman writing in James the Brother of Jesus says that Paul
became famous as a liar and had to make excuses for himself:

Paul was obviously being mocked by some - within the Church not
outside it - as 'the Man of Dreams', 'Lies', or 'Lying', or what was
also characterised in a parallel parlance as 'the Enemy' . . . It is
neither accidental nor incurious that exactly where he comes to
speak of 'James the brother of the Lord' and in 2 Corinthians, the
Hebrew 'Archapostles', that Paul feels obliged to add: 'Now before
God, (in) what I write to you, I do not lie' or, again, 'I do not lie'.

The story that Paul had created was only loosely connected to the actions
of the recently dead Jesus and his followers, but it did have a great deal
to do with Roman tastes in theology. In Cyprus, Egypt, Turkey and Rome
Paul's followers wrote the Gospels that make up the New Testament, whilst
back in Israel the people that Jesus had once led became followers of James
and forceful opponents of the new religion that Paul was busily inventing.
Paul's new cult of Christianity was squarely rooted in the Canaanite
peasant theology of dying and rising nature gods and only retained a few
misunderstood elements of the once supreme astral cult. The Bright Morning
Star that marked the birth of a Jewish messiah became just'a pretty
Christmas star that hovered miraculously over the stable where Jesus was
born. The Sun was relegated to become a halo highlighting the heads of
the righteous. Male circumcision, the great covenant with God, that was
claimed to have endured from the time of Abraham, was rejected because
the potential recruits of the Roman Empire were not happy to pay this par
1 1 - i
ticularly painful price.
The New Testament tells the story of Jesus from the perspective of Paul,
and it tries to establish the idea that the followers of the crucified Jesus
were Christians in their churches. They were not - they were Jews.
The Pauline version of events at this time claims that there were two,

19 1 Corinthians 9: 2 0 - 2 5

253
equally valid, ways forward for believers at that time-James's Jewish route
and Paul's plan for the uncircumcised. Respected writer AN Wilson says
of this:

It is clear to us today that this division was going to happen, but

even at the date when Luke was writing - let us say AD 80? - it
was still a possibility that the two 'Ways' could be reconciled . . .
The next few chapters of Acts have to be read gingerly . . . they
are propaganda, designed to make us think that 'the early Church'
was always 'Christian' - whereas in fact, of course, it belonged to
an era when the word 'Christian' was simply a nickname for a sect
within Judaism,20

The nature cult created in the name of Jesus came less from the beliefs
of his real followers than it did from Paul's own upbringing in Tarsus.
Every autumn the young Saul, as he then was known, would have watched
the great funeral pyre on which the local god was ritually burnt. God was
now dead, but he would arise again in the spring (Easter). Furthermore, it
is known that Tarsians worshipped saviour gods (known as theoisoteres),21'
so it is little wonder that Paul's 'new' religion of the 'Risen Christ' was so
easy for pagans to accept - it was far from original and built upon well-
established traditions.
This can be seen very clearly in Paul's attitude to blood. The idea of
crucifixion was horrific to all Jews, and blood was something to be avoided
at all costs, yet Paul's concept of Jesus Christ rested on the power of his
spilt blood, and also of course on the sacrificial impulse which had driven
the worship of Moloch. Even today Christians ritually drink the blood of

feA^WNvJrr
This concept of the ritual imbibing of the blood of a sacrificial human
victim is about as far removed from Jewish thinking as it is possible to get.
But this nauseating idea was well accepted amongst the followers of the
oldest of nature cults. Wilson comments on Paul's inspiration for such an
idea:
Just as the worshippers of Mithras, in bis native Tarsus, could
stand beneath a platform and catch the cascade of blood falling on
20 Wilson, AN: Paul, The Mind of the Apostle, Sinclair-Stevenson, 1997
21 Wilson, AN: Paul, The Mind of the Apostle

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 i n t L U M I INU u r I I-I t MESSIAH

them from the slaughtered hullock, so Paul could bathe in the

blood of the crucified and find that the life of the Messiah had
become his own. He was the Christ. Just as Paul's contemporaries
in Tarsus believed that the demi-god Herakles - with one human
and one immortal parent - had, in his descent into the realms of
death, become the saviour of his people, so Jesus 'gave himself for
our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the
will of our God and Father'.

The Romans had to place Paul in protective imprisonment when he

preached in Ephesus to save him from the Jewish community that was out
raged by his distorted version of Judaism. When he went to the Temple in
Jerusalem there was a full-scale riot and he was dragged out by a frenzied
mob intent upon lynching him on the spot. A cohort of Roman troops
from the fortress of Antonia (next to the Temple) had to intervene to save
his life - a cohort in contemporary Roman terms meant several hundred
men. This was a sizeable intervention by the Roman occupation forces.
As the Pauline cult multiplied in the countries around the Mediterranean,
the theology of the Essenes continued, with daily prayers at sunrise and
sunset. As we know from the Dead Sea Scrolls, they kept to the solar cal-
endar because they intended to keep in harmony with God's laws, 'the laws
of the great light of heaven'.22 But their hoped-for Apocalypse was not long
in coming. In 62 CE James was murdered, and Paul died soon afterwards.
According to Josephus, in The Jewish War, the Jews finally rose up against
their enemy in 66 CE. They fought a terrible war in their attempt to create
the kingdom of heaven on the earth of Israel.
The scrolls found at Qumran tell us that these Essenes expected their
war to last forty years - a full Venus cycle. They also believed the battle
would have a cosmic dimension, with part of it to be played out in heaven.
Angelic armies were under the command of 'The Prince of Light' - who
was also referred to as Melchizedek (the priestly line from which the Bible
sa^s Jesus claimed descent). They expected a hard war, with interim vic-
tories going to each side three times until, after the full forty years, Yahweh
would intervene to annihilate all evil.23 We speculated that there might
always be a Venusian element in all solar religion - after all, both the Sun

22 1QH 12: 5
23 1QM 18: 1 - 3 and 11Q Melch 2: 9, 13
and Venus frequently occupy the same part of the sky - but the Venusian
element often takes an esoteric form, as Venus is often hidden by the light
of the Sun, making it seem more mysterious. In addition the cycles of Venus
are much longer than the cycles of the Sun, and so followers of Venus are
forced to take a longer-term view on life.
The people who wrote these Qumran scrolls expected their final victory
to be followed immediately by the messianic age, and in some scrolls the
'Prince of the Congregation' is identified as the Davidic messiah. This mes-
siah was expected to rule as a secular king under, or with, the guidance of
a priest-king who would be the 'interpreter of the Law' and who would
'teach righteousness at the end of days'. 24
The actions attributed to Jesus in the New Testament are virtually iden-
tical to these recorded expectations of the Qumran community. Also, as
we have seen, the curious figure of Melchizedek appears in both Christian
and Qumranic texts. This heavenly leader is expected to exact vengeance
for the people of God in the great battle that will be fought against Satan
and his demonic spirits.25
Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls contain the idea that after this messianic
period sinners will be plunged into 'eternal torment and endless disgrace . . .
in the fire of the dark regions'. The righteous will be rewarded with 'healing,
great peace in a long life, and fruitfulness, together with every everlasting
blessing and eternal joy in life without end, a crown of glory and a garment
of majesty in unending light'.26 The righteous dead will be resurrected to share
in the final glory, which accounts for the almost unbelievable bravery of the
Essenes. Knowing they would return gave them no reason to fear death.
The Essenes, Zealots and the followers of James, the Jerusalem Church,
were at the heart of the fighting. In the midst of this war, circa 68 CF., the

Herodian-appointed High Priests were quickly put to the sword and
Josephus describes the election by a new group of priests that he called
'the Innovators'. These were to be the last High Priests ever to serve at the
Jerusalem Temple. Professor Eisenman says of this:

When describing 'the last days', that is, the last days of the Temple
in the 66-70 CE events but particularly as these accelerated after 68
and the elimination of all the Herodian-appointed High Priests,

24 CD 6: 11
25 Golb, N: Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?
26 1 QS 4: 7 - 8

256
 i n c ^VJIVUINVJ ur I I I U IVL C J J I I I

Josephus describes the election by 'the Innovators' of a last High

Priest before the Romans invest the city, one 'Phannius' or
'Phineas', a simple Stone-Cutter. Josephus constantly refers to 'the
Innovators' in this period the political and religious reformers
and/or revolutionaries who have all been lumped, somewhat
imprecisely, under the general heading of 'Zealots'.27

The High Priest, Phannius, was a Stonemason, and Eisenman identifies

him as a rainmaker in the tradition of Elijah, Honi, John the Baptist and
James. He says of this:

There is also a concomitant 'rainmaking' tradition associated with

Phineas' name, which has links not only to similar traditions about
Elijah, and through him, James, but also to another interesting
character who is part of this whole complex of rainmaking
Zaddiks, Honi the Circle Drawer.29

The rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple initiated by King Herod in 19

BCE had continued for several decades, and the inner parts had to be con-
structed by hereditary priests because they were touching the.yer^ house
of God: not a place where he was worshipped, but the actual location ol
His divine presence. Thousands of priests were trained in the craft of stone
MX .. .

masonry, and it seems very probable that Jesus and his father Joseph were,
included in this endeavour. The Bible tells us that Joseph and Jesus were
carpenters, but the original word used in the Greek version was 'tekton\
which meant 'builder'. As few people worked in wood in Jerusalem .in those
times, it seems a lot more probable that Jesus and his father were priestly
stonemasons, just like Phineas.
The revolutionaries took over the Temple and installed their own high
priest, no doubt believing that their God would back up their fight in the
struggle for supremacy that they so vividly described in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Sadly for these Jewish revolutionaries, the war climaxed after just six years,
not the expected forty, and it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and
its recently rebuilt Temple. Josephus records that one million three hun-
dred thousand Jews died in those few years. And the secrets of the Venus
cult almost died with them.

27 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

28 Eisenman, R: James the Brother of Jesus

257
i i i i* wI i I i i\r\ivl

For hundreds of years the Jews had been united in their devotion to
Yahweh and in their acceptance of the obligations enshrined in the Torah;
but their commonality of belief was now brought to an end.
Before the destruction of Jerusalem, in 70 CE, there was no such thing
as Jewish orthodoxy, only disparate groups of Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes,
Zealots and Christians. It would be another two centuries before Christians
ceased to be just a strange variety of Judaism.
The Christian Bible is made up of the Old and the New Testaments. The
first covers the history of the world from 'the creation' through to Malachi,
the last of the prophets who spoke of the return of Elijah, who was to be
a forerunner of the coming Messiah. The New Testament covers the period
from just before the birth of Jesus to a period about seventy-five years later,
when the Jewish War broke out.
So the Bible chronicles God's interaction with His chosen people for all
time right up to their near-obliteration at the hands of the Romans. After'
that the Bible simply stops. But it did not stop being written: in the same
way that the Dead Sea Scrolls were lost, so the ongoing story just did not
get bound into the official versions.
But the families who considered themselves to have a special relation-
ship with Yahweh continued to document their journey. The bloodlines that
produced the high priests survived, and continued to record their progress
towards creating the kingdom of God on Earth. We have previously put
forward the argument that the priests who escaped the massacre in Jerusalem
in 70 CE escaped to Europe, there to found many of the families that would
become pre-eminent. 29 In France these families came to control Anjou,
Champagne, Normandy and Burgundy, where they mixed with
Scandinavian blood. It appears that two ancient traditions were re-
converging in Europe: the Jewish strand of a Phoenician Venus cult and
the Norse version of the same ancient Grooved Ware beliefs that survived
in pagan Scandinavia until at least 1000 CE.

ASTROLOGY THE BIG SECRET?

It appears that the chain of events beginning with the astronomical science
of the Grooved Ware People was passed down through time and, via the
Canaanites, came to a focus in the beliefs and aspirations of the priests

29 Knight, C and Lomas, R: The Second Messiah

258
 1 I I L V^V^MVl 1 IN VJ w I I I I I, IVI L J J I JM I

who lived at Qumran, and the group led by John, Jesus and James.
But we were starting to feel very uneasy. The Jewish magi clearly under-
stood the movements of Venus, and their entire national aspirations appear
to have been centred upon a superstitious belief that the light of Venus
rising before dawn in conjunction with another bright planet would allow
them to win wars and to go on to greatness. By any other name this
astrology.
Is this where our journey was going to end? After twenty-six joint years
of investigation into the science that we had come to believe was under-
pinning Freemasonry, must we now accept that it was only a foolish pseudo-
science?
At the beginning of this book we referred to a fear that some elements
in the Roman Catholic Church seemed to have about our investigations.
They appeared to have been putting a lot of energy into attacking us and
trying to prevent people from taking our findings seriously. We felt that
what they feared was our finding something that they would prefer to stay
hidden.
Suddenly we had a great deal of sympathy with their point of view. Our
line of investigation was leading us to demonstrate that Jesus was driven
by a belief in the power of the Shekinah - which turns out to be little more
than astrology on a grandiose scale. The Church has always detested
astrology, and now we seem to have shown that its 'saviour' was born,
lived and died by the rules of an ancient prophecy based on the movements
of the planets. Was the Church's Pauline myth of Jesus preferable in some
ways to this unpalatable reality?
We were somewhat despondent, but our quest needed to continue,
because we now had to test for ourselves if there really was any science
involved, or whether the whole ritual edifice was nothing more than a
tangle of empty superstitions. Was this long line of ancient astronomer-
priests nothing more than a string of astrological fortune-tellers with ambi-
tions of power? We decided to review what we had learned about the
Shekinah cycle, and how it first crept into Jewish belief at the time of the
building of Solomon's Temple by Hiram, King of Tyre.

DATES OF THE VENUS CYCLES

Hiram came to the throne of Tyre in 9 8 3 BCE, when according to the his-
torian Josephus he was nineteen years old. This meant he was born in 1002

259
BCE. We had reasoned that if he was a true son of Venus his father would
have taken care to impregnate his mother at the sexual rituals of the vernal
equinox. Indeed, it might well have been one of his kingly duties, as the
earthly representative of El.
When Robert checked we found that Venus rose just before the Sun at
the winter solstice in the year of 1002 BCE. So Hiram's birth fulfilled cri-
teria similar to those we knew had been applied by the Qumran priests to
decide if a messiah was born.
The major difference was that the birth of a Jewish messiah was marked
by a series of Venus/Mercury conjunctions which only occurred every 480
years. We thought it would have been an unreasonable and impractical
condition to wait 480 years for a new king, so the Phoenicians seemed to
accept the simpler idea that it was sufficient for a king to be born to the
pre-dawn light of Venus to make him a suitable person to rule them.
However, this idea that kings are born when a bright star is visible on
the pre-dawn horizon seemed to have been taken up eagerly by the Jews.
It became linked to an idea that super-kings, who were favoured by God
and so could provide people with a standard of leadership which would
vastly improve the fortunes of the country, were born only when a super-
bright star appeared at the correct time. What was puzzling us was our
realisation that the writers of the Old Testament seemed to be aware of
this extremely long cycle of earlier Shekinah appearances and that they
seemed to have acquired this knowledge by the time that Solomon's Temple
was dedicated in 967 BCE.
Our problem was one of prediction. We knew that these clusters of con-
junctions between Venus and Mercury occurred within the normal eight-
and forty-year Venus cycles with a 480-year repetition pattern. But Robert
was using a computer and running quite complex astronomical software
to work this out. The astronomer priests at the time of Solomon did not
have these sophisticated tools, so how had they known what pattern to
expect? Their careful calculations back in time to the Exodus and the Flood
showed they knew about this pattern, and both the Bible and The Masonic
Testament linked their timing of these events with the characteristic appear-
ance of the Shekinah.
We could think of only one possible way they could have come by the
necessary information to do their calculations. They must have been given
access to a series of previous observations.
In itself this is a simple idea: it's very easy to establish a pattern if you

260
 I l i t ^UMINCi Ul- I l i t MtSSIAIi

simply collect enough points in sequence to see how an event repeats, But
the events we were thinking about only happened every 4 8 0 years. Nobody
would live long enough to see more than one occurrence of this spectac-
ular astral display, and most people would never see it. How do you spot
a pattern with events so far apart in time? The information has to be passed
down at least ten or so generations from one observational point to the
next, possibly crossing more than one civilisation.
Our next problem is that only two occurrences do not confirm a trend.
Nobody can accurately predict the period between one Shekinah cluster
and the next if they only have two observation points to work with. Two
points only measure the time of one period, and so until you get a third
occurrence you do not know if the cycle will repeat with the same time
period. This means that a minimum of three observations are needed to
confirm the period, and you need at least one additional observation in
order to be aware that it happens at all, because if you don't notice it in
the first place then you don't start counting.
This chain of logic convinced us that it would not be possible to have
worked out the period of the Venusian generations, Venusian epochs and
Venusian aeons used to construct the chronology of the Bible without at
least four observations of the Shekinah Venusian epoch. This would take
1,920 years to collect.
Having completed the calculation, we then worked out the earliest pos-
sible date this process would need to have started for the information to
have been available at the time Hiram started work on Solomon's Temple.
It was 2 8 9 2 BCE - a period that was of considerable importance.
'That's shortly before the time that the Grooved Ware People seemed to
abandon their sites in Britain and left them derelict,' said Robert.
'Yes, it is,' said Chris. 'But we also need to be careful, because it's also
some three hundred and fifty years after the earliest evidence of Sumerian
civilisation and some two hundred and fifty years after the unification of
upper and lower Egypt.'
'This information has got to have come from either Grooved Ware, or
the Sumerian and Egyptian astronomer priests who were influenced by
Grooved Ware traders and their beliefs - and don't forget the last two
groups had the advantage of a system of writing to help them record their
observations,' Robert mused. 'Just look at the time-line. Nobody else had
the opportunity to collect enough data.'
We now knew from our researches that all three groups had worshipped

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 " ' A V1 A W j U V C Q W I I QVK> M t W \ J ^

the planet Venus, which was usually, but not always, considered a female
deity. The common traits associated with this bright star are love, birth,
death and resurrection. The very early writings of Sumer and Egypt make
reference to Venus, but the Venus observatories of the Grooved Ware People
of Western Europe pre-date both by at least two hundred years. Bryn Celli
Ddu and Newgrange are prime examples.
Professor Michael O'Kelly, who excavated Newgrange, stated that carbon
dating puts its completion at around 3 2 0 0 BCE, and it is estimated that it
took at least thirty years to build. But before its builders could undertake
the construction they must have observed many Venus cycles to calculate
the patterns. In this case the building probably represents a form of
astronomy that was being catalogued from at least the middle of the fourth
millennium BCE. A cycle of Venus/Mercury conjunctions began in 3 3 6 7 BCE,
and we reasoned this might well have been the inspiration to design and
build Newgrange. Once complete, the layout of Newgrange is such that it
would be impossible to miss further appearances of the Shekinah within
the darkness of its chamber.
The Venus cycle remains constant, it is only the conjunctions of Mercury
which vary, so any observatory built to monitor the movements of Venus
must also draw attention to the Shekinah. The tunnel, lightbox and chamber
would filter and collimate the light of the brightest conjunctions in the
Shekinah cycle. Structures like Newgrange and Bryn Celli Ddu were astro-
nomical instruments to track Venus, and they comfortably pre-date any
other reference to that planet anywhere in the world.
Between 4 5 0 0 and 2 8 0 0 BCE the Grooved Ware culture, which built these
observatories, went through a period of strong economic activity. Its suc-
cess was characterised by farming surpluses and trading activities ranging
over most of Britain and coastal areas of Europe, and culminating in the
creation of enormous stone buildings and other structures which served
ritual and astronomical purposes.30
As we have already mentioned, this period of widespread trade coin-
cides with the establishment of a small trading village in Byblos and of a
characteristic megalithic harbour at Lixus on the west coast of Africa, and
we have suggested this was a result of the activities of Grooved Ware
traders. Towards the end of this period of economic success, driven by
widespread trade in specialised stone artefacts such as axes, arrowheads

30 Dyer, J: Ancient Britain, Routledge, 1997

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 I M C LAJIVIIIMU L J r inn lYicaaiAri

and flint knives, the fledgling civilisations of Sumer and Egypt began. As
we have already mentioned, both civilisations' records tell of groups of out-
siders arriving and providing the technology which kick-started these new
cultures, cultures which both incorporated an interest in the planet Venus
viewed as a goddess.
The Sumerians had originally worshipped Venus under the name Inanna
(Queen of Heaven) with the aid of astronomer or 'baru' priests. Over time
they did succeed in predicting eclipses, using counting methods and knowl-
edge of the Saros cycle of the Moon, 3 1 and they contributed greatly to the
later development of the laws of astronomy.
In ancient Egypt Venus' name was Hathor. She was 'The Eye of the Sun
god Ra', 'The Dweller in his Breast \ 'The Goddess of Many Names'.
Another name she carried was Uatchet,t The Lady of Flames, when she was
sent to F.arth to punish mankind for their rebellion against Ra. Then she
got a new name: Sekhmet, She Who Prevails. Ra called her back and then,
with another name, Nut, she carried Ra away between her horns (a fur-
ther reference to the horn effect of Venus's movement around the Sun). In
some early accounts jr^mmm
Isis is also

associated iwith Venus as iwell ,as
IM
with Sirius,,,
both being characterised by a Bright Morning Star. We also knew that the
Egyptian hieroglyph for Venus was literally 'divine star', and it was itself
part of the hieroglyph for 'knowledge' and for 'the priesthood'.
The Hebrews inherited Sumerian ideas from Abraham and Egyptian
beliefs from Moses, and we believe that the general priesthood of the
Hebrews also adopted the cyclical vegetative beliefs of the Canaanite sanc-
tuaries, but that a royal priesthood grew out of a secret astral tradition
practised by priest-kings such as Melchizedek. We have also found that
many of the important events in the chronology of the Bible seem to be
linked to bright, pre-dawn conjunctions of Venus and Mercury, which came
to be called the Shekinah.
But we were becoming concerned that this belief in the power of the
Shekinah might be nothing more than superstitious astrology.
We also believe that Christianity is built on the Canaanite model of a
dying and rising nature god.
Astrology is loathed by the Church as a primitive and ignorant enemy
of the 'true' faith, and the major astral bodies are mainly absent from the
scriptures, despite the principles of astronomy underlying the nature worship
3 1 The Saros cycle is an eighteen-year pattern of movements of the Moon caused by the inter-
action of the gravity of the Sun, Earth and Moon.

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 111. U U U F T U L I I I L\/AJVL

cycles of the Christian calendar. Christmas was originally a pre-Christian

festival to celebrate the winter solstice. The Easter ritual of resurrection
pre-dates Christ by tens of thousands of years, but the Church still dates
the movable feast of Easter Sunday as the first Sabbath with a full moon
after the vernal equinox.
The confusion about who God was talking to in the first chapter of
Genesis when He says 'Let us make man in our own image12 arises from
a conflict between two different Canaanite traditions; one vegetative and
the other astral. The vegetative cult was based on the birth and death of
nature with the changing of the seasons, and may well have been aware
of the movements of the Sun. But the astral cult looked at the long-term
patterns of the movements of the stars, which they viewed as God's coun-
sellors, and tried to use what its priests saw of their movements to predict
the rise and fall of themselves and their kings.
The rituals of Freemasonry provide a view on this belief not found in
the Bible. Chapter 1 of The Masonic Testament says that God was talking
to the three ministers of His Eternal Council, and that there were also seven
other entities in existence known as malak, or collectively as malakoth.
This term is translated as 'angels'. However, the root word malak means
counsellor, and later came to mean king.
So perhaps the Bright Morning Star, which is still celebrated at every
Third Degree Ceremony of Freemasonry, does indeed date from Time
Immemorial.
We needed to look more closely at what happened to the astrological
implications of the idea of the Bright Morning Star, and how it came to
be transmitted down to The Masonic Testament and so into modern
Freemasonry.

CONCLUSIONS

We concluded that Freemasonic ritual aligns with the astral cultic practices
of the royal lineage of Jerusalem (the city of Venus) whilst Christianity
draws its basic beliefs from the religion of the peasant peoples of Canaan.
We also concluded that Jesus was not a simple peasant, and the New
Testament is correct when it claims that he was proclaimed a king at birth
and described as one at his death. The stories of the birth and life of Jesus

32 Genesis 1: 26

264
 i lit l,umiinu ur i n t McaaiAn

have a direct connection with ancient Canaanite astral beliefs and, in par-
ticular, the 'divine' light of the Shekinah. Born under the pre-dawn light of
the divine Shekinah, Jesus set out to fulfil the star-prophesied role of King
of the Jews and led God's chosen people in open revolt against the Romans."
Both Christian and Jewish theologians dislike astrology, describing it as
a pagan abomination* a superstition that courts the Devil, and an opposi
tion to the teachings of God. But we have found that knowledge of the
heavens and a belief in its effect on mankind is central to the Jewish group
that gave rise to Christianity.
We have found evidence of an ongoing theological battle between an
astral cult of Venus and the prophets of the new God, Yahwelv At times
this battle was extremely violent, as when the Bible claims that Elijah per
sonally slew 4 5 0 astral priests, whilst at other points we found Isaiah
drawing on astral beliefs such as the rising of the Shekinah, just before the
Sun, to predict the birth of a messiah.
Important elements of the Canaanite Venus cult, which included the con-
struction of stone circles, rainmaking, the resurrection of the dead using
whispered words, and the significance of helical risings of Venus, we found
to be carried down to the time of Jesus.
The authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls recorded the fulfilment of a Star
Prophecy and the arrival of a messiah. We investigated these people and
found them to have very similar ideas to those preserved in the rituals of
Freemasonry. We believe that Jesus was their messiah but he only accepted
this role after the death of John the Baptist in 36 CE. On the balance of
probabilities we accept the Jesus of the New Testament as the person
described in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
After Jesus' death Paul created a new Jewish cult of Christianity that
was squarely rooted in the Canaanite peasant theology of dying and rising
nature gods and only retained a few misunderstood elements of the once
supreme astral cult. This included the story of a bright Shekinah-like star
hovering over Jesus' place of birth. The Sun's status was reduced to that
of a halo to highlight the heads of the righteous. After the destruction of
over a million Jews by the Romans, only Paul's new religion survived to
be eventually adopted by a declining Roman Empire at the Council of
Nicaea.
We calculated the number of data points needed to be sure of the exis
tence of the Shekinah cycle and concluded that it had to have been dis
covered by the Grooved Ware builders of Newgrange.

265
 C h a p t e r Twelve

T H E R E T U R N OF T H E
SHEKINAH

T H E UNDERGROUND MILLENNIUM

The Romans put down the Jewish rebellion without pity. The last stand of
the Jews was the siege, in 73 CE, at the dramatic mountain-top fortress of
Masada which overlooks the southern end of the Dead Sea. There a thou-
sand people committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.
By the time the war was over Josephus, who had conveniently changed
to the winning side, reports that a total of 1,356,460 Jewish people lay
dead.1 It is impossible to know whether this is an exaggeration or not, but
we can be sure that casualties reached a tremendous level for the popula-
tion of this small country. The destruction of the Holy City and the con-
sequent end of Temple worship had a paralysing effect on the Jewish people,
who suffered a blow that was beyond all comprehension. At best their most
cherished prophecies were proven to be horribly unreliable.
The writers of the four Gospels of the New Testament recorded the story
of the life of their messiah and his developing Church up to the start of
the war but made no mention of the fact that the original cast of the Jesus
and James story had been slaughtered. With the destruction of the Jewish
homeland and the authority of the family of James the Just gone, the way
was open for the followers of Paul's 'Covenant of the Uncircumcised' to
turn their pagan-like brand of Judaism into the separate cult that became
Christianity.
1 Milman, H: History of the Jews, Everyman, London, 1909

266
 l i l t K t I UKIN U f l i l t 511 t M IN A II

The cult of the Christ developed in the Roman world, and in 325 CF.
an ecumenical council was convened by Emperor Constantine I at Nicaea.
Irs aim was mainly political, 2 but it also met to settle an ongoing dispute
about the real nature of Jesus the Christ. Three hundred and eighteen of
the one thousand eight hundred bishops of the Roman Empire attended
this council to debate the nature of acceptable beliefs within their Church.
The question that they posed was: 'Is Christ divine by nature or was
his divinity brought about by his actions?' Two Alexandrian priests led
the opposing points of view. Arius argued that Jesus was born a man, and
that a man could not also be God. Athanasius claimed that Jesus and God
were of one substance - as Father and son. Despite the inherent difficulty
of sustaining the argument that a father and son are the same entity,
Athanasius won the subsequent vote, and Jesus became a deity from that
time forward as far as the Roman Empire was concerned. The council
also fixed the celebration of Easter on tlie Sunday after the Jewish Pesach,
or Passover.
aw.*
' ^^' .jSjgjisraRgfCifw

From that time forward the Roman Church discouraged further debate,
and anyone who even thought about deviating from official dogma was
labelled a heretic and dealt with as such. This usually meant a slow and
painful death. Not surprisingly the families of the priests who had escaped
the destruction of Jerusalem lay low in Europe and became good Christians
as far as the outside world was concerned. Secretly, they must have pro-
tected their Venusian tradition and, most particularly, their knowledge o(
the Shekinah and its Divine role in the affairs of mankind.
When the Norsemen invaded France and took control of Normandy in
the eighth century, Hrolf More and his cousins decided to take the name St
Clair and established themselves as dukes of Normandy. The families of the
Jewish priests, who lived around the same region, must have been surprised
to find that these recent incomers to France had a knowledge of Venus pat-
terns and held a similar understanding to their own astral religion.
What happened before, and immediately after, allows us to construct a
picture of the two cults identifying each other like a pair of aged twins
separated since birth. Neither the Norsemen nor the priestly Jewish fami-
lies knew that anyone else still placed the divine planet Venus at the centre
of their theology. It must have been disturbing for the secretive priestly
families such as the lords of Gisors, Payen, Fontaine, Anjou, de Bouillon,

2 Knight, C & Lomas, R: The Second Messiah

267
 i i i c DV^V^N u r niiv/Mvi

Brienne, Joinville, Chaumont and the Hahsburgs to hear these Scandinavians

voice ideas similar to those they cherished in their own private thoughts,
especially as there had been no previous contact. 3
It appears to have been the More family that first set about recombining
the two strands of Grooved Ware culture that had met again after more
than three thousand years. They brought these strands together through
marriage and celebrated the new united bloodline by taking the new name
St Clair, meaning 'Holy Shining Lighf - which appears to be their name
for the ancient Jewish concept of the Shekinah. When it was later com-
bined with the Gaelic word 'Roslin' we already knew it gave this family
the designation:

Holy Shining Light of Ancient Knowledge passed down the

Generations.

By taking this title, we believe that the family under Henri St Clair was
recognising both the Norse and the Jewish generations that had protected
this ancient knowledge.
The St Clairs had returned to the British Isles before the invasion of the
England under the leadership of their fellow priestly lord, William of
Normandy. They used the family's strong links with the kings of Norway,
via Earl More of Trondheim, to establish themselves in Scotland prior to
all of the families uniting, perhaps for the first time since they had left
Jerusalem.
William, duke of Normandy, took England in October 1066 with the
help of the Norse side of the family in the form of Harold Hardrade, the
king of Norway. We could not help but notice that this military initiative
was conducted exactly one thousand years after the Jews had gone to war
with the Romans. Were these families taking this as a 'pesher' - the Jewish
concept of meanings repeating themselves over time?
It may be coincidence, but we also must note that the famous Bayeux
Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Conquest, shows panels with pelicans
rising from the ground with a star above their heads. (The pelican is widely
used as a symbol of resurrection.) We could fully understand how these
families considered that their ancient ideals were finally arising from their
long slumber.

3 Knight, C and Lomas, R: The Second Messiah

268
 But then something very strange happened: an age-old prophecy was fill
filled.
For these families the most important book of the New Testament must
have been the most Enochian, the Book of Revelation, sometimes called
the Apocalypse. It finishes the Bible by looking towards the 'New Jerusalem'
that will be built. It was written to prepare the faithful for the last inter-
vention of God in human affairs, heralding a new age of the world. But
for one thousand years the evils and terrors of the existing world order
were predicted to increase and intensify. Revelation chapter 20 tells us:

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him
into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him,
' that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years
should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received
his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived
and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on

such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed
out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which
are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather
them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the
sea.

269
 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the
camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down
from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

This prophecy specifically states that those who died in the destruction
of Jerusalem in 70 CE will be resurrected one thousand years later when a
godless power will take Jerusalem. The revitalised priests of the Bright
Morning Star must have been even more convinced that history was
repeating itself - and that the power of prophecy had returned - because
a thousand years after the loss of the 'beloved city' and the Temple,
Jerusalem was sacked by Seljuk Turks.
We believe that this event was the trigger that caused these powerful
families to press the kings of Europe to mount an attack on Jerusalem to
seize it back from Gog and Magog, just as the prophecy required. But this
took a great deal of persuasion and organisation, and it was not until 1096

>
that the crusading army left for the Holy Land.
In May 1099 they reached the northern borders of Palestine and on the
evening of 7 June they camped within sight of Jerusalem's walls. The city
was heavily defended and well prepared for a siege, but the Crusaders
attacked using newly constructed siege machines and finally took the Holy
City on 15 July. They then set about massacring virtually every inhabitant,
whether Muslim or Jew.
The following week the army elected Godfrey of Bouillon, duke of
Lower Lorraine, as ruler of the city. Soon afterwards most of the Crusaders
returned to Europe, leaving Godfrey and a small remnant of the original
force to organise a government and to establish a new authority over the
conquered territories. Henri St Clair returned home to Roslin but nine
knights, who were to become the Knights Templar, stayed on to seek out
permission for their intended excavation below the ruins of the Temple of
their forefathers.
It appears that they had to wait until a friendly king was installed. After
the consecutive deaths of first Godfrey and then his cousin Baldwin I, King
Baldwin II of Jerusalem gave them permission to dig and financial support.
In 1118 they established their camp in the part of the ruins of Temple
Mount known as Solomon's Stables. It is widely accepted that they lived
in poverty for nine years and then they were, quite suddenly, immensely
rich and quickly became more powerful than any king in the world.
The most likely explanation for this instant extreme wealth is that these

270
nine Frenchmen excavated the artefacts listed in the Copper Scroll. The
Knights Templar soon became famous for their sponsoring of great churches
and cathedrals, but their very first construction outside the Holy Land was
at a place they called 'Temple' on St Clair land in Scotland - just one mile
away from the current building known as Rosslyn.
As the great builders of the medieval age, the Knights Templar helped
the stonemasons to form organised guilds and gave them low-level rituals
to admit their apprentices in a manner similar to the first rung of mem
hers of their own priesthood. The master-masons of Europe were effec
tively the operative arm of Templarism, sharing some knowledge of celestial
alignments and astronomy, but most of all sharing a somewhat ritualistic
approach to their personal development.
When the Knights Templar went into decline in the mid-thirteenth cen
tury the relationship may have begun to weaken, but when the Order was
arrested in 1307 and finally ceased to exist in 1314, the stonemasons guilds
were left rudderless, continuing to practise their initiation ritual without
any further reference to the people who had given it to them.
In 1441 William St Clair of Roslin contacted some of Europe's finest
masons and asked them to come to build him a new Jerusalem. He even
constructed the village of Roslin to house these master craftsmen from the
Continent.

BREAKING T H E CODE OF ROSSLYN

It was a wet Sunday afternoon as we sat together again to review the Norse
and Jewish imagery in Rosslyn. As we were working through a time-line
of events we needed to check some details. Chris reached up to the shell
to take down a copy of The Hiram Key. He opened it and read aloud:
'The first turf was cut in 1441 and all of the work was completed forty
five years later in I 4 8 6 . '
When we wrote those words the date that the building works started
did not mean anything to us, but now its significance shone out like .i
beacon. The construction of Rosslyn began in the year 1441 - and given
that there was no year zero, that is the number of years in a full Shekinah
cycle, a cycle we have since called a Venusian aeon.
Robert looked across at Chris. 'Read that starting date again.'
'You heard it right,' Chris said. '1441. Exactly 1,440 years after the year
1 of the Christian Era - when William thought Christ was born!'

271
 Could this be coincidence?
We now know that Jesus was born under the Shekinah in 7 BCE, but
nearly seven hundred years ago, when William Sinclair was planning
Rosslyn, he could not have known this, although he would be well aware
that there was no year zero. For William the year 1441CF. would have rep-
resented a gap of precisely 1,440 years from the Bright Morning Star
heralding the arrival of the messiah. This had to mean that he was fol-
lowing the pattern of Shekinah appearances which he must have believed
to be true:

Solomon's Temple was begun 1,440 years after the Flood.

Jesus was born 1,440 years after Moses led the Israelites through the
Red Sea.

Rosslyn was begun 1,440 years after the birth of Christ.

The St Clairs of Roslin were working to the ancient rules of interaction

between pre-dawn rising astral bodies and mankind. Not only is Rosslyn
a careful copy of the Jerusalem Temple, it is a carbon copy in terms of the
time it was constructed.
So, we reasoned, William St Clair must have believed that he was building
a final temple to do God's will on Earth as he expected the Shekinah was
' - '
: . ..

about to do God's will in Heaven.

We now absolutely believe beyond all reasonable doubt that the scrolls
from under the Jerusalem Temple are still hidden under William's master-
piece - the scrolls that the Copper Scroll describes as being hidden below
the Holy Sanctuary and that Masonic ritual states were brought to St Clair
lands in 1140 CE.
The St Clair (now spelled Sinclair) connection to Scotland is of great
significance to our research, and a number of the current clan members
have been particularly helpful to us. The most active man in the field of
Clan Sinclair history is, without doubt, Niven Sinclair, a London-based
businessman with a general thirst for knowledge and a particular passion
for anything connected to Rosslyn or the general history of the Sinclairs.
Niven is a charming and dynamic septuagenarian with the energy to
shame the average twenty-year-old combined with an encyclopedic memory
for facts and figures. He uses his personal wealth to fund all kinds of

272
 MIL IV L I U L\IN ur MIL J II L 1 IN / \ I I

research and circulates the information in the form of books and videos
that he commissions. In the past he has put substantial resources into the
upkeep of Rosslyn, and he founded the Clan Sinclair Library which is now
preserved at the Niven Sinclair Study Centre. This extensive library is mag-
nificently housed in the dramatic setting of the old lighthouse at Noss Head,
near to Wick in northern Scotland. The site is owned and run by another
stalwart of the Clan Sinclair, Ian Sinclair.
In March 2002, when we thought all of our researches were complete,
we received a letter from Niven concerning a new observation made by a
Caithness businessman called Ashley Cowie. Robert was unavailable on the
date that Niven suggested for a meeting at Rosslyn, but Chris was able to
go to meet with Niven, Ashley and Ian Sinclair, who had travelled down
from his library at Wick. Ashley runs a substantial fish wholesale business
in the northern port of Scrabster, and he had driven down the three hun-
dred miles that morning.
Ian was waiting in the bar of the Roslin Glen Hotel to greet Chris, and
' as he entered the lobby Ian bounded towards him. The twinkle in his eye
and a broad grin were apparent despite the huge grey beard that almost
completely obscures his features.
'Hello!' he boomed. 'Good to see you. Have we got something inter-
esting for you!'
As they sipped tea, Ian explained that Ashley and his friend Dave were
going to present their findings about St Clair establishments in Caithness
and then go on to explain something about Rosslyn that Ashley thought
tied into an observation mentioned in Uriel's Machine.
The meeting took place in a large room to the rear of the hotel. The
researcher had spread dozens of very large maps and diagrams across sev-
eral tables. His enthusiasm for his investigations was obvious as his fingers
pointed to location after location on the maps to establish a series of pat-
terns. He explained how he believes the distribution of early Sinclair sites
in Caithness corresponds to significant megalithic structures.
After an hour or so he moved on to the main reason for the meeting.
'I'm going to show you some marks on the wall of the crypt at Rosslyn,'
Ashley said, 'which I think are a complex diagram. The marks definitely
pre-date the main "chapel", and it's a type of map you will recognise. This
carving involves four lozenge shapes and I think they are latitude symbols.'
Ashley had remembered how in Uriel's Machine we showed that such
lozenges were used by the Grooved Ware People as part of the proto-writing

273
they developed between 4000 and 3 0 0 0 BCE. They used the diamond-shaped
lozenge as a means of writing down a location. The angles of the lozenge
were derived from the angles of the Sun's shadow cast at the time of the
solstice sunrises. The nearer one goes to the Equator the flatter the lozenge.
More northerly sites yield increasingly tall diamond symbols.
The party strolled through the bright spring sunshine, down the narrow
lane to Rosslyn. Ashley led the way, keen to point out the actual carving.
As the building came into sight, the mass of steel scaffolding sitting over
Rosslyn made it look like a living creature trapped in a cage. The engi-
neers responsible for the building's maintenance believe that covering it
over for seven years or so will help the stone to dry out slowly. We hope
they are right, because every earlier interference seems to have upset the
natural balance intended by William St Clair.
Once inside, the group split up for a few moments. Chris gazed for a
few minutes at the intricate carvings that festoon every part of the walls
and ceiling, then he rejoined Ashley. Together they walked down the freshly
replaced stone steps to the lower crypt.
Rosslyn is a small structure that, ignoring the horrendous Victorian bap-
tistry, is a single unit with a second small room at a lower level, known
as the crypt. The crypt is a plain room with some painted carved figures
on its walls. To the left side there is a tiny side chamber made of rougher
stone.
Ashley stood by the right-hand wall and pointed to a faint carving.
'There it is,' he said.
There were four faint lozenges cut in a vertical arrangement, with each
touching the next at their vertical points.
Ashley's voice reverberated round the empty chamber.
'I think it could be a map. The lines running down and across look as
though they represent some kind of longitude and latitude, with Egypt at
the bottom here. But it's these diamonds that I think could be significant,
because they look exactly like the latitudinal lozenges that you showed in
Uriel's Machine.'
Chris had seen the faint markings before, but had never given them par-
ticular attention because they seemed so unremarkable next to the heavy
carving that covers most of the building. looked carefully at the struc-
ture of the fine lines to try and establish if they could be fifteenth century
or something recent. It was impossible to be sure without detailed tests,
although it was obvious that someone had scratched into the wall in recent

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times along the lines as though to emphasise a pattern that already existed.
But in some places the original line was intact, although he had no way of
knowing for sure how old the marks were. However, they did appear to
match other markings in the crypt which are generally accepted as being
older than the main building of Rosslyn.

<>
<>
<>
The lozenges etched into the south wall of the crypt at Rosslyn. They
correspond to the four locations dearest to the St. Clair family; Jerusalem,
Rosslyn, Orkney and Trondheim.

At first Chris was sceptical, because four diamond shapes on a wall can
mean anything. However he took photographs which enabled us to take
accurate measurements after he returned home. The diamonds were not
totally symmetrical, so the opposite internal angles of each lozenge were
not exactly equal in every case, but they were very close and the averaged
measurements make it clear what the author intended. In any other building,
four diamond shapes could be just a decorative design, but we knew that
nothing in Rosslyn is without meaning. William St Clair's great medieval
mind just did not allow it.
The angles of these lozenges and their arrangement appear to suggest
that Ashley could be right. If so, they are an attempt to record informa-
tion in the proto-written 'language' used by the Grooved Ware People.
The bottom one is a flat shape, with internal left and right angles that
gives one hundred and twenty degrees, which corresponds to the Masonic,

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 1 I I L. IJ W W IX V / I i l l i\nivi

right-pointing equilateral triangle that we already knew to match the sol-

stice angles at the latitude of Jerusalem.
The next symbol up this 'totem pole' is an accurate square, which cor-
responds to the latitude of Rosslyn itself.
This was already very interesting, because the first two shapes fitted the
known locations of the Jerusalem Temple and its later counterpart in
Scotland, but lozenges made up of two equilateral triangles and a square
are very basic geometric shapes, so it was too early to draw any firm con-
clusion. They said 'Jerusalem' and 'Rosslyn' to us, but they could just as
easily be a decorative device. It was the next two lozenges that would make
or break Ashley's theory. We sat down to check them, Chris with an atlas
on his lap, looking up latitudinal data, and Robert at his computer, simu-
lating solstice sunrise azimuths at different locations.
The third lozenge up was easy. It corresponded with Orkney - and
William St Clair, who designed and built Rosslyn, was the last Norwegian
Jarl (or Earl) of Orkney.
Niven Sinclair has been kind enough to pass on to us information about
the St Clair links to Orkney from Riksarkivet, the National Archives of
Norway. It says:

Just as the year 1195 marks the subordination of the Northern

Isles to the realms of Norway, the installation of Henry Sinclair as
Earl of Orkney in 1379, at least in Norwegian historiography,
signals the coming transition of Orkney from Norwegian to
Scottish sovereignty in 1468. The Sinclair earls were the last
Norwegian earls, though of Scottish descent, and they contributed
heavily to turning Orkney away from Scandinavia and anchoring
the islands in the politics of northern Scotland.4

This transition of Orcadian sovereignty from Norway to Scotland took

place while Rosslyn chapel was being built.
We guessed that the top lozenge might be Shetland, but quickly found
that these islands are too far south to fit. But then we thought about how
the Sinclair family came to Roslin. The grandfather of Henry 'of the Holy
Shining Light of Ancient Knowledge passed down the Generations' was the
son of Rognvald, Jarl of More.

4 Historisk Tidsskrift: Universities Forlaget, Bind 79, number 2, 2 0 0 0

276
 'Let's try Trondheim,' Robert suggested, i think it's about halfway up
the coast of Norway.'
Chris flicked over the pages of the atlas. 'Yes, here it is. It's tucked away
inside a fjord.' He read out the latitude and longitude and waited for a
response. 'Well? Does it fit?'
'Almost there,' Robert said, 'I've got the two azimuths, just need to work
out the angle.'
Chris looked down at the measurement of the internal angle he had
taken from the photograph and waited for an age. Robert continued to
click a few more keys and shuffle scraps of paper.
'One hundred and forty-eight minus twenty-five, that's one hundred and
twenty-three,' he said. 'How close is it?'
'Spot on!' said Chris. 'It represents Trondheim all right.'
The top lozenge corresponds to the solstice sunrise angles of the ancient
earldom of More, where the male line that made up the St Clair family
originates.
Now, all of this could be coincidence, but it seems far more likely that
someone carved these symbols on the wall of the crypt - using a mega
lithic system of proto-writing - because of the significance of the locations
they describe. Everything about Rosslyn is connected to Jerusalem: its
ground plan is a copy of Herod's Jerusalem Temple; its west wall is copied
from the ruins of that Temple; its builders, the Sinclairs, became involved
with the Knights Templar as soon as they formed in Jerusalem in 11 IS.
Orkney belonged to the St Clair family and Trondheim was the family's
ancient home.
So these are the four locations that were closest to the hearts of the St
Clairs that built Rosslyn. The lozenges represent the locations in a north
to-south sequence:

Trondheim

Orkney

Rosslyn

Jerusalem

It seems that Ashley Cowie had indeed spotted something significant when

277
lie noticed this faint inscription. It's possible that the drawing itself is a
diagram of something the builders planned to create within the stonework
of the main building: something that has not, as yet, been discovered within
this amazingly complex structure.
But we know that not everyone is going to be convinced by Ashley's
observations.
Professor Alexander Thom managed to gain a huge understanding about
the Grooved Ware People by applying statistical techniques to megalithic
structures from Orkney to Brittany. We feel sure that reasonable people
will want to make up their mind on the basis of good-quality information.
We therefore decided to apply the same statistical analysis to the lozenge
thesis as we did to the candidate carving. The calculation is shown in
Appendix 2.
The result is a probability of at least 1:128 against those markings occur-
ring together by chance. The case can never be proven, but it is statisti-
cally sound to assume that the lozenge arrangements are not merely
coincidental. This means that we can reasonably assume the converse, which
is that this set of lozenges could have been designed to represent these four
locations in a Grooved Ware system of notation.
The proof of a good theory is using it to make a prediction that subse-
quently can be shown to be true. Ashley Cowie did not know what the
angles of these lozenges would show, he just thought that they might be
locations based on the technique we have shown was used by Grooved
Ware People. Calculation has proved that he was right to a far greater
extent than he ever imagined.
This discovery caused us to reflect on the Temple to Freyja (the Norse
Venus) that the Jarls of More had built in Trondheim in around 960 CE.
We already knew that this temple faced east and had two pillars at its
entrance. 5 But now the year 960 CE stood out to us. This was a period
equal to 2 x 480 years, which was the same length of time from Jesus'
assumed birth in the year zero, as it was from the laying of the founda-
tion stone of Solomon's Temple to the actual birth-date of Jesus.
At that time Norway was not Christian, so the date could not have been
chosen for any Jesus connotation. Neither was Norway Jewish, so the timing
could not be chosen to honour Solomon or the Shekinah. But the religion
of the Norse did have an astral dimension, inherited from the Grooved
5 Liden, K: 'From Pagan Sanctuary to Christian Church: the Excavation of Maere Church,

Trondelag', Norwegian Arcbeological Review, 2, 2 3 - 3 2 , Oslo, 1969

278
 MIL KLIUIMN vjr MIC JiiLMnnn

Ware People who built the stone circles of Norway. For a new Temple ded-
icated to Freyja, the Norse Goddess who is represented by the planet Venus,
the date of establishment had to be linked to the appearance of the Goddess
in her role as the Bright Morning Star.6

THE SECRET TUNNEL

After the meeting with Ashley was concluded Chris walked around Rosslyn
with his wife Caroline and Niven. No matter how many times we visit this
extraordinary building there is always something new to discover, and this
visit was soon to reveal new knowledge to us. The afternoon Sun was
passed its zenith and their shadows were just beginning to lengthen as the
three of them stood on the lawn to the southeast side of the chapel. They
looked up at the turrets and spires of the medieval stonework, now shrouded
in scaffolding and roofing sheets.
Then Niven began to tell the story of how he and a number of others
had conducted investigations both inside and outside of the building. He
recalled how, back in 1997, they had dug a number of investigative holes.
'It was here that we found the underground passageway that leads from
the chapel under Gardener's Brae to the castle. We had opened up the
tunnel, which was huge . . . we had a CCTV camera on a 32-foot pole,
then Historic Scotland turned up and stopped us going any further.'
We knew that Niven and a number of others had conducted a series of
investigations, but we had never been told any details of what they had
found.
That underground passage must be very deep underground where it
enters the foundation wall of Rosslyn, Chris thought, looking over the
parapet and seeing how steeply the ground fell away into the valley of
Gardener's Brae. He asked Niven for more details about this underground
passage which Niven said 'spanned the considerable distance between the
chapel and castle'.
'Did you find anything else about what's under the chapel?' Chris asked.
Niven continued.
'The steps that go down from the main chapel to the crypt end on a
modern floor, and most visitors assume that that is all there is to it, but
it's not so.' He paused for a moment. 'There's another flight of steep steps

6 Ellis Davidson, HE: The Lost Beliefs of Northern Europe

279
beneath that floor leading in the opposite direction back under the main
building to a vault.'
According to Niven's information it was in this deep and centrally posi-
tioned vault that rituals of initiation with four levels or degrees were once
conducted. He was not clear as to the nature of these initiations, saying
that perhaps they were a secretly surviving strand of the Knights Templar
or a proto-Masonic rite. But maybe these two things are the same at this
point in history when Templarism metamorphosed into Freemasonry.
In Scotland today every Mason undergoes four fundamental degrees. But
English Freemasonry has 'reformed' its ritual and reduced the degrees it
delivers to three.
Niven also described a second staircase that was exposed just inside the
north doorway when a large section of floor was lifted. Beneath the floor
slabs is a six-feet-wide staircase that descends a short distance to a level
below the main floor but above the lower vault. To the north at this level
are the remains of several Sinclair knights laid out on slate slabs. They
were interred wearing full armour. The last person lowered into this family
grave was yet another Sir William Sinclair, the one who was killed at the
battle of Dunbar in 1650 during the Civil War.
Niven described how the tunnel goes from a vault directly underneath
the engrailed cross in the chapel roof. In The Hiram Key we had identi-
fied this boss, at the centre of the cross, as marking the centre of what
would have been the Holy of Holies, containing the Ark of the Covenant,
in Solomon's Temple. The passage continues from the hidden vault to leave
the building directly below the south door just feet from the carving of the
candidate being initiated by means of a ritual that we have shown statis-
tically to be connected to modern Freemasonry.
At this point the passageway is three feet wide and five feet high where
it emerges below the south door. Its roof is eight and a half feet below
ground level. After a straight run of approximately twenty-five feet the pas-
sage turns ninety degrees towards the east and drops down the hillside with
its roof twelve and a half feet below ground level. Parallel to the steps
inside Rosslyn, there is another set of thirteen steps that lead towards the
crypt. The tunnel then continues under the field towards the castle.
This is a fascinating account in its own right. As we discussed it we
could not avoid asking, why would anybody spend such time and expense
constructing an underground staircase to secretly join these two buildings?
One obvious answer might be that in time of siege it would provide an

280
escape or supply route. But there seemed to be more to this than just a
kind of 'super priest-hole' which would have been far more useful for
making an escape had it led to the wooded river valley below the castle.
We sketched the layout of the tunnel and vaults, and as we did so we
realised that we had heard this whole description of hidden chambers and
secret tunnels before. It was in the ritual we used to create The Masonic
Testament, and the story we reconstructed described exactly the same under
ground layout to Solomon's Temple as Niven had told us lay beneath
Rosslyn.
The Fourteenth Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, other
wise known as The Grand, Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason, identifies a
subterranean passageway connecting Solomon's Temple with his palace in
Jerusalem, saying:

. . . King Solomon builded a secret vault, the approach to which

was through eight other vaults, all under ground, and to which a
long and narrow passage led from the palace. The ninth arch or
vault was immediately under the Holy of Holies of the Temple. In
that apartment King Solomon held his private conferences with
King Hiram and Hiram Abif.

The degree then refers to what happened after the city was attacked:

After the city was taken, and the king's palace and the Temple
demolished, some of the Grand Elect Masons bethought themselves
of the Sacred Vault and the inestimable treasure it contained. '
Repairing to the ruins of the Temple at night, they found that the
way which led down to the vault had not been discovered, nor the
slab of marble which covered it disturbed, but upon it they found
the dead body of Galaad, an eminent brother, and Chief of the
Levites. He had been intrusted with the custody of the Sacred Vault
and the care of the lamps that burned continually.

So, according to Masonic ritual there was an all-important chamber under-

neath the Holy Temple which was connected to Solomon's palace. And we
now knew that Rosslyn (the deliberate carbon copy of the last Jerusalem
Temple) also had a passageway connected to the 'palace' or residence of the
'Grand Master'. The relationship between the two is remarkable.

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 i i i i, w w ix v./r i i i rvr\m

Neither Solomon's Temple nor his palace remains even in part. However,
we have explained why we believe that the subsequent temples were on
the current mount and the Holy of Holies was a little distance to the west-
northwest of the Dome of the Rock. It seems sensible to assume that
Solomon would have built his new palace either on or very near the pre-
vious palace of the Canaanite rulers, which must have been within the orig-
inal walls ascribed to King David. So as far as we can reasonably reconstruct
the layout, the relationship between Rosslyn and its associated Sinclair
castle is very similar to that of Solomon's Temple and his palace in terms
of both distance and topology. The archaeological reality at Rosslyn fulfils
the ancient dictates of the myth of Solomon's constructions in Jerusalem.
This does not necessarily mean that the ground plan of Rosslyn is a true
and detailed copy of Solomon's original Temple. It might be so, or more
likely this whole story was constructed around a reality established at
Rosslyn and attributed to Solomon's Jerusalem. Whichever is the case, we
are convinced that the accounts in Masonic ritual of a vault and a con-
necting tunnel beneath Solomon's Temple are directly related to the vault
and tunnel beneath Rosslyn.
This fascinating information, Niven told us, links Rosslyn backwards in
time to Jerusalem and forwards to modern Freemasonry.

:
Niven Sinclair is a wise man who understands Rosslyn at a level few
others do. He has written the following about the motivation of Rosslyn's
architect and builder:

. . . Earl William St. Clair who, knowing that books could be

banned or burned, chiselled out his message in the stone carvings
which adorn every nook and cranny of Rosslyn Chapel. He wanted

ojf
M people to realise that Christianity had been hi-jacked (by Paulines)
and that God and Nature was (is) ONE. He saw every leaf, every
. < l [

& green shoot as a word of God. If there was any blasphemy or

8
heresy it was what Man was doing to the Planet Earth from which
all bounty flows. He thought that far too much attention had been

->
paid to the Father on High and far too little attention to Mother
Earth from which all bounty flows. The duality of God had to be
understood. God wasn't a male deity . . . there are 'green women
in Rosslyn as well as 'green men'.

Where could such outlandish ideas have come from in the early fifteenth

282
century - a time not noted for its liberal approach to religion?
The answer appears to be from Templarism, which itself was a merging
of a Norse Venus tradition with the Jewish priests of the astral Enoch (an
cult of the Shekinah, whose ideas lived on with the remnant who escaped
to Europe. According to Jewish prophetic teaching, the purpose of Israel
is to construct a community of social responsibility, of justice, compassion
and brotherhood.
It is now beyond doubt that Freemasonry began in Rosslyn.
Freemasonry has always been about worshipping the Great Architect of
the Universe in any way that your religion so requires you to do. Its under-
lying principles are clear, even if they are not necessarily embraced or demon
strated even by some of its leaders or magazine editors.
Freemasonry once taught its members:

We must be tolerant of other men's religious views, because alt

religions have much that is true about them, and we must combat
ignorance by education, bigotry by tolerance, and tyranny by
teaching true virtue.

Although we are Freemasons ourselves, we have no agenda to promote or

praise it in any way. Today it is frequently criticised, but Freemasonry's
own description of itself as a journey from darkness towards light seems
appropriate.

THE PROBLEM OF ROSSLYN

We have made the argument that important Jewish scrolls were buried
under the Jerusalem Temple around 68 CE, excavated by the Knights Templar
between 1118 and 1128 CE, and brought to Kilwinning in Scotland in I 140
CE before being re-interred under Rosslyn by Earl William St Clair.
These documents are effectively the most important of the 'Dead Sea
Scrolls' - of which the lesser ones were found at Qumran.
As we have mentioned, when we launched our first book together ai
Rosslyn Chapel one of the trustees publicly announced that the Rosslyn
Chapel Trust would support an excavation if a world-class team of scholars,
including some from Scotland, were to be assembled. For some reason the
Trust was to change its mind.
One year later Niven Sinclair and his colleagues found vaults under

283
Rosslyn and a tunnel leading to the castle. Later in that same year we
arranged for Dr Jack Miller, Head of Studies in geology at Cambridge
University, and Dr Fernando Neaves from the Colorado School of Mines
to conduct non-invasive underground radar scans around the outside of
Rosslyn. But with days to go, permission for the scanning was withdrawn
by the Trustees. They suggested that we might be able to work with them
on future, commercially based scanning, but we would be required to agree
to keep the results secret and even deny that the scans had happened if so
required by the Trust.
We declined these terms on the grounds they were anti-academic. Whether
the discoveries made by Niven and his team led to the sudden change of
heart, or not, we have no way of knowing.
As we said earlier, in 1998 we took more world-class academics to
Rosslyn, including Professor James Charlesworth of Princeton University,
who subsequently submitted a detailed proposal that involved Scottish and
foreign archaeologists. To the best of our knowledge he has received no
reply beyond a non-committal acknowledgement.
We are also concerned at the amount of work obviously being conducted
under Rosslyn, apparently as part of the restoration work, and the wide
trenches dug across Gardener's Brae, to lay fairly modest drain pipes. We
have no reason to doubt that the Trustees have anything but the best inter-
ests of the building at heart - but the building was designed for a purpose
that cannot be ignored. We believe it was constructed to house precious
documents from the second century BCE to 68 CE, which clearly takes in
the all-important period of the arrival of the Christian Messiah. If we really
want to understand the man who claimed to be the messiah, we must exca-
vate Rosslyn.
Like many other professional Dead Sea Scroll scholars, Professor
Charlesworth is convinced that there were other scrolls besides those found
at Qumran, The evidence that they now reside below Rosslyn is irresistible.
The information that we have assembled from the vast array of Masonic
rituals gives us an insight into the mind of the man who last possessed
these documents before he placed them deep below Rosslyn. We know that
our self-set task to uncover where the rituals of Freemasonry came from,
and what they mean, is not yet complete. A proper, and public, investiga-
tion of Rosslyn is still needed.
But when we sat down and reviewed what we had discovered, and com-
pleted some detailed time-lines from the dates and events, a fuller picture

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 I n c i \ c i u IUN i^/r i 11 c o n t M i N A r i

of the meaning of The Masonic Testament and its Temple of Roslin began
to emerge.

CONCLUSIONS

The St Clair family which built Roslin is descended from a marriage between
French noble families and the Norse Jarls of More.
Ashley Cowie, a businessman from Caithness, found a series of lozenge
type symbols in the crypt at Rosslyn, which we decoded to read Jerusalem,
Roslin, Orkney and Trondheim, the main centres of political power for the
St Clair family.
Niven Sinclair shared with us the results of his drilling investigation
beneath Rosslyn, undertaken a year after the publication of The Hiram
Key, and described an underground layout that fits exactly the subterranean
design of Solomon's Temple which we had found in Masonic ritual.

285
 Chapter Thirteen

N E I T H E R HARMLESS
N O R FUN

THE GREAT SECRET OF THE ASTRAL RELIGION

So after many years of research and four books together we have found
the missing link between Judaism and Christianity on the one hand and
the secret Freemasonic tradition on the other. There is a hidden astral
agenda, repressed in mainstream Judaism and Christianity, that has sur-
vived in the Masonic tradition and been reinforced by Norse beliefs in the
power of the Bright Morning Star of Venus.
It is hardly controversial to observe that there was once a widespread
belief that the movement of stars and planetary bodies control our des-
tinies. Whilst modern astrologers have their own practices, Freemasonry
harks back to an ancient form that was based on the astronomical prin-
ciple that Venus is the metronome of the Earth.
We see that this might well have been what had alarmed the Church
about our researches, and it was on one level an extraordinary discovery.
Our research described in Uriel's Machine had encouraged us to believe
that the Freemasonic tradition was to do with the development of real sci-
ence, that it was against superstition, yet now not only Christianity but
also Freemasonry seem to us to be in danger of being reduced to bunkum
- and astrological bunkum at that.
Surely there must be something more to the 6,000-year-old hidden mys-
teries of nature and science than a superstitious belief that a bright star on

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 IN 11 I II t'. K I 1A KM LESS INUK rUIN

the horizon at your moment of birth will ensure good fortune for the rest
of your days?
Our time-line evidence showed that it must have been the Grooved Ware
People who either began the study of the 'Venus effect' or certainly pro
vide the most ancient evidence for this particular form of astronomy. What
advantage could they have gained from this type of astrological belief,
which had been so important that it was passed down the generations to
the Phoenicians/ Jews, the Norse and finally the Freemasons?
It appears that all mainstream scientists today reject the concept of the
movement of heavenly bodies having any effect on human affairs. Writing
in the Sunday Times, Professor Richard Dawkins said this about astrology:

Scientific truth is too beautiful to be sacrificed for the sake of light

entertainment or money . . . If the methods of astrologers were
really shown to be valid it would be a fact of signal importance for
science. Under such circumstances astrology should be taken
seriously indeed. But if - as all indications agree - there is not a
smidgen of validity in any of the things that astrologers so
profitably do, this, too, should be taken seriously and not indulgently
trivialised. We should learn to see the debauching of science for
profit as a crime . . . It isn't as though it would be difficult to find
evidence for astrology, if there were any to be had. A statistical
tendency, however slight, for people's personalities to be predictable
from their birthdays, over and above the expected difference between
winter and summer babies, would be a promising start.

He makes the point that for any hypothesis to be taken seriously by

rational people there has to be at least some attempt to describe a causal
link behind the observed phenomena. By this he means that by now there
should be some kind of observable correlation between the movement of
the stars in the sky, the astronomically predicted outcome, and the fate of
the individuals concerned. Quite simply, there is no evidence at all for any
kind of link.
What is clear from the background research for this book, is that the driving
force behind the successful expansion which spread the ideas of this Stone
Age cult was their discovery of the principles of trade and the division of
labour. These economic ideas created resource surpluses which were used by
astronomer-priests to build great temples in centres of wealth and civilisation.

287
 The knowledge they amassed from long-term observation enabled them
to predict the future; to know when to sow and when to reap; when to
mate animals, when to sail on the tide and when to leave the boats hauled
up the shingle; when there would be long hours of daylight to travel, hunt
and trade, and when darkness would linger late into the morning. But then,
at some time in the distant past, kings began to believe that if the heavens
could predict these otherwise unknowable secrets of nature they could also
give guidance on aspects of their own lives. This was when astronomy and
its wanton daughter, astrology, were born.
So, in our terms, these astronomer-priests practised astrology. They or
their kings wanted their children born when the Goddess was close to the
Great Sun God. They presided over sexual festivals in or around their
temples at the vernal equinox and 'harvested' their children the following
winter solstice. And (like Abraham) some of them were prepared to burn
some of their children alive to show their gratitude to the Most High.
They timed their procreation to the movements of their shining goddess
as she smiled down on their intercourse from the sky. They may have
believed this behaviour was scientific, but to us it is just superstitious non-
sense, iascinating as history - but still nonsense. Their traders sailed into
new areas, established way stations as they travelled, and by doing so car-
ried their religious ideas to new converts. It must have been an easy reli-
gion to gain converts for, since as far as we could see it involved taking
part in sexual orgies and, for the leaders at least, becoming favourites of
the Goddess of the Bright Morning Star and thus destined to be rich and
successful,.
The Sumerians, Egyptians and Phoenicians each took elements of
Grooved Ware science, economics and religion to use themselves. The intel-
lectual principle that drove the invention of the proto-writing of the early
Grooved Ware traders provided the breakthrough accounting system devel-
oped in Mesopotamia and the alphabet-based writing created by the
Canaanites of Phoenicia. Their knowledge and superstitions relating to the
stars and the planets entered many developing cultures from Egypt to
Norway. As we have already discussed, all of these groups built great
temples, aligned to the movements of the heavens, and created enormous
wealth and power.
These three influences - Abraham of Sumer, founding father ot Judaism;
Moses of Egypt, creator of the Holy Law of the One True God; and Hiram
of Tyre, Phoenician king, builder of the Temple of Solomon, and

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 I N I, I | | | IX I I A I M V I L L J J 1 i v y i -v i w I i

and husband to 'Our Lady of Heaven' - all came together to eventually

form the beginning of the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity
and Islam.
These astrological ideas from European Stone-Age religion were the intel-
lectual driving force behind the belief system of the Enochian Jews which
said that great events happened and great leaders (messiahs) were born
when the Shekinah, the visible glory of God's presence, shines just before
the sunrise. And that if the Shekinah fails to appear this is a sign of God
withdrawing His favour.
But the more we thought about it, the more obvious it became that this
ancient cult still survives in odd remnants to this day. Freemasonry and
astrology are two traditions which best preserve the belief that the posi-
tion of the heavenly bodies affects the actions of individuals on Earth. At
first sight these two belief systems are very different, but our research was
showing that each has retained different elements of the 6,000-year-old
ideas of the Grooved Ware priests.
Freemasonry has preserved much of the cult's observational science,
encoded in oral traditions, modes of ritual movement and mythical tales,
but this heritage is fast disappearing as Freemasons desperately try to
modernise their practices and in doing so discard anything in their ritual
which is hard to understand of in mild collision with intolerant Christian
groups. We have found that Freemasons were at the forefront of the
beginning of modern science, at the time of the formation of the Royal
Society of London, but we also knew that the successful scientist-
Freemasons of the seventeenth century had all been fanatical believers
in astrology. 1
Much as we disliked the idea, it was clear that we were going to have
to further investigate astronomy's wayward sibling, astrology. The history
of belief in astrology has been tackled by numerous observers, but where
could we begin to analyse any underlying principle in a subject so entirely
unscientific?
Claims to offer a scientific basis for astrology have been made in the
past, for instance in the well-known series of statistical studies by Dr Michel
Gauquelin. Gauquelin attempted to adopt a similar approach to astrology
as Newton used with gravity. Newton could prove what was happening to
the movements of the planets by analysis of many observations, but he was

1 Lomas, Robert: The Invisible College

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unable to propose a mechanism to explain it. His rules, however, did allow
accurate prediction, and the return of Halley's comet proved the accuracy
of his equations.
Gauquelin's study of astrology has no such predictive outcome; it
merely demonstrates patterns which do not fit the horoscopes of astrology.
The comment that psychologist Hans Eysenck made about the ambiguous
statistical evidence of Michael Gauquelin sums up the response of most
scientists.

Emotionally, I would prefer Gauquelin's results do not hold, hut

rationally, I must accept that they do.2

The problem with the findings is a lack of any plausible causal mechanism
to explain what has been observed. Gauquelin studied the horoscopes of
a number of professions. He looked at actors, scientists, sports champions,
soldiers and writers. He found statistically significant evidence that great
actors tended to be born when Jupiter was rising or had just passed its
zenith; sports champions tend to be born when Mars is rising or has just
passed its zenith, as do soldiers; great scientists when Saturn is rising or
has just passed its zenith; great writers are born to a rising or culminating
Moon.
Gauquelin went to great lengths to try to identify the personality traits
associated with each of these occupations, calling the traits for actors Jupiter
factors; for scientists, Saturn factors; for writers, Moon factors; and for
sports champions and soldiers, Mars factors. He devoted a whole chapter
to discussing the effect of personality on success and character formation.
He struggled with his own evidence which showed that many people shared
the personality traits he identified with his successful individuals, and even
when they worked in the same profession did not have the requisite planets
rising or culminating in their horoscopes. Part of his difficulty stemmed
from trying to define a measure of success. He resorted to categorising his
sports champions as 'weak-willed' and 'strong-willed' champions. The
strong-willed individuals had Mars rising or culminating, the weak-willed
didn't. This approach looks very like a desperate attempt to explain data
that did not fit his expectations.
But what were Gauquelin's expectations? He wanted to either prove or

2 Eysenck, HJ & Nias, DK: Astrology, Science or Supersition?, Maurice Temple Smith, 1982

290
disprove astrology, so he applied the rules and techniques of astrology to
trying to explain his data. He looked for Mars in the horoscope of soldiers
and sports champions, because astrology predicted it would be there; lie
applied the same logic to Saturn, Jupiter and the Moon with respect to
other professions. He did find these planets in the right place for a very
large number of his 'successful' individuals, but they were in totally the
wrong place, in terms of the lore of astrology, when he looked at less 'suc-
cessful' exponents of the same occupation.
These results led Richard Dawkins to comment, in that same Sunday
Times article:

If there is good evidence (i.e. better than the often quoted but non-
robust Gauquelin attempt) that some other kinds of astrology
work, well and good. I have to say that I'd be extremely surprised.

So Dawkins points out that without observational evidence which allows

accurate and verifiable predictions to be made, there is no case for
astrology.
We read the work of Dr Michel Gauquelin, outlined above, and whilst
his statistics look interesting, and his methodology looks accurate, his expla-
nations show why Richard Dawkins is so dismissive of his ideas.
Here is the reason Gauquelin gives to explain some of his findings where
he shows statistical evidence that a higher proportion of actors are born
when Jupiter is rising:

Within its mother's womb, the infant is also isolated from the'
world. Perhaps his brain is already a control center capable of
receiving signals from outer space and relaying the orders
throughout his entire body. Obviously, the procedure underlying
parturition is not a simple one. But the infant is not deaf to the
messages coming from the cosmos and he reacts to them. Nature
has decided that at his birth man is to be entwined in the invisible
network of forces which link the earth and sky.3

On reflection we decided that we agree with Professor Dawkins that this

is not a robust basis for a causal principle of astrological prediction. Sadly,

' Gauquelin, M : Cosmic Influences on Human Behaviour, Aurora Press, 1994

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our research finding of a belief that messiahs and leaders will be born and
important events take place when the Shekinah (a Venus/Mercury con-
junction) is rising just before the Sun has all the hallmarks of the super-
stition Dawkins condemns so succinctly.

IS IT IN O U R STARS?

Scanning through our clippings file we had one of those strokes of good
luck that happen at unexpected moments. In an article taken from the Daily
Mail, we saw the headline: 'Why I Now Believe Astrology Is a Science'.
The piece was written by an old friend of ours, the author and researcher
Colin Wilson (which was the main reason we had kept the clipping). Colin's
article was about an anonymous woman donor who was funding a new
Professorial Chair in Astrology at an unnamed British university.
Knowing that astrology had once been a respectable university subject,
but had ceased to be so after Newton's discovery of the law of gravity, we
were intrigued by Colin Wilson's report that there was a serious interest
in reviving it as an academic subject. He had ended his article with these
words:

The woman behind the 500,000 donation has no reason to feel

ashamed of wanting to reintroduce astrology as a university sub-
ject, even though it has been dismissed by the universities for more
than three centuries. I can assure her that while we still do not
know quite why it works, it undoubtedly does.4

With our new-found curiosity about the background to astrological belief

we now took a far greater interest in what had prompted Colin to say this
about his own experiences with astrology. His article continued:

I decided then that I ought to study astrology* more closely, but

never seemed to find the time. Then a Sunday newspaper asked me
if I would write an astrology column and I decided this was the
opportunity I had been waiting for . . . and rather dubiously
launched myself on a career as an astrological journalist.

4 Wilson, Colin: 'Why I Now Believe Astrology Is a Science', Daily Mail, Thursday 22 March,
2001

292
 It proved harder work than I had expected. There can he no guess-
work involved. The position of all the planets had to he worked
out, together with their aspects (oppositions, conjunctions, etc) and
this took days.

But gradually I began to get a feeling for horoscopes. And this was
confirmed when I received a letter from a woman whose son had
committed suicide, enclosing the exact time and place of his birth. I
spent a day casting his horoscope, and as I did so, the hairs on the
back of my neck began to rise.

What was emerging was a personality - his enthusiasms, his hopes

and his doubts about his future. It was these doubts that had led
to his suicide. I sent the horoscope to his mother and she replied
that the description of her son had shocked her with its accuracy \s

After reading this Robert just had to phone Colin and ask him if he
really accepted any sort of scientific basis for astrology. Colin was very
helpful and quite happy to chat about astrology. He explained that he had
initially been extremely sceptical about the claims of astrology before he
studied the subject, which he did in order to write an astrological column
for the Observer newspaper. Whilst writing that regular column and reading
the letters he got from his readers he became convinced that there was
something real at the root of the subject.
When we pressed him what that 'something' might be, he admitted that
he really did not know. His belief was based on the logical observation
that the insights he gained from astrological methods were accurate far
more often than he could reasonably expect by chance. About one thing,
however, Colin was quite clear.
'What influences human beings is not the stars but the positions of the
planets,' he said.
'But do you think it is a subject which is worth studying at university
degree level?' we asked him.
'Well,' he replied. 'Some universities offer courses in subjects that make
astrology sound dull and old-fashioned. You know Robert, your old uni
versity, Salford, today offers Business Economics and Gambling, De

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Montfort University offers a degree in Golf Course Studies, you can read
for a BSc in Horse Studies at Nottingham, Kent has a course on the Theory
and Practice of Stand-Up Comedy. The University of Plymouth, where my
good friend Dr Percy Seymour works [an astronomer who also believes
there is something real in astrology], can offer you degrees in the Science
of Perfume or Surfing Science and Technology. Among these, astrology
sounds positively conservative,' Colin finished with a chuckle.
Our stunned silence must have persuaded Colin that we weren't yet con-
vinced, as he added a little more detail about that controversial bequest
which had prompted us to phone him.
'Don't forget,' he said, 'the committee in charge of distributing that half
million pounds can hardly be accused of supporting star-gazing weirdos,
since some of the money is going to Professor Chris Bagley, of Southampton
University, and he's using it to fund a group whose main aim is to prove
that astrology is bunk.'
We quoted Professor Richard Dawkins to Colin, reminding him of the
statement: 'Astrology is neither harmless nor fun, and we should see it as
an enemy of truth.'
Colin, however, remained convinced that there is a link, however hard
to explain, between the personalities and actions of people and the posi-
tions of the planets. We told him of our findings, and how disturbed we
were that Freemasonry seemed to be largely preserving ancient astrological
mumbo-jumbo in its rituals.
'My advice is not to dismiss astrology out of hand,' he said. 'I know it
works, but I can only offer you anecdotal evidence and you seem to want
more than that. Why not look for your own evidence?'
Robert's conversation with Colin Wilson persuaded us that he is totally
sincere in his belief that there is some unknown scientific principle behind
astrological beliefs. If we were to make sense of the secret stream of astral
belief we had found preserved in The Masonic Testament we needed to
know more about early astrology.

A STAR-STREWN HISTORY

In 150 BCE a Jewish writer by the name of Eupolemus wrote his account
of the history of his people.6 Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Geza Vermes, who

6 Black, M &c Rowley, HH (ed): Peake's Commentary on the Bible

294
translated a number of astrological texts found among the Qumran scrolls,
drew attention to a claim Eupolemus made about Abraham, who the Bible
assures us came from the city of Ur of the Chaldees (in the land of Sumer):

For if many Jews frowned on astrology, others, such as the

Hellenistic Jewish writer Eupolemus, credited its invention to
Abraham7

So around the time that the Essene community was established early in
the second century BCE, there was a popular tradition that Abraham had
been involved in the practice of astrology before he went to Egypt. This
could only have been based on Sumerian traditions. The question we needed
to return to was, what did the Sumerians believe about astral events, par-
ticularly at dawn?
We decided to look more closely at the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Tablet X X I of the epic describes how Zisudra, who survived the great
flood with which the gods destroyed mankind, tells Gilgamesh the 'secret
of the gods'. He describes how as he is building his Ark, on the instruc-
m
tions of Enki (the chief god), he is given a sign as 'ow the horizon there
appeared the first intimations of dawn', but at this point in the story he
does not say what it is. 8

He then describes how as the great flood begins he again watches the
place where the Sun is about to rise, but a black cloud covers the horizon
and lie cannot see Ishtar, Goddess of Love, who he hears pleading for liim
in the council of gods. He continues each day to look eastwards just before
dawn until the flood subsides, and then he describes how Ishtar, the Lady
of the Gods (the planet Venus), arrives:

She lifted up the magnificent jewel which Anu the Great God /the
Sun] had made according to her desire.9

This appeared to us to be a description of the bright planet Venus rising just

before the Sun close to another smaller bright planet, possibly Mercury. Exactly
how Venus rises when it shines into the slot above the door at Newgrange.
The theme of the importance of observing the sunrise recurs in Tablet

7 Vermes, G: Scripture and Tradition in Judaism, Penguin, 1973

* Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Century,
1991
9 Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

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I I I I. UWV/I\ U l I I I t\AIVI

IX, where we are told of Gilgamesh that 'He rose just before the Sun,' and
by doing this is enabled to see a garden of bejewelled shrubs. And in Tablet
VIII there is again a recurrent chorus which says: 'OH the horizon, there
appeared / the first intimations of dawn' (a familiar phrase from Tablet
XXI). Robert Temple comments on it:

These two lines are repeated at intervals throughout this tablet.

Their inclusion is neither accidental nor for poetic purposes but
rather reflects the obsession of the Babylonian astronomer-priests
with what are known as 'helical risings' of key stars and planets.
A helical rising takes place when a star or planet rises over the
horizon at the same moment as the 'first intimations of dawn'.10

Tablet III has more information, when Gilgamesh makes a speech to the
people of his city of Uruk saying:

The men of Uruk know, there I will be strong, I travel the wheel-
rim . . . I will enter the city gate of Uruk, I will turn towards . . .,
and the Akitu Festival. I will celebrate the Akitu Festival. The
Akitu Festival shall be arranged and joyful singing shall be heard.11

In a footnote, Robert Temple identifies the Akitu Festival as a New Year

celebration, held at the time of the vernal equinox. The 'wheel-rim' that
Gilgamesh refers to is the path of the zodiac, and he seems to be describing
how he will move along this roadway of the gods. Later in his journey he
meets with Ishtar (Venus), who asks him to become her lover, but he refuses
saying she is not constant. 'In the cold seasons you will surely fail me,' he
says, going on to list her lovers and to recount how they die in the autumn
and are reborn in the spring. Here the mythmaker is trying to explain why
some zodiacal constellations can only be seen in the summer months, and
as the Sun moves south in winter these stars disappear from the sky. The
tilt of the ecliptic and the movement of the Earth around the Sun were not
known then, so stories of lovers who die and are reborn were substituted.
When Ishtar hears this list of her evil deeds she goes to Anu, god of the
firmament, who gives her the halter rope of the great bull of the heavens
which she leads to the city of Uruk:

10 Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

11 Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

296
 With a snort of the Bull of Heaven, pits were opened and a hundred
young men of Uruk fell into them, with his second snort, pits were
opened and two hundred young men of Uruk fell into them. With
his third snort, pits were opened and Enkidu fell into them.12

This s e e m s to be describing a helical rising of Venus in the constellation of

Taurus the Bull. As the bright star of the Goddess rose before the Sun, then
at the time this myth was written the planet would appear to be leading
the constellation of the Bull. Robert Temple states in his commentary that
'The Babylonians were well aware of this phenomenon', the precession of
the equinoxes, whereby the Sun appears to rise in a different section of the
sky every 2,000 years, although they did not use the same zodiac constel-
lations as we do today. He also points out that they would have been aware
that the Sun, and pre-dawn Venus, rose in the group of stars we now call
Taurus between the years 4000 and 2000 BCE. 1 3

The heroes defeat the Bull of Heaven and then Anu, the god of the fir-
,mament, calls together his council of Gods to decide what to do. This motif
of God's Council we recognised from the first chapter of The Masonic
Testament, where Clod consults with the members of this council, who are
fhe stars'of the heavens,, before deciding to make Adam. I ^ liH^I
Tablet IX again describes Gilgamesh watching the sky before the rising
of the Sun. 'He knows the moment of rising is near' and as 'the day grows
bright' he once more sees an array of bejewelled shrubs. The atmospheric
flickering caused by the thickness of the air layer when viewing celestial
objects near the horizon is described: ' T h e splendour of their scintillation
disturbs the mountains which keep watch over the rising and the setting
of the Sun God.'
At this point a reference to the nature of Gilgamesh's birth is made that
has echoes in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which say of the messiah that'his sbirif
consists of eight parts in the House of Light of the second column and one.
in the House of Darkness. And this is his birthday on which he is to be
born.'14 Gilgamesh is described as 'two-thirds god, one third man'. Robert
Temple comments that this statement is significant in the Sumerian sexa-
gesimal-based mathematics in that it links Gilgamesh with the number forty,
which is two-thirds of the basic 60 units used to measure minutes and

12 Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh

11 Temple, R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Vermes, G: The Dead Sea Scrolls in English

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seconds. The number forty we already knew is closely linked with the
orbital periods of the planet Venus. Temple goes on to say: 'Other aspects
of the theme of two thirds relate to the planet Mercury, with whom
Gilgamesh is associated.' Of the twelve degrees of the zodiac, Mercury
wanders across eight degrees, or two-thirds of the zodiacal pathway.
But we needed to know more about the obsession of the Assyrian and
Babylonian astronomers with helical risings, and the place we went to look
was in the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities in the British Museum.
There are stored some baked clay tablets, dated around 1500 BCE, known
as the Venus tablets of Ammizaduga. The tablets themselves look a little
battered, having been dropped or somehow cracked more than once in
their long history. They are roughly rectangular, and tightly covered with
closely impressed lines of cuneiform script.
When the text was decoded it was discovered that these tablets are a
list of the morning and evening appearances of Venus over a twenty-one-
year period, and the tablets show how the movements of the planet are
interpreted as a means of divining the intentions of the Goddess. It con-
tains important information such as the comment that 'when Venus stands
high, love making will be pleasurablealways a useful thing to know, we
thought.
But these Venus tablets are not the earliest evidence we could find for
astral religion in the Mesopotamian region. In the Louvre there is a stela,
dated circa 2100 BCE, from the reign of Naram-Sin which shows this king
as a victorious leader, standing looking out towards a horizon where the
Moon and Venus are rising just before the Sun.
Historian Peter Whitfield said about the beginnings of Sumerian
astrology.

There was thus in Mesopotamian thought an intimate connection

between the divine realm [the heavens] and the realm of nature and
man. Moreover there existed a received wisdom, a set of skills, a
science, by which this connection might be understood and that
science was the province of the 'ummanu'. But the ummanu were
at this stage exclusively royal counsellors, neither their special wisdom
nor the events they studied were of concern to the population at
large, but only to the king. The omens concerned his conduct, his
family, his enemies, his kingdom, bis harvests and so on. There is
here undoubtedly the seed of the doctrine that the microcosm and

298
 the macrocosm are linked hut that link was limited and concentrated
in the person of the king.15

Whitfield explains that the Sumerian ideas about astral kingship and the
study of omens came from a tradition, explained in a document found in
the library of Ashurbanipal, which said that these skills were learned from
a group of divine teachers who lived on the Earth in ancient times and
taught science, philosophy and law to men.16 He also speculates that the
tradition of interpreting omens was empirical, and that at some time in the
past, relationships had been noted and a causal link assumed. At first this
was applied just to the fortunes of the king and his kingdom.
So the basis of astrology appears to be that the priests made careful
observations and recorded what they saw in the heavens. They then looked
for significant events that coincided with the appearances in the sky before
going on to make the unwarranted assumption that the stars and planets
had actually caused those events. The power of prophecy would then rest
, in predicting when similar astronomical patterns would be found. When
the astral event was seen, the priest could advise for and against various
actions dependent on the outcome the last time the pattern was seen.
Dr Whitfield quotes a horoscope from the time of Ashurbanipal saying:

When on the fifth of the mohth of Nissan, the rising Sun appears
like a red torch, white clouds rise from it and the wind blows from
the east, then there will be a solar eclipse on the 28"' or 29"' day of
that month; the king will die that very month, and his son ascend
to the throne. 17

He explains how dummy kings were sometimes enthroned for dangerous

periods to avoid the effects of bad omens.
The Baylonian year began with the ancient Akitu Festival, at the time
of the new moon after the Vernal Equinox, 18 the time we still celebrate as
Easter. The Babylonian names for the Sun, the Moon and Venus were,
Shamash, Sin and Ishtar, and these were the three heavenly bodies that
most interested the Sumerian astronomers, particularly when they all rose
close together. The more we looked at the beginnings of astrology the more

Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History, The British Library, 2001

16 Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History
" Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History
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it seemed to share the same roots as the Phoenician, Jewish and Freemasonic
beliefs. And more to the point, it was not looking as if there was any
scientific basis to it at all, beyond a need to develop basic techniques of
astronomy to predict the appearance of the 'gods'.
By 1000 BCE Mesopotamian astronomers developed a star-based cal-
endar which defined the seasons of the year in terms of the pre-dawn risings
of the three brightest stars in the sky at that season. These tablets show
an intense interest in the objects which rise just before the Sun. The clay
plates, which can also be seen in the British Museum, are circular and
divided into twelve segments by means of lines which look rather like cake
slices. Each twelfth represents a month of the year, and within its segment
are inscribed the details of the helically rising stars. The purpose of these
'Three Stars Each' tablets was to enable the astrologers to warn the king
of impending bad fortune.
As we have mentioned, a crude form of zodiac was in use as early as
2 0 0 0 BCE in Mesopotamia, but it wasn't until the Jewish king Zerubbabel
was building the Second Temple in Jerusalem, mid-first century BCE, that
the same people (now referred to as Babylonians) developed the zodiac into
a form we would recognise today." This was a major step forward because
it provided a reference scale where the position of either the Sun or any of
the bright planets could be described.
The zodiac is a band of shapes in the sky, formed by very distant fixed
stars, which today we call constellations. In order from our modern names
of Aries to Pisces, the Babylonians gave the shapes the names Luhunga, Mul,
Mas, Kusu, Ura, Absin, Zibanitu, Girtab, Pa, Suhur, Gu and Zib. 20 Each con-
stellation marks a segment of sky, but not all of the star shapes are equally
big, and to compensate for this difference in size the Babylonian astrologers
also invented the concept of zodiac signs. In today's system each sign is exactly
30 degrees wide, no matter how much sky its marker constellation occupies.
The Babylonians used this system from about 4 0 0 BCE down to 100 BCE,
but they never took account of the problem of precession (a slight wobble
in the axis of rotation of the Earth which makes the sunrise at the vernal
equinox appear to move one degree every 72 years, as viewed against the
backdrop of the zodiac constellations). When they first set up their cal-
endar the vernal equinox of the Sun was in Luhunga; now it has moved
on one sign to Zib.
19 Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History
20 Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History

300
 This oversight has survived into modern-day astrology and it means that
the star signs you read in the papers don't agree with the zodiacal con-
stellations which appear in the sky above you. This would seem to be a
major problem if you are using the stars in the sky above to predict what
is going to happen down on Earth. But it seems most astrologers don't
actually look at the sky, and so this mismatch, between star signs used in
horoscopes and the real stars above our heads, tends to be glossed over by
astrology textbooks. This definition shows how the issue is fudged:

The astrological hirth chart is a map of the zodiac and the planets
set up for the time and place of birth of the individual to whom it
refers. The zodiac is a belt in the heavens extending about eight
degrees on each side of the path followed by the sun and con-
taining the path of the planets. It is divided into 12 equal sectors
known as the signs. Each sign therefore measures 30 degrees and is
named after one of the constellations. The signs and constellations
do not coincide, though they slightly overlap. 21

More advanced astrological texts try to address this point of the differ
ence between star-sign dates and the stars in the evening sky. But we were
interested to note that these more aware astrologers seem to be claiming
that it is the sidereal position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun that
really matters, not the backdrop of stars. That certainly tied in with every
thing we knew about the timing of festivals at the vernal equinox.
Commenting on the problem of precession, astrologer Robert Parry said:

White acutely aware of the distinction, almost all astrologers from

the time of Ptolemy in the 2"d century AD have chosen to employ
the zodiac based on the moving equinoctial points, the tropical
zodiac, as it is called, rather than on the constellations 22

What he seems to be saying is that many astrologers simply rehash what

is written down in hoary old textbooks on astrology, rather than trying to
explain what they really think is happening.
We also found that Peter Whitfield shared our view that astral cycles
were observed over time, as were various outcomes, and the result was the

21 Anderton, Bill: Life Cycles, Quantum, 1990

22 Parry, Robert: Astrology's Complete Book of Self-Defence, Quantum, 1990

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creation of a supposed link between what happened in the sky and human
outcomes down on Earth:

If schemes of lucky and unlucky days were added to an obser-

vation of celestial omens on the same day, then a movement is
started which is moving unmistakably in the direction of personal
astrology. That this movement did occur around 400 BC [in
Mesopotamia], linking the influence of the planets with the idea of
lucky and unlucky days, is certain from the survival of the first
cuneiform horoscopes. In these tablets, positions of planets are
given with the Zodiac signs, and interpretations about the future
life of the child are sometimes drawn out.23

It was during this period of astrological proliferation and the extension

of the idea of an astral destiny to private individuals, apart from the king,
that the name Chaldean (meaning Sumerian, Babylonian or Mesopotamian)
became a synonym for fortune-teller or astrologer in the Bible. The main
contribution the Chaldeans made to science was in the fields of arithmetic
and observational astronomy, seemingly done in the interests of fortune-
telling. Professor Richard Dawkins would certainly not have approved of
their motives.
But these would-be fortune-tellers were the first observers to write down
the results of astronomical observations in any language that we can still
read. Writing, as we mentioned in Uriel's Machine, greatly increases the
rate of innovation in a society, as it makes it far simpler to share infor-
mation between a large number of people, and even between people of
different generations, without the time-consuming chore of verbal rote
learning. As we stood in front of the Venus tablets in the British Museum
we felt very close to the astrologer-priests who collected all that dense
mass of data over so many years. We knew that the Chaldeans were com-
pulsive list-makers - they made lists of everything: astral events, medical
symptoms, materials, weather patterns, political outcomes - but only when
we saw the pains that went into the creation of one of these stone-hard
lists did we really begin to understand just how much effort it must have
taken. Peter Whitfield describes the peak of Chaldean astrology:

23 Whitfield, I': Astrology, a History

302
 The entire heavens became a tapestry upon which complex patterns
of celestial meaning were constantly being woven, and which the
maturing skill of the astrologer attempted to interpret. And the
crucial change was that these celestial patterns affected everybody -
they were no longer tied to the king and his court. The charting of
celestial positions, and the ability to draw out their meaning
required special astronomical and divinatory skills, and it clearly
implies the existence of a set of systematic beliefs about the power
of the heavens over human life. This proto-astrology therefore
combined aspects of exact science with religious or philosophical
principles.14

But it was other civilisations which profited from this groundwork. Soon
after this peak Babylon was invaded, first by Cyrus the Persian in 539 BCE
and later by the Greeks under Alexander. The use of cuneiform writing
declined, and by 100 BCE cuneiform was used only for recording religious
, and astrological texts. Soon after this time the Chaldeans faded into memory.
I heir great cities were covered by drifting sand and their baked-clay libraries
lost and forgotten until the twentieth century, when European archaeolo-
gists dug them out of the high tells of the Mesopotamian desert.
The Achaemenid empire of the Persians encompassed Egypt, where
Ptolemy developed the Chaldeans' ideas about linked lists into definitive
cause and effect. This is what he had to say about the way the stars affect
human life in his book Tetrabiblos:

A very few considerations would make it apparent to all that a,

certain power emanating from the eternal ethereal substance is
dispersed through and permeates the whole region about the earth,
which throughout is subject to change, since the primary sublunar
elements, fire and air, are encompassed and changed by the motions
of the ether.25

It sounds very like Michel Gauquelin's description, that we mentioned

earlier, of the way the stars control a baby's time of birth by sending 'cosmic
messages'. Interesting yes, scientific no. And we couldn't help being dis-
turbed by the fact that some modern astrologers, publishing books within

1A Whitfield, P: Astrology, a History

il; Kitson, A (ed.): History and Astrology, Mandala, 1989

303
the last few years, still cite Ptolemy as a valuable source of astrological
wisdom. Perhaps Ptolemy's thinking influenced Dr Gauquelin's ideas. Then
as we looked more closely at the Greek development of astrology we began
to realise why. The ancient Greeks developed modern astrology, and it
hasn't changed much at all since.
The Greeks fused ideas from Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt and Palestine.
We already knew about the influence of Greek ideas in the writing down
of the New Testament, but they also established astrology. Greek astrology
developed away from its Chaldean roots, as a means of predicting the
destiny of the kingdom, and became the personal fortune-telling tool it
is today.
But where did this leave our quest for understanding? Was the pattern
of the Shekinah, which we had found in The Masonic Testament, early
observational science? Or was it just the beginnings of the ornate system
of gimcrack fortune-telling the Greeks later systematised? One thing we
were unsure about was if there was anything real to find or not. Colin
Wilson had assured us that he thought there was, but so far we had not
discovered anything to convince us that any practical science underlay
astrology. Astrology seemed to have preserved all the superstitions and emo-
tional appeal of this ancient astral cult, but did not appear to have much
original science. Then we found a recent statistical study which made us
think again.

LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

In 1994 the film-maker and photographer Gunter Sachs decided to under-

take a statistical and mathematical investigation into the claims of astrology,
an empirical approach such as we imagine the ancients had taken. He is
not an astrologer, nor are any of his collaborators. In fact they admit that
when they began their study, motivated purely by curiosity, none of them
'knew much about astrology'. But they did draw up a series of guidelines
which they then followed very carefully. We will quote their terms of
reference in full, as we found the results of their work to be extremely
important.
Their seven main aims were:

2 To examine by means of a broadly structured scientific study the

possible effect of star signs on human behaviour;

304
 2 Not to try to prove that there is such a thing as astrology above and
beyond mythology, but to investigate whether it exists, allowing for an
open result;

{ To publish their study even if it failed to prove the existence of non-

mythological astrology. That would also be of interest;

4 To base their research exclusively on empirical data and not to inter-

view any astrologers;

5 To examine and explain scientifically any factors which might distort

their statistical results; '

6 To indicate as significant any noticeable deviations from expected results

which could not be explained as pure chance;

' 7 To have their calculations and their results checked by a suitable neu-
tral authority such as a university.16

They worked with an extremely prestigious European Research Institute,

which acted as their independent adjudicator, the Institute fur Demoskopie,
at Allenshach, and used Dr Rita Kunstler, a statistician from the Institute
of Statistics at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, to advise on sta-
tistical methodology, and their results are as fascinating as they are unex-
pected.
They took their raw data from public authorities, insurance companies
and market research surveys. They collected a vast database about the birth
dates of criminals, traffic offenders, marriages and divorces, sick people,
suicides and much more. The data-protection rules prevented them identi-
fying individuals, but they were able to obtain dates of birth linked to out-
comes. When they had the raw data Sachs's team set about analysing it
and publishing the results. He was amazed at the level of hostility he met.

It was as though I had opened the flood gates. I was engulfed by

torrents of abuse and insults. 'Stick to what you're best at, playboy
- chasing good-looking women!' I never imagined what academics

ih Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File, Orion, 1997

305
 could come up ivith. Time and again they accused me of getting
my terminology confused. / studied mathematics at university in
French-speaking Switzerland. The fact that the sums were right did
not seem to interest my correspondents.

When I published a second article about our survey of 350,000

marriages, people wrote to me by the hundred. Our calculations
were incorrect, they claimed, since so many marriages between two
star signs were classic cases of self-fulfilling prophecies. Men and
women who believe in astrology go to marriage bureaux with the
firm intention of finding an Aries partner, or scan the personal ads
in search of a Libra lady. Maybe. But none of these smart alecs
could say how many such cases there were. We examine this
phenomenon in our chapter on marriage. Hopefully, nobody will
accuse us of making self-fulfilling prophecies of suicide, which we
also researched. Surely no one could suggest that there are such
people as suicide counsellors?27

When we read this comment we did begin to wonder if this hostile

response is a general rule for anybody who tries to look at any sort of non-
standard interpretation. We certainly have also experienced criticism from
the establishment for coming up with unwanted conclusions, and testable
evidence is not admissible for these people if you have not found it by
means they define as conventional.
Sachs's study used very large samples, and when he carried out signif-
icance tests the Institute of Statistics at Ludwig-Maximilian University,
Munich, verified his method. One thing was very clear: he carried out his
tests in an unbiased manner and went to great trouble to eliminate sys-
tematic sampling bias. Sachs started by looking at publishers' sales of
astrological star-sign books and compared the sales figures with the pro-
portion of individuals born under those signs in particular sales areas. He
found statistically significant differences in ten out the twelve star signs,
a result that would occur by chance only once in every ten million trials.
(This level of significance is way beyond the 1 chance in 99 used for most
workaday statistical tests, such as engineering quality control.) He based
his data on a sample of 313,368 sales of star-sign books over the period
from 1991 to 1994. If you are interested in which signs are more sus-
27 Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File

306
ecptible to the charms of astrology then read Sachs's book. We are only
interested in the fact that he found statistically significant differences in
behaviour.
Sachs next looked at ten different areas of life where he could obtain
data. When we are not collaborating in our historical investigations we are
both research professionals, and we cannot quarrel with his methods or
his analysis. Here is a summary of his main findings.

1 Who marries whom? He took a sample of 717,226 married people and

looked at their star-sign matches to see if they fulfilled astrological expec-
lations. His null hupothesis (the expected result) assumed that the matches
would be randomly distributed between star signs. They were not. He iden-
tified 144 possible star-sign combinations and in these he found 25 pair-
ings that deviated significantly from the expectations of chance. When he
checked the probability of this result occurring by coincidence the odds
were 1 to 50,000 against. This means that it is 49,999 times more likely
' to be due to some unknown factor than it is to mere chance.

2 Who divorces whom? The sample size for this test was 109,030 couples.
The method used was the same as that used to test marriages. Once more,
of the 144 possible combinations he found 25 significant deviations, but
this time there was a much lower level of significance. Once in every 26
tests the result could be expected to occur by pure chance. This was not
.it a level that made it statistically meaningful.

1 Who is single? This test was based on census data from 1990 covering
i he entire population of Switzerland, 4,045,170 people. This gave a sample
size of 2,731,766 people in the chosen age range. For this test he only
looked at people of marriageable age, which he defined as between 18 and
40. He found that certain star signs are more prepared to commit to mar-
riage than others. The seven significant deviations from random behaviour
were statistically significant at a level of 1 in 10,000. This shows that there
is a definite behaviour pattern within this sample.

'I Who studies what? For this test the data came from the Universities
I lea ring House and covered 231,026 applicants for ten restricted entry
courses. The null hypothesis was that the star signs would be randomly
distributed across the range of disciplines. There were 120 possible star

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I I I L. l ) U U I \ y j I l I 1 IV/A1VI

sign/degree course combinations and he found 27 significant deviations

from chance. The odds on obtaining this result by coincidence were 1 to
10,000,000. This result is nothing less than monumental. People have been
condemned to death on the basis of DNA evidence with a lower statistical
significance than this.

5 Who does what job? The sample was taken from the 1990 Swiss census
of 4,045,170 entries and 47 categories of occupation. This gave 564 pos-
sible combinations of job and star sign. Sachs found 77 significant varia-
tions at odds of 1 to 10,000,000 against it being coincidence. Again, only
a fool would deny he had a correlation here.

6 Who dies of what? This test was conducted on all registered deaths in
Switzerland between 1969 and 1994, a sample size of 1,195,174. To make
the test meaningful, only deaths from natural causes were tested, with vio-
lent and accidental deaths excluded from the study. This reduced the sample
to 657,492 individuals. The 240 possible death/star sign combinations
revealed 5 significant deviations from chance, at a significance level of 1
to 270. This result seems modest compared to some of Sachs's results, but
it is still of statistical interest.

7 Who commits suicide? From the above death register Sachs was able to
extract a sample of 30,358 people who committed suicide. He found five
significant deviations from chance expectations of star-sign distributions,
with a likelihood of the result being coincidence of only 1 in 1,000.

8 Who drives how? The sample was taken from the British car insurers'
VELO database and covered 25,000 claims made during 1996. Once more
Sachs found significant deviations for four star signs at a significance level
of 1 to 10,000,000. He also took a sample of 85,598 Swiss traffic offenders
from the Swiss Central Crime Register and again found the same four star
signs showing statistically significant deviation from chance at odds of 1
to 5,000 that it was coincidence.

9 Who commits what crimes? The sample was 325,866 convictions for
25 different type of offence. The data came from the Swiss Central Criminal
Records Office. The test combinations were 300 possible crime/star sign
matches. Six of these combinations were found to vary from the expected

308
level and were statistically significant at odds of 1 to 10,000,000 against
coincidence.

10 Who plays football? From a sample of 4,162 professional footballers

in Germany Sachs found nine star signs deviating significantly from the
expected chance value. The odds on this being coincidence are 1 to
10,000,000
Having completed these startling statistical tests Sachs then asked his
statistician advisers to carry out an extremely logical data check. The pre-
vious data sets were scrambled and the dates arranged into twelve artifi-
cial star signs before repeating the tests. In simple terms he used a random
number generator to group the 365 days of the year into twelve completely
arbitrary blocks. Here is his own description of the process.

The statisticians were able to mix the data at random and create
artificial star signs in the same order with the year but provided
these with artificial (ie false) birth dates. In this way an artificial
year resulted beginning with 6 April, for example, followed by 11
Nov etc.

If the astrologers' statements about the effects of star signs were

invalid there would be significant findings here too. However, there
were no significant correlations between the artificial signs. *
2

Sachs summed up his work as follows:

The main purpose of our study was not to produce interesting

individual results - these were, in fact, no more than entertaining
by-products of our project. Rather, the declared aim of our research
was to establish whether there was a correlation between star signs
and human behaviour and predispositions.

We have proved it - there is a correlation 29

In our lives outside of our collaboration to investigate the ancient mys-

teries of Freemasonry we both work every day with research issues. Robert

2H Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File

Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File

309
teaches statistics and information systems to postgraduate students and
Chris is a member of the leading market research professional bodies. We
can appreciate the magnitude of what Sachs has detected here, although
we would interpret his conclusions slightly more cautiously, saying that this
study shows that a mapping between astrological birth signs and variations
in behaviour cannot reasonably be rejected. What Sachs proved was the
significance of his correlation, not that astrology works. Despite some excel-
lent work he could not satisfy the criteria for acceptance that Professor
Stephen Hawking put forward:

The real reason most scientists don't believe in astrology is not

scientific evidence or the lack of it but because it is not consistent
with other theories which have been tested by experiment.30

Perhaps this is why the study is largely ignored by both the scientific and
astrological communities. The scientific community is entrenched against it
because they see it as conflicting with other theories, and the astrological
enthusiasts doubt it because its findings do not confirm what they want to
believe. It seems very few people are looking at the facts in a neutral manner.
But here was our first evidence that there might be a real observational
science behind the astral lore of the ancient Jews and The Masonic
Testament, even though the data did not seem to relate directly to anything
we had been researching.
We had proposed a word for an astral science we suspected might exist,
'cosmocology', which broadly means the study of heavenly events at dawn.
But all our research so far had suggested that it might be nothing more
than superstitious nonsense and pretty myth concocted around the appear-
ance of rare astral events. Our scepticism had now been shaken by Sachs's
findings that there are patterns in human behaviour that can be detected
using an astrological sorting filter.
Here was our first external supporting evidence to encourage us to see
if there was some ancient science to find hidden in the myths and ritual of
Freemasonry, but we were still a long way away from believing the claims
that successful leaders were born when the Shekinah appeared as a pre-
dawn shining light. There were no data banks to test the periods we were
interested in, so we would need to look for some other supporting evidence
if there was a case to be made. The task looked impossible.
30 Hawking, Stephen: The Universe in a Nutshell, Transworld, London, 2001

310
 IN I I I I 1 I' IV I 1 t \ IVIVL L T J J IN V Y IV I UL N

CONCLUSIONS

Our research was leading us to the conclusion that Freemasonry might he

nothing more than a receptacle for astrological mumbo-jumbo. Our pre-
vious research had suggested that there might be a secret tradition of basic
observational science leading back to ancient times, but our most recent
findings forced us to ask if this was merely astrological pseudo-science.
After consulting writer and researcher Colin Wilson, we were prompted
to look at the development of astrology and the possibility that it might
be an accurate fortune-telling tool. We found that it seemed to share exactly
(lie same roots as the Jewish Messianic belief and the Freemasonic tradi-
tion. We did not find any secret thread of early science.
Then we came across Gunter Sachs's wide-ranging statistical investiga
tion of astrological signs and behaviour patterns. He showed a significant
statistical correlation between star sign and behaviour but offered no reason
why this should be. We then set ourselves the task: if there is a statistically
, significant pattern of change in the behaviour of large groups of people
according to the season of the years they were born, can we find evidence
to show what this could mean in terms of effects on society?

311
 Chapter Fourteen

T H E STAR A C H I E V E R S

LEARNING AND STRIVING

After thirteen years of research into the origins and meaning of Masonic
rituals, it appeared that the whole thing was little more than institution-
alised astrology. Yes, Freemasonry had developed out of very ancient
astronomy, and its members had been at the forefront of kick-starting
modern science, but the rituals were apparently driven by a superstitious
belief that planetary conjunctions directly affected the world. Even Jesus
Christ seemed to have conducted his life's mission on this basis, despite the
fact that it ultimately failed him. But then the results of Sachs's investiga-
tions turned things around by demonstrating that there was a very marked
correlation between human behaviour and the date on which the individual
was born.
As we reviewed our situation we began to see a new way forward.
'The movements of the stars and planets may or may not be the cause
in these phenomena, but do you think they might be involved, even if it's
only as a marker?' Chris asked, tapping his wristwatch with his index finger
as he went on: 'When we read the time of day we know our watch is not
actually creating time, but it's a good indicator of how time is passing.
Perhaps in the same way the stars and planets may not cause effects on
human behaviour but they might provide a natural calendar of something
else which does.'
'Yes,' Robert replied. 'There seems no other way these people could have

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 I I J I / \ IV /\\_J I I I L V L IXiJ

developed the ideas we keep finding, except by making observations, then

keeping and comparing lists of outcomes. I think it's pretty unlikely that
I he stars and planets are causing the patterns, but our ancient brethren
probably believed that they did.'
We continued to discuss how thousands of years of observation could
have led to a very good understanding of the heavens, and decided it was
natural that the leaders of men would want the knowledge to work for
t'hem. Priests would identify holy days, kings demand to know when to be
crowned or when their army should march into battle. The power of
the priest and king could affect a whole nation, and the appearance of the
Shekinah would therefore lead to great events such as the building of
Solomon's Temple or a belief that the Messiah of Israel had been born. The
conjunction of Venus and Mercury had not caused these events directly,
but it might have driven powerful men to make them happen.
As we talked through the range of points Robert remembered another
set of interesting research findings. 'The situation we are seeing here reminds
hie of the theory of motivation which underlies the technique of "action
learning" we use at Bradford,' he remarked.
Robert teaches at Bradford School of Management, one of Europe's
leading graduate business schools, where 'action learning' is a technique
for helping postgraduate students acquire and use knowledge in an effi-
cient manner. An important part of the teaching methodology is to iden-
tify each student's preferred means of learning and then try to make sure
that individuals build on their strengths and strengthen their weaknesses.
I'lie success of the technique hinges on identifying and utilising a student's
motivation to learn.
Robert explained: 'The original piece of research work which underpins
this extremely successful way of educating mature students is a study car-
ried out at Harvard University into what motivates people to learn how to
improve their business skills. I need to look up his work in more detail -
but from memory I think it could be very relevant. The basis of the work
was an observation that some cultures and societies are economically
extremely successful and others are not. And the difference lay in the levels
of motivation of the people involved.'
A couple of days later we met again, and Robert pulled out a thick red
paperback with a bold white title.
'Here it is,' he said. 'The definitive work on the subject of motivation:
The Achieving Society, by David C. McClelland.'

313
 'So let's see if it can help us.'
'Over the years behavioural scientists have noticed that some people have
an intense need to achieve; others, perhaps the majority, don't seem to be
as concerned about achievement.' Robert flicked the pages open to the
yellow post-its he had inserted earlier. 'McClelland was fascinated about
the motivation to achieve, or lack of it, in individuals. This book is a dis-
tillation of twenty years of study by top-notch behavioural psychologists
from Harvard University.'
'I assume that McClelland's work has been widely accepted,' Chris said,
suspicious that behavioural psychology is sometimes seen as less than hard-
edged.
'Oh, he's squeaky clean,' Robert replied. 'His work is the ultimate source
in the area of learning motivation and his techniques have become a stan-
dard tool for business psychologists.'
McClelland's book describes how his research led him to believe that
the need to achieve is a distinct human motive that can be distinguished
from other needs. More importantly, the achievement motive can be iso-
lated and assessed in any group. He called the phenomenon n-acbievement,
an abbreviation of his concept of an in-built need to achieve. He went far
beyond the normal bounds of psychology in his quest for understanding,
developing innovative methods of analysis for the achievement levels of a
whole range of societies right from ancient Greece down to the USA in the
first half of the twentieth century.
McClelland was convinced that people's level of n-achievement motiva-
tion could be improved and increased, and he developed training pro-
grammes for business people that were designed to increase their
achievement motivation. But he never quite managed to account for the
levels of inherent n-achievement that he was able to measure in a whole
range of different societies. What was very clear from his work was that
societies went through a cycle of economic growth followed by decline,
and that this cycle was closely related to the level of n-achievement that
he measured in those societies. In his own words:

Suppose we accept, for the sake of the argument, that a part of the
'push' for economic development comes from a psychological char-
acteristic which is roughly reflected in our measures of n-achieve-
ment. What then? Why do some people have more n-achievement
at some times than other people? Is it a question of racial heredity,

314
 challenge from the environment, or perhaps certain economic,
political or social disadvantagesf"

Perhaps McClelland could help us understand the characteristics of 'suc-

cessful' people and indirectly of messiahs.
He proved his methodology in existing societies by carrying out detailed
interviews with groups of individuals in a range of different cultures and
comparing his results with those predicted by his method of accessing lit-
erature and artefact decoration. He went on to generalise about the char-
acteristic behaviour of people with high n-achievement scores, and he was
able to show that those factors which distinguish high levels of n-achieve-
ment are found across all the cultures he studied. McClelland describes the
behaviour patterns of high n-achievers as follows:

1 They are associated with a greater frequency of expressive movements,

including a tendency to avoid repetition. (This helped him identify such
people in non-literate societies, by their use of characteristic decora-
tion.)

2 They always produce a higher level of performance when they are offered
achievement incentives.

3 When using colours they prefer to utilise blues and greens in preference
to reds and yellows.

4 They have a greater level of geographical and social mobility than indi-
viduals with lower n-achievement.

5 They place a greater emphasis on competitive games than individuals

with lower levels of n-achievement.

6 They have a faster perception of time when compared to individuals

with lower levels of n-achievement.

I le ended his summary by saying:

People with high n-achievement behave in certain characteristic

1 McClelland, David C: The Achieving Society, The Free Press, New York, 1961

315
 ways, but if asked, they do not consistently respond with the
attitudes and beliefs that their behaviour seems to imply.1

McClelland describes an experiment where a group of children, whom

he had previously tested for levels of n-achievement, were asked to throw
a ring over a peg. They were allowed to stand as close to or as far from
the peg as they wished during the experiment. He found that the children
with high n-achievement scores chose to stand a moderate distance from
the peg, but the children with low n-achievement scores stood either very
close to, or very far from, the peg.
He explained this result by saying that high n-achievers prefer to take
'moderate' risks, and so they stand where their skill is most likely to pay
off in subjective feelings of success. If they stand too close to the peg, the
task is too easy and gives them no personal satisfaction. However, if the
high n-achievers are too far from the peg they are less likely to hit it and
less likely to get satisfaction from any success, as they are more likely to
regard any 'hits' as down to luck, rather than skill.3
So high n-achievers set moderately difficult but potentially achievable
goals. But do people with a high need for achievement behave like this all
the time? McClelland concluded that they only behave in this way if they
can influence the outcome. In tests of pure chance and gambling situations
they behave no differently from anybody else. So achievement-motivated
people are not gamblers; it is just that they prefer to work on a problem
rather than leave the outcome to luck.
Low n-achievers will either veer towards gambling and take a big risk
because the outcome is beyond their power, and therefore they can easily
rationalise away their personal responsibility if they lose. Or if they are
conservative they will choose tiny risks where the gain is small but secure,
because there is little danger of anything going wrong for which they might
be blamed.
High n-achievers take the middle ground, and take a moderate degree
of risk because they feel their efforts and abilities can influence the out-
come. In business and economic activity generally, this aggressive realism
is the mark of the successful entrepreneur.
McClelland also studied how high n-achievers liked to be rewarded.
He found that they were not motivated by what economists call the 'profit

2 McClelland, David C: The Achieving Society

3 McClelland, David C: The Achieving Society

316
motive'. He looked at the histories of groups of high achievers, such as
the Quakers and Dissenters of England, and found that although they
were frequently successful in business they did not seem to be very inter-
ested in the money they made, certainly not for its own sake. Often they
would plough their large profits back into further business expansion.
I le pointed out that the Quakers were forbidden by their religion from
ostentatiously enjoying wealth, and so unless they were total hypocrites
money could not have been the driving force which encouraged them to
achieve. He pointed out that their behaviour showed no evidence of being
driven by greed, so the accumulation of money must have had a different
purpose. He suggested that personal money income plays an important
role in society because it is taken as a symbol of achievement. 'A man
with a large income is likely to gain respect, not because of the income
itself but because of the presumption that it is an index of his compe-
tence..'
But McClelland's work went beyond individual motivation into group,
and even national, motivation. He had noticed that there was a variation
in the level of achievement motivation in various societies throughout his-
tory and had plotted levels of achievement motivation against degree of
economic activity. All his curves show cycles of growth, peak and decline
in the economic activities of societies, cycles which may then be repeated
some time later.
McClelland used various techniques, including literature analysis which
showed a close correlation to the degree of economic activity in the same
society approximately fifty years later. For example the time of Queen
Elizabeth I produced many great authors and playwrights, including
Shakespeare, Marlowe and Ben Jonson, at a time of widespread national
success and development, whilst the economic peaks occurred in the mid-
seventeenth century.
McClelland's work was certainly fascinating, but what was in our minds
was the question of whether there was any way we could use behavioural
analysis of the characteristics of particular societies to make sense of our
findings about the Messiah/Shekinah myth.
The successful leaders and 'captains of industry' he talked about seemed
to be similar types of people to the kings, priests and messiahs we have
been studying. The main difference was that we had found a belief that
'successful' individuals were born when the Bright Morning Star was on
the eastern horizon just before sunrise, while McClelland had isolated

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 i i ij u v/ v/ iv v i i i i ivn ivi

factors which drove individuals to achieve. But he had also found the same
pattern of periods of high activity followed by periods of poor perform-
ance before the whole cycle started over.
It seemed to us entirely reasonable that the leaders who believed in the
power of the Shekinah would use its appearances as a 'permission to
achieve'. But it was not until we plotted the dates of McClelland's peaks
of successful achievement-orientated behaviour against our time-line for
Shekinah events that we spotted an overlap.

RIDING T H E C Y C L E S O F SUCCESS

McClelland's research had initially concentrated on the importance of his

n-achievement index as a way of explaining successful economic growth,
but he was conscious that he had limited his investigations to modern eco-
nomic development, where cultures had adapted to technology, division of
labour and the factory system. He was looking for a general theory of moti-
vation which could apply under any circumstances. He wondered if eco-
nomic growth in the past might have been different in some way, and
possibly caused by different motivational influences. As he explained, the
question was of particular interest to him:

It was after all an historical case, the connection between the

Protestant Reformation and the rise of capitalism, which gave rise
to my general hypothesis. Can we collect any data that bears more
directly on this interpretation? . . . did a rise in achievement moti-
vation precede economic growth in various countries in the past
and did its fall precede economic decline?

Fortunately the method exists for collecting data to answer such

questions. The system of content analysis for n-achievement
applied originally to individually written stories and then to folk
tales and children's stories can also be applied to whatever imagi-
native literature has survived from past civilizations. Furthermore,
with a little ingenuity our requirement for some kind of quantita-
tive index of economic activity can normally be satisfied so that
we need not get embroiled in disagreements as to whether or when
a country was growing or declining in the economic sense. The
present chapter brings together the efforts that have been made to

318
 date to apply the approach used in the previous chapter to histor-
ical problems.4

In particular he made detailed studies of the proportion of n-achievers

active in societies in the past and what was happening to the economic
success of those societies. He choose four very different cultures in order
lo cover a fairly wide range of historical epochs. These were ancient Greece,
Spain in the late Middle Ages, England from the late Middle Ages to the
Industrial Revolution, and the United States from 1800 to 1950.
His technique was ingenious. He needed two statistical measures, one
lor the general level of n-achievement and the other for the general level
of economic development, so that he could compare the two patterns. When
lie had looked at modern-day individuals he was able to use a question
naire. But for at least three of his chosen periods all the members of society
concerned were long dead. This meant they could not be questioned directly,
so instead he decided to study the writings, and artefacts, of those soci
eties and developed his technique for scoring the literature content on the
assumption that various samples of written material could be selected to
adequately represent the strivings and hopes of at least the portions of the
population significant for economic growth. He went on to successfully
extend this index to the use of ceramic decorations.
He had already identified a common pattern of growth, climax and
decline in many ancient civilisations, but assigning exact dates for the pres
ciice of this pattern in the development of a civilisation was problematic.
I lere is how he describes his process for Greece:

Ancient historians are in full agreement that Athens reached her

highest point of development in the 5th century B.C., during the
'Golden Age' of Pericles. The development of Ionia, where Homer
may have lived, was earlier and that of Sparta and Boeotia, home
of Hesiod, was perhaps a little later, at least to judge by their sub-
sequent military successes over Athens. Consequently the year 475
B.C. was chosen rather arbitrarily as the precise date dividing the
period of growth from the period of climax as a time that would
not be too late for Ionia and Athens or too early for Sparta and
Boeotia. It also corresponds to the time when Athens succeeded in

111 McClelland, David: The Achieving Society

319
i ai lj v^ v^ ix I I I I IVTVIVI

organizing the league of Delos, a great maritime federation of

Greek city-states which finally succeeded in chasing the Persians
definitively out of the Aegean. By the end of the 5th century
Athens had lost the Peloponnesian War to Sparta and had begun
her decline. Sparta in turn was defeated by the Thebans of Boeotia
under Epaminondas in 369 B.C., but with his death in 362 B.C.
the Thebans lost their influence to Philip of Macedon from the
'backwoods' up North. So 362 B.C. was arbitrarily chosen as
marking the end of the period of climax for the city-states under
consideration though it comes a little late for Athens and Ionia.
These decisions set the time limits for the three periods as follows:

Period of growth - 900 B.C. to 475 B.C.

Period of climax - 475 B.C. to 362 B.C.

Period of decline - 362 B.C. to 100 B.C.

This finding was fascinating for us, as it showed that Greek culture,
which we already knew had been a great influence on the Jews from the
era of Zerubbabel's Temple down to New Testament times, had gone
through a period of growth, peak and decline that fitted the pattern of the
appearances of the Shekinah. The Shekinah, after a long period of absence
attributed to the faults of Solomon's successors, started a new cycle of
appearances in 487 BCE. We already knew that the Jews benefited from
their interaction with Greek traders, and the rise of the Greek city states
as a military balance to the Persians must have encouraged Cyrus and
Darius to allow the reconstruction of Jerusalem as a buffer state against
expansion from the Greeks.
Here was a possible explanation of why the ancient myth of the Shekinah
was taken so seriously at the time the Old Testament was written down.
The Shekinah, the glory of God's Presence in the pre-dawn sky, had last
been seen at the biblical triumph that had just been celebrated in the newly
recorded Book of Kings as the dedication of Solomon's Temple. The return
of the Shekinah coincided with a period of economic and political turbu-
lence, which happened to benefit the Jews, just as the ancient myths said
it should.
We could easily see how these people saw events, both good and bad,

320
,is God's Will. The Shekinah appears and they feel confident and set out
to achieve. It goes away and they become afraid, leading to a self-fulfilling
prophecy for failure. Unfortunately, if they become unrealistically confident
(like standing way too far back in the hoop-and-peg game) they will fail
anyway.
McClelland said of his study of the peaking and decline of n-achieve-
ment in ancient Greece:

The chi-square tests show that such differences over time could
hardly have arisen by chance . . . What do the results mean? Is
n-achievement a kind of 'first cause' that appears and disappears
out of nowhere which makes civilisations rise and fall? Clearly it is
not. By now we know a good deal about what makes n-achievement
levels rise and fall and practically all of the determinants are social in
origin . . . Economic wealth, no matter how high the n-achievement,
cannot be built up for a whole society in one generation. But the
sequence of interactions between man and society should be
described no matter how many generations it takes.5

McClelland's definitive study of motivation and economic success

describes in detail how he measured this effect, and we do not intend to
discuss his methods, which are totally accepted by the academic commu-
nity. We are far more interested in discussing what he discovered whilst
carrying out his analysis.
Now we moved on to the next period that McClelland had studied. In
particular we noticed that it coincided with another Shekinah peak, the
one that inspired Sir William St Clair to plan and commence building Roslin
in 1441 CE. McClelland had looked at the levels of n-achievement in
medieval Spain covering a period from 1200 to 1700 CE. Here is the sum-
mary of his findings:

Period of economic growth/growth in n-achievement: 1200-1492 CE

Climax: 1 4 9 2 - 1 6 1 0 CE

Decline: 1 6 1 0 - 1 7 3 0 CE

111 McClelland, David: The Achieving Society

321
 McClelland says of these findings:

The result was very like that obtained for Ancient Greece and
confirms the connection between achievement motivation and
economic growth in another time period for a totally different
culture . . . The results of these two studies are sufficiently
encouraging to warrant a closer examination of the relation
between successive 'waves' of achievement motivation and 'pulses'
of economic growth within the same country.

We knew that Sir William St Clair, the builder of Rosslyn and the founder
of Freemasonry, had in his youth travelled the pilgrim route to Compostela,
in Spain, before returning to Scotland.6 So William personally experienced
the buzz of high motivation which was erupting in Spain at this time. Being
aware of the impending return of the Shekinah, predicted by both the
Enochian and Norse beliefs, could hardly have failed to inspire his own
ambition to mark the occasion with a suitable new temple and a new Order
to preserve the ancient traditions. And can we really blame him for believing
that the evidence of his own eyes confirmed the truth of the secret teach-
ings of the Bright Morning Star? No wonder this powerful myth pervades
The Masonic Testament.
The next period McClelland looked at was a time we knew very well,
but it was not a period that fitted our Shekinah pattern. However, it was
a time when there was an all-consuming interest in astrology amongst the
Freemasons of Scotland and England. The period covered was 1500 to
1800 CE and the place was England. Here are his findings for the n-achieve-
ment level in England:

Growth to a peak: 1 6 0 0 - 1 6 9 0 CE

Period of stagnation: 1 7 0 0 - 1 7 8 0 CE

Growth to new peak: 1790-1833 CE

The rise in over achievement [first peak in above table] repre-

sented by the estimate of 1600-1690 occurred most probably in

6 Wallace-Murphy, T & Hopkins, M: Rosslyn, Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail

322
 the last half of the 16th century . . . The result is an interesting
and potentially important confirmation of the theoretical expectation,
not tested in Greece or Spain, that n-achievement has to rise to
the high point at the beginning of the phases of economic
growth. 7

This has no link with the Shekinah but it suggests that the expectations
of society were reflected in the political and economic events. This is the
period we already knew to be a time when the expectations of Freemasonry
founded modern science in the shape of the Royal Society."
McClelland then looked at a period which was very interesting, as far
as we were concerned: the USA over the1 period from 1800 to 1950 CE.
Now the patterns of The Masonic Testament predicted that a peak of eco-
nomic and political activity should have happened in the forty years fol-
lowing 1913. This period ends in 1953. We were well aware these dates
covered the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the depression that followed,
' .is well as two world wars. McClelland saw this period in a broader
context:

What has been happening to achievement motivation in the United

States in the past century is not only of great topical interest, it
also fills an important gap in [our study of] the Western historical
record which runs more or less continuously from 1300 to the
present time. First we noted a brief wave of achievement motivation
in Spain in the late 15th century, followed by a similar wave of
somewhat longer duration in England in the mid-16th century,
then a pause and a very much larger wave preceding the English
Industrial Revolution. There the record leaves off until we pick it
Ithe pulse of economic success] up again around 1920 /in the USA]
and find a major wave of achievement motivation occurring prim-
arily in the underdeveloped countries of the world in the decade
1950-1960.9

This would suggest that the Shekinah pattern does coincide with the
cer-term rhythms of social development - but not for the reasons given

1 McClelland, David C: The Achieving Society

" Lomas, Robert: The Invisible College
" McClelland, David: The Achieving Society

323
in the Bible or The Masonic Testament. If you want to understand the pat-
terns of human behaviour which McClelland says underlie the cycles then
we heartily recommend reading his book. He goes into great detail about
causes, and how these causes can be manipulated to improve economic per-
formance.
But David McClelland had one more surprise up his sleeve for us. He also
looked at the variations in the level of n-achievement in pre-Inca Peru over
the 1,500 years from 800 BCE to 700 CE. He did it from a study of the mark-
ings and quantities of funerary urns, of which some 254 had been found
from the culture which lived on the north coast of Peru and could be placed
in a reliable sequence. His reason for carrying out this exercise was to 'pro-
vide a tool for investigating civilisations which did not leave written records,
but did leave markings'. (He had developed a technique of rating 'doodles'
and the style of ceramic decoration, for level of n-achievement, which he
tested on his other data using Greek ceramics. The idea worked, so he wanted
to test it on civilisations which left no writing.)
His data show a steady decline in n-achievement from the earliest samples
around 9 0 0 - 8 0 0 BCE. This drops to a low level until between 400 and 500
CE, when it again peaks. 987 BCE is a Shekinah peak, as is 4 7 3 CE.
Interestingly no samples existed in his study for the period 7 0 0 - 3 0 0 BCE,
so if there was a Shekinah peak in Peru at this time his study found no
data to identify it.
Of the six achieving societies McClelland had studied, no fewer than
five had reached peaks of achievement which coincided with appearances
of the Shekinah as a bright morning star rising just before the Sun. We
decided to check out the likelihood of this being random chance, so Robert
computed a chi-square statistic to see what the chances were that five out
of six achieving societies of the past should just happen to peak at times
during the Venus cycle when the Venus/Mercury conjunction of the Shekinah
appeared in the dawn sky. His calculation showed that any null hypoth-
esis, saying that these peaks were randomly distributed across the whole
480 years of the Shekinah cycle, could be rejected at a significance level of
0.001. So there is less than one chance in a thousand that these peaks of
achievement occurred randomly at the same time as the Shekinah.
Of course, this analysis does not suggest that the Shekinah causes
the peaks of achievement McClelland found, and we have to leave open
the question of why these peaks occur in such a seemingly predictable
pattern.

324
 MIL'. I I AIV 1 I I V I ; IV.-)

McClelland commented on his work that it 'should be useful in helping

decide which cultures were growing and which declining in energy and who
was most likely to have conquered whom'. 10 We made a mental note to
check if the method could be used to study the Grooved Ware proto-writing,
us it suggested a way forward for understanding this valuable resource, bin
M> far we have not had a chance to try it.
So, we wondered, is there something real behind the observational pal
lerns which The Masonic Testament and the Bible have passed down to
us? Our research shows that peaks of political and economic activity appear
lo have occurred disproportionately often at times when the Shekinah, the
Bright Morning Star', appeared in a helical rising.
McClelland was convinced that people's level of n-achievement motiva
lion could be improved and increased, and he developed training pro
grammes for business people that were designed to increase their
achievement motivation. Was he unwittingly rediscovering a 6,000-year-old
technique - a technique perhaps used by the highly successful astronomer
priests of the Grooved Ware People?
His work was that most societies go through cycles of economic growth
lollowed by decline, and that this cycle was closely related to the levels <>l
n-achievement which he measured in those societies. The Grooved Ware
priests controlled the economic surpluses their predictive science created,
.md with those resources came power, growth in population and a drive
lo find more exploitable resources. Their civilisation expanded and their
success motivated their children, who in turn motivated their own children,
In n n under the benevolent light of the goddess. It would seem that they
managed to create one of McClelland's waves of economic success by tap
ping into a motivating belief in a divinely inspired destiny.
We had found that the Jewish Old Testament reflects a cyclical view of
history that McClelland showed to be real. The key founding events of
ludaism, the Flood, Abraham's Covenant, Moses and the Exodus, Solomon's
Temple, rebuilding the Temple, the birth of Jesus, as we knew, wjy^i,
kgved into the Shekinah cycle by the recorders of the Bible.
This belief gave the writers of The Masonic Testament a structure for
(he universe, and it did lay down the foundations for modern science by
Miggesting that God decreed laws of nature which might be discovered by
man. The underlying message has remained the same: it says God has a

111 McClelland, David: The Achieving Society

325
inc DUUN u r niKAM

purpose if you look for it, and mankind's lot is not independent of the
hidden mysteries of nature and science. Science may no longer have a role
for God, but it still has a major role for His purpose, which it has renamed
'the laws of Physics'.
It would seem to us that there are two mechanisms at work here. One
is a 480-year-long pattern of Bright Morning Stars, blazing in the pre-dawn
sky. The other is a series of waves of motivational achievement which some-
times seem to coincide with these appearances. We were now aware that
McClelland has also shown that these waves could appear at other times,
when the Venus/Mercury Shekinah was not in the sky, thus showing there
is no simple causal link, and it would be very frightening if all human endeav-
ours were completely linked to some unseen pattern of planetary move-
ments. But there does seem to be a correlation that transcends coincidence.
We find it impossible to accept the argument that God set up the basic
orbital cycles of the solar system billions of years ago with the prime inten-
tion of using conjunctions of Venus and Mercury just once in the many
thousands of millions of repetitions to send a message about a messiah in
7 BCE. The Star of Bethlehem is a wonderful motivating myth, not a sci-
entific argument.
We have not, as yet, changed our minds about astrology. We can offer
no logical basis for it to work, and even Sachs's excellent study fails to
prove its reality. But something is happening out there. Something does
affect human behaviour by driving ambition and achievement.
' ""
The concept of astrology has a childlike simplicity which can be applied
to the problems of grown-up life. Yet the Grooved Ware power-brokers and
the Sumerians were very sophisticated people - matchless observers of the
sky. Their patience, the precision of their calculations and the accuracy of
their observatories have led the world to an understanding of nature, the
very mind of God. But they also felt the problems and terrors of being exposed
to the dangers and mystery of the world, and so they created idols, which
they hoped to propitiate. And their idols took the form of lists and links.
After all, when the world is a collection of mysteries it is the business of the
wise to establish reliable correlations and answer the question - how? The
question why can be left for later discussion. Remember, they had no Lucasian
Professor of Mathematics to remind them that their theological theories were
'not consistent with other theories which have been tested by experiment'.11

11 Hawking, Stephen: The Universe in a Nutshell

326
 M I C 5 I A IV AV_< I 1 I I V I H l

Hut why did they place the divinities of their faith in the sky? Our simple
answer: the heavens are the visual guide to understanding our own cnvi
lonment. Grooved Ware Britain and ancient Mesopotamia shared a climate
where clouds rarely covered the stars; and faced with their wonderful
sparkling, men found it easy to believe that the shining planets were them
.l ives gods and goddesses. So these Bright Morning Stars, appearing lo
lighten the darkest hour before dawn, were thought to share man's feel
nigs and fears, and to control his destiny. Small wonder that Hiram, king
lyre, wanted to marry one and father her children.
No doubt some people who read this book will want to believe that the
I surges of economic success that David McClelland discovered were really
aused by the stars and planets on the horizon affecting the destinies of
the individuals who benefited. McClelland also considered this possibility,
us he had noted that the Jewish people seem to be well above average in
terms of their levels of n-achievement motivation, saying: 'Judaism is a
Messianic religion which stresses that living up to God's Commandments
will ultimately help bring about the day when God will reward His chosen
people . . . that we found to be a characteristic of people with high n-
achievemenf. After conducting an extensive survey of Jewish boys in a
number of American cities, he added: 'our prediction that Jewish boys
should have higher levels of n-achievement is clearly supported by the
facts'. 12
He went on to say this about the general effect of Jewish religious belief
on levels of achievement:

All that this present research adds to the controversy is that if the Jews
had a higher level of n-achievement in the past, as they appear to have
now in the United States, then their concern with business and commer-
cial matters could be predicted on the basis of all the findings already
reported.

McClelland adds that the Jews were not alone among religious groups
in having success in inculcating increased levels of n-achievement. He also
tudied Quakers, Calvinists, Catholics, Jains, Vaishnava Hindus and Parsees,
and summed up his views on the effect of religion on societal levels ol
motivation thus:
I ' McClelland, David: The Achieving Society
II McClelland, David: The Achieving Society

327
I I I L. U U U f t Wl I I 1 l\/\ J VI

Our research has refined much more closely the core religious
values associated ivith high n-achievement . . . the person with high
n-achievement wants to he responsible for his own decisions and
the very act of making a decision implies some uncertainty as to
the outcome. He is therefore 'on his toes' in the same sense as the
believer is in individualistic religions. In formal ritualistic ecclesias-
tical systems, on the other hand, the individual is 'safe' if he does
exactly what he is supposed to do, performs correct rituals, says his
prayers often enough, calls in the right priest at the right time, etc.
But here we run into the old chicken-and-egg problem: which came
first, individualistic religion or n-achievement? No clear answer to
the question can be given that would cover all cases. However,
theoretically either factor could 'come first' and influence the
development of the other. That is, Quaker parents with the religious
views just described would certainly tend to behave toward their
sons in ways that would be conducive to the development of high
n-achievement. In this case the religion clearly comes first, and in
fact since religion is one of the more stable persistent elements
in many societies, it may often have 'come first.'

Freemasonry is just such an 'individualistic religion'. So was the cause

of McClelland's cycles of achievement the motivation provided by the prac-
tice of religion? We do not think mysticism provides a complete explana-
tion, although it may have contributed to the patterns we found. There
may be some unknown third factor, such as changes in the environment,
which correlates with both patterns and provides a causal link. But we do
not at the moment have any further suggestions about this strange linkage.
During the early days of the Royal Society, one of its founders, Sir Robert
Moray, worked with the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens to try and
develop an accurate pendulum clock for use at sea in order to determine
longitude.14 As part of the trials Huygens made a series of identical clocks,
and whilst they were being tested in his workshop he noticed a strange
phenomenon. When he stood two of these identical clocks on the same
shelf and started them at separate times, so that their pendulums swung
out of time with each other, by the following morning the movements of
their pendulums would have become synchronised. Yet if the two clocks

14 Lomas, Robert: The Invisible College

328
 I l L C .11 i\ I V 1 M r, v I IV,1

were placed on different benches on opposite sides of the room tlicy stayed
permanently out of synchronisation.
The reason for this is simple. When the two clocks were on the same
shelf the movement of the pendulum also slightly moved the shelf, so trans
mitting a slight jolt to the other clock. When the pendulums were moving
HI opposition to each other the little jolts slowed the pendulums, by trans
lerring energy between them. As they both slowed slightly they eventually
Come into phase, at which point they no longer jolted each other and so
i hey moved together.
Perhaps this mechanism can help explain the strange phase-lock between
McClelland's data and the appearance of the Bright Morning Star. 11 you
I-! Iieve in the Shekinah, as Jesus did, you ;kt accordingly, and so time your
iu lions to match what you perceive as the Divine Will. A nice thought, but
We are aware that it doesn't go nearly far enough to satisfy Professor
I lawking's criteria for acceptance of astrological belief.
But, strangely, this ancient astral cult that gave rise to the great monothe-
istic religions of the world, which share the Old Testament it inspired, siill
survives in odd remnants to this day. As we have already commented,
I reemasonry and astrology are two traditions which best preserve the age
old belief that the position of the heavenly bodies affect the actions of indi
vuluals on Earth.
Modern astrology is frozen into the form that Ptolemy dreamed up almost
.',,<)()() years ago, where the Earth was considered to be at the centre ol
numerous crystal spheres that carried the material of stars and influenced
the destiny of man with their harmonies. We are convinced that newspaper
astrology is worthless, and even individually prepared horoscopes are prob
ably no more meaningful than reading tea leaves.
But science says something is happening to affect human behaviour -
and freemasonry appears to be the memory of something historically impor
I.int. It has preserved much of astronomy's observational science, but it is
buried deep in weird verbal traditions, odd modes of ritual movement and
mythical tales.

THE END OF T H E J O U R N E Y

li is now thirteen years since we set out on our mission to find the origins
oi Hreemasonic rituals. It was then a private endeavour, entirely for our
own satisfaction. We began with a clean sheet of paper and, despite being

329
uc / w ix V-/ I i i i rxrvivi

Freemasons ourselves, we had no preferences for the outcome. If our find-

ings showed the Craft to be some sixteenth-century eccentric invention -
so be it. If we had concluded that Freemasons were evil or wrongdoers we
4
would have spelled it out to our readers. And if we had found that the
official line, that it all sprang out of the medieval guilds of stonemasons,
t/1 was true we would have said so.
The journey has been far longer and more arduous than we ever imag-
ined, but we have made many friends along the way. This alone has made
the 2 0 , 0 0 0 hours or so that we have invested worthwhile. Unfortunately,
and perhaps inevitably, the reporting of our findings has caused some people
to resent or even despise us, and some have attacked us in a variety of
ways.
As we have already recorded, the most venomous attacks have come
from people who do not appear to have read our books, yet feel threat-
ened by our interpretation of events described in the Bible. For them Jesus
is God and the son of himself - and he died to save us 2,000 years ago
yet he lives on today in a place called heaven.
We openly admit that we have difficulty with such concepts, and to
us he was a charismatic leader of men and women who revolutionised
the world despite his personal failure. Although we do not accept much
of the traditional interpretation of biblical stories at face value, we have
great admiration for the Church in general and for people of religion. It
is our view that the world can only benefit from open and frank discus-

g
sions on the subject of human belief and our interaction with the power
that underpins the universe - the power that many people call God and
scientists call the Laws of Physics.
Freemasonry claims that it is not a religion and that it is compatible with
the belief systems of all religions. We entirely accept this, although it does
provide a focal point for many people who are not active in any particular
faith - and for them it is a replacement for religion, in that it provides spir-
itual values without a requirement to subscribe to an entire belief system.
Perhaps some of the strangest people we have met are those men who
consider themselves to be 'experts' on Freemasonry. By far the majority of
Freemasons have welcomed our input and valued the debate we have set
running in lodges across the world. But we are aware that some of these
'experts' are outraged by our daring to question the standard history and
then publish our findings for anyone to read. Some of them refer to their
belief that there is a requirement for secrecy, even though the most senior

330
/ /
 LILT. 3 1A K AV. . I L L I V C I V 1

lodge in the world, the United Grand Lodge of England, has expressly said
ili,n there are no secrets save the actual words and signs used for rccogni
lion - which we have no need ever to mention.
There is something of a 'Masonic Mafia' made up of men who consider
themselves to be well-informed gentlemen and conduct endless meetings
>iml seminars to discuss the standard view of Masonic History. Whilst we
iiir giving talks all over the world in public and to Grand, and sometimes
less than grand, lodges, they hold their 'academic' discussions in the quiet
i mnfort of their faith that Freemasonry sprang out of the Medieval guilds
ol stonemasons. They generally refuse to look at our findings, and the few
lli.it do use a process of 'extract and compare'. This is a simple process ol
i ll. ing one element of our findings and checking its fit for accuracy against
ihrir own framework of history. Understandably they conclude that the
hnding in question is wrong because they assume that their fundamental
paradigm is correct.
In response we would say that the idea that Freemasonry sprang out ol
aonemasons' rituals is nothing less than silly. To accept it is to make huge
resumptions by accepting the 'authority' view, when there are no facts to
substantiate such a belief. Our research tells us that the guilds of stone
masons did have an involvement, but the reason is that they were origi
n.illy attached to those proto-Freemasons, the Knights Templar.
The Knights Templar were responsible for the huge upsurge in cathc
dial building in Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and they
naturally organised the stonemasons into guilds. We believe that they would
hive given their stonemasons rituals of a certain kind to bind them to the
< >rder of the Knights Templar. When the Templars were arrested in 1307
iIn stonemasons of Europe had little option but to continue with their rit
mils, which were eventually to re-merge with non-operative Masonry from
I Tl I and the building of Rosslyn. The same tendencies can also be detected
in London in later times.
When we give talks at assemblies where these people are present they
look on with an expression of confusion, because we describe an audit trail
i hat spans thousands rather than hundreds of years. For them it is far more
i omfortable to assume that everything in history sits in its own little box,
untouched by wider events. This allows them to endlessly catalogue Masonic
documents and call it research.
We give talks to Freemasons all around the world, and they are usually
riveted enthusiastically. Whilst we were finishing off this book, the Grand

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I Mb B U U K . U b HIRAM

Master of one country was recently so impressed with our work that he pro-
posed Chris be made an honorary member of their Grand Lodge after he
had delivered a full day's talk. We were both delighted at this recognition.
We welcome probing questions and relish informed debate - but some-
times we find that people prefer not to think about new ideas. After giving
a talk at an annual Masonic seminar held in Scotland, Chris spent much
of the evening with a very charming but somewhat myopic member of this
'Masonic Mafia'. Although he was the Worshipful Master of a lodge of
Research he had not read our books, because he somehow just knew they
contained nothing but fanciful nonsense. He did admit to hearing through
the grapevine that, surprisingly enough, we were actually 'regular guys',
but during the generally enjoyable conversation he constantly assumed what
he believed to be the 'serious high ground' by stating that he would need
to see the steps leading to new conclusions, implying that we jump to casual
conclusions as the fancy takes us. Any attempt to introduce an idea that
was not part of his standard dogma, he deemed to be inadmissible.
Here was a man who took it for granted that his existing view of Masonic
origins was definitively correct, and that any variation or development
would have to start with his assumptions before proceeding. When Chris
suggested that his adoption of the United Grand Lodge's standard expla-
nation might be seriously flawed, he simply looked confused.
The problem is one of paradigm collision. The standard explanation for
the existence of Freemasonry is based on the idea that the bizarre rituals
are simply 'morality plays' borrowed from the initiation rites of guilds of
working stonemasons by philosophic gentlemen for their own betterment.
In our view this starting point is inherently silly, and any steps leading from
it are likely to be deeply flawed. Our research started from scratch and
was built up slowly, looking at the broadest possible context. The two
views on Masonic origins have points of commonality, but they have to be
evaluated independently for their own self-consistency.
But Freemasonry is listening, even if self-appointed 'experts' in England
prefer to turn a deaf ear. Only a month earlier Robert had been invited to
speak about the formation of the Royal Society to a lodge of Installed
Masters in the North of England, a lodge which also takes a serious interest
in research. Many of its members also belong to the local university lodge
and so are also academics. He has been asked if he will return to give fur-
ther lectures about our work. So we are heartened to think that our research
findings, and personal enthusiasm, for Freemasonry is not being entirely

332
 Ignored and there are many groups of open-minded brethren who want to
hear new ideas about the history of their Order.
I here are very few absolute proofs in history, and we accept that we
must have got a number of things wrong. But however wrong we might
he, we see a pattern that strongly suggests that we are less wrong than all
11 ie others. As one professor put it when he looked at our work, 'I can't
t11v lot certain that you are right, but you have joined up the dots of his-
tory better than I have ever seen anyone do before.'
In the course of our journey we have travelled backwards in time many
thousands of years, and our 'blank sheet of paper approach' has caused us
10 solve major problems such as the riddle of the Megalithic Yard. This
n n i t proved that Professor Alexander Thom was right all along about the
I existence of this incredibly precise prehistoric unit of measurement that was
ie.I'd from northern Scotland to western France. We have demonstrated that
tome of the main megalithic structures of the British Isles are advanced
astronomical devices to track the movements of Venus and shown the huge
: Noe!;t7 and economic benefits that this would have given to prehistoric man.
These findings are testable and have been accepted by leading academics
(although not by the Masonic Mafia). For example we were delighted to
r r r sent a reprint of a study on the alignment of early churches in Britain,
i ucried out by the University of Hong Kong's Department of Earth Sciences,
which cited our research in Uriel's Machine.15
We have shown the existence of the Shekinah patterns in the Bible and
produced the first credible explanation for the Jewish fixation with the
numbers 40, 480 and 1,440.
Several people in the past have attempted to explain the reality of the
Si,ir of Bethlehem by looking for any bright object in the sky at the time,
hut we have demonstrated exactly what it was through analysis of Canaanite
and Hebrew traditions as well as a variety of Jewish texts, together with
i ironomical cross-checking. We believe that we have painted a picture of
I lie man we remember as Jesus Christ that helps improve our understanding ' "W
i>l his mission as a Jewish Messiah.
The strange building of Rosslyn has been explained as a copy of the
i kiins of Herod's Temple, and analysis of a single carving has demonstrated
that it is unreasonable not to accept that there is a connection between it
and the First Degree ritual of modern Freemasonry. We have shown how

I " All, J R &c Cunih, P: 'The Orientation of Churches: Some New Evidence'

333
the layout of the building fits precisely with the description of King
Solomon's Temple in The Masonic Testament. However, we still await the
promised excavation to be conducted by the world-class team proposed by
Professor Charlesworth.
We have collated as many old Masonic rituals as we can lay our hands
on, and we have published them on a huge website, hosted at Robert's uni-
versity as a general academic resource for researchers, which is available
for the free use of anyone interested in Freemasonry and its teachings. We
have also put together a chronological sequence for the historical infor-
mation contained in Freemasonry, and produced The Masonic Testament
as a book that is complementary to the books of the Bible, and that we
publish here as Part Two of The Book of Hiram.
For a time it seemed to us that the rituals of Freemasonry were really
corrupted science, and that they might be little more than astrological super-
stition. Then we found patterns from well-accepted studies that suggest that
Freemasonry is a memory of something that worked in the past and may
have significance for the future. Whatever is driving the relationship, Sachs
has shown that there is a correlation between the time of an individual's
birth and their subsequent behaviour. And social and economic cycles sug-
gest that there may be some reality to long-term behavioural effects that
have a tendency to coincide with planetary events.
Ultimately, Freemasonry appears to have been an ancient memory of a
science that drove human ambition and achievement. And that is undoubt-
edly what it achieved. The men who built the world's largest democracy and
today's only superpower were either Freemasons or subscribed to the values
of the Order. The great renaissance of science that gave birth to the modern
age was driven by Freemasons such as Sir Robert Moray, Benjamin Franklin
and Sir Christopher Wren. Freemasonry was an attitude that was waiting to
emerge, an ancient science that had to wait its time before it could become
modern science.
And what of the future?
We started this book by stating that Freemasonry is dying, and that
remains true so long as those people that run it continue to use it as a gen-
tlemen's dining club. They change ritual where and when it suits them, and
they have no idea of its origins, let alone its purpose. The Craft deserves
to live on, but it has always belonged to men who have dared to achieve,
who have sought out a better way forward by believing in God's purpose
and in science.

334
 The modern tension between God and science is, in our opinion, a short-
lived issue. There is no difference between the Almighty, His works and
Nt ience - it is simply a different way of expressing the same thing. Science
r. not an end-product, it is merely an approach to the human condition
that seeks to explain the world in rational terms that can be tested against
oilier observations.
The way forward for mankind must surely be to continue to seek out
and embrace the hidden mysteries of nature and science. In this endeavour
I lie Western world has never seen a better way of achieving it than the real
[ principles upon which Freemasonry rests.
| _We truly hope it can survive.
But to close our quest we need to return to the question we asked when
| we first began.

Wl I AT IS FREEMASONRY?

In Masonic ritual the question ' W h a t is Freemasonryrequires the answer

\i peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by sym-

I hols'. This is undoubtedly true, but it is also entirely inadequate, particu-

l.ii ly as any sort of description of why the organisation exists.

I laving immersed ourselves for many years in a search for the origins
of the rituals used by Freemasons, we have finally arrived at a new
understanding of the Order. We broadly understand its origins and we
I now how and why it became a global success story for so long, before
gradually descending to a point where it is now largely a subject for public
i Idicule.
l ime and again when we have been interviewed by the press or broad-
< .1 st media the interviewer has expressed amazement that we are prepared
io admit that we are Freemasons, let alone state that we are proud of the
lact. The general view is that Freemasons are secretive, elitist and possibly
evil in both creed and deed.
This highly negative view has been cemented by decades of poor lead-
> i .hip that fostered unnecessary secrecy and promoted the arrogant belief

I
ih.it the world should mind its own business. The attempts to be more
open have come too late and been too poorly executed to hold back the
i idr of public disquiet.

In England members of the Labour government have recently sought to

hange the law to force Freemasons in the judiciary, or in the employment
335
of other public bodies, to declare their membership of the Order. Nothing
like it has been seen since the persecution of Freemasons in Nazi Germany.
Freemasonry blossomed from the end of the sixteenth to the middle of
the twentieth century. Before its decline it was at the heart of society,
counting the kings of England and many of the archbishops of Canterbury
as senior Freemasons. Despite heads of the Church of England, such as
King George VI, being members it is now popular amongst certain Christian
groups to claim that Freemasonry is incompatible with Christianity.
So, what is Freemasonry?
And why should it be trusted?
Our answer is that Freemasonry was an engine of achievement that drove
the world from darkness to light.
Freemasonry was once an organisation that was the epitome of The
Achieving Society described by David McClelland. Its members were the
great and the good, the people who ran the Church, the country, industry,
the armed forces and academia. They were the entrepreneurs and the intel-
ligentsia who made the industrial revolution and who pioneered social and
scientific advancement.
Europe thrived on Freemasonry, and the Order was spread by travelling
military lodges to every corner of the planet. The oldest universities such
as Oxford and Cambridge were proud of their lodges, the great shipbuilders
and the men who took the American railroads westwards mingled with the
judges and the generals to work together for a better society. Ambition was
in their bellies and achievement was their only acceptable outcome.
The American Constitution and the Royal Society came into existence
because of Masons like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Sir Robert
Moray, Alexander Bruce and Elias Ashmole. The city of Washington was
designed by Freemasons and London raised from the ashes of the Great
Fire due to the inspiration of Grand Master Mason, Sir Christopher Wren.
Even the 'Wild West' was tamed by Freemasons Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie,
Buffalo Bill and Pat Garrett, to name but a few.
In every town throughout the Western world, Masonic Temples provided
the meeting ground for the men who set out to achieve. In the West Yorkshire
town of Halifax, the world's largest building society was brought into exis-
tence by Freemasons who met in the Old Cock Inn. Now a major bank,
this institution, named after the town, provided the financial structure to
give hundreds of thousands of ordinary people the new opportunity to own
their own home.

336
 Ai a time when leading thinkers and doers in England were either
i Inistians or Jews, Freemasons of all religions met on equal terms in the
Ind^e to share their enthusiasm for progress on the road to making life better
tin themselves, their families and the community at large. They worked in
liiinnony with their church or synagogue as any religious differences evap
I ited in the atmosphere of tolerance that is central to the Order.
As they achieved ever-greater success, their towns and their countries
jjrrw more prosperous and new, more specialist, ways of working together
inie along. Freemasonry had fought for and attained an age of reason and
|insonal freedom. Now people could develop themselves and their com-
munities without the need to meet in darkened rooms, wear strange regalia
IIMI I recite odd-ball ritual.
No longer are Masonic lodges the meeting place of 'movers and shakers'.
The people who would once have been the backbone of the Order, now
would not dream of asking to join. They have better things to do in their
careers to build, families to rear, social commitments to take up their
Dinr. Everyone from businessmen to police officers, from councillors to
in udemics, gives the Order a wide berth. These days membership of the
lo. ll lodge is either irrelevant or positively detrimental to a young person's
ireer.
When our first book came out, we were not exactly popular with the
United Grand Lodge of England. But when a journalist from a national
magazine interviewed the leading lights at Masonic Hall in Great Queen
Street, London, they were initially stumped when he asked if he could meet
ii Mason who worked at a senior level in a modern industry. The only
person they knew of was Chris Knight, who was the chairman of an adver-
tising and PR company - as well as one half of the writing partnership
iiloiig with the academic Robert Lomas who had so recently penned the
Masonically heretical book, The Hiram Key.
Membership of modern Masonry does not carry any benefits, and the
i.'suit is that most Freemasons are no longer social drivers. Lodge mem-
IM IS no longer talk of ambition and social development. They make dona-
i ions to charity but they talk little of philosophy or physics, and spend
hours toasting the symbols of a bygone age.
I icemasonry is a victim of its own success. It has achieved the social
iiiul scientific change it set out to establish, but now it is like an old sol-
dier, a spent force representing a great past that demands respect, not for
what it is now, but for what it once did.

337
 iii. i ) w w LX v j i 111 ixrvivi

Freemasonry can be trusted.

Despite unfounded rumours to the contrary, it has always demanded the
highest standards of honesty and decency. Today, the sad fact is that it
could not be other than benign even if it wanted to, because it has no
power, no money and no influence.
But, in the final analysis, Freemasonry has earned its special place in
history because it was one of the working tools used by the Great Arcliitec? -
of the Universe to build our modern world.

^eM'Ss a trie 9
, CvV Avv^

338
 Part Two

THE MASONIC
TESTAMENT
 I I 1 L I V I f \ >J W M I L.J l l l l T l b l l I

I t ) T H E READER

I lie general opinion of Masonic ritual is not positive. Writing in the British
I lines newspaper on the subject of American sororities and fraternities, one
journalist said:

I'he Freemasons have elaborate initiation mumbo-jumbo, with

blindfold, trouser leg rolled up, and compass point pressing the
bare chest. 1

I Ins Chambers Dictionary defines mumbo-jumbo as 'foolish ritual' or 'baf-

lllng jargon', which is a fair assessment of Masonic ritual when viewed
without understanding. The big question is whether there is meaning behind
ilie ritual, in the same way that the Bible cannot be dismissed just because
ii has some rather bizarre sections. Most things in life tend to become con-
Milijred 'sensible' through familiarity, and only rarely through genuine under-
landing.
Masonic ritual has only been written down for perhaps two hundred
ye.irs, but it would be wrong to assume that the content only dates from
ih,it time. Freemasonry was once an entirely oral tradition - and theoret-
ii ally it still is, as most lodges conduct their ritual from memory. The Old
Testament was first written down over a thousand years after the supposed
lime of Abraham and several hundred after Solomon, but it is wholly
accepted that this was just a formalisation of oral traditions.
Another example can be seen in the loss and recovery of the Book of
I noch. Now believed to have been written at Qumran around 200 BCE, yet
II records elements which we argue are a tribal memory of real events that
look place some three millennia before that time. When Freemason James
Bruce returned from Ethiopia in the late eighteenth century with copies of
I he Book of Enoch, which had been lost for over 1,400 years, the world
HI general thought it must be a terribly corrupted version because it seemed
10 make no sense. Only when a number of copies of the book were found
at Qumran amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls was it proven that Bruce's ver-
sion was quite correct. And it took analysis by non-theologians like Robin
I leath and ourselves to extract the lost layers of meaning.
The problem with all oral traditions is that meaning can become lost
over time, leaving the ritual to appear as charming nonsense. Consider the

1 I toward, Philip: 'Ritual ordeal is all too human', Times (London), 19 October 2002

341
nursery rhyme 'Ring a ring of roses . . . a pocket full of posies'. It sounds
pleasant, but it makes no sense because most people today do not realise
that it is a story of the plague, with attempts at prevention followed by
the final line 'atishyoo atisbyoo . . . we all fall down' playing out an infec-
tion and death scene.
As the meanings of individual words evolve and terminologies change,
oral material usually stays frozen in the past. Another example taken from
nursery rhymes demonstrates this point further:

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,

Half a pound of treacle,
That's the way the money goes,
Pop! goes the weasel.

Originally this was a lament about the cost of living in early Victorian
London, where 'pop' was the term for taking something to the pawnbroker's
and 'weasel' a corruption for 'whistle', which itself is Cockney rhyming
slang for a suit (whistle and flute - suit). Apparently it was very common
for men to pawn their best suits two centuries ago just to get enough money
for food, but it is something that would be unusual today.
Printed Masonic ritual may be relatively recent, but its content is not.
For example, Masonic ritual has always described a dormer window in the
east face of King Solomon's Temple, when there is no mention of such a
device in the Old Testament. Freemasonic ritual talks about this dormer
without any understanding of its function, although it does describe the
light of the Shekinah entering through it. As we have shown, this must be
very old knowledge indeed.
The close statistical correlation between the appearances of the Shekinah
and peaks of achievement in various societies, the reality of which has been
confirmed by the research of Harvard Professor David McClelland, shows
a strand of observational knowledge which can be traced back over at least
3,000 years through the descriptions of the significance of the Shekinah
contained within the ritual. Knowledge of this link was certainly not avail-
able to the Masons who first wrote down the verbal myths of the Craft,
but it was to the Phoenician builder of Solomon's Temple. This particular
verbal myth survives only in the rituals of Freemasonry.
We believe that the rituals of Freemasonry are a major source of his-
toric information for those with eyes to see it. To help all researchers to

342
i liirily this vision, 'The Web of Hiram' has been constructed and opened
lo nil as an academic resource, courtesy of the University of Bradford web-
Mte, And we have extracted from this plethora of material the logical story-
line that we have called The Masonic Testament.
I his testament has been laboriously reassembled from across the rituals
nl the 160 degrees of Freemasonry which we have become familiar with
IIIICC we published The Hiram Key. It is in the nature of Masonic ritual
lo be repetitive - every item is repeated three times over, usually by three
i I'urate officers, using very similar words. There are also many common
dements across all the degrees and orders, which involve opening and
Ii rjing the assembly, checking that all officers know their duties and respon-
sibilities, and ensuring that only initiated members of the degree are present.
We have not included these elements with this compilation. What we have
concentrated on is the wonderful stories which are told to candidates as
I i.i 11 of their initiation into this wide range of degrees. Sometimes the sto-
i h". are acted out, with the candidate playing the role of one of the Masonic
heroes. At other times the stories are told to the assembled brethren in the
form of a carefully memorised 'traditional history'. The ritual is always
verbal and often includes gestures, and steps to be performed during the
ie enactment.
In this way, by telling and retelling ancient stories since time immemo-
i I.I I, Freemasons have preserved and nurtured their myths and legends. Until
recent times, that is, when some individuals took it upon themselves to
improve' and 'simplify' the stories passed to their care. So politically incor-
rn l oaths and penalties are removed from ceremonies, the names used to
describe the 'Most High' are changed to 'more suitable' ones, and many
degrees are awarded in name only, without their ceremonies being worked
HI open lodge. In this way ignorant and unlearned bigots destroy an ancient
verbal heritage without any care for its possible meaning.
We have been careful to preserve the stories exactly as they are told in
ilie oldest copies of the ritual we have been able to find. This means that
I lie style of the language often changes, but we have decided to accept this
in order to keep the subtlety of the Masonic verbal record.
Some claims, such as that made in Chapter 14 that the Roman Emperor
I lonstantine was born in York, may have more to do with the need of the
< ir;ind Lodge of York to claim a glorious ancestry, rather than with his-
lorical truth but we have consistently reproduced the Masonic claims of
i lie ritual without adding any editorial comment. Our comments have been

343
confined to Part One of the hook. In this Masonic Testament we have col
lected together the great myth of Freemasonry and presented it in a log-
ical order. We have adopted the chapter and verse convention of other
testaments to make reference to particular sections simple. Now, for the
first time since 1813 and the attempted destruction of Masonic ritual by
the Duke of Sussex, it is possible to read once more the vast sweeping story
that was once the secret knowledge that the Order of Freemasonry taught
to its adepts.

Why leave the East and go to the Westf

In search of that which was lost.

What was that which was lost?

The genuine secrets of a Master Mason.

How became they lost?

By the untimely intervention of the Duke of Sussex.

How do you hope to find them?

By the reconstruction of the Masonic Testament.

Read on, and as you learn the genuine secrets of Freemasonry enjoy that
daily advancement in Masonic knowledge and tolerance that the Craft has
all but forgotten.

344
 C h a p t e r One

G O D MAKES MANKIND

1, When God in His eternal council conceived the thought of Man's cre-
ation, He called to Him the three ministers that continually waited
upon the throne. And their names were Justice, Truth, and Mercy.

2. And He addressed them saying: 'Shall we make Man?' Justice answered:

'O God, make him not, he will, trample on Thy laws;' and Truth also
answered: 'O God, make him not, for he will pollute Thy sanctuaries.'
But Mercy, dropping on her knees and looking up through her tears,
exclaimed: 'O my God, make him and I will watch over him with my
care through the dark and dreary paths he will have to tread.'

I, And hearing Mercy's pleas God made man and called him Adam, and
said to him: 'O Man, thou art the child of Mercy - go and deal with
thy brother.'

I When Adam first presented himself before God under the celestial
canopy of divers colours that is heaven he presented himself in
humble posture, with uplifted hands and bended knees betokening
at once his humility and dependence on the blessed author of his
being. Again did he thus present himself before his offended Judge
when he endeavoured to avert His wrath, and conciliate His mercy,

345
 and this expressive and contrite form he has handed down to pos-
terity forever.

5. From that time this penitential sign has denoted that state of heart and
mind, without which our prayers and oblations can never be accept-
able at the throne of grace, before which a frail and erring creature of
the dust should present himself to his maker.

6. And Adam's place was in the east facing west, clothed in a saffron-
coloured robe, and with head covered. In his right hand he held a
sceptre, its handle gilded, and on the top a globe of gold. His jewel
was a sun of gold, suspended by a chain of gold, worn around his
neck. On the reverse side of the jewel was inscribed a hemisphere of
gold, showing the northern half of the ecliptic and zodiac, with the
signs from Taurus to Libra.

7. In God's eternal council the minister called Truth resided in the West.
His robe was rose-coloured and he held a white rod, at the end of
which was an eye of gold.

8. Also there were seven lesser beings collectively known as Malakoth

[meaning Angels], Individually they were called Malak [meaning Angel|
.mmm

and their names were Gabriel, Uriel, Michael, Raphael, Zarakhiel,

Hamaliel and Tsaphiel. They wore bright flame-colour robes and an
apron, from their collar hung a seven-pointed star of gold.

9. Gabriel was placed in the northeast, having on his right his banner,
square in shape, of crimson silk, having upon it the figure of an eagle,
and the sign of the planet Jupiter.

10. Michael in the southeast, having on his right his banner of black silk,
of like shape, bearing the figure of a lion, and the sign of the planet
Saturn.

11. Uriel in the southwest, his banner of flame-coloured silk, of like shape,
on his right, bearing the figure of a bull, and the sign of the planet
Mars.

346
 V I V / l_/ IVWA IM,,I

I.'. Raphael in the northwest, his banner of green silk, of like shape, on
his right, bearing the figure of a man, and the sign of the planet Mercury.
.... - >" " *I"M ,

I \. /arakhiel in the east, his banner of purple silk, of like shape, on his
right, bearing the sign of the sun.

M Tsaphiel in the east, in front of Truth, his banner of white silk and on
his right, bearing the sign of the Moon.

[ 1 5 . And Hamaliel in the South, his banner of blue silk bearing the sign of
the planet Venus.

Iii Gabriel also wore bracelets of pure tin; Michael, of lead; Uriel of steel;
Raphael, of hollow glass, partly filled with quicksilver; Zarakhiel of
gold; Tsaphiel of silver; and Hamaliel, of polished copper. The banners
of Michael, Gabriel, Uriel and Hamaliel were fringed with silver; those
| ' of the others with gold.

I ' [he other members of the Council \yere termed Aralim [plural of Aral,
meaning Lion of God; or hero]. Their jewel was a five-pointed star,
suspended by a flame-coloured ribbon on the left breast.

av\& a s W o ^ Y of+
p l f t e t c > , m e t a l s , e f r . J

347
 C h a p t e r Two

E N O C H MEETS G O D
A N D ENGRAVES H I S
TRUE NAME

1. Jared, who was the sixth in descent from Adam, had a son whose name
was Enoch, meaning city. Enoch was filled with the love and fear of
God, he strove to lead men in the way of honour and duty. And in a
vision God appeared to him in visible shape, and said to him: 'Enoch
thou hast longed to know my true name: arise and follow me, and
thou shalt know it.'

2. In this vision Enoch saw a mountain and a golden triangle showing

the rays of the sun. From that time this device became known as The
Delta of Enoch.

3. Enoch, accepting his vision as an inspiration, journeyed in search of

the mountain he had seen in his dream, until, weary of the search,
he stopped in the land of Canaan, then already populous with the
descendants of Adam, and there employed workmen. Then, with the
help of his son Methuselah, he excavated down into the ground, cre-
ating nine apartments, one above the other, and each roofed with an
arch as he had seen in his dream, the lowest being hewn out of the
solid rock.

4. In the crown of each arch he left a narrow aperture closed with a

348
 t N U t H M 1 1 I 5 I J U I J A I N U UINV.JKAVC3 n u I l\UC INnmc

square stone, and over the upper one, upon ground level, he built a
modest temple. It was built of huge unhewn stones and roofless so as
to view the celestial canopy that is the work of God; the Grand Architect
of the Universe.

S, Knoch then created a triangular plate of gold, inlaid with many pre-
cious gems, on which he engraved the ineffable NAME OF GOD, and
sank the plate into one face of a cube of agate. This most precious of try.V}
objects was placed in the vaults beneath the temple.

(>. None knew of the deposit of the precious treasure; and, that it might
remain undiscovered, and survive the Flood, which it was known to
Enoch would soon overwhelm the world in one vast sea of mire, he
covered the aperture, and the stone that closed it, and the great ring
of iron used to raise the stone, with the granite pavement of his prim-
itive temple.

7, Then, fearing that all knowledge of the arts and sciences would be lost
in the universal flood, he built two great columns upon a high hill -
one of brass, to resist water, and one of granite, to resist fire. On the
granite column was written in hieroglyphics a description of the sub-
terranean apartments; on the one of brass, the rudiments of the arts
and sciences.
!
N. And Enoch knew that the Lord was great in Zion. Let all the earth
praise Him for His great and terrible name, for it is holy. Exalt the
Lord our God, and worship on His holy hill.

*>. He spake from the cloudy pillar and from the fire; and from the depth
cometh forth the riches of secret places. Exalt the Lord our God, for
He is holy; and His name, for it is from everlasting to everlasting.

10. We are but of yesterday, and know nothing. Our days are but a shadow:
they flee and we know not.

11. Canst thou, by searching, find out God? Canst thou find out the
Almighty to perfection? He is as high as heaven. What canst thou do?
He is deeper than hell. What canst thou know?

349
12. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man
is peace. 'Mine eyes shall be on the perfect man.' saith the Lord. 'The
perfect of the land shall dwell with me: they shall walk in my name,
and serve me forever.'

13. Let us give thanks unto the Lord, who hath given us the treasures of
darkness and the hidden riches of secret places.

14. Oh, thou real and eternal Lord God, source of light and of love - thou
Sovereign Inspector and Mighty Architect of the wonders of Creation
- who from Thy throne in the highest heaven in mercy looketh down
upon all the dwellers of the earth - lend, we beseech thee, Thine ears
to the prayers and petitions of Thy unworthy servants now assembled
in Thy presence, to teach the mysteries of that Sublime Edifice which
is erected and dedicated to Thy Most Holy and Glorious Name.

15. The holy and blessed One raised Enoch from the world to serve Him,
as it is written, for God took him God, showed him all the reposito-
ries of the superior and inferior kingdoms, and He showed him the
tree alphabet of life, respecting which Adam had received his com-
mand, its leaves and its branches we see all in his Book.

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 Chapter Three

NOAH BUILDS THE ARK

TO SURVIVE THE
FLOOD

I Before the General Deluge, which is commonly called Noah's Flood,

there was a Man called Lamech, who had two wives, the One called
Ada, the other Zilla.

By Ada, he begat two sons, Jabal and Jubal, by Zilla he had one son
called Tubal and a daughter called Naamab. These four children found
the beginning of all crafts in the World; Jabal found out geometry, and
lie divided flocks of sheep. He first built a house of stone and timber.
His brother Jubal found the Art of Music. He was the father of all
such as handle the Harp and Organ. Tubal-Cain was the instructor of

( every artificer in brass and iron. And the daughter found out the art
of weaving. These children of Lamech knew well that God would take
vengeance for sin either by fire or water; being warned by their grand-
father Enoch.

I. In his old age Lamech begat Noah, and God warned Noah about the
coming deluge, telling him to build an Ark.

I. With the deluge expected, Noah built the Ark using an axe with which
he cut down trees and squared them; a saw, with which he sawed those
trees into planks; and an auger, with which he made holes in the planks.

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 \ ' I I I I I\/\IVI

Also with the axe he cut out pins and drove in the pegs by which
means the planks were kept together.

5. These tools have other meanings. The axe felled the trees, and they,
being cut down, are emblematic of the fall of the old world. The saw,
dividing the timber into planks, is emblematic of the separation of
Noah and his family from the rest of mankind by the Lord. The auger,
making holes in the planks, teaches us the use of affliction in producing
self-abasement and searchings of the heart.

6. As the Ark was built by these tools, so we are shewn that by perse-
verance in faith, hope and love, we may be shut into an Ark of safety,
when the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the whole earth
shall be dissolved.

7. Wisdom, Strength and Beauty were displayed in the construction of

the Ark. By the wisdom and cunning workmanship of Noah, that beau-
tiful structure, the Ark, was formed, the strength of which proved the
temporal salvation of himself and his family and all the living crea-
tures contained therein.

8. The Antediluvians, sentenced to the watery abyss, endeavoured to frus-

trate the wrath of Heaven by pulling each other to the summit of hills,
to the tops of trees and all other places which presented a temporary
relief from the justice of Him who was pouring down destruction upon
their heads.

9. The granite column, which had been erected by Enoch before the
Deluge, was overturned and swept away by the Deluge, but that of
brass stood firm, and was later found by his grandson, Noah.

10. After the Deluge the men and animals came out of the Ark on the
mountains of Armenia. They had been dispersed over the whole earth,
and have rested wherever the providence of God was pleased to direct
them.

11. Noah stood with an erect posture when he offered up the sacrifice to
God in thanksgiving for his safe deliverance from the Deluge. God then

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 I N U A II U U I L U O I n C /\ I U , J U L\ V I V I. I I I L. I L W W

fixed His rainbow in the sky and established His covenant with Noah
that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

I ' Listen to the promise given by God as a covenant with Noah:

II In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with ever-
lasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
Tor this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that
I he waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn
lhat I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

I I Tor the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kind-
ness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of My peace
be removed, sayeth the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

15, That promise of God will comfort us in trouble, cheer us in the hour
of our death and make us happy for all eternity.

11. The Olive Branch is an emblem of hope and commemorates the abate-
ment of the waters.

I 7, At that ancient time the survivors of the Flood founded their places of
worship using the mysterious Porphyry Stone. They used the Porphyry'
Stone and not the Sacred Scriptures because at that time the Sacred
Writings were not yet in existence.

IK The traditions connected with Porphyry Stone are three in number,

l-irst: Upon this Stone the Patriarch Noah reposed when he daily
returned from his pious labour in building the Ark, and it was placed
by him in the centre of the Ark when finished. Second: With this Stone
did Noah fix the station of the Ark when it rested on Mount Ararat.
Third: Upon this Stone Noah made his offering to the Lord in thank-
fulness for safe deliverance; and he desired that it should be fixed at
the foot of Mount Ararat until the first of his descendants should be
called upon to travel again by either land or water.

I*'. Upon the Porphyry Stone our Ancient Brethren placed a golden tri
angle with its apex towards the East.

353
I III, D U U K yjR N I rwuvi

20. The Delta, which stands on the Mysterious Porphyry Stone, is emblem-
atical of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

21. Those in the high sphere of life have the largest province wherein to
do good, but those of an inferior degree will be eminently distinguished
if they move regularly and prove useful members of society. The highest
is he who performs his part best, not he who fills the most exalted
position: for the Moon, although reflecting her light from the Sun, evi-
dently sets forth the glory of God; and the flowers of the field declare
His power equally with the Stars of the firmament.

22. The three points of the Triangle are synonymous with Wisdom, Strength
and Beauty.

23. Man, in his ignorance at the commencement of his pilgrimage believes

himself secure, and, often times discarding the use of the unerring com-
pass, strays from the true course, and thus incurs the risk of being
overwhelmed by the waters.

24. Since the providence of God preserved our ancient brethren from the
overwhelming waters, they have observed and obeyed God's voice in
being fruitful and multiplying on the earth and so they have kept up
the memorial of so signal a deliverance.

25. By coming into the Ark, they proved true and faithful brothers and
since that time have been known by the name, Noachida.

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 Chapter Four

T H E T O W E R O F BABEL
D E S T R O Y E D BY G O D

Be it known notwithstanding the recent vengeance which the Deity had

taken upon mankind for their iniquities, by causing universal deluge,
notwithstanding the Deity had given the rainbow as a sign of recon-
ciliation, vouchsafing that favour declared that the world should not
be again destroyed by waters, the descendants of Noah, from their
want of faith in the Divine prediction, being apprehensive of a second
deluge, said: Let us build a city whose top may reach the heavens, and
let us make a name lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the
earth.

To accomplish their designs, they began to erect an high tower in the

plain of Shinar; but this enterprise being displeasing in the eye of their
Maker, as tending to frustrate or delay the execution of His design,
that mankind should not always continue together, He obliged them
to discontinue the project by confounding their language, so that one
could not understand another.

From this circumstance the city took its name of Babel, which signi-
fies confusion; and a dispersion of the people and a planting of nations
ensued. It was on the night of the full moon that the Lord worked this
^ wonder.

355
4. The architect was named Peleg; at least, it was he who gave the idea
-F

of this building.

5. As a punishment for his contumacy, and the presumption of his fellow

builders, he was deprived of his speech; and to avoid the outrages of
his companions, who considered him as the cause of the failure of their
design, he travelled into countries remote from Shinar, and from thence,
only by moonlight, as he was fearful of massacre if his person were
recognised.

6. His place of retirement was in a dark forest, where, having erected a

triangular dwelling, he, by humiliation, and contrition for the part he
had taken in the plain of Shinar, obtained remission for his sins, and
had his speech restored to him. In this dwelling of Peleg's was found
a stone of white marble, on which was inscribed the following epitaph:
Here repose the ashes of the grand architect of the tower of Babel. The
Lord had pity on him because he became humble.

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 C h a p t e r Five

MELCHIZEDEK, KING
O F SALEM,
MAKES A B R A M A
GRAND HIGH PRIEST
. . cN.WoO
Ami it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch
king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;
that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king
of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim,
and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.

2, All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt
sea.

,1. t welve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they
rebelled.

I And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah,
and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela
(the same is Zoar); and they joined battle with them in the vale of
Siddim;

J. With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations,
and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Ellasar; four kings
with five.

357
 >I u UV ' IV V-/ I I I I IMVIVl

6. And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom
and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the
mountain. And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and
all their victuals, and went their way.

7. And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son who dwelt in Sodom, anil
his goods, and departed. And there came one that had escaped, anil
told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite,
brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate
with Abram.

8. And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed
his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen,
and pursued them unto Dan. And he divided himself against them, he
and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto
Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. And he brought back
all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods,
and the women also, and the people.

9. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from
the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him,
at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.

10. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he
is the priest of the Most High God. And he blessed him, and said:
Blessed he Abram of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and
earth: And blessed be the Most High God which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

11. And the king of Sodom said unto Abram: Give me the persons, and
take goods to thyself.

12. And Abram said to the king: I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord,
the Most High God, the possessor of heaven and earth. That I will not
take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take any-
thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: Save
only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men
which went with me, Aner, Eschol, Mamre; let them take their portion.

358
 ?
IVLL: I I L L, C LJ R. IS., M I N K J W L .J/\LUIVL, I V U M V U J L U I I M I M l\ . . .

I l And Melchizedek, Prince of Jerusalem, and King of Salem, sat in state

in his Royal tent in the valley of Saveh, which is known as the King's
Dale. As Abram approached his tabernacle Melchizedek stood at the.
entrance, drew his sword and aimed a downward blow at Abram, who
parried the blow and knelt before him.

I I Melchizedek asked who the stranger was and in reply was told that
(lie person before him was his friend and brother Abram, saying: 'Behold
the captives and the spoils: I give thee tithes of all.'

1,1, And Melchizedek said: 'Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, pos-
sessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God, which
hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. Arise, my friend and brother
Abram. Enter my Tent, eat of my bread and drink of my wine.'

11<. And Melchizedek stood with his drawn sword in his hand in the centre
<il his Tabernacle and fed Abram bread from the point of his sword
saying: 'Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity. Eat with us this bread, which you receive at the point
of the sword, to teach you that you should ever be ready to divide
your last loaf with a Companion Anointed High Priest, and should his
necessities demand it, even though he be a personal enemy, to feed him
at the point of the sword.'

1 7 . Holding his sword across his chest, Melchizedek then offered Abram
Ins goblet from the flat of his blade saying: 'Behold, bless ye the Lord,
all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the
Lord, Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The
Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion. Drink with
us this wine, which you receive over the sword, to teach you that you
should ever be ready to divide the luxuries as well as the necessities of
life with a Companion Anointed High Priest. If he hunger, feed him;
if he thirst, give him drink, if he be naked, clothe him; if he be sick
or afflicted, visit him and minister unto him; sympathise with him in
his sorrows, and rejoice with him in his joys. These things do unto
him and never forsake him.'

IK. Melchizedek ordered his companions to form themselves into the sides

359
 of an equilateral triangle. He placed Abram in the centre of the tri-
angle and stood in the East at the apex whilst they all kneeled as he
prayed:

19. May the Supreme High Priest of Heaven and Earth grant His blessing
to this our companion, so that he may teach the laws and commanc
ments of the Lord and perform the duties of his office with fervency, j
fidelity and zeal.

(*ft*
20. And he blessed Abram saying: The Lord bless thee and keep thee. 1 he
|

Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious to thee. The
Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.

21. And Melchizedek spoke to Abram, who remained kneeling in the centre
L
of the equilateral triangle, saying: I will now explain to you the secrets
of this Holy Order. Anointing with oil is the principal and divinely
appointed ceremony in the inauguration into each of the three typical
offices of the Jewish Commonwealth - Prophet, Priest and King. It is
received as a symbol of sanctification, and of dedication to the service
of the Most High God.

22. When I Melchizedek, king of Salem, made Abram a Grand High Priest
I anointed him first three times with oil, and then three times witli
wine: both these triple anointings are in allusion to the Triangle, a
symbol of the Deity. Thus are you reminded that the true brother should
so dedicate himself to the service of the Most High God.

23. As the unchangeable Priesthood of Melchizedek is superior to that of

Aaron, which passed away, so do we look forward, after the close of
this earthly existence, to an entrance into that Tabernacle 'not made
with hands, eternal in the Heavens'.

24. Remember that the responsibilities of this Holy Order rest not alone
upon the Officers, but equally upon the individual members of the
Order, a dereliction of duty being equally destructive in the one case
as in the other.

25. As you value, then, your honour as a man and a brother; as you prize

360
 I V I [. I V . I I I L 'L IX, IXIINSU W L J M I . L I V I , IVI M U I U I I M I\ . I .

I lie purity and permancncy of the Order; as you fear to displease the
Almighty, Whose Name you have solemnly invoked; so keep inviolate
every pledge you have made, and perform with fidelity every duty to
which you have become bound.

i. I et the Lion of the Tribe of Judah be the symbol of your strength and
boldness in the cause of truth and justice. Be as patient as the Ox with
the foibles and errors of your Brethren, and as swift as the Eagle to
do every good work. Set before your Companions of the Royal Craft
the bright example of an upright and perfect Man, and especially of a
t ompanion Anointed High Priest.

I ct Holiness to the Lord be engraven upon all your thoughts, words

and actions.

M f inally, after this painful life is ended, may the Most High God, Who
.dwelleth between the Cherubim, admit you into His glorious and ever-
lasting Sanctuary, there to adore Him for evermore.

361
 C h a p t e r Six

THE S E C R E T S OF M O S E S

1. The true name of God remained unknown until He said unto Moses
in Egypt, when He ordered him to go to Pharaoh, and cause him to
send forth the children of Israel out of Egypt: 'I am that which I was
and shall be: I am the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham, of
Isaac, and of Jacob. Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel.
He who is hath sent me unto you, I am the Lord, that appeared to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob by my name, AL-SHEDI, but my
name I did not show them.'

2. Moses engraved the ineffable name upon a plate of gold, and deposited
it in the ark of the covenant. Moses made the name known to Aaron
and Joshua, and afterwards it was made known to the chief priests.

3. The word being composed of consonants only, its true pronunciation

was soon lost, but the word still remained in the ark; and in the time
of Othniel in a battle against the King of Syria, those who bore the
ark were slain, and the ark fell to the ground. After the battle, the men
of Israel, searching for it, were led to it by the roaring of a lion, which,
crouching by it, had guarded it, holding the golden key in its mouth.
Upon the approach of the High-priest and Levites, he laid down the
key, and withdrew. Hence, upon the golden key worn by the treasurer,

362
you sec the initials of these words: 'In ore leonis verbum inveni' - 'In
l he lion's mouth 1 found the word.' J h i s plate of gold was melted
down, and made into an image of Dagon by the Philistines, who took
ii in battle.

The First or Holy Lodge was opened after the Exodus of the Israelites
from their Egyptian bondage, by Moses, Aholiab and Bezaleel, on con-
secrated ground at the foot of Mount Horeb, in the Wilderness of Sinai,
where the host of Israel had assembled and pitched their tents, to offer
up prayers and thanksgivings for their signal deliverance from the hands
ol the Egyptians. In this place the Almighty had thought fit to reveal
I limself before that time to His faithful servant Moses, when He com
missioned him His High Ambassador of Wrath against Pharaoh and
his people, and of Freedom and Salvation to the House of Jacob. Here
were delivered the forms df those mysterious prototypes, the Tabernacle
and the Ark of the Covenant; here were delivered the Sacred Laws,
engraven by the hand of the Most High, with those sublime and com-
prehensive precepts of civil and religious polity, which, by separating
I lis favoured people from all other nations, consecrated Israel a chosen
vessel to His service; for these reasons this is denominated the First or
Holy Lodge.

This favour was signalled to the brethren by the appearance in the East
of the Divine Shekinah which represents the Glory of God appearing
on Mount Sinai at the deliverance of the Sacred Law.

The rods, we use as emblems of power; as such they have been employed
by all nations, but we use them in commemoration of the Rod where-
with Moses wrought so many wonders in the land of Egypt and in the
wilderness.

Bezaleel was the inspired workman of the Holy Tabernacle which he

built to house the Ark of the Covenant and to allow the light of the
Divine Shekinah to shinejmppn it. His design afterwards became the
model of King Solomon's Temple, and conforms to a pattern delivered
on Mount Horeb by God to Moses, who afterwards became the Grand
Master of the Lodge of Israel.
8. In after times when the Lord God appeared to Moses at the foot of
Mount Horeb, in the burning bush, unable to support the dazzling
radiance of the Deity, Moses thus shielded his eyes from the divine
splendour, at the same time placing his hand on his heart in token of
submission and obedience.

9. This Penitential sign denotes that state of heart and mind, withoui
which our prayers and oblations can never be acceptable at the throne
of grace, before which how should a frail and erring creature of the !
dust present himself, but with uplifted hands and bended knees beto- I
kening at once his humility, and dependence. In this humble posture
Adam first presented himself before God, and blessed the author of his i
being; again did he thus present himself before his offended Judge when
he endeavoured to avert His wrath and conciliate His mercy, and this
expressive and contrite form he has handed down to posterity for ever.

10. Moses created Princes of the Tabernacle. The especial duties of a Prince
of the Tabernacle were to labour incessantly for the glory of God, the
honour of his country, and the happiness of his brethren; and to offer
up thanks and prayers to the Deity in lieu of sacrifices of flesh and
blood.

11. The Court of the Princes of the Tabernacle was presided over by Moses, :
the Most Puissant Leader, its High Priests were Eleazar and Isthamar,
the sons of Aaron. Aholiab and Bezaleel supported Moses when he
held this court. Eliasaph, son of Lael, of the house of Gershom, was
the orator to the court. Its secretary was Eliazaphan, the son of
Uzziel, of the house of Kohath, and the treasurer was Zuriel, son
of Abihael, of the house of Merari. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was
the Master of Ceremonies and Joshua, son of Nun, was the Captain
of the Guard. All Princes of the Tabernacle are Levites.

12. When the Pentagram, or Blazing Star, was to be seen in the east Moses
called the Court together to initiate new Princes. As the initiate entered |
Eliasaph addressed the Court saying: My brother, the initiate is he who
possesses the lamp, the cloak, and the staff. The lamp is reason enlight-
ened by science; the cloak is liberty, or the full and entire possession
of one's self, which isolates the sage from the currents of instinct; and

364
 the staff is the assistance of the occult and eternal forces of nature.'

I I. Then Moses said: 'My brethren, the power of darkness has prevailed
over the prince of light. The earth mourns, and is wrinkled with frost.
The leaves drop from the trees; snow shrouds the mountains, and cold
winds sweep over the shuddering skies. All nature laments; and we
share the common sorrow. Let prayers be offered up in the tabernacle
for the return of light and the reascension of the sun, and of that moral
and spiritual light of which He is the type.'

14. Moses said: 'We, like our ancient masters, mourn Osiris, the type to
, us of the sun, of light, of life. The scorpion and the serpent rule the
winter waves, on which the frail ark tosses that contains his body.
Weep, my brethren, for Osiris! Weep for light lost, and life departed,
and the good and beautiful oppressed by evil! Man hath fallen from
his first estate, and is lost, as the sun hath sunken into the icy arms of
winter. Weep for Osiris, type of the good, the true, the beautiful! How
shall his body be recovered from the embraces of the hungry sea; and
earth again be gladdened by his presence?'

15. Eleazar said: Brethren, behold a new Priest of the Tabernacle, to be

instructed and prepared to fulfill all his duties as a Prince of well-doers
in this frail Tabernacle of life, that he may be raised on the great day
of account, a shining monument of God's glory, in the tabernacle of
eternity.

U>. When the new moon occurred in the vernal equinox during the for-
tieth year of the wandering of the children of Israel in the desert, Aaron
died. Moses pitched his camp at Punon, on the eastern side of the
mountains of Hor, Seir or Edom, in Arabia Petraea, on the confines of
Idumaea, and there he held a council.

17. Moses presided over the council which consisted of Joshua, son of
Nun, and Caleb, son of Yephanah. The council's orator was Eleazar,
son of Aaron. His brother Ithamar was the council's scribe. In front
of Moses stood two short columns, one to the east and one to the
west. On one column is a winged globe encircled by a serpent and atop
the other is a basilisk, his body coiled in folds and his head and neck

365
 erect. In the Kasr was erected a tau cross with a coiled serpent inter
twining it.

18. Moses spoke to the council: 'So much of the truth as it is given to
mortals to know, is within the reach of those alone whose intellect'*
are unclouded by passion or excess. To attain it, to comprehend the
delicate distinctions of the thought in which the truth is embodied, the
intellect, like a keen instrument of the finest steel, must be able to dis-
sect the thought, and distinguish one from the other its invisible nerves.
The edge of the instrument is blunted by the indulgence of the sensual
appetites, or of the intemperate passions of the soul Therefore it is thai
the sages have always required of those who sought to scale the heights
of philosophy a preparatory discipline, of long-continued temperance
and self-restraint; and fasting is enjoined, as well as prayer. If thy intel-
lect is dull and coarse by nature, or clouded and confused by indul-
gence, the sacred symbolism will have no meaning to thee; and we shall
address thee in a foreign tongue. Thus it is that true Masonry has
always been, and always must be, confined to a few; since to the mass
its truths are foolishness and valueless.'

19. Eleazar replied: Most Puissant Leader, the soul of the people was dis-
couraged, because of the way, journeying from Mount Hor, by the way
of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom; and they spake against
Adonai and against thee, saying: 'Why hath AL-Shadai and his servant
Moses brought us up out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is
no bread nor any water, and our souls loathe this light manna. We go
to and fro these forty years; and as Aaron died, in the desert, so also
shall we all die here. Let us Jgut_tru_st in Adonai no longer; but let us
call on the great gods Amun and Astarte, Osiris and Isis, to deliver us
from this misery.'

2 0 . And as the children of Israel cried aloud, Lo Adonai sent fiery serpents
among us, by whom much people hath died. And those that remain
have repented and saith: 'Put chains upon thy neck in token of our
penitence, and go unto Moses our leader, and beseech him to pray unto
Adonai that he take away the serpents from us,' and Eleazar did as
they desired.

366
.'I. He only is worthy of initiation in the profounder mysteries who has
overcome the fear of death, and is ready to hazard his life when the
welfare of his country or the interests of humanity require it; and to
die even an ignoble death, if thereby the people may be benefited.

11. I have prayed for the people, and Adonai hath said unto me: 'Make
thee an image of a venomous springing serpent, and set it upon a pole;
and it shall come to pass that every one that is bitten, when he looketh
upon it, shall live. The plague of serpents is stayed; and as they have
fled to their caves, so the celestial serpent flees, with the scorpion,
before the glittering stars of Orion. The great festival of the vernal
equinox approaches, and it is time to prepare ourselves by purification
for the Passover. Light will soon prevail once more over darkness; and
the pulses of life again beat in the bosom of the earth, long chilled by
the wintry frosts.'

23. 'Let the brazen cross and the serpent be borne before the congregation
and be forever a symbol of faith, by the dying out whereof in the hearts
of nations, they fall into decay; and lest the knowledge of its true sym-
bolic meaning should in time be lost, and the people hereafter imagine,
it to be something divine, and worship it, we will perpetuate the remem-
brance of this day's events, and the true meaning of this and our other
symbols, and of the fables of Osiris and Ormuzd, and Typhon and
Ahriman, as the last degree of those sacred mysteries which Joseph, the
son of Jacob, like myself, learned from the Egyptians, and which I have_
taught to you; such as our forefathers practised on the plains of Chaldea.'

24. 'The Father sends fiery serpents to sting and slay his children. Yet he
commands us to forgive those who trespass against us. And this law
is not the mandate of His will, but the expression of His nature. Who
will explain this great mystery?'

25. Below, upon the earth, the serpent is the minister of death. Its image,
lifted on high, heals and restores life. The first sages who sought for
the cause of causes saw good and evil in the world; they observed the
shadow and the light; they compared winter with spring, old age with
youth, life with death, and said: 'The first cause is beneficent and cruel.
It gives life and destroys.'

367
26. 'Are there, then, two contrary principles a good and an evil?'cried the
disciples of Manes.

27. No! the two principles of the universal equilibrium are not contrary
to each other, though in apparent opposition; for it is a single wisdom
that opposes them one to the other. The good is on the right, the evil
on the left; but the supreme good is above both, and makes the evil
subserve the triumph of the good, and the good serve for the repara
tion of the evil.

28. Wherefore this first cause has always revealed itself by the cross; the
cross, that one composed of two, each of the two divided, so that they
constitute four, the cross, that key of the mysteries of Egypt, the tau
of the patriarchs, the divine symbol of Osiris, the keystone of the
Temple, the symbol of occult Masonry; the cross, that central point of
junction of the right angles of four infinite triangles; the four in-one,
the divine tetragram.

29. The Universe is the Temple of the Deity whom we serve. Wisdom^
Strength and Beauty are about His throne as pillars of His works, 1 - f i T
Wisdom is infinite, His Strength omnipotent, and Beauty shines through
the whole of the creation in symmetry and order. The heavens He has
stretched forth as a canopy; the earth He hath planted as His foot^l
stool; He crowns His Tabernacle with Stars as with a diadem, and His
hands extend their power and glory.

368
 C h a p t e r Seven

T H E B U I L D I N G OF
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

Dovid intended to build a temple to God, but bequeathed the enter

prise to Solomon, his son, and Solomon selected a place near Jerusalem;
In II finding overthrown columns of Enoch's temple, and supposing them
10 be the ruins of a heathen temple, and not wishing to select a dese
crated spot, selected Mount Moriah for the site of his Temple to the
11 ne God.

()ur three Grand Masters, Solomon king of Israel, Hiram king of Tyre
,ind Hiram Abif, being in possession of the writings of Moses and (lit
Prophets, well knew that if the Children of Israel deviated from the
laws therein contained, their enemies would be let loose upon them,
their cities and holy Temple sacked, ruined and destroyed and all the
sacred treasures contained in the Sanctum Sanctorum would be for
ever lost.

In order to prevent this evil, they agreed to construct a secret vault

underground, leading from King Solomon's most retired apartment and
ending under the Sanctum Sanctorum or Holy of Holies.

King Solomon builded a secret vault, the approach to which w.is

through eight other vaults, all under ground, and to which a long and

369
 narrow passage led from the palace. The ninth arch or vault was imnu
diately under the Holy of Holies of the Temple. In that apartment Kinu
Solomon held his private conferences with King Hiram and Hiram Alnl

5. This Secret Vault was divided into nine arches or crypts. The ninth
arch was constructed by our three Grand Masters as a place where in
to deposit all the holy vessels and sacred treasures which would bfl
contained in the Sanctum Sanctorum above; and also as a place wherein
the three Grand Masters could meet and confer the Degree of Master i
Mason when the Temple had been completed.

6. Each Mason will apply our symbols and ceremonies according to hl|
faith. In no other way could Masonry possess its universality, that char-
acter which has ever been peculiar to it from its origin, and which
enabled two kings, worshippers of different Deities,
i
to sit together ax
Grand Masters while the walls of the first Temple arose; and the m e n
of Gebal, who bowed down to the Phoenician gods, to work by the
side of the Hebrews, to whom those gods were an abomination.'

7. There were employed to work on the other eight arches, twenty-two

men of Gebal, a city of Phoenicia, together with Adoniram and Ahishai,
all of whom were skilled in the arts and sciences generally, but par-
ticularly in sculpture.

8. Their hours of labour were from nine at night until twelve, the time
when all prying eyes were closed in sleep. On completion the twenty-
four Menatzchim were given the recognition secrets of a Master Mason
and were chosen as Select Masters. After the sacred vault was used as
a cabinet room wherein the three Grand Masters together with the
twenty-four Select Masters formed a Council of twenty-seven to dis- ;
cuss matters of high policy and when necessary to confer the Select
Master degree. It was, however, agreed that the Council should never
exceed a membership of twenty-seven.

9. Whereas all Overseers were in possession of the necessary trade secrets,

a Mason's Word was essential to enable anyone to negotiate contracts,
employ craftsmen and talk on equal terms with other Masters. It was
at first arranged by Grand Master Hiram Abif, that the Select Masters

370
 would lead the first parties of Craftsmen to leave the Temple site when
the building was complete. In order to preserve the secret of the vault,
the Select Masters wore no special badges of rank but carried on in
public as ordinary senior overseers.

HI Nevertheless, in spite of official secrecy, rumour persisted as to certain

Menatzchim with special status. This, not unnaturally, engendered much
heart-burning among those who considered themselves eligible for the
I secrets of a Master Mason, which would have qualified them to lead
I parties of Craftsmen in search of work when the Temple was finished.

11 Among these was one Zabud. He, from having had frequent contact
with King Solomon, had become known as 'the king's friend' and one
day, emboldened by familiarity, asked the king what his chances were
I of receiving the Word. T h e king told him to be patient, assuring him,
metaphorically, that a door would soon be opened to him. Zabud took
this assurance literally and on a certain day, having a confidential report
to make to the king, went to the latter's private apartments in the palace.
Entering the room and finding the king absent he determined to wait.
Presently he noticed a door standing ajar and immediately jumped to
the conclusion that this was the door to which the king had referred.
Passing through the door he found himself in a tunnel and eventually
came to another door, also partly open. Entering, he found himself in
the presence of what proved to be the Council of Twenty-seven.

11. Zabud was immediately seized and condemned to death as an intruder.

Explanation and discussion followed, upon which Zabud was exoner-
ated of the charge of trespass but the careless brother who had failed
to close the door was executed while Zabud was chosen to fill the con-
sequent vacancy.

I J. When the ninth arch had been completed, our three Grand Masters
deposited therein an exact copy of the Ark of the Covenant, containing
the pot of manna and Aaron's rod, also a true copy of the Book of
the Law, or all the writings of the Bible up to that period. And that it
might be known by whom and for what purpose it was deposited, they
placed on three sides of the Ark the initials of their names, and on the
fourth, the date, meaning deposited in the year of light 3 0 0 0 by

371
 Solomon, king of Israel, Hiram, king of Tyre, and Hiram Abif, for ilii
good of the Craft in general, and of the Jewish nation in particular.

14. When the deposit had been made thus far our Grand Master Hiram
Abif was assassinated, and it was at first supposed that the Mastn
Word was lost. But owing to the information received from Adonira
that it was Hiram Abif's wish that, in case of his death, the Masin
Word should be deposited beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum or Holy
Holies of the Temple, our two remaining Grand Masters agreed t l
deposit it in the ninth arch of the secret vault, on top of the Ark of

no

the Covenant, in a triangular form and in three languages, Syrian
1
Chaldean and Egyptian, so that if the children of Israel should ever h(
carried into captivity and remain so long as to forget their mother

n5 tongue, yet on their return it might, if found, be restored by means oi

the other languages.

15. And that it might, when found, be known and distinguished as the
Mason's Word, they placed on the top of the Ark of the Covenant, th
three Grand Masters' jewels, inscribed one in each language, knowin
that the descriptions thereof would he handed down to latest posterity.

16. After the death of Hiram Abif the two kings ceased to visit it, resolving
not to do so until they should select one to fill his place; and thai,
until that time, they would make known the sacred name to no one.

1
17. Solomon proposed to erect a Temple of Justice, and selected as a site
the spot where Enoch's temple had stood, and to that end directed that
the fallen columns and rubbish should be removed. Gibulum, Joabert
and Stolkin were selected to survey the ground and lay off the foun-
dations.

18. Whilst clearing the rubble they discovered the secret vault prepared by
Enoch in which were deposited treasures which they took to King
Solomon. The king took the treasures of Enoch, consisting of a golden
delta inlaid in a cube of agate and the fragments of the pillar con-
taining the arts and science of the world, and placed them in the sacred
vault of the ninth apartment on a twisted column of white marble, and
in this apartment he held his private conferences with King Hiram of

372
 tyre and Hiram Abif, they only knowing the way by which it was
approached.

'' Alter Adoniram, Joabert, and Stolkin had discovered the cube of agate
iliul the mysterious name, and had delivered it to King Solomon, the
i wo kings determined to deposit it in the secret vault, permit the three
Masters - who discovered it to be present, make known to them the
true pronunciation of the ineffable word, constitute the last degree of
Ancient Craft Masonry, and term it Grand Elect Mason.

(I A i the building of King Solomon's Temple and before the institution

ill the degree of Master Mason there were 80,000 operatives employed,
I I.I rt of whom were at quarries of Zeredathah, and part builders of the
Ic tnple; besides these there was a levy of 30,000 in the forests of
Iibanon.

I, In order that each of the 110,000 workmen might be known to his

superior officers, every part of the workmanship subjected to the nicest
scrutiny, and each faithful labourer receive with punctuality the reward
of his industry and skill; this immense number was divided into 1100
l.odges of Fellow Crafts and Entered Apprentices, the latter being
Lodges placed under the superintendence of the former, who taught
them the work.

Over the whole presided 3 , 3 0 0 Mentzchim, Overseers, or Mark

Masters, three over each Lodge. Each Fellow Craft had a mark pecu-
liar to himself by which his work was known to his immediate
Overseers, and while the Overseers had but one mark in common by
which they signified their approval of the Fellow Craft's work, they
had other marks by which they denoted the juxtaposition of any two
stones. Thus without any difficulty was each individual's work known
and recognised as perfect, and its proper place in the building indi-
cated.

3 The Fellow Crafts were allowed to choose any mark, not previously
fixed on by another in their own Lodge. It consisted of three, five,
seven, nine, or any other odd number of points connected by lines so
as to form any figure they pleased except that of the equilateral triangle.

373
 The Overseers, as already said, had but one mark in common, the
Equilateral Triangle alluding to the Triune essence of the Deity, ns
revealed to Enoch. These 3 3 0 0 Overseers were again divided into 100
Lodges, with 33 in each, over which presided 300 Harodim or Rulers.
These are now called Right Worshipful Master, Senior and Junior
Warden respectively. They were appointed by Hiram Abif himself, and
on them devolved the duty of paying the others their wages.

24. When the Fellow Crafts and their Overseers or Mark Masters receivcil
their wages they put in their hands in a different manner, and at dif
ferent wickets, so that if a Fellow Craft presumed to put in his hand
at the Mark Master's wicket he was instantly detected as an impostor,
and the Junior Harodim, or Warder, stood within with an axe ready
to inflict the penalty of striking off his offending hand. This consti
tutes part of the penalty of a Mark Master, and, as well as the other
part, was an ancient punishment among the Sidonians.

25. The Mark Master's degree was constituted in Joppa by Hiram Abif
before he came to Jerusalem, and the timber for the Temple was car-
ried there on floats by sea, and, as Masonic traditions inform us, the
shore at that place was so steep that it was impossible to ascend from
the rafts without assistance from above. This was effected by Brethren,
being stationed there for that purpose, giving a strong grip to assist
Brothers ashore.

26. The grip copied the mutual adaptation of the stones to each other, joint
to joint, and the peculiar mark of the Mark Masters. The ancient
brethren were known as Companions of the Mark.

27. It was the Master's business to prove each stone, not only as to its
soundness by giving it three blows with a mallet, as to its finish by
turning it over, but as to its being made exactly according to the working
plan with which each Mark Master was provided. If found perfect in
every way, it received the Mark Master's mark, and was sent on to the
Temple; but if not, it was condemned and thrown among the rubbish.
This was effected by two or more of the Brethren taking it between
them and after swinging it backwards and forwards three times it was
heaved over among the rubbish.

374
hi I very sixth working day it was the custom of the Overseers or Mark
Masters to wait upon the acting Grand Master Hiram Abif in order
10 receive instructions, as also the necessary plans for carrying on the
work and keeping the men employed. Part of one of these working
plans appears to have been lost, but an ingenious and intelligent Fellow
(irilft, having either seen the portion of the imperfect plan in the
i h'crseer's possession before it was lost, or forming a good idea of it
11 Hin the nature of the work, perceived that a stone of a very peculiar
11MIII and construction was wanting to complete the design, and prob
ably thinking to gain honour to himself for displaying a superior know!
edge of his work, he immediately commenced blocking out such a stone.

AI iker spending much labour on it, he ultimately finished it by putting

lie. own mark upon it. When the imperfect working plan was exam-
| ined no place was found for this particular stone, and the Fellow Craft
instead of honour received nothing but angry words and reproaches
!< n idling away his time, and in the heat of passion the Overseer ordered
I lie stone to be heaved among the rubbish, which was accordingly done
by two Brethren, probably well pleased at what they considered the
humiliation of their companion's vanity. The sorrowful Fellow Craft
who had cut the stone, on seeing this unworthy treatment of his work,
placed his hands to his head, and reclining in a disconsolate manner,
exclaimed his despair.

Id The stone long lay neglected among the rubbish. At last, however, the
time drew near when the Key Stone of the Porch of King Solomon's
Temple was required, to which the portion of the working plan alluded
to referred. Search was made at the Temple, but no such stone could
be found, and, on further inquiry, it was ascertained that no stone of
the requisite form had ever been brought there. The Overseers of that
portion of the building immediately sent to the Overseers at the quar-
ries, who had not received the plans and orders for that portion of the
work, to inquire the reason why this stone had not been forwarded
with the others. The latter declared they knew nothing about it, and
that there was no plan for any such stone among those entrusted lo
their care.

11. The work came to a standstill, and the reason was speedily demanded

375
 by Hiram Abif, who not only recollected drawing the plan, and writing
instructions about this stone, but also giving them himself to the Miu l<
Overseer of the Hewers. The latter being sent for was reprimanded l m
his carelessness in losing that portion of the plan, and, on learning tlx
shape of the stone required, it came to his recollection that one of thai
description had been cut by one of his workmen. He informed Hiram
Abif of this, and added that, owing to his not finding it noted in his
plan, he had refused to mark it, and had caused it to be rejected. Hiram
Abif instantly sent for the Fellow Craft who had cut the stone, and
questioned him concerning it, when, from the answers and description
of it, he immediately perceived that it must be the very stone requirnl
Instant and careful search was ordered to be made for it among (lie*
rubbish, where it was at last found uninjured.

32. As the Mark Overseer had displayed such ignorance of his working,
plans as not to be able to discover the use of the stone, Hiram deposed
him from his office and deprived him of the badge and insignia thereol,
which he conferred on the humble Fellow Craft, whom he made n
Mark Master, and raised to fill his place.

33. The Fellow Craft, or newly made Mark Master, was ordered to cut
the Mark Master's mark on the stone around his own on the small
end, and outside of it. The stone was conveyed to the Temple with
great pomp and parade, and while it was being fixed in its place, thel
newly made Mark Master in an ecstasy of joy clasping his hands
together and looking up, exclaimed: 'All Glory to the Most High.'

34. When the Temple was almost completed King Solomon, with the Princes
of his household, went to view it and they were so struck with its mag-
nificence that with one simultaneous emotion they raised their arms
and exclaimed 'O Worthy Masons.'

35. The ornaments of the Temple were the Porch, Dormer, and Square
pavement. Their uses were as follows. The Porch was the entrance to
the Sanctum Sanctorum; the Dormer the window that gave light to the
same; and the Square pavement for the High Priest to walk on.

36. The High Priest's office was to burn incense to the honour and glory

376
 ul the Most High, and to pray fervently that the Almighty, of I lis
unbounded wisdom and goodness, would be pleased to bestow peace
uikl tranquillity on the Israelitish nation during the ensuring year.

t I he labour force employed on the Temple project were organised in

lodges, each ruled by three Menatzchim. As the building neared com-
pletion and various trades became redundant, a lodge would be closed
iind its members, in parties led by a qualified overseer, would take the
l oad in search of other employment. The term 'qualified overseer' meant
one who, in addition to all necessary trade secrets of his guild, was
,iino in possession of the Mason Word which would enable him to talk
On equal terms with other Masters, accept contracts, arrange terms and
generally organise the welfare of his men.

N, (>verseers considered by the Grand Masters to be suitable leaders were

honoured with the rank of Royal Master, and it is not difficult to appre-
iate the state of mind of an overseer who, having made tentative
arrangements to lead a party, had not yet received the Mason Word.

Such a one was Adoniram, overseer of a gang of metal workers engaged

on finishing touches to the Sanctuary. Knowing that he and his men
would shortly be laid off, he was worried because he had not yet
become a Royal Master. One morning as the hour of High Twelve
approached, he took a richly chased bowl to Hiram Abif for approval,
and as the latter was in the act of passing it the trumpets sounded for
the midday break.

|40, The Craftsmen went off and Hiram Abif repaired to the Sanctuary to
pray and to deposit the newly approved bowl. Adoniram, instead of
accompanying his men, lingered behind and, as the Master, having fin-
ished his devotions, prepared to leave the sanctuary, he waylaid him
and inquired when he was likely to be honoured with the rank of Royal
Master. Hiram Abif exhorted Adoniram to be patient, well knowing
that Adoniram was already on the list, and (somewhat irregularly)
hinted that if he should die before Adoniram received the secrets, the
Mason Word would be found buried below the spot where they two
were standing, i.e., in the sacred vault, of which Adoniram knew
nothing. Only partially satisfied, Adoniram retired while Hiram Abif,

377
 rejoining his two colleagues, related the incident and confessed his iiulis
cretion. After discussion a day and time were fixed for the next meeting,
of a Council of Royal Masters for the purpose of conferring the deguv
on Adoniram. But he was not the only anxious aspirant for the seerCIN
of a Master Mason: and shortly after the above-mentioned interview,
Hiram Abif was slain, so that the degree of Royal Master had to In-
given to Adoniram by the two surviving Grand Masters.

4T. There must have been many trades employed, e.g., blacksmiths to make
tools, carpenters to erect scaffolding, make templates and gauges, also
painters, decorators and many ancillary trades. Nevertheless, stonewoi I
being the principal trade it was customary for the head of any building
project to be styled Master Mason. Consequently a Craftsman hon
oured with the rank of Royal Master received the recognition secret!
of a Master Mason.

378
 Chapter Eight

THE A S S A S S I N A T I O N OF
I HIRAM ABIF

|( In the just and virtuous man death has no terrors equal to the stain
ul falsehood and dishonour. Of this great truth the annals of Masonry
illord a glorious example, in the unshaken fidelity, and noble death,
ol our master, Hiram Abif, who was killed just before the completion
ol King Solomon's Temple, at the construction of which he was the
principal Architect.

As Master Masons we come from the East directing our course towards
(he West. We were induced to leave the East and go to the West to
seek for that which was lost, which, by our instruction and our own
industry, we hope to find, the genuine secrets of a Master Mason. They
came to be lost by the untimely death of our master, Hiram Abif.

\ fifteen Fellow Crafts, of that superior class appointed to preside over

the rest, finding that the work was nearly completed, and that they
were not in possession of the Secrets of the Third Degree, conspired
to obtain them by any means, even to have recourse to violence; at the
moment, however, of carrying their conspiracy into execution, twelve
of the fifteen recanted, but three of a more determined and atrocious
character than the rest, persisted in their impious design, in the pros-
ecution of which they planted themselves respectively at the East, North

379
 and South entrances of the Temple, whither our master had retired to
pay his adoration to the Most High, as was his wonted custom at the
hour of high twelve.

4. Having finished his devotions, he attempted to return by the South

entrance, where he was opposed by the first of those ruffians, who,
for want of other weapon, had armed himself with a heavy Plumb
Rule, and in a threatening manner demanded the secrets of a Master
Mason, warning him that death would be the consequence of a refusal.

5. Our Master, true to his Obligation, answered that those secrets were
known to but three in the world, and that, without the consent and
co-operation of the other two he neither could, nor would, divulge
them, but intimated that he had no doubt patience and industry would
in due time entitle the worthy Mason to a participation of them, but
that, for his own part, he would rather suffer death than betray the
sacred trust reposed in him. This answer not proving satisfactory, the
ruffian aimed a violent blow at the head of our master, but being star-
tled at the firmness of his demeanour, it missed his forehead, and only
glanced on his right temple but with such force as to cause him to reel
and sink on his left knee. Recovering from the shock, he made for the
North entrance where he was accosted by the second of those ruffians,
to whom he gave a similar answer with undiminished firmness, when
the ruffian, who was armed with a Level, struck him a violent blow
on the Left temple, which brought him to the ground on his right knee.

6. Finding his retreat cut off at both those points, he staggered faint and
bleeding to the East entrance, where the third ruffian was posted who
received a similar answer to his insolent demand (for even at this trying
moment our master remained firm and unshaken), when the villain,
who was armed with a heavy maul, stuck him a violent blow on the
forehead, which laid him lifeless at his feet.

7. The death of our master Hiram Abif was a loss so important, being
that of the principal Architect, that it could not fail of being speedily
and severely felt. The want of those plans and designs, which had hith-
erto been so regularly supplied throughout every department of the
work, was the first indication that some heavy calamity had befallen

380
 our Master. The Menatschim or Prefects, or more familiarly speaking,
the Overseers of the work, deputed some of the most eminent of their
number to acquaint King Solomon with the utter confusion into which
the absence of Hiram had plunged them, and to express their appre-
hension that to some fatal catastrophe must be attributed his sudden
and mysterious disappearance.

8. On the same day the twelve Craftsmen who had originally joined in
the conspiracy came forward before the King and made a voluntary
confession of all that they knew up to the time of their having with-
drawn themselves from the number of the conspirators. His fears being
awakened for the safety of the chief artist, the King selected fifteen
trusty Fellow Crafts and ordered them to make diligent search after
the person of our Master, to ascertain whether he were yet alive or
had suffered death in the attempt to extort from him the secrets of his
exalted Degree.

9. Accordingly, a stated day having been appointed for their return to

Jerusalem, they formed themselves into three Fellow Craft Lodges and
departed from the three entrances of the Temple. Many days were spent
in fruitless search; indeed, one lodge returned to Jerusalem without having
made any discovery of importance, but a second lodge was more fortu
nate, for on the evening of a certain day, after having suffered the greatest
privations and personal fatigue, one of the Brethren who had rested him
self in a reclining posture, to assist his rising caught hold of a shrub that
grew near, which, to his surprise, came easily out of the ground.

10. On a closer examination he found that the earth had been recently dis
turbed; he therefore hailed his Brethren, and, with their united efforts,
succeeded in reopening it and there found the body of our Master
Hiram very indecently interred. They covered it again with all respect
and reverence, and in order to distinguish the spot stuck a sprig of
Acacia at the head of the Grave; they then hastened to Jerusalem, to
impart the afflicting intelligence to King Solomon, who, when the first
emotions of his grief had subsided, ordered them to return and raise
the body of our Master to such a sepulchre as became his rank anil
exalted talents; at the same time informing them that by his untimely
death the genuine Secrets of a Master Mason were lost; he therefore

381
 charged them to be particularly careful in observing whatever casual
signs, tokens or words that might occur among them while paying this
last sad tribute of respect to departed merit.

11. They performed their task with the utmost fidelity, and on reopening
the ground one of the Brethren looking round observed some of his
companions in a position expressive of the horror of the afflicting sight,
and others viewing the ghastly wounds still visible on his forehead
smote their own in sympathy with his sufferings: two of the Brethren
then descended the grave, one of them endeavoured to raise our Master
by the Entered Apprentice grip, which proved a slip, the other tried
the Fellow Craft's grip, which proved a slip likewise; having both failed
in their attempts, a more zealous and expert Brother descended, and,
using the strong or lion grip of a Master Mason, with their assistance
raised him on the Five Points of Fellowship, while others, still more
animated, exclaimed words having a nearly similar import; King
Solomon ordered that these casual signs, tokens, and words should
designate all Master Masons throughout the Universe, until time or
circumstances should restore the genuine ones.

12. The body of our Master was ordered to be re-interred as near to the
Sanctum Sanctorum as the Israelitish laws would permit, there in a
grave from the centre three feet East, three feet West, three feet between
North and South and five feet or more perpendicular.

13. He was not buried in the Sanctum Sanctorum, because nothing common
or unclean was allowed to enter there, not even the High Priest except
once a year and not even then until after many washings and purifi-
cations, against the great day of expiations of sins, for by the Israelitish
law all dead bodies are deemed unclean. The same fifteen Fellow Crafts
were ordered to attend the funeral, clothed in white aprons and gloves
as emblem of their innocence.

14. Immediately after the assassination of Hiram the builder the Temple
was but partially constructed. King Solomon selected seven of the most
worthy and expert brethren, made them Master Masons, and appointed
them special guardians of the Sanctum Sanctorum and of the sacred
furniture of that Holy Place. They were called Secret Masters.

382
 I I I I A O J A J J I I>I/\I I I I IXRVIVI /MMI

15. In the grey dawn of morning, even before the sun rising over Mount
Olivet flushed with crimson the walls of the Temple, the chosen few,
awe-stricken and grave, had assembled. The light from the seven-branch
candlestick in the East was reflected back from the golden floor, from
the brazen laver of water, with hyssop and napkins, but fell sombrely
on the heavy drapings of the sack-cloth on the walls. Amidst the prayers
and exhortations, and the solemn chanting of the Levites, the seven
entered into a mystic bond, and the duty of secrecy and silence was
laid upon them.

16. And then the doors of cedar and olive wood heavily carved and gilded
were opened, the veils of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and richly
embroidered white linen were drawn aside, and the mysteries of the
Holy of Holies revealed to them.

17. None but the Priests and Levites had entered the Sanctum Sanctorum
since the Sacred Ark had been brought thither, and now as the Seven
Secret Sentinels put off their shoes and washed their feet, and stepped
over the golden threshold, they stood in silence blinded with the light
that burst upon them. The spreading wings of the Cherubim covered
the Ark of the Covenant, but from all sides the walls glittered with
gold and precious stones.

18. King Solomon spoke saying: 'what is the hour?' and Adoniram. son of
A b d a replied. ' ' T h e m o r n i n g s t a r is d r i v i n g a w a y t h e s h a d e s o f n i g l u ,
a n d its r o s y light b e g i n s t o g l a d d e n o u r L o d g e . '

19. And King Solomon spoke again saying: star is the

forerunner of the great light which begins Lodge, and

draweth nigh to the contemplation of the Ineffable mysteries, should

put off all
we are theSecret
shoes Masters,
of his worldly conversations;
it is time to commencefor thelabours.
our place whereon
Who so
he stands is holy ground. Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth,
and keep thou the door of my lips.'

20. O Jehovah! our Adonai, how excellent is thy name over all the earth!
Thy name declares the glory of Elohim. There appears to be power in
Thy name which revealeth secrets.

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I 1I 1 uwwiv W I 111 IXnlVI

21. Permit me now, my brothers, to receive you as Secret Masters, and give
you rank among the Levites. By the rank you now hold among the
Levites in the quality of Secret Master, you have become one of the
guardians of the Sanctum Sanctorum, and I place you in the number
of seven.

22. Brother Adoniram, it is our order that you cause to be erected a tomb
or obelisk, of white and black marble, west-southwest of the Temple,
wherein shall be deposited the embalmed remains of our lamented
Grand Master Hiram Abif. The white marble shall denote the inno-
cence and purity of our departed Grand Master, and the black the
untimely death of him we mourn. See, therefore, that the solemn duty
is speedily executed, and let the obsequies be performed with becoming
and imposing ceremonies.

23. King Solomon opened a Lodge of sorrow for the departed worthy
brother. He opened the Lodge of Perfect Masters in the darkness of
dawn as the blazing star in the East cast its lurid red light over the
black-draped coffin on which were laid the jewel and apron of Grancf
Master Hiram Abif.

24. King Solomon stood before the coffin of our Master Hiram and prayed
to the Most High:

25. O Almighty and Eternal God! there is no number of Thy days or of

Thy mercies. Thou hast sent us into this world to serve The.e, but we
wander far from Thee in the path of error. Our life is but a span in
length, and yet tedious, because of the calamities that enclose us on
every side. The days of our pilgrimage are few and evil; our bodies
frail; our passions violent and distempered; our understandings weak,
and our wills perverse. Look thou upon us, our Father, in mercy and
pity. We adore Thy majesty, and trust like little children to Thine infi-
nite mercies. Give us patience to live well, and firmness to resist evil,
even as our departed brother resisted. Give us, O most merciful Father,
faith and confidence in thee; and enable us so to live, that when we
come to die we may lie down in the grave like one who composes him-
self to sleep, and that we may be worthy hereafter to be remembered
in the memories of man. Bless us, O God: bless our beloved fraternity:

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 may we live and emulate the example of our departed brother; and
finally, that we may in this world attain a knowledge of Thy truth,
and in the world to come, life everlasting. Amen.

26. This ceremony was established by King Solomon to commemorate the

death of our Grand Master Hiram Abif, whose labours at the building
of the first Temple, and whose tragic death furnish so much of the
mystical knowledge of Ancient Craft Masonry. It is a lesson both useful
and instructive. Let us look forward to brighter scenes, when our
deceased brother, who had been smitten down by the resistless hand
of death, shall be raised from his prostrate state at the word of our
Supreme Grand Master, and admitted to the privilege of the Perfect
Lodge above.

27. Happy to have the poor consciousness of having found the precious
remains of so great and so good a man as Hiram Abif, and having an
opportunity of paying a just tribute of respect to his memory, King
Solomon ordered the noble Adoniram, his Grand Inspector, to make
suitable arrangements for his interment. The brethren were directed to
attend with white gloves and aprons, and he forbade the marks of
blood which had been spilled in the Temple to be effaced until the trai
tors should be discovered and punished.

28. In the meanwhile, he directed the noble Adoniram to furnish a plan

for a superb tomb or obelisk, of white and black marble, which plan
was accepted and the work finished.

2 9 . Three days after the funeral ceremonies had been performed, King
Solomon repaired with his Court to the Temple, and all the brethren
being arranged as at the funeral, he proceeded with his brethren to see
and examine the tomb and obelisk, with the inscription thereon. Struck
with astonishment and admiration, he raised his eyes and hands to
heaven and exclaimed 'It is accomplished and complete!'

30. King Solomon upon the death of the Grand Master, Hiram, found it
necessary to appoint several Judges, in order that justice might be
administered among the workmen upon the Temple, their complaints
heard, and their disputes decided; for difficulties and disturbances were

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now more frequent, pending the temporary cessation of work and the
period of mourning. This duty of judgement had devolved upon the
lamented Hiram, and his loss caused the appointment of Tito and his
associates to listen to and adjust the complaints that might be brought
before them.

31. King Solomon appointed Tito, Prince of Herodim, to be the chief

Provost and Judge, Adoniram, and Abda, his father, and four others
learned in the Law of Moses, to complete the number and constitute
the Tribunal. They held their sittings in the middle chamber of the
Temple, where the records of the Tribunal were kept, in a box of ebony,
studded with precious gems, the key of which was committed to the
Provosts or Judges; and there they considered and adjusted the demands
and differences of the workmen, and determined all appeals from the
judgement of a single Provost and Judge administering the same laws
to the Phoenician as to the Hebrew, and endeavouring to do entire jus-
tice, according to the law of Moses, between man and man.

32. The necessity for a Court of Judges did not exist until after the death
of the Grand Master Hiram, as the number of difficulties and dissen-
sions among the workmen was not so numerous, and judgement was
arrived at by the ready decisions of Hiram, which all quietly acqui-
esced in.

33. The death of Hiram, the Chief Architect, threw the workmen of the
Temple of King Solomon into great confusion; and for a time the con-
struction of the building was stayed, for the want of essential plans
and an expert director of the work. The period of mourning having
expired, King Solomon, upon consultation, determined to appoint five
Superintendents - one for each of the five Departments of Architecture
- and under their supervision the building progressed.

34. King Solomon called together, Adoniram, the son of Abda, who he
made the Head of the Board of Architects; Joabert, a Phoenician, who
he made Chief Artificer in Brass; Stolkin, a Hebrew, who he made
Chief Carpenter; Selec, a Giblemite, who he made Chief Stone-Mason;
and Gareb, a Hebrew, who he made Chief Worker in Silver and Gold
and Engraver. And King Solomon addressed them.

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35. 'My Brethren, to become an Intendant of the Building, it is necessary
that you be skilful architects and learned in the knowledge of the East
and Egypt. But it is equally necessary that you should be charitable
and benevolent, that you may sympathise with the labouring man,
relieve his necessities, see to his comforts and that of his family, and
smooth for him and for those who depend upon him the ragged way
of life, recognising all men as your brethren, and yourselves as the
almoners of God's bounty.'

36. After the death of the Grand Master, the assassins having made their
escape, a great assembly of Masons was convened by King Solomon,
to consult as to the best means of discovering and apprehending them.
Their deliberations were interrupted by the entrance of a herdsman,
who demanded to speak to the king. On being admitted to an inter-
view, he acquainted King Solomon that he had discovered persons con-
cealed in a cave near the coast of Joppa, answering the description
given of the traitors; and he offered to conduct those whom the king
should select to the place of their concealment. This being communi-
cated to the Masters, they one and all eagerly requested to be made
participators in the vengeance due to the assassins. Solomon checked
their ardour, declaring that only nine should undertake the task; and
to avoid giving any offence, ordered a selection of nine of the brethren
by lot, to accompany the stranger. At the first hour of the night, Stolkin,
the favourite of King Solomon, and eight others, conducted by the
stranger, travelled onward through a rough and dreary country toward
the coast of Joppa.

37. On the way Stolkin, the most ardent of the nine, learning that the mur-
derers were hidden in a cavern not far from where they then were,
pressed on ahead, found the cavern and entered it with the shepherd,
where, by the dim light of the lamp, he discovered one of the assas-
sins asleep, with a dagger at his feet. Inflamed at the sight, and actu-
ated by an impatient zeal, he immediately seized the dagger and stabbed
him, first in the head and then in the heart. The assassin had only time
to say 'Necum' [pronounced nay-coom], or 'vengeance is taken,' and
expired. The avenger then quenched his thirst at the fountain.

38. When the eight arrived at the spot, they asked him what he had done.

387
i i ic i n ivmvi

He replied: 'I have slain the assassin of our Grand Master, and have
performed a feat for the honour and glory of the Craft, for which I
hope to be rewarded.' He then severed the head from the body, and
taking it in one hand and his dagger in the other, with the eight returned
to Jerusalem. In his zeal, however, he hastened into the presence of the
king, passing the guards at the entrance. Solomon was at first very
much offended that it had been put out of his power to take vengeance,
in the presence of, and as a warning to, the rest of the workmen, and
ordered the guards to put his favourite to death; but by the interces-
sion of his brethren he was pardoned for his zeal, and they became
reconciled. King Solomon established the grade of Master Elect of Nine,
and conferred it upon the nine companions.

39. About six months, it is said, after the execution of the assassin,
Bengaber, an intendant of King Solomon, in the country of Gath, which
was tributary to him, caused diligent inquiry to be made if any person
had lately taken shelter in that region who might be supposed to have
fled from Jerusalem. He published at the same time an accurate descrip-
tion of the traitors who had made their escape. Shortly afterward he
received information that persons answering the description had lately
arrived there, and believing themselves to be perfectly secure, had begun
to work in the quarry of Ben-Dekar.

40. As soon as Solomon was made acquainted with this circumstance, he

wrote to Maaka, King of Gath, to assist in apprehending them, and
to cause them to be delivered to persons he should appoint to secure
them, and have them brought to Jerusalem to receive the punishment
due to their crimes.

41. Solomon then selected fifteen Masters in whom he could place the greatest
confidence, and among whom were those nine who had been in the
cavern, and sent them with an escort of troops in quest of the villains.
Five days were spent in the search, when Zerbal, who bore King Solomon's
letter to King Maaka, with Stolkin and another of his companions, dis-
covered them cutting stone in the quarry. They immediately seized them,
and, binding them in chains, conducted them to Jerusalem. On their
arrival they were imprisoned in the tower of Achizar, and the next
morning received the punishment which their crimes deserved.

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 I III A5SA5SIINAI I U N Uh IIIKAM AIWI

42. After punishment had been inflicted on the murderers, King Solomon
instituted a degree, both as a recompense for the zeal and constancy
of the Elus of the Fifteen, who had assisted him to discover them, ancf
also to enable him to elevate other deserving brethren from the lower
degrees to those of places in the higher, which had been vacated by
their promotion. Twelve of these fifteen he elected Sublime Knights,
and made the selection by ballot, that he might give none offence, put-
ting the names of the whole in an urn. The first twelve that were drawn
he formed into a Chapter, and gave them command over the twelve
tribes. He gave them the name of Emeth, which is a Hebrew word sig-
nifying a true man. He exhibited to them the precious things which
were deposited in the tabernacle.

43. After the murderers of the Master Hiram Abif had been discovered,
apprehended, tried, and punished, his monument and mausoleum com-
pleted, and the matters which concerned the revenue of the realm pro-
vided for, King Solomon, to assure uniformity of work and vigour in
its prosecution, and to reward the superior and eminent science and
skill of Adoniram the son of Abda, appointed him to be chief Architect
of the Temple, with the title of Grand Master Architect, and invested
him with that office, as sole successor and representative of the deceased
Master Hiram Abif, and at the same time made him Grand Master of
Masons and the Masonic peer of himself and King Hiram of Tyre.
Afterward the title was conferred upon other Princes of the Jewish
court as an honorarium, and thus the title became established.
 Chapter Nine

T H E C O M P L E T I O N OF
T H E F I R S T T E M P L E OF
JERUSALEM

1. King Solomon held the installation of Adoniram in the Chamber of

Designs, within the partially completed Temple, when the sun had just
set and the evening star had appeared.

2. Before the starting the building of the Temple King Solomon had
builded a secret vault, the approach to which was through eight
other vaults, all under ground, and to which a long and narrow pas-
sage led from the palace. The ninth arch or vault was immediately
under the Holy of Holies of the Temple. In that apartment King
Solomon held his private conferences with King Hiram and Hiram
Abif. After the death of Hiram Abif the two kings ceased to visit it,
resolving not to do so until they should select one to fill his place;
and that, until that time, they would make known the sacred name
to no one.

3. Gibulum, Joabert and Stolkin had been selected to survey the ground
and lay off the foundations for Solomon's Temple of Justice, and during
the work they discovered the secret chambers beneath the ruined Temple
of Enoch. They explored the depths, and discovered hidden deep in
the darkness of the earth the delta or golden plate upon which Enoch
had engraved the ineffable name of God.

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 I h i : L i U M I ' L L I lUIN U h MIL M KS I ItMI'Lt Ul |LKU^ALl:M

4. They took the delta to King Solomon, who said, 'Companions let lis
give thanks unto the Lord who hath given us the treasures of darkness
and the hidden riches of secret places.' King Solomon determined to
deposit it in the secret vault, permit the three Masters, who discovered
it, to be present, make known to them the true pronunciation of the
ineffable word, constitute the last degree of Ancient Craft Masonry,
and term it Grand Elect Mason. The cube of agate was so deposited.

5. Afterward the twelve Princes of Ameth, the nine Elect, and the Chief
Architect were admitted to this degree. This vault was thereafter called
the sacred vault, and was originally built by Hiram Abif, and none but
Grand Elect Masons knew of its existence, or knew other than the sub-
stituted word.

6. Six and a half years after the laying of the foundation stone, King
Solomon's Temple was completed and plans were made to transfer the
Ark of the Covenant from the temporary tabernacle, in which it had
been housed by King David, to its new home in the Holy of Holies,
also to dedicate the Temple to the Most High. To celebrate the occa-
sion King Solomon decided to institute the degree of Most Excellent
Master and to confer this on those senior Menatzchim who so mer-
ited special recognition, particularly the twenty-four who, unknown to
the generality, already held the rank Select Master: a step which enabled
King Solomon to give public distinction to those worthies without
revealing the existence of the sacred vault.

7. The furniture of the Sanctum Sanctorum included many holy vessels

made of pure gold, but the most important was the Ark of the Covenant,
called the glory of Israel, which stood in the middle of the Most Holy
place under the wings of the Cherubim.

8. It was a small chest or coffer, two cubits and a half in length and one
cubit and a half in width and depth. It was made of wood, excepting
only the mercy seat, and overlaid with gold both inside and out. It had
a ledge of gold surrounding it at the top, into which was let the cover
called the mercy seat. The mercy seat was of solid gold, the thickness
of a hand's breadth; at the ends were two Cherubim looking inward
towards each other, with their wings expanded which, embracing the

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I n t BUUK Ut III K A M

whole circumference of the mercy seat, met in the middle on each side.
All the Rabbis say it was made out of the same mass without any sol-
dering of parts.

9. Here the Shekinah or Divine Presence rested and was visible in the
appearance of a cloudy light over it. Hence the Bath-Kol issued and
gave answers when God was consulted. And here it was that God was
said to dwell between the Cherubim; that is between the Cherubim on
the mercy seat; because there was the seat or throne of the visible pres-
ence of His glory amongst them.

10. Before the date fixed for the ceremonies, however, Hiram Abif was
slain and the said ceremonies had to be delayed while Israel and its
king mourned the death of the Master.

11. The Temple was completed in the year 3000 - six years, six months
and ten days after King Solomon had laid the first cornerstone; and its
completion was celebrated with great pomp and splendid magnificence.

12. And the rulers of the surrounding nations sent ambassadors to con-
gratulate King Solomon on the completion of the stately edifice, whose
regal splendour and unparalleled lustre are said to have surpassed all
imagination. But one sovereign from the East was not content to send
an ambassador, as others had done|shacame to Jerusalem to be received
by King Solomon within the Holy Temple.

13. To dedicate the Temple King Solomon called a general assembly of

Masons and dedicated it with solemn prayer and costly sacrifice, while
to the strains of the finest music the vast congregation raised their
praises to the Most High. Upon placing the Ark in the most Holy Place
the glory of the Lord filled the House. And when the singers and trum-
peters were to make one sound in praise and thanks to the Lord, saying,
'Praise the Lord, for he is good: his mercy endureth forever,' that the
Temple was filled with a cloud, and the name was fully pronounced.

14. It was during the ceremony of dedication that the Divine Shekinah
entered the Temple and shone her light into the Holy of Holies as a
sign of the approbation of the Most High.

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 I H T ( J U M I ' L f c I I U N W T I 111 M K I L IR.MI'LC u r J I M U S / M I.IVI

15. The First and highest honour ever conferred on Frgemasons is this
descent of the Divine Shekinah from the East, first at the consecration
of the Holy Tabernacle, and afterwards at the dedication of the Temple
of the Lord by King Solomon, placing itself on the Ark or Mercy-seat
of the Holy of Holies, covered by the wings of the Cherubim, where

\
it continued to deliver its oracular responses for fourteen generations.

16. The Blazing Star symbol represents The Glory of God appearing as the
Divine Shekinah as it had previously appeared on Mount Sinai at the
deliverance of the Law received by Moses.

17. Subsequently, during the ceremony of the dedication of the Temple,

King Solomon conferred this sublime degree on twenty-five brethren.

18. On the second day, an audience was given to all Masons, from the
degree of Master to the Royal Arch, and all vacancies were filled. On
the third day, King Solomon devoted his time to advancing and raising
Fellow Crafts and Entered Apprentices.

f
19. Thus far the wise King of Israel behaved worthy of himself, and gained
universal admiration; but in process of time, when he had advanced
in years, his understanding became impaired; he grew deaf to the voice
of the Lord, and was strangely irregular in his conduct. Proud of having
erected an edifice to his Maker, and much intoxicated with his great
power, he plunged into all manner of licentiousness and debauchery,
and profaned the Temple by offering incense to the idol Moloch, which
only should have been offered to The Living God.
^ i t ?
20. The Grand Elect Masons saw this, and wrere sorely grieved, being fearful
that his apostasy would end in some dreadful consequences, and per-
haps bring upon them those enemies whom Solomon had vainly and
wantonly defied. The people, copying the follies and vices of their king,
became proud and idolatrous, neglecting the true worship of God for
that of idols.

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 C h a p t e r Ten

THE RETURN FROM

THE BABYLONIAN
CAPTIVITY

1. With the death of King Solomon in B.C. 938 the Jewish empire hegan
to disintegrate. Israel promptly asserted its independence, leaving Judah,
comprising only the tribe of that name, with its capital at Jerusalem.

2. The Divine Shekinah descended so its light shone upon the Ark or
Mercy seat as it stood in the Holy of Holies, until the Israelites proved
unfaithful to the Most High. And so may the light of Masonry be
removed from all who prove unfaithful to their God!

3. The Council of Twenty-seven fell into desuetude: vacancies among the

Select Masters were no longer filled, and the existence of the Sacred
Vault lived only as a legend known only to the few worthy brothers.

4. The Masons continued to hold annual meetings of the Council of

Princes of Jerusalem on the 20th day of the tenth month Tebet: and
elected Officers at every annual meeting: these they installed on the
23d day of the eleventh month - Adar. It was the province of the
Council of Princes of Jerusalem to inspect and watch over, with due
care and fidelity, the few remaining Lodges of Perfection, and see that
their 'work' was done in conformity with the regulations and land-
marks of the order.

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 Mil: KtlUKN IKUM 1Mb B A B Y L U N IAIN UAI'IIVIIY

5. As an adequate punishment for the defection of King Solomon, God

inspired the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to take
vengeance on the kingdom of Israel. This prince sent an army, with
Nebuzaradan, captain of the guards, who entered Judah with fire and
sword, took and sacked the city of Jerusalem, razed its walls, and
destroyed that superb model of excellence, the Temple. The people were
carried away captive to Babylon, and the conquerors carried away with
them all the vessels of gold and silver.

6. Israel disappeared in B.C. 734 and by B.C. 597, the kingdom of Judah
was itself on the point of extinction.

7. Ten years previously Jerusalem had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar

(heir to the throne of Babylon). Leaving the city and Temple intact
(except for the temple treasures) Nebuchadnezzar took ten thousand
of the principal citizens into exile in Babylonia. The prophet Ezekiel
accompanied the exiles while Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem. The
kingdom of Judah was reduced to the status of a Babylonian province,
with Zedekiah on the throne as satrap (tributary king).

8. After eleven years of vassalage Zedekiah rebelled, whereupon

Nebuchadnezzar (now king of Babylon) sent his general Nebuzaradan
to capture and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple and to devastate the
province. Having dealt with other strong points, Nebuzaradan laid siege
to Jerusalem and when Zedekiah saw that the situation was hopeless
he attempted to escape to Egypt with a few followers. He was inter-
cepted, his eyes put out (the usual punishment for treason in those
days), and taken to Babylon in chains of brass.

9. It is at this juncture Gedaliah, governor of Jerusalem, presided over a

Council of Super Excellent Masters to consider last-minute plans. That
Word supposed to have been lost when Hiram Abif was assassinated
was actually lying in the sacred vault beneath the Council Chamber
over which Gedaliah was presiding. And it remained there, lost to living
memory, after the temple was destroyed.

10. The meeting was convened within the besieged Temple and Gedaliah
spoke, asking the Keeper of the Temple: 'Are we secure?' He received

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an affirmative answer. Gedaliah opened the meeting by offering a prayer

to the Most High saying: 'Companions, let us offer up our fervent
prayer to the Almighty that He may be pleased to vouchsafe to us His
protecting care and favour.'

11. Oh Lord and Supreme Master of the Universe, we humbly beseech

Thee to bless us in all our undertakings help us to worship Thee
worthily; fill our hearts with Thy fear, and make us steadfast in Thy
service that hereafter we may praise Thee to all Eternity.

12. He then ordered that the Ark of the Covenant be unveiled at which
point a herald sought entry to the lodge with an urgent message.
Gedaliah ordered him to be admitted and the Herald spoke:
'Companions, the sword of the enemy prevails, the innumerable forces
of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, advance and fill the city, the king
has fled, and the army of the Chaldeans has pursued and overtaken
him on the plains of Jericho.'

13. Gedaliah stood and urged the assembled Masons to remain calm and
he said: 'In this extremity, let us repair to the Holy Altar and there
pledge our faith, renew our vows and demonstrate once again the ties
that bind us for ever to the Most High.'

14. Gedaliah then called the assembled Masons to form a Square around
the Ark of the Covenant. And he said to them: 'This square represents
the encampment of the Israelites, with the Ark of the Covenant in the
centre, and three tribes on each side. On the East side, towards the
rising sun, shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah, pitch with
Issacher and Zebutun. On the South side, the standard of the camp of
Reuben with Simeon and Gad. On the West side, the standard of the
camp of Ephraim with Benjamin and Manasseh, and on the North side,
the standard of the camp of Dan with Asher and Naphthali. Then the
tabernacle of the congregation shall be set forward with the camp of
the Levites in the midst of the camp.'

15. Gedaliah then said: 'Companions, you will form triangle round the Ark
of the Covenant. The triangle or delta is an emblem of the Deity, and
represents His Omniscience, Omnipresence and Omnipotence it also

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 I I I L ivi. 1 VJ IVIN R ivvvIVI M I L N A N I L U N I N I N U N I I I v I I I

represents the triple duty we owe to God, our neighbours and our-
selves. Companions, you will form a circle round the Ark of the
Covenant. The circle is an emblem of friendship; the Ark of the
Covenant in the centre as the blazing star. It is also emblematical of
the circle of our moral virtues, as inculcated in the Degree of Entered
Apprentice by the point within the circle embordered by two parallel
lines. It is further an emblem of eternity, having neither beginning nor
end. The first, the emblem of friendship, may be broken; the second,
the emblem of our moral virtues, may be changed; but the third, the
emblem of eternity, will never alter. This emblem encourages the hope
that, through faith in the Divine promises, we may attain to the full
fruition of a glorious immortality. We are the guardians of the tradi-
tions of the Council of Twenty-seven. We solemnly promise we will
never bow down to other gods, or pay religious adoration to idols, bin
will faithfully and zealously worship only the One, True and Living
God. We swear this under no less a penalty than that of having our
thumbs cut off, our eyes poked out, and our bodies bound with chains
of brass.'

16. Gedaliah closed the council with another Prayer: 'Almighty and Eternal
God, the Protector of all who trust in Thee, save us, we beseech Thee^,
in all difficulties and dangers. Keep us faithful to our vows, and true
to our obligations so that we may never waver nor be cast down, but
through Thy mercy may at length be admitted to that immortal Temple
eternal in the heavens.'

17. Soon afterwards Gedaliah was assassinated by the Babylonians, and

Nebuzaradan again invaded Judea and carried away the people. After
destroying Jerusalem, Nebuzaradan took the remnant of the people to
Babylon, leaving only a few agriculturists and vine-dressers to work
on the land.

18. When the Jews returned after the Exile they found what had been a
fertile land had been reduced to a wilderness of about a thousand
square miles.

19. By his capture of Babylon in B.C. 538 Cyrus, king of Persia, became
master of an empire stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean

397
 and, with a view to subsequent conquest of Egypt, decided that a
friendly power, based on Jerusalem, would be a considerable strategic
advantage. This object could be attained by repatriating the Jews who
had been deported to Babylon under the previous regime.

20. King Cyrus was sitting in council in his Tower of Audience when a
stranger approached. The guard at the entrance asked: 'who goes there?'
to be answered 'A Stranger, The First amongst equals, a Mason of rank
and captive by misfortune.'

Z1. The stranger sought admission to the presence of the great King, but
before he was admitted Cyrus spoke to his council: 'Generals and
Knights, this Sheshbazzar is the Prince of Judah, known among the
Jewish captives by the name of Zerubbabel (meaning the Exile or
Stranger in Babylon), but, before admitting him, I wish to relate to you
the particulars of a dream I had last night'.

12. 'While I slumbered, methought I perceived a lion ready to attack and

devour me, and at a distance my predecessors Nebuchadnezzar and
Belshazzar in chains. They were contemplating A GLORY, which
Masons interpret as the sign of the Great Architect of the Universe.
In the clouds appeared an Eagle, from whose beak issued an order
to RENDER LIBERTY T O T H E CAPTIVES, otherwise my crown
would pass into foreign hands. I was astonished and confounded.
The dream vanished, but my tranquillity is disturbed. It has long been
my desire to set the Jewish captives at liberty, for I am tired of hearing
their heart-wrung yearnings for home. This dream has now deter-
mined me. You will not, therefore, feel surprised at the reception I
intend to give this Jewish Prince. Do you consent to his being
admitted?'

L3. The Knights of the Council rose, stepped forward with right foot, drew
their swords, and indicated their consent. Cyrus then ordered: 'Let the
captive be introduced, that we may interrogate him.'

'A. Cyrus spoke. 'Stranger, as thou callest thyself, for what purpose do you
appear before us?' The stranger replied: 'I implore your goodwill and
justice.'

398
25. Cyrus enquired upon whose account he asked for goodwill and jus-
tice, and the stranger replied that it was his own, and that of his com-
panions who had been seventy years in bondage.

26. The king then enquired what favour did he request, and the reply came
that he asked that his people be granted liberty and be permitted to
return to Judea to rebuild the Temple of the Most High.

27. Cyrus spoke: 'Since motives so just and honourable have brought you
here, you shall be admitted to our grace. Arise, worthy Prince, I have
long witnessed the weight of your captivity, and am ready to grant
your request this instant if you will communicate to me the mysteries
of your Order of Masonry, an Order for which 1 have always had the
most profound veneration.'

28. The stranger whispered to the guard, who then spoke to the king saying:
'Most potent Sire, I am desired by the Prince to say that your situa-
tion tenders it impossible for him to entrust you with them, for Solomon
when he first laid down the principles of the Order taught that Equality,
Fidelity and Brotherly Love were ever to be the criteria among Masons.
Your rank, your titles, and your court are incompatible with the humble
mansions where the sacred mysteries of the Order prevail. His engage-
ments with his Brethren are inviolable, and he dare not reveal to you
their secrets. If his liberty is to be thus purchased, he prefers captivity.'

29. Cyrus replied: 'I admire your zeal and courage. Generals, Knights, this
worthy Prince merits liberty for his fidelity to his engagements.
Zerubbabel, I grant your request, and consent to your being set at lib-
erty. You are free.'

30. The king ordered his Guards to strike off the chains which bound the
stranger, saying: 'may these emblems of slavery never again disgrace
the hands of a Mason, more particularly a Prince of the house of Judah.'

31. Cyrus then addressed Zerubbabel saying: 'Zerubbabel, return to your

country of Judea. I permit you to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem
destroyed by my predecessors, and your treasures shall be returned to
you before the sun is set. I appoint you chief among your Brethren and

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to preside over your equals, and I command that they shall honour
and obey you as they have hitherto honoured and obeyed me. The
tribute I shall exact will not be oppressive, but will be an evidence to
your neighbours that you are still under my protection. It will be three
lambs, five sheep, and seven rams. Henceforth you will be to me, and
I will be to you, a friend; in token of which approach and kneel.'

32. 'I create you a Knight of the Sword. Rise, Zerubbabel, Knight of the
.i
Sword. I now arm you with this Sword, as a mark of distinction among
your companions. Consider it as the same Sword that Nebuchadnezzar
received from your King Jehoiakim when taken captive. I am persuaded
that you will only use it in your own defence, or in that of your country,
religion or laws, or the cause of justice. Take it, and let it remain in
its scabbard until it is consumed by rust rather than draw it in the
cause of injustice and oppression. I also decorate you with this ribbon,
which, although not accompanied with any mysteries like those of your
Order, I grant as an honour to the Princes of my Court. You will hence-
forth enjoy the same privileges and distinction. Go into your own
country. You shall get from my treasury the sacred vessels and relics
belonging to your former Temple. Take this olive branch as a symbol
of peace between us. I will give instructions to my Guards to allow
you and your companions to pass through my dominion.'

33. Turning back to the Council he said: 'Generals, the audience is over.
The captivity has ceased from this hour.'

34. As Zerubbabel returned to Judah he said the following words: 'Brothers,

we are now returning to Jerusalem from Babylon, where we have been
held in captivity many long years. Thanks be given to King Cyrus, by
whose proclamation we have been liberated and permitted to return
to our native country to assist in rebuilding our City and Temple. We
have left the domes and spires of Babylon behind us, and I can now
just see them glittering in the sunlight over the hills and plains of
Chaldea. Our trust is in the great I AM, and although our journey may
be long, tedious, and dreary, and our pathway rough, rugged, and dan-
gerous, yet we will endeavour to overcome every obstacle, endure every
hardship, and brave every danger, to promote the great and glorious
work upon which we have entered.'

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35. Zerubbabel told bis brothers that the routes diverge; one leading in a
direct line through the deserts of Arabia the other up the banks of the
river Euphrates, and round by the way of Tadmor and Damascus. The
Desert route is less frequented by travellers, owing to its extensive sandy
plains, its intense heat and great scarcity of provisions and water. The
other route is much more pleasant, though longer and more moun-
tainous. On this route there is also plenty of fresh water and fruits.

36. They took the more pleasant route, but before reaching the banks of
the Euphrates they had to pass over a rough and dangerous place.
Before they undertook its passage they did as all good men ever do
before entering upon any important undertaking, and knelt to invoke
the blessing of the Deity.

37. They passed over the green banks of the ever-running water of the
Euphrates and onwards through Syria towards Damascus. They passed
near the ancient city of Tadmor or Palmyra, and through many beau-
tiful groves and vineyards. Before reaching Damascus they had to cross
a bridge over a deep ravine which they examined and found to be a
very difficult and dangerous place. Therefore, before they proceeded
they knelt to pray.

38. The travellers managed to cross the bridge just before its rotten struc-
ture collapsed and they were able to travel on to arrive at Damascus.
This was a famous resting place, and here they sat down to refresh
themselves amongst the vineyards and cool fountains. 'Arise, brothers!'
Said Zerubbabel, 'Let us be going. We must not tarry longer, for we
have one hundred and twenty miles further to travel before we shall
reach Jerusalem.'

39. Eventually they passed through the forests of Lebanon, where their
fathers felled and prepared the timbers for King Solomon's Temple, but
then they came to another very difficult place, more dangerous than
the others. Once more they knelt to pray before continuing the journey
to the plains of Jordan, between Succoth and Zaredatha, where our
ancient Grand Master Hiram Abif so faithfully wrought in casting all
the holy vessels for King Solomon's Temple. It was here that those two
famous brazen pillars, Jachin and Boaz, were cast.

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i i i i, u v/ vyi i i i iv/ n v i

40. Zerubbabel bade his followers to be cheerful as their journey was almost
at an end. The ruins of Jerusalem could he seen in the distance, and
the glistening tents of their brethren. Rough and rugged had been the
road; long and toilsome had been their march; but sustained by a firm
trust in the great I AM, they arrived at their journey's end.

41. And then Zerubbabel said: 'I can see the tabernacle just before. Look
let us hasten on. Look, brothers, look.'

42. In the spring of B.C. 517, the seventieth year of first deportation, a
caravan of 4 2 , 0 0 0 Jews; men, women and children with their flocks
and herds, together with the Temple treasures, set out for Jerusalem
under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Prince of Judah, and Joshua the
High Priest. They came along the banks of the Euphrates to the ancient
town of Mari, thence across the desert to Damascus and south via the
Sea of Galilee. The journey occupied two years, and on arrival the
repatriates found nothing but a dreary desert unoccupied except for
the tents of nomad tribes with their goats and camels.

43. Shelter there was none, but it was decided that priority should be given
to the building of the Temple; the people to make do with temporary
shelters for the time being. One or more tabernacles were erected, on
lines of that made by King David when he brought the Ark from Kirjath
Jearim. One tabernacle served as a treasury and storehouse, another
was the Headquarter Offices, accommodating the Grand Sanhedran,
presided over by the three principals. This august body, otherwise
known as the Grand and Royal Lodge, directed the work, and as nec-
essary conferred the degree of Excellent Master.

402
 Chapter Eleven

THE REDISCOVERED
SECRETS OF KING
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE

1. A small group of three Masons who were still captive in Babylon wished
to return to help in building the Temple in Jerusalem, but they had
first to be given permission by the Grand Lodge of Babylon, which
conferred on them the degree of Excellent Master. They had first to
approach the Right Worshipful and Excellent Master and each make
the following petition:

2. 'I now wish to avail myself of the decree of Cyrus, and to return to
Jerusalem to assist in rebuilding the House of the Lord God of Israel,
and I approach the Grand Lodge of Babylon with a request to grant
me permission and such tokens as shall be satisfactory to my Brethren
who have already set out from here and arrived at Jerusalem. I make
this request in the name of the Pentagram, or Blazing Star.'

3. The Right Worshipful and Excellent Master offered up a prayer to

Most High saying: 'Oh Thou Eternal and Omnipotent God, who didst
aforetime appear to Thy servant Moses in a flame out of the midst of
a bush; enkindle we beseech Thee in our hearts devotion to Thee, love
to our Brethren, and Charity to all mankind. Comfort us and all Thy
people with Thy divine grace, guide and assist us in rebuilding a Second
Temple to Thy Holy Service, and grant that when the Veil of this earthly

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I I I L 1 1 1 IV/AIVL

Tabernacle shall be rent asunder we may be received into that Holy

Sanctuary where Thou reignest for ever and ever. Amen.'

4. He then continued: 'During the 4 7 0 years that have elapsed since the
building of King Solomon's Temple, we have been widely spread, and
as the decree of Cyrus only effects the descendants of those who were
brought captive to Babylon. We, previous to the departure of Zerubbabel
and our Brethren, in order to prevent others from sharing in the great
and glorious work now commencing, have instituted a new degree.'

5. 'For so doing we have the example of our ancestors, who, at every

building of importance adopted particular marks of recognition known
only to those employed at it. We only communicate this degree to those
who have been found qualified to preside over Operative or Fellow
Craft Lodges.'

6. At the building of King Solomon's Temple the workmen were divided

into lodges according to trade. On the second Temple, however, where
the design was a smaller scale, lodge organisation was unnecessary. All
skilled men were members of a common building trade and, as a pre-
caution against cowans, it was decided that only those holding the degree
of Excellent Master could become members of the 'Union', but to gain
this degree the candidate had to prove himself master of his trade.

7. When the three sojourners arrived in Jerusalem they discovered that

Zerubbabel had convened a meeting of the Sanhedran. They approached
the Council Chamber and identified themselves as they had been taught,
and so gained admission to the Chamber where Zerubbabel, Haggia
and Joshua sat as the three principals of the Sanhedran. As they were
brought into the chamber Zerubbabel asked them where they had come
from.

8. They replied that they had travelled from Babylon, the land of cap-
tivity, and Zerubbabel then enquired as to why they had left Babylon,
the land of captivity, to come to Jerusalem, the city of promise. They
replied: To assist in rebuilding the Temple of the Lord. Having heard
that you are about to rebuild the Temple, we have come with the
hope that we may be permitted to sojourn among you and contribute

404
 I I I L. I \ I . U 1 . ) ^ V ' V I . I \ I , [ , t I .V , l \ I I iJ V ' I 1V I I - . V I ^ W U V I T t W . 1 W < U I X . > .

our best services to forward that great and glorious work.

9. Zerubbabel demanded to know how they hoped to obtain admission.

They replied: By virtue of certain signs, tokens and words received in
Babylon, and then they gave the proofs as required and were admitted
to the centre of the chamber.

10. Joshua prayed saying: Let the brightness of Thy Majesty, O Lord our
God, shine upon us; Prosper Thou the work of our hands; Yea, prosper
Thou our handiwork and may all that we do be to the honour and
glory of Thy Most Holy Name. Amen.

11. Zerubbabel spoke: We highly commend your intention, but we wish

to know more particularly who you are?

12. They replied: We are of your own nation and people, sprung from the
same tribes, and branches of the same original stock, being, like your-
selves, descendants of the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but
the transgressions of our Ancestors having called forth the displeasure
of the Most High, our people (as was foretold by the mouth of the
prophet Jeremiah,) were given captive into the hands of the King of
Babylon, for the space of 70 years -an event which took place in the
fourth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim; but the years of the cap-
tivity being expired and the anger of the Lord appeased, He hath stirred
up the heart of Cyrus, King of Persia and Babylon, to issue a decree
liberating us and granting us permission to return to our native land
and rebuild the Temple of the Lord.

13. Zerubbabel spoke: 'Our own knowledge of these facts, and the can-
dour with which you have related them, leave no doubt of your sin-
cerity, but we wish to know who were your immediate ancestors.'

14. They replied that their immediate ancestors were princes and rulers in
Israel, whose fidelity to their king and country caused the King of
Babylon, as a punishment, to carry them into Captivity.

15. Zerubbabel asked them: 'In what branch of the work do you wish to
be engaged?'

405
16. They replied that they deemed the lowest service in the work of the
Lord to be an honour, and therefore only begged employment.

17. Zerubbabel spoke saying: 'Your humility bespeaks your merit, and we
do not doubt that you are qualified for the highest offices, but these
are already filled. You will report yourselves to the Superintendent of
Works, who will provide you with tools and direct you what to do;
but we have this particular injunction to give you, that should you find
anything belonging to the old Temple, you will immediately report the
same unto us. Go, and may the God of our Fathers go with you and
prosper your work.'

18. The following day the three Sojourners again presented themselves
before Zerubbabel and the Sanhedran, where he asked them about a
discovery they had made.

19. They replied that they had indeed made a discovery, four hundred and
seventy years, six months and ten days after the dedication of the
Temple. Pursuant to Zerubbabel's instructions they had reported to the
Superintendent of Works and were directed by him to clear the ground
previous to laying the foundations of the Temple. During their work
at an early hour that morning one of their number, on breaking the
ground with his pick-axe, struck on something which, from the sound,
was judged to be hollow underneath; and on calling on another com-
panion to clear away the loose earth with his shovel, they found a large.
brazen ring fixed to a broad flat stone with the words 'AM - B' -
'TSAPN' engraved thereon.

20. This was in the tongue of the workers and in the language of one of
the Provinces of Babylon, where the companions had sojourned. Thg
words signify 'the Way to hidden treasures', implying as it were, an
instruction to search at or around it. The stone was accordingly raised;
and found under it the crown of a perfect arch, but not being able to
find any way into it, the workman loosened the keystone with his
crowbar, and having drawn it forth discovered a cavity beneath.

21. This discovery incited their desire to know what it contained, and they
resolved to explore it, but being apprehensive of danger from foul air

406
 or other unknown causes, they cast lots among themselves as to who
should descend. They agreed on proper signals, and one of their number
was lowered down by his companions, by the help of a cable tow
round his waist and steadying himself by holding it with his left hand
above his head. The bottom was reached without impediment.

22. The sun, however, at that early hour in the morning only peeping from
the porticoes of the east, and darting its beam parallel with the plane
of the horizon, and the aperture being extremely small, the worker
found himself enveloped in almost total darkness, and beginning to
suffer from the foulness of the air, he made the agreed on signal - being
three gentle pulls on the cable tow - and was drawn up. On exam-
ining the Keystone they were surprised to find on it certain characters
which proved to, from the knowledge they already possessed, show
that the vault must be the secret vault of King Solomon.

23. They therefore set to work and removed another stone in order to
admit more light and air, and another of the companions was let down.
In groping about he laid his hand on something which appeared to be
wrought into due and regular form, on the top of which was a Roll;
wishing to ascertain what this was he made the signal and was drawn
up. On inspecting the Roll it was found to be the Book of the Holy
Law; which gave them much joy, and they resolved to extend their
search.

24. Having enlarged the opening by drawing forth another (that is a third)
stone, and the sun having by this time reached its meridian altitude,
another companion was now let down. On examining the place he
found it to be a splendid apartment supported on seven pillars; round
the architraves were the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and the names of
the twelve tribes of Israel, and what had formerly been found, wrought"
into due and regular form, proved on inspection to be an Altar of pure
white marble, in shape a double cube, and rich in sculptured orna-
ments, erected to the Lord God, for at that moment the meridian sun,
darting his rays through the aperture, on to the top of the Altar, bril-
liantly illumined a circle of gold, on which was the grand, peculiar and
mysterious name of Deity; and on a triangle of the same metal within
the circle were inscribed other characters, of which they could not

407
 understand the meaning, although they did not doubt that they were
connected with the Sacred Word itself.

25. They further told Zerubbabel that on the front of the Altar were the
initials of the three Grand Masters who presided at the building of the
glorious Temple of King Solomon. Considering that they had made a
discovery of much importance, and, having closed the aperture with
care, the workers came, as in duty bound, they had come to report the
circumstance to the king.

26. The first worker stepped forward saying to Zerubbabel: 'This is is the
Roll which I now present; and this is a drawing of the Chamber as it
appeared at High Meridian.'

27. The sojourners handed over the Roll and drawing to Zerubbabel, who
told them that the discovery they had made was of the very greatest
importance, saying: 'It is no less than the Book of the Holy Law, long
lost but now found. Holiness to the Lord!'

28. In case anything may have been misunderstood or unobserved,

Zerubbabel instructed them to return to the vault with Ezra the scribe,
who was well skilled in languages to report what he observed. After
a further examination of the vault the Sojourners and Ezra returned
to the Sanhedran.

29. Ezra spoke: 'All has been correctly stated by the Sojourners, and in
addition at the base of the Altar I found this Jewel, having carved on
it the mark of Hiram Abif, and it appears to have belonged to that
eminent person.'

30. Zerubbabel then asked how the Sojourners had been engaged during
their captivity. They replied that they had been much employed in
masonry, following which the king further enquired, what did they
mean by masonry.

31. They replied that they meant that great and universal science which
includes almost every other, to the several parts of which they had
given their attention, but they had more particularly studied that part

408
 which taught them their duty to God and to their neighbours, and a
knowledge of themselves. From the knowledge they had thus acquired
of the traditions of their people they believed that they had been the
humble instruments, in the hands of the Most High, in restoring to
light that which was lost by the untimely death of Hiram Abif, the
Widow's Son.

32. Zerubbabel then said: 'It shall be our care to reward your discoveries,
and also to show their importance. We invest you with these Sashes
as badges of honour, and with these Jewels as a reward for your emi-
- ITiij.

nent services; we also place these rods in your hands as emblems of

power and authority, and constitute and appoint you Princes and Rulers
in Israel. To ennoble you still more we clothe you with these Aprons
and receive you amongst us as Brethren and Companions, and if you
continue faithful, and act with honour, it shall be our care to instruct
you in every branch of our mystical knowledge.'

33. He then preceded to instruct them as follows: 'Companions, the dis-

covery which has been made is of the greatest importance, and you see
that the world is indebted to Masonry for the preservation of the Book
of the Sacred Law. Had it not been for the wisdom and precaution of
our first Grand Master in constructing under the Temple a secret vault,
which remained proof against the devouring flames, and fury of the
enemy, this the only remaining copy of the Law, would have been lost
at the destruction of the Temple. The characters on the triangle - the
meaning of which the Sojourners could not understand - represent, as
has been suggested to us by the learned Sanhedran, the name of God
in three different languages; and all indicate, in our opinion, the true
and long-lost method of pronouncing the Sacred Word inscribed upon
the circle; for it is of too essential a nature to be comprehended by
human wisdom, or pronounced by the tongue of any individual. Lastly,
Masonic tradition informs us that the ancient Master Mason's word
lost at the building of King Solomon's Temple would, one day be recov-
ered, and as the Jewel which the Sanhedran discovered bears the mark
of Hiram Abif there can be no doubt that the characters on the tri-
angle signify that lost word and the manner of pronouncing it, for we
know that it could only be imparted when the three Grand Masters
were present, and consented to give it.'

409
34. 'That we can do no good nor acceptable service but through strength-
ening power and mercy of the Most High, without whose special favour
we must ever be found unprofitable servants in His sight. Therefore,
according to the manner adopted by our holy ancestors and like prac-
tised by the atoning Priests, we shew by this, the outward form of con-
trition and humility, as if we would prostrate ourselves with our faces
to the earth, and throw ourselves upon the mercies of the Living God,
looking forward with a becoming confidence to the accomplishment
of His gracious promises by which alone we shall be enabled to pass
through the ark of our redemption into those mansions of bliss and
glory, and into the presence of Llim who is the Great I Am, the Alpha
and Omega, the First and the Last.'

35. Work on the second Temple, had begun in the year B.C. 535, and it
had been beset with difficulties. The Samaritans, successors of the ten
tribes which had seceded from the kingdom after the death of King
Solomon, asked to be allowed to take part in the work hut were refused,
not only because they were not true Jews but because, once admitted,
they would have installed pagan altars in the Temple. As a consequence
of this refusal the Jews found themselves under continuous harassment,
and found it necessary to keep weapons close at hand while at work.
Furthermore, the Samaritans, through their representatives in Babylon,
were able to induce the reigning monarch, Cyrus being dead, to stop
the work.

410
 C h a p t e r Twelve

THE H O N O U R I N G OF
ZERUBBABEL

1. For seven years the Temple site stood open and deserted. Then, in the
year B.C. 521, Prince Darius succeeded to the throne of Persia. By a
fortunate chance, Darius and Zerubbabel had been comrades-in-arms
in earlier years, and it so happened that the former had sworn that it
he ever came to the throne of Persia he would do anything in his power
for his friend.

2. A Council was convened at the Temple in the second year of the Reign
of Darius of Persia, to deliberate upon the unhappy state of the country
during the Reigns of Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus, and to devise some
means whereby they might gain the favour of the new sovereign in the
work of rebuilding the Temple. Zerubbabel, Haggai and Jeshua acted
as principals. Ezra and Nehemiah were also officers of the Sanhedran,
the whole present being seventy-two. It was decided to approach King
Darius.

3. Zerubbabel travelled once more to the Hall of Audience in Babylon.

King Darius was seated on a low couch in the East of the chamber as
Zerubbabel was announced as a Prince of the house of Judah, who
sixteen years ago, having found favour in the sight of your predecessor,
obtained liberty from him to rebuild the Temple of the Most High at

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i iii., 11 v/ iv v,/ i i nnmvi

Jerusalem. It was explained that Cyrus had conferred on him the honour
of Knighthood of the Sword and that he now came to demand justice
from the king.

4. Darius asked why he did not wear the emblems of that Order, and
take his place among the court by right of them? The king was then
told that on his return to Judea, Zerubbabel had been attacked by the
enemies of his nation, despoiled of his decoration, and only obtained
liberty to pass the bridge which crosses the river on the confines of
Babylon, by means of the sword, which Cyrus had previously bestowed
upon him.

5. Darius then enquired why he had returned to Babylon, and was told
in reply that having returned to Jerusalem, he and his countrymen had
been at divers times interrupted in their labours by the malice of their
enemies, and at length it has been resolved by the elders of the Jews
to lay the matter before the great King, and in corroboration of these
statements, two of Darius' own governors, Tattenai and Shetharbozenai,
had sent letters which were then read out.

6. Unto Darius the King. All peace . . . Be it known unto the King, that
we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the Great God,
which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and
this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands. Then asked we
those elders, and said unto them thus: Who gave you a decree to build
this house, and to finish this wall? We asked their names also, to cer-
tify thee, that we might write the names of the men that were at the
head of them. And thus they returned us answer, saying: We are the
servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was
builded these many years ago, which a great King of Israel builded and
set up. But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto
wrath, He gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, King of
Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the
People away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the King of
Babylon, the same King Cyrus made a decree to build this house of
God. And the vessels also of gold and silver of the house of God, which
Nebuchadnezzar took out of the Temple that was in Jerusalem, and
brought them into the Temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the King

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 i n c HUINUUMINU ui LLivuuunutL

take out of the Temple of Babylon, and they were delivered unto one,
whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom Cyrus had made governor; and
said unto him: Take these vessels, go, carry them into the Temple that
is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be builded in its place.

7. Then came the same Sheshbazzar, and laid the foundation of the house
of God which is in Jerusalem; and since that time even until now hath
it been in building, and yet it is not finished. Now, therefore, if it seem
good to the king, let there be search made in the king treasure house,
which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made
of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem, and let the
king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter.

8. Darius instructed his generals and councillors to instruct that a search

be made among the records of their predecessors as to this matter.
Following the search the Chancellor produced the roll and said to
Darius: 'This roll, which was copied from one found among the records
at Ecbatana, in the palace that is in the province Media, shows that
Cyrus granted permission to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem, as
declared by this Stranger.'

9. Darius invited Zerubbabel to retire, while an answer was prepared to

the letter from the governors. Darius then dictated to the Chancellor,
who wrote the king's words on sheets of paper or parchment. Darius
then instructed that Zerubbabel should again approach, telling him
that he admired the zeal and perseverance with which he had endeav-
oured to promote the work he had undertaken. He told Zerubbabel
that lie had written the following letters to his governors.

10. The king's Chancellor then read aloud: Darius, the King - to Tattenai,
Governor beyond the river, and Shethar-bozenai, Greetings. I have here
sent you a copy of the decree which has been found among the records
of Cyrus. Let the house be builded. Let the expenses be given out of
the king's goods, even the tribute beyond the river, and offerings for
the priests to sacrifice and pray to the God of heaven for the life of
the king and his sons. Whosoever shall alter this word, let a beam be
pulled out from his house, and let him be lifted up and hanged thereon;
and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God, that hath

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I I I L. U V J W I X W 1 I I I IX/IIVL

caused His Name to dwell there, destroy all kings and people that shall
put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is
at Jerusalem. I have decreed it. Let it be done with speed.

11. Darius then told Zerubbabel that the letters were to be despatched
immediately, and will ensure the future protection of Zerubbabel's
people whilst rebuilding the Temple, and as a mark of his esteem and
favour he was to create Zerubbabel a Knight of the East.

12. Zerubbabel approached and knelt on one knee. Darius placed his
sword on Zerubbabel's shoulder, and said: 'Rise Knight of the East.
When you return to Jerusalem, you will pass safely through my domin-
ions, but my request is that you remain some time at my country. In
the meantime, I appoint you one of my bodyguards, and as an addi-
tional mark of my approbation, I invest you with this Sash. (Darius
placed around Zerubbabel's waist a watered-silk pale green Sash
fringed with gold lace, the end hanging down on the left side.) Wear
this in token of the victory obtained over your enemies at the passage
of the river.'

13. Zerubbabel took his place near the throne, along with the other two
Guards.

14. One of the guards spoke to Zerubbabel saying. 'The great King makes
known his pleasure through me, that we three should each of us give
his opinion in answer to this question, Which is strongest, Wine, the
King, or Women? And he that shall overcome, and whose sentence
shall seem wiser than the others, unto him shall Darius give great gifts,
and great things in token of victory. As, to be clothed in purple, to
drink in gold, and to sleep upon gold, and a chariot with bridles of
gold, and a head-tire of fine linen, and a chain about his neck: And
he shall sit next to Darius because of his wisdom, and shall be called
the cousin of the King.'

15. 'Each of the three of us wrote our word on a slip of paper, sealed it
with his private seal, then folded and placed it under the head of
Darius.' Then they retired to the extremity of the room. Later Darius
awoke, rose up, and took the slips from under his pillow, and instructed

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that the young guards be called so that we could each declare our own
sentence. 'The King then told us to declare unto him our minds con-
cerning which is strongest, Wine, the King, or Women.'

16. The guard then told Zerubbabel that each of the three answers were
to be read from a Roll in turn.

17. The first guard spoke saying, 'Oh ye men, how exceeding strong is
wine it causeth all men to err that drink it; it maketh the mind of the
king and of the fatherless child to be all one; of the bondsman and of
the freeman, of the poor man and of the rich. It turneth also every
thought into jollity and mirth, so that a man remembereth neither
sorrow nor debt. And it maketh every heart rich, so that a man remem-
bereth neither king nor governor; and it maketh to speak all things by
talents. And when they are in their cups, they forget their love both
to friends and brethren, and a little after draw out swords But when
they are from the wine, they remember not what they have done. O
ye men, is not wine the strongest, that, enforceth to do thus?'

18. The second guard then gave his answer to the riddle: 'Oh ye men, do
not men excel in strength, that bear rule over sea and land, and all
things in them? But yet the king is more mighty, for he is lord of all
these things, and hath dominion over them; and whatsoever he com-
mandeth them they do. If he bid them make war, the one against the
other, they do it: if he send them out against the enemies, they go, and
break down mountains, walls and towers. They slay and are slain, and
transgress not the king's commandment; if they get the victory, they
bring all to the king, as well the spoil, as all things else. Likewise for
those that are not soldiers, and have not to do with wars, but use hus-
bandry, when they have reaped again that which they had sown, they
bring it to the king, and compel one another to pay tribute unto the
king. And yet he is but one man, if he command to kill, they kill; if
he command to spare, they spare; if he command to smite, they smite;
if he command to make desolate, they make desolate; if he command
to build, they build; if he command to cut down, they cut down; if he
command to plant, they plant. So all his people and his armies obey
him; furthermore he lieth down, he eateth and drinketh, and taketh
his rest. And these keep watch round about him, neither may any one

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I nr. hUUN Wl I1IKAM

depart, and do his own business, neither disobey they him in any thing.
O ye men, how should not the king be mightiest, when in such sort
he is obeyed?'

19. Then Zerubbabel spoke. 'O ye men, it is not the great king, nor the
multitude of men, neither is it wine, that excelleth who is it then that
ruleth them, or hath the lordship over them? Are they not women?
Women both borne the king and all the people that bear rule by sea
and land. Even of them came they; and they nourished them up that
planted the vineyards from whence the wine cometh. These also made
garments for men; these bring glory unto men; and without women
cannot men be. Yea, and if men have gathered together gold and silver,
or any other goodly thing, do they not love a woman which is comely
in favour and beauty? By this also you must know that women have
dominion over you; do ye not labour and toil, and give and bring all
to the woman? Yea, a man taketh his sword, and goeth his way to rob
and to steal, to sail upon the sea and upon rivers; and lookest upon a
lion, and goeth in the darkness; and when he hath stolen, spoiled, and
robbed, he bringeth it to his love. Wherefore a man loveth his wife
better than father or mother. Yea, many there be that have run out of
their wits for women, and become servants for their sakes. Many also
have perished, have erred, and sinned for women. And now do you
not believe me? is not the king great in his power? Do not all regions
fear to touch him? Yet did I see him and Apame, the king's concubine,
the daughter of the admirable Bartacus, sitting at the right hand of the
king. And taking the crown from the king's head, and setting it upon
her own head, she also struck the king with her left hand. And yet for
all this the king gazed upon her with delight; if she laughed upon him,
he laughed also; but if she took any displeasure at him, the king was
fain to flatter her that she might be reconciled to him again. O ye men,
how can it be but women should be strong, seeing they do thus?'

20. 'Oh ye men, are not women strong? great is the earth, high is the
heaven, swift is the sun in his course, for he compasseth the heavens
round about, and fetcheth his course again to his place in one day.'

21. 'Is He not great that maketh these things? therefore great is The Truth,
and stronger than all things. All the earth calleth upon the Truth, and

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 I lie I K^INWWMINU V_/r i.LI\UUUAUll
the heaven blesseth it; all works shake and tremble at it, and with it
is no righteous thing. Wine is wicked, the king is wicked, women are
wicked, all the children of men are wicked, and such are all their wicked

works; and there is no truth in them; in their unrighteousness also they

shall perish. As for the Truth, it endureth, and is always strong, it liveth
and conquereth for evermore. With her there is no accepting of per-
sons or rewards; but she doeth the things that are just, and refraineth
from all unjust and wicked things; and all men do well like of her
works. Neither in her judgment is any unrighteousness and she is the
strength, kingdom, power and majesty of all ages. Blessed be the God
of Truth.'

22. Darius then embraced Zerubbabel by placing his left hand on the right
shoulder and Zerubbabel doing the same, and both said: 'Great is The
Truth, and mighty above all things!'

23. Darius then said: 'Ask what thou wilt, more than is appointed in the
writing, and we will give it thee, because thou art found wisest. Thou
shalt sit next me. Thou shalt be called my cousin.'

24. Zerubbabel answered: 'Remember thy vow, which thou hast vowed
to build Jerusalem, in the day when thou earnest to thy kingdom. And
to send away all the vessels that were taken away out of Jerusalem,
which Cyrus set apart, when he vowed to destroy Babylon, and to
send them again thither. Thou also hast vowed to build up the temple,
which the Edomites burned when Judea was made desolate by the
Chaldees. And now, O lord the king, this is that what I require, and
which I desire of thee, and this is the princely liberality proceeding
from thyself: I desire therefore that thou make good the vow, the per-
formance whereof with thine own mouth thou hast vowed to the King
of heaven.'

25. Darius said: 'Zerubbabel, all shall be granted according to thy desire.'

26. Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem where he presented himself to the

Council of the Sanhedran. The Most Excellent Chief, was seated in the
East, two Wardens in the West. The Brethren called Knight Masons of
Jerusalem were in the body of council room, which was hung in red.

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M I C IIV^WIV U R M L IVAIVL

27. The Most Excellent Chief asked: 'What hour is it?' and the Knights
replied: 'The morning star has driven away the shades of night, and
its great light begins to gladden our Lodge. It is the hour of the
rebuilding the Temple.'
e

28. As Zerubbabel approached the guard asked: 'Who comes here?'

29. Zerubbabel replied: 'A Brother who obtained permission from Cyrus
to rebuild the Temple. He afterwards received a confirmation of the
same from Darius. He has now returned to reside with his brother
masons in Judea.'

30. The guard asked: 'What is his name?' And was told his name was
Zerubbabel.

31. The Guard announced to the Sanhedran that it was Zerubbabel, who
obtained permission from Cyrus to rebuild the Temple, and afterwards
received a confirmation of the same from Darius, who had now returned
to reside with his brother masons in Judea, and await the welcome of
the Sanhedran.

32. The Most Excellent Chief said: 'Brethren and Knights. It is our own
Prince. Let the doors be opened for his approach. This is our worthy
Prince, who, when the years of our captivity had expired, appeared
before the Throne of Cyrus, who, admitting the justice of our claim,
granted us our liberty, and armed him with the Sword he still wears
and the insignia of a Knight of the Sword. In the battle which ensued
between us and our enemies in crossing the bridge over the river
Euphrates, he lost his ribbon, hut with his sword he forced a passage
for us. After arriving at Jerusalem preparations were made for rebuilding
the Temple, and you are aware that in clearing the ground for its foun-
dation three worthy brethren who followed us from Babylon made a
discovery of so great an interest as to induce the Sanhedran to com-
memorate it by forming that exalted degree in Masomy, the Most Holy
Royal Arch, of which Prince Zerubbabel himself is acknowledged to
be the First Principal. Being afterwards interrupted in our labours,
Zerubbabel was requested by the Sanhedran to repair to Darius, who
graciously received him and created him a Knight of the East, of which

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 I ILL I L U N U U I M N U I X W

the sash or scarf he now wears is the emblem. Having prevailed upon
that monarch to send letters to his governors not to molest us any
more, he, at the King's request, remained with him some time longer
in the hope of being further useful to his countrymen. Being afterwards
so fortunate as to solve successfully a question put to him and others
by Darius, the king has sent back with him many valuables belonging
to the Temple, which had not been returned when we were freed by
Cyrus. Having learned that there is an Order of Knighthood which has
been occasionally conferred on Royal Arch Masons, he now presents
himself before the Knight Masons of Jerusalem, and requests to be
admitted one of your number.'

33. 'The zeal and perseverance you have shown in the good cause merits
a participation in the highest honours we can bestow. Your integrity
and fortitude have been put to the test. Cyrus in giving you the ribbon
was actuated by a noble spirit, but not that of equality, which invari-
ably actuates us. The loss of the ribbon at the bridge must convince
you that pomp and grandeur are not so permanent as the honours of
Masonry. You also merited the sash you now wear and the friendship
conferred on you by Darius, but had it not been for the masonic wisdom
you displayed in solving his question, your services to your country
would not have come to so successful an issue.'

34. The Knight Masons of Jerusalem, led by Zerubbabel, Haggia and

Joshua, rebuilt the Temple and became the Princes and rulers of
Jerusalem.

35. The Grand Feast-day of Princes of Jerusalem they celebrated on the

23rd day of the eleventh month, Adar, which is the anniversary of the
day when thanks were given to the Almighty for the reconstruction of
the Temple. Their other Feast-days are as follows:

36. The 20th day of the tenth month, called Tebet, when 'the ambassadors
made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, on their return from Babylon.'

37. The equinoxial days, in the months of March and September, in memory
of the Temple having been built twice.

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I ric D U U N ur niKAM

38. Five members constitute a quorum: a Council cannot be opened with

a less number.

39. If a Prince gives another Prince a challenge, he should be excluded for-

ever.

40. Princes are strictly to observe the rule enforcing justice and good order,
and their conduct in life should be irreproachable.

41. If any member of a Council or Lodge shall be present at, or aid, or

assist in giving or receiving any of the sublime or symbolic degrees in
a clandestine or irregular manner, contrary to the true intent and
meaning of the statutes and regulations of the Supreme Council, or of
the constitutions and laws of true Ancient, Free and Accepted Masonry,
he subjects himself to expulsion.

42. A Prince of Jerusalem who visits an inferior Council or Lodge should

present himself clothed with the dress and ornaments of a Prince; and
when his approach is announced, the presiding officer sends a Prince
of Jerusalem to examine him, and if he reports in his favour, he should
be received under the arch of steel, and be escorted by four Brethren,
and seated on the right hand of the presiding officer. An entry of his
name and rank should be made on the engraved tablets, that he may
thereafter receive due honours without examination; the same cere-
monies should be observed when he retires as when he entered.

43. Princes have the right of being covered in all subordinate Lodges,
Chapters, or Councils, and of addressing the Chair without first asking
permission. If at any election of officers, a Prince of Jerusalem solicits
votes for himself or any other person, he should be forever expelled.

420
 Chapter Thirteen

T H E GREAT A R C H I T E C T
OF T H E C H U R C H

1. After the building of the second temple the masons neglected their
labours, and abandoned to the ravages of time the valuable build-
ings which they had raised with so many pains; so that the wisdom
of their workmanship, the strength of the materials, and the beauty
of their architecture, were alike exposed to confusion, destruction
and decay.

2. But the Eternal Most High God determined to manifest His Glory, and
to replace the fallen material structures by that sublime and spiritual
geometry whose existence human power should not be able to affect,
and whose duration should be everlasting.

3. And the Eternal Most High God gave us the Perpend-ashlar to repre-
sent the Son of Man, who was born when the Divine Shekinah appeared ,
to the Eastern Magi. So the Perpend-ashlar is symbolic of the Great
Architect of the Church who called Himself the Rose of Sharon and
the Lily of the Valley.

4. As Freemasons we were told to commemorate the Redemption of Man,

to show the Glory of God. To Whom be all Honour, Glory and Praise,
now, henceforth and evermore.

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 I n C IH Ur III KftM

5. And we were instructed to travel the wide world in quest of the Holy
Rock, or Mount of Adamant.

6. When we arrived over mountain tops, through deserts wide and perils
great we saw the Holy Rock of our salvation and from the side of the
rock a fountain issued and the voice of the Lamb said: 'Come and drink.'

7. And upon this Rock was builded a great Church in a great City. And
the City was founded neither in blood nor in iniquity, but in
Righteousness and Truth. Because it is said: 'The stone shall cry out
of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it. Woe to
him that buildeth a town with blood and establisheth a city by iniq-
uity. Righteousness and Truth are stable as a Rock.'

f t
5 9 ->
The City was inhabited by kindreds and tongues and nations and it
was guarded by a band of Angels with flaming swords and the City
was called 'The Lord is there' or 'Jehovah Shammah'.

5 5
In the centre of the City was situated a great Church in the form of a
regular square Cross. From East to West in length, because the Glory
of God appears in the East and disappears in the West, and therefore
all Churches, Chapels and places of Religious Worship are, or ought
to be, so situated. In breath it was from North to South and in height
immeasurable. Its depth was unfathomable.

10. And vve heard the voice of the Grand Architect saying 'Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' And
we worked and laboured at the building of the Church and our wages
were the hopes of a Kingdom, not of this world.

11. May every Brother so labour and work that we may come unto Mount
Sion? and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, an
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and
church of the first-born, which are written in Heaven, and to God the
judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus
the Mediator of the new covenant: where our sun shall no more go
down neither shall our moon withdraw itself, for the Lord shall be our
everlasting light, and the days of our mourning shall be ended.

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 n i l : . U K I: A i A K L i i n t L i wr I 11c L m m t n

12. And as we approached the tower of the great Church we were called
into the Middle Chamber by three wise men who lead us to the Cabinet
of Wisdom by following a Blazing Star appearing in the East.

13. And we saw that the Cabinet of Wisdom was an ox's stall and there
we did meet a most glorious Brother, his most Holy Spouse and the
ever-blessed Word; and their names were Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

14. And soon after this time St John the Baptist made his appearance in
the desert, near the shores of the Dead Sea, to distinguish Masonry
from all the old philosophical and religious systems which were approx
imadng to each other.

15 j The Word lived forty years and a half upon earth, left a bright and
shining example for us to follow, and suffered a painful and ignomin
ious death for our salvation.

16. Then was the stone, the corner of the building, torn from the temple
by the workmen and thrown among the ruins.

17. Almighty and Everlasting Father, we thank Thee that Thou didst send
into the world Thy dear Son, and that, after having set a bright and
glorious example for us to follow, suffered for our transgressions on
the Cross.

18. As the Mystic Rose, the Word was sacrificed upon a Cross planted on
the summit of a mountain, which is elevated above the surface towards
the celestial spheres by three squares, three circles, and three triangles.
At the instant the veil of the temple was rent, the earth was covered with
darkness, the day-star of mercy was obscured, and the word was lost .

19. When the Word was lost it may easily be imagined into what a depth
of misery every true mason was plunged. The stars disappeared, the
light of the sun and the moon was obscured, and darkness fell upon
the face of the earth.

20. The ninth hour arrived and Masonry was overwhelmed with griel and
the deepest sorrow and consternation spread horror over her brow.
I II L h U U K Ur Ml KAM

21. The earth quaked, the rocks were rent, the veil of the Temple was rent
in twain, darkness overspread the earth, and the true Light departed
from us. Our altars were thrown down, the Cubic Stone poured forth
blood and water, the Blazing Star was eclipsed, our Shepherd was
smitten, the Word was lost, and despair and tribulation sat heavily
upon us.

22. Some of the brethren, who possessed relics of the former temple, wan-
dered among the woods and mountains in the deepest obscurity. Others
sought the sacred tomb in which the Word was hidden, and watched
in silence for the space of three days. Never before was such perplexity
experienced by the human heart.

23. On the first hour of the third day, being the first day of the week
arrived the hour of the Perfect Mason.
- ~ ' j

24. At the hour of the Perfect Mason the Word was found and the Cubic
Stone changed into the Mystic Rose. The Blazing Star reappeared
all its splendour, our altars were renewed, the true Light restored
our eyes, the clouds of darkness dispersed; and the New Commandment
was given to love one another.

25. The Star and circling Glory declare the Shekinah, wherever it appear,
whether on Sinai, Salem, or the place where the Eastern Magi saw the
blessed Word.

26. And the Word ascended into the Lodge of Heaven, where he continues
with the Holy Ghost to make intercessions for us with the Father. Three
Persons in One Godhead.
c 090 /
27. But it was held by a vast number, that the writings of the Apostles
were incomplete, that they contained only the germs of another doc-
trine, the mysteries handed down from generation to generation in our
Masonic tradition, and proclaimed in the desert by St John the Baptist.

28. From the birth of the Word we learn that the Great Captain of
Salvation was born to redeem fallen mankind.
C ^ o ^ j o b .

tkS 4
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 I ri l: U I U ' . A I AKuniiEVwi wr i 11 e unuivv^n

29. From the life of the Word we learn that it is requisite for us to follow
the way of Truth.

30. From the death of the Word we learn that our debt of nature is fully
paid and the rigour of the law satisfied.

31. From the resurrection of the Word we learn that the Day-Star of Mercy
will rise to conduct our feet into the paths of truth and peace.

32. We must not undervalue the importance of any Truth. We utter no

word that can be deemed irreverent by any one of any faith. We do
not tell the Moslem that it is only important for him to believe that
there is but one God, and wholly unessential whether Mahomet was
his prophet. We do not tell the Hebrew that the Messiah, whom he
expects, was born in Bethlehem nearly two thousand years ago; and
as little do we tell the Christian that Jesus the Nazarine was but a man,
or his history the revival of an older legend. To do either is beyond
our jurisdiction. Masonry, of no one age, belongs to all time; of no
one religion, it finds its great Truths in all.

425
 Chapter Fourteen

EARLY C H R I S T I A N
DEGREES

1. Caius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Claudius Constantine (c. 2 7 4 - 3 3 7 AD)

was a son of Flavius Valerius Constantinus Chlorus and Helena, a
British princess and a daughter of Caylus. Constantine was born in the
English city of York. He succeeded his father as Governor of Spain,
Gaul and Britain, and was proclaimed Emporer of the West by the
Roman Legions at York and by the defeat of Maxentius.

2. Constantine was the first Roman Emperor openly to encourage

Christianity, and we celebrate his conversion in the foundation of the
Order of the Red Cross.

3. Candidates who enter this illustrious Order are duly admitted upon
the equilateral triangle and they must obey the New Law, to take up
the Cross and follow in the footsteps of the Lamb, by which means
can they hope to rebuild in their heart the Temple of the Most High
God.

4. They seek Immanuel. They are directed hither by Hiram the Widow's
Son. They hope to rest in Shiloh, the City of God. And they are
descended from Uzziah, king of Judah, famous for his military suc-
cesses.

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 LAK.LT U R I M A I I A I N U C U K C C J

5. The inscription of the Order is 'In Hoc Signo Vinces', meaning 'In this
sign thou shalt conquer'.

6. This Illustrious and Chivalric Order was founded by Constantine after

the battle of Saxa Rubra in the year 312 AD in which he finally defeated
the rival emperor, Maxentius. He founded it as a memorial of the
Divine miracle which led to his conversion to the Christian Faith, and
as a reward of the valour and constancy of certain of bis soldiers.

7. The Order of the Red Cross is therefore not only a most ancient but
a most honourable Institution of Masonic Knighthood; and it behoves
the knights of the Order to prize the privileges descended from those
worthy brethren, and ever to remember the watchwords of the Order;
which are Faith, Unity and Zeal.

8. Before his conversion to Christianity, Constantine had been initiated

into the Mysteries of the Collegium Artificium, or College of Artificers,
at Rome and had attained to the position of Magister, or Master. This
training doubtless had enlightened his mind and predisposed him
eagerly to desire a more complete Knowledge of the Most High God,
the worship of Whom formed the core of one of the Ancient Mysteries,
so that when he assumed the Imperial Purple not even the cares of
Empire or the responsibilities of command could eradicate early impres-
sions or restrain his profound research after Truth and Wisdom.

9. The manner of his conversion is thus related: Upon an evening, during

the march of his army on Rome, Constantine was meditating on the
fate of sublunary things and the dangers of his expedition, and, sen-
sible of his own inability to succeed without Divine assistance, he sup-
plicated Heaven to grant him inspiration and wisdom to choose the
right path. The Great Architect of the Universe heard his prayer for,
as the sun was setting, suddenly there appeared in the heavens a Pillar
of Light in the shape of a Cross with the inscription 'In Hoc Signo
Vinces'.

10. So extraordinary a phenomenon created the utmost astonishment in

the minds of of the Emperor and his army, and the Pagans deemed it
a most inauspicious omen: but the next day Constantine, reassured by

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 I 111 t i U U K U f I I I KAM

the visions of the night, caused a Royal Standard to be made bearing

as a device a Cross like that which he had seen in the heavens, and he
. . . *
ordered that it should always be carried before him in his wars as an
Ensign of Victory and Celestial protection.

11. The tradition then relates that thereupon several Christian Masons
among the soldiers came forward and openly avowed their Faith; and
that the Emperor, to commemorate the event, directed them to wear
on their armour a Red Cross with sixteen stars denoting the sixteen
letters of the mystic words.

12. On reaching the Capital, Constantine, with the assistance of Brother

Eusebius, is said to have opened a Conclave of Knights of the Order,
and thereafter these valiant and illustrious men formed the personal
Bodyguard of their Sovereign.

13. The Rose and Lily were adopted by our Royal Founder as emblems of
the Divine Being he had learned to adore. Mystically, they represent
the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.

14. Among the other acts of Constantine, his encouragement of learning

is conspicuous; he also ordered that the Scriptures should be carefully
kept and frequently read in all churches; and he devoted a fourth part
of his revenues to the relief of the poor and to other pious purposes.
On this account his memory will abide in the minds of good men and
Masons until Time shall be no more.

15. In 329 AD, St Helena, daughter of Caylus, King of Britain, Consort

of Constantius and mother of Constantine the Great, made a journey
to the Holy Land in search of the Cross of our Redeemer.

16. After levelling the hillocks on Mount Calvarv and destroying the Temple
of Venus three crosses were discovered; but it was difficult to deter-
mine which of the three had borne the divine form of the Lamb of
God.

17. The Pontiff Marcellinus, being consulted, commanded them to be car-

ried to the bedside of a woman who had long been visited by sickness

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 L.mvi i IIMJ i i n n i /1.v 11 \ i i

and lay at the point of death, and their virtue and efficacy to be tested
by placing her hands upon each of the crosses. The Pontiff's orders
were obeyed; two of the crosses rendered her no service, but when her
hand was laid upon the third she was miraculously restored to health,
and instantly arose, giving glory to God, saying: 'He was wounded for
our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement
of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.'

18. On the spot where the crosses were found St Helena and Constantine
erected a stately church, one hundred paces long and sixty wide, part
of it covering the site of the crucifixion; and by the levelling of the
hillocks the Sepulchre is above the floor of the church, like a grotto,
it being twenty feet from the floor to the top of the rock. There is a
superb cupola over the Sepulchre; and in the aisle are placed the tombs
of Godfrey, Defender of the Sepulchre, and Baldwin, the first Christian
King of Jerusalem.

19. St Helena then, with the sanction of Constantine, instituted the Ordei
of Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. The Order was confirmed by the
Pontiff Marcellinus, and the Patriarch of the Holy City was appointed
Chief of the Knights, who were selected from Brethren of the Red Cross
fraternity and, kneeling on the Sacred tomb, were bound by a solemn
vow to guard the Holy Sepulchre, protect pilgrims, and to repel the
attacks of all infidels and enemies of the cross of Christ.

20. According to our Masonic tradition, the Degree of Knight ol

Constantinople was also founded by the Emperor Constantine the
Great, in order to remedy certain evils which threatened his sovereignly.
The pride and arrogance of the nobility, and their power, had greatly
increased under the weak rule of several of his predecessors: he foresaw
that his throne would be endangered unless he could bring them into
a state of submission.

21. In order therefore to curb the nobility and bring them to a proper level
with his more humble subjects, he instituted an order of knighthood,
which he conferred upon some of his common people, the artisans anil
labourers. The Emperor then bound himself by a solemn engagement
that he personally would never again confer this knighthood upon any

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I I I I. IIV/V/IX \_/L 1 I 1 IV/\ IVI

man: whosoever desired to obtain it must have it awarded by those

common people who had already been created Knights of the Order.

22. He also agreed that he would not show his favour to any but the
Knights of Constantinople. And he gave them orders to put to instant
death any person who received the Degree and would not acknowl-
edge that all men were equal in the sight of God.

23. The nobles said of the Masons: These are the common people; they
are beneath our notice; it would be degrading for us, the nobility, to
speak to them.

24. They spoke to Constantine saying: Will your Majesty confer the Degree
of Knight of Constantinople upon us your humble servants?
Constantine replied: I confer it on no man.

25. The nobles asked: From whom then can we expect to receive it?
Constantine replied: From these builders and labouring masons whom
you have just observed to be your inferiors, the Knights of
Constantinople.

26. The nobles quickly perceived that they had lost the confidence of their
Sovereign. A deputation was informed that his favour would only be
shown to the Knights of Constantinople.

27. The realisation that they could not survive without the favour and
friendship of their Emperor caused the honour to be eagerly sought.
Many of the nobility, having complied with the requirements of the
Degree, received this Order of Knighthood from the duly constituted
Masonic authorities. Thus Constantine succeeded both in humbling his
haughty subjects and in preserving the authority of his throne.

28. This Degree inculcates the virtue of humility. It teaches us to hate arro-
gance and pride, to remember that those who occupy a lower station
of life may have more intrinsic merit than ourselves, and above all
never to forget that he that exalteth himself shall be abased, but he
that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

430
29. Constantine and Helena insisted that our Order should for ever
acknowledge that all men are equal in the sight of the Most High God.

30. May the ever-blessed Sovereign of the Universe take the members of
this Council into His holy keeping throughout the watches of the night
and the labours of the day, so that they may be prepared for the coming
of that night when no man can work.

31. After the death of Constantine a Brother Knight who was sent to visit
the ruins of the ancient temple returned from there, having found the
Scriptures of our Holy Patron. These are the circumstances thereof.

32. Having proceeded to the ruins of Herod's Temple, he found that the
Emperor Julian had commenced the erection of another building on
that ancient site. He was compelled to assist the labourers who were
working on the foundations and, on the removal of one of the stones,
a vault was discovered.

33. As the interior could not be clearly seen owing to its great depth, he
was ordered to descend and ascertain its contents. His fellow workmen
lowered him by means of a rope, when he found that a considerable
quantity of water had accumulated on the floor of the vault, while in
the midst, and scarcely above its surface, there rose a column on the
top of which lay a book wrapped in a fine linen cloth.

34. He made no further discovery, and taking possession of the book was
drawn up again to the light. No sooner was the volume opened than
a great fear fell upon all present, both Jews and Greeks, for at the very
beginning, in large characters, were written the words: 'In the begin-
ning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.' It proved indeed to be a manuscript copy of our holy writings.

35. Now this incident, together with other miracles sent from heaven about
the same time, made it evident that the prophecy of the desolation of
the temple would never become void, for the Book declared that He
who had ordered this was the Most High God, the Creator of all things.
It showed moreover that they who were toiling at that building laboured
in vain, for a divine and immutable sentence had decreed its final

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i i i i. u w v^ iv w I 111 i\rv ivi

destruction. These and similar circumstances caused all immediately to

declare that it was not pleasing to the Most High God that the temple
should be restored.

36. The tradition which has just been made known to you should ever
impress upon your mind that the decrees of the Most High God cannot
be reversed by the hand of man. Julian the Apostate attempted to
rebuild the Jewish temple, but failed signally to accomplish his design;
and as a punishment for sin, we find that his end was a miserable scene
of blasphemy. C ^ W f ^ l t ] ^ )

37. It is narrated that when wounded by Persian dart he endeavoured to

mount his horse for a second charge on the enemy, but fell back
exhausted into the arms of his attendants. Filling his hands with the
blood gushing from the wound, he cast it into the air and died
exclaiming bitterly: 'Thou hast conquered, Oh Galileen.'

38. After the death of Julian, the Christian religion spread apace, except
in the East.

432
 Chapter Fifteen

THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

A N D T H E K N I G H T S OF
ST J O H N OF J E R U S A L E M

1. The city of Jerusalem was rebuilt and ornamented in the second century
A.D. by Publius Aelius Hadrianus, Emperor of Rome, and given to the
Christians in the fifth century. The Persians captured it from them in 614,
and a few years later fell into the hands of the Moslems, under whose
oppressive rule it long groaned, until Peter the Hermit encouraged the
western princes and Knight Masons to liberate the distressed Church.

2. The Word has been again lost and the Third Temple, in the heart of
man, is to be built and dedicated to the Most High God of Truth.

3. When the Knights and the Princes of Jerusalem united to conquer the
Holy Land, they took an oath to spend, if necessary, the last drop of
their blood to establish the true religion of the Most High God.

4. Finally, when the time arrived that the Christian Princess entered into
a league to free the Holy Land from the oppression of the infidels, the
good and virtuous Masons, anxious for so pious an undertaking, offered
their services to the confederates, upon condition that they should have
a chief of their own election, and whose name was only made known
in the hour of battle; which being granted, they accepted their stan-
dard and departed.

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 I I 1 L I 1 I I W \ IV\

It is said that the Knights and the Princes of Jerusalem, finding themselves
unable to expel the Saracens from the Holy Land, agreed with Godfrey
de Bouillon to veil the mysteries of our religion under emblems, by which
they would be enabled to maintain their devotions in secret, and secure
themselves against the intrusion of traitors or pretended friends.

The valour and fortitude of these Elected Knights were such, that they
were admired by, and took the lead of, all the Princes of Jerusalem,
who, believing that their mysteries inspired them with courage and
fidelity to the cause of virtue and religion, became desirous of being
initiated. Upon being found worthy, their desires were complied with,
and thus the Royal Art, meeting the approbation of great and good
men, became popular and honourable, and was diffused to the worthy
throughout these dominions, and thus continued to spread, far and
wide, through a succession of ages to the present day.

7. Hence it follows that the mysteries of the craft are in reality the mys-
teries of religion. The Knights were, however, careful not to entrust
this important secret to any whose fidelity and discretion had not been
fully proved. They therefore invented different degrees to test their can-
didates, and gave them only symbolical secrets without explanation,
a
to prevent treachery and solely to enable them to make themselve^
known to each other. For this purpose it was resolved to use different
signs, words and tokens in each degree, by which they would be secured
against the Saracens, cowans or intruders.

Godfrey de Bouillon unfurled the banner of the Cross, and in 1099

expelled the invaders. His companions thereupon elected him King of
Jerusalem; but, as he thought not meet to wear a royal crown where
his Blessed Saviour had worn a crown of thorns, he consented for the
common good to be called the 'Defender and Baron of the Holy
Sepulchre', which title he held until his death in 1100.

9. They have, ever since their first establishment, adhered to their cus-
toms and forms of reception. In the year 1118, the first knights of the
Order, in the number eleven, took their vows between the hands of
Armelfo Guavi Mundos, Prince and Patriarch of Jerusalem, who hailed
from the province of Amiens in France.

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 I M I: M M V J N N I L [ V I 1 L ^ X R\ /UN VJ I I I I. M N I V J I I 1 J V/I J I I V ' I II N . . .

10. Peace having been made, they could not practically fulfil their vows,
and therefore on returning to their respective countries they resolved
to do in theory what they could not do in practice. They took the name
of Princes of Jerusalem and Knights of the East and West, in memory
of the place where our Order was first instituted, and because their
doctrines came from East and West.

11. Do not despair because you have often seemed on the point of attaining
the inmost light, and have as often been disappointed. In all time truth
has been hidden under symbols, and often under a succession of alle-
gories - where veil after veil had to be penetrated before the true light
was reached and the essential truth stood revealed.

12. During the period of the Crusades our Order of the Holy Sepulchre
flourished, and since the loss of the Holy Land it has continued to exist
in many countries of Europe. There is no longer any temple, because
the light of the Lord is universally diffused, and the world has become
one holy house of wisdom. The hour cometh, and now is, when the
true worshippers shall worship the Father in Spirit and in truth.

13. There was a direful catastrophe which befell our Order about two cen-
turies after its formation in Palestine. During this period the Order had
flourished greatly, and been of essential service to the cause of Religion;
yet, strange to say, its overthrow was to be effected by men professing
the same Faith, but actuated by the base motive of possessing them
selves of the treasures and lands of the Order.

14. To effect this, Philip the Fair, King of France, and Pope Clement V, in
the year 1307, entered into an unholy league, binding themselves to
destroy the illustrious Order. On the night of 10th October of that
year, when the Grand Master and the Knights were reposing in confi
dence in the Christian capital of Paris, Philip, with his armed satellites,
seized them in their house of the Temple there, and at break of day all
the Knights throughout the Province of France were arrested and thrown
into prison.

15. An act of accusation was soon after presented against them, in which
they were designated as wolves, perjurers, idolaters, and in general as

435
m c O W N ur nifCAivi

the vilest of men. The astonished and unoffending Brother Knights

protested their innocence, dared their enemies to the proof and asserted
the integrity of their Order. But their doom was predetermined.

16. Many were put to the torture to force them to confess crimes of which
they were innocent, and those who survived the rack were condemned
to pine in prison for years without aid in their cause, and with scarcely
sufficient sustenance to support existence. At length they were led out
in bands, at one time fifty together, and were burned to death upon

i*ggts- M O l - )

17. Jacques de Molay, our illustrious Grand Master, together with four of
his Priors, were the last victims of this relentless persecution. After
remaining nearly seven years in prison, these illustrious Brother Knights
were, on the 11th March 1314, led out for execution before the
Cathedral of Paris; and after the decree and sentence of the bloody
Philip were read, were burned alive before the assembled citizens, the
glorious martyrs of our glorious Order.

18. The following is the prayer of Jacques De Molay, just prior to his exe-
cution.

19. Forgive, O God, those false accusers who have caused the entire destruc-
tion of the Order whereof thy Providence has made me the head. And
if it please thee to accept the prayer which we now offer, grant that
the day may come when the world, now deceived, may better know
those who have sought to live for thee. We trust to thy goodness and
mercy to compensate us for the tortures and death which we are now
to suffer; and that we may enjoy Thy Divine Presence in the mansions
of happiness. So mote it be.

20. All over Europe the same persecution took place with more or less bar-
barity, and although King Edward II of England, who was then in pos-
session of a great part of Scotland, did not attempt to perpetrate any
cruelties of the kind in this country, owing to the advance of Bruce
and his army, by whom the Templars were protected, yet even here
our Order was at last stripped of its privileges and possessions.

436
 I I I L I X I N 1 V I I I I .3 I I. IVI I IX f i n u M I L I M I I U I I I U XV I I J W I I I - ) . . .

21. The physical hardships to which our Order has been subjected were
hard enough to appal the stoutest heart. Poverty, chastity and obedi-
ence were the three great task-masters to whose uncompromising and
unrelenting sway the whole existence of our predecessors of worthy
memory was subjected.

22. We must remain familiar with the history of the Knights Templar; of
their rise and progress; their great and glorious exploits; their num-
bers, wealth, and high standing in every kingdom of Europe; their per-
secution and fall, and the sufferings of the Grand Master, Jacques de
Molay, and his brave Knights, by order of Pope Clement V, the cru-
elty and barbarity of Philip the Fair and the potentates and govern-
ments of Europe; the history of our Order of the Knights of Malta.

23. In the year 1048 some pious Masons from Amalfi, in the Kingdom of
Naples, built a Monastery and Hospital at Jerusalem dedicated to St
John. These Masons were known as the Brethren of St John of
Jerusalem, or Hospitallers, and it was their duty to assist the sick and
needy Pilgrims whom a spirit of piety had led to the Holy Land.

24. Having rapidly increased in numbers and in wealth, in 1118 they

became a Military Order under Grand Mastership of Raymond du Puy,
who added to their vow of Chastity, Obedience and Poverty, the obli-
gation to defend the Church against the Infidels.

25. When Jerusalem was captured by Saladin they left the Holy City in
1191 to become a Sovereign Order with their headquarters in Acre.

26. By 1290 only Acre remained of the conquests of Godfrey de Bouillon.

Appeals were made to the Christian Kings to defend and retain at least
this one City upon the sod of the Holy Land, but the Monarchs were
too much occupied with their mutual quarrels and jealous to listen.

27. In 1291 Acre was captured by the Saracens under Melik de Serif, who
utterly destroyed the city and put 60,000 of its inhabitants to the sword.
The small remnant of our Knights who escaped first took refuge in
Cyprus, but decided to settle in Rhodes.

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I 1 I L. UV^WIX WL III IWMVL

28. The Grand Master of the Order, Fulco Villaret, landed on the Island,
but met with fierce resistance and after a struggle of four years took
the principal city in 1310.

29. The Order remained in Rhodes for over 200 years, despite repeated
attempts by the Turks to remove our Brethren.

30. In 1522, the island was besieged by Suliman the Magnificent with an
immense army, and although the Knights, under Grand Master Philip
de Villiers de L'lsle Adam, fought well, they were eventually forced to
surrender on honourable terms.

31. For seven years our brother Knights wandered homeless, going suc-
cessively to Castro in Candia, to Messina, in Sicily, and to Viterbo,
near Rome.

32. In 1530 the Emperor Charles V bestowed upon our Order the Island
of Malta, so that the Knights might protect and defend it and do their
utmost to suppress Moorish pirates, who at that time infested the
southern Mediterranean.

33. Accordingly our Brethren went to Malta and approached the shore
rowing in their galleys, two men to an oar, facing each other, each
Knight with his sword in his right hand and the oar in his left. As they
neared the land they sang a hymn embodying the 16th verse of the
19th chapter of the Apocalypse, the refrain of which is 'Rex Regum
et Dominus Dominorum'.

34. The inhabitants of the island, seeing their approach in a warlike guise,
hailed them, in Arabic, saying: 'Do you come in peace?' The Knights
responded in the same tongue saying: 'We come in peace,' to which
the islanders replied: 'Then come in peace.'

35. Now settled in Malta, the Order again became a Sovereign Military
Power, amassed great wealth, and established its Priories throughout
Europe, whilst its members maintained the traditions of fortitude and
valour which they inherited from our Ancient Brethren.

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 M E IVIN I CJ I I I J I L IVL I L A I \ /\ I N I 1 I L IN I N I V J I 1 I J V; I J I J W I L L I . . .

36. Until the year 1723 they fought an almost constant war with the Turks,
who vainly expended vast quantities of blood and treasure to try to
subdue the magnanimous and undaunted heroism of our brother
knights.

37. But soon was a new order to come. The armies of Napoleon overran
Europe, and all over Europe thrones tottered to their fall. The little
domain of the Knights of St John did not escape unscathed.

38. On 9th June 1798 the French Fleet appeared before Malta with
Napoleon himself on board, and our Grand Master, Ferdinand von
Hompesch, was obliged to capitulate. Thus the existence of the Order
as a Sovereign Power came to an end, and it now only exists as our
peaceful Masonic Society.

439
 Chapter Sixteen

EVOLVED
FREEMASONRY

I. Masonry will help you to approach those ancient religions which once
ruled the minds of men, and whose ruins encumber the plains of the
great past, as the broken columns of Palmyra and Tadmor lie bleaching
on the sands of the desert. They rise before you those old, strange,
mysterious creeds and faiths, shrouded in the mists of antiquity, and
stalk dimly and undefinedly along the line that divides time from eter-
nity; and forms of strange, wild, startling beauty mingle in the vast
throng of figures, with shapes monstrous, grotesque, and hideous.

2. The religion taught by Moses, which, like the laws of Egypt, enunci-
ated the principle of exclusion, borrowed at every period of its exis-
tence from all the creeds with which it came in contact. While by the
study of the learned and wise, it enriched itself with the most admirable
principles of the religions of Egypt and Asia, it was changed in the
wanderings of the people, by everything that was impure or seductive
in the pagan manners and superstitions. It was one thing in the time
of Aaron and Moses, another in that of David and Solomon, and still
another in that of Daniel and Philo.

3. At the time when John the Baptist made his appearance in the desert,
near the shores of the Dead Sea, all the old philosophical and

440
 religious systems were approximating to each other. The Jews and
Egyptians, before then the most exclusive of all people, yielded to that
eclecticism which prevailed among their masters, the Greeks and
Romans. It was held by a vast number, even during the preaching of
Paul, that the writings of the Apostles were incomplete, that they con-
tained only the germs of another doctrine, which must receive from
the hands of philosophy not only the systematic arrangement which
was wanting, but all the developments which lay concealed therein,
mysteries handed down from generation to generation in our Masonic
tradition.

4. If anywhere brethren of a particular religious belief have been excluded

from our Order, it merely shows how gravely the plans and purposes
of Masonry may be misunderstood; for whenever the door of any one
degree is closed against him who believes in one God and the soul's
immortality, on account of the other tenets of his faith, that degree is
no longer Masonry, which is universal, but some other thing, that is
exclusive, and accordingly intolerant.

5. Each degree erects a platform on which the Israelite, the Mahommedan

and the Christian may stand side by side and hand in hand, as brethren.
Whatever your religion, your birthplace, or your language, you are
among brethren. One language is spoken in common, the language of
the Masonry, which speaks directly to the heart.

6. Masonry is the handmaid of religion. The Brahmin, the Jew, the

Mahommedan, the Catholic, the Protestant, each professing his pecu-
liar religion, sanctioned by the laws, by time, and by climate may retain
their faith, and yet may be Masons. Masonry teaches, and has pre-
served in their purity, the cardinal tenets of the old primitive faith,
which underlie and are the foundation of all religions.

7. The natural form of Masonry is goodness, morality, living a true, just,

affectionate, self-faithful life, from the motive of a good man. It is loyal
obedience to God's law.

8. The good Mason does that which is good, which comes in his way,
from a love of duty; and not merely because a law enacted by man or

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I I 1 L 1> W W IX VJ r 111 IVl

God commands his will to do it. Not in vain does the poor or oppressed
look up to him.

9. You find such men in all Christian sects, Protestant and Catholic; in
all the great religious parties of the civilised world, among Buddhists,
Mahometans, and Jews. They are kind fathers, generous citizens, and
unimpeachable in their business: you see their Masonry in their works
and in their play.

10. The true Mason loves not only his kindred and his country, but all
mankind; not only the good, but also the evil among his brethren.
Though the ancient and the honourable of the earth bid him bow down
to them, his stubborn knee bends only at the bidding of his manly soul.
His Masonry is his freedom before God, not his bondage unto men.

11. The old theologies, the philosophies of religion of ancient times, will
not suffice us now; there are errors to be made away with, and their
places supplied with new truths, radiant with the glories of heaven.
There are great wrongs and evils in Church and State, in domestic,
social and public life, to be righted and outgrown.

12. Masonry cannot in our age forsake the broad way of life; she must
journey on in the open street, appear in the crowded square, and teach
men by her deeds, her life, more eloquent than any lips.

13. Masonry is much devoted to Toleration, and it inculcates in the strongest

manner that great leading idea of the Ancient Art, that a belief in the
one true God, and a moral and virtuous life, constitute the only reli-
gious requisites needed to enable a man to be a Mason.

14. It has ever the most vivid remembrance of the terrible and artificial
torments that were used to put down new forms of religion or extin-
guish the old. It sees with the eye of memory the ruthless extermina-

tion of all the people, of all sexes and ages - because it was their
misfortune not to know the God of the Hebrews, or to worship him
under the wrong name by the savage troops of Moses and Joshua.

15. It sees the thumbscrews and the racks; the whip, the gallows, lows,

442
 tvuuv i.i j i I \ I : I: I V W N . I W I N IV I

and the stake; the victims of Diocletian and Claverhouse; the miser-
able covenanters; the nonconformists; Servetus bound, and the unof-
fending Quaker hung. It sees Cranmer hold his arm, now no longer
erring, in the flame, until the hand drops off, in the consuming heat.

16. It sees the persecutions of Peter and Paul, the martyrdom of Stephen,
the trials of Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin and Irenaeus; and then, in turn,
the sufferings of the wretched Pagans under the Christian emperors
and all that in all ages have suffered by hunger and nakedness, peril
and prison, the rack, the stake, and the sword - it sees them all, and
shudders at the long roll of human atrocities.

17. Man never had the right to usurp the unexercised prerogative of God,
and condemn and punish another for his belief.

18. Born in a Protestant land, we are of that faith: if we had opened our
eyes to the light under the shadows of St Peter's at Rome, we should
have been devout Romanists; born in the Jewish quarter of Aleppo,
we should have contemned Christ as an imposter; in Constantinople,
we should have cried: 'Allah il Allah - God is great, and Mahomet is
his Prophet.' Birthplace and education give us our faith.

19. Few believe in any religion because they have examined the evidences
of its authenticity, and made up a formal judgement, upon weighing
the testimony. Not one in ten thousand knows anything about the
proofs of his faith. We believe what we are taught; and those are most
fanatical who know least of the evidences on which their creed is based.

20. What is truth to me is not truth to another. The same arguments and
evidences that convince one mind, make no impression on another: this
difference is in men at their birth. No man is entitled positively to
assert that he is right, where other men, equally intelligent and equally
well informed, hold directly the opposite opinion. Each thinks it impos-
sible for the other to be sincere; and each, as to that, is equally in error.
'What is truth?' was a profound question, the most suggestive one ever
put to man.

21. Many beliefs of former and present times seem incomprehensible. They

443
I I L D W W I X W I I I I L\/AIVI

startle us with a new glimpse into the human soul, that mysterious
thing, more mysterious the more we note its workings.

2. Here is a man, superior to myself in intellect and learning, and yet he

sincerely believes what seems to me too absurd to merit confutation;
and I cannot conceive, and sincerely do not believe, that he is both
sane and honest; and yet, he is both. His reason is as perfect as mine,
and he is as honest as I am. The fancies of a lunatic are realities to
him. Our dreams are realities while they last; and in the past, no more
unreal than what we have acted in our waking hours. No man can say
that he hath as sure possession of a truth as of a chattel.

3. When men entertain opinions diametrically opposed to each other, and

each is honest, who shall decide which hath the truth, and how can
either say with certainty that he hath it? We know not what is the truth.

4. That we ourselves believe and feel absolutely certain that our own
belief is true, is, in reality, not the slightest proof of the fact, seem it
never so certain and incapable of doubt to us.

5. Therefore no man hath, or ever had, a right to persecute another for

his belief; for there cannot be two antagonistic rights; and if one can
persecute another because he himself is satisfied that the belief of that
other is erroneous, the other has, for the same reason, equally as cer-
tain a right to persecute him.

6. The truth comes to us as the image of a rod comes to us through the

water, bent and distorted: an argument sinks into and convinces the
mind of one man, while from that of another it rebounds most quickly.
It is no merit in a man to have a particular faith, excellent and sound
and philosophic as it may be. It is no more a merit than his prejudices
and his passions.

7. The sincere Moslem has as much right to persecute us, as we to per-

secute him; and therefore Masonry wisely requires no more than a
belief in one great, all-powerful Deity, the Father and Preserver of the
universe. Therefore she teaches her votaries that toleration is one of
the chief duties of every good Mason.

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 I . V U I . V I.I > r KE I (V\A.>UIN KY

28. The Masonic system regards all the human race as members of one
great family, as having the same origin and the same destination; all
distinctions of rank, lineage, or nativity, are alike unknown.

29. Yet Masonry is eternally vigilant that no atheist or base libertine con-
taminates with his unhallowed tread the sanctum sanctorum of our
temple; such can never gain admission there, without the grossest vio-
lation of vows the most sacred and solemn. It requires the acknowl-
edgement of the existence of the Grand Master of the Universe, and
llBllllW III -""" , II nil """
to reverence His great and sacred name, irrespective of sectarian ' d e a s ; C v \ o p (
in a word, to practise every virtue which adorns and ennobles the V ^ ^ \
human character, and fly every vice which sullies and degrades it. It
inculcates a generous love for all mankind, it matters not of what reli- ' ^
gious creed.

30. No evil hath so afflicted the world as intolerance of religious opinion;

the human beings it has slain in various ways, if once and together
brought to life, would make a nation of people, which, left to live and
increase, would have doubled the population of the civilised portion
of the world; among which civilised portion it is chiefly that religious
wars are waged.

31. No man truly obeys the Masonic law who merely tolerates those whose
religious opinions are opposed to his own. Every man's opinions are
his own private property, and the rights of all men to maintain each
his own are perfectly equal. Merely to tolerate, to bear with an opposing
opinion, is to assume it to be heretical, and assert the right to perse-
cute, if we would, and claim our toleration as a merit.

32. The Mason's creed goes further than that; no man, it holds, has any
right, in any way, to interfere with the religious belief of another. It
holds that each man is absolutely sovereign as to his own belief, and
that belief is a matter absolutely foreign to all who do not entertain
the same belief; and that if there were any right of persecution at all,
it would in all cases be a mutual right, because one party has the same
right as the other to sit as judge in his own case, and God is the only
magistrate that can rightfully decide between them.

445
i lie ouuiv u r n i KA/VI

33. To that Great Judge, Masonry refers the matter; and, opening wide its
portals, it invites to enter there, and live in peace and harmony, the
Protestant, the Catholic, the Jew, the Moslem, the Hindu, every one
who will lead a truly virtuous and moral life, love his brethren, min-
ister to the sick and distressed, and believe in the One, All-Powerful,
All-Wise, Everywhere Present God-Architect, Creator, and Preserver of
all things, by whose universal law of Harmony ever rolls on this uni-
verse: the great, vast, infinite circle of successive death and life; to
whose ineffable name let all true Masons pay profoundest homage. For
whose thousand blessings poured upon us let us feel the sincerest grat-
itude, now, henceforth, and forever.

34. As a Mason in search of light and truth; many journeys made in the
different degrees are symbolical. But the search is not for the truth of
any particular creed or religion, that search would be in vain, for what
is truth to one is not truth to another; often by argument and evidence,
but almost always by the accidents of birth, education and circum-
stances, our religious belief is formed; and argument and testimony
strike the mind of man, when arrived at his religious creed and faith,
only to glance off and leave no impression.

35. Masonry's symbols and ceremonies envelop the great primitive truths,
known to the first men that lived: with whatever particular meaning
they may have peculiar, or believed to be peculiar, to particular creeds,
and differing, as the faith differs of those who receive them, Masonry
has nothing to do.

36. Masonry conducts initiates through certain forms and ceremonies, to

display certain symbols and emblems; it does not give in advance their
interpretation, but only indicates their general tendency; it places the
thread in the hand that will guide a Mason through the labyrinth; it
is for each person to apply and interpret the symbols and ceremonies
of the degree in such manner as may seem the truest and most appro-
priate.

57. A vast multitude of men believe that the Redeemer of man has already
appeared upon the earth: many believe he was a man; many, the Son
of God; and many, the Deity incarnate: a vaster multitude still wait

~ 1 *' * iff' %Jjft:

446
 L'.VUI.V C U t' rvc ulv\ A j U IN K T

for the Redeemer: each will apply our symbols and ceremonies
according to his faith.

38. Like the story of our Grand Master Hiram, in which some see figured
the condemnation and sufferings of Christ; others, those of the unfor-
tunate Grand Master of the Templars; others, those of the first Charles;
and others still, the annual descent of the sun at its winter solstice to
the regions of darkness: in no other way could Masonry possess its
universality, that character which has ever been peculiar to it from its
origin, and which enabled two kings, worshippers of a different Deity,
to sit together as Grand Masters while the walls of the first Temple
arose; and the men of Gebal, who bowed down to the Phoenician gods,
to work by the side of the Hebrews, to whom those gods were an
abomination.

39. Pythagoras said: 'God is neither the object of sense nor subject to pas-
sion, but invisible, only intelligible, and supremely intelligent. In His
body He is like the light, and in His soul He resembles Truth. He is
the universal Spirit that pervades and diffuses itself over all nature. All
beings receive their life from Him.'

40. There is but one only God, who is not, as some are apt to imagine,
seated above the world, beyond the orb of the universe; but being him-
self all in all, he sees all the beings that fill his immensity; the only
Principle, the Light of heaven, the Father of all.

41. He produces everything, He orders and disposes everything; He is the

Reason, the Life, and the Motion of all being.

42. Each of us makes such application to his own faith and creed, of the
symbols and ceremonies of each degree, as seems to him proper.

43. But the will of Him who rules all events has caused the light to shine
again; the day-star of mercy to appear in greater brilliancy; and the
word of God to be found.

44. The elect brethren, who had followed the hallowed footsteps of the
redeemer, then taught others that it was necessary to practise faith,

447
I n c D U U N W R 111 ivA(vi

hope and charity, and to obey the new law before they could resume
the mystic labours of the Order.

45. It was only by means of those sublime principles that Masonry reap-
peared to the gladdened eyes of man, and from this period Masons no
longer built material edifices, but occupied themselves in spiritual build-
ings. Their works were sustained by temperance, prudence, justice and
strength, and they feared no more the vicissitudes of life, or the shadowy
terrors of the grave.

448
 TIME-LINE
BCE

4600 Astronomical myths begin to appear

4500 Professional priesthood established in Neolithic Britain
First small village established at Byblos
4000 Viewing platform set up at Maes Howe
Ditch and carved stone set up at Bryn Celli Ddu
3500 Boyne Valley complex in Ireland started to be built
3300 Uruk, the first Sumerian city, is established as a small settlement
3200 Newgrange completed
Bryn Celli Ddu chamber built
3150 Skilled builders called 'Lords of Light' arrive in Egypt from an
unknown island
Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom
3000 Earliest reference to the city of Jerusalem
2900 Byblos expanded to become a town
2800 Many Grooved Ware sites in Britain are abandoned
2750 Earliest versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh written down
2700 First ziggurat built in Sumer
Old Kingdom of Egypt ends
Bronze artefacts in Wiltshire but not in Scotland
2655 Skara Brae abandoned
2650 First pyramid built at Sakkara
2600 First large temple mounds built in Peru
2528 Phoenician boats buried at pyramid of Khufu
2500 Megalithic building stops in Orkney
Avebury Stones set up
2407 Biblical Flood (traditional Jewish dating)
2300 Byblos is burnt by invaders

449
I 1 I L U W W I V W L 1 1 1 L\/\[VL

2100 Naram-Sin Stela from Sumer shows king with Venus, Moon and
Sun on horizon together
2000 Bronze artefacts appear in Scotland
1900 Earliest probable date for Abraham and Melchizedek meeting in
Jerusalem
1800 Egyptians take control of Phoenicia
1500 Sumerian Tablets of Venus recorded
1447 Moses leads the Hebrews out of Egypt (traditional Jewish dating)
1350 Phoenician maritime trading well established in Mediterranean
1300 Period of drought in Middle East - lasted for 300 years
1100 Phoenicians gain independence again
1020 Saul becomes first king of Israel
1002 David king of Israel
1000 Phoenicians set up copper mines in Cyprus
Tyre rebuilt as an offshore defensive harbour
Sumerian tables of three-star helical risings recorded
980 Hiram destroys his mainland temples and builds them on his island
fortress of Tyre
967 Solomon builds his Temple
740 Isaiah sees the Shekinah return and makes the prophecy of a future
Messiah
630 Babylonian list of astral omens recorded
622 Documents found under the Jerusalem Temple
609 King Necho II of Egypt/Phoenicia sponsors Phoenician voyage round
Africa
600 Venus still worshipped by the Jews as the Queen of Heaven
600 Phoenicians sail around the African continent
586 Destruction of Solomon's Temple
539 Start of Zerubbabel's Temple
460 Herodotus writes of temples of Venus in Tyre and records temple
prostitution
400 The start of personal astrology in Chaldea
250 Manetho compiles Egyptian king-lists
166 Qumran founded by priests from Jerusalem
150 Eupolemus claims Abraham invented astrology
120 Lucian writes of temple prostitution in Byblos
66 Jews begin the war with the Romans
19 Herod's Temple begun

450
 I I IVt I I.I IN I

CE

7 Jesus born under the light of the rising Shekinah on 25th December
34 Jesus commences his Messianic mission as he becomes 4 0 years old
36 Latest possible date for the crucifixion of Jesus
68 Dead Sea Scrolls buried at Qumran and under the Jerusalem Temple
70 Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by the Roman army under Titus
1099 Crusaders take Jerusalem
1118 Founders of Knights Templar begin to excavate under the ruins of
Herod's Temple
1128 Knights Templar excavations under the Temple completed
1140 Documents from under the Jerusalem Temple taken to Scotland
1307 Knights Templar arrested as heretics
1441 Rosslyn commenced
1598 First minutes of a Masonic lodge meeting
1714 First recorded minutes of a meeting of the Grand Lodge of York
1717 Establishment of a Grand Lodge in London
1725 Grand Lodge of Ireland formed
1736 Grand Lodge of Scotland formed
1813 The United Grand Lodge of England formed

451
 Appendix 1

T H E M Y S T E R Y OF T H E
M E G A L I T H I C YARD
REVEALED*

And I saw in those days how long cords were given to two angels
. . . "Why have they taken those cords and gone off?' And he said
to me; 'They have gone to measure.'

-The Book of Enoch

T H E DISCOVERY O F T H E M E G A L I T H I C YARD

When the late Professor Alexander Thom surveyed over a thousand mega-
lithic structures from Northern Scotland through England, Wales and
Western France he was amazed to find that they had all been built using
the same unit of measurement. Thom dubbed this unit a megalithic yard
(MY) because it was very close in size to an imperial yard, being exactly
2 feet 8.64 inches (82.966 cm). As an engineer he could appreciate the fine
accuracy inherent in the MY, but he was mystified as to how such a prim-
itive people could have consistently reproduced such a unit across a zone
spanning several hundreds of miles.
The answer that eluded the late Professor lay not in the rocks, but in the

Paper given by Dr Robert Lomas, University of Bradford, Mr Christopher Knight, and

Professor Archie Roy, University of Glasgow, at the Orkney Science Festival, September 2 0 0 0 .

452
 T H E MYSTERY OI : T H E M E G A L I T H I C YAIU) REV Ii A LTD

stars. The MY turns out to Lie much more than an abstract unit such as the
modern metre. It is a highly scientific measure repeatedly constructed by
empirical means. It is based upon observation of three fundamental factors:

1 The orbit of the Earth around the Sun

2 The spin of the Earth on its axis

3 The mass of the Earth

MAKING YOUR OWN MEGALITHIC YARD

These ancient builders marked the year by identifying the two days a year
when the shadow cast by the rising Sun was perfectly aligned with the
shadow of the setting Sun. We call these the spring equinox and the autumn
equinox, which fall around 21 March and 21 September respectively. They
also knew that there were 366 sunrises from one spring equinox to the
next, and it appears that they took this as a sacred number.
They then scribed out a large circle on the ground and divided it into
366 parts. All you have to do is copy the process as follows:

Stage one - Find a suitable location

Find a reasonably flat area of land that has open views to the horizon, par
ticularly in the east or the west. You will need an area of around 40 feet
by 40 feet with a reasonably smooth surface of grass, level soil or sand.

Stage two - Prepare your equipment

You will need the following items:

1 Two stout, smooth rods approximately 6 feet long and a few inches
diameter. One end should be sharpened to a point.

2 A large mallet or heavy stone.

3 A short stick with neatly cut ends of approximately 10 inches. To make

life easier this should have small cuts made into it to mark out 5 equal
parts.

453
lilt dUUn. Oh III RAM

4 A cord (a washing line will do) approximately 40 feet in length.

5 A piece of string about 5 feet long.

6 A small, symmetrical weight with a hole in its centre (e.g. a heavy washer).

7 A straight stick about 3 feet long.

8 A sharp blade.

Stage three - Constructing a megalithic degree

A megalithic circle was divided into 366 equal parts, which is almost cer-
tainly the origin of our modern 360-degree circle. It seems probable that
when mathematics came into use in the Middle East they simply discarded
6 units to make the circle divisible by as many numbers as possible. The
megalithic degree was 9 8 . 3 6 % of a modern degree.
For purposes of creating a megalithic yard you only need to measure
one sixth part of a circle, which will contain 61 megalithic degrees. This
is easy to do because the radius of a circle always segments the circum-
ference exactly six times.
So, go to a corner of your chosen area and drive one of the rods verti-
cally into the ground. Then take your cord and create a loop that can be
slipped over the rod.
Originally the megalithic builders must have divided the sixth part of
the circle into 61 parts through trial and error with small sticks. It is highly
probable that they came to realise that a ratio of 175:3 gives a 366th part
of a circle without the need to calibrate the circle.
Your next step is to make sure that your cord is 175 units long from
the centre of the first loop to the centre of a second loop that you will
need to make. The length of the units does not matter, but in this case, for
convenience, use a stick about 10 inches long, but to avoid too large a
circle mark the stick into 5 equal units (you can cheat and use a ruler for
this if you want). Next use the stick to measure out 35 lengths (= 175
units) from loop to loop, which will give you a total length of approxi-
mately thirty feet.
Now place the first loop over the fixed rod and stretch out the cord to

454
 I H h MYSTERY Ol Mil: M l:<JAI.I I I I I U Y A R D KtVLAMU

its full length in either a westerly or easterly direction and place the second
rod into the loop. You can now scribe out an arc of a circle in the ground.
Because we are using the ratio method there is no need to make out an
entire sixth part of a circle's circumference; a couple of feet will do.
Next take your piece of string and tie it neatly to the weight to form a
plumb line.
You can then drive the second rod into the ground somewhere on the
arc you have scribed, using the plumb line to ensure that it is vertical. Now
take your measuring stick and mark out a point on the arc that is 3 units
away from the outer edge of the second rod. Return to the centre and
remove the first rod, marking the hole with a stone or other object to hand.
This rod has now to be placed on the spot that you have just marked on
the circle's arc, making sure that it is vertical and that its outer edge is 3
units from the corresponding edge of the second rod.
Return to the centre of the circle and look at the two rods. Through
them you will be able to see exactly one 366th part of the horizon.

Stage four - Measuring time

You have now split the horizon so that it has the same number of parts
as there are sunrises in the course of one orbit of the Sun. Now you need
to measure the spin of the Earth on its axis.
You will have to wait for a clear night when the stars are clearly vis-
ible. Stand behind the centre point and wait for a bright star to pass between
the rods. There are twenty stars with an astronomical magnitude of 1.5,
which are known as first-magnitude stars.
The apparent movement of stars across the horizon is due to the rota-
tion of the Earth. It follows that the time that it takes a star to travel from
the trailing edge of the first rod to that of the second, will be a period
exactly equal to one three hundred and sixty-sixth part of one rotation (a
day).
There are 86,400 seconds in a day, and therefore a 366th part of the
day will be 236 seconds, or 3 minutes 56 seconds. So your two rods have
provided you with a highly accurate clock that will work every time.
When you see a first-magnitude star approaching the first rod, take your
plumb line and hold the string at a length of approximately 16 inches, and
swing the weight like a pendulum. As the star appears from behind the
first rod count the pulses from one extreme to the other.
There are only two factors that effect the swing of a pendulum; the

455
inn iiuun ur niKAM

length of the string and gravity - which is determined by the mass of the
Earth. If you swing a pendulum faster it will move outwards further but
it will not change the number of pulses.
Your task now is to count the number of pulses of your pendulum whilst
the star moves between the rods. You need to adjust the length until you
get exactly 366 beats during this period of 3 minutes 56 seconds. It is likely
to take you several attempts to get the length right, so be prepared to do
quite a bit of star-gazing.

Stage five - Making your megalithic yard measure

Once you have the correct length of pendulum, mark the string at the exact
point that it leaves your fingers. Next take the straight stick, place the
marked part of the string approximately in the centre, hold it in place there,
and stretch the line down the stick. Mark the stick at the point where the
centre of the weight touches it. Now swing the pendulum over to the other
end of the stick, ensuring that the marked part of the string stays firmly
in place. Mark the stick again to record the position of the centre of the
weight.
Discard the pendulum and cut through the stick at the two points that
marked the position of the weight.
Congratulations. You now have a stick that is exactly one megalithic
yard long.
It is interesting to note that the curious British measurement unit known
as a 'rod' or a 'pole' is equal to 6 megalithic yards to an accuracy of 1 per
cent. There are 4 rods to a chain and 80 chains to a mile. Could it be that
the modern mile of 1,760 yards is actually based on the prehistoric measure
of the megalithic yard?

456
 Appendix 1

THE STATISTICAL
EVALUATION OF T H E
HOSSLYN L O Z E N G E S

In this test our purpose was to establish a null hypothesis consisting of the
idea that these lozenges were not intended to indicate the latitudes of
Jerusalem, Rosslyn, Orkney and Trondheim. We will therefore give the bal-
ance of probabilities, in each aspect, to the idea that these are random
markings. This is a standard technique used to investigate the likelihood
of a sequence of occurrences happening together by chance. 1
We believe that everything carved into the fabric of Rosslyn is univer-
sally accepted as being there for a reason, and that this image is not dec-
oration, but for the purpose of analysis we will assume that there is an
equal chance that it is. We therefore will put a 50-50 probability to each
of the following conditions happening by chance:

1 That the lozenges are simply a meaningless doodle.

2 That the angle of the bottom lozenge corresponds with the Jerusalem
solstice sunrises.

3 That the angle of the second corresponds with Rosslyn's solstice sun-
rises.
1 Lomas, R & Lancaster, G: Forecasting for Sales and Material Management, Macmillnn,
1985

457
I I IE KOOK OF H I R A M

4 That the angle of the third corresponds to the Orkney solstice sunrises.

5 That the angle of the fourth corresponds to the Trondheim solstice sun-
rises.

6 That all four of these lozenges are in a correct north to south sequence
of places of known prime importance to the St Clair family.

7 That the diagram complies with the rules of Grooved Ware symbolism.

Clearly, we are being very fair to the null hypothesis by giving a 50-50
probability to each being a complete coincidence. The result, however, is
1:128, which means that the null hypothesis is well below 1 per cent, the
usual minimum threshold for plausibility, so we can reject it.
 Appendix 1

T H E N A M E S F O R ,0C\
V E N U S IN V A R I O U S
TRADITIONS

Anat Hebrew

Asherah Canaanite

Asherat Canaanite

Ashtar Canaanite

Ashtoreth Phoenician

Astart Hebrew

^Astarte Canaanite

Baalat Phoenician

Baalat-Gebal Phoenician

Bright star of the morning Masonic

Freyja Norse

459
 H t liOOK OF H I R A M

Frigg Norse

Hamaliel Masonic

Hathor Egyptian

Inanna Sumerian

Ishtar Sumerian

Matrona Hebrew

Morning Star Masonic

Nut Egyptian

Salem Canaanite

Sekhmet Egyptian

Shachar Canaanite

Shalem Canaanite

Uatchet Egyptian

460
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Robinson, J: Born in the Blood, The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry, Guild
Publishing, London, 1989
Robinson, TH: The History of Israel (A Companion to the Bible), T & T
Clark, 1939
Russell, DS: The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic 200 BC - AD
100, SCM Press, London Sachs, Gunter: The Astrology File, Orion, 1997
Schonfield, Hugh: The Passover Plot, Element, 1965
Schultz, J : Movements and Rhythms of the Stars, Floris Books, 1987
Schwarez, HP: 'ESR Dates for the Hominid Burial site of Qafzeh in Israel',
Journal of Human Evolution, 17, 1988
Sinclair, A: The Sword and the Grail, Century, 1993
Steiner, R: The Festivals and Their Meaning, Rudolf Steiner Press, 1981
Stevenson, David: The Origins of Freemasonry, Cambridge University Press,
1988
Stiebling, WH: 'Did the Weather Make Israel's Emergence Possible?',
Biblical Review, vol. X , no. 4, August 1994
Sturluson, S: Helmskringla, Parts 1 & 2, translated by Samuel Laing,
Everyman Library, 1 9 6 1 - 1 9 6 4
Sturluson, Snorri: The Prose Edda, translated Jean L Young, Cambridge
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Sykes, B: The Seven Daughters of Eve, Corgi, 2001
Szekely, EB (translator & ed.): The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book One,
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Tacitus: The Histories, Penguin Classics, 1962
Temple R: He Who Saw Everything: a Verse Translation of the Epic of
Gilgamesh, Century, 1991
Thorn, A & AS: Megalithic Rings, BAR British Series 81, 1980

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i ii L u v-/ vy ix i 1111 V/A i v i

Thom, Alexander: Megalithic Sites in Britain, Oxford University Press, 1967

Thom, AS: Walking in All the Squares, Argyll Publishing, 1995
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Twohig, ES: Irish Megalithic Tombs, Shire Archaeology, 1990
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no: 5, Sept./Oct. 1991

466
 INDEX

A Ahaz, 169, 170, 175, 176, 1 8 6 - 1 8 8 ,

Aaron, 54, 128, 3 6 0 , 3 6 2 , 3 6 4 - 3 6 6 , 208
371, 440 Ahaziah, 183
Abdon, 2 0 7 Ahiram, 93, 111
Abel, 118 Ahura Mazda, 190
Abibaal, 93, 98 Akhenaten, 139
Abi-baal, 17 Akko, 89
Abimelech, 139 Albright, William, 5, 61, 138
Abraham, 45, 102, 1 1 7 - 1 1 9 , 121, Alexandretta, 109
124, 125, 128, 132, 133, 135, 136, Allegro, Dr John, 52
150, 156, 1 6 7 - 1 6 9 , 178, 182, 183, Allfather, 72, 7 7 , 78
206, 220, 235, 253, 263, 288, 295, Alt, Albrecht, 138
3 2 5 , 341, 3 6 2 , 4 0 5 Ammonites, 165
Abram, 125, 2 2 0 , 3 5 7 - 3 6 0 Amos, 172
Acacia, 158, 381 Anat, 74, 131, 133, 4 6 0
Acco, 89 Ancient and Accepted rite, 23
Ackerman, Dr Susan, 173, 175, 176 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite,
Adam, 73, 118, 136, 137, 297, 3 4 5 , 21, 164, 2 1 4 , 281
3 4 8 , 350, 364 Anderson, Dr, 17
Adon, 93, 97 Angantyr, 72
Adoni, 93 Angels, 142, 192, 2 0 1 , 2 0 8 , 2 0 9 , 2 1 9 ,
Adoniram, 83, 3 7 0 , 3 7 2 , 3 7 3 , 377, 2 2 6 , 238, 2 5 0 , 2 5 5 , 2 6 4 , 2 6 9 , 3 2 9 ,
3 7 8 , 3 8 3 - 3 8 6 , 389, 3 9 0 346, 393, 4 2 2
Adonis, 93, 94 Anglesey, 4 0 , 4 2
Africa, 29, 109, 113, 114, 116, 117, Anjou, 2 5 8
262 Anjou family, 2 6 7
Ahab, 163, 179, 182 Antiochus Epiphanes, 191

467
 MIC ur niKAIVl

Antonia, 2 4 6 , 2 5 5 Australia, 130

Apiru, 139, 140, 143, 144, 146, Avebury, 35
1 4 8 - 1 5 1 , 182, 183, 2 1 0 Axe factories, 104
Apis, 94
Apocalypse, 2 5 5 , 2 6 9 , 4 3 8 B
Aqaba, 116 Baal, 8 9 - 9 1 , 93, 95, 97, 98, 111, 141,
Arabs, 50, 114 1 5 3 - 1 5 5 , 157, 179, 180, 182
Aradus, 93 Baalah, 145
Araunah, 142 Baalat, 74, 9 3 - 9 5 , 97, 98, 110, 112,
Archaeoastronomy, 2 9 , 31 153, 154, 157, 163, 179, 4 6 0
Archaeology, 3, 2 9 , 31, 84, 101, 103, Baalat-Gerbal, 74, 4 6 0
177 Baalim, 170, 179
Arctic Circle, 129 Baal-Lebanon, 98
Arius, 2 6 7 Baal-Shamim, 98
Ark, 58, 85, 87, 129, 139, 144, 145, Babylon, 95, 137, 189, 190, 303,
149, 151, 156, 2 1 3 - 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 1 , 395-398, 400, 403-406, 410-413,
2 2 9 , 2 8 0 , 2 9 5 , 3 5 1 - 3 5 4 , 362, 3 6 3 , 417-419
365, 3 7 1 , 3 7 2 , 3 8 3 , 3 9 1 - 3 9 4 , 3 9 6 , Babylonian Captivity, 178, 188, 189,
397, 4 0 2 , 4 1 0 205, 211, 394
Ark of the Covenant, 58, 85, 139, Babylonian Talmud, 193
145, 149, 151, 156, 2 1 3 , 2 1 5 , 2 2 1 , Baghdad, 84
2 2 9 , 2 8 0 , 3 6 2 , 3 6 3 , 371, 372, 383, Balaam, 233
391, 3 9 6 , 3 9 7 Baldwin I, 2 7 0
Aroura, 34 Baldwin II, 52, 2 7 0
Arwad, 89 Baramki, Dr Dimitri, 115, 116
Asgard, 72, 74, 75 Barcliod yr Grawes, 35
Asha, 190 Bathsheba, 80
Asherah, 74, 84, 120, 129, 130, 134, Batters, Tony, 60, 61
179, 2 2 4 , 4 6 0 Bayeux Tapestry, 268
Asherat, 93, 4 6 0 Beaker Folk, 101
Ashkelon, 141, 151, 166 Bedouin, 112
Ashtar, 89, 4 6 0 Beirut, 89, 110, 115
Ashtoreth, 149, 4 6 0 Berbers, 114
Astart, 131, 4 6 0 Berytus, 89
Astarte, 74, 89, 92, 93, 95, 366, 4 6 0 Bethel, 163, 172
Astrology, 193, 194, 2 5 8 , 2 5 9 , 263, Bible, 6, 17, 22, 24, 63, 7 9 - 8 1 , 84,
265, 287-295, 298, 299, 301-307, 91, 99, 110, 112, 113, 117, 118,
310-312, 322, 326, 329 124, 126, 128, 132, 133, 136,
Astronomer priests, 2 9 , 30, 105, 2 3 3 , 1 3 8 - 1 4 0 , 142, 145, 152, 165,
2 5 9 - 2 6 1 , 287, 2 8 8 , 2 9 6 , 325 1 7 5 - 1 7 9 , 181, 182, 185, 191, 193,
Astronomy, 1, 3, 2 5 , 3 2 - 3 6 , 4 5 , 47, 206, 2 0 9 , 2 1 2 , 2 2 4 , 2 2 7 , 2 3 3 - 2 3 5 ,
83, 107, 109, 113, 115, 134, 147, 2 3 8 , 246, 2 5 0 , 2 5 5 , 2 5 7 , 2 5 8 , 2 6 0 ,
151, 199, 2 2 9 , 2 6 2 , 2 6 3 , 2 7 1 , 2 6 1 , 2 6 3 - 2 6 5 , 2 6 9 , 2 9 5 , 302, 3 2 4 ,
2 8 7 - 2 8 9 , 3 0 0 , 3 0 2 , 312, 329 325, 330, 3 3 3 , 3 3 4 , 3 4 1 , 371
Athalaih, 163 Biblion, 110
Athanasius, 2 6 7 Bilhah, 147
Athens, 166, 319, 3 2 0 Birthing chamber, 4 7
Atlantic, 28, 106, 1 1 3 - 1 1 5 Bit-hileni, 90

468
 I IN I t I, A

Blazing Star, 54, 2 1 6 , 217, 225, 3 6 4 , C

3 8 4 , 393, 3 9 7 , 4 0 3 , 4 2 3 , 424 Cabinet of Wisdom, 216, 423
Bloomsbury Group, 2 0 Cable tow, 4 0 7
Boaz, 16, 17, 19, 24, 5 7 , 63, 88, 90, Cain, 118, 351
130, 401 Cairo, 113, 194
Bonde, Baron St Clair, 59, 6 8 , 72 Caithness, 273, 2 8 5
Book of Deuteronomy, 139 Caligula, 2 4 2
Book of Enoch, 2 2 , 32, 3 4 - 3 7 , 45, 4 9 , Callenish, 35
83, 2 0 3 , 2 2 2 , 341 Cambridge University, 5, 59, 64, 284
Book of Ezekiel, 85 Canaan, 50, 88, 89, 104, 109, 118,
Book of Genesis, 118, 126, 132, 133, 121, 124, 1 3 6 - 1 4 0 , 148, 150, 172,
167, 178, 2 3 4 , 2 6 4 177, 2 0 7 , 2 1 1 , 2 6 4 , 348
Book of Hiram, 6, 3 3 4 Canaanites, 18, 2 2 , 50, 81, 84, 88, 89,
Book of Jubilees, 2 0 3 , 2 0 4 , 2 2 2 93, 98, 101, 1 1 5 - 1 1 7 , 1 1 9 - 1 2 5 ,
Book of Kings, 140, 169, 179, 210, 1 2 9 - 1 4 1 , 143, 144, 1 4 6 - 1 4 8 ,
320 1 5 0 - 1 5 2 , 161, 163, 164, 166, 167,
Book of Mormon, 126 169, 170, 1 7 9 - 1 8 2 , 185, 187, 188,
Book of Revelation, 16, 35, 2 6 9 198, 204, 2 0 5 , 2 0 9 , 2 4 9 - 2 5 1 , 2 5 3 ,
Book of Samuel, 89, 142 2 5 8 , 2 6 3 - 2 6 5 , 2 8 2 , 2 8 8 , 333, 4 6 0
Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, 3 2 , Candidate, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 2 4 ,
35 50, 63, 78, 120, 121, 123,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2 0 1 2 6 - 1 2 8 , 131, 134, 1 5 5 - 1 5 8 , 160,
Boyne, River, 3 5 - 3 7 , 39, 4 0 , 4 4 , 109 1 9 9 - 2 0 1 , 2 1 4 , 2 1 5 , 2 4 7 , 250, 278,
Boyne Valley, 35, 3 6 , 39, 44 280, 343, 404, 426, 434
Bradford University, 7, 23, 63, 343 Cape of Good Hope, 106
Brandon, SGF, 2 4 3 Carmel, 109, 179, 180
Brienne family, 268 Catholic Herald, 2, 3, 32
Bright star of the morning, 19, 4 6 0 Celts, 44, 66, 67, 77, 173, 175
Britain, 1, 13, 14, 2 9 , 38, 4 9 , 5 0 , 61, Chalcolithic Period, 84
103, 105, 109, 115, 2 6 1 , 2.62, 3 2 7 , Chaldees, 102, 2 9 5 , 4 1 7
333, 426, 428 Champagne, 2 5 8
British Isles, 2 7 - 2 9 , 31, 38, 50, 101, Charles the Simple, 6 7
103, 106, 109, 117, 173, 175, 178, Charleston, 5 5 , 154
181, 206, 2 1 2 , 2 1 8 , 239, 2 6 8 , 333 Charlesworth, Revd Prof James H, 5,
British Museum, 2 0 , 2 9 8 , 300, 302 6, 6 0 - 6 2 , 2 8 4 , 334
Brittany, 29, 3 1 , 117, 278 Chaumont family, 268
Brodgar, 35 Cheops, 113
Bronze Age, 84, 90, 104, 137, 138 Cherubim, 2 1 4 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , 361, 3 8 3 ,
Brothel facilities, 153 391-393
Bruce, James, 32, 3 3 6 , 341, 4 3 6 Childe, Prof Gordon, 2 9
Bryn Celli Ddu, 35, 4 0 , 4 2 , 103, 178, Child sacrifice, 72, 162, 164, 165,
262 167, 169, 171, 175, 176, 185, 189
Builder Gods, 108 China, 130
Bull worship, 172, 185 Chosen people, 136, 169, 227, 241,
Burgundy, 258 258, 265, 327
Butler, Alan, 167, 2 2 9 Christ, 2 , 2 0 , 4 9 , 50, 52, 64, 73, 85,
Byblos, 89, 93, 94, 98, 104, 1 1 0 - 1 1 3 , 97, 112, 119, 124, 147, 164, 169,
146, 151, 2 6 2 183, 2 0 4 , 2 1 0 , 2 2 3 - 2 2 5 , 2 3 3 - 2 3 5 ,

469
 237, 247, 251, 254, 255, 264, 267, Cyprus, 90, 91, 197, 2 5 3 , 4 3 7
2 6 9 , 2 7 1 , 2 7 2 , 3 1 2 , 333, 4 2 9 , 4 4 3 , Cyrus the Great, 189, 3 0 3 , 320,
447 3 9 7 - 4 0 0 , 4 0 3 ^ 1 0 5 , 4 1 0 , 412, 4 1 3 ,
Christians, 86, 109, 132, 164, 188, 417-419
193, 2 3 0 , 2 3 5 , 2 5 1 - 2 5 4 , 258, 2 6 7 ,
337, 433 D
Christmas, 2 2 4 , 2 2 5 , 2 3 2 , 250, 2 5 3 , Daedalus, 166
264 Dalai Lama, 2 3 3
Christmas Day, 2 2 5 Dallas, 154
Christos, 2 4 5 Damascus, 2 3 4 , 3 5 8 , 4 0 1 , 4 0 2
Circle making, 2 4 9 Damascus Document, 2 3 4
Circumcision, 149, 1 8 1 - 1 8 3 , 185, Dan, 17, 129, 142, 163, 172, 358,
220, 253 396
City of the Sun, 1 1 3 - 1 1 5 Daniel, 2 0 4 , 4 4 0
Clan Sinclair, 2 7 2 , 2 7 3 Darius, 189, 190, 3 2 0 , 4 1 1 - 4 1 4 ,
Clement V, Pope, 50, 4 3 5 , 4 3 7 417-419
Colorado School of Mines, 60, 64, David, 18, 22, 80, 84, 89, 90,
284 1 1 8 - 1 2 0 , 124, 125, 128, 129,
Conception, 95, 96, 141 1 3 5 - 1 3 7 , 1 4 0 - 1 4 5 , 1 5 0 - 1 5 2 , 156,
Conjunctions, 2 2 5 , 2 2 7 , 2 2 9 , 2 3 0 , 163, 165, 167, 169, 177, 185, 198,
2 3 2 , 2 3 4 , 2 5 9 , 292, 3 1 3 , 324 2 0 8 , 209, 2 3 2 , 2 3 8 , 2 4 1 , 250, 2 5 1 ,
Consort of our Lady, 77, 93, 9 6 - 9 8 , 2 8 2 , 369, 391, 4 0 2 , 4 4 0
149, 154, 155, 160, 4 2 8 Davidy, Dr Yaii^ 4 9
Constantine, 2 6 7 , 3 4 3 , 4 2 6 - 4 3 1 Davies, Prof Philip, 5, 17, 59, 60, 6 8 ,
Constantinople, 110, 4 2 9 , 4 3 0 , 4 4 3 142, 176, 194, 2 0 9
Copper Scroll, 4, 5 2 , 61, 2 7 1 , 2 7 2 Dawkins, Prof Richard, 182, 2 8 7 , 2 9 1 ,
Copulation, 95, 153 292, 294, 3 0 2
Cornwall, 103 Dead Sea Scrolls, 4, 32, 5 6 , 60, 61,
Council of Nicaea, 2 6 5 183, 184, 192, 198, 2 0 3 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 4 ,
Covenant of Abraham, 136, 183 2 3 7 , 2 3 8 , 242, 2 4 5 , 2 4 6 , 2 5 5 - 2 5 8 ,
Covenant of the Uncircumcised, 2 6 6 2 6 5 , 2 8 3 , 294, 2 9 7 , 341
Cowie, Ashley, 2 7 3 - 2 7 9 , 2 8 5 De Bouillon, 434, 4 3 7
Craft, 11, 13, 15, 2 0 , 24, 25, 6 3 , 78, De Bouillon family, 2 6 7
83, 105, 106, 129, 155, 192, 2 1 5 , Delta, 22, 82, 129, 131, 134, 2 1 1 ,
2 5 7 , 330, 334, 3 4 2 , 344, 361, 348, 354, 372, 3 9 0 , 3 9 1 , 396
3 7 2 - 3 7 6 , 381, 3 8 2 , 3 8 5 , 388, 3 9 1 , Delta of Enoch, 2 2 , 3 4 8
404, 434 De Vaux, Fr Roland, 196
Crete, 166, 167, 197 Devil, 78, 124, 193, 2 4 0 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 9
Crossley-Holland, Kevin, 71, 73, 76 Dieri, 182
Crucifixion, 61, 73, 88, 2 4 0 , 2 4 4 , Dilmun, 105, 115
2 4 7 , 254, 4 2 9 Dius, 17
Crusaders, 52, 110, 2 7 0 DNA, 109, 308
Cryptic Rite, 54 Dome of the Rock, 5 1 , 86, 87, 2 8 2
Cube of agate, 82, 83, 3 4 9 , 3 7 2 , 373, Dome of the Spirits, 87
391 Dome of the Tablets, 87
Cul Baal-Rosh, 98 Dormer, 4 3 , 85, 86, 88, 154, 2 1 2 ,
Cult of the dead, 171, 185 2 1 4 , 229, 342, 3 7 6
Cumbria, 103 Dowth, 35, 39

470
 I IN I >\ A

Druze, 109 Elijah, 163, 172, 1 7 9 - 1 8 4 , 186, 2 0 8 ,

Duat, 149 249, 257, 258, 2 6 5
Dunand, Michel, 112 Elisha, 163, 172
Dunbar, 2 8 0 Ellis Davidson, Prof Hilda, 70, 74
Durrington Walls, 35 El Shaddai, 119
England, 13, 14, 2 0 , 21, 27, 32, 35,
E 50, 55, 64, 67, 79, 120, 154, 2 6 8 ,
Earl More of Trondheim, 268 317, 319, 322, 3 2 3 , 331, 332,
Earth, 36, 39, 4 1 , 4 3 - 4 5 , 54, 72, 84, 335-337, 436, 450, 452
87, 97, 98, 118, 127, 182, 188, Enoch, 21, 2 2 , 3 2 - 3 7 , 45, 49, 8 1 - 8 4 ,
191, 2 1 8 , 2 3 0 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 6 , 2 3 9 , 2 4 3 , 99, 102, 109, 118, 148, 184, 191,
244, 258, 263, 272, 282, 286, 289, 2 0 3 , 2 0 4 , 2 2 2 , 3 4 1 , 3 4 8 - 3 5 2 , 369,
2 9 6 , 3 0 0 - 3 0 2 , 3 2 9 , 3 3 3 , 360, 4 5 5 372, 3 7 4 , 3 9 0
Easter, 84, 88, 147, 148, 254, 2 6 4 , Enochian, 80, 83, 99, 167, 170, 189,
267, 299 191, 2 0 3 - 2 0 5 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 2 , 2 2 2 , 2 2 4 ,
Eastern Gate, 8 5 - 8 7 2 3 8 , 2 4 9 , 2 6 9 , 2 8 3 , 2 8 9 , 322
Eddie poetry, 69, 70 Enochian calendar, 204
Eden, 136, 171, 2 1 9 Enochian temple, 83, 99, 167
Edfu Texts, 108 Entered Apprentice, 15, 16, 63, 155,
Edinburgh, 4 , 5 1 , 57, 59, 64, 2 2 6 382, 3 9 7
Edinburgh University, 59 Eogan, Prof George, 39
Edmund Ironsides, 6 7 Ephod, 139
Edom, 152, 3 6 5 , 366 Equilateral triangle, 2 2 , 1 2 5 - 1 3 1 , 134,
Edward the Confessor, 67 2 7 6 , 360, 373, 3 7 4 , 4 2 6
Egypt, 28, 29, 33, 34, 3 6 - 3 9 , 50, 81, Equinox, 16, 24, 2 5 , 37, 46, 54, 88,
88, 89, 91, 94, 98, 1 0 4 - 1 1 1 , 113, 97, 121, 123, 131, 134, 153, 157,
116, 117, 124, 134, 136, 137, 159, 197, 2 2 5 , 2 5 1 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 4 , 288,
139, 140, 1 4 8 - 1 5 1 , 158, 160, 162, 2 9 6 , 3 0 0 , 3 0 1 , 3 6 5 , 367, 453
177, 194, 197, 198, 2 0 7 , 2 0 8 , Esau, 2 0 6
2 1 0 - 2 1 3 , 233, 2 5 3 , 2 6 1 - 2 6 3 , 2 7 4 , Eshmun, 93, 97
2 8 8 , 2 9 5 , 303, 3 0 4 , 3 6 2 , 3 6 3 , Essenes, 184, 191, 192, 196, 199, 2 0 0 ,
3 6 6 - 3 6 8 , 372, 3 8 7 , 3 9 5 , 398, 4 4 0 , 202, 203, 239, 242, 246, 255, 256,
441, 460 258
Egyptians, 28, 3 6 , 5 0 , 89, 94, 134, Ethiopia, 32, 341
148, 177, 198, 2 0 7 , 2 1 3 , 2 8 8 , 3 6 3 , Eugehoros, 9 2
367, 441 Euphrates, 81, 102, 103, 106, 4 0 1 ,
Egyptology, 110 402, 418
Eisenman, Prof Robert, 183, 184, 2 4 0 , Europe, 2 7 - 2 9 , 3 1 , 33, 38, 4 7 , 4 9 , 53,
243, 249, 253, 256, 257 5 4 , 57, 67, 77, 1 0 3 - 1 0 6 , 115, 2 5 8 ,
El, 9 3 - 9 8 , 118, 119, 124, 125, 133, 2 6 2 , 2 6 7 , 2 7 0 , 2 7 1 , 2 8 3 , 313, 331,
139, 153, 154, 157, 159, 168, 185, 336, 4 3 5 - 4 3 9
188, 2 6 0 Evans-Pritchard, Prof, 70
Elamite script, 106 Eve, 18, 118, 157
Elba, 84 Even Shetiyyah, 86
Eleazar, 53, 3 6 4 - 3 6 6 Exodus, 50, 88, 136, 140, 151, 172,
El Elyon, 118, 119, 124, 125, 168, 181, 2 0 7 , 2 1 0 - 2 1 3 , 2 2 1 , 2 2 3 , 2 4 0 ,
185, 188 2 6 0 , 325, 363
Elibaal, 93 Eyrbyggja Saga, 76

471
i i i L uvyuix v i i i i i\r\ivi

Ezekiel, 85, 110, 176, 188, 189, 192, Gideon, 139, 251
2 0 7 , 2 0 8 , 395 Gihon Spring, 84
Gilgal, 149, 181-183
F Gisors family, 2 6 7
Farming, 4 2 , 103, 2 6 2 Giza, 34, 36
Feast of St John, 16 Gizelle, 67
Fellowcraft, 15 God, 18, 24, 2 5 , 53, 79, 80, 83, 85,
Fertility cycle, 97 90, 98, 99, 120, 124, 125, 132,
Fife, 68 133, 136, 139, 141, 142, 144, 151,
First Crusade, 51, 55, 6 1 , 68 153, 154, 156, 1 6 2 - 1 6 4 , 168, 169,
First degree, 12, 15, 192, 2 0 1 , 333 171, 172, 1 7 5 - 1 7 8 , 180, 182, 185,
First or Holy Lodge, 2 1 3 , 2 1 6 , 363 187-191, 199-202, 207, 208,
Five pointed star, 19, 42, 160 2 1 2 - 2 2 0 , 222, 224, 2 2 7 , 2 2 9 - 2 3 1 ,
Five Points of Fellowship, 19, 155, 233, 235-238, 241-246, 248,
160, 161, 3 8 2 2 5 0 - 2 5 8 , 260, 2 6 4 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 7 , 2 6 9 ,
Flood, 2 2 , 45, 102, 2 0 6 , 2 1 2 , 2 2 4 , 270, 272, 282, 288, 289, 295, 297,
2 3 3 , 2 3 8 , 2 6 0 , 2 7 2 , 2 9 5 , 305, 325, 320, 321, 3 2 5 - 3 2 7 , 3 3 0 , 3 3 4 , 3 3 5 ,
3 4 9 , 3 5 1 , 353 345, 3 4 7 - 3 5 5 , 3 5 8 - 3 6 5 , 3 6 9 , 384,
Foakes-Jackson, Revd F, 2 1 1 , 223 3 8 7 , 390, 3 9 2 - 3 9 5 , 3 9 7 , 4 0 3 ,
Fontaine family, 2 6 7 405-407, 409, 410, 412-414, 417,
France, 3, 14, 27, 31, 4 8 , 50, 67, 79, 421, 422, 425-433, 436, 441-443,
109, 110, 2 5 8 , 2 6 7 , 3 3 3 , 4 3 4 , 4 3 5 , 445-447
452 Goddess of Many Names, 2 6 3
Freemasonry, 1, 4 - 7 , 1 1 - 1 7 , 20, 21, Godfrey of Bouillon, 2 7 0
2 3 - 2 5 , 4 9 - 5 1 , 53, 56, 58, 6 3 - 6 5 , Gog, 2 6 9 , 270
69, 7 0 , 7 8 , 79, 99, 121, 123, 129, Golb, Prof Norman, 2 3 8
130, 134, 158, 160, 164, 192, 193, Golden delta, 82, 3 7 2
199, 2 0 1 - 2 0 3 , 214, 2 1 6 , 217, 2 2 7 , Gospel of John, 2 4 0 , 2 4 7
2 5 0 , 2 5 9 , 2 6 4 , 265, 2 8 0 , 2 8 2 - 2 8 4 , Gospel of Mark, 2 4 7
2 8 6 , 2 8 9 , 2 9 4 , 3 0 9 - 3 1 2 , 322, 3 2 3 , Gospel of Matthew, 2 3 5
328-338, 341-344, 440 Gottwald, Norman, 138
French Revolution, 194 Gould's History of Freemasonry, 78
Freyja, 68, 69, 7 1 - 7 6 , 124, 2 7 8 , 279, Graham, Prof j w , 59, 167
Grand Lodge of Charleston, 55, 154
460
Grand Lodge of London, 14
Frigg, 74, 4 6 0
Grand Lodge of Scotland, 78, 194
Grand Master Masons of Scotland, 56,
G
Gad, 142, 396 65, 66, 78
Gardener's Brae, 2 7 9 , 2 8 4 Great Orme, 104
Gebal, 2 3 , 90, 93, 98, 107, 1 1 0 - 1 1 2 , Greeks, 108, 110, 191, 198, 2 2 9 , 303,
134, 3 7 0 , 4 4 7 3 0 4 , 320, 4 3 1 , 441
Gebeil, 111, 112 Grieve, Revd AJ, 2 2 6
Gehenna, 170, 171 Grooved Ware People, 2 6 - 2 8 , 30, 34,
Gennesaret, 241 35, 38, 44, 4 7 - 5 0 , 77, 83, 84, 101,
Germanai, 71 106, 109, 116, 117, 129, 134, 151,
Gethsemane, 85, 87 167, 169, 175, 2 0 4 , 2 2 9 , 2 5 8 , 261,
Giblites, 112, 113 262, 273, 275, 278, 279, 287, 325
Gibraltar, 116 Guillermus de Santa Clair, 67

472
H Hiram Abif, 1 6 - 1 9 , 2 3 , 81, 82, 123,
Haakon of Healigoland, 76 154, 155, 1 5 7 - 1 5 9 , 2 8 1 , 369, 3 7 0 ,
Habsburg family, 268 3 7 2 - 3 8 1 , 3 8 4 - 3 8 6 , 3 8 9 - 3 9 2 , 395,
Hamaliel, 346, 3 4 7 , 4 6 0 4 0 1 , 408, 4 0 9 , 4 4 7
Hanan the Hidden, 2 4 9 Hiram Key, 1 - 4 , 6, 14, 17, 20, 25, 50,
Hanina, 193 51, 5 9 , 85, 155, 158, 160, 177,
Harborne, Edgar, 59 2 7 1 , 280, 2 8 5 , 3 3 7 , 343
Hardrade, Harold, 2 6 8 Historic Scotland, 59, 2 7 9
Hathor, 110, 263, 4 6 0 Hittites, 89
Hazor, 90 Hoffman, Michael, 107
Heath, Prof AE, 33 Holy Land, 55, 177, 2 7 0 , 271, 4 2 8 ,
Heath, Robin, 3 3 - 3 5 , 4 7 , 4 9 , 341 433-435, 437
Hebrew, 18, 2 3 , 4 5 , 5 8 , 86, 88, 99, Holy of Holies, 81, 82, 85, 87, 89,
122, 124, 129, 131, 1 3 6 - 1 4 0 , 145, 130, 2 1 3 - 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 1 , 2 3 5 ,
150, 151, 169, 1 7 1 - 1 7 3 , 175, 177, 2 8 0 - 2 8 2 , 3 6 9 , 3 7 0 , 3 7 2 , 383,
182, 186, 2 0 3 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 1 , 233, 2 3 5 , 390-394
2 4 0 , 2 4 2 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 1 , 253, 263, 3 3 3 , Holy Shining Light, 6 6 - 6 8 , 77, 268,
3 5 8 , 370, 3 8 6 , 389, 4 2 5 , 4 4 2 , 4 4 7 , 276
460 Honi the Circle Drawer, 184, 2 4 9 , 2 5 7
Hebrides, 28 Hooke, Prof SH, 121, 169
Helios, 194, 198 Horeb, Mount, 172, 2 0 8 , 2 1 3 , 2 1 6 ,
Henge, 34, 181 3 6 3 , 364
Henri, Earl of Roslin, 6 8 , 2 6 8 , 2 7 0 Horns, 66, 75, 78, 84, 110, 111, 153,
Heracles, 92 263
Hercules, 1 1 5 - 1 1 7 Horus, 108, 110, 149, 158
Herm, Gerhard, 91, 95 Hosea, 141, 172
Hermon, 128 Hoshea, 175
Herod, king of Israel, 64, 86, 112, House of Stuart, 14
194, 196, 2 4 7 , 2 5 7 , 277, 333, 4 3 1 Hrolf, Jarl of More, 67, 2 6 7
Herodian Temple, 5 7 Hyatt, Prof Philip, 166
Herodotus, 90, 95, 116, 117, 166 Hyndla, 71, 72, 74, 75
Heyerdahl, Thor, 105, 106, 1 1 3 - 1 1 5
Hezekiah, 186, 187 1
Hierodules, 95, 96 Iceland, 69, 76
Higher Degrees, 2 0 Idris, 84
High places, 94, 140, 170 Impregnation, 96
High Priests, 53, 66, 85, 98, 118, 120, Inanna, 2 6 3 , 4 6 0
1 2 5 - 1 2 8 , 130, 134, 143, 149, 150, Indus valley, 96, 103
1 5 3 - 1 5 5 , 157, 162, 163, 191, 2 1 3 , Infidelity, 94
2 5 6 - 2 5 8 , 357, 3 5 9 - 3 6 1 , 364, 376, Initiation, 12, 15, 76, 81, 192, 2 1 4 ,
382, 402 2 7 1 , 2 8 0 , 332, 3 4 1 , 343, 367
Hinnom, 170, 171 Invisible College, 2 0
Hippolytus, 184, 199, 2 0 0 Ireland, 27, 3 2 , 35, 36, 103, 178, 181,
Hiram, king of Tyre, 17, 18, 23, 81, 224
82, 8 9 - 9 3 , 9 8 - 1 0 0 , 143, 144, Irenaeus, 2 4 0 , 4 4 3
1 5 1 - 1 5 3 , 1 5 7 - 1 5 9 , 162, 163, 185, Irish Sea, 40, 4 7
2 5 9 , 2 8 1 , 2 8 8 , 3 2 7 , 369, 370, 372, Iron Age, 138, 139
3 8 9 , 390 Irwin, Prof William, 147

473
Isaac, 119, 132, 133, 167, 168, 178, 227, 238, 244, 246, 247, 252,
206, 220, 362, 405 2 5 5 - 2 5 8 , 2 6 4 , 2 6 7 - 2 7 2 , 276, 277,
Isaiah, 173, 176, 187, 188, 2 3 5 , 2 5 0 , 2 8 1 - 2 8 3 , 2 8 5 , 3 0 0 , 3 2 0 , 359, 369,
251, 265 3 7 4 , 381, 388, 3 9 0 , 392, 3 9 4 , 3 9 5 ,
Ishbosheth, 208 397-404, 412-414, 417-420, 422,
Ishtar, 2 9 5 , 296, 2 9 9 , 4 6 0 429, 433-435, 437, 457
Israel, 2 9 , 4 9 , 5 0 , 54, 60, 80, 81, 88, Jerusalem Historical Society, 61
119, 120, 133, 1 3 6 - 1 3 8 , 141, 148, Jerusalem Temple, 4 , 5, 5 1 , 52, 56,
155, 159, 162, 163, 169, 170, 172, 57, 59, 6 3 - 6 5 , 79, 88, 99, 152,
173, 175, 176, 1 7 8 - 1 8 1 , 185, 187, 173, 175, 190, 196, 197, 2 1 4 , 2 2 3 ,
188, 190, 191, 193, 194, 197, 2 0 5 , 2 5 6 , 2 5 7 , 272, 276, 2 7 7 , 2 8 1 , 2 8 3
2 0 7 , 2 0 9 , 210, 2 1 3 , 2 1 4 , 2 1 7 , Jesus, 2, 3, 52, 73, 79, 85, 88, 117,
219-221, 232-234, 243, 251, 253, 119, 140, 164, 184, 193, 204, 208,
2 5 5 , 2 7 2 , 2 8 3 , 3 1 3 , 3 6 2 , 363, 365, 209, 223-226, 230, 231, 234, 235,
3 6 6 , 3 6 9 , 3 7 2 , 3 7 7 , 382, 3 9 1 - 3 9 6 , 237-259, 2 6 4 - 2 6 7 , 269, 272, 278,
4 0 3 , 4 0 5 , 4 0 7 , 4 0 9 , 4 1 2 , 441 3 1 2 , 325, 329, 3 3 0 , 333, 4 2 2 , 4 2 3 ,
Isthamar, 53, 364 425
Italy, 3, 2 9 Jewish New Year, 213
Ithobaal, 9 3 , 111, 163 Jewish War, 52, 196, 2 0 3 , 2 4 1 , 2 5 5 ,
258
J Jews, 18, 45, 4 9 - 5 1 , 6 7 , 77, 83,
Jachin, 16, 17, 19, 24, 57, 63, 88, 90, 8 5 - 8 7 , 99, 101, 120, 124, 132,
130, 401 134, 141, 143, 161, 163, 164, 171,
Jacob, 146, 178, 180, 2 2 0 , 2 3 2 , 2 3 4 , 1 7 6 - 1 7 8 , 181, 185, 1 8 9 - 1 9 1 , 193,
362, 363, 367, 405 198, 204, 207, 2 1 2 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 3 , 2 2 9 ,
Jacobites, 14 2 3 1 , 2 3 2 , 2 3 5 , 2 4 1 - 2 4 5 , 248,
James II, 14 2 5 1 - 2 5 5 , 257, 2 5 8 , 2 6 0 , 265, 266,
James the brother of Jesus, 184, 2 4 1 , 2 6 8 , 2 8 7 , 289, 2 9 5 , 3 1 0 , 3 2 0 , 3 2 7 ,
2 4 2 , 2 4 5 , 246, 2 4 9 , 2 5 2 - 2 5 7 , 2 5 9 , 3 3 7 , 397, 398, 4 0 2 , 4 1 0 , 4 1 2 , 4 3 1 ,
266 441, 442
James VI, 66 Jezebel, 163, 179
Jarls of More, 76, 2 7 8 , 285 Joabert, 83, 372, 3 7 3 , 3 8 6 , 3 9 0
J B Priestley Library, 21 John the Baptist, 16, 183, 184, 2 3 5 ,
Jebusites, 2 2 , 50, 84, 89, 99, 101, 240, 241, 247, 249, 257, 265, 423,
143, 144 424, 440
Jehoash, 2 0 8 Joinville family, 2 6 8
Jephthah, 175 Jordan valley, 17
Jerobaom, 163 Jormunrek, 72
Jeroboam, 162 Josephus, 6, 17, 81, 91, 92, 1 4 3 - 1 4 5 ,
Jerubbaal, 139 153, 157, 184, 189, 190, 1 9 9 - 2 0 3 ,
Jerusalem, 4, 5, 16, 2 0 , 22, 4 9 - 5 9 , 61, 2 1 2 , 2 2 3 , 234, 2 4 0 - 2 4 3 , 245, 2 4 6 ,
63-65, 67, 68, 7 9 - 8 1 , 8 4 - 8 6 , 88, 2 5 5 - 2 5 7 , 259, 2 6 6
89, 99, 112, 118, 120, 124, 125, Josephus' Antiquities, 2 4 5
130, 131, 1 3 4 - 1 3 7 , 1 4 0 - 1 4 5 , 147, Joshua, 88, 136, 177, 178, 181, 182,
148, 1 5 0 - 1 5 2 , 156, 158, 162, 163, 184, 2 1 1 , 362, 3 6 4 , 3 6 5 , 4 0 2 , 4 0 4 ,
1 6 8 - 1 7 0 , 173, 175, 177, 185, 405, 419, 442
1 8 8 - 1 9 2 , 194, 196, 197, 2 0 4 - 2 0 6 , Josippon, 2 4 2
208-210, 214, 215, 221, 223, 225, Jotham, 169

474
Jubeil, 89 Langdale, 103
Judah, 131, 148, 152, 162, 163, 169, Last Judgement, 2 3 7
170, 175, 179, 1 8 5 - 1 8 7 , 208, 361, Latitude symbols, 2 7 3
3 9 4 - 3 9 6 , 3 9 8 - 4 0 0 , 4 0 2 , 411, 426 Leah, 147, 2 2 0
Judah ha Nasi, 193 Lebanon, 88, 89, 91, 92, 98, 107,
Judaism, 4 9 , 120, 133, 136, 167, 178, 111, 1 1 3 - 1 1 5 , 134, 197, 373, 401
187, 198, 2 0 6 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 8 , 220, 222, Le Corbusier, 37
2 3 5 , 2 4 2 , 2 5 4 , 2 5 5 , 2 5 8 , 266, 286, Lehner, Mark, 107
288, 289, 325, 327 Levant, 134
Judas, 2 4 2 , 248 Levites, 54, 2 1 5 , 2 3 5 , 2 8 1 , 362, 364,
Judges, 139, 140, 151, 175, 2 0 7 , 3 3 6 , 383, 384, 396
3 8 5 , 386 Lightbox, 4 0 , 4 2 - 4 4 , 88, 107, 262
Liverpool Masonic Hall, 54
K Lixus, 1 1 4 - 1 1 6 , 2 6 2
Kabbalah, 2 1 8 , 2 2 0 - 2 2 2 Llandudno, 104
Kaufman, Dr Asher, 86, 87 Lockyer, Sir Norman, 29, 30
Kedeshim, 96 Lodge Mother Kilwinning, 51
Kenning, 153 Lodge of Aberdeen, 18
Kennings, 69, 71, 74, 75, 153 Loki, 71, 7 6
Khufu, 113 Lomas, Robert, 6, 7, 2 1 , 2 3 , 25, 35,
Kidron Valley, 84 39, 4 2 , 51, 54, 63, 64, 2 2 5 - 2 2 7 ,
Kilwinning, 4, 5 1 , 56, 2 1 6 , 283 2 2 9 , 2 6 0 , 261, 2 7 1 , 2 7 3 , 2 7 6 , 2 7 7 ,
Kinahna, 109 2 9 3 , 2 9 4 , 3 0 9 , 3 1 2 - 3 1 4 , 324, 3 3 2 ,
King James Bible, 136 334, 4 5 2
King of righteousness, 124, 125 London, 13, 14, 2 0 , 5 5 , 108, 2 7 2 ,
King of the Jews, 85, 2 3 2 , 2 3 5 , 2 4 1 , 2 8 9 , 331, 3 3 6 , 3 3 7 , 342
2 4 3 , 2 4 8 , 2 5 1 , 265 London University, 108
King Solomon's Temple, 16, 17, 24, Lord of the Gallows, 73
36, 53, 58, 80, 85, 89, 99, 130, Lord of Wisdom, 190
142, 212, 213, 334, 3 4 2 , 363, 373, Lords of Light, 108
3 7 5 , 379, 391, 4 0 1 , 4 0 4 , 4 0 9 Lord's prayer, 2 3 0
Kiriath-jearim, 145 Lot, 118, 120, 3 5 8 , 3 8 7
Kissing, 96 Love, 4 7 , 48, 69, 72, 79, 166, 169,
Kittim, 243, 2 4 4 174, 192, 2 1 8 , 2 6 2 , 2 9 5 , 2 9 8 , 3 4 8 ,
Knights of St John of Malta, 79 350, 352, 3 9 9 , 4 0 3 , 4 1 5 , 4 1 6 , 4 2 4 ,
Knights of the East and West, 55, 4 3 5 441, 4 4 5 , 4 4 6
Knights Templar, 4, 4 9 - 5 1 , 53, 54, 56, Lozenge, 3 7 , 107, 129, 2 7 3 - 2 7 8 , 2 8 5 ,
57, 6 6 - 6 8 , 192, 2 2 2 , 2 7 0 , 2 7 1 , 457
2 7 7 , 280, 2 8 3 , 3 3 1 , 4 3 3 , 4 3 7 Lucian, 94
Knowth, 35, 39
Koran, 84, 126 Lunar calender, 4 1 , 198, 2 0 5
Kuwait, 106
M
L Maccabean priesthood, 2 0 5
Lab'ayyu, 139 Mackie, Dr Euan, 28, 30, 104
Lachash, 2 4 9 Maes Howe, 2 8 , 35, 103, 115, 178
Lady of Flames, 2 6 3 Magi, 3 0 , 4 4 , 196, 2 1 6 , 2 2 6 , 2 2 9 ,
Lady of the Sea, 84 2 3 0 , 2 3 2 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , 2 5 9 , 4 2 1 , 424
Magog, 2 6 9 , 2 7 0

475
 I I I I. 1IWW1X W l I I I lvr\ivi

Maimonides, 87 Melchizedek, 1 1 7 - 1 2 6 , 1 2 8 - 1 3 0 ,
Mainland, Orkney, 2 8 - 3 0 , 91 1 3 3 - 1 3 5 , 143, 147, 148, 150, 151,
Malak, 124, 164, 2 6 4 , 3 4 6 157, 164, 168, 2 3 8 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 5 , 2 5 6 ,
Malakoth, 2 6 4 , 3 4 6 263, 3 5 7 - 3 6 0
Malcolm Canmore, 68 Melek, 157, 187
Malta, 2 7 , 29, 79, 4 3 7 - 4 3 9 Melqart, 90, 92, 9 3 , 97, 98
Manasseh, 137, 176, 3 9 6 Memphis, 109, 134
Manchester, 61, 108 Menander of Ephesus, 17
Manetho, 107, 108 Mendenhall, George, 138
Maqom Semes, 113, 114 Menes, 107, 108
Margaret, Princess, 6 7 , 68 Mercury, 2 2 5 - 2 3 2 , 2 3 4 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 2 ,
Marrakech, 130 2 6 3 , 2 9 2 , 2 9 5 , 2 9 8 , 313, 324, 3 2 6 ,
Marriage, 11, 68, 1 3 1 - 1 3 3 , 157, 164, 347
2 6 8 , 285, 306, 3 0 7 Meroitic kingdom, 107
Marsh, Prof John, 102, 183 Mesha, 142
Masada, 2 6 6 Mesopotamia, 102, 2 8 8 , 300, 302,
Masonic Testament, 6, 7, 2 3 , 5 1 - 5 5 , 3 0 4 , 327
7 9 - 8 1 , 145, 152, 154, 158, 161, Messiah, 129, 141, 178, 184, 185,
162, 2 1 2 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 4 , 2 8 1 , 2 8 5 , 2 9 4 , 191, 223, 2 2 6 , 2 3 0 , 2 3 2 - 2 3 6 , 2 3 8 ,
2 9 7 , 304, 310, 3 2 2 - 3 2 5 , 334, 3 4 1 , 243-245, 247, 250, 251, 253, 255,
3 4 3 , 344 2 5 6 , 2 5 8 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 5 , 266, 272, 2 8 4 ,
Mason-priests, 55 2 9 7 , 313, 3 1 7 , 3 2 6 , 333, 425
Masonry, 12, 13, 2 0 , 2 3 , 2 5 , 76, 83, Metatron, 218, 2 2 0 - 2 2 2
192, 2 0 1 , 214, 2 1 6 , 2 1 7 , 3 3 1 , 3 3 7 , Middle Chamber, 2 1 6 , 386, 4 2 3
366, 368, 370, 3 7 3 , 3 7 9 , 3 8 5 , 391, Middle East, 3 3 - 3 5 , 45, 47, 84, 89,
3 9 4 , 399, 4 0 8 , 4 0 9 , 4 1 8 - 4 2 0 , 4 2 3 , 105, 134, 4 5 4
425, 440-442, 444-448 Milik, JT, 203
Mason's word, 160, 4 0 9 Miller, Dr Jack, 5 , 5 9 , 60, 2 8 4
Master Mason, 15, 16, 18, 19, 24, 54, Minoan Foot, 167
78, 82, 88, 155, 156, 158, 159, Minos, 166
3 3 6 , 344, 370, 3 7 1 , 3 7 3 , 3 7 8 - 3 8 2 , Minotaur, 166, 167
409 Mishkab, 175
Masters Elect of Nine, 52 Mishkan, 175
Matrona, 218, 4 6 0 Mishnah, 193
Matthew's Gospel, 2 3 2 Mishneh Torah, 87
Mayflower, 105 Mithra, 147, 198
Mazzeboth, 171 Mitrinovic, Dimitrije, 2 0 , 21, 51
McClelland, David C, 3 1 3 - 3 1 8 , Mizpah, 149
3 2 1 - 3 2 9 , 336, 3 4 2 , 463 Moloch, 1 6 4 - 1 6 7 , 1 6 9 - 1 7 1 , 176, 177,
McClenachan, CT, 21 187, 254, 393
McClenachan, EA, 21 Montet, Piere, 9 3 , 111
Mediterranean, 2 9 , 50, 88, 96, 104, Moon, 31, 40, 7 5 - 7 7 , 88, 192, 193,
109, 1 1 3 - 1 1 7 , 177, 2 5 5 , 397, 438 220, 263, 2 6 4 , 2 9 0 , 291, 2 9 8 , 2 9 9 ,
Megalithic builders, 2 7 , 39, 4 5 4 347, 3 5 4 , 3 5 5 , 3 6 5 , 422, 4 2 3
Megalithic Yard, 3 1 - 3 4 , 3 6 , 167, 2 2 9 , Moray, Sir Robert, 3 2 8 , 3 3 4 , 3 3 6
333, 452-454, 456 Morning Star, 42, 4 3 , 83, 84, 131,
Megiddo, 90 147, 154, 157, 159, 200, 2 1 6 , 2 3 3 ,
Mehen, 197 253, 263, 264, 270, 272, 2 7 9 , 2 8 6 ,

476
 I IN I >1 A

288, 317, 322, 3 2 4 , 325, 329, 3 8 3 , Nicanor, 87

418, 4 6 0 Nile, 106, 109, 148, 211
Morocco, 114, 130 Nineveh, 208
Morrison collection, 194 Nisan, 88
Moses, 4 5 , 50, 53, 54, 66, 81, 88, 99, Niven Sinclair Study Centre, 273
118, 120, 136, 139, 140, 144, 145, Noah, 45, 118, 184, 204, 3 5 1 - 3 5 3 ,
148, 150, 151, 156, 158, 172, 177, 355
178, 190, 2 0 4 , 2 0 7 , 2 1 0 - 2 1 3 , 2 1 5 , Normandy, 67, 2 5 8 , 2 6 7 , 268
2 1 6 , 2 2 1 , 2 2 4 , 2 3 0 , 233, 240, 2 4 1 , Norse, 6 6 - 7 4 , 7 6 - 7 9 , 96, 115, 116,
249, 2 6 3 , 2 7 2 , 2 8 8 , 325, 3 6 2 - 3 6 6 , 124, 2 5 0 , 2 5 8 , 2 6 8 , 2 7 1 , 2 7 8 , 2 7 9 ,
369, 386, 393, 4 0 3 , 4 4 0 , 4 4 2 2 8 3 , 2 8 5 - 2 8 7 , 322, 4 6 0
Most High, 18, 24, 118, 124, 125, North Sea, 2 7 , 104, 115
154, 161, 168, 188, 2 1 3 , 2 1 4 , 2 3 7 , North Wales, 103, 104
288, 3 4 3 , 3 5 8 - 3 6 1 , 363, 376, 3 7 7 , Norway, 2 7 , 6 7 , 69, 76, 2 6 8 ,
380, 3 8 4 , 3 9 1 , 3 9 2 , 394, 396, 3 9 9 , 276-279, 288
4 0 3 , 4 0 5 , 4 0 9 ^ 1 1 1 , 421, 4 2 6 , 4 2 7 , Noss Head, 273
431-433 Nut, 35, 2 6 3 , 4 6 0
Mother Kilwinning, 51
Mother of the heavens, 97 O
Mound of Olives, 84, 86 Odin, 7 2 - 7 5 , 96
Mount Moriah, 81, 167, 216, 3 6 9 Oesterley, Dr, 1 7 1 - 1 7 3
Mount of Olives, 86, 87 O'Kelly, Prof Michael, 2 6 2
Mount's Bay, 103 Old Stone Age, 83, 112
Murray, Hugh, 51 Old Testament, 17, 45, 66, 78, 80, 83,
89, 99, 118, 120, 124, 128, 131,
N 133, 134, 136, 1 3 8 - 1 4 0 , 142, 143,
Nabta, 104, 106 145, 162, 164, 168, 169, 172,
Naphtali, 17 1 7 7 - 1 8 0 , 185, 2 0 9 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 2 , 2 3 0 ,
Napoleon, 79, 109, 110, 4 3 9 231, 2 3 9 , 2 4 0 , 2 6 0 , 320, 325, i l l ,
Napoleon III, 109, 110 342
Nashvile, 166 Olivet, Mount, 2 1 4 , 383
Necho II, 116 Ophrah, 139
Necromancy, 2 5 0 Order of Melchizedek, 117, 119, 120,
Neeves, Dr Fernando, 6 0 238, 2 4 9
Nelson, 109 Origen, 2 4 5
Neolithic people, 27, 4 9 Orkney, 2 8 , 29, 3 1 , 36, 67, 69, 70,
Neolithic period, 2 7 , 31 76, 103, 2 7 6 - 2 7 8 , 285, 4 5 7 , 458
Neolithic society, 3 0 Orkney Science Festival, 36
Neolithic symbolic postcode, 129 Ottar, 71, 7 2
Newgrange, 32, 35, 3 6 , 3 8 - 4 0 , 4 2 - 4 6 ,
88, 102, 103, 107, 109, 115, 134, Oxford University, 31, 33, 70
178, 2 1 2 , 2 2 4 , 2 6 2 , 2 6 5 , 2 9 5
New Jerusalem, 58, 85, 2 6 9 , 271 P
New Testament, 4, 6, 88, 117, 183, Palestine, 94, 162, 166, 171, 193, 245,
206, 2 0 9 , 2 3 0 , 2 3 5 , 2 3 7 , 2 4 2 , 2 4 6 , 2 7 0 , 304, 4 3 5
2 5 2 , 2 5 3 , 2 5 6 , 2 5 8 , 2 6 4 - 2 6 6 , 269, Paqad, 132
3 0 4 , 320 Paradise, 165, 170, 171
Nicaea, 2 6 5 , 2 6 7 Pasiphae, 166
Passing degree, 15

477
lilt IIUUK <Jt III R A M

Passover, 88, 2 0 4 , 248, 2 6 7 , 3 6 7 Prostitution, 96, 153

Paul, 2 5 1 - 2 5 5 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 6 , 4 4 1 , 443 Proto-writing, 28, 4 4 , 4 7 , 107, 2 7 3 ,
Payen, Hugues de, 51 2 7 7 , 288, 3 2 5
Payen family, 2 6 7 Pudenda, 44
Peaples, Joe, 61 Pyramid of Kufu, 36
Pekah, 169, 170 Pyramids, 34, 36, 107, 113
Pelican, 2 6 8
Penis, 77, 96 Q
Penmaenmawr, 103 Quadriga, 193
Pentagram, 54, 364, 4 0 3 Quartz, 36, 109, 134
Pentateuch, 145 Queen of Heaven, 69, 74, 97, 110,
Persian Gulf, 105, 106, 117 112, 131, 2 6 3
Persians, 198, 3 0 3 , 320, 433 Queen of the Sea, 9 7
Perugia, 3 Qumran, 4, 32, 52, 182, 191, 192,
Phallus, 4 4 , 96, 174 196-198, 203-205, 222, 233-238,
Phannius, 2 5 7 243, 246, 249, 255, 256, 259, 260,
Pharisees, 198, 2 3 7 , 2 4 2 , 2 4 4 , 258 2 8 3 , 2 8 4 , 2 9 5 , 341
Pharonic inch, 33
Philip IV, king of France, 5 0 R
Philistines, 81, 145, 166, 173, 363 Ra, 105, 110, 113, 198, 263
Phineas, 2 5 7 Rachel, 147, 2 2 0
Phoenicia, 89, 91, 92, 110, 2 8 8 , 3 7 0 Radio-carbon dating, 28
Phoenicians, 50, 74, 78, 8 8 - 9 3 , Ra Expeditions, 105, 113
9 9 - 1 0 1 , 1 0 9 - 1 1 7 , 131, 136, 137, Rainmakers, 179, 184, 2 4 9 , 2 5 7
141, 149, 151, 163, 167, 2 6 0 , 287, Rainmaking, 152, 1 8 2 - 1 8 5 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 7 ,
288 265
Pilate, 2 4 0 , 2 4 4 Raising degree, 15
Pilgrim Fathers, 105 Ras Shamra, 93, 121, 134
Pillar, 4 0 - 4 2 , 82, 184, 2 2 0 , 2 2 1 , 3 4 9 , Rationalist Press Association, 33
372, 427 Ray, Dr Tom, 42, 108, 4 3 7
Pillars of Hercules, 116, 117 Red Sea, 88, 116, 117, 136, 210, 2 2 4 ,
Plato, 108 2 3 3 , 272, 3 6 6
Pliny the Elder, 171 Refutation of All Heresies, 199
Poidebard, Fr Antoine, 91 Rehoboam, 162, 163
Pomegranates, 96, 97 Remaliah, 169, 170
Porch, 85, 189, 3 7 5 , 3 7 6 Renan, Fr Earnest, 110, 111
Poseidon, 166 Renfrew, Colin, 103, 106
Priestesses, 98, 149, 153, 157, 163, 179 Reproduction, 4 7 , 48
Primeval ones, 108 Resurrection, 24, 44, 4 6 , 47, 88, 9 7 ,
Prince of the Congregation, 256 122, 123, 147, 149, 157, 2 0 9 , 2 1 8 ,
Princes of Jerusalem, 54, 55, 58, 394, 248, 250, 262, 264, 265, 268, 269,
419, 433-435 425
Princes of the Tabernacle, 53, 54, 364 Rezin, 170
Princeton University, 5, 60, 284 Riksarkivet, 2 7 6
Promised land, 50, 88, 140, 149, 177, Rite of Perfection, 54, 154
1 8 1 - 1 8 3 , 211, 2 3 0 Ritual, 1, 4 - 7 , 1 1 - 1 5 , 1 7 - 2 5 , 4 4 - 4 6 ,
Prose Edda, 70 5 0 - 5 6 , 58, 6 3 , 6 5 , 67, 70, 76, 78,
Prostitutes, 95 79, 8 1 - 8 4 , 89, 9 1 - 9 3 , 99, 103,

478
 I NNI x

108, 117, 1 1 9 - 1 2 3 , 125, 126, 128, Sanctum Sanctorum, 81, 82, 85, 155,
130, 1 3 2 - 1 3 4 , 144, 1 4 6 - 1 6 0 , 162, 2 1 5 , 3 6 9 , 3 7 0 , 3 7 2 , 376, 382, 384,
164, 165, 167, 1 7 1 - 1 7 3 , 175, 176, 391
178, 182, 183, 189, 192, 201, 2 0 2 , Sarafand, 89
2 0 4 , 2 1 3 , 2 1 4 , 2 1 6 , 217, 222, 2 2 4 , Sarah, 132, 133
2 2 6 , 2 2 7 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , 250, 254, 2 5 9 , Saros cycle, 2 6 3
2 6 0 , 2 6 2 , 2 6 4 , 2 6 5 , 271, 272, Satan, 2 3 8 , 2 5 6 , 2 6 9
2 8 0 - 2 8 2 , 2 8 4 , 2 8 5 , 2 8 9 , 294, 3 1 0 , Saul, 141, 144, 149, 173, 2 0 7 - 2 0 9 ,
312, 328-335, 337, 341-344, 365, 238, 251, 252, 254
4 2 1 , 448 Sayer, Anthony, 13
Ritual prostitution, 153 Scandinavia, 2 7 - 2 9 , 71, 2 5 8 , 2 7 6
Robbed stones, 61 Science, 2, 7, 11, 16, 2 6 , 31, 36, 4 6 ,
Robinson, Dr, 1 7 1 - 1 7 3 4 7 , 79, 82, 146, 151, 192, 199,
Rognvald, Jarl of More, 67, 69, 2 7 6 258, 259, 2 8 6 - 2 8 9 , 292, 294, 298,
Roman Catholic Church, 1, 3, 7, 2 5 9 2 9 9 , 3 0 2 - 3 0 4 , 3 1 0 - 3 1 2 , 323, 325,
Romans, 52, 5 4 , 85, 86, 114, 115, 326, 329, 3 3 4 , 335, 364, 3 7 2 , 3 8 9 ,
2 0 3 , 240, 2 4 4 , 2 4 5 , 2 4 7 , 248, 2 5 5 , 408
257, 258, 2 6 5 , 2 6 6 , 2 6 8 , 441 Scotland, 1, 4, 13, 14, 27, 28, 31, 35,
Rome, 3, 234, 245, 2 5 3 , 427, 433, 48, 50, 51, 5 6 - 5 9 , 62, 63, 65, 66,
4 3 8 , 443 68, 7 7 - 7 9 , 129, 178, 194, 2 1 6 ,
Roslin, 57, 59, 64, 6 6 - 6 8 , 78, 2 6 8 , 268, 271-273, 276, 279, 280, 283,
270-273, 276, 285, 321 322, 332, 3 3 3 , 4 3 6 , 4 4 9 , 4 5 0 , 4 5 2
Roslin Glen Hotel, 5 9 , 2 7 3 Scrabster, 2 7 3
Ross, Charles, 197 Sea of Galilee, 137, 2 4 1 , 4 0 2
Rosslyn, 4 - 6 , 2 5 , 5 6 - 6 6 , 68, 70, 78, Sea Peoples, 115
79, 190, 2 7 1 - 2 7 7 , 2 7 9 - 2 8 5 , '322, Second Messiah, 2 0 , 21, 68
331, 3 3 3 , 4 5 7 Secret Vault, 82, 3 7 0
Rosslyn Chapel, 4 , 5 6 , 5 7 , 64, 68, 78, Sekhmet, 2 6 3 , 4 6 0
276, 2 8 2 , 2 8 3 Seljuk Turks, 2 7 0
Rouad, 89 Sepphoris, 193
Rowley, Prof Harold, 204 Seri, Prof Giancarlo, 3
Roy, Prof Archie, 36 Sex, 47, 4 8 , 95, 1 7 1 - 1 7 3 , 185
Royal Arch, 21, 5 8 , 2 1 3 , 393, 4 1 8 , Sexual fruit, 9 7
419 Sexual intercourse, 95, 175, 218
Royal Arch of Enoch, 21 Shachar, 84, 4 6 0
Royal cubit, 33 Shalem, 84, 4 6 0
Royal Order of Scotland, 2 1 6 Shalim, 84
Royal Society, 14, 2 8 9 , 323, 328, 3 3 2 , Shanghai, 130
336 Shechem, 139, 162
Rum, 28 Sheffield University, 59
Shekinah, 191, 2 0 6 , 2 1 2 - 2 2 4 , 2 2 6 ,
S 227, 2 2 9 - 2 3 1 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , 2 4 0 , 2 4 5 ,
Sabbath, 184, 188, 2 2 2 , 244, 264 246, 250, 2 5 1 , 2 5 9 - 2 6 3 , 2 6 5 - 2 6 8 ,
Sadducees, 2 3 7 , 2 4 6 , 2 5 8 271, 272, 278, 283, 289, 292, 304,
Salem, 84, 118, 123, 124, 130, 2 1 6 , 310, 313, 3 1 7 , 3 1 8 , 3 2 0 - 3 2 6 , 329,
226, 357-360, 424, 460 333, 342, 3 6 3 , 3 9 2 - 3 9 4 , 4 2 1 , 424
Saltair cross, 107 Shemaiah, 162
Samaria, 90 Sheshonk, 162, 163

479
 1Mb BOOK OF HI RAM

Sheth, 2 3 2 7 7 - 7 9 , 153, 2 7 1 , 2 7 2 , 2 7 4 - 2 7 6 ,
Shetland, 67, 2 7 6 283, 321, 322
Shipitbaal, 93 St Clair Bonde, Baron, 59, 68, 72
Sicarius, 242 St Clair family, 4, 5 6 , 58, 59, 6 4 - 6 8 ,
Sidon, 89, 93 70, 72, 7 7 - 7 9 , .190, 267, 2 6 8 ,
Sigurd the Powerful, 67 2 7 0 - 2 7 7 , 2 8 2 , 283, 2 8 5 , 321, 3 2 2 ,
Silbury Hill, 35 458
Simyra, 89 St Clair-sur-Epte, 6 7
Sinai, 112, 2 1 3 - 2 1 6 , 2 2 6 , 230, 363, Stenness, 35
3 9 3 , 424 Stephen of Hungary, 68
Sinclair, Ian, 273 Stiebling, Prof William, 137, 138
Sinclair, Niven, 272, 2 7 3 , 2 7 6 , St John, 16, 76, 79, 2 1 6 , 4 2 3 , 4 2 4 ,
279-285 433, 437, 439
Sinclair, Sir William, 78, 2 8 0 Stolkin, 83, 372, 3 7 3 , 3 8 6 - 3 8 8 , 390
Sirius, 2 6 3 Stone Age, 27, 83, 112
Skara Brae, 29, 31 Stone axes, 103, 2 6 2
Slavonic Halosis, 2 4 3 Stonehenge, 3, 29, 3 2 - 3 5
Smith, Morton, 192 Stonemasons, 27, 2 5 7
Sodom, 118, 357, 358 Strabo, 92
Solar calendar, 41, 198, 2 0 4 , 2 0 5 , 2 5 5 Sturluson, Snorri, 69, 70, 72
Solomon, king of Israel, 1 6 - 1 8 , 2 2 - 2 4 , Substituted secrets, 15, 81, 123, 158
36, 4 9 - 5 3 , 58, 67, 7 9 - 8 6 , 8 8 - 9 1 , Succoth, 17, 401
93, 9 7 - 1 0 0 , 112, 130, 131, 136, Sumarian foot, 33
142, 150, 152, 153, 155, 156, Sumer, 28, 39, 1 0 5 - 1 0 7 , 115, 117,
1 5 8 - 1 6 5 , 167, 169, 177, 178, 185, 134, 262, 2 6 3 , 2 8 8 , 2 9 5
187, 189, 198, 2 0 6 , 2 0 8 - 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , Sumerians, 28, 3 3 , 102, 103, 105,
2 2 3 , 225, 2 3 0 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 , 2 4 1 , 106, 115, 117, 134, 2 6 1 , 2 6 3 , 2 8 8 ,
259-261, 270, 272, 278, 280-282, 295, 297-299, 302, 326
2 8 5 , 2 8 8 , 313, 3 2 0 , 3 2 5 , 334, 3 4 1 , Summer solstice, 16, 24, 4 0 , 76, 88,
3 4 2 , 363, 3 6 9 - 3 7 3 , 375, 376, 3 7 9 , 104, 129, 195, 197
381-395, 399, 401, 403, 404, Sun, 16, 18, 19, 24, 25, 29, 3 5 - 4 4 ,
407-410, 440 4 6 , 47, 54, 72, 7 3 , 7 5 - 7 7 , 88, 94,
Solomon's Stables, 5 1 , 2 7 0 98, 99, 104, 110, 111, 1 1 3 - 1 1 5 ,
Son of God, 178, 236, 2 3 7 , 2 4 3 , 4 4 6 117, 120, 124, 125, 129, 1 3 1 - 1 3 4 ,
Son of the Goddess, 157, 158 147, 151, 153, 154, 157, 159, 160,
Son of the Most High, 2 3 7 164, 168, 1 8 5 - 1 9 0 , 1 9 2 - 2 0 0 , 2 0 4 ,
Son of Venus, 93, 98, 154, 155, 157, 2 0 5 , 2 1 4 , 222, 2 2 4 , 228, 2 2 9 , 2 3 3 ,
260 2 3 9 , 2 5 3 , 2 5 5 , 256, 2 6 0 , 2 6 3 - 2 6 5 ,
Sons of Dawn, 186, 196 2 7 4 , 2 7 9 , 2 8 8 , 292, 2 9 5 - 3 0 1 , 3 2 4 ,
Sor, 92 3 4 6 - 3 4 8 , 354, 365, 3 8 3 , 390, 3 9 6 ,
Spain, 2 7 , 2 9 , 115, 3 1 9 , 3 2 1 - 3 2 3 , 4 2 6 399, 4 0 7 , 4 1 6 , 4 2 2 , 4 2 3 , 427, 4 4 7 ,
Spiral staircase, 192 455
Square pavement, 85, 154, 349, 376 Sundials, 187, 188, 196, 197
Star of Bethlehem, 2 2 3 , 2 2 5 , 226, 3 2 6 , Sun God, 18, 98, 124, 131, 153, 159,
333 164, 168, 188, 190, 193, 288,
Star Prophecy, 184, 2 3 2 - 2 3 4 , 245, 297
249, 250, 265 Sussex, Duke of, 21, 22, 344
St Clair, William, 5 8 , 64, 66, 67, 70, Syria, 84, 109, 170, 197, 362, 401

480
 I N I )l X

T Tyre, 17, 18, 23, 81, 8 9 - 9 3 , 98-100,

Tabernacle, 53, 54, 126, 131, 144, 110, 143, 144, 1 4 6 - 1 4 8 , 151-154,
145, 2 1 3 - 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 1 , 3 5 9 , 360, 157-159, 162, 163, 179, 185, 2 5 9 ,
3 6 3 - 3 6 5 , 368, 389, 391, 3 9 3 , 396, 2 8 8 , 327, 3 6 9 , 3 7 2 , 373, 389
402, 4 0 4
Tacitus, 44 U
Tammuz, 149 Uatchet, 2 6 3 , 4 6 0
Tanit, 177 Ugarit, 93, 97
Tarsus, 2 5 1 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 4 , 255 UGLE, 13, 14, 18
Tekton, 2 5 7 Unas, 107
Tel Dan stela, 142 United Grand Lodge of England, 13,
Tell el-Amarna, 139 20, 55, 64, 154, 3 3 1 , 337
Templars, 4, 4 9 - 5 4 , 5 6 , 57, 63, United States of America, 15, 105,
6 6 - 6 8 , 192, 2 2 2 , 2 7 0 , 2 7 1 , 2 7 7 , 319, 323, 327
280, 283, 331, 4 3 3 , 4 3 6 , 4 3 7 , 4 4 7 Ur, 102, 106, 2 9 5
Temple Mount, 22, 86, 87, 175, 177, Uriel, 45, 2 2 2 , 346, 347
197, 2 7 0 Uriel's Machine, 2, 2 2 , 24, 32, 35, 37,
Tennessee, 166 69, 71, 87, 104, 106, 197, 2 7 3 ,
Terebinths, 173, 175 2 7 4 , 2 8 6 , 3 0 2 , 333
Thekel, 115 Urim, 120
Third Degree, 1 4 - 1 6 , 18, 1 9 , ' 2 3 , 121, Urushalim, 84
123, 134, 2 5 0 , 2 6 4 , 379 Ussher, Archbishop, 132
Thorn, Prof Alexander, 3 0 - 3 3 , 278, 333
Thompson, Damian, 2, 3, 32 V
Thor, 68, 7 2 - 7 4 , 76 Valhalla, 72
Thorolf, 76 Vanderbilt University, 166
Thouless, Prof Robert, 4 6 Venus, 19, 2 4 , 25, 3 9 - 4 4 , 4 6 - 4 8 , 50,
Thummim, 120 54, 69, 7 4 - 7 9 , 8 3 - 8 5 , 8 7 - 8 9 ,
Thutmose III, 2 1 1 9 2 - 9 4 , 9 7 - 9 9 , 111, 113, 117,
Tides, 4 2 , 2 2 4 , 2 8 8 , 335 1 2 3 - 1 2 5 , 129, 131, 133, 134, 143,
Tigress, 106 144, 1 4 7 - 1 4 9 , 151, 1 5 3 - 1 5 5 , 157,
Torah, 87, 126, 258 158, 160, 163, 164, 166, 1 7 9 - 1 8 1 ,
Traders, 105, 107, 110, 113, 115, 185, 199, 2 0 4 , 2 0 6 , 209, 2 1 0 , 212,
134, 151, 261, 2 6 2 , 2 8 8 , 3 2 0 214, 216-222, 224-234, 238-240,
Triangle, 22, 1 2 5 - 1 3 1 , 133, 134, 2 7 6 , 246, 250, 255-260, 262-265, 267,
3 4 8 , 3 5 3 , 354, 3 6 0 , 373, 374, 3 9 6 , 2 7 8 , 2 7 9 , 2 8 3 , 2 8 6 , 287, 2 9 2 ,
407, 409, 426 2 9 5 - 2 9 9 , 302, 3 1 3 , 324, 3 2 6 , 3 3 3 ,
Triple Alliance, 14 347, 4 2 8 , 4 5 9
Triple spiral, 46, 47, 106 Venus cycles, 2 1 0 , 2 5 9 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 2
Triple Tau, 58 Venusian-aeon, 2 1 0 , 2 1 2 , 2 2 7 , 2 3 0 ,
Tripoli, 89 231, 261, 271
Trondheim, 67, 6 9 , 76, 268, 277, 2 7 8 , Venusian-epoch, 2 0 9 , 2 1 0 , 223, 227,
285, 457, 458 229-231, 261
Tropic of Cancer, 106 Venusian-generation, 2 0 9 , 210, 227,
Trustees of Rosslyn, 6, 59, 60 229, 261
Tryggvason, Olaf, 69, 76 Vernal equinox, 4 6 , 54
Tsedeq, 124, 187 Vikings, 69, 78
Turville-Petre, Edward, 71 Virginia, 5 5 , 154

481
 I lit ISUOK Ol HIRAM

Virgin Mary, 76, 97 Y

Von Hompesch, Ferdinard, 79, 4 3 9 Yahweh, 16, 18, 80, 82, 90, 98, 9 9 ,
119, 120, 124, 129, 132, 133, 141,
W 142, 144, 145, 1 6 2 - 1 6 4 , 168, 169,
Waite, AE, 2 1 7 , 2 1 8 , 2 2 0 , 221 172, 1 7 6 - 1 7 9 , 181, 185, 187,
Wales, 13, 14, 2 7 , 33, 35, 103, 104, 189-191, 203, 244, 246, 248, 2 4 9 ,
178, 4 5 2 255, 258, 265
Wallace, William, 57 Yehimilk, 93, 98
Ward, J S M , 5 4 , 56 Yehotam, 186
Warren, Lieutenant, 86 Yggdrasil, 73
Washington, George, 55, 336 Yishaq, 133
Web of Hiram, 7, 20, 2 3 , 51, 55, 70, Yohanan, 193
343 Youssef, Ahmed, 113
White Wall, 37, 109, 134
William of Normandy, 67, 268 Z
William St Clair, 58, 64, 66, 67, 70, Zadok, 143
7 7 - 7 9 , 153, 190, 2 7 1 , 272, Zadokite, 191, 2 0 5 , 2 3 8
274-276, 283, 321, 322 Zarephath, 89
William the Seemly, 6 7 Zealot, 242, 2 5 6 - 2 5 8
Wilson, AN, 2 5 4 Zechariah, 246
Wilson, Colin, 2 9 2 - 2 9 4 , 304, 311 Zedek, 124, 131, 132, 188
Winter solstice, 16, 2 4 , 3 8 - 4 0 , 4 2 - 4 5 , Zedekiah, 2 1 1 , 3 9 5
75, 88, 107, 129, 147, 153, 157, Zeredatha, 17
2 2 4 , 225, 2 2 7 , 2 3 3 , 2 6 0 , 2 6 4 , 2 8 8 , Zertal, Dr Adam, 137, 138
447 Zerubbabel, 5, 5 7 , 86, 161, 190,
Wise, Michael, 30, 73, 83, 90, 164, 191, 2 0 5 , 300, 3 2 0 , 3 9 8 - 4 0 2 ,
184, 215, 2 1 6 , 2 4 3 , 2 4 5 , 2 8 2 , 326, 404-406, 408, 409, 411-415,
3 9 3 , 423, 4 4 0 , 4 4 6 417-419
Woden, 124 Zilpah, 147
Wollongong, 130 Zion, 61, 119, 120, 128, 175, 246,
Women's Courtyard, 87 349, 3 5 9
Woolley, Sir Leonard, 102, 106 Zodiac, 42, 75, 132, 157, 193, 194,
Wren, Sir Christopher, 14, 334, 336 2 9 6 - 2 9 8 , 3 0 0 - 3 0 2 , 346, 4 0 7
Zoroastrians, 190
X
Xerox, 60

482
 A S T O N I S H I N G REVELATIONS
ABOUT FREEMASONRY, JESUS, A N D THE
RISE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION
The Hoo!{ of Hiram is the extraordinary story o f Knight and
Lomas's fourteen-year quest to uncover the secret teachings
buried beneath Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh. Begun in
The Hiram Key, their mission ends here with explosive
revelations about early human history - the origins of
Christianity, o f Freemasonry, and o f science. They show that all
were charged with a belief in a secrct cosmic code linking, for
example, the E x o d u s from Egypt, the founding of Solomon's
Temple, and the Star of Bethlehem. T h i s hook reveals for the first
time why there were such high expectations of a Messiah
at the time o f the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Boof( of Hiram will change everything you thought

you knew about both the Bible and Freemasonry.

About The Hiram Key:

'A breakthrough book. T h e last four thousand

years are never going to look the same again.'
GRAHAM HANCOCK, a u t h o r o f
Fingerprints of the Gods and
Keepers of Genesis (with Robert Bauval)

Design and illustration: Greg Clar^

Category: New Age