Michael Wynn's Occult Reference Library
*THE TEMPLAR

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ALEISTER CROWLEY BOOK OF LIES

s(17) the grand master of the temple; and of the god that is ass-headed did he dare not speak. book of lies get any book for free on: www.abika.com 73 [76] commentary( lambda-gamma) 33 is the number of the last degree of masonry, which was conferred upon frater p. in the year 1900 of the vulgar era by don jesus de medina-sidonia in the city of mexico. baphomet is the mysterious name of the god of the templars. the eagle described in paragraph 1 is that of the templars. this masonic symbol is, however, identified by frater p. with a bird, which is master of the four elements, and therefore of the name tetragrammaton. jacobus burgundus molensis suffered martyrdom in the city of paris in the year 1314 of the vulgar era. the secrets of his order were, however, not lost, and are still being com

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE BANNED LECTURE

t was the word to be? nice quiet peasant folk, or genial hard-working hunters and fighters, are not easy to arouse to indiscriminate slaughter without reason. in order to get them going, there are only two things which you can play on greed and fear. the motive behind the crusades was the story of the fabulous wealth of the east. we find, in fact, that well-organised armies of buccaneers, such as the templars, did not bring back incalculable spoils, while the honest pious mugs ruined themselves in the process. now, in this particular sport of suppressing earnest enquirers, it was not much good trying to play on people s greed. for everyone knew that even if the jews had wealth, they managed to hide it very successfully, and that they had a nasty was of arranging for protection with peo le

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE OLD AND NEW COMMENTARIES TO LIBER AL

s diphues, male and female in one, bearing the thyrsus-rod, and a cluster of grapes or a wineskin, while a tiger leaps up by his side. this form is suggested in the taro card, where 'the fool' is shown with a long wand and carrying a sack; his coat is motley. tigers and crocodiles follow him, thus linking this image with that of harpocrates. almost identical symbols are those of the secret god of the templars, the bi-sexual baphomet, and of zeus arrhenothelus, equally bi-sexual, the father-mother of all in one person (he is shown in this full form in the tarot trump xv "the devil) now zeus being lord of air, we are reminded that aleph is the letter of air. as air we find the "wandering fool" pure wanton breath, yet creative. wind was supposed of old to impregnate the vulture, which therefo

ALEISTER CROWLEY THE QABALAH

, the gate! thus useful. also 74= 37 2. so we see 37 1= 37, man s crown, jechidah, the highest soul in termino. 37 2= 74, the balance, 2 being the symbol in vi. 37 3= 111, aleph, etc, 3 being the mother, the nurse of the soul. 37 4= 148, the balances, and so on. i have not yet worked out all the numbers of this important scale. 77. zu, the goat, scil. of the sabbath of the adepts. the baphomet of the templars, the idol set up to defy and overthrow the false god though it is understood that he himself is false, not an end, but a means. note the 77= 7 11, magical power in perfection. 78. most venerable because alzm is shown as the influence descending from on high, whose key is the tarot: and we possess the tarot. the proper number of the name of the messenger of the most exalted one.66 [the

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQ I 5

thus useful. also 74= 37 x 2. so we see 37 x 1= 37, man's crown, jechidah, the highest soul "in termino" 37 x 2= 74, the balance, 2 being the symbol "in vi" 37 x 3= 111, aleph, etc, 3 being the mother, the nurse of the soul. 37 x 4= 148 "the balances: and so on. i have not yet worked out all the numbers of this important scale. 77. oz, the goat "scil" of the sabbath of the adepts. the baphomet of the templars, the idol set up to defy and overthrow the false god- though it is understood that he himself is false, not an end, but a means. note the 77= 7 x 11, magical power in perfection. 114 78. most venerable because mzla is shown as the influence descending from on high, whose key is the tarot: and we possess the tarot. the proper number of the name of the messenger of the most exalted one

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 4 3

ion, revised, demy 8vo "with hundreds of illustrations. half morocco" 7"s" 6"d" some of the contents: critics of the rosicrucians criticized- the hermetic philosophers- fire- theosophy of the persians- drudical stones- the round towers of ireland- mystic christian figures and talismans- the rosy cross in indian, egyptian, greek, roman, and mediaeval monuments- the great pyramid- connexion between the templars and gnosticism- astro-theosophical system of the rosicrucians- robt. fludd- the holy greale- the round table- alchemy- the outline of the kabbalah, etc, etc. the kabbalah unveiled, containing the following books of the zohar (1) the book of concealed mystery (2) the greater holy assembly (3) the lesser holy assembly, translated into english from the latin version of knorr von rosenrot

ALEISTER CROWLEY EQUINOX EQ I 6

gleurs to do the wandering and singing. the system of troubadours and jongleurs developed in 11th to 13th century provence, following the norman conquest of britain, and probably based on the bardic traditions of the british isles. minstrels were jongleurs with a permanent position at court. in recent centuries these terms have become confounded. although there were troubadours during the time of the templars, they didn't go around battle fields entertaining the troops! our modern system of composers and performers is directly derived from that of the troubadours and jongleurs> esquires "etc, to these" said omar "an arabian emir. his band of warriors" laylah "his newly-wedded bride" a nymph "and children attendant on her" act i scene "the desert. in the foreground, a walled well with a lev

up again["wailing rises without, louder and more insistent" a curse upon these fools! but for them i could hear his battle-cry. has he ever cried, and i not heard him? oh, why did the strange knight not bear me on his palfrey? i must be mad. fatma. you must be mad! laylah. bewail the dead, thou bald vulture, shaggy toothless crone, dam of perdition! there floats the banner again, above them all. the templar's banner dips; some one has cut through the staff. the christians are in rout["four eunuchs enter, bearing the corpse of "othman. fatma. othman is dead! alas! alas! weep, mother, three brave boys beside their sire! all dead! dead! laylah["not turning from window. lay him beside his father and his two brothers! brave banner! brave 91 banner! we go through the christians as a wedge cleav

ARCHANGELIC FORCE ON THE PATHS

iroth and the upper sephiroth. however, its nature will be in keeping with the great work by only utilizing the above sephiroth. 4. the adept may wish to light up the \yyj u in the microcosm. the use of these archangelic forces along with the divine names attributed to the sephiroth shall prove extremely useful. here are the angelic forces that governeth the paths: 3 path archangel hebrew a raph rthe templar orders in freemasonry an historical consideration of their origin and development by arthur edward waite having regard to the fact that emblematic freemasonry, as it is known and practised at this day, arose from an operative guild and within the bosom of a development from certain london lodges which prior to the year 1717 had their titles in the past of the guild and recognised its o

ARTHUR E WAITE TEMPLAR ORDERS IN FREEMASONRY

show that they derived from masonry or were masonry itself at the highest, in the proper understanding thereof. when the story of a secret perpetuation of the old knights templar- outside the order of christ- arose in france or germany, but as i tend to conclude in france, it was and remains the most notable case in point of this appeal and claim. it rose up within masonry, and it came about that the templar element overshadowed the dreams and pretensions of other masonic chivalries, or, more correctly, outshone them all. i am dealing here with matters of fact and not proposing to account for the facts themselves within the limits of a single study. the chevalier ramsay never spoke of the templars: his affirmation was that the hypothetical building confraternity of palestine united ultimat

is, and in presenting the craft with the credentials of knightly connections it substituted the order of the temple for the chivalry chosen by ramsay. the battle of lepanto and the siege of vienna had invested the annals of the st. john knighthood with a great light of valour; but this was as little and next to nothing in comparison with the talismanic attraction which for some reason attached to the templar name and was obviously thrice magnified when the proposition arose that the great chivalry had continued to exist in secret from the days of philippe le bel even to the second half of the eighteenth century. there were other considerations, however, which loomed largely, and especially in regard to the sudden proscription which befell the order in 1307. of the trial which followed ther

shallow infidelity was characterised by the kind of licence which fosters intellectual extravagance, by a leaning in directions which are generally termed superstitious- though superstition itself was pilloried- and in particular by attraction towards occult arts and supposed hidden knowledge. advanced persons were ceasing to believe in the priest but were disposed to believe in the sorcerer, and the templars had been accused of magic, of worshipping a strange idol, the last suggestion- for some obscure reason- being not altogether indifferent to many who had slipped the anchor of their faith in god. beyond these frivolities and the foolish minds that cherished them, there were other persons who were neither in the school of a rather cheap infidelity nor in that of common superstition, but

minds that cherished them, there were other persons who were neither in the school of a rather cheap infidelity nor in that of common superstition, but who looked seriously for light to the east and for its imagined traditional wisdom handed down from past ages. they may have been dreamers also, but they were less or more zealous students after their own manner; within their proper measures, and the templar chivalry drew them because they deemed it not unlikely that its condemnation by the paramount orthodoxy connoted a suspicion that the old knighthood had learned in palestine more than the west could teach. out of such elements were begotten some at least of the templar rites and they grew from more to more, till this particular aspect culminated in the templar dramas of werner, in whic

on may be regarded as beyond dispute, and it was the case especially with masonic templar revivals. their thesis was his thesis varied. for example, according to the rite of the strict observance the proscribed order was carried by its marshal, pierre d'aumont, who escaped with a few other knights to the isles of scotland, disguised as operative masons. they remained there and under the same veil the templars continued to exist in secret from generation to generation under the shadow of the mythical mount heredom of kilwinning. to whatever date the old dreams ascribe it, when emblematic freemasonry emerged it was- ex hypothesi-a product of the union between knights templar and ancient scottish masonry. such is the story told. the strict observance was founded by baron von hund in germany b

hatever the point is worth, this story is not only at issue with that of von hund himself, but with the current chronology of the observance. to involve matters further, the chapter is reported otherwise to have derived its templar element from something unspecified at lyons which is referred to 1738. the utmost variety of statement will be found, moreover, as to the content of the clermont rite, the templar character of which has been also challenged. it is proposed otherwise that the chapter was founded on a scale of considerable magnitude, that it was installed in a vast building, and that it attracted the higher classes of french freemasons, which notwithstanding it ceased to exist in 1758, being absorbed by the council of emperors established in that year for the promulgation of a dif

n both enumerations- otherwise knight of god- presented a peculiar, as it was also an early version of the perpetuation story, from which it follows that the clermont rite was templar. i have so far failed to trace any copy of the ritual in this country with the exception of that which has been placed recently in my hands, an example of the discoveries that await research in continental archives. the templar element- which may be called the historical part- is combined with a part of symbolism, for though allegory is said to be abandoned in the fourth degree, its spiritual sister is always present in ritual. the aspect which it assumes in the present case is otherwise known in masonry, the chapter representing the holy city, the new jerusalem, with its twelve gates, as a tabernacle of god

ally speaking- in the world to come, and the reward of chivalry is there; but there is a reward also on earth within the bonds of the order, because this is said to be divine and possessed of the treasures of wisdom. the kind of wisdom and the nature of the great secret is revealed in the perpetuation story, and so far as i am aware offers the only instance of such a claim being made on behalf of the templars, in or out of masonry. it belongs to a subject which engrossed the zeal of thousands throughout the seventeenth century and had many disciples- indeed, they were thousands also- during the masonic age which followed. the story is that the templars began in poverty, but baldwin ii, king of jerusalem, gave them a house in the vicinity of the site where solomon's temple was built of old

heir digging operations unearthed an iron casket which contained priceless treasures, and chief among all the true process of the great work in alchemy, the secret of transmuting metals, as communicated to solomon by the master hiram abiff. so and so only was it possible to account for the wealth of adornment which characterised the first temple. the discovery explains also the wealth acquired by the templars, but it led in the end to their destruction. traitors who knew of the secret, though they had not themselves attained it, revealed the fact to clement v and philip the fair of france, and the real purpose of the persecution which followed was to wrest the transmuting process from the hands of its custodians. jacques de molay and his co-heirs died to preserve it, but three of the initi

ed with and acknowledging nothing else in freemasonry except the craft degrees. in respect of antiquity it claims descent by succession from certain canons or knights of the holy sepulchre, who first bore the red cross on their hearts, and were founded by james the first, brother of the first bishop of jerusalem. these canons became the knights hospitallers of a much later date. on these followed the templars, from whom the masonic knights of the temple more especially claimed derivation, though in some obscure manner they held descent from all, possibly in virtue of spiritual consanguinity postulated between the various christian chivalries of palestine. the traditional history of the grade is given at unusual length and is firstly that of the templars, from their foundation to their sudd

te signified also that his arm is ever ready to do battle with the enemies of the holy christian religion and his heart for the sacrifice of his entire being to jesus christ. the alleged correspondences and meanings are developed at some length, but it will be sufficient to mention that the masonic candidate enters the lodge poor and penniless, because that was the condition at their beginning of the templars and the other orders of christian knighthood. the candidate is prepared for the second craft degree in a somewhat different manner from that of the first, and this has reference to certain distinctions between the clothing of a knight of the holy sepulchre and that of a knight of st. john. the seven steps are emblematic of the seven sacraments of the holy church, by the help of which

nified the divine light which enlightened the chivairies and was ever before their eyes, as it must be also present for ever before the mind's eye of the masonic templars, a sacred symbol placed in the centre of the building. in french freemasonry the pillar b belonged to the second degree and was marked with this letter, which had reference to baldwin, king of jerusalem, who provided a house for the templars in the holy city. the traditional history of the master grade is that of the martyrdom of jacques de molay, the last grand master of the temple. the three assassins answered to philip the fair, pope clement v and the prior of montfaucon, a templar of toulouse, who is represented as undergoing a sentence of imprisonment for life at paris on account of his crimes, by the authority of th

of the metropolitan chapter of france, and 8 in the rite of the philalethes: they may or may not refer to the same ritual as that which i have summarised here. there is no means of knowing. in any case the 36th grade of mizraim and the 34th of memphis, which became no. 13 in the ancient and primitive rite, is to be distinguished utterly: it is called knight of the temple, but has no concern with the templars and is quite worthless. it should be added that in one of the discourses belonging to le chevalier du temple there is a hostile allusion to the existing multiplicity of masonic and pseudo-masonic grades, and this may suggest that it is late in the order of time. a great many were, however, in evidence by and before the year 1759. we should remember gould's opinion that there was an ea

BLAVATSKY H P COSMOGENESIS

y its dual physiological and spiritual potency the divine human to its purely divine monad, the prototype "in heaven" or nature) was represented as a serpent on human legs, either with or without arms. it was the emblem of the resurrection of nature, as also of christ with the ophites, and of jehovah as the brazen serpent healing those who looked at him; the serpent being an emblem of christ with the templars also (see the templar degree in masonry. the symbol of knouph (khoum also, or the soul of the world, says champollion (pantheon, text 3 "is represented among other forms under that of a huge serpent on human legs; this reptile, being the emblem of the good genius and the veritable agathodaemon, is sometimes bearded" the sacred animal is thus identical with the serpent of the ophites

BLUE EQUINOX

the men in power are often utterly devoid of all general education. i would call your attention to the fact that many monastic orders, both in asia and in europe, have succeeded in surviving all changes of government, and in securing pleasant and useful lves for their members. but this has been possible only because restricted life was enjoined. however, there were orders of military monks, like the templars, who grew and prospered exceedingly. you recall that the order of the temple was only overthrown by a liber clxi 229 treacherous coup d. tat on the part of a king and of a pope who saw their reactionary, obscurantist, and tyrannical programme menaced by those knights who did not scruple to add the wisdom of the east to their own large interpretation of christianity, and who represente

DAVID ICKE AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE

ng the knowledge emerged. some, like the cathars in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, were destroyed by the catholic church in the most horrific manner after spreading their influence over a wide area from their base in southern france. the knights of the temple (knights templar, who came to prominence about the same time as the cathars, were dealt with equally severely by papal 'justice. but the templars went underground and their influence has continued up to the present day, both in their own right, and within other secret societies which are, after all, part of the same overall organisation. this period of the cathars and the crusades spawned many brotherhood offshoots, which continue to significantly influence events- secret societies like the knights hospitallers of st. john, kno

p. hall, points out in his book, america's assignment with destiny,2 that john cabot's real name was giovanni caboto. he was born in genoa, the city where colombus is said to have been born, and caboto later became a naturalised venetian. it is suggested that he was involved with a secret christian brotherhood sect known as the johannites, which was greatly influenced by the esoteric doctrines of the templars. legends say he visited the so called 'wise men of the near east- just as colombus had done. columbus had his own brotherhood connections. his father was a member of the brotherhood branch, the order of the christ. columbus himself was involved with a group which followed the beliefs of the poet dante, who was a member of the cathar church and an initiate of the knights templar. colum

iscan order. columbus's son said his father had died in such attire. the priests at the ancient egyptian brotherhood temple at el-amarna wore a similar habit, as did a brotherhood group called the fraternites at the time of columbus. these are only some of his brotherhood connections. columbus's father-in-law was a member of the knights of christ, the undercover name for the knights templar. when the templars were purged across europe, they survived in portugal by changing their name to the knights of christ. they devoted themselves to maritime activity. the explorer, vasco de gama, was a knight of 30..and the truth shall set you free christ, as was prince henry the navigator, a grand master of the order. columbus's father-in-law was one of prince henry's captains, and inherited maps and c

ghts of christ. they devoted themselves to maritime activity. the explorer, vasco de gama, was a knight of 30..and the truth shall set you free christ, as was prince henry the navigator, a grand master of the order. columbus's father-in-law was one of prince henry's captains, and inherited maps and charts from him which columbus used to 'find' the americas. the red cross on a white background was the templars symbol. it was outlawed by the pope at the time of the purge. columbus's ships sailed with the red cross on a white background!3 his historic journey was funded by king ferdinand of aragon, spain and queen isabella of castile, spain, whose marriage helped to unify spain. these were 'catholic' monarchs funding a trip by a man flying the flag of the knights templar. more than that, othe

knights templar. they were given enormous riches by christians supporting the crusades and by legacies from people who were often hoping to buy a place in heaven. they were the wealthiest organisation in every country in which they established themselves, and their temples in paris and london became financial centres. eventually, king philip iv of france, in league with pope clement v, destroyed the templars and stole their fortune to pay debts and, as i outlined in the robots' rebellion, possibly for other reasons, too. the templars' grand master, jacques de molay, was burned at the stake and the order then went underground to work and plot secretly within other organisations. the christian world had a strict ban on usury (the charging of interest on loans) but as the centuries passed th

ot only an insult to the work the red cross is seeking to do, it is also extremely dangerous for the 99% who are genuinely working for that organisation out of compassion for the plight of the world's peoples. intriguingly, the red cross symbol is also that of the knights templar, the flag of england, and the symbol which columbus flew on his ships while 'discovering' the 'new world' on behalf of the templars. the red cross was formed during the elite-engineered franco- prussian war in 1870 via correspondence in our old friend, the london times. at the same time that these elite bankers were creating organisations to support the bolsheviks, they were also funding and setting up anti-bolshevik organisations. 72 .and the truth shall set you free otto kahn and members of the morgan guaranty t

ting (the australian prime minister, and heads of the asian governments. either keating is in on the scam or he is easily duped. now the process will begin of evolving the two latest trading blocs into the model used in europe before merging them all into one. the plan for a united states of europe under centralised control goes back centuries. it was one of the goals of the knights templar. when the templars were 146 .and the truth shall set you free destroyed in their stronghold in france by a combination of the french king and the pope, many of those who survived the onslaught regrouped in scotland and the templars reformed under the pseudonym, the scottish rite of freemasonry. this has a large number of its members in the high places of influence and power in the world, not the least i

DAVID ICKE CHILDREN OF THE MATRIX

d access to the ancient maps that charted the americas. it is known that he had "strange maps" when he set out for "india. columbus was a secret society initiate and, according to the american freemasonic historian, manly p. hall, he was connected to the same secret network in genoa, italy, as the man later known as john cabot.34 five years after columbus landed in the americas, cabot sailed from the templar port of bristol, england, to "discover" what we now call north america. they could do this because they had access through the secret societies to the maps drawn by the sumerian seafarers and even further back to atlantis and lemuria. many ancient maps have been discovered that confirm beyond question that the world was charted thousands of years ago, but this is suppressed from the ac

trix designed the famous gothic cathedrals that became shrines to the serpent goddess. between 1170 and 1270, some 80 cathedrals and 500 churches were built in france alone and dedicated to "our lady (el, semiramis, mary. the knights templar were controlled by the serpent cult/illuminati, but many of their members would have not been aware of this- just like the vast majority of freemasons today. the templars used the red cross of thor/lndara/george as their symbol and to all appearances they were worshippers of a christian god- again like freemasons today. but at the top level, they are both expressions of the serpent cult/iuuminati. their "christian" churches and cathedrals are full of goddess, astrological, sun, and sexual symbolism, as is freemasonry. of course they are. they were both

DAVID ICKE THE BIGGEST SECRET

head is the pope and their headquarters is in rome.as the knights of st john they are based in london and their official head is the kingor queen. the catholic and protestant wings are in fact the same organisation at thehighest level. the knights templar were formed about the same time in 1118, thoughthis could have been at least four years earlier, and were first known as the soldiers ofchrist. the templars are surrounded in mystery and contradiction, but it is known thatthey dedicated the order to the mother of god. the knights templar promoted achristian image as a cover and so mother of god was taken to be mary, the mother ofjesus, but to the reptile-aryan secret societies the term, mother of god, is symbolic ofisis, the virgin mother of the egyptian son of god, horus, and the wife of

(grand mother =semiramis/isis) is based in great queen street in london (great queen= semiramis/isis. in the end all the names were inspired by ninkharsag, the anunnaki mothergoddess of the reptilian-human crossbreeds, their mammy. the ancient gods such as134nimrod/osiris and the endless other names under which he is known, represent thepower of the sun, the male. this was the knowledge on which the templars werefounded and their phoenician and reptilian inspiration can be seen in their symbol, thered cross on a white background- the fire cross or sun symbol of the phoenicians andsymbol of the bloodlines. this is also the flag of england to this day.from the start of the official templar story there were blatant untruths. theyclaimed to have been formed to protect pilgrims in the holy lan

ir. the first templar centre or preceptoryoutside the holy land was built on the st clair estate in scotland. other earlytemplars included fulk, the count danjou, who was the father of geoffreyplantagenet and the grandfather of the english king, henry ii. it was henry whosponsored the building of the famous benedictine abbey at glastonbury in the westof england, a sacred site since ancient times. the templars were connected to theknights hospitaller (knights of malta) at their highest level and these links verymuch continue today. there are many tales of how much they hated each other andthere have undoubtedly been periods of rifts and conflict. but at their peak they aredifferent branches of the same organisation and at that level the agenda is allimportant. in june 1099, another glorious

e ports of jaffa, tyre and acre. tyre wasone of the major centres for the phoenicians. the knights hospitaller established theamalfi hostelry in jerusalem to provide food and shelter for the visitors. as theirwealth and prestige grew, they formed a military wing, which was given papalbacking in 1118, the same year that the original nine knights templar arrived injerusalem to guard the pilgrims.135the templars were given quarters adjoining temple mount, the alleged, and i stressalleged, site of solomons temple. some researchers believe the templars foundsomething of great value, possibly manuscripts, possibly vast amounts of gold, whileexcavating under temple mount. but whatever happened events began to move rapidlyafter 1126, for it was then that the grand master, hugues de payens, left je

gold, whileexcavating under temple mount. but whatever happened events began to move rapidlyafter 1126, for it was then that the grand master, hugues de payens, left jerusalem togather recruits and expand the order. he headed back to france to meet st bernard, thenabbot of clairvaux, and he took with him bernards templar uncle, andre demontbard. bernard sang their praises to pope honarius ii, and the templars wereformally established on january 31st 1128 at the council of troyes. yes, named aftertroy, that great aryan and reptile-aryan headquarters in asia minor which also inspiredthe original name of london. the templars were part of the same gang, although manyof the lower initiates would not have known this. among their symbols, apart from thephoenician red cross, were a black and white

e lower initiates would not have known this. among their symbols, apart from thephoenician red cross, were a black and white flag (made up of two squares, the skulland crossbones, and the watchtower. all of these symbols have spanned the centuries tothe present day brotherhood organisations. the black and white squares can be foundon the floor of every freemason temple, because the freemasons are the templarsunder another name. many churches and cathedrals, like westminster abbey and notredame in paris, also have black and white squares on the floor, because the christianchurch is a front for the babylonian brotherhood. many police forces, including thosein the uk and the usa, have black and white squares on their uniform because they arecontrolled by the freemasons and the templars. the s

ners in america, and a satanist, childabuser and serial killer. see a later chapter for details of this. the watchtower symbolcan be seen in the jehovahs witness organisation because this is also a brotherhoodfront that is conning countless followers into believing it is christian. one of itsfounders was charles taze russell, a high degree freemason, who is buried under apyramid.only a year after the templars were formally established at the council of troyes,incredible expansion had taken place. they had a papal constitution, wealth, land and threehundred recruits from noble families who had to give all their wealth to the templars whenthey joined. as a result they owned land in france, england, scotland, spain and portugal,136and within ten years this was extended to italy, austria, germ

hamlets and farmsgalore all over england. whenever you see the name temple in a british place name(for instance templecombe) it is a former templar site. their national headquarters wasin london on land which is now high holborn and in 1161 they moved a short distanceto a new london temple which is still today called temple bar. here can be found theoriginal church in the classic round design of the templars, along with some templargraves. in a most prominent position in temple bar, in the centre of the mainthoroughfare, is a statue of a winged reptile. the templar holdings included the strandand much of fleet street which, until recently, was the home of the british nationalnewspaper industry. the symbol of the national tabloid, the daily express, onceheadquartered in fleet street, is a

centre of the mainthoroughfare, is a statue of a winged reptile. the templar holdings included the strandand much of fleet street which, until recently, was the home of the british nationalnewspaper industry. the symbol of the national tabloid, the daily express, onceheadquartered in fleet street, is a knight carrying a shield emblazoned with thetemplar-phoenician red cross on a white background. the templar lands stretcheddown to the river thames where the templars had their own docks. during the reign ofqueen victoria, the brotherhood erected an obelisk alongside the thames at this pointand placed a sphinx on either side. the obelisk had formerly stood in the egyptian cityof on or heliopolis (the city or place of the sun) and it is known today as cleopatrasneedle (see picture section. th

penis in effect. what a symbol is built torepresent is the energy it will generate, because symbols are a physical manifestation ofthe thoughts which create them. these guys dont put their symbols everywhere just forfun. they do it because it helps to resonate the energy field to the vibrational frequencythey want. in turn, this affects the thoughts and feelings of the people.most notably today, the templar lands of london are the home of the british legalprofession. barristers qualify when they come to the bar- temple bar- and they joineither the inner temple, middle temple or outer temple. i have spoken with people whohave had experience of these organisations and they found them to be very sinister indeed.for sure, they are. if you want to control the people you have to control the law

the operational level, together with parisand the v atican. and paris was the other dual-headquarters for the knights templar. that137city also has a 3,200 year old egyptian obelisk at a key point in its street plan, the placede la concorde. princess diana passed that obelisk in the mercedes literally a minutebefore it crashed in the pont de lalma tunnel in 1997.by the middle of the 12th century the templars were second only to the romanchurch for wealth and influence. they had their own fleet of ships (on which they flewthe skull and bones flag, and their financial centres in london and paris were, in effect,the start of the modern banking system which has made humanity slaves to non-existentmoney. they, too, lent money that didnt exist and charged interest on it in truebabylonian brothe

manchurch for wealth and influence. they had their own fleet of ships (on which they flewthe skull and bones flag, and their financial centres in london and paris were, in effect,the start of the modern banking system which has made humanity slaves to non-existentmoney. they, too, lent money that didnt exist and charged interest on it in truebabylonian brotherhood style. one documented case shows the templars charging 60 percent interest on the late payment of a debt. one of the plans promoted by the templarswas the creation of a united states of europe and under different guises and fronts theirmasters in the brotherhood have achieved just that. the creation of the european unionwith its single central bank and currency is one of the pillars of the brotherhood agenda.some of the advanced

0 percent interest on the late payment of a debt. one of the plans promoted by the templarswas the creation of a united states of europe and under different guises and fronts theirmasters in the brotherhood have achieved just that. the creation of the european unionwith its single central bank and currency is one of the pillars of the brotherhood agenda.some of the advanced knowledge inherited by the templars was that of the earthsenergy grid, the network of magnetic force lines known as ley lines, dragon lines ormeridians. the major sacred sites are where many of these lines cross, creatingenormous vortices of energy. if you perform a black magic ritual and human sacrifice atthese points the deeply negative energy it produces is carried on the force linesemanating from the vortex and pump

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e tree of knowledge was widespread in the middle ages and may be found in the twelfth century quete del st. graal, ascribed to walter map but probably only adapted by him. all the traditions of the kabala are embodied in the allegory contained in the book of the penitence of adam, which supplements and throws considerable light on the entire kabalistic literature. adam, l abbe about the time that the templars were being driven from france, the devil was said to have appeared under various guises to the abbe adam, who was journeying with one of the servants from his convent to another part of his abbacy of the vaux de cernay. the evil spirit first opposed the progress of the abbe taking the form of a tree white with frost, which rushed toward him with inconceivable swiftness. the abbe s hor

www.banyen.com. february 28, 2000. branches of light. vancouver, british columbia, n.d. bapak an indonesian name for father, given affectionately to patrons, gurus, and charismatic leaders, especially to muhammad subuh, founder of the subud movement, a modern mystical school combining sufi insights with elements of the thought of georgei i. gurdjieff and p. d. ouspensky. baphomet the goat idol of the templars and the deity of the sorcerers sabbat. some authorities hold that the baphomet was a monstrous head, others that it was a demon in the form of a goat. one account of a veritable baphometic idol describes it thusly: a pantheistic and magical figure of the absolute. the torch placed between the two horns, represents the equilibrating intelligence of the triad. the goat s head, which is

osm, or the pentagram with one beam in the ascendant, symbol of human intelligence, which, placed thus below the torch, makes the flame of the latter an image of divine revelation. this pantheos should be seated on a cube, and its footstool should be a single ball, or a ball and a triangular stool. in narratives of sorcery and magic (1851, thomas wright states: another charge in the accusation of the templars seems to have been to a great degree proved by the depositions of witnesses] the idol or head which they are said to have worshipped, but the real character or meaning of which we are totally unable to explain. many templars confessed to having seen this idol, but as they described it differently, we must suppose that it was not in all cases represented under the same form. some said

themselves; and many of them declared their disbelief in its existence. a friar minor deposed in england that an english templar had assured him that in that country the order had four principal idols, one at london, in the sacristy of the temple, another at bristelham, a third at brueria (bruern in lincolnshire, and a fourth beyond the humber. some occultists have suggested that the baphomet of the templars was really the god of the witches deriving from the encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. baphomet 153 nature god pan. during the nineteenth century, the austrian orientalist baron joseph von hammer-purgstall discovered an inscription on a coffer in burgundy that he claimed showed that the name baphomet derived from two greek words meaning baptism of metis [wisdom; the in

section, he took the name baphomet as his motto. he had previously wrestled with the numerological significance of the name. sources: crowley, aleister. the confessions of aleister crowley. edited by john symons and kenneth grant. new york: hill and wang, 1969. levi, eliphas. transcendental magic. london: rider, 1896. reprint, new york: samuel weiser, 1972. partner, peter. the murdered magicians: the templars and their myth. oxford: oxford university press, 1981. reprint, n.p: crucible, 1987. wright, thomas. narratives of sorcery and magic. london: r. bentley, 1851. reprint, detroit: grand river books, 1971. baptism of the devil it was said that at the witches sabbat children and toads were baptized with certain horrible rites. this was called the baptism of the devil. baptism of the line

ible jargon; and ceremonial processes for the fulfillment of imprecations of misfortune, calamity, sin, and death. the deity who was worshiped and whose powers were invoked in the practice of black magic had many names: the source and creator of evil, satanas, belial, the evil, a debased descendent of the egyptian set, the persian ahriman, the python of the greeks, the jewish serpent, baphomet of the templars, the goat-deity of the witches sabbat. he was said to have the head and legs of a goat and the breasts of a woman. his followers called him by the names of forgotten deities as well as the black one, the black he-goat, the black raven, the dog, the wolf and snake, the dragon, the hell-hound, hell-hand, and hell-bolt. his transformations were unlimited, as is indicated by many of his n

noscopy ancient system of divination practiced by examining the phenomena of the air. cercle international de recherches culturelles et spirituelles cercle international de recherches culturelles et spirituelles (international circle for cultural and spiritual research) is a french initiatic association founded early in the twentieth century, one of a number of magical esoteric orders inspired by the templar tradition. in the years following the french revolution of 1789, several groups arose claiming a lineage centro di ricerca psichica del convivio encyclopedia of occultism& parapsychology. 5th ed. 264 from a secret surviving templar order. over the succeeding decades the number of such groups claiming templar roots has multiplied. cercle international is grounded in the idea that each e

se values into reality in his/her daily life. the organization has several levels at which members may become involved. at the innermost level are several colleges, structures to focus research on the arcane sciences, the mundane sciences, and the creative sciences. there is also an inner order of sovereign templar initiates that focuses upon what are understood to be the traditional teachings of the templars. cercle international is headed by the grand master, currently fr. raymond bernard. there are national organizations in various countries and an english-speaking division, circles international, headquartered in plainfield, indiana. sources: bernard, raymond. the secret houses of the rose-croix. london: francis bacon lodge, 1981. ceremancy alternative term for ceroscopy, or divination

of this organization, it was asserted, were recruited from the higher branches of masonry, although it also initiated women. needless to say, the charge was indignantly denied by masons. bataille and margiotta claimed that the order of the palladium, or sovereign council of wisdom, had been constituted in france in 1737, and this, they inferred, was one and the same as the legendary palladium of the templars, better known by the name of baphomet. in 1801 isaac long, a jew, was said to have carried the original image of baphomet to charleston, south carolina, in the united states, and it was alleged that the lodge he founded then became the chief in the ancient and accepted scotch rite. he was succeeded in due course by albert pike, who, it was alleged, extended the scotch rite and shared

nth and fifteenth centuries as early as the thirteenth century, a charge of sorcery was made as a means of branding the waldenses, who were accused of selling themselves to the devil and of holding sabbatical orgies. about the middle of the fifteenth century france began to oppress suspected sorcerers. in 1315 enguerraud de marigny, a minister of philip the fair who had conducted the execution of the templars, was hung along with an adventurer named paviot for attempting to kill the counts of valois and st. paul. in 1334 the countess of artois and her son were thrown into prison on suspicion of sorcery. in 1393, during the reign of charles vi, his sister-in-law, the duchess of orleans, who was the daughter of the duke of milan, was accused of driving the king mad by sorcery. the ministers

enth century, occultism flourished. there were stories of frederick william who worked with steinert in a house specially built for evocations; schroepfer, proprietor of a cafe with his magic punch and circles for raising the spirits of the dead; the physiognomist j. k. lavater, said to have two spirits at his command; the mopses, a society whose rites of initiation were said to resemble those of the templars and witches sabbat in a mild and civilized form; and carl sand, the mystical fanatic who killed the dramatist august kotzebue. the illuminati, whose teachings spread to france and underlay the french revolution, was banded together as a society by adam weishaupt and fostered by baron von knigge, a student of occultism. this society reportedly originated as an attempt to circumvent the

r named the prieure de sion. apparently the investigation of this amazing story began with the mystery of berenger sauniere, a parish priest at rennes-le-chateau in the pyrenees, who seemed to have discovered a secret that gave him access to a vast sum of money before his death, under mysterious circumstances, in 1917. that secret involved the history of rennes-le-chateau and its association with the templars, the cathars, and the royal bloodline of the merovingian dynasty. the story has too many jumps in history and logic to ever be researched, and only time will show whether its major claims can be independently substantiated. patricia and lionel fanthorpe refute the theory of baigent, leigh, and lincoln in their 1982 book the holy grail revealed: the real secret of rennes-le-chateau. so

romans. hdi see human dimensions institute head of baphomet an interesting discovery was made public in 1818 dealing with the history of secret societies. according to baron joseph von hammer-purgstall (in his essay mysterium baphometis revelatum in volume 6 of fundgruben des orients, there was found among the antiquities of the imperial museum of vienna some idols named heads of baphomet, which the templars were said to have venerated. these heads represented the divinity of the gnostics, named mete (wisdom. for a long time one of these gilded heads was preserved at marseilles. it had been seized during a templar retreat, at a time when they were pursued by the law. healing, psychic a popular early theory of psychic healing was that it was effected by a sudden and profound nervous change

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OCCULTISM AND PARAPSYCHOLOGY VOL 2

n germany around 1904. the order found its inspiration in the medieval knights templar, who were suppressed through most of europe in the fourteenth century. among the charges made against the order were that they practiced various forms of illicit sex, specifically sodomy and bestiality. through the nineteenth century a number of groups had emerged in both france and germany claiming to carry on the templar tradition. however, this order seems to have originated out of a masonic group founded by karl keller and theodor reuss and chartered in 1902 by english mason john yarker. they began publishing a magazine, oriflamme, in which the first mention of the oto occurred. there was mention that the order possessed the key of all hermetic and masonic secrets (i.e, sex magic. keller claimed to h

extinction, would join the ranks of some similar society, or would keep the flame alive in secret. the occult idea has been preserved through the ages, the same in essence among the believers in all religions. to a great extent, the occult s trend was in one direction, so that the fusion of the older mystical societies and their rebirth as a new brotherhood is a plausible hypothesis. the entry on the templars, for example, suggests the possibility of that brotherhood having received its tenets from the east. it seems very likely that its rites were oriental in origin, and certainly the occult systems of europe owed much to the templars, who, probably, after the fall of their own order, secretly formed others or joined existing societies. masons have a hypothesis that they inherited traditi

see society for psychic research (california) sovereign and military order of the temple of jerusalem the sovereign and military order of the temple of jerusalem, incorporated in belgium in 1932, is the largest group growing out of the neo-templar movement launched by bernard- raymond fabre-palaprat (1773.1838) in the years following the french revolution. the order of the temple, commonly called the templars, was a medieval monastic order virtually destroyed by king philip the fair of france and formally dissolved by pope clement v in 1307. the order survived for another century in portugal, but by the beginning of the fifteenth century had completely disappeared. however, as speculative freemasonry spread through europe in the eighteenth century, a rumor developed that the order had surv

pope clement v in 1307. the order survived for another century in portugal, but by the beginning of the fifteenth century had completely disappeared. however, as speculative freemasonry spread through europe in the eighteenth century, a rumor developed that the order had survived in the person of knights who sought protection in the masonic guilds of scotland and ireland. they were the sources of the templar degrees in the masonic initiatory structure. then, at the time of the french revolution, some french masons began to argue that since the templars came before freemasonry, it was logically independent of it and hence not subordinate to it. their cause was championed by fabre-palaprat, a physician residing in paris, who claimed to have found documents proving the existence of a lineage

the passing of the grand mastership by the last public master, jacques de molay, to one john mark lamenius who he met in prison while awaiting his execution. in the freer atmosphere of post-revolutionary france, in 1804 fabre-palaprat organized a new templar order and four years later received the approbation of napoleon. since the roman catholic church had not changed its official stance against the templars, he also organized an esoteric johannite church and consecrated its first bishop. after his death in 1838, the order experienced the first of many schisms. over the next century, a number of branches and derivative groups would appear, including the german ordo templi orientis and the french-based independent group of esoteric studies founded by gerard encausse. among the more than 30

sa fontes has grown and prospered while at the same time it has played down its occult roots. like freemasonry, the contemporary templars (especially in north america) have emerged as a fraternal organization dedicated to work for their community and country, to support the poor and the unjustly accused, to stand against oppression, and to encourage the ideal of medieval chivalry. harking back to the templar history during the crusades, the modern templars see it their duty to assist christian pilgrims and to maintain a christian presence in the holyland. one must be a professed christian to be a member. the current grand prior of the order in the united states is col. chev. stewart mccarty. he may be contacted through the order s internet site at http//www.smotj.org. internationally, the

go out again and to completely wall up this back door of hell. the four buildings above ground were the only ones which still remained open, and they had a court and chambers like those underground; and the ruins of these have lasted even to the present day. the temple hill at jerusalem the vast subterranean vaults under the temple hill at jerusalem were probably used as a secret meeting place by the templars during their occupation of the holy city, and it was perhaps there that the strange eastern rites of baphomet that they later affected were first celebrated. in his book recent discoveries on the temple hill (1884, rev. james king gives the following account: on the occasion of a visit to the noble sanctuary, the author had an opportunity of examining the ancient masonry inside the wa

ndon: kegan paul, trench, trubner, 1933. summit lighthouse see church universal and triumphant summons by the dying it was once maintained by theologians that if anyone who was unjustly accused or persecuted should, with his dying breath, summon his oppressor to appear before the supreme tribunal, the person thus summoned would die on the day fixed by his innocent victim. thus the grand master of the templars cited the pope and the king of france to appear before god on a certain date, and as the story goes, both died at the appointed time. francois i, duke of brittany, hired assassins to murder his brother in 1450. the dying prince summoned his murderer before the highest of all courts, and francois shortly expired. yet another instance is that of ferdinand iv of spain, who was summoned b

kingdoms of christendom. its power grew, and its organization became widespread. it formed a nucleus of the christian effort against the paganism of the east. its history may be said to be that of the crusades. moreover it became a great trading corporation, the greatest commercial agency between the east and west, and as such amassed immense wealth. on the fall of the latin kingdom in palestine, the templars were forced to withdraw from that country. although they continued to harass the saracen power, they made little headway against it, and in reality appeared to have undertaken commercial pursuits in preference to those of a more warlike character. the attack upon the templars when the temple was at the high point of its power, its success aroused the envy and avarice of philip iv of f

hen the temple was at the high point of its power, its success aroused the envy and avarice of philip iv of france (1285.1314, who commenced a series of attacks upon it. pope clement v, who was devoted to philip s interests, denounced the order for heresy and immorality and gave philip his chance. for several generations before this time, rumors had been circulating concerning the secret rites of the templars, which were assisted by the very strict privacy of their meetings. they were usually held at daybreak with closely-guarded doors. it was alleged that the most horrible blasphemies and indecencies took place at these meetings, that the cross was trampled underfoot and spat upon, that an idol named baphomet (baphemetios, baptism of wisdom) was adored, or even that the devil in the shape

oss was trampled underfoot and spat upon, that an idol named baphomet (baphemetios, baptism of wisdom) was adored, or even that the devil in the shape of a black cat appeared. other tales told of the roasting of children, and the smearing of the idol with their burning fat. and even wilder rumors spread through the uneducated populous. a certain esquian de horian pretended to betray the secret of the templars to philip, and they were denounced to the inquisition. jacques de molay, the grand master, who had been called from cyprus to france, was arrested with 140 of his brethren in paris and thrown into prison. a universal arrest of the templars throughout france followed. the wretched knights were tortured en masse, as was usually the case, and confessed to the most grotesque crimes. the m

shed to bring it entirely under the jurisdiction of the church, and to have it decided at rome. the king, on the other hand, mistrusting the pope, resolved on the destruction of the order so that none but himself should reap advantage from it. he decided it should be judged at paris under his own personal influence. the prosecution was directed by his ministers, nogaret and enguerrand de marigny. the templars asserted their innocence and demanded a fair trial, but they found few advocates who would undertake their defense. they were subjected to hardships and tortures, which forced many of them into confessions dictated to them by their persecutors. during this interval, the pope s orders were carried into other countries, authorizing the arrest of the templars and the seizure of their goo

were thrown into prison and often put to death; they held their chapters secretly and by night, and placed a watch to prevent them from any danger of interruption or discovery; and they believed the grand master alone had the power of absolving them from their sins. the publication of these charges, and the agitation that had been deliberately fomented, created such horror throughout france that the templars who died during the process were treated as condemned heretics. burial in consecrated ground was refused to their remains. a great number of knights agreed to the general points of the formula of initiation. it seems possible that they denied christ and spat and trod upon the cross. the alleged words of the denial were je reney deu or je reney jhesu, repeated thrice. most of those who

FRANCIS A YATES GIORDANO BRUNO AND THE HERMETIC TRADITION

pation in it of all species."1 hence it was that ancient priests were able to make statues and images which foretold the future. agrippa is aiming at the full demonic magic of the asckpius, going far beyond the mild neoplatonised magic of ficino which he has been describing in the earlier chapters. he knows that there is an evil kind of this magic, practised by "gnostic magicians" and possibly by the templars, but adds that everyone knows that a pure spirit with mystical prayers and pious mortifications can attract the angels of heaven, and therefore it cannot be doubted that certain terrestrial substances used in a good way can attract the divinities.2 there follow chapters on fascination, poisons, fumigations (perfumes sympathetic to the planets and how to make them, unguents and philtre

FRATER TENEBROUS CULTS OF CTHULHU

thrown aside and all men shouting and killing and revelling injoy. then the liberated old ones would teach them new ways to shout and kill and revel and enjoy themselves, and all the earth would flame with a holocaust of ecstasy and freedom. 2 there is a marked similarity between this passage and the teachings of many actual secret societies of the past, including the assassins, the gnostics, and the templars, but in particular to the law of thelema, as expounded by lovecraft s contemporary, aleister crowley. the main distinction is one of moral interpretation whereas lovecraft regarded his ancient gods as essentially evil, crowley saw the return of such atavistic deities as being in full accord with the progression of the aeons. following the call of cthulhu, lovecraft produced a series o

FULLER J F C SECRET WISDOM OF THE QABALAH

heir constitution, and causes each to gravitate in its respective orb h. 24 in other words, it is the equilibrating force in the world of action, kether 'hokmah, and binah, christ and the two thieves on their crosses, the caduceus of hermes, the solar disc and dual serpents of egypt, and, according to eliphas levi, the astral light between the horns of the baphomet of mendes- the panlike satan of the templars. when erect it is the rod of aaron and the brazen serpent of moses (see plate vii on page 44) its three teeth, or tongues, represent three vaudin and consequently may be translated into the number 666, the solar number and the number of the beast in the apocalypse. according to the siphrah d'tzniuthah, it is the serpent which runs with 370 leaps. 25 it gleaps over mountains and hastil

GILBERT THE GOLDEN DAWN TWILIGHT OF THE MAGICIANS

adepts &c'.hedid, however, limit the numberofstudents to'nogreater number than twelve' and it is possible, assuming that he everhadany students, that they saw themselves as a secret fraternity and allowed others to label them as rosicrucians. certainly in1833godfrey higgins refers to contemporary rosicrucians, but these were evidently membersofa masonic rose-croix chapter, for he links them with the templars and says 'i am notofthe two orders; i have abstained from becoming a memberofthem that i might not have my tongue tied or my pen restrained by the engagements i must have made on entering the chapter or encampment.'2in spite of the disclaimer he does not reveal anything about their structure or their rituals for he would, as a craft mason himself, have seen such a revelation as a betr

GILBERT R A THE MASONIC CAREER OF A

oncealed kind'65[65. at a later meeting the c.b.c.s. was specifically excluded although it was restored to the council's control when a constitution was finally drawn up in april 1903 (see appendix d for the whole text of this curious document. greater satisfaction was anticipated by waite from the c.b.c.s. than he had so far gained from the knights templar 'i attended this evening the meeting of the templar preceptory [king edward vii] when two installations took place. it is by far the most interesting of all of the christian chivalries with the rites of which i am acquainted, though such gleanings as i can make concerning the perfect knights' charges seem to hope for greater significance therein'66[66. he was also far from adept when he 'tried to play at toy soldiers'67[67, finding that

england and wales for the c.b.c.s. in england. he learned of the new charter through a letter from shute, and expressed his surprise and annoyance in his reply 'it should be clearly understood, in view of other rumours, that i have held for many years, and still hold, the warrant of the helvetian priory which placed the rite in my hands. you might tell me further about those 'printed reports that the templar great priory of england has taken over the c.b.c.s' in this country. i have heard nothing about it and cannot imagine what it means, as there is nothing less likely in the world of masonry than that it should attempt to work them here'82[82. with the failure to propagate its most important rite, waite's 'secret council of rites' had, masonically speaking, long since come to naught. he

are simulacra "antic figures which a juggler dances '84[84. later he referred to the paper again 'of course i must not say what i think 82[82] letter from waite to shute, 22 november 1938 83[83] aqc 15 (1902, pp. 163-74. waite's comments are printed on pp. 170-2 84[84] diary, 3 october 1902 really- that it is an incoherent and slovenly paper i begin to see very clearly how much a real history of the templars is wanted in england to set matters right, so far as they can be set, once and for all. this is of course a scheme of my own doing for my seminal work on the secret doctrine of religious societies'85[85. waite's strictures on castle's paper were, of course, quite unjust but his diary entry is highly significant in that it reveals how his unpublished esoteric history of freemasonry was

vol. 32, pp. 142-53 letter 'mark degree, vol. 32, p. 183 1921 review of churchward, the origin and evolution of freemasonry, vol. 33, p. 121 review of wright, masonic legends and traditions, vol. 34, p. 186 1925 review of haywood, symbolical masonry, vol. 4 1, pp. 12 7-8 review of haywood, great teachings of masonry, vol. 4 1, p. 12 8 review of fort newton, the men's house, vol. 4 1, p. 199 1927 'the templar orders in freemasonry, vol. 45, pp. 12-19; 161-70 1930 'an elect priesthood (review of forestier, la franc-maconnerie occultiste, vol. 52, pp. 383-7 1939 review of van rijnberk, martines de pasqually, vol. 66, p. 262 1911-1931 waite contributed a monthly feature 'periodical literature, in which he reviewed contemporary journals, including many masonic journals. somerset masters lodge

earch (printed in transaction 'masonic -tradition and the royal arch, 28 february, somerset masters' lodge no. 3746 (printed in transactions) 1922 'the mystical quest in freemasonry' 16 september, mid-kent masters' lodge 3173 (printed in emblematic freemasonry) 1923 'the second birth of masonry in continental rites, 8 january, mid-kent masters' lodge 3173 (printed in emblematic freemasonry) 1925 'the templar orders in freemasonry: an historical consideration of their origin and development' 6 april, sancta maria preceptory (printed, in revised form, in the occult review) 1926 'the secret tradition in french grades analogous to the royal arch, 13 december, helio chapter no. 3900 1927 'the secret tradition in christian times and the directions in which research is baffled, 9 september, kings

GLOBAL FREEMASONRY

ce of material on faith-related issues, which are very useful and a pleasure to read. in them, one will not find, as in some other books, the personal views of the author, explanations based on dubious sources, styles unobservant of the respect and reverence due to sacred subjects, or hopeless, doubt-creating, and pessimistic accounts that create deviations in the heart. j introduction..8 i. from the templars to ancient egypt..10 ii. the inside story on the kabbalah..34 iii. humanism revisited..52 iv. materialism revisited..80 v. the theory of evolution revisited..118 vi. the masonic war against religion..155 conclusion..185 notes..188 contents reemasonry is a subject that has attracted much discussion for several centuries. some have accused masonry of fantastic crimes and misdeeds. inste

acts related in this book will be a means whereby many, including masons, will be able to look at the world with better awareness. after reading this book, the reader will be able to consider many subjects, from schools of philosophy to newspaper headlines, rock songs to political ideologies, with a deeper understanding, and better discern the meaning and aims behind events and factors. dc -ifrom the templars to ancient egypt the crusaders he common perception of the majority of historians of freemasonry is that the origin of the organization goes back to the crusades. in fact, though masonry was only officially established and recognized in england in the early eighteenth century, the roots of the organization do reach back to the crusades in the twelfth century. at the center of this fam

f the majority of historians of freemasonry is that the origin of the organization goes back to the crusades. in fact, though masonry was only officially established and recognized in england in the early eighteenth century, the roots of the organization do reach back to the crusades in the twelfth century. at the center of this familiar tale is an order of crusaders called the knights templar or the templars. six years before this present work, our book, entitled the new masonic order, examined the history of the templars in great detail. for that reason, we will now offer just a summary. for, as we analyze the roots of masonry, and the influence that it has had on the world, we discover the meaning of "global freemasonry" g no matter how much some may insist that the crusades were milita

r history, towards military aggression. the founder of the crusades was pope urban ii. he summoned the council of clermont, in 1095, in which the former pacifist doctrine of the christians was abandoned. a holy war was called for, with the intent to wrest the holy lands from the hands of the muslims. following the council, a huge army of crusaders was formed, composed both of professional dd from the templars to ancient egypt the roots of masonry date back to the crusades against muslims initiated by pope urban ii soldiers, and tens of thousands of ordinary people. historians believe urban ii's venture was prompted by his desire to thwart the candidacy of a rival to the papacy. furthermore, while european kings, princes, aristocrats and others greeted the pope's call with excitement, their

to this end, they established military orders, the alike of which had never existed before. members of these orders came from europe to palestine, and lived in a type of monastery where they received military training to fight against muslims. one of these orders, in particular, was different from the others. it underwent a transformation that would influence the course of history. this order was the templars. df from the templars to ancient egypt the crusaders wreaked havoc in jerusalem. the mediaeval engraving shown above depicts certain scenes of the horror. the templars the templars, or, their full name, the poor fellow-soldiers of jesus christ and the temple of solomon, was formed in 1118, that is, 20 years after the crusaders took jerusalem. the founders of the order were two french

he founders of the order were two french knights, hugh de payens and godfrey de st. omer. at first there were 9 members, but the order steadily grew. the reason they named themselves after the temple of solomon was because the place they had chosen as a base was the temple mount where this ruined temple had been located. this same location was where the dome of the rock (qubbet as-sakhrah) stood. the templars called themselves "poor soldiers" but within a short time they became very wealthy. christian pilgrims, coming from europe to palestine, were under the complete control of this order, and by whose money they became very rich. in addition, for the first time they set up a cheque and credit system, similar to that of a bank. according to the british authors, michael baigent and richard

alestine, were under the complete control of this order, and by whose money they became very rich. in addition, for the first time they set up a cheque and credit system, similar to that of a bank. according to the british authors, michael baigent and richard leigh, they established a kind of medieval capitalism, and led the way to modern banking through their interest-based transactions.5 it was the templars who were mainly responsible for the crusaders' at- global freemasonry dg the crusaders put to sword all those living in the lands they conquered. tacks of and murder of muslims. for this reason, the great islamic commander saladin, who defeated the crusaders' army in 1187, in the battle of hattin, and afterwards rescued jerusalem, put the templars to death for the murders they had com

lands they conquered. tacks of and murder of muslims. for this reason, the great islamic commander saladin, who defeated the crusaders' army in 1187, in the battle of hattin, and afterwards rescued jerusalem, put the templars to death for the murders they had committed, even though he had otherwise pardoned a large number of christians. although they lost jerusalem, and suffered heavy casualties, the templars continued to exist. and, despite the continual diminution of the christian presence in palestine, they increased their power in europe and, first in france, and then in other countries, became a state within a state. there is no doubt that their political power made the monarchs of europe uneasy. but there was another aspect of the templars that also made the clergy ill at ease: the o

had adopted a number of strange mystical doctrines. there were also rumors that they were organizing strange rites to give form to these doctrines. finally, in 1307, the french king philip le bel decided to arrest the members of the order. some of them managed to escape but most of them were caught. pope clement v also joined the purge. following a long period of interrogation and trial, many of the templars admitted to heretical beliefs, that they had rejected the christian faith and insulted jesus in their masses. finally, the leaders of the templars, who were called "grand masters" beginning with the most important of them, jacques de molay, were executed in 1314 by order of the church and the king. the majority of them were put into prison, and the order dispersed and officially disap

ed the christian faith and insulted jesus in their masses. finally, the leaders of the templars, who were called "grand masters" beginning with the most important of them, jacques de molay, were executed in 1314 by order of the church and the king. the majority of them were put into prison, and the order dispersed and officially disappeared. some historians have a tendency to portray the trial of the templars as a conspiracy on the part of the king of france, and depict the knights as innocent of the charges. but, this manner of interpretation fails in several aspects. nesta h. webster, the famous british historian with a great deal of knowledge on occult history, analyzes these aspects in her book, secret societies and subversive movements. according to webster, the tendency to absolve th

e knights as innocent of the charges. but, this manner of interpretation fails in several aspects. nesta h. webster, the famous british historian with a great deal of knowledge on occult history, analyzes these aspects in her book, secret societies and subversive movements. according to webster, the tendency to absolve the templars of the heresies they confessed to during the trial period dh from the templars to ancient egypt is unjustified. first, during the interrogations, despite the standard claim, not all the templars were tortured; moreover, do the confessions of the knights appear to be the outcome of pure imagination such as men under the influence of torture might devise? it is certainly difficult to believe that the accounts of the ceremony of initiation given in detail by men in

d surely have contradicted each other, have cried out in their agony that all kinds of wild and fantastic rites had taken place in order to satisfy the demands of their interlocutors. but no, each appears to be describing the same ceremony more or less completely, with characteristic touches that indicate the personality of the speaker, and in the main all the stories tally.6 anyhow, the trial of the templars ended with the termination of the order. but, although the order "officially" ceased to exist, it did not actually disappear. during the sudden arrest in 1307, some templars escaped, managing to cover their tracks. according to a thesis based on various his- di templars developed a pagan faith in christian guise. global freemasonry torical documents, a significant number of them took

ng of the modern era, calling itself the "masonic lodge" the scottish rite is the oldest branch of masonry, and dates back to the beginning of the fourteenth century, to those templars who took refuge in scotland. and, the names given to the highest degrees in scottish rite are titles attributed centuries earlier to knights in the order of templars. these are still employed to this day. in short, the templars did not disappear, but their philosophy, beliefs dj from the templars to ancient egypt templars fleeing the church were given refuge by the scottish king, robert the bruce. and rituals still persist under the guise of freemasonry. this thesis is supported by much historical evidence, and is accepted today by a large number of western historians, whether they are freemasons or not. in

GNOSTIC CATECHISM

oncealed kind'65[65. at a later meeting the c.b.c.s. was specifically excluded although it was restored to the council's control when a constitution was finally drawn up in april 1903 (see appendix d for the whole text of this curious document. greater satisfaction was anticipated by waite from the c.b.c.s. than he had so far gained from the knights templar 'i attended this evening the meeting of the templar preceptory [king edward vii] when two installations took place. it is by far the most interesting of all of the christian chivalries with the rites of which i am acquainted, though such gleanings as i can make concerning the perfect knights' charges seem to hope for greater significance therein'66[66. he was also far from adept when he 'tried to play at toy soldiers'67[67, finding that

england and wales for the c.b.c.s. in england. he learned of the new charter through a letter from shute, and expressed his surprise and annoyance in his reply 'it should be clearly understood, in view of other rumours, that i have held for many years, and still hold, the warrant of the helvetian priory which placed the rite in my hands. you might tell me further about those 'printed reports that the templar great priory of england has taken over the c.b.c.s' in this country. i have heard nothing about it and cannot imagine what it means, as there is nothing less likely in the world of masonry than that it should attempt to work them here'82[82. with the failure to propagate its most important rite, waite's 'secret council of rites' had, masonically speaking, long since come to naught. he

are simulacra "antic figures which a juggler dances '84[84. later he referred to the paper again 'of course i must not say what i think 82[82] letter from waite to shute, 22 november 1938 83[83] aqc 15 (1902, pp. 163-74. waite's comments are printed on pp. 170-2 84[84] diary, 3 october 1902 really- that it is an incoherent and slovenly paper i begin to see very clearly how much a real history of the templars is wanted in england to set matters right, so far as they can be set, once and for all. this is of course a scheme of my own doing for my seminal work on the secret doctrine of religious societies'85[85. waite's strictures on castle's paper were, of course, quite unjust but his diary entry is highly significant in that it reveals how his unpublished esoteric history of freemasonry was

vol. 32, pp. 142-53 letter 'mark degree, vol. 32, p. 183 1921 review of churchward, the origin and evolution of freemasonry, vol. 33, p. 121 review of wright, masonic legends and traditions, vol. 34, p. 186 1925 review of haywood, symbolical masonry, vol. 4 1, pp. 12 7-8 review of haywood, great teachings of masonry, vol. 4 1, p. 12 8 review of fort newton, the men's house, vol. 4 1, p. 199 1927 'the templar orders in freemasonry, vol. 45, pp. 12-19; 161-70 1930 'an elect priesthood (review of forestier, la franc-maconnerie occultiste, vol. 52, pp. 383-7 1939 review of van rijnberk, martines de pasqually, vol. 66, p. 262 1911-1931 waite contributed a monthly feature 'periodical literature, in which he reviewed contemporary journals, including many masonic journals. somerset masters lodge

earch (printed in transaction 'masonic -tradition and the royal arch, 28 february, somerset masters' lodge no. 3746 (printed in transactions) 1922 'the mystical quest in freemasonry' 16 september, mid-kent masters' lodge 3173 (printed in emblematic freemasonry) 1923 'the second birth of masonry in continental rites, 8 january, mid-kent masters' lodge 3173 (printed in emblematic freemasonry) 1925 'the templar orders in freemasonry: an historical consideration of their origin and development' 6 april, sancta maria preceptory (printed, in revised form, in the occult review) 1926 'the secret tradition in french grades analogous to the royal arch, 13 december, helio chapter no. 3900 1927 'the secret tradition in christian times and the directions in which research is baffled, 9 september, kings

GREENFIELD ALLEN SECRET CIPHER OF THE UFONAUTS

eaking adepts and initiates. it was soon exposed, but by the mid-19th century something new was afoot in the occult underground [i must return momentarily to the high middle ages, the renaissance, and the period of the protestant reformation in europe. the persecution of real or imagined witches, heretics, jews, moslems and occultists was then at a peak, and the heirs of the illuminated tradition the templars, cathars, albigensians and other gnostics were forced to resort to a roundabout code or cipher to carry on their ideas in relative safety. new ciphers were developed. the cryptic language of alchemy that so intrigued carl jung and others overlaps with the rosicrucian tradition. a key work that dates to the 1600s, the alchymical wedding of christian rosenkreutz, contains a specifically

the green gloves and a reputed psychic, was frequently visited by hitler and was rumored to hold the keys to the kingdom of agarthi. such keys are best understood in terms of ciphers. western mystics including karl kellner, p.b. randolph and g.i. gurdjieff received instruction from surviving institutions of the great white brotherhood and carried their influence back with them to europe, just as the templars had done centuries before, and incorporated their teachings into the western esoteric system. it is known that the black lodge which, as it opposes evolution, inherently fights a rear-guard action has made unceasing war on the great white brotherhood in the west from the beginnings of the magical revival. indeed, fallen and failed adepts of the great white brotherhood have become the

HEKAS

cockerel at dawn to mark the liminal edge of night: a custom which has become a glyph of a certain arcanum in sabbatic lore. esbat- the witches' lesser rite of meeting where each initiate gives account of their recent work to the master and mistress of the circle; there is a persian word identical esbat, meaning 'to prove' or 'to give account. baphomet- the 'idol' said to have been worshipped by the templars. it's form was that of a goat's head with a torch between the horns and thus is identical to the sabbatic goat: an icon used in sabbatic cult to denote certain arcana. in arabic the word is analogous to aby-fi-hamat-'the black head of wisdom' or 'seat of knowledge' and constitutes a cipher of certain secret practices used in sects and tribes preserving a gnosis of ancient origin in pe

ISIS UNVEILED

which things' observes the monkish treasurer of relics 'i have thought home with me very devoutly" and if the foregoing is set aside as the invention of a protestant enemy, may we not be allowed to refer the reader to the history of eng- land and authentic documents which state the existence of a relic not less extraordinary than the best of the others? henry hi received from the grand master of the templars a phial containing a small portion of the aacrcd blood of christ which he had shed upon the cross. it was attested to he genuine by the seals of the patriarch of jerusalem and others. the procession bearing the sacred phial from st. paul's to 141. des mouncauz: mauri, de, p. 431; klso ch. sv, etc 142. dtmottolofia, p. 432; london, 1831. 143 'apologu pro herodotum' tu h. stepheiu' edit

god of life, lah 'i am" well then may we repeat these lines of ausonius (epig, xxv"?e: lacchiu; egypt tfainki me oniii; huiiuu dune me pimimz; the indi raasidec me dionynu; hie romwi uyateriei caj] me liber; the arebtmi rm adouul" and the chosen people adoni and jehovah we may add. how little the philosophy of the old secret doctrine was understood is illustrated in the atrocious persecutions of the templars by the church, and in the accusation against them of worshiping the devil under the shape of the goat baphomet! without going into the old masooic mysteries, there is not a mason of those we mean who do know tome- thing but has an idea vx the true relation that baphomet bore to azazel, the scapegoat of the wilderness* whose character and meaning are entirely perverted in the christian

ce, the general convic- tion that these sectarians had rites and practices of a licentious character appears too strong to be entirely disregarded^ if he draws an honest line of demarcation between the gnostics of the first three centuries and those medieval sects whose doctrines "rather closely resembled modem communism" we have nothing to say. only, we would beg eveiy critic to remember that if the templars were accused of that most 'abominable crime' of applying the 'holy kiss' to the root of baphomet's tail* st. augustine is also suspected, and on very good grounds too, of having allowed his community to go somewhat astray from the primitive way of administering the 'holy kiss' at the feast of the eucharist. the holy bishop seems quite too anxious as to certain details of the kdies' to

at such men would have instituted "libidinous rites" as well accuse jesus of having promoted the similar rites which we find practised so extensively by the medieval orthodox christians behind the secure shelter of monastic walls. if however we ore asked to credit such on accusation against the gnostics, an accusation transferred with tenfold acrimony, centuries later, to the unfortunate heads of the templars, why should we not be- heve the same of the orthodox christians? minucius felix states that the first christians were accused by the world of inducing, during the ceremony of the 'perfect passover' each neophyte on his admission to plunge a knife into an infant concealed under a heap of flour; the body then serving for a banquet to the whole congregation. after they had become the dom

JENNINGS HARGRAVE ROSICRUCIANS RITES MYSTERIES

e great pyramid. 199 chapter the twenty-fifth. history of the tower or steeple. 206 chapter the twenty-sixth. presence of the rosicrucians in heathen and christian architecture. 228 chapter the twenty-seventh. the rosicrucians amidst ancient mysteries and in the orders of knighthood. 237 chapter the twenty-eighth. rosicrucianism in strange symbols. 253 chapter the twenty-ninth. connection between the templars and gnosticism. 266 chapter the thirtieth. rosicrucian origin of the order of the garter. 282 chapter the thirty-first. rosicrucian supposed means of magic through signs, sigils, and figures. 295 chapter the thirty-second. astro-theosophical system of the rosicrucians the alchemic magisterium. 303 chapter the thirty-third. rosicrucian celestial and terrestrial (means of intercommunica

354 chapter the thirty-eighth. robert flood (robertus de fluctibus, the english rosicrucian. 361 supplementary notes. the first. notice of an ancient work (1595. 367 the second. rosicrucian views on the ark of noah. 368 the third. cabalistic illustrations. the sang-r ale, gr al, or holy gr ale. 369 concluding note. remarks upon two curious works. 372 the rosicrucians badge of the grand master of the templars. chapter the first. critics of the rosicrucians criticised. hat modern science, spite of its assumptions and of its intolerant dogmatism, is much at fault nay, to a great extent, a very vain thing is a conclusion that often presents itself to the minds of thinking persions. thus thoughtful people, who choose to separate themselves from the crowd, and who do not altogether give in with

adition. the marks or fig. 7. the letter shin 50 the rosicrucians. symbols of the zodiacal signs, virgo-scorpio, are closely similar to each other, with certain differences, which we behold! i show you a sign. virgo. libra. scorpio. the woman conqueror leading the dragon. the restored world, or captivity captive" recommend to the judicious consideration of close and experienced observers. fig. 8. the templar banner: the famous beauseant. fig. 9. fig. 8 is the symbol, or hook, of saturn, the colour of whom, in the heraldic configuration, is sab, sable, or black, divided, party per pale, with the opening light of the first crescent moon of the post-diluvian world* fig. 9 is the same* the shining star as the harbinger in the moon's embrace. meaning the divine post-diluvian remission and recon

pening light of the first crescent moon of the post-diluvian world* fig. 9 is the same* the shining star as the harbinger in the moon's embrace. meaning the divine post-diluvian remission and reconciliation. thus the sublime mahometan mythic device or cognisance the crescent of the new moon (lying on her back, and the shining star in this display: or rather the new moon, as thus" the beaus ant of the templars. 51 grandly mystic banner, denominated beaus ant( beau- s ant, revealing a whole occult theosophy to the initiate, which the leaders of the templars undoubtedly were. the difference between these two figures, fig. 8 and fig. 9, is, that the fly of the ensign marked fig. 9 is bifurcated (or cloven) in the lighted part. we subjoin the representation of the wondrous banner of the poor so

tonic or german words: alb, alf (qy. alfred, and alp, which all signify white, as their original root. thus much for white. white is also a colour not auspicious to the prussian royal family, although, again, in a contradictory way, the ensigns of prussia (borussia, or of the borussi) are, as armorists well know, the original white and black of the egyptians, which were adopted by the teutons and the templars. these white and black tinctures are heraldically argent and sable: luna, or pearl, for tears; saturn, or diamond, for sadness, penance, and ashes. in these strange senses, the rosicrucians accepted colours as in themselves talismanic, powerfully operative through their planetary efficients, or signatures, as the astrologers call them. these ideas, more or less pronounced, have prevai

he prophets, or the gospel (woman. a. because it was delivered by. w. because it came through. fig 118. the union of and is consequently+ or the cross. piscis, which is a pointed oval figure, familiar in gothic architecture, and shaped like a boat or a shuttle, counterchanging the letters and the closing arcs, white and black, the black occupying the left or female side, according to the ideas of the templars. the standards of these soldiermonks were white and black, either oblong or forked. there are two columns of that heavy, severe order, however grand and impressive, which distinguishes the early norman period of architecture in england, in regard to which, though abounding in far-off hermetic suggestions, we have 226 the rosicrucians. seen no notice in antiquarian quarters. these two

s the runic hammer of thor, and which in truth is a cross, occupies the centrepoint, or, heraldically, the honour-point, of the first column to the right. the master-masons were celebrated in their art of concealing myths, or hinting them cautiously in the most difficult and far-off resemblances. the curious reader is referred to our illustration, figs. 119, 120. the character of the" head" which the templars were charged with having worshipped in their secret encampments, or mystic lodges, has been the subject of much dispute. some say it was the head of proserpine, or of isis, or of the mother of nature, presented under certain strange aspects. others assert that the figure was male, and that of dis or charon, according to the classic nomenclature. the object was reputed to be a talisman

d that of dis or charon, according to the classic nomenclature. the object was reputed to be a talisman, and it is called by some the head of medusa, or the snake-haired visage, dropping blood which turned to snakes, and transforming the beholder to stone. it was this head, or one of a similar description, which was supposed to serve as the talisman or recognitive mark of the secret fraternity or the templar idol or head. 227 society, headed by pichegru and others, which was suppressed by napoleon, and the members of which were tried and condemned as aiming at revolutionary objects. why napoleon adopted this mysterious supposed magical head, as he is said to have done, on the suppression and destruction of this revolutionary body, to which we refer elsewhere, and why he chose to place his

es. eusebius lamblicus, de mysteriis egyptiorum. the mystic emblems of the religions of india, china, greece, and rome are closely similar, and are set forth in the ornaments on the friezes of the temples of all those countries, explaining their general principles. your popular societies are an emanation from the lodges of the freemasons, in like manner as these proceeded from the funeral pile of the templars( castle of the tuilerics, year viii) thus the egg-and-tongue moulding( egg and adder's tongue, for the egg and the serpent were two of the emblems of the egyptian and greek mysteries, the griffin, the lion of st. mark, the honeysuckle-and-lotus ornament the convolutions and volutes, the horns as floriations springing from the lighted candelabra, the lotus and tori of egypt, and the gr

or dream as all this sounds) that the egyptians setup the very horns to worship as the real thing the depositor or ark into which the supernatural rescue was committed. thus the egyptian and gothic forms identical. 249 horns of the animal-as the idol standing for the means, equally as another representative figure (the phallus, expressive of the mighty means to which man s existence and fig. 176. the templar banner, beauseant. multiplication was entrusted-were exalted for adoration, and placed as the trophies heroically won even out of the reluctance and hostility of nature and adored, not for themselves, but for that of which they spoke. fig. 177. arches of the temple curch, london. symbol of the b.v.m. also delphic e, or seleucidan anchor. fig. 178. eight-pointed bhuddist cross. poor sol

the rosicrucians. on the left or sinister shoulder; which is the shoulder nearest to the woman: because the talmudists say that man was made from the left hand. fig. 223. fur cap of the sword-bearer (mythic gladius) of the city of london. fig. 224. turkish. fig. 225. judge, in imitation of the egyptian klaft; the black coif placed on the sensorium, is the mark or brand of isis (saturn. regarding the templar insignia, we may make the following remarks. the famous flag, or beaus ant, was their distinguishing symbol. beaus ant that is to say, in the gallic tongue, bien-s ant, because they are fair and honourable to the friends of christ, but black and terrible to his enemies: vexillum bipartitum, ex albo et nigro, quod nominant beau-s ant, id est, gallic lingu, biens ant eo quod christi amic

he synthesis and identity of all the colours in other words, it is light. thus white is blazoned, in the correct heraldic sense, as also in reference to its humid, feminine origin (for, as the old heralds say, light was begotten of darkness, and its type, product, and representative, woman, also, as the melancholy or silver light of the moon, argent; also, in the higher heraldic grade, symbols of the templars. 259 pearl, as signifying tears; lastly, luna, whose figure or mark is the crescent, or; which is either the new moon (or the moon of hope, or the moon of the moslem (or horned moon resting on her back. black (or sable, sab, sabbat, sat, saturn) is the absence of light, and is blazoned sable, diamond (carbon, or the densest of matter, without form and void, but cradle of possibilities

as synonymous with beginning. it is sab, or saturn, whose mark is, and who is both masculine and feminine sex being indifferent to this divine abstraction, whose face is masked in darkness. lykos wolf, lyk light; whence comes lux (volney, 1st english edition, 1792, p. 378. je and v are of tartar origin. it is probable that st. john s college at cambridge is the domus templi of the round church of the templars there. the present st. john s is only of modern foundation. there is annexed to, or connected with, this church an almshouse called bede s house, the name of which has puzzled all the antiquaries. there is little doubt that this was the original domus templi, the house of buddha, corrupted into bede, and meaning wisdom. a discourse concerning the tartars, proving (in all probability)

KETAB E SIYAH

pope named sylvester, who reigned during the council of nicaea in the early 4th century. the legend says, the book is still worshipped today in high circles within the papacy of rome. the legend says, the book was first seen by common men after a copy was taken during the sacking of rome by the vandals. the legend says, the book was worshipped throughout the ages by many secret societies, such as the templars and the priory de sion. the legend says, the book gives great power to its disciples, and men such as copernicus, galileo, nostradamus and isaac newton have worshipped it. the legend says, you must create a copy of the book with your own blood, when you are elected as a leader in one of these secret societies that still worship the book today. the legend says, that if you add even one

LEADBEATER CW GLIMPSES OF MASONIC HISTORY

nutes. irish minutes. the grand lodge of england. the recomposition of the rituals. two and three degrees. opposition. the succession of l.m.s. the grand lodges of york, ireland and scotland. the ancients. the holy royal arch. the united grand lodge. craft masonry in other countries chapter x other lines of masonic tradition the stream of secret societies. the knights templars. the suppression of the templars. the preservation of the templars tradition. the royal order of scotland. the brothers of the rosy cross. the literature of rosicrucianism. the traditional history of the rosicrucians. the history of the order. chapter xi the scottish rite origin of the rite. the jacobite movement. the oration of ramsay. the chapter of clermont. the council of emperors. stephen morin. frederick the gr

ed out by the catholic church; the troubadours. 660. fourteenth century: the hesychasts, the precursors of the quietists; the friends of god; german mysticism, led by nicholas of basle; johann tauler; christian rosenkreutz; the great templar persecution; the fraticelli. 661. fifteenth century: the fratres lucis at florence, also the platonic academy; the alchemical society; society of the trowel; the templars; the bohemian brothers, or unitas fratrum; the rosicrucians. 662. sixteenth century: the rosicrucians became widely known; the order of christ, derived from the templars; cornelius agrippa of nettesheim, in connection with a secret association; saint teresa; s. john of the cross; philippe paracelsus; the fire philosophers; militia crucifera evangelica, under simon studion; the mysteri

. 662. sixteenth century: the rosicrucians became widely known; the order of christ, derived from the templars; cornelius agrippa of nettesheim, in connection with a secret association; saint teresa; s. john of the cross; philippe paracelsus; the fire philosophers; militia crucifera evangelica, under simon studion; the mysteries of the hermetic masters. 663. seventeenth century: the rosicrucians; the templars; the asiatische bruder; academia di secreti, at the home of john baptista porta; the quietists, founded by michael de molinos; and the whole group of spanish mystics. 664. eighteenth century: the fratres lucis, or the knights of light; the rosicrucians; the knights and brothers initiate of st. john the evangelist from asia, or the asiatische bruder; the martinists; the theosophical so

ization stood the grand master; next in rank came the seneschal of the temple, and the marshal, the supreme authority in military affairs; and the order was administered in provinces under a number of commanders. after the fall of the latin kingdom, the headquarters of the order were moved from jerusalem to cyprus, and paris became the chief templar centre in europe. 676. the influence wielded by the templars grew rapidly. they fought gallantly in the various crusades, and also became the great interna-tional financiers and bankers of the age, thereby amassing vast riches. it is reckoned that before the middle of the thirteenth century they possessed nine thousand manors in europe alone. the paris temple was the centre of the world s money market, and their influence and wealth in england

n england also were very great. in the later part of that century they are said to have drawn a revenue amounting to nearly 2,500,000 in our money, more than that of any european kingdom or state of that time(*quelques reflexions sur les origines de la franc-maconnerie templiere, par le grand commandeur du supreme conseil de belgique (count goblet d alviella. bruxelles, 1904, p. 8) at this period the templars were believed to number between 15,000 and 20,000 knights and clergy; but in attendance upon these there was a veritable army of squires, servants and vassals. their influence may be estimated from the fact that members of the order were summoned to the great councils of the church, such as the lateran council of 1215 and the council of lyons of 1274(*see also encyclopaedia britannica

and thirteenth centuries, although the full secrets were given only to the few; alone, therefore, among the religious orders, their ceremonies of reception were conducted in strict privacy. as was but natural in such an age, the most evil and horrible practices were attributed to the order because of this secrecy, and stories were told which had absolutely no foundation whatever in fact. 678. in the templar form of what we now call the 18, the most wise sovereign was an ordained priest or bishop, and the bread and wine which was consecrated in open chapter in the course of a splendid ceremony was a veritable eucharist- a wonderful blending of the egyptian with the christian sacrament. 679. the suppression of the templars 680. the suppression of this great and powerful order forms one of t

the sources quoted, and to the general literature of the subject. 681. philip the fair, king of france, was in desperate need of money. he had already debased the coinage, had arrested the lombard bankers and the jews, and after confiscating their wealth upon a trumped-up charge of usury- a thing abhorrent to the mediaeval mind- had expelled them from his country. then he determined to get rid of the templars, who had lent him large sums, and since the pope, clement v, owed his position to the intrigues of philip, the matter presented little difficulty. his task was rendered easier, too, by the accusations brought against the order by the ex-knight esquiu de floyran, who had a personal interest in the matter, and pretended to reveal all manner of evil things- blasphemy, immorality, idolatr

matter, and pretended to reveal all manner of evil things- blasphemy, immorality, idolatry and the worship of the devil under the form of a black cat. this traitor is still execrated in some of the masonic rituals, together with one noffo dei of florence, who, however had nothing to do with the matter. 682. these charges were accepted by philip with delight, and on friday, october 13th, 1307, all the templars throughout france were arrested without warning on behalf of the most infamous tribunal that has ever existed, a collection of demons in human form called in ghastly mockery the holy office of the inquisition, which at this time held plenary jurisdiction in this and other countries of europe. the templars were horribly tortured, so that many died, and the remainder confessed in set te

iction in this and other countries of europe. the templars were horribly tortured, so that many died, and the remainder confessed in set terms whatever the church required. the interrogations were concerned chiefly with the alleged denial of christ and the spitting on the cross, and in a minor degree with certain grave charges of immorality. a study of the evidence reveals the entire innocence of the templars and the diabolical ingenuity of the familiars of the holy office, who kept them separated without adequate defence or proper consultation, and circulated among them lying rumours that the grand master had confessed to the pope that there were evils in the order. the brethren were cajoled, bribed and tortured into confessing crimes they had never committed, and they were treated with t

able grand master of the temple, jacques de molay, and gaufrid de charney, preceptor of normandy, were publicly burned as relapsed heretics before the great cathedral of notre dame. as the flames closed round him the grand master summoned the king and the pope to meet him within a year before the judgment-seat of god, and both pope and king were dead within twelve months. 686. the preservation of the templars tradition 687. the destruction of the order of the temple did not, however, involve a complete suppression of the teaching enshrined within it. certain of the french knights templars took refuge with their brethren of the temple in scotland, and in that country their traditions became mingled to some extent with the ancient celtic rites of heredom, thus forming one of the sources from

the philosophical doctrine of the meaning of evil and retribution and its place in the divine plan. it is these traditions of vengeance, however little understood, that form the basis of our 30 ritual, although in modern days the tendency has been to soften the harsh outlines as far as possible, to expunge all ideas of physical revenge, and even, as in the french rites, to delete all reference to the templars and their wrongs. 689. other streams said to be from the order of the temple are claimed as genuine by their modern representatives, but without sufficient reason. the french ordre du temple alleged a direct succession from jacques de molay, and produced in support thereof the celebrated charter of larmenius (which is usually considered a forgery; in any case the ordre du temple had n

never, i believe, held its rituals to be of ancient origin, for these clearly belong to the eighteenth century. the modern military and religious order of knights templars does not claim direct descent, though it may well embody certain genuine traditions. its ritual is beautiful, and it appears to have been one of those rites which have been taken up by the h.o.a.t.f. and used. the real rites of the templars have not survived, though it would no doubt be possible to reconstruct them, and certain traditions about them have passed down and become incorporated into various modern degrees. 690. the royal order of scotland 691. the most important of the bodies inheriting part of the templar tradition is the royal order of scotland, though it is in reality the result of the interaction of sever

not unknown even to-day in political circles, and perhaps we need not attach great importance to it. 734. the scottish adherents of king james ii, who followed him into exile after the landing of the prince of orange in 1688, brought to the english court at s. germains (which had been placed at the disposal of the king by louis xiv) those ancient rites of heredom and kilwinning, intermingled with the templar tradition, to which we have already referred. when king james ii fled from england he took refuge at the jesuit abbey of clermont, which had attached to it a college of clermont in paris, founded by guillaume du prat, bishop of clermont, in 1550(*the catholic encyclopaedia (1913, vol. xiv, p. 88) there, most unexpectedly, the king found a masonic centre, working rites which had been ha

LEWIS JAMES SATANISM TODAY AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION FOLKLORE AND POPULAR CULTURE

brown-nosing. in addition to witches, who regularly confessed to having committed the act under torture, the kiss of shame was attributed to heretics such as the cathars and the waldenses. the accusation of the oscularum infame was also leveled against the knights templar,who were said to require new initiates to kiss the anus as well as certain other parts of the anatomy of their superiors. both the templars and the cathars were accused of kissing satan, in the form of a black cat, underneath the tail. the british novelist dennis wheatley, who wrote a series of black magic novels, includes a description of the kiss of shame in his novel, the devil rides out. after satan has manifested in the form of the goat of mendes during a sabbat, the gathered devil-worshipers line up: the goat rose

LIBER LVII

he gate. thus useful. also 74= 37 2. so we see 37 1= 37, man.s crown, jechidah, the highest soul..in termino. 37 2= 74, the balance, 2 being the symbol .in via. 37 3= 111, aleph, etc, 3 being the mother, the nurse of the soul. 37 4= 148 .the balances. and so on. i have not yet worked out all the numbers of this important scale. 77. zo, the goat, scil. of the sabbath of the adepts. the baphomet of the templars, the idol set up to defy and overthrow the false god.though it is understood that he himself is false, not an end, but a means. note the 77= 7 11, magical power in perfection. 78. most venerable because alzm is shown as the influence descending from 68 [specifically .the wake world (liber xcv. t.s] 48 liber lviii on high, whose key is the tarot: and we possess the tarot. the proper nu

MANLY P HALL THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES

aused the story of chiram to be linked with the martyrdom of jacques de molay. according to this interpretation, the three ruffians who cruelly slew their master at the gates of the temple because he refused to reveal the secrets of his order represent the pope, the king, and the executioners. de molay died maintaining his innocence and refusing to disclose the philosophical and magical arcana of the templars. those who have sought to identify chiram with the murdered king charles the first conceive the hiramic legend to have been invented for that purpose by elias ashmole, a mystical philosopher, who was probably a member of the rosicrucian fraternity. charles was dethroned in 1647 and died on the block in 1649, leaving the royalist party leaderless. an attempt has been made to relate the

ontrol the universal life force--that which eliphas levi calls the great magical agent or the astral light. by the manipulation of this fluidic essence the phenomena of transcendentalism are produced. the famous hermaphroditic goat of mendes was a composite creature formulated to symbolize this astral light. it is identical with baphomet the mystic pantheos of those disciples of ceremonial magic, the templars, who probably obtained it from the arabians. p. 102 black magic has merely passed through a metamorphosis, and although its name be changed its nature remains the same. a well-known magician of the middle ages was dr. johannes faustus, more commonly known as dr. faust. by a study of magical writings he was enabled to bind to his service an elemental who served him for many years in va

eir introduction into europe. in his researches into the history of playing cards, samuel weller singer advances the opinion that cards reached southern europe from india by way of arabia. it is probable that the tarot cards were part of the magical and philosophical lore secured by the knights templars from the saracens or one of the mystical sects then flourishing in syria. returning to europe, the templars, to avoid persecution, concealed the arcane meaning of the symbols by introducing the leaves of their magical book ostensibly as a device for amusement and gambling. in support of this contention, mrs. john king van rensselaer states "that cards were brought by the home-returning warriors, who imported many of the newly acquired customs and habits of the orient to their own countries

e jennings, and richard payne knight have truly observed that the rose and the cross typify the generative processes, these scholars seem unable to pierce the veil of symbolism; they do not realize that the creative mystery in the material world is merely a shadow of the divine creative mystery in the spiritual world. because of the phallic significance of their symbols, both the rosicrucians and the templars have been falsely accused of practicing obscene rites in their secret ceremonials. while it is quite true that the alchemical retort symbolizes the womb, it also has a far more significant meaning concealed under the allegory of the second birth. as generation is the key to material existence, it is natural that the fraternity of r.c. should adopt as its characteristic symbols those e

g his identity and mission are among the priceless mysteries preserved to this day in the secret vaults beneath the "houses of the brethren" to a few of the knights templars, who were initiated into the arcana of the druses, nazarenes, essenes, johannites, and other sects still inhabiting the remote and inaccessible fastnesses of the holy land, part of the strange story was told. the knowledge of the templars concerning the early history of christianity was undoubtedly one of the main reasons for their persecution and final annihilation. the discrepancies in the writings of the early church fathers not only are irreconcilable, but demonstrate beyond question that even during the first five centuries after christ these learned men had for the basis of their writings little more substantial

MASTERING WITCHCRAFT

storm, and also a guide of the dead, he leads his wild rout across the winter skies accompanied by the baying of his death hounds! gogmagog. prehistoric version of the god and goddess in giant form. andros. the god as worshipped in the weald. adonai or adonis. hebrew for "the lord" dying god, consort of astarte. sabaoth. another hebrew name for god. baphomet. horned deity allegedly worshipped by the templars, a christian order of fighting monks of the twelfth century. the name has been variously construed to mean "the father of the temple of universal peace among men" the initials of which phrase in latin spell the name backwards: templi omnium hominum pacis abbas; or by others as a corruption of bathos metis "purification by wisdom" however, many witches take it to refer to "the stone of

MORALS AND DOGMA

ers and of astrological symbols in the historical descriptions of it; but also, and yet more, from the details of the imaginary reconstructed edifice, seen by ezekiel in his vision. the apocalypse completes the demonstration, and shows the kabalistic meanings of the whole. the symbola architectonica are found on the most ancient edifices; and these mathematical figures and instruments, adopted by the templars, and identical with those on the gnostic seals and abrax, connect their dogma with the chaldaic, syriac, and egyptian oriental philosophy. the secret pythagorean doctrines of numbers were preserved by the monks of thibet, by the hierophants of egypt and eleusis, at jerusalem, and in the circular chapters of the druids; and they are especially consecrated in that mysterious book, the a

on] xviii. knight rose croix [prince rose croix] each of us makes such applications to his own faith and creed, of the symbols and ceremonies of this degree, as seems to him proper. with these special interpretations we have here nothing to do. like the legend of the master khurum, in which some see figured the condemnation and sufferings of christ; others those of the unfortunate grand master of the templars; others those of the first charles, king of england; and others still the annual descent of the sun at the winter solstice to the regions of darkness, the basis of many an ancient legend; so the ceremonies of this degree receive different explanations; each interpreting them for himself, and being offended at the interpretation of no other. in no other way could masonry possess its ch

sed in the sad task of torturing and murdering his brother; and of which ambition, avarice, envy, hatred, lust, and the rest of ahriman's and typhon's army make a pandemonium: this world, sunk in sin, reeking with baseness, clamorous with sorrow and misery. if any see in it also a type of the sorrow of the craft for the death of hiram, the grief of the jews at the fall of jerusalem, the misery of the templars at the ruin of their order and the death of de molay, or the world's agony and pangs of woe at the death of the redeemer, it is the right of each to do so. the third apartment represents the consequences of sin and vice and the hell made of the human heart, by its fiery passions. if any see in it also a type of the hades of the greeks, the gehenna of the hebrews, the tartarus of the r

ies of egypt, persia, greece, india, the druids and the essenes, as vehicles to communicate the great masonic truths; as it has used the legends of the crusades, and the ceremonies of the orders of knighthood. it no longer inculcates a criminal and wicked vengeance. it has not allowed masonry to play the assassin: to avenge the death either of hiram, of charles the 1st, or of jacques de molay and the templars. the ancient and accepted scottish rite of masonry has now become, what masonry at first was meant to be, a teacher of great truths, inspired by an upright and enlightened reason, a firm and constant wisdom, and an affectionate and liberal philanthropy. it is no longer a system, over the composition and arrangement of the different parts of which, want of reflection, chance, ignorance

me, and some mere political knaves, purified masonry by persecution, and so proved to be its benefactors; for that which is persecuted, grows. to them its present popularity is due, the cheapening of its degrees, the invasion of its lodges, that are no longer sanctuaries, by the multitude; its pomp and pageantry and overdone display. an hundred years ago it had become known that the [hebrew] were the templars under a veil, and therefore the degree was proscribed, and, ceasing to be worked, became a mere brief and formal ceremony, under another name. now, from the tomb in which after his murders he rotted, clement the fifth howls against the successors of his victims, in the allocution of pio nono against the free-masons. the ghosts of the dead templars haunt the vatican and disturb the slu

howls against the successors of his victims, in the allocution of pio nono against the free-masons. the ghosts of the dead templars haunt the vatican and disturb the slumbers of the paralyzed papacy, which, dreading the dead, shrieks out its excommunications and impotent anathemas against the living. it is a declaration of war, and was needed to arouse apathy and inertness to action. an enemy of the templars shall tell us the secret of this papal hostility against an order that has existed for centuries in despite of its anathemas, and has its sanctuaries and asyla even in rome. it will be easy, as we read, to separate the false from the true, the audacious conjectures from the simple facts "a power that ruled without antagonism and without concurrence, and consequently without control, p

who pretended to connect their faith with the primitive tradition of the christianity of saint john. it at length became a menace for the church and society, when a rich and dissolute order, initiated in the mysterious doctrines of the kabalah, seemed disposed to turn against legitimate authority the conservative principle of hierarchy, and threatened the entire world with an immense revolution "the templars, whose history is so imperfectly known, were those terrible conspirators. in 1118, nine knights crusaders in the east, among whom were geoffroi de saint-omer and hugues de payens, consecrated themselves to religion, and took an oath between the hands of the patriarch of constantinople, a see always secretly or openly hostile to that of rome from the time of photius. the avowed object

templars, whose history is so imperfectly known, were those terrible conspirators. in 1118, nine knights crusaders in the east, among whom were geoffroi de saint-omer and hugues de payens, consecrated themselves to religion, and took an oath between the hands of the patriarch of constantinople, a see always secretly or openly hostile to that of rome from the time of photius. the avowed object of the templars was to protect the christians who came to visit the holy places: their secret object was the re-building of the temple of solomon on the model prophesied by ezekiel "this re-building, formally predicted by the juda zing mystics of the earlier ages, had become the secret dream of the patriarchs of the orient. the temple of solomon, re-built and consecrated to the catholic worship would

ekiel "this re-building, formally predicted by the juda zing mystics of the earlier ages, had become the secret dream of the patriarchs of the orient. the temple of solomon, re-built and consecrated to the catholic worship would become, in effect, the metropolis of the universe; the east would prevail over the west, and the patriarchs of constantinople would possess themselves of the papal power "the templars, or _poor fellow-soldiery of the holy house of the temple_ intended to be re-built, took as their models, in the bible, the warrior-masons of zorobabel, who worked, holding the sword in one hand and the trowel in the other. therefore it was that the sword and the trowel were the insignia of the templars, who subsequently, as will be seen, concealed themselves under the name of _brethr

glish into _free_-masons, as _pythagore de crotone_ was into peter _gower_ of _groton_ in england _khairum_ or _khur-um (a name mis-rendered into _hiram) from an artificer in brass and other metals, became the chief builder of the _haikal kadosh, the holy house, of the temple, the ?e; and the words _bonai_ and _banaim_ yet appear in the masonic degrees, meaning builder and builders "the trowel of the templars is quadruple, and the triangular plates of it are arranged in the form of a cross, making the kabalistic pantacle known by the name of the cross of the east. the knight of the east, and the knight of the east and west, have in their titles secret allusions to the templars of whom they were at first the successors "the secret thought of hugues de payens, in founding his order, was not

posed to the initiated brethren. the papacy and the rival monarchies, they said to them, are sold and bought in these days, become corrupt, and to-morrow, perhaps, will destroy each other. all that will become the heritage of the temple: the world will soon come to us for its sovereigns and pontiffs. we shall constitute the equilibrium of the universe, and be rulers over the masters of the world "the templars, like all other secret orders and associations, had two doctrines, one concealed and reserved for the masters, which was johannism; the other public, which was the _roman catholic. thus they deceived the adversaries whom they sought to supplant. hence free-masonry, vulgarly imagined to have begun with the dionysian architects or the german stone-workers, adopted saint john the evangel

allegorical, and mythical language of a collection of oriental books of different ages, directly and inevitably led. the same result long after followed the folly of regarding the hebrew books as if they had been written by the unimaginative, hard, practical intellect of the england of james the first and the bigoted stolidity of scottish presbyterianism "the better to succeed and win partisans, the templars sympathized with regrets for dethroned creeds and encouraged the hopes of new worships, promising to all liberty of conscience and a new orthodoxy that should be the synthesis of all the persecuted creeds" it is absurd to suppose that men of intellect adored a monstrous idol called baphomet, or recognized mahomet as an inspired prophet. their symbolism, invented ages before, to concea

to the head in the sands heaped round it by the ages "the seeds of decay were sown in the order of the temple at its origin. hypocrisy is a mortal disease. it had conceived a great work which it was incapable of executing, because it knew neither humility nor personal abnegation, because rome was then invincible, and because the later chiefs of the order did not comprehend its mission. moreover, the templars were in general uneducated, and capable only of wielding the sword, with no qualifications for governing, and at need enchaining, that queen of the world called opinion [the doctrines of the chiefs would, if expounded to the masses, have seemed to them the babblings of folly. the symbols of the wise are the idols of the vulgar, or else as meaningless as the hieroglyphics of egypt to t

MOTTA MARCELO THE COMMENTARIES OF AL

s diphues, male and female in one, bearing the thyrsus-rod, and a cluster of grapes or a wineskin, while a tiger leaps up by his side. this form is suggested in the taro card, where 'the fool' is shown with a long wand and carrying a sack; his coat is motley. tigers and crocodiles follow him, thus linking this image with that of harpocrates. almost identical symbols are those of the secret god of the templars, the bi-sexual baphomet, and of zeus arrhenothelus, equally bi-sexual, the father-mother of all in one person (he is shown in this full form in the tarot trump xv "the devil) now, zeus being lord of air, we are reminded that aleph is the letter of air. as air, we find the "wandering fool" pure wanton breath, yet creative. wind was supposed of old to impregnate the vulture, which there

NAUDON PAUL THE SECRET HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY

magical working of any kind. your powers will be absoluhe contents preface vii introduction 1 part 1: the origins of freemasonry from ancient times to the middle ages 1 the ancient corporations: colleges of builders in rome 4 2 the collegia and the barbarian invasions 18 3 ecclesiastical and monastic associations 34 4 secular brotherhoods: the germanic and anglo-saxon guilds 51 5 the crusades and the templars 62 6 the templars, the francs metiers, and freemasonry 81 7 the templars and the parisian builders 102 part 2. from the art of building to the art of thinking 8 mason corporations in france 146 9 builders corporations in italy, germany, and switzerland 168 10 the corporative masonry of great britain 180 11 universal freemasonry 205 12 speculative freemasonry 221 13 the grand lodges an

evidence showing that certain opinions expressed in what are accepted as fundamental works on freemasonry are actually lacking any basis of support. conversely, the same rectitude of thought and judgment led me to the opposite conclusion: that certain legends whose credibility had been greatly shaken among positivist minds were, in truth, based on sound arguments. this is especially the case for the templar origins of freemasonry. it should be clearly stated, though, that this does not mean i believe modern "speculative" freemasonry is a direct survival of this vanished order. for their ceaseless understanding, kindness, and strong encouragement, i thank all those in the wide variety of fields i have explored in the undertaking of this book. i give my acknowledgment and thanks to all thos

t certain sources of freemasonry have emerged as the following: 1. the roman collegia, the remnants of which remained in the west following invasions and survived in the east as institutions discovered by the crusaders at the end of the eleventh century. 2. the ecclesiastical associations of builders formed by the bishops of the early middle ages, especially the benedictines, the cistercians, and the templars. 3. trade-based freemasonry, which was born under the aegis of these associations and followed the form of lay brotherhoods or guilds. the history of freemasonry and its origins will form the first part of this book. in the second part, we will study the evolution of the professional organization; its purposes, both operational and speculative; its initiatory and spiritualist nature;

e ecclesiastical masters. these brotherhoods were precursors to later trade guilds and corporations; they were able to be transformed into these new structures when social evolution offered a legal framework that supported this change. the history of monastic associations is primarily linked to that of two religious orders: the benedictine order and its various persuasions (cluny and citeaux, and the templar order. the role of the benedictines was especially prominent up to the twelfth century. they can be credited with not only the propagation of romanesque art but also the birth of gothic art. as for the templars, initially students of the benedictines, with whom they always maintained a connection, their ecclesiastical and monastic associations 35 activity extended well beyond the time

ecclesiastical and monastic associations 35 activity extended well beyond the time of the monastic associations. from the twelfth century on they were involved with the organization of lay communities of builders that enjoyed specific franchises, earning them the name francs metiers (free craftsmen; see chapter 6. in this chapter we will study these monastic associations specifically. the role of the templars, which appears to be closely tied to the birth of operative freemasonry, will be developed in chapters 5-7. the formation of ecclesiastical and monastic associations in the goth regions and their extension into the north we have seen how in england and the frankish kingdoms the advocates of christianity appealed to the roman collegia and their remnants in the visigoth regions. this wa

were the first gothic architects, we can cite hilduar and giraud, first mentioned around 1160, the former for the choir he designed at saint peters in chartres, the latter for his nave at saint-benoit sur loire. the cistercians, too, played an important role. they were the first to spread the knowledge of gothic art throughout italy, germany, and the scandinavian countries. and we cannot overlook the templars, students of the benedictines, among the architects of the romanesque-to-gothic transition. their church on fleet street in london (1165, more or less influenced by the templar church in paris, is in fact one of the more unusual buildings from this transitional period. we can see, then, that there was no gap existing between romanesque (or old gothic) art and the new gothic. one flowe

e name of which brings to mind the dangers faced by travelers crossing the durance, mirabeau, and pont saint esprit is attributed to them "in 1277 the community of bompas, whose prior was one [this refers to the bridge of avignon. trans] ecclesiastical and monastic associations 47 raymond alfantim, delegated one of its members, pierre de regesio, to go to the holy see to request that it join with the templar order. giraud, bishop of cavaillon, after having given his assent to this request, rescinded his decision and asked pope nicolas iii to unite the brothers of bompas with the hospitallers of saint john of jerusalem, which was done."9 at this time the templars also concerned themselves with the establishment and maintenance of roads and the construction of bridges and hospices. over the

e and the same from the very beginning. in fact, in the town of saint omer the merchant guild went on to become the commune* in the second half of the twelfth century, london may not yet have had a builders guild. in fact, we know that craftsmen and artists capable of building in stone were few in number in that city. in chapter 5 we will learn that in order to build their church on fleet street, the templars had to import an architectural brotherhood from the holy land and thus may well have been responsible for the formation of the original masons guild in london. the statutes of the earliest germanic, english, and scandinavian guilds include precious little information on their professional hierarchy. in the twelfth century in the norwegian city of bergen, however, there existed the cla

century in the norwegian city of bergen, however, there existed the classic tripartite division of discipuli (apprentices, formuli (journeymen, and magistri (masters. in part 2, we will look more closely at the english guilds as they existed in the fourteenth century* esmein, histoire du droit francois, 292-93 [a commune is equivalent to the english or american district. trans] 5 the crusades and the templars the eight crusades, which took place from 1096 to 1291, had a profound social, economic, political, cultural, and religious effect on western europe. and from the beginning to the end of the crusades, the templars were among the continent's most important and effective agents in all these areas of experience. the order of the templars, derived from its true name, the militia of the te

guillaume de tyr, histoire des croisades, vol. 2 (paris: editions guizot, 202. guillaume was born in jerusalem around 1130 and became counselor to amaury of jerusalem and tutor of his son baudoin, royal chancellor in 1173, and archbishop in 1174. he fulfilled numerous missions and attended the council of latran in 1176. he died from poisoning in 1193. his testimony of the strong campaign against the templars that was based on a conflict over ecclesiastical rights makes guillaume's history of the crusades particularly valuable. in his historia orientalis (written in the thirteenth century, jacques de vitry, bishop of acre, who was closely aligned with the templars, ceaselessly refers to guillaume's book. the crusades and the templars 63 paien or payan de montdidier; archambaud de saint-arm

ayan de montdidier; archambaud de saint-armand or saint- aignan; andre de montbard, maternal uncle of saint bernard de clairvaux; godefroy; gondemar; roral or roland; and godefroy de bissot or bissor. in 1126 hugues, count of champagne and donor of clairvaux, joined this number. together they drew their authority from the patriarch theocletes, sixty-seventh successor of the apostle john, for whom the templars maintained, along with the holy virgin, a special worship. these men took the three vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity and swore an oath to do all in their power to safeguard the roads and protect pilgrims against the attacks of brigands and infidels. initially the order, which at first followed the rule of saint augustine, did not expand greatly. in the ninth year of the order'

rtion of its holdings to such an extent that their wealth is, on this we can be sure, equal to that of kings. the order of the temple was able to establish itself and prosper not merely in the holy land, but in all regions of the christian world during the same era that witnessed the appearance of brotherhoods and* with the council's consent, saint bernard, responsible for writing the new rule of the templars, would have delegated this task to jean michel (jean michaelensis. see also h. de curzon, la regie du temple (paris: 1886. it should be noted that the rule of the temple had much in common with the rule of citeaux+ from 1146 on these robes were embellished with a red patty cross embroidered on the chest, which referenced the privilege bestowed upon them by pope eugene iii on the autho

robes were embellished with a red patty cross embroidered on the chest, which referenced the privilege bestowed upon them by pope eugene iii on the authority of bernard of clairvaux. the servant brothers were clad in brown. 64 the origins of freemasonry from ancient times to the middle ages communities of builders. the primary question one that has always been subject to controversy is this: did the templars wield any influence over these brotherhoods and communities and, if so, what was the nature of this influence? in this chapter we will examine: 1. the direct influence of the templars on the art of the builders. in this sense they followed the example of religious communities such as the benedictines and cistercians. 2. the influence that the eastern world byzantine and islamic exerci

PIKE CUMMINGS THE SPURIOUS RITES OF MEMPHIS AND MISRAIM

roduced into europe by, ormus, a seraphic priest of alexandria, and egyptian sage,who had been converted by st.mark, and reformed the doctrines of the egyptians in accordance with the principles of christianity. the disciples of ormus continued, until b b b i, to be the sole guardians of ancient egyptian wisdom as purified by christianity, and solomonian science. this science they communicated to the templars.they were then known by the title of knights of palestine or brethren rose-croix of the east. in them, the rite of memphis recognizes its immediate founders. in defining the object and intention of his order,marconis speaks as follows: the masonic rite of memphis is a combination of the ancient mysteries; it taught the first men to render homage to the deity. its dogmas are based on t

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART I

ve your wits, to have a wholesome dread of the law, and to keep at a respectful distance from the church and her faggots. would you care, as a change, to behold something less fantastic, more real and also more truly terrible? you shall assist at the execution of jacques de molay and his accomplices or his brethren in martyrdom. be not misled, however; confuse not the guilty and the innocent! did the templars really adore baphomet? did they offer a shameful salutation to the buttocks of the goat of mendes? what was actually this secret and potent association which imperilled church and state, and was thus destroyed unheard? judge nothing lightly; they are guilty of a great crime; they have exposed to profane eyes the sanctuary of antique initiation. they have gathered again and have shared

eappeared before the eyes of the world without having consumed solemnly the remains and evidences of its previous life. so also moses saw to it that all those who had known egypt and her mysteries should end their life in the desert; at ephesus st. paul burnt all books which treated of the occult sciences; and in fine, the french revolution, daughter of the great johannite orient and the ashes of the templars, spoliated the churches and blasphemed the allegories of the divine cultus. but all doctrines and all revivals proscribe magic and condemn its mysteries to the flames and to oblivion. the reason is that each religion or philosophy which comes into the world is a benjamin of humanity and insures its own life by destroying its mother. it is because the symbolical serpent turns ever devo

ented standing on a cube over which tongues of flame are passing; the phallus is replaced by a caduceus; the sun and moon figure on the right and left breast; the figure is bearded, crowned and holds a sceptre in his hand. this is the azoth of the sages on its pedestal of salt and sulphur. the symbolic head of the goat of mendes is occasionally given to this figure, and it is then the baphomet of the templars and the word of the gnostics, bizarre images which became scarecrows for the vulgar after affording food for reflection to sages innocent hieroglyphs of thought and faith which have been a pretext for the rage of persecutions. how pitiable are men in their ignorance, but how they would despise themselves if only they came to know! 96 xx w u the universal medicine caput resurrectio cir

RITUEL ET DOGME DE LA HAUTE MAGIE BY ELIPHAS LEVI PART II

ical agent. the double current of light, the living and astral fire of the earth. was represented by the serpent with the head of an ox, goat or dog, in ancient theogonies. it is the dual serpent of the caduceus, the old serpent of genesis, but it is also the brazen serpent of moses, twined about the tau, that is, the generating lingam. it is, moreover, the goat of the sabbath and the baphomet of the templars; it is the hyle of the gnostics; it is the double tail of the serpent which forms the legs of the solar cock of abraxas. in fine, it is the devil of m. eudes de mirville and is really that blind force which souls must overcome if they would be freed from the chains of earth; for, unless their will can detach them from this fatal attraction, they will be absorbed in the current by the

e we read a frank and simple inscription. the devil. yes, we confront here that phantom of all terrors, the dragon of all theogonies, the ahriman of the persians, the typhon of the egyptians, the python of the greeks, the old serpent of the hebrews, the fantastic monster, the nightmare, the croquemitaine, the gargoyle, the great beast of the middle ages, and. worse than all these. the baphomet of the templars, the bearded idol of the alchemist, the obscene deity of mendes, the goat of the sabbath. the frontispiece to this gritual h reproduces the exact figure of the terrible emperor of night, with all his attributes and all his characters. let us state now for the edification of the vulgar, for the satisfaction of m. le comte de mirville, for the justification of the demonologist bodin, fo

or the greater glory of the church, which persecuted templars, burnt magicians, excommunicated freemasons, etc. let us state boldly and precisely that all inferior initiates of the occult science and profaners of the great arcanum, not only did in the past but do now, and will ever, adore what is signified by this alarming symbol. yes, in our profound conviction, the grand masters of the order of the templars worshipped the baphomet, and caused it to be worshipped by their initiates; yes, there existed in the past, and there may be still in the present, assemblies which are presided over by this figure, seated on a throne and having a flaming torch between the horns. but the adorers of this sign do not consider, as do we, that it is a representation of the devil: on the contrary, for them

trine is summed up in the cultus of love and licence. the association came into existence when the roman church was persecuting freemasonry. the mopses pretended to recruit only among catholics, and for the penal pledge at reception they substituted a solemn engagement upon honour to reveal no secrets of the order. it was more effectual than any oath and silenced religious objections. the name of the templar baphomet, which should be spelt kabalistically backwards, is composed of three abbreviations: tem. ohp. ab, templi omnium hominum pacts abbas, gthe father of the temple of peace of all men h. according to some, the baphomet was a monstrous head, but according to others, a demon in the form of a goat. a sculptured coffer was disinterred recently in the ruins of an old commandery of the

SABBATIC KABALA OF THE CROOKED PATH

the oracular nature within this aat, reflected through the use of the portals of the moon. cell 6 being the aat of the 7th and 18th letter of the sacred alphabet this cell is a discourse upon the double will and the divided twins as found in the mystery of the androgyne also known in the occult communities as baphomet. i am her as i am he (p. 241. this cell connects with the supposed mysteries of the templars and the vapours of demolay can be sensed in its discourses of the twin vessels and the construction of the stone-god. the physical representation of the god or famulus are integrated as an important and crucial part on the crooked road towards the light of the midnight-vale. this technique was employed by the german reuss-derived occult group in the concept of the gotos. a title assig

SATANGEL

s, now a demonic king ruling 40 legions, with the heads of a man, a bull, and a ram, with the tail of a serpent. rides a bear, carries a goshawk, speaks hoarsely. tells fortunes, gives invisibility, makes men witty. baphomet this character has long been identified with the devil and the goat of mendes, and as purely male. such has played its part in the continuation of that myth which states that the templars were the agents of darkness. the name baphomet is also that of the goddess of the gnostics, sophia. it is hidden through the cabbalist codes of temurah. in this, the letters of words are substituted, transposed and altered, so that any word may yield a hidden meaning. in writing the twenty two letters of the hebrew alphabet in a special order and in two lines, the letters above and be

SATANIC BIBLE

m for satan, the arch fiend asmodeus- hebrew devil of sensuality and luxury, originally "creature of judgement" astaroth- phoenician goddess of lasciviousness, equivalent of babylonian ishtar azazel (hebrew) taught man to make weapons of war, introduced cosmetics baalberith- canaanite lord of the covenant who was later made a devil balaam- hebrew devil of avarice and greed baphomet- worshipped by the templars as symbolic of satan bast- egyptian goddess of pleasure represented by the cat beelzebub (hebrew) lord of the flies, taken from symbolism of the scarab behemoth- hebrew personification of satan in the form of an elephant beherit- syriac name for satan bil- celtic god of hell chemosh- national god of moabites, later a devil cimeries- rides a black horse and rules africa coyote- america

SATANIC RITUALS

f past self-denials, and symbolic rebirth is attained through a contrived entombment. the ceremony originated in the thirteenth century. in its original form it was not the historical parody into which it later developed. accounts of the performance of l'air epais ultimately strengthened the charges of king philip iv of france in his campaign to abolish the rich order, which was banished in 1331. the templars had been exposed to the dualistic concepts of the yezidis in the near east they had seen pride glorified and life praised as never before, when they entered the courtyard of the serpent and the sanctuary of the peacock, where indulgence became tantamount to greater power. as a result, they developed what was destined to become one of the most significant rites of satanism. martyrdom

een pride glorified and life praised as never before, when they entered the courtyard of the serpent and the sanctuary of the peacock, where indulgence became tantamount to greater power. as a result, they developed what was destined to become one of the most significant rites of satanism. martyrdom, once believed desirable, was considered with disgust and ridicule, and fierce pride was to become the templars' last image to the world. the philosophy of sheik adi and the yezidis, applied to the already acquired wealth and physical resources of the templars, might have eventually drawn the western world away from christianity if not stopped. even with the banishment of the templars, their combination of prideful, life-adoring principles joined with western goal-oriented materialism did not w

s, applied to the already acquired wealth and physical resources of the templars, might have eventually drawn the western world away from christianity if not stopped. even with the banishment of the templars, their combination of prideful, life-adoring principles joined with western goal-oriented materialism did not wholly succumb, as borne out by any history of post- templar fraternal orders. as the templars had gained power, they had become more materialistic and less spiritual minded. rites such as the stifling air, therefore, presented timely and compatible statements to men who had turned from their earlier heritage of self-sacrifice, abstinence and poverty. the fraternal attainment conferred by l'air epais would correspond to the thirty-fourth degree of freemasonry, if such a grade e

path would nevertheless wind up on the left. fortunately, precious few of crowley's disciples progressed as far as the grade of adeptus exemptus, thus neatly preventing problems that might have arisen from such rude spiritual awakenings. the overtly anti-christian sentiments of the ceremony of the stifling air classified it as a "black mass" according to the accounts that were employed to indict the templars. upon assuming the sixth degree, a candidate renounced all life-denying spirituality and acknowledged an understanding of the material world as a prerequisite to higher planes of existence. this is a ritual of the death-defiant and allows any unconscious death motivations to be exorcised. it is a statement of rebirth, of the delights of life as opposed to the negation of death. the ce

s spence and other writers. the title stifling air refers both to the tension produced by the contrivedly oppressive atmosphere during the early segments of the ceremony, and the closeness within the coffin. when the performance of l'air epais was resumed in 1799, it served as a celebration of the successful curse placed upon philip and pope clement v by jacques de molay, the last grand master of the templars, who had been condemned to death along with his knights. the present text employs the actual curse leveled against the king and the pope by de molay. though the dialogue of the priest of satan, the king, and the pope are presented in modern french prose, the statements of de molay have been retained in their actual stilted delivery. james thompson's diabolical litany of the nineteenth

es greater confrontation for the celebrant, making him hyperconscious of his role. mirrors also serve to "rob the soul" according to old tradition. an austere chair is provided in which the celebrant sits during the first part of the ritual. the coffin may be of any type, although a traditional hexagonal style is recommended, as this is the type depicted in the actual sigil of the sixth degree of the templars and, combined with the skull and crossbones, is retained in masonic symbology. the coffin must be large enough to accommodate two persons, hence special construction or modification is likely to be necessary. the usual devices of satanic ritual are all employed. additional accouterments include a cat-o'-nine-tails with which to scourge the celebrant, a cruet for the wine of bitterness

l are all employed. additional accouterments include a cat-o'-nine-tails with which to scourge the celebrant, a cruet for the wine of bitterness, and a goblet the celebrant (pope) is attired in tattered and decaying vestments. the king is represented as counsel for the celebrant; he wears rags and a miserable crown made out of cardboard. de molay is dressed in satanic splendor, with the mantle of the templars and the symbols of his office. he carries a sword. the woman in the coffin should be sensually appealing and seductive, the opposite of the wan, pale concept usually associated with death. for music suitable to this ritual, refer to le messe noir, or employ berlioz1 "funeral and triumphal symphony" procedure for performance the ceremony begins in the customary manner, as described in

ach e ma personne et mes actes. les templiers se sout veng s; ils ont de'touit le pape, ils ont de'touit le roi. leur pouvoir n'est-il pas arr t par la mort? why am i here? what is the meaning of this? i cannot comprehend the mystery of my presence in this place. it is as if a strange and overpowering summons intrudes upon my rest. a curse must be upon me yet, for even after death, the torment of the templars is not still they have destroyed this pope, and with me they have taken the king. yet here am i as it was in centuries past. will not their power stop with death? king: la question est vieille et oubli e. the matter is old and should be forgotten. priest: la question ne peut pas tre oubli e. beaucoup d'hommes moururent, partni les plus braves de france. the matter cannot be forgotten

. pope: ce n'est pas moi qui les ai condamn s. leur roi, phillipe, connaisait les actions des templiers: il obtient des informatious. il consid re leur fortune, leur pouvoir, leur arrogance, et leurs rites tranges, sombres et terribles. il les condamn. a mort! i did not condemn them. the king, philip, condemned them when he was informed of their indiscretions. he obtained damning evidence against the templars. he had no choice, when confronted with the evidence. they had wealth beyond their station, and power as well they had become arrogant in their manner towards the guardians of decency. they conducted strange, dark rites, unholy and terrible, which violated the precincts of the church. so he condemned them to death. it was only right. de molay: mais en a-t-il le droit? quel titre le lu

p whispers something to the pope] pope: philippe tait leur roi, il tait leur chef. mais aussi leur guide, leur guide spirituel. les templiers furent arrogants, ils se pr tendirent sup rieurs toute loi il fallait les craser, il fallait qu'ils apprennent la le on de i'humilit dans les cachots de leur roi. philip was their king, he was their ruler. but he was also their guide, their spiritual guide. the templars were arrogant, they claimed to he above all the laws. they had to be crushed, they had to discover the lesson of humility in the jails of their king. de molay: vous direz done au roi qui nous chargea de fers que loin de r sister nous nous sommes offerts on peut dans les prisons entra ner 1'innocence; mais rhomme g ner ux, arm de sa constance sous le poids de ses fers n'est jamais abat

your majesty, when distinguishing me among all your subjects, you showered me with honor. i refer to the day when i received the illustrious distinction of bestowing my name on the son of the king of france. little could i have expected the solemn insult of appearing later before you as a vile criminal. priest: de molay, d crivez la cour la mort des templiers. de molay, please tell the court how the templars died. de molay: un immense b cher, dress pour leur supplice, s' l ve en chafaud, et chaque chevalier croit m riter i'honneur d'y monter le premier: mais le grand-ma tre arrive; il monte, il les devance. son front est rayonnant de gloire et d'esp rance "fran ais, souvenez-vous de nos derniers accents: nous sommes innocents, nous mourons innocents. l'atr t qui nous condamne est un arr t

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL 1

sing years of the shroud from 1204 to 1357 which indicates that the relic was in athens and bescancon, france, during that period. it may well have been, wilson suggested, that the extensive copying of the face on the shroud by the knights templar could have led to the papal revocation of their charter, which was later followed by the execution of their leaders by the french ecclesiastical court. the templar involvement appeared to be validated by the discovery of a matching shroud face that was found behind the false ceiling of an outbuilding in templecombe, southern england, on grounds that had once served as a templar recruitment and training center. from its earliest years, in legends and in art, there have been claims of miracles and healings through the shroud. four credible witnesse

to escape death during the bloody decades of the crusade that had been launched against them were now at the mercy of the relentless witch and heretic hunters. m delving deeper baigent, michael, leigh, richard, and lincoln, henry. holy blood, holy grail. new york: dell publishing co, 1983. clifton, charles s. encyclopedia of heresies and heretics. new york: barnes& noble, 1992. delaforge, gaetan. the templar tradition. putney, vt: threshold books, 1987. lea, henry charles. the inquisition of the middle ages. new york: citadel press, 1963. trevor-roper, h. r. the european witch-craze. new york: harper& row, 1967. gnosticism several cults with widely differing beliefs all bearing the label of gnostic arose in the first century, strongly competing with the advent of christianity. the term gno

THE GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE UNUSUAL UNEXPLAINED VOL

fathers, the unity of god and the trinity of his persons, and the virginity of mary both before and after the birth of jesus. to go beyond the seas when called to do so in defense of the cause. to retreat not from the foe unless outnumbered three to one. in addition to the rules of conduct and discipline, humility was one of the first principles of membership in the knights templar. the helmet of the templar must bear no crest; his beard should never be cut; his personal behavior should be that of a servant of others; and his tunic should be girt with a linen cord as a symbol that he was bound in service. there were four classes of members in the templars.knights, squires, servitors, and priests.each with their individual list of duties and obligations. the presiding officer of the order w

al, and a treasurer. the states of christendom were divided into provinces, and over each was set a grand master. the grand master of jerusalem was considered the head of the entire brotherhood, which grew in numbers, influence, and wealth to become one of the most powerful organizations in the medieval world. counts, dukes, princes, and even kings sought to wear the red cross and white mantle of the templar, an honor which was recognized throughout europe. in 1139, pope innocent ii (d. 1143) granted the templars an unprecedented mark of papal approval: the churches of the templars were exempt from interdicts; their properties and revenues were free from taxation to either crown or holy mother church. the templars now had the prestige of being triumphant crusaders. they had the blessing of

vast estates with mansions that could not be t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d secret societies 21 a woodcut depicting the knights templar in 1118 (corbis corporation) thetwo principal orders of knighthood of the crusades were established in 1096. invaded by any civil officer. thousands beseeched the order to allow them to become members of the templars. in the course of time the knights of the temple became a sovereign body, pledging allegiance to no secular ruler. in spiritual matters, the pope was still recognized as supreme, but in all other matters, the grand master of jerusalem was as independent and as wealthy as the greatest king in europe. what had begun as the mission of two poor knights with one horse who vowed to watch ov

ims on their way to jerusalem had become a privileged order of opportunists bloated with wealth. and in their new quest for power and wealth, the protection of the pilgrims was often forgotten. even st. bernard issued a series of exhortations that the order was accepting into its membership too many knights who were but adventurers and outlaws and that a good number of the nobility who had joined the templars were men who had been regarded as oppressors and scourges by their serfs. there were three divisions of the templars in the east.jerusalem, antioch, and tripoli. in europe, there were 16 provinces.france, auvergne, normandy, aquitaine, poitou, provence, england, germany, upper and lower italy, apulia, sicily, portugal, castile, leon, and aragon. a majority of the templars were french

divisions of the templars in the east.jerusalem, antioch, and tripoli. in europe, there were 16 provinces.france, auvergne, normandy, aquitaine, poitou, provence, england, germany, upper and lower italy, apulia, sicily, portugal, castile, leon, and aragon. a majority of the templars were french, and it was estimated by the middle of the thirteenth century that as many as 9,000 manors were held by the templars in france. the chief seat of the templars had remained in jerusalem from the origins of the order in 1118 to 1187, when it was moved to antioch after the christians f defeat by saladin in the plain of tiberias. the hospitallers and the templars had been slaughtered in battle and 230 captive knights had been beheaded when they refused the muslims f offer to convert to the religion of t

the templars had remained in jerusalem from the origins of the order in 1118 to 1187, when it was moved to antioch after the christians f defeat by saladin in the plain of tiberias. the hospitallers and the templars had been slaughtered in battle and 230 captive knights had been beheaded when they refused the muslims f offer to convert to the religion of the prophet. the grand master established the templar headquarters in antioch for four years, then moved to acre in 1191. a third transfer of the templar seat was made in 1217 when the grand master moved to the pilgrim fs castle near cesarea. when the muslims captured acre in 1291 and overthrew the christian kingdom, the templars had bravely fought until they were exterminated almost to the man. the surviving templars retreated to cyprus

ely fought until they were exterminated almost to the man. the surviving templars retreated to cyprus, which they had purchased from king richard the lion-hearted (1157.1199) for 35,000 marks. although defeated by the soldiers of the prophet muhammad and driven out of the holy land, the knights templar retained their many estates and their enormous wealth in europe. however, especially in france, the templars were becoming diminished in popularity, and the jealousies of the government had been aroused against them. lords, dukes, and princes were not only envious of the order fs burgeoning treasury, but they fumed over the templars f exemption from the burdens of taxation imposed by church and state on others. the self-righteous among the rulers and the people were indignant over the knight

taxation imposed by church and state on others. the self-righteous among the rulers and the people were indignant over the knights f pride, arrogance, and licentiousness, and rumors began to spread that the order had acquired heretical practices during their time in the east. in 1306, king philip iv (1268.1314) of france, called philip the fair, sought refuge for himself and the royal treasury in the templars f massive fortress in paris. the unruly mobs were calling for his death, and he feared that the disloyal among his nobles would loot the nation fs wealth. while philip was in the process of entrusting the treasury of france to the templars f protection, he also managed to gain sight of the incredible wealth that the knights had accumulated. when he fully comprehended that this was onl

ly mobs were calling for his death, and he feared that the disloyal among his nobles would loot the nation fs wealth. while philip was in the process of entrusting the treasury of france to the templars f protection, he also managed to gain sight of the incredible wealth that the knights had accumulated. when he fully comprehended that this was only a portion of their immeasurable riches and that the templars had forts and estates throughout france, each containing its own deposit of treasure, he was awed by the enormity of their riches. when philip sat more securely on his throne, he began to perceive the templars as rivals for his kingdom. the knights had more money and power than he, the king, and they owed their allegiance only to the pope. philip t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a

kingdom. the knights had more money and power than he, the king, and they owed their allegiance only to the pope. philip t h e g a l e e n c y c l o p e d i a o f t h e u n u s u a l a n d u n e x p l a i n e d 22 secret societies theknights templars owed their allegiance only to the pope. met with pope clement v (c. 1260.1314) to seek his counsel on how the order might be exterminated. although the templars had enjoyed the blessing of the papacy for decades, the pope admitted that he had been made uneasy by accusations that the order had sought to protect their own interests by securing a separate treaty with the mulis when the christian kingdom in the east was falling. clement, however, was reluctant to make any kind of move against the knights. the king pressed his case with the pope.a

urch officials in france, and the endorsement of william of paris, the grand inquisitor, king philip demanded that the pope conduct an investigation into such charges against the knights templar. whether or not clement believed such stories, he gave his approval that a judicial inquiry be instituted, and the knights were charged with heresy and immorality. on the night of october 13, 1307, all of the templars f castles in france were surrounded by large bodies of men that were led by small parties of priests and noblemen. when the unsuspecting knights were ordered to open their gates in the name of the king, they immediately complied. taken completely by surprise, about 900 knights were arrested, and all their property and holdings in france were seized. when word of the arrests reached ot

were led by small parties of priests and noblemen. when the unsuspecting knights were ordered to open their gates in the name of the king, they immediately complied. taken completely by surprise, about 900 knights were arrested, and all their property and holdings in france were seized. when word of the arrests reached other countries, other nobles and priests quickly followed suit and imprisoned the templars wherever they might be found. the knights templar were accused of infidelity, muhammadanism, atheism, heresy, invoking satan, worshipping demons, desecration of holy objects, and uncleanness. the prosecution had difficulty proving such charges, so they were often forced to resort to torturing the prisoners to obtain confessions. in paris, the grand master of the templars, jacques de m

sonal friendship with de molay, who was the godfather of his younger son, philip ordered the grand master and the 140 knights imprisoned with him to be starved, tortured, and kept in filthy dungeons. although the pope had little problem yielding to pressure and issuing a ban on the order, he hesitated to give his sanction to the extermination of the knights. philip, however, was determined to see the templars destroyed and their wealth distributed to the state. for two weeks, the knights imprisoned in paris suffered the rack, the thumbscrew, the pincers, the branding iron, and the fire. thirty-six died under torture without speaking. the rest confessed to every charge the inquisition had leveled against them.the worship of baphomet, a black cat, and a serpent; the sacrifice of babies and t

THE KEY TO THE MYSTERIES

here it has been necessary or possible for it to be literal, there also it is invariably literal" we agree that it is either more or less than translation, and the following examples selected at hazard in the course of half-an-hour will enable the reader to judge whether mr. waite is acquainted with either french or english "gentilhomme "gentleman "the nameless vice which was reproached "against" the templars "certaines circonstances ridicules et un proces en escroquerie "certain ridiculous processes and a swindling lawsuit "se mele de dogmatiser "meddles with dogmatism "la vie pour lui suffisait a l'expiation des plus grands crimes, puis qu'elle etait la consequence d'un arret de mort "according to him life was sufficient for the greatest crimes, since "these" were the result of a death s

thers, making the cross of st. andrew "the suppression of the two left-hand points expresses the negation of the cross, the negation of mercy and of love "the affirmation of the absolute reign of force, and its eternal antagonism, from above to beneath, and from beneath to above "the glorification of tyranny and of revolt "the hieroglyphic sign of the unclean rite, with which, rightly or wrongly, the templars were reproached; it is the sign of disorder and of eternal despair" such, then, are the first revelations of the hidden science of the magi with regard to these phenomena of supernatural manifestations. now let it be permitted to us to compare with these strange signatures other contemporary apparitions of phenomenal writings, for it is really a brief which science ought to study befo

and hurls him beneath it, into the abyss. the devil, then, exists really enough for the qabalists; but it is neither a person nor a distinguished power of even the forces of nature. the devil is dispersion, or the slumber of the intelligence. it is madness and falsehood. thus are explained the nightmares of the middle ages; thus, too, are explained the bizarre symbols of some initiates, those of the templars, for example, who are much less to be 203 blamed for having worshipped baphomet, than for allowing its image to be perceived by the profane. baphomet, pantheistic figure of the universal agent, is nothing else than the bearded devil of the alchemists. one knows that the members of the highest grades in the old hermetic masonry attributed to a bearded demon the accomplishment of the gr

THE SECRET RITUALS OF THE OTO

enth- and nineteenth-century occult templarism. until towards the middle of the eighteenth century few people seem to have displayed any great interest in the original order of the temple, the knights templar, suppressed in 1314 on the grounds that its members were heretical, blasphemous and sodomitical. with the rise of continental and anglo-saxon freemasonry, however, the building activities of the templars began to attract attention. perhaps, thought some masons, the fact that the symbolism of the craft degrees of masonry was concerned with both the building of a temple and the murder of its architect, hiram, suggested the existence of a connection between the knights templar and freemasonry? perhaps the masonic fraternity did not, as was assumed by most of its members, go back to the t

ple and the murder of its architect, hiram, suggested the existence of a connection between the knights templar and freemasonry? perhaps the masonic fraternity did not, as was assumed by most of its members, go back to the time of king solomon but was simply an underground continuation of the order of the temple? perhaps the murdered hiram was really jacques de molay, the martyred grand master of the templars? the idea of an historical connection between masonry and the crusading orders received the enthusiastic support of the chevalier ramsay, a jacobite exile he was file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael..0secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/p1c2.html (1 of 5 [12/28/2001 2:01:22 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. the private tutor of the young pretender, bonnie prince charlie who

r of the temple saw itself as the true church of christ, preserving through the centuries a true egyptian gnostic christian tradition. it claimed that the son of god. was brought up in the schools of alexandria. he was able to reach all the degrees of egyptian initiation. jesus conferred evangelical initiation on his apostles and disciples. how this mystic christianity had supposedly passed on to the templars was recounted in the order s legend: file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael..0secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/p1c2.html (4 of 5 [12/28/2001 2:01:22 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. up to the year 1118 the mysteries and the hierarchic order of the initiation of egypt, transmitted to the jews by moses, then to the christians by jesus christ, were preserved by the successors

1:22 pm] the secret rituals of the o.t.o. up to the year 1118 the mysteries and the hierarchic order of the initiation of egypt, transmitted to the jews by moses, then to the christians by jesus christ, were preserved by the successors of st. john. these mysteries and initiations. were a sacred trust. preserved from all adulteration. these gnostic christians, appreciating the courage and piety of the templar knights. held it their duty to trust to hands so pure the knowledge acquired over so many centuries. hugues de payens (the templar grand master) was invested with the apostolic patriarchal power and placed in the legitimate order of the successors of st. john. such is the origin of the foundation of the order of the temple and of the fusion in this order of the different kinds of initi

the fusion in this order of the different kinds of initiation. designated under the title of primitive christians or johannites. the order of the temple relied for its authority on the so-called charter of larmenius, an eighteenthcentury forgery, which purported to show that jacques de molay9 had been secretly succeeded by a certain larmenius. from him had come a line of grand masters under whom the templars had survived into the nineteenth century. this preposterous nonsense was taken seriously by several nineteenth-century occultists and eliphas l vi asserted that theoclet the gnostic pontiff who had supposedly passed on the apostolic succession to the templars had initiated hugues de payens into the mysteries and hopes of his pretended church, he lured him by the ideas of sacerdotal so

scotch mason knight of st. andrew royal arch students or lay brothers full instruction in the scottish degrees of ancient and accepted masonry. 5 rose-croix knight of rose-croix knight of pelican knight of east and west esoteric instruction and introductory remarks on the passing into rosicrucianism and hermetic science. 6 historical templar knight kadosh grand inspector general a full history of the templars and their ceremonies. 7 mystic templar (colour violet) mystic masonry theoreticus magus of light grand master of light general theoretical studies of the o.t.o. magical system. 8 oriental templar (colour white) esoteric rosicrucianism practicus adeptus princeps illuminatus practices that taught in seventh degree. technical perfection of practice. achievement of technical results. myst

d truth in their hearts, and, loving light, to bear the lamp of virtue beneath the cloak of secrecy. and these at certain seasons went at night by ways open or hidden to heaths and mountains, and there dancing together, and with strange suppers and spells diverse, did call forth him, whom the enemy called ignorantly satan, and was in truth the great god pan, or bacchus, or even that baphomet whom the templars worshipped secretly, and yet worship as in the vi all illustrious knights of the holy order of kadosch, all dame companions of the holy grail are taught to do, or babalon the beautiful, or even zeus apollo of the greeks. and each when first inducted to the revel was made partner of that incarnate one by the consummation of the rite of marriage. consider of this. file//c /documents%20a

h see regardie, golden dawn (llewellyn, 1970, mathers, astral projection magic and alchemy (spearman, 1972, e. howe, magicians of the golden dawn (routledge, 1972) and my own ritual magic in england (spearman, 1970. file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael/my.%20secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/note4.html [12/28/2001 2:08:59 pm] sroto_notes 5. clearly ramsay was referring to the charge that the templars took oathes involving spitting and trampling upon the cross. file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael/my.%20secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/note5.html [12/28/2001 2:09:06 pm] sroto_notes 6. ramsay s oration was intended to be delivered on march 21, 1737. it was first printed in 1741 in the almanach des cocus, a periodical described as obscure and obscene by the author of a pape

romantisme (paris, champion, 1928. file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael/my.%20secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/note8.html [12/28/2001 2:09:20 pm] sroto_notes 9. the last templar grand master, burnt at the stake on charges of heresy. file//c /documents%20and%20settings/michael/my.%20secret%20rituals%20of%20the%20o.t.o/note9.html [12/28/2001 2:09:27 pm] sroto_notes 10. l vi s attitude to the templars was a curious one; on the one hand he abused them as heretics, on the other he praised them as bearers of the light of the grail. it seems likely that he had his own peculiar interpretation of the mysterious baphomet allegedly worshipped by the templars, for he wrote of this deity that all the initiates of the occult sciences. have adored, do adore, and always will adore what is signi

TWO ESSAYS ON THE WORSHIP OF PRIAPUS

ar oaths and phallic worship. 181 secret society in orleans for celebrating obscene rites. 182 the stedingers of germany, and their secret ceremonies. 184 the knights templar charges brought against them. 185 spitting on the cross, and the denial of christ. 188 the kiss. 189 intercourse with women prohibited. 190 the cat and idol worship. 194 baffomet, or baphomet. 198 von hammer s description of the templars images or idol. 199 the witches sabbath the last form which the priapeia and liberalia assumed in western europe 206 contents. xi page. trial of witches at arras, in france. 207 sprenger and others on witchcraft in the fifteenth century. 209 bodin s description of the sabbath ceremonies. 210 pierre de lancre s full account of the witches sabbath. 212 pictorial representation of the ce

ch the priapeia and liberalia assumed in western europe 206 contents. xi page. trial of witches at arras, in france. 207 sprenger and others on witchcraft in the fifteenth century. 209 bodin s description of the sabbath ceremonies. 210 pierre de lancre s full account of the witches sabbath. 212 pictorial representation of the ceremonies. 245 similarity of the proceeding of the sabbath to those of the templars. 246 intermixture of priapic orgies with christian rites and ceremonies. 247 traces of phallic worship still existing on the western shores of ireland 248 index. 249 list of illustrations note. as frequent references are made to some of the engraved figures in different parts of the work, it was found impossible to insert the illustrations always opposite the explanatory text. the pla

phallic leaden tokens from the seine. 147, 170 xxxiv. leaden ornaments from the seine: figure 1. 146 2, 3, 4, 5. 147 xxxv.amulets &c, of gold and lead: figure 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. 147 xxxvi. robin goodfellow, phallic amulets &c: figure 1. 148 2. 148 3. 121 4. 137 5. 153 xxxvii. priapic illustrations from old ballads: figure 1. 154 2. 153 xxxviii. idols of the knights templars. 199 xxxix. scupltures of the templars mysteries: figure 1. 199 to 203 2. 200 to 203 3. 200 to 204 4. 199 to 204 xl. the witches sabbath, from de lancre, 1613. 241, 246 an account of the remains of the worship of priapus, lately existing at isernia, in the kingdom of naples: in two letters: one from sir william hamilton, k.b, his majesty s minister at the court of naples, to sir joseph banks, bart, president of the royal s

le of art, the shelahna- gigs of ireland. there can be little doubt that the superstition to which these objects belonged gave rise to much of the indecent sculpture which is so often found upon medi val ecclesiastical buildings. the late baron von hammer-p rgstall published a very learned paper upon monuments of various kinds which he considered as illustrating the secret history of the order of the templars, from which we learn that there was in his time a series of most extraordinary obscene sculptures in the church of schoengraber in austria, of which he intended to give engravings, but the drawings had not arrived in time for his book;1 but he has engraved the capital of a column in the church of egra, a town of bohemia, of which we give a copy,2 in which the two sexes are displaying

especially in the south of europe, where roman traditions were strongest, both as an amulet and as an insulting gesture. the italian called this gesture fare la fica, to make or do the fig to any one; the spaniard, dar una higa, to give a fig; and the frenchman, like the italian, faire la figue. we can trace this phrase back to the thirteenth century at least. in the judicial proceedings against the templars in paris in 1309, one of the brethren of the order was asked, jokingly, in his examination, because he was rather loose and flippant in his replies, if he bad been ordered by the said receptor (the officer of the templars who admitted the new candidate) to make with his fingers the fig at the crucifix. 1 here the word used is the correct latin ficus; and it is the same in the plural

, and was carefully carried on the person, or preserved in the house. it conferred fertility in more senses than one, for it was believed that as long as you kept it locked up with your money, the latter would become 1 carduus puellarum legitur et ab eisdem centum cruces. generative powers 169 doubled in quantity every year; and it had at the same time all the protective qualities of the phallus. the templars were accused of worshipping the mandrake, or mandragora, which became an object of great celebrity in france during the reigns of the weak monarchs charles vi. and charles vii. in 1429 one friar richard, of the order of the cordeliers, preached a fierce sermon against the use of this amulet, the temporary effect of which was so great, that a certain number of his congregation delivere

be found. 186 on the worship of the the charges urged against them, and many confessed, while others obstinately denied the whole. amongst these charges were the following: 1. that on the admission of a new member of the order, after having taken the oath of obedience, he was obliged to deny christ, and to spit, and sometimes also to trample, upon the cross; 2. that they then received the kiss of the templar, who officiated as receiver, on the mouth, and afterwards were obliged to kiss him in ano, on the navel, and sometimes on the generative member; 3. that, in despite of the saviour, they sometimes worshipped a cat, which appeared amongst them in their secret conclave; 4. that they practised unnatural vice together; 5. that they had idols in their different provinces; in the form of a he

just sworn to the order, and they all pleaded that they had obeyed with reluctance, that they had denied with the mouth but not with the heart; and that they had intentionally spit beside the cross and not upon it. in one instance the cross was of silver, but it was more commonly of brass, and still more frequently of wood; on one occasion the cross painted in a missal was used, and the cross on the templar's mantle often served 1 proc s des templiers, edited by m. michelet, vol. i, pp. 90-92. generative powers 187 the purpose. when one nicholas de compiegne protested against these two acts, all the templars who were present told him that he must do them, for it was the custom of the order.1 baldwin de st. just at first refused, but the receptor warned him that if he persisted in his refu

dds that when it was done, he was so conscience-struck that he wished he had been outside at his liberty, even though it had been with the loss of one of his arms. 1 when odo de dompierre, with great reluctance, at length spat on the cross, he said that he did it with such bitterness of heart that he would rather have had his two thighs broken.2 michelet, in the account of the proceedings against the templars in his history of france, offers an ingenious explanation of these ceremonies of initiation which gives them a typical meaning. he imagines that they were borrowed from the figurative mysteries and rites of the early church, and supposes that, in this spirit, the candidate for admission into the order was first presented as a sinner and renegade, in which character, after the example

s, i, 307. generative powers 189 articles of accusation, one of the ceremonies of initiation required the novice to kiss the receiver on the mouth, on the anus, or the end of the spine, on the navel, and on the virga virilis.1 the last is not mentioned in the examinations, but the others are described by so many of the witnesses that we cannot doubt of their truth. from the depositions of many of the templars examined, it would appear that the usual order was to kiss the receptor first in ano, next on the navel, and then on the mouth.2 the first of these was an act which would, of course, be repulsive to most people, and the practice arose gradually of only kissing the end of the spine, or, as it was called in medi val latin, in anca. bertrand de somorens, of the diocese of amiens, describ

son,2 as well as many others. another templar, named pierre de lanhiac, said that, at his reception into the order, his receptor told him that he must kiss him in ano, because that was one of the points of the order, but that, at the earnest supplication of his uncle, who was present, and must therefore have been a knight of the order, he obtained a remission of this kiss.3 another charge against the templars was still more disgusting. it was said that they proscribed all intercourse with women, and one of the men examined stated, which was also confessed by others, that his receptor told him that, from that hour, he was never to enter a house in which a woman lay in labour, nor to take part as godfather at the baptism of any child,4 but he added that he had broken his oath, for he had ass

examined stated, which was also confessed by others, that his receptor told him that, from that hour, he was never to enter a house in which a woman lay in labour, nor to take part as godfather at the baptism of any child,4 but he added that he had broken his oath, for he had assisted at the baptism of several children while still in the order, which he had left about a year before the seizure of the templars, for the love of a woman of whom he had become enamoured. on the other hand, those who replied to the interrogatory of the king's officers in this process, were all but unanimous in the avowal that on entering the order they received servantias ordinis eorum recepti debebant oscurali in ano receptores, quia tamen idem testis erat presbyter, parcebat ei et remittebat sibi dictum osculu

admitting that he was told that he might indulge in such vice with the other brethren, asserted that he had never done this, and that he had never been asked to do so by any of them. theobald de taverniac, whose name tells us that he came from the south, denied indignantly the existence of such a vice among their order but in terms which themselves told not very much in favour of the morality of the templars in other respects. he said that, as to the crime of sodomy, he believed the charge to be totally untrue, because they could have very handsome and elegant women when they liked, and that they did have them frequently when they were rich and powerful enough to afford it, and that on this account he and other brothers of the order were removed from their houses, as he said. 3 we have an

UNLEASHING THE BEAST

xlivcrowley, the law is for all, p. 42 "when you have proved that god is merely a name for the sex instinct, it appears to me not far to the perception that the sex instinct is god (crowley, quoted in israel regardie, the eye in the triangle: an interpretation of aleister crowley [st. paul, mn: llewellyn publications, 1970, 417. xlvon the charges of sex magic brought against the cathars and later the templars, see francis king, sexuality, magic and perversion (secacus: citadel, 1971, 170-71. xlvifranklin rosemont, foreward to john patrick deveney, paschal beverly randolph: a nineteenth century american spiritualist, rosicrucian and sex magician (albany: suny, 1997, xv. as deveney observes, largely through randolph's influence the genie had been released from the bottle. a multitude of sexu

WEOR SAMAEL AUN ESOTERIC COURSE OF KABBLAH

eal gland depends on the sexual potency. great schools of regeneration have existed through the course of history (it is enough for us to remember the rosicrucian alchemical school that became secret in the year 1620. likewise, it comes into our memory the schools of aryavarta ashrama of tibet, as well as the sect of the manicheans of persian origin, and the famous sufis with their sacred dances, the templars, etc. all of these were schools of regeneration; the coitus reservatus is practiced in all of them. the schools of regeneration constitute the golden chain of the white lodge. escuelas de regeneraci n regenerarse, significa generarse nuevamente, es decir recrearse, volver a crearse. esto de nacer nuevamente, es un problema absolutamente sexual. las escuelas de regeneraci n est n gober

WHO ARE THE DRACONIANS

d out according to satanic law with different colours used for different ceremonies depending on the time of year. sometimes they would use the churches in secret, but don't underestimate how many people in the 'christian' clergy are also members of the satanic network. the satanists, she remembers, were dressed in robes and a number wore masks, including the face of a goat or baphomet, the deity the templars were accused of worshipping. in the uk, as in america, some of the best known names in the country are involved. she remembers vividly (god, the thought of it, being laid on her back on the floor of a church as a screaming boy, no more than six, was being held by the hair above her while a man, who she would later identify as a top politician in northern ireland, had anal sex with him

WICCA WITCHCRAFT TODAY

r and against this order, so this may be of interest. the witches tell me 'the law always has been that power must be passed from man to woman or from woman to man, the only exception being when a mother initiates her daughter or a father his son, because they are part of themselves (the reason is that great love is apt to occur between people who go through the rites together) they go on to say 'the templars broke this age-old rule and passed the power from man to man: this led to sin and in so doing it brought about their downfall' if this story was not merely invented to explain the fall of the order, it would seem that the templars may have known and used some of the old magic. is it possible that the heads or skulls they were said to worship may simply have been images representing de

t about their downfall' if this story was not merely invented to explain the fall of the order, it would seem that the templars may have known and used some of the old magic. is it possible that the heads or skulls they were said to worship may simply have been images representing death and what lies beyond? the main ground for this theory is that the witches think they recognise indications that the templars conditioned their bodies in the way they themselves do to produce magic; how they do so, however, i am forbidden to mention. but they also say that one of the charges made against the templars at the grand process in paris in 1316 was 'that at their reception into the order they denied christ, declaring he was not god but a man, and that they had no hope of salvation through him and t

nd that they did not believe in the sacraments of the church. though they do not deny christ or the sacraments, witches generally do not believe in them, which was at least 'unusual' at that date. at her initiation a witch is always received into the circle with a kiss on the mouth. templars received a similar kiss. but both were tortured to make them say it was elsewhere. another charge was that the templars worshipped a head, variously described as having sometimes three faces, sometimes simply a human skull or death's-head: that they believed that this head had the power to make them rich, cause the trees to flourish and the earth to become fruitful (we could call it a fertility cult) at initiations templar candidates were stripped nearly or entirely naked; they held their meetings and

kull or death's-head: that they believed that this head had the power to make them rich, cause the trees to flourish and the earth to become fruitful (we could call it a fertility cult) at initiations templar candidates were stripped nearly or entirely naked; they held their meetings and initiations secretly and by night, as witches do. my books of reference give the official charges made against the templars as follows: 1. denial of christ and the defiling of the cross. 2. the adoration of an idol. 3. a perverted form of the mass. 4. ritual murders. 5. the wearing of a cord of heretical significance. 6. the ritual (or obscene) kiss. 7. alteration in the words of the mass and an unorthodox form of absolution. 8. treachery to other sections of the christian army in palestine. 9. immorality

icance. 6. the ritual (or obscene) kiss. 7. alteration in the words of the mass and an unorthodox form of absolution. 8. treachery to other sections of the christian army in palestine. 9. immorality. with regard to no. 8, no body of men fought so bravely and so long in palestine, so this seems to be only a trumped-up charge. with regard to nos. 3 and 7, if this were true it must have been done by the templar priests, and not by the fighting knights, but only knights were tried. no action was taken against any templar priest. with regard to no. 9, all the crusaders and the ordinary clergy were charged with this at some time or other. there seems little evidence that the templars were worse than the others. but with regard to 1, 2, 5 and possibly 4 and 6, i think there may have been some bas

y to the grail castle really depicted the journey of the soul through the underworld to reach paradise, and that this is made very clear by various exhibitions which are given to the hero whenever he cannot understand certain incidents (see the high history of the holy grail; also j.s.m. ward, the hung society, for full details) now this secret castle was said to be in a far land and to belong to the templars. to reach it you had to undergo trials or to ask certain questions, know certain secrets and secret words (passwords; in other words 'initiation' into a more or less secret society whose secrets were a magical talisman, which had five forms, or five things which were different but the same; a secret of prosperity and fertility, and a secret of resurrection or regeneration connected wi

a secret of prosperity and fertility, and a secret of resurrection or regeneration connected with a lance which dripped blood into a cup or cauldron. ah this might be taken to be equivalent to saying that it was possible for man to attain a happy afterlife without the aid of the church, or that you had no need to worship christ in order to obtain salvation. this is exactly what the church charged the templars with believing. as this struck right at the heart of the church's teaching, the church said that all those who held these views must be destroyed; hence the various trials and executions. i do not think it has ever been explained exactly what happened to the bulk of the templars. records show that about eight hundred were executed or died under torture; but this was out of fifteen tho

about eight hundred were executed or died under torture; but this was out of fifteen thousand knights scattered all over europe. there were also about twenty-five thousand priests and serving brothers, who do not seem ever to have been persecuted. so seemingly about forty thousand people dived underground and disappeared, as the witches did later. one curious point about this persecution is that the templar priests were never charged. if there is any truth in charges 3 and 7, it could only be the work of the priests. it was said they addressed the thief on the cross, which would probably have meant barabbas- surely an unlikely person to turn into a god. another story was that they called christ a thief because he claimed to be the son of god when he was the son of man. if they had said th

hat at their meetings they ate the body and drank the blood of their god! and during the first world war the turkish police raided the english church at jerusalem, tore up the altar and dug up all the floor, because they had heard that the priest in charge had recently made two canons at the altar- canon had only one meaning for them. wearing a cord of heretical significance. to modern writers on the templars this has always seemed a curiously pointless charge at a time when all monks wore such a cord or girdle. but though the inquisitors may have been scoundrels, they were certainly not fools. the way they stressed this charge shows that their object was to discredit the templars with the general public in a way that would cause them to forget their great services to christendom. so it is

mohammedans; but to charge them with embracing mohammedanism would have been the most damning charge, and it was never even hinted at. in those times, a mammot was used to denote a doll or an idol and mahommerie would mean 'having to do with idols. they were said to have used these cords to bind the skull or head which they worshipped. to a witch this binding of a skull could have a meaning. that the templars attached some meaning to these cords seems clear. in the chronicle of cyprus we hear that a templar's servant removed? stole) his master's girdle. when the templar discovered this he immediately killed the servant with his sword. again, an outsider is said to have heard a knight instructing some novices, telling them to guard these cords well, wearing them concealed beneath their clot

ombination! i am forbidden to tell of the uses a witch makes of her cord, and i doubt whether the church knew, or they might have mentioned it at the trials. or perhaps they did know and did not wish this knowledge to be made public. all this may be the merest coincidence, and i only give it to show what some witches now believe. for myself i see nothing impossible in it. it is not suggested that the templars were members of the witch cult, simply that some of them may have had memories of an old cult of death and resurrection, and while more or less christians still had leanings towards it, and possibly practised some of the magic connected with it. it must be remembered that novices were forbidden to speak of anything which occurred at their initiations, even to another member. if they w

seem to be a garbled account of a ceremony of death and resurrection, perhaps seen by some outsider. there are many ancient legends of such heads or skulls: that of bran the blessed in the mabinogion, the bleeding head in the story of peredur, and others, all bringers of victory and prosperity, reminiscent of the old legends of adonis and astarte, and of horus who was begotten by the dead osiris. the templars may have attempted practices which, while sheer heresy to a witch, were founded on her methods. witches teach that to work magic you must start with a couple, a male and a female intelligence being necessary, and they must be in sympathy with each other; and they find that in practice they become fond of each other. sometimes it is undesirable that they should fall in love. witches ha

to prevent this, but they are not always successful. for this reason, they say, the goddess has strictly forbidden a man to be initiated by or to work with a man, or a woman to be initiated by or to work with a woman, the only exceptions being that a father may initiate his son and a mother her daughter, as said above; and the curse of the goddess may be on any who break this law. they think that the templars broke this law and worked magic, man with man, without knowing the way to prevent love; so they sinned, and the curse of the goddess came upon them. to my own knowledge, using these witch methods is very apt to cause a fondness which could lead to an 'affair' if it were not suppressed from the start. but that means doing two things at once, trying to produce sympathy and at the same t

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