Ordo Antichristianus Illuminati®
Women's Roles in Freemasonry:
Neo-Gnostic New Religious Movements through the Use of Feminized
Iconography
An increasing number of scholars are studying ancient religions. Why is that? The extensive scientific study of texts and artifacts is a quest for personal understanding, enlightenment or to gain knowledge of the past and present, which influences the knowledge of the future. I believe modern scholars are on quests to find "truth," similar to the age-old quests for the Holy Grail and the Philosopher's Stone. Both of these symbols exist as permeating symbolic iconography in our culture to represent the quest for "the hidden truth," where gaining understanding is synonymous with obtaining the object.
The accomplishment felt when one believes they have discovered previously hidden or unknown meanings of ancient artifacts is individually fulfilling, and described as "enlightenment" or "illumination." These discoveries have long been the goal in mystery traditions. The realization of textual truth is similar to the realization and synthesis of elements seen, heard, smelt, felt and tasted; or, in the case of religion, sensed by some supernatural contact with religious representations such as icons, idols, temples, food, images, and community. In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Emile Durkheim said: “…all that is religious is the notion of the supernatural. By that is meant any order of things that goes beyond our understanding; the supernatural is the world of mystery, the unknowable, or the incomprehensible.” 1 He goes on to explain that religion is a “feeling of mystery.” 2 Particular feelings of mystery can be influenced by structure and artifacts, including symbols in iconography. The censorship, subjugation, and implication of roles of certain individuals in society may have a powerful effect on their actual location in the society.
The purpose of this thesis is to show you how symbolism can evolve; and, how recently {in the past 200 years} the use of symbols by Freemasons, Rosicrucians and neo-Gnostic sects, have subverted or excluded women and people of color within their broader social framework. My focus is the use of iconographic symbolism and its meaning by Freemasonic and Rosicrucian groups to negotiate their belief systems. My use of the term “iconography” is broad and may transcend more scientific definitions of Art History. The American Heritage Dictionary includes within the definition of iconography:
· The collected representations illustrating a subject;
· A set of specified or traditional symbolic forms associated with the subject or theme of a stylized work of art;
· And, the conventions defining them and governing their interrelationship. 3
Both Freemasonic and Rosicrucian histories are easily shown by textual evidence to have existed for approximately the past 500 years, and predominantly in the past 200. Neo-Gnosticism, on the other hand, can be described as both permeating Freemasonic and Rosicrucian traditions, as well as existing independently.
For this thesis, I have included the term
“neo-Gnostic” only to differentiate it from the Gnosticism of ancient
traditions. Although some ancient
Gnostic documents or heresiologist accounts have influenced the groups I will
describe, they are not their primary religious focus. The term “neo-Gnostic” is used specifically
to describe the elements of Gnosticism that exist within the other two groups,
not to describe modern independent groups that have cropped up in recent years
due to public accessibility of the Nag Hammadi Library and other
non-traditional Christian texts. I am choosing to discuss particular groups because they
currently and historically they have maintained political power, economic control,
and greater access to resources than other groups. These groups emanated from Europe and
currently exist within the
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn remains the preeminent
occult secret society. The Golden Dawn
was founded in
Freemasons
Freemasonry is a loose term that contains a broad history and tradition and incorporates various individual groups that now exist worldwide. There are some forms of Freemasonry that allow women members and there are very few women who have been initiated into male-only groups. One example is Vinnie Ream, who was sculpting a bust of Abraham Lincoln at the time when he was assassinated. She was the first woman to gain a large federal commission. Albert Pike, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite Freemasons, who was also in love with her, gave her “the degrees of the Ancient French Rite of Adoption.” 6 However, Pike was also an apologist for slavery. He thought the states had the right to decide on the slavery issue and that it was “not the 'great outrage on humanity' that some portrayed it to be.” 7 Pike also thought Native American territory should be annexed and given to the Confederacy. According to William L. Fox, he "may have hoped for the military command of the territory (but) he was quite satisfied that Brigadier General Benjamin McCulloch, a Texas Ranger, was selected. His actions towards civilizing Native tribes were celebrated.8
Freemasons claim they can exclude women from membership
because they are a private organization that should be allowed to determine who
joins. They also claim that they do not
exclude men of color; however, photos of their leadership appear to be only of
white men. This suggests that the
exclusion by both race and gender persists.
Since Freemasonic membership has included prominent political leaders,
the exclusion of women and people of color continues to contribute to the
inequality of access to resources in our society, which favors white men. To illustrate how arbitrary the exclusion of women is in
modern Freemasonic groups, Robert Freke Gould discusses a document entitled A
Letter from the Grand Mistress of the Freemasons, first published in the
Apparent belief of the inadequacy of women Freemasons prevailed and women were blamed for breach of secrecy. In 1679, John Fulltoun allowed non-commissioned members to enter the Lodge “…freely ratified by 'Mother Kilwinning.'” These accusations persisted into the mid 18th century where "one of her daughter Lodges" permitted non-members to enter.10 Because of this, the lodges were considered unofficial.
Rosicrucians
Existing alongside Freemasonry but with a different mythic history are the Rosicrucians. Albert Mackey provides a description of the Rosicrucians in An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1913), where he says that Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism are derived from entirely different histories. He further says that although they use similar symbols they have unique meanings for each group.11 Currently, many Rosicrucian groups exist as extensions of Freemasonry since the interest in Rosicrucian mysteries by Freemasons has caused a collaborative effort between the two. Historical Rosicrucian fellowships initially developed in the 13th and 14th centuries {with the likes of John Reuchlin, John Picus di Mirandola, Cornelius Henry Agrippa, John Baptist Von Helmont, and Robert Fludd}, before Freemasonic lodges had been organized. The 16th century brought about increased interest in Rosicrucian myths and advanced Freemasonic degrees began to include Rosicrucian concepts.12
Rosicrucian ideology can be best described as Christian mysticism, influenced by Hermeticism, Alchemy, Kabbalism, and Gnosticism. However, at the crux of the mystery was the idea of the preservation of their founding father, the mythic Christian Rosenkreuz, and the regeneration of the Rosicrucian temple. After the mythical Rosenkreuz died, the legend is that their order existed only in secret for 100 years. About 100 years after his death, Rosicrucian brethren discovered the tomb and opened it, finding: “a heptagonal vault, each of its seven sides being five feet wide, and in height eight feet. The light was received from an artificial sun in the roof, and in the middle of the floor there stood, instead of a tomb, a circular altar, on which was an inscription, importing that this apartment, as a compendium of the universe, had been erected by Christian Rosenkreuz. Other later inscriptions about the apartment, such as 'Jesus is my all; the yoke of the law; the liberty of the Gospel' indicated the Christian character of the builder. In each of the sides was a door opening into a closet, and in these closets they found many rare and valuable articles, such as the life of the founder, the vocabulary of Paracelsus, and the secrets of the order…The body of Rosenkreuz was also found in a perfect state of preservation.”13
In the mid-18th
century, the novelty of Freemasonry flooded France.14 Antoine Joseph Pernety, a Benedictine monk,
and later a librarian of
In the last century, many religious sects incorporating aspects of Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism or both have developed in increasing numbers. Another contributing factor of many sects, addressed by both Freemasons and Rosicrucians, but more specifically though the ideas of ancient Christian sects called Gnostics, is the individualized initiation into the Christ mind. In his chapter on Freemasonry and the Gnostics {XXVIII}, Mackey describes the mythic hypothesis of Freemasonry to "trace a connection" between itself and Gnosticism.23 It is specifically here where scholars may heavily criticize Freemasons for their ahistorical and mythological connections. Freemasonry reduces the mystery traditions of history into one homogenous group with an unbroken lineage. The Basilidians are thought to be the most important sect contributing to Freemasonry24, but are only preserved in fragments by heresiologists.25
Epiphanius, in the Panarion, says Basilides preached that “the Unbegotten was one, who alone is the father of all. From it proceeds, he says, Mind, from Mind Logos, from Logos Prudence, from Prudence Power and Wisdom and from Power and Wisdom principalities, authorities and angels.” He goes on to describe a hierarchy of heavens, 365 in all, “from the highest one down to our heaven.” (24.1.1).26 The specific form of Gnosticism chosen to represent Freemasonry, in light of the wide variety of choices, illustrates a clever admission to the belief in a hierarchical power structure of religion.
Symbolism of Solomon's
Martin S. Day, in The Many Meanings of Myth, distinguishes emblem from symbol. Freemasonic and Rosicrucian culture contain many emblems,
which may or may not have retained their original symbolic meaning. Symbols do not represent an external reality
but "a psychic and spiritual reality" so that “the participant in a sacred drama or
sacred dance is actually living the sacral experience. Hence the statue of a god truthfully has the
god within it.”27
Of primary symbolic importance in Freemasonic legend and in
its current temple design is the construction of the
This temple, used in Freemasonic initiatory rites, is supposedly what Freemasonic halls represent. Daniel Béresniak in Symbols of Freemasonry (2000) describes the modern Freemasonic Temple of Solomon: "The first temple … is the setting for the degree of Master, or that of Secret Master… The legend…tells of how the three architects discovered the traces of an ancient temple attributed to Enoch wile digging the foundations for the temple, and in these ruins found a brilliantly shining Triangle. "30 More interesting, though, within the context of this account is what the myth excludes from Biblical textual accounts of Solomon's reign, coinciding with his actual temple construction: Solomon's elder brother, Adonijah, was supposed to be king {I Kings 2:15}. He asked Solomon for Abishag (2:17), a woman who was sent as a virgin to help King David on his death bed {1:1}. Instead of giving her to him, Solomon killed him {2:24}. In order to achieve appropriated Kingship, Solomon engaged in a typical bridal exchange with the Pharoah of Egypt so that the Pharoah's daughter was sent to Solomon to become his wife {3:1}. Solomon loved many foreign women {11:1} and had around 1000 wives, concubines, and princesses {11:3}. However, because he had followed other gods, his kingdom was to fail, according to Yahweh. He began to follow other gods specifically due to his "foreign wives'" influence {11:8}.
Reflecting the iconoclasm of removing the Asherah from the temple {described
extensively in scholarship which claims Asherah
or Athirat was a consort of El and probably Yahweh}31: “Solomon began going
after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the disgusting
thing of the Ammonites” {11:5}. “It was then that Solomon proceeded to build a high
place to Chemosh the disgusting thing
of
Mackey says that the
Legend of the Craft of Freemasonry is “merely a narrative of the rise and
progress of architecture in its connection with a peculiar architectural
association.”32 Richard A.
Rogers and Julie Kalil Schutten wrote The Gender of Water and the Pleasure of
Alienation: A Critical Analysis of
Visiting Hoover Dam, where, after visiting the Hoover Dam, they described it as
an enormous construction which requires “…the
domination of one spirit - the 'human spirit' -- over an other-than human and
apparently feminine spirit. There is a
conquering at work here, in which triumph comes at the cost of another's subordination,
and that cost is almost completely ignored in the entire presentation.”33 This reflects the cost to Solomon's brother,
his property bride from
“Hiram cast two pillars of copper, eighteen cubits being the height of each pillar, and a string of twelve cubits would measure around each of the two pillars. And two capitals he made to put upon the tops of the pillars, cast in copper…And he proceeded to set up the pillars belonging to the porch of the temple. So he set up the right-hand pillar and called its name Jachin, and then set up the left-hand pillar and called its name Boaz” (I Kings 7:15-21).
Rogers and Shutten describe in detail how the mammoth
structure called the Hoover Dam continues to perpetuate a historical,
imperialist ideologies where the colonization of Native Americans (complete
with their apparently non-resistant cooperation) and the subjugation and
control of the feminine-labeled
"chaos" of the Colorado River must be subjugated and
controlled by the progressive "white man." Mammoth architectural projects continue in
the vein of the "House of the Forest of Lebanon," where the earth is
plunged for its finite resources to continue building the proverbial Tower of
Babel, and perhaps, finally achieving the 365th level of heaven. Interestingly, a more ancient Freemasonic legend
{expressed in the Halliwell poem ‘1390,’ the most ancient Freemasonic
manuscript extant} recounts the building of the tower of Babylon as the origin
of Freemasonry: “Assur, the son of Shem, is also represented as a great Mason, the
buildier of the city of Nineveh, and to whom Nimrod sent workmen to assist
him. From
However, by the end of the 19th Century, this legendary
account of the origin of Freemasonry was obscured, and, contradicting the old
manuscripts the
Symbolism of the Rose Cross
Another example of officials confusing and obscuring symbolic meaning is expressed in definitions of the Rose Cross. They illustrate more clearly the level of misogyny associated with attempts to firm up its modern symbolism by excluding or subverting feminine qualities. Alongside the apparent profound opposition Mackey has to the possibility that Freemasons were actually associated with Rosicrucians, he states, “It is true, that about the middle of the eighteenth century, a period fertile in the invention of high degrees, a Masonic Rite was established which assumed the name of Rose Croix Masonry, and adopted the symbol of the Rose and Cross.”37 He then goes on to describe a Rosicrucian symbol which seems peculiarly like the Rose Cross emblem: “A philosopher is measuring with a pair of compasses a circle which surmounts a triangle. The triangle encloses a square, within which is another circle, and inside the circle a nude man and woman, representing, it may be supposed, the first step of the experiment. Over all is the epigraph: Make of man and woman a circle; thence a square; thence a triangle; form a circle, and you will have the Philosopher's Stone.”38
Mackey then goes on to refute this symbol: “But it must be remembered…that the labors of the real Hermetic philosophers outside of the charlatans were rather of a spiritual than a material character; and that their "great work" symbolized not the acquisition of inexhaustible wealth and the infinite prolongation of life, but the regeneration of man and the immortality of the soul.”39 The woman, represented by material, is effectively eliminated from the equation of symbolic meaning. If that isn't explicit enough, Mackey then goes on to describe Peter Gassendi and Mosheim's interpretation of the rose and cross etymology and symbolism: They deduce it from the two words ros {meaning} dew and crux {meaning} a cross, and thus define it: Dew, according to the Alchemists, was the most powerful of all substances to dissolve gold; and the cross, in the language of the same philosophers, was identical with light, or LVX, because the figure of a cross exhibits the three letters of that word. But the word lux was referred to the seed or menstruum of the Red Dragon, which was that crude and material light which, being properly concocted and digested, produces gold. Hence, says Mosheim, a Rosicrucian is a philosopher, who by means of dew seeks for light, that is, therefore the substance of the philosopher's stone.40
This Alchemical Red Dragon theory seems like a less polemic recount of Epiphanius' description of the Borborian Gnostics: “…the pitiful pair made love…then proceed to hold up their blasphemy to heaven, the woman and the man taking the secretion from the male into their own hands and standing looking up to heaven. They hold in their hands the impurity and pray…"We offer you this gift, the body of Christ. And then they consume it, partaking of their shamefulness, and they say, ‘This is the body of Christ and this is the Pasch for which our bodies suffer and are forced to confess to the passion of Christ.’ They do the same with what is of the woman, and she has the flow of blood: collecting the monthly blood of impurity from her, they take it and consume it together in the same way. They say, ‘This is the blood of Christ.’”41
Mackey, however, refutes that this is the correct interpretation of the Rose Cross, stating: “Another and more reasonable derivation … in accordance with the notions of Andreä, who was the founder of the Order, and gave it its name, for in his writings he constantly calls it the "Fraternitas Roseae Crucis," or ‘The Fraternity of the Rosy Cross’. If the idea of dew had been in the mind of Andreä in giving a name to the society, he would have called it the ‘Fraternity of the Dewy Cross.’ … This ought to settle the question. The man who invents a thing has the best right to give it a name.”42
The attitude underlying the revilement at the possibility of its meaning as ‘dew’ appears misogynistic when paralleling it with the idea that man's regeneration rather than materiality supersedes the first Rosicrucian symbol, containing a nude man and woman. Mackey goes on to describe various other possible interpretations of the symbol, including the idea that is a derivative of St. Andrew's Cross and a symbol of secrecy and light.43 My question is, if the founder meant it mean ‘secrecy and light,’ why wouldn't he name the order the ‘Fraternity of Secrecy and Light?’
Max Heindel, in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception {1937} further obscures and subverts female symbolism, taking a more mystical approach: “Viewed in its fullness, this wonderful symbol contains the key to man's past evolution, his present constitution and future development, together with the method of attainment …”44 This symbol has been considered phallic, an emblem showing the licentiousness of the people who worshiped it. Truly it is a symbol of generation… 45 And, continuing to reflect Mackey's description of generation, Heindel states:
“for the moment the spirit pierced the veil of flesh and Adam knew his wife. He had ceased to know himself - thus his consciousness become more and more centered outside himself in the outside world and he lost his inner perception. That cannot be fully regained until he passed to the stage where it is no longer necessary to have a partner in generation, and he has reached the development where he can utilize his whole creative force at will.”46 Apparently, the goal in these mystery traditions is the subordination of woman who is blamed for causing man to lose his consciousness, and any feminine symbol inherent in the mystery becomes obscured or destroyed. Ultimately, the elimination of women altogether is the key, so that it is no longer necessary for man to have a partner, so man can utilize his whole creative/regenerative force at will, free of woman.
This ideology reflects the subordination of women by officiators of Christianity. Women who study Catholicism and other Christian religious organizations have described similar circumstance for women. It is no surprise to feminism that the theology of subordination and elimination of the female from spirituality exists here. These are just another example of patriarchal organizations persisting in society which continue to harbor anti-women and racial hierarchies and exclusion. Women have been subverted, alienated, excluded, and the mysteries and process of the female experience has been made taboo or been sublimated into religious iconography so that it is no longer discernable. This presentation has hopefully extracted literary evidence of the intentional elimination of women as a social group not only from being officiators in the bodies of these secret orders, but also even from the possibility of spiritual unity.
Bibliography
The American Heritage Dictionary:
Béresniak, Daniel (2000).
Symbols of Freemasonry
illustrated by Laziz Hamani. Assouline
Publishing.
Day, Martin S. (1984).
The Many Meanings of Myth. University Press of
Durkheim, Emile (1995).
The Elementary Forms of Religious
Life. The Free Press,
St. Epiphanius, Bishop of
Fox, William L. (1997).
Lodge of the Double-Headed
Eagle: Two Centuries of Scottish Rite
Freemasonry in
Gould, Robert Freke (1904).
A Concise History of Freemasonry. Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply C.,
(Inc.),
Heindel, Max (1937). The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic
Christianity, an Elementary Treatise upon Man's Past Evolution, Present
Constitution and Future Development. L.
N. Fowler & Co.
Leadbeater, C.W. (1926, 1986). Freemasonry
and its Ancient Mystic Rites.
Gramercy Books.
Mackey M.D., 33º, Albert G. (1898). The
History of Freemasonry: Its Legends and
Traditions, Its Chronological History with The History of the Symbolism of
Freemasonry the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and the Royal Order of
Mackey M.D., 33º, Albert G. (1913). An
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and its Kindred Sciences Comprising the Whole Range
of Arts, Sciences and Literature as Connected with the Institution. (A New and Revised Edition) Volumes I and II.
The Masonic History Company.
Melton, J. Gordon (1992).
The Esoteric Scene, Cultic Milieu,
and Occult Tarot. Garland
Pulblishing, Inc.
Rogers, Richard A. and Julie Kalil Schutten. (Aug 2004). “The Gender of Water and the Pleasure of
Alienation: A Critical Analysis of Visiting
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[1] Durkheim. 1995. 22.
[2] 23.
[3] The American Heritage Dictionary:
[4] Melton. 1992. 44-45.
[5] 45.
[6] Fox. 1997. 92-93.
[7] 62-63.
[8] 70-71.
[9] Gould. 1904. 349.
[10] 339.
[11] Mackey. 1913. 640. Encyclopedia vol. II.
[12] Mackey. 1898. 352. History of Freemasonry vol. II
[13] Mackey. 1913. 640. Encyclopedia vol II
[14] Mackey. 1898. 352. History of Freemasonry vol. II
[15] 353.
[16] 355.
[17] The 18th Degree of the Knight of the Pelican and Eagle Sovereign Prince Rose Croix includes:
1. The jewel worn in this degree is a pair
of compasses with a rose on either side and surmounted by a celestial crown.
The points of the compasses are extended on the segment of a circle with a
cross between them. Beneath the cross is
the heraldic emblem known as a ‘pelican in its piety’; and on the reverse a
white eagle with its wings extended as if rising in the air.
2. The pelican is a symbol of Christ our
Redeemer; for, as it was reputed to feed its young with its own blood to save
them from death, so our Saviour shed His blood to save us from death eternal.
3. The eagle reminds us that the Saviour is
God himself, as He said to the Israelites of old: I bare you on eagles’ wings
and brought you unto myself
4. The rose is an emblem of secrecy and
silence. In the Song of Solomon, we find reference to the Saviour under the
mystical title of the Rose of Sharon.
5. The cross represents the Cross of
Calvary, red with the precious Blood.
[18] 355.
[19] Gould. 1904. 110-111.
[20] 113.
[21] 113.
[22] The purpose of this presentation is not to unravel the truth of whether Freemasons and Rosicrucians were associated, or the more contentious argument, that Freemasons were actually derived from Rosicrucians, it is important to illustrate not only the similarity between the two but also the co-membership among them and historical accusations of “railing at womenkind.”
[23] Mackey. 1898. 371. History of Freemasonry vol. II
[24] 372.
[25] The Gnostic Bible edited by Willis Barnstone and Marvin Meyer. 2003. 112.
[26] Epiphanius. 1990. 68.
[27] Day. 1984. 11.
[28] Mackey. 1898. 78. History of Freemasonry vol.I
[29] 74-75.
[30] Béresniak. 2000. 26.
[31] See Judith M. Hadley's The Cult of Asherah in Ancient
[32] Mackey. 1898. 74. History of Freemasonry vol.I
[33]
[34] 275.
[35] Mackey. 1898. 59. History of Freemasonry vol.I
[36] 60.
[37] Mackey. 1913. 640. Encyclopedia vol. II.
[38] 641.
[39] 641.
[40] 641.
[41] Epiphanius. 1990. 76-77 (26.4.4-8).
[42] 641.
[43] 641.
[44] Heindel. 1937. 534.
[45] 535.
[46] 535.