Freemasonries: David Henry X°, Clandestinity and Recognition

I began this post months ago -- when it was more relevant -- and have only just tidied it up and readied it for posting.  I'd like to thank Fred Milliken, who read an earlier draft and corrected some of my errors regarding recognition issues and my misuse of the words "irregular" and "clandestine".  Any mistakes that have persisted in this post are entirely my fault and should not reflect adversely on Bro. Milliken.  I'd like to thank him for his time and consideration for helping me out.  My appreciation and respect, always.

Update 11 Aug.:  My site stats show significant traffic from a reddit discussion about this post in which a couple of participants criticize what they see as its lack of clarity vis-a-vis Prince Hall Masonry.  I think understanding these "Masonic Police" requires providing as much context as possible, which to my mind means that an explanation of Prince Hall and it's relationship to other duly-chartered Grand Lodges is necessary.  That said, I'd like to point out that while David Henry, his cohorts, and his "Masonic" associates identify themselves as Prince Hall Masons, they are considered to be clandestine, or Masonically "illegal" (and thus not recognized) by the legitimate Grand Lodges of California and the United Grand Lodge of England.  Although I think a modicum of attention while reading this post makes that clear, I add this preface so that if you're skimming (as I often do) you won't think I'm identifying this "Police Dept." -- or the Lodges associated with it -- as legitimate Prince Hall Lodges.  Though costumed as Cops and Freemasons, they are, in the words of The Phylaxis Society, bogus.  But please, read on and judge for yourself.  I know it's a long post, but knowledge is bought with time.  Fair enough?

When news of the Masonic Fraternal Police Department broke a few months ago (see Grandmaster Flashy), Freemasons everywhere rolled their eyes and sighed "here we go again."

David Henry X°

Many people hear the word "Freemasonry" and think that one Lodge is the same as any other.  For the general public, Masonry is a monolithic structure, controlled from on-high by a single, secretive cabal of old dudes in top hats.  

But any Mason will tell you that this is simply not the case.  Freemasonry has its rivalries, factions, competing Grand Lodges and Orients, with disputes as noisy and fractious as any number of national parliaments one can witness jeering and hissing on C-SPAN.  The difference is that these disputes usually aren't carried out in public.

There are several different traditions within Masonry.  Christianity has its Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox adherents.  Islam, its Sunni, Shiite and Sufi varieties.  Buddhism is divided into Theravada, Mahayana, Zen....etc.  In Masonry we can speak of both "Anglo-Saxon" and "Continental" Masonry, as well as Lodges who are neither one nor the other (such as the Scandinavian Rites).  Very (very) simply put, Continental (aka Liberal, Dogmatic or "Red") Masonry is organized into Grand Orients and derives from a French model.  Anglo-Saxon, ("Blue") Masonry is organized into Grand Lodges and based on the English model.

There are significant ritual differences between the two traditions, and even many Masons may not be aware that relations between "Red" and "Blue" Masonry are sometimes strained; while they might recognize each other as legitimate forms of Masonry -- and even this is not always the case -- diplomatic relations are sporadic.  Their differences are also related to politics, but for the purposes of this article let it suffice to say that Lodges are not directed from on high by a single Masonic authority.

In Anglo-Saxon Masonry, each country is governed by an independent Grand Lodge with its own officers, rules, ritual particularities and diplomatic protocols.  In the U.S., each state has its own Grand Lodge and accordingly, there are variations within their practices.  More importantly, they are all independent, none of them beholden to or under the authority of another.  What holds all these Lodges together is that they are recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England.  If a Mason visits any (U.G.L.E.-recognized) Lodge and presents a dues card issued by a Lodge recognized by the U.G.L.E., he is considered a "non-clandestine" Mason and welcome to participate in the Lodge.

This patchwork of authorities is not without its problems.  Recognizing the "legitimacy" of  a Lodge is considered to be of critical importance.  If I cross state lines and want to attend a Lodge meeting, the host Lodge must be certain that my "Mother" Lodge is not clandestine.  This is quite easy, because there is a directory of recognized Grand Lodges and Lodges to which the Worshipful Master can refer.  For the public however, it's not so simple; anybody can buy Masonic regalia, find the rituals and present themselves as a duly recognized Mason.  As far as practice and ritual goes, they may in fact be genuine; given the sorry state of ritual I've witnessed in some mainstream Lodges, some of the "clandestine" Lodges may even be superior in the quality of their practice. 

For many years, a controversy has existed within Freemasonry -- tied up with the issues of regularity and recognition -- and it's still being worked out today.  I'm speaking about Prince Hall Masonry.

I'm no expert in Masonic jurisprudence and there are people far more informed about this topic than I, but indulge me for a few moments while I try to sum up the history and problems involved.

At some point prior to the onset of American War of Independence, an African-American educator and intellectual named Prince Hall led a group of African-American petitioners to Boston's St. John's Lodge, with the ultimate goal of creating a charter and forming their own Lodge.  St. John's refused their petition.

In 1775, the group tried again with a military Lodge under the aegis of the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This time they were successful; Hall and his fellows were initiated and went on to found African Lodge No. 1.  Unable to create a charter without the assent of a Grand Lodge, African Lodge No. 1 applied to the Mother Grand Lodge of England, who issued a charter as African Lodge no. 459 in 1784.  Prince Hall then helped to establish Lodges in Philadelphia and Rhode Island.  These Lodges were generally excluded from the (white) mainstream.  The Prince Hall Masons understood that integration with the mostly-white was unlikely so they focused instead on being recognized.  In 1808, still excluded from mainstream Masonic society, they formed African Grand Lodge to oversee the Lodges they had created. 

In 1813, the Mother Grand Lodge merged with another Grand Lodge to form the U.G.L.E., thus ending a schism in England that had arisen from ritual differences and that had led to the existence of what was called "Antient" and "Modern" Freemasonry.  As a result of the merger, the African Grand Lodge was stricken from the U.G.L.E.'s rolls due to a lack of contact between the African Grand Lodge and the Mother Grand Lodge for many years.  Newly independent, they petitioned for recognition from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts but were refused.  So in 1827 they formally declared independence from the U.G.L.E. and all other American Grand Lodges, who had themselves already declared independence from the English Grand Lodges after the Revolution.  This formal separation led to a separate and independent tradition of African-American Masonry, which today we call Prince Hall Masonry.  Freemasonry, like the rest of American society, was segregated, and most Grand Lodges viewed the African Lodges as irregular and clandestine. 

In 1994 the U.G.L.E., recognizing that racism had in effect forced the African Grand Lodge into a separate tradition, ruled that the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts "should now be accepted as regular, and be recognised."

While many Masons in both mainstream and Prince Hall Lodges had been pushing for some sort of reconciliation for decades, the U.G.L.E.'s decision set the gears in motion for concrete action.  For if the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was recognized, then the Lodges it chartered could also be considered as recognized; and if they were recognized by the U.G.L.E., one could no longer use the issue of clandestinity as a justification for not recognizing them.

Merging

At this point, one might ask why the Prince Hall Lodges and mainstream Grand Lodges didn't consider merging, thus eliminating the grotesque spectacle of a racially-segregated brotherhood.  This was indeed considered, but it quickly became apparent that this "solution" was anything but.

First of all, what would happen to the leadership of each Grand Lodge?  Each Lodge had its own officers and those administrations would either have to be dissolved and new elections held, or one administration would have to give up their offices and defer to the other.  Obviously, given human nature, this would be a thorny issue.  Not to mention succession.  What would happen to the Masonic veteran who'd worked his way through the Grand Line with the hopes of becoming Grand Master?  Both Grand Lodges would have Brothers who risked having the carpet yanked from under their feet.

There's also the question of identity and ritual differences  Prince Hall had a 250+ year history and over time has developed its own identity, customs and traditions.  Why risk losing all that in a merger?

Then there's the issue of property.  The Masons own buildings, sponsor charities, own retirement homes, hospitals etc.  How would this be handled?  Not impossible, companies merge all the time, but it's still a complex and expensive process.  Contrary to popular belief, most Grand Lodges are not rolling in piles of cash.  Would the Grand Lodges have the money to effectuate a merger?

Needless to say, no Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Grand Lodges have merged.

Mutual Recognition

For practical reasons, the best solution has been mutual recognition.  Each group maintains its leadership structure and preserves its individual identity, its ritual differences and traditions.

In some  ways, this has been easier for Prince Hall Lodges.  There is in each state a Grand Lodge that all Lodges in that State report to.  They are chartered by that Grand Lodge and must respect its decisions in matters of jurisprudence and ritual, suspensions, visiting rights, etc.  The criteria for determining the legitimate Grand Lodge is clear; one need only look to see which one is recognized by the U.G.L.E.  But on the Prince Hall side things are a bit less clear.  Prince Hall Masonry has historically seen more schisms and the creation of clandestine Lodges than non-Prince Hall Masonry.  In some jurisdictions, there is more than one Prince Hall Grand Lodge; some of these have equally large numbers of Brothers and can trace their origins back to the original African Grand Lodge.  So the issue facing the non-Prince Hall Grand Lodges is that it isn't always clear which one to recognize.

There is also a supposed legal question.  Some Masons in America have interpreted Masonic jurisprudence to mean that there can only be one Grand Lodge per jurisdiction (The Right of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction, a.k.a. the American Doctrine).  They would argue that recognizing another Grand Lodge is Masonically "illegal".  But clearly the U.G.L.E. disagrees, or they would not have recognized the Prince Hall Lodges.  In fact, without going into the technical details, the U.G.L.E. has stated that two Grand Lodges can in fact operate in the same jurisdiction.  The principal caveat being that a Lodge can only declare loyalty to one Grand Lodge and that a Grand Lodge has no authority over a Lodge that has declared loyalty to another.  It also is clear that raiding -- where one Grand Lodge sets itself up and tries to poach member-Lodges from another -- is strictly forbidden.

Personally, I'm one of those people who think mutual recognition with full visiting rights was something that needed to be done years ago and Lodges which haven't done it yet should make this their number one priority.  Lodges have long accepted black members and Prince Hall has long accepted white members.  The groups are not officially racially segregated.  The reality may have lagged behind due to racist attitudes, but these attitudes have changed and you'll find fewer and fewer Lodges that would refuse to admit a black man.  Thing is, a lot of black men prefer to join Prince Hall Lodges.  After all, the Prince Hall Lodges have a long history and are held in high regard in many black communities.  Black men are often simply more comfortable in a Prince Hall Lodge.  Still, when you look at this map from Paul Bessel's website about recognition issues, it's clear that all of the Grand Lodges which have not recognized their Prince Hall counterparts, except for West Virginia, are states which belonged to the Confederacy.

A cautionary tale

Let's get back to the Masonic Fraternal Police Force.  In addition to saying something to the general public about not looking at Masonry as one monolithic entity, it can also be instructive to Masons about the pitfalls of non-recognition.

The ringleader of the M.F.P.F. is a guy who goes by the name of Grandmaster David Henry X°.

A quick look at Henry's Google + profile immediately raises red flags.  Henry claims degrees and titles that don't even exist in Freemasonry or are presented in a very odd manner.  He calls himself a Illuminati Grandmaster and Absolute Most Illuminated Sovereign Grand Baphomet.  (He forgot "Grand Wazoo", but that's another story.)  Then there are his degrees: 32°, 33°, 90°, 96°, 98°, X°, 360°.

For the edification of the non-Mason out there, this is pure nonsense.  In the Scottish Rite a man can earn the 32°, and the 33° is awarded for outstanding contributions to the Craft.  But a 33° Mason will only identify himself as 33°, not 32° as well.  The Rite of Misraïm did have 90 degrees but this Rite no longer exists independently.  It merged with the Rite of Memphis, and as of 1980 the Rite of Memphis-Misraïm did indeed have 99 degrees.  So, it's possible Henry did the 98 degrees, but the same question remains, why list 90° and 96° as well?  As for 360°, the only place I've heard tell of something similar is among the 5 Percent Nation.  He may have been a 5 Percenter, I can't say otherwise, which is fine by me.  But it's not exactly Masonry.  As for an X degree, I suppose he's referring to the O.T.O., whose X° (tenth) degree is called Rex Summus Sanctissimus (Supreme and Most Holy King!)  Llewellyn states "It is the title held by the National Master General of the O.T.O. in a particular country."  I'm sure the O.T.O. would beg to differ.

Thing is, researching this guy I came across the following video:

In this video, made in the wake of the demonstrations following the Zimmerman verdict, a group of Masons stands with an L.A.P.D. spokesman to call for peace and calm.  Are all these Masons members of Henry's group?  In the preview image you see here (click to see video), Henry is the guy on the far left with the killer beard and the shades.  By what authority is Henry there?

On 19 June 2014 the L.A. Watts Times reports on the 10th annual St. John's Day ceremony in L.A.  In attendance were several Masonic leaders, including Brandon Kiel, the Justice Department staffer arrested along with Henry in connection with the the Police Department imbroglio.  Surprisingly, also present was one Van A. Hibbler (sic), who Henry thanks for "making [me?] a Grand Master years ago." 

Interesting.  While researching my first post on this subject, I came across an article in the L.A. Weekly written after Henry and Kiel were arrested, in which Hibler distanced himself from Henry.  He says "a while ago" Henry approached him about forming a new Lodge, and he'd insisted that he go through proper channels.  After the new Lodge didn't pan out, he came back and talked about his police department scheme.  Hibler said he wasn't interested.

I wonder if these meetings occurred before or after the St. John's Day ceremony in 2014, where Hibler was in attendance as Henry thanked him for making him a Grand Master....

Henry is on the far left, Hibler is second from right.  June 3, 2014

The LA Sentinel also ran an article on this event, mentioning that it was organized by the

The Southern California Conference, founded by Honorable Grand Master Willie G. Gauff, Sr., 33°; was designed to create unity among the Grand Lodges in Southern California.

Are all of those who participated in this conference clandestine Masons?  Outside of this article, I can't find a single online reference to the conference and references to Hibler are likewise sparse.  Outside of the  interview in the L.A. Weekly and various reprints of the L.A. Watts Time article, I can only find one other reference to him as a Masonic leader, also in the LA Watts times from 7 February 2013

The M.W. Illustrious Scottish Knights Grand Supreme Council under the leadership of M.W. Grandmaster Hon. David Henry 33rd (giving honor to his M.W. Grand Master Hon. Van A. Hibler 33rd) presented the Della Smith Queen Sheba Legacy Award to Wilma Smith Kiel. Grand High Priest Brandon Kiel 33rd, Deputy Grandmaster Kevin Briley 33rd, and Illustrious Assemblyman Mike Davis (ret.) 33rd, were also in attendance to present this award.

There is also reference to the VH Hibler Youth and Outreach Corporation, a non-profit organization incorporated in 2005 which appears to have been suspended by the California Secretary of State.  This may have resulted from not filing a Statement of Information listing officers and directors.

According to the Phylaxis Society, a Prince hall research organization

There are more African American Bogus Grand Lodges in the United States than there are Legitimate Grand Lodges around the World.

Not surprisingly there are quite a few in  California.  The specific Lodges the three people arrested claimed to have belonged to -- the Knights of Luxor Knights Templars Grand Lodge AASR (Henry, Kiel) and Lady Jewel of the Nile Grand Chapter (Hayes) -- are not on the list, but spokesmen for various recognized Prince Hall Grand Lodges contacted by the Guardian stated that the groups the individuals in question were unaffiliated with them.  Hayes also claimed to be a minister at L.A.'s Israel Missionary Baptist Church, but yet again, staffers there denied this when contacted.  Hibler was associated with the Prince of Peace Grand Lodge (here), and this site mentions him as a key figure in the Lodge and the president of the Youth and Outreach Corp.  Phylaxis specifically lists the Prince of Peace Lodge as clandestine, i.e., bogus.

So Henry appears to be a self-aggrandizing "Grand Master" of a clandestine Lodge, having been made a Mason in yet another clandestine Lodge, mentored by a man who despite appearing together in photographs as recent as last year, both as "Grand Masters", claims to have discouraged Henry from pursuing the creation of a new Lodge and Police Department.  But there's a lot more to this guy, if any of his claims are to be believed.  Judging from the articles we've read, he's certainly regarded as a community leader, at least in some communities and, unless it's all lies, seems to run in pretty diverse circles....

Given our recent post about our intention to write a piece about Freemasonry and the Illuminati in Hip-Hop, one video on his YouTube channel entitled ILLUMINATI GRANDMASTER HENRY X°, ICE T & SYNDICATE caught our eye.  I didn't see Henry but in a comment on that video he writes (it's always caps lock with this guy)

....YES I WAS A ORIGINAL MEMBER OF ICE T AND THE RHYME SYNDICATE I WAS WITH ICE T FROM 1983 TO 1991 MY NAME WAS (INKK) I'M THE SAME PERSON ON THE POWER ALBUM HIGH ROLLERS I'M THE YOUNG GUY STANDING NEXT TO THE DJ EVIL E ON THIS VIDEO ALSO ON HIGH ROLLERS I'M THE GUY IN THE RED SHIRT THAT ASK ICE ABOUT PEOPLE GETTING SHOT UP ON CRENSHAW!!! WE WERE ON THR DOPE JAM TOUR , PUBLIC ENEMY, EPMD, BIG DADDY KANE, N.W.A. , THE LIST GOES ON!!!

The photos page on his Google + profile do show him with a host of industry-looking types, so he may well have been involved in the game at one point.  This would be an interesting avenue to explore in my eventual post about Freemasonry and Hip-Hop.  It's actually not that far out an idea.  Masonry has always been popular among the police and the military (Prince Hall's entree into Freemasonry was via a military Lodge comprised of soldiers stationed in Boston), but it has also counted a number of entertainers among its ranks.  A large number of big stars have been members of the Craft since before the age of cinema.  Maybe this has something to do with why Masons are called "traveling men", either in the role of chicken or egg.

Henry does have bona fide entertainment creds, I think.  In 2002 he won a local Emmy for a story he produced entitled Info Thieves.  He was nominated again in 2005 for a segment called School Violence.  At least, a David Henry from L.A. was nominated.  Ya see, Henry?  Start spreading outlandish tales about who you are and people will even begin to question the true stuff.  If what he says is to be believed, he also designs some pretty badass Masonic bling.

Other photos on his profile are more relevant to this post, and shed some troubling light on Henry's purpose behind his police force.  Some have written him off as a deluded man with good intentions who did something incredibly stupid and naive.  Maybe all that is true.  He's clearly also a man with a need for power, recognition and obedience.

Here he is as Grandmaster with the text:  "Seek and Destroy all who broke their oath."  Other photos indicate he thinks he was at war with the hacker collective Anonymous, touting freedom, equality and justice.  But for whom, really?  Not oath-breakers.  One pictures wolves and says (caps lock always): "For Masons who forgot their obligation the Grandmaster the wolves are watching".  He's also pictured with Maxine Waters, Bill Clinton and Jerry Brown.

So who the hell is this guy?  He's (possibly) consorting with rappers and high-ranking politicians, collecting an Emmy, threatening apostates, recruiting an aide from the Attorney General's office, appearing with the L.A.P.D., at the inauguration of a street named after a local civil rights activist.  Is it all the same guy?  And if it is, does that make his Police Department, more, or less sinister?  A lot of Masonic imposters have been more or less ingenious and accomplished people, so it's not like this type of character is totally foreign to Masonic history.

There are some lessons to be learned from all this by Mason and non-Mason alike.  All this took me was a couple of hours of poking through the Internet, but most people aren't going to do that.  They'll just read the headline and assume that THE Masons are pulling some shenanigans yet again.  It also puts into sharp relief the reason why the mainstream Lodges have been cautious about recognition.  Years ago this was a convenient excuse, but the will just simply wasn't there to push very hard.  Now the Craft is changing; a few years ago the average age was 71.  That has since dropped to 65, which is still old, but it's expected to drop.  This article in the L.A. Times speaks about the resurgence in interest among younger people; one man interviewed will be the first black Worshipful Master in his Lodge's history.  As the average age of members decreases I think we'll see a more diverse group of men.  Prince Hall will still continue to attract its traditional membership but I also think we'll see more and more African-Americans in non-Prince Hall Lodges.

"Mainstream" Grand Lodges have been ignoring Prince Hall for over two centuries but that hasn't stopped the latter from flowering, working with an enviable ritual quality and serving their communities to the point that Masonry is held in higher esteem among African-American communities than among whites, where it has become seen by many as something of an atavistic joke, full of racist, doddering old men in goofy hats and tiny cars.  Perhaps it isn't a coincidence that since recognition has had some years under its belt, the Craft is starting to attract younger men as described in the L.A. Times article.  This may also be part of the resurgence in so-called Traditional Observance Lodges, which aspire to return to the contemplative and esoteric aspects of the craft, rejecting the "instant Mason" formula of one-day classes in favor of taking one's time, not foregoing the memory work and even requiring candidates to research and present aspects of the Craft before going on to the next degree.  There is also an emphasis on perfecting ritual and often Lodge is held as a black-tie affair, as in times past.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn that these last two items, ritual excellence and more formal attire, might be a reaction to visits to Prince Hall Lodges, where Mainstream masons learned a thing or two about how ritual should be done.  For the most part, we can at least say that now we're doing it together.

Working together fosters openness, which in the future can only benefit the Craft.  Think of Henry David on the podium behind an L.A.P.D. officer, representing Freemasonry.  Recognition will help the public distinguish between the legitimate and the clandestine, hopefully with the result that they will reject the spurious and self-appointed Grandmasters that for the moment, it seems, can easily delude the public.  If Henry and his crew hadn't gone the extra step of playing police officer, they might still be up there among the "community leaders" in pursuit of whatever goals they were trying to obtain.

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Name that tomb

Some time back I did a little post on Lisbon's Cemetery of Pleasures, which is the best cemetery name, like, evah.

My goal was to document a pyramid mausoleum I saw there, the Jazigo dos Duques de Palmela -- which is loaded with Masonic symbolism -- but I didn't have a decent photo.  I did a little search and found one; the guy who snapped it, Luis Morgado, kindly agreed to let me use it.

So, I was delighted to hear from Luis again the other day, about the time I did my post which took a look at renovations at Toulouse's Terre Cabade cemetery, with it's Egyptian Revival gate and gatehouse, as well as a quick peep at the humbler pyramid tombs of Charles Piazzi Smyth and Charles Taze Russell.  Luis is traveling in North America and taking pictures; he did a great set in Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, in search of the tombs of some of America's greatest architects.  It's a wonderful cemetery with some impressive funerary architecture, if you're into that sort of thing, which I am!

I'm just gonna cut-and-past Wikipedia on this one:

Well-known Chicago brewer Peter....Schoenhofen's family mausoleum was designed by Richard E. Schmidt, a Chicago School architect, in 1893....The mausoleum is internationally famous and is one of the most photographed mausoleums at Graceland Cemetery.

The Schoenhofen Pyramid Mausoleum is a steep sided tomb designed, like many of the monuments at Chicago's Graceland Cemetery, in the Egyptian Revival style....The pyramid's design combines both Egyptian (the sphinx) and Christian (the angel) symbols.  Regardless, the American Institute of Architects' Chicago guide book called the angel "rather out-of-place".  The door to the pyramid is styled after the gateways at Karnak, in Egypt....A bronze molding of bundled reeds surrounds the door and the door's themselves feature cast lotus designs with coiled asps around the handles.

While the Schoenhofen Mausoleum is a pyramid, and referred to as such, its design is only Egyptian-inspired....There are several historical works that are considered related to the Schoenhofen Mausoleum. The Roman funerary pyramid of Caius Cestius is considered a historical predecessor to the Schoenhofen Mausoleum.  Perhaps more closely related are the pyramid by Louis Carrogis Carmontelle at Parc Monceau in Paris and a cenotaph by Antonio Canova that was erected as the tomb of Maria Christina in Vienna at the Augustinian Church.

As far as I can make out, neither Schoenhofen nor Schmidt were Freemasons, so I suppose this is really just a part of the larger Egyptian Revival rather than a nod towards esotericism.  Still, it's an impressive mausoleum, and it was nice of Luis to think of LoS.  And in that there's a nifty anecdote....Apparently Luis tried to send me these photos a couple of weeks ago, but his email was returned -- twice.  Then, the day after I posted about pyramid tombs, he saw the post and sent the email again, and it came through. 

I guess the universe needed to let me know something.  Still trying to figure out what that might be....

A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its normal rank in trick-taking games.

Seeing as I view The Donald with such disdain, I'd like to help spread this gaffe around.  

Trump's campaign tweeted the following image the other day and pulled it down after about an hour, blaming the mistake on an intern.  Which is probably true, but it's pretty much symbolic of Trump's whole campaign -- full off bloviation and jingoism, but pretty much bereft of any concern with the details.  And that's where the devil lies, innit?

Where's Waldo?  That be him in the lower-left hand corner, one of the guys wearing an SS uniform.  Oops.  

Oh Donald, he's got stars in his eyes, a Tribble on his head and Nazis on the White House Lawn; he's probably planning on serving some of that delicious Hitler ice cream at his inauguration.

Which probably won't happen but then again 

In the same hour as the apparent Nazi imagery surfaced, USA Today released a poll showing that Trump is now the leading candidate for the Republican party’s presidential nomination.  (The Guardian)

A renovated rose by any other name is still a renovated column, dagger, mark, monolith, monument, needle, pillar, pylon, shaft or tower

This here's a photo of the entrance to Toulouse's Terre Cabade municipal cemetery, a small necropolis atop the Jolimont at the dead end of the aptly named Avenue du cimitière.  Opened in 1840, the gate reflects the Egyptomania which gained renewed impetus in France after Napoleon's scientific/military adventures in Egypt some 40 years prior, a fascination with far-reaching manifestations in Western culture.  Some of these were physical signs: architecture, interior design, jewelry, women's make-up, funerary monuments.  Some of these were born into the realm of ideas:  large swaths of the Western esoteric tradition are widely (sombunall) regarded as having emerged out of the syncretic crucible of that was ancient Alexandria; Hermeticism is the namesake of Hermes Trismegistus, an apocryphal personage who was perhaps a blend of Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.  They are both scribes, messengers....deities of magic.

To make a long story short, the "Egyptian Revival" is kind of a misnomer; I think several basic components of Egyptian thought and art never left us and indeed, in Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, Martin Bernal proposes that Greek civilization did not arise from Indo-European sources as much as it derived from Egyptian and especially Phoenician colonization.  I've not read Bernal's book but I have often pondered the link between Phoenicia and Greece.  A relative dearth of material about the Phoenicians has led antiquarians to approach the topic carefully, but we can say for sure that their influence was wide-reaching, as they are known to have traveled beyond the straights of Gibraltar, likely up to Ireland, carrying their goods and their culture along with them.  Phoenicia, more a confederation of city-states than an empire, was passed back and forth like a football for centuries, too weak to fight off their powerful neighbors -- Egypt, Persia, Assyria and the like -- but too wily and important to merit obliteration.  We do know that their skill as builders was widely admired and when Solomon needed to build the Temple, he turned to his neighbors in what is now Lebanon and got it done.

The two pillars that marked the entrance, Jachin and Boaz, were long part of Phoenician religious architecture and probably derives from the Egyptian practice of marking the entrance to temples with obelisks.  But I've written about all of this before; it does however bring us neatly back to the photo which started this post; the Terre Cabade entrance.  Basically, what drew me to snap a photo again was the fact that one of the two administrations in the Capitole since I first photographed it decided to re-point the bricks and cap the obelisks with a golden -- gilt aka "dorada" aka "daurade" -- pyramidion, or at least a golden pyramidion sheath.  At first I just thought they'd capped the rotten tooth so to speak and re-did the mortar in the bricks, but it appears the wall has also had a new roughcast and a coat of the tan paint so liberally used in Toulouse.

As Stephen Curl points out in The Egyptian Revival, "Egyptianism" was intimately linked to Freemasonry.  Jachin and Boaz are an important element of any Masonic Lodge, which is itself a schematic representation of Solomon's Temple.  The central myth of Freemasonry turns on the story of the Temple's construction and of chief architect Hiram Abiff.  "Egyptian" Masonic rites date back to Napoleon's expansion into Egypt and were later stimulated by discoveries such as the Rosetta Stone which allowed for the decryption of hieroglyphs; this pursuit had become something of an international obsession and the biggest breakthroughs were made by a Frenchman from Figeac named Champollion, who published his findings in the 1820's.  The French still regard Champollion as a national hero.

So voici a little context behind this renovation I came across a couple of months ago during one of my periodic dérives through the streets of Toulouse.  For more of the history and symbolism behind the funerary architecture of the Terre Cabade, please refer to my earlier article.

I'd here like to drop in an interesting bit of history I'm not entirely sure what to make of.  I'm finishing up Robert Crease's World in the Balance about the search for an absolute system of measurement and naturally a good part of the narrative is taken up by the invention and progress of the metric system, another topic I've dealt with quite a bit on LoS.  I was quite chuffed to see that he linked the success of the metric system to some historical developments I have identified as being in philosophical harmony with this most rational of measurement systems:  the diffusion of the scientific method, the rise of capitalism and the emergence of the modern nation state.  I have also (insufficiently) discussed how the metric system was used during the French Revolution as a tool to overthrow the old feudal order, or ancien régime, with its patchwork of aristocratic and churchly fiefs.  But this idea of the metric system as a revolutionary tool is not confined to France.  Crease points out that in Africa, for example, the adoption of the metric system by newly independent states in the wake of the Second World War was a decision made as part of the decolonization process, reducing the influence of British culture, including their measurement system, which is, after all, known as "imperial" measurement.

 

I think this is neatly summed up in the "macaron" of the BIPM, the international agency responsible for maintaining metric standards and overseeing further inquiry into metrology.  My post about that seal is worth a look-see if only for a summary of the seal's concise visual statement about the revolutionary value of the metric system, as well as its celebration of commerce, scientific rationalism and representative democracy.  One principal figure in the seal is our friend Hermes, who in addition to being a god of magic is a god of weights and measures.

What I really want to mention here is a story in Crease's book about the origin of the idea that the Great Pyramid at Giza is in fact a metrological monument; this idea is today so widespread I can't do the subject justice here, but the whole genre of sacred geometry/metrology with regards to the Great Pyramid appears to have started with an anti-metric book entitled The Battle Of The Standards: The Ancient, Of Four Thousand Years, Against The Modern, Of The Last Fifty Years, The Less Perfect Of The Two, by John Taylor (1864).  Taylor's first pyramid book had appeared in 1859 and was enormously popular in its day; his second book develops his ideas and bears a title bound to grab the attention of anyone versed in English Masonic history.

Taylor wrote that it was probably Noah who'd overseen the construction of the Great Pyramid following the instruction of the "Great Architect"  -- the Masonic name for God.  Freemasons honor Noah as a builder and as a reservoir of antediluvian wisdom, and symbols associated with him form the foundation of several relatively auxiliary Masonic degrees.  Without going into details, Taylor proposed that the Pyramid was built to provide "the measure of the earth" from which sacred measurement standards could be derived.  As Crease says, the "battle" in the title of his book was "whether to use the ancient, sacred and natural measurement system or the modern, artificial metric one."

Not having read the book, I can only speculate on what follows, but my gut tells me the book is linked to a conflict in English Freemasonry.  English Freemasonry was marked in the fifty years preceding publication of Taylor's book by the unification of two rival Grand Lodges to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813.  What makes this seem a little less far-fetched is that the two rival factions were known as the Ancients and the Moderns.  I wonder if the battle of the standards in the title was also a battle between rival interpretations of Freemasonry's tenets?  Was this an important subtext to the book, or is it merely coincidence?  Or was Taylor just playing with the double sense, taking a dig at the "Moderns" within Freemasonry?  As "building" is the central metaphor of Masonry, reflected in the Fraternity's very name, it would seem likely that someone of an esoteric bent such as Taylor would express to some degree Masonic ideals in a book about measurement, especially given Freemasonry's link with "Egyptianism".  

Taylor's work, though influential in the esoteric tradition, was not well-received by the scientific community, even though his predecessors were of an impeccable scientific pedigree.  His formulation of the "pyramid inch" was based upon no less a personage than Sir Isaac Newton's formulation of the "sacred cubit", something he was inspired to do upon reading mathematician John Greaves' book entitled Pyramidographia (1646) (source)  Needless to say, Newton's work was partially derived from close readings of Scripture and analysis of its description of Solomon's Temple and Noah's Ark.  These interests have led many writers to speculate that Newton was a Freemason, but despite the intersection of interests, there's no evidence that this is the case.

So, I intended this post to be a sentence or two saying "oh looky they've renovated the obelisks!"  It was hard to keep it simple because Egyptian architecture has long been a source of fascination within (and apart from) the esoteric tradition and you simply can't study one without eventually coming across the other.  Sacred geometry, divine revelation and numerology are inexorably linked with the exoteric knowledge and artifacts of science and architecture; domains we see as apposed to magical thinking today were anything but to people such as Newton and Taylor.

I think Taylor was a Freemason judging from his works and associations -- but I can't positively identify him as having been a member.  The same is true for Taylor's chief disciple Charles Piazzi Smyth, one-time "Astronomer Royal for Scotland" and a scientist with a great deal of mainstream credibility.  Smyth elaborated on Taylor's ideas, doing some damage to his reputation in the process.  Despite the eventual disproving of the existence of a "pyramid inch" by William Matthew Flinders Petrie, Smyth had made some valuable contributions to Egyptology after becoming engrossed in Taylor's work; he was the first to photograph the interior of the Great Pyramid and his measurements, which had been the most accurate to date, led him to produce numerous valuable designs and drawings.  A British Israelite (basically the idea that Western Europeans, especially Britons, were direct descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel), Smyth claimed that the "pyramid inch" had been handed down to history by Noah's son Shem and that the Hebrews had built the Great Pyramid under Melchizedek.  Melchizedek, incidentally, has been interpreted by some to be one and the same as the aforementioned Shem and a prototype of the Messiah.  Hebrews 7:1-21 quotes Psalm 110:4 in calling Jesus "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek".  Not only was it a divine revelation, but it could be used to tell the future; the Great Pyramid was thus a "repository of prophecies."

Dig this:

Smyth's theories on pyramid prophecy were then integrated into the works and prophecies of Charles Taze Russell (such as his Studies in the Scriptures), who founded the Bible Student movement (most visible today in the Jehovah's Witnesses....)

I have already spoken quite a bit about the connection between the Jehovah's Witnesses and Freemasonry, as well as Moorish Science.  Russell, if anything, was a bit cagey and cryptic as to whether he was himself a Freemason or not.  What continues to fascinate me about the JW's is that given the Witnesses declared abhorrence of all thing occult-related, their founder was steeped in occultism, pyramidology, quasi-Masonic ruminations and ongoing revelation from God on high.  Check out Smyth's  tomb (left) and that of Russell (right) :

OK, being something like a broad but shallow river, I leave off with the task of determining if Taylor and Smyth were Freemasons and looking into the oceans full of virtual ink spilled about the "occult/Masonic conspiracy" filter through which the Internets seem to view Smyth and Russell's relationship.  Recall that despite his dubious ideas about the construction and metrology of the Great Pyramid, Smyth was a genuine and accomplished, much like Newton, whose own  spiritual beliefs we would today consider quite eccentric, but in the day didn't seem to give him any pause regarding their compatibility with science.

Not a bad dip into the river for something that began as a kind of OCD-like reflex to document whatever small changes occur to monuments I've written about!

Further reading:

Here's an interesting review of an episode of America Unearthed about another pseudo-scientific attempt at applying a newly-discovered metrological standard -- the "megalithic yard" -- to the layout of Washington D.C. in an attempt to prove that the city is a giant monument to Goddess Worship: Review of America Unearthed S02E07 "Secret Blueprint of America".  The review is rightfully skeptical, but  it covers some of what I've touched on here and demonstrates that the kind of thinking that motivated Taylor and Smyth is alive and well -- and still finding an appreciative audience....