A New Order of Ages: The Masonic Enlightenment and the Symbols of America

The Great Seal of the United States is one of the world's most easily recognized emblems, yet the obscure symbolism it contains is understood by few. Over the years since its creation, there have been a number of controversies about just what, exactly, is the meaning of the obscure ancient symbols and numbers in its design.

There are those who argue that despite appearances, the Masonic looking symbolism is pure accident. Despite arguments to the contrary, the easily recognized symbols on the back of the US one dollar bill appear to have an unmistakably Masonic flavor. This of course gives rise to numerous conspiracy theories about ancient 'Satanic' cabals** with designs on world rulership, most based on bizarre interpretations of Masonic philosophy.

Certainly, Masonry and its ideals played a part in the founding of this country. The enlightenment philosophy embraced by Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and other engineers of American Democracy evolved from the same Rosicrucian roots that Freemasonry did. To understand the symbolism employed by the founders, one must look at the historical development of their unique philosophies.

Rosicrucianism was born in a time when the divine right of Kings was understood as a universal truth. Rulers were empowered by God and God's Church, which alone held the keys to salvation and knowledge of God. A newly evolving movement began to bubble up throughout Europe, spreading dangerous ideas- that individuals could approach the divine without the aid of the Church, that the development of reason and the pursuit of knowledge were more important than faith, and that religion, science, and philosophy could be used together to create an ideal society. The Rosicrucians also taught a curious philosophy of personal unity with God, a mystical Christianity that relied heavily on kabbalistic practices learned from hebrew Mystics, designed to bring an aspirant a first hand experience of the Divine.The newly invented printing press allowed a new freedom- the anonymous promulgation of ideas. Despite the intense secrecy of the movement's founders (to this day, the original authors of the Rosicrucian manifestos have never been pinned down), the ideas caught like wildfire.

The primary incubators of this secretive movement were the lodges of Freemasonry, where the utopian ideals of the Rosicrucians took root. According to Masonic philosophy, man in the beginning of his journey is like an undressed stone- full of potential, but rough and unrefined. According to these ideas, man did not reach his potential as a slave to religious superstition, social striving, and and blind obedience, but through reason and understanding the laws underpinning the natural world. To the Freemason, God was expressed in the complexity and beauty of the creation- and by understanding that Creation, one could understand one's true place in the world. Diligent study and exploration of universal truth was stressed over blind acceptance of dogma, yet the hand of the divine was to be acknowledged always.

The primary educational vehicle of the Rosicrucians and Freemasons was symbolism. Lacking the dogmatic belief system of religion, the Masons employed symbols as a teaching aid. Masonic historical legend is understood to be allegorical, and points to the ideas of the wisest of history as originators of its body of thought- King Solomon, Euclid, Pythagoras, and the architects who brought the Egyptian civilization out of the mud- all men who, to some degree, rejected the established superstitions of their day to pursue enlightenment through the natural order they observed in the universe. (read more ...)