Memory mapping 18th century style
You already have learned how a copy of Ubilla’s chart and its navigational co-ordinates were permanently set in stone in 1748 as the Shepherd’s Monument. George Anson, being a member of the Royal Society and a true patriot, was given custody of the secret. This was late compared to the plan already underway since 1730 to clandestinely carry out the mass implantation of information relating to the treasure into the minds of others. If this sounds bizarre then read on to learn of how in the 18th century memory mapping was carried out by the behaviourally reinforced brainwashing of the Moderns of Freemasonry.
The old Tories supported the House of Stuart and the new Whigs supported the House of Hanover. This had a major effect on the established order of the Freemasons. Freemasonry, until the early 18th century, was an exclusive club. With exclusivity came the perception of status.
With new found affluence under the rule of the Hanovers Whig supporters sought the trappings of wealth; one of these was membership of the Freemasons. When refused membership to the already established Ancient Masonic orders the response by the newcomers was for them to set up their own Lodges. A veritable explosion in Freemasonry occurred with numerous Lodges being set up to admit these Moderns. In 1717 this culminated with the establishment of the Grand Lodge of London. 1725 saw the founding of the Grand Lodge of York then in 1753 the Grand Lodge of Ancients was also founded. It was not until 1813, with the amalgamation of the Moderns with the Ancients, that the United Grand Lodge of England was founded. Its coat of arms bears the devices for the amalgamated Lodges with those of the Ancients depicted by the symbols for the Tetramorphs.
An opportunity was seized upon when this division occurred between the Ancients of Freemasonry (the guardians of the treasure) and the Moderns of Freemasonry. The Ancients (Tories), maintaining exclusivity within their order, rejected the Hanoverian Whig newcomers forcing them to establish their own Lodges. This division also extended in the Ancients maintaining and refusing to share their secrets of Freemasonry forcing the Moderns, for the most part, to make up their own ceremonies and teachings.
An examination of the ceremonies you can read nowadays reveals insensible words accompanied by explanations that are patently struggling to provide a cogent meaning. There is no difficulty nowadays to learn of the teachings, rites and ceremonies of the Freemasons. They have even allowed them to be videoed. What is interesting though is to recognise within the dogma and ceremonies learned by rote the workings of a plan that surreptitiously programs the minds of Freemasons with enough details, directions or clues that enables one to find the Treasure of God.
The truth is that in a rather cynical and exploitative move by the Ancients they implanted secretly within the Moderns a subconscious knowledge of the directions to find the Treasure of God via the manipulation of their lore and rites. This ensured they would be perpetual carriers of the secret. Considering that the Freemasons rigidly adhere to their doctrines and take great pains to ensure the accurate and unaltered transmission of information this was a tactic speaking of great insight and high intellect. But what else would you expect from men of the calibre of the early Royal Society?
Look closely now at the indoctrination that occurs for every Freemason when they are initiated through the first base three degrees; First Degree-Entered Apprentice Freemason, Second Degree -Fellowcraft Freemason and Third Degree-Master Mason.
It is in these teachings where the initiate learns of the three sojourners who, searching the ruins of the First Temple, discover Enoch’s vault containing the ‘Lost Word’.
Masonic depictions of this vault seem to invariably represent it containing the Ark of the Covenant.
To reinforce the teaching the initiate physically re-enacts the finding by actively moving around the Lodge in a certain direction from a certain position to be led to a vault. Here is a part of the actual ‘Ritual for Exaltation into the Royal Arch Chapter’ as you would find it nowadays. The format dates from 1838 when it modified an earlier version (you will notice the language is fairly modern);
PS leads the Candidate round the Chapter by the cable tow, and places him in the West.
Zerubbabel: As you seek to be admitted to a participation in the Secrets of this sacred degree, I call upon you to advance towards the East, to the sacred shrine on which they are deposited; you will advance by seven steps, thrice halting and bowing with reverential awe at the 3d, 5th, and 7th, for at each step you will approach nearer to the sacred and mysterious name of the True and Living God Most High. You are now arrived at the crown of a vaulted chamber, into which it is necessary that you should descend, and in order to do so, you must remove two of the Arch or Keystones in a figurative manner.
PS picks up Crow Bar and holds it about its middle in his right hand. The Assistant Scribe raises Candidate’s left hand palm upwards and PS places the Crow Bar on it so that the Candidate grasps it between the middle and the claw. PS then places the Candidate’s right hand so as to grasp the Crow Bar from above to the right of the PS’s right hand. The PS then places his left hand on the Candidate’s left hand and using both his hands on the Crow Bar makes a wrenching movement at each of two different points. He then removes the Crow Bar and replaces it where he found it.
Zerubbabel: Let, the Candidate be duly lowered into the vault, and attend to a portion of the writings of our Grand Master King Solomon.
PS lowers Candidate on his knees before the pedestal.
You have already met some of the hints to Holy Royal Arch in the story of Oak Island and learned of the relationship between it and the Star/Alchemic codes including some very specific Masonic catechisms regarding its importance.
How about this catechism,
Master: Where do you hope to find them?
Senior Warden: With the Centre.
Master: What is the Centre?
Junior Warden: A point within a Circle, from which every part of the circumference is equidistant.
Master: Why with a Centre?
Senior Warden: That being a point from which a Master Mason cannot err.
If you are now thinking that this sounds like the symbol of the dot within a circle carved on the rock on a lonely South Pacific island that is because you have the benefit of knowing what they are really talking about. Indeed the more you look now that you know the more you will find instructions, directions and clues within the rites, lore and teachings of Freemasonry. It is just like the trompe l oeil; you are not aware of it until it is pointed out to you then it becomes so obvious you wonder how you missed it in the first place.
After having held the level of Master Mason for four weeks the initiate is eligible, in one ceremony, to be ‘exalted’ to the rank of the Companion to the Royal Arch, this being more a completion of the Master Mason’s degree than a separate degree in itself.
It was around 1730 when this new ceremony, the Holy Royal Arch, entered the teachings of Freemasonry. This ceremony centres on imagery of the building of the Second Temple, really the rebuilding of the first Temple (of Solomon).
There is also a Masonic symbol replicated as a jewel which stands for the Royal Arch Order, the ‘Triple Tau’, named after the three T(au)s it is made up from. Tau is the Greek letter for T and the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
The Masonic Latin catechism that accompanies the jewel is ‘Nil nisi clavis deest’, which means ‘Nothing is wanting but the key’.
The Triple Tau also has a mystical astronomic meaning that relates to the Tetramorphs.
A further explanatory catechism expands that the Triple Tau is:
Templum Heirusolyma
Clavis ad Thesaurum
Theca ubi pretiosa deponitur
Temple of Jersusalem
Key to the Treasure
A place where a precious thing is concealed
The Freemasons like to say this about it all; ‘Si talia jungere possis sit tibi scire satis’. This means, ‘If thou can’st comprehend these things then thou knowest enough’.
The most staggering thing to realise about all this is that Freemasons were unaware of how to apply this all. If you ask an average Freemason now as to what is the meaning of the rites, ceremonies and lore you will be told that this is their method of teaching via allegorical allusion. Press harder though and ask again that you want to know not what the teachings are for they are obviously allegorical but what they mean. You will not be provided with a convincing answer for the knowledge that these are directions that do lead to a real secret treasure has been lost over time.
The legends and rumours about the Freemasons holding some important secret are real. Freemasons up to the early 20th century were aware that their lore was referring to a lost treasure hidden somewhere. As you have seen they passed coded clues to it in various stories.
Masonic Scottish Rite 6th degree jewel with Alchemic symbols for mercury, moon and sun
The directions you will find ‘hidden in plain sight’ in the lore of Freemasonry now that you know what to look for. It is not exact pinpointing instructions but big brutal slabs of repetitive doctrine designed to withstand the deleterious effect of time; ‘look for three’, ‘the triangle is important’, ‘the temple holds the key’, ‘a vault hiding a treasure’, ‘face this direction’, ‘sun plus moon’, ‘a well’ etc. The more you look the more you will find as you can now unlock the Masonic Code.
