Site Update January 6, 2010
Posted by Justin in : Intro , 1 comment so farHi everyone. I haven’t done any updates since Christmas because I have been working my normal job a lot and focusing on my beginning web design site (gotta get them skills up to give you something better here too). With that in mind, I think I will only be making regular posts here weekly rather than daily. That is also in light of the lack of comments to the site, though I did get two today and they are very much appreciated.
I have started drafts on three new posts and I intend to complete them over the next few weeks starting this weekend. The subjects are rosicrucianism, kabbalah and a website called The Pearl (a gnostic site).
As always, if you are interested in something I wrote here, please feel free to leave a comment on what you liked and didn’t like (or didn’t agree with). Thanks and see you next time.
- Justin
Addendum to Gnosticism December 25, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Intro , 3commentsWell, before I move on to some of the various flavors of gnostic thought and beliefs, I wanted to expound a little more on the why of what I explained last post.
If you remember, I talked a little about the demiurge and how mainstream gnostics believed that the demiurge created the world and that the divine emanation (what we might call God in His truest sense), was not the creator, but the source from which even the demiurge came.
You see, the gnostics put a lot of thought into it and began to wonder, if God is so good and pure, then how could God have created a world in which sin, corruption, death and decay could occur? To them, the answer became simple. God didn’t create the universe or the world, another being, possibly what we might even call an equivalent to Lucifer, was the one to create the world.
Now there a lot of different thoughts out there that various gnostics proposed and used to explain these thoughts even further. Some believed that Sophia was the means to salvation. Some believed that there are three separate Gods (the gnostic form of the trinity) and some even up to 26 or more Gods (or forms of God). From a standard Christian point of view, it can go from something that may make a little sense to something that seems like a crackpot invented, but to the gnostics, it all made sense. They were just trying to understand the world and universe from a logical point of view.
Now mind you, the gnostics believed that there were three types of people out there, those that were ignorant of the truth and would never know and would continue to be recycled in this realm (a kind of reincarnation), those that had the capacity to understand, but wouldn’t because they refused to or just weren’t up to par (same result for them), and those that would get it. The would be able to read the gnostic teachings and would understand. Through that understanding came the desire for a better life (Golden Rule type behavior) and salvation through knowledge.
As one opened their eyes, they would be in touch with Sophia and through that medium of contact gain more wisdom. Each gain of wisdom would bring them more and more in contact with their pure essence (remember humans are of a dualistic nature) and ultimately kind of phase them into the good graces of the divine emanation, hence salvation.
I hope this all makes sense and if you have questions. Feel free to contact me and I will answer as best I can. If you are curious about the various forms of gnostic belief, I highly recommend checking out some of the books now available on gnostic scriptures (sometimes known as the lost scriptures). It can be eye opening.
- Justin
Gnosticism December 25, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Philosophy, Religion , add a commentFirst off, Merry Christmas to all! It’s been a couple of days since my last post. I apologize for the gaps, however I have to balance with my other site, work and my web design studies. Hopefully it will pay off and I can provide my readers with something more interesting to look at.
Ok, so today’s subject is Gnosticism. Gnosticism (from the Greek gnosis meaning to know) is the believe that one has knowledge about something that most others don’t. This kind of follows along with the definition of esoteric, but esoterism means secret knowledge and gnosticism is the possession of that secret knowledge. Kind of cool huh?
Gnosticism started out as more of a philosophical type of mindset and can be seen as early as the Platonic days when Plato wrote Timaeus and Republic. Without getting too much into the deep mechanics or vocabulary, I will explain gnosticism as best I can. The main points of gnosticism are typically the belief that there is one divine being from which all things emanated and everything in the universe emanated either directly or indirectly from this divine being. Now some sects of gnosticism believe that one of the higher powers or principalities that the divine being spawned, is something called the demiurge. The demiurge out of a desire to set itself apart created the physical world and everything in it.
The problem is, because his creation was imperfect, everything is in chaos and suffering (similar to buddhist teachings). Now, the gnostic equivalent to the Holy Spirit, Sophia (Greek for wisdom), attempted to correct the imbalance and got involved and somewhat corrupted herself and stuck here on earth. So, this divine being is above and beyond the reach of human beings, who being products of the corrupt world, but because of the intervention of Sophia, possess a spirit and thus sets them apart from other creatures in the world. Since they possess spirit, they are also a part of the divine. So that is why humans yearn for the divine and eternal life.
Now this is the main trend or current of pure gnosticism. This is not the core belief of all gnostic sects. But reading what I’ve described so far, what are your thoughts on gnosticism? I can see some elements of logos (logic) in there, which is one of the main philosophical elements of Greek thinking. Ok, so next time I’m going to try to explain my understanding of Gnostic Christianity and the various sects of those followers of Christ.
- Justin
Golden Dawn December 22, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Golden Dawn , add a commentWell, what can I say about the Golden Dawn? Back in the 1700’s a lot of freethinking men started getting into masonry, thus the birth of freemasonry. It wasn’t until the late 1800’s that a few freemasons stumbled upon or brought into freemasonry the ideas of rosicrucianism (I’ll hit more on this topic later) and magick (not stage magic or illusion, but the real thing).
Well, some claimed that through mental channeling this small group of masons contacted some chief adepts over in continental Europe and were clued in on some very powerful stuff that could help them reach new spiritual heights and bring their esoteric studies through the roof. Thus was born the Golden Dawn. The GD took a hodgepodge of various books and materials, primarily that of Dr. John Dee, translated and used those materials to form rituals that would enhance them.
In forming their lodges and degree work, the group used their freemason backgrounds and patterned their rituals on that, laid their new mystical material on top and there you have it. The main difference being they allowed women to join and be officers. It wasn’t until later that one of the adepts, Aleister Crowley, who wasn’t much wanted or liked by the majority of the GD leaders at that time, broke off with the GD, published much of their material and created his own religion Thelema. In addition to Thelema, Gerald Gardner (a GD follower and mason in his own right) formed his own religion too, Wicca.
After the break-up of the GD in the around the turn of the century, a few splinter groups were formed to continue the work. One of the groups, the Stella Matutina, is the one that Israel Regardie joined and later published their material himself.
Currently there are several incarnations of the GD, most claiming some form of lineage from the original. There is much debate and wrangling between the various GD groups as to who is real and who isn’t.
What’s the difference between the GD and masonry? I think the biggest difference is the inclusion of magick and some of the ritual. Though the GD uses similar initiatory rituals and officer positions that mirror that of masonry, masonry has no magickal rituals. It’s meetings primarily consisting of an opening, formal business talk, a closing and the occasional conferring of degrees. Though the Scottish Rite has some very esoteric elements to it, again it is more of a formal business type of atmosphere than anything.
If you are more interested in the Golden Dawn, I encourage you to pick up some of material out there by Israel Regardie, Chick and Tabitha Cicero and also some of the websites out there. It’s all very interesting stuff. I wonder if any of you have come across the GD in your own research, if so, what do you think of it? Whether you have come across it before or will look into it now, let me know what you think.
- Justin
Side Note December 21, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Intro , add a commentI see a lot of people are now exploring this site, which to me is fantastic. Just one thing I ask, feel free to leave comments. I’ve had friends verbally tell me they liked my material or some web design friends of mine tell me that they saw where I could improve on my page, but didn’t comment here, without that it’s hard to get others engaged. So please share what you think here and let’s get some discussion going!
The Shrine December 20, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Freemasonry , add a commentOk, so you are at a parade, let’s say it’s 4th of July or Christmas, and you see this group of guys go buy in funny red fez caps, like the ones you see the Moraccan guys wearing. Some are clowns and drive in funny little cars too. Did you ever wonder who they were? Maybe you’ve seen or heard of the Shriners Hospital for Kids. Perhaps you even know someone who was or were a recipient yourself of their care. Either way, the Shriners are most likely the most popular form of freemasonry that I know of and in a positive light (meaning they haven’t had bad press in the public eye).
Now read back a sec, do you see what I just said? Yes, the Shriners are masons, every one of them! This is fact. One must be a Master Mason before even being eligible to be a Shriner. Now mind you, not long ago, it was required that a Master Mason get to the 32nd degree in the Scottish Rite or be a Knight Templar in the York Rite before being eligible, but due to dwindling numbers, usually attrition as a result of the advanced age of most members and the lack of incoming young blood, that requirement was stricken and now one only need be a Master Mason. I think why not, this is good because all appendant bodies already recognize that the Master Mason is truly the highest degree and the blue lodge is the “mother lodge” from which all the other bodies were formed. Although it was recently proposed that non-Masons be allowed to join, this was declined and for good reason. I think that you will not get the same benefits and lessons presented in the Shrine as a non-Mason than if you were a Mason first.
So just a little about the Shrine, also known as The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine: It was first formed in 1870 by a group of Masons who wanted an appendant body that wasn’t all dogma and ritual. They wanted it to be fun. As the Shrine grew, they also wanted to find ways to be more philanthropic and soon began running their own non-profit hospitals for children that come from families that otherwise could not afford the care. There are now hospitals and Shrine temples in several countries, the newest of which is the Philippines. Now although the Shrine has adopted a Middle Eastern and Islamic theme to their rituals and style, they are not promoting Islam. As stated before with Masonry in general, it is not a religion, but promotes the freedom and respect of religion and a general atmosphere of brotherhood no matter what your current beliefs are.
I am proud to say I am a Mason and a Shriner. I hope that we can continue to grow our numbers and reach out to the communities in which we reside to gain assistance in providing the services we give to disadvantaged children. So give me your thoughts and experiences with the Shrine or the Shriners. Do you know of anyone who has benefited from care at a Shrine hospital? If you want to know more, feel free to visit them at the Shriners website.
- Justin
Scottish Rite December 20, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Freemasonry , add a commentToday I’m going to touch on the Scottish Rite. The Scottish Rite was first formed in continental Europe. Although called the Scottish Rite, it was formed in France though there were legends attributing the stories to Scotland. The rite consists of the 4th through the 32nd degrees, with a 33rd honorary degree for those that have greatly served the cause of masonry in general.
The original degrees were not in any particular order until Albert Pike, a former Confederate General, rewrote the degrees and gave them a sense of a continuing storyline with actual morals and lessons learned. He even had a 1st through 3rd degree that was brought from Europe, slightly different from that of the normal blue lodge, which explains why the later degrees tend to seem confusing in their timeline as far as the story goes.
The degrees have primarily retained the same form that Albert Pike had envisioned, but have been condensed and re-written in order to make more sense in modern times. They also seem to have more of an esoteric feel to them, expounding upon such things as Jewish kabbalah and Egyptian mysticism. Also, when going through the degrees, one must already be a 3rd degree mason in good standing and can usually get into a class where they will receive all the degrees over a weekend or in one day. This is opposed to the days when it used to take years to get to the 32nd degree.
Now while there is a minimum wait of at least eight years (four to be selected to the KCCH, a slightly elevated version of the 32nd degree, and then four more from then to be eligible for the 33rd) before one can be eligible for selection for the 33rd degree, it is not guaranteed one will ever be selected and one can never solicit themselves to receive this degree.
Personally, I think that although the York Rite carries on the storyline of the blue lodge better, I find the Scottish Rite to be more fascinating and rich with wisdom and knowledge. There’s a lot more members and it’s more well written about too. What do you think? If you were given the choice of either Scottish Rite or York Rite or only had the time for one or the other, which would you choose and why?
- Justin
Blue Lodge December 17, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Freemasonry , add a commentToday I’ll explain some about the Blue Lodge. The Blue Lodge is the oldest part of esoteric masonry (freemasonry). At the beginning from the 1400’s to the early 1700’s, lodges were independent of one another until the formation of the first grand lodge in 1717 in England. At that time there were only two degrees, the Entered Apprentice and the Fellowcraft. The degree of Master Mason was created not long after. Each degree was crafted to teach various lessons that are to inspire the candidate to strive towards being a better person.
One question is, what is the difference between operative masonry (actual hands-on builders) and speculative masonry (freemasons)? Most historians agree that operative masons came along first and, like many other guilds in there time, had many ways of preserving and protecting the way the carried out their craft. These ways were what tools were used, how to use them and the various signs and passwords used to identify a fellow mason. In the late 1300s, we begin to see the inclusion of non masons in the guilds and the use of mason tools as allegorical tools to teach subjects of morality and thus was born freethinking masonry or freemasonry.
Now getting back to the degree structure, not long after the establishment of the Master Mason degree, several appendant bodies sprang up that continued the story line of the first three degrees. The one that most closely follows is that of the York Rite with it’s more Christian centered style (a requirement for the Commandry degrees). The creation of the York Rite was due to the attempted creation of a fourth degree that resulted in it being split off and built upon to create the degrees and chapters of the York Rite. At about the same time in continental Europe, there were several other degrees being developed that were later collected together and called the Scottish Rite.
Although the Scottish Rite has it’s own 1st through 3rd degree rituals, the average lodge is more York Rite centered and therefore when going through the 4th through 32nd degrees of Scottish Rite (the 33rd degree being invitational), it can seem a bit confusing. Later in the late 19th century, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Noble Mystic Shrine (the Shrine) was created with the purpose of having fun and donating to philanthropic causes. This later resulted in the famous Shriner Hospitals located throughout the US and other countries.
Questions:
Are you an active member of the blue lodge? If so, where and for how long?
What do you know of blue lodge history?
Stay in touch for the next entry which will introduce the Scottish Rite.
- Justin
Freemasonry December 16, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Esoteric Systems , 2commentsToday I am going to start off first with an esoteric system and move steadily into some of the components of this system. The first to come to mind is Freemasonry. Being a Freemason and having risen about as far as one can go (Master Mason in the Blue Lodge, 32nd degree in Scottish Rite and Knights Templar in York Rite), I feel most comfortable discussing this topic first.
Freemasonry is by far one of the most popular and debated esoteric systems out there. One only has to Google the word to find a myriad number of websites devoted to pro and anti-masonry activities. In a nutshell, freemasonry has been around since at least the early 1700s and is purported to have originated with the old stonemason guilds of England and Scotland.
Freemasonry is NOT a religion, I don’t care what the far right wing religious nazis say. It is primarily a system comprising of philosophy and philanthropy. The primary function of Freemasonry is to “make a good man a better man”. They only require for membership that one professes faith in God. Now although it is intended for males only, there are appendant bodies that have female members. There are three degrees of masonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. Master Mason is considered to be in essence the highest and most exhalted degree.
Speaking of appendant bodies, there are several of which, but the most famous are the Scottish Rite (the most esoteric of the three) which has up to 33 degrees continuing from the 3rd degree of the blue lodge, the York Rite (primarily Christian based) going to the degree of Knight Templar and the Shrine (has an almost Islamic feel, but does the most philanthropic activities of them all).
Questions for this post:
Are you a freemason? If so, what are your thoughts on freemasonry in general and how has your experience been?
Are you interested in freemasonry? If so, what questions do you have and what has made you interested? Do you plan to join a lodge soon?
I’ve thoroughly reviewed both pro and anti-masonry views and if anyone has questions or would like clarification on something you’ve seen in another website please don’t hesitate to ask.
Stay in touch as I continue to talk about Freemasonry and go more in-depth into the appendant bodies.
-Justin
Welcome!!! December 15, 2009
Posted by Justin in : Intro , add a commentWelcome to my first blog on Esoteric Thought. Now you may wonder what this esoteric thought business is all about. Some of you may know and some may not. For those that don’t, esoteric, from the Greek word esōterikós, has the meaning of something that is hidden or secret especially when referring to knowledge (much like the view of the Gnostics who believe they have hidden knowledge). Things of an esoteric nature were usually only passed down to initiates that were deemed worthy of such knowledge.
In the future I will be discussing various esoteric topics. Feel free to drop by and share your thoughts and insights as we will be learning and increasing our own esoteric (hidden) knowledge together.
- Justin