Ominous Symbols, Satanism and the World Behind the Scenes: 5 Common Myths About Freemasons

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Alas, in reality, everything is much more boring.

Secret Societies of Freemasons formed Gould R. F. A Brief History of Freemasonry. - M., 2011 in the XVI-XVII centuries among the medieval building guilds. Later, any educated people began to join them. The final date for the registration of Freemasonry is considered to be 1717, when the Grand Lodge of London was created.

The Masons themselves consider themselves followers of the biblical builders of the Jerusalem Temple of Solomon. In some interpretations, their "lineage" is from the knightly orders of the Templars or Rosicrucians. But, most likely, these opinions are wrong Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009.

The very name of the brotherhood comes from RF Gould. A Brief History of Freemasonry. - M., 2011 from the French franc-maçon - "free mason".

Throughout their existence, there are many rumors and conspiracy theories around Masonic societies. A halo of mystery, the structure of a closed club of the elite, specific rituals and symbols contribute to this in many ways.

Lifehacker has collected five such popular misconceptions.

1. Symbols of Masons have a secret ominous meaning

The "all-seeing eye" is depicted on American banknotes and is the main symbol of conspiracy theories. Not the least role in this is played by his connection with free masons.

What does this mysterious symbol mean? It's simple: this is how Christianity sometimes depicted the threefold nature of God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Among the Masons, he embodies the Great Architect of the Universe - a universal divine essence, which is worshiped by free masons.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the "all-seeing eye" was Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009 to be found on Catholic engravings and maps. On the dollar bill, this sign was placed by the artist Pierre du Simitier, and he was not a freemason. As conceived by the authors of American banknotes, this symbolized the divine patronage of the newly formed country, emphasizing its messianic role. The version of Benjamin Franklin, who was just a member of the lodge, did not contain the image of the "all-seeing eye" and was rejected.

The compass and square are another famous sign of free masons. It is associated with their ideas about self-improvement: tools metaphorically mean that the initiate is obliged to work on himself daily, to develop self-discipline. The letter G placed between them can denote God (God) or geometry (Geometry) - the science most revered by Masons.

At the same time, one should not rely too much on specific interpretations of these symbols: even among the Masons themselves, they may differ, and the "discovery" of new meanings of old signs is considered a symbol of wisdom.

2. Freemasons worship the devil

Already in the 18th century, Masonic organizations hit Gould R. F. A Brief History of Freemasonry. - M., 2011 banned in a number of countries, for example in Holland and Sweden. Another active opponent of the free masons was the Roman Catholic Church.

In a number of encyclicals and bulls, the first of which, published in 1738, belonged to Pope Clement XII, Freemasonry was condemned as a dangerous sect. In particular, it was indicated that the Freemasons worship Lucifer. The last such document was published in 1983. In it, Catholics in Masonic lodges were prohibited from performing Christian rites.

But despite the fact that the philosophical and ethical ideas of Freemasonry are hidden behind metaphors and allegories, they cannot be called Satanists. The esoteric views of the Masons are united by Churchward A. The history of Masonic symbolism. - M., 2013 in itself biblical motives, elements of ancient religious cults (for example, Egyptian, Jewish and Mayan), extraordinary theories about the origin of mankind, writing and civilization, scientific knowledge.

All this is based on a kind of universalist model of the world, described in construction terms. At the same time, great importance is attached to symbols: geometric, religious, natural and others.

The interpretation of symbols and the search for relationships between them in the teachings of the Freemasons are somewhat reminiscent of numerological inferences.

Masons believe in the existence of the Great Architect of the Universe, but refuse Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009 consider yourself a religious cult. In most lodges and organizations, belief in a higher power is mandatory, but at the same time it is not regulated or limited in any way. A freemason can be a representative of any confession.

Unsurprisingly, the Catholic Church considered a doctrine so different from the orthodox as a satanic heresy, spreading this conviction among the general public.

The use of Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry may also have contributed to the demonic reputation of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009 pentagram as one of the symbols. But it, like the "all-seeing eye", was not an invention of the Freemasons and spread among them only in the 19th-20th centuries.

3. Only powerful, rich and famous people can become Freemasons

Among the Masons there really were and still are many famous personalities. One of the first free masons was Gould R. F. A Brief History of Freemasonry. - M., 2011, for example, the ruler of the Netherlands and the king of England, William III of Orange. Later this list was joined by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Mikhail Kutuzov, Nikolai Karamzin, Alexander Pushkin, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and many others.

But it is wrong to think that the fraternity consists only of the rich and famous. Masonic lodges were not originally closed clubs, and even now Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry can be a member. Harper Collins. 2009 to become almost anyone.

Here's what it takes to be a freemason candidate:

• confirm belief in God (anyone);
• meet the age limit (usually from 21 years old; from 18 years old - for children of members of the lodge);
• have a good reputation and have no problems with the law;
• have good intentions and freedom of judgment;
• be able to pay membership fees (for example, in the Russian lodge it is about 10-40 thousand rubles a year).

Candidates waiting to be considered for admission to the lodge are called laymen.

Although it is difficult to become a member of the lodge, there is nothing mysterious about the initiation process. The layman must undergo "interrogation under the blindfold," when the Freemasons talk to the blindfolded candidate about his worldview. Then a vote takes place in the lodge. One vote against is enough to refuse a potential brother.

4. Masons secretly rule the world

According to VTsIOM, 67% of Russians believe in the existence of a world government. Often, it is the Masons who are mentioned in this vein.

However, the stated goal of Freemasonry is to make itself and, accordingly, the world a better place: for example, to prevent wars and economic crises. At the same time, it is believed that the fraternal bonds linking free masons are more important than racial, national and religious contradictions. It would seem that this should help them in realizing their intentions. But it's not that simple.

The fact is that Masons do not have Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009 centralized organization: each country has its own grand lodge. Some of them recognize each other and keep in touch, but others do not. In the United States, each state has its own grand lodge.

There are other independent Masonic organizations with their own management: they retain the attributes of free masons, but do not follow all their principles: for example, they accept women or non-believers into their ranks. Although such organizations are run by Freemasons, initiate profane and give Masonic degrees there are three degrees of Masonic comprehension (in ascending order): apprentice, apprentice, master. - Approx. the author. they cannot to their members.

In fact, this creates two parallel branches of Freemasonry: regular and irregular. This further complicates opportunities for cooperation and global influence.

Mason historian Albert Churchward lamented A. Churchward at the beginning of the 20th century. The history of Masonic symbolism.- M., 2013 to the fact that government members are too busy with politics, posturing and career growth, and therefore do not think about the benefits for humanity. Churchward concludes with annoyance that the Freemasons themselves are disunited and cannot influence the situation. As an example, he cites the fact that the Freemasons failed to prevent the First World War.

Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry comes to the same conclusions. Harper Collins. 2009 and contemporary American historian-freemason Jay Kinney. According to him, the Freemasons have always been such a decentralized organization that they are hardly capable of managing anything at all, let alone the world.

Freemasons participated in many historical events, such as the Great French Revolution or the Decembrist uprising. Only it wasn't Kinney J. The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry. Harper Collins. 2009 is associated with the activities of the lodges.

Freemasons in general often turned out to be Leighton L. G. The Esoteric Tradition in Russian Romantic Literature: Decembrism and Freemasonry. University Park, Pennsylvania, 1994 on opposite sides of the barricades. For example, Pavel Pestel, Kondraty Ryleev and Sergei Muravyov-Apostol, three of the five executed participants in the events on Senate Square, were Masons. At the same time, their accusers Mikhail Speransky and Alexander Benkendorf were also members of the lodges.

Anyone who believes in a Masonic conspiracy will be upset by the fact that it is forbidden to discuss religion and politics in the lodges, because such conversations cause discord among the members. This rule has been in effect for about 300 years: it was first formulated by the authoritative English freemason James Anderson in 1723. The basic rules from the "Anderson Constitutions" are adhered to by all Freemasons.

In many respects, the myths about the Masonic conspiracy are based on Rogalla von Birberstein J. The myth of the conspiracy. Philosophers, Freemasons, Jews, Liberals and Socialists as conspirators. - SPb., 2010 "exposure" of the French abbot Augustin Barruel, who blamed the Freemasons for fomenting the Great French Revolution. Also, a significant role in this was played by the book "The Devil in the XIX century" and other works of the French writer Leo Taxil about Satanism, debauchery and the plans of free masons for world domination.

Barruel based his conclusions on extremely imprecise generalizations. And Taxil, after the deafening success of his labors, admitted that these were hoaxes with the aim of playing tricks on the Catholic Church.

Another important element of these theories is the forged anti-Semitic document of the early 20th century "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion." It allegedly contains a report on the Zionist meeting in Basel, where the destruction of Christendom was discussed. Today Skuratovsky V. Proved The problem of authorship of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion". - Kiev., 2006, that it was a fake, compiled by journalist Matvey Golovinsky.

5. Lodges exist with third-party funding

Sponsors of Masons are called anyone: the CIA, Zionists and even aliens, but the reality is more prosaic.

Most often, Masonic lodges collect membership fees from initiates to maintain their work. We'll have to fork out for the initiation procedure - from 35 to 60 thousand rubles. With this money, the lodge buys books and paraphernalia for rituals, organizes trips and charity.

Philanthropy is generally one of the main activities of free masons. For example, the 18th century Russian newspaper-mason Nikolai Novikov voluntarily published rare historical sources. And modern Masonic organizations help those in need get medical aid, donate money for equipment for hospitals, schools, orphanages.

At the same time, finding himself in a difficult financial situation, a member of the lodge can count on all possible help from the brothers.

Freemasons prefer to call themselves not a secret, but an esoteric organization. There is even a popular phrase that Freemasons are not a secret society, but a society with a secret. Today the lodges exist quite openly. For example, the Russian freemason Sergei Belyavsky has a tt_mason account on TikTok and has more than 120 thousand subscribers.

Basically, there is nothing special about Freemasonry. This is just a closed hobby club with eye-catching paraphernalia, mysterious rituals and a declared noble mission. However, this does not prevent modern conspiracy theorists from further substantiating their conspiracy theories. For example, publicist Oleg Platonov asserts O. Platonov Russia under the rule of masons. - M., 2000 that today free masons build their insidious plans not in traditional Masonic organizations, but in closed clubs. In Platonov's theories, they are linked to the CIA and the role of Allen Dulles in the collapse of the USSR. There is no reliable confirmation of what was said in this book, which is not surprising.