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The Temple of Solomon
Its Mystical Significance
An Esoteric Interpretation of Masonic Symbolism

by Louis Warter, MPS

On February 22, 1982, the Masonic
Fraternity celebrated the 250th birthday
anniversary of George Washington at
Arlington, VA., where a beautiful me-
morial had been built for the first Presi-
dent of the United States, 50 years ago,
on his 200th anniversary. Washington's
dedication and commitment were to
"Liberty and Country."

Albert Pike, famous Masonic symbol-
ist, states that "Masonry existed, as it
now exists, the same in spirit and at
heart, not only when Solomon builded
the Temple, but centuries before--be-
fore even the first colonies emigrated into
Southern India, Persia, and Egypt, from
the cradle of the human race. Masonic
principles generated form, organization,
and symmetry, with the building of the
Temple of Solomon. "

Every temple in the ancient world was
the universe in miniature, and so the
whole world was one grand temple. Pike
quotes Plato as saying, "The real temple
of the Deity is the World. "

The overall idea of Freemasonry and its
symbolism revolve around the Temple of
King Solomon and the Hiramic Legend.

Preamble

The story of King Solomon and
"Solomon's Temple" have been
shrouded in mystery for ages, and the
many interpretations have added to the
confusion. Some authorities and re-
searchers state that the actual facts may
never be known.

The story depicts some of the most pro-
found universal wisdom expressed in a
magnificent set of mysteries and enigmas
that have remained, sphinx-like, down
through the ages...hidden behind the
popular phrase, "The Lost Keys of Ma-
sonry. " It is as if the lid of the box had
been sealed and the key deliberately
thrown away. Most writers agree, how-
ever, that the entire story is beautiful
symbolism.

The purpose of this article is to delin-
eate this mysticism in language and
image that can be understood by the
rank and file of Master Masons. The
intention is to awaken the human con-
sciousness to the realization that all this
material and the explanations pertain to
us--you and me--individually and col-
lectively, especially those who are seek-
ing more light in Masonry. Through
these pages you will gain a fresh insight
into the esoteric and mystical signifi-
cance of Freemasonry's foundation
structure--the Temple of Solomon.

There are fundamentally two aspects to
this phenomenon--the physical and the
spititual. The physical, material struc-
ture is the objective expression of the subjec-
tive reality, or spirit. The material, physl-
cal plane is the medium through which
spirit finds its expression. This relation-
ship exists in everything that comes into
our experience--the constant interplay
between spirit and matter. We are living
in a world of Cause and Effect or the Law
of Cause and Consequence that governs
the material world. Spirit, or the realm
of the absolute--the abstract--com-
prises the element of cause, and matter,
the realm of the concrete, becomes the
effect, or the result of the causes that set
them into motion.

Added to my own knowledge of sym-
bolism and esoteric philosophy, you see
here several books that provided my
source material, compiled by men who
have devoted their lives to the study and
compiling of this information. Before
going into detail, it is well to have some
background information.

In his Encyclopedia of the Secret
Teachings of All Ages, Manly P. Hall
states that the entire Hiramic Legend
assumes the position of the redemption
of the human soul after it has experi
enced eons of trials and tribulations and
learned many lessons through its count-
less sojourns on the earthly plane.

The Masonic scenario is based on the
idea of the Trinity, which is found as a
key to most major religions. The three
great masters, then, become the Causal
Triad of the Cosmos--the Triune Foun-
dation of Existence, delineated in the
various religions as follows:

    In the Hebrew tradition
    Jehovah, Elohim, Adam

   In the Christian tradition
    Father, Son, Holy Spirit

  In the Vedic Teachings in India
     Brahma, Vishnu, Siva

    In the Egyptian Triad
    Osiris, Isis, Horus
       (Ancient Egypt)
    Soul, Mind and Body,
    the Human triad

Fundamentally, it is the creative trian-
gle--father, mother, son, or offspring.

The most authoritative portraiture of
the triadic principle is presented by the
Qabbalistic Tree of the Ten Sephiroth,
or Rays--the divine names assigned to
the realm of creation and its spiritual
functionaries. The illustration of the tree
is made up of circles or globes, connected
to each other, numbered and named.
From the top center, or kether, stream
forth divine emanations of nine other
circles or intelligences, completing the
cycle of ten.

Positioned like the three heads, or
Yods, of the letter Shin, the twenty-first
of the twenty two letters of the Hebrew
alphabet, are the three circles or globes,
on top of the tree:
From the blending or fusion of these
two principles are produced the worlds
and the living generation of beings--au
that is. The process of creation and de-
struction is continuous, with ever im-
provement over the past. Infinite intelli-
gence throughout the cosmos is ever ex-
perimenting and improving its creation.

Kether itself is the outgrowth or expres-
sion of the Qabbalistic Yod, the Dot, or
the Ain Soph of the Qabbala--Deity--
whose center is everywhere and circum-
ference nowhere. The dot is also the be-
ginning of all symbolistic drawings and
illustrations .

Albert Pike, philosopher and famous
Masonic historian and symbolist, writes
that Qabbalism is a key to Masonic es-
otericism. Its elements and principles are
beautifully harmonious with Masonry
and can be used as foundation material
for interpreting Masonic symbolism. It
was the Creative Triad of the Qabbalists
that inspired the use of the triune princi-
ple as a foundation for the western reli-
gions.

Madam H.P. Blavatsky, great seer of
the nineteenth century, author of "The
Secret Doctrine " and founder of the
Theosophical Society, states that the Ten
Sephiroth, in their totality, represent the
archetypal man--Adam Kadmon. More
will be given later delineating Masonic
symbolism in the light of the man body
or the human species--the highest of all
divine creations on planet earth.

Ancient Origin of Masonry

To find the origin of Masonry we must
go back to the Old Testament, where the
chapter of Genesis is replete with many
origins. It must be understood that in the
beginning of the human race, there were
many highly evolved souls placed on
earth by the Great Creative Principle, in
key positions, to help start and advance
the race.

A Masonic constitution, dated 1701,
indicates that the sciences, arts and
crafts, from which most Masonic sym-
bolism springs, began before the deluge,
Noah's great flood. As highly evolved
souls, the four children of Lamech
founded the various sciences. One of the
sons, named Tubal Cain, developed the
craft of working with brass and iron. The
patriarch Adam had predicted to his chil-
dren and grandchildren that there would
be a flood covering the earth. Accord-
ingly then, these men, anxious to pre-
serve their progress, carved some of their
secrets and the wisdom of their crafts on
pillars of stone and brick, that they might
be found after the flood waters receded.
Adam ' s son, Seth, and the patriarch
Enoch--the man who walked with
God--an initiate of the inner mysteries,
also shared in these works. Much later,
these pillars were found and the inscrip-
tions revealed to mankind by Hermes
Trismegistus, the great Egyptian philos-
opher and seer.

We are indebted to King Henry the
8th, of England (who reigned 1509 to
1547) for a definitive, voluminous
manuscript on Masonry. He appointed
John Laylande to seek out, examine and
preserve any books or writings he could
find on Masonry that he thought import-
ant. One lengthy MS he found, written
in question and answer form, was attrib-
uted to King Henry the 6th (who reigned
1422 to 1461) and related how Masonry
came to England. This record revealed
an inexorable continuity of evolving
achievement under omniscient direction
to help fulfill the Divine Plan for Man.

The MS contained the story of a man
in ancient Greece, named Peter Gower,
who traveled through Egypt, Syria, and
other places where the Phoenicians had
spread Masonry. The largest and most
important city in Phoenicia was Tyre. In
Greece, Peter Gower, thought to have
been Pythagoras, established the Groton
Lodge, where many Masons were made.
Everyone knows who Pythagoras was.
One writer claimed that Pythagoras was
the reincarnation of the King Solomon:
another that the great Hermes was the
reincarnation of the patriarch Enoch.
Thus the strong link between Greek phi-
losophy and the ancient wisdom of Free-
masonry is obvious. And so we see that
according to this MS, Freemasonry had
its origin in the region we now call the
Middle East or the Near East.

Among the symbols of Freemasonry
are the seven liberal arts and sciences;
Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic,
Geometry, Music and Astronomy.
Some of these we call today the " human-
ities," that are taught in the institutions
of higher learning. Thus the seeds of
these sciences were planted thousands of
years ago.

In the classic, time-honored MSS, we
find that most celebrated among the an-
cient fraternities was the Order of the
Dionysiac Architects, the initiates of
Bacchus, the Dionysos Cult that was
dedicated to building and the art of decorat-
ing. They were the custodians of the se-
cret wisdom and the sacred knowledge of
architectonics, entrusted with the science of
design and the erection of public buildings
and monuments. They were the master
craftsmen of the earth, whose organiza-
tion was similar to that of the Masonic
Lodges of today. And so, it is to this
splendid Order of Dionysian Architects
and their principles that the Masonic
Order owes much of its symbolism and
ritual, especially that relating to the sci-
ence of architecture.

A man named Aeschylos, famous Greek
poet, was suspected of having revealed
one of the secrets and had to flee for his
life. He appeared in what we now call the
Middle East about the year 1000 B.C.E.
After a few years he was found to be
collaborating with and lending his skills
to King Solomon.

As you know, King Solomon accepted the
offer of Hiram, King of Tyre, whose
master craftsmen were hired to build the
temples and the royal palaces in Jerusa-
lem, under the supervision of Chiram
Abi or Abiff, one of their most celebrated
officers. Manly Hall places a C before
the name of the master architect, and
reserves the name of Hiram to the King
of Tyre. During this lush period in his-
tory, the Dionysiac Architects prospered
and spread through Asia Minor, Greece,
Italy, through Europe and thence to En-
gland, where they found the highly de-
veloped organization of the Druids, who
were already practicing many of their
principles .

The great Roman architect, Vitruuius,
wrote about the principle of symmetry,
applied to architecture, derived from the
proportions established by nature be-
tween the parts and members of the
human body. He said, "The design of a
temple depends on symmetry, the principles
of which must be obserued and studied by the
architect. Proper proportion between the uarious
parts must be maintained. " Thus the sculp-
tors and architects of many ancient
buildings attained great fame. Buildings
were harmonious with the structure of
the universe, stellar constellations, etc.
All important Greek edifices were con-
structed with most careful deliberation,
some open to the sun and the sky--some
Doric, some Corinthian, some Ionic, in
their style of architecture. Many medi-
eval temples and cathedrals bear the
marks of this great Order of Dionysiac
Craftsmen. Early Christian churches--
even the Cathedral of Notre Dame--
have many of their symbols hidden in the
design, that have been identified as Ma-
sonic and Rosicrucian.

The famed Leonardo da Vinci had cre-
ated a life-size statue of horses. Before he
undertook the assignment, however, he
spent three months visiting the stables of
a particular pair of horses, observed and
studied them in various positions and
under diverse situations until he finally
mastered the symmetry and proportions of
their bodies. Only then did he undertake
the actual work on the project.

The idea of symmetry and its correla-
tion to the very structure of the human
body emphasizes the spine and its two
guardian passageways, one on each side,
called by the wise men in India, Ida and
Pingala--veins through which flow the
fluids and powerful rhythms of life itself.
When this spirit fire, a gaseous element
called in Sanscript, the Kundelini Sub-
stance, is lifted up from the base of the
spine, it flows through these two chan-
nels, in the form of a figure 8, crossing at
the medulla oblongata at the back of the
neck. This according to the great nine-
teenth and twentieth century seer, Max
Heindel, founder of the Rosicrucian Fel-
lowship at Oceanside, Cal., in his classic
volume, "The Rosicrucian Cosmo-con-
ception." It rises up along the 33 seg-
ments of the spine (the 33 degrees of
Masonry) to the top of the head and
opens up the third eye--the seat of the
soul. This is the eternal eye, the univer-
sal eye, the pineal gland. When a person
reaches this lofty state in the evolution of
his consciousness, it is said that the "ser-
pent power," so called in India because
the serpent is the symbol of wisdom, has
awakened from its slumber, and the per-
son becomes illumined, having attained
" cosmic consciousness " or supreme wis-
dom. The great souls mentioned here
who have accomplished wonderful
works, have all attained the lofty state of
"cosmic consciousness." Like the three
great lights in Masonry, once a man
attains to a full understanding of these
profound symbols, he has made an enor-
mous lunge forward in the direction of
spiritual illumination. The unfoldment
of the soul through a deeper understand-
ing opens the door of the consciousness
to spiritual illumination.

The great dream or vision of the
Dionysian Architects was the unfinished
temple of civilization--a vast invisible
structure on which these initiated build-
ers have labored ever since their in-
ception--in continuous construction
and repair as civilization evolved and
conditions changed, to maintain the
structure up to date.

The Temple of Solomon
Its Mystical Significance

Masonry has its own abstract concep-
tion--a magnificent utopianism, a sort
of castle in the air representing the soul
of man--a castle not built by the hands
of man, while the abode of the Mystical
Divine rests deep in the garden of the
human heart. This fabulous, incredible
vision, then, is the true Temple of Solomon!
On the physical plane--the realm of
matter--the human body is the Temple
of Solomon.

The Trinity in Masonic symbolism ac-
knowledges that man is a psychosomatic
unison of Body, Mind and Soul (or
Spirit).

Now let us see what is involved in the
astonishing, unparalleled story of the
Temple of Solomon and what is meant
by that expression. Its history and its
romance are delineated here.

The Actual Physical Temples

On the physical plane there were three
successive temples inJerusalem:

l.The original Temple of Solomon,
built by the illustrious king himself, a bit
less than 1000 B.C.E., and destroyed by
the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar in
586 B.C., who took the Hebrews in cap-
tivity to Babylon, was the most beauti-
ful, most celebrated testimonial to faith
that had ever been built. This structure
was, without a doubt, the most magnifi-
cent, the most spectacular edifice ever
built by the hand of man up to that time.

King Solomon, as the son of King
David, following his father's overtures,
built the Temple with the aid of Hiram,
King of Tyre, the Phoenician city on the
coast of the Mediterranean sea, and his
master builder, Chiram Abi or Abiff. An
account of the legend is unfolded in the
ritual of the Masonic third degree.

Varying estimates of size have been
projected, but the authorities are all
agreed that the temple was a magnificent
structure of surpassing splendor. The ac-
tual temple was one of the units in a
complex of structures and temple courts
that were connected with underground
passages. Twenty years were occupied
with the construction of the entire series
of buildings--thirteen for the other
buildings and seven for the temple, on
the plateau of Mt. Moriah, 2440 feet
above sea level. Cypress and cedars were
brought from Phoenicia, white marble
from Italy, stone from nearby quarries.
Various parts were trued up before being
brought to the spot where they were
needed. Gold and precious stones were
imported, and great material wealth was
invested in the decorations and embel-
lishments of the Temple. All the parts
were skillfully assembled without the
"Hammer of Contention. " Not a single nail
was used and not a single hammer blow
was heard. No noise of pollution or strife
of rivalry was evident.

When the temple was completed, King
David 's possessions were moved in. The
Ark of the Covenant between God and man
was placed in the Holy of Holies in the
Sanctum Sanctorum, a cube-shaped room
of 20 cubits, and two tablets of sapphire
(not stone) bearing inscriptions of the
Divine Law--the Ten Command-
ments--given to Moses on Mt. Sinai.
The Ark of the Covenant of the esoteric
idea that the indwelling self, the higher self,
is ruler of the Cosmic Order and cer-
tainly over each individual's small per-
sonal self, bore witness to Divine Law.
Also gracing the splendor of the perfect
cube-shaped room was the Mercy-Seat,
on which rested the Shekina Glory--the
radiant Presence of the Godhead.

Now the new home of Jehova (Yayeh), or
His spirit on the earthly plane, was for-
mally dedicated. A splendid system of
worship and prayer was developed, and
the smooth, peaceful reign of wise King
Solomon was achieved.

In its incomparable majesty, the phys-
ical expression of the Divine Idea--the
House of Everlasting Light--was made of
stone, marble, brick and mortar, grace-
fully reposing on the brow of Mt.
Moriah. This Temple lasted about 400
years.

2 . The Temple of Zerubabel, built and ded-
icated in 516 B.C., according to the vi-
sion of the prophet Ezekiel, who returned
to Jerusalem when the Hebrews were
released from Babylon by the Persian
King, Cyrus the Great, after more than
50 years in captivity. Temple #2 was not
as elaborate as the original but it served
all the necessary purposes. In addition to
his vision, Ezekiel remembered some of
the details, having seen the original
Temple of Solomon. He was a very
young man when he leftJerusalem. This
temple lasted about 500 years. Just in
passing, it was during this period of cap-
tivity that the Babylonian Talmud was
written, by the elders and wise men
among the captives.

3. The Temple of Herod--This was the #2
temple sadly in need of repair and resto-
ration--remodeled and rebuilt by
Herod, King of Judea, and dedicated in
16 B.C., although some of the temple
courts were not finished till 64 A . D . This
temple was completely demolished and
desecrated by the Romans under Titus
in 70 A.D., who sent his armies to Pal-
estine to punish those proudJewish peo-
ple who would not bow to the emperor of
Rome. The only remnant is the Great
Wall in East Jerusalem that still stands
and that is sacred to the Jewish people.
The Temple of Herod was more elabo-
rate and more pretentious than either of
its predecessors. Yet little is known about
the original structure of any of these tem-
ples. There are no drawings or blue-
prints of details anywhere concerning
these most important edifices. The de-
scription of the vision, however, appears
in the Book of Ezekiel in chapters 40 and
42.

However, what little is known about
these temples is more than is known
about the larger and more publicized
Temples of Thebes and Karnak in an-
cient Egypt. And, just as there were
three grand masters (King Solomon,
Hiram, King of Tyre, and Chiram
Abiff, Grand Master Architect), so were
there three temples in Jerusalem.

Life inJerusalem was centered around
the temple--the Divine Inheritance, the
priceless treasure of Juhad--the center
of their faith and worship, like the hub of
a wheel. This gave power and luster to
the Hebrew faith. To quote Manly P.
Hall, "TheJewish people had a superla-
tive understanding of God, the Great I
am that I am., and a sensitive conscious-
ness of the ethical demands and com-
mandments of God. " To this idea can be
added the thought that by reason of this
superior understanding, theJewish peo-
ple held aloft the Torch of Mono-The-
ism--their great power--which was per-
haps their most valuable contribution to
our western civilization. Therefore, the
temple was the "House of Prayer for all
People:" Jerusalem was a city of wealth
and luxury and the center of active life of
the entire area. Its fame and fortune and
the wisdom of its ruler, King Solomon,
had spread throughout the then known
world.

Now what did these temples mean? As
we now know, they were built by the
master craftsmen furnished by Hiram,
King of Tyre, who fabricated several
palaces as well as illustrious temple, and
smaller temples in other cities. These
architects and craftsmen were headed by
the accomplished and ingenious master
builder, Chiram Abi, or Abiff, who lov-
ingly embraced King Solomon's lofty,
unprecedented aspirations, and consid-
ered them an enormous challenge to his
own standards of excellence.

Perhaps a first in the history of archi-
tecture, the Great Temple was built, on
Mt. Moriah, stone by stone in holy si-
lence. Not a single mallet or hammer-
blow was heard; not a single tool of iron
was used. All the measuring, carving,
shaping, polishing and fitting were done
in the quarries and places of origin of the
various materials used--stone, marble,
the Cedars of Lebanon, etc. No stone or
brick was visible inside the temple, the
walls being covered with polished panel-
boards from the Cedars of Lebanon. No
one knows how these twenty-ton stones
were raised and fitted into place with
artistic precision. The pyramids of Egypt
present a similar enigma. But the grand
purpose of the Divine Creative Principle
was to be fulfilled, and many things that
happened are not understood by mortal
man. This phenomenon exists today as
it always has.

According to the Legend of King Solo-
mon and the Shedo and Ashmedai, King
of the Shedds, Solon had obtained a pre-
cious stone, a magic jewel called the
"Shamir," endowed with divine power
when held in proper hands, which he,
alone, and his High Priest, Aaron, could
use. when the shamir was held up to the
stone, the rough edges would soften so
that they could be hewn and cut to pre-
cision and fitted to the desired pattern.
In this way King Solomon was able to
fulfil his divine mission to build the tem-
ple without the sound of hammers. It is
also possible that the huge stones re-
ferred to in the previous paragraph were
lifted with the aid of the magic power of
the Shamir.

Now a few thoughts on the esoteric
interpretation of portions of the physical
structure: The rectangular mosaic--this
checkerboard on the floor--was the trac-
ing board of the Dionysiac Architects
and was adopted by the Masonic Order
to represent the floor of the temple in the
House of Initiation. The black and white
squares of the tessellated board represent
the natural law of opposites--light and
darkness, good and evil, freedom and
bondage, hot and cold, etc.

The design in the center is the blazing
sun of the Supreme Being--the Shekina
Glory, if you will. It is the One Great
Truth--the only Presence and the only
Power, the only Light, the one supreme
Universal    Wisdom--functioning
through the soul in the Human King-
dom. It has its seat in the third eye, the
universal eye, the eternal eye, the spiri-
tual eye, or the pineal gland. This ball of
fire--the eye of heaven--beams its radiant
light to the entire universe, that cannot
live without it. Simultaneously it sym-
bolizes the maintaining of eternal vigi-
lance over all creation to prove that God
never sleeps.

The multiple points surrounding the
sun symbolize the multiplicity of direc-
tion and the magnificent diversity that
exists within the glorious unity that per-
vades all that is. It is the Shibboleth of the
Science of Unity and Diversity. It is the
Kabalistic Yod--the Ain Soph of the
Kabalah--the single dot representing
the Divine, which is the beginning of all
symbolism.

The two protective pillars at the en-
trance of the temple, Jachin and Boaz,
represent equilibrium or balance. They
are the unlimited power and splendor of
the perfection of Deity and its consum-
mate achievements. Individually each
has its own symbolism . Jachin (Yakayin)
represents the positive aspects of that
balance--strength, generation, wisdom,
the male principle. Boaz (Bahaz) repre-
sents the negative or passive aspect--es-
tablishment, capacity for production,
understanding, the female principle.
The ball on top of the pillars represents
the universe.

The Spiritual Essence

The Mystical Significance of the Three
Temples

The mystical significance of these tem-
ples is fascinating, embracing three
major ideas in the symbolism of Freema-
sonry.

l.The Grand House of The Universe,
in the midst of which sits the Sun (Sol)
upon his throne of yellow gold--the color
of spirit--surrounded by the twelve
lights or signs of the zodiac (the twelve
craftsmen) worshiping their shining
Lord in profound admiration. And there
are Three Great Lights--Solar, Lunar,
Stellar illuminating the Cosmic Temple.
The three great lights radiate their pow-
erful beams of light from the East, West,
and South, while the North remains
dark. Again in the words of Manly Hall,
"Accompanied by his retinue of cosmic
bodies--planets, stars, asteroids--this
Divine King Solomon rules, and prome-
nades triumphantly down the corridors
of Time and Space. " This three-syllable
name, Sol-om-on (again the triad), rep-
resents The Divine White Light, the Di-
vine Sound Current, and their interac-
tion, the combination of which com-
prises the substance of the universe and
keeps it spinning. Sol-om-on is one of the
Masonic expressions for solar energy.

In this scene, King Solomon signifies
the invisible, yet all powerful spiritual
refulgency behind the sun, while
Chiram, the widow ' s son, represents the
universal activity--the actual rays of the
physical light of the sun the central spir-
itual sun, beaming its brilliant light onto
the physical, material universe. Hiram,
King of Tyre, represents the cosmic re-
sources that flow trom the realm of cau-
sation to the sphere of effect, thus estab-
lishing the natural law of Cause and
Consequence that governs the universe.
This law extends also to the working out
of the individual karmic destiny of every
human being.

2.The second temple represents the
human body--the little house made in
the image of the Great Universal House.
This then becomes the microcosm of the
Grand House of the Universe--the
Great Universal Macrocosm. The Apos-
tle, Paul, said, "Know ye not that ye are
the Temple of God, and that the Spirit
dwelleth in you?" In the esoteric teach-
ings it is said that "The Human Body is
the Temple of the Living God, in whom
we live and move and have our being.
The Human Soul, a spark of the Divine
Essence, uses the body for locomotion,
for learning its lessons and for gaining
experience. The blood stream is the river
of life that courses through the veins and
arteries of that magnificent Temple,
bearing nourishment and oxygen to
every cell in the body, and carrying off
ts waste. "

The Masters of Wisdom tell us that it is
a blessing to be born in the human
body--in the family of Man--which
contains the spiritual centers, not given
to any other form of life. These are the
seven endocrine glands and the seven
chakras (Sanskrit) which make the phys-
ical body the Real Temple, not built by
the hand of Man. Man, then is the Sum-
mit of God's Creation--the only living
being endowed with the power of
thought and the freedom of choice to
guide that thinking in whatever direction
he wishes. Only in the body can man
make progress in the direction of Soul
Unfoldment and Spiritual Illumination.
Only through the man body can man rise
to a higher level and find his expression
on all four major planes of conscious-
ness--the physical, mental, moral and
emotional, and the spiritual--where he
can develop great spiritual powers and
attain to the knowledge of God.

Here it is interesting to note that Free-
masonry within the temple of stone or
brink and mortar is fallow, inert, and
therefore speculatiue, but Freemasonry in
the Temple of Human Body becomes
consciously aware of Life and Living,
assumes form and function, and is,
therefore, operative.

3.The third symbolic Temple is the
Soular House, which must be compre-
hended with deep imagination, as an
invisible structure--an intangible, mys-
terious edifice--whose secrets are hid-
den behind the Wedding Garment de-
scribed by St. Paul, the Robes of Glory
of the High Priests of Israel, the golden
yellow robes worn by the Buddhist
Monks and the holy men of India, and
the robes of blue and gold referred to by
Albert Pike, the great authority on Ma-
sonic literature, symbolism and history.
The Soul-ar House embraces Divine
Plans that deal with creating and sustain-
ing the great universal mysteries until
such time when Man will be sufficiently
evolved in consciousness to understand
them. In this age of Kali-Yuga, for in-
stance, in the great majority of humans,
Soul and Mind live in the body, side by
side, but do not know each other. The
process of "rising above body conscious-
ness" up into the realm of Soul removes
the barrier that separates them and af-
fects the "Happy Spiritual Marriage."

This Temple of the Human Soul, built
by the three illustrious Master Masons,
objectifies Wisdom, Love and Service.
When properly built, the Spirit of God
dwells therein. As a miniature represen-
tation of the Universal Temple, this too
is a microcosm of the Grand Universal
Macrocosm--the Great Oversoul, as
R.W. Emerson calls it. The idea or
image of Sol-om-on--the Spirit of Uni-
versal Illumination--functioning on all
four major planes of consciousness, the
physical, mental, moral and emotional
and the spiritual, is personified by a king
of an earthly nation. Solomon is sitting
on the throne of an earthly kingdom, a
unified Twelve Tribes of Israel in Jeru-
salem .

Just Who Was Solomon?

It is fitting here for the reader to ask,
"Who was this fabulous individual,
named Solomon? " It is impossible to
discuss the temples without Solomon.
They are inseparable. Solomon, son of
David and Bathsheba, ruled over Israel
and gave that nation 40 years of blessed
peace, achieved through various means
of diplomacy and wisdom (Solomon
ruled from 974 to 934 B.C.E.). The
name Solomon means "Peaceful": Sha-
lom in Hebrew, Salam in Islam, etc. The
prophet, Nathan, had named him at
birth, Jedidiah, or beloved of Yaveh.
The name was changed by his parents to
fulfill King David' scraving for peace. As
~a hyphenated word, Sol-om-on stands
for light, glory, and truth, collectively
and respectively . The Temple of Sol-om-
on, then, was the House of Everlasting
Light--The Grand Temple not built by
the hands of man.

According to the Ancient Rabbins, Sol-
omon was an initiate of the Mystery
Schools, and the Temple he built was a
" House of Initiation, " containing many
and diverse symbols gathered from
places distant and near. Many of the
details of the Temple, including the dra-
peries, chambers, etc., indicated the in-
fluence of Egypt, Asia Minor, Babylon,
and even the Lost Continent of Atlantis.
As Master of the Lodge of Jerusalem,
King Solomon brought many new peo-
ple into the fold of Freemasonry. From
time to time some of these brethren mi-
grated to various parts of the world and
introduced Masonry in their new abode.
They entered other countries as ambas-
sadors from King Solomon, the Lion of
Judah .

According to the Talmud, Solomon
understood the mysteries of the
Qabbalah, was an alchemist and a scien-
tist, humbly gathering wisdom and se-
crets from the many people who came
from far and near to take initiation. Dr.
Sigismund Bacstrom wrote that the Uni-
versal Spirit (Chiram) built the Great
Temple with the gold and silver that
Solomon, as an alchemist, obtained from
the invisible Universe--metals that most
people thought were mined in the vicin-
ity. It is also recorded that much gold and
precious stones were brought to him by
visiting kings and princes, and that Pho-
enician ships brought gold and other
valuable cargo from Ophir and Tarshish
and diverse lands far and near.

When the writer of this manuscript was
in Israel some years ago, he visited a
place in the Negev Desert, called
" Solomon' s Mines. " The historian, Jo-
sephus, states that Solomon was also an
accomplished magician. Altogether,
upon this individual was bestowed a
fuller measure of wisdom and under-
standing than upon any other human
being who ever lived. Comparable with
his spiritual wealth, he was custodian of
fabulous material wealth. The following
profound statement is attributed to Sol-
omon: "I have had all kinds of experi-
ences and have found all to be vanity.
Therefore, with all thy getting, get thee
WISDOM. "

And now that so much has been said
about King Solomon, it is appropriate
here to set the record straight concerning
his supposed thousand wives. Obviously
that is a grave error--an erroneous fal-
lacy. In those days it was not against the
law for a man to have more than one
wife, and some of those who could afford
the luxury probably did. Solomon might
have had several wives, not because he
was sensually lustful, but because he
used wisdom and diplomacy in his rela-
tions with neighboring countries and
their rulers, with some of whom he made
political alliances. Thus it was political
expediency that produced this situation.
Since these rulers held this wise man in
high esteem, some of them offered him
wlves .

A Few Closing Thoughts

Manly P. Hall states that the student of
Freemasonry who becomes too much
embroiled in the ritual, allegories and
degrees has great difficulty in compre-
hending these spiritual truths. They may
be too abstruse for him.

Another thought on origin. It is said
that Masonry actually came to the an-
cient world--to the East as we call it--
from the Lost Continent of Atlantis
where it flourished under the designation
of "Sun and Fire Worship." The an-
cient mystery schools merely adopted
some of their symbols and practices and
merged them with their own. So you see
that beneath the literal interpretation of
these symbols, lie many a royal secret
and cosmic design. Albert Pike, in his
Morals and Dogma, tells us that every
Lodge of Freemasonry, while in session,
represents a miniature universe embrac-
ing all the nations--ancient and mod-
ern--which practice the mysteries.

Pike also says that since conditions are
so much different today, the true esoteric
key to the Masonic secrets has been lost.
The "word" was lost when the Master
Architect, Chiram, was killed and took
with him the key word of initiation,
which, when spoken and understood
lifts the consciousness of man to great
spiritual heights. Manly Hall says that
the Dionysiac Architects were so diligent
in protecting their secrets, that the key
was lost in their very effort to protect it.
It is also said that the Science of Human
Generation is the lost key of Masonry.
There are other interpretations, of
course. However, the magnificent God-
head has many ways His mysteries and
wonders to perform. You have just un-
raveled some of these latencies in this
manuscript .

The priceless heritage of Freemasonry
is more appreciated when its history is
known. Although the physical struc-
tures--The Temples of Thebes and Kar-
nak in Egypt, the Parthenon in Greece
and the Temple of Solomon in Jerusa-
lem--all lie in ruins of brick and broken
stone, the spirit of the ancient mysteries,
preserved in the symbols of Masonry,
marches triumphantly on through the
ages, dispensing the Light of Divine Wis-
dom to anyone who will honestly and
sincerely listen. Mere perfunctory effort
in this teaching is not effective. Yet the
Lodges of the Order must be selective in
whom they choose for membership. The
destruction of the Temple teaches us that
a house of stone or brick cannot save or
redeem mankind, but that the powerful
ideas and profound perceptions em-
braced in Masonry's symbolism provide
the means for emancipation from mental
and emotional bondage. Their virtues
must be urgently rooted in the human
heart.

And now, putting all these ideas to-
gether, we find that Freemasonry is an
immense body of consciousness, striving
to be in tune with the universe and work-
ing out its grand objective to build char-
acter into the brethren and to make each
Master Mason a torch-bearer of light to
illumine the world by living up to the
highest principles of which he is capa-
ble--the ultimate length of his cable-tow,
if you will--thus being an exemplar in
the art of living. Masonry teaches the
brethren to be more rather than to gel
more in the perpetual struggle for su-
premacy in the mechanistic, competi-
tive, acquisitive society that man has es-
tablished. It teaches the brethren to be
unusually careful how they live, for they
and their way of life may be the only bible
that some people will read.

In this way each person will be able, as
a child of God, to transcend "body con-
sciousness" and rise to a higher level of
thought, feeling and action--the realm
o f spirit, where only love prevails . Here he
will dwell with other high souls in the
Temple of the Most High and thus make
his sacred contribution toward fulfilling
the Divine Plan for man. Like unto Sol-
omon, this wisdom and understanding
are bestowed on us--on each individual
according to his just deserve--especially
those who have been privileged to be
inducted into the Order of Free and Ac-
cepted Masons. These commitments be-
come a sacred obligation for every
Mason, as well as a magnificent oppor-
tunity.

It is also obvious by now that the three
Temples of Jerusalem, in symbolism,
represent the majestic, incomparable
phenomenon, the human body--the tem-
ple of the living God. More specifically,
they represent the spinal column and the
two veins, called in Sanskrit, Ida and
Pingala, and the Kundelini Power, rais-
ing man to lofty spiritual heights. Like
the Three Great Lights in Masonry--the
Bible, the Square, and the Compass--
when properly understood, will raise the
student to a high level of consciousness.

The conclusion is to convey the realiza-
tion thatyou and 1, in the physical body,
are symbolically the "Temple of Solo-
mon, " and that the information we
learned here provides us a splendid op-
portunity to follow through and do jus-
tice to the sacred responsibility we have
assumed. Our path of progress will be
ever more illumined by the three Great
Lights in Masonry.

On this higher level of consciousness,
all the mysteries and secrets of the uni-
verse will be revealed to the student, and
he will no longer need a key or any outside
assistance in the living of life or in solving
his problems. His counsel and guidance
will come to him from the powerful inner
voice--the real Sanctum Sanctorum
within--where is hidden God's covenant
with man.

The Philalethes, October 1992
