Megalithic masons

[Martin]

Phoenician traders didn't have much opportunity to affect building styles as they had no colonies in Britain, perhaps they were unimpressed by the damp climate. But Spain has a Phoenician heritage. Spain is where castle-building began thanks to Moorish masons from Phoenician north Africa.

Moated castles are the equivalent of causewayed islands on land, with the drawbridge being the only route in and out.

[Boreades]

Asking elsewhere, I have learnt that Pythagoras seems to have established his system on a similar plan to that of Freemasonry.

"The schools established by Pythagoras at Crotona, and other cities, have been considered by many writers as the models after which Masonic Lodges were subsequently constructed. They undoubtedly served the Christian ascetics of the first century as a pattern for their monastic institutions, with which institutions the Freemasonry of the Middle Ages, in its operative character, was intimately connected.

Women proved to be powerful, determining influences in the life, philosophy and schools of Pythagoras. Beginning with his mother, Parthenis (an epithet of Athena, meaning ‘virgin’) who, after dedicating him to the Pythoness at Delphi (hence his name), was herself renamed Pythasis (identifying her as a priestess of the cult). Among the later women in the life of Pythagoras were: Aristocleia who taught him; Theano who, as well as being the head of the cult at Delphi, was already a leading mathematician and philosopher when they met. She was his finest student, they married and he named her as his successor; and Damo, their daughter, to whom they entrusted all their secrets and compositions. Included among the most famous of the Pythagorean philosophers were, according to Iamblichus, no fewer than seventeen women.

Manly Hall reports that Pythagoras was criticised for compromising his lessons by his strict adherence to the obligations he had undertaken in various mystery schools of Greece, Egypt, Persia and India, requiring at times such things as regular initiation, secrecy, years of silence, teaching in allegories or from behind a screen. However, as Hall observed, ‘Having accepted the obligations of these societies, Pythagoras had no honorable course other than to abide by their regulations.’ Having proved to be so faithful to all his obligations, Pythagoras would certainly not have admitted women to his schools if their admission was prohibited by any of the Ancient Mysteries which contributed to the wisdom he taught."

[Donna]

That being said, ties to Megalithia and Masonry seem too obvious to ignore.

The rituals, purposes, and goals of both are nearly identical. Could it be possible that Masonry arose as a Middle Age construct of Megalithia, a kind of active arm of the society, or a way to hide in plain sight?

As I understand it, Haji Bektash (from Khorosan) brought the teaching structure of the Illuminati (of the Hindu Kush) first to central Anatolia, then to the Abode of Wisdom - a Dervish study centre in Cairo. Templars, Freemasons et al. derived their modus operandi from there, but not at first hand. It gets bit complicated at this point, but the end result is that the West acquired partially corrupted knowledge.

Our take on the Middle East politics of the time has been determined by our belief that the Crusades were all about winning wars. When, centuries later, the Ottomans did become hostile to the Knights of Rhodes, they merely evicted them from the island. The Templars at Accra were still present in Napoleon's time; they thwarted his attempt to take the ME.

[Boreades]

...It gets bit complicated at this point, but the end result is that the West acquired partially corrupted knowledge...

I wonder if that partly explains why the masonic search for the lost word is so confusing for most masons? i.e. you are told to search for something, but if you ask what it is, nobody knows.

[hvered]

As I understand it, Haji Bektash (from Khorosan) brought the teaching structure of the Illuminati (of the Hindu Kush) first to central Anatolia, then to the Abode of Wisdom - a Dervish study centre in Cairo. Templars, Freemasons et al. derived their modus operandi from there, but not at first hand. It gets bit complicated at this point, but the end result is that the West acquired partially corrupted knowledge.

The 'Abode of Wisdom' was, it seems, founded in Cairo for scholars to study and translate ancient Greek texts and books and to make astronomical observations. So historians' overall perspective on the conflict called the Crusades is presumably spot on, that the West sent emissaries to gain knowledge from the infidel. No wonder they were a bit cagey about discussing their mission and have 'lost' or are ignorant of their sources.

[Boreades]

As I understand it, Haji Bektash (from Khorosan) brought the teaching structure of the Illuminati (of the Hindu Kush) first to central Anatolia, then to the Abode of Wisdom - a Dervish study centre in Cairo. Templars, Freemasons et al. derived their modus operandi from there, but not at first hand. It gets bit complicated at this point, but the end result is that the West acquired partially corrupted knowledge.

The 'Abode of Wisdom' was, it seems, founded in Cairo for scholars to study and translate ancient Greek texts and books and to make astronomical observations. So historians' overall perspective on the conflict called the Crusades is presumably spot on, that the West sent emissaries to gain knowledge from the infidel. No wonder they were a bit cagey about discussing their mission and have 'lost' or are ignorant of their sources.

It seems the 'Abode of Wisdom' must have been a meeting place for several schools of thought and learning. So there may be great similarities between the Abode of Wisdom, the School of the Prophets and the Hermetic Qabalah traditions (inc. Tree of Life).
e.g. http://hermeticqabalah.com/

I'm told that the Holy Royal Arch degree of modern Masonry is infuenced by the Hermetic Qabalah.

Here's an example that has a megalithic connection: Merkabah stones.

These might only be meant as a physical description of the light-energy form e.g. http://enlightenedawareness.wetpaint.com/page/Merkabah
But they do seem very similar to the Platonic Solids. e.g. http://www.platonicsolids.info/

Which Traditional Archaeologists have found at Scara Brae, with no idea of their significance.
e.g.http://nms.scran.ac.uk/database/record. ... chdb=scran

[Johnny Attero]

Ah, the Crusades, one of my favorite subjects.

The idea that the Crusades, or Wars of the Cross, were not wars is an incredible bit of modern reinterpretation. They did bring armies, presumably to fight, and spent quite a bit of time and effort gathering any and all that would come to swing anything they could bring with them at Muslim soldiers. They crossed seas, deserts, and mountains to get there, then died in droves in agonizingly drawn out sieges or fell due to thirst or overheating. Writing it off as the curiosity of a few scholar/rulers seems a bit cavalier.

Not to mention the Kingdom that they set up and occupied until Dar al-Islam got its act together, unified, and wiped them out, paying particular attention to the Templars that some claimed remained.

That scholars or hidden members of some educated elite is possible by this time, but likely candidates are linked to the Cistercians rather than the Illuminati. A read through Crusade literature quickly shows that St. Bernard and many of the founders of the Templars all hailed from Burgundy, and that many were related. What they did before arriving in the Holy Land, what they did during, and what they did when they got back and became the most powerful military and economic power in Europe, now THAT is probably tied to the Masonic order that sprung up shortly after the Templars had ascended.

[Ajai]

The idea that the Crusades, or Wars of the Cross, were not wars is an incredible bit of modern reinterpretation. They did bring armies, presumably to fight, and spent quite a bit of time and effort gathering any and all that would come to swing anything they could bring with them at Muslim soldiers. They crossed seas, deserts, and mountains to get there, then died in droves in agonizingly drawn out sieges or fell due to thirst or overheating. Writing it off as the curiosity of a few scholar/rulers seems a bit cavalier.

The attitude might appear militant but aggressive rhetoric isn't always translated into warfare. Remember, the accounts of the Crusades were redacted by Europeans, and monks to boot, hardly reliable as history (cf. lives of saints).

[Johnny Attero]

I understand where you are coming from, but I think there is plenty of evidence for war. Accounts from both sides describe mass violence and sieges, as well as archeological evidence from Jerusalem and other sites. The military orders built castles, obviously military constructions, in the Judean desert. Mental gymnastics to explain away these references and features are more than wrong, they are unnecessary.

War in no way changes the cultural exchange that occurred. In fact, culture changes faster under severe conditions, allowing possible pre-existing Megalithic vestiges to transform and create what we now call Masonry.

[Boreades]

As we know from World War 1 and 2, war can be a great stimulus to the development of new technology. No doubt a lot of skills were acquired and/or developed on military buildings during the Crusades. I wonder how much of that skills and knowledge transferred back to Western Europe after the Crusades? e.g. new buildings with a "Saracen" style?