Tomorrow sees the release of Dan "Da Vinci Code" Brown's long-awaited new novel The Lost Symbol. Apparently, one big theme of the book is the influence Freemasonry had on American history. (In fact, one of the Boing Boingers is a Freemason. Can you guess which one of us? ANSWER: IT'S MARK!) Pegged on the book's publication, Mitch Horowitz wrote a brief essay for US News And World Report about the "real" impact of Freemasonry on this country. Of course, Mitch is the author of his own new book, "Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation." In a couple of weeks, he'll be guestblogging here on Boing Boing and I can't wait! From US News And World Report:
Buy "Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation" (Amazon)
Buy "The Lost Symbol" (Amazon)
Masons and the Making of America (US News & World Report)(George) Washington and other early American Freemasons rejected a European past in which one overarching authority regulated the exchange of ideas. And this outlook is found in one of the greatest symbols associated with Freemasonry: The eye-and-pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States, familiar today from the back of the dollar bill. The Great Seal's design began on July 4th, 1776, on an order from the Continental Congress and under the direction of Benjamin Franklin (another Freemason), Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. The Latin maxim that surrounds the unfinished pyramid—Annuit Coeptis Novus Ordo Seclorum—can be roughly, if poetically, translated as: "God Smiles on Our New Order of the Ages." It is Masonic philosophy to the core: The pyramid, or worldly achievement, is incomplete without the blessing of Providence. And this polity of man and God, as Masonry saw it, required a break with the religious order of the Old World and a renewed search for universal truth. In its symbols and ideas, Masonry conveyed a sense that something new was being born in America: that the individual's conscience was beyond denominational affiliation or government command.
Buy "Occult America: The Secret History of How Mysticism Shaped Our Nation" (Amazon)
Buy "The Lost Symbol" (Amazon)
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I just went to a museum they run in Massachusetts. Pretty wild.
apropos of nothing... god, dan brown sucks
I'm guessing Cory
That's interesting... and all this time I thought the Freemasons' ultimate objective was to conquer the Rotary Club.
#4: Yes, using transferable power from the Bavarian Illuminati and the assistance of the Orbital Mind Control Lasers.
my guess is Mark
I'm Guessing David.
@Jfrancis - specifically where is that freemasonry museum? sounds interesting.
Is it Xeni?
I think David.
A cemetery in Santa Monica, CA has a Freemason square and compass symbol laid into the grounds. Was kind of startling to find it in Google Maps:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=pico%2F17th+st.+santa+monica&sll=34.01859,-118.47446&sspn=0.00205,0.004823&ie=UTF8&ll=34.018527,-118.474175&spn=0.00205,0.004823&t=h&z=18
Annuit coeptis novus ordo sec[u]lorum = "Grant the beginning of a new order of the world."
Or, maybe 'approve', 'smile on' or even 'bless' instead of grant.
I assume it's God they wanted to do the granting.
===
P.S. it is "pseudo-mysticism" that has had such a great effect on the U.S. Real mysticism [whether one believes in it or not] is quite another thing and almost unknown in the U.S.
I think Xeni is in a league all of her own...I mean who has a first name that begins with an "X" except for some sort of super secretive mad sciency type?
Ewige Blumenkraft!
@7
http://www.monh.org/
...amplifying on #12
Even the history of our own Museum is intriguing to visitors. Founded by the Scottish Rite Masons of the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States as a gift to the nation on our country's bicentennial, we depend on their continuing support to keep our doors open. Many people do not understand the Masonic fraternity or know that prominent Masons, such as George Washington, Ben Franklin and Paul Revere, played a pivotal role in the founding of our country. Our Museum demystifies the rituals, symbols, meaning and history of the society. We have one of the finest Masonic collections in the United States, shown in a number of exhibitions throughout our facility. Our Museum is also noted for authoring important, scholarly books on Freemasonry, which accompany our exhibits.
All hail the Stonecutters!
"Now let's all get drunk and play Ping Pong!"
To be summoned up as:
Stay in the group, stay in the group, do not fall out of the group, gotta belong to a group.
Yes. I can see how Freemasonry shaped America.
Even Fred Flintstone had his Water Buffalo Lodge.
Funny coincidence -- it was just this weekend that I finished reading the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Or however that should be capitalized.
"Pescovitz", a Freemason? Egads.
" ... (George) Washington and other early American Freemasons rejected a European past in which one overarching authority regulated the exchange of ideas. ... "
Um... [cough] ... bullshit....
The Whiskey Rebellion
I'm going to guess that this is a trick question and that Xeni is in the Order of the Eastern Star.
@14
They are awesome. It's true.
http://bit.ly/mU0vU
@Keneke, hahahaha!
Heh, and don't forget that the Jewish Freemasons created the Shiite/Sunni civil war in Islam!! ;-)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7601318/DocumentsOfTheRightWordSunni-shiite-split-Free-eBook
See Pg. 161
A very popular conspiracy theory. "Number One with a bullet" in many places.
Which is why driving truck bombs into Shiite villages is such a popular past time in places like Iraq. They are, after all, honourary Jews via the Freemasons.
how does it go?
One human being, no matter how ingenious in thought and deed, no matter how insightfull and perceptive, can possibly hope to glean in their lifetime a sliver of the full glory that the bretheren can reveal.
Order now and get a free, bespoke clock.
Its a petty that here in the States people (or their co-workers) brag about being a Mason.
In any other part of the world Masons, really respect the cult and keep it secret. Nobody needs to know that anybody is a freemason, that is why there is a secret handshake and a ton of symbols to identify it.
Mark and the rest of American freemasons should know that!
Masonery in the stats is different than in any other countries, Out there is not like the rotary or the lion's club! (or even like sam's club membership)
It's amazing to me how many people with practically no knowledge of Freemasonry feel qualified to speak about it... no wonder most everything that average people think they know is utter nonsense.
The myths of Freemasonic conspiracy are what fascinate me the most... Americans don't seem to understand that if it wasn't for the "illuminati" and the freemasons, we wouldn't have the kind of freedoms we have today... interesting trick, that - convince people that the very movement which is responsible for all of their freedoms is the evil conspiracy out to take those freedoms away.
I should be receiving Mitch's new book today from Amazon, I'm eager to see how good it is....
'Dudes' don't forget about Andy Griffith/mayberry fame wearing his fez! & now the popular nicolas cage national treasure movies; & his estranged daughter's Lara Croft movies!
organised religion is still organised religion. dogma disguised as wisdom. and then people wonder how it winds up starting wars. i mean, let's face it, there is zero substantial evidence for anything any religion preaches that is supernatural.
as an agnostic it amazes me that people will defend their blind faith in irrational nonsense with their life. what a waste.
@11 and Mitch:
That Latin. It's a mistake to translate, even roughly, "annuit coeptis" and "novus ordo saeclorum" together.
They are two grammatically distinct phrases: the former means "[God] favors [our] beginnings"; the latter, "new order/cycle of generations." Period. Note that n.o.s. is in its own banner, and is therefore spatially separate, too.
The technical details, if anyone cares: "novus ordo" is in the subject case (nominative): it cannot be made an object of the verb "annuit," like "coeptis," which is in an object case (dative), is.
I suppose it *might* be that "novus ordo" is the subject of "annuit", thus: "a new order of generations favors our beginnings." But I think that's unlikely.
also, why is providence an eye in a triangle? and why do so many people call it the eye of horus? well i know the answers, and it's because their symbol system involves egyptian stuff... probably something born out of the craze for everything egyptian that was happening in the 1700s. still, quite amazing such a thing passed by the nose of the dominant christian churches of the time, and designed and approved by a publically declared 'christian' government. the sigil of fremasonry gives the impression that their guiding principle is science, measurement and engineering. and also a corruption of the star of david.
mindblowing that such an obviously syncretic religion and recently established has so much currency. one can only conclude it is because it is more so than anything else a way for people in power to meet up.
one day, us Real Masons (the Atheist Masons) will reveal ourselves.
elfspice, as far as I know the masons are approximately as devout as AA members.
Dammit Takuan, you said too much! Do you know long it's going to take to track down each person who reads that comment and zap their memories with the Ray of Non-Belief? It's not like our brethren have nothing better to do.
you're right.... guess I'll have to kill them.
The all seeing eye was also a Christian symbol in Germany. Often found in Bavarian. ;)
http://www.wga.hu/art/f/friedric/1/103fried.jpg
yeh, everybody tries to claim it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_of_Providence
that don't mean I'm giving anything up
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/7/10601004_64ae826cf9.jpg?v=0
I detest the Freemasons. They ran our town. My father wasn't (wouldn't be) in the club so they tried to screw him over and put him out of business. Nearly succeeded too, until he moved his bank accounts and legal and accountancy needs to a neighboring town where they couldn't get their hooks in. But they did succeed in keeping us poor while I was growing up and I hate them for it.