Transcending Yesod-The Third Degree of Freemasonry

The following is an adjusted version of the introduction for a new book I’ve been working on, The Master Mason. This work is the culmination of nearly a decade of consideration and contemplation over the complexities of what it means to become a master in the masonic system of initiation. It is not the complete work and serves as an introduction to the broader themes explored in its subsequent pages. In a nut-shell, the work is an exploration of Freemasonry and how it relates to the Hermetic tradition, the Kabbalah and other esoteric systems that have at various intersections crossed paths with what we know as Freemasonry today.

You can read more on the release of The Master Mason, at: Between the Sun and Moon, A Master Mason is Born

So, with that in mind, I present to you,

Transcending Yesod — The Third Degree of Freemasonry

Third Degree Masonic Tracing Board

“To be or not to be” are the immortal words written by the eminent bard of Avon, William Shakespeare. His question appears in the story of Hamlet made by a lost son striving to find answers to what would, by most, be an unfathomable question which is the essence of the third degree. “To be” is perhaps the oldest of the New Age paradigms stirring echoes across theologies of all cultures said best in the application of the Golden Rule as to do unto others which is Being itself. Like the Golden Rule, in order to do unto others, we must first understand ourselves, the innerness of our being such that we can Be in the first place. This lesson is not something that is wholesale unique to the fraternity of Freemasonry, or this degree, as we find the idea of the Golden Rule transcribed across millennia and within every theological system. So too do we find the testament as a personal gospel of finding our truth. For most, truth is mythology whose philosophical lessons are lost in the dogmas of its authority – its commentaries on the philosophies become more valuable than the philosophies themselves and the value of what was said is lost to the dominion of those who hold authority over them. We must interpret the truths for ourselves so as to find their resonance within us. This is the entirety of the lesson of the third degree, the marrow in the bones of antiquity within which the truth spans all landscapes if the seeker looks deeply enough into its composition. But, as with any concept, truth is itself mutable as generations add or redact its communication creating ever fluctuating permutations and confluences of its principle concepts. Truth is truth, no matter how others dictate its interpretation. It is our own internal mechanisms that decide it for ourselves. For the Mason reading, we, as Hiram, perish in custody of our virtue which in turn is the vehicle of our metaphoric resurrection in being made perpendicular again, a zenith we find in the number three as the union between one and two, duality itself made whole. By reading the degree, whether in the Scottish or York Rite telling, the overtones are distinctly Christian but like the Christian Church itself, the tradition existed well before the consummation of the Gospels and illustrate the depth of antiquity for what they kabbalah, Cabbalah, tree of life, Hermetic Qabalahseek to convey. As with every symbolic story, we must look at it with filters and adjudge the entirety by the description of the pieces to achieve a level of perspective over the totality within which it exists. Freemasonry is, if anything else, a conglomerate of ideas, culled together from a variety of sources. So then, to understand its summation we need to look at the Kabalistic connections of this degree as it relates to our Tree of Life progression (see The Apprentice and Fellow of the Craft) as the degree of the Master Mason resides within the Sephirot of Yesod on the pillar of mercy giving several meanings and parallels. So too will we do well in finding its corresponding relations in the Tarot as Yesod relates to the card of the Four Nines, which is also a source of its symbolic origin. But, our greatest understanding will come as we look at the degree itself to try and make sense of why the master mason is arranged the way it is, given its discordant portrayal when compared with the two that preceded it in both presentation and tone. No longer is the degree about simply the teaching of ideas and social principles, nor is it an indoctrination meant to introduce foreign concepts to the newcomer. No, this degree is about the inner journey, the making of the “transcendent transparent” which it does by introducing, in its present-day conduct, an aspect of itself that strives to teach its lesson through theatrics so as to convey its lesson in a manner reminiscent of a morality play with antecedent’s common at the time of its ritual organization. “To be…or not to be,” that is the challenge that faces each of us as we confront our own inner Hiram. And is the question which will open the door of the future of Masonry in the pursuit of the higher degrees. The esoteric writer Eliphas Lévi says, in his book The History of Magic, “Ordeal is the great word of life, and life itself is a serpent which brings forth and devours unceasingly.” Man, is born into chaos to seek light from that which he was created which, the great tradition of Hermetica tells us, is but merely a reflection, as the moon reflects the light of the sun — an aspect of this tradition we find in the parallel with Yesod. So then, we need a place to begin our study and where best to begin than with the number of the degree itself so as to construct an understanding of the significance of the number three and its relationship to many other traditions as the unifying force of division.

Meet Brother Tehuti Evans

Tehuti Evans

Brother Tehuti Evans is a member of Redemption Lodge No. 24 MWPHGLDC. He is currently Secretary (and Past Master) of the David A. McWilliams Sr. Research and Education Lodge and also Grand Historian and Archivist for the Grand Lodge and Secretary and Keeper of the Seal and Archives for Jonathan Davis Consistory No. 1, ASSR,S.J., PHA.

Evans studied at Howard University, Federal City College, the University of the District of Columbia and Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts where he pursued his doctoral studies.

Evans is a well traveled veteran of the Air Force where he was a military engineer and a decorated Vietnam War veteran.

Biography of Alonzo Tehuti Evans

In 1983, Evans was named the Washington Urban League’s Man of the year and promoted to Director of Employment and Training.

In 1984 brother Evans became Director of Operations for International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation, (ITI) in Washington DC and in 1986 he became a educational consultant with KJ Associates of Silver Springs, Maryland.

Brother Evans was a founding member of the University of the District of Columbia Alumni Association in 1978 where he served as its Chairman of the Board of Directors 1979-86 and as a member of the Board of Trustee of the University of The District of Columbia from 1988 -1992.

Since 1993, He has worked with several Washington DC study groups out side of the campus environment, working to bring such African scholars as Doctors Ben, John Henry Clark, Dr. Van Sertima, Charles Finch, Francis Welsing, Neely Fuller, Tony Browder and many others to the greater Washington area for lectures and discussions on issues pertinent to African and African-American history and social development.

Brother Evans was The Dean of the School of Behavior and Social Sciences for the Washington Saturday College at Howard University from 1997-1999.

In 1995 Brother Evans was a co-founder of, and the resident scholar at The House of Khamit Book Store and Cultural Shop, which was located on historic Georgia Avenue in Washington, DC.

Brother Evans counts his tour of Egypt in 1998 with Dr Yosef ben-Jochatumn, the most preeminent Black scholar of Egyptian history, as one of his top life experiences. Saying of the tour, “Touring with a master scholar opens ones eyes unlike any other educational experience.”

Evans has lectured as a main presenter for the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization (ASCAC), as well as several mainstream American universities such as the University of Massachusetts, University of Maryland, Wayne State University, The University of Chicago, Morgan Slate University, Temple University and Howard University.

Among his current interests include serving as the Resident Agent and member of the Board of Directors for the Mignon L. I. Ford Foundation which he says is his most satisfying. The foundation is an Ethiopian/American organization committed to continuing the legacy of a great Family which migrated to Ethiopia in the 1920’s and established the first co-educational school for Ethiopian children.

Today Brother Evans is retired but still travels and lectures at schools, colleges, and community centers around the United States. He sits on the board of directors for the The Phylaxis Society.

 

 

 

Dr. Bro. David Harrison And The Genesis Of Freemasonry

Phoenixmasonry Live Interviews Dr. Bro. David Harrison

Genesis of Freemasonryby Dr. David Harrison explores the way in which Freemasonry developed in England during the late 17th Century and all of the 18th Century. The book takes us through The Three Transitional Periods of English Freemasonry. Firstly, the transformation from Operative to Speculative during the 17th and early 18th Centuries. Secondly, the foundation of the London Grand Lodge in 1717 and the subsequent modernization of the ritual. Thirdly, the schisms and rebellions within Freemasonry, which forced the society to rebuild and reconcile in 1813.

Elias Ashmole

Yes, the founding of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 is discussed. But even more revealing, we learn some fascinating history of the players involved and their philosophical pursuits.

Prominent in the discussion is Elias Ashmole, the first recorded English Speculative Freemason to enter into an unknown Lodge in Warrington, Lancashire, in 1646.  Warrington is Dr. David Harrison’s Lodge.

Other interesting players in this formation of English Freemasonry and its development are Dr. John Theophilus DeSaguliers, Dr. John Anderson, Sir Christopher Wren, John Dee, Sir Robert Moray, Francis Bacon, Inigo Jones, Isaac Newton, Alexander Pope, Thomas Paine, Jonathan Swift, William Preston and many others. Of all of these perhaps Dr. John Anderson and his “Book of Constitutions,” and Dr. John Theophilus DeSaguliers who wrote and inserted the Third Degree into Masonic ritual, stand out the most.

Weaved into all the personalities of this era of English Masonic development was the philosophical schools of thought that influenced Freemasonry and the schools of study that linked onto the Craft.

So we learn about Kabbalism, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism and Druid culture. The schools of the Occult figured prominently into the development of

Dr. John Theophilus Desaguliers

English Freemasonry – astrology, numerology, magic, alchemy, necromancy to name a few. Balancing this was the influence of science and Natural Philosophy.

Then there was the almost worship of architecture and the fascination with the dimensions of King Solomon’s Temple. This gave rise to the cult of Palladian Architecture and the attempt to make St. Paul’s Cathedral a representation of Solomon’s Temple. Dr. Harrison also provides his reader with a deep discussion of Masonic symbolism and how symbols changed over time. Featured prominently in all the philosophical, architectural, political, occult and religious discussions and influence on Freemasonry was The Royal Society. Many early influential Freemasons were also members of the Royal Society.

Although Lodges were prohibited from engaging in politics, still the machinations of everyday life played into the story of Freemasonry. Thus we see how the political interaction of Royalists, Parliamentarians, Jacobites, Whigs, and Tories influenced who had the upper hand in decision making within the Craft.

Not to be forgotten is the book’s treatment of the ever changing world of Freemasonry. So we learn of the battle between the Antients and the Moderns, The York Grand Lodge and The Wigan Grand Lodge. The coming together, the reconciliation of English Freemasonry in 1813 which resulted in the United Grand Lodge of England culminates the story.

Genesis of Freemasonry is a book that came out of Dr. Harrison’s Ph.D. thesis. Consequently, this work is free of legends, theories, hypothesizes, speculation, suppositions, conjecture and other non-evidentiary thinking. As Sgt. Friday used to say on Dragnet, “Give me the facts, nothing but the facts.”

Here we have a book that is well done, very complete and that covers most everything you ever wanted to know about the who, what and where of the rise of English Freemasonry. It is by far the best factual rendition of how English Freemasonry bloomed and became everybody’s Mother Lodge. Do not miss adding this to your Masonic Library.

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry

Hermetic Philosophy and Freemasonry
John Tolbert and Frederic L. Milliken
John Tolbert and Frederic L. Milliken

Recently I attended a Festive Board of Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283, Grand Lodge of Texas AF & AM.  The guest speaker DDGM John Tolbert made a passionate presentation on Hermeticism and Freemasonry using slides as illustrations. That made his presentation peppered with pictures which is what this article will look like. Jewel P. Lightfoot, the founder of this Lodge, had a marked interest in Hermeticism as you will see. This made the Presentation all the more personal to the members of this Lodge assembled. Tolbert was kind enough to allow me to reprint his presentation with his pictures which you will find below.

HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY AND FREEMASONRY
by Brother John Tolbert

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Have you ever wondered why all of the words and passwords that we use in our degrees are in Hebrew and that every prayer we use in our degrees are from the Old Testament?

Have you noticed that a Masonic Lodge room is full of diametrically opposed objects and symbols which represent polar concepts or ideas? Examples of these opposites are:

  • Square and CompassesDoric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx
  • Rough and Perfect Ashlars
  • Jachin and Boaz / Wisdom and Strength
  • Terrestrial and Celestial Globes
  • Darkness to Light
  • Checkered Pavement / Black and White pavers
  • East and West…North and South
  • Death and Rebirth
  • Sun and Moon
  • Stepping off upon the right and left feet
  • Cowans and Eavesdroppers Ascending and Descending

Isn’t it interesting that Masons are encouraged from the very beginning to control their passions and to pursue a virtuous and pure life? It’s interesting, because the Greeks demanded the very same thing from their candidates before they were admitted into the Ancient Mystery Schools, and the School of Pythagoras (you can see a map of the school here).

After reading thousands of pages written by Masonic scholars, I am convinced that Freemasonry was not “invented” by the English (nor the Scots) in the seventeenth or eighteenth century.  Yes, in the early eighteenth century, Freemasonry was developed into a regulated institution and rituals were developed from existing initiatory rites of operative Lodges, but something else was going on beneath the surface and intellectuals of the time could sense that there was more.

In the most recent issue of Heredom, the annual publication of the Scottish Rite Research Society, on page 61 (a paper about the 1738 anti-Masonic Papal Bull by Marsha Keith Schuchard) it reads:

“In January 1721, when the antiquarian William Stukeley (close friend of Newton and Desaguliers) determined to join the fraternity, “suspecting it to be the remains of the mysteries of the ancients…”

This illustrates that even from the first years of organized Freemasonry, educated men were recognizing something about Freemasonry that led them to believe that it was rooted in ancient philosophy and concepts.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

The namesake of this Lodge, Jewel P. Lightfoot, speaks candidly to the Texas Mason concerning the mystical and spiritual aspects of the Craft.  Please listen carefully to the following quote from the INTRODUCTORY in our current monitor, written by Lightfoot many decades ago.

“ The presence in the modern Masonic system, of many of the emblems, symbols and allegories of the ancient Temples of Initiation, as well as certain rites performed therein, has persuaded the most learned among Masonic scholars to conclude that Masonry is of very ancient origin, and is, in some aspects, the modern successor of, and heir to, the sublime Mysteries of the Temple of Solomon, and the Temples of India, Chaldea, Egypt, Greece, and Rome [I am certain that he was referring to the cult of Mithras], as well as the basic doctrine of the Essenes, Gnostics and other Mystic Orders“

With this single quote, Brother Lightfoot clearly asserts that Masonry contains remnants of the symbols and rites of the Ancient Mysteries and Masonry also contains the basic doctrines of known esoteric groups, which he terms, Mystic Orders.

This is precisely what the antiquarian William Stukeley had noticed in 1721; there were aspects of Freemasonry that seemed to have similarities to known rites and cults of the ancient world.

This presentation is specifically written to explore one well known stream of thought from the ancient world, broadly called Hermetic Philosophy, and its potential influence on the early progenitors of our Craft. Remember that Stukeley was a close friend of Newton and Desaguliers. John Theophilus Desaguliers is generally credited with the early development of our three degree system, he was the secretary / research assistant for Newton for twenty years, and he was also the third Grand Master of English Lodges.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

NOTE – The association of Desaguliers with Isaac Newton is well worth researching; Newton was a practicing alchemist, obsessed with King Solomon’s Temple, and concealed his heretical religious views in enciphered writings, which were supposed to be burned at his death but were retained and translated in the twentieth century.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Hermetic Philosophy focuses around an entity called Hermes; this entity has also been named Thoth (Egyptians), Mercury (Romans), and Hermes Trismegistus or Hermes Thrice Great.

Thoth, Hermes, Hermes Trismegistus, may or may not have been just a single person, but the name and legend could have been inspired by some incredibly intelligent human (like Plato, Pythagoras, or Hypatia) who had such a capacity for knowledge, that their writings evolved into myth and legend, and sometimes converted into God forms. Plato is a perfect example of how one very intelligent person can have profound influence on entire civilizations, and the effects can last for centuries.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

Most esoterically minded Masons are already aware of the great intellect of “Hermes” and his contributions of science and knowledge to mankind, but let’s examine how Hermetic Philosophy was evident in 15th-18th century literature, art, and direct Masonic connections. It is important to recall at this point that the typical European citizen had been enduring centuries of civil unrest, violent revolutions, constant wars, disease epidemics, cruel oppression from monarchs and religious authorities, public torture spectacles, and the raw uncertainty of life itself. In light of these long term social stresses, it is no wonder that a new, mysterious, and apparently ancient spirituality would capture the fascinations of intellectuals and develop into obsessions of looking for a better world, a pure un-corrupt religious experience, and a closer relationship to God. These are the allures of so-called Hermetic Philosophy.

The term Hermeticism, doesn’t really have a dogmatic or well defined definition, but in general, it includes the study of alchemy, gnostic spirituality, Kabbalah, theurgy, astrology, and other mystical approaches to relating the physical reality to the spiritual realm. Almost any occult science could be included under the Hermetic umbrella.

The following is a brief and certainly incomplete list of known references to the interest in Hermeticism in 15-18th century Europe.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

1.Marsilio Ficino’s translation of what is now called the Corpus Hermeticum brought Hermes and the mysterious writings into the focus of philosophers and the ecclesiastic authorities. The Hermetic writings were interpreted as having predicted the coming of Christ and therefor acceptable; a beautiful marble floor panel in Siena Cathedral (1480s) in Italy depicts Hermes Trismegistus as being a contemporary of Moses.

2. Hermes was a central character in the Sloane (1646) manuscript Constitutions. Hermes discovers the two pillars, one of brick and one of marble, which contain the preserved wisdom and knowledge of the ancient masters.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

3. Alchemy, being within the scope of Hermetic Philosophy is everywhere in Europe during this period. The Medici funded translations of ancient scrolls rescued from Byzantium revealed to the Western mind the concepts of alchemy. The Rosicrucian manifestos of the early 1600’s, likely written by Johanne Valentine Andreae and his associates, set off what is called a furor of interest in alchemy as well.

4. Giordano Bruno is travelling around Europe (the late 1500s) promoting controversial mathematical and astronomic theories; he is also promoting the Hermetic Art of Memory, which is not just a mnemonic strategy of memory, but a mystical technique. Bruno was burned at the stake in early 1600 for his heretical scientific and spiritual views.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

5. William Shaw, the Master of Werks for James VI, declares in the Second Shaw Statutes (1599) that all craft fellows and prentices shall “Tak tryall of the art of memory”. William Fowler, a colleague of Shaw, had met with Bruno in London in the 1580s and it is feasible that this is how Shaw became exposed to the Hermetic Art of Memory.

6.Robert Cooper, the Grand archivist of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, makes many references to Hermeticism in his book Cracking the Freemasons Code. Brother Cooper asserts Hermeticism as being a component of Scottish Freemasonry in the 1500-1600s.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

7. The interest in Alchemy, astrology, magick, and the Kabbalah are very evident in the circles of Royal Society members, and well known Masonic persons. Elias Ashmole, Isaac Newton, Thomas Vaughn, and others were known alchemists and studied occult subject matter; their personal libraries are evidence of these interests. John Byrom maintained a group of intellectually inclined Brothers who convened in an occasional gathering called the Cabala Club, and Lodges in London have minutes showing that papers were presented in Lodges about John Dee, Rosicrucians, and Jacob Boehme. Boehme’s visionary spiritual writings as well as John Dee’s books of angel magic and alchemy were of extreme interest to many intellectuals and free thinkers during this time period.

8. Kabbalah teacher Rabbi Leone Yahudahdi Modena, in 1680, lectured in London about Solomon’s Temple, Lawrence Dermott, the Grand Secretary of the Antients refers to the Rabbi, as Architect, Hebraist, and Brother.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx

9. Acception – There existed in the 1600’s an elite organization, which was closely associated with the London Mason’s Company, the operative organization of stone Masons. This elite and secretive group was called The Acception and only “accepted” very few members (one being Elias Ashmole); the cost of membership was very high, and one had to be highly educated and well respected. The early 20th century Masonic scholar and writer Reverend Castells, asserts that the name “The Acception” is synonymous to Kabbalah, which in Hebrew means “to receive.” Reverend Castells is convinced that “The Acception” was a purely speculative Masonic organization.

10. Medieval Kabbalists held Hermes in great veneration, no wonder, since he is considered (in some legends) as having given the Kabbalah to Moses. The Zohar contains phrases which closely parallel the well known Hermetic motto, “As above so below.” “Come and see: the world above and the world below are perfectly balanced.” (Zohar 2:176b) Kabbalah and Hermeticism share the all important mystical understanding of the balanced interrelations of heaven and earth.

Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx
Doric Lodge Lodge Talk / Hermeticism.pptx
square and compass, freemasonry, S&C, freemason information

Freemasonry’s Religion

For some reason, I have noticed a lot of people talking about how religion influences Freemasonry lately. Some folks have proclaimed that the foundations of Masonry are found in Kabbalah or Hermeticism. Others argue that Masonry is essentially a Christian art.

Quite frankly, I disagree with both camps and find both sides a bit annoying. I am a firm believer that Freemasonry is impartial to religion. However, I am also familiar with the old saying “those that live in glass houses should not throw stones.”

So why do I reside in a glass house? Because at one point in my life I was guilty of these very transgressions. Early in my Masonic career, I found myself expending all of my energy to prove to myself and everyone else that Freemasonry was truly Christian. The reasons for this were numerous. First, I was raised in a church which declared that its communing members could not be Freemasons. Second, I was in hot pursuit of a young girl who belonged to the aforementioned church. But most importantly, I was not comfortable being a Freemason if it wasn’t a Christian organization.

I think that trying to determine what religion Masonry is derived from is a perfectly natural thing to do. We become Freemasons to discover truth and for most of us, we are preconditioned to believe that there is one correct answer to every question. Therefore, when we become Freemasons we understand that the craft is tolerant of all religions, but we also believe that if it teaches the Great Truth that it must point to one individual religion. We want one path, one plan, and one True Religion. So we set out to compare various religious teachings to the lessons taught in the Masonic lodge to determine which religion gave birth to Freemasonry. This is where we begin to err, for the man that studies the Blue Lodge degrees would observe that Freemasonry is Jewish, the reader of Morals and Dogma may determine that Freemasonry is alchemical, and the Sir Knight would learn that the craft is indeed Christian.

The problem with this process is that the approach is entirely incorrect. Why must we automatically assume that Masonry’s truth was taken from religion? Why don’t we assume that religion learned its truth from Masonry? Or let me put it a different way: Would the introduction of religious teachings into Masonry make it perfect or would the introduction of Masonic teachings into the world’s religions make them perfect?

This is how I finally learned to approach Freemasonry. Over a number of Sundays, I would sit and listen to preachers give their sermons. The thought that kept penetrating my brain was “How much better would that lesson be if it incorporated some Masonic teachings?” No matter what the subject of the religious meditation was, I realized that Freemasonry taught more about it in less time through its symbolism than the minister could ever cover in one of his sermons. I realized that Freemasonry wasn’t teaching the truths of my religion. Instead, my religion was attempting to teach the truths of Freemasonry.

Of course, this realization didn’t happen overnight. All things change over time. I eventually left the church and the girl dumped me. I have studied several different religions trying to find the almighty truth. Yet, I keep discovering that Masonry’s lessons are more universal and all encompassing than those of any particular creed. More than ever before, I realize that Freemasonry is not partial to any religion because it teaches only truth and does not attempt to answer questions which cannot be answered. Instead, it leaves the individual Brother to discover these answers for himself.

Freemasonry’s religion is simply the teaching of truth. Its initiates may flock to any religion that they choose to find salvation, but in the Masonic lodge only truth is discussed. That is what makes Freemasonry so appealing to so many men. It is the only organization that divests itself of man-made dogma and canonical law and serves only to shine a light on the bridge that runs between man and his Creator. It is not the vessel to the realms of Deity, but instead a lamp to light the path.

That is the religion of Freemasonry.

Save the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica

It is true without lies, certain and most true;
That which is below is as that which is above,
and that which is above is as that which is below,
to accomplish the miracle of the one thing.
It is true without lies, certain and most true;
That which is below is as that which is above,
and that which is above is as that which is below,
to accomplish the miracle of the one thing.
Tabula Smaragdina

One of the most extensive collections of esoteric work is in jeopardy of being dispersed into the hands of private collectors.

The Ritman Library, known as the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica comes from the private collection of books by businessmen Joost R. Ritman who turned his private collection of manuscripts and printed works in the field of Hermeticism into a library of the Hermetic tradition, to show the interrelatedness between the various collecting areas and their relevance for the present day study.

Today, the renowed Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica (BPH) is in grave danger because of a financial conflict with Ritman, and the Friesland Bank.

An online petition has been started to save the library, which you can sign here, and chronicles the dissolution of the library, saying:

It is widely known that the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam, was in great danger in the 1990s, when the ING bank took possession of the collection and threatened to sell it. Fortunately, the Dutch government intervened: the BPH was put on the list of protected Dutch heritage, and the State eventually acquired over 40% of it. The books remained at the same physical location, integrated with the rest of the collection, and the government would eventually acquire all of it.

The manuscript was likely written for one of the leading aristocratic families of Medieval France (circa 1315-23) and is now expected to sell for $2.49 to $3.23 million.

As part of this process, there were great plans for further expansion. Largely due to the financial crisis and a change of government this was taking somewhat longer than originally anticipated, but nobody doubted that the library was safe.

Last week this turned out to be incorrect. An extremely valuable medieval manuscript owned by the BPH (The Grail of Rochefoucauld – the oldest known Arthur Manuscript) was put on sale at Sotheby’s, and this triggered a reaction from the Friesland Bank, which took possession of the library, that had apparently been brought in as collateral, in order to get back a 15 million euro loan from mr Ritman.

At present the BPH is closed, and intense negotiations are going on behind closed doors. It is impossible at this moment to predict the outcome, but there is no doubt that the situation is extremely serious. There is a very real possibility that the Friesland bank will try to sell at least 60% of the library that is still owned by Mr. Ritman, and nobody knows what implications this will have for the rest of the collection and the BPH as a whole, including its staff. The brand-new government of the Netherlands has announced a program of radical financial cuts in the culture section and elsewhere, which makes a renewed intervention from that side highly unlikely.

It continues saying:

If the Ritman library would go down, this would mean an enormous blow to international scholarship in hermetic studies. The damage would be irreversible. By signing this petition you express your concern, and ask the Dutch government and the Friesland bank to do their utmost to ensure that the collection will be saved and will remain available for the international scholarly community.

What you can do.

Its a challenge to say what one can do in such an situation, but there are some things one can do to express their concern.

  1. Sign the petition to save the Library.
  2. Send an email/letter to Friesland Bank in protest of the sale and dissolution of the work. You can send to: Headquarters
    Friesland Bank Postbus 1 Friesland Bank PO Box 1
    8900 AA Leeuwarden 8900 AA Leeuwarden
  3. Call the Friesland Bank Press Officer
    at Pers Press
    Press Officer
    Persvoorlichter Press Officer
    Saskia Toor Saskia Toor
    (058) 299 44 23 (058) 299 44 23
    06 51 50 56 00 06 51 50 56 00
    Send them a message at their Friesland Bank contact page here
    or call them at +31 58 2994499
  4. Encourage your academic institution to join the growing list of Professors and Academic institutions in support of the study of the Hermetic tradition and the preservation of the library.  You can see a list of those who have already signed the petition here.
  5. Also, if there is consideration of private investment in the library, contact me and we can organize a mission to help preserve the collection.  Email me at masonictraveler@gmail.com

The library itself can be found on line at Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica.

You can see by their Guide the bredth and work of the collection.

In the colelction of work, you one can study and explore the depth of Hermetic study, which the library has divided into the following principal collecting areas:
Hermetica
Alchemy
Mysticism
Rosicrucians
Gnosis & Western Esotericism

I HERMETICA
This collecting area contains works attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, other neo-Platonic works, patristic testimonies to the Christian reception of Hermes and works testifying to the influence of the Hermetica from the Early Middle Ages through to the present day. Placed at the beginning is a general section with relevant historical studies.

Works range from antiquity to modern day.

II ALCHEMY
The general section at the beginning contains a great number of art historical works and plate books on the subject of alchemy and its symbols. There are also specialized periodicals in the field of alchemy available, such as Ambix and Chrysopoeia (both complete).

A number of source texts and secondary works from Greek, Oriental, Arabic and Jewish, to Midieval and Western Alchemy.

III MYSTICISM
The BPH particularly collects medieval and later Western mystics having a demonstrable affinity with Hermetic thought, amongst whom Meister Eckhart, Suso and Tauler.

From early mysticism to mystical spiritualism through the centuries, the Library has a wide collection of works to research from, including a selection on Sufism.

IV ROSICRUCIANS
The Rosicrucian Manifestoes (Fama fraternitatis, Confessio fraternitatis and Chymische Hochzeit) were printed in addition to the original 17th-century editions, the BPH holds several modern editions, ranging from facsimile editions to annotated text editions, and various translations, amongst which Spanish, English and French.

The BPH collection spans work from the original Manifestos to more modern workings of the S.R.I.A, Max Heindel’s Fellowship, A.M.O.R.C., O.T.O./O.R.A., and other relevant developments.

V GNOSIS & WESTERN ESOTERICISM

This principal collecting area includes various currents in addition to Hermetism, Alchemy,
Mysticism and Rosicrucians which express a spirituality mainly manifesting itself outside the confines of the institutionalized religions. At the same time they feed and reinforce the core of the collection.

This branch of the collelction includes works of comparative religion, egyptology, pre-Christian cults, Early Christian practice, the Nag Hammadi Library both pre and post materials, Gnostic both past and present, Manichaeism, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Non-Western philosophy religious traditions, Esotericism, Grail, Catharism, Kabbalah, Judaica, Qumran, Freemasonry, the Templars, and Christianity.

Needless to say, the collection is both extensive and necissary for modern study of the Hermetic Tradition.

The ‘Way of Gnosis’ or the ‘Way of Hermes’ leads to this ultimate goal: the experience of divine reality, which cannot be learnt, but can only be personally experienced (gnosis). Therefore, if one has knowledge, he is from above. If he is called, he hears, he answers, and he turns to him who is calling him, and ascends to him. And he knows, in what manner he is called.  Having knowledge, he does the will of the one who called him, he wishes to be pleasing to him, he receives rest. Each one’s name comes to him. He who is to have knowledge in this manner knows where he comes from and knows where he is going.

From: The Gospel of Truth by the gnostic Valentinus,one of the texts found at Nag Hammadi

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