Secrets and Practices of the Freemasons: Sacred Mysteries, Rituals and Symbols Revealed - Jean-Louis de Biasi 2011

The Hidden Masonic Temple of Washington DC
District of Columbia: Masonic Light of Ancient Egypt

There are many theories about the layout of Washington DC. Most of them are related to the special interlacing of the streets. They infer a complex group of symbols, sometimes distorted as people tried to connect them to the Western initiatic tradition and Freemasonry. Whatever the truth of these theories, undoubtedly the creators of this city used symbolic elements of their tradition to dedicate and to invigorate the capital of the United States.

The traditional origins of the main architectural elements of a Masonic temple will help us to understand the design of the city. Since earliest times, the only way to build and respect the tradition is to begin with a delimitation of the space. As you saw before, it was made by the shape, proportions, and orientation of the District of Columbia.

The second step is to build the space of the temple itself, organizing the main elements that constitute it. Of course, this will be a very important part of the energetic activation. Let us not forget that the function of the Masonic temple is to allow a bond to appear between the brothers, and so at the same time an action in the city, and affecting all levels of the human being.

The Masonic temples built according to the ancient traditions are usually closed, covered places. They re-create the order of the cosmos, and are a representation of the macrocosm (the world) in the microcosm (the space of the temple). But considering their role in society, the temple is not always closed and secret. Sometimes Freemasons practice their ritual meetings outside, in nature for example, where the elements that were merely symbolic until then can access all their power.

Figure 13: Masonic Lodge

The rectangle of a Masonic temple is orientated east/west. In English Freemasonry, the three major officers sit in the east, west, and south. They are the Worshipful Master of the Lodge (east), the Senior Warden (west), and the Junior Warden (south).

In other cases, the north also has an officer. It is not always the same. It can be the Tyler, the Chaplain (he can sit also to the left of the Master), or even an empty chair. However, on the symbolic level, this position in the north is important because it marks the last direction of the lodge and assures its balance and existence on the material plane. The three major officers constitute the trinity, which gives its radiance, and the fourth point gives stability to the lodge.

The Master (“Worshipful Master” is his honorary title) of a Masonic lodge is the highest ranking of all lodge officers and is elected by the members of the lodge. The Master sits in the east and directs all of the ritual, ceremonies, and business of the lodge. He is similar to a president of any other organization. The symbol he wears is the square.

The Senior Warden is the second in command among the lodge officers. You can compare his duty and function to a vice-president who can work in the place of the Master in case of absence. The Senior Warden sits in the west. The symbol he wears is the level.

The Junior Warden is the third in command of the lodge. He sits in the south. He is responsible for the brethren while the lodge is at ease or having refreshments. The symbol he wears is the plumb.

More important than these official functions and duty, each officer of a lodge has an esoteric function connected to his symbolic position. As the lodge is the representation of the cosmos, each position has a real and effective power on the invisible level. It is this second function that provides the spiritual authority behind the rituals and the initiations, the spiritual and esoteric aspects necessary to really act on these two levels.

As noted previously, the fourth point or direction, north, is not always connected to a visible officer. If the Tyler is there, he can maintain the contact between the inner lodge and the outer world. If the Chaplain is there, he assumes the contact between the inner lodge and the spiritual and higher levels. Both positions show that this direction is important to root the lodge and give a kind of energy different from the Master. The Chaplain opens the book of the sacred law and pronounces the invocations. It’s not necessary that the Chaplain has a real function, as in a church. It may be more important to give this charge to the initiate, to bring more awareness of the invisible power of the ritual work and his connection to the divine.

Looking at the layout of the lodge and the symbolic functions of the officers, we realize something very interesting. This symbolic universe of the lodge represents a goal of fraternity, a will to create a new world regardless of differences. Everyone has a symbolic function and duty, is elected to his position, and must act for the good of everyone. Their positions in the temple allow us to receive the invisible influences that help us to really accomplish our purpose.

The center of the federal capital was created as a special and symbolic place, but not as a church. This place is sacred but not in the sense of a religion. The symbols used by the Founding Fathers were Masonic. To complete the symbolic map, it was necessary to represent and create the heart. If I transpose the layout of a temple on to the heart of the federal capital, you realize immediately that a beautiful synchrony created a roofless Masonic temple within a rectangle orientated according to the traditional rules. The throne of the Master is in the east, well located in height. This is the Capitol Building, where the power is really to be found.

Even more symbolic, it is to this direction that all brothers and sisters of the American nation turn, putting their right hand flat upon their heart to listen to the oath pronounced by the new president. It is exactly the same ritual that takes place every year in all Masonic lodges. Gestures, the place of the president during his oath of office, and his symbolic authority are demonstrations of this intention to consecrate the one who was elected. The president puts his hand on the sacred book to pronounce his oath in the presence of a chaplain.

The space of the lodge is represented according to the precise proportions of the temple by the three other directions, which are the White House (north), the Jefferson Memorial (south), and the Lincoln Memorial (west).

The central altar that can be found in every lodge exists and its position was precisely chosen by Thomas Jefferson. This cube with a pyramid shape at the top is exactly located in the center of the cardinal axis, with each side measuring two feet. Like any lodge altar, this altar has symbolism and a very important function. I will explain in the last part of the book the different practices connected to it.

Both the two pillars generally located in the west of the temple are absent, but in their place you see statutes of peace and war, located on both sides of the Lincoln Memorial. They are completely similar from the point of view of the Qabalistic symbolism of the two pillars.

Figure 14: The Capitol

The two buildings of the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress are very well connected to the other officers of the east. You will have the opportunity later to see important connections between the Tradition and the Library of Congress.

The obelisk is slightly to the east of the Jefferson Stone. This is the position in a Masonic temple where a shining five-pointed star is often suspended from the ceiling. The Pentagrammaton includes in its center the initial G, the manifestation of the divine.

The presence of water is also complete here. The Potomac and its tidal basin are in the place where, according to the tradition, the purifications would take place.

The starry arch is represented by the goddess Nut herself, symbolized by the forever flying starry flag during the day. The symbolic triangle that I mentioned before between the Capitol, the White House, and the Jefferson Memorial is, of course, east-oriented, in the direction of the most important place of this symbolic group.

Figure 15: The Capitol

One can really be amazed to understand this whole area constituted by the District of Columbia and the Mall of Washington DC. All of it was created to allow communication between the higher levels of energy and the necessity for the young republic to develop its power, influence, and radiance. The Masonic ideals, which are very similar to those established by the Declaration of Independence, are continuously empowered through the material reality of this architectural construction, as was its intention.

[1]. The Seven Wonders of the World chosen by Herodotus were: (1) the Great Pyramid of Giza; (2) the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; (3) the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; (4) the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; (5) the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus; (6) the Colossus of Rhodes; and (7) the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

[2]. In the Latin language, a letter is not a word. Thus A is written with just one letter, A. In Hebrew, as in other ancient languages, a letter is a word composed of other letters. For example, the letter Ayin () is also a word composed of three letters Aleph ()—Yod ()—Final Noun (). As Hebrew is written from right to left, you obtain for this example: Final Noun ()—Yod ()—Aleph (), and so = = Ayin. So this word (letter) has several meanings that relate to its etymology and its uses in the sacred texts of Judaism. This is the way you can give a meaning to the letter.

[3]. Pythagoras, Golden Verses, §47—48 and Jamblique, Pythagoras’ Life, chapters 150, 162.

[4]. Porphyre, Pythagoras’ Life, chapter 20.

[5]. The Tetragrammaton is the name of God in the Torah. This word is composed of four letters: Yod (), He (), Vav (), He (). This name is considered by tradition as unpronounceable by someone not an initiate. The high priest of Israel was the only one to be able to pronounce this word in the heart of the temple once a year.

[6]. See this website about the District of Columbia’s boundary stones: http://www.boundarystones.org/.

[7]. The Sephirotic Tree or Tree of Life is a symbolic representation of the cosmos and the being represented by a group of ten spheres (power centers) connected with paths (streams of energy). One of the practices of this book is connected with the Tree of Life.

[8]. Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus (Tertullian) (160—220 CE) was a prolific and controversial early Christian author.