The Sphinx Debate

Source: Wikipedia, Graham Hancock (Fingerprints of the Gods).

Egyptologists believe that Pharaoh Khafre built the Sphinx around 2500 B.C., which is about the 4th dynasty. This theory makes the Sphinx about 5,000 years old according to Dr. Zahi Hawass, Director of Giza Saqqara of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization (p. 348) as stated in Graham Hancock’s book Fingerprints of the Gods (© 1995 Crown Trade Paperbacks).

Now the other school of thought does not believe that the Egyptians built the Sphinx, but think that it was built by an advanced civilization 8,000 to 10,000 B.C. This school of thought has been around for hundreds of years, but new findings give it more credibility. Recently, Graham Hancock, John West, an American scholar, Robert Bauval, and others have presented certain evidence that challenges the traditional thoughts about the Sphinx and the whole Giza complex.

They present proof that may cause a rethinking of the model used to determine who built the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid and for what purpose. Their proofs consist of basically two pieces of evidence. First the geological indications that the Sphinx’s erosion was due to water rather than wind/sand making it much older than previously thought, according to the book Fingerprint of the Gods. Second, astronomical alignments show that the Sphinx was clearly an equinoctial marker facing east, which identifies the exact position on the horizon that the sun dawns on the spring equinox (1st day of spring) according to Graham Hancock’s and Robert Bauval’s book The Message of the Sphinx (p. 59).

Around the time of the end of the Ice Age, the Sphinx would be aligned with Leo the lion, as the sun rose on the vernal equinox. The last time period the sun was rising with Leo on the vernal equinox was between 10,000 and 8,000 BC.

Now Graham Hancock quotes John West’s view on the orthodox view of mankind’s history. "We are told that the evolution of human civilization is a linear process-that it goes from stupid cave man to smart old us with our hydrogen bombs and striped toothpaste. But the proof is the Sphinx…means that there must have been … high and sophisticated civilization-just as legends affirms (p. 358)."

The Freemasons

The origins and early development of Freemasonry are a matter of some debate and conjecture. There is some evidence to suggest that there were Masonic Lodges in existence in Scotland as early as the late sixteenth century, and clear references to their existence in England by the mid seventeenth century.

While Freemasonry has often been called a "secret society", Freemasons themselves argue that it is more correct to say that it is an esoteric society, in that certain aspects are private. The most common phrasing being that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets".

Candidates for regular Freemasonry are required to declare a belief in a Supreme Being. However, the candidate is not asked to expand on, or explain, his or her interpretation of Supreme Being. The discussion of politics and religion is forbidden within a Masonic Lodge, in part so a Mason will not be placed in the situation of having to justify his personal interpretation. Thus, reference to the Supreme Being will mean the Christian Trinity to a Christian Mason, Allah to a Muslim Mason, Para Brahman to a Hindu Mason, etc. And while most Freemasons would take the view that the term Supreme Being equates to God, others may hold a more complex or philosophical interpretation of the term.

In the ritual, the Supreme Being is referred to as the Great Architect of the Universe, which alludes to the use of architectural symbolism within Freemasonry.

The Square & Compass carved in stone, the symbol of the Freemasons

A candidate for Freemasonry must petition a lodge in his community, obtaining an introduction by asking an existing member, who then becomes the candidate's proposer. In some jurisdictions, it is required that the petitioner ask three times, although this is becoming less prevalent. In other jurisdictions, more open advertising is utilised to inform potential candidates where to go for more information. Regardless of how a potential candidate receives his introduction to a Lodge, he must be freely elected by secret ballot in open Lodge. Members approving his candidacy often vote with "white balls" in the voting box. A certain number of adverse votes by "black balls" will exclude a candidate. The number of adverse votes necessary to reject a candidate varies between Lodges and jurisdictions, but sometimes a single adverse vote will be enough.

Freemasons use signs (gestures), grips or tokens (handshakes) and words to gain admission to meetings and identify legitimate visitors.

Rosicrucianism

The term Rosicrucian (symbol: the Rose Cross) describes a secret society of mystics, allegedly formed in late mediaeval Germany, holding a doctrine "built on esoteric truths of the ancient past", which, "concealed from the average man, provide insight into nature, the physical universe and the spiritual realm. "

The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618.

In later centuries many esoteric societies have claimed to derive their doctrines, in whole or in part, from the original Rosicrucians. Several modern societies, which date the beginning of the Order to earlier centuries, have been formed for the study of Rosicrucianism and allied subjects.

Source: Wikipedia

Symbols & Meanings

Square/Compass

The Square and Compasses is one of the most prominent symbols of Freemasonry. The "G" in the middle represents God, otherwise known inside Lodges as "The Grand Geometrician of the Universe", since Freemasonry demands belief in no specific faith, simply a belief in a "Supreme Being". It has also been ascribed to the Worshipful Master's word.

Some also claim that it represents Gnosticism.

Penatagram

This symbol apparently originated as the symbol of a Goddess who was worshiped over an area which extends from present-day England to Egypt and beyond.

It has been widely used by past Christians as a protective amulet.
During the burning times when the Christian church burned alive or hung hundreds of thousands of innocent people, the meaning of the pentagram changed. It began to symbolize a goat's head or the devil in the form of Baphomet.
The religion of Wicca is based in part on ancient Celtic deities, symbols, days of celebration, etc. The pentacle and pentagram are their main symbols.
Many religious and spiritual groups use the pentacle or pentagram today.

Inverted Pentagram

Some religious and spiritual groups have used the inverted pentacle.

During the 20th century, Satanists inverted the upright pentacle and adopted it as their own symbol. However, the symbol is most commonly shown with the head of a goat within the pentagram as shown.

Ichthus

Ichthus (ikh-thoos) or ichthys is the Greek word simply meaning "fish"...The fish symbol has been used for millennia worldwide as a religious symbol associated with the Pagan Great Mother Goddess. It is the outline of her vulva. The fish symbol was often drawn by overlapping two very thin crescent moons. One represented the crescent shortly before the new moon; the other shortly after, when the moon is just visible. The Moon is the heavenly body that has long been associated with the Goddess, just as the sun is a symbol of the God.
The fish symbol "was so revered throughout the Roman empire that Christian authorities insisted on taking it over, with extensive revision of myths to deny its earlier female-genital meanings...Sometimes the Christ child was portrayed inside the vesica, which was superimposed on Mary's belly and obviously represented her womb, just as in the ancient symbolism of the Goddess."

Pisces is represented by the fish in the zodiac. The sun has been rising with Pisces at vernal equinox for the last 2,000 years. It's not coincidence that the fish symbol plays a major role in Christianity. The orthodox Christian church has done everything it can to stamp out its astrological roots. We are in the process of moving to Aquarius. A new astrological age dawns every 2,000 years (some put it squarely at 2,160). Nobody knows exactly when the transition will happen, or if it already has. It is thought the influence of the coming Aquarian age began making itself known in the 1930s, and grows stronger as we move out of Pisces. Inventive and humanitarian, yet unemotional and detatched are characteristics of Aquarius.....Jesus himself mentions the transition quite bluntly. And He said to them, "When you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house that he enters.Luke 22:10. The symbol of Aquarius is "the water bearer".

Swastika

Hindu

Nazi Germany

The word swastika is derived from the Sanskrit word svastik (in Devanagari, स्वस्तिक), meaning any lucky or auspicious object, and in particular a mark made on persons and things to denote good luck. Archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates from the Neolithic period. It occurs mainly in the cultures that are in modern day India and the surrounding area, sometimes as a geometrical motif and sometimes as a religious symbol. It was long widely used in major world religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Though once commonly used all over much of the world without stigma, because of its iconic usage in Nazi Germany the symbol has become controversial in the Western world.

The Caduceus & Staff of Asclepius

The caduceus on the left, with two serpents coiling around a pole is often mistakenly used by the medical profession. The staff of the healer-god Asclepius, on the right, is meant to be the official medical symbol. It is a single serpent entwined with a cypress branch.

The caduceus is associated with Hermes (Mercury), the messenger of the gods. He's also known as the god of trickery, wealth and death.

The Fleur-de-lis

From its earliest records (it was the flower of Hera, the Greek moon goddess) it has been the symbol of purity and was accordingly readily adopted by the Church to associate the Virgin Mary's sanctity with events of special significance.

Creation & Evolution

Does Genesis tell a story of an evolutionary breakthrough?

Adam was created from dust, and Eve from Adam's rib. Asexual reproduction existed alone from the beginning of life on Earth for many epochs. Most plants still reproduce this way. If you grow a plant from a piece of another plant, the donor plant doesn't really die in the sense that we know it. Plants are not conscious of themselves as individual beings, therefore have no concept of death, among other things. The most significant leap in human evolution was the development of the spinal column, sympathetic nervous system and brain. We became animals, and conscious of our individuality. "To know" these things (as the Bible puts it) brings death and pain into our reality.

The serpent and the tree represents the transition from a plant-like existence to an animal one. You only have to look as far as the nervous system to see what the plant world left behind. The serpent represents our spine, brain, and animal consciousness. Adam and Eve (representing the products of this transition) realized they were conscious (naked) for the first time.

This is the real story. Unfortunately, we are taught that Adam and Eve were real people, who lived in a magic garden. The fact that the ancients had an understanding of evolution means they knew much more than we can imagine. By the way, it wasn't just the Bible that gave a glimpse of evolution, the nervous system - and even DNA.

The caduceus (☤) (/kəˈdjuːsiəs/, -ʃəs, -ˈduː-; κηρύκειον in Greek) or wand of Hermes is typically depicted as a short herald's staff entwined by two serpents in the form of a double helix, and sometimes surmounted by wings.
The caduceus is sometimes used as a symbol for medicine, especially in North America, through confusion with the traditional medical symbol, the rod of Asclepius, which has only a single snake and no wings.

The Sumerian deity, Ningizzida, is accompanied by two gryphons; it is the oldest known image of two snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE.

The staff represents the spinal column with the snake(s) being energy channels. In the case of two coiled snakes they usually cross each other seven times, a possible reference to the seven energy centers called chakras.