LAS VEGAS SHOOTING AT COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
- Thread starter DuceTheTruth
- Start date
The Axeman of New Orleans was an American serial killer active in New Orleans, Louisiana (and surrounding communities, including Gretna), from May 1918 to October 1919. The perpetrator was never identified, and the murders remain unsolved.
Number of days between first and last killings: 523
On March 13, 1919, a letter purporting to be from the Axeman was published in newspapers saying that he would kill again at 15 minutes past midnight on the night of March 19, but would spare the occupants of any place where a jazz band was playing. That night all of New Orleans' dance halls were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur bands played jazz at parties at hundreds of houses around town. There were no murders that night.
The Axeman's letter
Hell, March 13, 1919
Esteemed Mortal of New Orleans:
They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman.
When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.
If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don't think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.
Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens (and the worst), for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.
Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:
I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.
Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.
--The Axeman
Number of days between first and last killings: 523
On March 13, 1919, a letter purporting to be from the Axeman was published in newspapers saying that he would kill again at 15 minutes past midnight on the night of March 19, but would spare the occupants of any place where a jazz band was playing. That night all of New Orleans' dance halls were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur bands played jazz at parties at hundreds of houses around town. There were no murders that night.
The Axeman's letter
Hell, March 13, 1919
Esteemed Mortal of New Orleans:
They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman.
When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company.
If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don't think there is any need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.
Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens (and the worst), for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.
Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:
I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.
Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.
--The Axeman
Paddock Mall located in Ocala, FL
Silver Springs State Park located in Silver Springs, FL
64 91 47 36 all meet again
(64 Paddock, RT91 Harvest Festival, 47 Element Silver, 36 Silver State)
Paddock Mall
3100 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL 34474
Silver Springs State Park
5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488
22 min (9.1 mi) via FL-40 E/W Silver Springs Blvd
======================================
Indigenous people of Silver Springs area: Timucua
The Owl Clan
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today
The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens (remember there is an Athens in Georgia named after Athens Greece and also the Timucua lived near St. Johns River in Florida and parts of Georgia as well), noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol.
Owl-shaped protocorinthian aryballos, c. 640 BC, from Greece
Hinduism
In Hinduism, an owl is the vahana, mount, of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Native American
People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death. For example:
According to Apache and Seminole tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "bogeyman" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away. In some tribal legends, owls are associated with spirits of the dead, and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to comprise the fingernails of apparitional humans. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos.
The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use:Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere ("When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies"). The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan "Place of Fright").[47]
The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe.An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.
According to the culture of the Hopi, a Uto-Aztec tribe, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils.
Ojibwe tribes, as well as their Aboriginal Canadian counterparts, used an owl as a symbol for both evil and death. In addition, they used owls as a symbol of very high status of spiritual leaders of their spirituality.
Pawnee tribes viewed owls as the symbol of protection from any danger within their realms.
Silver Springs State Park located in Silver Springs, FL
64 91 47 36 all meet again
(64 Paddock, RT91 Harvest Festival, 47 Element Silver, 36 Silver State)
Paddock Mall
3100 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL 34474
Silver Springs State Park
5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488
22 min (9.1 mi) via FL-40 E/W Silver Springs Blvd
======================================
Indigenous people of Silver Springs area: Timucua
The Owl Clan
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today
The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens (remember there is an Athens in Georgia named after Athens Greece and also the Timucua lived near St. Johns River in Florida and parts of Georgia as well), noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol.
Owl-shaped protocorinthian aryballos, c. 640 BC, from Greece
Hinduism
In Hinduism, an owl is the vahana, mount, of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Native American
People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death. For example:
According to Apache and Seminole tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "bogeyman" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away. In some tribal legends, owls are associated with spirits of the dead, and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to comprise the fingernails of apparitional humans. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos.
The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use:Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere ("When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies"). The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan "Place of Fright").[47]
The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe.An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.
According to the culture of the Hopi, a Uto-Aztec tribe, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils.
Ojibwe tribes, as well as their Aboriginal Canadian counterparts, used an owl as a symbol for both evil and death. In addition, they used owls as a symbol of very high status of spiritual leaders of their spirituality.
Pawnee tribes viewed owls as the symbol of protection from any danger within their realms.
Last edited:
Paddock Mall located in Ocala, FL
Silver Springs State Park located in Silver Springs, FL
64 91 47 36 all meet again
(64 Paddock, RT91 Harvest Festival, 47 Element Silver, 36 Silver State)
Paddock Mall
3100 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL 34474
Silver Springs State Park
5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488
22 min (9.1 mi) via FL-40 E/W Silver Springs Blvd
======================================
Indigenous people of Silver Springs area: Timucua
The Owl Clan
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today
The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens (remember there is an Athens in Georgia named after Athens Greece and also the Timucua lived near St. Johns River in Florida and parts of Georgia as well), noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol.
Owl-shaped protocorinthian aryballos, c. 640 BC, from Greece
Hinduism
In Hinduism, an owl is the vahana, mount, of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Native American
People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death. For example:
According to Apache and Seminole tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "bogeyman" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away. In some tribal legends, owls are associated with spirits of the dead, and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to comprise the fingernails of apparitional humans. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos.
The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use:Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere ("When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies"). The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan "Place of Fright").[47]
The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe.An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.
According to the culture of the Hopi, a Uto-Aztec tribe, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils.
Ojibwe tribes, as well as their Aboriginal Canadian counterparts, used an owl as a symbol for both evil and death. In addition, they used owls as a symbol of very high status of spiritual leaders of their spirituality.
Pawnee tribes viewed owls as the symbol of protection from any danger within their realms.
Silver Springs State Park located in Silver Springs, FL
64 91 47 36 all meet again
(64 Paddock, RT91 Harvest Festival, 47 Element Silver, 36 Silver State)
Paddock Mall
3100 SW College Rd, Ocala, FL 34474
Silver Springs State Park
5656 E Silver Springs Blvd, Silver Springs, FL 34488
22 min (9.1 mi) via FL-40 E/W Silver Springs Blvd
======================================
Indigenous people of Silver Springs area: Timucua
The Owl Clan
Among the Kikuyu of Kenya, it was believed that owls were harbingers of death. If one saw an owl or heard its hoot, someone was going to die. In general, owls are viewed as harbingers of bad luck, ill health, or death. The belief is widespread even today
The modern West generally associates owls with wisdom. This link goes back at least as far as Ancient Greece, where Athens (remember there is an Athens in Georgia named after Athens Greece and also the Timucua lived near St. Johns River in Florida and parts of Georgia as well), noted for art and scholarship, and Athena, Athens' patron goddess and the goddess of wisdom, had the owl as a symbol.
Owl-shaped protocorinthian aryballos, c. 640 BC, from Greece
Hinduism
In Hinduism, an owl is the vahana, mount, of the Goddess Lakshmi.
Native American
People often allude to the reputation of owls as bearers of supernatural danger when they tell misbehaving children, "the owls will get you", and in most Native American folklore, owls are a symbol of death. For example:
According to Apache and Seminole tribes, hearing owls hooting is considered the subject of numerous "bogeyman" stories told to warn children to remain indoors at night or not cry too much, otherwise the owl may carry them away. In some tribal legends, owls are associated with spirits of the dead, and the bony circles around an owl's eyes are said to comprise the fingernails of apparitional humans. Sometimes owls are said to carry messages from beyond the grave or deliver supernatural warnings to people who have broken tribal taboos.
The Aztecs and Maya, along with other natives of Mesoamerica, considered the owl a symbol of death and destruction. In fact, the Aztec god of death, Mictlantecuhtli, was often depicted with owls. There is an old saying in Mexico that is still in use:Cuando el tecolote canta, el indio muere ("When the owl cries/sings, the Indian dies"). The Popol Vuh, a Mayan religious text, describes owls as messengers of Xibalba (the Mayan "Place of Fright").[47]
The belief that owls are messengers and harbingers of the dark powers is also found among the Hočągara (Winnebago) of Wisconsin. When in earlier days the Hočągara committed the sin of killing enemies while they were within the sanctuary of the chief's lodge, an owl appeared and spoke to them in the voice of a human, saying, "From now on the Hočągara will have no luck." This marked the beginning of the decline of their tribe.An owl appeared to Glory of the Morning, the only female chief of the Hočąk nation, and uttered her name. Soon afterwards she died.
According to the culture of the Hopi, a Uto-Aztec tribe, taboos surround owls, which are associated with sorcery and other evils.
Ojibwe tribes, as well as their Aboriginal Canadian counterparts, used an owl as a symbol for both evil and death. In addition, they used owls as a symbol of very high status of spiritual leaders of their spirituality.
Pawnee tribes viewed owls as the symbol of protection from any danger within their realms.
Cremation of Care - Wikipedia
Must see catalog of pics
Bohemian Grove Collection : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
here's a preview:
"KEEP IT DARK"
NUFF SAID
Bohemian Grove Collection : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive
here's a preview:
"KEEP IT DARK"
NUFF SAID
Last edited:
Ask the right questions, receive the right answers
total weapons amassed: 47 (the power of 47)
ISIS Calls Trump 'New Pharaoh' After Again Claiming Responsibility for Las Vegas Attack
total weapons amassed: 47 (the power of 47)
ISIS Calls Trump 'New Pharaoh' After Again Claiming Responsibility for Las Vegas Attack
Michael S. Smith II (@MichaelSSmithII) on Twitter
Michael S. Smith II is an American who runs a counterterrorism consulting business.
In 2017 Smith entered into a conflict with former Breitbart editor and Donald Trump advisor, Sebastian Gorka, questioning Gorka's experience and expertise with
Michael S. Smith II is an American who runs a counterterrorism consulting business.
In 2017 Smith entered into a conflict with former Breitbart editor and Donald Trump advisor, Sebastian Gorka, questioning Gorka's experience and expertise with
Just like clockwork.........
12.11.17 Manhattan pipe bombs explode at 7:45, Port Authority Bus terminal, main bus station hub......(12.11=23)
The A, C and E subway lines were evacuated, NYPD Sgt. Brendan Ryan said.
==========
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a rank of one. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax.[1] Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers.[2] In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.
The word "ace" comes from the Old French word as (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one pip, before it was a term for a playing card.[3] Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'.
-------
A new tax is coming......just thank the Romans...
12.11.17 Manhattan pipe bombs explode at 7:45, Port Authority Bus terminal, main bus station hub......(12.11=23)
The A, C and E subway lines were evacuated, NYPD Sgt. Brendan Ryan said.
==========
An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a rank of one. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the ace of spades. This embellishment on the ace of spades started when King James VI of Scotland and I of England required an insignia of the printing house to be printed on the ace of spades. This insignia was necessary for identifying the printing house and stamping it as having paid the new stamp tax.[1] Although this requirement was abolished in 1960, the tradition has been kept by many card makers.[2] In other countries the stamp and embellishments are usually found on ace cards; clubs in France, diamonds in Russia, and hearts in Genoa because they have the most blank space.
The word "ace" comes from the Old French word as (from Latin 'as') meaning 'a unit', from the name of a small Roman coin. It originally meant the side of a die with only one pip, before it was a term for a playing card.[3] Since this was the lowest roll of the die, it traditionally meant 'bad luck' in Middle English, but as the ace is often the highest playing card, its meaning has since changed to mean 'high-quality, excellence'.
-------
A new tax is coming......just thank the Romans...
Last edited:
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
Felt Report - Tell Us!
000023
Responses
Contribute to citizen science. Please tell us about your experience
___________
Kerman Coordinates: 30°17′N 57°05′E
At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374
Ancient names: Kārmānia, Boutiā, Germānia
After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule.
In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman.
Tiled dome of the Shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali, in Mahan, 20 miles (32 km) outside of Kerman
Boeing 747-400 of Iranian Mahan Air
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
Felt Report - Tell Us!
000023
Responses
Contribute to citizen science. Please tell us about your experience
___________
Kerman Coordinates: 30°17′N 57°05′E
At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374
Ancient names: Kārmānia, Boutiā, Germānia
After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule.
In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman.
Tiled dome of the Shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali, in Mahan, 20 miles (32 km) outside of Kerman
Boeing 747-400 of Iranian Mahan Air
Last edited:
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
Felt Report - Tell Us!
000023
Responses
Contribute to citizen science. Please tell us about your experience
___________
Kerman Coordinates: 30°17′N 57°05′E
At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374
Ancient names: Kārmānia, Boutiā, Germānia
After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule.
In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman.
Tiled dome of the Shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali, in Mahan, 20 miles (32 km) outside of Kerman
Boeing 747-400 of Iranian Mahan Air
M 6.0 - 64km NNE of Kerman, Iran
Felt Report - Tell Us!
000023
Responses
Contribute to citizen science. Please tell us about your experience
___________
Kerman Coordinates: 30°17′N 57°05′E
At the 2011 census, its population was 821,374
Ancient names: Kārmānia, Boutiā, Germānia
After the Battle of Nahāvand in 642, the city came under Muslim rule.
In 1793 Lotf Ali Khan defeated the Qajars, and in 1794 he captured Kerman.
Tiled dome of the Shrine of Shah Nematollah Vali, in Mahan, 20 miles (32 km) outside of Kerman
Boeing 747-400 of Iranian Mahan Air
Earthquake Strikes Southeastern Iran - The New York Times
The quake, initially reported as magnitude 6.3, was centered 36 miles northeast of Kerman
New Terror plot by former Marine who pledged ISIS terror plot on Pier 39 in SF thwarted by FBI, allegedly
Distance from San Fran to Manhattan: 2,914.6 mi via I-80 E
Thwarted by FBI (allegedly) on 12.20.17 (12+20=32)
Claimed act was for Trump claiming Jerusalem capital of IS RA EL (named after gods ISIS RA EL)
Distance from San Fran to Jerusalem: 7,416 mi
(47 mirroring upside down 91)
This on the eve of the Winter Solstice (he tried to get out of it on the 18th, they searched his home on the 20th or even of solstice). Plot was to be allegedly carried out on XMas Day.
Distance from San Fran to Manhattan: 2,914.6 mi via I-80 E
Thwarted by FBI (allegedly) on 12.20.17 (12+20=32)
Claimed act was for Trump claiming Jerusalem capital of IS RA EL (named after gods ISIS RA EL)
Distance from San Fran to Jerusalem: 7,416 mi
(47 mirroring upside down 91)
This on the eve of the Winter Solstice (he tried to get out of it on the 18th, they searched his home on the 20th or even of solstice). Plot was to be allegedly carried out on XMas Day.
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Jerusalem
Elevation: 2474 mi
Population Density: 18000 sq mi
Demographics: Jewish 64% 36% non jewish
Jerusalem means foundation
The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE[44][45] and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961.
Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed by David as the City of David,[62] and was known by this name in antiquity.[63][64] Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole and to represent the biblical Land of Israel.
The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם
, said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18.
(See previous posts in thread on Salem links)
Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" or "Maqdisi", while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.
The periods of Jewish sovereignty in the city's history are important to Israeli/Jewish nationalists (Zionists), who claim the right to the city based on Jewish descent from the Israelite Kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem was the capital.
In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea.
The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca.[147][148] In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem.[149] With the Arab conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city.
In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva.
In 1917 after the Battle of Jerusalem, the British Army, led by General Edmund Allenby, captured the city.
As the British Mandate for Palestine was expiring, the 1947 UN Partition Plan recommended "the creation of a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a corpus separatum under the administration of the UN." The international regime (which also included the city of Bethlehem) was to remain in force for a period of ten years, whereupon a referendum was to be held in which the residents were to decide the future regime of their city. However, this plan was not implemented, as the 1948 war erupted, while the British withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared its independence.
In 1988, Israel ordered the closure of Orient House, home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for security reasons.
Al-Quds University (Arab and Palestinian University founded 1984) resides southeast of the city proper on a 190,000 square metres (47 acres) Abu Dis campus. A joint school with Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, NY was opened.
Annandale-on-Hudson elevation is 47 ft. And the town name is RED HOOK.
Annandale-on-Hudson is the hometown of fictional X-Men character Jean Grey in Marvel Comics. (See previous X Men mention).
Bard College colors: RED and WHITE
By the mid-1900s, Bard's campus significantly expanded. The Blithewood estate was donated to the college in 1951, and in 1963, Bard purchased 90 acres (36 ha) of the Ward Manor estate, including the main manor house. The rest of the Ward Manor estate is now the 900-acre (360 ha) Tivoli Bays nature preserve.
So dire was Bard's financial situation that in 1932, then-Governor of New York and College trustee Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a telegram to the likes of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., George Eastman and Frederick William Vanderbilt requesting donations for the college.
Jerusalem Sister City: New York City
Elevation: 2474 mi
Population Density: 18000 sq mi
Demographics: Jewish 64% 36% non jewish
Jerusalem means foundation
The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE[44][45] and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961.
Called the "Fortress of Zion" (metsudat Zion), it was renamed by David as the City of David,[62] and was known by this name in antiquity.[63][64] Another name, "Zion", initially referred to a distinct part of the city, but later came to signify the city as a whole and to represent the biblical Land of Israel.
The Aramaic Apocryphon of Genesis of the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QapGen 22:13) equates Jerusalem with the earlier "Salem" (שלם
, said to be the kingdom of Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18. (See previous posts in thread on Salem links)
Palestinian Arab families who hail from this city are often called "Qudsi" or "Maqdisi", while Palestinian Muslim Jerusalemites may use these terms as a demonym.
The periods of Jewish sovereignty in the city's history are important to Israeli/Jewish nationalists (Zionists), who claim the right to the city based on Jewish descent from the Israelite Kingdom of Judah, of which Jerusalem was the capital.
In 63 BCE, Pompey the Great intervened in a struggle for the Hasmonean throne and captured Jerusalem, extending the influence of the Roman Republic over Judea.
The Islamization of Jerusalem began in the first year A.H. (623 CE), when Muslims were instructed to face the city while performing their daily prostrations and, according to Muslim religious tradition, Muhammad's night journey and ascension to heaven took place. After 13 years, the direction of prayer was changed to Mecca.[147][148] In 638 CE the Islamic Caliphate extended its dominion to Jerusalem.[149] With the Arab conquest, Jews were allowed back into the city.
In 1836, Ibrahim Pasha allowed Jerusalem's Jewish residents to restore four major synagogues, among them the Hurva.
In 1917 after the Battle of Jerusalem, the British Army, led by General Edmund Allenby, captured the city.
As the British Mandate for Palestine was expiring, the 1947 UN Partition Plan recommended "the creation of a special international regime in the City of Jerusalem, constituting it as a corpus separatum under the administration of the UN." The international regime (which also included the city of Bethlehem) was to remain in force for a period of ten years, whereupon a referendum was to be held in which the residents were to decide the future regime of their city. However, this plan was not implemented, as the 1948 war erupted, while the British withdrew from Palestine and Israel declared its independence.
In 1988, Israel ordered the closure of Orient House, home of the Arab Studies Society, but also the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization, for security reasons.
Al-Quds University (Arab and Palestinian University founded 1984) resides southeast of the city proper on a 190,000 square metres (47 acres) Abu Dis campus. A joint school with Bard College of Annandale-on-Hudson, NY was opened.
Annandale-on-Hudson elevation is 47 ft. And the town name is RED HOOK.
Annandale-on-Hudson is the hometown of fictional X-Men character Jean Grey in Marvel Comics. (See previous X Men mention).
Bard College colors: RED and WHITE
By the mid-1900s, Bard's campus significantly expanded. The Blithewood estate was donated to the college in 1951, and in 1963, Bard purchased 90 acres (36 ha) of the Ward Manor estate, including the main manor house. The rest of the Ward Manor estate is now the 900-acre (360 ha) Tivoli Bays nature preserve.
So dire was Bard's financial situation that in 1932, then-Governor of New York and College trustee Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a telegram to the likes of John D. Rockefeller, Jr., George Eastman and Frederick William Vanderbilt requesting donations for the college.
Jerusalem Sister City: New York City
Guy Set up by FBI name Everitt Aaron Jameson
AARON on wiki takes you to this (notice the parallels between that Aaron and this Aaron):
AARON is a computer program written by artist Harold Cohen that creates original artistic images.
Proceeding from Cohen's initial question "What are the minimum conditions under which a set of marks functions as an image?", AARON has been in continual development since 1973. The name "AARON" does not seem to be an acronym, rather it was a name chosen to start with the letter "A" so that the names of successive programs could follow it alphabetically.
Initial versions of AARON created abstract drawings that grew more complex through the 1970s. More representational imagery was added in the 1980s; first rocks, then plants, then people. In the 1990s more representational figures set in interior scenes were added, along with color. AARON returned to more abstract imagery, this time in color, in the early 2000s.
AARON initially drew in black and white using a succession of custom-built "turtle" and flatbed plotter devices. Cohen would sometimes color these images by hand in fabric dye (Procion), or scale them up to make larger paintings and murals. In the 1990s Cohen built a series of digital painting machines to output AARON's images in ink and fabric dye. He now uses a large-scale inkjet printer.
Development of AARON began in the C programming language then switched to Lisp in the early 1990s. Cohen credits Lisp with helping him solve the challenges he faced in adding color capabilities to AARON.
An article about Cohen appeared in "Computer Answers" that describes AARON and shows two line drawings that was at the Tate gallery. The article goes on to describe the workings of AARON, then running on a DEC VAX 750 minicomputer.
Raymond Kurzweil's company has produced a downloadable screensaver of AARON for Microsoft Windows PCs. This version of AARON can also produce printable images. AARON's source code is not publicly available, but Cohen has described AARON's operations in various essays and it is discussed in abstract in Pamela McCorduck's book.
AARON cannot learn new styles or imagery on its own, each new capability must be hand-coded by Cohen, but it is capable of producing a practically infinite supply of distinct images in its own style. Examples of these images have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, the exhibitions serving as an artistic equivalent of the Turing test. It does seem however that AARON's output follows a noticeable formula (figures standing next to a potted plant, framed within a colored square is a common theme).
Cohen is very careful not to claim that AARON is creative. But he does ask "If what AARON is making is not art, what is it exactly, and in what ways, other than its origin, does it differ from the 'real thing?' If it is not thinking, what exactly is it doing?" — The further exploits of AARON, Painter. However, it could be argued that AARON is simply following procedural instructions and that the real artist behind each piece is AARON's creator, Cohen. Adding further weight to this argument is AARON's seemingly narrow 'library' of human form variations, poses and scene compositions and the requirement of hard coding to add new 'styles'.
The Aaron in question, no DOB on internet (yet), and news articles say FBI agent posed as ISIS leader to convince Aaron to carry out terrorism (when Aaron tried to not go through with it he was arrested). Aaron was exploited.
Also on wiki, Aaron's beard is a common name of several plants
and here we have our FBI plant, Aaron. Here's Aaron's beard:
Of course, we have the biblical Aaron, Prophet, High Priest of a religious trinity (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) more on that later...
AARON on wiki takes you to this (notice the parallels between that Aaron and this Aaron):
AARON is a computer program written by artist Harold Cohen that creates original artistic images.
Proceeding from Cohen's initial question "What are the minimum conditions under which a set of marks functions as an image?", AARON has been in continual development since 1973. The name "AARON" does not seem to be an acronym, rather it was a name chosen to start with the letter "A" so that the names of successive programs could follow it alphabetically.
Initial versions of AARON created abstract drawings that grew more complex through the 1970s. More representational imagery was added in the 1980s; first rocks, then plants, then people. In the 1990s more representational figures set in interior scenes were added, along with color. AARON returned to more abstract imagery, this time in color, in the early 2000s.
AARON initially drew in black and white using a succession of custom-built "turtle" and flatbed plotter devices. Cohen would sometimes color these images by hand in fabric dye (Procion), or scale them up to make larger paintings and murals. In the 1990s Cohen built a series of digital painting machines to output AARON's images in ink and fabric dye. He now uses a large-scale inkjet printer.
Development of AARON began in the C programming language then switched to Lisp in the early 1990s. Cohen credits Lisp with helping him solve the challenges he faced in adding color capabilities to AARON.
An article about Cohen appeared in "Computer Answers" that describes AARON and shows two line drawings that was at the Tate gallery. The article goes on to describe the workings of AARON, then running on a DEC VAX 750 minicomputer.
Raymond Kurzweil's company has produced a downloadable screensaver of AARON for Microsoft Windows PCs. This version of AARON can also produce printable images. AARON's source code is not publicly available, but Cohen has described AARON's operations in various essays and it is discussed in abstract in Pamela McCorduck's book.
AARON cannot learn new styles or imagery on its own, each new capability must be hand-coded by Cohen, but it is capable of producing a practically infinite supply of distinct images in its own style. Examples of these images have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, the exhibitions serving as an artistic equivalent of the Turing test. It does seem however that AARON's output follows a noticeable formula (figures standing next to a potted plant, framed within a colored square is a common theme).
Cohen is very careful not to claim that AARON is creative. But he does ask "If what AARON is making is not art, what is it exactly, and in what ways, other than its origin, does it differ from the 'real thing?' If it is not thinking, what exactly is it doing?" — The further exploits of AARON, Painter. However, it could be argued that AARON is simply following procedural instructions and that the real artist behind each piece is AARON's creator, Cohen. Adding further weight to this argument is AARON's seemingly narrow 'library' of human form variations, poses and scene compositions and the requirement of hard coding to add new 'styles'.
The Aaron in question, no DOB on internet (yet), and news articles say FBI agent posed as ISIS leader to convince Aaron to carry out terrorism (when Aaron tried to not go through with it he was arrested). Aaron was exploited.
Also on wiki, Aaron's beard is a common name of several plants
and here we have our FBI plant, Aaron. Here's Aaron's beard:
Of course, we have the biblical Aaron, Prophet, High Priest of a religious trinity (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) more on that later...
remember previous posts posts asking "Are we square?"
foundation
noun
1. the basis or groundwork of anything:
the moral foundation of both society and religion.
2. the natural or prepared ground or base on which some structure rests.
3. the lowest division of a building, wall, or the like, usually of masonry and partly or wholly below the surface of the ground.
4. the act of founding, setting up, establishing, etc.:
a policy in effect since the foundation.
5. the state of being founded.
6. an institution financed by a donation or legacy to aid research, education, the arts, etc.:
the Ford Foundation.
7. an endowment for such an institution.
8. a cosmetic, as a cream or liquid, used as a base for facial makeup.
9. foundation garment.
10. Solitaire. a card of given denomination on which other cards are to be added according to denomination or suit.
The foundation is the base of a building and must be square and level.
SQUARE
This is one of the most important and significant Symbols in Freemasonry. As such, it is proper that its true form should be preserved. French Freemasons have almost universally given it with one leg longer than the other, thus making it a carpenter's square American Freemasons, following the incorrect delineations of Brother Jeremy L. Cross, have, while generally preserving the equality of length in the legs, unnecessarily marked its surface with inches; thus making it an instrument for measuring length and breadth which it is not. It is simply the trying square of a stone-mason, and has a plain surface; the sides or legs embracing an angle of ninety degrees, and is intended only to test the accuracy of the sides of a stone, and to see that its edges subtend the same angle.
In Freemasonry, the square is a symbol of morality. This is its general signification, and is applied in various ways:
It presents itself to the neophyte as one of the Three Great Lights.
To the Fellow Craft as one of his Working-tools.
To the Master Mason as the official emblem of the Master of the Lodge.
Everywhere, however, it inculcates the same lesson of morality, of truthfulness, of honesty. So universally accepted is this symbolism that it has gone outside of the Order, and has been found in colloquial language communicating the same idea. Square, says Halliwell, Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, means honest, equitable, as in "square dealing." To play upon the square is proverbial for to play honestly. In this sense the word is found in the old writers.
As a Masonic symbol, it is of very ancient date, and was familiar to the Operative Masons. In the year 1830, the architect, in rebuilding a very ancient bridge called Baal Bridge, near Limerick, in Ireland, found under the foundation-stone an old brass square, much eaten away, containing on its two surfaces the following inscription, the U being read as V: I. WILL. STRIUE. TO. LIUE.-WITH. LOUE. & CARE.- UPON. THE. LEUL.-BY. THE. SQUARE., and the date 1517. The modern Speculative Freemason will recognize the idea of living on the level fled by the square This discovery proves, if proof were necessary, that the familiar idea was borrowed from our Operative Brethren of former days.
The square, as a symbol in Speculative Freemasonry, has therefore presented itself from the very beginning of the revival period. In the very earliest catechism of the eighteenth century, of the date of 1725, we find the answer to the question, "How many make a Lodge?" is "God and the Square, with five or seven right or perfect Masons." God and the Square, religion and morality, must be present in every Lodge as governing principles.
Signs at that early period were to be made by squares and the Furniture of the Lodge was declared to be the Bible, Compasses, and Square.
In the public lecture of Brother Herbert A. Giles, Worshipful Master of Ionic Lodge, No. 1781 at Amoy, delivered in 1880 and entitled Freemasonry in China, says:
From time immemorial we find the Square and Compasses used by Chinese Writers to symbolize precisely the same phases of moral conduct as in our system of Freemasonry. The earliest passage known to one which bears upon the subject is to be found in the Book of history embracing the period reaching from the twenty-fourth to the seventh century before Christ. There in an account of a military expedition we read:
"Ye officers of government, apply the Compasses!"
In another part of the same venerable record a Magistrate is spoken of as:
" A man of the level, or the level man"
The public discourses of Confucius provide us with several Masonic allusions of a more or less definite character. For instance. when recounting his own degrees of moral progress in life, the Master tells us that only at seventy-five spears of age could he venture to follow the inclinations of his heart without fear of " transgressing the limits of the Square." this would be 481 B.C. belt it is in the works of his great follower, Mencius, who flourished nearly two hundred years later, that we meet with a fuller and more impressive Masonic phraseology. In one chapter we are taught that just as the most skilled artificers are unable, without the aid of the Square and Compasses to produce perfect rectangles or perfect circles, so must all men apply these tools figuratively to their lives, and the level and the marking-line besides, if they would walk in the straight and even paths of wisdom and keep themselves within the bonds of honor and virtue. In Book iv we read:
"The Compasses and Square are the embodiment of the rectangular and the round, just as the prophets of old were the embodiment of the due relationship between man and man" In Book vi we find these words:
The Master Mason, in teaching his apprentices makes use of the Compasses and the Square Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the Compasses and the Square. In the Great Learning, admitted on all sides to date from between 300 to 400 years before Christ, in Chapter 10, we read that a man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do unto him, ' this," adds the writer, is called the principle of acting on the Square. " In all rites and in all languages where Freemasonry has penetrated, the square has preserved its primitive Signification as a symbol of morality.
foundation
noun
1. the basis or groundwork of anything:
the moral foundation of both society and religion.
2. the natural or prepared ground or base on which some structure rests.
3. the lowest division of a building, wall, or the like, usually of masonry and partly or wholly below the surface of the ground.
4. the act of founding, setting up, establishing, etc.:
a policy in effect since the foundation.
5. the state of being founded.
6. an institution financed by a donation or legacy to aid research, education, the arts, etc.:
the Ford Foundation.
7. an endowment for such an institution.
8. a cosmetic, as a cream or liquid, used as a base for facial makeup.
9. foundation garment.
10. Solitaire. a card of given denomination on which other cards are to be added according to denomination or suit.
The foundation is the base of a building and must be square and level.
SQUARE
This is one of the most important and significant Symbols in Freemasonry. As such, it is proper that its true form should be preserved. French Freemasons have almost universally given it with one leg longer than the other, thus making it a carpenter's square American Freemasons, following the incorrect delineations of Brother Jeremy L. Cross, have, while generally preserving the equality of length in the legs, unnecessarily marked its surface with inches; thus making it an instrument for measuring length and breadth which it is not. It is simply the trying square of a stone-mason, and has a plain surface; the sides or legs embracing an angle of ninety degrees, and is intended only to test the accuracy of the sides of a stone, and to see that its edges subtend the same angle.
In Freemasonry, the square is a symbol of morality. This is its general signification, and is applied in various ways:
It presents itself to the neophyte as one of the Three Great Lights.
To the Fellow Craft as one of his Working-tools.
To the Master Mason as the official emblem of the Master of the Lodge.
Everywhere, however, it inculcates the same lesson of morality, of truthfulness, of honesty. So universally accepted is this symbolism that it has gone outside of the Order, and has been found in colloquial language communicating the same idea. Square, says Halliwell, Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, means honest, equitable, as in "square dealing." To play upon the square is proverbial for to play honestly. In this sense the word is found in the old writers.
As a Masonic symbol, it is of very ancient date, and was familiar to the Operative Masons. In the year 1830, the architect, in rebuilding a very ancient bridge called Baal Bridge, near Limerick, in Ireland, found under the foundation-stone an old brass square, much eaten away, containing on its two surfaces the following inscription, the U being read as V: I. WILL. STRIUE. TO. LIUE.-WITH. LOUE. & CARE.- UPON. THE. LEUL.-BY. THE. SQUARE., and the date 1517. The modern Speculative Freemason will recognize the idea of living on the level fled by the square This discovery proves, if proof were necessary, that the familiar idea was borrowed from our Operative Brethren of former days.
The square, as a symbol in Speculative Freemasonry, has therefore presented itself from the very beginning of the revival period. In the very earliest catechism of the eighteenth century, of the date of 1725, we find the answer to the question, "How many make a Lodge?" is "God and the Square, with five or seven right or perfect Masons." God and the Square, religion and morality, must be present in every Lodge as governing principles.
Signs at that early period were to be made by squares and the Furniture of the Lodge was declared to be the Bible, Compasses, and Square.
In the public lecture of Brother Herbert A. Giles, Worshipful Master of Ionic Lodge, No. 1781 at Amoy, delivered in 1880 and entitled Freemasonry in China, says:
From time immemorial we find the Square and Compasses used by Chinese Writers to symbolize precisely the same phases of moral conduct as in our system of Freemasonry. The earliest passage known to one which bears upon the subject is to be found in the Book of history embracing the period reaching from the twenty-fourth to the seventh century before Christ. There in an account of a military expedition we read:
"Ye officers of government, apply the Compasses!"
In another part of the same venerable record a Magistrate is spoken of as:
" A man of the level, or the level man"
The public discourses of Confucius provide us with several Masonic allusions of a more or less definite character. For instance. when recounting his own degrees of moral progress in life, the Master tells us that only at seventy-five spears of age could he venture to follow the inclinations of his heart without fear of " transgressing the limits of the Square." this would be 481 B.C. belt it is in the works of his great follower, Mencius, who flourished nearly two hundred years later, that we meet with a fuller and more impressive Masonic phraseology. In one chapter we are taught that just as the most skilled artificers are unable, without the aid of the Square and Compasses to produce perfect rectangles or perfect circles, so must all men apply these tools figuratively to their lives, and the level and the marking-line besides, if they would walk in the straight and even paths of wisdom and keep themselves within the bonds of honor and virtue. In Book iv we read:
"The Compasses and Square are the embodiment of the rectangular and the round, just as the prophets of old were the embodiment of the due relationship between man and man" In Book vi we find these words:
The Master Mason, in teaching his apprentices makes use of the Compasses and the Square Ye who are engaged in the pursuit of wisdom must also make use of the Compasses and the Square. In the Great Learning, admitted on all sides to date from between 300 to 400 years before Christ, in Chapter 10, we read that a man should abstain from doing unto others what he would not they should do unto him, ' this," adds the writer, is called the principle of acting on the Square. " In all rites and in all languages where Freemasonry has penetrated, the square has preserved its primitive Signification as a symbol of morality.
XXX.
The Stone of Foundation.
The Stone of Foundation constitutes one of the most important and abstruse of all the symbols of Freemasonry. It is referred to in numerous legends and traditions, not only of the Freemasons, but also of the Jewish Rabbins, the Talmudic writers, and even the Mussulman doctors. Many of these, it must be confessed, are apparently puerile and absurd; but some of them, and especially the masonic ones, are deeply interesting in their allegorical signification.
The Stone of Foundation is, properly speaking, a symbol of the higher degrees. It makes its first appearance in the Royal Arch, and forms, indeed, the most important symbol of that degree. But it is so intimately connected, in its legendary history, with the construction of the Solomonic temple, that it must be considered as a part of Ancient Craft Masonry, although he who confines the range of his investigations to the first three degrees, will have no means, within that narrow limit, of properly appreciating the symbolism of the Stone of Foundation.
As preliminary to the inquiry which is about to be instituted, it is necessary to distinguish the Stone of Foundation, both in its symbolism and in its legendary history, from other stones which play an important part in the masonic ritual, but which are entirely distinct from it. Such are the corner-stone, which was always placed in the north-east corner of the building about to be erected, and to which such a beautiful reference is made in the ceremonies of the first degree; or the keystone, which constitutes an interesting part of the Mark Master's degree; or, lastly, the cape-stone, upon which all the ritual of the Most Excellent Master's degree is founded. These are all, in their proper places, highly interesting and instructive symbols, but have no connection whatever with the Stone of Foundation or its symbolism. Nor, although the Stone of Foundation is said, for peculiar reasons, to have been of a cubical form, must it be confounded with that stone called by the continental Masons the cubical stone--the pierre cubique of the French, and the cubik stein of the German Masons, but which in the English system is known as the perfect ashlar.
The Stone of Foundation has a legendary history and a symbolic signification which are peculiar to itself, and which differ from the history and meaning which belong to these other stones.
The Stone of Foundation is supposed, by the theory which establishes it, to have been a stone placed at one time within the foundations of the temple of Solomon, and afterwards, during the building of the second temple, transported to the Holy of Holies. It was in form a perfect cube, and had inscribed upon its upper face, within a delta or triangle, the sacred tetragrammaton, or ineffable name of God. Oliver, speaking with the solemnity of an historian, says that Solomon thought that he had rendered the house of God worthy, so far as human adornment could effect, for the dwelling of God, "when he had placed the celebrated Stone of Foundation, on which the sacred name was mystically engraven, with solemn ceremonies, in that sacred depository on Mount Moriah, along with the foundations of Dan and Asher, the centre of the Most Holy Place, where the ark was overshadowed by the shekinah of God." The Hebrew Talmudists, who thought as much of this stone, and had as many legends concerning it as the masonic Talmudists, called it eben shatijah or "Stone of Foundation," because, as they said, it had been laid by Jehovah as the foundation of the world; and hence the apocryphal book of Enoch speaks of the "stone which supports the corners of the earth."
This idea of a foundation stone of the world was most probably derived from that magnificent passage of the book of Job, in which the Almighty demands of the afflicted patriarch,--
"Where wast thou, when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Declare, since thou hast such knowledge!
Who fixed its dimensions, since thou knowest?
Or who stretched out the line upon it?
Upon what were its foundations fixed?
And who laid its corner-stone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Noyes, whose beautiful translation I have adopted as not materially differing from the common version, but which is far more poetical and more in the strain of the original, thus explains the allusions to the foundation-stone: "It was the custom to celebrate the laying of the corner-stone of an important building with music, songs, shouting, etc. Hence the morning stars are represented as celebrating the laying of the corner-stone of the earth."
Upon this meagre statement have been accumulated more traditions than appertain to any other masonic symbol. The Rabbins, as has already been intimated, divide the glory of these apocryphal histories with the Masons; indeed, there is good reason for a suspicion that nearly all the masonic legends owe their first existence to the imaginative genius of the writers of the Jewish Talmud. But there is this difference between the Hebrew and the masonic traditions, that the Talmudic scholar recited them as truthful histories, and swallowed, in one gulp of faith, all their impossibilities and anachronisms, while the masonic student has received them as allegories, whose value is not in the facts, but in the sentiments which they convey.
With this understanding of their meaning, let us proceed to a collation of these legends.
In that blasphemous work, the "Toldoth Jeshu" or Life of Jesus, written, it is supposed, in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, we find the following account of this wonderful stone:--
"At that time [the time of Jesus] there was in the House of the Sanctuary [that is, the temple] a Stone of Foundation, which is the very stone that our father Jacob anointed with oil, as it is described in the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Genesis. On that stone the letters of the tetragrammaton were inscribed, and whosoever of the Israelites should learn that name would be able to master the world. To prevent, therefore, any one from learning these letters, two iron dogs were placed upon two columns in front of the Sanctuary. If any person, having acquired the knowledge of these letters, desired to depart from the Sanctuary, the barking of the dogs, by magical power, inspired so much fear, that he suddenly forgot what he had acquired."
This passage is cited by the learned Buxtorf, in his "Lexicon Talmudicum;" but in the copy of the "Toldoth Jeshu" which I have the good fortune to possess (for it is among the rarest of books), I find another passage which gives some additional particulars, in the following words:--
"At that time there was in the temple the ineffable name of God, inscribed upon the Stone of Foundation. For when King David was digging the foundation for the temple, he found in the depths of the excavation a certain stone, on which the name of God was inscribed. This stone he removed, and deposited it in the Holy of Holies."
The same puerile story of the barking dogs is repeated, still more at length. It is not pertinent to the present inquiry, but it may be stated as a mere matter of curious information, that this scandalous book, which is throughout a blasphemous defamation of our Saviour, proceeds to say, that he cunningly obtained a knowledge of the tetragrammaton from the Stone of Foundation, and by its mystical influence was enabled to perform his miracles.
The masonic legends of the Stone of Foundation, based on these and other rabbinical reveries, are of the most extraordinary character, if they are to be viewed as histories, but readily reconcilable with sound sense, if looked at only in the light of allegories. They present an uninterrupted succession of events, in which the Stone of Foundation takes a prominent part, from Adam to Solomon, and from Solomon to Zerubbabel.
The Stone of Foundation.
The Stone of Foundation constitutes one of the most important and abstruse of all the symbols of Freemasonry. It is referred to in numerous legends and traditions, not only of the Freemasons, but also of the Jewish Rabbins, the Talmudic writers, and even the Mussulman doctors. Many of these, it must be confessed, are apparently puerile and absurd; but some of them, and especially the masonic ones, are deeply interesting in their allegorical signification.
The Stone of Foundation is, properly speaking, a symbol of the higher degrees. It makes its first appearance in the Royal Arch, and forms, indeed, the most important symbol of that degree. But it is so intimately connected, in its legendary history, with the construction of the Solomonic temple, that it must be considered as a part of Ancient Craft Masonry, although he who confines the range of his investigations to the first three degrees, will have no means, within that narrow limit, of properly appreciating the symbolism of the Stone of Foundation.
As preliminary to the inquiry which is about to be instituted, it is necessary to distinguish the Stone of Foundation, both in its symbolism and in its legendary history, from other stones which play an important part in the masonic ritual, but which are entirely distinct from it. Such are the corner-stone, which was always placed in the north-east corner of the building about to be erected, and to which such a beautiful reference is made in the ceremonies of the first degree; or the keystone, which constitutes an interesting part of the Mark Master's degree; or, lastly, the cape-stone, upon which all the ritual of the Most Excellent Master's degree is founded. These are all, in their proper places, highly interesting and instructive symbols, but have no connection whatever with the Stone of Foundation or its symbolism. Nor, although the Stone of Foundation is said, for peculiar reasons, to have been of a cubical form, must it be confounded with that stone called by the continental Masons the cubical stone--the pierre cubique of the French, and the cubik stein of the German Masons, but which in the English system is known as the perfect ashlar.
The Stone of Foundation has a legendary history and a symbolic signification which are peculiar to itself, and which differ from the history and meaning which belong to these other stones.
The Stone of Foundation is supposed, by the theory which establishes it, to have been a stone placed at one time within the foundations of the temple of Solomon, and afterwards, during the building of the second temple, transported to the Holy of Holies. It was in form a perfect cube, and had inscribed upon its upper face, within a delta or triangle, the sacred tetragrammaton, or ineffable name of God. Oliver, speaking with the solemnity of an historian, says that Solomon thought that he had rendered the house of God worthy, so far as human adornment could effect, for the dwelling of God, "when he had placed the celebrated Stone of Foundation, on which the sacred name was mystically engraven, with solemn ceremonies, in that sacred depository on Mount Moriah, along with the foundations of Dan and Asher, the centre of the Most Holy Place, where the ark was overshadowed by the shekinah of God." The Hebrew Talmudists, who thought as much of this stone, and had as many legends concerning it as the masonic Talmudists, called it eben shatijah or "Stone of Foundation," because, as they said, it had been laid by Jehovah as the foundation of the world; and hence the apocryphal book of Enoch speaks of the "stone which supports the corners of the earth."
This idea of a foundation stone of the world was most probably derived from that magnificent passage of the book of Job, in which the Almighty demands of the afflicted patriarch,--
"Where wast thou, when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Declare, since thou hast such knowledge!
Who fixed its dimensions, since thou knowest?
Or who stretched out the line upon it?
Upon what were its foundations fixed?
And who laid its corner-stone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
Noyes, whose beautiful translation I have adopted as not materially differing from the common version, but which is far more poetical and more in the strain of the original, thus explains the allusions to the foundation-stone: "It was the custom to celebrate the laying of the corner-stone of an important building with music, songs, shouting, etc. Hence the morning stars are represented as celebrating the laying of the corner-stone of the earth."
Upon this meagre statement have been accumulated more traditions than appertain to any other masonic symbol. The Rabbins, as has already been intimated, divide the glory of these apocryphal histories with the Masons; indeed, there is good reason for a suspicion that nearly all the masonic legends owe their first existence to the imaginative genius of the writers of the Jewish Talmud. But there is this difference between the Hebrew and the masonic traditions, that the Talmudic scholar recited them as truthful histories, and swallowed, in one gulp of faith, all their impossibilities and anachronisms, while the masonic student has received them as allegories, whose value is not in the facts, but in the sentiments which they convey.
With this understanding of their meaning, let us proceed to a collation of these legends.
In that blasphemous work, the "Toldoth Jeshu" or Life of Jesus, written, it is supposed, in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, we find the following account of this wonderful stone:--
"At that time [the time of Jesus] there was in the House of the Sanctuary [that is, the temple] a Stone of Foundation, which is the very stone that our father Jacob anointed with oil, as it is described in the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Genesis. On that stone the letters of the tetragrammaton were inscribed, and whosoever of the Israelites should learn that name would be able to master the world. To prevent, therefore, any one from learning these letters, two iron dogs were placed upon two columns in front of the Sanctuary. If any person, having acquired the knowledge of these letters, desired to depart from the Sanctuary, the barking of the dogs, by magical power, inspired so much fear, that he suddenly forgot what he had acquired."
This passage is cited by the learned Buxtorf, in his "Lexicon Talmudicum;" but in the copy of the "Toldoth Jeshu" which I have the good fortune to possess (for it is among the rarest of books), I find another passage which gives some additional particulars, in the following words:--
"At that time there was in the temple the ineffable name of God, inscribed upon the Stone of Foundation. For when King David was digging the foundation for the temple, he found in the depths of the excavation a certain stone, on which the name of God was inscribed. This stone he removed, and deposited it in the Holy of Holies."
The same puerile story of the barking dogs is repeated, still more at length. It is not pertinent to the present inquiry, but it may be stated as a mere matter of curious information, that this scandalous book, which is throughout a blasphemous defamation of our Saviour, proceeds to say, that he cunningly obtained a knowledge of the tetragrammaton from the Stone of Foundation, and by its mystical influence was enabled to perform his miracles.
The masonic legends of the Stone of Foundation, based on these and other rabbinical reveries, are of the most extraordinary character, if they are to be viewed as histories, but readily reconcilable with sound sense, if looked at only in the light of allegories. They present an uninterrupted succession of events, in which the Stone of Foundation takes a prominent part, from Adam to Solomon, and from Solomon to Zerubbabel.