Deciphering Freemasonry

Yes, they already were the masters of the world. But have no plans for a New World Order. Find out what is truth and what is lie about the Masons, issue of The Lost Symbol, new best seller of the controversial Dan Brown


In a room, they talk about current affairs and amenities. The night ends with a relaxed dinner, some even come with a glimpse of the novel. Normal, not for the hats and aprons with ancient symbols, Greek columns and suns and moons images. But beyond the clothes and the odd decoration, there is a most important difference. All have committed to help each other, and several have as are entrepreneurs, lawyers, opinion makers. Speaking of view, everything is debated there is between those four walls - no windows, like all Masonic Lodge.

Freemasonry can not have more influence when leading revolutions and founded countries, but still stoking the imagination. It is known that into the club it takes a man and believe in a god, and little else. The biggest bestseller of 2009 The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, plays with this curiosity, deciphering puzzles Freemasons scattered Washington.

As expected, the 3rd adventure of Robert Langdon (hero of the novels Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code) achieved great sales and bad reviews. But there is a new criticism: this time, Brown is accused of failing to reveal everything he knows. A columnist for the New York Times suggested that the author would have been silenced by the secret society. Does Freemasonry has power to frighten the largest bookseller in the world? And what mysteries she would have to reveal?

The aura of mystery accompanying the Masons since its inception. Origin, moreover, that has been creatively indented: some Masons include among its predecessors warriors of the Crusades, King Solomon's temple architects and even the Egyptians responsible for the pyramids (very important in The Lost Symbol). Indeed, the Freemasons emerged at construction sites, but toward the end of the Middle Ages in England. Hence their name: mason - it says "mêisson" - was the term to Mason in English.

But the builders of the period amounted to architects, engineers, contractors. To avoid losing the hegemony in construction, military and religious, they kept secret the tricks of the profession, just past the most reliable learners and special occasions. Over time, these classes have become forums attracted outsiders and were transferred to local lodges called (in Portuguese, "shops"). In 1717, four units were united in the Grand Lodge of London. Came officially Freemasonry.


Masons States of America
Like many Europeans, it was emigrating to America that Freemasonry achieve their potential. In fact, the great "secret" revealed on the bestseller by Dan Brown is a consensus among historians: in any country Freemasonry was as important as the US.

For one thing, the major events that marked the country's independence were decided in Masonic lodges. In 1773, it was not suddenly merchants threw boxes and boxes of tea into the sea in protest against extortionate taxes of the British. The "Tea Party" Boston was an event organized by brothers.

Nine of the 55 men who signed the Declaration of Independence came from Freemasonry, as well as one-third of the 39 that approved the Constitution. Benjamin Franklin was a Mason convinced, and George Washington, Grand Master of the Lodge Alexandria, would have appeared ceremonial apron in the laying of the cornerstone of the new city.


Speaking of capital, the city of Washington is full of references to Freemasonry. Some are forced: are bars and stars in the layout of the streets of any city - as is made clear in 6 of the 133 chapters of The Lost Symbol. Others are explicit: the theme "George Washington was a Mason" inspired paintings and sculptures, with a presence in the Senate doors and the ceiling of the Capitol. Moreover, as Robert Langdon gives over 12 busy hours, the city has at least 17 buildings with typical order architecture - a mix of Greek and Roman style, always accompanied by squares, compasses and letters G (of God, "God " in English). Among them, the now famous Temple House (the original House of the Temple), American headquarters of the Scottish Rite Masonic, prologue scene and the book's climax.




After the success of American independence in 1776, Freemasonry began to dictate the pace of change on the planet. Being a Mason in the late 18th century and early 19th was very cool: a club that brought together the most influential and restless minds.

Bringing freedom, equality and fraternity in the DNA of course that Freemasonry was in the French Revolution in 1789. The main leaders, Danton and Robespierre, were not the order but the Marseillaise was composed in Marseille shop. In 1810, Freemasonry inspired the creation of Carbonária, secret society that seek independence from Italy. Three future liberators of America, Chile's Bernardo O'Higgins, the Venezuelan Simón Bolívar and the Argentinian José de San Martín, attended the same store in London, a coexistence that changed a continent. "Masonry participated in the independence of all countries in South America," says Andrew Prescott, director of Freemasonry studies at Sheffield University in England.

These include the Brazilian Empire, from start to finish (see table Parents of Brazil, on page 69). In 1822, our independence from Portugal was proclaimed by a Grand Master, Don Pedro 1. And the Proclamation of the Republic in 1899, was made by another, Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca. And the Masons continued active during our Old Republic, reaching even the presidency, with Nile and, as a result, Hermes da Fonseca.

Worldwide, the order experienced a crisis from the 1930s, when its members further to the right (fascists) and left (communists) no longer wore the same apron. In fact, Masons are also among the victims of the Holocaust - between 80 000 and 200 000 brothers died in Nazi camps.

In the 50s, the order came to have a record membership in the US - even Fred and Barney, the Flintstones, attending a parody of Freemasonry, of the water buffalo Club. But the next generation, the baby boomers, are not interested - revolutions passed away from stores. "But even where there has returned to the influence of earlier, Freemasonry was never irrelevant," says German historian Jan Snoek, who researches the topic at the University of Heidelberg.


Conspiracy practice

The list of powerful Freemasons is still great. Among the 6 million members worldwide are the president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, Prince Philip, the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and even Al Gore, vice president of Bill Clinton - a near Mason, as you see in page to side. The fact that in the US many politicians and judges members of Freemasonry is explored in The Lost Symbol: The villain threatens book put on the Internet a video that catches the elite of Washington in Masonic rituals - if it would negatively impact the pillars of democracy, for sure was pumping on YouTube.

It is undeniable that Freemasonry still has influential members - which does not mean that it still exerts influence. A practical example is the UK, where, from 1997 all Masons working in the judicial system were required to declare that they were members of the order. The argument was that the loyalty of the fraternity brothers could distort their work, and the public was entitled to know who was a Mason, to be able to monitor their conduct from that fact. In 12 years, "no impropriety or malpractice was checked by the judges because they were Freemasons," said Secretary of English Justice, Jack Straw, himself a supporter of the law down on November 5 this year.

What about the New World Order? For those who are not inside this conspiracy theory, it would be a single government that would command the whole planet and that are planned by Masons - or the illuminati, or the Knights Templar, the 4th Reich, anyway. No information about the last 3 groups, because they is not in there. This is prevented by the very way in which freemasonry is organized: Masonic lodges are independent, home to brothers with very different views and have no where to take coordinated global action. Most secret yet.

In fact, the great change that awaits anyone who enters Freemasonry is not in the world, but in life itself.


Mason 24 hours
Everything indicates that a global dictatorship is not in the plans, but make no mistake: every Mason has an agenda. If not secret, certainly crowded. But for most members, compensatory.

The rules are already beginning the application - usually later than one of a Mason invitation. Not enough to have faith in a god and chromosome XY: You must be of legal age, have a fixed address and own income and declare his reasons to be part of the order (hint: "I read about you in the SUPER and wanted to see what was" not going to take away). If you are married, the employer must comply. If homosexual, according to the rules, does not.

Masons also searching friends, employment and financial life and police of potential brother. After investigated for 6 months to 1 year, the name is evaluated throughout the store - and must be approved unanimously. There simply attend the initiation and promise not to reveal what they listen - the so silent pact of brotherhood.

The beginner is reassessed frequently, and is required to attend a weekly meeting, which occupies an entire night on a business day. To miss, just because of work or study will be necessary to seek permission.

In addition, the Masonic lodges of that city to visit, and it is advisable to participate in some of these moments of exchange. Not to mention longer trips, in the case of visits to Masons from other states. And every three years, we need to get involved in voting for Grand Master, coordinated by an Electoral Court Masonic.

There's more: each store charges a monthly fee that, in São Paulo, is around $ 150 Reason: every store has a support fund to cover unexpected expenses Brothers. The fund also functions as a parallel security: Masons of widows receive monthly pension.

On weekends, the Masons still do volunteer work in institutions run by the order - in most cases, kindergartens and hospitals. This is the time to take his wife and children not only possible but advisable. "We call the wives of Masons minted brothers and the sons of nephews," says Bahia retired Paulo Borges, Mason in Salvador for 15 years. It is common for a brother in difficulty to be rescued at any time by other Masons. Great when it's you who needs, but it means that the phone must be turned on all the time.


Club advantages

The brothers guarantee that gives a gas self-esteem: they feel part of a very exclusive club, which selects its members accurately. "The feeling of being accepted after months of investigation is very good. And the initiation ceremony is one of the most rewarding and exciting moments of the life of a Mason," says the entrepreneur Adriano Aparecido Moraes, a Mason for 19 years, Sorocaba. The store seems to transform the behavior: ". I was very moody, aggressive with Freemasonry, changed," says Bahia Paulo Borges.

Beautiful, beautiful. But, besides the psychological reward, there are more palpable criteria. "Were it not for the Masons, we would not have access to the director of the Federal Police, the government official of high rank, the entrepreneurs who are potential customers," said Adriano. "It is a privilege because the Mason must meet professional expectations. But it helps a lot, creates opportunities."

A Mason of Rio de Janeiro, who prefers to remain anonymous, says: "If the Mason is seller and the buyer of the company's brother, he will be served faster I know children of Masons who, thanks to his father's contacts were able stages. in companies with brothers on board. " It concludes: "Of course, talent is what consolidates professionally, but Freemasonry opens doors everywhere."

In a large metropolis where power relations are more dilute, the store friendships may not make much difference. But imagine the impact of these contacts in a small town where the sheriff, the mayor, the newspaper owner and the supermarket are Masons. In fact, do not even imagine: in San Vicente beach on the coast next to Santos, the former mayor Márcio France provided a Mason adviser to meet the demands of the order. France is now a federal deputy and leader of the "notepad" (formed by PSB, PDT, PCdoB, PMN and PRB).

The influence also occurs in other state spheres. Employees and persons connected with the Petrobras gather nationwide in Masonic lodges calls Monteiro Lobato - it was not a Mason, but said "the oil is ours". They say there's money in it now, but Petrobras does not confirm the involvement with "monterianos brothers", which make discussions and actions with politicians in defense of the national heritage.

Regardless of ambition within the masonry structure, you need to keep fit. Shacks, drunkenness, adultery and prisons are unacceptable. "Our objective is to make good men to be even better and we take this goal seriously," says Mason São Paulo Fabio Amauchi, 37 engineer. It is this concept of "good men" that explains the rejection of gays, for example. "You can not say that this is a good habit," says Fabio.


Not secret, discreet

"The Freemasons have been secret. Throughout the 20th century, came to be defined as discrete. Today, go to become an open civil society," says the former British Mason Martin Short, author of Inside the Brotherhood, which criticizes the order.

However, the opening of the most famous secret society in the world bothers some brothers who see the proliferation of websites, newspapers and magazines as a departure from the sources. In fact, today it is possible to apply for Mason by email (though a personal invitation is by far the surest way to get). On its website, the Masonic Grand Lodge of the Holy Spirit maintains a Masonic Radio Culture. And the page of the Grand Orient of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro section, offers a virtual tour of the Masonic Palace Lavradio.

"There are no more secrets in Freemasonry. They have been revealed slowly," says British historian W. Kirk MacNulty, a Mason for four decades. "If there is any secret, it is individual, non-transferable. -? Is the experience of the Masonic rituals How to explain the taste of an orange for those who never ate it," says the German researcher Snoek.Por other hand, if lacking mysteries, rumors abound .

How about a Masonic bench? A Grand Master ensures that, in the last elections for mayors and councilors, Freemasonry in São Paulo made internal campaign to vote and to support candidates Masons Masons. According to him, he worked: Freemasonry would emplacado 13 mayors and 54 councilors - it just does not say who and where. They intend to do the same with parliamentarians in 2010.

And this is international: in Israel, the Greater Tel Aviv shop is a meeting place for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Although Freemasonry is against political discussions in the temples, there are all willing to find solutions to ancient problems of the region. "Only in a closed and completely confidential such unlikely meeting place can happen regularly," says German historian Jan Snoek, who researches the topic at the University of Heidelberg. In other words: If any peace plan arise from now on to resolve the issue between Israelis and Palestinians, there may be the finger of Freemasonry.

And what do the Masons think about all the curiosity about the order? In private conversations, they complain a lot of books, films and websites that promise to reveal its secrets - reports like this as well. They argue that treatment is unfair and exaggerates minor aspects. In that case, the official position is not to speak publicly.

But there is a current of "bad publicity is good publicity", which is part of Christopher Hodapp, a former American Master Mason and author of books on Freemasonry, grateful to Dan Brown and others have made the order. "We had trouble attracting new members. So the interest is renewed," he says. "In a way, disclosure to help, because it creates an allure that attracts many people to order," says Adriano Moraes. "While the outside world is concerned excessively about minor details, the true mysteries are kept."


Bill Clinton
Technically, the former US president is not a Mason - but was head of DeMolay, a sort of junior Freemasonry. If it was, I would have been expelled after the scandal with Monica Lewinsky.

Silvio Berlusconi
The Italian prime minister was the Masonic lodge Propaganda Due, considered a "state within a state" in the 70s Berlusconi was started in 1978 and says he left the Masons when the store was closed in 1981.
Prince Philip
The husband of the Queen of England joined the Navy Store in 1952. It is the most active, but states that participates in the meetings.

Hugo Chavez
Venezuelan President entered the Masonic Temple of Caracas at the invitation of a bodyguard. In his speeches, often quotes famous Masons, as Simon Bolivar.

Spyridon Amin
The former governor of Santa Catarina is a member since 1971. Newton Cardoso, former governor of Minas, is also part of Freemasonry.


1 - Symbols Found

$ 1 note of the pyramid

Eye
Is the omniscient and omnipresent God, who sees all.

Pyramid
Refers to the supposed origin of Freemasonry among ancient Egyptian architects.

Novus ordo seclorum
Conspirators - including Dan Brown in Angels and Demons - disclose that the phrase is Latin for "New World Order". But the truth is "New Order of the Ages".


2 - Symbols Found

Temple columns

Column B
Is called Boaz, always left at the entrance of the stores. Refers to the king's great-grandfather David and mythological 1st column of Solomon's Temple.

Column J
Known as Jachim, he is right there. The name is a fusion of the words jah Hebrew (Jehovah) and achin (establish). Refers to the 2nd column of the temple.

Brazil's brothers
Our independence was decided by Masonic factions: there were Republicans and monarchists, who won in 1822 and acted

The history books teach that our separation from Portugal in 1822, was hatched and decided within the Masonic lodges in the months leading up to the Ipiranga Cry. Is true. But it was not a decision but a heated debate. Depending on what the store decided, it is possible that the young prince regent turned the emperor Pedro 1st.

In 1822, the Brazilian Freemasonry was divided into two great factions. Both wanted independence, but a defended republican ideas, while the other, of Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva, thought the solution was to keep Dom Pedro as emperor in a constitutional monarchy. The groups disputed the power of passionate manner, involving arrests, persecution, exile and purges of one group against the other.

Interested in monitor and control the political groups of the time, Dom Pedro actively participated in the two factions. The Jose Bonifacio did not work in shops, but in talks, baptized significantly from "Independence or Death", "Union and Tranquility" and "firmness and fairness." Voted "archon king" in the first session, Dom Pedro vowed "to promote with all our strength and cost of their lives and farm integrity, independence and happiness of Brazil as a constitutional kingdom, opposing both the despotism amending it as anarchy that dissolves ". Jose Bonifacio was the government program.


The Freemasons were studied, discussed and approved several important decisions in the independence process, as the manifesto which resulted in the Day of Fico (9 January 1822) and the details of the Dom Pedro acclaim as emperor, on 12 October. This does not mean that independence was unique and direct product of the activities of Freemasons. In fact, the Masons used and was used by the various pressure groups at the time, according to the circumstances of the moment.


3 - Symbols Found
Seal of Freemasonry

COMPASS
Rationality and scientific quest for moral perfection.

BRACKET

Instrument of builders that transform nature. The right angle indicates honesty.
G
It comes from God, "God" in English. You can also represent GAU, which stands for "Grand

Architect of the Universe."

Tropical Washington
If The Lost Symbol were in Brazil, would be in Paraty, colonial city in southern Rio coastline filled with Masonic markings on its architecture

MINE MAP
The historic center has 33 courts, magic number of Masons.

GIVING FLAG
The Paraty flag has three little stars "placed in triangular shape, resembling the great influence that Freemasonry played in the history of the city," he says bylaw 1967.

GREAT ARCHITECTS
Houses notorious Freemasons received columns at the entrance and GeoMe-tric allusive decoration to Masonic symbols and their degree of hierarchy.

THE TRIOS
Many crossings have stone pillars in only 3 of the 4 corners, which refers to the Masonic triangle.
It contains - The whole book! - Spoilers
All you need to know about The Lost Symbol

A summary commented to float and you do not even have an opinion on any conversation about the best seller

In a Freemason ritual, the villain Mal'akh - drink wine from a skull. He has many tattoos and a plan: to expose powerful Freemasons and ruin the US State.

The symbologist Robert Langdon arrives in Washington thinking that will give a talk on Capitol Hill to Peter Solomon Mason invitation. Catch the Mal'akh! The villain has kidnapped Solomon, whom Langdon finds only his right hand.

Comes to safety and the CIA, whom Langdon explains that the Capitol is littered with Masonic symbols, some suggesting that George Washington is God. Using their superpowers, Langdon concludes that it was summoned to a contest: to save Solomon's life, he needs to find a legendary Masonic pyramid and discover a lost word. All run to the underground of the Senate, where there is a secret chamber and fascinating riddles.

After a few setbacks, Langdon part towards the tedious parallel plot Katherine Solomon's sister and authority in noetic science. Mal'akh visit and explodes the magic laboratory Katherine, in the basement of the Smithsonian Museum. Not shaken, and Langdon held successive deciphering codes and puzzles that lead to a mysterious house.

Catch the Mal'akh! The house is the villain tying and stabs Katherine, and holds Langdon into a giant aquarium. Nearly drowned, Langdon reveals that the pyramid is in the House of the Temple, a Masonic center, where depart Mal'akh and Solomon - he is alive! Langdon is also: the tank had no water but a breathable liquid, and Katherine is saved by the CIA, whose omit drives for teaching purposes.

On the terrace of the House of the Temple, Mal'akh threat: If Solomon did not reveal the "lost word", will drop the network for a powerful video participating in a Masonic ritual. Solomon reveals the word, Mal'akh tattoos on the head. In the wake, the villain applies a Darth Vader reverse:... "Solomon, I am your son, Zachary forged my death, I changed my identity and now need you to kill me can use the knife that Abraham almost used in Isaac This, the the Bible, is there in the corner. " It works like this: death in the pyramid + Knife + Abraham magic phrase in the noggin = direct passage to hell where Mal'akh crave a leading position.

They are not this kill-kill when it comes CIA helicopter. Agents destroy the tower that transmit the video proibidão Masons and break windows, whose shards kill Mal'akh.
Solomon gave the child a false word, but reveals the true Langdon. Actually, it's not a word, but a symbol. Lost, of course. Seen from above, the monument looks like this:. What is the meaning of a circle with a dot in the middle? According to Dan Brown, it is a reminder of a hidden teaching visibly in the sacred books: all men can be divine.

1. In Hebrew, means "angel".
2. Masonic Rituals have hiking with sales and blades against his chest, but no drinks blood.
3. Remember: the word is the invention of Dan Brown. No symbologists - those who study symbols is a semiotician.
4. Speaking of the invention, the cover is a seal. See details next.
5. Langdon says that America's founders were not Christians, but Deists, and were intended to found a new religion, inspired by antiquity. But historians, less excited, they face the referêncas to classical antiquity present in homage to George Washington, who died in 1799, consistent with the neoclassical style of the period. In art, the nation's hero was portrayed as a Greek legislator and as Zeus. The Apotheosis of Washington painting, 1836, shows the first US president surrounded by mythology figures - this fresco can be seen in the Capitol ceiling.
6. Just below the summit is the room known as the Crypt of the Capitol. It should house the body of George Washington, which never happened, and now a museum. There is no room there Masonic described in the book. But there is, indeed, a compass inset into the floor, marking the exact center of the city.
7. The character researcher noetic to play that many people will search the internet what it means. But not worth the googlada. The Institute of Noetic Sciences was founded in 1973 by astronaut Edgar Mitchell, shortly after he returned from the moon on the Apollo 14 mission On a farm in California, dozens of ripongos researchers investigate things like the weight of the soul, reincarnation and cure of cancer with the mind. There, all are certain that the collective thought changes the subject. Dan Brown out, no one takes seriously the institute.
8. Is there really a Smithsonian Museum Support Center in Maryland, 10 km from the museum where the collection is preserved or restored. But there is no laboratory noetic sciences there.
9. The argument is that the seat of the Scottish Rite Masonry in the US is a rectangular building with a dome, which gives the whole pyramid shape. Yes, Dan Brown forced the bar.
10. It seems incredible, but the breathable liquid exists! Studies indicate that it may treat lung diseases or mitigate the effects of decompression for astronauts and divers. It works as follows: the lungs fill with a liquid perfluorocarbon, which is the same chemical transfer of breathing. Something like the aquarium holding Langdon is called "total net ventilation chamber" and is being tested in the US for 45 years.
11. Yes, there are many governors, senators and US congressmen who are Masons. But if they do not disclose this fact also they make no secret of it. Hardly a video of politicians in a ritual would shake the US pillars. Only Obama drinking wine in the skull.
12. No one knows the whereabouts of this knife - not least because it is certain that Abraham existed. There are references to her fate nor the Bible nor in the oral accounts of Jewish tradition. This story that the knife would have been handed down from generation to generation is complete fiction, has no basis either in Jewish or Christian myths.
13. In reality, this design can mean several things. It's confusing, actually: the villain was behind a code that even he knew that, but that would open the doors of divine knowledge. The book makes clear that the symbol that he seeks is this circle with a dot, but then explains that this symbol alone is not the key to anything. That, ultimately, the key is inside each one. Finally, it should be clearer in the film, in 2012.

4 - Symbols Found
BOOK COVER SYMBOL
Double eagle
Ancient symbol used by a store Mason for the first time in 1758.

Triangle
"Faith, hope and charity," "liberty, equality and fraternity" or "birth, life and death."

Number 33
It is the highest degree that one can arrive at Scottish Rite.