An analysis of some of the legends pertaining to the mystical artifact which has been referred to as the Stone the Builders Rejected.
[Just Added: The ARBA material, and material pertaining to the Legend of Enoch's Pillars, in Part Two.]
Throughout the history of the Authentic Tradition, we find numerous references to the Mystical Stone, the Grail Stone, the Stone the Builders Rejected, the Stone in the Crown of Lucifer that fell to Earth when the War in Heaven took place, the stone that acted as Jacob's Pillow, which ended up under the Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, and so forth.
We have traced some of these stories, and we have found that there is a very important meaning, concealed underneath them all, a meaning which has escaped just about everybody, until now.
Since this is a key element in the 4th Degree of the York (or American) Rite of Freemasonry, we shall begin with a presentation on the Mark Master Degree. It is this degree which was so aptly utilized by Robert Anton Wilson, in The Widow's Son.
"It beats working for wages..." - Brother Clark Gable, in "The Misfits."
The basic scenario is this: the workmen are gathered in the quarry, squaring stones, presenting their work, and getting paid wages. The candidate approaches the pay master with his work, and is reprimanded for presenting faulty work, because the stone is not true, i.e., it isn't square.
"Junior Overseer (applying his square to it, and finding it does not fit.) - 'This is a curiously wrought stone, indeed; it is neither oblong nor square; good work, true work, square work is only such as we have orders to receive; neither has it the mark of any of the craft upon it. Is that your mark?' (Pointing to the letters on the keystone.)
"Candidate - 'It is not.'
"Junior Overseer - 'Owing to its singular form and beauty, I feel unwilling to reject it; you will pass on to the Senior Overseer's station at the west gate for inspection.'
"The conductors and the candidate pass on to the Senior Overseer's station in the west, when the same scene is repeated, and they are directed to proceed to the Master Overseer at the east gate.
"The Senior Deacon here first presents his block or stone to the Master Overseer.
"Master Overseer (applying his square.) - 'This is good work, true work, and square work - just such work as I am authorized to receive and pass for the building. You are entitled to your wages - pass on.'
"The conductors pass on, and take their seats. The candidate then presents his keystone.
"Master Overseer (applying his square.) - 'This is a curiously wrought stone. It appears to be neither oblong nor square, and the mark upon it is not that of a craftsman.' (Looking sternly at candidate.) 'Is this your work?'
"Candidate - 'It is not.'
"Master Overseer - 'Where did you get it?'
"Candidate - 'I picked it up in the quarry.'
"Master Overseer - 'Why do you bring another man's work to impose upon the Overseers? You will stand aside..'..."
This same action and dialogue is again carried out, this time with the Master Overseer, who then asks the other Overseers if they inspected this stone. They give their answers, and their reasons for rejecting it, and then the Master asks what they propose to do with it.
The Junior Overseer proposes to heave it over among the rubbish. They all agree to do this, swinging it 3 - 4 times back and forth among them, and give it the toss. At this point the Brethren become restless, demanding their wages. The Mark Master's Song is then sung, to the tune of "America." This is all according to the ritual given in Duncan's Ritual, so it is probably different today. It is useful for study purposes, though, and Monitorials of the early 20th Century c.e., confirm this material is real.
Part of the ordeal is the declaration that the Candidate is an Impostor. This is not a frivolous thing, a hazing ordeal, as some have commented to us. There is a real meaning behind everything in this Ritual.
Here is our reason why. Let us take as an analogy the world of Esoterica. There is so much metaphysical bunk out there, it is ridiculous. People think that Crowley was demented, but he had nothing on the rest of these saps. It is the mark of the True Mason to be labelled an impostor, or a mere pretender, or someone who speculates wildly with slagheaps of conjecture, while the phoneys hem and haw about their pet new age theories which amount to nothing in the end. As the eminent physicist, Jack Sarfatti, put it so aptly, this stuff isn't even wrong. Which is to say, if it isn't even wrong, it is worse than wrong. But, this is the material that usually gets labelled as Legitimate, True, and Square work. It is also true among the Masons, who regard real scholarship as spurious and pedestrian pablum as true, square work. For this reason, they will continue to be unable to offer up the Ineffable Name, for they no longer possess it, if they ever did to begin with, and that is debatable. The same thing is true with other groups, who claim to have the true way, but don't even possess a flashlight to guide them down the long dark tunnel to the mystical blowgun and the ramp that leads to the processing facility.
The important moral of the story: It is the True Mason who will be able to supply the solution to the enigma that everybody else is trying in vain to figure out, at the point it becomes necessary for the solution to be offered. This is not merely our own minor opinion, take a look around you at the legends and stories that are a part of this paradigm, and you will see that it constantly present. The Hero is one who is accused of being a fake, a fraud, condemned to punishments, ordeals, and so forth, only to, in the end, supply the needed relief to save the kingdom, or whatever there is in the story worth saving.
After the song, the Candidate is declared an impostor, and bounded over for punishment. He is made to prove himself, that he is a Mason, by giving the signs, etc., of the Fellow Craft degree. He satisfies the bosses, and is asked if he knows how to receive wages. He replies that he has not been so instructed. He is informed that this mitigates his crime, and is asked that if he learns how, will he do better in the future, and so on.
The reprimand is rescinded. He is reminded that he barely missed getting killed for being an impostor. He is ushered out to the preparation room, the Lodge is prepared for the next point.
The next point is the reception. The candidate is put through the signs and passwords, and gets the MARK impressed upon him. This is one of the True Shocks, which impresses upon the Candidate the importance of the Lesson being learned. It is something that must be experienced. Those who say these things are merely childish delusions to be thrown out with everything else, have not undergone any true ordeals. They are mere children, regardless of their age.
"The marker placed the chisel again on Sir John's left nipple.
"He looked Sir John straight in the eye and slowly raised the mallet and Sir John thought, It will only hurt for a moment, they know how to do it without impaling the candidate, and the marker said in what seemed a few seconds that expanded beyond time into eternity, 'Operative make use of the chisel to cut, hew, carve, and indent their work' - he hefted the mallet, drawing it back - 'but we as Free and Accepted Masons make use of it for a more noble and glorious purpose,' - the mallet was descending - 'to cut, hew, carve, and indent the mind!'
"At the last word - 'mind' - the mallet struck the chisel.
"Sir John thought he almost fainted then.
"But he was not unconscious; he was more conscious than ever. They were parading him around the four quarters again and he understood that his skin was uncut, only his mind had been marked as the words of the ritual said - it was a conjurer's trick, but it was not a trick because it did indent the mind, he was seeing colors clearer and hearing words with infinite overtones of meaning -
"The Warden of the East showed him a Bible opened to Psalms and read aloud the words, 'The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.'
"The Warden of the South showed him a Bible opened to Luke and read, 'What is this then that is written: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?"
"The Warden of the West showed him a Bible opened to Matthew and read, 'Did ye never read the Scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner?'
"The Warden of the North showed him a Bible opened to the Acts of the Apostles and read, 'This is the stone which was set at naught by the builders, which is become the head of the corner.'
"It is the secret of alchemy, Sir John thought: The part of ourselves that we reject, that is what transfigures and redeems us, when we accept it without fear: the First Matter, the Rosicrucians called it.
"He was back at the altar, facing the Most Worshipful master, who also showed him a Bible, opened to Revelations, and read, 'To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a name written, which no man knoweth save him that receiveth it.'
"Another brother appeared from the circle, carrying the white marble stone that had been rejected because it did not fit normal standards. It was given to Sir John, and now bore the letters ET IN ARCADIA EGO.
"You are now a Mark Master," the Most Worshipful intoned solemnly...."
- Robert Anton Wilson, The Widow's Son, pp. 118-119, Lynx Books Edition.
What then is the Masonic Significance of this Rite? The Wages, include the Penny, which in Masonic usage is a large Copper coin, about the size of a half-dollar. On one side is the Keystone, with the Individual Mark Master's mark in the centre. The letters, HTWSSTKS, Hiram, Tyrian, Widow's Son, Sendeth To King Solomon, are around the mark. Our great grandfather's Penny, in our possession has the Jain Cross for the Mark. (It is no longer politically correct to speak of this symbol positively, so we shall leave it at that.)
Also, the Wages of the Fellowcraft include Corn, Wine, and Oil. All three of these are elements used in Consecration. Practitioners of the Gnostic Mass might take notes on these ceremonies. It is stated in Masonic books that the Mark Master degree was originally a part of the Fellowcraft Degree, before the reforms which brought about the Grand Lodge system in the early 18th Century of the common era. That might be, however, we shall never know for certain.
And it is also said that while the Fellowcraft Speculates, the Mark Master Operates. That is, the Craft Degrees are Speculative in nature, the York degrees, to some extent, Operative. That might be, since in each of these degrees the Rituals themselves are of a more functional nature, while the Craft Degrees are more Ceremonial.
At any rate, we have an Initiation ceremony that celebrates the theme of the Rejected Cornerstone. What more can we find on this Rejected Stone?
In the previous essay in this series, Is THIS the Holy Mountain (Version 2.0), we spoke of the Mountain theme, and the concept of the Grail Stone. That perhaps there is a mountain somewhere, maybe even in several parts of the world, where a precious relic exists, that can confer otherworldly powers on its possessor and/or guardian. Like the Buddha's Bowl episode of the Relic Hunter series on Television. Unlike Television, however, there might be some reality to this theme, for it is present in so many places, and in all times. If it is nothing more than hope, that might be one thing. But there is reason to suggest that it might be much more than hope. In Holy Blood, Holy Grail, it is spoken of the Stone:
"According to Wolfram, then, the Grail is a stone of some kind. But such a definition of the Grail is far more provocative than satisfying. Scholars have suggested a number of interpretations of the phrase 'lapsit exillis,' all of which are more or less plausible. 'Lapsit exillis' might be a corruption of lapis ex caelis - 'stone from the heavens.' It might also be a corruption of lapsit ex caelis - 'it fell from the heavens'; or of lapis lapsus ex caelus - 'a stone fallen from heaven'; or, finally, of lapis elixir - the fabulous Philosopher's Stone of alchemy. Certainly the passage quoted, like the whole of Wolfram's poem for that matter, is laden with alchemical symbolism. The phoenix, for example, is established alchemical shorthand for resurrection or rebirth - and also, in medieval iconography, is an emblem of the dying and resurrected Jesus.
"If the phoenix is indeed somehow representative of Jesus, Wolfram is implicitly associating him with a stone. There is Peter (Pierre or 'stone' in French) - the 'stone' or 'rock' on which Jesus establishes his church. And as we had discovered, Jesus, in the New Testament, explicitly equates himself with the 'keystone neglected by the builders' - the keystone of the Temple, the Rock of Sion. Because it was 'founded' on this rock, there was supposedly a royal tradition descended from Godfroi de Bouillon that was equal to the reigning dynasties of Europe." - HBHG, pp. 297 - 298.
We referred to these passages earlier, in "Is THIS the Holy Mountain?" - but it is necessary to reiterate them, as this is a very important theme running through Religious symbolism and, for that matter, the Esoteric Tradition, going all the way back to the beginning.
To underscore this, we shall do some more extracting from HBHG, because it demonstrates best the paradigm we are researching, moreso than any other work yet to be made available in this entire solar system.
"In the late eighteenth century, when different Masonic systems were proliferating wildly, the so-called Oriental Rite of Memphis made its appearance. [here is here the long endnote pertaining to the history of the Rite comes from.] In this rite the name Ormus occurred, to our knowledge, for the first time - the name allegedly adopted by the Prieuré de Sion between 1188 and 1307. According to the Oriental Rite of Memphis, Ormus was an Egyptian sage who, around A. D. 46, amalgamated pagan and Christian mysteries and, in so doing, founded the Rose-Croix."
OUR COMMENTS HERE: Our own research is coming to the conclusion that ORMUS may not be merely a legendary figure. Only, not under the name of ORMUS. Under the name Pachomius, we find a figure that fits the criteria. The only difference being that instead of 46 c.e., it was in 320 c.e., that this took place. And, in 323 c.e., the first monastery was established at Tebennisi in the Thebaid. This is where the Qadosh Fathers legend originates, the Knights of the Morning and of Palestine, Werner's Sons of the Valley, all popular themes in Waite's writings - in short, they all came out of the real existence in the Thebaid region, of the Orders established by Pachomius in 323 c.e. And, when he died, in 346 c.e., the Nag Hammadi Library was buried to escape detection. It is said of Pachomius that he fused the Mysteries with Christianity, just as it is said of ORMUS. And, Pachomius taught the Hermetic Mysteries in caves, like real Sages did. It is likely that the Discourse on the Eighth and the Ninth is a narration of just such an Initiation. And the Temple that the Teacher charges the disciple to consecrate is in Diospolis Parva, which was then known as Chenoboskion. Chenoboskion is the root for the word Cenobite, which was the name of the Desert Monks of Pachomius.
And, too, in discussing the Rite of Memphis, it is worthy to note that it would fit into a discussion such as this, since the Disciples of Memphis were founded by men who had belonged to the Legion of Honor, and were involved in the Mission to Egypt in 1798. As we have discussed elsewhere, the name ORMUS is significant.
"In other eighteenth-century Masonic rites there are repeated references to the 'Rock of Sion,' - the same Rock of Sion that, as the 'Prieuré documents' quote, rendered the 'royal tradition' established by Godfroi and Baudoin de Bouillon 'equal' to that of any other reigning dynasty in Europe. We had previously assumed that the Rock of Sion was simply Mount Sion - the 'high hill' south of Jerusalem on which Godfroi built an abbey to house the order that became the Prieuré de Sion. But Masonic sources ascribe an additional significance to the Rock of Sion. Given their preoccupation with the Temple of Jerusalem, it is not surprising that they refer one to specific passages in the Bible. And in these passages the Rock of Sion is something more than a high hill. It is a particular stone overlooked or unjustifiably neglected during the building of the Temple, which must subsequently be retrieved and incorporated as the structure's keystone. According to Psalm 118, for example:
"'The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.'
"In Matthew 21:42 Jesus alludes specifically to this psalm:
"'Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner.'
"In Romans 9:33 there is another reference, rather more ambiguous:
"'Behold, I lay in Sion, a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.'
"In Acts 4:11 the Rock of Sion might well be interpreted as a metaphor for Jesus himself:
"'by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth....doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.'
"In Ephesians 2:20 the equation of Jesus with the Rock of Sion becomes more apparent:
"'built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.'
"And in 1 Peter 2:3-8 this equation is made even more explicit:
"'the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are build up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore it is also contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them, which stumble at the word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed.'
"In the very next verse, the text goes on to stress themes whose significance did not become apparent to us until later. It speaks of an elect line of kings who are both spiritual and secular leaders, a line of priest-kings:
"'But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people...'
"What were we to make of these baffling passages? What were we to make of the Rock of Sion - the keystone of the temple, which seemed to figure so saliently among the 'inner secrets' of Freemasonry? What were we to make of the explicit identification of this keystone with Jesus himself? And what were we to make of that 'royal tradition' which - because founded on the Rock of Sion or on Jesus himself - was 'equal' to the reigning dynasties of Europe during the Crusades?" - HBHG, pp. 185 - 187.
OUR COMMENTS HERE: It is interesting to note, that emphasis is placed upon something that was left out, rejected, refused, perhaps during the building of the First Temple. Now, what could that be?
A couple of ideas comes to mind:
1. Earlier, more authentic patterns of worship, early cults that were in existence during the Exodus, for example. Religious beliefs treated of in Qadosh: The Johannite Tradition, and in Is THIS the Holy Mountain?
2. A specific Deity, forgotten by practically everybody even to this day. The fact that this Deity's name even exists today is thanks to the work of the French archaeologists who discovered the key to interpreting Hieroglyphics, another part of the Mission to Egypt of 1798 c.e.
3. The Descendants of Benjamin, who were somehow wedded to the sons of Anak, the Anakim. And, associated with Anak was ARBA, which is a very, very important word.
We must dwell upon the significance of the Anakim and the name ARBA, elsewhere. It is worth noting that SION, or ZION, TzIUN, is equal to 156. And 156 is the Name of Babalon, the name associated with the Great Goddess, in Thelemic Parlance. This too, is very important.
The Rejected Stone comes up in other places, too. Important places. In the Sepher ha Bahir, for example, we find a key reference to the Stone the Builders Rejected. Gershom Scholem, in Origins of the Kabbalah, states,
"In sections 50 and 85, the concept of the Shekhinah is also identified with sedeq, which we have already learned to recognize as a symbol of this sphere. She is a particular quality that was offered to the Patriarchs when they prayed for a middah of God by which they would be able to regulate their conduct, but which, when offered, they declined to accept. That is why she is called here (sections 61, 131, 132) 'the stone which the builders rejected' that 'that has become the chief cornerstone' (Ps. 118:22). For when Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rejected this middah and chose their own, it was given to David (sections 50, 85). But she is not merely the stone or cornerstone, but, above all, 'the precious stone' and the valuable jewel. She is designated as such directly in sections 61, 65, 131 and indirectly in sections 16, 17, 49, and 61. The precious stone that adorns the daughter or the bride becomes a symbol of herself, in whose rays 'all the commandments are contained' (section 131). The beautiful, preciously wrought gem of this passage becomes in section 137 the Torah, the adorned and crowned bride betrothed to God. This symbolism of the precious stone can be explained as reflecting aggadic symbolism where the Torah (in the Talmud, Zebahim 116a) appears as a jewel in God's treasure and where the soul is compared to a pearl, or - equally well -- as a reversion to the language of Gnosticism, where the Sophia or soul is likewise described as a gem or pearl. (1) This precious stone, in which 'the gems of kings and provinces' (thus in section 61, referring to Eccles. 2:8) are united, is plainly distinguished from the kings, who are the active powers in the pleroma. They bring forth the years, that is, time..." - Origins of the Kabbalah, p. 174.
We refer the interested reader to pages 33 and 76 of the Aryeh Kaplan edition of The Bahir.
The Shekinah may just be a principle, like so many people would like to believe, or She may in fact be THE Goddess. We see here, too, a comparison to the Wish Granting Gem of Tibetan Buddhism. This is an integral part of the Kalachakra Tantra cycle of Initiation documents. Elsewhere in the same book, Scholem demonstrates that several eminent Kabbalists maintained that "ha-Torah" is THE NAME of GOD. And this in the context of The Torah being equated with the Shekinah, and the other Feminine elements. Raphael Patai maintains that the Shekinah is none other than Asherah, the Hebrew Goddess.
For one more item that ties all this material together, we turn to the writings of Albert G. Mackey. In the mid to late 19th Century c.e., there was a battle under way in the Royal Arch level of Masonry. There were some who wanted to reject the tripartite word of the Royal Arch, claiming that it was little more than a bunch of pagan superstitions. There were others who wanted to replace it with Jehovah. And, too, there were those who wanted to replace the impersonal God that is the Grand Architect of the Universe, with a Personal, Christian God, at the expense of all other forms of belief, thus eliminating the universal appeal that Freemasonry originally had. The result was to be seen by the middle of the 20th century c.e.
Mackey, in a short piece entitled "Jehovah, the Holy Name of God," published in Mackey's National Freemason, Volume II, Number 11, August, 1873, it is stated:
"In the American system, as revised by Thomas Smith Webb, there can be no doubt that the Tetragrammaton was recognized as the omnific word. In the "Freemason's Monitor," prepared by him for monitorial instruction, the following from Exodus, which is the last in order, and which any one at all acquainted with the ritual will at once see is appropriated to the time of the euresis or discovery of the Word.
'And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord, and I appeared unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.'
"From this it will be evident that Webb recognized the word Jehovah, and not the three other words that have since been substituted for them by some Grand Chapters in this country, and which it is probable were originally used by Webb as merely explanatory or declaratory of the Divine nature of the other and principal word. And this is in accordance with one of the traditions of the degree, that they were placed on the substitute ark around the real word, as a key to explain its signification. (2)
This is not to be passed over lightly. We have the three substitute words, placed around the real word, on the Ark of the Covenant, and in some cases on the Stone, on which is the Sacred Delta inscribed with the Ineffable Characters. Jah, Bul, and On, around the Fourth.
"49. I am unique & conqueror. I am not of the slaves that perish. Be they damned & dead! Amen. (This is of the 4: there is a fifth who is invisible, & therein am I as a babe in an egg.)" -- AL. II. 49.
The Fourth, in the case of the Masonic expositors is given as Jehovah. But... what if it is another name, a rejected Name, like the Rejected Stone? This is not at all inconceivable. It would go a long way to explain the real mysteries behind the Royal Arch degree itself, which the Mark Master is the first step of.
Jah = IA or EA (Enki)
Bul = Bel or MarDuk
On = Anu
In this arrangement, there is a fourth, and this constitutes the Sacred Four, or ARBA. This was a very important thing, in the ancient worships of the Near East. The Fourth was Beltis, in later times. In earlier times, Beltis was identified with Ninharsag, only later identified with Inanna, Ishtar or Astarte. And, Ninharsag has always been identified with Hathor.
Hathor, Herself, really is the Archetype of Babalon, whose number is 156, the same enumeration of SION. In the next section, we shall examine this ARBA material more closely.
To do this, we shall extract a chapter from The Brethren of the Gift, Book One, "The Legacy of the Gift" - Section 7: Ahiman Rezon.
1. Cf. Liber Samekh, in Crowley's commentary, in which the soul sacrificed in the performance of the ritual is likened to a pearl drop, offered to the Holy Guardian Angel.
2. This will assume great significance when we look at the Tripartite Word in the context of the ARBA or Sacred Four, and perhaps also why the Mark Master's degree is the Fourth Degree.