A complex image of triangles, squares and circles at the centre of a complex tracing board of the Sublime Philosophe degree (53rd).
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Find your Symbol of Freemasonry
A complex image of triangles, squares and circles at the centre of a complex tracing board of the Sublime Philosophe degree (53rd).
Continue readingWhat a complex and weird drawing from Rite des Sophisiens. Below it says: “du Temple de la Sagesse”, ‘Temple of Wisdom’. The “Ordre sacré des Sophisiens” (‘sacred order of Sophisiens’) was a proto (some say: pseudo) organisation of Egyptian Freemasonry in the first half of the 18th century in France.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Fonds Maçonnique, FM 4 (15): Rituels. Rite des Sophisiens. Livre d’or du rite
Image from the Rite des Sophisiens, a proto (according to some: “pseudo”) Egyptian French order from the first half of the 18th century. On the banner we see a cow’s head and on top, is that a cat’s head?
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Fonds Maçonnique, FM 4 (15): Rituels. Rite des Sophisiens. Livre d’or du rite
Not unexpectedly, but I hadn’t ran into it yet, King Solomon also had a palace. Here you can see it on a sixth degree AASR tracing board.
Continue readingSolomon’s Temple showing the door and approach path.
Ravignat (see further reading) gives no source for his “88th Degree: Supreme Grand Council General of the 88th, Sovereign Grand Princes of the 88th”, but I think it (partly) comes from Fonds Gaborria Ms.-372: “Rite de Misraïm. Les 3 suprêmes conseils du système d’Arcano, Arcanorum des 88e, 89e et 90e degrés, 17e classe” which contains three “Arcana Arcanorum” degrees.
Continue readingRavignat (see further reading) gives no source for his “90th Degree: Supreme Grand Council General of the 90th and Last Degree, Sovereign Grand Princes of the 90th”, but I think it (partly) comes from Fonds Gaborria Ms.-372: “Rite de Misraïm. Les 3 suprêmes conseils du système d’Arcano, Arcanorum des 88e, 89e et 90e degrés, 17e classe” which contains three “Arcana Arcanorum” degrees.
Continue readingFor his “45th Degree: Chevalier du Soleil – Knight of the Sun”, Ravignat presents the same image as above. He says it is a “Jewel of the Knights of the Sun from the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite”. I found the same image on the website of Brick Masons and they say that it is a 28th degree Memphis-Misraim jewel. “Chevalier du Soleil” is indeed the 28th degree of Memphis-Misraim (Ravignat uses a different counting in his reconstructed Traditional Egyptian Freemasonry).
In Ravignat’s translation of the ritual we find the following passage:
Newly made Knight and Sage, it is my pleasure to invest you with the collar of this degree. It shows a Sun, the Glory of God, within a triangle and forming a double square.
Here is not not as much an officier jewel, but a badge of the degree.
Brick Masons
There is something odd here. In the Gaborria collection are two Misraim texts. One is said to be a 51th degree ritual, the other one has a bit of a vague description: “Le Chevalier du soleil. Prince Adepte. Grade philosophique composé par le bénédictin Don Pernetti. 28e de l’Ecossisme. 51e de Misraïm. 72e grade de la 8e série du Chap… Métr… de Fr…”. In short, a 28th Scottish degree, a 51th Misraim degree and also a 72nd degree in the Metropolitan Chapter. It is -indeed- the 72nd ‘degree’ in the collection of 81 that was compressed to the seven degrees of the French Rite.
When you look at both tracing boards, it seems that we are not looking at two serpents on a cross (or Caduceus), as the snakes appear to ‘stand up (somewhat) straight’.
Continue readingImage from the title page of the degree “Rite de Misraïm. 44e degré, 8e classe. Le Souverain Commandeur du Temple”.
Also see chest.
Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-347
Image from the title page of the degree “Rite de Misraïm. 44e degré, 8e classe. Le Souverain Commandeur du Temple”.
Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-347
A sun with behind is some sort of wands crossed. This image appears on the title page of the degree “42e degré, 8e classe. Cahier concernant la réception et les cérémonies du grade de Commandeur de l’Orient” in the Fonds Gaborria.
Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-345
As you can see, Ravignat calls this “The Jewel of a Sovereign Prince of the 90th Degree” of Memphis Misraim. Unfortunately he gives no source for the image. In the ritual the image is described as:
a gold four pointed star or double square in the middle of which is a point with a circle. This star is flanked by a crescent Moon.
Also see Moon and Square, Double Square and Dot, Double Square, Circle and Dot.
Ravignat, p. 363
As you can see, Ravignat calls this “The Jewel of a Sovereign Prince of the 89th” degree of Memphis Misraim. Unfortunately he gives no source for the image. In the ritual the image is described as:
a gold four pointed star or square on which is superimposed another square in the midle of which is a point within a circle
Also see Double Square with Dot and Double Square with Circle, Dot and Moon.
Ravignat, p. 344
As you can see, Ravignat calls this “The Jewel of a Sovereign Prince of the 88th Degree” of Memphis Misraim. Unfortunately he gives no source for the image. In the ritual the image is described as:
a gold four pointed star or square on which is superimposed another square in the middle of which is a point
Also see Double Square with Circle and Dot and Double Square with Circle, Dot and Moon.
Ravignat p. 327
As you can see, Ravignat calls this “The Jewel of a Sovereign Prince of the 87th” of Memphis Misraim. The counting of his reconstructed Traditional Egyptian Freemasonry differs from the counting in manuscripts he used. He gives no source for the image, but it appears to be from MS.-370 of the Fonds Gaborria, “Rite de Misraïm. Sup… Grand Cons… Gén… des Grands Ins… Intend… Rég… Généraux. 77e degré, 14e classe”, but there it is a signature of the 77th degree” .
In Ravignat’s ritual the image is described as: “a silver Half-Moon with three points surrounding a gold square with a point in the center”.
Continue readingRavignat printed this image with his translation of the “67th Degree: Maître Egyptien – Egyptian Master – Cagliostro”. The source is his:
“A modern Vision of Cagliostro’s Plaque or Star of the Angels” “Art by Azio Bonani”
This is the backside of the jewel for the degree: “Le Grand Commandeur de l’Aigle noir R C 2e grade”. Ravignat calls this the “65th Degree: Knight of the Black Eagle Rose-Croix – Third Grade – Tschoudy and Bédarride”.
Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-417
Ravignat included a tracing board from Maçonnerie des Hommes because the ritual of the “65th degree: Knight of the Black Eagle Rose-Croix – Second Grade” has a passage which fits the description of the image:
In the center, is a large circle, which represents the Zodiac with Twelve Celestial Figures surrounding a corpse and which represents the dead Hiram and the Great Work which much be revived.
Maçonnerie des Hommes (1766) Kloss collection Kl.MS:XXXIV
Continue readingA somewhat alchemical-looking image with a circle, wherein is a triangle, which contains a Star of David with what appears to be the symbols of the planets Mars, moon, Mercury, Saturn and Venus.
The image above comes from the Fonds Gaborria, 53th degree “Chevalier. Sublime Philosophe”. Ravignat has the image with his translation of the 64th degree “Chevalier Sublime Philosophe”.
Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-359
Continue readingThe image above comes from the Fonds Gaborria, 53th degree “Chevalier. Sublime Philosophe”. Ravignat has the image with his translation of the 64th degree “Chevalier Sublime Philosophe”.
There is a text below the image which, in spite of fine handwriting, I can’t read. It is something about an instrument of instruments, God, astronomy and numbers. It reminds me of the famous image in Michael Maier’s Atalanta Fugiens, where Hermes is ‘squaring the circle’ according to some explanations.
Top and below left: Bibliothèque Numérique Patrimoniale, Fonds Gaborria Ms.-359
Below right: Wikimedia commons