II. Epiphi — June; 12. Mesori — July.

Kenrick states in his " Ancient Egypt,'' Vol. I, page 277, that "When the Egyptians established the division of their years into twelve months of thirty days each, they may have reckoned the year at three hundred and sixty days ; but at a very early period they had learned to intercalate five additional days. When this great correction of their calendar took place is uncertain. Syncellus, in the Laterculus, attributes it to Asseth, one of the Shepherd Kings ; but Lepsius says that he has found traces of the five intercalary days, or Epagomenoe^ as the Greeks called them, in a grotto at Benihassan of the twelfth dynasty, that is before the invasion of the Shepherds. Their introduction into the year was expressed by an ingenious myth. Thoth (Hermes) the god of astronomy and calculation, played dice with the Moon and wins from her a seventieth (a round num- ber for seventy-seconds) part of each of the three hundred and sixty days of which the year consisted, out of which fractional parts (^ =^ 5) five entire days are composed. These days are consecrated to five gods whose worship thus seems to be indicated as of later origin ; the first to Osiris, the second to Aureris, the third to Typhon, the fourth to Isis and the fifth to Nephthys. In the astronomical monument at the Rameseum, a vacant space is left between Mesori the last, and Thoth the first, of the Egyptian months, apparently to represent the intercalated days.
" But the intercalation of five days were not sufficient to bring the Egyptian calendar into harmony with the heavens. The true length of the Solar year exceeds three hundred and sixty-five days by nearly six hours. It is evident, therefore, that there would be an error in defect of a quarter of a day in every year, of a day in every four years, a month in every one hundred and twenty years, and a year of three hundred and sixty-five days, in fourteen hundred and sixty years. Without some further correction the Egyptian year would be an annus vagus ; its true
394 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
commencement and all the festivals, tlie time of which was reckoned from it, travelling in succession through all the days and months, just as our own were doing ; but at a less rapid rate, and in a contrary direction, before the alteration of the Style. Herodotus appears not to have been aware that any correction had been applied to the calendar, or indeed required, since he praises the intercalation of five days, as bringing back the circle of the seasons to the same point. Diodorus, however, repre- sents the priests of Thebes and Strabo, those of Heliopolis, as knowing the true length of the solar year and intercalating five days and a quarter. They furnish no evidence, however, of the antiquity of the practice, nor its adoption in civil life. Indeed Geminus of Rhodes who lived in the time of Sylla, expressly says that the priests did not inter- calate the quarter day in order that the festivals might travel through the whole year, and ' the summer festival become a winter festival, and an autumn festival a spring festival.' Such a change implies that the origi- nal import of the festivals, some of which were closely connected with the season of the year, was no longer obvious. It is even said that the priests imposed on the sovereign at his inauguration an oath that he would keep up the old reckoning and not allow the quarter day to be intercalated. This again points to the time when the priests had become jealous of the civil power, and wished to perpetuate the confusion of the calendar, as the patricians did at Rome for their own purposes."
Now, I firmly believe that the ancient Egyptian Priesthood was thoroughly versed in all the Sciences ; but more especially so in that of Astronomy, and carefully guarded the secrets of this Science from the people. By this means their despotic power was perpetuated and by keeping them in utter ignorance they could inspire a belief in their supernatural power and wisdom. Their predictions of eclipses of the sun and moon were watched by the masses with awe and superstitious dread, and each time the predictions were fulfilled these priests were credited with power to foretell other future events, such as years of famine or plenty, pestilence, earthquakes, inundations or changes in the various dynasties, along with othef things of an astonishing nature. They were, in con- sequence, looked upon as prophets among the vulgar and lower classes, and we can readily see how carefully they would guard their secrets from
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 395
the profane, that, by their superior knowledge, they might rule them with a rod of iron.
I previously stated that the ancient Egyptians worshipped the Sun, Moon, Stars and the river Nile, as gods, ascribing to them God-like attri- butes, being symbols to them of the Supreme x^rchitect of the Universe, and to deny the divinity of either, or even permit any one else to do so, was considered the most horrible crime of which a man could be guilty. Thus through their superior knowledge and wisdom the rule of the Priesthood was supreme over those who had not seen the Light of Initia- tion and who could not understand the profound Truths veiled in Allegory and illustrated by symbols. For this reason an oath was imposed upon the King whereby he was not to divulge the secrets of the veiled Mysteries.
If we carefull}^ examine the very name Freemason, the Dimensions of our Lodges, its coverings, its Lights, the positions of its Officers, etc., etc., we shall find that the astronomical allegories of the ancient Egyp- tians have been intimately blended with the Legend of Osiris and that these astronomical allegories and symbols, are the safe and sacred reposi- tories of a profound Theosophical, Metaphysical and Philosophical Phil- osoph^^ An earnest search must be instituted that one may come to an understanding of the Sublimity and grandeur of the teachings of the Ancient Wisdom, embodied in the Secret Doctrine of the Princes and Adepts of our glorious Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. These have ever striven to make their fellow-man and Brother wiser and better than themselves, to assist him in following the dictates of his own conscience and the judgment of his Higher self, inciting him to be manly, true, self-reliant and independent. They have alwaj^s been helpful in resisting spiritual Tyranny over their souls and consciences, by those striving to gain power by unworth}' means, and have ever been faithful unto death to their Brother b}' the wayside. Let me quote you from that very valuable work " Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy," by Robert Hewitt Brown, 32°, page 35.
" The Sun rises in the east to open and govern the day, and sets in the west to close the labors of the same ; while the Sun in the south admonishes the weary workman of his mid-day meal and calls him from labor to refreshment. Dr. Oliver informs us, in his dictionary, that the
396 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
pedestal, with the volume of the sacred laws, is placed in the eastern part of the Lodge to signify that as the Sun rises in the east to open and enliven the day, so is the Worshipful Master placed in the east, to open the Lodge and instruct the brethren in Masonry."
Gadicke, another Masonic writer, says : " The Sun rises in the east^ and the east is the place for the II ^orshipful Master^ who is placed in the east to open the Lodge, and impart light, knowledge and instruction to all under his direction. When it arrives at its greatest altitude in the south, where its beams are most piercing and the cool shade most refreshing, it is then also well represented by th.e Junior Warden, who is placed in the south to observe its approach to meridian, and at the hour of noon to call the brethren from labor to refreshment. Still pursuing its course to the west, the Sun closes the da}' and lulls all nature to repose; it is then fitly represented by the Senior Harden, who is placed in the west to close the Lodge by the command of the Worshipful Master, after having rendered to every one the just reward of his labor." (I have quoted these authorities for the express purpose of showing that I do not stand alone in my assertions, see Chapter VIII, of this work.)
On page 34, " Stellar Theology," it is asked, " How ought every Lodge to be situated ? " The answer is " Due east and west." Because, in the language of Dr. Hemming, a distinguished brother and Masonic writer, " the Sun, the glory of the Lord, rises in the east and sets in the west." It is again asked, " What are the dimensions and covering of a Lodge ? " and answer is, " Its dimensions are without limit, and its covering no less than the clouded canopy or starry-decked heavens." Then the question is asked, " How many lights has a Lodge ? " which is answered by Dr. Oliver, "a Lodge has three lights — one in the east, another in the west, and another in the south."
It is thus apparent that not only the position, form, dimensions, lights and furniture of the Lodge, but also its principal officers, their respective stations, and duties there, all have reference to the Sun.
It is my sincere conviction that all the incidents and allegories per- taining to Blue Masonry, or the Symbolic degrees, are true relics of Ancient Egyptian Astronom}'-, and are permeated with a far more pro- found meaning than is generally understood by a great majority of the
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 39T
craft to-day. Let me quote you once more from " Stellar Theology," page 109 :
'' If we view Masonry from a rational standpoint, and contemplate its mystic legends and allegories in their substance, without regard to the modern language, in which they are now clothed ; if we investigate the meaning of its ceremonies, without regard to the specific words used in conducting them ; if we study the signs, symbols and emblems, disregarding the erroneous modern applications given to many of them — the great antiquity of Masonry is apparent. It is now admitted on all sides that all the ancient Mysteries were identical and had a common origin from those of Egypt, a conclusion which has been reached by the same method of reasoning and comparison.
" The legend of Osiris is the parent stock from which all the others came, but in Greece and Asia Minor the name Osiris disappeared, and that of Dionysus and Bacchus were substituted, while in the Hebrew Tyrean temple legend, the name of Hiram is found. The claim, how- ever, that the legend of Hiram is actual history, descriptive of events which really took place about the time of the building of King Solomon's temple, must be abandoned by the few who still blindly cling to it. Masonry can no longer hope to stand without criticism in this age of inquiry. There is a spirit abroad which does not hesitate to catch antiquity by its grey beard, stare into its wrinkled face, and demand upon what authority, of right reason, or authentic history it founds its pretensions.
" The Masonic traditions cannot hope to escape examination in its turn ; and when it is examined, it will not stand the test, as claiming to be historically true. If, then, we have no explanation to offer, it must be discarded and take its place among many other exploded legends of the past. By showing, however, that it is not intended as an actual history, but is really a sublime allegory of great antiquity, teaching the pro- foundest truths of astronomy, and inculcating by an ancient system of types, symbols and emblems, an exalted code of morals, we at once reply to and disarm all that kind of criticism. The Masonic Fraternity is thus placed on a loftier plane and assumes a position which challenges the respect and admiration of both the learned and virtuous ; the learned because they will thus be enabled to recognize it as the depository of an
398 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
ancient system of scientific knowledge ; the virtuous, because the Fra- ternity also stands revealed to them as having been in past ages the preserver of true worship and the teacher of morality and brotherly love.
" It has been the boast of Masonry that its ritvial contained great scientific as well as moral truths. While this was plainly the fact as to the moral teachings of our Fraternity, to a large number of our most intelligent Brothers, the key which alone could unlock the Masonic treasury of Scientific Truth appeared to have been lost. We believe that key is at length restored ; for, if the Masonic traditions and legends, with the ritual illustrating them, are regarded as astronomical Allegories^ the light of scientific truth is at once seen to illuminate and permeate every part. If the explanations given in the foregoing pages are correct, any person who fully understands the meaning and intention of the legends and ceremonies, S3Miibols and emblems of our Fraternity, is necessarily well informed as to tlie sciences of Astronomy and Geometry, which form the foundation of all the others.
" And why is not the explanation correct ? Have you ever consid- ered the 'caculus of probabilities,' as applied to a subject like this? That Masonry' should contain a single allusion to the Sun, might happen and imply nothing. The same might be said if it contained but three or four; but when we find the name of the Fraternity, the form, dimensions, lights, ornaments and furniture of its Lodge, and all the emblems, sym- bols, ceremonies, words and signs, without exception, allude to the annual circuit of the sun — that astronomical ideas and solar symbols are inter- woven into the very texture of the whole institution, and, what is still more significant, that there is such a Jiarnwny of relation existing between all these astronomical allusiojis, as to render the whole ritual capa- ble of a perfect and natural interpretation as an astronomical allegory, which is also one and complete — is overwhelming, and amounts to a posi- tive demonstration. There are millions of probabilities to one against the theory of the allegory being accidental, and not designed."
Now, if any earnest man or Mason will consider for a very short time upon the origin and antiquity of Ancient Masonry, he will realize at once that the guilds of practical operative Masons of Europe could never have designed or originated our glorious Fraternity of Masonry. The Builders of England, France, Germany and other European peoples,
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY, 399
were skilled mechanics and architects, no doubt, for the work of their hands testify to the knowledge to which they had attained ; but beyond that the}'- could not go, only in the case, possibly, of some of the more prominent Architects, who were, most assuredly, not only skilful in the Arts and Sciences, but intellectually informed upon the Religions and Philosophies of the ancients, as well as those of their own age ; while the greater part of them were, no doubt, extremely ignorant, outside of their professions, and nearly as well educated as the ordinary mechanic or laborer of our own day, consequently it would have been simply impos- sible for them to have founded such an institution as our gloriovis Frater- nity, if they had made the attempt.
Again, Freemasonry is, as I have previously stated, a peculiar system of Morality, veiled in Allegory and illustrated by Symbols iden- tical with those of the Ancient Mysteries, a fact which any thoughtful student of Masonry will most assuredly recognize. If he will earnestly study and carefully examine the ritualistic work of the Symbolic degrees, compare them with what he can learn of the Ancient Mysteries, he will certainly come to the conclusion that its antiquity rests upon an astro- nomical foundation, which can be traced back into remote ages of the past, when all the grand truths embodied in those beautiful Allegories were orally transmitted from generation to generation.
A thorough knowledge of the diurnal and annual motions of the Sun-God Ra^ will furnish a key to open up to his view a knowledge of the sublime meaning which underlies the teachings, or ritualistic work, of our Symbolic degrees, leading him on through the Lesser and into the Greater Mysteries to the Ineffable degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Masonry.
Christ himself taught by parables, not understood by many of his own disciples, and so it is with the Allegories and Symbols of Masonry, they are not understood or comprehended, I am sorry to say, by the great majority of our Brethren. But they have the key to the solution of them and if they would only give a little time and attention to the study of those beautiful symbols permeating every one of our degrees, they would soon begin to realize the sublime Theosophical and Philosophical Truths embodied in the ritualistic work of our Glorious Fraternity. Brother Buck says in his " Mystic Masonry : ''
400 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
" The real secrets of Freemasonry lie in its Symbols, and the meaning of the Symbols reveals a profound philosophy and a universal science that has never been translated by man," and also states that " he desires to share the results of his personal observations with his Brothers, because it has revealed to him such priceless treasures, such precious jewels that will lead all who search to far greater discoveries. These jewels," he tells us, ''have not been concealed by accident, but by design, in order that they might, in some future age, be restored. Even the Stone that was rejected and became lost in the rubbish, not only bears an emblem and contains a mark, but is itself, from first to last, with its sur- roundings, a method of restoration and final use, a symbol. It is the center of a five-pointed star, which is the Kabalistic sign of Man. In one direction, it symbolizes the five senses, lost in the rubbish of passion and self-gratification. When this rejected or lost stone is recovered and sent to the King of the Temple (Man's Higher Self), and is recognized and restored, the arch is complete, and the gate-way of the senses gives entrance to the ' Palace of the King.' The result is Light or Illumina- tion. Such are the Illiamnati !'''
The Zodiac is a broad belt in the heavens, i6° {degrees) wide. It is divided into twelve equal parts, called the Signs of the Zodiac. Each sign is 30° {degrees) long and divided in the centre by the Ecliptic, which cuts them into two equal parts, so that the Zodiac- lies 8° (degrees) each side of the Ecliptic or apparent path of the Sun, around the Earth, a journey it accomplishes in about three hundred and sixty-five days, five hours.
When I was a boy at school we had an old rhyme by which we were taught to remember the various signs ; it is as follows :
The Ram, the Bull, the heavenly Twins
Next the crab, the Lion shines,
The Virgin, and the Scales,
The Scorpion, Archer and the Goat ,
The man that carries the Water-pot,
The Fish with glittering tails.
The whole of the Stellar world was filled by the ancient Egyptian Astronomers with imaginary figures of men, animals, etc., plainly traced all over the Heavens. But to that great glittering belt, stretching its
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 401
serpent-like coil around the starry vault above, whicli we call the Zodiac, they assigned the chief stars, because they laid along the path of their glorious Sun-God " Ra," who, in his journeyings through the twelve signs, enacts the part of Hercules, iu performing the twelve labors ascribed to him.
According to the procession of the equinox, we find that the Sun does not reach the same point each year, and the one where he crosses at the opening of Spring, coming North, is called the ]^crnal equinox^ while the one he crosses on his passage into the Southern hemisphere is called the Autumnal equinox. He reaches these two points the Vernal equinox, on or about the 21st day of March and the Autumnal.^ on or about the 21st day of September, at which time the days and nights are equal in both hemispheres. It reaches the solstitial point in the Northern hemisphere on or about the 21st day of June, when the days are longest and the nights the shortest in the North, and it attains the solstitial poiiit in the Southern hemisphere on or about the 21st day of December when the days are longest and the nights are the shortest. South of the equator.
These two solstitial points. Cancer and Capricorn., were known to the ancients as the '■ Gates of Heaven," or the " Pillars of Hercules," be- yond which the Sun never passed. These two columns are to be found in our Blue Lodges of to-day and they are represented in our rituals as a circle, with a point in the centre, between two parallel lines, demonstrating the sun between the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, or the Pillars of Hercules.
Albert Pike says in " Morals and Dogmas," pag:; 465 : " The image of the sign in which each of the four seasons commenced, became the form under which was figured the Sun of that particular season. The Lion's skin was worn by Hercules ; the horns of the Bull adorned the forehead of Bacchus and the autumnal serpent wound its long folds round the Statue of Serapis, 2,500 years before our era ; when those signs cor- responded with the commencement of the seasons. When other constel- lations replaced them at those points, by means of the precession of the Equinoxes, those attributes were changed. Then the Ram furnished the horns for the head of the Sun, under the name of Jupiter Ammon. He was no longer born exposed to the waters of Aquarius, like Bacchus, nor 26
402 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
inclosed in an urn like the God Canopus ; but in the Stables of Augeas or the Celestial Goat. He then completed his triumph, mounted on an Ass, in the constellation Cancer, which then occupied the Solstitial point of Summer.
" Other attributes the images of the Sun borrowed from the constella- tions which, by their rising and setting, fixed the points of the de- parture of the year, and the commencements of its four principal divisions.
" First the Bull and afterwards the Ram (called by the Persians the Lamb) was regarded as the regenerator of Nature, through his union with the Sun. Each, in his turn, was an emblem of the Sun overcoming the winter darkness, and repairing the disorders of Nature, which every year was regenerated under these Signs, after the Scorpion and Serpent of Autumn had brought upon it barrenness, disaster and darkness. Mithras was represented sitting on a Bull ; and that animal was an image of Osiris ; while the Greek Bacchus armed its front with its horns, and was pictured with its tail and feet.
" The Constellations also became notcAvorthy to the husbandman, which by their rising or setting, at morning or evening, indicated the coming of this period of renewed fruitfulness and new life. Capella, or the Kid Amalthea, whose horn is called that of abundance and whose place is over the equinoctional point, or Taurus ; and the Pleiades that long indicated the Seasons, and gave rise to a multitude of poetic fables, were the most observed and celebrated in antiquity."
The ancient Egyptians named every star shining in the infinitude of space, and gave to the signs of the Zodiac the self-same names they bear to-day, from some event or occurrence which happened on or about the time of their rising in the east, in the early evening, or just after sunset, in the same manner that the appearance of Anubis upon the Eastern horizon indicated the approach of the annual inundations of the Nile, so the various constellations or signs of the Zodiac, appearing in the East about sunset, presages of some event of equal importance, or pointed out to them some duty that shoiild not be neglected.
As an instance of this, Taurus signified when it was time to plow and till the soil, and to sow the seed for the reaping later on. When Virgo appeared, if old god Nilus had granted their request and overflowed the river banks at the proper time, and permitted the parched and thirstv soil
EGYPT. THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 40S
to drink in sufficient to fructify the land and cause the seeds and plants to grow in abundance, then the Virgin harvest would soon be read}' for the reaping. When Cancer appeared it informed them of the backward movement that is made by the Sun, apparently, in his descending course toward the Autumnal Equinox. The Lions, drinking from the river at certain times, indicate the approach of that constellation Leo, followed by the sign marking the Summer's Solstice, and the silver sickle of this constellation presaged the golden harvest of Virgo. This very welcome sign is represented as a beautiful Virgin, holding in her hand the ripened ear of wheat, indicating that the golden grain was now ready for the harvesting; then joy and gladness would fill the land, the people would rejoice and be happy throughout the Land of Egypt. Feasting, festivals and grand processions were alwaj^s in order during years of abundance, but sorrow, woe and mourning when gaunt famine appeared. Libra, or the balance^ told of equal days and nights in both hemispheres.
When the lurid Scorpio gazed across the sandy deserts of Arabia, it warned all those who travelled across the trackless waste of sands to be very careful, for on or about the time of its appearance the Simoon of the desert would begin to blow and produce terrific sand-storms, so dense and smothery that very often those who were caught in them would lose their lives, not being able to escape from them. At such times the wind would blow, fierce and strong, lifting stones, pieces of shells, etc., to dash them with dreadful force into the faces of unfortunate travelers, cutting the skin and flesh, drawing blood, and often causing intense pain, like the sting of a Scorpion, hence the name of this sign.
With Scorpio comes the most important signs of the Zodiac to the Masonic student, for now the Sun, having passed under the malign influence of the venomous Scorpio, becomes weak and weary when com- mencing the battle with the Archer, whose terrible darts wound him full sore, until finally overcome and slain by Sagittarius, and carried off by the terrible Capricornus into the depths of Winter Soistice where he remained for three days. Like the Goat which climbs the giddy heights of the mountain-side, where 3'awning chasms are tremendous, he re-incar- nates once again and resurrected, comes forth from out the realms of darkness, sin and sorrow and suffering into grander heights of happiness and immortality.
i0¥
404 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
Thus eacli and every sign of the Zodiac was fraught with a deep significance ; but more especially to the initiated, because they, having the key to their esoteric meaning, saw in all the motions of the Sun along the Ecliptic a most profound, Sublime and Philosophical meaning which constituted the base of all religions and Philosophies. It is no wonder, therefore, that they viewed with awe and admiration the Birth, Life, Death and Re-incarnation of their glorious Sun-God Ra, for to them it demonstrated that there is no death, and proved the immortality of the soul.
The earnest Masonic stvident who is desirous of proving the anti- quity of our glorious Fraternity, as well as to identify the teachings of our own beloved Scottish Rite with those of the ancient Mysteries, will have ample proof if he pursues his studies along these lines of Astronomical ideas and comes to an understanding of the true meaning underlying those sublime and beautiful s3anbols which have existed since time immemorial. On man}' of the coins and medals coined in different cities of the ancient world, are to be found carved or impressed the various signs of the Zodiac, Planets or Stars, showing the high estimation placed upon them by different people in different parts of the world.
In India the twelve signs of the Zodiac appeared complete on many coins, and on the medals struck to honor Antoninus are to be seen the greater portion of the magnificent signs which adorned the pathway of the Sun-God Ra, in his journe}^ around the world.
Upon the medals of Antioch and the other Syrian cities appeared the Ram [AriL's) and the crescent Moon. The Ram, singl}', was the special Deity of Syria. The Egyptian Apis, or the sign Taurus {the BuU)^ was engraved on the coins of man}' of the cities of Greece, Athens especially.
Many of the coins of Persia bore upon their face Sagittarius, {The Archer^. On the medals made in honor of the Kings of Comegena (a part of Syria above Cilicia), appeared Scorpio {The Scorpion). On the seal of Locri (a town in Magna Graciaj, was to be found HESPERUS, {The Planet Venus). And on the coins of Zeugma and other towns which adorned the banks of the Euphrates, in Mesopotamia, was carved the symbol so often and familiarly spoken of in connection with our beloved Fraternity — Carpricornus, (The Goat).
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY, 405
" Tlie Phoenicians and Egyptians," says Eusebius, " were the first who ascribed divinity to the sun, moon and stars, and regarded them as the sole causes of the production and destruction of all beings. From them went abroad, over all the world, all known opinions as to the gener- ations and descent of the gods. Only the Hebrews looked beyond the visible world to an invisible Creator. All the rest of the world regarded as gods those luminous bodies which blaze in the firmament, offered them sacrifices, bowed down before them and raised neither their souls nor their worship above the visible heavens.
'' The Chaldeans, Canaanites and Sj^rians, among whom Abraham lived, did the same. The Canaanites consecrated horses and chariots to the sun. The inhabitants of Emesa in Phoenicia adored him under the name of Elagabalus ; and the sun as Hercules, was the great Deity of the Tyrians. The Syrians worshipped with fear and dread the stars of the constellation Pisces and consecrated images of them in their temples. The sun, as Adonis, was worshipped in Byblos and about Mount Lebanus. There was a magnificent temple of the sun at Palmyra, which was pillaged by the soldiers of Aurelian, who rebuilt it and dedicated it anew. The Pleiades, under the name of Succoth-Beneth, were worshipped by the Babylonian colonists who settled in the country of the Samaritans. Saturn, under the name Ramphan, was worshipped among the Copts. The planet Jupiter was worshipped as Bel or Baal ; Mars as Malac, Melech or Moloch ; Venus as Ashtaroth, or Astarte, and Mercury as Nebo, among the Syrians, Assyrians, Phoenicians and Canaanites. Sanchoniathon says that the earliest Phoenicians adored the Sun, whom they deemed sole Lord of the heavens, and honored him under the name Beel-Samin, signifying King of Heaven. They raised columns to the elements, fire and air, or wind, and worshipped them, and Sabaeism, or the worship of the stars, flourished everywhere in Babylonia."
The Arabs, under a sky always clear and serene, adored the sun, moon and stars, as Abulfaragius informs us, and that each of the twelve Arab tribes invoked a particular star as its patron. The tribe Hamyar was consecrated to the sun, the tribe of Camiah to the moon, the tribe Misa was under the protection of the beautiful star in Tauras — Alde- baran ; the tribe Tai under that of Canopus ; the tribe Kais^ of Sirius ;
406 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY,
the tribes Lackavms and Idanius of Jupiter ; the tribe Asad of Mercury ; and so on.
The Saracens, in the time of Heraclius, worshipped Venus, whom they called Cabaar, or The Great; and they swore by the sun, moon and stars. Shahaistan, an Arabic author, says that the Arabs and Indians before his time had temples dedicated to the Seven Planets. Albufaragius says that the Seven Great Primitive nations, from whom all the others descended, the Persians, Chaldeans, Greeks. Bgyptians, Turks, Indians and Chinese, all originally were Sabeanists and wor- shipped the stars. They all, he says, like the Chaldeans, prayed, turning toward the North Pole, three times a day, at sunrise, noon and sunset, bowing themselves three times before the sun. They invoked the stars and intelligences which inhabited them, offered them sacrifices and called the fixed stars and planets gods.
Philo says that the Chaldeans regarded the stars as sovereign arbiters of the order of the world and did not look beyond the visible causes to any invisible or intellectual being. They regarded NATURE as the great divinity, which exercised its powers through the action of its parts, the sun, moon, planets and fixed stars, the successive revolutions of the seasons' and the combined action of heaven and earth. The great feast of the Sabeans was when the sun reached the Vernal Equiuox. They had five other feasts at the time when the five minor planets entered the signs in which they had their exaltation.
Diodorus Siculus informs us " that the Egyptians recognized two great Divinities, primary and eternal, the sun and moon, which they thought governed the world, and from which everything receives its nourishment and growth ; that on them depended all the great work of generation and the perfection of all effects produced in nature. We know the two great Divinities of Egypt were Osiris and Isis, the greatest agents of nature ; according to some, the sun and moon, and according to others, heaven and earth, or the active and passive principles of generation."
And we learn from Porphyry that Chaereman, a learned priest of Egypt, and many other learned men of that nation, said, that the Egyptians recognized as gods the stars comprising the Zodiac, and all those by their rising or setting marked its divisions ; the subdivisions of
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 407
the signs into decans, the horoscope, and the stars presiding therein, which are called Potent Chiefs of Heaven. Considering the Sun as the Great God, Architect, and Ruler of the World, they explained, not only the fable of Osiris and Isis, but generally all their sacred legends by the stars, b}^ their appearance and disappearance, by their ascension, by the phases of the Moon, and the increase and diminution of her light; by the march of the Sun, the division of it and the heavens into two parts, one assigned to darkness and the other to light.
Diodorus also informs us " that the Egyptians acknowledged two great Gods, the Sun and Moon, or Osiris and Isis, who govern the world and regulate its administration by the dispensation of the seasons. . . . Such is the nature of these two great Divinities, that they impress an active and fecundating force, by which the generation is eifected ; the Sun, by heat and that spiritual principle which forms the breath of the winds ; the Moon, b}^ humidity and dryness ; and both b}^ the forces of the air which they share in common. By this beneficial influence every- thing is born, grows and vegetates. Wherefore this whole huge body in which nature resides, is maintained by the combined action of the Sun and Moon, and their five qualities — the principles, spiritual, fiery, dry, humid and airy."
Now we positively know that without these various principles nothing could grow, for every seed implanted within the bosom of " Mother Earth," requires Air to vitalize the Life essence, or Prana, within its quivering form, and moisture to swell the protoplasmic forces surrounding the germ. Under these conditions, therefore, the spirit lying dormant within the heart of the seed will at once manifest itself in growth and Life. These elements were recognized by the nations of antiquity, who looked upon the Sun, Moon and Stars as the embodiment and symbols of the Deity producing these elements, the real and essen- tial cause of both Evolution and Involution, or of Generation and Destruction. According to Champollion :
'' The tomb of Rameses V, at Thebes, contains tables of the constel- lations and of their influence for every hour, of every month of the year. Thus, in the latter half of the month of Tobi, Orion rules and influences, at the first hour, the left arm; Sirius at the second, influences the hcaii ; the Twins, at the third, the arms, and so on." There is a papyrus in the
408 EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY.
British jMuseum, of the age of Rameses III, which contains a division of the da^-s of the year into luck}^ and unlnck_v ones. On the sarcophagus of Rameses IV, the twent3--four hours are represented, showing the antiquity of this division. Each has a star placed above it and a figure ; twelve males, representing the daj-, have their faces turned toward the God Horus, the representative of the Sun ; twelve females, towards a crocodile, the S3^mbol of darkness.
In a great astronomical picture from the tombs at Beb-el-]\Ielook, a variet}^ of circumstances connected with the rising and setting of the stars are evidentl}^ indicated ; but in the present state of our knowledge it is impossible to give the meaning of the Eg^'ptian characters.
Donnellv, in his '' Atlantis," page 454, saj-s that : " There are actual astronomical calculations in existence, with calenders formed upon them, which eminent astronomers of England and France admit to be genuine, and true, and which carry back the antiquit}- of the science of astronomy, together with the constellations to within a few j^ears of the Deluge, even on the longer chronologj^ of the Septuagint (see " Miracles in Stone," page 142).
Josephus attributes the invention of the constellations to the famil}^ of the antediluvian Seth, the son of Adam, while Origen affirms that it was asserted in the Book of Enoch, that in the time of that patriarch the constellations were alread}- divided and named. The Greeks associated the origin of Astronomy with Atlas and Hercules, Atlantean kings or heroes. The Eg3-ptians regarded Taut (At ?) or Thoth, or At-hotes, as the originator of both astronomy and the alphabet ; doubtless he repre- sented a civilized people by whom their country was originally colonized. Bailey and others assert that astronomj^ must have been established when the summer solstice was in the first degree of Virgo, and that the Solar and Lunar Zodiacs were of similar antiquity, which would be about four thousand years before the Christian Era.
"The signs of the Zodiac were certainly in use among the Egyptians one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two years before Christ. One of the learned men of our own da}', who for fift}^ years labored to decipher the hierogl3'phics of the ancients, found upon a mummy-case in the British ]\Iuseum a delineation of the signs of the Zodiac, and the position of the planets ; the date to which they pointed was the autumnal equinox
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 409
of tlie year B. c. 1722. Professor Mitchell, to whom the fact was commu- nicated, employed his assistants to ascertain the exact position of the heavenly bodies belonging to our Solar system on the equinox of that year. This was done and a diagram furnished by parties ignorant of his object, which showed that on the 7th of October, b. c. 1722, the moon and planets occupied the exact position in the heavens marked upon the cof&n in the British Museum " (Goodrich's " Columbus," page 22).
And so it is with all astronomical statements, if we carefully examine them we shall find each and every one to be perfectly correct, and I consider this subject to be of the deepest iuterest, to not only the ]\Iasonic student, but to all men who are desirous of comprehending the profound depth of astronomical knowledge pertaining to the ancient people who lived in the Golden Age of Bgypt.
^ Foliage ujp tTjc Xilr— l3rsrviption oi Coml)! antr Ccmplcs— ^;3ro 13oric Columns,
4U
"Smooth went our boat along the summer seas. Leaving— for so it seemed— a world behind. Its cares, its sounds, its shadows; we reclined
Clpon the sunny deck, heard but the breccc
Chat whispered through the palms, or idly played dith the lithe flag aloft— a forest scene On cither side drew its slope line of green,
Hnd hung the water's edge with shade. ■ Hbove thy woods, Memphis ! pyramids pak
peered as wc passed; and Nile's soft a2urc hue, Glcamirg 'mid the grey desert, met the view;
^hcrc hung at intervals the scarce seen sail.'*^
412
EGYPT, THE CRADLE OF ANCIENT MASONRY. 41?