Seal of Melchizedek - Eight-Pointed Star Freemasonry Labeling this section under Freemasonry is a bit of a misnomer since the following information is not found within the fraternity; rather, the elements identified below are independently produced by individual Freemasons. Such, for example, is the eight-pointed star identified as the Signet of Melchizedek, by H.P.H. Bromwell, as discussed in my original posting. While Bromwell was in good standing with the fraternity, his posthumous book, Restorations of Masonic Geometry and Symbolry Being a Dissertation on the Lost Knowledges of the Lodge,has had some mixed reviews by other Freemasons. It was praised by some, but was also criticized as being a work of little value to scholarship, enthusiastic, amateurish, and occultistic, yet full of out-of-the-way information about symbolism. Another freemason stated that Bromwells book was more imaginative than real. His approach was an attempt to restore lost knowledge to the Lodges in the way of introducing symbolism that never was part of the Order and providing novel interpretations of those that did exist in the Fraternity. He continues by saying that there is much in it that has zero to do with legitimate Freemasonry, its ritual and its practices and policies. There also is some that does have connection with Freemasonry. The reader must learn to sift through the material for it to be of good use. That having been said, we should be reluctant to associate Bromwells assertions and conclusions within his book to Freemasonry, despite his membership in the fraternity. Nonetheless, Bromwell does connect an eight-pointed star with Melchizedek, and the question of where he derived this connection remains open. Is it merely coincidental, or did he draw on this information elsewhere? His book contained a discussion on the 47th problem of Euclid, known in geometry as Pythagoreans Theorem (a2 + b2 = c2), and included a geometrical illustration of an eight-pointed star based on Euclids problem. The eight-pointed star also shows up on a logo for the official periodical of the Antient [sic] and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Mizraim, entitled The Kneph. This periodical was published from 1881 through 1900 in London, England, edited by Kenneth R.H. MacKenzie, but primarily driven by John Yarker. This fraternal order was viewed as a clandestine organization by other Freemasons. John Yarker became a Freemason in October 1854, resigned in 1862, and in 1871, he established the Antient and Primitive Rite in Manchester, England. According to the Rite, the spirit of the vocation was to preserve and to transmit the philosophical reflection on symbols of Ancient Egypt and the different currents that have marked our civilization (Hermetic, Gnostic, Kabbalistic, Templar, and Rose+Croix). Accordingly, Kneph was actually an Egyptian deity, regarded as the first emanation of the Supreme Being, the good genius of the world, the demiurgus, the efficient Reason of all things, and the Architect of the Universe. It is in this last aspect that Kneph is represented in the Gnostic figure portraying, a serpent thrusting from its mouth an egg. It is also noted that as the solar deity, Kneph becomes the Christos of the Gnostics. Why the eight-pointed star is central in the image is uncertain; however, if the Kneph, the Architect of the Universe, and Christos of the Gnostics, is primarily symbolized, then the eight-pointed star might also symbolically represent the Creator. John Yarkers writings on the subject discuss the Kneph as the 85th degree of the Antient and Primitive Rite, noting that In one view this Egyptian Symbol of a winged egg signifies the two energies of creation by which all things are produced,--universal spirit acting on primordial matter; but in a less recondite sense it represents the productive world. At any rate, whether any specific symbolism was intended to be drawn from this eight-pointed star remains uncertain. One non-Masonic book states that the Masonic Order and other Secret Elite groups proclaim Melchizedek as the Lord of the Eight--eight meaning the eight pointed star of pagan illumination....The number 8, in esoteric literature, signifies a journey into a higher consciousness--the crossing point from earthly life to the spiritual world and vice versa. This book unfortunately neglects to reference where this information derives from, and glosses over the subject since it is not central to her discussion. We are unable to ascertain, once again, where this assertion originated. My inclusion of these quasi-related Masonic references from the 19th and 20th centuries are provided because there appears to be some outside connection to Melchizedek by certain members of the Masonic fraternity.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 02:22:52 +0000
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