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Architecture as Riddles in Stone Part 2

Architecture is very common in the Earth. It can have complex meaning or it can be easy tounderstand. Sometimes, they even act as riddles in stone for us to interpret their truemeaning. The House of the Temple is a famous source of architecture not only in America, butthroughout the world. That building houses the controversial members of Freemasonry ofcourse. Some of the information about this place is what I’ve recently knew about. It's locatedin Washington D.C.It's about 13 blocks north from the White House. This is the presentheadquarters of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (of the Southern Jurisdiction, USA).On the corner of 16th Street and S Street among the northwest section of the city is the spot wherethe House of the Temple sits upon. The full and official name of Supreme Council is "TheSupreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commanderof the House of the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty-third degree of the Ancient and AcceptedScottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America."That’s a long title. One logo on the building reads,“

Freemasonry Builds its Temples in theHearts of Men and Among Nations.”

Back in 1909, the Biennial Session of the SupremeCourt adopted Richardson the power to expand the House of the Temple. This allowedRichardson to promote the idea of a new Temple to be build. The lot was on a 46,000 squarefoot lot fronting 217 feet. The architect of this Building is John Russell Pope.

Pope wanted theTemple to be modeled after theMausoleum of Maussollos.

The

Mausoleum of Maussollos

is foundin Turkey and is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It represents thetriumph of Antipater of Sidon. It was also a tomb for Mausolus (a satrap of the Persian Empire)

and his wife Artesmisia II of Caria. A mausoleum is a specialized tomb. John Russell Pope haddesigns for the Jefferson Memorial (which was finished in 1943) and the West Building of the

National Gallery of Art

(

completed in 1941) in

Washington, DC.Pope was born in New York in 1874.John Russell Pope is the portrait painter. John Russell Pope is honing his Beaux-Arts style in his art.Throughout his career, Pope designed private houses (including fortheVanderbilt family: see Vanderbilt houses),and other public buildings besides the Jefferson Memorial and the NationalGallery. John Russell Pope was even the architect of the Union Station in Richmond, Virginia. TheHouse of the Temple's cornerstone was laid in October 18, 1911 and it was dedicated by October 18,1915. Russell Pope took the advice of 32nd Degree Freemason Elliot Woods in constructing theHouse of the Temple. Woods is a famous American architect. He served as Architect of the Capitolfrom 1902 to 1923. He was born near Manchester England in 1865. Woods became a honoraryassociate of the American Institute of Architects. In 1910 the Capitol power plant was put intooperation. Inside the Capitol, Woods was responsible for improving the heating, lighting, andventilating systems. Elliot Woods had the supervision of the House and Senate office buildings beingconstructed. He died in Spring Lake, New Jersey. After his death,David Lynnsucceeded him asArchitect of the Capitol. The House of the Temple wanted to merge Egyptian and Greek influencesinto American architecture.

Albert Pike is celebrated greatly in the House of Temple. There are many portraits of many inthe House of Temple and nationwide in other places in America. The other portraits in theHouse of the Temple include: Syble E. Gwatney, Leslie Ann Nelson, Freemason William L.Clark, and others. Other 33

Freemasons pictured there include: Gene Autry, Dee. A.Strickland, J. Edgar Hoover, James H. Doolittle, Carl J. Sanders, Norman Vincent Peale, andmany other human beings

Albert Pike is a famous Masonic icon. He was a Freemason by1859.He was a Confederate General during the Civil war. Pike is probably the most famousScottish Rite Freemason in the world. His "Morals and Dogma" book is read by virtually allScottish Rite Freemason. The Morals and Dogma book talks about Masonic rituals and theLodge’s fundamental philosophies. An old book of Morals and Dogma once had the words of"Esoteric Book, for Scottish Rite use only: to be returned upon withdrawal or death ofrecipient." That meant that long after the assassination of William Morgan by Freemasons,Masons would try to kill ex-Masons if they revealed too much of their secrets.Ex-Mason EdDecker said that Freemasons tried to kill him when he left Freemasonry (for revealing theirsecrets. They would assault him, spit at him, etc. according to Decker). Albert Pike understoodnumerous languages and he studied what we now call comparative religion. Albert Pike wasonce the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the SouthernJurisdiction.There is a blue painting of the sky in the House of the Temple including a portraitof him. In downtown Washington D.C., there is a statue of Albert Pike (with a maiden carryingthe standard of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. The standard is the double headed eagle).Albert Pike is a very controversial figure in human history. Pike is even buried inside of theHouse of the Temple. The top of the Temple looks like a truncated pyramid with the capstonemissing. It has 13 steps, which is similar to the 13 layers of the Great Seal of America (which isfound on the back of the one dollar bill).

In front of the House of Temple exists 2 Sphinxes. A sphinx is a mythological being with a head of ahuman (which can be a male or female) and a body of a lion. Sometimes a sphinx can have a head ofa falcon, ram, or hawk. The figure had its origin in theOld Kingdomand is associated with thesolar deity Sekhmet. The word

sphinx

comes from theGreek

Σφίγξ

, apparently from the verb

σφίγγω

(

sphíng

), meaning "to strangle.”

Some believe that the strangle connection relates to peoplekilling lions by strangling them to death. In

Greek mythology,

a sphinx is represented as amonster with a head and breasts of a woman, the body of

alion, the wings of aneagle, and a serpent

headed tail.

The lion has represented regal authority. Even the Egyptian Goddess of Hathorhas been described as a lioness and destroyer. Sphinxes exist in Asia and the world over as well.Sphinx images are in Rosicrucian sects as well like in San Jose, California. In Freemasonry, sphinxrepresents mystery. The 2 Sphinxes in the House of the Temple weight about 17 stones and arecarved from one block of stone. The sphinx on the right means Wisdom with its eyes half closed. Thesphinx on the left means Power with its eye wide open.

Their are the ankh and other pagan iconsin the Sphinxes proving that Freemasonry utilizes the ancient Egyptian mysteries in theircosmology.

The ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol representing life. It's also known as thecrux ansata. It was frequently accepted by the ancient Egyptian kings and queens. It is also inreference to the merging of the masculine and feminine qualities of nature (that's similar tothe definition of generation). The ankh have been defined as an emblem of fertility,immortality, and used in the occult. To this day, worshippers of Ra, New Agers, and otherutilize the ankh symbol

The Egyptian motif in architecture in America increased after thediscovery of the Rosetta Stone (This stone allowed us to understand Egyptian hieroglyphics).

Freemasons admits that the numbers of 5,9, etc. are used in their construction as a description oftheir rituals.