Arimathea was dead and Bon
the Blessed ruled the Keepers of the Grail. Bron had inherited the
position by marrying Ann the daughter of Joseph of Arimathea. Bron
incorporated the Druid/Celtic teachings with the Sangrael teachings.
The new esoteric Christian
church taught the dual god-head of Jehovah as being male and female. They
began their prayers by saying, "Our father and mother in heaven." This
was completely different to all the teachings of Juidism and
Christianity. The Order of the Grail Keepers religion evolved through the
next 900 years.
The Knights were sent on a
Holy Quest to the Holy Lands to find the Arc of the Covenant. The Arc was
discovered and the writings of the old Laws was published. These Laws
taught angelology, astronomy and geomotry. The Laws also consisted of the
Callabas teachings of White and Black magic.
The Templars were growing
wealthy. Participants came from very wealthy families. They signed over
all they owned to become apart of the organization. The Knights Templar
as an organization owned a large part of France. They would finance most
canidates of the royal seats.
The Catholic Church had
heard rumors that the Knights were participating in unholy acts as part of
the annitiation into the organization. This was the influence of the
Arabic beliefs that had filtered into the Knights Teachings. From the
1100's to the 1300's the Knights actually practiced such things as
homosexuality, spitting and urinating on the Cross, kissing black cats
under the tail and massaging oil from a killed infant into the idol
Bephomet.
In March of 1314, Jaques de
Molay confessed to the alligations against his organization. De Molay was
the Grand Master of the Knights Templar. He was burned at the stake for
his practices and teachings. While he was on the stake being suffocated
by the smoke, he cursed the Pope and King Phillip V saying they would both
join him in meeting God within the year. This came true, both men died of
unexplainable causes within the year.
Here is a description of the Arabic god
Bephomet:
.:.
Baphomet .:.
The Goat of Mendes
The practice of magic -- either
white or
black -- depends upon the ability of the
adept to control the universal life force
-- that which Eliphas Levi calls the great
magical agent or the astral light
[A:.A:.
/ "orgone" / whatever -B:.B:.].
By the
manipulation of this fluidic essence the
phenomena of transcendentalism are
produced. The famous Hermaphroditic
Goat of Mendes was a composite
creature formulated to symbolize
this astral light. It is identical with
Baphomet, the mystic pantheos of
those disciples of ceremonial magic,
the Templars, who probably obtained
it from the Arabians.
Medieval Bricklayers and the Amerikan Magickal
Mystery Tour
Following are some observations
-- both pro and con -- regarding the highly secretive and oft
misunderstood fraternity known as the Knights Templars.
The first batch of quotes comes
from Manley P. Hall's 1988 master- piece, "The Secret Teachings of
All Ages: An Encyclopaedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic
Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy" (ISBN 0-89314-830-X) and the
remainder reflect the painstaking research of one William Bramley in his
epic Paradigm-Buster "The Gods of Eden" (Avon Books, ISBN
0-380-71807-3).
"The true story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth has
been unfolded to the world, either in the accepted Gospels or in the
Apocrypha, although a few stray hints may be found in some of the
commentaries written by the ante-Nicene Fathers.
[it was the Nicene council BTW which also yanked
the
book of Enoch from the "cannonized" texts so searching ante-Nicene
sources for clues becomes essential in our Quest for the "Holy Grail."
-B:.B:.]
"The facts concerning His
identity and mission are among the price- less mysteries preserved to
this day in the secret vaults beneath the "Houses of the Brethren." To a
few of the Knights Templars, who were initiated into the arcana of the
Druses, Nazarenes, Essenes, Johannites, and other sects still inhabiting
the remote and inaccessible fastness of the Holy Land, part of the
strange story was told. The knowledge of the Templars concerning the
early history of Christianity was undoubtedly one of the main reasons
for their persecution and final annihilation.
"The discrepancies in the
writings of the early church fathers not only are irreconcilable, but
demonstrate beyond question that even during the first five centuries
after Christ these learned men had for the basis of their writings
little more than folklore and hear- say."
-CLXXVII: Mystic Christianity, Hall's
"Secret Teachings"
"The Roman Collegia of skilled
architects were apparently a subdivision of the greater Ionian body,
their principles and organization being practically identical with the
older Ionian institution. It has been suspected that the Dionysians also
profoundly influenced Islamic culture, for part of their symbolism found
it's way into the Mysteries of the dervishes. At one time the dervishes
referred to themselves as Sons of Solomon, and one of the most important
of their symbols was the Seal of Solomon -- two interlaced triangles
[the "Star of David" -B:.B:.].
"This motif is frequently seen
in conspicuous parts of Mohammedan mosques. The Knights Templars -- who
were suspected of anything and everything -- are believed to have
contacted these Dionysiac architects and to have introduced many of
their symbols and doc- trines into medieval Europe."
-CLXXV: Freemasonic Symbolism, Hall's
"Secret Teachings"
Origins of the Knights Templar
Behind the Crusades lay the Brotherhood. The Christian
Crusaders were led primarily by two powerful knight organizations with
intimate Brotherhood ties: the Knights Hospitaler and the Knights of the
Temple ("Knights Templar").
The "Knights Hospitaler" were so named because they
operated a hospital in Jerusalem to help pilgrims in distress. The
Hospitalers began operations in the year 1048 as a charitable order. Their
purpose was aid and comfort. When the first Crusaders successfully
captured the Holy City, the Hospitalers began to receive generous
financial support from the wealthier Crusaders. In the year 1118, seventy
years after their founding, the Knights Hospitaler underwent a change of
leadership and purpose. They were made into a military order dedicated to
fighting the Moslems who were continually trying to recapture Jerusalem.
With this change of purpose came a change in name; the Hospitalers were
variously called the "Order of Knights Hospitaler of St. John...Knights of
St. John of Jerusalem," or simply, "Knights of St. John." The Hospitalers
had named themselves after John, son of the King of Cyprus. John had gone
to Jerusalem to aid Christian pilgrims and knights.
There is some doubt as to whether the Hospitalers were
founded as a Brotherhood organization. They reportedly did not function as
one at the outset. However, they soon became affiliated with the
Brotherhood network by adopting Brotherhood traditions and titles. They
became ruled by a Grand Master and developed secret rites and rituals.
By 1119, one year after the Hospitalers had become a
fighting order, the Templar Knights were in existence. The Templars
originally called themselves the "Order of the Poor Knights of Christ"
because they took solemn vows of poverty. Their name was later changed to
"Knights of the Temple" after they were housed near the site where
Solomon's temple had once stood. Although the Templars and Hospitalers had
a common enemy in the Moslems, the two Christian organizations became
bitter rivals.
The Templar Knights began their existence as a branch
of the Brotherhood. They practiced a deep mystical tradition and used many
Brotherhood titles, notably "Grand Master." Like the Hospitaler Knights,
the Templars received large sums of money from well-to-do Christian
crusaders. The Templars thereby became enormously wealthy and were able to
transform themselves into an international banking house during the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Templars loaned large sums of money
to European kings, princes, merchants, and to at least one Moslem ruler.
Most of the Templars' riches were stored in strongrooms in their Paris and
London temples, causing those cities to become leading financial centers.
After the fall of Jerusalem and the final victory of
the Moslems in 1291, the fortunes of both knightly orders changed. The
Knights of St. John (Hospitalers) were forced to flee the Holy Land. They
took up residence on a succession of islands during the ensuing centuries.
With the changes of location came changes in name. They became the
"Knights of Rhodes" after moving to the island of Rhodes. They were the
"Knights of Malta" when they moved to that island and ruled it. While on
Malta, the Knights became a major military and naval power in the
Mediterranean until their defeat in 1789 by Napoleon. After enjoying
temporary protection under Russian Emperor Paul 1, the Knights of Malta
had their headquarters moved to Rome in 1834 by Pope Leo XIII. Today they
are known as the "Sovereign and Military Order of Malta" (SMOM) and have
the unusual distinction of being the world's smallest nation. Located in a
walled enclave in central Rome, SMOM still retains its status as a
sovereign state, although new Grand Masters of the Order must be approved
by the Pope. SMOM runs hospitals, clinics, and leper colonies throughout
the world. It also gives active assistance to anti-Communist causes and is
surprisingly influential in political, business, and intelligence circles
today despite its small size.
[Recent American members of SMOM have included the
late William Casey (American C.I.A. director), Lee Iacocca (chairman of
the Chrysler Corporation), Alexander Haig (former U.S. Secretary of
State), and William A. Schreyer (president of Merrill Lynch).]
The Templar Knights did not fare as well as the
Hospitalers after the Crusades. They were forced to flee with the
Hospitalers to the island of Cyprus, whereupon the Templars split up and
returned to their many Templar houses (" preceptories") in Europe. The
Templars came under heavy criticism for their failure to save the Holy
Land and rumors circulated that they engaged in heresy and immorality.
Accusations were made that the Templars spat on the cross during their
initiations and forced members to engage in homosexual acts. By 1307, the
Templar controversy had become so strong that Philip IV the Fair of France
ordered the arrest of all Templars within his dominion and used torture to
extract confessions. Five years later, the Pope dissolved the Templar
Order by Papal decree. Many Templars were executed, including Grand Master
Jacques de Molay, who was publicly burned at the stake on March 11, 1314
in front of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Nearly all Templar
properties were confiscated and turned over to the Hospitaler Knights. The
long and intense rivalry between the Hospitalers and Templars had finally
come to an end. The Hospitalers emerged as the victors. The Hospitalers'
victory could not have occurred at a more fortuitous time for there had
been serious discussion within Papal circles about merging the two orders
-- a plan which would have been completely unacceptable to both.
Despite the downfall of the Templar Knights, the
organization managed to survive. According to Freemasonic historian,
Albert MacKey, the Knights Templar were given a home in Portugal by King
Denis after their banishment from the rest of Catholic Europe. In
Portugal, the Templars were granted their usual rights and privileges,
they wore the same costumes, and they were governed by the same rules they
had before. The decree which re-established the Templars in Portugal
stated that they were in that country to be rehabilitated. Pope Clement V
approved the rehabilitation plan and issued a bull (official proclamation)
commanding that the Templars change their name to " Knights of Christ."
The Templars, or "Knights of Christ," also changed the cross on their
uniform from the eight-pointed Maltese cross to the official Latin cross.
The Knights Templar had a complete reforamation after
the ungodly practices of the organizations had been reveiled. They did
not completely disband. They still were trying to establish the Royal
Bloodline and did not give up.
The Achievements of the
Knights of Malta
by Alexander Sutherland in two volumes (1831)
Volume 1 |
Volume 2 |