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Efforts have been
made to deny the Masonic connection to the Great Seal but they are not
at all convincing. The 33rd degree Mason, Manley Palmer Hall, explains
its significance:
"Not
only were many of the founders of the United States Government Masons,
but they received aid from a secret and august body existing in Europe,
which helped them to establish this country for a peculiar and particular
purpose known only to the initiated few. The Great Seal is the signature
of this exalted body - unseen and for the most part unknown - and
the unfinished pyramid upon its reverse side is a trestleboard setting
forth symbolically the task to the accomplishment of which the United
States Government was dedicated from the day of its inception."
(1)
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The detailed
symbolism of the seal has also been carefully explained from another quarter.
In 1955 the Grand Lodge of Texas were incautious enough to set forth the
following exegesis:
"Among
those who helped design the Great Seal of the United States the following
are known to have been Masons: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson,
William Churchill Houston, and William Barton. Whether they drew heavily
upon Freemasonry in this work it is impossible to assert but when
an informed Mason examines the Great Seal here is what he sees:
On the obverse is an eagle whose dexter wing has thirty-two feathers,
the number of ordinary degrees in Scottish Rite Freemasonry. The sinister
wing has thirty-three feathers, the additional feather corresponding
to the Thirty-Third Degree of the same Rite conferred for outstanding
Masonic service. The tail feathers number nine, the number of degrees
in the Chapter, Council, and Commandery of the York Rite of Freemasonry.
Scottish Rite Masonry had its origin in France; the York Rite is sometimes
called the American Rite; the eagle thus clothed represents the union
of French and American Masons in the struggle for Liberty, Equality,
and Fraternity. The total number of feathers in the two wings is sixty-five
which, by gematria, is the value of the Hebrew phrase yam yawchod
(together in unity). This phrase appears in Palms 133 as follows:
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity," and is used in the ritual of the first degree
of Freemasonry.
The
glory above the eagle's head is divided into twenty-four equal parts
and reminds the observer of the Mason's gauge which is also divided
into twenty-four equal parts and is emblematic of the service he is
obligated to perform. The five pointed stars remind him of the Masonic
Blazing Star and the five points of fellowship. The arrangement of
the stars in the constellation to form overlapping equilateral triangles
and the Star of David calls to the Mason's mind King David's dream
of building a Temple, to his God, the Companions who rebuilt a desecrated
Temple, and the finding of the Word that was lost. The gold, silver,
and azure colors represent the sun, moon, and Worshipful Master, the
first that rules the day, the second, the night, and the third, the
lodge. While silver, connected with the letter Gimel or G and being
surrounded on an azure ground by a golden glory, reminds the Mason
of the letter G, a most conspicuous furnishing of a proper lodge room
. . .
On the reverse, is the All Seeing Eye within a triangle surrounded
by a golden glory. Besides the obvious Masonic significance of this design,
it has a cabalistic value of seventy plus three plus two hundred,
equaling two hundred and seventy-three which is the value of the phrase
ehben mosu habonim (the stone which the builders refused) familiar
to all Royal Arch Masons. It is also the value of the Hebrew proper
noun Hiram Abiff, the architect of Solomon's Temple and the principal
character of the legend used in the Master Mason degree. The triangle
is isosceles, formed by two right triangles having sides of five,
twelve, and thirteen units in length, illustrating the 47th Problem
of Euclid. The triangle also represents the capstone of the unfinished
pyramid and reminds the Mason of the immortality of the soul and that
in eternity he will complete the capstone of his earthly labors according
to the designs on the trestle-board of the Supreme Architect of the
Universe. The unfinished pyramid cannot fail to remind him of the
unfinished condition of the Temple when tragedy struck down its Masters
architect.
The
blaze of glory found on either side of the Great Seal cannot fail
to remind the Mason of the Great Light in Masonry which is the rule
and guide to faith and practice and without which no Masonic lodge
can exist. It reminds him that only more light can dispel the pall
of ignorance in which he stumbles until he enters tile Celestial Lodge
where all light is given." (2)
This explanation is
convincing because every minute aspect of the Seal is shown to have a
direct and cogent Masonic explanation. It is particularly interesting
for stressing the great significance attached to gematria and sacred geometry
by the Freemasons.
Now
examine the Masonic gematria message hidden in the three inscriptions:
Annuit Coeptis - Novus Ordo Seclorum
- E Pluribus Unum
Notes
1) Manly Palmer Hall,
The Secret Teachings Of All Ages, The Philosophical Research Society
Inc., Los Angeles, 1988, p. xci.
2) James Davis Carter, Masonry
in US History - Background, History and Influence to 1846, The Committee
on Masonic Education and Service for the Grand Lodge of Texas A.F.and
A. M., Waco, 1955, Ch. 4.
©
Peter Bull 2004-2024
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